The Cooley Family

Happy Halloween

2011-11-05T16:50:00.000-06:00

Pumpkin Carving!

I think Max and his bat signal won our pumpkin carving contest this year!

Batman and Tigger

Integrity

2011-11-05T16:31:00.000-06:00

Last month the elementary school held an assembly and awarded those kids who had showed Integrity; that month's theme. The award was given to those kids who were found being honest, showed fairness, cooperation, followed the directions, and did what was asked the first time. Believe it or not -Max's teacher picked him to receive the award! We are so proud of him! I am one proud Momma!

I was still in New York when the assembly took place :'( but Max had an incredibly proud Dad, sister, and Nana there to see and support him.

I didn't get any pictures of the event...so I 'borrowed' these from Michelle's blog. Thanks Michelle! Thank goodness Max was close to Kasen ;)

New York

2011-10-21T18:02:00.002-06:00

Before moving to Wyoming many years ago, my Grandma Leonhardt grew up in New York City. I can't even begin to imagine how incredibly hard it would have been to pack up, head to Wyoming (first stop was Nebraska), leaving my family behind. She said goodbye to her mother, her siblings and moved halfway across the country with her new husband...and became a farmer's wife! ;) My Grandma has traveled back and forth for many years to visit her sister, brother-in-law, nieces and nephews and this last trip I invited myself to go along! I am so glad I did.....

Over the years I have been able to meet some of the "New York Family" members, but this trip I got to hang out with them all! I have an amazing family out there!! Not only did they welcome me into their homes and family, they fed me, they shopped with me, but they also gave me The Grand Tour of New York! Here are some highlights (there are a ton of pictures....I am not even sharing all of them) Enjoy

We started on Manhattan Island ...Rockefeller Center, Sax Fifth Ave, Lincoln Center...

They were already icing the rink

30 Rock

St. Patrick's Cathedral...BEAUTIFUL!

Next we hopped on the Subway...(my first time on the Subway) and headed down to the 9/11 Memorial

My Grandma, her Sister Janet and Janet's daughter, Jannie

These are a lot bigger than you think, can you see how tiny the people across the way are in comparison?

Me and Grandma
The building behind us with the flag hanging on it, is the new Freedom Tower.

A view of the memorial from my cousin Jannie's office building

That is the Freedom Tower next to the memorial...they are so close

...This building is the building my cousin works in. I don't know if you can see how extremely close her building was to the twin towers. Everyday on her way to the office she'd come in through the tower and cross over a connecting bridge to her building. The day of the attacks she decided to take the ferry instead of the train and was coming into the city as the first plane hit. Her ferry comes in right behind this building and there was a very clear view of the Twin Towers on her ride...I can't even begin to imagine...

There was so much damage to all the buildings around, they are still working on some areas. Living so far away from the actual sight I think we forget...or never fully understood the complete devastation that these people had to live through. Being there, reading the names of people who lost their lives...is so sacredly sad. Another thing we don't hear about being so far away is the havoc 9/11 is still causing. My cousin Bobby was a 9/11 First Responder...he and an astounding number of First Responder men and women have been diagnosed and are fighting cancer...believed to be caused from being on the grounds at that time. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

My Grandma and her Sister Janet
They live so far away from each other...and they still have matching jackets ;)

After our tour of the memorial we headed to Time Square where my cousin got us a hotel room to stay in for the night. After checking in to the hotel and eating a delicious dinner (at the Palm) we went to the Broadway Show, Wicked. Amazing...the singers/actors and orchestra were great.

In Time Square

The next day we took our time getting ready, we were a little tired from all of our traveling the day before. Once we were ready we headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. WOW! I love history, so I think I could have spent weeks in there. I would love to go back-there was so much that I missed! After a very crazy cab ride back to Jannie's office my Grandma and Aunt headed back to my Aunts apartment. Jannie took me down to Greenwich Village, we walked through SOHO, Chinatown and Little Italy and everywhere in between. What an amazing area!

museum

After spending a few days in the city we headed to my cousin Jannie's beautiful home in Wyndham. Their house is in the amazing Catskill mountains. One interesting fact: The Catskill Mountains hold an incredible view called the Spectacular 5, in which you can see 5 states. The White Mountains of New Hampshire, the Green Mountains of Vermont, the Berkshire Mountain of Massachusetts, the Helderberg Mountains of New York, and the Connecticut Valley

While in Wyndham Janet's son Billy, his wife Patrice and their kids came to visit us on Saturday. Sunday Bobby, (Janet's other son) his wife Karen and their boys came to visit. It was so much fun to sit an visit with them and their family.

Part of my amazing family! So sad I didn't get a picture of Bobby's family on Sunday

My Great Aunt Janet and her husband, my Great Uncle Nick

On our way home from Wyndham we stopped at the Woodlawn Cemetery to see my Great-great Grandpa Kelly's handy work. If I remember the story right, he was a mason and carved his family's headstone. My Great Grandpa, also a mason, finished it by carving the family name in/on it. Many Kelly family members rest here...dating back a very long ways. I am such a history freak that I think this was my favorite part of the trip. I learned so much about my history...loved it. This cemetery has very old, gorgeous, mausoleums that house many of the famously rich..such as the Woolworth's.

My Great Aunt Janet and my Grandma

Our last day in town took a ferry to Liberty Island and saw the Statue of Liberty. Wow, she's big...bigger than I thought.

Can you see the tiny people standing around the pedestal?

From the ferry, Miss New York

My trip was amazing, and I couldn't have gone without the help I got from my family here at home. My parents, husband and Mother-in-law were a huge help with my kids. Thank you all so much for taking over and helping out so that I could do this. I really appreciated your help and it was so relaxing to know my kids were safe and having fun without me. In fact when I told Max that I missed him so much he replied, "Yeah, but we sure had a lot of fun without you."

Panther Homecoming

2011-10-10T21:44:00.000-06:00

Charlie's amazingly sweet cousin, Kadi Cooley, asked Max and his cousin Kinley to be the crown bearers for the Powell Panther Homecoming. Max was so excited...we were a little nervous for him. The last time he was asked to do something like this he got extremely nervous and posed as hulk for all the pictures. We didn't live it down for quite a while! ;)

Anyway...he did great! He even found an orange and black tie. He really wanted to look like a Panther. :)

He seriously looks like his Dad in this picture!!! OH MY HECK!

Max started to get a little nervous...he put his hands in his pockets and pulled out his pockets. Charlie got him to calm down a bit and all was fine...I am crossing my fingers that isn't the picture in the paper!!!

Thanks Kadi! He had so much fun and it made him feel incredibly cool!

Kaysie Jo

2011-10-01T15:54:00.000-06:00

I just caught my daughter having a tea party with Cookie Monster and wanted to share :)

After she saw me snapping her picture, she posed with Cookie Monster for me

Our Summer...in a nutshell

2011-10-01T15:42:00.003-06:00

Now that summer feels like a distant memory I had better write down it's events before they become long lost memories!

I think we spent close to every weekend 4-wheeling up and down different paths in the Pryor Mountains. It was so much fun, my kids loved every minute of it.

We took a few trips on our own, a few trips with some great friends, and quite a few with Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and cousins!!!

Look how dirty Max is...we were covered in dirt!

Papa John, Grandma Ro and Peanut (their dog)

We made a big trip up the mountain with this giant crew!

Hudson, Max and Kaysie eating Great Grandma's famous cookies!

Devin and Cari

Max, Hudson, Lincoln, Kaysie

Charlie skipped this trip ;)

There were many, many more trips and many, many great friends that joined us on our adventures...I am so sad that I didn't get pictures of them all!

The days we weren't cruising around the mountains we filled with swimming, parades, shopping trips and soccer.

Doesn't he look like he's having fun?

After a long day of shopping we needed a cold refreshment :)

If you ask Kaysie "What should we do today?" Her reply is always, "SHOPPING!" She loves it....I think that this particular day she met her match. We went shopping in Red Lodge with my Grandma-who is the shopping queen. My sister swears that my Grandma "even shops after she drops!" Kaysie looks pretty exhausted in this picture!

First Day of Kindergarten!

2011-08-25T16:21:00.001-06:00

Max was really excited to start school...right up until the day before school started. He said to me, "I thought I was supposed to have long vacation?"

Once he realized that he was going to be in school the next day and be there all day long, he got extremely nervous. "I don't think I can do this." "What if I get lost at school?" "What if I don't know anybody?" After reassuring him that everything would be fine, he calmed down a little.

That night we had my wonderful Dad come over to help alleviate some of Max's fears. He gave Max a 'school year' blessing, and later that night Max was laying in bed when the panic set in, again. "Mom, I can't feel it working yet." He knew that asking our Heavenly Father for help would make him feel better and laying there he realized he was still extremely nervous. Max and I then discussed what we had asked Heavenly Father for in the blessing and that He would help Max...then Max said, "Yep, I can do this!"

He got up the next morning and was ready to go! He was super excited and he was even ready early! For those of you that know Max you understand that being early was a huge feat in itself! ;)

Kaysie was making sure her Big Brother has everything he needs for school

After dropping Max off Kaysie cried for a good 20 minutes. After the tears stopped she whined about needing Max until Sesame Street started, then she was okay for a little while. We sure missed him while he was gone. Charlie made a comment that my day must have been easier, just having one kid at home. I don't think that was the case. Max and Kaysie are close, he helps me with everything during the day...including the entertainment for his 2 year old sister! I really missed him, and I missed him even more when I realized it was a lot harder to get things done with Kaysie following me everywhere! He is a great kid and an incredible Big Brother. In fact when I told Kaysie that the two of us would get to be together all day she wailed, "NO!" Sure made me feel good. ;)

The End of the first day...Max and his great friend Easton

Thank goodness for great friends! I know Max's extremely long day was made easier because he had great friends by his side.

Kaysie was so happy to see Max, she ran to him and gave him the biggest hug!

Max did great! He loved his first day of school, and his teacher was "awesome." ("but not as awesome as you mom!")

I wanted to make his day a little better for him....I remember teaching little kiddos that weren't quite used to going to school all day, after lunch there would always be a few meltdowns...I thought by making Max something neat for lunch it would make him feel special and revive his spirits for the afternoon. My awesome cousin-in-law found some great ideas for me, and here are my attempts.....

This was part of his lunch the first day...it's two Ferbs, from Phineas and Ferb

Day 2...Phineas

US OPEN 2011

2011-08-15T23:05:00.000-06:00

Congressional Club House
Bethesda, Maryland

The stands

One of Max's favorites...Sergio Garcia!

Sergio

The man in front in the white shirt and hat is Padraig Harrington and the guy in the black is Adam Scott

Justin Rose

My brother-Devin and Charlie

Devin and My Dad, Joel

Rory McIlroy, he was the BIG WINNER!

Rory

This is how they mow the greens!

A Little Sight Seeing....

The Guys had a great time , they left on a Tuesday and came home Saturday night. They were able to watch the Pros during a practice round on Wednesday, here is where they were able to take pictures. Thursday was a day full of sight seeing, they were completely drained from all of the things they tried to pack in...they even hit the Smithsonian after the sight seeing! Friday they went into the actual tournament. There were so many people there to watch...apparently it was amazing (I'll take their word for it). No phones were allowed on the course at all and cameras were only allowed during the practice rounds. With all the people around, no phones and these three being golf fanatics it wasn't long before they got separated and Dad was lost for a few hours! He claims he wasn't lost...he ditched Charlie and Devin.

There are even more pictures of their trip, but they are of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum...I'll need Charlie to tell me what all his pictures are of before I can share them.

Talking with my kids

2011-07-12T21:24:00.000-06:00

Here are a couple conversations I never want to forget.....

Me: We should give Papa John some of the pictures we took today.
Max: Yeah, but not all of them I want to keep some.
Me: We'll make some copies of the pictures for him.
Max: Okay....but have Uncle Jake make the copies.
Me: Huh?
Max: Yeah, I heard he's a good copier guy. :)

(My brother-in-law; Jacob, is a salesman that specializes in copier sales)

Charlie put Kaysie to bed the other night and after he checked on her one last time, convinced she was almost asleep, he came to bed. A few hours passed and at about 11:30 I heard footsteps on the stairs. I figured it was Max creeping up to tell me he had a bad dream and I told him to go back to bed. He didn't say anything and I didn't hear anything else, so I assumed he went back to bed. A little while later I heard more steps on the stairs. I got up to see what he was doing and as I rounded the corner I was surprised at who was standing outside my doorway....it was Kaysie. She looked up at me and said, "Max sleeping, shh." That little turkey had snuck down the stairs and tried to get Max up.

Max: Can I have an apple?
Me: We don't have any apples, do you want a plum?
Max: What's a plum?
Me: Well, it's kind of like an apple, but softer.
Max: Soft, you say?
"Soft, you say???? Who talks like that? My son is an 80 year old man trapped in a 5-year-old body!

T-ball

2011-07-08T15:22:00.000-06:00

Max's first year of T-ball was one we most likely won't ever forget. It started off with a lot of prodding, Max hasn't ever watched baseball so he was really uneasy about playing. If it doesn't have anything to do with super heroes or golf, he really isn't that interested.

Once he was signed up and had a mitt, he was excited...but after he finished up the first practice I thought we'd never see him on the ball field again! Max has played golf since he could stand up, so his ability to hit a ball is pretty amazing. It was during this first practice that the coach was giving the kids time to hit and attempt ;) catching. When Max got up to hit, he smoked it off the tee. The kids in the outfield were up too close when he hit and the ball came down and hit one of his friends in the leg. She was hurt and started to cry and Max felt so bad that he started to cry. I didn't think a lot about it again until we headed to the field for practice number two. As we got ready to go Max really didn't want to go, he started to get a little anxious. When we pulled up to the field he was in full on tears and eventually threw up because he was so upset. We worked through this problem...we had a lot of building confidence work to do. While trying to get Max back on the field my brother suggested that we have him watch a few baseball movies. That did the trick! He was back in the game, with all the "movie moves!" During one particular game Max walked out of the dugout, rubbed his cleats in the dirt and walked up to the batters box and hit his shoes with the bat. :)

Max had a hard time staying in his own area in the field, so his coach was always following him and putting him back where he needed to be. If we couldn't find Max, we'd just look for his coach and there was Max. During one game in particular we were watching this little dance between Max and his coach when we saw his coach kneeling next to him, talking to him and pointing. After the game we asked Max what it was they were talking about. He said, my coach told me "Max. Stay. Right. Here."

Here are a few classic quotes from my son during his games....glad his head was always in the game!

To his coach, during the game: See my Papa? That's my papa, right there (pointing). We're going to the movie Thor after this. He's taking me to the movie Thor as soon as we're done.

To his coach, during the game: I'd rather be golfing.

I am so glad Max had great coaches, I know Max gave them a run for their money! I appreciate the time they spent with these little guys, I know it wasn't easy!

June's already gone?!

2011-07-08T13:25:00.002-06:00

The month of June came and went like a blur. Max finished up his first season of T-ball, Kaysie turned 2, Charlie went to Washington D.C. to watch the US Open, and lucky me - I got my gallbladder taken out. Before I get to the important posts about T-ball and the US Open trip I really want to tell you how my husband went from Dad to Super Dad.

The week Charlie was gone was the week my gallbladder decided it didn't like me anymore. My amazing Mom came to the rescue! She took me to the doctors and then took us to her house to recover. I am weak sauce when it comes to pain meds, so my Mom and sister; Lauren, completely took care of my kiddos for the rest of the week. I can't thank them enough....my kids didn't want to leave! To tell you how weak sauce I am with meds....Charlie called to check on me- at this point he didn't even know that I had gone to the doctor- and within a few minutes of our conversation he said, "Honey, where are the kids?" He knew within a few seconds that I was out of it! I am so grateful for my incredible family! What would I have done with my poor kids??!!!

Okay here is the Super Dad part.....
I went in for surgery the next Wednesday and my amazing husband took a few days off of work to take care of me and our kids. My husband has always been a great dad, but my jaw dropped this week when he was playing Mom and Dad. Once again I was hopped up on pain meds and wasn't even functional until Sunday, so Charlie was on his own! (My incredible parents and siblings were always there to help out) While Charlie was in charge my kids did some amazing things with their dad. One thing that I will always remember was watching our kids Slip-n-Slide. They aren't great at it on their own, so Charlie pulled them down the slide and then back up, over and over again. It wasn't just the amazingly fun things that Charlie did with the kids that impressed me so much, it was the ordinary things-the things I don't think I have ever seen him do before that really got me.

From the time Charlie woke up in the morning to the time he went to bed at night, he was with the kids. He fed them, dressed them, played with them, fed them again, put them down for naps, played again, fed them again, played some more, bathed them, and finally put them to bed. All while doing this he kept the house clean too! I was shocked when he continually loaded and unloaded the dishwasher! (I didn't know he knew how that worked;) After a few days of nonstop "mom work" Charlie noticed that after he had gotten the kids down for their naps he'd fall asleep wherever he happened to stop. He jokingly asked me if I was drugging him...I have always told him that the life of a mom is exhausting. We have always had the argument over whose job is actually harder, mine or his....I think he is finally seeing it from my side.

I am so grateful to my husband for taking such great care of our kiddos...I'm not going to lie, I was seriously nervous to leave it all in his hands for so many days. (I have seen the state of our kids after he babysits for an hour ;) When Charlie went back to work on Tuesday our kids were completely devastated. Kaysie wanted her Daddy and continued to ask when he'd be home all day. She still doesn't want me to put her to bed, she wants Daddy.

A couple funny notes from this experience. Kaysie asked me at least a thousand times a day, "see ouwie, please? See ouwie?" Then I'd show her and she'd say, "Ouch, hurt. Yeah? Hurt, Yeah?"
One morning I was feeling a little better and I was rinsing off Max's breakfast bowl and he says, "Mom, you are the best dishwasher, ever!" Max was always trying to make me feel better...I love my kids!

Not only was my husband great, but we had some amazing friends and family help out too. We got some delicious meals brought to our home that were eaten quickly and completely appreciated. Thank you!

I'm a slacker!

2011-06-13T23:31:00.001-06:00

I have been horrible about blogging lately...but I really feel I have some good reasons for my slacking.

As this year began I realized that my teaching degree/license was quickly closing in on it's expiration date. Teachers have to renew their license every 5 years...I am not currently teaching so the expiration date really crept up on me. To keep the license up to date, teachers need to take 5 college credit hours. Lucky me, I was a student at Northwest for a couple months! I only took 2 classes, both online-but for those mother's who work or go to school-I have the utmost respect for you. Like I said I only took 2 classes and they only lasted 2 months, but it was a struggle (trying to take care of kids, the house, laundry and be a good student) I got it done, my new license came in the mail yesterday! WOO HOO! I just need to remember to keep up on my credits...I have till 2016. ;)

Once my classes were done I really wanted to change up my house. Kaysie seemed to be outgrowing her tiny room by the minute. I thought I could get Max to move to one of the big rooms downstairs and then move Kaysie into Max's old room. In order to get Max to the 'really far away' and sometimes 'scary' basement I had to step up my game. I had to make it the coolest place he'd ever seen....here's what I came up with.

BEFORE

I can't find the pictures of the rest of his old room :(

AFTER

Here is the main wall. I painted the city (buildings, bridge, etc), but Spider-man and the Hulk are stickers.

I still need to finish the Bat Signal...we are changing it to the Max Signal. My Dad-(Max's super hero answer man)- and Max designed Max's own Super Hero Emblem that will go in the signal

There are Super Hero comic books that are framed beside the big poster. The really neat thing about these comic books is that they were my Dad's. He let us take a few from his precious collection to add to Max's room. Thanks Papa!

These are Max's super hero masks

BEFORE

AFTER

(still not done, I have a little more to finish)

I'm not entirely done with this wall...there are a few things I'd like to add to the netting and I need to find some more pillows for her bed

I still need to change out her light...and I can't seem to find the right drapes for the window

You can't see them very well in this picture, but there are gems, 'sparkles' that go from Cinderella, up and over the window and down to her castle

The fun thing about this Cinderella sticker is that I wasn't loving it being just flat on the wall so I added some material and jewels to her dress and I love how it turned out!

They are both enjoying their new rooms. Max moved right into his room in the 'scarey basement' and never looked back. He didn't want anyone down there with him to help him get used to it. I get kicked out as soon as our bedtime story is over!

The pacifier is GONE!

2011-06-10T16:40:00.000-06:00

Kaysie's been doing pretty well without it...she has had a few meltdowns. They usually come when she gets tired, but after her wonderful brother takes her mind off it she does really well and forgets all about it (until she gets sleepy again).

Tuesday, we were at about a day-and-a-half without it... looking back now I am not sure what I was thinking... I took the kids to wal-mart.

Kaysie started to get tired, it was right around nap time and she knew it! She started begging me for her 'paci' when a really cute older couple wandered past us. As the "Grandpa" (my kids called him) walked closer to our cart, Kaysie leaned closer to him and said, "Want Paci," and "Paci plllleeeaaaase!" She kept repeating those two phrases to him when he looked at me somewhat confused. I explained to him that she was having pacifier withdrawals. He smiled as she kept begging him for a pacifier, and he told her "Sorry Sweetheart, I don't have one. I wish I could help you." As he was calming Kaysie down his sweet wife leaned towards me and said, "don't worry honey, in a few days she won't even remember it." I loved how sweet and kind these people were to my kiddos. They were actually a big help too! Kaysie calmed down and I got my sanity back without giving Kaysie her pacifier.

Last nap with 'paci'-first nap in the new big girl bed

We are now on day 5 without the pacifier and she's only asked for it once today!

Happy Birthday Kaysie!

2011-06-02T23:35:00.000-06:00

My Beautiful Baby Girl turned 2 years old today!

Kaysie and her cake

Kaysie loves princesses so I decided to make her a princess cake. I underestimated the amount of time this cake required and I didn't finish until 1:30 this morning! (It looks really good from farther away ;) It was completely worth it...she loved it! She brought out all her princesses and wanted to "play" with it.

Kaysie loved everything she opened! Can you tell?

Thank you to our wonderful family and amazingly fun cousins! We had a great time and I know Kaysie loved having you there with her on her special day!

FIVE!!!

2011-04-25T21:57:00.001-06:00

On April 15th my little Max turned 5! I can't even believe it. Man, did we celebrate! We started the day off with cupcakes at school...his teachers and classmates sure made him feel special. After school we came home and got ready for the big family party. It was so fun to have our cousins, Aunts, Uncles, Grandmas and Grandpas come over to help us celebrate! After partying all day Friday, we got up Saturday morning and started again. Max really wanted to have a kid party so we invited his whole class, his cousins and his great friends. That was too many kids to have at our house so we headed to the Log Gym. We were exhausted by the time the weekend was over...but we sure had fun. Thanks to everyone who helped make Max feel so special!

This is Max's Wolverine (X-Men) Birthday Cake. It's Wolverine's claw/hand coming out of the cake. This is what he wanted, so I thought I'd give it a try...I was a little disappointed with how it turned out, but seeing Max's face when he saw it made it completely perfect!

Max showing his 'claws'

Kaysie testing one of Max's cupcakes! For some reason she didn't want to pick it up, she was eating it directly off the table.

Max and Kaysie waiting for the party guests to arrive

Blowing out the candles

Max's friends playing games

What great friends!!! Notice Kaysie is the backwards one...she was so excited that Max's friends were paying attention to her, she didn't want to stop talking to them!

About Kaysie

2011-04-15T14:37:00.000-06:00

Since I am always sharing stories about Max I thought I'd write down a few about Kaysie....

Kaysie loves princesses, and a few weeks ago she fell completely in love with Cinderella. As she sat on my bed watching Cinderella she sang along with all the music, danced along with Cinderella and when Cinderella danced with the prince, I had to be the prince and dance with her. (That's a long dance!) But when Cinderella left the ball and lost her glass slipper Kaysie came unglued! She stood up on the bed and started yelling, "Wait, wait!" over and over. I wasn't sure whether she was upset about Cinderella leaving the prince or because Cinderella left her shoe. Kaysie is a shoe lover! Since then I think we have seen "Rella" over a thousand times.

Another thing Kaysie loves...fingernail polish! She'll find mine, my sisters or my mom's and run to one of us saying, "Toes, please! Toes, please! Pretty." She loves to have her toe nails painted! She is always wearing her pretty jewelry and the other day she had every finger covered in rings and she had bracelets from her elbows to her wrists. Her jewelry is still a little too big so she has to walk around with her arms up to keep them on. As she was walking around the house a ring fell off and landed on the floor. Kaysie bent down to pick it up and every piece of jewelry she had on slid off...she was pretty perturbed about it and wheeled around and yelled, "BUZZ!" like it was Buzz's fault.

Kaysie and Buzz. She loves to bug him so that he'll lick her-but when he does she yells, "OH YUCK!"

Kaysie showing her Daddy her favorite bracelet

The other night I had both the kids in bed, stories read, drinks, and bathroom breaks were all done by 8:00, so I was feeling pretty lucky. 9:00 rolls around and I can still hear Kaysie talking in her room. I didn't want to go in and mess with her so I thought I'd give her a little longer to fall asleep on her own. I wasn't paying attention and sooner rather than later 10:00 came and Kaysie was still talking in her room, so I finally went in to see what was going on. As I opened the door she stood up and handed me her pajama pants and said 'help.' I asked her what she was doing and she replied, 'cause.' She gave me a plain and simple 'cause' the next few times I asked her. Where did 'cause' come from. I started laughing and then Charlie came in to see what all the commotion was about. When he asked her about her pants he got the same answer, 'cause.' After a few more giggles and 'cause's' Kaysie finally said it was her princess. She had been wearing her princess pajamas and wanted her princess baby doll to wear the princess pajamas. She is such a goofball.

Field Trip!

2011-04-13T15:24:00.000-06:00

Max's class had a field trip to the Bordman Farm and it was so fun! Max wanted me to go and then Kaysie wanted to go, so we followed the bus and joined Max and his friends on the farm. It was so much fun, the kids had a blast. I didn't think it was possible, but somehow Max is a little 'city' When we were looking at the sheep - outdoors- and he kept plugging his nose and saying that it stunk really bad. I honestly couldn't tell the difference from the air there or the air at our house...seriously we have cows across the street!!! Kaysie really liked the chickens. I couldn't believe it-Kaysie kept petting them, she even wanted to take one home and she definitely didn't want to leave them there. Kaysie can't say chicken very well, so instead she has been calling them ducks. :-)

Kaysie telling me about the hens...'ducks'

Max and Wil

Max trying out the tractor

Max is testing out his boots. We had to borrow boots from Hudson..you can't be on a farm without boots!!!

Highlights

2011-04-13T14:52:00.000-06:00

Here are a few highlights from the Wonderful World of Max...these are too good not to share!

Max recently watched Batman and since then has been completely obsessed with the Bat Signal. As I was putting him to bed the other night he asked me if I could open his blinds. When I asked him why he acted like I was the dumbest person he'd ever met. He said, 'Because I need to be able to see the Bat Signal if it goes off." I told that to my sister and she said that I better keep my eye on him and the doors locked, just in case he really thinks he sees it!

Speaking of Batman...Max came into my room the other morning and said, "I've been dreaming about Cat Woman all night." I was trying to stifle my giggle when Charlie rounded the corner, "Me too, buddy, me too." What am I going to do with those two? Later in the week we were telling Max's Grandpa John about his dream and Max heard us and got embarrassed and tried to cover by saying, "But I'm not falling in love with her! I just like her super suit!" Again Charlie replied, "Me too buddy!" hehe!

After Church last Sunday Charlie happened to be laying on the couch when the doorbell rang. Max answered the door and proceeded to tell the young men at the door, "That's my Dad, he's laying on the couch. He doesn't ever do anything." I couldn't stop laughing. Charlie didn't appreciate it much, he has been teasing Max about it all week.

Last weekend when the weather was nice Charlie and Max finally got to go to the course. On their way home a song came on the radio that said something like, "we've lost what we love the most..." Max piped up from the backseat, "We lost what we loved the most, Dad. But we got it back, huh?" Charlie asked him what he was talking about..."Golfing!" Thank you warm weather...keep it coming!!!

This is a goodie...not from Max, but from the other little funny man in my life!
A few weeks ago Charlie and Hudson were teasing each other. Charlie finally said, "Yeah Hudson, you would." Hudson turned around and said, "No, Charlie! Your a piece of wood!" Ha ha! That one is too good!

Max and his 4-wheeler

2011-03-12T14:54:00.001-07:00

For Christmas Max got a 4-wheeler! He has loved learning how to ride it- he and Charlie even ride it in the very cold and snowy weather. Max has always needed someone to ride with him. Today was a different story, the weather was so nice that all Max wanted to do was drive all by himself...and he did! He did pretty well too!

Max loved riding through the mud!

He was doing really well all by himself...until he got a little too close to the house and had to turn around. I wasn't outside yet, but I heard the hit. Yep! He hit the house! Charlie said he wasn't close enough to Max when he saw that Max was trying to turn around and couldn't get to him fast enough to stop him. Very quickly after that, Charlie decided to carry the ever so handy kill switch.

Here is the end product...he and the 4-wheeler are covered in mud.

Day 2!

Even muddier!!!

I have been gone a while...

2011-03-11T17:31:00.000-07:00

Since I haven't blogged in almost three months(!), I thought I'd share a few of my favorite events of the last few months.

One night as Max and I were finishing up our bedtime prayers he started asking me all sorts of questions about Jesus and the Bad Guy (Satan). One such question was, "Why does the Bad Guy want us to do bad things?" After a very good and long discussion Max said, "Jesus just needs to get down here and tazer him!" Heck yeah! I completely agree-why not?!

One morning Max was over at Hudson's house playing, I called Cari to see if Max was ready to come home and eat. I could hear him freaking out in the background, he was trying to conjure up a plan so that he could stay longer. Max and I argued back and forth through Cari for a few minutes, then Cari started laughing. I asked what he had just said to her, she finally quit laughing long enough to tell me what he had come up with. "Cari, just tell my Mom your making me something healthy, she likes me to healthy. Then I can stay here and eat." Ha ha! Seriously where does he come from?

As for Kaysie...this girl packed full of attitude! She thinks she rules the house, she especially loves to boss Max around. Another little one she likes to take charge of is Jaxx. She has fallen head over heels in love with her new cousin. She seems to think that she is so much older than he is and tries to take care of him. Kaysie loves to hold him, wrap him in his blanket, and she loves giving him his pacifier (even when he doesn't want it). This love for Jaxx has turned Kaysie into a great 'mommy,' she plays with her baby dolls all the time. She has one baby doll that she is particularly fond of and it's probably one of the ugliest dolls I have seen. One night this doll's hand fell off and Kaysie wasn't happy about it, not one bit. As I sewed the dolls hand back on, Kaysie sat beside me and rubbed her baby's head and every couple seconds she'd lean over and hug her baby. Kaysie even let out a few sad 'ohs' as she was rubbing her baby's head. Kaysie couldn't have been happier to have her baby back together. How cute, right? I love this girl!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-26T22:44:00.000-07:00

We hope you are having a wonderful Christmas!

Max Loves ME!

2010-12-02T14:05:00.000-07:00

I know that Max loves me and here are a few reasons why...

Not only does he spend a lot of time finding pretty rocks and flowers just for me (You should see my rock collection!) he loves to watch commercials for things to make my day easier.

As I was cooking:

"Mom, do you want me to get you that Perfect Brownie Pan? It cuts them for you and you can't burn the brownies!"

As I was cleaning the toilets:
"Mom you should get those scrubbing guys they do all the work for you. You just put one dot on the inside of the toilet and you can be done!"

As I was loading the diaper bag:

"Mom for Christmas I want to get you the Kangaroo Bag. No more 'digging or dumping' to find your stuff!"

As we were discussing why there was a bleach stain on the towel. "You could get those square things (tide squares) to throw in the washing machine. They go right in and kill all the germs, then you don't have to use bleach."

Yep, he's got my back and believe it or not there are are even more commercials (according to Max) that are just for me!

He's already watching out for his Momma! Man I love him...he's been a little ornery this week so this was a much needed smile maker!

Where did he come from?

2010-11-19T16:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Max was playing 'super hero squad,' running and jumping through the basement. I could hear him making all his super hero moves along with some yelling and grunting at the bad guys. This is a pretty common occurrence at our home which is often followed by Charlie and I questioning where Max came from and which one of us he takes after. ;)

What Max did next caught me completely off guard.

Max rounded the corner and said, "Mom, I wasn't saying ass, I was saying ahh."
Me: "What?"
Max: "I wasn't saying ass, I was saying ahh."
Me: "I don't want you to say that ever, not even to tell me that you didn't say it. Do you understand that isn't a nice word at all."
(He said it so nonchalant, like it wasn't any big deal to say it if he was ratting himself out.)
Max: "Well....I didn't want to say it but my lungs made it come out."

What do you say to that?

P.S. Thank you Transformers for that lovely word now in my son's vocabulary.

As I was putting Max to bed last night he asked if I could sing him "That Holly Jolly Song." (He's a little excited for Christmas already.) After singing that and a few of his other Christmas requests I sang Santa Clause is Coming to Town. Just as I was finishing he said, "Mom! That made me remember that I need to be good. I remember that I need to talk nice to you... I should help pick up and help Kaysie with her stuff too!" Thank you Santa! I love this time of year.

Vegas

2010-11-13T23:00:00.004-07:00

TCT was sending Charlie to Las Vegas for a training/conference and I didn't want to miss out on all the fun, so I invited myself - bought a plane ticket and off we went. We were able to leave our little ones with Charlie's Mom and my parents for a few days! Thank you!

We left Friday afternoon and our stay would last through Tuesday evening. I was a little worried about being away from my kids for that long, I haven't left either one of them for that long before! Yikes! Charlie's second worry was what I was going to do all day while he was in meetings...SHOP!

We had a great time and because Calix (company that was hosting conference) was so generous to us we were able to take part in a lot of fun things. When we arrived Friday night Charlie got a call saying that there were some Garth Brooks tickets not being used and would we be interested in them...Um, YES PLEASE. It's a great show, not really a concert though. He talks throughout the show telling about his life, growing up, why he wrote this song-where it came from, etc. He sings his songs along with the ones that influenced his music. If you have a chance to go see him in this show you really should. It was great. P.S. Mr. Brooks brought Trisha Yearwood out to sing a duet with him which she followed with a solo.

Scott and Bryan (very fun fellow TCT-ers)

Charlie and I waiting for the show to start

Saturday morning Calix hosted a golf tournament for the menfolk, or anyone who wanted to golf. Anyone who didn't want to golf (the wives) got treated to a day at the Wynn Spa. Yep, you read that right! That was great. My massage was so great that I had to follow my relaxing spa day with a nap! My body was like jello!

Saturday night after dinner at BB Kings House of Blues, Charlie and I headed through town. The last time we were in Vegas I really, really wanted to go to the wax museum and we didn't make it. It was first on my list this time and man I thought it was great! I think my favorite part was that Charlie thought I was a complete idiot... he gets so embarrassed! Did you know that they make these wax figures exactly like the real person using the same body measurements? Let's just say my love for Johnny Depp has faded somewhat.

Charlie refusing to have fun

Wait, he's starting to smile....

There it is! Charlie's having fun! WOO HOO!

Is there anything else in Max's
world besides golf and Spider-man?

These two pictures were taken especially for Max

These guys are a lot bigger than you think!!!

Sunday night after Charlie finished up with his classes Calix got us into the "hottest night club in Vegas" - Tryst. Not only did they get us in, they got great entertainment for us! They hired a group called The Rat Pack. They were great and they sounded so much like the original guys, it was so fun!

Sorry this pic was taken with a camera phone

Monday I shopped till I dropped. Then I made a stop at Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat. I thought that I'd better get some great pictures and souvenirs for my kiddos. I was really missing them!

When Charlie was done with class, Calix once again got us into another night club. This one was called the Xs Night Club. They fed us a wonderful dinner and then got us into a show called Le Reve. It was a very impressive show...the performers started off on solid ground then it looked as if they were walking on water and before you knew it they were diving from 120 feet in the air into a pool of water. The floor constantly changed throughout the show!

When Tuesday rolled around we were really missing our kids and I think our kids were really missing us! By the time we got to the Vegas airport to head home I already had three messages from Max telling me to hurry up and get home. One message went something like this: "Mom, it's me Max. I really miss you and I love you. Tell the airplane driver to hurry fast to Cowley. I really miss you. I love you. Bye." All this was said in a very, very sad tear filled voice-which of course made me cry. I couldn't get home fast enough! I should mention that at the end of day 1 we could no longer talk to Kaysie on the phone. The second she heard my voice or Charlie's she'd start crying. They really do love us!

Of course they had so much fun without us, I really don't think they missed us until they talked to us. I also think that by Tuesday Max had had so much fun he was just exhausted and that made him pretty homesick.

Thank you to all our family that helped out with our kids. Now that they have recovered from all the excitement they haven't stopped talking about all the fun things they did with you all! Thanks again!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2010-11-04T14:11:00.000-06:00

Halloween is Max's 'very most favorite holiday' so we got started a little early this year. Max thinks the scarier the better..in fact he really wanted to be a spooky bloody guy this year-but we decided it was in the best interest of his Pre-K classmates that he go as Iron Man instead. Because Max likes spooky things he has this mask (he's had it since he was about 2!), no it isn't kept with the Halloween costumes - this is an everyday kind of item- this is toy box material. Anyway...because Max loves Halloween so much he'd been wearing this lovely mask for a few days, until Kaysie got it. Then she wouldn't take it off! The only time it came off of her face was when she put it on Charlie's.

Max had a great class party, they had lots of great Halloween activities to do and everyone looked so great in their costumes!

Max came home from his class party with a lot of goodies. One item was this great big popcorn ball that he wanted to share with Kaysie... for the next while this is what Kaysie looked like!

Another Halloween favorite for Max is carving pumpkins. This year Papa had one green pumpkin among all the orange in his garden and Max thought that was the neatest thing in the world. He decided he was going to make an Incredible Hulk pumpkin!

Introducing...THE INCREDIBLE HULK!

Kaysie enjoyed decorating her pumpkin too!

So did Charlie! He thinks he makes a better pumpkin than Max and I do-but this year I think Max and I took the Pumpkin Carving Title from him.

Trick or Treating!!!

Iron Man, a.k.a. Tony Stark

A very tired UW Cheerleader

Kaysie got a little excited when she realized we were off to get treats-this little girl loves food! She decided she needed two buckets for the candy!

Our night came to an end when we hit Nana and Papa's house. My parents had been gone for 3 days and my kids acted like it had been a thousand!

Kaysie and Aunt Lauren ended the great weekend snuggling on the couch...Aunt Bug was tired from all the winning her team did this last weekend-they are the NEW VOLLEYBALL STATE CHAMPIONS!

Max and Hudson

2010-10-20T22:13:00.001-06:00

We're riding in the car when Max starts talking from the backseat..."Why is Hudson my cousin?" My reply: "Cari is my sister, so any of her kids will be your cousins. It will be the same when Uncle Devin and Aunt Bug have kids they will be your cousins too-because they are also my brother and sister." To which he says, "No. (pause) I think it's because God knew I'd love him so much that He made him my cousin." Yep Buddy you got it! AWWW!

A few days after this wonderful conversation took place Cari got suckered into having a 'spend the night' with 'The Boys'. (Cari and Jacob are the greatest-my kids love them so much. I do believe they make me seem pretty replaceable in the eyes of my children.)

This was going to be The Boys' very first sleep over together. I don't know who was more excited the two little boys or Uncle Jake! hehe!

Jake and Cari had lots of fun things for the boys to do. I didn't hear a peep from Max all night or even early the next morning. In fact when I called to check on him and see if he was ready to come home I heard him tell Cari something along the lines of "Tell her not to come yet." When I did show, somewhere close to NOON(!) he still didn't want to leave.

Max and Hudson can see each other every single day-and everyday it's the same greeting...like they haven't seen each other in years. I am so grateful for my family, for the way they love my kids. I know that my children are loved just as much in their homes as they are in our home. Thanks Cari.

A few notes...

2010-10-01T13:51:00.000-06:00

This last week has been a crazy one. I had to be gone all day Tuesday and Wednesday. All I can say is thank goodness for my family! My Mom was so great and watched my kids all day Tuesday and my awesome Sister watched them all day Wednesday. I had to leave so early that I had to drop my kiddos off in their pajamas and Mom and Cari were then in charge of getting my kids ready and getting Max to and from school. I can't tell you how much I appreciate them-without their help I wouldn't have been able to go. Thanks so much!

With that said I need to share a few things my kids learned over the two days without me....

Day 1
My Dad's favorite snack is cheese, he is always giving Kaysie snacks and those snacks include cheese. Kaysie's new favorite word: (you guessed it) CHEESE!

Day 2
Anyone that knows my nephew Hudson knows that he wants to be a cowboy and loves to play 'guns.' My daughter came home from Hudson's house and now pretends to shoot a gun. She says very softly "pow, pow" as she points at you. It cracks me up! Max doesn't really have an interest in toy guns unless he is playing with Hudson-but Kaysie has found a new favorite game. She has shot us all at least hundred times over!

Before leaving my kiddos on Wednesday I had a chat with Max about being nice to Hudson, don't fight with Hudson, don't pick on Kaysie (they don't want her around them when they are playing-duh Mom), help Aunt Cari, etc, etc. When I picked my kids up I asked how everything went, Cari told me that Max and Hudson had a great time together. So Wednesday night as I was putting Max to bed I told him that I appreciated him being so good the last few days without me. I then asked him if he really was good the whole time he was at Cari's house. (Max always snitches on himself) He told me, "Well....Hudson wanted to fight but I said to him, my Mom said I'm not supposed to fight. So I didn't." Haha! Like he really listens to what I say- 'cause it's always stopped him before. ;)

Go Wyo!

2010-09-27T15:29:00.000-06:00

A couple of weekends ago we took our long awaited trip to watch the Wyoming Cowboys play football! We planned the trip a few months ago and Max's excitement has been growing and growing since then. Every night as Max went to bed he asked "Are we going tomorrow?" Finally the day arrived - we hopped in the car and took the long drive to Laramie. Luckily we were able to go with some great friends, so our drive flew bye.

Quiet a few restroom and snack stops later we made it! The Pokes took on Boise State...I know it was a very sad, sad game. Even with our horrible loss, Max still seemed to have the time of his life! He was cheering as loud as he could-too bad the Cowboys weren't listening. :(

Oh my heck! The funniest part of the entire trip was after the game. We decided it would be fun to eat at Godfather's Pizza with the kids. As we waited the kids found some of those toy vending machines. One of the girls put in a quarter and out came a fake mustache....we made Max put it on. I couldn't stop laughing, it matched the color of his hair exactly! I was laughing so hard I could hardly take the picture!

Looking back on it now, it isn't quiet as funny. Maybe it was because we had been in a car all day long-but it seemed so funny.

Before we headed home the next morning we decided to let the kids go swimming...not sure if that was a good or bad idea. I thought they would be completely exhausted-but they weren't. (I think it recharged them.) They giggled and played the entire drive home! We had a great time, even though the Cowboys got smoked.

Family Pictures

2010-09-13T23:24:00.001-06:00

This summer went by so fast, we were so busy that we had to bail on our family photo session-without being able to find a time to reschedule...I started to get a little desperate-we haven't had a family photo done since Max was 2 and Kaysie hasn't had professional pictures done since she was a few weeks old! I decided to bug my Dad enough that he would shoot some family photos for us-we had such a fun time-and the best part is it only took 20 minutes, it was just a few blocks from our house AND he made us dinner too!

Here are some (I think he took somewhere around 150 pictures!) of the results:

Thanks DAD! Mom-Thanks too, you were an incredible 'smile maker'!

School!

2010-09-05T18:12:00.000-06:00

Max started preschool this last Tuesday! He was so excited to finally be a "Grizzly Bear," and he couldn't wait to meet all his new friends. As Kaysie and I dropped him off and said goodbye...he ran off to greet his new classmates and teacher-he did manage to turn and say "see you later" with an over the shoulder-you can leave now Mom-wave.

As my Little Man walked away ready for a whole new adventure, I found that a giant lump was caught in my throat. I tried to keep it down while telling myself, "he'll be back in a couple of hours," "it's only 4 days a week," "we are only 2 blocks away if he needs us." But those thoughts didn't seem to make my lump go away. I am sad to say that my Little Man is getting to be not-so-little. That little fact hurts my heart like I can't believe.

I did manage to keep my lump at bay...I don't do public emotion very well. Kaysie was a different story.

Max plays with friends, spends time at his Nana and Papa's and spends countless hours on the course-all without Kaysie. They have gotten to be great friends and do so much together that I seem to be nonexistent when they are playing. I really thought this time alone with Kaysie would be so fun for us. Apparently she didn't think so...you would have thought she'd never see him again. I don't know why dropping him off at school was so different from dropping him anywhere else-but she lost it. She was reaching for him the entire way back to the car. As I buckled her into her seat she was sobbing-not crying, sobbing. That broken-hearted sob that no mom should ever have to hear. I was trying to calm her down while still struggling with my lump when I decided that I quick trip to Nana's house would be a great fix. By the time we drove a block and got out of the car Kaysie had a tear stained face, complete with tears and a wet shirt. Nana was a big help-she got a little teary when it was time to leave Nana's, so off we went to Papa's office. One candy bar later and all was well with the world.

Kaysie didn't want to let go of Max's

hand as we were heading out the door.

A few short hours later we ventured down to pick Max up from school. Our entire walk home was filled with raves much like these: "Mom that was so great! I love school." "I have a new best friend!" "I have some new girl friends too!" I am glad someone enjoyed those few hours! I am so proud of Max for being such an outgoing person-he makes life seem so easy. When we walked in the door Max had to immediately call his dad on the phone. The only part of the conversation I could hear was, "Dad it was so GREAT, it really was great!"

As our week continued the lump in my throat seemed to get smaller each time we said goodbye and Kaysie's crying has tapered off as well. I am not going to lie, she is still not quiet herself until Max gets home and boy does she celebrate!

Max we are so proud of you, I hope you enjoy the rest of the year as much as you did this week. Love you!

Camping in a TENT!

2010-08-31T20:33:00.000-06:00

We took these two excited kids TENT camping last weekend. This was their very first time -ever- sleeping in a tent! I am not going to lie...I was really nervous. I wasn't sure how Kaysie would do in a tent or how Max would feel once it got really dark out- they loved every second of it!

This is Max trying to calm down enough to sleep

This is Max celebrating that he slept all night in a tent

(Notice the tired Dad in the back! Poor Kaysie was still a little groggy.)

Part of the camping fun - FOOD! The two smallest girls in these pictures had a hard time staying away from the snack food!

We took the kids to a little spot so they could fish...

These three decided it was more fun to explore...

So of course, so did Kaysie

Next came nap. Our morning adventure wiped us all out!

After nap we decided to hike down to Porcupine Falls....ooh pretty!

Max caught a fish! WOO-HOO!

(he's got some nice camping hair going on :)

Max scaled the mountains and Kaysie played in the water

Of course no camp out would be complete without s'mores!

Max is getting all geared up to start roasting the mallows

We had a great time, Max had really hard time leaving. He wanted to stay for '4' more days. Thanks for inviting us along Walker Fam! It was so FUN!

Hot Chicks and Max

2010-08-27T15:12:00.004-06:00

A while ago my brother gave Max some 'smell goods' (cologne) to keep for himself. Max loves to wear his 'smell goods,' especially when he thinks he is looking really good. The other morning as we were all getting ready this little conversation took place:

Max: "Dad, why do you wear smell goods?"

Charlie: "Just in case I run into any Hot Chicks."

Thanks Chuck! ...after about 10 minutes of teasing and Max trying to convince Charlie that Mom is a hot chick we headed out the door.

The next morning as I was helping Max get ready he asked if he could use the "hot toothpaste, not the kid stuff." I asked him why he wanted to change toothpastes...I am sure you can imagine what he said..."Just in case I run into any Hot Chicks. This kind makes my breath smell good!"

The next time you see my Little Man and he is looking pretty sharp or smells incredible, I can guarantee he'll tell you it's for the Hot Chicks! Watch out Ladies!

What did you do this summer?

2010-08-24T20:59:00.011-06:00

Well the Cooley's...

Danced in the rain

Relaxed...just a little

Took Swimming Lessons

Max can now successfully dunk his head-without freaking out! WOOT!

With Max's new found confidence we spent a lot of time swimming

Spent time with great friends!
Had loads of fun with one great cousin!

Went to the Cabin

Found fresh bear prints!
This bear walked right down the middle of the road!

Had to relax some more

Went Fishing!
My water baby proved to be a giant handful while fishing...we couldn't keep her away from the water! It was ice cold and she wouldn't stop putting her little feet in-I was afraid her toes were going to freeze off.
Played with Nana's new kittensMax is so completely in love with these little things..It almost breaks my heart that we can't have one. (allergies) I said almost-I am so not a cat person!

Found a "pet" toad living in our "waterfall." Max named him Flame-O.

So we now have Flame-O the toad living by our putting green...Yeah, we're pretty lucky. ;)

Believe it or not this is not the end to our summer adventures! We just got home from an awesome camping trip. That great adventure will have to be told later!

Max's Prayers

2010-07-07T23:13:00.005-06:00

Tonight Max's prayer went a little like this..."Thanks for my Dad, he can do anything...he can fix anything. Thanks for my Mom, she fixes all the light bulbs."

Aww. So cute right? What the heck?! I guess the greatest thing I do around here is change the light bulbs! Oh well, don't Dad's always get the credit anyway? You gotta love this kid!

I did thank him for thinking of me in his prayer....he usually misses me as he makes the rounds through every single person he has ever met. ;)

A couple of nights ago Max and I were saying our prayers and he wanted me to go first. In my prayer I asked for comfort for a family who's Grandpa had passed away. Then Max started his prayer-in this prayer he asked if Heavenly Father could make sure their Grandpa was comfy and comfortable there in Heaven with him. Max then went on to say something like this: "My fish should be in Heaven with you too...is he comfortable? Are you taking care of my fish? I miss my fish and I think I should get a new one. Thanks for taking care of everybody." I do believe that Max's prayer that night set a new Max record-it was somewhere close to 20 minutes long! He likes to share every detail of his day and his thoughts and wants to include every single person he knows. I love this kid!

4th of July

2010-07-06T14:41:00.006-06:00

Our 4th was following the normal tradition...our family BBQ at my parents and then fireworks.

It then took a small detour. What we had all forgotten was that Devin (my little brother) has been gone for the last two summers and was not able to really celebrate the 4th properly. I don't know what it is about boys and fireworks! I think Devin was a little too excited. Much to my overprotective parenting-freak out- my brother was teaching Max and Hudson how to throw fireworks and smoke bombs.

Apparently this wasn't really fun enough so they started to chase each other with the smoke bombs. I know what you are thinking..."bad idea." Yep.

All was going well for a while.. but the boys and Devin disappeared behind the fence. Soon Devin came back with a huge smile on his face. He was looking at Cari and I and he kept saying, "Something happened. It's bad, but it could have been worse." In my mind I thought how bad can it be? I don't hear anyone crying and that is usually the sign of the something worse.

He proceeded to tell us that he had burned Hudson's shirt. We didn't believe him until Hudson strolled on up. Hudson seriously had a hole in the back of his shirt. Cari then began to freak out saying something along the lines of "I can't believe you were close enough to burn his shirt..." Devin's reply: "I put it out as fast as I could." As you can imagine Cari followed that comment up with; "WHAT? He was on fire?" Yep he sure was.

Hudson's neck was entirely blue. Thank goodness for tags on the back of shirts, that is the only thing that kept Hudson's back from the fire. You could see the white tag through the new hole in Hud's shirt.

Hudson is a very tough little man-it takes a lot to bother him, so he was fine with it all. In fact when I showed him a picture of his blue neck all he said was, "Oh my heck!" and then went back to playing. Cari also handled it well...I was impressed.

Things I have learned about Kaysie....

2010-07-02T14:20:00.011-06:00

Kaysie loves water! If there is the tiniest drop of water anywhere near her-she's in it. She doesn't care if it is freezing, dirty (mud puddles) or spraying (she likes to be sprayed with the hose!) -she loves being in the water. We cannot put her down after it has rained or she is completely soaked in a matter of seconds.

Kaysie was diggin' the Slip and Slide! After she'd get off she'd stand at the bottom and throw her hands in the air and yell!

Max-not so much.

We were begging Max to go down and only got him to go once-Kaysie on the other hand... Can you see her running back to the top?!

Kaysie adores her big brother! She loves him to pieces and follows him everywhere. Big brother rocks!-he hauled her rocking chair into his room so they could "hang out" and watch a movie together.

He is the greatest big brother ever! He is so careful with her and he makes sure all his little toys are all put away so that she cannot get to them. He does however have a breaking point. The other day he closed her out of his room, much to Kaysie's dramatic despair. I asked him what was going on and he said, "Mom, can I just play alone for a while. Kaysie has been in here all day and I want to play with my little toys." Aww-so sorry buddy. Thanks for all your help Mr. Max.

Kaysie doesn't quiet understand that she is not big enough to do what he does...Gma's your not going to like this next picture-but just so you know, the ladder is always put up when Kaysie is awake. ;)

So I had just left these two in Max's room to get something out of his bathroom (right next to his room) so I couldn't have been gone longer that a second or two when I heard: "Mom! Kaysie is climbing my ladder!" I thought that she'd maybe get up the first step and be stuck. That's when I heard: "MOM! She is almost to the top!" Followed immediately by: "MOM! SHE'S AT THE TOP!" I ran in to find her on the top of Max's bed. Seriously she climbed that in record time! I got her down and she got in trouble but then stupid Mom-I had to show Charlie when he got home...let's just say the ladder stays up during the day.

Kaysie loves fruit, especially grapes. If the fridge is open, even for a second-it doesn't matter where in the house Kaysie is- by the time you close it, she is already in it. I put the grapes on the lowest shelf so Max could get to them when he wanted a snack. Little did I know Kaysie would be in there with both hands and mouth completely full!

Yes, she is in her pj's. Don't judge...we were heading to the tub (that's why there's a top and no bottoms!)

Kaysie with a mouth full of grapes

007

2010-06-21T16:16:00.008-06:00

A few months ago Max was asked to be a Crown Bearer at his Aunt Bug's prom. He was so excited. He attended the first practice and he did really well. All the way home he couldn't stop talking about the "pretty girls that would be there in their princess dresses" and that he couldn't wait to show them his "kickin' dance moves."

On Prom night we got Max all ready to go and he thought he LOOKED GOOD! In his words he looked like James Bond. He was loving the fact that he was James Bond.

He started to get a little too excited and pulled out some 007 moves so Nana had to help him get put back together.

Here he is waiting for his debut

He made it! He was standing by the princesses! He was doing great while he had something in his hands...

They took his flowers and in his words, "I got a little nervous."

He is trying to hold it together.

Still holding,

Oh man! He is losing it...

I don't know if you can tell but in this picture he is "THE HULK." Apparently when Max gets nervous he turns into a Super Hero. He was The Hulk, and then Spider-man, he even threw out a Wolverine. I thought I was going to die....all these parents were taking pictures of their beautiful kids and my son is posing as a Super Hero in every single one!

On our way home...after many, many comments from giggling parents my husband asked Max what he was thinking.

Max's reply: "I started to get a little nervous, everyone was looking at me."

Charlie then asked Max why did he kept doing it.

Max: "Well, they all kept laughing at me!"

(Like why wouldn't I stop-I had 'em eating out of my hands.)

I soon discovered that the picture the Lovell Chronicle used for the Royalty was one of Max really "Hulking." We were famous for a few days. I got all sorts of questions and comments from giggling people everywhere we went.

I thought I'd throw in a few pictures of Lauren and my Dad during the Royalty Dance...the whole reason for this fiasco!

Our First Warm Weather Adventure

2010-06-14T23:20:00.006-06:00

Memorial Day turned out to be a pretty nice day so we packed up the 4-wheeler with much needed snacks and sodas, dropped Kaysie off with Nana and Aunt Bug-and then we hit the open road.

Max decided he wanted to see the lake first. So we took some back roads and headed to the lake.

Max tends to get a little car sick so along our journey we would stop and pose for pics, or Max's fav...find neat rocks. So here we are on one of said stops. (I am not sure if he really gets sick-or if he just wants to find rocks.)

We finally made it to the lake where Charlie gave Max a Rock Skipping Lesson...Max's never really skipped-they did more of a dive. :)

Can you say TWINS! I love this one!

Max found a great rock

Max teaching me how to Skip Rocks

After Skipping many, many rocks we decided to hit the road once more. We drove up to Devil's Canyon and then back onto some back road leading up to the Pryors.

Snack break!

Max wanted to fish in this pond SO BAD!

We were able to drive up to where the fire had been...not quiet to the Ice Caves (road was closed). Max loved it...he couldn't believe all the burned trees. That is all he could talk about..."Tell me about the fire again." (I think I heard that about a thousand times.) He kept taking pictures of the "poor trees."

Max really wanted to make sure we got some pictures with the burned trees in them. So he and Charlie posed on the 4-wheeler hoping to get some trees in the background.

This picture cracks me up...Max took it of us. He wanted to take our picture-after handing him the camera he said, "Go over there...further. Okay, Dad like..like, hug her or something." I think it turned out pretty nice! Good job Max!

Much to Max's dismay rain clouds were on their way, so we packed it up and headed home. We can't wait to do it again...maybe next time we'll make it past the "poor burned trees."

Kaysie is 1!

2010-06-03T10:13:00.005-06:00

We had a Birthday Girl - we made a cake,

So we had a party!

We sang 'The Birthday Song'
We ate the cake
We opened presents
Loved on our new babies
Rode the new horse

Then we sat back and enjoyed the party

Then we said Good-bye

Max said what?

2010-04-27T13:28:00.006-06:00

This is a conversation Max and I had the other day as we were stopped at the intersection waiting for another vehicle to pass.

As the truck passed Max said, "DID YOU SEE THAT SMOKIN' HOT CHICK?!"
Me: (shocked) "WHAT?"
Max: "A...You are too, Mom."
Me: (shocked again) "Thanks, but that is not what I meant. What do you mean Smokin' Hot Chick?"
Max: "She was! It wasn't even Uncle Devin's Girlfriend or anything! She was still Smokin' Hot."
Me: "Where was she?"
Max: "She was in that red truck. Didn't you see her?"

I am sad to say I did not get the chance to see this Smokin' Hot Chick. So if you drive a red truck and you happened to be driving down 4th street in Cowley a few weeks ago-Max thinks you are SMOKIN' HOT!

(P.S. I swear I don't know where that language came from!)

MORE WORDS FROM MAX....

Max and I were again driving home together this last Friday night and drove past my parents house. It just so happened that my sister Lauren had a friend over and his car was parked outside.

Max: "I think maybe Nana and Papa got a new truck."
Me: "Nope, that is Korey's truck."
Max: "Why is Korey at Nana's house?"
Me: "He is hanging out with Aunt Bug."
Max: "Why does he like Aunt Bug so much?"
Me: "I don't know."
Max: "Maybe I'll have to ask him tomorrow."
Me: "That sounds like a good idea."

Then silence for about a block...

Max: "I know why Korey likes Bug. It is because she is so beautiful."

I said something along these lines..."That is so nice to say, you are so sweet." I can't really remember because it was one of those great Mom moments, when your heart feels that it couldn't get any bigger. :)

Max continued: "She is beautiful when she's in her pretty dress (referring to her prom dress) and she is beautiful even when she's not."

AW!

Too Funny!

2010-04-22T12:54:00.000-06:00

I wanted to share this video with everyone. I think it is the funniest thing I have ever seen! I haven't been able to stop watching and I think Charlie is going to kill me if he hears me say "who's in the house" one more time. I hope that by sharing it with you I will be able to get it out of my system.

Enjoy!

MAX IS 4!

2010-04-16T15:49:00.006-06:00

Max and his Transformer Cake

Yesterday was Max's 4th birthday! I think that he had a great day...from the moment he woke up yesterday morning to the time he went to bed last night (which took a long time to wind down) he was talking about his birthday.

We must be mean parents...we make him wait until the party to open his present from us. He kept freaking all day, "Just tell me what my 'kaprise' is Mom, please!" He managed to hold out and we had a great party with all our family. He loved having his cousins here to help him celebrate, he was so worried about getting enough time to play with them that he didn't want to take a break for cake. Presents however were a different story! Max couldn't wait to dig into those-he got completely spoiled! Thanks!

Max tearing into his presents!

Here is half of the family in attendance

Here's the other half-notice they go all the way to the back wall! There are a few missing from these pics, they seemed to have been hiding.

I busted my Dad and Kaysie polishing off a cupcake. I don't know how many she had-but I think she took a little from everyone!

My parents got Max this awesome Iron Man helmet...My Dad really wanted it for himself! (He is going to kill me for posting this!)

Kaysie was having a great time (I think this was taken after 5 maybe 6 cupcakes!)

Charlie and I got Max a bike. He was so excited about it he talked Charlie into helping him ride it (in the dark) after everyone left

Easter at the Cooley's

2010-04-13T16:31:00.009-06:00

Easter 2010

Believe it or not...this is the best picture I got of these two stinkers!

Family Easter Egg HuntKaysie found an egg or two - thanks to her Dad!

Max

Hudson and Max comparing the contents of their eggs

Dyeing Easter Eggs

Max loves this part!

Kaysie wasn't too impressed

Charlie and Max were having a deep conversation about the colors they wanted to use

Kaysie didn't last too long...look at that grumpy face!
Max loved the way his fingers turned green, "Just like the Hulk."

Our Winter Events...

2010-03-30T09:47:00.007-06:00

This last year Charlie had it in his head that we really needed some sort of 4-wheeler. I am completely terrified to drive my own 4-wheeler (thanks Mom) so we thought that getting a Side-by-Side would be really fun.

Before Christmas rolled around Charlie had one in his sights. I tried to tell him that we could wait until the summer...what did we need it for right now anyway? I figured it was too cold and it would just sit in our garage untouched until the warm weather came our way. I was dead wrong! We have had so much fun with our new toy-especially in the snow. I really can't tell whether it's Charlie or Max that gets more excited for snow-I haven't ever seen Charlie have this much fun. I wish I could explain to you what he looks like as he travels down the road on the sled! :) Here are some pics of our last adventure.

Charlie and Max celebrating that it snowed!

For our last 4-wheeling adventure we got together with all of our nieces (minus 2) and (my only) nephew and a few great friends and had the greatest day together!

Alex, Brooklyn, Hudson (squeezed in the middle) & Cari

Max & Alex (this is Max's sign for "Hit It DAD!)

This is a pic of my niece Kinley...she was a little nervous so she opted to ride with Charlie. (I didn't get any better pictures of her because I passed the camera on to Charlie and he was having way too much fun to take any pictures.)

What is so funny about Kinley riding with Charlie is that the middle seat on this thing stays nice and toasty and her Dad worked so hard to get her all bundled up-it took him no less than 30 minutes to get her in her gear. Aren't Dad's cute! ;o)

Before we headed out into the cold we gathered for some warm pizza and when the kids were almost completely frozen we headed back in for some nice HOT chocolate.

Cari, Alex, Brooklyn, and Andy

These two never ventured outdoors but they sure enjoyed the festivities!

Candace and Kaysie

Max's team colors...

2010-03-23T15:24:00.005-06:00

Before I start telling you this story, I want to give you some background first...just so no one gets the wrong idea. ;)

As most of you know, my husband grew up in Powell, which means that he was a Powell Panther. I was a Rocky Mountain Grizzly Bear. Since Max was old enough to talk we would tease him about who was better the Panthers or the Grizzlies. We'd ask him what he was going to be and depending on which parent he wanted to tease he would pick one. As Max has gotten older he has acquired some great friends from Lovell...they are the Bulldogs. So of course we started to tease them about the "stinking Bulldogs." (Just for the record when the Panthers or Bulldogs are not playing the Grizzlies, we love to cheer for them :)

So here it is...
My sister Lauren was playing in a basketball tournament a few weekends ago. We were watching her game over the TV and after a sad loss it was time for Max to go to bed. In his prayer that night he said, "Please help Aunt Bug (that's Lauren) win and not those stinking Bulldogs." As he finished his prayer I had to keep myself from giggling, Lauren's team wasn't even playing or going to be playing the Bulldogs!

The next weekend was State Basketball and we decided to venture down for the tournament. One morning we headed to the games a little while before the Grizzlies were due to play. As we sat and talked to Lauren and her teammates we were watching another game that was being played. This team's colors were blue-not the Bulldogs however. A few minutes into the game I looked over at Max. He was really, really into the game and cheering his hardest. It was at that point that I realized what he was saying..."come on red team, beat those Bulldogs." "Get those stinkin' Bulldogs!"

Apparently our teasing has gone a little too far! On the plus side-Max has taken my side! GO GRIZZ! hehe

Sorry Bulldogs! You can't have him! You either Panthers.

Here's the Goofball!

And here's the other one!

Mr. Max

2009-12-05T21:51:00.003-07:00

Our Christmas decorations are located on the highest shelf in the garage. In order to retrieve them for use, one must climb a very tall, very high ladder; then pull the huge totes off the shelf and balance them all the way down the ladder. I know what you are thinking-no I did not fall off the ladder...I am not that clumsy. But I did happen to drop one of my precious totes!

As I was pulling one of my Christmas totes from the shelf I realized that I had gotten myself pinned between the tote and the garage door railing. The tote couldn't move because it was wedged between me and the shelf. As I was trying to maneuver myself around the railing and the tote... my Christmas tote slipped from my hands. First it hit the shelf next in line, then it bounced off of some boxes Charlie has stacked up, then into our wheel barrow and onto the cement garage floor! It all seemed to happen in slow motion and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

So there I was standing on top of my ladder looking down at this tote hoping upon hope that there wasn't anything I truly loved in there (nativity scene). Then in the background I hear, "Wow Mom! I closed my eyes for that!" I turned around to see Max standing in doorway, eyes as big as saucers. All I could say was "Me too." Max then followed with: "Good Job, Mom." I thought he was being sarcastic..then he continued "Good job getting those down so fast. That was real fast!" Too funny, thank you Little Man! He always knows when I need him the most. (It wasn't my nativity-and can you believe that only one thing broke! Some wings broke off an angel-SUPER GLUE!)

As I was snuggling Max at bedtime tonight he was asking me questions about living with Heavenly Father before he came here to be my baby. It was so great to have a such a loving and meaningful conversation with him (as meaningful as any conversation can get with a 3 year old). When our conversation ended I climbed out of his bed and I felt good-I was proud that he 'gets it,' it was a good Mom moment for me. Then as I headed out the door I heard, "Mom, why is pee yellow?" WHAT?! Thanks again Max. :) Just when I thought I had you figured out!

GO POKES!

2009-11-13T22:54:00.005-07:00

A few weekends ago we took Max and Kaysie to their first UW Football game. Max absolutely loves to watch football on TV, so we really thought he'd have a great time. Charlie and I were a little excited too, we haven't been back to Laramie since we graduated a few years ago.

We (I mean Charlie) decided to leave at 5 am and drive straight to the game. We had hoped that our little ones would sleep most of the way-like I said we hoped. I think Max slept for maybe an hour...he was way too excited. We sat through Wyoming's beating we didn't realize that they weren't even going to score ONE point against the "stinking BYU guys." (Max's quote) After sitting through a terrible game and great weather we went to our hotel for a quick nap.

Max thought our hotel was a "beautiful house," he wanted to stay there "for lots of long times." After our very quick rest we headed back to campus to take in a UW Basketball game. Thank you Cowboys for getting at least one win for us! Max and I spent almost the entire first half of the basketball game chasing Pistol Pete down. Charlie thought we were hilarious-he said he'd watch us pop out of an entrance tunnel just in time to see Pistol Pete moving to the next section. Max kept telling me I wasn't going fast enough-so we ended up running a few times. By the time we tracked Pistol Pete down he was right in front of our seats! We could have just waited patiently at our seats and still have met him. (but then I wouldn't have been put in the running for Mom of the Year! ;) It made Max's whole weekend-he enjoyed meeting Pistol Pete far and above anything else we did.

Go Pokes! Great win last weekend-let's do it again!!!

Happy (Belated) Halloween!

2009-11-06T21:55:00.007-07:00

I know it's a little late but I couldn't let Halloween get too far in the past without saying Happy Halloween to everyone...Halloween is Max's favorite holiday so we were kept pretty busy. Here are my excited Trick-or-Treaters

Here are the final results of our yearly Pumpkin Carving Contest. Charlie's turned out so neat that Max (once again showing that he is a fair weather fan) ditched our pumpkin and claimed Charlie's!

Kaysie Jo

2009-10-26T17:16:00.007-06:00

Little Miss Kaysie is growing so fast I think I can actually see it! I wanted to share a few of her great highlights....

Kaysie loves, loves, loves eating food! In fact the only way you could possibly understand, (or truly appreciate) her love for food is by watching her eat! She is definitely taking after her Mommy!

Her love of food brings me to my next point:

At Kaysie's four month check up I was told that she is in the 50th percentile for height and 30th for weight. Her stats: 12.1 pounds and 25 inches long! Most of you reading this might not see that as anything spectacular but to us little people it is incredible. Max was never above the 3rd percentile for anything-ever.

A few weeks ago Little Miss started to get her two bottom teeth! I know what you are thinking.."she is only four months old, she can't possibly be getting teeth." Wrong-she got them and they are sharp! My baby girl never, never cries and one Sunday afternoon I could not get her to stop..ta da teeth! Poor thing. Max never hurt when his teeth came through and they came so fast. Kaysie's took a whole week to pop through, and it was pretty painful for her. Isn't it amazing that two people can be so much alike, come from the same place and still be complete opposites? Max and Kaysie seem so much alike and yet everything about them and each milestone has been completely different.

Kaysie loves her brother and is already trying play with him. She doesn't fully understand that she is too little to try crawling. She can't support her body yet, so she tries "worming" or rolling across the floor to catch him.

Like I said she is growing soooo fast!

Game Day!

2009-10-15T14:40:00.004-06:00

This is what my family was up to last weekend.

My husband got the kids dressed after I bathed them...Go Redskins! You should have seen the proud Daddy! (I had to put a bow in Kaysie's hair, without it she looked a little like a boy!)

During the game the Redskins started to lose and Max took his jersey off. Charlie was teasing him and trying to get him to put it back on..after a while Max got up and stopped watching the game. Charlie's teasing continued..Charlie finally said, "Max, Kaysie is still watching the game." Max's comeback: "Yeah, cuz she can't walk!" SNAP! I thought I was going to bust my gut I was laughing so hard! In other words if Kaysie could have walked, she would have walked right out of there.

Later in the game the Redskins started to win and my fair weather fan decided he'd put his jersey back on. :)

Why?

2009-09-26T17:46:00.002-06:00

"Why?" is a word-or in Max's case; a phrase that I hear about 200 times a day...
I have gotten so used to hearing "why" all day long that I don't really notice it-I answer and then we move on to another "why". The other day my brother spent a few hours with Max, by the end of the day Devin said, "Why do you say "why" all the time?" (It was driving him crazy!) Max looked right at him and said, "Because I don't know." DUH Devin! Pretty simple!

As I was driving Max to school yesterday, we passed the sugar beet piles. He started asking me questions about the beets; what they are for, what they do with them, can we eat them, are they good, etc. He asked questions for what seemed like forever and then when he was satisfied with this new information he just said, "Oh, I didn't know that."

These two conversations with my little man were pretty priceless. They were very simple-so I had to write them down, I didn't want to forget them.

September 15th

2009-09-19T14:01:00.008-06:00

For the last 3 years September 15th has been a very special day-it is my nephew Hudson's birthday. This year not only did we get to celebrate Hudson's birthday but we got to welcome my baby brother home! He just served a two year mission for the LDS church-he was in Roseville California (welcome back to Wyoming! You missed it didn't you?!).

We started our day by partying at Chuck E Cheeses-thanks for inviting us and sharing your birthday with us Hudson!

The boys had a blast!

The boys thought Kaysie needed a ride too

This is my favorite picture- Hudson was having way too much fun so Cari had to climb up and join in!

After convincing the boys to leave we headed for the airport....

My camera happy Dad

The Family

Here the boys are- waiting...

waiting,

and waiting!

And finally.....

Hugs from the Momma!

Loves from Dad!

The boys and Uncle Devin!

Max's first day of school

2009-09-14T00:30:00.003-06:00

You read that right...much to my dismay, my little boy is growing up very quickly. He started preschool this last Friday and will only go twice a week. He thinks it's great-I had a hard day-it was not because he was gone for a few hours, it was because he is actually old enough to be gone to school! Where does the time go? I thought he'd be my little baby forever.

This new adventure in Max's life happened quiet fast. We came to this decision in a little under a week-definitely not enough time for the Mom to adjust!

Here is his picture as he is heading out the door... saying, "I'm going to SCHOOL!" Good Luck Baby-We know you'll be great!

As for our newest baby, she is growing like a weed! She absolutely adores her brother, he can always get her to smile. I am telling you, time flies! I am pretty sure the last three months have been the fastest in my life.

Weekend at the Cabin

2009-09-11T22:02:00.005-06:00

A few weekends ago we finally took our summer cabin trip. This year we made the Walker family join us for some much needed fishin'! We had so much fun! We can't wait to do it again! Here are a few good pics from our trip.

I had to put this picture up-Aren't Max's Grils (girls) so cute!

Max loved riding the 4 wheelers-I don't know which he enjoyed more the ride or the helmet.

The littlest ones just hanging out-the Dads decided it would be easier to carry them down in their car seats, rather then putting them into the baby packs, so that they would have somewhere to sit once we were situated. It worked pretty well for Aubrey and I...but I think the Dad's underestimated the weight of baby + car seat!

Thanks for coming with us guys! We had so much fun!

Summer

2009-08-16T16:17:00.005-06:00

First I'd like to thank everyone that left me feedback about their double stroller situations...I know you have all saved me a lot of back aches and trouble! In case you care-I ordered and already received and used the Joovy caboose...the one Tina recommended. It is really nice-it's not any heavier than my graco one-seater and it folds flatter!

Anyway...Our summer-so far-has consisted of a few main events.

The first of course was the arrival of Kaysie! I think we are still getting used to having Kaysie around. She is a great baby, she is so quiet I worry that I am going to forget about her! Max is a super big brother...he would and does do anything for her!

The second event wasn't a happy one...well for Max anyway. Our "beloved" fish (that's right I said fish) died. We had this same fish for over two years! (one year shy of Max's age...so to him it's been around forever.) The day it died I decided it would be best to tell Max what had happened. As I proceeded to tell him his first words were, "Can I see it?" Charlie and I then assumed that this would be an easy conversation and an easy "good bye." We were wrong! After Max looked at Fishy and realized he was really dead-he lost it. He began to cry and sob...I couldn't believe it. This was over a fish-how attached can you really get to a fish? Apparently more than I gave Max credit for. After a long discussion of Fishy going to Heaven to be with Heavenly Father Max seemed okay. We then had a burial at sea (toilet). Throughout the next few days Max would have a breakdown here and there and cry for his Fishy. When the breakdowns began to subside he liked to talk about Fishy going to see Heavenly Father....then one afternoon as Max was finishing up in the bathroom he shot this question at me: "We flushed Fishy for him to go to Heaven. Do my poops go to Heaven too?" YIKES! That was a whole different conversation-I'll spare you those details! Max has let Fishy go...I honestly couldn't believe he was so upset-he fed him every morning and said goodnight to him at night-that was as deep as that relationship went! I hope and pray that nothing ever happens to Buzz! Buzz is Max's true companion.

Our third event...SWIMMING LESSONS! Max was absolutely terrified of water-but he did it! He had to have pep talks every morning before we left for lessons, but he did it. He got in and tried everything! I couldn't be more proud of him...if you only knew how he feared water. He used to freak in the tub if water splashed his face! Now he wants to take a shower! I don't think he would have been so successful in his lessons if he hadn't had such great teachers that he trusted completely. Yeah for Tracy! (and goggles)

Stroller Dilemma

2009-08-08T12:50:00.003-06:00

I have a few questions for anyone who has ever had or ever used a double stroller. Did you like it-or not like it? What kind did you get?

I am looking into buying a double stroller for my two kiddos. Max lost his opportunity to walk through the stores the second he did it-I realized that without the Dad around (or an extra eye from the Nana), Max really needs to be contained in the stores. He is so small I loose him very quickly and that terrifies me-I am a worrier about kids being stolen. (I still worry that I might get stolen -crazy I know-but it is true.-Thanks Mom!)

I have been very close to buying the Graco dou glider-I like that it is tandem (easier to get through shopping racks) and it can hold a baby carrier-for the littlest one. I just don't know if Max is too big for it already-in his eyes anyway. I have also seen the Sit-n-stand-which would be great for Max...but I am not sure about Kaysie. The front bar has to be removed and replaced in order to put the baby carrier on. I didn't think this would be bad- I thought I'd just lay Kaysie in it- but apparently it doesn't lay flat and she can't sit up yet... blah, blah, blah!

So I have a dilemma on my hands. I don't want to spend a fortune on a stroller when I have a great one kid seater and I don't know how long I'll need a double. If anyone has had experience with any kind of double stroller-please let me know.

My Brother

2009-07-31T14:18:00.003-06:00

My Little Brother has been serving a mission for the past two years-we miss him incredibly! In his last email he shared the good news he is coming home....not yet, exactly-but he got his official date of release. We get to see him September 15th! (on Hudson's b-day!) We still have a while, but we can't wait! The boys (Max and Hudson) are really excited to see Uncle Devin. Before Devin left he was very close to each of the boys, not a day went by that he didn't stop by to just "hang" with them. We aren't sure if they really remember him, or if they are going by our stories of him...but they know the words Uncle Devin mean fun!

Here is a picture of the boys now

This is a picture taken of Max, in Utah-dropping Devin off at the MTC

Here is Hudson at Devin's going away party

Devin and Max outside the MTC

The boys have changed quiet a bit since Devin saw them last. Last week in his email he made some comment about how weird it is to see your nephews grow through pictures and how much weirder it is to only know of your niece through pictures and emails. I sent Devin some pictures from the 4th and he said, "it is always crazy to see them! (the boys) I am always like those are not my nephews! but they are! it is so crazy! i cant wait to just hang out with them!" They can't wait either!

A Day At The Park

2009-07-13T12:12:00.001-06:00

Kaysie and her favorite blanket

Max and Hudson

Baby Blessing

2009-07-06T22:09:00.003-06:00

We blessed Kaysie at church this last Sunday...she looked beautiful! Her dress was so pretty, my Grandma Leonhardt had kept my Mother's baptism dress from when she was a baby and we were able to use it for Kaysie. I thought I'd share a picture of my baby girl in her pretty dress with you. (The picture doesn't show all the neat details and stitches in the dress.)

Fireworks!

2009-07-06T09:47:00.005-06:00

Max had a blast over the 4th! He decided that he really likes fireworks. After we attended the Mustang days fireworks he couldn't wait for more fireworks. Before the actual fireworks started on the 4th we started our festivities with some s'mores roasting and some sparkler racing. Max and Hudson were having so much fun with the sparklers they went through about 50 of them. Of course they got the standard-"Don't touch them they are hot" lecture and "Don't get close to each other with them" lecture as well. All was going great for quiet a while, they went through about 3 packs without an incident. Then it happened....Max's sparkler went out. I swear it happened in slow motion, he reached up and pinched the still orange end of the sparkler. He burned the tip of his pointer finger pretty bad. I rushed him into the house to get cold water on it. He was pretty tough...after the initial crying stopped and Aunt Cari saved the day with an ice pack, he went back to the fireworks. He did have to keep coming back to the ice throughout the night-but I was pretty impressed when he wanted to do sparklers again!

Kaysie in her festive, Red-White-and Blue outfit

INTRODUCING...

2009-06-03T19:24:00.004-06:00

Our little Girl....Kaysie Jo Cooley! Kaysie was born June 2nd at 2:12 pm. She weighed in at 7 pounds 1.3 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. We were prepared for her to come by way of induction-but she beat us to the punch! She made a very quick entrance into the world, and we are ever grateful to our wonderful nurse who was on the ball! Max loves Kaysie to pieces and couldn't be a better big brother.

Baby Update....

2009-05-14T16:05:00.007-06:00

With 3 weeks to go we (I) am getting very excited...a little too excited. My problem is that Max came 3 weeks early and I was hoping for the same with Baby Sister. It looks like that is a no go! I know it isn't real safe to have your baby come early but I really just want her now! Not to mention I have officially lost feeling in my right hand's fingers. The Doc says that it could be from swelling in my arm or a pinched nerve in my back...either way I can't do anything about it until the baby comes! Do you know how annoying it is to lack feeling in your hand. The other day my straightening iron started to fall-I caught it and as my pinkie (the only finger with feeling) wrapped around the iron I realized that I was being burned! Nice! I had burned my other fingers and not even noticed-at least they didn't hurt!

We had another ultrasound yesterday...Dr. Cruz wanted to check the baby's measurements. I also made the radiologist quadruple check the gender of "Baby Sister" (she's still a girl!) According to the Doc Baby Sister is already about 6 pounds 1 ounce! That is almost a half pound bigger than Max was when he was born! I know that sounds small but I still have 3 weeks to go! Yikes! Charlie's cousin Jamie was so thoughtful, she brought over a huge box of beautiful preemie clothes for us to use...it looks as if our chubby baby might not get a chance to wear them-which is good.

I thought I would attach a neat picture of Baby Sister-I can't believe how chubby her cheeks look! Max was never on the chubby side...I can't wait to pinch her legs-if her cheeks are that chubby I can't wait to see her legs. (That is my gene coming out!)

Doesn't she look ticked-she doesn't look impressed at all! :)

Thoughts from Max

2009-05-01T19:02:00.000-06:00

Every morning I ask Max how he slept, most days I get the same type of reply -"Good" or "fine." The other morning was different. I went in to wake him up and I asked him how he slept and his reply was, "Like this" and he started to snore! It was at this point that I realized he had been spending way too much time with his Papa! If any of you know my Dad or remember my Grandpa Peterson's sense of humor you will know what I am talking about.

A few nights ago Max and I were snuggling before bedtime when he pretended to "have a baby." (According to him you say "bink" and the baby will pop right out.) He said to me, "Mom look at my beautiful baby. Isn't she tiny, look at her tiny toes. Would you like to tickle them?" After we were done admiring his "new baby" he decided it was time to "bink" it back in. I told him that you just can't put it back after it comes out and he laughed hysterically. I don't know if he was laughing because he thought I was teasing him, or if he was thinking something like -"let's wait and see."

Max was admiring his new shoes when he asked me, "Mom who got me these? Was it Aaron?" (Max has gotten some really great superhero hand-me-downs from Aaron.)

Me: "No, I gave them to you for your birthday."

Max: "Oh, did you get them from Hobby Lobby?"

I may be obsessed with Hobby Lobby.....

As Max and I were climbing into the car I told him to climb into his car seat and his reply was, "Okay Mom, don't freak out!"

Another incident in the car:

Max was climbing out and I wasn't helping him-he looked right at me and said, "What the heck Mom!"

Dreaming of Golf

2009-04-22T14:16:00.008-06:00

One night I woke up to Max crying in his bed. I went in to see what was wrong, he was still half asleep. I tried to calm him down and all he kept saying (in a panicked voice) was, "I can't go golfing!" I decided I would try and talk him through the course (like his Papa does) to get him back to his dream...it wasn't working-and by this time he is completely hysterical. I thought I better get a golfing expert for some help...I woke Charlie up and sent him in. A little while later Charlie came back into our room -when I asked him what the problem was he said, "He couldn't find his ball."

A few nights ago Max woke me up at about 4:30 -he was very calm, no crying, no panicking...so I asked him what he was doing up and told him it wasn't time to get up yet. He told me that he couldn't find blankie. So we walked to his room, searched his bed for blankie and tucked him back into bed. As he started drifting back to sleep he said to me, "I need a Seven Iron, Mom." I tried not to giggle and told him we should get him one.

Is is normal to think about golf so much that is takes over your dreams?! What little kid thinks, eats, and dreams golf!? (When I say eat-I mean drink. Max saw a Gatorade/Tiger Woods commercial and now (other than chocolate milk) that is all he wants to drink.)

Max is constantly talking about golf and going to the course with his Papa and his Daddy. My brother has commented in a few of his letters about losing his spot in the "golfing trio" to Max. My Dad came home with a pretty funny story about the course the other day and wanted to share it with Devin, I thought it was pretty good too -so I wanted to share it with you.

"I hear that you are afraid of losing your spot in our golf trio. I want you to know that I have enlisted Max for driving accuracy and putting skills against you and Charlie. Max has already told me that we will beat you guys like a drum. He plays a tough game. He has all the refined skills too. He talks in your back swing, makes fun of your putting stroke when you miss a putt, and never hesitates to tell your friends how often you hit it into the junk. Charlie missed a 4 footer the other day and Max spent the next 15 minutes reminding him; “that was a bad stroke dad.” We were playing with Wade at the time and Wade had a putt of about the same length on the same hole. After he made the put, he said he had never felt such pressure. He was afraid Max would be riding him for the next few holes. Anyway, to make it short; I have simply strengthened my team by adding a stick."

Max turns 3!

2009-04-16T19:14:00.007-06:00

Max's third birthday was yesterday! He celebrated it to the fullest and was surrounded by a huge, loving family. He got spoiled rotten!

Where has the time gone? The last three years have been the fastest of my life, Max has been the greatest blessing in my life-I can't even begin to imagine my life without him. He is my whole world and he is "One of a Kind" as my Grandpa "nicely" puts it. ;)

I remember when he was brand new and I thought that I couldn't possibly love him more-that our time together couldn't get any sweeter...but as time has gone on I catch myself thinking that thought every single day. (most days)

Each stage in his life has been my favorite - then looking back at past stages and events I get sad thinking that stage was my favorite too. It just goes too stinking fast! Soon he won't be my baby anymore...but it is hard not to think of him that way.

Happy (belated) Easter!

2009-04-14T12:55:00.005-06:00

We had a great Easter at our house and hope everyone else did too. I was told that I needed to update my blog...but it feels as if nothing exciting has been happening around here-nothing blog worthy- so I thought I'd share some pictures of Max.

Doesn't he look just like his Dad!!!!

Max and Charlie had a great time dying Easter Eggs...

For those of you who don't know-Max is obsessed with Superheroes....he even created his own Superhero a while ago: "GOGGLE MAN!" I don't know where he even gets these things but it was so hilarious-he looked completely ridiculous for about a week!

Bowling

2009-03-31T09:37:00.004-06:00

Clear back in February-if you can remember back that far, we went bowling with "Max's Girls." (Max absolutely adores his friends Alex and Brooklyn Walker, he calls them his girls and wants to do something with them constantly.)

Anyway...we had a great time. It was actually Max's first attempt at bowling and he loved it! He even noticed the guy next to us was leaving his leg back-after Max's second turn he even had the "pose" down! I don't know if it was such a good idea to introduce him to another sport-he gets obsessed way to easily.

Here are some pics from our bowling trip.

Max holding the pose-notice the back leg...he'd roll the ball and then watch his leg (not the ball) to make sure it was in the right spot.

Actually this is Max "smiling" for the camera. It looks pretty pained! I can't tell you how many pictures we have that look like this!

Max is waiting and waiting...

2009-03-09T15:14:00.003-06:00

Max, for now, is very excited about his baby sister. He can't wait for her to come (like I said-for now). He is constantly trying to talk to her, he tells her stories and more importantly he explains the basics of golfing to her. When I say talk to her I mean he has to get as close to my belly as possible and having my shirt between him and baby sister just won't do. It gets a little embarrassing when he thinks of something he wants to tell her while we are in a public place. I can just imaging what people are thinking as they watch Max and I fight-me trying to keep my shirt down and him trying to move it out of the way. Real nice!

A couple of days ago I was talking to Max from the living room. I said something like, "I think your baby sister is going to be more of a handful than you. She never stops moving." And I hear his feet hit the floor as he came running down the hall with his hands in the air yelling, "She came out!" I thought that was the cutest thing I have seen yet. He loves her to pieces already and what more can a mother ask for!

Vegas!

2009-02-06T10:14:00.009-07:00

I am a horrible blogger! I thought I better catch everyone up on what has been going on around here.

A few weeks ago we went to Vegas! Charlie had never been, so my friend Aubrey and I decided that would be a great excuse to go. To really get Charlie to bite we threw in the fact that it was my birthday-with that combo Charlie couldn't refuse. (Did I mention he got to golf-I think that was the icing on the cake!)

We had a great time, I think we did everything we set out to do. We were only there 3 nights-without kids. I forgot how fast you can move without them around! We were exhausted.

We got stopped by the Extra TV Show and were asked a few questions for the show. We got to be on TV! (for a split second) Ben (Aubrey's hubby) and Charlie didn't want to do it-somehow Ben eventually won that fight-while Aubrey and I were both jumping at the chance!

We had a great time with Ben and Aubrey! They are so much fun-Thanks guys!

We got home from Vegas and kept moving-

I am very spoiled and got a beautiful new bedroom set, so we had about a week of chaos. Moving out the old, trying to get in the new and then the mess of cleaning up afterword. It is finally in (where I want it) and I absolutely love it.

We were so busy for so long that I am now finally able to sit down without falling asleep-thus the reason for the post.

Being Tired

2009-01-27T21:42:00.003-07:00

This morning we had the privilege of attending a wonderful birthday breakfast for one of Max's great friends. We were so happy that Blake decided to share his special day with us. I can't believe he is three already, that means Max's third is creeping up on us!

Max was so excited the night before (he loves going to Blake's house) that he had a hard time staying in bed. I kept reminding him that we had to get up real early so he needed a lot of sleep...and if he woke up grouchy he wasn't going to go-that finally did the trick, he forced himself to sleep.

When I went in this morning to wake him up I said, "Good morning. Do you want to get up and get ready to go to Blake's?" He rolled over and through tired, half slit eyes he looked at me and said, "I'm like Wall-E," and he rolled back over with a moan. I asked him what he was talking about, while trying to make sense of what he just said. Then he turns over again and says, "I'm like Wall-E, ugh." As he is saying this he is acting like he can't really get his arms to move...it was just too long (or too short) of a night.

It is at this point I realize what he means and I can't stop laughing. One of his favorite parts in the movie Wall-E is when Wall-E wakes up and is so tired that he can't hardly function and begins to moan and groan until he can get outside to charge his battery.

Only my son would remember this minor detail and use it in his own little world. He really summed it up right though, there are days I feel just like Wall-E too. If you have seen the movie you know what I am talking about-those mornings that come way too soon!

Thank you Megan and Blake for a fun morning! We had a great time, it was all Max talked about the rest of the day.

Quick update...

2009-01-15T20:29:00.002-07:00

After a 45 minute ultrasound we are positive that we are having a baby GIRL! Can you believe it? We can't! Our little girl was moving and kicking like crazy, she even got the hiccups- so the radiologist reassured me that if there was something there to see- we would have seen it. Instead we saw a line, or in their words "the hamburger."

(I know what happened to Emily and her beautiful/handsome Stetson, so I am still a little hesitant-even after two ultrasounds saying she's a girl.)

Max is now excited to have a baby sister, but he is still insisting on the name Mason...sometimes Mason gets switched with Spider-man, or Chris Cooley-but most of the time she's still baby Mason. We have determined that girl names are way harder to pick out that boy names, but what do we know...our son shares his name with most people's dogs!! haha

Thanks for sharing in our excitement! It was so fun to read all of your thoughts and well wishes.

IT'S A.......

2008-12-31T13:59:00.006-07:00

Girl!

We went to the doctor yesterday for our "unofficial" ultrasound. We took a cheating peek at our baby and of course it was being shy. The little turkey was all balled up, and wouldn't even show us her face. The only view we were getting of her was her back and back of her head. She'd trick us by acting like she was going to roll over so that we could see the side of her head and her arms waving all over-but she never fully turned for us.

My wonderful doctor kept looking for us and we could finally see what we were looking for-Girl parts! Our doctor was really sure-but told us that there could still be a slight chance that it could be a boy, that maybe the "boy parts" were hiding since she was so curled up. She told us she didn't think she was wrong, but I get to go for another ultrasound on the 13th. This one is with the hospital, they do all sorts of checking and measuring-so we get to check again.

I am still in shock-I really thought we would have another boy. Max was really ticked! When Charlie turned to him and said, "that means your going to have a sister." Max said, "I can't want it!" He was pretty set on having a baby brother, whom he had already named Baby Mason. (I don't know where he got that name from.) I think after a day of getting used to the thought of a girl he might be starting to warm up to the idea.

Santa is Coming!

2008-12-21T16:09:00.003-07:00

This Christmas season has been so much fun at our house. Max is excited beyond belief. He cannot wait for Santa to hit our house! Our home has been filled with Max's versions of Christmas songs; while he knows a few "real" songs he has also made up some of his own. My personal favorite is "Max loves Santa." He has the Santa thing all figured out this year and I can't even begin to tell you how much fun it is.

Max has had the opportunity to see Santa Clause twice this year. Our first encounter went great! Max ran up to Santa, sat on his lap and then started asking Santa tons and tons of questions-he asked about his reindeer, the elves, his sleigh, etc. I had to physically remove Max from Santa so that other kids could get their turn with the big guy.

Our next visit to Santa was my favorite and it is one that I hope I never forget. Two Saturday's ago was our ward Christmas party and when Santa showed up Max flipped. Let me first begin by telling you that while we were all waiting for dear old Santa we were all singing Christmas carols. The chorister was asking for suggestions as to what to sing. That is when Max stood on his chair and yelled as loud as he could "Rudolph!" Among all the other shouting he wasn't heard so he kept saying it. We sang a short carol and when the chorister asked again a lady that was sitting with us said, "Max has one." Everyone turned around to see Max standing on his chair with a big grin on his face and he says, "Max has one." The chorister asked what it was and he yelled "Rudolph!" as loud as he could! The entire song of Rudolph Max couldn't stop singing and smiling.

After a few more Christmas songs Santa Clause walked through the door-Max looked at me and I knew he wanted to go see him so I nodded. Little did I know that the usual slow poke Max is actually a highly trained sprinter. Max took off chasing Santa down. I believe Max would have caught up to him before he hit the stage but too many people kept cutting him off. (It is at this point that I really wished I had brought my video camera-I don't ever want to forget his reaction.) I had to take off to catch him before he mauled Santa, but by the time I reached the stairs for the stage I saw Michelle Banks' face. She was smiling and pointing to the top of the stage, "He's already up there!" Apparently Max doesn't know about "cutting"-there were a few kids already in line by the time he got there but he didn't care, he pushed his way through. Luckily my Uncle Ray was at the top ushering kids to and from Santa and caught him before he kicked the first kid off Santa's lap. He waited in line very impatiently and when his turn came he was in complete awe of the big jolly man. He told Santa that he wants a computer for Christmas. Is he Charlie's kid or what?! haha! After he was done and climbed down off the stage he realized that his time with Santa was over and started crying. "I need Santa, I want to see him again." I tried to explain that all the other kids need a turn with him-but he really didn't care-he watched all the other kids go through the line and then suckered my Aunt Cresta into taking him up again.

Most of you have heard about his Santa hat...he wears it constantly-he pretends he is Santa. He'll say "Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas." and then he'll tell you to sit on his lap then ask you what you want for Christmas.

We are definitely having a Merry Christmas at our home and are hoping that all of you are too. Have a great Christmas!

Husband Tag

2008-12-17T13:43:00.003-07:00

1. Where did you meet your husband? We met in college, over his fall break. He was attending UW and I was in Powell. We had a mutual friend we were both going to the movie with, we ended up chatting through the entire movie.

2. How long did you date? We dated from the fall of 2001 to the summer of 2003-we were married in August of 2003.

3. How long have you been married? 5 years

4. What does he do that surprises you? He is Super Dad-he is Max's hero. I never thought I'd see him do the things he does or play the games he plays, just to please Max. Sometimes it's too funny!

5. What is your favorite feature of his? His rosy cheeks-don't tell him!

6. What is his best quality? He is a very hard worker, very motivated

7. Does he have a nick name for you? I am embarrassed to admit this but it used to be "babycakes" which has now been taken over by "mom"

8. What is his favorite food? His Mamma's cookin', next is Mexican at El Tapatio

9. What is his favorite sport? Whatever sport season it currently is.

10. When and where was your first kiss? I can't remember...how sad is that?!

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Watch movies-at home

12. Do you have children? Yes

13. Does he have hidden talents? Yes-but he likes to keep them "hidden"

14. How old is he? 26

15. Who said I love you first? He did

16. His favorite music? Almost anything-unless it's something I want to listen to!

17. What do you admire most about him? He works hard to take care of his family-his family is his most important possession

18. What is his favorite color? I don't think he has one

19. Will he read this? no

20. Who do you tag? Tina, Kim and Madison

Our Secret

2008-12-02T16:12:00.003-07:00

We're having a baby!

By now I am sure, most of you have found out that we are expecting a new addition to our family. My family is absolutely no good at keeping secrets-especially when they are excited!

After coming home from church on Sunday I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror- I decided I better let the cat out of the bag. I didn't want people to think I ate the entire turkey all by myself over Thanksgiving! Not that I am huge-yet, but it seemed a bump showed up over night.

This little one took a while to get here, I guess it was another lesson for me; God's Will is far greater than Jamie's! We are so thrilled, and Max can't wait. He is already calling "it" his "baby brother." I am only 14 weeks along-not due until June 2nd. (Feels so far away!) December 30th we get to do an ultrasound to see what gender our little one will be, I can't wait!

For those of you who kept pestering us about when we were going to have another one -Sorry we held out on you for so long-we had a few issues we were worried about. Everything seems to be great now. The doc gave the baby two thumbs up!

So now you all know-we can't wait!

Warning

2008-11-23T20:28:00.005-07:00

Okay, I really needed to push that nasty kidney stone post down but nothing eventful has been going on in our home.

After reading Madison's blog I realized I should have let everyone know that a vacuum salesmen was out and about. Luckily for me many years ago I was able to witness this sales approach first hand. They gave my mom a wow and dazzle show many years ago and it has never left my memory.

The other day I had put Max down for a nap and decided that it was the perfect time to give Buzz a bath. Now when I give our dog a bath it tends to get pretty messy, so I had taken my sweatshirt off leaving only my very lovely but favorite tank top-the "white trash" kind-in its place. Let me tell you, I was looking great-other than me the only other being that ever sees me in this incredible get-up is my dog. Just after I had gotten Buzz covered with shampoo the door bell rang. I really didn't want to answer it-but our TV was on and it is clearly visible from the front door. I didn't want to offend any one-have them think I was avoiding them or something-so I tried to see who it was. From where I was standing it looked like one of Charlie's co-workers. I figured Charlie sent him over while he was in the neighborhood to borrow another tool or something. I thought that I had better answer it-or deal with a cranky husband later.

After "convincing" Buzz that he is okay and to STAY in the sink, I answer the door. This kid shoves a box of baking soda in my face and asks "Do you use baking soda?" I answer, "Yes, I do" and as he tries to hand it to me I finish by saying "but I don't want yours." At that moment I hear my dog jump from the sink and he rounds the corner to where I am standing-bubbles and all. I grab his towel and wrap him up-so I am standing in the door with a wet, soapy dog-now I am all wet and this kid proceeds to question me. I tell him over and over that "obviously I am very busy right now and it is not a good time." He tells me, "I have just ONE MORE QUESTION for you, my boss has it in the car." I am pretty sure that I gave him a real nasty look that he clearly did not pick up on (that's a guy for you) at that point he turned and ran to his van. He came back up my steps carrying a vacuum.

I lost it! I tried to be as nice as I could while being completely annoyed. I know that everyone has to make a living-but most people use common sense, if someone doesn't want what your selling-LEAVE THEM ALONE! As I see what the box is I proceed to tell him, "My mom has a Kirby and she loves it-but I can't afford it. Thanks." I started to close the door and he steps in a little farther, "This will only take a few minutes of your time." My reply-"As you can see," looking down at my stinking dog, "I don't have a few minutes to spare right now" and I closed the door.

After he left I was a little aggravated but I got over it after venting to my mom. It wasn't until after I had read Madison's blog that I realized his "few minutes of your time" wasn't necessarily the case-it was a two hour demonstration! Like my soapy dog and I could sit through that.

I am sorry I didn't warn anyone sooner. Like I said before, the vacuum they are selling is great-expensive but great. I just didn't get the sales approach, he may need a little training the in common courtesy department.

Charlie's kidney stone....

2008-11-11T12:32:00.004-07:00

This blog post is mostly for Charlie's curious family...they have been wanting more information about Charlie's kidney stones. After two emergency room runs over a span of a few weeks, Charlie finally passed a ginormous kidney stone.

Poor guy-Charlie is not one for Doctors or hospitals, he thinks that he will get better all on his own. That's why the day Charlie came home 20 minutes after he left for work, pale as a ghost requesting a chauffeur to the emergency room-I panicked. We arrived at the ER at about 6:15 am and weren't able to leave until 8:30ish. One shot later and he was out cold for the rest of the day. He was able to go about a week with bearable pain. One Sunday he woke up fighting the pain and the second Max and I got home from church we took another trip to the ER. One quick shot later and we were home and Charlie snoozed the rest of the day. Max thought taking his dad to the ER was great fun, he hasn't stopped playing doctor. Charlie seemed fine for what seemed like a couple of weeks and the day before Halloween he came home from work carrying a paper cup. He ended up passing this giant kidney stone at work-nice! Anyway...we hope that is the end of the story. He has been feeling a little ache in his side again, so cross your fingers!

I know that Donna (Charlie's Mom), Grandma and Grandpa-and other family members really wanted to see the picture my weird husband took of his kidney stone so here it is. To anyone else I am sorry.

Halloween...it's a little late

2008-11-05T09:56:00.009-07:00

Okay I am a little late on the Halloween post, but there is a good reason. Over the weekend I got my finger caught in a pair of dog nail clippers and it actually cut the tip of my finger pad off. Not only do I feel like an idiot, but it hurts so bad I can't use my finger. It feels a little better today so I thought I would let you all know how much Max loved Halloween!

Every morning starting a week before Halloween Max would ask, "Trick-or-treat, today?" We had to keep reminding him that it wasn't time yet. Then the day of he asked the same question, "Trick-or-treat, today?" When Charlie answered "yes," Max's excited reply was "Let's go!" Then we had to explain that you can't go trick-or-treating until after you take a nap. That wasn't the greatest explanation we could of given. He was way too excited to settle down for a nap...it wasn't from our lack of trying either. We did everything we could think of to get him to sleep, every time he even got close to sleep he'd say, "don't leave without me." What kind of Mom does he think I am? When have I ever left him out of something fun? Do I really come across as a person that loves Halloween so much I just can't wait to get out there?

Anyway...he had a great night! He loved it all, he even got up on Saturday and asked if we could do it again. This year he really got into the pumpkin carving too, he even designed his own pumpkin face.

I Blame Myself

2008-10-28T18:06:00.003-06:00

I really have no one to blame but myself for what happened at lunch yesterday.

As Max and I were eating he accidentally spilled his milk. It didn't look like he had spilled much; I think most of it went between his bib and his shirt. I got up to get a towel and while in the kitchen I heard him mumble something about taking his bib off. As I rounded the corner I saw that he had gotten his bib off to inspect the damage done to his shirt. He had started to wipe the milk off his shirt and in the process I hear my 2-year-old say, "You gotta be freakin' kiddin' me!"

Yes, I admit it-this is a phrase I use often. I am not proud of it-especially now that I know my son has picked it up and knows exactly how to use it. I, however, did not say it when he spilled his milk. :)