It’s been so long since I have posted anything, you’re all probably wondering if we're all still asleep from wearing ourselves out from last month. Well, this month wasn’t nearly as exhausting as last month, but here’s what’s new basically in the format of a novel:
We went camping.
Tent camping.
SHAD went tent camping.
Yes, I drug my hoity-toity husband into the woods & made him camp in a tent amongst the bugs & the bears.
And we survived.
To be fair, let me elaborate on Shad’s aversion to camping. Several years ago, we tent-camped EVERY single weekend from May through October sometimes. We went with friends so we really didn’t bring much aside from the tent, an air mattress & a little food. Our die-hard-camping-friends brought the rest.
Naturally, Shad got a little tired of the whole packing & setting up a temporary home for only 2 nights of restless sleep on an uneven ground under the stars with bears & mountain lions rummaging through our S’mores materials. And I can’t say I blame him, BUT it has been over 2 years since we’ve camped at all & I thought it would be important to introduce our son to the experience.
So he agreed & wound up organizing the entire trip. What a doll.
I had a work presentation Friday afternoon & as soon as it was over, we bolted town & stopped at the first campsite we found … only 70-some miles out of town. The campsite was way cool though & exactly how I wanted it to be – woodsy & near water. None of this sagebrush on a bare mountain stuff. We’re from Montana! ( I do love my Boise weather, but I also miss my woods sometimes.)
We spent our evenings roasting hotdogs & marshmallows & reading books to Cashe & playing/me kickin' Shad's booty in Scrabble & SkipBo & Phase 10.
We spent our days hiking around the area & playing in the river. It was truly a fun, fun time & we managed to make it all happen without the hibachi or the lantern or any of the camping plates & bowls.
Nights were a little rough because Cashe wasn't quite sure what to think of his sleeping arrangements. The air in a tent is so cold, yet so muggy at times that he woke up crying every night & was unconsolable (which is very rare for him - his cries are typically brief).
Once Cashe fell back asleep, he managed to wiggle his head down to our feet & have his tiny little toes up by our faces. Every 30 minutes or so, Shad or I would get nailed in the face or the chest with one of Cashe's fish-out-of-water-kicks. It happened so many times the first night to Mr.-I-Told-You-We-Shouldn't-Camp that I couldn't stop laughing, which certainly didn't help matters. Oops.
What else? I don’t think I ever told the story of my lovely teeth that I had mentioned in a prior post.
I was born with hideous teeth (sorry Mom & Dad). They really weren't that bad. They all came in perfectly straight; however I had a horrible gap in the front. In addition, I have had a cavity on each & every tooth, I think. And it’s not a matter of neglect, it’s a matter of genetics (thanks Mom & Dad).
In high school I had my gap filled with composite (aka porcelain filling material) & I was as good as new. My self-esteem went up a notch or 2 & shockingly I met a boy who agreed to marry me.
Then, when we moved to California after we were married & my vanity got the best of me. I decided to take the composite filling patchwork up a notch. I wanted all of my front 6 teeth redone with composite. I had some teeth bulked up & some extended so it looked as if I had perfect smooth, non-jagged-piranha-teeth smile.
Well, little did I know (or cared to know at the time) that composite is only a temporary fix & I basically ruined my front 6 teeth.
From here on out, I would have to:
(a) have the composite built up every few years because it would chip away from wear & tear ...
(b) have to look like Lloyd Christmas from Dumb & Dumber OR ...
(c) have to get porcelain veneers.
Well, one morning in San Antonio, I DID wake up with a Lloyd Christmas smile. $250 later, my dentist suggested I stop the nonsense of repairing these dumb teeth (not his exact words) & get veneers. Right. Who was going to foot that bill? I asked if by chance I was their 100th customer in the office & I could receive free veneers.
No such luck.
I came home & prayed about it & cried & prayed & cried & prayed.
That night my dentist called me & offered me a deal. He said I only really needed veneers on my front 4 teeth & he would only charge me for 3. Dang. I was hoping he would offer me the 100th customer deal, but what an awesome guy though, right?
We submitted to insurance just to see if they MIGHT cover some of this since it was essentially a "necessity" from my dumb move years prior.
Then, I came home & prayed & cried & prayed & cried & prayed.
A few weeks later, I got the call from my dentist, & my insurance will cover a portion of it. Hallelujah!! God is good.
After a 4-hour dental appointment, I have my temporary teeth on now & my veneers come in in a few weeks. Amazing. I'm excited.
What else? Cashe started preschool this month at Eagle Early Learning Center a.k.a. DisneyLand. I seriously cannot leave when I drop him off. He does hate to see me go, BUT I just love the staff & I love the building & I love how organized they are & how fun they are & how adorable all the kids are & how cool playtime is & how well-behaved everyone is & how cute snack-time is & how cute it’s decorated & I love the tiny toilets … I could go on all day.
Cashe loves it too. Not just Mom. He has his own teacher, Miss Kris, who will be his teacher until he goes into Kindergarten. She is the sweetest little thing & Cashe acts as if he owns her she says. The other kids are not allowed to sit on Miss Kris’ lap; just Cashe. He’s learned so much already & impresses them with all his sign language skills.
Cashe comes home exhausted from playing with all the older kids – he is the youngest there – they broke the rules & allowed him to start before he turned 2. He is everybody’s little buddy & he’s in heaven. Yay God for allowing us this opportunity.
What else? Matt & Ali are getting married next June. Ali had always wanted to get married in a barn & found this AMAZING barn that hosts weddings just an hour north of Portland! It’s ADORABLE. I am super happy for them.
It’s going to be an incredible wedding. Matt has always said it will be hard to outdo his sisters’ weddings (which it will be – our weddings rocked), but I know this is going to be phenomenal. Ali already has her dress & the wedding’s almost a year away. This girl is detailed & on top of things & Matt is just as organized. I can’t wait.
What else? We’re headed to Portland next month since airline tickets were so cheap. Shad & I decided we needed to go crash the lovebirds’ wedding planning & see if Matt would cook us something gourmet while we were over there.
Well, word got out/I invited Mom & now she’s going to go.
Well, word got out again/Mom invited Alicia & Luke & Sage & they’re going to go!
So, their 3 visitors turned into 7, but we’ll manage to have a great time even if we’re tent-camping in their backyard. (Uh oh honey, that’s 2 weekends this summer!)
What else? My son is a genius. Everyone’s is, right? I just love love love this time with Cashe right now & every single thing he does makes me smile (mostly). It’s nice putting him to sleep at night or down for a nap because I get some ‘me’ time, but honestly, I miss him. Cheesy cheeseball Mom I am, huh? It’s true though.
He is learning so much & is such a good kid that I love being with him. Cashe’s newest words are “Thank You” (un-cue) & “Monkey” (muhkey). He signs “Thank You” & he isn’t quite sure when to say it – he’s usually right on, but sometimes uses it instead of “Please”. When he wakes up in the morning & I go into get him from his crib, he says, “Hiiiiiiiiiiiiii” & hands me every blanket in his crib & every animal & his cup. Then he holds his arms out & says, “Down?”
Cashe’s favorite movie (more like Mom’s favorite) is Despicable Me. We watch it for a little bit in the morning while we’re still trying to wake up & start the day. We usually finish watching it before bed. (Toy Story 3 has been put on the back burner for a bit while Mom laughs out loud at Gru’s silly adult remarks that undoubtedly aren’t nearly as funny to Cashe.)
What else? My husband is also a genius. Everyone’s is, right? Depends on the day, I suppose. My husband is working away as usual & providing for us so we can lie in bed each morning & watch silly movies, so Cashe to go to “DisneyLand” twice a week & so Mom can have coffee with the girls & lay at the pool in the afternoon. Thanks, Love. I know there’s more to share, but instead of babbling your ears/eyes off, I’ll post a few recent, fun photos of what’s been going on in our other news & let you enjoy your day.
An afternoon with the Cryders at Eagle Island Park
Cashe's clean-up work
How the cupboard looked before Cashe reorganized it.
Feeding Libby a treat while we cat-sat for a few days.
BFFs
Hiking H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks/Hillside with Libby's Mama
Missy Elliott
Two years ago, I set foot in this same pool with a giganto belly filled with this little fishy (on the right) & was KICKED so hard I jumped.
This little fish is hard to get out of any water now that he's on land. He is such a happy, little swimmer. We can throw a pair of water-wings on him & he's gone into the deep end.
Totally fearless.
Peaches
Brocolli
We went camping.
Tent camping.
SHAD went tent camping.
Yes, I drug my hoity-toity husband into the woods & made him camp in a tent amongst the bugs & the bears.
And we survived.
To be fair, let me elaborate on Shad’s aversion to camping. Several years ago, we tent-camped EVERY single weekend from May through October sometimes. We went with friends so we really didn’t bring much aside from the tent, an air mattress & a little food. Our die-hard-camping-friends brought the rest.
Naturally, Shad got a little tired of the whole packing & setting up a temporary home for only 2 nights of restless sleep on an uneven ground under the stars with bears & mountain lions rummaging through our S’mores materials. And I can’t say I blame him, BUT it has been over 2 years since we’ve camped at all & I thought it would be important to introduce our son to the experience.
So he agreed & wound up organizing the entire trip. What a doll.
I had a work presentation Friday afternoon & as soon as it was over, we bolted town & stopped at the first campsite we found … only 70-some miles out of town. The campsite was way cool though & exactly how I wanted it to be – woodsy & near water. None of this sagebrush on a bare mountain stuff. We’re from Montana! ( I do love my Boise weather, but I also miss my woods sometimes.)
We spent our evenings roasting hotdogs & marshmallows & reading books to Cashe & playing/me kickin' Shad's booty in Scrabble & SkipBo & Phase 10.
We spent our days hiking around the area & playing in the river. It was truly a fun, fun time & we managed to make it all happen without the hibachi or the lantern or any of the camping plates & bowls.
Nights were a little rough because Cashe wasn't quite sure what to think of his sleeping arrangements. The air in a tent is so cold, yet so muggy at times that he woke up crying every night & was unconsolable (which is very rare for him - his cries are typically brief).
Once Cashe fell back asleep, he managed to wiggle his head down to our feet & have his tiny little toes up by our faces. Every 30 minutes or so, Shad or I would get nailed in the face or the chest with one of Cashe's fish-out-of-water-kicks. It happened so many times the first night to Mr.-I-Told-You-We-Shouldn't-Camp that I couldn't stop laughing, which certainly didn't help matters. Oops.
What else? I don’t think I ever told the story of my lovely teeth that I had mentioned in a prior post. I was born with hideous teeth (sorry Mom & Dad). They really weren't that bad. They all came in perfectly straight; however I had a horrible gap in the front. In addition, I have had a cavity on each & every tooth, I think. And it’s not a matter of neglect, it’s a matter of genetics (thanks Mom & Dad).
In high school I had my gap filled with composite (aka porcelain filling material) & I was as good as new. My self-esteem went up a notch or 2 & shockingly I met a boy who agreed to marry me. Then, when we moved to California after we were married & my vanity got the best of me. I decided to take the composite filling patchwork up a notch. I wanted all of my front 6 teeth redone with composite. I had some teeth bulked up & some extended so it looked as if I had perfect smooth, non-jagged-piranha-teeth smile.
Well, little did I know (or cared to know at the time) that composite is only a temporary fix & I basically ruined my front 6 teeth.
From here on out, I would have to:
(a) have the composite built up every few years because it would chip away from wear & tear ...
(b) have to look like Lloyd Christmas from Dumb & Dumber OR ...
(c) have to get porcelain veneers.
Well, one morning in San Antonio, I DID wake up with a Lloyd Christmas smile. $250 later, my dentist suggested I stop the nonsense of repairing these dumb teeth (not his exact words) & get veneers. Right. Who was going to foot that bill? I asked if by chance I was their 100th customer in the office & I could receive free veneers.
No such luck.
I came home & prayed about it & cried & prayed & cried & prayed.
That night my dentist called me & offered me a deal. He said I only really needed veneers on my front 4 teeth & he would only charge me for 3. Dang. I was hoping he would offer me the 100th customer deal, but what an awesome guy though, right?
We submitted to insurance just to see if they MIGHT cover some of this since it was essentially a "necessity" from my dumb move years prior.
Then, I came home & prayed & cried & prayed & cried & prayed.
A few weeks later, I got the call from my dentist, & my insurance will cover a portion of it. Hallelujah!! God is good.
After a 4-hour dental appointment, I have my temporary teeth on now & my veneers come in in a few weeks. Amazing. I'm excited.
What else? Cashe started preschool this month at Eagle Early Learning Center a.k.a. DisneyLand. I seriously cannot leave when I drop him off. He does hate to see me go, BUT I just love the staff & I love the building & I love how organized they are & how fun they are & how adorable all the kids are & how cool playtime is & how well-behaved everyone is & how cute snack-time is & how cute it’s decorated & I love the tiny toilets … I could go on all day.
Cashe loves it too. Not just Mom. He has his own teacher, Miss Kris, who will be his teacher until he goes into Kindergarten. She is the sweetest little thing & Cashe acts as if he owns her she says. The other kids are not allowed to sit on Miss Kris’ lap; just Cashe. He’s learned so much already & impresses them with all his sign language skills.
Cashe comes home exhausted from playing with all the older kids – he is the youngest there – they broke the rules & allowed him to start before he turned 2. He is everybody’s little buddy & he’s in heaven. Yay God for allowing us this opportunity.
What else? Matt & Ali are getting married next June. Ali had always wanted to get married in a barn & found this AMAZING barn that hosts weddings just an hour north of Portland! It’s ADORABLE. I am super happy for them.
It’s going to be an incredible wedding. Matt has always said it will be hard to outdo his sisters’ weddings (which it will be – our weddings rocked), but I know this is going to be phenomenal. Ali already has her dress & the wedding’s almost a year away. This girl is detailed & on top of things & Matt is just as organized. I can’t wait.
What else? We’re headed to Portland next month since airline tickets were so cheap. Shad & I decided we needed to go crash the lovebirds’ wedding planning & see if Matt would cook us something gourmet while we were over there.
Well, word got out/I invited Mom & now she’s going to go.
Well, word got out again/Mom invited Alicia & Luke & Sage & they’re going to go!
So, their 3 visitors turned into 7, but we’ll manage to have a great time even if we’re tent-camping in their backyard. (Uh oh honey, that’s 2 weekends this summer!)
What else? My son is a genius. Everyone’s is, right? I just love love love this time with Cashe right now & every single thing he does makes me smile (mostly). It’s nice putting him to sleep at night or down for a nap because I get some ‘me’ time, but honestly, I miss him. Cheesy cheeseball Mom I am, huh? It’s true though.
He is learning so much & is such a good kid that I love being with him. Cashe’s newest words are “Thank You” (un-cue) & “Monkey” (muhkey). He signs “Thank You” & he isn’t quite sure when to say it – he’s usually right on, but sometimes uses it instead of “Please”. When he wakes up in the morning & I go into get him from his crib, he says, “Hiiiiiiiiiiiiii” & hands me every blanket in his crib & every animal & his cup. Then he holds his arms out & says, “Down?”
Cashe’s favorite movie (more like Mom’s favorite) is Despicable Me. We watch it for a little bit in the morning while we’re still trying to wake up & start the day. We usually finish watching it before bed. (Toy Story 3 has been put on the back burner for a bit while Mom laughs out loud at Gru’s silly adult remarks that undoubtedly aren’t nearly as funny to Cashe.)
What else? My husband is also a genius. Everyone’s is, right? Depends on the day, I suppose. My husband is working away as usual & providing for us so we can lie in bed each morning & watch silly movies, so Cashe to go to “DisneyLand” twice a week & so Mom can have coffee with the girls & lay at the pool in the afternoon. Thanks, Love. I know there’s more to share, but instead of babbling your ears/eyes off, I’ll post a few recent, fun photos of what’s been going on in our other news & let you enjoy your day.
An afternoon with the Cryders at Eagle Island Park
Cashe's clean-up workHow the cupboard looked before Cashe reorganized it.
Feeding Libby a treat while we cat-sat for a few days.
BFFsHiking H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks/Hillside with Libby's MamaMissy Elliott
Two years ago, I set foot in this same pool with a giganto belly filled with this little fishy (on the right) & was KICKED so hard I jumped.This little fish is hard to get out of any water now that he's on land. He is such a happy, little swimmer. We can throw a pair of water-wings on him & he's gone into the deep end.
Totally fearless.
I have to preface these next set of photos with ... Have you ever seen Oceans Eleven?
Have you ever noticed that in every Brad Pitt scene, he is eating or drinking?
I feel like Cashe is (a much more handsome) Brad Pitt in Oceans Eleven most of his days ...
Peaches
BrocolliWater
Graham Crackers (at midnight)
Blueberries & canteloupe
Cereal
Edamame & Sweet Potato Fries
Edamame & Sweet Potato Fries 
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