When One Injury Heals another Begins...

Bryce announced today that "I took my owie off, Mom" and sure enough...his lip is practically all healed. Just in time for Colton to take a head dive onto the concrete floor of our bathroom.

This is the biggest goose-egg I think I've ever seen. He was on the bathroom counter to turn the water on, lost his balance and head dove onto the concrete floor. I watched this thing grow out of his head.
We had him ice it--he didn't like that too much.
But, he's still smiling...and we are hoping there isn't any other damage that we can't see. He seems fine, though. Tough kid...again!

Strange Coincidence...or what?

I was talking to my friend Jane-Claire from Tennessee yesterday. We were talking about the joys of motherhood. She was telling me about how she had just spent the previous evening in the E.R. with her daughter, who had fallen on a driveway and split her head open, and then came home to her other daughter throwing up all night. So, what is the strange coincidence...? Last night Bryce was walking on the sidewalk with dad and tripped. His face caught his fall instead of his hands because they were in his pockets--where they always are. Since it was the lip, we figured it probably will heal fine without a stitch, so we decided not to go the E.R. So, at least that part wasn't the same.
Then, sure enough, in the middle of the night, Colt woke up crying because he had thrown up in the bed. He continued to throw up during the night, as well. He's perfectly fine this morning, though.

Now, is that strange or what? What do you think J-C? Ben thinks there isn't any coincidence--kids do stuff like this all the time. Hmmm....

Spring Concert

The boy's preschool had their Spring Concert last night. Bryce wouldn't have anything to do with it. He refused to go up with his class and sing songs. But Colt did. Here is a picture of his entire class (the cute little blonde on the end--without the flower hat--is Colton's little sweetheart Sydney. She thought the flower hats were embarrasing and refused to wear one).

Brady, Colton, Rance & Kennedy starting out as "little seeds"
Colton with his best friend Brady (left) and another friend Rance (right) "wiping off their baby bumble bees"
Colt and Bryce enjoying the food afterwards

Tax Freedom Day - APRIL 23rd

For all of you out there who have jobs, you are now working for yourself as of today. Everything you made up to this point was for the government--to pay your taxes. It is actually 3 days earlier than last year, thanks to the rebate checks this year.

“Government continues to dominate the American taxpayer’s budget,” said Tax Foundation president Scott Hodge. “Americans will still spend more on taxes in 2008 than they will spend on food, clothing and housing combined.”

In 2008, Americans will work 74 days to afford their federal taxes and 39 more days to pay state and local taxes. Meanwhile, buying food requires 35 days of work, clothing 13 days, and housing 60 days. Other major categories are health and medical care (50 days), transportation (29 days), and recreation (21 days).

Super Saturday! and the not so Super...

The result at the END of our "Super Saturday"

What did we do, you ask, to cause our kids to pass out completely on the couch...?

It started out with this...their cousins Brooke, Lily, and Ian visiting with their 4-wheelers. You could not get Bryce off of them. He would ride all day if you'd let him.

Bryce & Lily
Colt & Ian

That was Friday night, then Saturday, while Mandi, Dave(my brother) & Ben went snowmobiling for their last ride of the season (I think it will be the last...who knows)...
Mandi, Dave & Ben
Mandi, Dave & Ben

I took the 5 kids for a bike ride on the Wood River Trail. We started at Greenhorn Gulch and headed north into Gimlet towards the hospital. (The camera was with Ben, so I didn't get any pictures--But here is a picture of exactly what we were riding...except we still have snow on either side and nothing is that green, yet)

I pulled Bryce in the bike trailer and Colton rode his new bike for his first "real" ride EVER. I was so proud of him...the problem was, though, when he was ready to turn around and go back, he was really done...so I had to encourage and push and encourage some more as he cried 1/2 the way back. It had gotten really cold and windy, too, so that didn't help. What a trooper, though, on those HEAVY little kid bikes with training wheels. We went almost 5 miles total. I was very impressed...

Then it was back home and back on the 4-wheelers...this time with even a little more fun and creativity, thanks to winter's old sleds...

Colt being pulled by Lily

Notice the dirt flying up out of the sled brakes...

These kids were DIRTY!

Then Uncle Dave decided it was time for Colton to learn how to ride on his own...and he did great! Colton is looking forward to Ian growing out of his 4-wheeler, so he can inherit it.

But...wait, our "Super" Saturday is not over, yet. We decided to take the kids bowling, so I had the three boys in one bath, one neice in one shower, and the other neice in another shower...when all of the sudden we had a garage filling up with water AGAIN!

Yes, in two separate corners of the garage we had water falling onto our heads. Both showers failed noticeably in the same day within a week of the tub. Crazy! I know. This time it wasn't the drains, but the supply lines to the shower faucets, which means, they may have to tear out my tile to fix it. We'll see. But another bad thing is that it is in my laundry room wall, too. BAD NEWS! Thank goodness all this is under the plumber's warranty. Too bad for him.

Other corner of the garage from last week's tub issue

Water at the master bedroom shower--at least it is still over the garage and not my kitchen --although, I'm just waiting for something to happen at the other tub which is over my kitchen. Maybe that will be next Saturday. Knock on wood...just not wet wood.

Bath in our garage anyone?

Saturday evening Ben and I both noticed some funny looking bubbles in our garage ceiling as we were coming in to eat dinner. The pictures tell a wonderful story about how we got to spend the rest of our evening. (I guess I should say how Ben spent the rest of his evening).

I had taken a bath on Friday and all the water from my bath filled up our ceiling instead of going down the drain.

This is my Master Bath Tub Drain Pipe. Nice waterfall OUT the side of it, huh? The pipe completely cracked in 1/2 for some strange, bizarre reason.
The resulting lovely mess. But its all fixed now. Yeah for a plumber who responds quickly. Now we just need to re-insulate and re-drywall and re-paint...nothin' to it.

In Memory of Grandpa Werner Petzinger

Three years ago today we lost Grandpa Werner (Ben's dad) to pancreatic cancer. This post is small collection of my favorite pictures and one of my favorite memories.

I believe his favorite role in life was that of a grandpa. It makes me so sad that he only knew Colton for such a short time. When I was brand new to the family, I got to see just what kind of a grandpa he was. We were having a BBQ and the kids were playing in a small pool in the backyard. He "accidentally" slipped and fell into the pool fully clothed. The kids thought that was the greatest thing. No big deal to him, he just went on playing with them despite being sopping wet. My neices and nephews loved him so much. We miss him dearly.

Grandpa and Colton

Ben and Colton at the funeral.
Colton at the funeral

Happy Birthday to my Hubby!

One of my favorite pictures. Ben w/ Colton at the Window Rock Monument on the Navajo Reservation.

What to say...except that now he is only one year younger and can't give me a hard time about my age for a few more months. Just kidding. There is much more that I wanted to say about my wonderful husband in honor of him today.

So...the Top Ten Things I LOVE About My Husband

10. His bulging muscles that allow him to be the strongest person I know. Ok...so this is off to a rough start, Ben, I know...but you have to keep reading.

9. He allows me to be who I am...and loves me for it...no matter how many times I re-arrange his closet by type and color; or make to-do lists and shopping lists for him; or even clean his grill.

8. We enjoy the outdoors together and he has no qualms about getting our kids out there to explore this incredible world we live in. Kids haven't kept us inside.

7. He actually finishes projects he starts...thankfully that is something different from his dad. :)

6. Can we say Global Warming is a hot button with him? All I need to mention, as well, is the name Rush Limbaugh, Ronald Reagan, the NRA, Conservatism, Anti-Socialist, etc. It's his passion...it is who he is and he has taught me so much about how I really believe and what the labels are for those political and social beliefs.

5. I'll keep this clean...but you can't NOT say it...he's my husband. Let's just say I have absolutely NO complaints about our time in the bedroom. :) (He's going to kill me!)

4. He honors and magnifies his calling as the priesthood leader in our home (even if he won't shave off his goat-tee...ha! ha!)

3. He doesn't always make it home for dinner on time...but all that means is he is one of the hardest working people I know. I will never have to worry about him providing for us.

2. He loves our boys. He is a great dad. He gets so much of it from his own father-who was a wonderful man.

1. He still makes me laugh. Ben swooned me with his sense of humor when we were dating and it has never changed. He feels like he's doing his job if I'm still laughing...and believe me, I need it.

I love you, Ben. I know birthdays were never a big deal in your family (yours especially with it being one of the most depressing days of the year--TAX DAY), but you know I love birthdays and wanted you to know why I love you! Hope you have a great birthday...at work. :)

Daddy Caught a Fox!

This picture was taken from my kitchen window. The fox was crossing our pasture into our backyard.

He is really beautiful, I think.

We were all watching the fox when Daddy said he was going to take Atlas outside to chase the fox down. So, dad left...and we couldn't see him or the fox anymore.

Then he came back inside with this...
Colton immediately ran to the other side of the room and said "Dad needs to take that back outside." I wish I had a picture of the fear on his face. Finally, dad talked the boys into coming closer...
Then he threw his Russian fox hat and racoon hat(which provided the "tail"). It scared the boys to death...but then they laughed. I guess it wasn't too traumatizing. Even Atlas was part of the show.

Happy Birthday Dave!

Dave, his fiance Mandi, and his three kids Ian, Brooke & Lily

I just had to wish my brother Dave a Happy Birthday (I won't say his age...but he's just 2 years younger than me). Out of all my brothers, Dave and I have always had the worst and best of a relationship. We tried to kill eachother when we were little, but by the time we got to junior high we were the best of friends and that friendship and stuck through the years--it has had its ups and downs--just like our lives, but I still consider him a great friend. Dave has been through a lot in his life, more than most, and he has made it through some very tough times. Today he owns his own construction painting business; he has found an incredible girl; he has three great kids--he is and has always been an incredible dad.

So...here's a fun story for you--I just had to share one of my fondest memories of my brother. It was our first road trip on our own--just me, my best friend Carrie, and my brother. I was 16, Dave was 14 and we wanted to go to Moab for some of the first riding of the spring. So...we loaded my Volkswagon Sportruck. Yes, Sportruck--Rabbit in the front, truck in the back (and yes, only one t in sportruck...see picture below) and headed to Moab. Well, the Sportruck was a little reluctant to go Moab for some reason. It would not go any faster than 20 miles and hour and would just die randomly. I had been driving this truck for a year, though, so I knew what to do with it. There was this little "air-box" in the engine that would get stuck and cause it to die; so every time it died, we'd have to undo the bikes which were tied to the front, open the hood, unstick this airbox, then put it all back together again. We'd make it another 30-40 miles and it would die again. I believe it took us over 7-8 hours to get to Moab (a trip that normally would only take 4).

Carrie and Dave unsticking playing mechanic on the sportruck!

Once we got there, we found a great little camping spot by the river, but the truck could never make it back out of the campground without Dave pushing it up the hill--so everyday, I'd gun it with Dave and Carrie pushing from behind.

On one of the first days, we decided to try this trail called Gemini Bridges. We had heard it was a great ride, but had never been on it...so we asked around and someone told us where the parking lot was. We parked and started to ride UP and UP and UP and UP more and more red rock hills. All these bikers were passing us going the other way. Little did we know that only crazy people road Gemini Bridges from the bottom UP. The way to do it was to park one car at the bottom, drive another to the top and ride DOWN. Who knew! We kept riding and riding and asking people how close we were. Needless to say, we never made it to Gemini Bridges on that trip. We finally gave up and turned around, but not until Dave had made the hill climb of his life without stopping. My friend Carrie and I were so impressed. Gemini Bridges became an annual ride for us after that--even when we started going back with kids--but we always rode down with the kids in a jeep following right behind. That's the way to do it. It is an amazing fun ride.

Me and Dave biking Gemini Bridges

The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful...the drive home was again very long because the sportruck still wouldn't drive over 20 miles an hour UNTIL we hit I-15 in Spanish Fork. As soon as it hit the freeway, that truck went faster than it had ever gone in its life. It was like it finally recognized where it was, knew it was heading home, and took off. Nothing like that truck and the memories it gave us.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVE!!! Hope its a good one!

Our Marriage Survived This...

If any of you have ever done a major remodel, then you know what I'm talking about. When I say major--I'm talking additions, completely gutting, tearing down walls, throwing up beams, 80% new electrical, 100% new plumbing, 100% new interior finishes... It would have been easier to tear the house down and start over--lesson learned.

Ben and I have been in construction our entire lives and did small remodeling on our first home, but never like this. There are so many unknowns, it takes three times as long as it should...and with us...we tried to do 80% of the work ourselves on the weekend while living 3 1/2 hours away. Call us crazy--which we have now decided we were--but here are the results...

Again...Better Late than Never...

My Family...All of Them!

( From top left clockwise) Heather, my brother Jake, Mandi, my brother Dave, my brother Curt, Shae, Ben & I, Brooke (Dave's), Bryson, Colton, Ian (Dave's) Adrey, my brother Nate, Lily(behind Nate's head - Dave's), Little Cru, and Becky.

(I'm with Amy on this one...this post is late, as well, because I didn't have the pictures--but the pictures were so great, I had to post it--for myself, mainly!)

Since I was very young, the Easter tradition in my family was not your typical Easter Egg Hunt--the mad dash to find all the real eggs you could find. My mom was much more organized than that. Each of us had the same number of plastic eggs with our names on them. Inside were either clues to find presents or bags of candy. Most of our hunts as kids took place in Green River State Park Campground because that is where we spent almost every Easter growing up. We weren't in Green River this year, and we are all grown, but the tradition is the same with the grandkids. They have to find only the egss with their names on them...and inside were bags of candy.

Uncle Curtis helping Bryce find his eggs...

Colton and Ian eagerly searching

Bryce's determined march back to Mom to show me his eggs

Just the grandkids: Lily, Adrey, Cru, Brooke, Bryce, Ian & Colton

Bryson Turns 3!

So I'm a little late...He actually turned 3 on March 19th and we had a party at my mom's on the 22nd, but I didn't have my camera with me, so I've been waiting for these birthday pictures from my mom's camera.

This is our 3rd "Cars" cake between the two boys birthdays--you can't tell what their favorite thing is, can you?

Is that not the cutest little excavator...? Ben wanted to make sure he got an "OUTDOOR" toy for his birthday. They've been cooped up inside the house for too long this winter and he wants to make sure they are playing outside as much as possible.

Just for memory's sake...I had to post a couple of my favorite little Bryson pictures. They grow up SOOOOO fast!

26 Hours in a Car...

We have a serious buyer for our home in Colorado. The buyer also happens to be a close personal friend we knew while living on the Navajo Reservation...so we decided to make the trip to do the walk-through with him and pick up our jeep/snowplow...now that winter is over. Smart, huh! We forgot how long of a drive it is. I have to say the boys did so well, though. I was very impressed. Bryce did puke (of course) but most of it was into his blanket, so it was fairly easy clean up.

My husband, or "STRONG MAN", as I am going to call him in this post, is so amazing! Strong man loaded this jeep-with its locked steering wheel and flat tires, one click at a time with a come-a-long all by himself. But that isn't the most impressive thing...
He actually picked up that little snowmobile trailer you see on the end of the trailer with his forearms and set it on the big trailer, then did the same with the heavy plow...AND THEN "Strong Man" had to take it back off again because the trailer ended up being too front heavy. So, it looks like we have to take one more trip to get the rest of our stuff. I tell you, I'm not moving that far away EVER again. I can't even tell you how many trips it has taken to get all our stuff.

The boys, meanwhile, got to play in the MUD...and a ton of it...and play with their cousin Adrey. Here are the three of them together. They are great friends...it is too bad we live so far away now. We miss Nate & Becky, Adrey & Cru and are sorry we couldn't stay longer. Thanks for all your help with the house, by the way! We really appreciate it!
One of my next posts will be before and after of this crazy house we are trying to sell. It was a major remodel that we did over the course of 1 1/2 years from 3 1/2 hours away....stay tuned...