Heaping Dose of Cute-ness!

Moments caught on film between a boy and his Granddad!

Father's Day - Part II

Happy Father's Day to the best Daddy in the world!  

Today has turned out to be the most wonderful Father's day on record.  Not just for Daddy, but for myself, for LB and most importantly for Grandpa! 

We love you very much Papa D and remember...

"Today's the first day of the rest of your life and you're alive and well...

(From "I'm Alive" by Kenny Chesney & Dave Matthews)

Here are some recent moments caught on film of Daddy and his "helper" building planter boxes.

Happy Father's day to all the Daddies and Grandpas in this world!

XO-SL

Another Road Trip!

LB is becoming the master of road trips!  Well, okay not really.  It seems like there have been several trips but I can only count a few.  Hmmm....there was Flagstaff at 6 months old, Payson at 15 months and then this trip at 16 months.  Can we count trips to Phoenix and The Property?   If so, then that will bump up the count to eight car trips.  Okay...that still doesn't sound like a lot.  Alright, on with the blog.

This last trip takes LB to Las Vegas.  He was even kind enough to allow Grammy, Granddad, and myself to tag along on this latest adventure.  We were there to see my cousins, David & Donald, graduate from high school in Indian Springs which is about 45 minutes outside of Vegas. 

Truthfully, I was very nervous about this trip.  I was worried that LB would be a terror during the long ride, which of course, I couldn't really blame him too much if he was.  All I was picturing was 7+ hours of being trapped in the car with a screaming child.  I am the type of person who, if I hear or see a screaming or unruly child in a store, I start to judge and wonder what type of parent you are. I know it's horrible because even all good kids have bad days but it's what I do and I am trying to change it for fear of KARMA!  I tell you this because I was so worried about how LB would behave and how my parents might judge me.  It's nothing personal against my parents but all of us in some way shape or form judge and our children are an extension of us, right? 

Well, I am pleased to announce that LB did FANTASTIC on the ride--only if I wasn't sitting in the back with him!  I notoriously bring out the whine in him.  The resolve for that was Granddad and I took turns driving and as long as Grammy or Granddad sat in the back with him he was an ANGEL! 

I started in the back with him and as soon as we hit I-10 the crying started.  I tried entertaining him with my camera so here are his first photos! 

So after a pit stop/coffee break in Wikenburg and Kingman we finally made to it to our hotel in 7.5 hours! 

Wanna know the best part about the trip??? 

My room....

And across the hall....Grammy, Granddad and LB

Okay, okay...that is only half the truth.  LB slept in my room at night but as soon as we were up and at it he was across the hall with the folks!

The hotel turned out to be a lot of fun for LB.  There were so many new experiences for him.

Like....discovering the ice bucket doubles as a hat.

Like....pushing the elevator buttons

And like...the pit you get in your stomach when the elevator stops.

LB even picked up a souvenir from the grocery store...

Like I said above-the purpose of this trip was to see the boys graduate from high school.  David and Donald or as we call them, "The Boys" have been in my life since they were a few weeks old.  I have always considered them to be my brothers.  Of the four "followers" I have three of you may not know this but "yes" they are twins.

David and his girlfriend, Lilly, at the BBQ before the graduation

Andrew and his girlfriend, Jonna, talking with Grandma Barbara

 Andrew, Donald and Granddad

LB chilin' at the party!

After the graduation...

Congratulations to both the boys.  We are so proud of you!

I have so many more pictures to share with you like LB's first shaving and his time playing on a real train but this blog is already pretty long so I'll save the rest for later!

Lots of Love

~SL

Gone GREEN and a few other things!

I recently became addicted to this blog.  I found it while clicking on the "next blog" button up at the top of the page.  (I warn you though if you try it....it gets addicting...very, very addicting.)  I think I am in love with that women.  I feel we are very similar in many aspects.  Well, minus our sewing skills.  She is several notches above what I hope to be one day.  Anyways, I highly recommend that you check out the blog. 

As you see the title of this blog is "Gone GREEN and a few other things!"  I was sparked to write this blog because of "crunchy girl".  I have actually wanted to write this posting and several others similar to this because I feel it so much of who we are and how we are raising LB but I have always decided against it because it wasn't something that was 100% about LB and this is what this blog is about.  After finding and really enjoying reading about someone with similar thoughts, views and plans I figured that maybe one of you might enjoy hearing more about the life we are creating.  To quote the great philosopher, Daddy, "I can't change the world but I can change mine" and that is exactly what we are doing. 

We actually started to make a change to the green side while I was pregnant.  I was mopping the floors one day with Mr. Clean and I thought to myself "wow, one day my baby is going to be crawling all over this floor, put his hands in his mouth and then ingest some of this product".  Essentially, my baby would be licking the floors and would I do the same?  NO!  So that started the search on the Internet for green ways to clean.  To this day I always mop the floors with a mixture of 2 gallons of hot water to 2 cups of vinegar and a long squirt of dish soap and it works like a charm every time. There are several sites on the Internet that are devoted to cleaning with vinegar, like, like and like.  My use for vinegar to mop the floors has spread.  I now keep several spray bottles around the house that hold just vinegar for windows and mirrors and another bottle that is a mixture of water, vinegar and dish soap for everything else.  The one complaint I always hear from most people is the SMELL of vinegar!  Well my friends, you could add the lovely scent of lavender or some other essential oil to your mop water or spray bottles and that will take care of the smell or you could give it 10 minutes and the smell will dissipate naturally. 

In the past I would buy 409, Windex, Scrubbing Bubbles, Clorox and so on all to clean the house with at probably $20 per month.  Now, I buy one big bottle of vinegar at Costco for $3.24 that lasts me a month if not longer.  The savings alone is worth the change.  I actually could go on for days on all the benefits of my green cleaning ways but that will have to wait for another entry.

So not only are we clean greener's or green cleaners--you decide--but we also love to garden or garden lovers--again you decide!  Here are some photos from our ever growing and ever expanding garden!

 Strawberries hanging from a converted hot water tank.  Below is our blueberry bushes, blackberry bush and the temporary grape vine home.

Our new standing planters with watermelon, acorn squash, zucchini, and pumpkin

Our Tomatoes

The Corn

Spinach, celery, carrots, onions, garlic and the list goes on...

We can't have a garden on this scale and not have a compost pile.  It ain't pretty yet but it will be soon!

And last but not least....LB enjoying the labor of our garden!

Of course the garden and back yard wouldn't be possible without all of the back breaking, intense, sweaty labor that Daddy has poured into our little world over the last two plus years and continues to pour into our sanctuary.  We are truly thankful to be blessed with this little compound for LB to grow and nurture in and I hope one day he realizes just how lucky he is!  Okay, that sort of felt a little brag-ish but we truly believe in being as green as possible for the sake of our little man and for his future siblings. 

I know this update was a little choppy going from vinegar to gardening but there is just so much I want to share and my mind is racing trying decide what I want to talk about this time.  Well, and because I don't have any pictures of LB cleaning even though lately that is something he has come to enjoy.  

Can't wait to tell you more!  

~SL