Our latest project...

We are not campers. Don't get me wrong, I grew up camping; good old fashion tent camping with a restroom and shower within 50 yards of camp and every amenity you can imagine, my Mama is the original "Glamper". Some of my very favorite memories are from our summer camping trips and I would love for the boys to grow up and say the same thing.

Since I've been married Dusty and I have tried to camp, unfortunately rather unsuccessfully. We have bought tent after tent only to have them fall on us in the middle of the night, air mattresses that leave us sleeping on the ground and camp stoves that won't light, eventually we gave up and borrowed my Grandpa's camp trailer for our last overnight camping excursion, luckily Mama and her glamping arsenal were nearby.

I have always wanted an Airstream trailer, I remember thinking they were the coolest thing even when I was little. I have big plans for one someday in the future and I occasionally troll Craigslist looking for my dream camper. Last week, on one such search I came across this beauty:

not quite an Airstream but I have to start somewhere

She is a 1958 Sportsman (or perhaps it should be Sportswoman because she is obviously a she). She is 12 feet long and full of character, a little rough around the edges but full of possibility. I called about her and was so excited to learn she was still available, and even more excited when Dusty didn't roll his eyes and smirk at another one of my crazy ideas. We drove to Marsing Friday night to meet her and I must admit, it was love at first sight. The only problem was she was in rougher condition than the pictures on craigslist had shown. The owner had already begun demolition which actually turned out to be a good thing because we were able to see the exactly what we were getting into. (I use the term we loosely, as I have discovered I am of little use with a crowbar and am better suited at providing liquid refreshments to my work crew... aka Dusty). The owner wouldn't budge on the price and Dusty won't buy anything for full price so away we went. I didn't sleep at all that night. The next day I called the owner back and explained the situation of my hardheaded hubby and his bargaining ways, she agreed to throw a water tank in with the camper and the deal was made. I spent most of that night on the internet researching adorable campers and the endless possibilities.
Sunday morning I was up-n-atem, ready to bring my new girl home! Dusty wrapped her up with straps and duct tape (that is not nearly as bad as it sounds) and we hit the road... slowly, the tires are not quite suited for 55 mph.

our first road trip

We survived the trip home and jumped right in working on her... Did I mention my family reunion is in 2-1/2 weeks and I really want to introduce her to the rest of the family there? Luckily we work best under a good deadline! Now, if I could just find a suitable name.

Aren't you glad you aren't my neighbor??

Inevitable

It happens all the time: you tuck your sweet baby into bed one evening, kiss his chubby cheeks and whisper that you love him, then the next morning he wakes up looking like a completely different babe. He is missing one of his multiple chins, his smile is bigger, his hair is thicker, his arms and legs wiggle with wild abandon even even more than they did the day before, he is even closer to making it all the way from his back to his tummy.
There will never be enough pictures, or room in my head to keep these fleeting baby moments fresh. It is the one thing that is hardest about knowing I am done with babies. Cooper's "new baby" smell is waning by the minute and he is almost as big as Radlee (not a joke... the kid is huge.)
So for now, I relish every snuggle, every coo and squeal, every look of fascination... all while wondering what he will look like tomorrow morning.

Signs of life

I'm going to make another go of this blogging thing, a concerted effort to be a better blogger, no matter how boring it may turn out to be.

It has been a long, wet, windy, cold Spring in this neck of the woods. Which translates to "Mother Nature is Teasing my Children." It is just warm enough to spend every waking moment outside one day only to be confined back inside with the furnace on the next. I don't know who is being punished more, me or the babes; I have officially run out of ideas to entertain rowdy boys inside...

During those few and far-between warm days we were able to get a jump on the garden. I love having a big garden, there is something delightful about going "shopping" for dinner in your own back yard, not to mention how much better it tastes.

Dusty built a frame for it, it is 12' x 16' and still not big enough! He just used 2x8's from home depot and we stained them our favorite dark brown. He screwed the corners together and screwed it to metal stakes in the center of each board to keep it from bowing. I love it, it is just high enough to keep the grass and the vegetables from co-mingling.
We started out by hauling in 5 yards of dirt... It's a lot, like a whole driveway full. We had all the kiddos in the neighborhood around for a week, digging and just getting dirty, I'm sure their Mama's love me. Once it was hauled to the back we spent the next day smoothing it out flat. Then the rain came, lots of rain, again, delaying my planting. In between rain storms the boys had a big time making it their personal sandbox. They put it in wagons and hauled it around, dug holes big enough to hide in, made mud pies, you know... boy things. Once it dried out and warmed up enough to plant I had to re-smooth the ground from my little gophers work. It was far from perfect but I am impatient and wanted seeds in the ground. This is what we ended up with
The seeds I attempted to start last month were a big flop so I bought tomato and pepper plants and used seed for the rest. I have diligently watered and whispered sweet nothings to my little plants hoping for a big and fruitful garden.

And low and behold, today while watering I found this:And these:And look at all these blooms on one of the tomato plants.I am a proud Mama!

Grayson does indeed live here....

However from my July photo folder you would never know it. Perhaps it is because he is to busy to be "bothered" with pictures, or perhaps because he prefers to be behind the camera rather than in front of it, or perhaps it is just because his Mama is bad about pictures. There is no shortage of Radlee pictures however....

The neigbors hate us!

Dusty's passion for wheeling and dealing lands some awfully random things in our garage from time to time. Last week he acquired a Honda 70 dirt bike that he was going to sell, but not before testing it out of course. This is the boys last weekend in the back yard, even Radlee and I got in on the fun. The results this time were much more successful than my previous (and first) time on a bike - no bloodshed and no bruises! I will not be the only one sad to see this little bike go!

In Full Bloom

It is no secret that Radlee has been a challenge for me from the day he was born. He is sweet and cuddly but he wants all mama all the time. People told me that when he started walking life would get easier, I hoped this would be the case but doubted it, knowing Roo's personality.

However, I am thrilled to announce that finally at 15 months he is walking, no make that running. He could have walked at 11 months but chose to spend those last 4 months being carried by yours truly, my back is as thankful for his first steps and I am. And to add to the excitement, everyone was right - this boy is completely different now that he has his own set of "wheels." He is so much more independent, he actually played in the toy room by himself the other day he has mastered the stairs, up and down and even knows the safe way to do it! Along with his new found Independence his personality is in full bloom, he chatters on endlessly (often without opening his mouth). He loves to play dress up and holds daily "treasure hunts" in the house where he finds one obscure item to be his object of affection for the day, anything from a spatula to an extra binkie, he carries it with him all day and incorporates it into whatever else he is playing with. He is communicating more and more, throwing kisses and showing me what he wants, he says "thank you" and yells "Grayson" he calls me Mama and Dusty Dada and tells me when he is done eating.

It is amazing and heartbreaking to me that my baby turned to a toddler literally overnight, I am sad that I no longer have a baby but so excited for this next stage!

Here is a little video of those precious first steps!

My secret ingredient

On Sunday mornings I try to depart from the usual breakfast of scrambled eggs, kix and bananas and make something different. On this particular Sunday morning Grayson requested Pancakes, as I was fixing his I asked what he wanted on them, he responded "love". My response was that all of my food was made with love, he ran in the kitchen and handed me the bottle of ice cream sprinkles and said, "no, this love". And so, pancakes with love were born.