Sluffin School!

Pete has been working out of town over by Lake Mead as many of you know. He usually leaves early Monday morning and gets home late Thursday night. Well he had three weeks off where he only worked in Hurricane, due to his service truck being broken down (aahh shucks! I said) I really enjoyed having him home but he had to go back this Monday. When he is gone he doesn't have phone service all day so he calls me in the morning when his day starts, anywhere from 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. and he calls me when he "gets outta the whole" (as he puts it) at about 8 p.m. I worry about him the whole time he is gone and miss him like crazy. Well on Tuesday morning when he called me he asked me what my plans were for the day and I told him I was loading up the kids and we were gonna sluff school and come visit him. He said "I'll see ya tonight." So after Hunter got out of school on Tuesday me and the kids packed our clothes and swimsuits, grabbed the dvd player, and headed out. We had to stop at the shop and pick up some parts for Pete and stop by my moms for the kids pool floaties and then we were on the road. We made the, what should be 3 hr trip, in just about 4 hrs. We got there about the same time Pete got off of work for the night. The kids were ready to swim, it was dark, and I was exhausted. I told the kids we would swim in the morning.....Oops! Pete got up and left early, early, I really don't know what time because I was passed out. At about 6:45 a.m. (that's 5:45 a.m. Nevada time) the kids were up and ready to go swimming. What?! I explained to the kids that it was too cold to swim until the sun came up and we weren't putting on our suits until 9:30 a.m. They then proceeded to tell me that they were STARVING! So, we all three headed downstairs to the 24 hour cafe and had breakfast in our jammies. Seeing as how this was a "vacation" the kids had cinnamon rolls. After breakfast we headed back up to the room. Shaydee and Hunter took turn pushing the buttons for the "Alligator" (as Shaydee calls it). Once back in the room I returned to bed and told the kids they could watch cartoons until it was time to go swimming. By 9:30 the kids were going stir crazy and even I was ready to get out of the room. We put on our swimsuits and headed out. The pool was pretty cold but once we got in and hypothermia set in...we were fine. Hunter loves "cannon balling" (he jumps in with his legs as strait as a board) into the pool. Shaydee got brave and would "cannon ball" too. After two hours we went into town and got some lunch which we ate at the park and played on the play ground for a while. After that it was back to the pool, after two more hours I convinced the kids it was time to drive across the Hoover Dam and look at the new bridge they are building. Hunter was pretty impressed and Shaydee was pretty exhuasted. We finally wound down the evening by showering and heading back into town for dinner. We were in bed and the kids were asleep by the time Pete got done working. We love him so much for working so hard so that we can have fun. We also love that even after working so hard he comes back to the hotel room happy and excited to see us. He is such a great dad! We got up this morning when Pete got up and headed home in time to get Hunter home for school today. I love spending time with my kids and I love that we had this opportunity to road trip and took it. I love spending time with my kids! We had a blast!

Kindergarten

Kindergarten

Hunter started school last august. It doesn't matter that the year before he went to preschool, this is the BIG kids school! He was pretty darn excited! His teacher is Mrs. Vasi and we later came to find out she lives just around the corner from us.

Hunter outside his elementary school on the first day. With his first homework assignment all ready to be turned in.



And another...ahh I love this kid! Shaydee had a really hard time and cried everyday for the first week.






He was so excited for school! He really loves his class and his teacher. I volunteer on Thursdays in his classroom so Shaydee and I know most of the kids and enjoy hearing all the stories Hunter comes home with. He is now super excited for 1st grade, because kindergarten is only half day so the big kid school doesn't really start until 1st grade.

Summer Fun!

The kids and I love to go fishing even though mom isn't a very good fisher. So far we haven't caught anything. We love to go up to Yankee Meadow and fish and play in the stream that runs out of it while dad is at work.


We have found this little beachy spot where the kids can splash and play. Up against the bank it gets about 18 inches deep. The kids love it!




Hunter racing sticks and pine cones down the stream.....they chase them clear out into the meadow. Cows graze in the meadow and the kids love to "moo" at them.






They usually start out dressed and by the time we are ready to go all of there clothes are laid out on the trunk of my car drying in the sun.




They love being silly! They are my whole world and we can't wait for it to warm up enough to go again.

last summers road trip to Salt Lake

So still playing ketchup- and this is a long post so grab your fries! (to go with the ketchup duh!)

Last summer we were supposed to go on a family vacation to Oklahoma with the Hawkins family, but it kinda got canceled. So we decided to take a small vacation to Salt Lake.

Aunt Erica getting everything organized.

Hunter, Branson, and Shaydee squeezed into the back...they were pretty excited.

Here is Brice! He was a good baby for such a long drive.


Pete and Uncle Brian, checkin the tire pressure before we leave.


My self portrait....I know I'm smokin!

We only had to stop every 15 minutes on the way up so one of the kids could go potty! It was great!

While we were up there we had to visit Cabelas

The boys couldn't even make it into the store before they found something they had to check out.

We found the tents out side....Shaydee liked this one.

Erica was checkin out the tents too!

Pete and I outside the tents....the sun was bright!


Next we went to Kowabunga Bay. It's a water park with slides and a lazy river...we soaked up tons of sun and had a blast!

Hunter, Branson, and Uncle Brian...Kowabunga!!
Aunt Erica and Brice.

Shaydee and Mom....she only did the slides a few times, but we did the lazy river about 5 million times....she loved it!

The whole gang! We had a blast but by the end of the day we were pretty pooped!

Shaydee after the water park, she was pretty tired.


We also had to go to Hogle Zoo while we were there...the kids loved it!

While we were there they had to ride the carousel....fun!

Hunter rode the leopard!

Shaydee rode the zebra!
We had so much fun! Thanks Hawkins Family for hanging out with us!

Ketchup...is better with fries!

Well...It's been a while! (almost a year) I am pretty much a slacker and I really need to get back on track. So I will try to make my ketchup blog good. (yes i know that "ketchup" is the red tomato sauce, i did it on purpose) So....here we go. Last summer was pretty busy for us.....

Shaydee got stung by a bee....ouch!



Shaydee helped dad fix moms car.



Hunter teased us and made us laugh!



Shaydee got a new bike, we couldn't wait for her birthday or Christmas because then there would be snow on the ground.... Pete took us after he got off of work one night, the kids and I were in our jammies...hence the reason I'm not in this picture =)



We got to go hang out with Aunt Tiffany....what a fun summer!



More posts to come about last summer....they are just longer better posts (atleast I hope they are.)

Camping with cousins.

We were lucky enough to get an invitation to go camping with Katie, Lloyd, Levi and Luke. The kids were so excited. Shaydee was worried because we didn't have a tent and we weren't taking the camp trailer. I tried explaining to her that we didn't need a tent because we would be sleeping in a cabin...she responds with a "tent cabin?" HAHA! I tried explaining that a cabin is more like a house than a tent, but she didn't get it until she saw the cabin. We stopped at Marv's in Enterprise (only slightly out of the way) and grabbed a burger, and then it was off to camping. The kids had a blast. Hunter took his 4-wheeler and Levi took his dirt bikes. It rained off and on all of Saturday, but that didn't stop the boys from riding. They were pretty wet by the time they came in the cabin. Hunters dad (without consulting his mom) put Hunter on Levis other dirt bike. He did a GREAT job! Go Hunter! Well....until he ran into a barbed wire fence. He scratched his hand and his belly, but thankfully nothing major. It chewed up the throttle cable on the dirt bike. He really did a good job for it being his first time on a dirt bike. We took the kids fishing Sunday morning.....with NO luck. All in all it was a blast. Thanks Katie and Lloyd!

Levi sitting on the fireplace.



Levi on his dirt bike...the red dirt bike is the one Hunter rode.

Shaydee and Luke Duke eating Gogurts on the porch.


Hunter on his 4-wheeler.....its not that great of a picture.


Levi on his dirt bike and Luke Dukes bum....he had to go "pee"




The guys would shoot there bows off the porch.

28

As most of you know Pete had a birthday and he turned 28. He is getting sooo old! We love him to pieces and usually do a really good job of spoiling him. This year he drew out for the bow hunt, but he didn't have a bow so guess what he got for his birthday....thats right....a bow. He really enjoys shooting at targets so I am sure he will enjoy hunting with it. Pete had to work on his birthday, so me and the kids spent the day trying to make it special for him when he got home. The kids made Pete some cute animal balloons and we made him a sign and hung it on the garage. I made Pete a cute cake, and we made chicken enchiladas for dinner. Well Pete walks in the door and asks me what the duct tape is on the garage for...OOPS! Our sign blew away before Pete had a chance to see it. Damn wind! He really enjoyed the balloon animals that the kids made, and he got a kick out of his cake. He is so easy to please and I am really grateful that he is my husband. Happy Birthday Baby! We Love You!!

Pete was so tired, he only got 4 hours of sleep the night before. So he slept through most of his birthday celebrations. He did wake up (I had to wake him up twice) for dinner and for this picture. We didn't eat his cake until the next day.