Mom n' Me Monday

Mom n' Me Monday was created in an attempt to make myself get in the picture with my kiddos. When my kids are grown, I don't want to look through my photos only to find that I am not in any of them! So, I'm on a mission to "capture" these memories.

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Our "Hoover Dam" experience was memorable, to say the least.  We were on our way to Sedona, and trying to make it there in a timely fashion.  Our plan was to stop at the dam on our trip back to Las Vegas.  However, as we drove across the dam, D-man, in all his infinite wisdom, explained that it was made of enough cement to pour a two lane highway from New York to San Diego.  I have no idea if that is true...by I was impressed.  So naturally, I had D-man pull over so the boys and I could jump out and gaze in awe at this enormous piece of cement!  Being in a bit of a hurry..I chose the quickest route across the road.  Before we ventured across...I told the boys that I wasn't sure if we were allowed to cross here but that if we did it quickly..no one would notice. 

We looked both ways, being the safety conscience parent that I am, and as soon as we were in the clear scampered across the road.  Yes, we scampered. Just as we approached the opposite side, we heard a large horn and then a booming voice over a loud speaker. Of course, I had no idea what it meant...that is until we heard these words, 

YOU HAVE CROSSED THE ROAD AT AN ILLEGAL SPOT. PLEASE GO AROUND AND USE THE STAIRS UPON RETURNING TO YOUR CAR!!

So much for our covert operation.  Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that we would be "called out" over the loud speakers at The Hoover Dam.  We quickly made our way to the lookout. A sweet, non English speaking man offered to snap our picture. And we quietly made our way back to the R.V.  This time, by way of the stairs.  

For the rest of the trip, every time we crossed a street, J-boy reminded me of the time that we got yelled at over the loud speaker at the famous Hoover Dam.  For some reason, I think that incident will not quickly be forgotten. Especially since J-boy has shared it with just about everyone and their mother! 

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I can't wait to see your pictures. You can grab the code under the button below and paste it into the body of your post. Then add your link into Linky tools below.

To use Linky tools, be sure to link your Mom n' Me Monday post, not your main blog url.

To do this, go to your blog. Click on the title of your Mom n' Me Monday post. The url in your browser window will become a direct link to that post. Copy that url and paste it into the Linky tools window, along with your name, or your blog's name.

If you don't want to grab the Mom n' Me button, just link back to the Peanut Gallery so other's can join in if that's what their little heart's desire :)!




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Guess who I met??

When I first started blogging...sometime in December.  My motive was to capture moments!  I didn't want to forget all of the crazy, hilarious, and strange things that occur on a daily basis in this little family of mine.  I had just been gifted a camera by my dear sweet lover-boy and had a slight addiction to photoshop.  I would spend hours playing with my pictures and then close em' up..only to start over the next night.  I had also kept an adoption blog for two years and had recently had it printed into a book.  I was amazed at all of the memories and emotions that were brought to the surface as we flipped through the pages.  It was then and there that I decided to start blogging again.


Enter "The Peanut Gallery".  I remember the day I rounded up my first follower. Since I didn't really read many blogs, I had NO idea what a follower was, and to be honest, it kind of freaked me out.  I remember telling D-man that I might just delete that follower widget.  I couldn't figure out why in the world, someone who didn't know me, would follow me!  The word "stalker" did come to mind.  When I had blogged a few years ago..I don't think the follower widget was even available.  If it was....I was completely oblivious to it!  However, I started to visit new blogs and realized that a follower wasn't all that bad!  In fact, I started visiting my followers blogs and was pleasantly surprised to find perfectly normal little families.  There were so many women that I actually had a lot in common with.  Smart, funny and talented individuals that made me laugh and sometimes even cry!  I quickly became a "follower"! 


Then one day, I found a great little blog.  I think I must have left a comment.  I was pleasantly surprised when this muy cool lady paid my tiny little blog a visit. 

Her very first comment was, "Well thank you for stopping by my blog. I am a sucker for photography. So I think I will stick around ;)"

And just like that, I had a new follower! 

I had no idea that I had found a true friend in this new follower.  But as time passed, and she smartened me up and told me that I could set my email to receive comments, we became fast friends.  We emailed back and forth.  We emailed about our family and faith, and lots of little funnies in between.  So, when this new friend mentioned meeting up someday...I was quite excited to tell her that my husband was actually already planning a road trip to his favorite state! 

ARIZONA! 

And..just look who we happened upon right there in the little town of Sedona!

Can you guess who this lovely lady is??

I'll give you a hint.

She lives in Arizona...and she's a Mamma!

And, she's an awesome photographer.

After much planning, and a 4 hour drive for each of us...I finally met the "Arizona Mamma" face to face!

And it was like we'd been friends forever!

Please forgive me...I am unable to fully relinquish control of my camera.

I'm not sure why I can't just shut up and say "cheese".

I'll tell you this, Shannon (Arizona Mamma) was every bit as funny, kind, and warm hearted as she seems.  No duel personalities with this lady!  I'm sure she was questioning her judgement in choosing to meet me, at this point! 

We had a lovely lunch together, one in which C-boy quietly dismissed himself and went and hurled in the bathroom.  I, of course, was horrified at the thought of spreading the "pukes" to our new found friends.

I'm so thankful they didn't pack up and leave on the spot! 

So, while C-boy was doing this...

We decided to hit the little town of Sedona. 
Shannon's children are completely adorable.  S-girl was so glad to have a "girl" to hang with!

And Addyson is every bit as cute in person!

The kids had a great time.

And Drew led us on a hunt for "knives".

Apparently the Trading Post was just around the corner!

I was so impressed with Andy and Shannon's kids!

They were so warm and friendly.

J-boy was in awe of this older, very cool kid who was giving him so much attention!

The kids got a lesson in candle making.

Riveting..I might add!

Our visit was much too short. But I can truly say that I have been blessed with a new friend. I am thankful that the Arizona Mamma was a "sucker" for photography and decided to "stick around"!

And I might add, that Colton's kisses are every bit as cute as she described!

 

So, my new friend...thanks for taking the time to venture out into the unknown and meet this crazy family from the Peanut Gallery.  I'm so glad that you did! J-boy has asked when we are meeting you again!

And...I would like to give a little shout out to Andy, who took a day off of work to make the trek to meet us!

When we very well could have been a family of ax murderers!  

Thanks Andy!

I hope we weren't too scary! 

So, I'm off early Friday morning..sans kids and husband..for a weekend wedding.

I'm sure I will miss them all desperately.

I told D-man tonight that I was so sorry I was going to be leaving them all.

He wondered why I was grinning like a Cheshire cat as I said that, if I was "so sorry".

But, I am a woman who must fulfill my obligations!

When duty calls,

I answer!

The Almost post!

Well, I had high aspirations for blogging about our Grand Canyon experience. 
Yet, it seems that my offspring had other plans for my life.
D-man's Great Escape 2010 has been jammed packed with adventure.
And I am beginning to think that my children are adventure junkies.
Seriously, I kid you not, J-boy started hyperventilating as we left the condo this morning.
He literally had to practice the deep breathing technique which I had conveniently taught him a few nights before during the hurling/nausea episode.
He was just so crushed about leaving.
The very thought of it made him sick all over again.
C-boy has gone from smiling to wailing on a number of occasions today.
When we pulled into the parking lot of the new hotel we are staying at tonight, S-girl starting cheering and chanting, "Yay, we get to live here...Yay, we get to live here!".
Thankfully, my children are not dramatic.
I'm not sure what I would do if they were!
I am beginning to wonder if I should take it personally that the thought of "going home" is so distasteful to them.
And finally...the grand finale...the icing on the cake...the cherry on the top...L-boy has not eaten in 2 days and is running a high fever.
How high, you ask?
We fried an egg on his back last night.
Truly I have no idea.
This mom didn't plan for the "what ifs" on this journey.
I'm only human.
And an unorganized one at that!
But he's hot, and just moans and whines non-stop.

I thought I'd insert his picture right here. 

Because he's cute.

And it's just sitting in my picture file, with no place to go.

So you'd understand why I can't do a whoppin' Grand Canyon post.

He's to blame.

But how can you fault that face?

I'm actually sitting in the bed at our hotel room, all lights off, everyone asleep.

And you know what?

I'm plum tuckered out.

Traveling across the Arizona/Utah territories in a covered wagon with sick children ain't easy.

Oh wait..that's the book I'm reading.

So I'll leave you with these.

Just so you know we were there.

I'm turnin' in for the night.
We've got high aspirations for tomorrow.
This wagon train's hittin' Bryce Canyon!

You Know you're a mom when....vacation edition.

Joining up with Arizona Mamma over at Our Daze in the Desert today.
And since we just happened to be "in" Arizona the past few days, I think it's extra nifty.

When my husband initially planned his "Great Escape 2010", he basically said, "we are hittin' the road, letting it take us South, where the sun is shining and the pool water's are glistening." Our plan was to venture down to Arizona and hit all the great National Parks along the way. His thoughts were that we would stay in the R.V. the whole time. Just sort of trucking along, pulling over at Wal Marts and campgrounds to sleep.

Enter my most wonderful in-laws. They called us about 2 weeks before our trip and had found a "last minute" time-share in Las Vegas and wondered if we may want to use it as a base! Thank you, Mom and Dad. You, in my opinion, saved the day! Not that I didn't want to spend 11 nights in the New Horizon. I'm sure we all would have gotten along just fine. (she says, as she nearly has a panic attack just thinking about it!)

So, Monday morning we ventured out to Sedona, AZ. One of the many spots that D-man had wanted to visit. We crossed over the amazing Hoover Dam. (pictures to come) And made our way to the lovely red rock city of Sedona. We had planned to meet some special friends there, and then camp that evening at Slide Rock State Park.

Within minutes of our arrival, as we sat down to eat lunch with our friends, I glanced over at C-boy and he looked as white as a sheet. He proceeded to make his way to the bathroom and "loose his lunch". So, here we are, with our friends and their lovely children...in this beautiful city.

And here is C-boy.

Unable to take another step.

This was literally one half hour into our Sedona adventure, after a 5 1/2 hour drive.

So, I guess what I'm trying to say is...you know your a mom when "puke happens" at the most inconvenient times.

And when your child chooses the sidewalk as his final resting place.

And you let him!

I was hoping this was all caused by a case of "RV sickness".

And of course, I was trying to convince our friends of that, too.

They weren't buying it.

Thankfully, they were very gracious and didn't flee that very second.

The thought of camping wasn't sounding as pleasurable as it once was.

So, just in case it was going to make it's rounds, my lovely husband agreed to let us stay at a hotel that night.  Somehow the thought of dealing with puke all night, with no running water or flushing toilets was not pleasing to my senses. 

Thankfully, we made the right choice. 

As soon as our heads hit the pillow that night, J-boy was struck down by the same illness and proceeded to hurl through out the night.

Praises!

However, that did not stop us from enjoying the Grand Canyon the very next day.

I have pictures to prove it.

And I will, eventually.

Our Internet connection is sketchy at best, so I have not been able to post as I had hoped.

Thanks so much for all of your sweet comments.

I feel like you are all on this crazy adventure with us.

Of course, I'm sure with the evil viruses that seem to be attacking our family as of late, you are probably thankful that you are here...only in spirit!

The Great Escape 2010...scene 2.

You placed the world on its foundation

so it would never be moved.

You clothed the earth with floods of water,

water that covered even the mountains.

At your command, the water fled;

at the sound of your thunder, it hurried away.

Mountains rose and valleys sank

to the levels you decreed.

Psalm 104:5-8

This great adventure led us directly to Zion National Park in the great state of Utah!

After a harrowing, all night drive, through 2 blizzards and freezing rain, we rounded a corner and the sun burst forth. 

It beckoned us to come and follow it.

Because we were very cold, we did!

Our initial plan had been to stop at Bryce Canyon.

However, the high of 40 degrees forecast quickly helped to change our minds.

We re-adjusted our plan...because we are flexible like that...and decided that a forecast of sunny and 60 degrees was more enticing.

Call us fickle...but that's just how it is.

Bryce Canyon will still be there next weekend...I assume!

Just thought you should see the icicles hanging form the "overhang" of the R.V.

This little gem shop was in the little town of right outside of Zion.

C-boy was in heaven. There were piles of precious stones on the ground outside, all for sale by the pound.

This is where L-boy rode the whole hike.

Yes, we own a back pack and a stroller.

Yes, they were both in the R.V.

No, we didn't bring them on the shuttle ride.

Why, because neither of us thought about it.

And while we're on the subject, we didn't bring a spare diaper either.

J-boy got his hands on C-boy's camera.

He was quite the little photographer, too.

This picture was snapped right before I notice the "stay on the trail" sign.

Bad mommy!

The shuttle ride back from the hike was about 40 minutes long, with one tired, fussy little L-boy.

D-man provided quite the entertainment.

Have I mentioned that he is a super great dad?

He is!

We were all in complete awe of the beauty of these rock formations.

It was difficult for me to capture it in pictures.

In fact, I couldn't.

The sheer size of the cliffs and canyons swallowed us up.

The beauty of the deep purple and red rock against the back drop of the sapphire sky was simply breath-taking.

Thank-you, Bryce Canyon, that you were too cold for this wimpy family.

Had you been warm and sunny, we never would have met Zion!

And we are so glad that we did.

Amen.

p.s. Don't forget Mom n' Me Monday!

I'll be there.

With bells on!

For more Sunday Snapshots, hop on over to Ni Hao Ya'll.

The Great Escape...scene 1

D'man's Great Escape 2010 has officially began.
We are currently all nestled in, enjoying the Montana landscape.
We just stopped  for gas...as if there isn't plenty in the R.V.... with 4 boys aboard!!
I actually needed a little fresh air.
Toxic is a word that comes to mind.
S-girl and I ran into the gas station to the "ladies room".
Call me crazy, but I'm not fond of sitting on the minuscule toilet that resides in our R.V.
Especially when  in motion. 
While the R.V. is a ride...it is definitely NOT a smooth ride.
Seriously, if I closed my eyes and played "let's imagine", I'd be riding in a horse drawn covered wagon.
Did I mention, when I opened our subway sandwiches, raspberry vinaigrette dressing exploded all over my pants, with the majority of it landing front and center..if you know what I mean.
Why did I ever think I could get away with bringing one pair of comfy travel pants?
For about the past 40 minutes, L-boy has been half heartedly whimpering and whining from his car seat.
The other children seem to be frozen, staring glassy eyed at the T.V. screen.
Apparently, unable to muster the strength to help their poor little brother.
I'm sure I'll have to crawl out from "the cave" and go back and soothe his sad soul.
I might add that we just passed a huge bill board advertising the "Testicle Festival".
I'm not even gonna to try and imagine what that is all about.
I think it has something to do with sheep?  I'm hoping anyway.
I thought I'd add a few photos, so you could really appreciate our current surroundings.

I am continuously thanking my saintly husband for this little set up.
Bless you, my darling dear.
And yes, the towel is to curb the massive screen shake. 
Did I mention, it is not a smooth ride?

I refer to the front seat area as the cave.
You seriously have to "crawl down in" to get to it from the back.
Please notice the sheep skin seat covers.
They came free with the R.V.
If I let my mind wander...it really grosses me out.
So, I don't let it wander.

D-man was a super hero and installed a new C.D./ipod player.
Oh, and Jack Bauer never disappoints.
And because we have a number of "24's" in this rig.
I'm thankful.

This one is for our worried mothers.
This baby will only go 60!
Tops!!

Have I mentioned my dear sister, Jenny, before?
She manages to do something like this for just about all of our excursions.
This bag is chock full o' goodness.
Candy, his and her band-aids, kids travel games, coloring books, and pool floats.
Everybody needs an Aunt Jenny.
And, NO, she doesn't pay our dental bills.

L-boy enjoys a good "Grandma baked" ginger snap with a side of fries.
We are really healthy around here.
I brought out the brussel sprouts and asparagus for dessert.
And I never lie.
Looks like he's leaving a little "snack for later" on his shirt!

The carpeted ceiling truly contributes to the "cave like" feel.
Why?
Why is there carpet on the ceiling?
We will never know the answer to that question.

True story.

I'm very claustrophobic.

I got stuck in the dryer at my grandma's house when I was just a wee one.

She was out gardening, for what seemed like a lifetime, before she stumbled across me in the dryer.

I'm sure it was just a matter of minutes.

But, it felt like a life time.

I share all of this because, every once in a while, I find myself breathing rapidly..

scratching at my throat, on the verge of a panic attack.

And suddenly I'm back in my grandma's dryer.

I'm not sure what it is.

But could it possibly be that the cab of our little truck is completely engulfed.

I feel at times like we are going to be crushed under our own weight.

Can you see it.

The bed above the cab literally hangs over the sides and front by about a foot and a half.

I often fight the urge to duck as I am sitting in the front seat.

But other than that, I'm as happy as a clam.

We are on VACATION for Pete's sake.

And I'm with the people I love the most.

I am truly blessed.

P.S.  I installed the twitter widget over on the right side of the screen.

Because, I know it  is exactly how you want to spend your time.

Reading my vacations tweets!