Where Boys become Men

Last weekend the boys went on a boys only trip up to the Boundary Waters. John has been planning this camp out for months with the Pollei and Fairbourne boys, but kept it secret from Jackson and Max. When John finally told them, they were ecstatic.

When they came home and I glanced through the pictures on the camera, I knew they had a blast. Want to know how I know? Max is actually smiling in the posed pictures!! That boy can't fake a smile to save his life.

John has been known to tip a canoe or two with little boys in them, so I was a bit worried about Max's hearing aids...umm and the boys too. I'm happy to say they all survived!

Max couldn't wait to show me this picture of him in the fog.

At the end of the season water levels are pretty low so the boys had to do a little more portaging than they expected.

The boys (John, Steve, and Doug included) had a blast fishing, getting dirty, staying up late by the campfire and acting like ruffians.

By the end of the trip the boys had turned into full fledged men. Check out the muscles on these guys. I think Collin has the best "I'm a tough burly man now" face, don't you? (red trunks)

It makes me happy to think that John loves to spend quality time with them forming happy lifelong memories and that he is passing on his love of the outdoors with them.

It's not every day we actually iron our clothes

A couple Sundays ago I had a hankerin' for some creased shirts. Don't ask me why....I usually could care less. (sue me, my kids usually go to church with their hair not combed and wrinkled shirts, but they are there) So to mark this momentous for no other reason than my kids clothes were ironed occasion, I had to take a few pictures. Notice those creases down Max's shirt......ooh ahh!!

Doesn't Jackson look extra handsome and well kept? Or is it that he is next to the shaggiest dog on the planet?

The, yes THE Sadie Lady looking pretty as ever.

I couldn't pass up posing with this little gem.

The kiddos looking cute, even if Gator is pretty much showing his man parts to the whole wide inter-web.

I'm still working on the brush the boys hair thing. One day lightening will strike twice in the same place and we will have ironed clothes and their hair will be done.

The bed brag post

It all started with a messy garage, some wood, and a dream.

Oh, and a brand spankin' new miter saw....and a dorky mini-van, but that has nothing to do with it, so forget I said anything about it. I've been looking/stalking the anna-white website for quite sometime because I've been wanting to make a bed for Miss Sadie. After we got back from our great trip westward, I decided that now was as good of time as ever, so I plunged right in.

My kids may or may have not been neglected while I was building this masterpiece. Everyone was fed and clothed, but beyond that I can't account for their whereabouts.

After the headboard and foot board were assembled I quickly stained them, and then not so patiently waited for them to dry. (dang humidity)

When the stain dried, I followed it up with some white paint and distressed the heck out of it....hammers were involved and it was quite fun.

In an unrelated note, this is Sadie's new way of posing for the camera and I'm not a big fan. What a cheese ball.

Here is the final product: (I made the quilt too!)

I'm pretty sure that it's a little bit like the Sistine Chapel or some Van Gogh painting in that it's absolutely fabulous, and pictures just don't do it justice.

All kidding aside, I think it turned out pretty good considering I didn't know what the heck I was doing and kind of made things up as I went along. (just don't look too close K?) Sadie Lady loves it and tells me that it is pretty on a daily basis, so I'm satisfied.

Nighty Night - That trip wore us all out!

Is is just me, or are kids at their sweetest when they are asleep? No matter how hard of a day I've had with this strong willed gent, catching him getting some shut eye makes me happy I'm his Mom again.

I love this pic of Max. It is the only one of the trip that you can kind of see the black eye he got up at Snowbird. In typical Max fashion, he didn't even know he had any sort of eye injury until I noticed it swelling. Tough little Mutt.

Now isn't this one the sweetest little girly girl picture ever? I love how you can see the fingernail polish starting to chip away.

More fun in Utah

After our fun weekend at Lagoon and Snowbird, John flew home. I spent the rest of the week with the kiddos and my family. It didn't take too long for Sadie to warm up to my Mom.

It did take a few days for my Dad to get in good graces with her. After a few tickling sessions, she decided Grandpa wasn't too bad after all.

I loved spending time with my Nieces Madison and Kenzie.

Sadie loved playing dress up with all of Grandma's old Halloween costumes.

A trip to Utah wouldn't be complete without spending some time at Wheeler Farm and climbing on the crazy tree.

We also went to Thanksgiving Point and spent some time at the Dinosaur Museum. You can tell how excited Max was to be there.

We were so happy to have the opportunity to visit family and friends, but I think next time we'll fly!

Onto Utah

After a fun filled week in AZ we set out to Utah to see if we could top it.

Our first adventure was to Lagoon. Sadly I only got a few pictures of Sadie. Our group split off for most of the day and I was with her and my Mom. This is probably one of my favorite pics of the trip. The first couple of rides she had this look on her face like she was about to burst into tears, but by the end of each ride she was smiling and laughing.

Me and my Lady waiting in line.

The next day we drove up to Snowbird. The views were so amazing, we were wishing that we would have spent two days there instead of Lagoon. Can you believe there is still snow up there?

I'm not sure I will ever please Max....look at that grouch!

The Vega crew on the Tram.

The kids had a blast with all the activities. They had a mechanical bull, zip line, alpine slide, ropes course, and trampoline. All three kids loved the trampoline. Check out Max doing a back flip.

Jackson catching some air.

Sadie doing what she does best, looking cute.

Part two - The mean streets of Phoenix

To say we had a fun in Phoenix would be the understatement of the year. We had a blast!!

With John's parents now in Prescott, we had no choice but to get a hotel. We jumped online and found a fabulous hotel in Scottsdale that we couldn't pass up. The best part was the amazing pool.

I love this picture. Who captures a picture of all three kids with their eyes closed?

You have to get a picture by a cactus while you're in AZ right?

Fun in the sun with my Lady. Our friends the Daw's hung out by the pool one day, but sadly I didn't get any pics of their growing brood.

You can't go wrong with cones on a hot summer day.

We stopped by the Temple and visitors center and were very tempted to jump in the reflection pool. For reals.

I know your all asking yourself......did they or didn't they? Oh yes we did. We went to Neilsen's Frozen Custard. Mmmm Hmmmm. It was still as good as I remember it. Worth the bazillion miles we drove to eat it.

We had an hour or so to spare before meeting up with the fam so we swung by the Phoenix Science Museum to lay on a bed of nails among other things.

I was sad to leave good ole AZ. I'm not sure if it was because I was dreading the car ride to UT, or if I just love the crap out of it heat and all and don't ever want to leave.

I'll decide later.

Epic Summer Vacation - Part One

Long road trips are a lot like child labor in my mind. It's long, hard, stressful, and you swear you'll never do it again when it's done. Then something happens, you get amnesia and decide it wasn't that bad and worth the hassle and plan another one....road trip or baby. It took us a few years to get road trip amnesia, but it hit, and we decided it would be a good idea to drive a few thousand miles to see the fam.

No road trip is complete without a few pit stops along the way. I think this is about the only time I am jealous that I can't stand up to pee.

We were making great time on day two of the drive to AZ so we

we decided to swing by Meteor Crater. Jackson loved it. Max, not so much.

Our first stop was to Prescott, AZ to visit John's parents. Prescott has a higher elevation and is generally a few degrees cooler than the valley. We appreciated the lower temps and were able to take a few hikes and enjoy the outdoors.

Look how happy Sadie looks. Yeah, it was short lived....about 5 minutes later she puked up the fudge we got in Sedona.

Max posing for the camera. "Look mom, I'm holding up the rock with just one finger!"

I loved spending so much time outdoors. It's something you can't plan on while in Arizona in the summer.

Up next.....Phoenix!!