Thursday, November 4, 2010

I would really love to win one of these!!!

Madsen Cycles Cargo Bikes
You can try to win one too!! Click on the picture and it will show you how....

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Fall Scavenger Hunt

I have a habit of putting off the "fun"  until all the school work gets done or all the messes get cleaned up.  Well, as you can imagine with those parameters it seems lately that we never get around to the fun!  I was determined to have a little fun with the kids this Monday so we set off on a fall hike at a nature preserve near our home. I printed off a scavenger hunt and the kids divided into teams and off we went. 



 My youngest son has a knack for finding snakes.  It wasn't on the list but it was a thrill for all anyway.
 Have you letterboxed?  We weren't even on the hunt for one, but my older son found this hidden behind some rocks.
 Gotta climb some rocks.
Beautiful!

Friday, October 15, 2010

Mamas Don't Let Yer Babies Grow up to be Cowboys...

...even though they look so dern cute in their chaps! 
Last weekend we drove to the small town that my husband grew up in for their annual Fort Verde Days celebration.  After the parade, we had some delicious BBQ and then headed to the rodeo grounds for the mutton bustin competition.  My husband talked me into this last year and my 6 year old took home the buckle!  Well, of course we had to go and defend the title.  In our many conversations regarding this  rodeo my little one was concerned about not winning, so I did what any good mother does and promised him food. Who can pass up a funnel cake when you are at the fair?  Not me! So he didn't win, but was all smiles after his turn and asked if we could go get his "cuddle cake"!
Here are a few pictures...


 Love those little guys with their hats off during the prayer which was unashamedly and earnestly prayed in the name of Jesus!
 Since that little lump...under the sheep?  Yup, that's my boy.
Here he is after his 1.3 second ride, wiping the dirt off his teeth and getting some encouragement from the rodeo clown who also happens to be the local high school principal.
Ain't that America?

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Zoo!


I took the kids to the zoo today with my dad. This guy cracked me up. He waited like this forever. A door opened behind us and a zookeeper walked out and the chimp ran over to see her walking by and started banging on the glass to get her attention. It was clear, then, that he had been waiting for her. Still not sure why, but it was funny!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

I guess that's why I'm not a rocket scientist...

Okay, so apparently gardening is rocket science.
Ours was a complete bust.
Here's what we harvested:
1 squash
2 jalapenos
5 strawberries
3 cucumbers
1 huge water bill

We were pretty disappointed. I guess there is always next year.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Hindsight

Tomorrow my baby turns five. Where did that time go? I am feeling especially melancholy about this birthday.

A few weeks back, I took my four children to the park in the middle of the day. The playground was filled with moms of the stroller set, deeply entrenched in the stage of sippy cups, diapers, and the hope of naps after a morning outing. I felt out of place with my four children -my youngest being at least 2 years from his last scheduled nap. I watched the other moms from my bench. Remember those days? A trip to the park consisted of helping your little one up the ladder, then down the ladder, changing a diaper on your lap, running one to the potty, and all the while trying to squeeze in a conversation with another adult. I wanted to run over to them and tell them and warn them that, yes these days might seem loooong but the years go fast. You will blink and these days , these long, long days when you think you will never be able to sit and relax while your children stay safe and entertain and feed themselves will be over and you will ache for those days when your struggles consisted of timing naps and potty training, and kissing boo-boos. Funny now. On their end they might envy me with my abilty to sit on the bench. And here I sit, looking at those moms, wishing for those simple moments at home with my little ones.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Garden!!!

We finally did it!! The garden is planted and I am beyond excited. My inspiration for this year's garden began last summer. Whenever we would park at our favorite parking spot to hit the beach, we would walk past an apartment complex where there was the most amazing garden planted in 4'x5' plot in the area between the road and sidewalk. We later found out it was the very well planned garden of a marine living in those apartments. He made the most efficient use of the space he had...everything from corn to green beans.
I also remember reading somewhere about victory gardens and that they weren't big but fed a family to help with the war effort and hey! this isn't rocket science ... just throw some seeds into the ground already!!!
Our garden is 4'X10' and we planted sunflowers, peas, bell pepper, squash, lettuce, jalepeno, tomatoes, cucumber, pickling cucumber, pumpkin (seeds saved from last year's pumpkin), and lavender. It is organized into 4 foot rows with one area designated as the *mystery garden* because the seedlings got mixed up and we're not really sure what sprouted...should be fun!!!

Still waiting for the chickens to hatch...

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Achoo!!

Sure is dusty over here! Guess it is time to post something...
Spring fever has definitely hit this household and we are itching to start some new projects.
Project number one:
Vegetable garden
Project number two:
Chickens!

I am tired already.