Monday, July 27, 2009

Dirty and Sneaky

On Saturday we were able to have a garage sale with some friends of ours. Actually, they had a big family yard sale, and I brought over some of our old baby clothes and some other things that we were ready to get rid of. It was the first yard sale I've been a part of (I say "I" instead of "we" because Joel was working). It was nice to do it with pros, because they really knew what they were doing! We we able to get rid of a lot of our stuff and make a little cash while we were at it, so that was really nice. And we had a good time, at that! :)

Saturday evening Will was so incredibly dirty that I had to get a picture, but it just didn't do it justice. His face and hands were covered in paint, sidewalk chalk, and dirt.

I included this pic of Adam because I thought he looked a lot like Joel in it. What do you think?

This morning Joel and I were cleaning out some shelves in our room, and when we got done this is where we found Adam...

The lid on the toothpaste was securely on, he wasn't able to eat any of it in case anyone is worried. If he had been downing toothpaste I'm sure I wouldn't have sprinted for my camera. :)

Joel just got done working four days, and now he has a few days off. Yeah!

Friday, July 17, 2009

Pics

I found Adam cuddled up to Jenna the other morning while watching cartoons. He was so nicely sharing his blanket with her, too.


Does anyone watch "Lost"? In the mountain the other day I found this abandoned blue van. Strange? For me, yes. I was scared to look inside for fear of finding a dead body. Yikes!


Adam is too big for his baby carrier, but we put him in it anyway. :) He can stand on the bottom bar and look over Joel's shoulder. He can also give him kisses!


My kids like to eat lunch outside sometimes. They take out what they call the "picnic blanket" and their plates and eat in the sunshine. Sometimes when it's too hot they will do their set up under the shade of a tree. :)

Monday, July 13, 2009

Woo Hoo!

I just have to put on a quick note about my husband! On Saturday he took the NCLEX, which is the test one must take in order to become registered as a nurse. He was really worried after he was done that he didn't pass. However, today he was able to check the results; HE PASSED! Yeah! I am so proud of him! Way to go, honey!!!!!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Mustang Days and Family Reunion

We've had a fun and busy few weeks. About two weeks ago we went up to Lovell for the end of Mustang Days. We had fun participating in a few of the activities, such as Family Fun Night and the Parade. My kids really had a fun time with everything. At the parade the kids were right up there to get the candy and I sat on the curb with them, while Joel and Adam sat a bit farther back with some of his family. We didn't get many pictures, but here's one of them at the parade. Will complained a few times that he couldn't get any candy, and to be fair he was having to compete with young teenage boys (seriously, they are old enough to go buy their own candy. Irritating!) but Will did a fine job of collecting plenty of candy!



On the Sunday after Mustang Days Joel had to head back to Laramie so he could work Mon-Wed. I stayed in Lovell because my sister Mary and her family got to Lovell Sunday night! We really missed Joel while he was gone, but we had so much fun with everyone! We went to Horseshoe Bend one afternoon for swimming. The lake was very high and dirty, I don't know how I swam in that thing as a kid! Grandpa Bill brought the canoe out and took us all on canoe rides, which was a lot of fun. At first Will wouldn't go because the first time he got in the boat it was rocking a lot and he thought we was going to fall out! But after a few others went he was ready for his turn, and he sat very still so he wouldn't move the boat! :)

On Tuesday evening my sisters Adrienne, Amy, and Laura and her family got to Lovell. Wednesday was busy with working on pinewood derby cars, hanging pictures for my Mom, altering shirts for children, and other general things. Joel got back late Wednesday night, and we were very happy to have Daddy back!

On Thursday we headed up to a place near Cody for a Dickson Family Reunion. I didn't get nearly as many pictures as I should have, but I got a few on Saturday afternoon. The reunion was filled with games, hikes, a GPS scavenger hunt, a pinewood derby, eating, and general merriment. We were sad that a lot of the extended family wasn't able to be there, so it was a smaller reunion than we've had in the past, but it was still a lot of fun and we hope to see everyone next time!

Laura and her husband David own a pinewood derby track that they brought up from AZ with them so we could have our own family pinewood derby! Since I am not so handy and I don't have any tools, and Joel was too busy to really worry about it, I ordered a pre-cut pinewood derby car online. I let Jenna paint one half and Will painted the other. David helped me do some fancy shining up of the axles and wheels, and added some weights, so our car actually ended up being pretty fast! It came in 3rd out of the 19 cars in the regulation category. Here are Jenna and Will with our fast car.



Here is my sister Mary with her youngest son. Check out that red hair!

Here is my beautiful Aunt Barbara. The gorgeous little girl next to her is one of my cousin's kids, and she reminded me a lot of Jenna. Can you see the resemblance?

Joel and Adam, waiting for the derby to start. (I think Adam was eating something?)


Above is Jenna with Grandpa Bill with his trophy. He won the open category; where there aren't limits on weight, etc. He seriously had the coolest car! Since I can't explain it right, I'll just say he had a mouse trap on it that would snap shut, hit a wood block behind his car, which would propel it forward! It was awesome, and very fast!

On Sunday we all headed home. It was sad saying goodbye to everyone, especially since I don't see most of my sisters very often. I am hoping for more pictures from my sisters, so I might post some later.

We are now back to "normal" life. Joel is working and studying. I am taking care of three crazy kids. :) I did buy a childproof lock for the fridge, which has already helped with my sanity. Ah, gotta love life!