Cowboys at heart

We went to "Grandpa's Ranch" last weekend and I shot a bunch of pictures, but since it's always so late when I'm on the computer, and I'm really tired, here's one picture (more to come soon) . . .

Growing up!

Chloe recently attended her first "High-heel" birthday party. I actually think this was the first time she went to a party without me or another family member! Anyway, she was so excited all week long, and getting to wear high-heels was SUCH a big deal! Since all this girly stuff is so new to me every day, I grabbed my camera before running her over to her friend's house.

She wore her Cinderella shoes for the party, but . . . . one fell off on the stairs - just like it was supposed to!
Her friend, Emma, was watching through the window!

They were so cute! I just eat all this "la la" stuff up!

I have a new favorite place to shoot!

Naughty blogger!

I know that I have been a very bad blogger, and I know that there are so many people who are just DYING to know what we've been up to, but it has been nuts around here! So, this is my little effort to keep track of everything we've been doing lately.
Jake is really into animals - farm animals. He likes to set them up looking out the window so that they can look outside at the field and make animal sounds. He doesn't get the right sounds with the right animals all the time, but hey - neither do I.
I've walked down the stairs to this sight (above) a couple of times lately. Chloe is now industrious enough to get her own spoons, and the ice cream from the freezer and everything! It's such a lovely sight, and I can totally understand her.
Sam loves Billy the Kid. We have to listen to "Blaze of Glory" over and over and over and over again. All the time.
This picture has me worried. Should my little girl think she's that hot in her undies and cowgirl boots?
This picture has me excited! I'm thinking that Chloe can be put in charge of all my organizing in the house by the time she's 8!
This is Sam and our little kitty, "Sugar Pie." Don't let the sweet smiles fool you, deep down, they're both aggressive hunters!



We've been working on our yard lately. We figured out a way to get rid of our "weed gardens" - 70 tons of road base!!! It was great fun for the kids for a couple of nights.

This was my sad attempt to photograph my own kids right after church in their Easter clothes. I think church does something to kids that makes them EXTRA hungry and grumpy - not a great time to take pictures I guess.

Just waiting . . .

We keep waiting, but where is the warm weather? I guess I should just be grateful for the one week of warmth, right?
Should I be worried that Jake paces around the room while he's "talking" on the phone . . . kind of like mommy?!? Maybe the unicorn on his jammies is influencing him a little!?!
Sam and Colten got into a big fight the other day, and he got an enormous chunk of hair pulled out of his head. I really don't know how he wasn't bleeding! That days also happened to be "haircut" day, and Sam is not one to lose a fight, so he figured that if he got ALL of his hair cut off, then Colten wouldn't have any advantages over him (Colten is bigger, but Sam is aggressive enough to make it even). So, I let him cut off MOST of his hair. I'm kind of sad. I loved his long, "almost in my eyes" hair. I absolutely LOVE boys with long hair!!! Oh, well, it grows back. In the meantime, Sam is feeling pretty tough with his new haircut. I think he looks older.

Colten broke his pinkie fingers a few weeks ago playing basketball. He wasn't too sad about it because he had an AWESOME game and was actually kind of proud of his injury. He had to get a cast on one of them since it was next to the growth plate, but that just made him feel even better. I came into the room at the doctor's expecting to see a bright green cast or a glow in the dark cast, but he went with black. I mean, that's the color I would want, but he's too young to be wanting things to look cool, right? When did this happen? He's into having his hair a certain way, his clothes a certain way, and I have no control anymore! That all went WAY too fast! Notice how smart we are letting him carve a stick with the pocket knife he got when he turned eight. He's been begging for a BB gun, but I have a hard enough time worrying about this pocket knife, let alone worrying about which neighbor or sibling he could shoot on accident with a BB gun!

Jake was so excited to be outside running around. I've got to keep a close eye on this little guy at all times because he really wants to run out in the road . . . just to see what will happen.

This is Chloe's fabulous friend, Emma, who was here to play the other day. It felt like spring outside, so I got talked into taking a bunch of kids to Steph's Drive Inn for ice cream cones. I was all too happy to oblige!
Even though we got over 8 inches of snow yesterday, Chloe insists on wearing her new summer clothes.

Spring photo shoot special!

Just getting the word out: I'm doing 2 "mini-session" days next month in celebration of the melting snow and how darn happy it makes me and everyone else around me (other than my sweet husband who is in mourning for the end of the skiing season!). So, check out my photo blog, here , for all the details!

What do I have to do . . . ?!?!

I mean, really? More snow? I know it's only the beginning of March, but haven't we had enough?!?! I swear our town doesn't let go of winter until June, either! It's just not right!!!! At the beginning of the season, when it snowed and I looked out my window at the beautiful trees and mountains covered in the perfect, angel-kissed, glorious snow, I was so happy for the change and for the fun the snow offers, but now . . . .
. . . even though I like the picture, I have to say that when it snowed yesterday, it felt like mother nature was pooping all over my little world. The poop kept falling and falling. I was so happy to see the grass peeking out, to find all the lost treasures on the ground that we never knew we lost, and then it happens again - poop.
And not just a little, a lot! Hours earlier, I was plucking up the dead weeds from my completely snow-free "front-walkway-gardeny-area." It kind of feels like spring was doing some sort of awesome "warm and sunny" tease that lasted only a day or two, but got me so happy that I pulled out my flip-flops again! Well, you know what? I'll show mother nature! I'm not putting my flip flops away! Take that! In fact, if anyone makes a comment on my flip flops, I'm going to punch them in the nose. Oh, yeah . . . I mean it.
I even had my little humming bird feeder out - ready to fill. How rude is that?!?!

Okay, I'm done. I've complained all I can about the never-ending winter. All it took was for Sam to look at me and say, "Mom! The snow is good! You get to ski in the snow!"

All right, little guy, if it makes you happy - I'll accept that winter is not over, but I'm not going like it one bit.
While I'm on my complaining mode, what is it about little boys and tooth brushing that makes me crazy?

To make you giggle . . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uy0SrWpfFmA

I just can't help but adore this song! It makes our whole house dance - even Jake gets his groove on to it!

Seriously, this is an accurate account of Facebook, right? Once your facebook account goes into play, there's no stopping it! It's like a raging fire! I'm guilty of getting sucked in from time to time, but now there's no way to get away, is there?!?! I saw this on a blog, and I just knew I had to have it on mine! So, I hope you all get a kick out of it like I did!

I just wanted to post these pics because I love my new "antique frames."

Happy Valentines Day!!!

I just love making cookies, can you tell? For Valentine's day, I made the kids a new kind of cookie that I haven't made before.

You want the recipe? Okay!

HOMEMADE OREOS
1 box of Devil's Food cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 c. butter flavor shortening
I made these ones with cherry frosting in the middle - so they were little cherry-chocolate cookies. So yummy!

Mix it all together, and bake at 350 for 8 minutes. I like to make them small, so they don't make an enormous mess. They only last an hour or two at my house! Enjoy!
Winter is tough, but Chloe is so good to find things to build with playdough!
Colten is my little cold-blooded boy, but when he has to go out to feed the chickens after it has just snowed 8 inches, he grumbles a little bit. Digging the chickens out isn't his favorite thing.
Jake is now in love with big-peopl shoes. He can wear them on his hands even! It's so funny just to sit back and watch him work through his balance issues while he tries to walk in his brother's boots!

At least . . . .

Well, at least there's Valentine's Day! This is the time of year that I dread. I'm already SO ready for summer, but winter doesn't look like it will end anytime soon. This is the time of year that I realized I took the warm, lazy days of summer for granted. I hate being stuck inside for 90% of the day. Plus, I'm suffering from my yearly "strep/migraine/sinus infection" - cold. So, I guess I've resorted to begging for sympathy.

ANYWAY . . . there is one fabulous holiday right in the middle of all the dreariness - Valentine's Day! Chloe has informed me that when she "gets big" she "will marry" and "she will ski" and she "will have big b______s like Tinkerbell." Thanks for that Disney! Does Tinkerbell have to be so well-proportioned? I'm a little worried.

The best thing about Valentine's day is the treats, right? Every single candy is amazing. I love/hate them all. They're the "worstest" thing I like to eat.

We don't spend ALL of our time stuck inside. Sometimes we brave it to play on a playground.


I got to provide Cole's 2nd grade class with hot chocolate for their SNOW DAY. He was actually pretty embarrassed that I brought my camera so this was the only shot I got of him looking at me. I caught him when he was painting in the snow.


This was Chloe doing her favorite Sunday afternoon thing - watching WALL-E in bed!
Apparently, I forgot to get Jake down for his afternoon nap the other day, and so he climbed up on Sam and fell asleep. Unfortunately, he was a little too heavy for Sam, so . . . .
Colten was more than willing to take over the "cuddling" duty!
Today my mom drove up to make sugar cookies for Valentine's Day. I was still feeling pretty yucky, so I hung back and captured it all. So, forgive me for the billions of pictures I always post, but I just can't help it!

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!




Just a dash of red food coloring for the pink icing!
Sam was happy to let the girls do the cooking as long as he got to enjoy the rewards!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!!!!