Monday, August 24, 2009

First campout alone with the kiddos...

Our tent!

Mikaela and Baby! Mistake taking a white dog camping?
Possibly...but it's not my dog or my mistake so...








and we made it out alive! Unfortunately, it rained some Friday and then dumped on us Saturday morning. So all we basically did was drive a while, pitch a tent, eat some yummy dutch oven dinner, roast s'mores, stay up really late, worry about the bears, sleep in a tent, eat breakfast in the cold rain by a campfire and pile everything in the car all wet and muddy and race home! Nick was so sweet because when he woke up to rain on Saturday back in town, he knew we had to be getting pounded on while up the canyon. He told Suzanne to try and find us so he could help me load everything up. I didn't have service up there so I didn't find all this out until I was almost home. But, it was still so sweet that he worried about us. So, I got a text from him that said he wanted to help me break down camp and then one that told me Patrick Swayze died. That guy is all kinds of helpful.

I joined a single moms group on facebook and met some new friends through that group. This was an annual camping trip that they planned and it was so great. They usually do a lot of fun things like ATV's, dirt bikes, air-soft guns, hiking, fishing, etc. We didn't get the chance to do any of that, but it was still fun. It was fun to be alone but, not completely. To do something you didn't think you would or could do. It was something I needed to do. It was a step I needed to take. I'm happy I can now cross that off my bucket list.

We'll try for a better trip next year.

One without rain, mud and bears...please

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Happy Birthday Dalton!

It was Dalton's 7th birthday during our family reunion. He had been literally counting down the days for the last month. Every day without fail, he knew how many more days till his birthday. He also knew one of the presents he was getting. Suzanne took him shopping and let him pick out his own gift. It was a power miners lego set and it was a huge one! He was like a kid on Christmas day...except he was a kid on his birthday, which is pretty much the same thing. Anyhoo, I finally let him open some presents on Sunday because that was the day that everyone is usually there. Plus, the kid couldn't wait any longer and he was bugging A LOT.

Instead of a party Dalton just wanted to go to Sweet Tomatoes with his friend Clint. Totally works for me. He's a pretty easy kid. Love that boy. So, Dalton, Hudson, Clint, Clint's mom Diane and myself headed to Sweet Tomatoes to celebrate Dalton's birthday. There's only one tiny little problem with this.....ready for it? It's a good one...yep... Mother of the Year award here! We did the lunch when the boys were off-track in.....OCTOBER! Yep, three whole months AFTER his big day. Poor kid with the summertime birthday. No real celebration at school, no going down to the Principal's office for a special pencil, always having a birthday over our family reunion, then having the day get lost amongst the 24th of July and vacations, and on and on and on. Ya...I totally blew it. But, he didn't mind so much. Like I said, he's an easy going kid. Gotta love him!
Here's a picture of the boys at the belated birthday lunch:



So, Happy Birthday to my baby...sniff, sniff.