Camping

It was a new experience for our family this weekend. We took the 3 little ones camping!!! It was not Daddy and I's first time camping but the first for our family of 5. It was a co-camping trip with our homeschool group. FUN TIMES!

We started out the adventure Friday mid morning. The van was loaded to the gills, Griswold style with stuff on top. We had firewood, tents and plenty of food for 2 days. The kids had a few toys to entertain them on the drive and we were off. Oh my how that van was loaded. The drive was fairly uneventful. We stopped for gas and ice only once, only one poop break for S, J rode wonderfully the entire 2 1/2 hours and L was thrilled to be by her lonesome in the back seat, surrounded by pillows and sleeping bags. We made good time, checked into the campsite and started setting up. We were the first to arrive, shock I know! Everything was set up pretty quickly. The kids got bored setting up though so I left the rest of the camp set up to Daddy and took them for a walk around the area. It is a beautiful part of AZ. The kids were extremely excited to be camping out in a tent, outside under the stars. Being out with them brought back many of my own childhood memories. I hope the memories we made this weekend bring them smiles too. We grilled brats for dinner on a grill we got for a wedding gift and just used for the first time 8 1/2 years later. Smores followed dinner. Another family, the G family, got up there about 8 that night. We visited with them for a spell while the Daddy in their family set up their site. Our kids were totally ecstatic to see T & T. On our way back from their site, L and I were racing and my pants fell down. She thought that was funny. Then a bit later on the way back from their site, L and I were skipping together and she ate the pavement hard. She skinned up her knees pretty bad. Falling was a theme to the weekend. Seems my kids don't watch they are walking closely enough and they took their share of spills all weekend. It gets dark early camping for some reason so we hit the sack early. J slept just like I thought he would - terribly. I nursed him all night long. I don't think he has nursed that much since he was a newborn.

Daddy Piper woke up early on Saturday, before the rest of us and had a fire started when we got up. L woke up next and was hurting for a restroom so off we went to do our morning stuff. The toilet stunk something awful. We would breath through our noses only. YUCKO! S was so cute coming out of the tent, looking for L. It is always a bittersweet moment when he asks for her first in the morning. L is so important in his life. After everyone getting up and getting started, I realized I forgot our toothbrushes. Daddy remembered his but I forgot ours (we bought some at the little camp store later). I also forgot mustard and mayonnaise for lunch too. UGH - too much stuff to remember! We cooked up a yummy breakfast of bacon and eggs. I say we not in the literal sense - I didn't cook a thing, Daddy cooked breakfast. After some burnt bacon and super fried eggs (cooking on the wok thing on our grill took some practice), it was time to head down to the lake to fish. Memories that stick out from the fishing time: S had to potty a million times while at the lake; we caught nothing, even after switching over to the power bait like the guy next to us was using and catching fish like crazy with; L trying on T & T's rain boots and traipsing around the water happily; all 4 kids singing "Swimming in the Ocean" over and over and over; laughing and talking with the Mom and Dad of the G family; all 4 kids touching a fish; L dropping the fish when the nice guy handed it to her to hold; Bees trying to attack our sweet tea; J enjoying the grass on his toes, while chilaxing with his mama; getting a sunburn and toasting J's nose - oops!! After the fishing went so great (NOT!), we went back to the campsite for lunch. The other 4 families showed up about this time. We had 3 families at our site for lunch and then there were 3 families at the other site. I only wish we had gotten a group site for the trip so we could have spent more time together. Lunch was terrific. Having all of us hang out together with the dads included went better than I anticipated. After lunch, people kind of dispersed a bit. Some went to the lake and we stayed at our site. I thought it was a bit boring for a spell (the kids felt the same way - you could tell by their wildly rambunctious behavior) and Daddy Piper and I exchanged some not so nice words. I knew he wanted to hang out and relax but honestly, with a 5 year old, a 3 year old and an almost 1 year old, time for sitting and relaxing just isn't in the cards. I had to take J for a drive to get him to sleep and Daddy took the older 2 for a walk to get firewood. I got back and things were better. Poor J didn't sleep for long though and woke up instantly when I shut the van off. We walked down to the other site and hung out there for a bit. One of the moms had gotten the kids cool nature bags with a magnifying glass, a nature journal, bug catching jar and colored pencils. The kids took some time to do a nature walk and record some of the things they witnessed. Dinnertime came pretty quickly. Daddy drove J around again to get him asleep and it didn't work too well the second time either. For ease with J, we had dinner at our site. Dinner was a delight. I so enjoyed having so much laughter and fun and camaraderie around us. I know the kids loved every second of it. I imagine that is what it's like to grow up in a large family. Someone to always hold the baby and so much laughter. The laughter - how I wish I had a video camera for the sound of all the laughter. I did grow up with a large extended family but it never felt like this. The dinner was pure, wholesome fun. No snide comments or competition - just fun. Some of the other boys caught some crawdads and these were boiled up for dinner. I tried a bite - tasted like cheap lobster. One of the boys said crawdad is Spanish for lobster : -) After dinner and smores (the little ones were warned not to cross the line around the fire or they wouldn't get smores!!), the mess was cleaned up and everyone separated back to their own campsites. This is another reason I think the big group site would have been fun. L wanted to go to bed after playing flashlight tag with G.L. I laid down with her and J and off to dreamland I went. It didn't last long though. J didn't sleep very good the second night either. S fell asleep watching G.L. play video games. I was already asleep when this transpired. Daddy brought him in the tent and he and L both slept fantastically the entire weekend.

Sunday morning came early with the sounds of a blackbird overhead. He was noisy with a capital N. Daddy woke up crabby from the lack of sleep. L needed to potty and I had a sinus headache. We should have stuck with our original plan of only one night - oh well. Breakfast was at the other site. It went better than the wakeup went. The kids played. L played puppies with T.G. S seemed to be a bit overwhelmed with the amount of people (he did great all day Saturday though - woohoo!). He played alone quite a bit. Daddy noticed this and handed Baby J back to me and went off for some special time with S. They spent about an hour doing some rock jumping and then hanging out with T.G. and S.G. I was surprised how well Daddy Piper got along with everyone. S enjoyed the time alone with Daddy and the one on one attention he received. He just glowed when they came back to the campsite later. We then packed our stuff up and headed home. Packing up was a fiasco full of snippy attitude but eventually it got packed and we hit the road. The drive home was a yawn fest for Daddy Piper and I. We almost made it all the way home without having to stop for a potty break but it wasn't meant to be. L had to go about 10 minutes from home - oh well : -)

Family Staycation

I was thinking while showering a few minutes ago (the only time I have to think, it seems), I never did a play by play of our mini staycation so here it goes!

7/3/09: We woke up on this bright and sunny Friday ready to enjoy some family time. Our vacation "Up North" has been postponed due to finances, the hotel vacation we planned was scrapped as well due to the same concerns (damn Recession 2009!) and in their place, we have planned 2 days of fun! We headed to a local museum we have been wanting to explore. But first there was the trip to PeterBilt for truck stuff (not fun nor vacation like at all!). We didn't get the breakfast we had planned before we left so after the truck stuff detour, we were hungry. We ran through a fast food joint to grab something before the museum. Daddy ordered and I was flustered not knowing what I wanted and he was crabby about it so I got nothing and we left. It was not the most pleasant way to start this family staycation :-( It did get better though! We hit the museum and spent about 2 1/2 hours exploring the dinosaur bones, the desert exhibit and a supercool Mars exhibit. We witnessed a flashflood event which included thunder and lighting. We also got to pan for gold!! Daddy helped with this fun experience. After panning for gold, there was an old jailhouse and holy moly - the kids were TERRIFIED here! It was noisy when anyone opened or closed the jail doors and all 3 of my babies were crying by the time we left this part of the museum. (p.s. I recognized this museum as one I had been on a field trip too, when I was in 5 grade... 20 years ago!) During this whole time, Baby J was along for the ride in his new (piece of crap-I returned the next day) stroller. He did wonderful just hanging out. He is a very easy baby. Just wants to be a part of everything and right up in the middle of the action. After we left the museum, we got lunch from Quiznos and headed to a local waterpark. One quick stop for some sinus pills though since Daddy Piper and I were both getting a headache - where I almost hit a speedy black car... OOPS! The waterpark was super empty for some reason. We all got changed into our swim clothes and ate lunch under a tree on a grassy knoll. I got sick right away from taking the pill without eating (remember me not eating earlier?). I hurled and back to the festivies I went. J enjoyed his fresh baby food and everyone else devoured their yummy sandwiches. Off to swim and enjoy the afternoon we go. Daddy Piper was a huge bucket of fun for the kids. He took them in the deep water, where I can't touch, and they got some swim lessons for the day. Then L & S started going down the small slide, the very one S wouldn't even attempt 2 weeks ago. L and Daddy went down the big slides a ton of times. She gets braver & braver every trip to the water. She even went down the dark, fast slide this time!! She didn't like it so much but at least she tried it. Back to the little slide. J and I hung out in the water and my headache just got worse and worse. He was beyond ready for a nap by this time so he and I packed up our stuff and went to the van. I drove him around the block and he fell fast asleep. I curled up and took a nap as well. We slept for an hour in the air conditioned van!! When I woke up, I crawled in the back and he was still sleeping. He woke up a few minutes later and we went back in the waterpark in search for the rest of our family. I couldn't find them anywhere. Their stuff was no longer under the tree and they were no where to be found. I started wondering if they called a cab to go home. J and I headed back to the van to call Daddy Piper and there they were walking out of the park - what timing!! We headed home to get ready for the rest of the fun events of the evening. L, S and J fell asleep on the way home :-) We moved everyone to their bed for a late naptime. Even Daddy and I got a nap in!!! The evening didn't go as planned either. I had asked for no outside stuff nor computer time to make it still feel like a vacation and the outside stuff still happened - which royally t'd me off. I hate to be so negative about this time we spent together. I just set up such high expectations for things like this and nothing usually lives up to it. I should learn by now not try to organize fun times but to just let them happen, since that's when they usually do. Dinner was brats and chips and dip. It was supposed to be by the fire pit up front but it was too darn hot, so it was inside - nothing special again not like I had planned.

7/4/09: After a restless sleep and being superbly irritated at how things have gone so far, we went to breakfast at a local cafe. It's a new place near us. Breakfast went wonderfully, even with all 3 kids. It was delicious food and great service. Back home to plan the rest of the day. It was decided to skip the movie (again I get so irritated with the change of plans!!). Daddy Piper took L & S in the pool and J and I slept for 3 hours!!!!!!!! I woke up refreshed. The dinner plan was scrapped (we were supposed to go out and watch fireworks and decided to stay home - AGH!). I bought KFC for dinner since staycation agreement was no cooking for mom. We all laughed and joked during dinner which was a nice change of attitude from the earlier afternoon around here. I got J down for the night and L and I played games and watched fireworks on TV for a bit while Daddy Piper and S looked around outside to see if our local ones had started. We played round after round of Uno. The 2 of us played both the regular version and the kid version. Daddy Piper and S were heading up on the roof to watch the fireworks and L wanted to stay inside. She has a very cautious spirit and the dark was scaring her. I was happy to just hang out with her. Playing Uno and laughing together was so wonderful. I thank God for giving me a daughter. Oh how I hope I am saying this same thing in 10 years : -) Well after playing hand after hand of Uno, L wanted to join the boys up on the roof so we brought along the monitor for J and headed up. We enjoyed the fireworks together for about 30 minutes. The kids loved seeing them and it was nice not to have to shield their ears from the sound (both have such sensitive ears). Back inside for bedtime!!

7/5/09: The movie was rescheduled for today so off we went. We saw Ice Age 3. I didn't see the option online for the 3D show so we saw the regular one. I was disappointed at first but think it worked out. I am sure after 2 minutes of the 3D experience and my kids would have been ready to split!! About 30 minutes into the show, J was done and ready to be moving again. He and I walked around the mall and window shopped for awhile together. We got back in time to watch the last 15 minutes. He has done so well for movies before but it was not to be this time :-( When we walked back in the theater, I could hear L laughing so I know she enjoyed the show. Daddy said S was ready to go home shortly after I left the theater with L. He is my homebody. When we leave, he has started asking how long until we get back home. The rest of the day was naps, pool time again, this time the whole family, a yummy steak dinner, baths and bedtime.

Our staycation didn't live up to my expectations but thankfully it did live up to the kids'. They had tons of fun. It never felt like a vacation for me. I still had to clean, do laundry, stay up all night with J.... all the usual which doesn't make for much of a vacation. Ugh - such negativity. The time spent together was fun, just not vacation-y.

Checking out the space stuff (I can't really tell - sorry!)

J was wondering what the heck was this new stroller and why wasn't I holding him,
like I normally do. I almost always "wear" him in some fashion or another but
wanted a bit of freedom to take pictures for this trip.

Again with the lip curl. Elvis reincarnated??

Getting ready for the flashflood. They are worried it will be loud!

Daddy and his boys. When will this flash flood start??

Okay it started and it was loud. Both my older kids have sensitive
hearing and it seems like J is following in their steps.

"Hang on Folks - it's gonna be a doosey!"

Weighing each kid to see what they weigh on Mars. No - I didn't
see how much I weighed, no need to know : -)

There was tons of fun contraptions to play with in the Mars room.

A loud dust cloud gadget and both kids were racing to cover their ears!

Panning for gold. They even got to bring some home. Fool's gold though, I think.

The boys had the gold fever.

L just wanted to play in the water : -)

J chewed on L's phone while wondering why he's still stuck in his stroller : -)

More panning for gold.

The very loud and scary jail. Hopefully they'll remember it sucks to be in
jail and they'll never break the law!!

My 3 babies at the waterpark after some yummy lunch and tons of
swimming, just before J and I bailed to catch a nap in the parking lot : -)

Brothers Two - S has really come to love his baby brother lately.
He has always tolerated him but lately has become so free with the hugs and kisses.

S put this big puzzle together alone 4th of July morning.
It was his first time completing it with no help!!

Daddy's Home!

Not much else to say other than - DADDY'S HOME!

It was a fun week, full of activity and adventure but we are glad to be back together as a family. I can rest well tonight knowing my family is back under one roof together - as it should be!

Day 5 and Final Day of Daddy's Vacation!

As I already wrote, this was an emotional day because of L's swimming incident. The rest of the day was fine, minus the rainstorm we ran into, the extra 46 miles we drove looking for the river turn-off spot and the 4 hours of driving to the party and home. We are just looking forward to Daddy being home tomorrow!!!

Day 4 cont...

Kids are in bed. I am going to finish writing about our day and hurry to get stuff ready for our busy Saturday.

We had a nice evening. We played with that GeoTrax thing for a long time, after L helped me clean the playroom. The playroom looks so nice! We reorganized some and things fit better. We also put some toys out in the garage that aren't being played with very often. After eating dinner while playing with the train set, we ran to Target to get milk. We got to chat with Daddy Piper for a bit. The actual wedding is today. Sounds like they are having a grand time. I am a bit jealous though that he is hanging out with his good buddies, drinking, living the bachelor life for a few days and has no worries or responsibilities momentarily. I haven't had that feeling since becoming a mother. Guess it's a gender/mother/father thing.

Oh well - now off to get the stuff ready for tomorrow!

Day 4

Well today is Day 4 of Daddy's Solo Vacation. Three days is about as long as I can handle. I woke up super hormonal today and very not okay with him still being gone. Just ready to have him home, with us. I was able to chat with his hungover a*% this morning for a bit. I am so glad that he is having a great time - just wish the time for him to come home with tomorrow AM instead of the next day.

We went to a local kids museum today. That was so much fun (I see I use that phrase often but not much describes a child's activity as accurately as that statement). We went with some friends. All the kids had fun playing in their interactive play area. We went to lunch afterwards. Lunch was yummy. California sandwich for mom and pb&j's for the kids - can't go wrong! All 4 kids behaved properly at the restaurant (not like the other night!) and it was enjoyable company. Daddy Piper had said that if the kids were good all week to get them a toy or something to reward their behavior, so off to ToysRUs we went.

Well - ToysRUs was fun!! If you don't count the 4 - yes 4 - trips to the bathroom. L had to go twice and S had to go twice. So we pretty much spent the hour we were there running back to the potty. The kids did get to see some fun stuff and actually touch and play with things. I chatted with Daddy Piper for a minute while walking around ToysRUs. They were done with wedding pictures and waiting for the ceremony to start. I just miss him so much. And I miss that we aren't attending the wedding together. Weddings are fun. Especially when you are with your spouse. Always makes me remember our own wedding, a million years ago. So the chitlens ended up with a globe (a real globe), some glow in the dark planets to hang from the ceiling and a GeoTrax train system thing. Looks like fun - we'll see. They can't play with until naps are done and they clean up the playroom!!

Day 3

Another day past - only 2 more full days to get through until Daddy Piper comes home. I can't wait! It has been nice to have this time alone with the kids. We have really bonded on an extra level that I really can't explain. But boy oh boy - when 10:00 Sunday morning rolls around, you'll see me hanging out at the airport, waiting for Daddy Piper to take these kids and give me a break!

The night went well again last night. Both kids slept through the night. I only woke up once to check on them - way better than the night before. 7:00 came around and they were both up. We heard from Daddy Piper pretty early this morning so we got to chat before heading out for swim lessons. I am trying my hardest not to call him while he's gone. I have only called once. I have waited for him to call us the rest of the times. So we went to L's swim lessons - where she did extremely well again. Her original swim instructor left for the Olympics so she has a replacement for this week and next week. She has responded well to the new lady. L seems to be learning some new stuff such as rolling on her back while swimming to get a breath (chicken, star, rocket).

Next up after lessons was another trip to the waterpark. I wanted to take them to lunch and to ToysRUs but they wanted to go to the waterpark, so waterpark it was. Again - fun, fun, fun. They really enjoying being able to splash around while touching the bottom, something they can't do in our pool. But funniest thing - I ran into a girl I went to junior high with almost 20 years ago! She was wearing the same maternity swimsuit I was wearing and she came over to chat about it and I recognized her but couldn't remember where from. After chatting for a minute and her reminding me what her name is, she remembered me and we remembered we went to junior high together!!! She is pregnant with her 4th. It was fun to catch up for a bit. Unfortunately, I left without getting a number. Kinda hurried and left since the kids were tired. Hopefully we run into each other again!

This evening, we went to dinner at our friends', the K family, house. That was so nice! The kids played so well together. Dinner was yummy, as always. At one point the kids were all jumping, running and laughing and playing, making the sounds kids are known for. J and I talked about how wonderful it sounded. I LOVE hearing this ruckus. It is the household I want for my children. The only unfortunate thing is we are having a storm right now and my kids (as well as Mama) are afraid of lightning/thunder. I expect this to be a sleepless night so I better sign off and get some rest while I can!!

I am looking forward to Daddy Piper to come home. It sounds like he is having a nice time and we are too - we just miss the other half to our whole!

• I have a little note to add - something I want to remember specifically. Tonight after getting their jammies on and reading books, both kids were getting a bit freaked by the storm and S crawled in my lap and through his arms around my neck and snuggled into my neck then L did the same and snuggled into the other side of my neck. MMMM- I love moments like that! I wish I could hold them forever like that. Such a feeling of contentment. Who knew being a Mommy would be this wonderful. Thank you God for my children. Thank you for allowing me to care for them, raise them and enjoy them. Such a blessing I am grateful for!!

Day 2 of Daddy's Vacation

Today is Day 2 of Daddy's Solo Vacation up North. It should go without saying that he won't be enjoying a vacation like this for years to come. Nah, it hasn't been bad at all. I am glad he got away for a few days to relax and hang out with some old friends. He deserves some down time!

Last night ended up pretty well. We made it through the bath time/bedtime routine without a hitch. Daddy Piper called about 8 to say goodnight to the kids, which they both enjoyed. Both kids slept amazingly well - all night long without waking once. I was a nervous wreck all night though. I kept going in to check on them, making sure no one had taken them. They both woke up at 7 this morning happy, refreshed and awaiting a new day.

First up for the day - the waterpark. We went with some friends, the Knight girls. It was as much fun as always (except for the cashier who didn't want to break a $20 bill and the nice lifeguard that covered the admission fee for us - 2 bucks- Thanks!!). It was empty when we got there. We had the whole place to ourselves for about 15 minutes!! All the kids had fun splashing and swimming for about 2 hours until there was an evacuation. There was an unfortunate "fecal matter incident". Uh - gross! We had to get out of the pool for 30 minutes while they located all the matter and super cleaned the pool. We chose to have our snacks and go home. They should have it thoroughly cleaned by our visit tomorrow.

This afternoon was lunch, playtime and naps. We haven't done school in 2 days. I have jam packed our days with activities away from home to occupy us and keep our minds off Daddy Piper being gone.

This evening we had dinner at my favorite Mexican food joint (as I write this, the baby is kicking like a mule - one of my most favorite things ever!!) Anyway - we had a yummy dinner and sopapillas. Today Walgreens had a special to develop a roll of film for free so we took in a roll I found while cleaning a few weeks ago. It was from a mockup I was on in Miami, FL about 6 years ago. It was fun to see the pictures - made me miss my job and all the fun times (of course I only remember the good stuff, not the endless hours and other hardwork ... hey it's my memory!!).

We just got off the phone telling Daddy Piper goodnight. He called right on time - a miracle indeed. Both kids seem to be handling his being gone pretty well today. I know by the time Sunday rolls around, they will be so happy to have him home. Heck - so will I!

Thank you God for good friends, wonderful children and a husband I wouldn't trade for a million dollars. I am truly blessed and fortunate to have these in my life!

Daddy's gone

So Daddy Piper left on his vacation this morning. YIKES! I am totally alone with both kids. Solely responsible for their well-being for 5 days. Why does this freak me out so much???

We dropped him off at 4 this morning - yep 4 AM! The kids aren't used to being up that early but they were in such giggly moods. Very happy for early morning and for being woke up. I cried when we dropped him off. He seemed to have some tears in his eyes as well. L wasn't too happy with the whole situation and S didn't seem to understand. He sure understood when got home though and didn't bring Daddy Piper back with us! He cried and cried for about 10 minutes. L had swim lessons at 9:00 so after we came home from dropping him at the airport we just lounged for awhile until time to leave for lessons. She got stung by a bee at the pool. Daddy Piper and I were just talking about bee stings. I have never been stung and he's been stung a million times. Well, we found out today that she isn't allergic but that bee stings hurt like heck! We came home early from lessons because she was so traumatized by the event. We had lunch plans to meet Auntie D at Olive Garden and celebrate Cousin S's birthday. Lunch went well. We have some wonderfully behaved children. How nice!! We came home and attempted to nap but noone except Mama thought that was a good idea. We met up with some friends for dinner. That was chaotic to say the least! Again - well behaved children of mine, how I adore you!!!! Baths and bedtime await us now.

I just got off the phone with Daddy Piper. Boy this being away from each other is hard. I started crying a bit earlier picturing my life without him. It would be horrible to be alone, raising these kids without him. I get mad and think of things but this vacation really made me realize that I don't want to be without him - warts and all!

Back to Reality...

Vacation is all done- BOOHOO! We had a nice time. It is always nice to see family and friends. If I have one regret, it is moving from the Midwest back to the southwest. This is a daily regret. I wake up regretting the move and go to bed regretting the move. I have been suggesting, requesting, begging to move back almost since we got settled here. It was my bright idea to move back here. Hopefully the time will come when we make the move back up there.

Anyway - vacation was fun. It was rainy and crappy weather for the most part but that's okay. Wednesday was the only nice day in ND. And it was only nice the afternoon :- ) The kids enjoyed playing with Daddy's old toys and sleeping in the same room where Daddy slept as a little boy. Thursday we had plans to visit either the local zoo or some Indian ruins and we awoke to rain so we changed plans and hung out with Grandma, Auntie Lisa and Lacie. Thursday night Daddy Piper and I had dinner out alone while Grandma watched the munchkins. It was a delayed celebration for my 29th birthday. Funny side story: Our nephew's graduation was on my birthday so it really wasn't much of a birthday celebration for me. I didn't even get a cake. L realized this on Tuesday. She said "Mommy you didn't get a cake or have your happy birthday song". I told her it was okay. She then told me how sad it was. She mentioned this a few times throughout the week. It was pretty funny how affected she was by this. Friday we woke up and got things ready to hit the road and head to our friends' house. First we said goodbye to Grandpa and had lunch. We had an uneventful drive minus the potty break on the side of the road :- ) Friday night was so nice hanging out with our friends. They have 3 little girls the same ages as our 2 and we are due within a few days of each other - my 3rd, her 4th. Friday evening the kids all hung out and we had pizza for dinner. S got to have a bath with 4 other girls - every guys dream! We stayed up till midnight just talking and laughing - so nice! Saturday, we rode to see the girls' at dance class. The boys stayed home. We don't all fit in one vehicle anymore!! After dance (which was so cute!), we went on a Gator ride at Great Grandpa's house and then L got to have her 1st tire swing ride. We also had to make a quick stop at Best Buy since I forgot my charger in ND and couldn't stand the thought of being with my camera. After the excitement of the morning, we headed back for lunch and naps. The neighbor had a waterslide blowup thing in their front yard so OF COURSE the girls all wanted to do this. We had lunch and then made our way over there. L had a blast on this slide. She had even more fun riding in the motorized Jeep though. (Guess what L wants for her birthday now? yep - the Jeep.) The kids all napped after the fun waterslide adventure. That evening we headed to a local hotel to enjoy their waterpark. And wouldn't you know it, we had a tornado warning! This was quite crazy. L was super scared. She kept asking to go home. S slept through most of it until we had to be evacuated to the basement. One of my close girlfriends drove up with her daughter and fortunately they made it before it got too bad, so they hung out with us in the basement of the hotel. We were only down there for about 20 minutes until the storm passed. Thank goodness the tornado didn't touch down where we were. So we headed upstairs to get ready for the waterpark. My other girlfriend and her husband and 3 girls drove over to spend the evening with us. Super cool though - this guy overheard us by the front desk and asked if we needed more tickets and he was able to get 4 free with his room so we all got in for free - can't beat that!! The waterpark was fun - not nearly as cold as it was when we were there in Dec. 06. We had a great time. S didn't really like it at first because he got coldy and hates water in his face but he warmed up and enjoyed his time there. L was happy to just splash around in the water - not up for trying the slides like Miss H. After about 2 hours there, L warmed up to the slides and started going down by herself. She even asked about visiting the waterpark at home! All the kids had fun and so did us adults :- ) We had dinner at the hotel. It was quite the chaotic scene with 5 adults and 6 little ones. It went well though. It was such a nice time with our friends. I miss having those friendships on a daily basis. Everyone headed home after multiple kisses and hugs and we headed to our room. While giving the kids a bath, I heard Daddy Piper talking with someone... his friend had stopped by to see him. 10:00 at night and more socializing - we are lucky to have so many people that want to see us! He left to hang out with his friend for awhile after arranging to have breakfast before we left the next day. Both kids slept fairly well in the hotel. We had a 3 room suite, which was so nice but will be even nicer when they are older. The only way to share a hotel room with kids!! We woke on Sunday, got dressed and headed over for some yummy breakfast and (more) pleasant company. I got to meet their new baby. It really made me excited to meet our new baby! We wrapped up there and headed to the airport. The car return, baggage check and all went smooth. We did cut the time close. After going through security, we only had 20 minutes to get to our gate. For me, that was nerve wracking but it was enough time to hit the potty and get some lunch for the plane. We boarded and while we were waiting for others to board, L noticed some chips outside. I thought she meant the cooler bag we checked that had chips in it but noooooooo, she saw the chips we had just bought. They were in the stroller we had gate checked and we forgot to grab them out! Even more amazing.... they were in the stroller when we got to Phoenix!!!! Plane ride was uneventful - everyone napped. We got our luggage, grabbed the van (with a minor sour milk explosion - GROSS!!) and went home.

It was a wonderful time as always. Can't wait to be back up there full time!!

Still Vacationing....

We are still on vacation. I am trying to keep a log of the fun things we have done and times we have shared with family. Saturday was a restful day after the long drive here. I got my butt chewed out by Daddy Piper for driving around during a tornado warning. S needed diapers and the local store was closed so I headed across the river and without a cell phone. I was listening to my iPod so didn't hear the local report. So when I got home, he was very upset because he was worried. Funny now - not so much then. I was ticked he jumped all over me in front of his family. We went to a graduation for our nephew on Sunday (which also happened to be my birthday!). The graduation was so nice. It was very special that we were able to share his day with him. We went to his open house afterwards which was really nice minus the SAHM conversation. Why do people think SAHM's aren't to be respected??? Anyway - the party was fun. Monday we hung around the house because it was drizzly rainy like. I got my brother-in-law's laptop working for him but otherwise it was a hang around the house kind of day. Tuesday my SIL came down and we went to Space Aliens for lunch. The kids really enjoyed this. Way up their alley of entertainment. I also had my nails done and another pedicure for my birthday gift from my hubby. I have had Taco Johns daily - yummy! S has really learned his colors so we are quizzing him relentlessly on those. His vocab also seems to have exploded here. L, of course, is the star of the show. They both are enjoying the stairs (up and down hundreds of times a day) and playing in the house their daddy grew up in. So far relaxing vacation. Hopefully we can get out and do some touristy stuff before heading back home this weekend.

Vacation Time!

Well the packing is done, house is ready, animals are lined up for care.... VACATION here we come! We'll be gone for 9 days but will have lots of stories and pictures when we return.

Vacation Countdown

We are on countdown around here to our vacation up "North". Usually we go around the 4th but we have a nephew graduating high school so we are going early. I get to spend my last 20's birthday in a small town, far away from any excitement. AWWW - guess birthdays just aren't what they used to be, are they! We are busy trying to get things done around here to head out. Haircuts are done, packing has begun. Mama needs her eyebrows waxed. Other than that - I think everything has been bought that needs to be bought and we'll spend our very busy week fitting in the last minute stuff. S is excited about going on a "jet plane" to see grandma. L is looking forward to seeing some friends before we drive 6 hours to see my in-laws. Can't wait for some time away - especially from the horrible heat we already have!!