My big (determined) boy

Last weekend we went out to Antelope Island for the day, which was great fun with the exception of the bugs. We saw some antelope (go figure) and some buffalo (bison if you want to be truthful, but everyone in the west calls them buffalo anyway so just deal with it!), and a lot of open space. Kyle thought it was great fun.
We went to the ranch house to look around and it was GREAT! You could actually touch things, there were not a thousand cameras watching you, and it was very interesting. Larabee and I kept telling each other how neat it would have been to live out there back in the day.
Kyle liked the rail fence and climbed through it several times. Here he is in all of his determination to figure it out. Such a boy!

See Mom, I am a big boy!

Yes son, you are. But you are still my baby. So there.

Not a good day for the boy :(

So it finally happened. Apparently the screen door was not latched all the way or Kyle pushed it so hard it popped open, but the boy flew out the door and down the stairs. Poor thing. He bit his lip, got a bump on his head, bruised his cheek, and scraped his chest. The scrape is pretty superficial, but I imagine the scab it is bound to leave will not be fun for him. I am just thankful he did not get hurt worse and that he had grass to land on instead of concrete. Maybe he will steer clear of the door from now on and stop thinking he is invincible.

Swimming with Livie and Tiffy

While at home we went swimming with Livie and Tiffy. Talk about a great time! What a blast!

Kyle had so much fun trying out his new water wings. They seem to work alright, especially considering the fact that he is JUST A BABY! Why do they have to grow up so fast?Thanks for taking this picture Tiffy. I am sure you simply wanted to show the world how magnificent preggo ta-tas are. I am ready to bust out of this top! Sheesh.

Oh yeah, Kyle is having fun. Water water everywhere! Just his cup of tea.Oh the slide! Up, down, up down, up, down. He would have stayed there forever!

What? Get out!? I don't think so! Such a little water baby! He is taking a nap right now and I am almost positive he is dreaming out swimming. I am sure of it.

Home is where your hubby is

Kyle and I spent a wonderful couple of weeks in Idaho recently and had so much fun! We spent a few days in Boise celebrating a mini-family reunion (super fun!)

Kyle loved his Great Great Aunt Iverna and Great Great Uncle Alan (Alan is my Grandma Nila's brother). I think they liked him alright too.

We spent a day in Garden Valley with the Grandparents (super relaxing!)

Yes, there are two baby ducks swimming in the horse trough. That is how us country people do it! And yes, we were feeding them worms dug out of the horse poo pile. They liked it. And yes, if you must know, I washed Kyle's hands very well after this little bit of fun!
Zoey and Kyle get along so well! Very cute. The jury is still out on who gets to drive the tractor though.

This picture is just an example of how cousins plot against their parents, uncles, aunts, and grandparents. Or maybe they were plotting against Riley. That would be OK. And look how grown up little Darrianne is. Stop right now Missy!

This picture has to be included for two simple reasons. It is one of Larabee's all-time favorite pictures of his boy. Mine too. And Also because you can see the lime green fingernail polish on Darrianne's fingers, thus proving that while she looks grown-up, she is sooo not! Phew!
Finally we spent a little over a week at home in good old Emida. Lets just say being home was not nearly as relaxing as GV. It was with good reason though, since I was going to tear down our porch and get some work done. It did not help that we had broken pipes ALL OVER our house though! THANK GOD for Merle. How likely is it that you will find a licensed plumber in Emida of all places? Not likely, but someone was watching over me. Kyle did not care about busted pipes. He just loved the space to run. Uncle Levi really liked getting in there and helping with the porch destruction. Even though the poor kid was running a really high fever all weekend. Kyle just liked getting into stuff, particularly the buckets of old nails/bolts/screws (see below for explanation). The dogs liked going outside without leashes, but Summer tended to get into things that upset her tummy. Poor girl never learned. There's no place like home, there's no place like home. We miss you home! We will be back someday! And you will have new landscaping and be spruced up all the time!
We got everything fixed and my Mom came down for the weekend and helped me tear our porch down. What a project that was! The man who built that stinkin' porch used every type of fastening device ever invented, then added a few more for good measure. When 2 nails will suffice you might as well use 2,184. Obviously. But, as I said, it is done. Yay.

It was wonderful to see everyone in town and get caught up on everything that is going on, which really isn't much. We loved spending time with Auntie Tiffy, Uncle Wayne, and Livie! I miss them so much when we are gone. Sometimes I feel like I will come home someday and we will be so out of the loop that Tiffy will not want to be my friend anymore. And then I remember that she wouldn't know what to do without me. Problem solved. I could not believe how cute Livie is. She is going to be a real heart breaker someday, much to her Daddy's dismay. Sorry Wayne. Deal with it.

Not Me Monday!

I did not steal this idea from a friend's blog. I made it up all on my own.

I did not eat 10 potstickers for breakfast. 10 is surely too many. I only ate 5.

I did not put Kyle in his crib this afternoon hoping that he would go to sleep but knowing he wouldnt. That would hurt his feelings. Or he would just play.

I did not seriously consider going out to eat instead of making dinner after being at the cell phone repair shop for hours on end to no avail.

I did not drink another Starbucks Frappuccino this afternoon when I probably shouldnt have.

I did not leave my dishes in the sink to 'soak' for so long that the water got cold. No sir, I scrubbed them up the minute I put them in there.

I did not go 2 days without washing my hair, only to wear it up today because you could tell-it was gross.

I swear, I did none of these things. Or did I?

A day of exploring

Today we went out to explore. We ended up by the "Great Salt Lake". Really not very great in our opinion. It is so salty it is considered the Dead Sea of the US. I think brine shrimp live out there. And a lot of smells live out there too. But we still explored. We picked up some rocks and threw them. Kyle learned the great art of navigating unsteady terrain. He even learned about climbing up rocks. He is so brave it is scary.

It was a really decent day for it. Not too sunny, not too cold. T-shirt weather.

And Kyle even kept his new hat on the whole time.

Until he bumped it on a rock and it came off. Of course, he wanted it right back on.

Now Mommy is tired. Do you think we wore out that boy? Not a chance.

Mommy Day!

I got a Mommy day today. Or better yet, a Lisa day. Larabee took Kyle out this morning to do 'man things', giving me some time to myself. I decided to head over to the mall because I needed to get my ring cleaned. Not something I necessarily want to take Kyle with me to do. So I wandered around the mall, went to a few stores, and even got a haircut. In peace! It is absolutely amazing how good it is for the soul to do something for yourself. I don't do it nearly enough, but that is my own fault. I dont necessarily want to go do too many things by myself, so maybe I should start thinking of things. As much as I adore being with Kyle, some time away from him is good for both of us.