The Elk Is Back

Nimrod picked my elk up today from the taxidermist. I had forgotten just how big elk are. Now he takes over our entrance way and pretty much fills up the room. He definitely adds color to our vanilla walls (sigh....someday I will paint them a color other than white...)

So now when you walk into our house, this is what greets you. Very welcoming, don't you think?

This is a view from the other side (the small side of the elk). See the mismatched horns? My bull is a little unbalanced, just like me :)

Here is my elk with my deer I killed several years ago. Check off another thing from my To-D0 List.

*Kill deer-check

*Kill elk-check

*Paint color in my house...hmmmm no check-I think my priorities need to be changed.

Meet Sally

Meet Sally. One day Punky Girl had to take Sally to the dr. because Sally wasn't feeling well. Sally came back looking like this.





The dr. told her mom that she needed glasses, that is why she wasn't feeling well. Being the great mom that Punky Girl is, she went right out and got Sally some glasses. Now Sally feels better. So much better that her mom took her to the library to check out some books (now that she can see them).

After picking out a few books, Sally and her mom sat down and did some reading together.

The End

The ULTIMATE Hunt Is On

Some of you remember my elk hunt from last year and what an experience that was. Well, our family is experiencing something ever bigger than that. Nimrod drew a strip tag--no, it has NOTHING to do with Vegas. The strip is a hunting area that is the most sought after mule deer hunting area in the United States because of the record book deer that come out of it-no exaggeration. He hasn't been drawn for mule deer in 12 years because he has been putting in for this highly sought after tag. So, here we are 12 years later. I am so excited for him to be able to experience this.

Nimrod was in shock the first few days and now he wants the whole world to know he gets to go hunting on the strip. He said to me the other day, "If I am distracted, forget things you tell me or seem out of it for the next 3 months, I apologize now." I just looked at him with a confused look, wondering where the conversation was going. Then he smiles and says, "I got a strip tag. I can't think straight!" I smiled and told him that as long as he didn't neglect me or the kids I could live with him for the next few months being distracted. But, you know what? He wasn't kidding. He has been forgetting lots of things which means he really isn't listening to me that well. What can I do? He has a strip tag!

The only down side is that he will be gone most of November. The kids and I will survive but it will be a challenge. Nimrod is already freaking out about being gone from us that long. Hopefully he will kill the record book deer on the first day and it will cut the hunt short by two weeks. If you feel like praying for that, I am good with it :).

I will post some pics once the big one is killed in a few months.

First Day of School

My baby Punky Girl started kindergarten this week. I always thought I would be okay with it because she has always been independent and into doing her own thing. However, over the last 6 months she and I have grown much closer and she has been the sweetest little girl in the whole wide world. Each day as school grew closer my heart has breaking little by little as I knew I was going to have to part with her and miss out having her around with me all the time. I tried to talk her out of going, but as I said she is a little independent, so she wasn't going to have any of that conversation.

So, I did my best, sucked it up and got my baby ready for her first day of school. She is the cutest Kindergarten girl I have seen in my entire life.

Buckaroo told me all summer that he didn't want to go back to school this year. This from the kid who LOVES school. I guess we made summer too much fun for him and school held no appeal. I will have to change that next summer! Anyway, come the first day of school he was ready 25 minutes before we had to leave. He admitted he was excited to go to school. Whew! I feel better.

We couldn't get out the door without a silly pose.

Punky Girl found her seat right away and quietly sat down waiting to find out what she was supposed to do. She then decided to read a book. That warms an English teacher/mother's heart.

This was taken right before the teacher read a story to the class and her mother broke down into tears. I really did try to hold it together but couldn't make it all the way. Nimrod said we should have stood closer to the door and then I could have made it out before she saw me crying. Unfortunately, she saw me crying and teared up herself. That really made me cry. I was a disaster!

At the end of the day the tears were gone and the first day of school was a smashing hit for us!

Disneyland

Back in March I mentioned that I was working two part-time jobs. One is my regular part-time job of being an online instructor for our local high school and the other one was a tutoring job sponsored by our state. I decided that if the state actually paid me we would take the kids to Disneyland. I didn't expect the state to follow through considering our current economy but the check came in the mail 3 days before we left to CA. I was so excited knowing what was going to happen.

We waited to tell the kids until the day before we left so that they didn't bombard us with the question, "When do we go to Disneyland?" 50 thousand times. They only did it 50 times :)

We drove to the hotel to check in before we headed to the park. When I got to the front desk to check in, the reservations clerk told me I didn't have reservations. I about freaked out. My kids and hubby are in the car waiting for me to come out with a key and he tells me we have no room. I remembered I brought my confirmation sheet I printed out and showed it to him. He then does whatever they do on their computers and said to me, "This is for July 8, 2010. You made the reservation's for next year." I thought I was going to hyperventilate and die. There was no way I could walk out there and tell them we had no room. Then he told me to wait and disappears into his office for at least 5 minutes. I begin praying. I know God is not a genie and doesn't POOF! make it all better but I really was hoping for some divine intervention. He finally comes out and tells me that they do have a room we can have and they honored the price I had paid for already. God is better than a genie! That begins the little miracles that occurred the whole time we were there. Disneyland is a magical place but with God it is even more special. We checked in and headed to the park.

The first thing we see next to town hall is....the fire station. Punky Girl is thrilled! We checked out all the cool fire station things they have to see.

We cruised all over the park just letting the kids taking it all in. Unfortunately, so did 50,000 other people. It was crowded! And, most of them are from another country so they walk on the wrong side of the street/sidewalk. It was challenging to avoid getting run over. But, it IS Disneyland so we sucked it up :)

The first ride we went on as a family was the Matterhorn. I wasn't sure how Punky Girl would do but she laughed and laughed through the whole ride. I couldn't stop laughing listening to her laugh. I have decided that is my special moment of the whole experience. The four of us had a blast on that ride.

Here she is with her daddy on It's a Small World right after the Matterhorn. You can tell she is having a blast.

Buckaroo and I went on the teacups, not Nimrod's cup of tea! Do you know how hard it is to take a picture when you are spinning?

Buckaroo loved the Buzz Lightyear ride. Mostly because he got to shoot things and beat his dad the first time. We rode this ride the most because it was fast to get on and the kids loved it.

The whole afternoon and evening we kept trying to get on the Nemo ride because Punky Girl LOVES Nemo and we heard the ride was awesome but the wait was 2 hours and the kids did not want to wait that long on the first day there. We agreed that it would be the first ride we would go on the next day, assuming the line would not be as long. After a spectacular fireworks show we headed back to the hotel anticipating another day of fun at Disneyland.

The next we headed to the park and as Nimrod and Punky Girl headed over to Nemo, Buckaroo and I went to go get fast passes for Space Mountain, my favorite ride. When we got to Nemo, they were waiting for us to get in line. As we stepped in line we noticed the line was a 45 minute wait but we had told Punky Girl we would go on it first so we got in line. The lady working the line leaned down to Punky Girl and said, "Princess, this is what we call a magical moment and you and your family are going to the front of the line. We all looked at each other shocked! So, off to the front of the line we went. NO 45 minute wait for us. (miracle 2)

Here is Punky Girl at the front of the line totally excited. *Sidenote-the ride is worth a 45 minute wait...it is awesome!*

After Nemo, we split up. Nimrod and Buckaroo took off to climb a tree and do something manly. Punky Girl decided she wanted her face painted. Now, for those of you that have been to Disneyland you have seen the little girls with the glitter princess masks and the dresses and the tiaras and the princess walk you know that is all totally opposite of Punky Girl. So when she said she wanted her face painted I about fainted. I was all over that. We were directed to the Bibbity-Bobbity Boutique for this experience. It is a Princess salon for little girls. Punky spent 3 seconds watching these girls get pampered and she bolted. But, she still wanted her face painted. So, off we went to find a stand that did just face painting. About this time, Buckaroo and my fast passes were up for Space Mtn so Nimrod and I switched kids. Dad was in charge of the face painting escapade. Buckaroo was totally into it as we went into the ride. It was a rocket ship and had all the sound affects. He was into it until it got pitch black. I grabbed his hand during the ride and he was totally still. When we viewed our picture after the ride, his eyes were closed. I asked him if he had his eyes closed the whole time and he said yeah, the ride was too fast and closing his eyes helped it go slower. Needless to say, He did NOT like Space Mountain. I ruined him for the rest of the trip. He was not interested in anymore roller coaster rides. After the color returned to his face, we went off to find Nimrod and Punky Girl. This is what I found:

She didn't get a Princess mask, she picked out a flaming football! I knew it was too good to be true. Nimrod swears he didn't coerce her into picking this and it was all her doing. Knowing her, I am sure that is the truth. I am just shocked they even offer that as a face painting. So, we had the ONLY girl in all of Disneyland with a flaming football on her face. I think it was new one for the park.

We wandered the park and got a fast pass for Splash Mtn. We had two hours to wait so we got some lunch and went to Frontier land. Guess what we found? A shooting game! My son liked the things he could do in his own backyard. Go figure...

After this, we headed to Toon Town. This was our favorite place. Why? They have a firetruck, of course.

After Toon Town we decided to take the park train back over to Splash Mtn. As we were waiting in line, the kids told us that they were tired and didn't really want to go on Splash Mtn. (I told you I ruined Buckaroo). They just wanted to go to CA Adventureland and see Crush and then go back to the beach house. We asked them a dozen times to make sure they really were done and they were. While we were having the conversation the people next to us were telling their boys that they didn't know if they would have time to go to Splash Mtn. because they didn't get fast passes. The boys were willing to wait the 3 hours in line to ride it. Nimrod took our fastpasses and gave them to the family. At first they wouldn't take them. We told them our kids were done and we were definitely not going to use the passes. The mom asked when they were for and we said 2:40-3:40. It was 2:40 on the nose (miracle 3) They were so excited and it was one of the boys' birthday. I said to Nimrod, This is our pay-it-forward moment from the Nemo ride.

Off they went to Splash Mtn. and off we went to see Crush. This was for Punky Girl and her fixation with Nemo. Truth be told, it is one of my favorite movies too. Anyway, we get there right before the show starts, no waiting. We go in and the kids sit on the floor and the parents are in the theater seats. Out comes Crush to talk through screen (if you have never been it is hard to explain) and greets us. Then he tells his assistant on our side of the glass that there is someone in the crowd he wants to chat with. Crush the describes Punky Girl. Of all the kids to pick to talk to, he picks her(miracle 4). Nimrod leaned over and asked me if I paid someone to have him talk to her. No way, this is all new to me I replied. After talking with Punky Girl he wanted to talk with her parental unit. We had to raise our hands as the assistant came over to us with the mic. Then Nimrod had a conversation with Crush, it was quite comical. Totally out of his comfort zone, but he did it. Nimrod and I laughed on the way out because we had nothing else to give away or pay-it-forward for anyone else.

That ended our first trip to Disneyland. Actually, the Mickey Mouse ice creams bars on the way out ended our trip. It truly was magical for our kids.

Beach Bums

Each summer, Nimrod's parents, his sister & her husband, their kids and the four of us show up in CA for a week of sun and fun at the beach. We have come to cherish this family tradition and count the days all year long until the time comes. This year we were there for the 4th of July and so the kids got to see lots of fireworks all over the sky. We had sparklers and little ground ones that we lit off the beach. It was such a great way to start off the week of vacation. While it is hard to catch fireworks on camera, I think some of these pics are neat.

Most of the week is spent eating chocolate donuts, playing in the waves and getting sunburned. Oh, we all start out not trying to get sunburned but eventually all the adults get some type of burn. Then we lecture each other about the hazards of it. We do lots of people watching-my brother-in-law has lots of comments to fill in and "tell" the peoples' stories. It is quite entertaining to listen to him make up stuff about people. The men play poker, the women read and sleep, and sleep, and sleep, and the kids fight the waves.

Here is Lil "trying" to read but someone wouldn't leave her alone

If you could have only heard Buckaroo and Punky Girl. They would stand out in the ocean yelling to the waves, "Come on waves, hit me! Is that all you got?" They punched, they karate chopped, they jumped, they fell, they yelled, and they did it with big smiles. However, the big hit with the kids was the boogie boards. They finally figured out how to do this and had the BEST time out on the waves.

Our own "Bo Derek"

He seriously could not stop smiling the whole time he was on a board

WIPE OUT!!!

Of course, Nimrod and the kids managed to get some fishing in. Catching was another story...

Notice the goggles? An accessory for all occasions.

The kids endured family photo time-they really hate it but they have no choice :)

This Chef "lived" in our kitchen. You would not believe how many people walking along the beach would stop and check out his backside! Some even took pictures...what kind of caption goes with that in your photo album?

This is how my babies fell asleep the last night at the beach. Is this not the sweetest thing ever?

Another year has set on a fabulous family vacation

Clarity in the Madness

I am still fighting with my exorcist wii lady but have gained some ground with her. She told me today that I did a good just by showing up-consistency is important, you know. She then told me weight was different than from the last time I did a body check, i.e., I gained weight, but if I become more active I can still meet my goal. So, I thought, I will do more today than I have been doing and see if that changes her little attitude.

Buckaroo and I start playing some of the games, one of which a head butting soccer game. I got hit in the head with cleat! Not literally of course, but it felt like it when I tried to duck it and fell off the wii board. Despite that, we had a blast playing these games that work on balance and firming your core muscles.

However, it was much harder than I anticipated. I had to move opposite of what was on the screen. To go left, I had to lean right and vice versa. It was really messing with my sense of direction and movement. In the back of my mind I kept thinking, this little psycho lady is really messing with me making me do everything backwards. Either that, or I have no sense of balance or direction...this entirely possible. So, we got done, I was sweating, Buckaroo was laughing, all was good.

When Nimrod got home from work I asked to come watch this fun soccer game. We told him about me getting "hit in the head" over and over and how hard it was because you had to move opposite of what you would think you had to. So, he watched, chuckled a little and then asked, "How long have you been playing with the board backwards, all day?"

Oh!

Hmmm....maybe a little common sense and clarity is all I needed in the madness of this wii battle.

An Offensive Machine

Since the kids decided to get the Wii, I decided to capitalize on it and get the Wii Fit. I had been going to the gym but that stopped in April when baseball started. I need to get in shape and heard the Wii Fit was a great way do this. Now, I am not so sure.

I started the set up this morning. I found my cute little Mii person and they put her in a cute little yoga outfit. The little Wii board talks to me in this little chipper voice and is on the screen guiding me through the set up. The first thing it asks me to do is step on the board and I when I did I swear it it said "Oh my." The screen message comes up that there was an error. The little voice asks me "Are you fidgeting? I can't get a good reading. Please step off and on again." Okay, I think this is normal and step off and then on but am cautious because I really think it said "Oh my" when I stepped on the first time. This time it reads me and says it is time to start the basic test. I have to do these balance exercises, which it gives no instruction for, and then it says to me in a voice now beginning to sound like the little lady from Poltergeist or The Exorcist, whatever psycho move it was, "Do you trip often?" EXCUSE ME? The wii psycho lady is asking me if I trip often. Well, of course I do. Doesn't everyone? But, I continue on, mostly because my kids are watching and I didn't want to throw a temper tantrum at the wii in front of them.

Next test, some standing positions, checking my posture. I think, "No problem. What can she yell at me for here?" I won't ask that question again. Apparently there are issues with my posture as well. Now I have to put in my age and my height. In her sing-songy voice she tells me just a minute, she will figure my "Wii Age" and then "we" can decide what training I should do. She comes back with an age seven years older than me. SEVEN years!!! Holy cow!!!! And, she tells me that my BMI is high and makes my cute little mii person chubby, come on lady!

I feel like I just signed up for the military. My poltergeist trainer just beat me down. What did I sign up for? This little computer generated machine kicked my butt and I didn't even see it coming. And I didn't actually exercise.

Maybe tomorrow when I do actually exercise, I will trade her in on a better model. Some Austrian guy that chants "You cun du it" sounds much better to me than a little psycho lady saying, "Oh my" every time I step on the board.

Wiiiiiii...Booooom!

The kids have really wanted a Wii for quite sometime. With neither one of us being video game type people and the economy not being all that great, buying a Wii was not on the top of our priority list. Then, my in-laws graciously gifted the kids some spending money for vacation this summer. There were no restrictions on it so they could use it for whatever they wanted. Immediately they decided they would put the money together and buy a Wii. I told them they had to wait until vacation was over because there may be things they want to get while on vacation. They didn't know we were surprising them with trip to Disneyland and I just knew they would blow it all at Disneyland and the Wii would long be forgotten. They took the money to Disneyland with them and bought a few trinkets, fun stuff but nothing really over the top. So much for what I know!

Now we're back home and they were just dying to buy the Wii. We had to wait until we went to town for the day to purchase it. So, yesterday was the day. Buckaroo had a dr. appt and we had school supplies to get so off to the big city we went. Of course, the first place we went was to buy the Wii. This was at 10:00am in the morning. They had to endure all the errands, a dr. appt and the drive home. At last they could play their Wii. But wait, mom has to set it up and make dinner. Well, in my house food comes first (a personal pleasure I like to indulge in) so we ate. FINALLY, the Will process begins.

I have to put the system together, no small task with our cumbersome entertainment center. Then we make the little Mii people. It was fun but the kids were chomping at the bit to get the games going. It was Punky Girl's day to go first (a little rule that saves my sanity and alleviates fights-odd days are hers and evens are his). Buckaroo did very well at stepping aside and letting his sister fumble through her first experience with the Wii. See, he has played many times at friends and knew exactly what to do. His patience was spread thin, bu he did fine. After all, we set a time limit of 10 minutes per turn to help speed along taking turns. At last, Buckaroo got his chance. He geared up the baseball game. He had a perm-a-grin on his face as he was getting into his hitting groove and then Boom! NO, not a grand slam on Wii, a power outage from the storm raging outside that I had failed to pay attention to. I couldn't believe it. He got his five minutes of glory and then it was over. The build up, the waiting, and then nothing. I really thought tears would erupt and hysterics would occur. Luckily, the storm was so amazing, the Wii was temporarily forgotten and we had family time on the couch watching the storm. No Wii can beat that!

Splish, Splash, It's a Blast!

As baseball started to wind down, the kids took swimming lessons at the local pool. They have a blast and sometimes learn a thing or two about swimming. The best part for me is that my friends also enroll their kids and we actually get hang out every morning and visit. And, I get some great photos of the kids at the pool.

Do you remember that Christmas Buckaroo lost his front teeth?Well, now they are growing in--at random rates. Makes for interesting smiles.

Do any of you remember the bumbling bee video from the 1990's? The words went, "I'll can say it that my life is pretty strange..." I think Punky Girl could be the new actress for the video. I actually started calling her Amelia Earhart because she wore the goggles all the time, swimming or not, on the top of her head. I think they became her symbol of bravery and independence. Or else, when we saw Night at the Museum she just liked the look.

All smiles for Buckaroo as he comes down the slide.

It's Summertime!

Yes, the Kenny Chesney song is running through my head. We are in the middle of a HOT summer and are spending some time inside to avoid melting, literally. For all of you in who live here, you know exactly what I mean. Gone are the carefree days of "Two bare feet on the dashboard, young love and old Ford..." (all of which I had one summer). Now I livin' the life of, well, I can't quote the words of the song because this site is G-Rated but if you know Rodney Atkins music, you know what one I mean. But, I am keeping on going. Actually, Life is Good-my new motto thanks to the awesome clothes. By the way, if you haven't tried the shirts, they are really soft, really! I digress, moving on...

Summer is here and we are having a blast with the kids. I noticed that the last time I posted was in March so most of you don't know how much fun we have been having but that is because most of our family fun has to do with baseball and since baseball started the first of April and we were at the park five nights a week that is where most of my awake time has been spent. Although, there are times I even dream about baseball (being the president of our local little league does that to some people....namely me) so even some of my non-waking hours are spent on baseball. Kindof obsessive-compulsive, I know.

Before I get in to baseball and our amazing few months we had with it, I thought I would share some of the events going on in our lives. The last time I wrote, I talked about the numbers in our lives and sadly I have one more tally to add to the numbers. Keith's grandma died on Good Friday. Yes, if you have to pick a weekend to die, Resurrection Weekend is definitely on the top of the list. But, for those of us left here, it wasn't so great. That makes a total of five deaths Keith and I experienced through both sides of our families, with both of us losing our grandmas. We have grieved quite extensively over these deaths but found that good does come out of them. We have been able to spend a vast amount of time with family that I don't think any one of us would have taken the time out of our lives to do on a normal basis. Two of of Keith's cousins got married so we have two more women in the male dominated family-yippee! Shouts out to the new Peterson women--trial by fire with all the funerals but you two came out with flying colors, glad you're with us.

I also got to spend some time with one of my sisters and one of my brothers while at my Grandma's funeral. I really had a blast being with them and getting to know them as an adult. Most of my memories are of them when I was younger. Now I have great memories of them that we created together as adults. Hey Sis, stay way from eagle watching--it creates quite a commotion on off the roadways. Sigh, I miss talking with them. I must get better at that considering we all live in the same state!

Okay, now for the grand finale (I think I Have seen a few too many fireworks this year)pictures are coming. I know that is why most of you tune into my zany ramblings.

Take Me Out To the Ball Game!

This is the first year Punky Girl got to play ball, T-ball that is. She has had to sit and wait for three years watching her big brother play. FINALLY she got her turn "up to bat" and has never looked back. After the first practice, Punky Girl picked out the teammate she wanted to practice with because "he was the only one that could catch and throw" she wanted someone who could "really play" with her. I figured out Punky Girl thinks highly of her playing abilities. She doesn't suffer from a lack of self-esteem (no news flash there). She would walk around the fields like she was an eighteen year old B.M.O.C. struttin' his stuff. It was soooo funny to watch her swagger out there on the fields.

Would you doubt this face? She is here to play!

This is called "gungfighter position"--she has her guns out and ready to field the ball.

She just hit a "home run" out of the ball park--good thing a home run in tball means out of the infield. Although, give her a year and she will be really hitting out of the park.

Sliding was her favorite part. Do you notice the blue 'stache? That was permanent for about a month since she had one every game. Gatorade may help the athlete but it wreaks havoc on the athlete's upper lip.