The H's and I drove to Houston in late July to see Papa and Rhonda. It was a nice trip and they were so good on that long (sometimes boring) drive there and back.

Rhonda always has stuff that the kids are interested in looking at or doing. This time it was Papa's large beads and a whole mess of keys that Hunter was so happy to get to take home!

They were thrilled to be able to get to go to their community pool in their neighborhood a few days in a row. They didn't get their fill of summer pool play yet so it was really nice. We had the pool to ourselves for long periods of time too! I also drove them to go get snow cones one day. Something they have only had few few times so that was a big hit!

Hunter found our old Speak and Spell in the cabinet and enjoyed playing with it. Hailey discovered Black Beauty and got sucked into the story. It is a really long book and wound up finishing it on the car trip back home. It was nice to see my dad and Rhonda for a few days. The kids enjoyed hanging out and chatting with them as well. Sometimes I wished we all lived much, much closer.

We made a pit stop to eat and relax for a bit at Cracker Barrel on our journey home. Hunter likes the mac and cheese there. I enjoyed my peach pancakes too :)

This year we drove to Papa and Rhonda's house for Thanksgiving. The kids were good on the long, boring drive to Houston. They played on our ipads occasionally.

We had a nice visit and it was so good to see my dad in person. Wish I could just zap myself there more often.

The children had fun talking to Papa and Rhonda. On Thanksgiving morning when I was drying Hailey's hair she thought the red towel on her made her look like a queen. She decided she needed a crown so when we were done she got out her travel bag and whipped up a crown for herself. She also fitted Rhonda one and Flower her bunny.

Hunter was fascinated by the Macy's Day parade and Hailey enjoyed playing with the cool sticker sheets that Rhonda had for all the kid guests.

The food was good. Rhonda invited her dad and lots of her friends to join in on the Thanks!

Here is the placemat Hailey made for herself...

We also had the pleasure of going to TWO movies in a row with them. We saw Tangled and the latest Harry Potter movie. I thought they were both fantastic.

Of course no trip is complete without some good ole throwing up. This time it WASN'T our little miss Hailey!!! I was so proud of her for eating her meal - even a large chunk of turkey. Hunter woke up on the day we were leaving not feeling so well and food wasn't in his plans. Come to find out later that night he had double ear infections which caused him to throw up. Thankfully I snagged 2 trash bags for our trip home. They were put to good use :)

I had my dad pose for a quick picture in front of his restored truck. It sure is pretty. Hunter enjoyed getting to sit in it with Papa while Brady and him were starting it up.

I am glad I got to spend Thanksgiving with them and I really enjoyed looking through dad's old keepsakes in search of a document for him. Lots of good stuff!!!

On Mother's Day we woke up to sunshine, wind and frigid temps! We headed out to the coast so my children could see the ocean and the beach for the first time ever. I wish we would have gone the day before even though it was overcast and rainy. The wind and the cold were too much. We enjoyed ourselves and did have a good time but I so wish the weather would have been a bit nicer for their first trip. I had big plans to sit in the sand and dig with Hailey. It didn't seem to affect Hunter much but I tried to keep Hailey bundled up as much as I could. When I looked at the weather before our trip I didn't think they would need winter coats. She was on her 5th day of running a fever. Her antibiotics didn't seem to be helping and I was still giving her tylenol to reduce her fever.  We plugged along and took in the sites anyway.  Grammy offered to stay in the car with her at times so Brady, Hunter and I could soak in the views. 

Our first stop was Plymouth Rock. Let me just say that I had a totally different image in my head and had not expected what I saw. I think somebody made this stuff up. I like the picture better in my head. The one where the rock is gigantic and had jagged edges.  It was so not impressive that the pictures Brady and I both tried to take of our children to prove we were there didn't really matter. A few people kept getting in our shots and we didn't bother to get a "good" one. I know this sounds negative but I was really excited to see this site!

NEXT STOP: THE BEACH/OCEAN!

Even though it was super windy, both Hailey and Hunter liked trudging through the sand to see the ocean. Kelsey found us the perfect spot to adventure. Hunter enjoyed throwing rocks into the water and exploring with his daddy. Hailey roamed around, collected some rocks and plopped herself smack onto the sand and made a sand angel. She loves to play in sand!

NEXT STOP: Cape Cod

Cape Cod was a really scenic area. So pretty. We stopped and got donuts and hot chocolate at Dunkin' Donuts for the kids first. You know like here where there is a Walgreens on every corner? Well Dunkin' Donuts shops are everywhere. We drove around and visited a few sites where they had some lighthouses. Brady and I wanted to see some of those in person.

Hunter liked this pathway in the above picture where he said he was "chooching". He was pretending to be a train and dragging his feet in the dirt path!

Before driving back to Boston to our hotel, we stopped at a local restaurant and ate dinner. It was here that we exchanged Mother's day gifts and Hailey gave me the gift she made at school for me. I had specific instructions to pack it. She had wanted to give it to me in the hotel but we didn't have time and I wanted pictures. She was also so sweet when she woke up on Mother's day too in the hotel. She immediately began to worry and asked me if we had any peanut butter. She wanted to make me breakfast in bed. So sweet. It was also touching when I asked her before falling asleep in the hotel for the night what her favorite part of the day was and she replied "Giving you your gift." I believe her too. She loves to make others happy.

On our way back Hailey slept in the car, Hunter looked cute and they decided to change shoes. We even stopped at a super nice Target for potty breaks!

Before entering the hotel, we drove out behind the hotel to humor Hunter. He had to have his train fix. He got it too. The train that was parked was making spooky noises to me but was cool all at the same time. We went up to Grammy and Smokey's room where Kelsey recorded some of Hunter's "stories". He can talk nonstop sometimes and it is funny to me because he gets all into it and means every word. He even gets his eyes rolling and hands moving when he tells his stories. He tried to talk Smokey several times into going back down and going to check out that train again. It is hard to distract him when he has something on his mind and he is determined about something.

We ended the night. I put the kids to bed and packed our bags for our morning flight back to Oklahoma. It was a good Mother's Day. Thanks everyone!

We ventured to Boston, MA to see Brady's sister Kelsey graduate from college May 6-10th. Yeah Kelsey!

**** This is a VERY LONG JOURNAL ENTRY ****

The morning of our Thursday depart I wound up taking Hailey in to see a doctor. She wasn't feeling well on Wednesday and was running a fever by the night. Her doctor and other pediatric doctors were super full so the family doctor on the other wing saw her after I insisted she be seen. He diagnosed her with it being viral, some bronchitis and a secondary ear infection. He put her on a quick round of medication which oddly enough he told me would cover pneumonia. So with antibiotics and an off brand Tylenol in hand, we rushed to the airport. (This is also the first time I have used a store brand for my children. I have always gone for those bigger names. Funny thing is that they keep getting recalled. My mind has been changed.)

The children were good on the two airplanes we took to get to Boston.  I packed several things to do just in case but they wound up sleeping and looking around for most of the trip. We arrived in Boston, got our rental car and headed to find the hotel. We met up with the rest of the Tucker family in the front of the hotel. They even gave us the better room for Hunter's sake. So sweet. Out of one window you could see where the trains would load and depart right by the hotel. Hailey told me she didn't think our hotel would look that way. She liked how homey it was!

FRIDAY:

We woke up early, ate a quick breakfast at the hotel and headed out for the Graduation Ceremony. I am not a fan of going on subways, trams or whatever they are called anywhere, anyplace, period. In all actuality, they terrify me. I don't like purposely putting myself into a box crammed with lots of other people and not being able to get out if I needed too. Not to mention that I had 2 children which made me extra nervous. I LIVED and everything went smoothly. Hunter loved it and Hailey took every opportunity to stand when she could. I don't blame her. She doesn't care to be strapped into her car seat and this was something totally different.

We sat and watched Kelsey who looked super cute in her new haircut and black shoes which I loved. The kids did great listening through the whole ceremony. I think I handed out an entire pack of tissues for Hailey.  Hunter got so used to clapping that he clapped once in his sleep. It was funny to me.  Kelsey and Zivi also made some cute shirts that said on the back that they Graduated. I loved the precise even lines guys!

We met up with the GRADUATE afterward and then met up with Kelsey's boyfriend and their family at a mexican restaurant for lunch. After that we went and toured Kelsey's apartment and the kids terrorized their lovable cat Raj. He is a super fluffy soft cat who tolerated the children petting and playing with him. They have really never been around any nice animal for long periods of time so this was fun for them.

We then headed out on a walk and went to this huge mall area where I picked up a couple gifts at Franklin Covey. We pretty much called it quits after that because it had been a long day and Hailey wasn't looking so well and needed to go to bed. This is also where we are pretty sure we lost a $400 pair of prescription sunglasses for Brady. We called a cab to take us back to our hotel instead of traveling by the subway. At the time, it t was so worth the $13 to get back to our hotel. Loved it.

SATURDAY:

We woke up to a rainy drizzly day so we headed out to the Aquarium. I thought the kids might enjoy it and it looked like fun too. We drove the rental car and met up with the family. We hadn't eaten so made a detour to this fabulous mall type area that had every kind of food in it that Kelsey suggested. I thought it would be like our mall food but oh no. Just about everything smelled and looked yummy.  Hailey spied a pretzel right off so that is what she wound up eating along with some juice. Hunter didn't want to be left out so he had pretzel bites with cheese sauce. I wasn't that hungry yet so I just had a raspberry turnover. I did sample Brady's delicious meal. Don't remember what it was but it was good. He also got a piece of lemon pie which Hailey and I ate half of too!

Views from our hotel windows

The aquarium was a good one. I could have done without the gazillion tourists every square inch but I liked it. Hailey and I agree that the penguins were the highlight. It was also the perfect spot to get that tourist travel token trip gift. Grammy let the kids pick out something in the gift shop. Hailey immediately wanted a penguin but she searched for a bit until she found one that looked like "Penquino", her penguin she got in Santa Fe at good ole Ross. Hunter also picked out a penguin but his was a super soft one. I think he goes for feel.

Across the street from the Aquarium was an interesting talkative man who was hoping we wanted a horse ride. He kept going on about how the Tooth Fairy owed Hailey some money. Apparently $2 isn't enough. Anyway Hailey rarely talks to other people she doesn't know very well. She had no problems talking to this guy. Why? He had a horse. It is still one of Hailey's dreams to ride on a horse in the open by herself. 

Since it was about to rain some more we stopped and ate at one of the Cheers restaurants. I still wasn't that hungry and the Boston creme pie looked yummy and it didn't disappoint! 

From there we toured the dock areas and then headed back to the hotel so the kids could swim. Hailey was looking forward to this even before the trip started. I had to pack her floaties for fun! The kids had fun with Grammy, Kelsey, Michael and Brady swimming but I think us adults were quite shocked at the group of unsupervised children/teenagers who were swimming in their underwear. Lovely site. Hailey had already warned me that I was to film her swimming across the pool and back. She was so proud of herself even though she did it in her swim floatie!

I bathed the kids and tried to put Hunter to bed but he was still mad from being denied by me of going back out with Brady and his family to the  hotel restaurant to hang out. When Brady came back, we wound up getting room service. I am pretty sure that even though we were hungry, the steak and potatoes were delicious as well as that 2 person chocolate cake. Hunter dug right in and helped himself to the entire outer edge of the cake before he called it quits!

We drove to Santa Fe, New Mexico to spend Thanksgiving with Brady's family. They rented a house there for fun. It was a beautiful house in a nice spot. Our children loved climbing the hill across the street and playing with family the most. We took many walks, visited the square, went sight-seeing, ate a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, played in the snow and drove to Bandelier National Park to see some caves. This was a major highlight for Hailey. She loves exploring.

I took some photos. Brady took a lot of photos and I am sure Kelsey and Michael took many as well. I am going to spare everyone the mass picture posts this go around. Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your friends and family.

On Thanksgiving morning, Kelsey speared up some drawing with Hailey. Everyone joined in on the action at some point - even Penquino sitting on the table. She is the newest $3 stuffed animal compliments of Ross. 

Placemat Hailey made at school for Thanksgiving

Bandelier National Park was a lot of walking and climbing but it was worth it. It was a beautiful park. I stayed behind on the last cave climb because it was too risky to take Hunter. Brady told me Hailey was awesome and climbed up all the stairs. It was a one way up thing about 4 flights of stairs if I remember correctly. Scary but she did it!

I liked looking at this guy!

Hailey also collected a bunch of rocks while we were in Santa Fe. One night, she set up a pretend store by the fireplace. Grammy, Michael, Kelsey and Brady were her customers. They gave her real cash for her rocks. When it was over she went to go return their money and was shocked that they didn't want it back!

When we went to tour the caves, she brought her purse along. She refused to leave it in the car and said she needed it just in case. Smokey did take her into a store in the square and let her browse a dollar type store with her money prior to her "rock store". I think she needed to borrow some cash as I was sure she only had about 2 or 3 dollars in it - counting change. Thanks Smokey and everyone for playing with Hailey. She loved every minute of it.

* Side note: A few days ago, Hailey went to her room to go get Hunter a wallet he could borrow and pulled out a $20 bill. I knew it wasn't mine. At some point Brady must have given her the money to play with and forgot all about it being in there!

Hailey did use some of her earned money to buy Christmas presents for her family at the Christmas store at school. She was tickled to get to use it. I am so excited to see what she picked out for everyone!

We returned our rental vehicle and made our way to the busy SLC airport. I love how small our airport is here. You are in an out in a reasonable amount of time. Love that.  The children first busied themselves by thoroughly reading the safety precautions booklet. Hunter fell asleep during takeoff. He was already exhausted. Hailey busied herself with her bag of activities and of course going to the restroom twice. I like to fly because of the convenience factor but the whole flying after all these years still gets to me. I do enjoy resting my eyes, looking at all the different types of clouds and landscapes below. I of course had my token beverage of a Ginger Ale. This time it was accompanied by a Biscotti cookie.

You can tell we were getting closer to home. Plenty of farm land!

We are HOME! Hunter decided I was him mom again and for the first time came over and loved on me. Whenever Brady is around all day, Hunter ignores me. I used to be sad about it but I am mostly over it now. I took this really long video of Hunter because he was actually awake to see a landing or a takeoff! Skip it if you want. It is rather boring.

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We were not at all excited to go home. Usually we are ready to get back home but not this time. We drove a different way home and we spotted some wild peacocks in a business complex. We think they escaped from the zoo a long time ago because there were so many of them. They were fun to watch and so weird to see outside the zoo!

Our flight left the next morning and it was getting late. We decided to keep driving to SLC instead of stopping somewhere for the night and then getting up early to continue the drive. I wish we could have stayed at my brother's home in Idaho Falls and hang out with him some more but we were pressed for time. We did stop and let the children exercise for a bit but they pretty much kept getting on each others nerves until they fell asleep. Hunter was more vocal about it than Hailey. She would pester him silently with a poke or something like that. This afternoon/evening was the first time in the entire week that we pretty much heard from them after being in the car so long each day. They had hit their limit. 

I enjoyed looking at the sunset and trying to take pictures of it while moving. I also loved the change in the surroundings. Right before you get into Idaho Falls you come across massive Lava Fields. They were impressive.

Passing time in the car... Hailey made creations with fruit rollups.

Hunter kept on bugging Ms. Hailey... He winds up saying  a "daddy word" and it gets caught on tape. It made me laugh at first because after I got on to him he started talking about chuggas (trains). He got a talking to after that. Grrr to a lot of reasons!

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKvXSyvJ258 500x500]

We pulled into our hotel at...

And crashed on our comfy beds at...

It was a long but memorable last day!

We continued our drive through the pretty land, when the noise level from Hailey and Hunter was annoying both Brady and I. Their car seats were next to each other. Hailey had enough of Hunter bugging her every other minute. They were both becoming restless and had eaten snack after snack. We arrived in this area called Swan Valley. There were so many grand log cabin homes among all this farm land nestled by a river. Brady pulled off the road into a farm road. It was just wide enough for one car and no room to turn around so we followed it up to the very top. Brady got out to take a peek at the view from on top of a hay bale while the kids got an earful from their mother. We tried to tell them we were going to leave them there jokingly but that didn't phase Hailey. She knows better of us. This was their first official car pullover! Hailey did get out and enjoyed the view with her daddy while I tended to Hunter, the backseat mess and those car seats.

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpNZAaxxkhQ 500x500]

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We continued making our way out of Yellowstone and got caught in some lovely construction traffic for a bit. At times it wasn't so scenic and quite dusty. We did see an Eagle flying by but our picture was blurry as we were moving and couldn't stop at the time. Hailey enjoyed riding in the car with her cousins though. I am glad she was able to play and get to know them better. I am sure 3 yappy girls in the car drove my brother insane but they loved it. Thanks for having her!

Then I caught sight of the Grand Tetons. How pretty. I would love to come back and tour this area someday and camp there. I saw lots of inviting areas! I took some pictures as we were driving.

There were lots of turnouts to view the Tetons. We chose this spot...

We continued driving and made our way to Jackson Hole, Missouri. We made a quick stop at the visitors center there which was really quite nice. We took a driving tour of the town and then found a park and made some PB & Honey sandwiches with some yummy bread I purchased earlier in the day. I would like to come back and visit this part again someday without the kids. It is a tourist shopping spot. I am not really into that but it would be fun to browse all the fancy smancy stores and check them out! This is also where we parted with my brother's family so we could continue on our drive. They were headed to stay overnight at a friends home.

The girls were trying to hide Hailey in their car being silly. I wish we lived closer at times like these. Parting is sad.

Funny thing is that we wound up driving the exact same way for a long time. We went up and down a mountain range. This part of the country is beautiful. I wish I would have made our flight back home for Saturday because we would have stopped for fun at a lot of places just to soak it all in... I think I would enjoy moving someplace like this one day - until it snows way too much.

After getting ready and packing up the car, Brady, the kids and I went down to the area below our cabins. Brady had a feeling that if we were quiet enough we might see something. Sure enough a mommy deer and her baby crossed through the clearing. So cute to see the baby with the spots!

We checked out of Canyon Lodge, ate breakfast and then walked over to the gift shop and stores. Hailey found me a dragonfly necklace that I love. They had a bin full of colorful polished rocks that tempt little people and big alike. I remember getting some when I was young so this was her other token Yellowstone purchase.

We made a few pit stops on our journey out of Yellowstone taking in the sights. One of them was the Fishing Bridge. I stayed in the car because Hunter was asleep. Jennifer came back and watched Hunter so I could admire the yummy trout swimming below. On my way to it, this huge Bison seem to come out of no where and was walking down the middle of the road. He was on his way to get a drink of water. We were all so close to it. 

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwJiaDeiv1Y 500x500]

Another stop was this lake area with a cool hotel that Jennifer loved the architecture. We made a pit stop at the restrooms and happened upon two  payphones. Those are almost non-existent anymore. Jennifer loaded it with money and let her girls call her brother. Too fun. It was fun telling Hailey about them anyway. Cell phones are so common now!

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi9cHLdVTGA 500x500]

Hunter was cracking us up at one point and would say my brother's name over and over telling him to stop because he saw something. It was funny. I think he just liked saying my brother's name.

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsRzP4dqHHk 500x500]

Another Hunter video...

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We decided to drive back to Old Faithful to have dinner in the lodge and so that Brady could check on his business.  Cell phone service inside Yellowstone is limited and only the larger areas have reception. As we started nearing our destination, his phone started going off like crazy. So many messages were coming in and it was beeping away. We got there just as they were shutting things down but we quickly grabbed some food and sat down. We were also kinda in a rush because one of the roads back to our cabin closed at 9 or 10. Once we realized we weren't going to make it in time, we tried to relax. Brady and I both got trout which was super yummy but we didn't get to enjoy it at all. He was busy checking messages and scarfing down food and so was I. The cleanup crew started in on their business and eventually we finished and left. We did spy a little mouse roaming around on the floor which tickled Hailey. She said she saw a trap in the fireplace.

After dinner, we checked out the gift shop and I let Hailey buy something. She chose a cute little deer which she named Rose. Hunter picked out a really soft brown bear. I wanted something with a bison on it and found a shirt I liked. Brady got a better looking jacket. Token gift items checked off!

Then we made the long trek back to our cabin the other way. It took us over an hour at dark which was bummer. Sorry Daenon and Jennifer! We all had our night eyes on preparing for potential crossing wildlife. We saw some and happened to see some deer crossing the street right after they crossed a river/stream. They were all wet. The kids fell asleep and we eventually arrived. Hailey woke up and shared a snack with us though. Brady bought a salad and didn't want it to go to waste so we just took the plastic bowl with us!

Hailey and I liked the bear soap they left for us in the cabin!

The girls mirrors they painted...

We arrived at this location right at sunset. The remaining sun shining on the pools of water and on people's faces was beautiful. Some water spots even looked like they were made up of gold. The hot water splashing into the river below was also fascinating to watch. The river on one side looked like a pretty fishing and picnic spot too.

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p1lKQyurbk 500x500]

This area started off on a long hike through the trees on a dirt path and then turned into a pathway up a pretty steep incline. Hunter was put in the stroller for this one and Brady had the pleasure of lugging him up the ramp and steps for a bit. The view at the top was spectacular and those bubbling pots were fun to look at and photograph. One bubbling pot was thick and the other blew thinner bloops of clay looking stuff.

One view from the dirt pathway...

View from the top of the Artist Pots...

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsOq6EEP97g 500x500]

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zTdzOPIKbc 500x500]

On the opposite side of Pinwheel was Steamboat. I would love to witness this one erupting in person. When it erupts, it can rocket 90-120 meters in the air of scalding water and is supposed to be two to three times the average height of Old Faithful. It was blowing steam and gurgling a little when we visited. Jennifer and I were hoping that we could make this one go off too. This area had more pine trees and was a beautiful walk.

Pinwheel was a really large site that required a lot of walking to see the areas. Hunter was napping so I opted to stay behind. Jennifer and Kimber hung out with me until he woke up and then we went on our trek. I wish I would have brought the stroller along on this one because I had no idea it would have covered so many areas. Carrying a waking up child for a bit gets tiresome but I lived.

I thought the trail continued on and wrapped around in a big loop. I wasn't too keen at this time to lug Hunter along so we sat on this bench and enjoyed the views for a bit. After a few minutes, the geyser named Constant erupted right in front of us. We were not expecting a large spray to come up straight up out of the ground. It was an awesome experience! I think we had some lady luck - or something...

Brady took pictures of us from way up on the hill after it erupted and we departed back up the hill.

As we were driving, a grizzly bear was spotted on a faraway hillside grazing. Wish he would have been closer to capture a better shot. Cool no less.

Wildflowers were abundant in Yellowstone. I really should have taken more pictures of them. They make pretty computer backgrounds!

Fun rock area with some random girl I didn't know was there until after I snapped the picture.

The other side of the rock area...

This really large Elk wasn't so far off and had friends! We stayed in the car and enjoyed it while Brady took some photos. I saw some people taking their little ones up close for a peek. It made me nervous. They are larger than you think!

We decided to picnic and headed towards the Visitor's Center area in Mammoth. There were some elk just hanging out in the lawn grazing and resting. It was fun for Hailey to get out and walk over and see them. You have to observe the distance rule. Hailey just didn't quite get it that you couldn't just go up to one and feed it. She wanted too real bad but seeing them this close was very cool. The visitor's center was good too. They had lots of animals on display. Hunter liked that. They had a documentary movie going on that Hailey wanted to check out but it wasn't so good after all. We enjoyed our picnic and were off again for more sightseeing. The temperature dropped a little but overall our jackets were enough. 

My camera didn't quite capture the beautiful YELLOW color of this piece of rock on display but it was nice to see what Yellowstone was named after!

This next area reminded us all of Ice Age. It definitely looked like snow and ice. I am sure viewing this place in the winter isn't as spectacular either. You wouldn't be able to see the contrast of color! It was overcast in the distance and made the area look even better. It is also one of my favorite Yellowstone spots.

This is the view from the road and this large upright rock was nearby.

This one was in velvet. We were coming down the mountain and it blended into the scenery. We stopped briefly but needed to keep going because it wasn't such a good place to stop. Brady and I also spied something laying on a flat rock as we were rounding one curve. I think it might have been a fox. Wish we could have stopped to see. 

This black bear was wasn't enjoyed long enough but we did see it. Apparently we got there too late. Crowds were forming and traffic was backing up. We parked but after some time she moved too far away. Bummer.

This wolf was really far off in the distance but it kept looking back according to Brady. I stayed in the car with Hunter and the rest of my peeps took a walk some distance to view it. Hunter was cranky at the time and I knew he would have been loud and scare it off. I also didn't feel like getting out and walking so it worked out well for us both. We got out and viewed some horses who were being groomed and put back in their truck by some rangers.

Then I made everyone stop because I saw a sign for a petrified tree. I remember going to the petrified forest when I was little and loved it. I wanted to show Hailey. Unfortunately this is also where Jennifer lost hold of her new camera she was taking out and broke the zoom, etc. All I could think of was it probably wouldn't have happened had I not wanted to see it. It wasn't that spectacular either. Apparently there used to be three trees but over time people walked off with pieces of them. Sorry Jennifer. I hope you get it off to the repair shop soon.

I woke up at 6:30 in the morning to Hunter pulling on my hair. This has always been a calming thing for him since he was a baby. I have a love/hate relationship with it depending on how tired I am. I couldn't go back to sleep so I just got up and took a shower. Since it was still way to early, I opened up the lodge information book and read all the details. Brady woke up at one point and found me sitting in the chair across the room reading. I think it shocked him. Shortly after, we all got up and went to breakfast and headed out to see more sights.

This large waterfall was cool.

LOOK. You can sort of see that my hair used to be red in this accidental picture I took!

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After checking in at the front desk, we walked over to the lodge diner. The food was really good and we were hungry. Then we went and checked out our cabins. They don't look like much from the outside but I loved them and where we were nestled. Right outside our cabins down the hill was an open clearing in the woods. Sticks were gathered for walking and we took a brief walk. It was beginning to get dark. We found a t-pee someone had built back in the woods. Guess it pays to explore a little! It was a fun find for the kids. We hung out in our cabin for a bit, the girls painted some mirrors Hailey and I found at Hobby Lobby for fun and then we all went on a night walk around the cabin block area. It was a very good day of sight-seeing!

* We were very lucky to score any lodging at Yellowstone. Stuff gets booked way in advance. Some months back, Jennifer, Daenon and I began looking at properties. They found these and I recommend the F-9 section. It was a good price too. Thanks guys!

After visiting Old Faithful, we drove towards Canyon Lodge where we would bunk for the night. Saw lots of pretty sights along the way - Lake Yellowstone and a river otter were among them. I wasn't quite sure what I saw at first and frantically told Brady I saw a seal!

We had seen bison here and there along our drive but then we found a ton of them in two large beautiful pasture areas. Traffic came to a complete stop as they made their way across the road. These creatures cracked me up when they talk. They are so large and odd looking and I fell in love with them. It was fun to have the windows down and watch Hailey and Hunter look at them passing right by our vehicle. 

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The famous Old Faithful was our next major stop. Here we all are waiting for her to erupt.

Then she began.It was worth our short wait to see.

I love this picture of my brother Brady snapped. Daenon was waiting for the rest of his family to join him. The hat and the thumb in pocket - love it.

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6GL5G9Eo7w 500x500]

We then took a tour of the Old Faithful Inn. It was a happening place full of people lodging there, spectators, diners and such. I am sure when it was first built, this was the grand of all places to be on vacation. The fireplace was huge and I am sure it is well needed in the winter. The logs are massive and everywhere. I would have loved to have a glimpse of life back then for a short moment. The time I live in now suits me just fine!

Two handsome fellers!

After leaving my brother's home, Daenon, his family and ours drove to the West Entrance of Yellowstone Park. The drive from Idaho Falls was okay but as we started nearing the entrance, it began to change. I even saw some prong horns grazing in a field. We saw some great fishing spots we would like to come back to someday.

Just past the entrance of the park, we spied a Bald Eagle family. The male was sitting in another tree and the mom would fly off to go get food for her baby. The nest was huge! Brady and I have watched Bald Eagles before but I have never seen a nest up close. 

Right after the eagles, I began seeing many places I would have loved to just park by behind and sit for a really long time. The scenery was awesome and picturesque. Throw in some protected animals you get to view and it becomes even more enjoyable.

We saw some bison with their baby near a body of water so we stopped the car and went for a little walk and checked them out from a safe distance.

Then we toured our first Geyser area. It was here that I think I felt officially like a tourist. I have seen bus loads of people on television touring Yellowstone and now I actually got to witness it myself. There were lines and people but it really didn't bother me. They were there doing the same thing we were! * It was also here that Hailey began her stubborn streak of not smiling for the camera. If the sun is in her face, she gets annoyed (even with sunglasses). If she just plain doesn't want to do it despite our pleas, it matters not to her. One day hopefully she will understand. We were in some very beautiful areas and I would have loved several family photos if she would have just cooperated. I love my little stinker very much though and I am glad we were able to take her to this beautiful place. She loved it too.

Every Geyser area was unique to itself it seemed. They could be loud, steamy, stinky, hot, colorful, bubbly, etc. No wonder why this place fascinated people long ago. Oddities exist here.

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After gassing up our vehicles and grabbing a bite to eat, we traveled to my brother Ryan's home in Idaho Falls. The drive was quite scenic. I was amazed by the different landscapes and how pretty the lava fields were to see. Wish we could have made it to his home earlier in the day. The dairy we passed by on the way to their home was really inviting!

We got there just about sunset and it was beautiful. Their was also a huge temperature change and I welcomed it. Something about cooler air and a lightweight jacket is calming. Their front lawn is so green and pretty too. We toured the inside remodeling work, the kids played, then set out sleeping bags for the kids downstairs and they watched a movie while us grown ups chatted away. After all the kids fell asleep, Hailey Rae joined us. She is like her father and has an amazing ability despite being tired to stay awake. She was super tired but wouldn't just go lay down in an unfamiliar place without us. Silly girl. We crashed for the night in the boys bedroom downstairs. I love the setup they have. It is a cute house and I can see why they like living there in Idaho Falls now. 

"One Not Tired Little Girl!"

Alice and Brady cooked yummy pancakes for us for breakfast. The children played some, we rummaged through a box of pictures and said our goodbyes. We had plans to spend a few days in Yellowstone National Park. Thanks for letting us crash at your house. Next time we will stay longer - promise!

Beautiful Caroline!

Hailey talking to one of Alice's relatives on the side porch...

After saying goodbye to Papa and Rhonda, the girls had their picture taken in front of a potato field that was to the side of our hotel. They were wearing their shirts Rhonda made for them.

Then Daenon, Jennifer, their girls and us drove to the farm. We visited with them for a bit inside and then we took a riding tour of the property in Cal's truck. Brady, Daenon and Hunter followed behind in the rental car. Hailey got another taste of farm life from the large flies to the smell of money. 

Before we got in the vehicle though, the girls spied a cat and loved it all up!

After the property tour, we went and visited the horse, cows, trampoline and the farm equipment! Hunter had fallen asleep in the vehicle but I woke him up. He just couldn't miss the sights!

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Then came Hunter's favorite part - the TRACTORS!

Then we headed back to grandmother's to police what was left and say our goodbyes. Brent had some workers lined up to check out the plumbing that started to show signs of possible trouble a few weeks earlier. Grandmother's caretaker told Brent that when she cleans the bathtub there is dirt in it. They thought she must have been out digging or something. This is what I checked out while they were assessing the problem...

After hanging out for a bit, I gave my grandmother a hug and some loves. I hope to be back again soon. Seeing her makes me miss my mother a lot.

THANK - YOU BRENT FOR HELPING MAKE OUR REUNION GREAT. LOVE YOU!!!

After family pictures, Ryan and his family departed for their home in Idaho Falls. Papa and Rhonda took Maxine home and the rest of us went to the cemetery to visit grandfather's grave. I  actually went there with grandmother, Papa and Hailey a year after he and mom passed away. It is a pretty little cemetery and he is buried next to relatives.

We cleaned up some back at grandmother's with plans to return tomorrow and headed back to the hotel to do laundry, bathe and sleep. I had one load of laundry to do and Jennifer was gracious enough to let me go first. Hope you got some sleep Jenn. Thanks!

Princess Bunny dressed for the night...

Hailey doing her color by number book...

Brady and Hunter checking on things. Thanks for leaving the business for a few days and helping make this reunion possible for us Brady. I thank you.

Sunday was spent enjoying each other and good food. Kaelee had an idea before the reunion started that she wanted to make a quilt for grandmother. Jennifer made a cute quilt that each of the grandchildren put their hand or footprint on a square with their name and age. It turned out very cute and she loved it. She actually admired it the day before it had everyone's prints on it.

Daenon helped set up the traditional candy jar guessing game and the guessing began.

My Uncle Cal and Aunt Raeola arrived. Raeola is a sister of grandmother. Hunter admired Cal's hat. They are just plain good people.  Love them.

Alice made some pound cake for dessert from a recipe that was mother's. Mother got the recipe from a lady friend when they lived in Biloxi. 

Daenon showed the kids the cellar/space underneath the house and told them that is where we were put as children when we were bad with a candle! It always fascinated us growing up so some actually believed until I had to confess the real truth. 

It was getting too hot outside so the kids took a break and watched a movie in grandmother's family room. Here is proof of how Hailey watches television most of the time. She seems to always be upside down!

Yummy shish kabobs were prepared and cooked on the grill. It was a nice treat instead of hamburgers. Hamburgers are way over used. I did have half a hot dog though. I love those horrible things and eat them at occasions like these. I made Hailey try the other half. She hated it and threatened to gag but she survived.

The kids played in the water more and Hailey got to feel what it was like to have a water balloon explode on your body. She was surprised that it hurt some. She got over it though because throwing water balloons is fun!

Candy jar winners were announced and we ate pound cake and strawberries for dessert!

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Maxine came over again and joined us for dinner and dessert. It was windy and her plate kept blowing over. She wound up getting mustard on her pretty pink dress. Hopefully it came out.

We took our traditional family picture in front of grandmother's house. I missed my sister Tessa and her family being there and in it.... sad but it worked out to be the best option.

We tidied up the area from our day of play and the kids watched some fireworks Daenon bought for the kids to enjoy. 

Brent left grandmother and locked the house up while he took Maxine home. We were all headed to the hotel to swim! When we got to the tractor store, I realized I had left my phone inside grandmother's house. So we turned around. I knocked on the door but no answer. The kitchen window was open so I called out to grandmother and told her what I was up too. She was already undressed and the lights were out. I felt so bad. I knew Brent was going to come over to the hotel with us and I wasn't sure if he would come back to the house first or not. So once she came to the door, I gathered my things and then she decided that she was just going to sit on the porch in the dark and just wait for Brent. I tried to encourage her to go inside but she refused. I couldn't leave her on the porch alone. So I told Brady to take the kids to the hotel because I didn't want them to miss out on swimming. Brent did arrive and found us on the porch. He convinced her to go back in after a few minutes of explaining why. She says she does it all the time but we didn't want her to have an accident, etc. Brent drove me to the hotel. Hailey was in the pool already but he and Hunter were not. He was waiting on me. Brent wanted to talk to Daenon, Ryan and myself so we chatted in the doorway. Brady just decided to jump in with his clothes on. Hunter was thrilled. They were exhausted after such a long day and fell asleep fast.

Hunter and Caleb made a connection this trip. It was fun to see them talk and play together.

Here they are together attempting to eat mulberries off the ground before I stop them. Bird poop was too prevalent.

If there is a stick on the ground, you can be assured that Hunter will pick it up.

Then it happened. Hailey got stung by a wasp. 

I was in the shed at the time when Jennifer came and told me she thought she was stung by one. There was a little cute bird house that was hanging on a pole that was home to some wasps. The boys were planning on taking care of it in the evening so as not to disturb it too much and get more of the killed when they returned home. Hailey forgot about this area and got too close and became a victim. This was her first sting ever. She did shed a few tears but she wasn't wailing. I scooped her up and put her on grandmother's counter and applied some baking soda mixed with water to give her some relief. My brother found some toothpaste with baking soda in it and we then put that on her. He had read where toothpaste can do the trick as well and what a better combo than toothpaste with baking soda! She was back playing pretty quick. I am glad it didn't swell like they do on myself. Hopefully she has her father's genes when it comes to bug stuff. Daenon went and bought her some Benadryl and was given a dose for good measure. Funny thing about the Benadryl is that I usually carry that and either Tylenol or Motrin every time I travel. I had limited space so I just packed the Motrin. I think I jinxed myself from the beginning because stuff like that always seems to happen.

The area right in front of where they are standing is where the little bird house was hanging. It is in a cute little triangle cut out section between the shed and the house.

Water balloons were filled and the children attempted to toss balloons from one cloth to the next with the assistance of Alice, Jennifer and Brady. I love seeing my children experience things for the first time.

Since Hailey was wearing her sundress and we hadn't been to the hotel yet, I pulled out her play clothes when the kids were told that they could play in the water sprinkler. It looked like they all had a good time running and jumping through it. Hunter liked helping Brent get it set up. He manages to get the hose and sprinkler functioning here at home. He was a little bummed at first when he set out and no water was coming out. I think the valve is in the shed.

Before the sprinkler was put on, the water was turned on and Hunter darted for the hose. He decided all four posts for the clothes line needed a good watering. 

Leave it to my kids to stick their bums in the spray! (She did tell me when she saw the picture on my computer at home that she was pretending to be a peacock. Love her imagination!)

A mini trampoline was also brought out and put to good use. The children played and played and eventually dried out.

We played a family trivia game with Alice. It was called Crap or Fact. It was fun to hear some of the trivia questions and also fun to just say Crap. We stopped the game when Kent brought Maxine over. Maxine is one of grandmother's sister's daughters. She calls grandmother regularly and has been a very good friend to her forever. She is a funny lady to talk too. She is a lot like my grandmother and says stuff straight out - no sugar coating!

We had a dinner and enjoyed some delicious raspberry ice cream that Alice made.

When Hailey needed to use the restroom, I took the opportunity to take her and Hunter on a super fast tour of grandmother's home pointing out things I remembered and liked as a child. I wish I would have taken pictures of every room.

I found out later that the seahorses that have been above the bathtub forever were given to grandmother by my Uncle Brent. Never knew that. 

I remember sleeping on this bed on the front porch with the windows open. The other side has bookshelves and many books!

Grandmother loves dolls. I remember getting many homemade ones from her and looking at several with her at the county fairs. When Hailey and I visited after mom passed away, she let Hailey put her baby doll in the doll highchair in the background. Hailey loved this at the time and even tried to sit in it herself! I love the fact that she always makes her bed. I can't say I do that everyday.

I also wanted to show the kids the outhouse grandfather put in years ago in the back of the shed. There was a working door that lead out to the backyard to the left of the picture. I remember using this and putting some powder in after that. Fun times!

This is the home where I spent my summer's growing up, where my Grandmother Wilson lives now and where she used to live as a child. Over the years, the properties around hers have changed some but it still brings back memories of being there. Grandfather Wilson had a huge garden out back and fruit trees. His workshop and inner food storage were always fun to go in with him. He had a place for everything and saved just about everything. I can still remember him removing labels off glass bottles to save and admiring his nut seed and dried fruit collection. He loved to eat all kinds of nuts and dried fruit. I remember loving to play in the irrigation water, looking into the cellars, viewing all grandmother's pretties, playing her organ, watching her cook and getting lessons on how to wash dishes properly, taking baths in her old tub and using her seashell soap holder, getting money from grandmother to go buy groceries at the store across the street that no longer is there and sitting in her living room listening to grandfather play the harmonica while grandmother rag tied my hair. I can think of a million more things that I remember but I will save those for a later entry. I am glad my children were able to come to this place that has become special to me over time. I think they had a great time exploring just like I used to do.

Brady, the children and I arrived at grandmother's home first. I was greeted by Brent with a cold cup of root beer. Grandmother was sitting in her comfy chair on the porch. We exchanged hugs and hellos. Brent had set up some tables with some nice table cloths and put out some munchies for us and had a delicious watermelon on ice. So sweet!

Then we spied a mother hen and her chicks in the back yard. They were thoroughly harassed and chased around by some excited children later on.

Then the rest of my family started arriving and greeting grandmother. Wish I would have snapped pictures of everyone greeting her. Here is what I have though...

The kids began enjoying the cold root beer that was in this really neat old container amid dry ice. I want one now. I loved the look of it.  Root beer on dry ice is yummy.

Uncle Brent entertained the grandchildren on row of blue church chairs on a pretend trip. They loved it. Grandmother wasn't so sure. She thought they would get ruined and went on to tell Brent this. You can hear some in the video. Hunter was still adjusting to everyone and didn't want to sit on the chairs but he enjoyed watching.

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By this time my awesome brother Daenon has finished his assessment of the property and declares that there are wasps in the area and to be careful - foreshadowing Hailey's first encounter with a wasp sting. You can hear this on video 1.

Then my Uncle Brent began playing with the kids out front. Uncle Brent is a good man and seeing him run around with the kids made me smile. He has always had a knack for making people smile and have fun.

I woke up around 8 to prepare to leave our hotel by 9. Hailey was dressed and pretty. She went to the bathroom and apparently didn't see that the lid was down and needless to say she made a mess. First time that has happened to her and hopefully it will be the last. Then Hunter came to me and told me he wasn't going to throw up yesterday. I took one look at him and knew he was going to throw up because he was pale faced. He did but it was just bile. He hadn't had a thing to eat or drink yet. I took his cute shirt off and put on a simple gray t-shirt just in case he decided to throw up again. We then moved to Papa's room where all the grand kids and mommies got some really cute travel bags she made. She filled the kids bags with some fun stuff to do in the car. They were all potato themed and included a matching t-shirt! Hailey loved the little stuffed dog and purse that was in hers and wanted to carry it around for the rest of the day. She loves stuff like that! 

Hunter wound up getting sick in the parking lot with Brady while loading up the vehicle to depart for the museum. We made our way to the museum and put Hunter in the stroller. He was game for this option. We toured the outside first. There were many large airplanes on display. The kids had fun walking around and the weather was perfect. Hunter finally perked up and got out of the stroller on his own when we were almost ready to go inside. He ate a smidge of the Ritz cracker we gave him to calm his tummy and had some sips of dew. Right after we entered the museum, we watched a short film. He ate 3 or more crackers. I think he might have had some altitude sickness because he recovered quickly after getting some sugars in him.

Joshua entertained Hailey and Hunter with his grasshopper catching abilities!

We toured the rest of the museum. I was a big museum and done nicely. They had a great kids area but it could have used a bit of cold air. I was hot in there. It had been long enough so I gave Hunter his juice box - which he downed and kept down!

We all left the museum separately and made our way to Burley, Idaho to see grandmother.

Since we missed getting breakfast, we were hungry so we stopped and ate at Denny's. The kids ate well and got balloons at the checkout counter. The drive was nice and relaxing. Hailey enjoyed writing in her new composition book and Hunter bugged her with his dinosaur. I have always loved driving on the highway from SLC to grandmothers. It is so peaceful and quiet. This is where I learned that corn fields can run. Not knowing how far behind or ahead we were of the rest of our clan, we headed to grandmother's home instead of going to the hotel.

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Hailey showed me the places they went on their walk yesterday and I took a few pictures of it. Hunter was excited to see the "invisible water" and he wound up scraping his side when he lost his footing. Like Hailey, he is a tough kid. 

We visited with Papa and Rhonda in their room for a bit and then drove to Union Station where we met up with Daenon, Jennifer, Kaelee and Kimber, Alice, Scott, Benjamin, Joshua, Caleb,  Xela and Caroline. My Uncle John and Aunt Sandi met us there also but I didn't get to talk to them long. It was too hard to coordinate being in one place for too long! We toured all three museums. The train, Browning and car museums were good. I think the children liked the trains the best though inside and out!

Hunter enjoyed talking to baby Caroline. He loves little babies.

Hailey enjoyed talking to Kimber at lunch. Hunter was exhausted and slept through it!

Getting to climb on large trains was definitely a highlight!

This was also a highlight for Hunter... After being in the playroom exploring the inside of a train pushing buttons and having fun, he found the lever that made the train whistle. This new discovery quickly called in all the boys!

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After resting in the soft green grass out front, we decided to go to Farr's Ice Cream Shop. Mom used to take us there when we were little and she used to go there herself. My mom liked black licorice and it rubbed off on me. Black licorice is not a favorite among many people but I really do like it. I got myself a scoop of black licorice ice cream and enjoyed it - even if I payed for it later! Hailey got mint chocolate chip. They were out of lemon so Brady opted for another flavor which I don't recall at the moment. Hunter enjoyed sharing his!

Check out Hailey's crossed eyes!

After the ice cream shop, we headed to Walmart so Brady could pick up some white t-shits. I forgot to pack those in the suitcase. The drive was so pretty along the mountainside so we followed it for a bit. We found this neighborhood up the hill and toured it. There was this large rock that spoke to us and said "Climb Me!" So we did. We enjoyed the pretty overlook of the area.

We met back at the hotel and played around for a bit outside with the kids. I also met up with my brother Ryan who needed to finish up his work assignments before joining us that evening. Hats off to his wife Alice for taking their children to the museums! I am not sure I could do that and be sane. I would have probably  made them walk with a rope or something bizarre. They are well behaved kids though. Anyway, the hotel was supposed to have a pool but it was covered up with dirt. So we went on an adventure to find pizza and somewhere to eat it. We went looking for a park and found it but it was free of people and in a really shady part of town. On the street before it, there was a tree stump with a mannequin head on it. We all decided not to picnic there! Brady directed us to a state park that was beautiful. We walked over to some tables by a river. The people there were quite cranky and apparently you have to pay - so we did. Then the kids spied some canoes and a whole bunch of life jackets. So what do we all do? Go canoeing until we get yelled at again. Apparently you have to pay for those too! One cousin didn't get his turn so that was a bummer. Otherwise it would have been perfect! Hailey enjoyed rowing with her daddy. Brady forced me to go with Hunter. I wasn't too crazy taking him out there but I am glad we went. 

We all ventured back to the hotel for showers and some rest. It was a long, good day!

Playing is hard work!

Thursday, July 23rd we left the OKC airport and flew to SLC on Delta airlines. The children were great on the airplane. Hunter loved being on the airplane and took a nap. Hailey enjoyed chewing her blue gum, taking care of her bunny, coloring and listening to music on the Zune. The plane was smaller than I thought it would be but it was a smooth trip. I like the convenience of flying but despite how many times I have flown, I still get a little nervous.

I had the lucky pleasure of taking Hailey to the bathroom twice and Hunter once. All three of us were in the very cramped stall for Hunter's diaper change. If his diaper was just wet, I would have made him wait!

After our arrival in SLC, we got in our rental car and drove to Ogden where we met up with Papa and Rhonda at our hotel and went to dinner. After that, Rhonda and I went to Walmart to pick up a few things. Dad, Brady and the children stayed at the hotel. After about 45 minutes of being in the hotel room, Brady and the kids toured the hotel, picked up some fliers and went outside. When they were out back, they found a hidden concrete trail which they followed. Hailey made a prickly discovery, saw "invisible water" in a tube, saw lots of dragonflies in dragonfly valley, went past buggy forest, crooked corner, secret garden and then found scary water at the end of the sidewalk. They said they walked so far that they needed a motorcycle to come back. On their way back they saw more dragonflies, climbed a big rock, found reeds and a pretty yellow flower which they picked just for me!

"Invisible water" in a tube

Prickly Discovery and a Dragonfly!

After Rhonda and I got back to the hotel, we retired to bed pretty quick.

I purchased a ticket late Wednesday night and flew to Arizona Thursday afternoon to go visit my sister Tessa. She was scheduled to be induced to have her baby on Friday morning at 9 am. The kids stayed with Brady and Jessica part of the day on Saturday. I have never left my children before so I was quite anxious and happy all at the same time. I absolutely love my sister and being there was pretty amazing. I am glad my sweet husband let me go and get away. I know the children had a good time as well. They love their daddy and I am glad they got to spend more time with him. I think it did me some good to be away as well. 

WAITING TO GO

Tessa was scheduled to be at the hospital at 9 am for her induction. We all got up and got ready when she received a call at 8:30 telling her to wait until they called her back. Her neighbor arrived promptly to take care of her boys but we sent her home to rest until it was time. The hospital had patients coming in like crazy. So we took before pictures and then went to Fry's grocery store. That was a pretty cool store. It has everything in it! We were getting anxious so she called to check. She was told to go ahead and eat lunch. Her neighbor brought lunch over. Just when Tessa decided to go lay down and talked me into taking a nap with her, the call came. We should have done that earlier. Stuff like that always happens to me! 

OFF WE GO

Tessa, Rob and I left around 3 for the hospital.  Her new car seat is so fun. I love the colors. She has a matching stroller too. Baby stuff is fun to play with!

ENTRANCE

Here are the parents to be arriving at the hospital. An attendant escorted us to the right area and we skipped over registration. Yeah! From my experience, I despise registration. It takes so dang long and what is even more annoying is that you are already in the system and they still ask you to fill out paperwork.  

PREPARATION 

They quickly got her into a room and went and pulled paperwork. It was quick and easy because they can! Then she got into her lovely hospital gown and left one more sample for the nurses. I left that picture out Tessa!

LABOR AND DELIVERY ROOM NUMBER FIVE

They brought along their laptop, which was good as it helped pass the time for them. It cracked me up at first seeing her all nestled in her bed typing away.

SILLY PICTURES

Her feet were not as swollen in this picture as they got by the time she had so much fluid pumped into her from the IV's and medication. 

THINGS I LOOKED AT A LOT

The nurses prepped the table quite soon and covered it up. Her labor was 20 hours. I found myself looking at this table a lot. It was kind of disturbing as it reminded me of not equipment but someone under it! Directly across the hall was surgery where they did c-sections. The sign on the wall for the stretchers cracked me up as it was all smushed together. I also looked at her vitals and contractions records on the monitors about a zillion times and of course Rob. Her liquid food tray (which was denied) the cafeteria brought even looked inviting at one point!

STADOL, ICE CHIPS AND THE EPIDURAL MAN

Since the hospital was crazy busy, getting her epidural when she was ready for it took just a bit of time. The stuff was on the cart and ready to go since she asked for it earlier which was a bonus. Some women didn't get theirs! In the meantime, Tessa got to enjoy Stadol for the first time. She totally cracked me up as she went from laughter to immediate sleep. It did it's job and she got some relief though. I called her ice chips "Distractant Chips" in my head. I have never seen anyone consume as much ice as she did. They helped keep her mind off things. She received her epidural at 11 pm. The man who did it let me watch and even gave me a step by step tutorial of the whole process. It was pretty cool to see as I have always been on the other side! He was a fun man. 

A NINE!

Tessa was put on pitocin when she arrived but after being on it all night her body became saturated. It helped but they had to take her off of it after so long. Once it was back on, she progressed again. Then when she was a nine, they came in and turned it off. A lady had to have a c-section and lucky Tessa got bumped again. She would have had her baby sooner at this point but she had to wait for over an hour. The anethesiologist came and gave her 2 injections in her line because at this point her epidural wasn't as effective anymore. When she was in the clear to push, baby Landon was born! This was her first baby that didn't have to go to IC. She was so relieved and happy about this. I also got to witness the event in between filming and pictures. Thanks for letting me come Tessa. 

MEASUREMENTS

Landon was absolutely perfect. Born at 12:45 on June 13th, 8 pounds 10 ounces and 21 3/4 inches long. When the nurse was measuring him and doing those first few tests, he lifted his head up like he was going to crawl away!

FIRST BATH IN HOSPITAL

After hanging out with his mommy and daddy, Landon went and got all clean in the nursery. He came back wearing a cute yellow hat. 

IT IS A BOY!

BROTHERS - BIG & MIDDLE!

Landon's brother's arrived to see him. They were wearing cute t-shirts. Michael gave his mommy loves and Nathan wanted to do flips with his daddy. They missed their parents. Nathan did everything Michael did and even went as far as crossing his arms like Michael was doing at one point. 

 MEETING LANDON

Michael was so anxious to hold the baby and ever so sweet about it. He has always been a great big brother. Nathan crawled up to look at Landon but didn't want to hold him just yet. He quietly observed. I wish I would have been able to stay longer because Nathan is so fun to play with!

MICHAEL

Michael loves being a big brother. He is very helpful and loving. His younger brothers are lucky.

CECILIA

This is the sweet neighbor friend that helped take care of the children. She has children of her own and 10 grandchildren I think. I want to adopt her too. Her mother was in town visiting and they hung out together. Nathan and Michael love her too. The minute they stepped through the door, she had them washing their hands. She even brought snacks and clothing items to the hospital just in case. I am sure she was tired (she wakes up mid morning normally due to her work schedule) but she was so willing and volunteered to keep the children another night. They didn't use her again but she is one sweet lady. I am glad Tessa has such a great adopted grandmother!

PROUD GRANDPARENTS

I  didn't capture a picture of Rob's mother holding the baby but Tessa has one. Here is Rob's dad. He looked so sweet holding the new baby.

ROOM 12

Tessa was moved to another room for the night. I got to hang out with her again. Rob went home to relieve Cecilia and get some rest. I raided the late night vending machine and we had a sandwich, banana pudding and cake. It was actually good!

PACKING UP

After enjoying a nice shower, Tessa ate and then the family came back and helped pack up to go home. Landon had his last test run and Tessa was in the clear to be dismissed. Normally they like you to stay another day but since both were doing so well, they went home after the 24 hour mark. Rob needed to report to work the next day and it worked out for the best. The baby has to report back for a follow up check-up just to make sure all is A-Okay. I know he will be just fine. He is a great eater already!

GOING HOME

Congratulations Tessa, Rob, Michael and Nathan! Loves to all.

 After Hailey's recital on Saturday, May 23rd, we headed for the lakehouse.  We had a great time hanging out at the lakehouse, the Tackle Boxes and spending time with family - especially Aunt Kelsey who came for a visit. Hailey loves her aunt and couldn't wait to play with her. On the day we went to go pick her up at the airport, Hailey told me that this was the Great, Big Day! Hunter even got to get to know Kelsey a little bit better too. We are going to see her and Uncle Michael again for the Fourth of July so I am sure he will be tickled - more people to play with! 

Some of the highlights of our trip:

-  Picking up Aunt Kelsey and watching Hailey follow her every footstep.

- Hailey playing with Hayley (Kelsey's friend who has known Hailey since birth. Hailey can get kinda quirky and Hayley plays right into it and Hailey loves it.)

- Tadpole fishing (The pool is being cleaned for the summer. The H's loved scooping up the tadpoles.)

- Princess Bunny Party (Hailey's bunny turned one week and she decided it needed a party. I  got her a little cake to celebrate the event after dinner. Hailey sent out invitations and put up decorations including handmade napkins. I got made fun of because the cake was so dang small. My frugal self was thinking it was a stuffed bunny and forgot that her party guests might like more than a bite sized portion! Hearing Hailey asking me if she could have the bunny's cake because she wasn't eating it was also funny.

- Getting a new ride on vehicle for the H's. Now that Hunter is bigger the red/yellow resale barn one was in high demand. I put it together at the Tacklebox Too and Hunter enjoyed riding it all around in peace. 

- Seeing the giant centipede dead by the pool and discovering one in the garage underneath the lawn mower and watching it try to sting Chris's shoes. Scary! Glad it is dead now.

- Chatting with everyone!

Thanks for letting us hang out with you all and for taking care of us!

Most pictures taken by Kelsey Tucker

We spent the remainder of Spring Break riding on the Kubota, playing, having picnics in various locations, playing in sand, being at The Tackle Box store, swimming briefly in the hot tub, shopping and spending time with family. It was a nice break and they are already ready to go back! This summer Hailey will not be enrolled in dance, music or gymnastics so she just may get another wish. Thanks for letting us come and play at the lake house. We enjoyed it!

Brady's father purchased a bait shop near the lake called "The Tackle Box". They are in the process of getting it into shape and it is already looking spiffy! Hailey is in love with the 4 minnow holding tanks in the back. She could stand and watch them being scooped up and bagged all day or stir them up if someone would let her do it constantly! Brady let her hold one and she didn't even budge. They found a super large tadpole mixed in and that fascinated her too. She kept asking me if we could go back and try to find it again several times when we visited. They opened up the store officially on Friday. I put the children's swim suit cover ups on them and let them stand outside for a bit to "lure" in customers. They plan to have a grand opening in a few weeks. Maybe by then I will have a cute fish costume or a bobber costume created for them to wear! Anyway, I am excited for Smokey and I think it will be a profitable little store.

On Wednesday, we drove into Denison and visited the Children's Museum. It was nestled in one of the old store fronts in the downtown part of town. It wasn't too terribly big but they had a lot of things to do inside. Hailey enjoyed the grocery store section and the arts and crafts room the most. Hunter enjoyed looking at the animals, the large wooden train and the giant pirate ship. He was such a busy little boy on that ship! He wants to do everything he sees other children doing. There was an area up top that had a fireman's pole you could slide down on and go inside the ship. He kept saying "I try it too?" Scared me because I know he would try it if I wasn't close. I was proud of Hailey because she tried it on her second pass up top. She has wanted to do it for a long time but nerves have gotten the best of her. She was so tickled at herself when she did it. There was a really cute dinosaur that moved and you could sit on that Hunter wouldn't have anything to do with up close. He ran the shopping cart into it a few times though! It was a good little place to visit. If I lived in that town, it would be the perfect rainy day activity!

Hunter had a few paint colors to choose from but he chose blue and a lot of it! I have let him paint before at the table when Hailey paints but not with the big brushes and so much paint. He looks so cute to me sitting in that chair painting away! We will definitely have to have another painting session at home soon.

Last Monday, the children and I drove to the lakehouse with Gram Gram to spend Spring Break. Hailey always wants to spend more than just the weekend there so this was the perfect opportunity. We stopped and ate at a little restaurant- well Fran and I ate some food. Hailey and Hunter didn't exactly eat lunch. Little stinkers! Then we stopped off at the outdoor mall in Gainsville just to let the H's play in the playground for fun before we went to Wally World to pick up some groceries for the week.

The next day was GREEN DAY aka St. Patrick's Day. I have a few fond memories of this day growing up but for some reason I haven't passed them along to the H's yet. I dress them in green and that is about all I have done so far. I might get into it next year when Hailey is in Kindergarten. They looked cute in their green shirts though!

I drove them into town to visit Pottsboro's Friendship Park. We always pass it up on all the trips we have been going to the lake. I decided it was time we visited it and did something a little different. We picnicked first and had lovely peanut butter sandwiches before we played. Hailey wrote all our  names on our sandwich bags. They had a good time playing in the rocks and on the equipment. The sun came out and warmed us all up and I eventually had to pull out the sunblock for my fair skinned children!

Then after a quick trip into the dollar store, we were off to visit our local favorite establishment - The Resale Barn! We found a red storage cabinet for the kids to use upstairs at the lake, some VHS tapes, and a real light saber to name a few fun items. Hunter was fascinated with it even before he knew it made noise. He wanted to swing it in all directions in the store and even tried to pull a lady's purse off the checkout countertop with it! 

On Friday or was it Saturday? They boiled up a nice big pot full of crab, potatoes, corn and shrimp. The other night we had pizza's on the grill. It smelled so good. I am allergic to crab so I didn't partake and was perfectly content with delicious leftovers. I can eat leftovers for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Hunter was game to try the shrimp and liked the bites he was given. Hailey missed out on the entire thing because she fell asleep and took a really long nap. Good job guys!

Every year at my inlaws home, their traditional Christmas meal is served. Since I have been added in the mix, peas are now a part of the meal. I love peas! Anyway, I took pictures of it this year to document what we eat for our Christmas dinner. The condiments are always different as half of the Tucker refrigerator is just condiments. (In fact, they have more condiments than I have actual food in my own refrigerator!) So back to the actual food... Turkey, ham, cornbread stuffing, fresh sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, peas, jello salad, fruit salad and rolls are served. Hope I didn't miss anything!

After dinner, Hailey got to make cupcakes with her new cupcake maker from her Aunt Kelsey. She also got some cool decorating tips and tools that will be perfect to use when we get around to making those sugar cookies! Hailey had a good time making cupcakes with Kelsey. The actual cupcake flavor wasn't so tasty but that is what happens when you cook one in a microwave. The froster is cool though. We can just make cupcakes and use the machine to frost. It bloops frosting out! They didn't just make one cupcake either. They made several. Thanks for playing with Hailey Kelsey. She loves to bake. I wish I would have remembered to have her wear her new apron Grammy made for Hailey and I. We got matching aprons!

Hailey's fever broke about 5:30 Christmas morning so she was able to really enjoy seeing what Santa left. I usually dress the kids in pretty Christmas clothes since we are away from home and we wait upstairs until everyone has gathered before we come down. This year they came down in their matching pajamas and stayed in them all day! I always had on my new pajamas Christmas morning so even though they were under the weather and weren't wearing pretty clothes, it was nice to see them comfortable and real. Kelsey helped out by taking over my video camera while I took pictures with my little digital camera of them experiencing Christmas morning. Brady had his new flip video going. Can't wait to see the videos. Michael helped the kids explore too which is fun for me to see. Hunter absolutley loved his new choo-choo train but was a wee bit cranky at first. He needs fuel first thing in the morning and hadn't had a cup yet. After we got him situated, he perked up. He sat in Brady's lap while they looked through his stocking. I think he liked the chocolate the most. He ate most of his peanut m&m's and practically all of Hailey's chocolate kisses. He keeps finding her hiding places. Earlier today he took the stool out of the bathroom but I didn't follow him. I found it just a bit ago. He used it to go behind the bar and reach for Hailey's stash of remaining kisses. Sneaky!

Hailey was most excited about her new two-wheeler bike. She rode on it a bit in the house and took a ride outside later on in the day. Mia even magically appeared on her new plastic horse! Santa even left her the RED Christmas tree she asked for as well as a new pink fishing pole. 

After eating a yummy Christmas breakfast with Smokey's famous gravy, we relaxed inside and watched the kids play. The weather was beautiful and since Hailey had been couped up for days, she went outside with Brady and went fishing for awhile. She didn't want to come back in even though they had been gone for forever it seemed. 

Santa also left me a beautiful new watch which I really love and Brady got an xbox 360 which he loves too. Thanks SANTA'S! 

Love to all,

Camey

I could tell Hailey was slowly drifting off to sleep in her chair. I knew she would be upset if she didn't leave cookies for Santa and make the reindeer food. Luckily Grammy and Smokey were given some cookies that Hailey could leave for Santa. We didn't get to make our annual sugar cookies for him but he had a some delicious other ones. Hailey and I still plan to make those cookies!

I brought the items to her and she made the reindeer food in her new rice bowl. We left the cookies and her new milk mug for Santa under the tree. I asked her where she wanted me to leave the reindeer food since she didn't really want to get up. She said in the house. We usually leave it by the back door or spread it in the yard. I told her reindeer don't come in the house - silly! She said - well the roof then! So Brady scooped her up and took her upstairs to the landing and hopped onto the roof. I thought he would just leave the bowl there but they dumped it everywhere. It was windy the next day and you could still see traces of reindeer food! Next year, Hunter will hopefully enjoy making cookies with me and making reindeer food with his big sister. I love silly traditions.

Grammy gave Hailey a Bitty Baby a few years ago from American Girl. She loves dressing and playing with dolls. Now that Hailey is getting older,  Grammy bought her Mia. She is supposedly intended for girls 8 and up but you can get the older girl dolls that look just like you. Mia has red hair and is being retired by the end of 2008. So Hailey is ONE VERY LUCKY GIRL because I think Grammy ordered every last Mia accessories that belonged to her series. She plans to spread out the items over the years. I told Fran earlier that since Mia was a special doll, I thought she should give it to her in private. So she took Hailey aside on Christmas Eve and gave it to her. The next day she gave her a change of clothes and the very cool skating rink that goes with Mia. I already know Hailey loves it and will love it for years. You never outgrow a love for dolls! Thanks for the special gift to my daughter Grammy!

In Brady's family, it is a tradition to open up the presents from each other on Christmas Eve and eat delicious snacks throughout the night. Santa comes on Christmas day. Growing up, we opened everything up on Christmas day. On Christmas Eve, we would eat dinner and then dad would read the Christmas story in Luke. Mom would give us our annual pajamas and we would open up a small present. Hot carob was usually served and a few sweet treats. Candles and Christmas lights were usually on too. If we hadn't delivered the white chocolate nativity or breads to friends, we would take the time to do so as well. My stocking always had an orange in it and pieces of my grandmother's delicious homemade candy that grandmother sent to dad or some carob covered treat from the health food store. Mom always put some pretty jewelry in it for us girls too. My annual Christmas ornament was an angel of some sort. Some years depending on our location, we got other ones too. The year we moved to Louisiana, I got a cute little gator holding a candy cane! Fun memories... Last year I put oranges in the kids stockings but they didn't go over well. So this year, I put one in mine. It was a chocolate orange! Santa also brought me my favorite candy as of the last few years. SKOR BARS!!!

Hailey was in and out of the lakehoue Christmas Eve fun since she was still running a fever. She didn't get to wear her cute outfit I had picked out either but Hunter wore his and got to be festive looking! When she was tired, she sat back in her chair and rested. Hunter liked helping Kelsey put presents under the tree and opening them until it was around his bedtime and then he called it quits and fell asleep. He opened up his remaining gifts the next day. 

 * Brady and Smokey both got the very same fishing pole. Smokey gave Brady his and Kelsey or Michael gave him his pole. What was even funnier (that isn't a word but I use it) was that both "wrappers" turned them into "Flugel Horns" or some funny name like that to disquise what it could be. 

* Fran and Smokey also made these neat stepping stones for their kids too. You know how children always give their kids gifts with handprints on them? Well they decided to return the favor and put their handprints on them. They gave me a pretty stepping stone that had a dragonfly on it - another one of the things I like. I put the stepping stone in the atrium until we find the perfect spot for it. Can't ruin a treasure like that!

We left to go to the lakehouse, with a jam packed car, to spend Christmas with Brady's family last Tuesday. We were going to go much earlier but Hailey still wasn't feeling well and Hunter was just plain cranky because of his ear infection. We have spent Christmas with them every year since we have been married. This is Hailey's 4th time to be at the lakehouse for Christmas. Her first Christmas we all spent at the OKC house. Brady's brother Michael and his sister Kelsey come home to visit so it is a real treat to see them at Christmas time. They usually come for the Fourth of July but something about Christmas makes seeing family even better!

Tuesday and Wednesday Hailey pretty much wasn't herself and was still running a fever. The 3 day antibiotic I got on Monday helped. The prescription cough syrup didn't. It made her sick to her tummy. I have wiped a lot of noses through the years.  I have never seen this much come out of one person for days like it did with Hailey. I am glad it was coming out but to be completely honsest I was tired of dealing with it and being coughed on every minute! I think I can vouch for Brady too. Fran had a touch of something already so Hailey didn't infect her (that we know of yet) but I heard Smokey coughing and now I hear Michael is sick. Brady has a touch of a cold now too. Hope it doesn't get you Kelsey. Sorry everybody. I hope you recover fast. I decided to try out the pink grapefruit airborne daily. So far I haven't gotten the bug. Maybe we should have stayed home but I know they would have missed out on you all. So thanks for putting up with us!

Despite the cold stuff, we did have a good time. As usual, even though they say they aren't going to get much, the trees had way too many presents under them.  I loved spending time with you. Thank-you for all the wonderful things and for loving on my kiddos anyway. They love seeing each of you and making memories!