Christmas Meadows

Here's the second installment of backpacking pictures that made the cut. (Sorry ladies, but the picture of Wes's rear end will remain unseen)

Twiggy, the Camp Mascot. You may remember him from last year, but he's still holding their spot.

The beginnings of their fort. I asked if there was an official name, but Fort Arnold was the only suggestion. Maybe next year it'll get more creative, when they return to finish it.

Sometime at night, Karl Malone be lookin' up in sky...

Shrouded in mystery. Or maybe it's fog and an old camera.

Heading home. When Chris opened the door, Kenzie gasped and ran. Parker was in his high chair, but he threw his Teddy Grahams down and yelled!

Now I get to do the laundry. That's true love right there.

Second Annual Backpacking Trip

They always claim they don't coordinate their apparel on purpose, but I'm starting to wonder!

This weekend marked the second year Chris has gone off into the wild with two of his brothers. Us wives were more than willing to send them off - they all needed some time to go be stinky together. Plus I bought a ton of cilantro and cooked everything Chris hates while he was gone.

They managed to find the same spot as last year, even. They claimed they had fun.

No, really. Fun.

Yeah, that's it. Like this.

The scenery always looks nice, though. I'm not jealous, because I require bathrooms to enjoy nature. Showers help, too.

Real showers, I meant.

You can't see in the picture, thankfully, but I'm told the water turned a lovely shade of brown after touching their hair. More pictures to come shortly!

Peek-a-Boo

I realize this is nothing new, all kids do this, but I thought it was sweet. I especially like when he smacks himself in the face!

A Day Without Daddy

Guess who wants to learn to hula hoop, too?

Chris is off backpacking with two of his brothers until tomorrow, so tonight we had a little "party" which involved getting pizza, making cookies, and watching The Little Mermaid. Here's Kenzie assembling the owl cookies. Don't you love the forced "smiles" she gives me in pictures?

All set up watching the movie.

Parker inhaling his pizza (I gave him some of our salad, but he just waved a snow pea around like, "What do you expect me to do with this?"). He liked the first few minutes of the movie, saying, "Wow!" to the shark and then the hurricane, but once the story moved on to the sappy parts he toddled off to push his train around.

I love the owl with the eyes all skiwampus! I think we'll save that one for Daddy.

Look Out World...

... here comes Parker!

Hoop-a-Loop

Actually, Kenzie knows how to say "hula hoop" now. I liked hoop-a-loop, though. She's asked for one for a month or so, but I thought she was too little, so I kept telling her she could ask Santa for one. Now that she has one, though, she has practiced and practiced and practiced... I thought she would lose interest when she found out it was trickier than it seems, but just the opposite, she's quite determined to figure it out!

What I Got for $20... and What We Got for Free

This morning I got up early and went to a few yard sales. I wasn't really looking for anything in particular, but I couldn't pass up this huge set of china for only $15. A few pieces are chipped a little, but most are in excellent condition, plus I think it's really pretty.

Also I found 6 nice Wilton cake pans for only $5. Cinderella, a teddy bear, two flower pans, a horseshoe, and R2D2. I was excited that it was worth the lost sleep on a Saturday morning.

Kenzie and I had a "tea party" with orange juice. She loves the "glass dishes."

And THEN -- I had seen online a listing for "free, just come haul away" not far away. It was in a gated community, so we felt silly asking to get in for what might be a pile of junk. Wow. An mp3 player, digital camera, jewelry box, digital camcorder, crossbow, canisters, serving platters, GPS unit, tennis racket... all very nice things. My favorite part was watching Kenzie. I told her she could pick a stuffed animal, so she carefully selected one green teddy bear. The lady giving away the stuff told her, "Take as many as you want!" With that, Kenzie perked right up. She filled her arms (with mostly nice Beanie babies) and made trip after trip to the van with the biggest smile on her face. (Parker loved a stuffed ostrich and a monkey, but Kenzie picked him out everything from a snake to a jellyfish, too)

More loot: a nice wooden salad bowl set, a clarinet (very nice condition, too), several sets of wine/champagne glasses (no, I don't drink, but I do like the glasses), a ton of books, sundae dishes, several Stargate DVDs (we didn't watch, but my in-laws loved it - Merry Christmas Mom and Dad! haha), nice backpacks, a cassette recorder, a food saver, card reader, and probably other things I'm forgetting to list. Kenzie's wanted a hula hoop (or "Hoop-a-loop" to her) for awhile now, too, so that was exciting to her. (She was also delighted when we opened the jewelry box and discovered bracelets and a watch!) Chris and I just kept looking at each other with raised eyebrows that they were giving this stuff away. Hooray for rich people!