Dreams do come true

It's not a car, it's not a truck, but it's why we found ourselves on the road, to Gypsum Co, six hours form home. Erik had just come off his thirty hour straight stretch of work, but the Camino was calling him. He took a short nap and then we set out to bridge the gap between us and his new "Hooptie Ride."

Erik called me last Sunday from work and asked me to hear him out. I was told to listen with an open mind before responding. He told me he had found a vehicle, it was $500.00 and he really wanted it. Before he said anything else I asked, "is it an El Camino?" He laughed out loud and confirmed my hypothesis.

Erik's very first vehicle was an El Camino and right before we got married, we had to sell it. We needed the money and couldn't take it with us to New York. As we watched it leave his Dad's driveway that day, I knew a piece of his heart went with it. I was happy to see it go, but it made me sad, to see him sad. He has had that hole in his heart ever since, until today that is!! Jose dropped the price to $450.00 and closed the deal!

So here is the best part. El Camino #1 gave birth to El Camino #2. That's right, we are proud owners of not one, but two El Caminos. He made us a deal, that couldn't be turned down.

When Jose presented us with the deal of a lifetime, I was of course giving Erik the, no way jose, look. He said one word, "camera." At that point, I could say no more, he knew exactly how to get me. He knew exactly what to say, to get what he wanted! Jose also threw in a fridge and made the deal irresistible! He also wanted to send us away with his pitbull puppy. Okay, that's were I draw the line!!

As we are pulling away from Jose's, I kind of went into shock. What the heck did I just agree too, are you kidding me. It all happened so fast, how did one ugly car, turn into two ugly cars, in a matter of minutes? Seriously Erik!!!!! Erik is beyond stoked, laughing, and totally enjoying the purchase he just made. I am excited for him, also laughing, but also freaking out!

Here they are, in all their glory, parked at their new casa!!!

Oh, yeah, he also threw in a camper shell for the Super Sport! Oh joy!!!

Ella likes to say we own two Ella Caminos!!!

The grey one made it all the way from Gypsum and then died in our driveway! Now, we have two non-working beauties out front!! But, one day, they will shine!!

Literal Spanish meaning of El Camino is "The road."

Yes, that is our new fridge in the back! Our neighbors are probably so jealous and think we are way cool!

With me in the driver seat, Erik pushed this baby off the back of the car trailer, we had rented! At that point, all I could do was laugh, as I watched him struggle to inch us off, little by little, by the light of the moon!! It took awhile, but we got her parked right out front, for all to see! It was one o'clock in the morning! Again, our neighbors think we are cool!

The mullet-mobile

Erik has big plans for these babies! Future posts to come, I'm sure!!!


When I looked up the definition of El Camino online, I came across some quotes that made me laugh.

1.basically a mullet. business in the front, party in the back.

A:dude i like your mullet
B: i don't have a mullet
A: i know I'm talking about your El Camino

2. The front is like a car
The back is like a truck
The front is where you drive
The back is where you ...

3. A car in front, and a truck in the back. The coolest, mulletest car ever.

4. best kind of car ever, if you don't think so you suck

a car is just a car, but an El Camino, is a lifestyle

Elevator Camp out

We are so blessed here in Colorado, with such amazing friends. We went on our first camping trip together as a group, this last weekend! We had such a great time! The only bummer part, was at the last minute, Erik found out he had to work overtime. It was very sad not having him there. But, more on that later!

The road we took to our camping spot! The trailer stayed attached this time, so all is good!

When the final destination is this, you don't mind a few bumps in the road!

A very exciting part of the weekend was when Abby caught her first fish. Actually, she caught two fish!!

Those little Barbie poles work great, especially when the pro's, Kellie and Jason, hook her up with an amazing lure.

Cooked that baby over the fire, yum!!

Abby isn't a huge fish fan, but she was such a good sport, when we told her she had to take at least one bite of the fish she caught! Ella finished it off for her!

Jason and Kellie brought their boat, it was a highlight of the weekend. All the kids had a blast! Thank you Seth for taking the little guy out! He saw this picture and started freaking out, "boat, boat, fun!"

Heather did piggy tales on all the girls!! Matty felt the need to be in the picture too!

While I was waiting for Ella to do her thing, I took this picture because I thought it was funny! It's not an easy trip to these outhouses , but apparently anyone can find them! I actually fell on my way back from using them, which isn't saying much considering I fall on perfectly flat ground, but really it was a hike to get to this outhouse.

I guess it's like the drive-up ATM machines. I looked it up on Answers.com and the only reason there is Braille lettering on the drive-up ATM machines, is because it's cheaper to manufacture one kind of ATM, that can be used in all situations. There is no downside to doing so (other than it makes people scratch their heads and gives them something to talk about).

So now back to my elevator man. My guy is one of a kind. He has done some crazy things in his short life and this time is no exception.

Last weekend, while we were camping, he was working some long overtime hours. He has done this many times and it still blows my mind, how long he can go without sleep. I got a taste of it, when I drove across country with my mom and the kids. I was awake for thirty-four hours straight. Your body starts to do weird things with lack of sleep. I don't recommend it.

He had worked a seventeen hour day and decided it would be a good idea to stay the night. With the kids and I gone and the fact that it was already 11:30 at night, it just made sense to not make the hour commute.

Now, where to sleep was the question! The logical answer to that question, would be to utilize one of the rooms in the five diamond, Four Seasons hotel, or one of the multimillion dollar, high-rise condos. But, he got detoured. On his way up the elevator, a small malfunction in the operation room, caused it to come to a stop between floors. This trapped my dear husband, somewhere near the 22nd floor. Being to tired to deal with it any further, he scrounged up some bedding-like material, that was strewn about the elevator cab. He laid down in the small box, suspended in the air and passed out.

Bright an early, he broke out of the elevator, well rested, to commence his thirty hour day of work!! He's crazy! I am so thankful for my dedicated, hard working husband!

Labor Day weekend is just around the corner. Erik will be forgoing his cozy pile of elevator scraps for his warm, comfy Thermarest! Hopefully!!!

Same place, same peeps, a whole new set of camping memories!

Ella keeps us laughing!

Monday was Ella's first official full day of school. The first day she got to ride the bus with her sister! She was so excited she couldn't contain herself! Last week she watched Abby get on the bus each day and she was so sad that she wasn't on it too. Well this day. It was her turn. She was up, dressed, teeth brushed, hair combed, backpack on, all before 7:00 a.m.

They were so excited to wear their back to school dresses. I made Abby wait until Ella's first day, so they could wear them together. I had to get the traditional first day of school pictures!

The front porch picture

In front of the boulder

They got themselves breakfast and packed their own lunches! It was so cute, Abby wrote Ella a note, on her napkin and slipped it into her lunchbox!

Here comes the bus. While waiting for the bus Ella says, "This bus is going to love me."

So the first day of Kindergarten for Ella, was not short of drama. We picked the girls up from the bus and then asked the typical question, "Ella, what did you learn at school today?"

Ella responds, "That Jesus will always be there for you." I am glad she could get that out of public school!!

Abby pipes in right after Ella's response, "I just learned addition and stuff."

Then Ella continues, "And I also got a boyfriend and his name is Jason. Sorry to tell you I've got a boyfriend and he kissed me."

I started to talk to her and all I said was, "Ella, that is inappropriate." The conversation ended with her in tears, saying to me, "When I get home, I am going to sit in time out, the whole night.

Erik then took over for me, thank goodness. When he started to talk with her about the situation, she says to him, "Don't worry about it Dad, I'm going to go to time out when I get home, it's taken care of."

Erik proceeds to ask Ella about this boy and what exactly happened. He is so much more patient with these things, and knows the right way to talk to her. She then says to Erik, still emotional, "Of course I love him, you know that Dad." I'm just sitting in the car, trying to not laugh, writing this all down in my notebook!

This is only the first day of Kindergarten people. Oh my goodness, this girl is going to keep me on my knees. At least she gives me great blogging material, but a glass of wine will be necessary.

Mrs. Degroat, Ella's teacher, was also Abby's kindergarten teacher last year. She is in for a whole new adventure with this girl!!

Here are some of Ella's other one liners, that have left her mouth lately:

"Mom, I already brushed my hair, it's as soft as a fluffy monkey." In Ella's voice, it sounds more like, "Mom, I already bruthed my hair, ith as thoft ath a fluffy monkey."

"Mom, why do you have to be so cranky? You should smile sometime today."

"College is going to be great, I can't wait!" She hadn't even started kindergarten yet.

As we were driving, she spotted a pavement roller, you know the little ones that roll over and smooth out the new asphalt. She says, while gazing out the window and resting her head on her hand, "I so wish we had one of those little rollers, then we could go for a ride anytime, it would be fantastic!"

Talking to Matthew, "I am going to call you my man baby!"

Looking at the picture that I posted, as my new facebook profile picture, she says, "I just love my daddy poo, he is so original"

"I am wearing my skirt backwards because you wont tie it for me and I don't want to think about it anymore"

While eating a Good Humor ice cream cone, "There is chocolate in the bottom of this cone, no way, I have never seen anything like it in my life!"

This girl of mine is very passionate, even though it can be tough at times, I totally get it! She keeps our life spicy and we love her!!

Random Ten Monday's #2

Okay, so I know that it would sound much better if I called it "Random Ten Tuesdays." But I usually post Monday, Wed, Friday, so it will just have to do!

1. I love all the cheesy Disney movies, you know, Hannah Montana, Princess Diaries, High School Musicals. It's hard to admit, but I have shed a tear during HSM #3. I am so glad that I have two girls, that I can use as a cover up, for my Disney flick fix!!

Yes, it's cheesy, I know!!

2. I am a returner. I save all my receipts and will pretty much return anything and everything.

3. I have a very strange way of plugging my nose when I go under water. I literally cannot submerge my head without doing this, I have tried, it just doesn't work. So if I lose my upper lip, I will never be able to swim again.

I have met another who does the same exact thing and she lives in my neighborhood. So it's not that unusual. My goodness, I need Botox.

4. Penguins are my favorite animal! They are cute, funny-looking little creatures dressed in classic black and white!


A little penguin info: They don't fly like normal birds, they are very social creatures and adapt to many climates. They find a mate for life and use sign language to communicate with each other.


They are so darn cute!

5. My favorite lip color is Dolly by Bare Minerals. I tingles when you put it on, I love it!

I am wearing the color in the above, freaky looking lip plug picture! It was all over my nose after I had Erik take the picture of me!

6. When I was on my MOPS retreat, I shocked some with my puffy hair. I had taken a shower, blow-dried my hair and came up the stairs before I had used the straightener. I will not leave the house after blow-drying my hair unless I curl it, tie it back, or wear a hat! It is a bit shocking, I was told I could play an American Indian with that look. Which leads me to my point. I am 1/8 Choctaw.

For family camp one year, we did a skit. I played my usual Indian character, Shakanow, April was Sacagawea, and my little sis was Tiki. I spoke my Indian language and Sacagawea was my interpreter. "The moon is big and bright, she says she knows the way!" Every once an awhile Tiki would tap her tiki's together! It was really hard to keep a straight face!

7. My love language is not gifts. Erik's isn't really either, that is just not how we show our love for each other. It might sound lame, but we don't really ever do gifts. Christmas is about the kids and we have never really done birthdays. When we want or need something, we just get it.

8. Despite point #7, Christmas is still my favorite time of year. Especially being parents, it's so fun playing Santa! The smells, the cozy pants, the fireplace, the movies, the music, the smells, the spirit, everything is just magical!

Our 2009 Christmas card!

9. Sometimes I watch a show (a chick show), mute it during commercials and read a book at the same time. When Erik came upstairs from his work out the other night, he just looked at me, shook his head, and said, "really." I am gifted at multitasking, works for me!

10. I really can't stand it when the toilet paper is installed backwards. After ten years of marriage, and ten years of nagging telling him about his toilet paper installations skills, he still doesn't get it. Come to think of it, he might just do it on purpose to bug me. He tells me all the time, he likes to get me angry because he thinks I'm cute when I'm angry! Oh boy!

The Fall

Just as the drama in our house has diminished, with the girls going to school this year, the boys waste no time in reminding me that I still have my hands full. Sure, the drama is gone, only to be replaced by trips to the ER.

We had gone to the beach on Wednesday to relax, swim, enjoy the last bit of summer. The lake we go to, has a playground that the kids love. I make the comment to my friend, "Matty does great on this playground, I don't worry about him." I really should learn to keep my mouth shut saying stuff like that.

Well, the day went along fine, the kids played great and I enjoyed some great girl conversation. I glance back to the playground and see a woman carrying Matty. I run over and see a very large amount of blood. I don't panic, but scoop him up and start walking to the first aid area. No one is there, but I get some towels and some ice. I know mouths bleed a lot, and this was a lot! After I got him to drink some water, the blood flow from his mouth let up a bit. I looked him over and he looked fine.

A girl then comes over and tells me she saw him fall. I asked her to show me where and she points to the very top of the jungle gym. He had decided to try and climb down a ladder, that was way to far away for him to reach. It was at least seven feet high. She told me he landed on his face. I know kids bounce, but not that high.

He wouldn't let me sit down with him and he wouldn't stop crying. He is usually a tough guy and doesn't fuss to long after hurting himself. I asked him to walk, he wouldn't. He then starts saying his back hurts, over and over. I then feel him go limp in my arms and start fussing about his arm, looking at it like it's falling asleep. Now I start to worry a little. I don't like rushing to the Dr. for unnecessary visits, but a Mommy fear took over me and I felt I should take him to the hospital. Also, encouraged by another lady who told me that last week a kid fell on the same playground and ended up having a skull fracture. Well, that probably wasn't the greatest thing to share with a mother who is holding a crying child, she is worried about, but she was just trying to help!

Thank goodness my friend was with me and we had driven separate cars. The girls stayed with her and I took the boys to the ER. I was nervous for him to fall asleep, because of course I am thinking the worst. He quickly fell asleep as we started driving, my yelling back to him didn't help a bit. I watched his breathing in the rear view mirror to calm myself.

When we arrived at the hospital, I tried again to see if he was maybe just over exaggerating and we were going in here for nothing. He still wouldn't walk for me and still told me his back hurt. So in we go.

Now, I have a very long, horrible history of bad hospital experiences. Walking in to this one, I feared the worst. Long waits, nurses that make you feel bad, cold rooms, and horrible bed side manner. This hospital, changed my view entirely.

I walked through the automatic doors holding my breath. I had to go through a metal detector and police officer, I really started to grow skeptical and leery. But then, like magic, I was escorted right back. No waiting in the waiting room, what? He had fallen more than twice his height, so we were sent to the trauma unit. When we walked into the room, it was filled with people. Everyone taking care of us. The doctor was kind, helpful and didn't once make me feel inferior or awful. I had such a great experience, that after we left, I actually called them, to say it was the best ER visit I had ever had and thanked them.

So, back to the little stinker. The Dr. examined him head to toe. Matty was going off to him about how he fell and how his back hurt. He was really playing it up. "I fall down. I hurt. My back. My back." He had every one in the room gawking at his cuteness. As soon as the Dr. walked out, while we were waiting for x-rays, Matty miraculously recovered. He was running around the place like nothing had happened. The little booger. Seriously, at least act like you are in pain, at the very least lay down, you are making me look bad!

I am not upset we went, the peace of mind was worth the $100.00 to me, especially when he woke up crying that night, I didn't worry. But still, a little part of me wanted there to be something wrong. Nothing major of course, just something small and fixable, something to justify the trip to the hospital and my copay.

Thank you Swedish Hospital for taking such good care of us, but I pray we don't have to visit you again!

Please be careful boys, you are going to give me a heart attack before I even turn 30!! Be kind to your mother!

And I wonder where they get it from?

My world is about to change

This week, my world is changing. I am down to only two at home! The girls are starting school. It's going to be just me and the boys for the next two years. The volume in our home is going to drop drastically, it's going to take me awhile to get used to the quiet!

The girls both got cute new dresses for the first day of school. I wanted to take them out and get some fun pictures. I think I might do this each year before school starts! We just went down the street, to a house that has been for sale for awhile. The grass was all overgrown, and the yard had some pretty yellow daisies in it. They had lots of fun, especially during the jumping pictures!

My girls are so big, love them so much!!! I am excited for them and the new school year!