Last Weekend in September

Raly took all the food ads and decided to open a restaurant. She named it POP. ??? She spent nearly 2 hours creating the menu.
This is part of the menu before she added the prices.
Later, Raly and Reese decided to paint. Mostly, Reese enjoyed playing in the water. At one point, he was eating raisins while painting and he decided that his raisins tasted quite delicious after soaking in the brown paint water. YUCK!
Our kitchen faucet wasn't working so well, so plumber Rhett spent much of the morning taking it out. He thought he might be able to fix it, but it was just too rusty.
After several (4) trips to either Ace or Home Depot, we ended up with this beautiful faucet. Great job, Rhett!

We're Back!

Okay, so I am finally feeling like I can breathe again. I've made it back on top... for now. Most of the time, I like my job, but when it takes over my life, I begin to wonder if it's worth the stress.

Anyway, we are all doing well. Bozeman is hanging in there. He is becoming less and less coordinated as he loses more feeling in his back legs. We will have to use the cart more and more in the months to come. However, he's still a happy dog- always waiting for the kids to drop even the smallest amount of food!


After Reese's speech therapy today, we needed to run some errands. I asked him to put on his shoes (which I knew wasn't going to happen, but I thought I'd give it a try). He ended up wearing Raly's shoes. He was so disappointed when I made him wear his own shoes.
So, I had a weak moment at Target. Here's the story: Raly took her sleeping bag to school so that she would have something to rest on during the time before and after school while I'm working. Because we already haul a "boat load" of stuff to and from school each day, we decided that it would be easiest to leave it there. I told her that she could ask for a new sleeping bag for her birthday so that she'd have one for home. While at Target she asked just to go look at sleeping bags-it turned out that they were only $11.99 and I started to feel myself begin to waiver. Big parental mistake, I know. After calling Daddy to get his opinion, we ended up buying one for Raly and one for Reese. How cool that they came with their own water bottle, flashlight, and backpack! Raly said, "We are having a lucky day!" When we got home, they wanted to have a pretend camp out in the tents. In the end, for about $24, I got some peace and quiet for an entire hour while they played (without fighting) in the basement with their new "toys."

Work, work, work.

I don't have anything new to blog about. I have been working a lot and the kids have been watching more television than they should. After the 22nd, I'm hopeful that things will calm down. So, check back next week! Thanks.

Time to go home.

We had such a great time in Vail. So many wonderful memories. The kids played one last time in Grandpa's truck before we left for home. Mental note: leave before 10:00 a.m. on Labor Day to avoid stop and go traffic.

Shopping in Vail Village

For whatever reason, I'm not able to cut and paste pictures to get them in the correct order so these are in random order.

Raly, Mom, and I went shopping while the boys rested at the house. Raly got a hat and a toy from the Toy Store. I'm sure the prices weren't at all inflated!


Later in the afternoon, Dad and Reese met us to get some dinner. It was pretty chilly, but Reese played in the water anyway.
When we got home, Raly played with her new toy: "Ballerina Girl" also known as "Earing."
We took the bus from the Lionshead area to Vail Village. It rained on us for about an hour and then was sunny and pleasant.
Raly and Grandma wait for Emily to finish her shopping.
While we were waiting for Emily, we watched this man who looks like a statue. When you put money into his guitar, he tipped his hat and winked at you; otherwise he didn't move a muscle. We told Emily to sit by the statue so that we could take her picture. She knew we were up to something, but she wasn't sure what.
Well, he must have moved slightly and she got spooked. We laughed so hard we cried. Emily didn't think it was so funny.
Raly poses with a real statue!

Raly's Soccer Practice and Game

Friday night was Raly's first practice. Here she is kicking into the goal. It was pretty chilly and she let us know that she didn't like having cold hands.
Saturday was the first game for her team: The Orange Crush.
I think her favorite part was sitting on the sidelines talking to her new friend Megan.
While Raly was playing in her game, Rhett and I took turns playing with Reese. He likes "dayin docco."
This was the closest that Raly got to the ball. She didn't want to get knocked down, of course!

We told her that she could play on the playground if she played in the game. At one point during the game, she asked the coach if she could sit out because she was tired! Oh boy.

Well, I guess the running did wear her out. This is how she fell asleep during "quiet time."

Camp Fire Lunch

We drove up into the mountains to find a place to have a camp fire. The ride was just a little bumpy. The kids rode with Grandma and Grandpa and Em rode with Rhett and me. We were told that Raly didn't like the big bumps and I don't think Dad much liked having the truck on the rutted road either. I didn't like the drop offs at all!




Finally we found a suitable place to make our fire to cook hot dogs and marshmallows for
S mores.
The kids loved having a camp fire. They found little twigs to throw into the fire and couldn't wait to actually cook something.
Even Raly devoured a charred hog dog and she doesn't even like hot dogs. I guess that the camping atmosphere made them taste good!



Rhett took Bozeman up the mountain. He did great going up, but had difficulty going down, so he put the sling on to help him get down. It worked great and he was so happy to be running in the mountains.

We all had great time. Don't know how I don't have a picture of Emily on this outing!
Throwing rocks down the mountain. Mom was so impressed with Raly's "follow through."

We had to watch Reese very closely. He liked to get the very edge before throwing the biggest rock he could find.

Sunday Morning in Vail

Sometimes, the silliest things make kids laugh uncontrollably. I wish had a short video clip of this. They were both laughing so hard that it just made you want to laugh with them. They put their cups on the table and Emily tried to grab them before they could. So simple, so funny! Just in case anybody is curious. Yes, Emily was on her laptop!

Saturday Evening

Saturday evening we spent at the house. Grandma brought Raly some Jean Robert clothes from Atwood which prompted a fashion show. She tried on all of her clothes and after that she made up little games in which Auntie Em, Grandma, and Aunt Darlene were forced to participate in. Good thing I had the job of photographer.

Raly's first outfit!
Reese interrupted often; trying to gain some of the attention. He knew he was not allowed to eat in the living room. Obviously, he thinks negative attention is better than no attention!
Cute outfit, but look at the floor! I had flash forwards to what her room will look like as a teenager.

Reese trying to get more attention by trying on Daddy's backpack. It's just a little big.
Emily told Raly to show her "sassy face."

The sassiness continues. Okay, this is where the "games" begin. She tried on each outfit again, but with each one she made up a different "game" in which the grown-ups were told to "do what I do." I was laughing so hard I was crying!

Aunt Darlene was told to close her eyes and catch as many clothes as she could.

After a busy, but entertaining evening, the kids watched television with Grandma before heading to bed. The line up: Sponge Bob and the end of Sound of Music.


What a day! Stay tuned for the fun we had on Sunday. I don't know how some of you other moms (Kel and Dedra) stay so on top of blogging. It's exhausting, but rewarding!

Saturday in Vail - A day at the park.

Saturday morning we went to a park to play and have a picnic. First we drove to Betty Ford Park and discovered that dogs were not allowed. So as we drove on to Pirates Park, we came across this park and it was fabulous! A river/stream ran across the back side of the park, the play equipment was very fun, our picnic spot was ideal, and the soccer fields allowed for a great place for all of us to run and dry off after getting wet and sandy at the stream.

Reese enjoyed climbing on all of the "big kid" equipment. He had no interest in playing on the toddler structure!
Time for a picnic that Daddy packed.

Both kids discovered that they like eating whole apples instead of sliced apples.


Bozeman enjoyed the picnic the most-relaxation and food!

The kids decided to eat away from us on the stone bench near the play equipment.

Playing on the swings!


It was a photogenic day for Raly. She actually wanted to have her picture taken.

An attempt at a group picture!
Throwing rocks!
Bozeman looks so good in this picture. He does so much better running than he does walking- as long as it's for short distances.
Race time!