I Come From A Long Line of Love

Chris and I come from great "marriage genes". My two sets of grandparents and Chris's two sets of grandparents were all married for at least 50 years if not more. Chris' parents have been married for over 50 years and my parents just had their 40th anniversary in June.

My sister and I decided it would be fun to take our families, our parents and our grandma to one of the spots my parents went to on their honeymoon. One of their stops was in the mountains of Chama, NM. My sister and I did some digging and the cabins where they stayed are still in business -- so we booked two of them and loaded our vehicles with enough food for weeks and all met there for a weekend of fun.

A good "camping" experience MUST have some s'more cooking involved!



In order to prepare for our ride on the Cumbres/Toltec Railroad, Nanny read "The Little Engine That Could" before we all turned in for the night.


Saturday was a big day...train ride from Chama to Antonito, CO and then ending the evening with a Chuckwagon Dinner at the Elk Horn Lodge.








Everyone from age 2 to 82 had a blast! It was a fun weekend in honor of our parents!

Today is Chris' and my 18th anniversary. Eighteen years is a long time in some respects and yet when I think about the 40+ years that all of our parents and grandparents spent together, it really is not that long. I am glad, too. I don't feel like we have been married that long. I love sharing my life with him. We have come a long way and I can't wait to see what our future holds!

Happy Anniversary, honey! I love you!!

The Difference Between Boys and Moms

"Boys, this next week is going to be a quiet week," I remember saying last Sunday night.

In my translation of that sentence, we were going to have no sleepovers, no big outings, stay at home and watch movies and swim in the backyard...

So far (and it is only Thursday) we have had three sleepovers, gone to the movie theater, and spent a day at a waterpark -- and from what I've been told, both boys are spending the night at a friends house tomorrow night too!

Ahh, summertime!

Say Cheese!

We just got back from the dentist and here are the new and improved teeth! (I really should have pursued my dream of going to dental school...)

Not What I Had In Mind!

I was just thinking yesterday how I haven't blogged in such a long time...not much exciting going on to blog about, I guess.

At 5:30pm, a blogging opportunity came screaming and crying through my front door...

Baseball had been canceled for the day, so Connor decided to go play a little pick-up game of basketball with some friends at the courts behind our house. As he was going up for a lay-up, he was "sacked" and his face (more like his teeth and eye) met the pavement.

Through his cries and hysteria, the only thing he could say was that he looked for his teeth but couldn't find them! Bless his heart!!

After a frantic call to our dentist and finding out we could wait until this morning to get in, he went to bed. This was him this morning...

All I can say now is that I hope my next blogging opportunity knocks QUIETLY on my door!!

P.S. Papa -- Connor wants you to know that he is still the winner! :)

Who Says Facebook is a Waste of Time??

Facebook has been an addicting habit for me since I began six or so months ago. I check at least three times a day to see what my friends are up to. I have reconnected with people that I hadn't talked to in 10-20 years. I keep connected to family and friends. Even friends that live two doors down! However, all the hours I have spent paid off last night when I made a recipe that a friend of a friend posted.

Chuy's is our FAVORITE restaurant and their Creamy Jalapeno Dip is good enough to drink! I have tried a few recipes claiming to be THE ONE -- nope, they weren't! But, there in Facebook comment style was another recipe that claimed to be it -- AND IT WAS!!! Be prepared, though -- it makes a TON. So much that although it says to place everything in your blender and blend -- I had to use the blender and my mixer. So worth the mess! I feel that the blogging world needs to be blessed with this recipe also; so, here it is...

1 Qt. mayo -- not Miracle Whip
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup canned jalapenos (add juice to taste)
1 cup canned green tomatillos
3 pkg. Ranch dressing mix

I highly recommend you mix this up and celebrate Seis de Mayo tonight!! Ole!

Life Lessons From a Caterpillar

Penguin has successfully transformed into a moth!!

Colby got home from school yesterday to see an empty cocoon and a moth perched on the side of the netting. I was at the mailboxes and heard this scream. After the past two weeks and our injury record, I was almost afraid to run into the house. He met me at the door jumping up and down and screaming that the butterfly is alive!

Whew! I am impressed with ourselves. I was so worried that the caterpillar would die the first night. When it didn't, I just knew it would never "hatch". I even read up on the internet about caterpillars and how long it takes for them to hatch -- 2 weeks to a few months. I figured I would have to have that net cage on my fireplace hearth for a few more months before we could convince Colby that it wasn't going to come out!

This morning, we decided it was time to let him go.



Colby was fine at first. And, then, he got very sad.



"I don't want to let him go, Mom."

I put my arm around him and MY tears started pouring down my cheeks. I could feel his little heart breaking. I wondered why that caterpillar had to mess with his heart! Instead, I decided to prepare him for the future...I said, "Just remember this in about 10 years when you are leaving me to start your life and I don't want YOU to go."

April

Only seven more weeks until summer!!!?! What??? Where did the time go? I can't believe April is almost gone. So much has been going on, yet I have not had time to post about it. So here is a quick glimpse at this month so far in the lives of our family:

1. My in-laws came the first weekend of April to see the boys play some baseball. Unfortunately, Colby's tournament was cancelled; but, they got to see some great Hooks games! We had a fun but quick visit. I believe that I am the luckiest person in the world. I have wonderful in-laws. I hear my friends complain about their in-laws and the families they have married into -- I married into the best family ever! (And I am not saying that just because they read my blog!!)

2. The weekend my in-laws were here, Colby found a caterpillar at the ballpark and begged for us to let him bring it home. He named it Penguin and put lots of care into making it comfortable and safe. Feeling pretty certain it would be dead before morning, we were all shocked to see that it was busy making its cocoon on Monday morning. We have had lots of fun watching it and are waiting eagerly for the butterfly to emerge. Colby is even keeping a daily journal, to track its progress.


Penguin is working hard.

All finished with his cocoon.


Chris and Colby made a net contraption so when he becomes a butterfly, he can fly around and dry his wings.
And now we wait...


3. That same weekend, Connor and one of his teammates collided into each other while packing up their bat bags. After seeing our doctor and having x-rays, we will find out if his nose is broken tomorrow. I am pretty sure that if it is, I will no longer be in the running for 2009 Mother of the Year Award because I wasn't even going to take him to the doctor! After several adults told me it was at least fractured, I decided to make him an appointment...6 days later!

4. Chris spent the second week of April in England and Austria. The boys and I had a quiet, relaxing Good Friday and Chris made it home in time for Easter. We woke up Easter morning to the first tp'ing job (of many, I'm sure) on our house! How quickly life changes from hunting Easter Eggs to cleaning up toilet paper!



5. This past Tuesday, Chris and I met two of our sweetest friends from high school and college for lunch -- Carrie and her husband, Kurt. Carrie was one of my best friends in high school, my college roommate and was in our wedding. I was in hers and Kurt's wedding. And, then we moved apart. We haven't seen each other in nine years and we had SO much fun at lunch. I really thought they were going to throw us out because we laughed so loudly and often! They have not changed a bit and will always be dear to us.



6. Tuesday evening, while at Connor's practice, Colby and his buddy found another caterpillar. He begged me to let him take it home. I convinced him that we didn't want to mix Penguin and the new one -- the new one might disturb the whole "changing" process. One of the other mothers who has a 4-year-old said that he needed to bring a bug to school on Friday and if there was an empty water bottle, she would take it. Colby ran to the car where he had an empty bottle and proceeded to poke holes in the cap with his pocketknife -- I had no idea what he was doing or that he even had his knife in the car with him. A few minutes later, he comes screaming across the parking lot holding his finger as it gushed blood everywhere. The knife had closed up on his finger and cut the tip VERY WELL. Chris and I rushed him to Urgent Care where they sewed him back together -- six stitches on that little fingertip. Yep, 2009 Mother of the Year Award is out of my hands for sure! Luckily, his baseball tournament was rained out this weekend and he should be as good as new for next weekend! Needless to say, he wants me to throw that knife away!



7. Tuesday also began a little renovation process on my kitchen. Our house is 10 years old and is needing a little updating. This was the first project that we hired someone to come and do and, guess what...it is done!! We had a fluorescent light box in the middle of the kitchen and have replaced it with recessed lighting. Amazing what a difference this made!! We finished painting the ceiling tonight and are expecting a new oven and microwave in a few weeks! Yipee!!

Before:



After:



We have had a very rainy weekend, which was a welcome event. We have been able to take a breath and enjoy each other for a few days. Here's hoping the next few weeks are a little less eventful!