Puppy Dog Tales

It never ceases to amaze me just how quickly time goes by now that I have two little boys. Add a vacation in to the mix and the time whizzes by in the blink of an eye. Our vacation time in Wyoming is usually spent visiting my mom, my brother and my three sisters not to mention the extended family and friends that call the windy state their home. I always get stressed out trying to make sure to fit everybody in without leaving anyone out. This time we spent a couple of nights with my brother Robert and spent a mandatory day walking around historic downtown Laramie. I love shopping at the Maurice's there and always spend more money than I should, the Curiosity Shoppe that carries all sorts of nick knacks and most of all the Chocolate Cellar - yummy. Robert, Shelly and I also took the boys on the footbridge that goes over the railroad tracks in hopes of standing over the passing trains but I think all the trains were on strike that day. It was still fun none the less.

We then spent three nights with my mom - otherwise known as Grandma Janice. At first Landon was not sure what to think of my mom's dog Tabby mainly because we do not have any animals and so he is therefore not used to being pawed and licked and sniffed. It took about a day before Landon would walk up to her and initiate any type of contact and after that they were buddies. Mom said poor Tabby Dog spent the day after we left her house just walking around sniffing and looking for us. :( Maybe one day the boys will have a dog of their own - even if it is when they move out on their own.

The last three nights of our trip were spent at my sister Tonia's house in Cheyenne, Wyoming. They live outside of town where there is lots of space for the boys to run around wild and that is just what they did. Lucas loved racing his cousin Kathy around the house multiple times and helping his cousin Destin feed the steer. After being up close with so many cows this last trip Landon is now fluent in 'moo' tongue. One of the highlights of the trip was being reunited with Steve after being away from him for an entire week. The boys grabbed on to daddy and didn't want to let go.

Kathy Graduates High School

So I am definitely a little behind on my posts but here we go again. One of the highlights of our trip to Wyoming was watching my niece graduate high school. The older Kathy has got the stronger our relationship has become. She is such a bright young lady with a good head on her shoulders and I am truly very proud of her. We also got to visit with my nephew Kent since he was able to take a leave from the Marines where he is stationed at Camp Pendleton in CA. After Kathy walked across the stage her parents had a big graduation party for her with lots of family and friends. Lucas and Landon enjoyed playing outside all day with all the other kids and also got a kick out of feeding their cousin Destin's steer. We all look forward to our next visit to Wyoming at the end of July.

The Farm in Nebraska

It was two weeks ago yesterday that the kids and I made the 5 1/2 hour car ride to little Laramie, Wyoming for the first time this year. Steve drove the three of us half way to Rock Springs where we then met my brother Robert who took us on the rest of the way. I don't remember when exactly we started doing our trips like this but it allows me and the kids to stay and visit family for an extra week before Steve then drives all the way to Laramie the following weekend to pick us up. Once the kids are a little older I think I will then be able to make the trip without another adult but until that time I sure do appreciate all my family members who have taken the time to make the scenic drive to Rock Springs for lunch. ;) And of course my loving husband who has made this all possible - even though I am sure he enjoys the quiet time right after he drops us off.

The day after arriving in Laramie we then made a short trip to Nebraska to meet my brother Robert's future in laws. They live on a Ranch outside of Gering where they raise cattle and we were fortunate enough to be there on one of the days they happened to be branding. The entire Revelle family was so welcoming and we had a great day playing and eating good food.

Lucas loved that they had a trampoline and 4-Wheelers and there were tons of other kids for him to play with. As far as the branding went...neither boy was too keen on what was going on. I think the noise the calves and their mommas made because of being separated was a little much for both Lucas and Landon.I loved being there for the experience!! The black calf below was less than a day old so I enjoyed watching it try to walk around on wobbly legs but kept my distance from the very protective mother.

We also saw two snakes in the front yard while at the ranch. The first little snake was quickly taken care of by Aunt Shelly wielding a shovel and the second quit larger snake was handled by her brother who carried him into the field, gave him a smack or two and sent him on his way. Needless to say I would much rather have Shelly in my corner.

After a long day of play, I think we all could have crawled up on the trampoline to take a nap. A very special thank you goes out to the Revelle family for being so kind and opening your home to me and the boys. We look forward to visiting you all again.

Schools Out for the Summer

What a fun and very busy week we have had with multiple picnics and many days spent with friends and family. Last week our friends Sarah, Sean & Gracie invited us to go swimming with them at the hotel they were staying at in downtown Salt Lake City. Both Lucas and Landon had such a good time that I can not wait to get them to the outdoor pool just up the street from our house. Lucas will be taking swimming lessons for his 3rd year and Landon and I will be signing up for Mommy & Me lessons as well.

Landon seems to be growing by leaps and bounds - accomplishing tasks much sooner than his older brother ever did - or so it seems. I think Landon sees Lucas running around doing things and is just so eager to keep up. The older Landon gets the more Lucas and him are able to play and interact together - as well as fight. I never realized that a 16 month old would be instigating almost 1/2 the fights. Who knew "Brotherly Love" started so young?

Along with the nice weather comes the longer days and evenings - spent playing with the kids in the yard. It is always a tough transition trying to get the yard up to par while entertaining the boys and still getting them to bed by 8 pm. Lucas is so confused as to why he has to go to bed when it is still "day time" outside.

This last week we were able to get a lot of yard work done and I also managed to make some extra money at my annual yard sale with my best friend Kristin. It was so nice to get the baby stuff and the half dozen bags of clothes out of the garage. You know me - I love to clean and organize stuff and go crazy with any extra clutter. I managed to get my tomato plants in the ground as well as red & green bell peppers, banana peppers and jalapeno peppers (for Steve of course). I have only grown tomatoes in the past so it will be interesting to see how I do with the peppers. Maybe next year I will have to expand my garden.

If for some reason you did not believe that we had a very busy week then just look at the master piece that Steve and I assembled. This is the shed that we have been wanting to get for some time now so that the boys would have their own "garage". Yep that is pretty much what it is - a place to store all their outdoor toys and gear. For the past couple of years our covered patio kept getting smaller and smaller until finally there was no room for our patio furniture. There is still a little work to be done around the shed but for now I am just enjoying having our patio back!! :)

Another busy week has come and gone yet I feel like it was just yesterday that I sat down at the computer and wrote on my blog. Maybe one day when I really get the hang of this it will seem a lot easier. Last Thursday Lucas had his second T-Ball game and Steve and I volunteered to coach the game since the regular coaches were out of town. Originally I had hoped that someone else with more experience would volunteer but when no one else offered and I knew we were stuck I actually got pretty excited. We both ended up having a really good time and got a little extra help from Aunt Erin and Uncle Chris who were there to cheer Lucas on. We have both agreed that coaching might be something we would like to do in the future when Landon gets a little older.

Sunday was Mother's Day and I was able to sleep in and lay around and read for a couple of hours. The boys surprised me with presents which turned out to be two books and a new cd as well as a wonderful floral plaque that Lucas had made in school for me that he would not even let me touch until Mother's Day. We all went to the book store and then I bought some tomato plants and pepper plants for my garden. Dinner was homemade pizza at Judy's house that Steve and Chris prepared. They did a wonderful job.

Earlier this week the weather was finally warm enough for the kids to get to play outside in the water. We spent one afternoon at Sarah, Sean & Gracie's house with our other friends Angi and Mia where the kids got to run around half naked (fully naked for little Gracie) and play. We also spent a couple of evenings at home working in the yard until way past the kids bedtime. We are all very excited for the warm summer weather and all the fun activities that come with it!!

Spring Show & Super Hero's

This last week Lucas had his first Adventure Preschool Springtime show at Wheeler Farm. He was so excited to go and not once did he let me know what songs they would be singing or anything else they planned to do. I was pleasantly surprised with the entire performance and could not have been more proud of him. Since starting preschool in the fall Lucas has become much more outgoing and has learned to listen and take direction from other adults. All the kids in his class did such a wonderful job and after the show we celebrated by going to dinner with the Armstrong family and the Melchior family. Unfortunately as soon as we sat down at our table little Landon starting getting sick all over the place so Steve stayed at the restaurant with Lucas and everyone else while I rushed poor Landon home. The next day Landon seemed just fine and I'm not sure why he got sick in the first place - I was just thankful I was able to enjoy the show.

Above the 'Three Amigos" - Dylan Melchior, Lucas McCormack & Sean Armstrong (or the "Three Stooges"). I love that Lucas has become good friends with these boys and that Steve and I also get along really well with their parents. I just hope their preschool teacher is prepared for one more year of these little monsters in the same class. :)

Friday night for the first time in a long time we did not have any plans and even though Lucas kept asking which friend he was going to play with, his dad and I decided it was about time we spent a nice relaxing weekend at home. Lucas was so excited to wear his new Batman p.j.'s and wanted Landon to wear his Superman p.j.'s. As soon as they were dressed they became the good guys and mom and dad became the bad guys. We were human punching bags until the following day when it was finally time to get dressed.

Springtime: T-Ball & Trips to the Zoo

After being postponed for a week due to rainy weather, Lucas finally had his first T-Ball practice and a practice game last week. I was so worried that we would have a repeat performance of last year when we tried to get him to play soccer and all he wanted to do was cling to our sides and go home. That was definitely not the case with T-Ball - he was so excited to follow his coach and teammates on to the field and play ball. I was so happy I brought the camera as always but kept kicking myself over not bringing the video camera. I don't remember laughing so hard as I did while watching their practice game. The four year olds would hit the ball with the bat and then run into the field to retrieve their own ball (all while still holding the bat. :)) Once Lucas was up to bat he hit the ball and then proceeded to run a big circle in the outfield - without touching any bases - before returning to the home plate. TOO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We loved every minute of it. This week we just had team pictures and poor Lucas kept asking why he did not get to stay and play T-Ball. Needless to say we are all excited for him to get to play again next week.

This week brought with it plenty of nice weather and therefor allowed us a trip to the Utah Hogle Zoo. We had our sweet Gracie Girl with us this last Monday and decided to venture out to see the animals for the second time this year. This year we purchased a pass that allows us to visit the zoo as much as we want for an entire year and I plan to get my monies worth. :) We met up with my friend Sarah and her two kids Sean and Gracie and also with Angi and her daughter Mia. We were enjoying our picnic until Lucas fell and skinned both his knees and then became so upset that he threw up (which as most of you know he has the weakest stomach EVER so this is very common). After a quick cleanup we were still able to walk around the zoo and had a really fun afternoon.

The kids loved trying on these really cool Asian hats at the zoo but my friend Sarah thought I should pay a fee just to take their picture in the hat. Really I think we should have been paid to show people how good those silly looking hats look on really cute kids. :)