A Windy Weekend...

this is what camp looked like last weekend...

and inside there is where we stayed {for the most part}

some ventured out, when the wind died down only to run for cover when it picked up again

suz was thrilled to find this piece of petrified wood in camp of all places!

those that rode did well when traveling with the wind.

traveling against it proved a little tougher.

{gavin & mikaela)

{masyn}

nolan cracked me up and i'm bummed i didn't get a picture, but he spent saturday shirtless wearing goggles playing in the dirt. he didn't care. his hair didn't blow around and nothing got in his eyes. i'm not sure how he handled being shirtless, but he insisted on "getting sun".

crazy kid.

evyn stayed inside. the wind did not make her happy.

sunday rolled around and the wind died down a bit.

long enough for nolan to finally ride his dirtbike

and for me to grab a picture of a {clean} gavin! i'm sure it had something to do with this cute girl. he has NEVER taken a shower on a weekend trip! ever!

and just because, i took another because it's a {rare} occasion when i can get a picture of gavin, let alone, one of him smiling!

i even came out of the trailer and took the kids on a ride in the "bumpety bump"

i got a lot of stitching done :)

and just one more picture of my happy guy with brandon's dirt bike shirt!

desert + wind = no bueno...

but we all found something that made us smile!

Happy New Year

we spent new years & shawn's birthday in the desert.
it's also our dear friend, karen's birthday weekend and we were happy to camp with them for the 3rd year.

this weekend we were also joined by some co-workers of shawn's and derrick.
we had a good time.
gavin's bike broke on friday night and the boy was grumpy all weekend.

it would've put me in a foul mood if it weren't for the fact that i got some super cute photos of the baby helping her dad try to fix the bike. oh my gosh...she's the best!

even with mr. mc grumpy, we all managed to ignore him and enjoy the wonderful weather and good company!

hope your new years weekend was just as good!

now...do i dare make any resolutions!?

Remington...

at the age of {twelve}

i'm not sure just how long our devoted friend will be with us, so i thought i'd tell you all just how much we love him and when he does make it to the pearly gates we will be soooo very sad.

we've spent the past few months trying to figure out what kind of dog we want to get. we'd like to get a dog before he leaves us so that he can help {train} the new friend but we are having a very difficult time. remi has been the best dog we have ever dreamed of having.

we are hoping he is a miracle and lives forever!

New Years Weekend

HAPPY BIRTHDAY honey!
you look gangster in this photo!!!



for those of you who don't know shawn, it is VERY rare to see him dressed like this.
usually he is in shorts, especially considering this is during THE DAY!!!
i say this because of all the years i've been going to the desert (38ish to be exact) i do not EVER remember the desert being SO COLD!!!
it was not fun. i stayed in for the most part and took photos (very few) from the warmth of my trailer.

the kids didn't let it bother them, of course. they had a good time riding their bikes, riding in the golf carts, and playing in the dirt. that's what i love about kids, they don't let anything get in the way of fun.

and speaking of fun...
the older boys decided to have some fun of their own. (mom don't look!)



yes. they were jumping their 50's over fire.
now don't get excited, by the time gavin got to the jump the flame was considerably smaller, although i was screaming at him as i took this picture!!! BOYS. i figure if shawn and craig don't care, i need to relax. *ugh*

but these boys are stinkin' cute and much easier to photograph!



and just to show you how cold it was. this photo was taken at 11:30am
everyone was bundled up, sitting next to the fire. *yuck*



and we can't forget, it was karen's birthday too!
so HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY FRIEND!!!
you are a blessing in my life!

Christmas Day

it was wonderful celebrating christmas in our new home.

and the trek to nana's wasn't too bad!
(just a hop, skip and a jump next door)

the evening was a treat! mom, poppy, grandma and my sister's family celebrated the day with a great dinner and a lot of family time. i was very happy to have grandma join us. it was the first time she has ever been to our home at christmas time. we all missed grandpa and wished that the rest of the family would have joined us...

christmas and family
two of my favorite things

Christmas Eve

christmas eve is full of tradition, this year was no exception.



we enjoyed a wonderful prime rib dinner



opened gifts, including the traditional christmas ornament



enjoyed family



read the night before christmas, sprinkled reindeer food on the front lawn,
set out cookies and chocolate milk (thanks suz)
and waited for santa

Trimming the Tree

since i was a kid, i've always LOVED seeing the twinkling of white lights through the front window.
as soon as we moved, i couldn't wait to put the tree up...

Gavin's Birthday Trip

every year we begin the desert season by going out on gavin's birthday. it was evyn's first trip, as well as, remington's first trip ever {he's eleven}. chelsie and heidi came down from utah and chelsie brought her pooch, wilson {who is now residing with us}. the rest of the gang included auntie, uncle brent, kenz, brandon and our good friends, the riddles.



shawn hurt his finger, his shoulder hurt while trying to keep it up so he held it up with a tie down {so very shawn}, nolan flew a kite with the help of a soda can, i stitched, nolan and david fixed bikes, the kids discovered that they could ALL fit in the golf cart, gavin, joe & david took the bumpety bump to wheelie status, mud was abound, the pooches were pooped



and the girls played in the mud!



and guess who got to clean up the mess...



yep, you guessed it, suz and i!!!
but they had fun, good memories were made and that's what it's all about!