THE STORM

I have been staying at my mom's house in Utah for a few weeks to try and escape the awful heat in Arizona. Last week we had a major storm that was very exciting and scary. I have never experienced something like this. First, the wind came sweeping through and you couldn't see anything. It made everything look white. Then tons of rain and hail and before we knew it trees were flying through the air! My mom's house is full of windows and we just knew some limbs would come crashing through the windows but somehow nothing did. We were very blessed that there wasn't more damage. A few dents and scratches on the cars, a broken gutter and a hole in the roof. And, of course, tree limbs all over the ground! It took 3 huge trailer loads to clear it off the ground with the help of a chainsaw and muscles.

The Cabin

Me and Stephen and kids took a spur of the moment trip to the family cabin in Colorado this past weekend. We had a great time watching Linda work and get it looking beautiful. Now I am staying at my mom's for a few weeks to beat the heat while Stephen went back home to the daily grind to finish the semester at school.

This is a picture of a wildfire that was getting a little close for comfort to the cabin. We were wondering if we should be high tailin' it out of there and also wondering if we did what should we leave behind and what should we take! We sent the expert to investigate, my firefighter brother. He felt the fire was still at least 2 days away and thankfully the next day it had gone another direction.

Kensley

Pyper

Shooting

The big boys were showing off shooting rocks and maybe a poor fish (don't ask) so we put some ear covers on Pyper so it wouldn't scare her too much and hurt her ears. She HATED it!

Life Lesson # 347

Don't twirl your hair into the curtains!
We have no idea how long Kensley was stuck in this position. I had went up into her home and started a movie for her and then went downstairs. About 20-30 minutes later Stephen went upstairs and went in her room to check on her and this is what we found. She was pretty upset. It took some doing, but I was finally able to get her hair untangled from the curtains. I am really hoping she has learned her lesson. I am constantly telling her not to play with the curtains because it is dangerous! It has been a pretty traumatic evening.

Seven Months Old!

Yummmm....Cupcakes!

I made some yummy red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting tonight and was quite proud of myself and how good they turned out. They were even cute!

Makeup Artist

A nice security guard offered Kensley a sticker. He went into an office and couldn't find the stickers so he felt he had to give her something and offered her this face art kit. Oh, thank you, Mr Security Guard, I can't think of a beter gift for a 3-year old.



This is after Kensley "cleaned" it all off. Doesn't she look beautiful? She is still reminding me "about that time when I was so beautiful with all my makeup".

Happy Fourth of July!

Swimming Lesson Drama

Kensley HATED swimming lessons. She loves to go swimming, but on her own terms. This usually means sitting on the steps splashing and giggling and coming home with her hair still dry. The first day of swimming lessons actually went fine, but got progressively worse. She would cry the entire ride to the pool and as we walked to the pool her cries would get louder and louder. One night she even made herself so upset she threw up in the pool. It was awful.




On the ride home. Needless to say, we are all happy that swimming lessons are over and Daddy and Mommy aren't up to another session just yet. So, for now, Kensley is getting a reprieve from the torture.