YEE HAW

Gotta love hand-me-downs. A friend of mine asked me if Wes would want a hand me down horse. She warned that it was big...one that he could sit on....in fact, another friend had turned it down not wanting more " big junk" in the house. But, I said, "sure, bring on the junk." Wes is loving it. YEE HAW. The big kids push him around on it and he can't stop giggling. Unfortunately, as the vinyl hooves rub across the stone floor, it makes a certain noise. And, so Lance named the horse "Toots". And, the name stuck. So, here is Wes giggling while riding Toots.

Oh, and you gotta love that Cash, the dog, wants to eat the horse's mouth for some reason.

Homemade Slide

For Christmas, Lance wanted his bunkbeds gone and a full size bed in it's place.

We got the bedding by Christmas, but we are just now getting around to getting the bunkbeds out and buying the new bed frame and mattress. Plus, we still have some painting to do. Can you say procrastination?:)

Of course, as the mattresses were coming out, they had to make a stop on the stairs. And, so the fun began. The three boys really enjoyed it. Cash tried it once, but apparently he wasn't too fond of it cause he didn't do it again....or he just never got the chance again cause the boys kind of hogged it.

"TOTALLY AWESOME"

So, I have to admit that before I had kids, I thought I'd NEVER put one of those cheesy character shirts on my own kids. never. too nerdy. totally cheesy.

Then, I had my own kids. And, I saw the joy in their faces as they saw their favorite characters on pieces of clothing. And, then I saw the joy triple as they got to WEAR such clothing.

And, so it began.

Lance had pokemon. Sierra wore all the princesses. Zane enjoyed the hand-me-down pokemon clothing and added Dash from Incredibles to the collection. And, with Wes, came Lightning McQueen.

The clothes still aren't my favorite outfits, but the other day Wes let me know this shirt is "TOTALLY AWESOME." And, I thought, let the kid wear it everyday of his life if it makes him that happy. It was so cute!

And, so now, my opinion has changed. And, I get all excited for the kid that is wearing a character shirt cause I know what they're feeling inside! TOTALLY AWESOME. But, don't expect to catch me wearing one:)

He Really is a "little" Romantic!

So, everyone knows I love my husband despite the fact that he really isn't too romantic. Really. But a couple weeks ago, when he left for an overnighter up to Roosevelt Lake to help his brother out, he left me this note under the decorative pillows, but on top of the sleeping pillows. So, I found it as I went to bed that night. Isn't he sweet?! Made my night. (maybe if I put this on the blog, I'll get more romance from him:0....probably not.)

Just Following the Trail of Poop

Somedays I just gotta remind myself why I chose to stay at home with my kids....isn't he cute?!

But, I just got finished cleaning up footprints of poo.

Apparently, he had an accident in his undies and tried to clean it up himself. The problem is that he dropped the poop on the ground and then stepped in it.

So, he then comes crying to me leaving a trail of poopy footprints to clean up....on my carpet even!

Somedays I wonder why I didn't choose to work and send him to daycare. They could be cleaning up the poopy footprints instead of me. (jk)

Following in His Dad's Footsteps....I mean, Eyesight

So, a couple weeks ago we're at Costco and Zane announces that he needs to use the restroom. I point him to the sign and tell him to go. Where? The problem was that he couldn't read that HUGE sign down there hanging from the ceiling. And, so came the realization that Zane needs glasses. His eyesight isn't really bad, but you should have seen the smile on his face as he took them off and put them back on and noticed the things that changed.

Oh, and did you notice the scrape on his forehead and by his eye? No, it's not road rash from a bike wreck. No, it's not grass rash from a fall out back. And, it's not trampoline rash either. It's treadmill rash. The kid likes to put the treadmill on 10, the fastest speed, and run. Unfortunately, he lost his footing this time. ouch. It is actually a few days old. I should have gotten a picture when it was "fresh". He had a fat lip to go with it. Poor Zaner.

Our Neighbors Probably Want Us To Move

So, I think Wes may be spending a little too much time with Cash lately. He is picking up his toiletry habits.

Now, I have to admit that I have told Wes, downright encouraged him, to pee outside in the backyard grass. You see, I get tired of cleaning up pee around the toilet. You know it's bad when, out of habit, Wes immediately tears off toilet paper and starts wiping around the toilet as soon as he is done peeing.

But, I have NEVER told him he could poop outside. NEVER. And, for some reason, he thinks he can. And, so I blame Cash. Why not? The dog must have given him the idea.

Unfortunately, Wes has pooped in the FRONT YARD giving our neighbors quite a show. He gets in trouble and immediately says "sorry" to make it all better. But, then, today he did it again. I think the neighbors are wishing that we would move. Who wants to see a little boy squatting, doing you know what, out front for everyone to see?!

Todd and I went to see the musical last night for the first time. I loved it. Well, a couple songs could have been left out:). But, the puppets and costumes were amazing. Todd and I agreed that although the lady that played Rafiki was a beautiful singer, we liked that character better in the movie with a male's voice. It was a great show though. I wish that I had brought my kids to see it, too. I think even the younger boys would have loved all those animals, but that might be asking too much of them as far as sitting still. I think Todd enjoyed it too even though musicals really aren't his thing. He went with me ....cause he loves me:) Isn't that true love for ya? When one will go do something for the other... just cause the other one enjoys it?! Now, I just gotta get him scrapbooking. jk ha ha

Intense Concentration

Wes was given a racetrack by his Grandma that he already had. So, he got to return it and go exchange it for something else. He took a long time to browse and decide. He was very methodical about it. But, once he saw it, he knew what he wanted immediately and then was no mind changing at all. First, he picked out a toy model motorcycle. Since, he still had money left, we went to the book section. He then picked out this CARS watercolor painting book. He spent a lot of time today painting.

It takes a lot of concentration to paint.

And, I mean, A LOT.

It was pretty cute to see him work hard for so long. Yes, I'm a bad mom cause I think this was his first painting session.

And, boy, was he proud of his work. He was sure to show Dad as soon as he came home from work.

Bad, I mean, Good Hair Day:)

Unfortunately, I did not marry one of those men that enjoy brushing or playing with their wife's hair....I know.....poor me. Sonya was that lucky. But, not me. So, I have to resort to my children. Luckily, Zane seems to enjoy it. I enjoy his brushing most of the time, except for the occasional hard pull. He usually just likes to try to braid it, but this time I talked him into brushing it more. Awwww. I could sit there forever. Then, Sierra wanted to get into the styling too. What do you think? Do they have a future in hair styling?

Zane wanted to put it all up on top. That was A LOT....and, I mean, way too much....hair pulling for me. I might not encourage this anymore after all.

Got Sand?!

Welcome to the world of Duning. Todd got this addiction eight years ago. And, so most of our winter vacations are held in the sand dunes just by Yuma, AZ. And, it was eight years ago because I remember the first time we went. I was big and pregnant with Zane. We camped in tents. And every time I needed to pee (which was a lot since I was pregnant), I had to go find a bush. Check out those bushes....not much to hide a full moon behind. But, we had fun and so the addiction began. Luckily, we have moved out of a tent and into our motorhome which makes it much more enjoyable. Here are some pics from a couple of trips we had in December. It is "tradition" for us to spend the week between Christmas and New Years at the dunes. Can't get enough of the sand!

If you plan on going to the dunes, be prepared to eat sand. Sand in your eyes, sand in your ears, sand on your teeth, and even sand up your nose....especially when Todd is roosting you (as in the pic above). Gotta love it!

Todd and Lance are getting ready for a guys' ride...aka a very fast ride. No beginners allowed.

All the men lining up to go have some fun!

Here's Lance gearing up!

Ready to go!

You know it's a serious ride when Todd puts on all his gear.

Yea, he's sexy and he's all mine:)

Ready to ride!

Here is Patton Hill. A favorite place to go and climb. The photos just don't do it justice. It's tall and steep. But, if one has a good quad, all you do is get it in 2nd or 3rd, lean forward, and give it gas. It's a blast. I believe that is Lance jumping at the top just as he finished climbing the hill.

Here's a photo that hopefully shows the heighth and steepness a little bit more. The young kids had fun walking/climbing up the hill. It was quite a feat to accomplish. It made me tired and sore just watching them do it.

Then, Sierra just loved to RUN down the hill.

Here's a pic of Todd giving Wes a ride up and down Patton Hill. Yes, I trust Todd that much. He's a good rider. I know he'll take care of my/our baby:).

On of our rides, we found a very good jump. And, so the fun began. Lance taking off.... going...

going, and....

and flying!

Look at the boy soar! Makes his daddy proud:)

So, then I have to get Todd to go....for pics sake, of course. One can see where Lance learned it from. Todd's a natural at it.

Todd got a little confused and thought that with all this sand that we were at the beach....hence, his attire ....actually he was just riding in someone else's rhino this time:). Kicking back with Wes for a family ride.

Weston watching the action.

Sierra takes her turn trying out Patton Hill. The small kids/ small quads can't make it very high up the hill, but they still have fun trying to see how high they can get. It was funny how Sierra and Zane would go WAY back to get a running start. And, I mean....waaayyyyy back. I don't think it increased their speed any, but they sure thought it did.

Here's Zane climbing the hill.

Zane hanging out in the motorhome.

And when one is not riding, what does one do? Play in the biggest sandbox around, of course.

Sierra coming back from a rhino ride with Katie and Stephanie.

Zane taking a break at Patton.

Getting ready to ride.

I think Zane was trying to get as much sand as possible IN his clothes. You should see the sand on the floor of my laundry room after a trip to the dunes.

Sierra dug a hole and put Cash in it...and then started to bury him. Poor dog.

One of our friends found this beautiful necklace at the dollar store...and they thought of Wes. But, Zane liked being a rapper better.

Here's a short video clip of Lance jumping. Todd says that Lance jumps father than his old man. It makes a big difference that the the kid weighs under 100 lbs though!

Lance, Trevor, and Connor race up the hill....oops, I think that's the wrong video.

Here's a little competitive race up to the top of the hill between Todd and I. I was on the Todd's red quad and he is on my white one. At the end of my win, I say "It's not the quad. It's all me".......but in reality, I had switched quads with Todd, just so I COULD beat him:). His bike is "tricked" out "just a little". A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do... to win....even if it's riding her husband's quad.

Sierra and Zane riding the mini dunes. I remember when I first went to the dunes and thought there was no way my quad would stick to the side of that dune. Gravity was going to pull me down! But, if you have the speed going, you can ride that side of the dune as far as you want. It's a lot of fun for everyone in our family.

Wes goes round and round and round and round. He puts more hours on his quad than anyone.

And, last but not least, my sexy husband jumping his quad. What a stud! This is what I really go to the dunes for....to watch my man! :):)

Merry Christmas!

We were lucky to have Bob and Kay (Todd's stepdad and mom) in town for Christmas this year. The kids slept in till 7:30. We let them open one present and then we all got ready and made yummy breakfast burritos to eat with Papa and Grandma Cake. Then, about 9, we ripped and shredded. It was a fun morning.

What makes a teenager smile? Cologne to attract the girls. And, a new ipod to listen to some cool tunes....after his last one mysteriously disappeared after all the little cousins were over here playing one day.

And, we all know what makes Sierra smile. All about horses. First, a statue.

Then, a way cool sweatshirt about barrel racing....TURN & BURN, baby!!!

And, last but not least, a rack to hang up all those ribbons from her POA show.

Zane was all excited about his Night Vision googles. He had to go into the pantry to check them out!

And, since Avatar is a cool cartoon, one always likes toys about it.....especially toys that fly off into the air.

Wes was all CARS....the movie, "CARS", that is. Clothes with Lighting McQueen on it. A pillow, toy cars, a remote control car, etc etc. He was in CARS heaven.

Love Lightning McQueen.

Todd's brother and his family came by about noon. It was great to spend time with them and exchange gifts also. Sorry, at this point, I had put away my camera. :( Life gets so busy that we don't get to see them often enough. Our kids love their cousins, Kalea and Lauren.

About 2:00 we headed over to Todd's dad and stepmom's home.....Grandpa Wayne and Grandma Nonie's....where we ate way toooo much food again (including the traditional honey-baked ham), spent time with family, and opened up more presents. Lance was excited about new jeans, Sierra got more horse stuff (surprise, surprise), and Zane and Weston were given legos. The younger boys have had a lot of fun with their new legos. Zane wasn't too sure about moving up to the "little" legos at first, but he is loving it now. His birthday is at the end of the month and he is already talking about more legos:). And, I feel so much better as a mother when my boy is spending hours building legos instead of on that silly ds...although he still does that too. We had a wonderful Christmas with our wonderful family.