fiesta san jorge

Family 4 Comments »

Part two of our adventure to Grandma’s house.

Free at last! We arrived in St. George and the adrenaline was pounding through our veins! What glorious reward have we achieved for patiently keeping our butts in one place for the las 13 hours?!

Well for starters, Grandma had the freezer stocked with faux dilly bars. Victory!

Rowan was the wrapper keeper, she didn’t mind. She likes anything that crinkles Nice tongue! And yes, you are number one, no doubt!

The Princess went for several glides on the tree swing. Isn’t she the graceful swan? The best part about Grandmas house, is that this was MY Grandma’s house when I was a kid. I have many memories swinging on this swing.

Drew’s bike has been gathering ice dust in the frozen wasteland we call home. But down in balmy St. George Drew was burnin’ rubber in no time after he and Grandpa got this bike put together.

Rowan practiced her sitting up skills. She was still pretty wobbly. Tiiimmmberrrrr!!!

That’s okay, because there was always a plethora of people willing to prop her up again. Is she a lucky girl or what?!

If you’ve never had the opportunity to pluck and orange from a tree and eat it while it is still warm from the afternoon sunshine, you are SO missing out.

Juicy deliciousness right there. Totally unparalleled, even by those little orange blobs called “cuties.”

Drew taught himself to play T-Ball. He also caught this ball and tagged himself out at home plate. I think he may have a future in sports, despite the shallow athletic ancestral gene pool…

We took Candy Grandpa’s Jazzy Chair for a spin. I don’t know who had more fun, the 15 year old, or the 3 year old. Don’t worry, we didn’t leave ole grandpa sprawled out on the floor like a turtle on his back.

Drew put a call into Grandma before we left to make sure she had construction paper. He was fully prepared to bring his own stash, but Grandma assured him that she had some to spare. The kids made lots of Thanksgiving decorations, and some badges to hang around their neck. Who knows when they might need to identify themselves.

The Mecca of Fast Food has arrived in Utah! For a moment it’s not so special because it’s down the street, but then you take a bite and forget all about that… We also stopped at Cafe Rio, but I was too busy snarfing my salad to take a picture. YUM-o.

Even though we were far from home, Drew was sure to keep his chef skills razor sharp. He toasted come coconut for a thanksgiving pie.

Mmmm…Kelsey slaved over a blueberry pie. Can life get any better? I submit that it cannot!

 

During some down time on Turkey Day, the kids watched a movie and strung some handmade napkin rings. Yay for multi-tasking!

 

Welcome to our fine family restaurant. If you need to know how much it costs you can’t afford it.

After operation napkin rings was complete, the kids primped for Thanksgiving dinner. Brinley was lucky enough to get her hair styled by Uncle Dan.

Miss Diarrhea-Rashy-Pants aired out for a bit while the rest of us bustled about.

Dinner was so good that Drew went back for a hefty pile of seconds. He helped himself to just about everything from potatoes to green beans. That boy is growin!

This cute couple is always the star of the show. Uncle Boone and Aunt Shauna, two of the most special people you will ever meet. Guaranteed.

Great Grandpa J, also known as “Dinosaur Grandpa.” Not because of his pre-historic age, but because he accidentally unearthed dinosaur tracks and founded THIS place.

The Jazzy went out for another spin around the block. I’m pretty sure they turned a few heads rolling down the sidewalk like that.

 

The kids made many much visits to “Candy Grandpa’s” house to load up. Candy Grandpa knew they were coming for a week long visit and decided to put out three bowls of candy. Candy Grandpa lives across the street, and also had sugary beverages to share. I’m sure he is glad to get these two hooligans out of what little hair he has left. They’ll rob you blind in a matter of minutes. They’ve been known to bring bags and strollers with them to carry back the loot.

We went to visit Aunt Kristy’s Lamb “Leonitis,” She almost named him Baaaarack Obaaaaama. Baaaa!

There are plenty of trees made for climbing at Grandma’s house.

Grandma bought these fancy wiggle racers at a local craft show. The learning curve was a little steep for Brinley, but she worked it out.

Drew had a blast zooming down all the windy driveways at Grandmas.

If Thanksgiving dinner wasn’t enough to clog your arteries, these will do it. But oh they taste good, SO good.

Back at home Fall is a distant memory, but here the Leaf Patrol is still in full swing. It looks like a training day, with several new recruits! Wipe those smiles of your faces this is the…oh nevermind. 

 

My sister attempted to teach me how to sew, we made a purse and a nursing cover. Santa, I want a sewing machine for Christmas.

One last orange for the road. Oh yes – it will be hard to eat a store bought orange after this.

Before we left the men made sure all of Sally’s systems were operating normal. Check, check, check. And an oil change to boot.

And we are off! Part three coming soon, a harrowing tale of a family of five trapped for hours in the frozen tundra of the Rocky Mountains!

with a cherry on top

Brinley, Drew, Rowan 3 Comments »

I’m so ridiculously behind on my blog it is scary. Instead of trying to catch up, I thought I would post some silly pictures of my kids being…well, my kids. I’m going to let the pictures from our vacation, playing in the fall leaves and decorating the Christmas tree gather dust. I’ll get to ’em when I get to ’em. No promises.

Remember this post? Tonight I do believe the kids topped that and then some. Times ten. With a cherry on top. I was giving Ro her bath, and the bigs were in the playroom keeping themselves entertained. Drew came in to show me his ensemble. It looks like Robin Hood is packing some serious heat with a stolen towel ala Emeril and Fairy Godmother’s “maggot” wand! The house was way too dark to take a decent pic, so I fired up the ole studio and bribed the kids with some peppermint bark…”come in my little pretties.” Works every time.

Whats the deal with those shoes? He’s posing like he’s worn them before…

 

The happy couple. The evidence suggests that the kids have had enough peppermint bark for one day. Is that even possible?

 

Nice pose, Brinley. She is very anti-camera these days. Is it a 3 year old thing, or a my-mom-takes-too-many-pictures thing?

 

Ok Drew, you can stop shakin’ it anytime now…Hey Brinley, wheeeeeerrrre’s the camera?

Did you wanna smile for the camera Brinley? No? Is this payback for all the chores I made you do today? Okaaaaaay.

 

Drew was such a gentleman and offered to hold Brinley’s bag so she could hug properly. Is Brinley gazing into the eyes of her hero, or is she thinking “what a freak!”

 

Such a pair, those two. And yes, I do believe it is time to launder the dress-up stash.

Just to be fair, I leave you with a picture of little miss six months. She’s practicing her sitting up skillz. She is getting pretty good at it, we’ve only had a few nasty bonks on the head.

road trippin’ part I

Brinley, Crafts, Drew, Rowan 5 Comments »

Hang on everybody, this post is brought to you by Ryan!

Alright kids, we’re going to Grandma J’s for Thanksgiving. Now it’s only 650 miles away, so you may want to think of a few things to bring along to keep yourselves occupied. Don’t worry,  I… I mean Mommy thought of everything…

Food for the entire two-day trek: Check! (Adult food not photographed, sorry)

Road map made by kids so Daddy won’t get lost: Check! Look at that detail! Our house, the Rocky Mountains, hotel complete with pool, the Colorado River, I-70/I-25 interchange, an ice cream stop in Ritchfield, a suspicious looking mascot of a backwards Utah town, and last but not least Grandma’s house! This bad boy got stuck to the roof of the car so the kids could map our progress.

 

Kids in car: One…two…

Three! Yeeeehaw! Get this wagon train a-movin’!

We got a bit of a late start, but the kids loved zooming through the tunnels at night.

They had PLENTY to do. Once it was no longer possible to do crafts or draw, it was time for movies and glow sticks!

Nice job Daddy…promised the kids a hotel with a pool, only to find out the pool was outside! That’s ok, the kids still had some sniffles, so a nice long hot shower was even better. That’s what I keep telling them anyway…

I’ve never thought that hotel beds were all that appealing. Maybe if I stayed in them less often I might be as excited as Brinley!

No, Rowan didn’t get tossed in the clink for unruly behavior. This was the fancy crib the hotel provided for us. Gave it a good scrub down before lining it with all of Rowan’s blankets. Yummy! 

Day 2: This was the longer part of the trip, about 400 miles. Drew & Brinley got busy right away with their pipe cleaners and beads and made bracelets and necklaces for everyone. The guys at work are jealous. Oh yeah.

Don’t you want one?

Well, if that ain’t enough to make your teapot whistle, maybe Drew & Brinley can interest you in some tin foil sculptures. Snakes and snails are their specialty.

Halfway there!

The entire trip was accompanied by a most excellent playlist on my trusty Ipod. “Life is a highway…”

A lunch break became necessary when it was discovered that stealth bomber pilot Ro-T had napalmed her butt and had been sitting in it for who knows how long. Nothing like a little sunshine and a breeze to make it all better.

Have I mentioned that both snakes and Brinley swallow their prey whole?

The truth be told, we had about 100 miles to go when Rowan began to think that road trips for babies are lame. So Rowan, any special treats on the menu to keep you distracted for another buck twenty? Oooh! It’s the colossal battle of toothless baby vs. fruit loop!

Baby wins!

Nice contrast between Heaven & Earth. I sincerely apologize for not providing a constantly clean windshield.

We finally reached that special place on the map: The ice cream stop! When given a choice, Brinley goes for quantity, not quality.

What about you Ro? Ah, back to the fruit loops. We’re almost there! I promise!

The kids got bored with thier crafts towards the end and decided to wrap the bracelets they had made with shards of tin foil shrapnel and make gifts for “Grama” “Grampa” “Krisdy” “Unk Dan” and so on. Drew and Brinley have some fine jewelry and modern art tailor-made for you! 

Destination: Reached! Baby: Happy (what a trooper)! Mission: Complete!