Spring Break on the Slopes!

We spent Spring Break this year in Montana with Chris' family. The kids all LOVE going to their house because every time we have been there is 1)snow and 2)skiing! Chris also loves to ski and manages to do it at least a couple of times a year with his travels. The boys have been skiing for a couple of years now and are also passionate about it. Mommy however...not so passionate about it. I tried it. Two years. And in the words of my little 22 month old niece (who we had a blast visiting with)..."I don't like it." It's rather cold. It's windy. It's somewhat wet. It's really scary barreling down that steep hill on those slippery sticks. And if I fall down (which is a DEFINITE scenario) I CANNOT get back up without practically summoning the entire ski patrol. So this time I informed my family that I would NOT be joining them on the slopes, but would be cheering them on from inside the lodge...hot cocoa in hand! This is the first year that Clara was able to ski. She was so excited about the challenge! She was decked out in her ski attire...top to bottom. She looked like a little pink Michelin Man! And I quickly knew that she was quite different than her mother as far as skiing goes. She LOVED it! She embraced it! She was actually quite good at it! And by the time we left, she was already skiing harder slopes than I managed in two years of attempts. And so...here she is! Clara on the slopes!

Montana Horses

These horses were along my paths traveled on our recent trip to Montana. Of course...not quite so colorful as these! But I didn't want boring horses...I wanted exciting horses...thus the rainbow of colors! I will say that these horses happen to have the BIGGEST nostrils that I have ever seen on a horse! Guess it's all that fresh air they breathe in out there in the middle of nowhere!

Fun Times in Montana

Okay...so I tried to post my totally precious and hysterical video of Clara skiing...to no avail. So instead. Here are some pictures of my little family hitting the ski slopes in Red Lodge, Montana. These are also pretty much the closest thing that I have to an "Easter" picture...sorry Mandy!

A Request For Easter Pictures

I have had a request asking to see this year's Easter pictures of my kids. By now...you might have noticed that along with this blog there are none posted. That would be because....well... there are none really. We weren't here and I was really busy and I simply did not get around to it. And so...this Easter went largely and pretty much totally unphotographed. So sorry to all of you who were looking for them. I will do better next year. As a matter of fact...until just now when I read that request...I had totally forgotten about my little bunny and chicks that I have. I might still have to attempt at least some spring pictures. The park would pretty for those. Everything is getting so green and pretty now! Hmmm. My wheels are turning now! OOOOOHHH!!!! And now I just remembered that SOMEWHERE I have a white picket fence prop thing that I ordered for last year and it came too late. I haven't even taken it out of the box. I am going to go and look for it right now and get it out and see what is involved! And then...this weekend I just might have to embark up on the park with my kiddos and camera and see if we can capture a little spring! Thank you Mandy for stirring my memory here and this boost of inspiration!

Weekend Warriors!

This weekend has already been SO busy for us and it has STILL got one more day to go! We kicked off the weekend excitement with a great big dump truck full of rocks for the front yard! Hooray! Nothing like 8 tons of rock sitting on your sidewalk waiting to be moved! We all got busy with our shovels and wheelbarrows and buckets and got to hauling! Chris' mom even came and helped out! Then she ordered pizza to bribe the kids to help out! It worked! They hung in there and helped us out and we go the job done last night. Granted...we finished in total darkness...but we finished! Then Saturday morning dawned bright and early and we started the task of installing cabinets over my washer and dryer. We have not had such luxury. All this time we have just had a really, really, REALLY ugly shelf over the washer and dryer. YUCK! But now there are pretty wood cabinets in there and I almost...ALMOST just want to hang out in there all day and do laundry! In addition to the cabinets, we also had to clean out our camper and remove all of our belongings from it as our new one has shipped out and is ON THE WAY!!! That's right...I said our "new" one. We just bought a 30 foot 5th wheel! This one was really cool to buy because we got to customize it exactly the way we want it...all the features we wanted, the floor plan, the colors...all of it! Chris is SO excited and we cannot wait for our first weekend getaway! But back to the weekend! We got that all cleaned out and emptied and dropped off at the R.V. place. In addition to all of this going on Clara had a birthday party down at Funtastiks. My friend Mary and I tag teamed the carpooling and supervision of our girls. I took the first shift there with them, and then Mary met me halfway through. At that point I flew home, threw on something nice and headed out to a funeral. Angelica went with me. It was a sad, but joyful remembrance of a man who will be so dearly missed by his friends and family. The circumstances of that loss have been extremely thought provoking for me and has really changed the way I look at some things. I have so appreciated my husband this past week and what he means to me. I have treasured and cherished him just a bit more this week. And I have told him that I love him more times than I can count. I can't imagine what Kristen is feeling tonight following the memorial service for her beloved husband. I only know that his death has touched more lives in more ways than she could ever imagine. After the memorial service, I had a very messy house to get cleaned, and a laundry room to put back into order and into my new cabinets. By the tme all of that was conquered it was late in the day and I sit here pecking out this blog in the last few moments before sleep claims me! Tomorrow we will go to church. Unless it is raining. If it is dismal and raining, we will stay in and drink hot tea and conquer our last project of the weekend...stripping the wallpaper border in Ben's room. I have stripped half of it already...but there is still one half the room to go. So I want to finish that task once and for all and get the massive pile of ironing that I have all done. And before we know it, Monday will be upon us! I am glad that we get to relax a tiny bit on Monday. I do have a picture appointment...but that's about it! No school rush. No mad dashes anywhere. Just hanging out and chilling a bit! Just a bit of down time before we hit the road to Montana! Well, this warrior is exhausted. I need sleep! Till later!

Latest Favorites

So these are all pictures I did while at Picacho Peak. Specifically, in front of the Nut House right there by the State Park. Chris apparently really "NEEDED" some pistachios and while he was inside purchasing his fix, I hung out out front and admired their lovely cactus garden. It was rather boring once I got it home though...so I pumped it up and played and just had a blast. And now I rather like the outcome! Something different! Maybe my next bathroom material! Who knows! I am currently having this set printed on some metallic paper so I can get a feel for how that might look! Fun and excitement!

If You Want Something Done Right....GRRRRRR!

This weekend was just full of adventure and aggravation. The latest being yardwork. Chris has been complaining lately that the weeds are overtaking the yard. I told him I would have a word with our sorry gardner and find out what the problem was! LOL! While I'm at it I need to put in a word with our sorry maid, our sorry chef and our sorrylaundry lady! I mentioned to him that our pool boy was doing a pretty sucky job here lately too. He just smiled and disappeared in that sly little way that screams "I am AVOIDING my pool duties!!!". Anyway. A friend of mine told me that her landscaper recommends just torching the weeds. Apparently she crawls around with her Creme Brulee torch and burns the suckers to death. Now...this may surprise, if not shock you...but I don't own a Creme Brulee torch. I'm not even sure I can accurately spell Creme Brulee...and I'm pretty absolutely darned certain that I cannot COOK IT! So...no cook. No torch! But my friend knows this about me and goes on to tell me that they actually sell a weed torch at Home Depot. And I...trying to be helpful and hoping to ease Chris' mind about the weed situation, passes this information on to him. He heads right out on Saturday and purchases this ever so handy weed torch and proceeds to have quite a good time torching everything he can get his little flame on! Now...this WAS a good thing. Really. He was finding it to be rather therapeutic...and he needs some therapeutic devices from time to time. He even made the mention last night that he had a lot to do, but was going to have a beer and torch some weeds first. And of course I encouraged him in that endeavor!(anything to give the poor yard lady a break!) However. A new day has dawned and I have seen the light. Or rather...what is left of my yard. There WERE two very healthy and happy bulbine plants right off of my patio there. When I went out just a bit ago this is what I found instead.



I had just two words for him at that point. "Explain yourself." It was an accident he says. And I say to him "TWICE?!!!", because the one right next to it also torched to death. After much stammering and lame attempts to explain how he did this he just tells me that that plant is extremely "highly combustible". Hmmmmmm. I have to tell you that I am NOT buying that really. However...I will say this. I now have total and complete control of the weed torch. I will simply handle all weed extermination myself from here on out. Same with the house cleaning and laundry and ironing. And everything else that seems to fall into the endless job description of "mom".

Picacho Peak

Today we went to Picacho Peak to see the far acclaimed and talked about wildflowers. I had visions of just fields and fields full of Mexican Poppies and lupine...seas of color just waiting to be photographed there in the Arizona spring sunshine! Boy oh boy was I disappointed today when I got there. No fields of flowers. Just little patches here and there. Did I make good use of them?...yes! Was it pretty? Yes! Nothing like I expected at all...but it yielded some pretty pictures all the same! So here they are...pictures from a day in the wildflowers. There's more to this day than just the wildflowers for sure! But blogger is exceptionally slow tonight...so they will have to wait until tomorrow!

Weekend Happenings

It was a wonderful and lovely weekend at the Roberts House. Most of it anyway! Friday night was a bit miserable as I had QUITE a migraine. Only the second one I have had since I went off the birth control pills in September...so that is great. But it was a doozy and for a time I was certain that I might die! My dear friend invited all three kids to sleep over at her house. This was lucky for them as I was EXTREMELY sensitive to both sound and light by that time. We were sitting in near darkness and everyone was speaking only when necesary and only in whispers. Max made the comment that it was kind of like a big power outage. Only you had to be very, very quiet. This dear friend also brought me some ibuprofen, as what I had been taking was not even phasing the headache. I was pretty close to throwing up by that time (and I really don't DO that...not gracefully anyway), so the situation was rather dire. I got the kids out the door, got the ibuprofen swallowed and then just lay in the dark waiting to die. However...the medicine kicked in and the headache and nausea soon backed off and I was able to tolerate one small light across the room. I headed on to bed and slept rather well and woke up to a beautiful Saturday. After retrieving the kids from my dear, dear friend's home (did I mention that she is SUCH a dear friend?!), I had a lovely walk with the dog in the warm March sunshine, then spent an hour laying by the pool, watching my funny little daughter attempt to swim in the frigid pool. I could not for anything convince her that it was still just too cold...so I finally gave in and let her have at it! She tried it over and over again...but never managed to get her head wet. Not able to stay in past her waist for more than 10 or 15 seconds. But she tried!

After her sleepover adventure that little girl was exhausted and took a rather lovely and long nap for me that afternoon! I had to wake her up to get ready for the evening's activities. Those included attending the youth production of the dinner theater at church. They put on a performance of Narnia that was quite magnificent! The only catch was that as we arrived and were standing in line to be seated, we noticed that the tickets indicated an OUTDOOR performance. We had all missed that previously...my friend and I. And as we were seated I began to fret about being chilly and thinking about how miserable it was going to be once the sun set. There were no outdoor heaters. Just the people under the stars. Poor Clara had on a short sleeved little dress. Both boys were in short sleeved knit shirts. I had on a 3/4 sleeved t-shirt. Oh yes. We were going to freeze all right. So I made a split second decision and left our friends there with all my kids and Chris's mom too...and I made a mad dash to Kohl's and hit the clearance racks in rapid fire succession...snatching up all sorts of warm things in the various needed sizes. I was in and out in 10 minutes flat. In that time I managed to purchase two ladies sweaters, two girls sweaters, two hooded sweatshirts, one ladies t-shirt blouse, and two watches! It was power shopping at it's finest! Then I returned to the play...which had not started yet....and we thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the evening!

On Sunday, we attended church. I have discovered that if you sit on the very back row of the church it is not nearly so loud. This is a relief to be sure! I am not the least bit hard of hearing...but I am quite certain that the microphones there are set for someone who is! At times, the noise level and pitches can really become quite painful! After church, we had lunch at Chili's with Chris' mom and stepdad. The kids were SO happy about that...and afterwards we all found ourselves to be QUITE sleepy. So we took a little nap. Later in the afternoon I met up with Mary in the park on the tennis courts and we practiced hitting a few tennis balls around. We are taking some tennis lessons right now. It's been fun...and rather funny! I haven't played tennis in about 14 years...and it shows! But we are having a wonderful time with this terrific little instructor that Mary found for us! I love listening to him because he sounds a lot like Sebastian, the crab, from The Little Mermaid. I find him to be just mesmerizing to listen to!

Sunday night I got all the kids bedded down and all tucked in and my Chris arrived back in from Europe around 10 P.m. or so. He fixed my website for me...I had royally screwed it up! Then we watched some t.v. and just collapsed! The kids were thrilled to see him Monday morning and we had a big family night, t.v., barbecue thing Monday night. And then...unfortunately, Chris was off and out of town AGAIN early Tuesday. He is in Colorado now. Due back late tomorrow. I am so hoping that that is the end of his travel for a time. Something tells me it is NOT...but a girl can hope...right?!

We leave for Montana in a couple of weeks. It will be nice to see everyone and Clara is just crazy excited about being old enough to go to ski school this year! Chris's sister Kelly and her two girls will be there as well. Clara and Ava are just a year apart and just adore one another...even though they have never really met when they can remember it! It will be so nice for them to be able to spend a few days playing together! I can't say that I am really looking forward to the cold. Cold is not really my thing. Like...AT ALL!!!! I am not even planning to take my ski stuff this year. I just don't like it. I tried to like it. I tried to learn it. But really...it scares the hell out of me and I just hate every second of it. I practically hit the ground and just kiss it to death every time I finish the green/easy slope without dying. Chris and the boys are MUCH better skiers than I am. I know that I will NEVER get beyond the green slope...that one is just plenty scary enough for me! So it is a drag anyway for anyone to have to stay behind and ski with me. I'm just going to spare everyone the pain and inconvenience of missing out on the skiing they really love just to keep me company! I much prefer to stay warm and dry and just hang out behind in the warm lodge by the fire. I have NO problems with that one! NONE! This vacation is all about them! I am excited to see Chris's parents and his sisters Kiersten and Kelly...but I will be greeting them on level ground without long sticks attached to my feet! It will NOT be at a ski lodge...Amen!

And now we are into the new week already. Time sure flies these days. Monday, at ballet practice, we got to watch the girls dance. We get to do this once a month. And it literally brought tears to my eyes to see Clara dance her little dance to Edelweiss. It was so very beautiful and sweet. That girl just exudes grace and beauty when she dances. My friend made the comment that she has never seen anyone light up the way that Clara lights up when she dances. Her whole face just smiles and glows and you know that she is dancing with her heart and soul. It was so beautiful to see her out there. I got just a little bit teary eyed...no one even noticed. Or so I thought. On the way home Clara asked me..."Mommy, did you see me dance? Did you think I danced beautiful?" And I replied "Oh yes...you were so very beautiful." And my Clarabelle said..."Is that why you were crying there Mommy? Because you were so happy to see me dance? Because I was beautiful?" Oh no.... BUSTED!!!! And I had to tell her..."Yes, my sweet. That is why I was crying. You were just so beautiful dancing there." And she really, really was!