BYU WINS!!

My husband, his brothers and his father have been planning this trip to Dallas, TX to see the Cougars play OU for awhile now. The time finally came and off they went for Labor Day weekend. From what I hear and from what I got to watch on TV the game was very close and exciting to say the least. The neat part of all was that it was at the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium! (I know my mom is just dueling right now; she's a huge Cowboy fan!) My husband used to play for BYU as a punter (a darn good one if I don't say so myself) and so he's sporting his old jersey. Anyways, I had to steal pics off of my sister-n-laws blog, thanks. I'm glad Jesse and his guys got to have an extended guys night! :)

Adventures with Snuffy!

Snuffy is my dad's nickname. He got that nickname from the guys who used to work with him at Haliburton. They said that my dad reminded them of the cartoon character Snuffy that used to be in the Sunday papers. So, my kids carry on the same name...Grandpa Snuffy. I think it's cute.

He's a kind, gentle soul who is always looking to explore. I've had a great time with my dad lately. Two weekends out of this month have been spent with him and going to places I've never been. Just like when I was little. My dad used to take me and my sisters out on Sunday afternoon drives and we'd always, no matter how well we thought we knew the Artesia area, we would find a place that we had never been to. Plus, it was a chance to get a driving lesson and eat an M.R.E. which I loved!

The first weekend trip we met up in Lincoln, NM to find wild raspberries and then go to a u-pick farm for other kinds of fruit. The raspberries weren't quite ready, but I was able to pick some yummy blackberries instead. Unfortunately, I was told that the owner of the Blue Eagle Restaurant in Las Cruces (a very fancy place) bought about $300 worth of berries that same day and nearly cleaned them out. I managed to get enough though. It was fun for the most part, except it started to get very hot and my little ones had enough of the farm hopping.

Behind the farm was a rode that took you to a restaurant which was also owned and run by the owner of the u-pick farm. It's called the Laughing Sheep Farm. We all had such a good time there. Everyone who worked there was so laid back and really tried hard to entertain the kids. The owner brought out her sweet, but HUGE dogs and the big white dog was named Bella. The kids got a crack out of that. We got some ice cream, watched the kids frolic around.

We drove by the Smoky the Bear Museum, but it was closed. My kids were very disappointed about that. We got lost at one point and ended up in Fort Stanton. Huge training facility for soldiers back in the 1800's. The museum worker was dressed up in the uniform of that time period and so that was interesting. Very pretty part of New Mexico that I've seen as a small child, but never really appreciated.

Our second trip was to Benson, AZ. I've been wanting to make the trek to Wilcox to buy some apples & pears and so we thought we'd make it another weekend trip because there was just to much to see in that area for just a day trip. The hotel at Benson was very nice and the kids swam twice the first day there. (They slept so hard that night.) Cameron swam for the first time without floaties on and I heard about it for the rest of the trip. Very exciting. The next day we headed to Tombstone. I was so impressed by that town. We hit the historic strip and I was not expecting to see so many people dressed in the time period clothing. Since it was Labor Day weekend they had a parade and so I took snap shots of my favorite costumes. (Too many!) We also got a chance to take a ride in an old stage coach which was fun. The kids and I got put into jail. They tricked us. They asked my kids if they would like one of their toy horses while handing it towards them, my kids said yes and took one, they replied as my kids walk away, "Thief! Sheriff there's some horse thief's over there, grab 'em!" The Sheriff takes the kids into jail and makes a whole big thing about it. I bailed them out and somehow ended up in Jail also. Bella cried for me because she had no idea what was going on. Pretty funny. We had a great time, but ran out of it too soon.
We headed down to Wilcox to go to the Apple Festival at Apple Annie's Orchard. They have some pretty delicious apples, pears, peaches, etc. We rode a tractor out to the orchards and would rush to pick our fruit in time for the tractor to come around and get us. We were all sweaty and thirsty, but my kids never complained. I would say, "wow, picking fruit is hard work isn't it?" Cameron replied, "YEEAHH, but this is the moooossst fun I've ever had working!" So cute he is. We were the last one's to leave that day and we got to meet the owner and eat some homemade apple pie ice cream. I bought about 100 pounds of fruit and am in the process of canned & drying the fruit while kicking myself for buying so much. But, it's so nice to have on hand for our food storage and it keeps me up to skill on my canning skills. It fills my house with the aroma of Fall. One thing that the boys were soooo pumped about was the fact that they got their first pocket knife. It has their names on it and so it makes it even better. The cowboy working the store gave them a good talking to about being careful and stuff and they listened with wide eyes. They're sure growing up.

This trip really took it out of me. My energy was zip for a few days after getting home. Dad, I had a great time. Thanks for the memories and your easy going attitude. I love you very much!

Little Surprises

So once the boys started school, I got to work on making our backyard looking nice again. I've planted a bunch of Perinnials and shrubs that once mature should look great. Anyways, the girls and I were at Lowe's getting some plants and Claire found on the plant a HUGE snail! We were both so excited. ( I knew this snail was going to entertain Claire for awhile, she loves any kind of animal or insect). So, we went back to the plants and found hundreds of baby snails just hanging out on the plant deck where they water the plants. We walked out of there with as many snails that would fit on Claire's arms. Know when we go to Lowe's the kids all want to come and are pumped to find more snails. It makes it nice because I can spend as long as I want at one of my favorite stores without the complaints. If only Bella was as interested.... she's my little escape artist.

This is not a skunk with Bella! Bandit was in need of a haircut. :)

Back to School they go!

Bryce's hair looked better than that I promise. :) ha ha.

I had forgotten to take the camera with me on Cameron's first day of school which was a few days later and had to use my cell phone. I have no mini cable to hook up to my computer so that's why I haven't posted Cameron's first day. But, it's of him and his scooter all excited for his first day. I remember as we're walking to school he kept talking about how fun school was going to be, but when we got to the school grounds his face looked a bit scared and he said that the school was looking bigger to him and that maybe he could come back tomorrow. He was feeling a bit apprehensive until he hit the playground. He's also learning Spanish and is constantly telling me how FAST he can count to 20 in Spanish. (Everything Cameron does is fast!) He has yet to have any homework and hates it. I've assured him that he will be bumbarded with homework soon and it will last for a very loonnngg time.

Bryce the big 2nd grader likes his teacher Mrs. Martinez. She seems very nice and structured. He was so pumped to see all of his classmates again. (In the bilingual program they keep the same kids together year after year, so he's formed some close friendships.)

So, it's just me and my girls. I know they're enjoying the attention and we have a pretty good routine going. They usually get up with me and the boys at 6:45 am. I've set a goal to have scripture study while they eat breakfast. I'm so surprised at how it's become routine and the kids expect it. We're reading the Book of Mormon right now and will move to the Old Testament once finished. It's been a great way to start the day and I just want to thank all of you parents out there who have been such a good example to me and motivated me to do this. You know who you are. :) I truely feel like we're putting our spiritual armor on for the day when we read the scriptures.

AUGUST RUSH!!

Sorry fam that I haven't caught up on my posts lately. I have so many busy hands on projects going on that I have to force myself to sit and do this. Ok, so August started out with a trip to Wet-n-Wild in Anthony, TX. I haven't been there since I spent my 15th b-day there. :) Mom, do you remember how fun that was? ha ha) Jesse and I took the kids and split up most of the day. I stayed with the little ones and Jesse and Bryson hit the big rides. I had a great time in the wave pool. Would've sat there all day. At the end though I watched scared to death as my husband and 7 year old went down "The Screamer." Bryce may look physically tough but to me he still seems so young to go down such a scary, steep slide. It's six stories high and basically a straight shot down. But, he did it and wanted to go again. Jesse asked me if I wanted to try it and at first I immediately said "NO WAY!" But, the more I thought about it I thought, you know..I have gone bungee jumping. If I can do that then I can definitely try this slide. When we finally got to the top it was windy and it had a skinny wrap around walk way to the tower. (Not a good mixture to ease someones nerves). I made Bryce go first and he was sweet. He told me I should cross my arms, keep my legs open and don't open my eyes! I took his advice, although I couldn't help but open my eyes after coming out of the tube making my way down the straight down slide. I quickly closed them and screamed like a little girl!! I felt 10 years younger when I hit the bottom with all of the adrenaline rush that I had. It was amazing!

Jesse has been one busy "travelin" man. I think he's been gone just about every weekend except a few from one event to another. So this was Jesse & Abe's 3rd Dust Ball Rally Race. They picked up a new passenger Sam. So the three brothers ended up in Las Vegas, NV. Even with all of the hick-ups along the way, it looks like they placed first! Again! It's too bad there's no cash prizes because we would be cashing in! Anyways, the boys had a great time, but were very tired when they got home as you can imagine. When the brothers are together sleep is not a necessity. :)