Smokey the Bear Race

Did a run on Saturday & had a great time. Loved it!! Finished 4th... loads of fun. I am excited to do another. I did not stretch as well as I should have and I am paying for it today... but it is worth it!

10 Months

10 months have flown by! My little girl is walking, talking, communicating and only waking up 2-3 times a night!! She giggles all of the time. Walks up and down the stairs (not well, I try to gate them off, but her siblings forget to close the gate all of the time). She believes that she should be doing everything that her older brother and sisters are doing... she thinks that the safety plug covers we put into the electrical outlets are put there for her to play with. And she does. She crawls up, pulls them out, throws them and looks for the next outlet. She is a wonderful singer. She loves showers, prefers them to baths. She has such a fun, easy, adaptable personality that is full of fire. She is full of friendly waves and hellos to everyone she sees. She can sign "please", "All done" and "Drink". She has 6 teeth and loves to eat. She is 27 inches long and weighs 17 pounds. She loves to sit in the backpack and do yardwork with daddy. she loves it when her siblings jump on the trampoline with her. She is an adventurous little girl. I love her.

Happy Birthday to me

This year for my birthday, I pulled up a website, pulled up the item I wanted, put it in my cart and proceeded to the checkout where I then informed my husband that it was time for him to come and put in the payment info so that he could buy me a birthday gift. And he did. Good for him, great for me!! I love my new drying rack. after it arrived, he promptly installed it for me and it has been in use full force ever since. I debated getting the single or double and went with the double. It works perfectly. I love love love love love it. Next year, I am going to ask for a line to hang things on outside. I love birthdays.

MyHouse #2

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Here are the second set of pictures of my house. The Front room. This room is a nice big open space, but I just don't know how to put it together. Right now I have the couch at an angle, but I am not opposed to straightening it. The room is shaped like an L. Any ideas? I think that I am going to get a new couch, or recover this one.... and I would like a small table to sit behind the couch. I want a different coffee table, and I need to find some plates to hang above my doors. I love the color so that won't change. Hmmmmm.... I welcome your suggestions.

My House #1

While I was visiting family last week, my little niece (I say little because she is TINY, not because she is YOUNG, well she is young, but not too young... she has 2 kids and is putting her hubby through dental school)- anyway, my little niece Becky said that she had been waiting for me to put some pictures of my house on my blog. I said that I just hadn't thought about it. So, I got home and started thinking about it. I decided that I didn't want pictures of my house on my blog because we just moved in and we are still trying to put the rooms together the way that I want them. Then I started to think that maybe some of you out there have ideas for me, and also that it would be fun to have some before and after pictures of my house. So... here for your consideration is the first room in my house. The Kitchen.


The above view is from the living room looking in the kitchen. In the picture below, please pay no attention to the overgrown bush outside my window.... it needs a little trim, it has been neglected.

There is not too much room in my kitchen, and not a lot that we can do in here. I am going to hang some pictures or plates on the wall above the cupboards/oven, paint the oven fan black, and I am saving up for some copper pots to hang on my pot rack. And That is the kitchen. FYI- we just bought the stainless steel appliances and we LOVE LOVE LOVE them!! We had a lot of well meaning friends tell us not to buy stainless steel because they get little kid prints all over them... maybe so, but look at the shine. The way the light bounces off the surface. Oooooh.... it gives me little tingles when they are so clean and shiny. I love them!!! They also work very well, and that is nice, but my oh my, I love the shine!!

Macho, macho man.

Before.


After.

Any questions?


This happened while we were camping... Always exciting, camping.

Camping

Leesh and Mom showing off some of the desserts.... the cake on the left won the award for the best dessert of the night... Made by my own mother. Congrats mom!!
Each year the men hold a dutch oven cook off. This was our first year entering. All the men do all the cooking, I think that is why the tradition is sticking so well, after all, the women plan the reunions and this is the most relaxing evening out of them all... with the men doing the cooking and the women doing the tasting.
Look what beautiful meals were created!! And they tasted fantastic. The dutch oven cook off is actually a pretty big deal around camp and the winner usually wears his apron declaring him the winner for the rest of the trip!
Ellie, Ellie, Ellie.... what would I do without you and Emmy? You girls are amazing and I love you sooooo sooooo much.
My hubby walking his dog... yes, HIS dog.
Aunt Leesha taking Olivia for a ride on the quad around camp.
Taytay and Livvy enjoy the cool afternoon.
Emily and Amberlin...what? Amberlin? Where is she? Let's look closer......
Ohhhh, here she is!!
Aunt Michelle is a baby magnet.... or are the babies all aunt Michelle magnets? Either way, it is a win-win situation!!


Last week we traveled to Idaho to do some "camping" with our families. I do not particularly enjoy spending time in a tent. Period. I don't like to do it, haven't done it in 14 or so years. And I am fine with that. Whenever someone suggests a camping trip, I am fine as long as I am staying in a camper or motor home or better yet, a condo. Who would choose to sleep in a cold, one room tent with thin nylon protecting you from the elements and wild animals? Who would choose to subject themselves to a night of no sleep with 4 kids waking all night long? Not me. No siree. I enjoy warmth and comfort and most of all.... SLEEP!!!!
So, we were going camping in Idaho with my family, right? Right. I had arranged to borrow a tent from my parents who don't need theirs because they are sleeping in a CABIN!! Well, that was so nice of them to let us borrow their tent. Thanks mom and dad. We got up to Idaho. My kids were excited to sleep in a tent for the first time in their lives. Sweet. Me too!
So we get the kids out of the car and head up to the cabin to see my parents. Loves and kisses all around. Eat some dinner. Yummy. Say hi to cousins. Then, it happens. The miracle. Yes, miracle. I ask my mom where the tent is so we can get it set up...... uuuuhhhhhhhh, the tent? My mom seems to have forgotten it- darn it! Then I noticed that Travis had a suspicious gleam in his eye and then he suggests (to me, with a straight face)..... let's sleep out under the stars..... UMMMM, How long have we been married? 10 years? Yes folks, 10 years and he said suggested sleeping out under the stars. I told him first and foremost, NO SINKING WAY! Has he every heard of wild animals, coyotes? Skunks? Elk? And secondly, hasn't he been married to me for 10 years? Doesn't he know me? I said that I had seen a motel a couple hundred miles or so back and we would be staying there! But, my mom said, no worries, there is a spare bed and couch in the cabin, we can sleep there until my brother can bring up the tent the next day(the cabin is reserved for the "elderly"). SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!
And folks, the rest of the story is history. Of course there was no need for my brother to bring up the tent because once we moved into the cabin, there was no way in the whole wide world they were going to get us out (thanks to great-grandma browning for giving us her room and volunteering to sleep on the couch... we love you).
And that my friends was all part of the plan. I mean, do any of you know me? Do you think that I don't know that I can count on mom to forget the tent unless she's reminded as she is walking out the door to get up to Idaho that she should bring it? I think that any of us could have predicted it, and yet... there I was sleeping in a cabin, with my kids warm and comfy, and not to mention I slept soundly!! Camping? Anytime... as long as there are no tents involved!!

Glamor party!

the girls were doing karaoke... it had a video camera attatched, so they were watching themselves on t.v. A BIG hit!
The birthday girl and some of her friends.
Birthday cake.... one vanilla, one chocolate. Yum-Yum.

Gloria turned 7 this month and she wanted a glamorous party. So, we had a glamor party. Boy-oh-boy did we have a glamour party!! It was a lot of fun, for everyone!! I had been searching online for used/old prom dresses, dance costume and wedding dresses.
We had a "dressing room" filled with dresses where the girls could pick out whatever they wanted to wear. Then we had a "make-up and accessories" room. The room had hats, crowns, gloves, boa's, neckaces, rings, nail polish, hair paint, make-up, lipstick, combs, brushes and tattoos. Wowee! The girls dressed and primped and did whatever they wanted to. Then, they walked the runway. We had the music on and the girls would walk down the stairs and across the runway to present their final look. There was a lot of clapping and cheering. We did some karaoke, which was a HUGE hit!! We had dinner and cake. We had a few games planned, such as "Find the diamond Ring", Kiss the frog, musical thrones and name that prince.... but unfortunately, we did not get time for a SINGLE game!!! The girls had so much fun with the makeup, hair, nails, runway and karaoke that before we knew it- the parents were showing up to pick kids up!!! We had a fantastic time. Here is the best part of all..... I hired a few (5) girls that babysit for us, they came over and did ALL of the makeup, hair, tattoos, nails and dished up dinner, cake, and icecream. They were also cleaning up the messes that were made while the girls were doing karaoke and walking the runway. So, when theparty was over, I had had a great time and the house was clean!! I will do that for every single party that I have now! It was perfect!!
Let me tell you a little about my 7 year old.
Gloria is such a beautiful girl. She is beautiful inside and out. We have had many parents tell us that Gloria has been friends to their children when no one else will. She welcomes everyone into her friend circle. She is very patient. I test her all the time on her patience, and she amazes me every single day. She is naturally helpful. She loves to help, and whenever I ask for her assistance she always jumps up to help me with a smile on her face. I love her so much. I love her smile. She is a blessing to me. She loves her brother and sisters so much and they all look up to her and love her fiercly. She believes in choosing the right. When she prays, she is so thoughful and thankful. She loves to dance, she is excited to start girl scouts. She is great swimmer and excells in every subject in school. She especially enjoys reading. When she giggles, it is contagious.I love her and I am thankful to have her for my daughter. I am the luckiest mom alive.

Scorpions

So... I think that I am adjusting pretty well to living in a rural city- to living in the mountains and to the wild animals. My every thought is not consumed with fear that I am going to be eaten or bitten or stung (although my nightmares are still about the lions and the rattlers). It has only been a year and I feel that I am becoming a well adjusted "mountain woman". Even though every waking thought of mine is not consumed with fear of the wild animals, and I do let my kids play outdoors now, there are still things that I do now and will probably do forever because I live here. Here are some examples of how my life has permanently changed now that I am a mountain woman.
1. every time I walk out to my car, I will duck low to make sure there are no rattlesnakes hiding behind the wheels of my car. (that is a favorite hiding place of rattlers).
2. every time I step on a sticker I will automatically freak out and start looking for scorpions until I find the culprit sticker.
3. I think that I will forever be afraid to get out of my car in the dark. There are still mountain lions hanging about.
4. tarantula's. Every fall I will begin to look for tarantula's. I am not afraid of them anymore (although I still don't want to find one in my house) and I think they are rather cool. Whenever we find one wandering around we all love to crowd around and watch (and my kids hold them). They are sweet little creatures and I am sad whenever I see one squashed on the road, do you know how long it takes them to grow that large- around 10 years... it is sad to see them squashed.
5. I will always enjoy the serenity. It is so peaceful here. It is quiet. Silent. Peaceful. I love it. I enjoy driving here, no stoplights... no traffic. I love it. I like small town life. I love knowing EVERY ONE. I love saying Hi to everyone at the post office or the grocery store. I love that most people see me without my makeup on or my hair done every day and they are still my friends. I love it here.
6. Deer. They are everywhere. Yesterday morning when I got home from my early morning run (it was still dark outside), I started to open my gate and a huge buck jumped over the gate, hit my car and ran into the darkness. I loved to watch him, so huge and regal. And today me and all the cars in front of me paused as a momma deer and her 2 newborn babies carefully walked across the road. Some people say that when we have lived here long enough we won't even notice the deer anymore, I hope they are wrong. They are pretty animals (Yes, I am still afraid of them) and I love having them be a part of our scenery.
These are some of the things that I believe have been permanently changed about me, and I like them. so there.