Thanksgiving!

Once again I'm so very behind. Thank you to everyone that keeps checking back to see if I've posted. I finally got my Christmas cards done and I'm taking a break from all the paper. I'm only about a month behind. Not too bad! I hope!

Anyway, this was our thanksgiving trip. We got up early and drove to Salt Lake. We were lucky enough to have lunch with Nana and Papa Great. Isn't this picture of the girls in pink just adorable!!!


Here are the men. Stevie talks non-stop and was trying to tell Grandpa about some toy he wanted to play with.

This is a picture of Lilly at Nana Great's house in Bicknell. She is playing with "Big-a-baby-havey." This is Sarah's and I's baby when we were kids and that's what we called her. She is missing all her hair and most of her eyelashes but she still makes for a great baby!

Too Cute!

Oh, Stevie was in high heaven...riding on the four-wheeler with his favorite cousin Seth. Stevie took to Seth like white on rice and wanted to know where he was and what he was doing at all times. I hope Seth still wants to have kids after this weekend. They were pretty cute together and Seth was patient and easy with Stevie! At one point Seth got out one of his scopes to his rifle and let Stevie look through it and kind of play with it. You would have thought he had given Stevie a million dollars. He carried that scope, put it in and out of its box (very carefully), and made up stories about it. Seth is Stevie's hero!

Auntie Sarah and Lilly!

The girls right before our walk! We always go for a walk the day after thanksgiving. All cooking and dishes are over ...for the moment...and everyone needs some fresh air. These 3 women cooked for 20 some people all weekend, looked damn good doing it and deserve metals!
Stevie decided he wanted to go on our walk too. We started out and not 5 minutes into it he wanted to be carried. I can't carry both of them so we headed back to the house. We grabbed the 4-wheeler and caught up with them. But when we got on, so did Duch, the dog. So, Stevie is holding Lilly, I'm holding both of them, Duch is leaning into all of us and somehow I managed to drive. It cracked me up!
"I want my MOMMMMMMMA" Lilly and uncle Andy

Do you think she is warm enough? And that is Aunt Becky in the background!

Our Hero Sethie!!!
Stevie is teaching Uncle Karl how to play Super Mario on the Nintendo! That is Andres in the background. He is Auntie Sarah's boyfreind and a very nice man. I really enjoyed getting to know him better this trip!
Cousin Christina and a screaming baby Lilly!

This is our trip home. We drove until just past Salt Lake. Both kids were tired of being in the car and hungry. We stopped at a McDonald's and let them play and eat. Nana was so generous to Lilly...she let her crawl through the jungle gym. Poor Nana, I don't think she will ever stand upright all the way again! Those are little tubes and there aren't many places to stretch out! The best had to be when they slid down the slide. Nana had to lay flat on her back to fit. But they made it!

We had a wonderful thanksgiving. We missed Steve more than anything. He loves to go to the ranch and "play" with the boys. Maybe next year honey!

But it was great to see the family and let the kids experience some different things. Some of the stuff I didn't get pictures of were:

1. Stevie rode the horse...I then had an allergic reaction and had to rush to the closest store (20 miles down the road) for allergy medication!

2. The boys...to include Uncles Andy and Karl tried to catch craw dad in the frozen pond at our uncle Milton's house. It all started when they were cleaning a fish they caught and found the remains of a crawdad in the belly of one of their fish. There was then a large discussion about how you catch a crawdad....which turned into...lets go catch a crawdad. So they took some turkey bones, dropped them in an old sock, tied the sock to a stick and we all drove up to the pond. First they had to break the 3 inch ice on the pond and then they dropped the bone in the water. It might of worked but we all froze before we could really find out. Stevie, Papa and I drove up the canyon a little ways to see some of the scenery. The dirt down there is red and the mountains are purple. It is one of the most beautiful places on earth!!! Stevie and I decided to climb one of the purple hills. It was so dang steep and made of this crumbling clay material that we literally slid down the slop. We brought back a baggie of dirt to show his class mates. I'm not sure the dirt ever made it to school...but it was a good idea!

3. We stayed up untill the wee hours of the morning "solving the problems of the world" as my Grandma calls it. I love our late night talks. It is my favorite part of Thanksgiving. Just visiting, maybe a little arguing, but all in all good discussion!

4. I forgot Lilly's little bed and she doesn't sleep with me at all any more. So I tried to make a bed with two blankets on top of each other as a mattress, and then rolled up blankets as a perimeter. It didn't work. One night she woke up and started to cry and by the time I woke up and got to her, she was sitting in the closet crying. It made me laugh.

I think that is about all I didn't get pictures of. I was an idiot and forgot both cameras. Oh well the above pics are from my phone. It does pretty well. I can't wait to get the pictures of Stevie and Lilly on Santa's lap. That will be my next post!

The Park

These Pictures were taken right as the sun was going down and are hard to see. Plus I had to use my phone camera instead of my fabulous Nikon! But this park was too awesome to not take pictures.

I don't get much one on one time with Stevie these days. Mostly because a baby is a full time job and partly because Dad is deployed. Anyway, we heard about this new park opening up near the zoo and had to check it out. We left Lilly home with Nana and Papa and we headed out. This park was so cool. It has everything. Swings, slides, climbing wall, those spinning chairs like the ones in Santa Fe, hand operated tractor scoops, this big boat like thing that sways back and forth, this hippo that shows the different organs of a body that Stevie is crawling in below, an entire music section where you can play these drum like columns, or a wooden piano like instrument, all kinds of ladders, steps, climbing apparatuses...the list is endless. We had an absolute blast running together though this place. We played chase and tried out all the different toys and all & all had a great time.
This is Stevie in the spinning chair. The first time he did he continued to ask me to spin him faster and faster and faster. He was a blur. But, the second time he didn't want to go so fast. It makes my head spin just thinking about it. I sat in it too and Stevie spun me around by grabbing my leg and running round and round.

I would never trade Lilly for the world but days like this is when I miss our times together. He is an amazingly fun kid to hang out with. He would find something new to try and go running off toward it...get half way there and turn back to me and yell, "Com'on Mom, lets try this one!" There were several other kids his age at the park too, and usually he will make a new friend and they will play...but this night it was all about the two of us. He wanted me to do everything he was doing and visa versa. We had a wonderful time and I can't wait to go again!

Pumpkins!

Every year I run into the problem of what to do with the pumpkins after they have served their purpose at Halloween. This year the kids were so sick and we were getting ready for our trip to Santa Fe that we didn't even carve ours. So they had been sitting on the kitchen floor for 3 weeks and we finally made the decision to do something with them besides throw them in the compost. I am one of those weird ones that don't like pumpkin pie so we decided to bake these, make the pumpkin mush that you need to bake with and turn them into cookies. They were awesome! Of course anything is good with chocolate chips in it! So this is Papa and Stevie cutting into the first of the 3 we cooked and mushed.

Stevie told me after Papa made the first major cut into the pumpkin that Papa was cutting up Lilly's pumpkin. Stevie wasn't ready to say good bye to his yet! And besides it made a great stool!

Of course I couldn't resist throwing this picture in. She is so cute!

Our Trip to Santa Fe!

Ok this stupid blog is having issues tonight so these first 4 pics are a little out of order. But they are still dang cute and part of our time at the childern's museum!

Steive

Moma and Lilly!

Steive and I built a cool magnetic bridge together with these nuts and bolts. I wish I had got a pic of out finished product!
The tug boats!

November 1st we bussed, flew, and drove to Santa Fe, to visit our Nana Karen, Papa Charlie, and Auntie Samantha! It was a lot of fun. Getting there was another story...a bus + a plane + a car ride + 2 pieces of luggage + 2 kids + 2 car seats + 1 diaper bag + 1 stroller and only 2 hands = a long stressful, insane day! But we made it in one piece and really enjoyed our stay. We arrived Thursday afternoon and relaxed, talked, and in general let the kids be with their grandparents. I think the best part of Thursday for Stevie happened as soon as Charlie and Samantha got home from work that day. They scooped Stevie up and took him to the bike shop. Samantha kept his eyes covered and surprised him with a new beautiful bike. To say he was thrilled would be such an understatement! They knew how to make a little boys day! He came home with a red bike and a red helmet to match. Unfortunately, I'm a bad mom and forgot the camera. I promise to get a picture of this gorgeous bike and the cutest rider you have ever seen asap!!! Needless to say, Charlie and Stevie went on a bike ride that afternoon! That night we went to my favorite place...Diego's. It is a great Mexican restaurant and I always get the get the chili relleno. YUMMMMM!

Lilly was really intimidated by all new people and wouldn't let me put her down for even a second. In other words she even sat on my lap while I went potty. (no exaturation either) It took her the rest of Thursday and all of Friday to relax but Saturday morning she and Charlie had a bonding moment. She batted her eyelashes at him and he smiled at her. From that point on they were buddies!

Friday we relaxed and got reacquainted. Saturday we enjoyed the children's museum. Stevie had a ball. Of course his favorite spot was the water and playing with the tug boats. He pretended to be an animal rescuer! Lilly had a good time crawling around and looking at everything!

This was so cool. It was a table of little metal nails hanging through a table. But the nails were dull with no points. When you ran your hand across the bottom of the table the top of the table would look like water. I'm not sure if I described that well enough but Lilly really had fun running her hand through these nails. I think Nana Karen like it too!

This is a window of a mud hut they have outside the museum. Stevie climbed the ladder to the top and played with some other kids.

She loves her Papa Charlie!
Ride'm Cowboy!

After the children's museum we ate lunch at a BBQ place. It was yummy. In the afternoon we took Stevie's new bike to the park and Papa Charlie, Samantha, and Chris all rode together. Nana Karen, Lilly and I swung on the swings, and walked around. Stevie really got the hang of that bike and was flying around the tracks! I guess at one point he even fell off but jumped right back on and finished the ride! You GO Stevie!!!

This was one of the coolest parks I have been to in a while. They had these spinning seats you sit on and your weight makes them go on their own. You start out going slow and then speed up until you are about to puke! It was really cool. The park at a train, and swings, and slides, and climbing wall. Needless to say we all had a good time.

Sunday Nana Karen had the family over for a BBQ. It was great to see Uncle Larry, Uncle Louie, Joseph and his sister, Nana Great Bertha, and Papa Great Leo. It was a lot of fun! Of course we all forgot to get the camera out! Bad Me!!! That evening we went to George's house for dinner and hot tub. He just got this awesome hot tub that is equipped with the best jets I have ever sat in front of and to Stevie and Lilly's delight...a water fall. The water isn't chlorinated either so I had a great time. If you are reading this ....Thanks George!

Monday was busy day! We tried to cram in all the stuff we wanted to do and hadn't got to yet. In the morning we went to the chocolate store, Senior Murphy's, where the heavenly pinon roll is made. Think I could live on that stuff. Stevie got to see how the chocolate is made and we all enjoyed some. Then we took the kids swimming. Karen's camera goes underwater and we had a blast playing with that. I think Stevie really takes after his Auntie Samantha because they are both fish! I will post pics of this event asap. Thanks for sending them to me Nana Karen and Auntie Sam!

After naps, we went for tea. Samantha took us to this little place and we were entertained by the pastry cooks while we drank tea and nibbled on cookies. It was a lot of fun. So quaint and cute!
Even the boys had a spot of tea and a scone!

Much to our dismay we had to leave Tuesday morning. We had an absolute wonderful time and can't wait to go back. Oh I almost forgot to add...Stevie had to figure out how to distinguish between my mother and Karen. He thought on it a while and decided that my mom is Nana and Steve's mom is Nana Karen. It was so cute to watch him work through the difference. I know I'm the Mom...but he is truly an incredibly smart kid.

Halloween

Halloween week was nuts. It actually started on Saturday night. I took Stevie and Lilly "trunk or treating" at Stevie's school. I got the cutest picture of them and then deleted by accident. I was pissed... needless to say! Anyway, we had a great time. We didn't need to worry about any of the candy or people that we were around because they were all Stevie's classmates. We made the loop once and then headed inside for hot coco and goodies. It was a lot of fun. All of the kids Stevie's age stripped off their costumes and were just running back and forth in the gym. No toys, just running... and they loved it. We decided to go to dinner afterward with 2 other families and had a good time getting to know some new people. It really made Stevie and I miss Steve. It was such a family outing that it was only fitting Steve be there. And, I'm not writing this to make Steve feel bad or guilty, just that there are times when we miss Dad more than other and this was one of them!

On a happier note, Stevie was dressed as a knight in shining armor and our friend Gabe was dressed as spider man. Gabe's mom was dressed as a kitty and at dinner, Stevie and Gabe crawled to another booth and pretended to be kitties. It was the funniest and cutest thing.

On Wednesday, Halloween, Nana and I went to Stevie's school to watch the leaf parade. Stevie had made a leaf mask and they were singing songs and marching up and down the hall. So cute. I took video of this but no pictures.

That night we decided to go to "Boo at the Zoo" instead of trick or treating. I thought we might get in both but the kids were sick. I don't think Stevie even wanted to go to Boo at the Zoo very badly but we suffered through it. He didn't even want the candy they handed out. Poor kid...that tells you how sick he was! And if that didn't, take a look at these sad pictures.

Lilly is an Angle if you couldn't tell!

It was one of the coolest trips to the zoo because all the animals were out. The sun was going down and we saw all of the cats. Tigers, Lions, Bob cats and even a snow leopard. Nana and I had a good time seeing the animals. The very next day at 4:30 in the morning we headed out to Nana Karen's and Papa Charlie's house. We had a fabulous time with them and I will post the pictures from that trip later!

Feeding the Birds!

This is one of Stevie's favorite activities. He loves to chase the birds back into the water. We have actually received a couple of dirty looks from people who think that it is cruel to chase the birds so we try and go to an uncrowded area. Oh for crying out loud....it doesn't hurt the birds...just gives them a little excitement. We had a ton of old bread with us from the house. One sack had old bagels Nana had made. She makes the best bagels ever!!! But we didn't get this batch eaten. A rarity...believe me! Anyway, the bagels were so hard that the birds couldn't break them apart. I couldn't even break them into pieces. The poor birds had to let them soak first and then enjoy them. Nana and I were dieing laughing, watching the birds try and peck those hard bagels.




A lot of people go feed the birds in the summer but not many go once it gets cold. So, we had a ton of birds come right up to us. Stevie even fed a few from right out of his hands. It was a nice afternoon!

Leaves!

I am admittedly the worst blogger ever!! I know. I am so sorry especially to my poor husband who doesn't get to see his kids. I should be better at this and I'm going to try hard and do better! I promise! So these pictures were taken back at the end of September! I know! I know! The leaves had just started to fall off...due to the snow the week before. So we dressed all up in warm clothes and went outside to discover it was 65 degrees. Stevie was a little hot and eventually stripped off some (not all) of his winter clothes and enjoyed the afternoon! He was still at the point where the snow outfit was still NEW and EXCITING! Now that it is cold everyday...it has lost some of its novelty!

We raked up a pile of leaves and had a blast just playing in them. Stevie even helped me to rake them!




I love this last picture because Stevie is explaining to Lilly what she is playing with. He really is a sweet brother. She was interested until Stevie stopped paying attention to her and then she wanted out. I thought she would really go for being in the middle of such a cool sounding and textured kind of place but she started to cry. Oh well maybe next year!

Shopping Cart

I'm sorry these last couple of entries are out of order. These pictures are from out trip down to see Nana Great. We were going to leave on a Thursday night after a volleyball game. I was all pumped up and wired because it was a big game and we lost. Nana was tired but I assured her I could drive to Salt Lake and we could stay over night at my wonderful aunt Dorothy's house. We got all packed and at the last minute decided we should sleep here and leave in the morning. Probably a wise choice, after the adrenaline wore off from my game I was exhausted and the drive would have been grooling. So we set the alarm from 4:30 and left at 5am. Nana drove the whole what to Salt Lake...thank God, Lilly had been up all night and I was so dang tired. Anyway when we got to Salt Lake we stopped at "Grand" aunt Dorothy's work, and dragged her to a McDonald's so Stevie could run around a little bit. We had a nice visit and then got back on the road. We decided that it would be better if we didn't arrive at Nana Great's house empty handed and tried to make a quick stop at a grocery store. Easier said than done. We looked and looked for a store and it took us about 30 minutes to find one. I bet we drove right by several that were maybe one street over but it took us forever to find one on the street we were on!

We finally found a Smiths and picked up some goodies. Stevie insisted on riding in one of these carts and Lilly is stable enough so we put her in too. They were so cute together. Stevie made sure she didn't fall out and they had a great time. If you can, blow up this first image and look at Lilly's face. She had the biggest grin on her face!!! TOO CUTE!




We made it to Nana Great's house and had a wonderful visit. I just wish we lived closer. Go figure, I seem to live too far away from a ton of close friends and especially family!