A Tale of 3 Kiddos

Now after a few years, we have initiated each of our kids into the wilderness. Each with varying degrees of success.

M enjoyed her first encounter in the wild when we went above Rollinsville for a night out. She really seemed to enjoy the dirt more that anything, although at her age of 9 months, there is not much more that she could enjoy. The most memorable part was that on the way up, we noticed that she had gotten a case of diarhea. And then at night, I seem to remember waking up 6 times to change her diaper. Poor girl! Good thing she can't remember that age now!

We waited until K was 1 year and 4 months, and took the family up above Leadville, around 10,000 feet. We decided to enjoy the luxury of an established campground, and shared it with some friends for both M and the parents. Then, after everyone was asleep, K started crying. It would have been fine if we were in the wild with no one around, as he would have settled down after 5 minutes or so and been fine. But, we started to dread the other campers reactions late at night to the one crying baby. So, I took him, put him in the car, and drove around until he fell asleep. This worked great initially, as by 11:15pm, he was asleep again. I pulled over, shut off the car, and reclined my seat to grab some Zs. An hour later he was awake and crying again, so I drove for another 15 minutes until he was asleep. I grabbed some more Zs. He woke again after an hour, more driving, pulled over, and got some more Zs. This time, I was awoken to bright lights from a vehicle shining in my eyes. I knew I was going to have to make a quick getaway, or do some explaining to the cops. Luckily it was the cops trying to track down some rogue firework setter offers. I was on my way again, as I continued the drive-sleep-wake-drive cycle. I finally came back to the campsite around 7am, with K fully rested, and myself tired as a rented mule.

For L, we decided to celebrate with 2 other families, M's B-day in the great outdoors. We went above Rollinsville again, for the runny memories from years past. Everyone did great, even at night. L survived well, especially because we used about 20 handwarmers in various spots around her blankets to keep her warm. It was 36 degrees in the tent that night, so is was a necessity. D finally took L into her sleeping bag with her, and slept like a champ.

Hopefully all of this drama on camping trips will not greatly affect their love for the outdoors, and we look forward to years of camping and roughing in in the future.

M's B-day Celebration

Well, it was another exciting b-day celebration for M. She was very excited (as usual) for the celebrations, and actually got 2 b-days on the weekend, and one more coming up soon with a camping adventure soon. For the third year running, Princesses were the decoration de jour, with cheesecake making the cut for type of cake. And who can blame her? The creamy goodness of 1000 calories per slice would make any 5-year-old (or 30-something-year-old) smile with joy!

Grandpa decided that he would try to get the neighbor kids a little excercise. I think each pushup was based on how many times they had hit the ball without it touching the ground. These kids were not smart, as I would have "accidentally" let the ball touch the ground before they get to 10. K got into it and was moving his upper body up and down, trying to mimic the bigger kids. I liked his style.

After a scavenger hunt around the yard and house, the kids came to the "small" pinata in the backyard, ready for destruction. They each took a wack, and even K got to try his hand at it...... Although it felt like he was seeking retribution for some sugary treat that I had not let him have! "K,........put the stick down and slowly walk away."

Tia Heidi was gracious enough to locate the pinata for us a local Pinateria. She then showed us her true colors as she wore the "head" after we had done the final damage to the horse.

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And last but not least, L has been growing like a weed and showing us her true personality daily. It is always fun to make her smile with a push of her button nose, or tickling her from toes to ears. And every once in a while she will belt out a laugh that gets us laughing too!

Priest Lake

Once again, going to the Lake was great. While it did take 25 hours to get there, once we got there, we enjoyed completely.
K decided he wanted to help on the way by reading the map........ Not that helpful!

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We found some great "old school" park equipment on the way up. Not that safe, but way more fun that the new "safe" stuff! Another great stop was a playground in WY, with $1 scoops after the fun. When have you heard of getting $1 scoops of ice cream these days? Only in Wyoming.

Late at night, what is better than pizza and sunglasses? K is hamming it up on little sleep as we try and get situated in the hotel room. Good thing the front desk clerk was able to get us a room with no one on either side!

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With the multiple stops on the way up, we had lots of time to do fun stuff. This is after we had thrown about 1000 rocks into the Yelowstone River. It never gets old, even at my age.

We had a quick stop in Spokane, and a pony ride with GG Connie's friend's ponies. The tractor that K enjoyed last time we were up was in for repairs, but next time K will get to ride on it.

Once at the Lake, GG Lee enjoyed holding L. Pretty impressive to have a 93 year gap in ages here. Waterskiing was fun, and riding in the boat while the waves were slamming us around was a big hit with the kids more so than the parents!

The full family around the campfire one night while watching the "fire boat". Well, almost the full family. Heidi had to leave early for work, and M was not in the mood to be fotogenic.

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Running on the beach with the small waves, and just gazing out onto the Lake is always fun.

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And sometimes, getting some rest on the beach is

the only rest you get during the day!

K and M enjoyed catching fish with Gpa Tom. Nothing big, but it was fun watching them squeal when the fish jumped in their hands!

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And finally on the way home, we got to stop by Gma and Gpa's new digs in the 'Zou. They even raced boats in the stream running through their front yard. I think Gpa had just as much fun as they did!

Well, I will have to work on getting a post up from June and our trip to the Bahama's, so it might be a little out of order, but I will try and do that one next.

Our newest little button!

Well she is finally here. Lorna Renee was born on June 25th, 8lbs, 13oz. She is healthy and growing like a champ. She looks forward to meeting you all. Her brother and sister and absolutely enthralled with her. M is always talking to her in baby speak....... I wonder where she is getting that! K always wants her to wake up, because sleeping is for sissies, and that means he can't play with her.

M's Graduation

M has graduated from the illustrious pre-school into the oh so challenging Kindergarten. Another 1/2 day for 5 days a week should be an easy transition. She sports her graduation cap and certificate (slightly misspelled) with honor, along with the "tat" of a purple and pink butterfly. Would it be any other color?

K's 2nd B-day!

K celebrated his 2nd b-day, and what fun he had. It appears that I may be enjoying his toys more than him, but I was really just following his lead. Really. But who doesn't like to knock down blocks. He also loved his Cars cake with Lightining and Mater on it.

Sitting in the back yard with newly acquired Uncle J was tons of fun, and Auntie JJ brought a smile to his face as well.

The kids have also started to enjoy hanging out in the backyard, and we are excited for them to really enjoy all of the space.... and trees. They love to hang from the tree branches and let go, as well as sit in the tree as you see here. I am sure at some point I will start to get a little worried about broken arms and such, but luckily not yet!

K had us laughing so hard the other day. After a rare trip to Starbucks, he requested the straw that had whipped cream on it. We gave him the straw with whipped cream, and expected him to gobble it right up. He apparently knew that this was all he was getting, because he kept sticking the straw into his mouth, but leaving it there, not touching any part of his mouth. We captured a little on this video.

Finally!

I know it has been a really long time, so here is a quick one to whet your appetites for more (hopefully) soon.

K has skipped the whole 2 word sentences and gone straight to 3 word sentences. He will now, when handing you something, say, " Here you go." Well, it sounds more like He-ya-goooooooo.", but we know what he is saying.

M has been having a blast with the neighborhood kids. All she wants to do is play with the kids all day. But who wouldn't?

So in this pic, K is taking part in his two most favorite things. Butter, and being naked. Man does he love both of those things!

For school, M went to the zoo one day. She was really excited to walk around with one boy named "Cody". Well, when his mom and he went one direction, she very quickly latched onto another boy. Looks like we might be in trouble!

M is also getting good at soccer. Here, she is showing her awesome skills for keeping her foot on the ball and arms on her hips.

Horses and sledding

We went to the mountains this weekend and had a blast! Other than K screaming all night (or what felt like most of the night). We didn't get much sleep but we had a lot of fun..........

The horses at the Winter Carnival in SS were great! Watching the horses was by far the highlight, and seeing friends was great too. We went sledding on a hill nearby, and M decided that the sled was boring. It seemed to be more fun to slide down the hill on her bottom. Too bad I didn't get video of when she went face first on her stomach. Now that was priceless.

Sometimes it feels like getting M to bed takes forever. But tonight, the two times she came down stairs put us in stitches.

First - She came down whimpering, as she had hurt herself while "falling asleep" in bed. She said that she wasn't really falling asleep, but playing around and got the side of her stomach on the night stand (no worries, no permanent damage). We tried to explain to her that if she was asleep, she wouldn't get hurt.

Second - She came down and exclaimed "Mommy. I have the 'Yellow Submarine' song in my head and it won't get out." The Beatles are timeless. Sometimes it is tough not to laugh!

Micky Ears

It has once again been a really long time. So, pretend that it is just after Turkey Day, and I am posting (here is where you hear the numina, numina numina from Wayne's World).

Disney Princess's and Couzie's were the highlight of the trip to Orlando. With Disney giving us the full treatment of thrill's a minute and the "Greatest Place on Earth" slogan, who wouldn't be lulled into fun and excitement of fast rides! Favorite ride by M? The carousel. I can't believe it! We rode Dumbo, Tigger and Pooh's Honey Pot adventure, flew the skies with Peter Pan, and watched 3-D Mickey Mouse, and her favorite ride was riding a horse that took us around 3 whopping times? Oh through the eyes of a 4 year old.

The Princess Dinner was another highlight, with 5 princesses showing up, and M was enthralled by all of them. K didn't mind it either, but was a little disappointed that Jasmine was not there to capture his attention.

Seaworld was great too, with Shamu taking the biggest slot for discussion. She now has a small stuffed Shamu that is always sought after (Thanks to Couzie L) for snuggling, and at one point there was a big debate between whether Shamu was a Killer Whale, or a Humpback. I think we have gotten her on the right track, but she might have just decided that her parents are full of it, and that in her mind, Shamu will always be a Humpback.

The Cousins are still her favorite thing to talk about after the trip, and is looking forward to the next trip with the Cousie's!

Coming up next, we will travel into December, and the snowy winterland. With discussions of sugarplums, Santa, and how the heck he can get down the Chimney with all of his reindeer.