O’ Christmas Tree…

This was one of those days where I kept thinking, ‘Now, this is a GOOD day!’ The weather was GORGEOUS, much to Joe’s annoyance… He is under the impression that looking for Christmas trees should be done in a blizzard. Weird, right? I, on the other hand, am perfectly content to look for my Christmas tree in 50 degree weather and then decorate it while it’s snowing outside.

My mom says that my brother and sister and I always liked to be outside when we were little, just like any kid does, but I am positive that my children did not get their love of outdoors from me. My husband is 100% mountain man at heart and all three of my kids have inherited this gene/trait/characteristic (or whatever).

This is Lady, our Beagle, who is a tad plump. She loves us a lot though… she just turned 7 a few days ago. I didn’t remember until the day after and felt sorta’ bad that I didn’t even get her a doggy treat.

This is our other pup, Lucy. We got her for free off Craigslist, not knowing just how amazing she really was. It turns out she has INCREDIBLE blood lines. We’re pretty sure she came from an abusive home because for a long time she would cower every time anyone came near her. She still does if we have to get after her for being naughty, but she has come a long, long way. She has the sweetest temperament but is extremely protective of us and she absolutely ADORES Joe. Getting her was the best decision we ever made.

OK, funniest thing… I just noticed that Connor is winking in the next 3 pictures. Not great lighting, but oh well.

Best thing I’ve ever done in my whole life is teach Maggie how to pose. SO FUNNY! I love how she even has some hip action goin’ on.

Haylie getting some chopping practice in. *Don’t worry- she was far away from the other kids."*

Pose #2

OK people. It took a lot of guts for me to post this picture. I am not at all comfortable with the way I look right now and RARELY get in pictures, but I have been getting little “nudges” lately to start getting in the pictures that normally I would be taking of my family. We wanted to get a picture by our tree (which you can’t really see here) for our Christmas card this year. I haven’t gotten brave enough to make the decision to actually send this out yet. But if nothing else, it will make my mom happy to see a picture of all of us. :)

And just for kicks…

Connor picked our tree this year. It’s big. And sorta’ looks more like a bush than a Christmas tree. But it’s OK because being together was way more important than having the “perfect” tree!

What is blogging?

Do you really want to hear about my day to day happenings? I mean, people aren’t really interested in the number of times my littlest “Hulks out,” right? If so, prepare to be completely entertained for 12 hours a day because I will totally post every time she does.

I seem to go through these phases where I feel like I have so much to blog about and sometimes post 2 or 3 times a day! And other times (like now) I go a month or two without posting anything! My favorite blog to follow The Hungry Runner Girl, has 2 posts a day EVERY DAY! It can’t be that hard, right?

I really want this blog thing to work. So I am making a New Years Resolution (6 weeks early) to post at least 3 times a week. Did I make this same resolution last year? Oh well. If so, I figure if I start 6 weeks early and don’t follow through, I technically didn’t break my New Years Resolution, right? SAFE!

So because I don’t really have anything interesting to post besides this, I will post a cute picture of my kids that I took on a walk we took before it turned freezing butt cold!

(I had to crop this picture for my mom because if she really knew how high up they were on this rock, I would be in BIG trouble.)

Sometimes I can’t believe I have a 7 year old. Or 3 kids, for that matter.
If I can get my creative juices flowing, maybe I’ll try to post something more interesting next time.

P.S. If any of my blogging buddies can help me with making my blog look a little more professional, I would really appreciate it!!!

Deep Creek Canyon

This afternoon after church, Joe, the kids and I and my SIL and her family drove South of Green River to Deep Creek Canyon for a little picnic. We only got to stay for a few hours before it got dark but we got a little hiking in and had great company. A trip well worth it!

OK. I have no idea what was going on here. I looked over and Connor was walking towards the camp and was unbuttoning his shirt. When he saw me whip out the camera, he wasn’t too happy with me.

This is what he did at first. I guess he didn’t want me to see his ribs six pack.

…this is what he did next.

And this is after I chewed him out and threatened to send him to the car for sticking his tongue out at me. :)

Gotta’ get as many of these little trips in before it gets too cold! Tonight was cutting it close… if there’s one thing Wyoming is notorious for it’s the wind. And boy does it make a huge difference! It was a quick little get-a-way but we had a great time!

A Little Weekend Trip

Yesterday, we loaded up the fam (including the pups) and drove a couple hours North to Pinedale, WY. From there, we drove a few miles North to Half-Moon Lake. This was our view on the way.

This was a huge fire in Lander, WY.

Haylie is definitely our most adventurous child of the three. She had already gone this far up the mountain before I’d even stepped out of the car. No joke.

Everyone set off for a hike as soon as we got there. Everyone except me, Maggie and Joe. I took the opportunity to lean back, read my book and enjoy the peace and quiet. That is, until Maggie jumped on me.

Joe immediately fell asleep. Shocking, I know.

This was my view during my “quiet time.”

I convinced Maggie that Joe didn’t need a nap and so she went and jumped on him! He decided to load her up and they went on their own mini-hike, leaving me all alone for some real peace and quiet!

About a half hour later, he came back and told me I just “HAD” to see the spot he found and that it was WAY better than the one I was already in. So I put my shoes back on, loaded up my book and blanket and we took off! About 5 minutes after we got there, we spotted the rest of the clan walking around the side of the mountain, about 100 yards away. What troopers! They’d been hiking for about 2 hours!

Maggie and her Rachel. Rachel and her Maggie. The two are inseparable. My favorite is to watch Maggie’s face when Rachel comes into the room. Love it.

Playing fetch. Children entertaining dogs… dogs entertaining children. Easy peasy!

Gramma Tami getting bombarded by dogs!

Within a few minutes, this gigantic smoke cloud went from looking like this (above) to looking like this (below).

The whole fam damily! From left to right:
Liesl (Joe’s cousin), Gramma Tami, Lucy, me, Joe, Haylie, Maggie, Connor, Naomi and Rachel. We got this shot on the first try! Pretty good!

K, what’re the odds that 3 out of 6 kids pretend they have antlers without planning it ahead of time? Haylie co-found her antler with Connor. She said Connor gave it to her to keep, but I’m having a hard time believing there wasn’t some sort of flattery and/or bribery involved.

What a fun day! So relaxing and beautiful. Until next summer…

My sister, Rachel.

My sister-in-law Rachel is one of the most amazing people I know. She could actually be the MOST amazing person I know.
My littlest, Maggie, has claimed her as her favorite aunt. If we ever do anything with Joe’s family, I will tell Maggie, “Maggie! We’re going to play with Naomi!” (Naomi is Rachel’s daughter) to which Maggie will say excitedly, “AND RACHEL?!” It’s sure a good thing Rachel loves Maggie because I’m pretty sure Maggie would be heartbroken if we didn’t live less than a mile from her.

Over the years, Rachel has blessed our little family in more ways than just a few. In the summer of 2006, Rachel let Joe, Haylie and I live in her tiny little house while we were in-between houses. We only stayed there for about a week-and-a-half but it was a sacrifice we won’t soon forget.

In the summer of 2007, our family drove to Idaho for a visit. After stressing and crying about my little baby Connor who was not sleeping and full of gas, she took him without a word, went into the bedroom, pumped his legs, swaddled him in a blanket and laid him on his tummy where he slept for 2 whole hours.

In July of 2009, when Rachel had tiny, newborn baby Naomi (who was only a few days old), she welcomed our entire family, her siblings, her parents and almost all of her mom’s side of the family into her home for her brother’s wedding. Her house was meticulous when we arrived but within a half hour was a complete disaster area. She never once complained. Sometimes she would disappear into her room and quietly shut her door. I always felt so bad that we bombarded her during that time and I’m sure she was more than ready for us to leave, but we knew the giant sacrifice she made and are still so grateful.

In the summer of 2010, when I had 6 week old Maggie, we again drove to Idaho for a  visit. Rachel and her family were in the middle of selling their house. Her house was completely empty but she let us come and stay in her  bedrooms and dirty her kitchen and yard. When Maggie wouldn’t sleep, she again took her from me, swaddled her, patiently rocked her and laid her down to sleep. She’s like a baby whisperer!

Last April, Joe and I moved from Eastern Washington to Wyoming. Rachel and Steve (again) took us in. We were in a tough spot and didn’t know where we were going to end up and so were in a little bit of “house limbo.” They gave us their entire downstairs to stay. They bought groceries, paid bills, occasionally took and picked Haylie up from school, and took us on our own guided tour of the state of Wyoming to see everything it had to offer. And again, although we know that what they did for us was a huge sacrifice, we are so grateful. Right now, we are 3 months away from having a degree and full time job and I know for a fact, we wouldn’t be here had it not been for their generosity.

Lately, I have started working part time, and Rachel has been quick to offer to take Maggie for part of the day. Last week, she took her to the doctor’s office while her own daughter had blood drawn. During the trip, Maggie puked in the waiting room and then fell asleep. Rachel cleaned up the puke and then held her while she slept. That is PURE love, I tell ya’!

I have a lot to learn from Rachel. She is who I want to be like one day. She is quick to pile her car full of kids to take them to McDonald’s for ice cream. She has my kids over for sleep overs. She says yes to the constant tugging on of arms to go and play kiddie games and swing pushes. She puts everyone first. She is the least selfish person I know. She would sacrifice herself for the well being of me and my children and for that, I feel that my sister-in-law is really my Sister.

Rachel, thank you. One day you will be paid back for all of the incredible things you do/have done for us.

Love ya!