Fathers & Sons Campout Highlights

5 sunburned boys just returned from the annual Fathers and Sons Campout. Joe took all 4 boys this year, along with my Dad. They went to Oak Flats campground, about 40 mins east of Mesa. The boys all came home with great stories of fun times.

Jacob enjoyed shooting the bb guns at water bottles and the empty pringles can.

Tyler enjoyed the 3-legged race he ran with Jacob.

Aaron enjoyed the Chicken chase. Yup, chickens. Someone brought up chickens then the boys tried to catch them. They even told the older boys that whomever caught one got to take it home. Good thing our boys didn't catch one. I don't believe Joe would have let them bring it home anyways.

Jared just seemed happy to be home. He went straight out the back yard without a word.

I was told that our boys did very well in the group games that were played. They cooked hot dogs and s'mores over the campfire last night and as Jacob told me, were the first to have the campfire going this morning. Jared and Jacob were up at the crack of dawn, 5:30am.

We are now in the process of washing all campfire smell away, as well as washing a layer of desert off these dirty boys. Sounds like a wonderful campout. I'm so glad I have a husband that is willing to take his 4 boys on these fun adventures. I'm sure these are memories that will last a lifetime.

...and I got a quiet night out with my Mom and some friends, and then slept in till 9am! I Love Fathers and Sons Campouts!!

But I don't need a nap...

Almost every day Aaron tries to tell me that he doesn't need a nap. I beg to differ, son. This is how I found him today. The fun part was I was doing the dishes and actually got to watch him slowly fall into this position. He stayed this way for over a hour. Really, Mom, I'm not tired....Yeah, I believe you.

I'm famous....& allergic

Thank you to everyone that sent me messages about seeing me on The Price Is Right. It was a surprise to me to see my lovely face in the opening scene of the show. And then there I was many times through out. I can say it definitely altered my perception of the show, combining my memories of the taping with what got put on tv. It was a fun experience. If you didn't get to see it, there are a few ways you can still view the show. 1. go online to cbs.com/thepriceisright and watch the episode. 2. I still have it on my dvr, but you will have to sit on my bed because the dvr is in my bedroom. 3. I have it taped on a vhs tape. I know not many of you have vhs anymore, but in the chance that you do, I have it taped.

Now on to more exciting news. I seem to have developed an allergy to my deodorant. Yup, that's right, another allergy. I am in the process of trying a new deodorant to see if the itching/red bumps go away. I have used the same deodorant my entire life. Why the change now? I have no idea. Why the sudden allergy to latex? Yes, I'm allergic to latex too. I discovered that about 2 years ago blowing up balloons for my children. Again, lots of itching and redness/swelling. You should see it when my eyes get rubbed after having touched latex, quite the sight to see. Or what my hands look like after wearing latex gloves. I tried that while working on some painting projects. I never knew my hands could get that red and puffy. Oh well, just another item to add to my list of allergies. Why I couldn't develop an allergy to chocolate or sugar to help me cut that out, I don't know. Life just isn't fair, I guess.

Don't forget!

Don't forget to set your DVR, VCR, or yourself down to watch the April 12th episode of The Price Is Right! These are the shirts we are wearing. Look for us in the 2nd row to the left of the contestants. The 1st couple called up, wearing blue shirts, was on our row and walks right in front of us. You don't want to miss it!

Easter Weekend in the Mountains

For the Easter Weekend, we went up to Heber/Overguaard to my parent's cabin. There was still some snow in Forest Lakes so once we were settled in the cabin, we headed for the one hill we found on the side of the highway just out of Forest Lakes. For future sledding, it is the Black Canyon Lake turnoff. We climbed around the locked gate and trudged through the snow. It was pretty deep too. Many times we fell into holes up to our thighs!

This is the first picture once I got up the hill. Jacob was already on his way down and Tyler was just waiting for Dad to help him get on the sled. This was the first time our boys have been sledding! What an Arizona family are we! Aaron thought sledding was the greatest thing ever. He would run, yes run, up the hill. What energy.Joe was the official sled loader and pusher, that is until they figured out how to do it themselves.

My first trip down the hill with Aaron steering. Bad idea! Aaron steered us almost into a tree.

Jared went down the hill once with Tyler. That was his only ride. He sat at the bottom and cried until Tyler talked him into walking back up. He spent the rest of the time removing his gloves and jacket and eating snow. No more trips down the hill for Jared.

Jared, the ham.

Joe going down with Tyler.

Jared, once he removed his gloves and jacket. The crazy kid! It was still cold out!

Tyler, Me & Jacob getting ready to race down the hill.

Jared & Aaron watching me get ready to sled.

Thrilling for Tyler.

Jared crashed once on a tree limb that was jutting out of the snow. Luckily it only scratched his arm, but ripped his sweatshirt up pretty good.

This was the best shot Joe could get of me coming down the hill. I was headed straight for him.

Yeah, we made it to the bottom.

I like this picture because of all the tracks we made. Aaron, Joe and Jacob were in a snowball fight, while Tyler comes down the hill.

Jared eating snow. Look Mom, Ice.

Jared liked watching them, but was ready to go home. He got sooo cold not wearing his coat and gloves. Good thing we had boots that fit him so at least his feet stayed dry and warm.

It was a great trip to the cabin. We spent the other 2 days just sitting around enjoying the cold. Every night we made a fire in the wood burning stove and even went to 3 different stores to collect all the makings for s'mores. The boys said this was one of their favorite trips to the cabin and they want to come every time there is snow and go sledding.

Chocolate Lovers Unite!

This is NOT an April Fool's Joke! I cut this article out of yesterday's Arizona Republic. I now have proof that eating a piece of chocolate every day is good for me.