refreshed

I am taking a small break from sewing tonight to give you a little update.

Last weekend the fam-dam-li-o packed up the travel trailer and headed for Roosevelt lake.  You see we weren't no dummies when we decided to buy this trailer because we have some really awesome friends who happen to own a boat.  We bring the A/C and crapper and they bring the weekend fun. 

I have lots of good memories of my own growing up on the lakes here in Southern AZ.  Like, lets say the time my dad thought it was good idea to make all four of his YOUNG kids walk ALL.THE.WAY.AROUND. Patagonia lake.  Those were good times.

I have to tell you how happy we were when we released the kids from the cab of the truck and they both ran into the lake with no reservations. 

This was our home away from home spot. It was perfect.

Told ya! They wasted no time.

Squish also wasted no time tasting the dirt here.  His culinary delights is sampling dirt.

Bug also wasted no time in perfecting his skill....climbing

These lower lakes....Roosevelt, Apache and Canyon are so beautiful.

Here we are Saturday morning waiting for the boat friends to show up.

Not only did my kids have no reservations about playing in the water when they can stand in it but they also had no reservations about being in the water when they only could float.  If that boat was stopped both boys wanted to be in the water ASAP.

 Want to know what's better then a boat to a three and one year old?  Jet skis.  And really super fast ones at that.

 Want to know the best thing about camping....naked babies running loose.

Want to know what's better then a boat AND really super fast jet skis?  An inner tube being pulled behind a boat.

A TON of great memories were made and we can't wait to go back!

missing - explaining - thrifting

In case you haven't noticed most of my posts recently have all had one word for the posting title.  I am kind of enjoying the simplicity of it.  Today, though this post couldn't be summed up into one word so I chose to use three simple words to describe the last 24 hours. 

MISSING....

Our last 24 hours started here...

The Daddy-O's beloved Grandmother passed away four years ago this month.  Bug was just a tiny life growing in my belly then.  I was near the end of my first trimester.  I had the pleasure of letting her in on the secret of the babe in my belly a week before she passed.  I think it was just as hard as losing her as it was with my own grandmother. 

The Daddy-O and I have missed her immensely.  We all always take things for granted when we have them.  With the place that the Daddy-O and I are at in our life we sure could use Grandma and her great wisdom. 

EXPLAINING....

Bug and I have been having a lot of conversations lately trying to explain life, death, and God.  It's never easy trying to find the right 'simple' words to explain these things.  I've been to see Grandma a few times since she passed but I have never brought her new flowers and a flag. 

You see the Daddy-O's Grandfather passed long before I came into the family and as I have heard....Grandma liked to keep blue flowers and a flag on Grandpa's grave---blue; because it was his favorite color and the flag; because he was a veteran. 

Yesterday on a whim I packed up the kids and headed on over to Grandma to bring her some new flowers and a flag for Grandpa.   

Squish, though missed out on the fun. 

Now lets come forward to today. 

THRIFTING....

After I dropped the kids off at my parents house this morning I headed on over to my favorite thrift store, The Family Attic.  I hadn't been in there in a while and I was hoping to find some great fabric or bed sheets to add to my growing fabric collection. 

After browsing for awhile I found this buried...

"This" is the plate on the left--the one with flowers.  When Grandma died I was given her collection of these corelle dinner plates.  Instead of keeping them buried in a box I chose to use them.  To me it's like always keeping a little bit of her around.  Well, in using them three or four plates have been broken.  It saddens me but I would rather still have them there always in our presence.  I have thought about going from thrift store to thrift store trying to find them to replenish my collection but the thought of dragging two little boys around in the dead of summer has stopped me from doing so.   

So when I found this plate buried in a collection of other plates I took it as a sign from Grandma saying "thank you" for the flowers yesterday.  Maybe that's kind of corny but I miss her very much and I'll take any little sign (or plate) to let me know that she is still around. 

Here are some of my other thrifty finds....

A pastel blue and cheerfully pink and orange stripped flat sheets.  These will probably hang out in the travel trailer until I find a good use for them in a sewing project.

A 1984 version of Candyland.  HOLLER!!  The newer versions of the games I grew up with just aren't the same.

A late 1980's version of Aggravation.  This was a game my grandparents always had in their motor home and I have many fond memories of sitting in their motor home playing this game with my cousins, sisters and best of all--my Nana.



renewed

From the day the Daddy-O and I got together he has had an old Garfield blanket from his childhood.  We have never used it.  It's always been placed high up on a shelf with other memories from long ago.  A few weeks back I took it down and washed it up.  I knew we had a little boy or two who would enjoy it. 

I took the time to pull each stitch apart and then sew it back up with new batting inside.

This blanket--that was filled with many memories from the past--is now being used to create new ones with a new generation--well, that is if we can get it back from the Daddy-O.  It seems he has fallen in love again with this blanket. 



excitment

It's been a long time since Mama laced up her running shoes, strapped on the Ipod with Kings of Leon pulsating through the ear buds and ran.  Ran until the legs hurt and the lungs could no longer stay caught up with the heavy and deep breaths....in, out, in, out.  

Who knew that running at six in the evening in 90 plus degrees could feel so good. 

My sister, Aunt Kissy, her husband, Uncle Dude and myself are signed up to do the Terrain Mud Run on October 6th at Old Tucson Studios. 

Here's a video that was shot in Eugene, OR of their Mud Run so you can get an idea. 

I am so excited to get back out their and run for something and not only that but to have someone to do this with.  Mama needed this. 

savoring

I think just about once a week the Daddy-O and I are having the talk about the kiddos.  It's the one that starts off like this....

"Do you think we are screwing the kids up?"

and then

"Do you think we are being too hard on them?"

And this is why parenting is so hard.  Our 3 year old, Bug, can't seem to listen to save his life and he is physically violent to me, to his brother, to his dad, and to his grammy.  Of course, most of you don't know these things about him because he is pretty well behaved outside of our home and his comfort areas.  I am sure he is very normal for a 3 year old but I don't know that I want to let this behavior continue because he is three and this is what is normal.  However, at the same time I don't want to "break" him because we expect him to understand more than what maybe he should. 

Do we lower our bar of tolerance for him or has society already done that too much and this is why we are in the state in which we are in as a country. 

There are days though that I do feel that everything will be alright and on one of those such days we had a mommy and me date.  We went bowling, then to lunch, and then to Target for a little indoor playing. 

Here we are at the bowling alley

Lunch at Lucky Wishbone

My pictures of Bug...

Bug's picture of me.

Some fun at Target