Renaissance Festival

Don't get me wrong.....I LOVE going on field trips with my kids. I can honestly say that I have been on every single one that they have gone on. But, I was not a happy camper when Ty brought home the permission slip to possibly the ONLY field trip he was going to have this year. Are you kidding me? The Renaissance Festival?? I asked him what he was learning about that his teachers would pick that place of all places. He wasn't studying anything even remotely close to that time period. I reluctantly signed the slip and checked the box saying I would come too. That dreaded day came today! I have been to the Festival probably five times (thankfully they were all with free tickets and with family or friends, and not my picking of outings either) and I have not liked any time that I have been. The first time I went was a HUGE EYE OPENER and not what I was expecting! The people who work there are not the cleanest or modestly dressed people. I know that it was the clothing and style of people of that time in history, but come on.....do it a little more tasteful for the crowds that you are advertising to visit your park. Today was even a "school day" and all of the alcoholic venders were closed and the people were supposed to be a little dressed catered to the school kids. I think they all missed that memo. Despite the constant "teaching moments and questions" from Ty, we did manage to have a great time with each other. We had to see the jousting show, per his teachers. It had changed since the last time I was there, shorter and even less realistic than before. I wasn't complaining about that one. Of course we had to partake of the famous "turkey leg". The rest of the little time we had left was just spent walking in and out of the funky shops there. We did have a great time trying on all the crazy hats they sell. Despite me hating to go there, I did have a really fun time with Ty.

The "famous turkey leg". They are sooo yummy! Kris kept calling us from work and teasing Ty that he had better be bringing one home for him! Ty inhaled almost the entire thing!


Me and Ty at the Jousting show


This was a funny act of three jugglers that we just happened to walk past as it was starting. They were really funny and pretty talented.


This hat of black goose feathers was $250!! The lady who was selling the hats wanted me to try it on after I about choked at the price. I think that she thought I might buy it after seeing how "unbelievably gorgeous" (so she said) I looked in it. WRONG!!


Ty, Cody Shull, and Chris Rouse trying on jester hats. I was in charge of just Chris and Ty. Cody and his Dad hung with us and the boys had a good time with each other.


Ty and Cody "Jamaica man!" Ty really contemplated getting a rasta hat. I told him that his light complection would give him away.


I "had to" try on the flaming pimp hat. Ty put on the black velvet one with red and black stripes. They also had a bright pink furry one that I almost brought home to Lolly. She would have LOVED it!


The boys trying on the Viking helmets. They were outrageously priced too.


Cody and Ty in the hats that they finally settled on getting along with the "purple mardi gras beads" that were their reciept of purchase. WEIRD!!


This little game was interesting and fun for the kids to try. We paid $3 for 3 tries. You had to get your feet to the top rung without falling off and the little girl running it would pay you $10. She even demonstrates how to do it. The kids don't really pay attention to how coordinated and steady you have to be, but they have a good time trying to impress each other. I told Ty how she does it and he did his best at attempting it.....to bite the dust in the pile of hay!


Right before he flipped and "hit the hay".


"Lord and Lady Driggs"


Chris Rouse, Me, Ty, Cody Shull, and Dave Shull. I walked around with Dave and Cody the whole time. I grew up with his wife in 23rd ward, and Dave likes to give me a hard time about our boys playing sports together on opposing teams. He is such a bully!

"Man time"

Kris took the boys, along with Kirk and his boys, and Matt and his boy, out to the San Tans for a little "Man Time" overnight campout thingie. I am always happy for both parties involved because then I get to spend time with Lolly and Cara doing fun girlie things, and Kris and Ty and Grant get to do the boy thing. Me and the girls just grabbed something to eat and went in and watched movies till we fell asleep, and of course all snuggled in my big bed.....without anyone to wake us up in the morning. The boys came home with stories of fires, guns and hikes. I don't know wether I like hearing of all that goes on when you don't have a female to offset the "trouble" a bunch of men get into. All said, they all came home safe, stinky, and tired.............and both parties had a great time! Thanks for the pics Matt and Kirk.

sunset over the San Tans



Grant, Cade, Wyatt, Coda, and Ty looking for "wild beasts in the night"


Kris and Kirk playing on their blackberrys....probably looking at some sort of sports game score.....hillarious!


before the sun came up over the San Tans


Matt and Kris chattin around the morning fire



boys and their toys


Kirk heading to set the targets, and at least they are not shootin' at cactus or creatures!


Ready...Aim....FIRE!!


I think the Arizona desert is so beautiful

Queen creek snow??

I was on my way to stay with my Grandpa at the hospice today. It was my turn to be with him to relieve the others who stayed over night. I was all excited so spend some precious time alone with just him and me. I got the kids out the door at 7:40, got Cara ready and was out the door to take her to Odie's. She was all excited to play with the twins. I stepped out the door and saw my grass. I was all excited! It looked like it had snowed! I could see my breath too! The tops of our tile roofs were all white and looked like there was snow on them too. (I was so caught up in the "snow" that I forgot to get a picture of the rooftops...darn!) As I was headed around the corner to Odie's, the greenbelt was sparkling like broken glass. All the water was frozen over and starting to crackle from the morning sun starting to melt it. It made me smile. I am thankful that living in Arizona brings some sort of glimpses of winter to all of us people who brave the "hotter than haities" summers. (for six months out of the year!) What a great start to a day I was really looking forward to!

"snow" on my grass. I took this picture at around 8:30am and should have taken one when I sent the kids off to school at 7:40am. The grass was totally white then, but at least you can see a little bit of it still.


The greenbelt of frozen water...."broken glass" to me.


I love this picture. The sun rays hitting the water just sparkled.


Something I don't see all very often and I thought it looked really cool!

Mc "E" D's ice cream cones

Me and Cara LOVE to stop at the "sort of new to the area" McDonalds when we are out and about. I had mine way gone by the time we got home, but Cara was still lickin' away.

Got Milk? okay, Got Ice Cream?? Got baby blues??? Check! all of the above!


She rides her bike inside the house all day long. She goes kamakazee fast! I have to seriously be looking out for her because she will not doubt run me over if I even dare cross in front of her. The layout of our house and the wood floors make the perfect "speedway" for her to spend lots of time cruisin'.


She is such a happy girl! I just love her to pieces!!

On your mark, get set, GOOOOOOO!

It was a momentus day on Saturday. Kris made his LAST Pinewood Derby car! They worked on that car for the past two weeks together almost everyday when Kris came home from work. It was almost bittersweet for him to think that he will never have to stress over making "one more Pinewood Derby car". I secretly know he loves doing it though. He just wishes they would do an Elders Quarem Race! Doesn't every man? We did have a good time though. Grant didn't do as well as he would have liked, but he did have fun. He is always a good sport at things and had a fun time with all the boys. He did win "Shiniest Paint Job" though! One more chapter in life closed. It is sad to think about the boys growing up sooo fast.......I miss the days of "Hunko" and "Chubby".

They think they are SOOOO FUNNY!

I absolutely LOVE my friends! They are constantly giving me a run for my money! I am the master of all things teasing and funny, UNTIL I met the infamous "KIM SKINNER". She is neverending at the things she comes up with....eating my food I just prepared, hiding my cookies, stealing my ornaments, and now......taking pictures with my camera. (that is just to name a FEW!) Let me explain. Cara had to go to the bathroom. I was talking with Krissy and Kim and just asked them to watch my purse and camera while I took her. About five minutes later, I returned and just picked up right where we left off talking. Well, on the ride home, I was scrolling through my pictures that I had just taken that night when @!#*%!$@ WHO IN THE HECK TOOK THESE PICS???? I started laughing my head off!! Kris started laughing right next to me in the truck because he KNEW I would eventually get to the pics that he was in on. They are sooooo funny!!

Kris was with one foot on the bench.....hey! lets take a picture of it!!

This is Krissy's beautiful hands with the wings they ordered and taken at a funny angle. They were probably just trying to hurry and take lots of worthless pictures before I came back.

Matt and Kim's pizza, that they shared with everyone. Yummy!!

Here is Kris and Kim doing their "famous DONK!!" They are sooo worthless!! Only those two would EVER come up with standing on both sides!! And they think that it is soooo funny! YOU ARE NOT SWITZERLAND KIM!! Pick a side, and not the men's!! Stand up for who you are.....a WOMAN!! TRAITOR!! Just look at their faces....kniving!

Oh, this took me forever to see what it was. My gum, sunglasses, and receipts. Oh, it is the inside of my purse. We really needed a picture of that huh?!? Retards!

Cara's shoes.....oh, DEFINATELY need a picture of those! I do think that these are so cute, and she NEVER will keep her shoes on!

Thanks for making me laugh! I do LOVE that I hang out with people who are making me view life in a fun, belly busting and histerical window!! LOVE YOU KRISSY AND KIMMIE!!

Peter Piper Pizza

Last night we went to Peter Piper pizza with the kids. We went with the Goates, McLaws and Skinners. The kids love it when we spend time together somewhere, and the company is a fun bonus. We had some "delicious pizza", had some fun laughs with the adults, and the kids had a blast playing all the games with thier tokens. All the girls came up with a "fantastic plan"! They were going to play this silly game that you get a ton of tickets on, and then all pull their tickets together and divide them up evenly. They were so cute when they would run back to us giving Brandon Goates "the ticket keeper" the ones that they had just won to add to the pile. They ended up with hundreds of tickets, and were so proud of themselves. Then they stood at the prize counter FOREVER deciding what treasure they were going to pick. Us moms just laugh because we said that we just spent forty bucks for two hours of fun for our kids for them to walk away with three dollar store items that will be broken before we get home. Oh well, they had fun!!

Ty was so sweet! He always watches Cara for me when we are at places, even when I don't ask him to. That is just his nature.....very compasionate and such a good brother. Cara would NOT get off this silly bus that rocked back and forth. Not even for someone else who was waiting patiently for a ride! Ty just kept putting his tokens in for her to ride the darn thing.

This is hillarious!! All of us adults were over at the tables chatting the whole time while the kids were off playing......NOT MATT!! He was off to the arcade! Just look at his poor son Wyatt waiting ever so patiently for a turn. We just had to laugh, because Kris would have been doing the same exact thing if the kids hadn't taken all the tokens!

Kris, me and Kim. These girls make my life fun!! We laughed at the fact that I was making them take pictures with me at the pizza joint! You can see Kirk as he was bouncing on my back while the picture was being taken. Tresure left just right before we took this picture dangit!

Grant and his loot.....a purple glittery paddle board and a purple cup with a twisty straw. Worth $20= NOT!!

Lolly and her loot....a purple pom pom pen and a huge bling ring. All the girls got the same thing, just different colors. Again, worth $20= DEFINATELY NOT!!

GROSS..........LOOK AWAY FAST!!! (not for the weak of tummys!!)

I was over at my Aunts house last night when I got a call from Kris. He said that Ty had had an accident and that I probably needed to come home and access the damage. I immediately left and called to get the details. It was around eight thirty at night and they were goofing around with Kris. He was chasing them in his crazy voice like he is the boogie man comin' to get ya. The kids run every time and about piddle in their pannies. Ty came around the corner and slipped on the wood floors and hit his chin right on the corner of the island. Our counters are corian so they are as rock hard. Needless to say, his teeth went into the top of his lower lip and came out the bottom of it. ABSOLUTLEY GROSS!!! I am not one who can handle things like that very well. It makes my tummy turn circles! I got home, assessed the damage (with deep breaths on my part) and decided to take him to urgent care to see if he needed stitches. I got to urgent care 5 minutes before it closed at ten. The doctor could not tell if it went into the inside of his mouth, and so called another doctor in to get his opinion. It was sooo swollen, and from what they could see, it didn't go through the inside of his mouth, so they determined no stitches. I guess if it goes to the inside of the mouth they have to do double layered stitches at the HOSPITAL! Ty was allready having such a hard time because he gets himself all worked up over "thinking" about what is going to happen to him. I have to say that he was sooo good though. He didn't even flinch when both the doctors were opening and prodding the cuts trying to see what had happened and checking the flaps of skin. He is such a trooper! The final verdict was that he did not have to have any stitches, just to keep the area moist with vasoline till it healed. He got to stay home from school today, just because his lip was still so swollen, and I didn't want some kid accidentally bumping it and it opening up again. Moral of the story........SPANK THE DADDY FOR CHASING THE KIDS AROUND THE HOUSE WHEN MOMMY IS NOT HOME!!!!! I am showing the pics that were taken when we got home from urgent care at around midnight. His poor bottom lip was the size of Texas!!


GROSS!

GROSS AGAIN!!

EVEN GROSSER!!!!

WE LOVE JESSICA!

Today was spring pictures down at the elementary school. Since I am on the PTO (Secretary) we had to volunteer down there all day to make sure things ran smoothly and to just help out with everything. It is so nice having Jessica living right down the street from us. We are able to help each other out sometimes with our kiddos. Gage is just 6 months younger than Cara, and they play really well together. She watched Cara for me today. I came to pick her up, and look at how cute she looked. This was even after she had played all day long too. Jessica can do the most amazing hairdos. She has these little tiny hands and fingers that can make Caras fine thin hair look so adorable. Thanks Aunt Jessica!

I think I can, I think I can........nope, fat fingers can't do it.

Cara was showing everyone her "hairdo". Just look at the smile on her face......PRICELESS!

Isn't that sooooo cute! Look at the little teenie tiny pony tail at the end.....absolutely no hair I tell you....NONE!