Tree!

So...apparently, UTVs and trees don't mix well. Who knew?  OK - I'm guessing most people did, but I had to test the theory!

We went out for Family Fun Day again yesterday. We loaded the UTVs and the dirt bikes for a fun outing. Unfortunately, Mother Nature was not in on our plans. It was colder than we wanted and never warmed up as it was supposed to.

As we were unloading the UTVs, The Boy and The Girl took off on their dirt bikes.

Neither went on trails; they simply rode around the prep area. They had a lot of fun with that.

Afterwards, we loaded up in the UTVs and headed up the trails. Typically, The Husband starts out with one child and I with the other. After lunch, we switch. Since The Husband took The Girl alone last weekend (The Boy had football), he took The Boy for the first round yesterday.

Generally speaking, I have NO CLUE what I'm doing in these UTVs. I just follow The Husband wherever he goes. We had been riding the trails for a while and he stopped to ask if I wanted to go where he and The Girl went last weekend. I said sure...I'd follow. As we were riding along, I managed to hit a tree. It was not a big deal...I heard it, but it did not stop us at all. The branch hit the roll-cage. All was well.

We continued along up through the trails. The Husband, who was driving the Rzr, went between two trees. It seemed to be a narrow trail. I, driving the Ranger, turned to The Girl and said, "This seems to be a silly thing to do!"  Of course, no sooner did those words come out of my mouth than we were stopped.

WHAP!

We did not fit through the trees! I managed to back out (after cracking some plastic and bending some metal). It was a long trip back to the truck. I managed to bend the tie rod (whatever that is), so the two front wheels could not be facing the same direction at the same time.  Despite it all, I managed to limp the Ranger back to the truck where we loaded it up for the day. To say The Husband was upset would be the understatement of the century!

Apparently, this part it not supposed to be bent...it is supposed to look like this...

 Another angle...Again, this part is not SUPPOSED to be "U" shaped, but rather straight...

I maintain it is a testament to my AMAZING driving skills that I was able to get through the trails and back to the truck with a bent tie rod. It took MAD skills to maneuver the Ranger and I did it because I'M THAT GOOD!

After we loaded the Ranger, we sat down for lunch. Everyone calmed down (and yes, everyone is OK - no injuries). The day turned out to be great because since we only had the Rzr (which seats 2), the kids had to ride their bikes more. The Boy decided to venture off up a trail with The Husband following. When they returned, The Girl wanted to give it a try. Both kids rode their dirt bikes and The Husband and I followed in the Rzr. We were so impressed by how well both kids rode the trail (which was, for the most part, a simple ride...almost like a dirt road). There was only one big hill and The Girl did an awesome job on it, despite her fear.

Catching up

Rumor has it, we have CEMENT at our property! I have not actually SEEN it, but The Husband has, so I'm guessing it's true. All things being equal, we should have an actual building before long. Woohoo! We only ordered the thing in DECEMBER!! Ack!

In other news, I am so happily relaxed after a wonderful spring break. I did not go anywhere (The Boy and The Girl do not have the same spring break I do) but I definitely was able to relax. At first, I thought it would be bad not to have the same break, but now I realize how wonderful it is. I get an actual BREAK - a whole week TO MYSELF. Loved almost every minute of it!

Family Fun has been in full swing as well. Last weekend, we took a break from working and went out to have some fun. We took our "toys" to an OHV park for the day.

It was a lot of fun. The Husband had wanted to do this for a long time and we finally had a free day, so we loaded up. This is the before picture!

There was beautiful scenery along our ride:

We had quite a muddy adventure:

Eventually, we stopped for a picnic lunch...and, of course, we HAD to skip stones. Technically, The Husband and The Boy did most of the skipping. Neither The Girl nor I seem to have that ability. Most of our stones went "plump!"

I love shots of The Kids from the back...so much photo-editing I can do with these!

Alas, the fun day had to come to an end. Well...sort of. The FUN part came to an end...the clean-up took a few more days!

Traditions

Traditions are a funny thing. Sometimes, they seem to be far more trouble than they are worth. Other times, they are too good to give up! We have one such tradition that is fairly new, but far too fun to stop!

This particular tradition began in September. It was homecoming. The Boy and The Girl go to a school in which the middle school kids also have a homecoming dance. It's pretty cool. They have a lot of the things the high schoolers have...sports, dances, etc. So, after the homecoming dance, we knew the kids would be hungry. We took a group of them to Steak 'n Shake.

Since then, after every dance, we take the kids back. Last night was no exception. Last night was the Valentine's Dance. We always have a large group of kids (no fewer than 6...last night there were 9) and at least 4 adults (last night we were 8). We always have the same waitress (who, on our first visit, had blue eyeshadow all the way up to her eyebrows). She never gets our orders quite right. We have found it does not really matter what we order...she is not likely to get it right, but she is usually somewhere close. But she is funny. She is also slow, but she is entertaining! And the kids always get their little Steak 'n Shake hats, and they always wear them. And we love that they are so busy being kids!

Next year, the majority of the group will be in high school. In fact, they all will except for The Girl. Hope they still want to continue our tradition. I have a feeling they will!

Family NOT SO Fun Day...

I suppose we all knew that EVENTUALLY, one of these "Family Fun Days" was going to be not so much fun. I mean, with a name like "Family Fun Day," nothing could possibly go wrong...right? RIGHT?

Thought so.

SO...our family fun day this week started out with my forgetting the bar oil for the chain saw. The Husband was pretty miffed that I did this because it meant we could only run the chain saw through ONE tank of gas. Except (yes, I already said "except") that The Husband forgot to grab the tool that tightens the chain, and anyone who owns a chain saw knows that the chain in-explicitly loosens while sitting and NOT DOING ANYTHING. Our chain saw was useless.

I was not in the least bit deterred by this. I knew we had gathered plenty of smaller pieces of wood that we could burn. The high temp for the day was to be in the mid to upper 30s, so a fire was DEFINITELY in order. I began, at once, to get it started.

While I was working on starting our fire, The Husband was getting the kids' dirt bikes ready to ride. These are new and the kids love them. Being the safety-conscious parents we are, we were certain to make sure each child has a well-rated helmet to wear AT ALL TIMES while on the bikes.

Things went along well. Kids were riding their bikes and we were burning off a good amount of debris. Then, The Girl dumped her bike. She picked it back up and got right back on. Good girl. Then, we ate lunch. While eating The Girl tried to open a package and, in doing so, stabbed her index finger. We should have taken this as a sign, but instead, we scolded her for being irresponsible and careless with a knife.

After lunch, The Husband took The Girl for a ride on our Rzr. (In case you do not know what that is, here is a photo.) Please note this picture is from the Polaris website...this is NOT us!

So...as I was saying, The Husband took The Girl for a ride. He had taken me for a ride earlier. It is fast and fun and The Husband tends to get a bit crazy in the corners. The Boy and I were finishing our lunch and sitting by the fire when we look up and see the Rzr on its side...with The Husband and The Girl inside (both wearing seat-belts, mind you)!

Once again, we should have packed up and gone home, but NO...we were having FUN, remember?! After picking up the vehicle, The Husband took The Girl back out for another ride to make sure she was not scared. They had a blast.

I went back to tending to the fire. The Husband was helping and both kids were riding their dirt bikes. Suddenly, The Girl screamed...again. We went to see what was wrong. She was standing there NEXT to her bike. We told her to pick up the bike (The Husband was raised that if you could not pick up the bike, you could not ride). She went to do so, but then we noticed the blood. There was a good amount of it...enough to make me swoon. The Husband (man, he's amazing...have I mentioned that ever before? Because really...he IS) went right into "Calm, Control" mode and took charge. He ordered The Girl to sit down and calmed her down as he checked her leg. The foot peg caught her in the shin. She was not wearing boots. It was a pretty ugly gash (I can't say for sure, as I only first saw it today!). The Boy (who, incidentally, is almost as amazing as The Husband) clicked into gear and did everything necessary to help The Husband while I did all I could to keep myself from vomiting. (I suck under this type of pressure and am NO good with blood!!)

After quickly assessing the situation, it was determined a trip to the ER was in order. I started packing things up while The Husband bandaged The Girl the best he could. Then, The Boy sat with The Girl and kept her calm as we loaded all our stuff.

The rest of the story is pretty boring. Luckily, it was not nearly as bad as The Husband had first thought. No fracture or anything. 9 stitches and 3 hours later, we were all at home trying to relax. The Husband was really beating himself up over the fact that The Girl wasn't wearing proper boots to protect her shins.

Today, The Girl stayed home. The Husband stayed home with her...and also ordered several hundred dollars worth of protective gear. We are expecting a large shipment of bubble wrap very soon!

The return of Family Fun Day!

As you (should) know, we own quite a bit of land...79 acres, to be exact. The problem with that land is that it is 3 hours from here. We do not have the opportunity to go there nearly as often as we would like. We love it, though, and enjoy the time we *do* get to spend there.

Recently, we decided to buy land closer to here. We ended up purchasing just under 33 acres. It used to be part of a large family farm, but has been partitioned. The tracts were then developed as hunting spaces. This land is less than 30 miles from where we currently live. Since we purchased it, we've spent a *tremendous* amount of time out there. The Husband has been hunting on the property since before it was officially ours (with the seller's permission, of course). He actually shot two deer out there. He has taken The Boy and The Girl hunting as well; however, neither was as lucky as The Husband. The Husband, The Boy and The Girl all have their own bows and do the majority of their hunting that way. I, incidentally, will stick to my CAMERA for all my shooting needs!

We now spend a significant amount of time out at the property. We are out there EVERY weekend for at least 5-6 hours. There is so much to do! To date, we've put up a gate and built a fence (which is pretty darned spiffy, if I do say so myself), and done a good amount of clearing. Of course, there is still plenty more to do and clear, and it can seem overwhelming if we get too wrapped up in it. Instead, we try to take it as it comes and enjoy the ride. It's amazing to be back in the rhythm of spending the day together as a family with no distractions. We are really enjoying each other again!

Yardwork - family fun style

Saturday was a beautiful day here, so we decided to tackle some yardwork. The first order of business was to mow the lawn. It is the first time this year we've mowed. The Husband decided it was time for The Boy to learn how to mow. We have a riding mower, so it's not a difficult job. Still, I was nervous. I made sure to take a photo, though (although I'm having difficulty getting it off my phone and onto the computer!).

Our second job was to trim up the holly bushes out front. I had a lot of fun with that. The kids picked up and bagged all the garbage. I forgot to take a "before" shot of the bushes, but here is the "after" shot.

Next, we decided to try to hide the unsightly air conditioners. Here is the before picture:

First, we dug holes and set our posts...

Then, we attached the fence panels...

Voila! Camouflaged a/c units!

Of course, the project took a wee bit longer than we'd anticipated, so these guys are going to have to wait for the next nice day!

Snow Day!

Today we have a snowday! Actually, a LOT of people have snow days today! The Boy and The Girl have had several so far this year. My school is extremely hesitant to call a snow day so it is only my second one, despite less than great road conditions! Other schools in the area are at the make-up day point; they've gone over their built-in number of days (which, around here, is pretty low). Still, I'm not entirely sure my children have had a full week of school since we returned from Christmas break!

On our agenda today is snowman building, sledding on a boogie board (what can I say...we don't own a sled. This is the south, remember?!), and hot cocoa. Oh - and don't forget the fire in the fireplace. That would be nice too!

The Husband is at work but planning a very short day and we're hoping he'll be home by noon. Then, the snowball war fight will begin. It's all fun and games till someone puts an eye out!

Hope you're enjoying whatever Mother Nature has left for you this morning!

Whirlwind weekend away...and new friends

Friday afternoon, I went to Nichole's house. We left for the airport almost immediately, where we picked up two of her other friends, Dawn and Michelle. Then, we headed out to dinner at a swanky restaurant where we met two more ladies. The restaurant was really neat and clearly a trendy place (which is probably why I'd never been there!) The food was really good and the conversation was wonderful. From there, we headed to a dueling piano bar, which was a lot of fun. We found seats in the middle and laughed a lot. At one point, my phone rang so I had to go to the restroom to hear it. When I came back, one of the ladies in our group was up on the stage dancing! It was hysterical. After the piano bar, we headed to another bar, which wasn't all that bad because we were able to go upstairs and sit on the rooftop bar. The cigarette smoke was NOT bad because it was all open. (There was no smoking in the piano bar). We hung there for a short while and then headed back home...we had an hour drive ahead of us and none of us are used to staying up so late!

Saturday morning, we woke up and had coffee on Nichole's screened-in porch. Then, Nichole made an amazing breakfast of French toast (with Grand-Marnier and a fruit compote). After breakfast, we just hung around and chatted. It was warmer than I'd expected and I did not bring shorts, so I quickly ran home to shower grab some shorts. Then, we headed out for what was supposed to be tea and a sweet snack, but ended up being a full blown lunch! After lunch, we stopped at the local scrapbook store and then headed out to see the property she and her husband just purchased. It was beautiful (except I think I have chiggers now...I'm awfully itchy!) We headed back to the house and sat around chatting...and getting to know each other better. We decided to have a light dinner and we all set about helping out with that. After dinner, we sat in the screened porch and talked and laughed until we could no longer keep our eyes open. I quit at 1am, but the other three gals stayed up till 2!

Sunday morning was another lazy morning. We had another amazing breakfast and then decided to head up to Nichole's craft studio and make some cards. It was awfully intimidating for me; these other two women are on Nichole's senior design team and are absolutely brilliant. They are both published regularly and one even designs stamp sets for Nichole's company! Nevertheless, I dug in and managed to produce two decent cards. I have no photos, but I’m hoping to get some via email! I didn’t bring my camera with me and am relying on my new friends to hook me up with some of the hilarious photos from the weekend.

Again, the laughter was overwhelming and my mouth hurt all day from it! We worked through lunch (we'd had a late breakfast) and then decided to start dinner, which, again, was amazing. After dinner, there was much chatting and laughter yet again. Suddenly, it was midnight again and time for bed. Dawn and Michelle had an 11am flight in the morning, so Nichole had to leave her house no later than 8:30am to get them to the airport on time. That being decided, I decided to head home. I felt it was best if I could cut down on the number of people fighting for a bathroom when time was an issue! I got home shortly after midnight. Luckily, I could sleep in some (till 8:30) but I later took a nap! I have a feeling it will take me a bit longer to catch up on my sleep!

30th birthdays don’t come more than once, but I would LOVE another weekend with these amazing ladies! Both Dawn and Michelle are so amazingly sweet and I'm so glad I was afforded the opportunity to meet and get to know them!

Gettin' CRAZY!

Friday night was girls' night out, except before the festivities could even begin, I managed to lock my keys in the car! Ugh! The Husband was out of town, so I couldn't call him. Instead, I called our roadside assistance people. In the meantime, it was dinner and drinks with some friends...except we never ended up ordering dinner...or at least I never did! I had left The Boy with a neighbor and had to run and get him (The Girl was at the gym and went home with a friend). So, drinks and some sushi it was!

Saturday night another girlfriend phoned to ask us over for a cook-out. Off we went. This time, however, we were able to eat and relax. No keys locked anywhere. The biggest problem we had Saturday night was that I had brought a chocolate cake but another lady had brought brownies and everyone ate those. My kids were the only ones going on and on about the chocolate cake! They were not happy we never cut it! I tried to leave it at my friend's house, but that didn't work out. It's here now.

Doesn't sound like much excitement, but it was. So much so that both kids are still in bed asleep! Maybe next weekend will be more low-key!

First Baby Questions

I was blog hopping over at Shut the Front Door! and she posted this neat questionaire. Just copy, paste and answer away. Let me know that you've done it so I can come visit you!

First Baby Questions:

1. Were you married at the time? Yes

2. What were your reactions when you found out you were pregnant? Shock - I'd been told I couldn't get pregnant. I thought I was suffering heat exhaustion! (I was absolutely THRILLED, though.)

3. How old were you? 28

4. How did you find out? A blood test from the doctor (see #2)

5. Who did you tell first? My friend who brought me to the doctor. Then, another friend. Then, The Husband.

6. Did you want to find out the sex? Nope

7. Due date? The nurse was off by a month (even though I told her that). The doctor said Dec 4.

8. Did you deliver late or on time? Water broke Dec. 2; baby came Dec. 4

9. Did you have morning sickness? Boy, howdy, I sure did...and it lasted ALL DAY!

10. What did you crave? Honestly, I cannot remember.

11. Who/what irritated you the most? the morning sickness

12. What was your first child's sex? male

13. How many pounds did you gain throughout pregnancy? 30

14. Did you have any complications during pregnancy? No, but there were some in delivery

15. Where did you give birth? hospital

16. How many hours were you in labor? 28

17. Who drove you to the hospital? The Husband

18. Who watched? The Husband

19. Was it natural or c-section? c-section

20. Did you take medication to ease the pain? 3 or 4 epidurals (see #16)

21. How much did your child weigh? 7 lbs 13 oz

22. Did your child have any complications? jaundice

23. What did you name him/her? The Boy

24. How old is your first born today? 11

Yeah, TOAST!

I love this song. Don't ask why...there really is no reason! Just thought I'd share. Make sure you turn off the music below so you can appreciate this!

The Husband's 100 Things

The Husband thought it was a neat list so here is his 100 things.

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland.
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty. (as high as they would let us go)
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you're not sick.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a marathon.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language.
37. Had enough money to truly be satisfied.
38. Seen the leaning tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo's David.
41. Sung karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie. (documentary)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia. (former Soviet Republic)
60. Served in a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp.
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the changing of the guards in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
81. Been to the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the paper.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had Chicken pox.
89. Saved someone's life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby. (wife did that for me)
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a lawsuit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.
100. Read an entire book in one day.

100 Things

Got this game from Ryan Ashley Scott over at Optimistic Cynicism. Anyone can play along, just BOLD the things you have done.

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland.
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you're not sick.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a marathon.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse. (At least I'm pretty sure...when I was younger)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language.
37. Had enough money to truly be satisfied.
38. Seen the leaning tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo's David.
41. Sung karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie. (No - but I worked on a few)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business. (only if you count home-based ones)
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served in a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp.
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt. (started but never finished)
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the changing of the guards in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
81. Been to the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the paper.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had Chicken pox.
89. Saved someone's life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a lawsuit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.
100. Read an entire book in one day.

Coming down from my SITS high

Wow! What a day! Thanks so much for all the comment love. A gal can really get used to such attention! I guess it was lucky The Girl was sick yesterday, as it took me a good part of the day to respond to all the comments...and I woke up to another 55 or so emails!


The Girl is, unfortunately, still sick, although her fever is down to 100.8, which is awesome. It had gone up to 103 yesterday. Poor thing - I went to make her some lunch and this is what I found...






I cannot express how much your words of encouragement meant to me regarding Changes, Soul-Searching, & Compromise. I shared your comments with The Husband, who was equally moved.

Speaking of The Husband, an update on that front is in order. One thing we've decided is that we are going to travel more. We've decided that, in time, we will be purchasing a camper. We had originally planned to get a 5th Wheel and tow it with our truck. The problem is that our truck is not quite truck enough to haul a decent camper. Instead, we decided to look into an RV we can drive and then we can tow another vehicle. The problem there is that I drive a minivan (woohoo - now there's some fun, huh?!) and The Husband has a truck.


The Husband has wanted a Jeep for years and years but I have always said no. (Remember...I have judgemental thoughts in my head!). The Husband wanted to trade his truck on a Jeep. I *did* put my foot down on that one, though. We've tried to not have a truck, but it never works. Every time we think we can get rid of a truck, we end up buying one again in a matter of months. I was not willing to make that sort of financial mistake.

We trolled the internet for days until we found some Jeeps in our area. We found one that was priced pretty well not far from here but they were not willing to budge even one penny off their price. (We had asked them to drop it $999 and they tried to tell us we were asking them to take $1200 off. I hate their silly double-talk...and this salesman was not particularly good at it!) The guy was so smug he really pissed me off. Luckily, The Husband had not become "object fixated" and we simply got up and walked out. We told the salesman we were going the next day to see another one.

The next day, we went to another dealer to look at a less exepensive one...it had more miles and was a soft-top (that really needed to be replaced), the carpeting was gone, etc - but we knew we were buying a "toy" and not a daily driver. The photos also showed the spare was missing. When we got to the dealership, I couldn't see anything wrong with the top. I mentioned this to The Husband, who said they must've but a new top on! Plus, they put in new carpeting, and it had almost new tires - and a brand new spare! The price was amazingly low - we did not even try to low-ball because we knew we were practically stealing it; it was $3000 less than the other one!

I admit I did not run out and tell everyone we'd made this purchase. Some habits die hard. I waited and, in time, Mom found out about the Jeep from reading my New Year's meme. She asked about it, of course, (hi, Mom). Hopefully, she and Dad understand there are things they will never understand about The Husband and I together, but they will lovingly accept our decisions whether they agree or not.

Here is the newest addition. Pretty, isn't it? The Husband could not resist driving it to work a few days, even though it's not our everyday vehicle. Right now, there are no seatbelts in the back, so we're working on that. Other than that, it's great. We can't wait to go for our first adventure together (but boy, is it ever SMALL in there!). Now I know why we never got one when the kids were younger and in car seats!

Better late than never!

Got this End of the Year meme from my friend, Jen, over at KittenWhore.

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before? Stood up to my father about something I felt strongly.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Don't normally make any.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? My brother's wife.
4. Did anyone close to you die? No
5. What countries did you visit? None
6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? More tolerance of my children
7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Hmmm....I don't know.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Wow...don't know. Rode my bicycle 180+ miles (but not at once!!)
9. What was your biggest failure? Not riding my bicycle 1000 miles as I was supposed to!
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? No more than normal
11. What was the best thing you bought? We bought a Jeep
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? The kids
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? The kids!
14. Where did most of your money go? Aside from housing? Um...groceries!
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Surprising the kids with a trip to the beach where their cousins were also vacationing.
16. What song will always remind you of 2008? Viva La Vida by Coldplay
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:a) happier or sadder? Happier b) thinner or fatter? Thinner, although I hadn't noticed! Someone recently told me. c) richer or poorer? Richer - both financially and emotionally.
18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Spend time with my family doing family fun stuff.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Yelling at the kids and being angry in general
20. How did you spend Christmas/Chanukah? Home with my immediate family.
21. Did you fall in love in 2008? Every single day! The Husband and I have been together 20 years now!
22. What was your favorite TV program? Didn't really watch much - The Biggest Loser and football!
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Hate is such a strong and awful word. It takes up too much energy to hate people.
24. What was the best book you read? I read so much. Probably The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nigh-Time.
25. What was your greatest musical discovery? http://www.gomusic.ru/
26. What did you want and get? A new digital SLR AND a digital video camera!
27. What did you want and not get? Nothing
28. What was your favorite film of this year? Mamma Mia (but I only saw 2 movies this year - that and HSM 3)
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 40 this year and did not do much on my actual birthday since it was during the week. It was a good birthday, though.
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? It was a pretty good year, so that is a tough question.
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? Comfortable and classy
32. What kept you sane? The Husband and my friends
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? No one
34. What political issue stirred you the most? The election
35. Who did you miss? My friends
36. Who was the best new person you met? I met some incredible people in 2007 but don't know that I met many new people in 2008.
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. Keep emotion out of all business affairs.
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. I don't know music well enough to do this one!

More Family Fun

Today, I managed to talk The Husband into going for a hike. I know - bizarre that I'd have to talk HIM into it, but I did. The thing is, he works out ALL the time, so he never wants to go for walks or hikes unless they're very intense. And - to be honest, I'm not all up for that garbage!

It was a beautiful day today (temps in the 70s) so I wanted to go out. My brother recently got into geocaching, and The Boy is totally interested in it. In fact, there is a geocache at the lake across the street from our house. We found it about a year ago or so - before we knew what geocaching was.

I got on the geocaching website and found about half a dozen geocaches near the trails of the park at which we were hiking. I grabbed Lucy from the car and off we went.

We got to the park and looked for our first geocache. Keep in mind I did not bother with reading and/or printing hints. No. I had the coordinates and that was all. I didn't even have a compass! Yes, I'm an idiot! The Husband was being somewhat impatient, as he thought this would be dumb. He figured we'd type in the coordinates, drive there, look down and see the package. WRONG! We wandered around for a good 20 minutes (on an EASY one) and never found it. Again, we had no compass and were determining direction based on the sun and Lucy!

We never found that first geocache. We decided, though, that this just might be a lot more fun than The Husband had originally thought. There are tons of geocaches all over the place and finding them totally falls into our entire new outlook on life (you know - the one in which we actually do stuff and have fun!).

We went for our hike without looking for more caches but have big plans to resume our search - next time with a compass and, perhaps, a topographical map! Our hike was a good deal of fun (maybe that was because it was mostly flat terrain) and we all enjoyed it.

When we got home, the kids ran off to the woods by the lake and built themselves a fort. The Husband and I (and The Dog) checked on them and it was a really neat fort they'd made out of fallen tree limbs and such.

All in all, it was a very good day. I did not take my camera at all, but The Boy did and he got some decent pix. Perhaps one day, I will post some.

And now for something COMPLETELY random

I got this email today and I thought I'd post my answers here. It was a bunch of random questions about me. I know you guys are dying to know this stuff, so here goes!! Feel free to copy and post your own answers on your blog. Leave me a comment so I can come see!

1. Do you like blue cheese? No
2. Have you ever smoked? Yes
3. Do you own a gun? Yes
4. What flavor of Kool Aid was/is your favorite? Red
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? No – unless there is reason to be.
6. What do you think of hot dogs? Rarely eat them but like Turkey Dogs
7. Favorite Christmas movie? The one with Heat Miser
8. Favorite thing to drink in the morning? Coffee
9. Can you do push ups? Yes, but why bother?
10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My diamond earrings
11. Favorite hobby? Depends…now, it is reading
12. What's one trait you hate about yourself? I procrastinate
13. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment.

• How long till the kids’ bedtime?
• What productive thing should I be doing right now?
• Wow…it’s quiet in here!

14. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Coffee, Green Tea, Water
15. Current hate right now? How easily that word slips out of our mouths…
16. Favorite place to be? The Husband’s arms
17. How did you bring in the new year? Sleeping
18. Where would you like to go? Greece
19. Do you own slippers? Yes, and I wear them EVERY day!
20. What shirt are you wearing? Lounge pants, shirt and my slippers
21. Do you like satin sheets? No
22. Can you whistle? Yes
23. Favorite color? Green and then blue
24. Would you be a pirate for Halloween??? Sure
25. What songs do you sing in the AM? Whatever is on the radio (Sirius First Wave)
26. What's in your pocket right now? Lint???
27. Last thing that made you laugh? My kids
28. What vehicle do you drive? Minivan
29. Worst injury you've ever had? Aside from planned surgeries – broke my finger once.
30. Do you love where you live? No, not really.
31. How many TVs do you have in your house? 4…and they are all plugged in and working
32. Do you have any pets? Yes – a boxer
33. Does someone have a crush on you? Lord, I hope not!
34. Your favorite book(s): Not a clue – I love to read.
35. Do you collect anything? Memories
36. Favorite Sports Team? Whatever team The Boy is on…then, the Colts & Giants
37. What song do you want played at your funeral? I don’t care – I’ll be dead!

Flashback

Remember WAY back in the 80s when music videos were little movies? I was in the car on the way home today and I heard Nik Kershaw's "Wouldn't it be Good?" I looked for the video, but it was not a good one - too hazy. Instead, I am posting this one because...well...what the HELL is going on here?! LOL!!

Off we go...into the wild blue yonder

OK - not really. Unless by 'blue' we're talking ocean and not air! We're headed out to the beach this morning and we're super excited. My middle brother and his family are joining us there, which should be a lot of fun...especially since NONE of the kids know this! There will be 6 kids there...the oldest being The Boy. We'll have 2 10-yr-old boys, and the rest...9, 8, 5, & 3...are girls. They are going to be SO surprised! The funniest part is the conversations I've had recently with my brother and sister-in-law. Their son wants to know why, when they're coming to a beach not too far from us, that they can't "just stop by" and visit! The Girl told me just the other day that she was not looking forward to the beach because "there'll be no surprises!" Little do they know! Hehehe!

OK - I doubt I'll have the opportunity to check in when we're gone, so I'll see you all on Tuesday! :)

You win some...you lose some

Mostly, I win, but that is because I'm talking board games! We've been playing a LOT lately. It's so darned hot out that the kids and I have been staying inside and playing board games. As you know, one of our favorites is Life, but tonight, we played Monopoly. I won BIG time. First, The Boy had a tantrum. Then, The Girl. She lost first, though. The Boy hung on. To be honest, I thought The Girl was going to win - she had so many properties...but she had no cash. And when she did, she was frivolous with it trying to buy properties she didn't need from The Boy. I sat back and watched it all happen. In the end, I had all 4 railroads, the orange monopoly and the light blue monopoly. I had hotels on everything. I got the dark purple one from The Girl (Medeteranian and Baltic) and put up hotels there as well.

Ahh - life is good. I'm far too competitive to allow the kids to win. I figure I'm teaching them disappointment and how to handle it (although they are not doing well with it yet)!

Here are some shots of the game closet. What board games do you guys like to play?