First camping trip of the year!

We love retreating to the mountains and we love to go camping as a family. We had reservations for Mt. Charleston for the holiday weekend. This is usually the start of our camping season since we try to go once a month during the summer months and into September and October. This year was different because we had some uncommonly cool weather in Las Vegas this past weekend which meant it was really cold on the mountain. On Friday morning the news reported a 40 degree high and 27 degree low. We are tent campers so we decided to skip the snow and stay comfy in our nice warm beds instead. Since the weather on Sunday was getting better here we decided to head up the mountain for a picnic. It did snow on us but the weather was pretty mild and we had a great time.

Four happy campers
Dustin trying to get that darn fire to start.
Scott was amazed by the fire and was trying to blow it out while he was saying "HAAAP-PAY" his word for birthday.
Yeah, this fire looks pretty good. I'm down with it!
Blowing out the birthday fire.
The girl's gathering pine needles for the fire.
Me and Scott enjoying the warmth from the fire. Sorry about the pink gloves,Scott, we forgot yours.
Mountain man

Catching snowflakes.
The snow was perfect, light and pretty, and there wasn't very much but the girl's had a great time catching snowflakes.
Who's that sittin' in my chair??

Mountain man making some hot cocoa for his frozen family.

That's not dandruff in this girl's hair! That's snow, baby!!
....Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes! ...

these are a few of my favorite things!

Packing up to go home... boo hoo
On the way down the mountain we had an encounter with these guys.... Wild burros or donkeys or mules or mini horses...what ever they were. just out munchin' some cactus. They did not want their picture taken and this was about as close as I could get although they were closer to the road when we drove past.
It was such a nice picnic and I'm really looking forward to our next camping adventure.

UMMM, MAYBE I SPOKE TOO SOON

Today started out like every other day, me prying myself out of bed, not looking forward to the new day. I am not a morning person!!! I asked Scott if he wanted to go on a walk and he said, "NO"!
What? You love your stroller. So, I drove. I got the kids off to school and tried to start my laundry which I'm really trying NOT to hate! I opened some of Scott's new presents and enjoyed watching him play and get REALLY scared of the remote controlled cars he had gotten! SO funny! I needed a shower BAD so I set Scott up with some of his new toys. I thought I'd be safe and I made it out of the shower before Scott could really get into anything. I've mastered the quick shower thing. But... while I was doing my hair Scott was awfully quiet and he came into my room with an almost full jar of Vaseline suctioned onto his cute, little baby hand. Of course I reacted and because of this Scott reached up to wipe his cute, little baby tears away cause he was feeling really sorry by now. I cleaned him up and then I went to search for the glob of Vaseline he undoubtedly left somewhere. Found it! He left the mess in the girl's room. Always in the girl's room. Cleaned that up and then went to get him.
Time to get Paige and Trevor from school. Fed the kids lunch and put sweet Scott down for his nap. I was folding the clothes on my bed and I could hear Scott in his crib talking. After a while the talking turned into crying and then the crying got louder and louder. And then..... NO, IT CAN'T BE!!! He's coming out of his room. Yes, that's right! He climbed OUT of his crib and walked right into my room. I tried to get him to lay down on my bed knowing full well I was totally starting something I wasn't willing to finish. I NEED him to take his naps, especially now, so I have a chance to prepare for the next wave of destruction. He wouldn't stay on my bed and he never did take a nap.

SO PERHAPS I SPOKE TOO SOON!!

welcome to

the WONDERFUL WORLD OF 2

Happy Birthday, DEAR Scotty!!

We celebrated Scott's 2nd birthday today! I can't believe that he's already two! We've enjoyed every minute of him so far, well almost every minute!!

Scott loves Elmo and he was so excited when we showed him his cake!
Scott loves birthday cake!
Scott learned how to say Happy Birthday for the special occasion except it sounds more like Happy Hahhhp-pay! He can't quite say that last part.

Scott, I wanted to jot some things down that you are doing right now:

• You still sleep in a crib and that is so wonderful because your sisters all climbed out before they turned 2. We just look at it as a gift... from you to us! Thank you!
• You love food. There isn't much you won't eat. You especially love beans and rice and ..."UMMM french fries?"
• You love nap time and when I walk you up the stairs you say, "nigh nigh" and you lay your head on my shoulder and then I lay you in your crib you ask for your "geeky" (pacifier) and your "beeky" (blanket) and your puppy and you hold him in your arms and you don't make a peep.
• You are getting so independent and you don't want to sit in a shopping cart anymore, only in the back. Other parents and store employees constantly remind me how unsafe this is.
• You wake up happy and usually when I come into your room you are holding on to the rails of your crib and jumping on your mattress. You can jump pretty high.
• You are into everything!!!! I can't turn my back for a minute, and if I do then I'm really sorry I did because you can destroy very much in very little time. You especially love to get into stuff in my bathroom... toothpaste, Carmex, lotion, and I've even caught you with q-tips sticking out of your ears. You keep me on my toes.
• You love to follow dad around, especially when he's doing "manly stuff" like mowing the lawn.
• You love animals, especially dogs but you'll hug any animal that will let you.
• You love walking the girls to school in your stroller. Sometimes it's the only way I can get you out of the house! All I have to say is, "Scott, do you want to go on a walk and you say,"Troller?" and you come right to the door.
• You love your family! Every one!! You squeal when daddy gets home from work or your sisters come home from school. You love your grandparents and you can say "Ga-mah" and "Bah-pa". We all love to give you lots of attention and every one just loves you to pieces.

We LOVE you, Happy Birthday!!

Are You Ready To RUMBLE!?!

Brad gave Dustin these boxing gloves, head gear, and a mouth piece for his birthday.

They have big plans, I'm sure!

I'd tell you ALL about it but the 1st rule is...

well, I'm not supposed to talk about it...

and the 2nd rule is...

well, I can't talk about it.

Dustin and Paige had to try all the gear out!

Are you scared, Brad?

Huh... Are you?

Are you scared???

Huh? Huh?

Well, you should be!!

That's right!!

Now go and tell all your little friends.

Yea, that's what I thought!!!

Watch your back, Brad!

I'm just warning you!!

Fun Filled Weekend

Earlier in the week I wanted to mop my floors so I sent Scotty out back (his favorite) to play while I got my work done. As I was mopping I noticed he was standing in the dog dish havin' himself a little foot soak. Just leaning up against the house... chillin'.

Cheetos and a dog dish foot soak... there ain't much better than that in life! Notice his legs...he gave himself a nice little tattoo. Good work!
"Mom, quit bugging me... can't you see I'm just trying to relax!?! Get back to your housework"
"Okay, Now that feels better. I think I'm just about done here. The water's a little cold."
" What???"

"You've never had a dog dish foot soak? Well, maybe for Mother's day you should go and get yourself a pedicure! Since you can't get your feet into this wonderful dog dish you may have to just settle. Don't worry, it's a close second."

HMMM.. Scotty, maybe I will! Maybe I'll just call my Mom and we'll go have ourselves a pedi for mother's day.

So, after helping out at Paige's school for kindergarten field day on Friday. I met my Mom and we had the most fabulous pedicure and then had lunch. What a treat!! After that I went home and took a teeny little snooze on my couch. I woke up in a panic because I told Dustin I would get the car all cleaned out so he could throw his stuff in the car for Father's and Son's and hit the road. When I went outside I saw Mama cat with two kittens!!! I posted back in March about our cat getting "knocked up". I couldn't believe she had actually brought the kittens home. We think she hid them in an attic. They were born 7 weeks ago. Of course they are adorable, scared at first but getting more and more comfortable. Once again I'm just got to put it out there...
IF YOU OR ANYONE YOU KNOW WANTS AN ADORABLE LITTLE 7 WEEK OLD KITTY (LITTER BOX TRAINED AND COMPLETELY READY TO LEAVE MAMA CAT) IT IS YOURS... FREE!!! THAT'S RIGHT, FREE!!! I'LL EVEN THROW IN MAMA CAT TO SWEETEN THE DEAL!
I'm SERIOUS! YOU THINK I'M JOKING BUT I'M NOT. THEY'RE DANG CUTE! YOU WANT ONE OF THESE KITTENS! YOU WANT ONE OF THESE KITTENS! YOU WANT ONE OF THESE KITTENS you are getting very sleepy.
Look at those blue eyes! precious! we call her black skinny and she is very playful and sweet. She has short hair unlike her twin sister, black fat, who is fluffy and must have hogged all the milk. (we have no idea the sex of these kittens)

Pictures simply do not do this kitten justice. She or he is just so pretty and reminds us of our old cat, Carlos (who is no longer with us, God rest his soul) so it may be a descendant of Carlos. How cool is that!
What kitten can resist...YARN!!!
playful kitties

AHHHHHH so cute!!!

I'm putting an ad in the paper for this weekend or next so ACT FAST!!! These kitties will be GONE, DADDY, GONE before we know it!!

Scotty and Dustin's first Father and Son Adventure.

They went to the archery range at Mt. Charleston. I was nervous and started bugging Dustin with questions like... Is he going to be safe? Will he get too cold? Are you sure you'll watch him? Then I really started bugging Dustin by giving him advice about what to do in case this or that happens (as if he hasn't been a parent all these years, like myself!) Dustin is COMPLETELY capable! OOPS! Sorry about that. I don't know what's come over me, I had no idea I'd be so nervous but I was. Just go have fun, I'm sure everything will be just fine. Dustin was so excited to finally have a son to take. Dustin has gone every year to help his friends with their boys(or so he tells me) and he always has a good time. And why wouldn't he...
when you go to Father and Sons you get to sleep in the suburban!
and eat yummy donuts!
and take walks at night, in the dark, cause men are tough and they ain't scared a nuffin'!
and play in the dirt and look for rocks on the ground(as many rocks as you like!)
and climb trees... even up to the tip top!
Cause that's what boys do!

And sit next to each other in the car so you can rock out to your favorite music together

(disclaimer.. posting is just for fun, no babies were harmed during the taking of these photos, I repeat posting is just for fun. Please do not report me for having our son in the front seat!)

and drink all the Pepsi and Capri suns your tummy's can handle!

Ya... camping at Fathers and Sons pretty much rocks!!!

And as nervous as I was I have to admit that they weren't even up the mountain before I realized just how wonderful Fathers and Sons IS! Dustin, you can go anytime! Seriously, ANY TIME!!!!

Saturday night we took the kids to the 51's baseball game(stupid name) It was fun but we only stayed a couple of hours. We all got a free hat and I was very disappointed to find there wasn't any popcorn or cotton candy. They did however have peanuts but no cracker jacks so I don't care if we ever go back!

A nice man gave Karley a foul ball and she was so happy! That really made her day!

She had to test it out!


Saturday, after the game, we got started(at 9pm) on a huge kitchen project and we were up until 2 am. Let's just say our kitchen doesn't look like this any more. I'll post before and after pictures as soon as we're done!

Sunday, Mother's day, a day of rest and relaxation. A day to pay tribute to all of our mother's and how wonderful they are and how much they do for us. We went to Kris' for lunch and my Mom's for dinner.

I had a wonderful Mother's day!

This is Dustin after dinner on Sunday!

My thoughts exactly!