Cub Scouts Derby Race 2011

This year was the boys' first Derby Car Race--and we are so proud of them! They picked out what they wanted their cars to look like from the internet, and we cut them roughly into those shapes for them. They did all the final sanding, painting, and decal applications.



They even showed us where to put their weights. Among all the work, we forgot to take pictures of them with their cars (oops)--but we managed to get the cars by themselves.

Brandon's car:

Tyler's car:

#18 and #20 among the contenders:

We didn't come home with any trophies, but overall the boys placed high in speed--very good for their first try! Can't wait for next year!

White Christmas

Yeah, I know everyone else in the world has already packed up their Christmas decorations and moved on to the next holiday--but we got our stuff out late and we're gonna leave it up a while to sit back and enjoy. And I have some posts to catch up on, anyway.

So, we finally had a white Christmas at our house. And it was a BIG white Christmas--over 13 inches of snow! Great for building forts, huge snowmen, and some sledding.

Except that we weren't here for it. We were somewhere where there is always snow on the ground this time of year, so I shouldn't care. Except this year there was hardly any snow! We were in the Rocky Mountains in Northern New Mexico, where I grew up skiing on the slopes of Angel Fire, Taos, Sipapu, and Red River. Luckily, the slopes had enough snow for the older boys to get on skis for the first time (and for Mommy to show Daddy who's the boss on skis. Again.)

Brandon and Tyler were in all-day ski school the first day, and loved it so much that they went again all day the next day! Taking after my sister and I at that age--the boys were on the leading edge of uncontrolled chaos on the bunny slopes. They've learned to somewhat veer around people as they go straight down the mountain, falling on their butts to slow down and eventually crashing to a stop. I couldn't be more proud of them. We didn't get much video of it, but we got a good family picture:

Nick and was content to stay at the cabin and sled with his cousin Ty:

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Needless to say, we had a ball! We've got the skiing bug, so it's time to start looking around here for some decent slopes for the kids to keep practicing on.

Santa Brought You WHAT?!

Mommy is going to have a talk with Santa about toys like this...

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Bear Scare

Here we are, hiking up a mountain in Estes Park, and the boys just wouldn't slow down and hang back for us old folks. So Papa Bear taught them a lesson.

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Luke, I Am Your Father

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How I Lost Tyler

This is how I lost Tyler at his brother's soccer game.

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Oh, to be a kid again!

Belated Birthday Post

We have been terrible about birthdays this year. We actually jipped the boys out of full-blown birthday parties this year because Bryan & I were both working so many strange hours at work. We took them to the Great Wolf Lodge for a weekend to make up for it, though.

Here is Brandon blowing out candles on his cake:

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And here is what he did with some of his birthday money--the sound really doesn't do it justice.

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Yeah--thank you so much Granny--he'll be sure to bring it with him next time he visits!

Gaga for GaGa

Bryan is giving me the evil eye as I write this...

Remember, he and I don't always see eye to eye on music, especially when it comes to Lady GaGa. Here is our oldest son singing his favorite GaGa song--turn off the music at the bottom of my blog before viewing:

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For the "real thing", click here (caution--not for the faint of heart, and watch out for bad language about halfway through and other wierdness. About that language--Brandon listens to the sanitized version):

City Slickers

This is for my Mom, who loves to tease Bryan about being a city slicker! (turn music off at bottom of blog before viewing)

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Snow Angels

It wasn't long after this when I decided I had to go out and join the fun! (turn music off at the bottom of my blog before viewing)

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Brandon's Commandments

I discovered this taped to Brandon's door this evening. Turn off the music at the bottom and listen to his explanation:

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He made those rules for ME. Nevermind his brothers who routinely break every one of those rules while in his room (or anywhere else in the house, for that matter.)

Brandon & Tyler's Big Dilemma

I have officially welcomed Fall--our house is now decorated for Halloween! And that means Bryan & I are busy pulling pranks on the kids and each other with all the scary things we've accumulated over the years. Case in point: (turn music off at bottom of the blog)

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Unfortunately, I missed the exact moment I was trying to capture on film. Here's the aftermath:

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Happy Fall Y'All!

A New Rollercoaster Freak is Born

Last weekend I took the kids to Nana & Pops' for the weekend. Bryan had to work and I had an important date with my favorite rollercoaster--Kings Dominion's Volcano. Every year the company Bryan & I work for "rents out" Kings Dominion, and we get very cheap tickets for the day (pretty much an unlimited supply). So we do what everyone else does, and drag Nana & Pops along to help watch the younger kids.

The older the kids get, the more fun these theme parks become. Here's Nick and Brandon taking a nice little drive in a green Corvette (sorry for the grainy-quality.) One drives like his Mom, and one drives like his Dad. You guess which one is which (turn off the music at the bottom of the blog first):

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Unfortunately (or fortunately) I was having way too much fun to keep snapping pictures and taking video. Brandon is finally tall enough to go on most of the large roller-coasters and thrill rides, so he & I jetted off to get our fill of fun. I have always been a roller-coaster junkie, and I am so very happy that Brandon is just as crazy as I am. He even begged to go on one of the very few rides that I don't really like to ride, just because it scares the hell out of me due to the sheer height. Of course, we did it--because I couldn't be shown up by my 7-year-old boy.

The weather was perfect, the kids had a blast, and we all left with a smile that afternoon.

I would like to sincerely thank Nana & Pops (and Brad!) for coming with us and helping to keep an eye on the boys! I would never brave a theme park like that on my own with those three monsters!