More Moab Pics

Our home for five days.
Daddy, TJ, and Katie enjoying some shade under Double Arch. Arches National Park.
Out on our Scavenger Hunt to find Indian Rock Art. Even with the sign it took us some time to see the pictures.
The desert was like a giant sand box for the kids.
TJ can find was to get into trouble, even on vaccation.

Katie chilling in her Princess camp chair after one of her afternoon swims.

Moab trip

We had a great time in Moab. Here are some pictures I took. Enjoy!

TJ leading Daddy back to the car by the bite valve. Canyonlands National Park.

Katie and Daddy checking out a lizard on a rock wall walking back to the truck from Sand Dune Arch. Arches National Park.

Mommy, Katie, & TJ almost to Mesa Arch. Canyonlands National Park.

Katie and TJ's favorite part of the whole trip was swimming in the pool at the camp ground in the afternoon.

Four wheeling on our way to Gemini Bridges.

Katie mastering this hiking thing on the last day. Canyonlands National Park.

Taking a break from riding in the car. Glenwood Springs, CO.

TJ rock climbing under double arch. Arches National Park.
Scott above and Katie & TJ playing in the sand below Sand Dune Arch. Arches National Park.

I dumped it!

We took the jet skiis out today and I am proud to report . . . I dumped it. I really wasn't going that fast. I said to Scott "Hey, look what I can do!" then I did a power turn, but couldn't keep it under control. Phill says I am turning into one of the guys. It was very choppy today, but otherwise we had a lot of fun until they ran out of gas. I am very proud of dumping it, the guys do it every time they go out!

Walmart & Playhouses

So, we went to Walmart yesterday to look at playhouses for the kids. I had looked at a couple at Super Walmart the day before and wanted to show Scott what they had. I couldn't find any, so I asked a worker. Keep in mind this is June, he said "We don't have those this time of year." I wasn't asking for a snow blower!! So, I am not sure what time of year one buys playhouses, but apparently it is not in the summer.

Little Project

We ordered 15 tons of river rock and split it with our neighbor to even out our parking area. Ended up we ordered a little more than we needed so, this is a little progect that we made up to use up rock, but it ended up really nice. Nothing can grow under the cotton wood and we have gravel coming under the fence from the neighbor's yard behind us. This picture was taken about 3 wheelbarrows before we were finished, but we love it. We put the rock back there really thick so when we are ready to take out the sand box there is enough rock there to fill in the hole.

New Additions

These are two of our new additions. This is the second year we have had baby birds in our lilacs. I like having the birds buzzing around. Tomorrow we will hopefully be getting the jet skiis out for the first time this summer. I can hardly wait!

Katie turned 3

I am trying to post a picture of Katie from her birthday, but I think blogger is changing it's picture uploading format as we speak. I will add the pictures as soon as I can. Her birthday went off great though. 3 of her friends were able to come. They enjoyed playing in the sand box and jumping on the trampoline with Ben and Scott. She was very excited about her birthday and she finally tells people she is 3 when they ask.

Look who is 3 today!

Poll results

Well, awhile back I asked who you are. I was suprised to find that 60% of you are family! Apparently I only have 2 current friends, 1 high school friend and no college friends. One of you are my best friend's mom, but I already knew there was only one of you! One of my kid's god parent's, if I had to guess. . . my daughter's god father. And finally as we all know, there is only one of me.

Why Mommies Need a Timeout

This is my second column for the local paper. The photo was taken before the cave tour, they are my friends, and god mothers of my children, Mel & Becca. Enjoy!
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Recently, I was able to go on a girls only weekend with two of my good friends. Let me tell you this is exactly what a mommy needs.
Everyone knows you need a vacation. There is nothing that would ever replace family vacations, but they are not very relaxing. There is still fighting between siblings, diaper changes, bath times, bedtime struggles, when does the R&R come into play? Family vacations are all the work of home, without the routine or comfort of home. Even so we are still taking our kids to Wisconsin for a wedding and Arches National Park on vacation this summer, but I don't expect to relax much on these trips.
The solution? The way I see it you have two options. Escape on a romantic getaway with the help of grandparents or a girls weekend with the help of an amazing daddy. I am lucky enough to have both helpful grandparents and an amazing daddy. This weekend was daddy's turn.
Neither of the friends I went with have children, but they both knew how hard it was for me to leave them. Truth be told, it wasn't that hard. We didn't go far, just to Glenwood Springs, but it was far enough to get away from it all. We had a great time, shopping, going on a tour of the Fairy Caves, getting herbal wraps at a cute local spa, having delicious meals at local restaurants, and of course going to the hot springs. Everything we did was fun, but best of all we didn't HAVE to do anything. No one was depending on us for anything for a whole 48 hours. We did things you just cannot do with small children. We went swimming without holding a little bobbing head above the water. We spent a couple hours at Splendor Mountian Day Spa, the best money I spent on the whole trip, but I couldn't have done it with the kids there. Just getting to eat out. With my son in the throwing-food phase, we are only welcome at McDonald's. Just being able to walk around town without a stroller, sure I didn't burn as many calories that way, but I was on vacation.

When I returned home Sunday I felt reenergized. I even had the house to myself when I got there, because my husband took the kids to a birthday party. This part may be hard to believe, but the house was spotless, cleaner than I had left it. The laundry was almost all done, the kitchen didn't look like it had ever been used, and I didn't trip on a single toy walking through the house. Of course, nothing is perfect, my poor bird had no food or water. My guess is he talked back to my husband and my husband muttered something about stupid bird and drumsticks.
Coming home, I realized a break was exactly what I needed. I could tolerate the whinning and crying without breaking into tears myself. I even started sleeping better, and my daughter's potty training has improved. After going on this weekend away, I am sure I will be doing it again. I don't know why I waited three years to take my first one. It will not be another three years before my next one.

My silly sisters

I love you two!

The Zoo Trip

We had a very short trip to the zoo Wednesday. Pam was planning on meeting a group of mom's, but because my kids were sleepy heads, we didn't get there in time. We also didn't have time to get through the whole zoo, but we still had fun. TJ got sick in the car so I had to buy him a little outfit when we got there. Of course, he was in pants, so I didn't have any sunscreen on his little exposed legs. Luckily he is ok though. I love this picture, because they are all actually looking! This will never happen again until they are about 10 or so! I can not wait until our next visit, it should go better.

My new toy

Look what Scott bought me! I am not so happy that we had to get black. I guess it could have been worse the only other one they had was silver (YUCK!) What is it with monochromatic cars these days? You go to the dealership and they ask you, "What shade of gray do you prefere?" "Uh. . . none!" Oh well, outside of the color it is a great truck. We can put the dog ine the back (once we get the topper,) the kids in the cab, and pull the jet skiis. So, now Scott is stuck with the old clunker until we get the Mazda 5 and this is my new grocery getter.

Spring Break Day 7

This is a little follow up I wrote after we came back from the game. It was such a great night! You can use this link to see the article and more pictures.

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Thank you, thank you, thank you, YourHub.com. We had an absolutely wonderful time at the game Sunday night. I was more excited about that game than the season openers.

When we first arrived the team was warming up, throwing balls at the glass. Our daughter, Katie, thought this was the coolest, "Daddy! Throwin' balls!" She was also very excited about her new lacrosse stick that is just her size. I am happy to report she has yet to wack her brother, TJ, in the head with it.

As for Daddy and I, the highlight of our night was meeting Dave Stilley. I came down with a little case of "star-struck," but I did manage to ask him to take a photo with the kids. Was I ever nervous! Most of the photos I took did not come out, because I was shaking so much. It was fun to watch the players up close doing drills and relaxing a little before the game.

Once we found our wonderful seats and got the kids their hotdogs, Katie was dancing to the pregame music and having a great time. The first quarter she spent in silence and barely moving. She was just taking everything in. By the second quarter though she was shaking her towel and clapping with the best of them. TJ had a good time walking back and forth between our seats and flirting with the people in front of us.

We were happy to see the Mammoth win and know that they are going on to the playoffs. Go Mammoth!

Spring Break Day 5

Friday was probably one of Daddy's favorites. We went to the Denver Car show. Scott and I had fun and the kids tolerated it well. There were a few classics and a few concept cars, like the Ford with Katie, there were some tuners, but for the most part it was 2006 models from all the big companies.

It was a great chance for us to see the Tacomas and the Frontiers right next to each other. It really helped make our decision of which to make pretty clear. We also took a closer look at the Commander which is WAY out of our price range, but ended up not being what we wanted anyway.

I had to sit in the Mazda 5. All the awesome cars there and I want to sit in a minivan. I also sat in the Tundra and Titan, does that make it better. Why am I justifying myself? I LOVE this car. I can not wait until we can get it.

I love this picture of TJ "driving" the Mazda RX-8. Know what he is thinking? "I only drive cars with rotary engines, hey dad, pop the hood!"

The second picture is of Scott in fornt of his midlife crisis car, a Lotus Elise. I told him since they were only $30,000 he could get one. We are still debating the color though. He wants orange and I want yellow.

It really was a pretty fun night. We did have a couple of whinny kids, but they tried. They can not be good all the time right?

Spring Break Day 4

Katie one the ferris wheel.

Thursday was another day of fun for the kids. We spent the morning at Funtastic Fun. The kids loved it. Katie rode ALL the rides. TJ rode the carosel, train, ferris wheel and tea cups. Katie rode the whip with Myriah and the swings all by her self. They also did a lot of other things too. They both went in the jump house, the ball pit and rode the roller racers. Katie had a great time riding the rides, but I think TJ enjoyed wandering around wherever he wanted without getting in trouble. What freedom!

TJ on a roller racer.
Katie on the swings.
Pam, Sebastian, Myriah, and Katie on the Tea Cups.
Katie and Myriah on the Whip.

Spring Break Day 3

Wednesday was definatley the least exciting day of the week. I took the kids to the bank in Golden to talk to someone about getting a loan for the new truck...well, I guess that is a little exciting. Then we tried to go Costco to get our weekly 8 gallons of milk. It was 6, but TJ bumped us up a notch. I couldn't find my card anywhere though. Turns out it was right where I keep it in my wallet where I had looked many times. Weird!

Spring Break Day 2

Tuesday wasn't as much fun for me as it was for the kids. I did a demo (which was great since I unexpectantly had the week off) so, the kids spent the day playing with, Giovanna, Sebastian, and Myriah. Katie and Myriah are very good friends. When I left Katie said "Bye mom" no tears. During my demo a girl from the main office who stopped by. Turns out she is the vice president of the company and she said I was doing very well. She even called my director to tell her she liked what I was doing and told her I should work more. Of course, I can't work more, because I watch Chase, but it is the thought that counts.

Spring Break Day 1

This was kind of like Spring Break for the kids, because we did a lot of fun things this week. Monday started with lunh at Micky D's and the zoo. Katie, Tj, and I went with Pam, her kids, and her mom. The kids had a good time. Katie went all the way to the top of the climbing thing at McDonal's (with the help of Geovanna). She did really well until they got to the slide then she started crying. Katie even got to walk on her own which I have never let her do before. Believe me getting her back in the stroller to go through the parking lot was no picnic. The one with Myriah and Katie facing away from the camera is at the polar bears. There was one polar bear walking right in front of them. They loved it. They also got to see the Sea Lion feeding time. TJ was over due for a nap so, he spent some of the day napping in his stroller. All in all it was a successful day. We are going again next month with a new mom's group Pam has joined. I will be their to back her up if they are not nice, but I am sure they will be.

We won!!

The story I wrote for the Mammoth tickets won! We are going to meet the Mammoth Sunday night!! We are so excited. I will be sure to post pics when we get back! I can not believe it! As you can see Katie is very excited. Go Mammoth!

My Mammoth Baby

This is a story I wrote this week to win tickets to Sunday's Mammoth game. I will find out today if we won or not. Wish us luck!

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Our daughter was a Mammoth fan from the very start. Her dad and I went to our first Mammoth game on Valentine's Day 2003, three and a half months before Katie was born. Starting with that game and every other game for the rest of the season, she would kick wildly whenever the Mammoth were behind. As long as the Mammoth were leading though, I didn't feel her move at all. She was only upset when they were losing.

The next season was great! The Mammoth games were the only place we could take Katie and not have to worry about her crying and disturbing others. The loud noises didn't bother her and she even learned to clap. We could all go out as a family and watch our favorite team.

Last season her little brother TJ was born just a couple games into the season, but Katie was still able to make most of the games. She perfected her clapping skills, but she only seemed to clap after everyone else had stopped.

This season Katie is2 and big enough to need her own seat. So, Katie has not yet been to a game this season. I am sure she would love to take her little brother and her stuffed Wooly to a game.

Lacrosse is great for the whole family, from family priced seating, to Wooly, to the Wild Bunch, to Willie B, to Head Coach Gary Gait, to ALL the amazing players on the Mammoth, what's not to love about the Mammoth? Lacrosse is a fast-paced game sure to entertain the whole family, but best of all the Mammoth are the best team in Lacrosse (according to this Mammoth fan's momma.) This is why we are hoping to win a family four pack, so we can take Katie, the Mammoth fan from before birth, and her brother to a great family event.

Thank you

Thank you all for your kind words. It has been a hard week, but we are getting by. A special thanks to everyone who came to be with me this week so I wouldn't be alone. You all have a special place in my heart. Becca I really don't know what we would have done if you weren't there. A special thank you to the Drs and Techs at Deer Creek Animal Hospital, thanks for trying and being there when we needed you. Some days are harder than others, but with all the love and support everyone has shown I know we will make it through this rough spot.

In Memoriam . . .

Emerald "Eme"

May 24, 2001 - March 13, 2006

Nut case, Houdini, Friend

You will be missed

(HBC)

Going to the theatre with kids

Who says your days of going to the theatre has to end when you have kids? I am going to take the kids to Sesame Street Live in May. I can not wait to see the look on Katie's face when shs sees Elmo LIVE! I was a little upset that I had to buy a seat for TJ too, usually they can lap it til 2. Oh well. They are pretty good seats on the floor center. It is going to be a the Denver Colesium, Pepsi Center is better since you can ride the train, plus you have to pay for parking up there. Oh well, I still can not wait. I hope it is good!

Poll results

Only one person knew I play... the piano... the guitar... and ... the... flute. The popular anwser was piano, guitar and sax. Although, I love sax music and SCOTT has a sax, I don't play. Piano is pretty obvious if you have ever been here since you can't really hide a piano, and dad has been teaching me guitar since I was very little. The flute is the tricky one since I don't play often or well.

Next poll. I have noticed at the time of this post I have gotten 616 hits. Just wondering who the heck you are, because I only know 16 people. Just curious!

PS- The green is for March. St Patty's Day and all.

My little girl

She is so sweet I thought she deserved equal air time as her brother. I know she is going to go blind that close to the tv... really, I think it will be ok. She was very excited about the gym daycare today (when she got out) because they had icecream for snack. Just what every 2 year old needs at 9:30 am.

They are so sweet... when they are sleeping.