Cactus Dreams!!!!

In the front yard after a long day!

It was a hot, dusty Wyoming day. That destinctive sunscreen smell hung all around us like fog settles into a valley. The temperature had hit 93 degrees and the water jug was such a welcome sight. Despite the heat and lack of vegetation it was like a good dream.

The road was bumpy and you could hear little giggles coming from the front of the four wheeler. It was Jason laughing at his efforts to change it into reverse on the fly (obviously a bad idea, but it still got laughs.)

If you are wondering what I am talking about, yesterday Jason and I had a front row seat to see what Colin does out in the field every day. When he came home for lunch he invited us to go out with him and stake holes. We packed up enough supplies and headed out. As we drove north the scenery quickly changed from a river bottom with trees to old sand dunes covered in prickly vegetation. The cactus was thick and so were the burs. This didn't slow us down though.

We had a day of visiting and trying new things. Jason learned that you don't just run through a cactus patch and decided that riding on shoulders was his transportation of choice......when we are foot anyway. He also had the chance to ride on his first four wheeler (His overall favorite way of getting around). It was a new adventure him.

By the time the day came to an end the three Moodys were sapped by the heat and so ready for bed. I apologize for not bringing the camera....I missed some really good photo ops. So, for now I will let you go using one of Jason's many new phrases............."I be seeing you!!!"(picture a big Beverly Hillbilly wave too.)

Another day at work

We all know the responsibilities that go with being adults. Much of the time this includes doing things we don't really want to do. There is the working, cleaning, cooking, driving places, and the much hated paying bills. It seems as though every day brings more responsibilities into a persons life (that has held true in the Moody house).

One thing we rarely think about is the parallels to a babies life. Using Jason as an example.....here goes................

Numbing those gums.

First for work. Every day he learns new things. It is his job to make work for me. He dirties diapers, has to try to say new words, and is always working on new mannerisms. We can't forget working on cutting teeth.....that is a big one that Jason would be angry if it didn't make the list.

A little experiement....Hypothesis: noodles wont stay on a fork............You can find the results in a paper, to be published at a later date.

Second is cleaning. Without him we wouldn't have much. He does help wipe down the table from time to time, but his super chore is making things dirty.

Third is driving. Unlike us, his car stays inside. Though it does need regular tune ups which is does with none other than a hanger and his foot. He even wrecks it from time to time and always seems to recover quickly.

Making repairs after a big wreck. This lesson: using the foot wrench.

The last but not least is the fourth on the list, Paying bills. For those of you with kids you know that the bills are amazing. You have the necessities along with toys. If you are lucky enough to have a wonderful eater, like Jason, you will be feeding him or her as much as you eat. $$$$$$$$.....don't we wish we saw more of those coming in than going out.

So, as you see kids have it rough too. Jason especially has a tough time of it as you can see. Oh aren't we so glad that we aren't kids anymore.............just too much to deal with for this chic's liking.

Weekend Fun

As I mentioned in my previous post, Jason was with his Grandma Denise and Grandpa Shane for the weekend. Of course he had a wild weekend of fun planned. His adventures included swimming, playing with his cousins, attending a wedding and the always fun playing with Grandpa and Grandma. He was quite exhausted when we picked him up yesterday, a sign that he had too much fun. I am still waiting for pics from Mom, but I will post those when I get them.

Colin and I had a fun weekend planned too. It all began with a quiet night for me and a bachelor party for Colin. Our friends Brian and Teresa got married last weekend so it was party central in the city of Casper.



After making an early night of it we prepped for Grandpa and Grandma Donner to arrive. They were making a tour of grandchildren and we were the first stop. It was a blast and reminded me how much fun those Donner parties can be, HA!HA!HA! We had an opportunity to show them our house and catch up on everything that has happened since Christmas. It was a lot of fun and we can't wait for them to make their next visit.

Colin with Grandpa and Grandma on the deck.

Saturday was very busy. It began with saying goodbye to Grandpa and Grandma and then saying hello to Chad (in for a few days from the North Slope of Alaska). The wedding was to begin at 2 and knowing it was a Catholic wedding we felt it was our duty to prep in a propper manner. So, it was Irish whiskey, Baileys, and Guiness all of the way. Car bombs were on the lunch menu. I personally don't appreciate the way that the Baileys curdles in the whiskey, so I stuck to beer and shots of Baileys. The wedding was beautiful and the goal was achieved. They exited 1.5 hours later as Mr. and Mrs. Blackstone. Then it was time to party. The food was great and as always a good time when geologists are involved.

From Left to Right: Mrs. Teresa Blackstone, Mr. Brian Blackstone and Chad Eddy (party animals!!)

After enjoying the food, the open bar and good company we made our way back to the house. The evening was a success and Brian and Teresa looked amazing. Congrats Guys!!!!

Dancing the night away!

Sunday it was off to pick up Jason (we missed him sooooooo bad and couldn't wait to have him back). And Chad was off to Fort Collins to catch a flight back to Alaska. It was a wonderful weekend and I have to say that Colin and I don't want to leave Jason with anyone else for a very long time. We just miss him too much when we are apart. I hope all of you had a great weekend too. Keep up the good work on the vaca Maggie. Talk to you all soon..........................

Above Average!!!

Jason just finished his 18 months check up and we have good news all around. As we all knew he is above average!!! He is 35 inches tall (80th percentile), very advanced on his talking and motor skills, and is super skinny (a measily 26 pounds which is only in the 45th percentile). So, the doc suggested getting a basketball in this kids hands immediately. His stats are great and his health is even better. Though he has a grudge against the doc and his nurse for giving him shots and prodding him. So today is successful so far. I hope all of you have a great day. We sure are.

Video Trick

Dancing to a little Celine Dion

Since we started to do this I have wondered if it is possible to upload video. So, here goes. I am going to give you a little bit of Moody Culture. For those of you that don't know what I mean......... it is a taste of our life with Jason. This involves a lot of dancing to music we don't necessarily like and a lot of conversations no one but him can understand. Enjoy..............



A conversation with dad.

Wild Man Woes

Casing the joint (there has to be a way to get that yummy dog food).

Each and every day Jason decides to pick many battles to fight to the end. He works so hard to push our buttons and has this new trick where he looks out the corner of his eye to see if we notice what he is doing. If it isn't bad, we go about our business, but there are a few things that we don't let slide. One is getting into the garbage with the dogs, another is eating dog food, and the really big one is hitting the dogs. There is one common denominator with all of these.............The Dogs!!!! Since Wild Man spends so much time with them it is as though they have a special bond. They all work together, that is if Moe isn't sleeping which leaves Jason and Mae to work as a team. Needless to say........it is never good.

It all begins with a harmonious effort to complete a task, smile in tact. This morning, durring breakfast, that task was eating the dog food (Who doesn't think that is better than a breakfast burrito?) The dogs weren't doing anything wrong (this was an independent effort), but Jason believes he should be able to do anything the dogs do.

Then Mae got in to trouble for eating more than her fair share of the food. After a shout out to her Moe ran over to eat. Jason saw an opportunity. He quickly made his way over to the food dish and started to dig through it while Moe ate ( trying to sneak a few bites in himself). We yelled at him and pulled him away from the dish. Thinking that there must be a trick to getting us to let him eat the dog food, he decided to try another method, crawling over there on all fours. If he walks on all fours like the dogs we were bound to let him eat with Moe................Colin jumped up and intervened for a second time. As always Jason was angry, not just at us, but at the dogs. If he gets into trouble it has to be their fault as well. So, after having a short cry and glaring at Colin for a moment (he has his glare down to an art....very piercing), he reprimanded Moe. Now that our day has begun Jason is once again in a bad mood and walking around yelling at the dogs. You can clearly make out the phrases "bad dog!" and "get down!" and "no......bad!" This will continue until they decided to conspire against me.

I just though all of you would love to have a little insight into one of our daily adventures with Jason. As I have said many times in the past.........Every Day Is An Adventure.

On another note I would like to introduce all of you to the Kinley blog. Crissy and Travis (friends in Texas) have created a blog. We are looking forward to more pics there and many of Jacks when he makes his appearance in September. I have a link to it on the side of the page.

I will have more pics for all of you later. Enjoy..........................

Weekend Fun

After last week we needed a break and we got it over the weekend. First some friends came back into town for the summer. Maddie and Brady are our Friend Dan's kids. They have spent the winter in Wisconsin and are back for the summer. We were so happy to see them on Friday. It even seemed as though Jason remembered them from last summer. He is usually so stand offish with people when they first walk into the house, but he instantly gave them hugs and wouldn't leave them alone. We are looking forward to seeing you guys a lot more this summer. Welcome Back!!!!!

Brady, Maddie, and Jason.

Then we spent the rest of the weekend catching up on the little things around the house. It was very relaxing and gave us an opportunity to rest up a little. Jason created a new game. It is a hillbilly twist on golf. Shirts aren't allowed and all people over 21 must have a drink. I have to say it is a fun game that many of you would enjoy especially with Jason being the teacher. The plastic clubs help too......................That is until they fall apart (thank goodness for hot glue.)

Hillbilly Golf Creator!!

Our new golf game topped off a great fathers day. Happy fathers day to all of you dads out there. Have a great week everyone.......................

A Taste So Bad.......

It is obvious that no matter where you live some kind of vandalism or wrong doing can occur. For instance in Meeteetse I dealt with someone blowing a toilet up with fire works after they went potty in it. It was very disgusting and I was surprised that happened in Meeteetse. But, it was just some kids screwing around and I hope they learned a lesson.

Curious kids are everywhere. They are going to push the limits. We can only hope that they aren't too far into bad behavior and have lost that sense of innocence that children should posses. Even the best children will do something to get into trouble at one time or another. We were lucky in Laramie because nothing happened to us there. But Casper has been a different story for us.

The first place we lived had quite the mix of people. During the day you would see kids playing on the street and you would even see the occasional drug deal. Then when night rolled around you had more of the drug traffic and even some prostitutes thrown into the mix. It is was frightening enough that we didn't need anything to happen to us at that house.

The second house was in a much better neighborhood. Our neighbors were friendly and we really enjoyed being there. This is when we got back to the kids doing stupid things. Our pickup was egged there. It wasn't that bad, but we still can't get the egg off of the drivers side door.

Now that we own our house we are really trying to get comfortable in Casper. We know that we might be here for a long time (fingers crossed that we won't) and are trying to make the best of it. But, just as we are getting settled in some kid has to go and do something to leave a bad taste in your mouth. When Colin got up this morning with Jason he was just prepping for their morning routine. At this point he looked out the window to see the paper boy walking toward our pickup (which is in the driveway). Colin was taken back when the kid walked up to the door, opened it, and got inside. The kid had his paper shawl on too (It said Casper Star Tribune in big letters). So, it was easy to see where the kid worked. Within seconds Colin flew out the door and the kid didn't even hear him because he was too focused on rooting through the contents of the pickup (thank God it is pretty much empty). Colin proceeded to knock on the window and ask the kid what he thought he was doing. The kid didn't even seem worried, gave some lame excuse about using the lighter for a string (We don't know what he meant by that), and then Colin still had to tell him to get out. He had no remorse and went on with his business. Colin stewed over this until I woke up. Then we discussed it and decided we had to do something. If it was his first time he needed some consequence so he didn't do it again and if he is a regular at breaking and entering then he needs to get into trouble. I would have loved to have talked to his parents, but we don't know his name or where he lives. The only form of identification is that he is the paper boy. So, with the thought that he could have stolen stuff from other people on the street we decided to report him to the paper. I looked up the number and called. This may not have been the best action to take, but we felt that we had to do something. I am still waiting for them to call me back, but it is just giving me more time to get angry. I will let you know how it turns out.

After this, I am looking at it like it was a kid doing a stupid thing and telling myself that it would happen no matter where we live. We just moved from one group of kids doing stupid things on one side of town to a new group in our neighborhood. Colin on the other hand is very angry and has such a sour taste in his mouth about Casper he would have called the cops if it weren't for all of the paper work and time it would take to go that rout. I don't blame him for being angry, it hasn't been easy since we moved to Casper. The second we get in a neighborhood that we feel safe in something else happens. I just pray that this kid isn't a regular when it comes to illegal activities.......................................................

On a happier note.....HAPPY B-DAY Maggie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We wish we could be there to do somer saults for you, but Jason will perform next month in a special show just for you. Have a great day!!!!!

Nothing like saying Happy Birthday with a basket on your head and with a yard stick ready to take out anyone that is brave enough to try to ruin you day. He is your guardian for the day.

Words only a mother can love

As a proud parent of one boy and two dogs I have a lot to celebrate. Each day is a surprise though. Will it be a new tooth or trick performed by Jason or will one of the dogs do something that they want to show off? It is almost like a competition. We aren't into the meat of the day yet and Mae, Moe and Jason are off to quite the start.

It all began with Moe getting into the garbage (for the 2nd time in 24 hours). Obviously this is a common thing in our house, but this morning it had a twist. When I yelled at her she pulled her head out of the garbage and to both of our surprise she had a yogurt container stuck, snugly on her nose. Despite early efforts she couldn't get it off and quickly ran over to me crying. After getting a good laugh out of it I decided to remove the container and just hope she learned a lesson. Who am I kidding? Of course she didn't learn anything from that experience, she never does.

After the garbage fiasco, it was time for Mae to get her time in the spotlight. Last night Colin noticed a dead bird in the lawn. It appeared to be mauled by a dog, but we weren't sure if one of the dogs actually killed it. This morning Mae wanted to be sure we knew how birds die on this property. I was sitting on the deck drinking my morning coffee when I noticed Mae stalking a robin in the corner of the yard. She snuck up and got within 3 feet of it when it took flight. The stupid bird made one fatal mistake though............it flew toward Mae. It underestimated her jumping abilities and lost it's life. Mae jumped high into the air and snagged the helpless bird. At first I was shocked, but it was her next move that was entertaining. She brought the bird to the door and barked to get my attention (which she already had in full). She wanted to bring the dead animal into the house. I quickly disposed of the creature, but am still in disbelief that our Mae dog kills birds. We always compare her and Moe to Lenny and George, but this just reaffirms that theory. Moe is the brains and Mae will forever be our loving dog-child.

Jason with his box of inspiration.

To top off this morning, Jason had to get his two cents in as well. He has been learning new words every day. Most of the time he just copies what we say (we hope he only says the good words, but he seems to catch on to the inappropriate ones). Yesterday he learned a short word, 'OK'. We expect these types of words, but always think that the bigger words are a few months into the future. It all happened while I was rooting through the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. Jason came in and saw his box of band aids. They have a big picture of Sponge Bob on the front of them. He quickly said BOB BOB. I wasn't sure what he wanted and after asking him what three times he sighed and screamed clear as day Sponge Bob!!!!! I was shocked. He does have Sponge Bob on his cap and on his toothbrush but that is the only exposure he really has had to him. Yet, he recognized him on a box that he had only seen once in the past. I am still surprised, but oh so proud.

I have to say all three of the wild creatures in this house have impressed me this morning. The only question left is........What will they do next?

Nothing like a dog toy

Look!! No hands!!!!!!! We are so proud.

Every child goes through the same teething process. Some complete the task sooner than others, but it is always a very painful time. Molars have shown to be the worst for Jason. It takes about 2 months from the first sign that a molar is coming in to the point when it is completely showing. That means two months of super pain and a boy trying to bite everything in site. Chance (our nephew) has found the joy of chewing on furniture. Though his parents aren't all that impressed, it seems to work for him. Jason on the other hand has found a much less sanitary solution to his pain problems. DOG TOYS!!! We try medicine and teething toys, but he always goes back to the dog toys to pick from the vast selection. After fighting this for so long we have even grown to accept his choice.........most of the time. I disinfect the toys so that it is a little better. Besides that, I can't really stop him from chewing on them all of the time. So here is a picture of him with his favorite chew toy. It is Mae's favorite too. YUMMY!!!!

Patio set!!

We also purchased a new patio set. It is great for dinner and drinking my coffee in the morning. Jason runs all over the deck yelling at the dogs while I enjoy my coffee and the fresh air. (This was taken last night.....hence the beer on the table. I don't have Irish coffee or Key Light for those of you that noticed) HA!HA!HA! It is a treat and something we will be enjoying for years to come. Have a great day everyone.................

Sails, Grass, and Squirrels

Jason in his new bean bag chair (perfect for reading).

It seems as though every week I have a new project to report. Well..................this week you won't be disappointed. Mom and Dad came down so you know we had to do something big. We really didn't have anything planned except for relaxing and a little golf.

Saturday we stuck to that plan quite well. When they got here we brought Jason to ride his first 9 holes. Despite the high scores it was a great time. That is until the squirrel decided to make an appearance. For those of you that don't know, I have a history with squirrels. When we lived in Laramie two of them jumped on my back from the trees and I couldn't get them off. It was only a few seconds, but it seemed like an eternity. That was the point in time when I really realized how frightening those little rodents can be. Plus they carry the plague, have lice, and have fleas. They are just yucky and I don't like them in the least bit. When we golf we always bring drinks and with Jason there we needed snacks. I have these really cool containers that have a very small opening so that he can grab the snacks, but they don't fall out. For this particular outing I put tricks in that container. We just finished hole 4 when I looked up and there.......in the cart............was a squirrel eating out of Jason's container. I flipped out chasing him with my putter. I understand this must have been a funny sight, but it was a very serious moment for me. Then to top it off.......after mom and Jason were in the cart, he tried to get in with them. It was quite discusting and just made me dislike those creatures even more.

The shed (we haven't finished the doors)

The next morning the project of the weekend started. Colin and I had purchased a kit for a shed because it was on sale. Thinking it would be a simple project, Dad suggested he and Colin tackle it in the morning. Once the small box was opened it was clear that this would take longer than a couple of hours. There was the makings of an 8'X10' shed in a 3'X5'X6" box. It was like opening one of those peanut cans with the snakes in it. Mom and I left to get some groceries at that point. When we returned at noon Colin was holding a sheet of metal and dad was frantically trying to screw it to the floor assembly. We quickly jumped in to hold the flapping metal in the wind and offer as much assistance as we could. This is the point that Colin and Dad gave us some advice that we would like to share. If the instructions caution you about stopping the project if there is going to be any chance of wind, take it to heart. They aren't joking or saying it just for fun. Colin and Dad learned this lesson the hard way, but we did get the shed finished. The tin worked well as sails and it was a challenge, but it is finished and we now have a place to store our yard equipment. Thank you Mom and Dad for helping with that.

Our Grass!!

Today we had another milestone. I mowed the yard for the first time. It is coming in so well. The spots that look bare even have little blades of grass starting to come up. so in a couple of weeks it will all be lush. We love it. I hope all of you had great weekends as well. Happy belated birthday Beermaker. Have a great week everyone.......................

Warm Cricket Days of Summer?

So many people have problems with pests in their homes. We commonly hear about mice (though some of those tales are quite perplexing), roaches, even spiders. But, in our house we have a different pest problem. CRICKETS!!!!!

We began to find crickets in the beging of May. Every couple of weeks we would find one on the stairs, in a bathroom and sometimes in the livingroom. I never thought anything of it and surely didn't think it would be an issue in the future.

Then about 3 weeks ago I woke up with Jason in the middle of the night. To my suprise the crickets were chirping a chorus that night. It was really loud, so I closed the window in Jason's room. I thought the sound might be keeping him up. But, when I closed the window the sound didn't stop. The crickets weren't outside, they were inside his room. I quickly searched and when I approached the loud chirps the sound stopped. It was quite late so I decided to continue my investigation in daylight hours.

That was 3 weeks ago and I haven't had a problem since................That is until today. This morning I was doing laundry in the basement when the annoying chorus returned. It was all around me. So....................The hunt was on!!!!! I tore everything off of the walls and had my vacuum ready for attack. But, the moment I sucked one up another would start to chirp. After sucking up 11 today I am waving my white flag. It is hopeless............at least with that approach. My next tatic is poison. I am done with this hunting them one by one thing. It is an army against me. Now I must revert to chemical warfare. So............... soon those crickets will see their end. I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend and watch for those crickets. They can be lurking in any dark corner. They are watching you.....................................

Happy Birthday!!!

Today is a special day for one special dog. His name is Glacier. To celebrate this day Jason and I decided to create a card. So.......HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

We will be famouse with this kind of quality art work.

We wish we could be there to party down with you, but we aren't able to make it. We hope you have a wonderful day, eating, playing (I heared a rumor that there will be tennis balls at your party), licking yourself, and sleeping. Jason wanted to do something special so he decided to do a sommer-sault for you. It is better in motion, but you can get the idea from the pics.

Once again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!! Can't wait to see pics from your big day. Till next time......................

It was a close call for the flashlight.

One crayon lost it's life in the making of the birthday sign. It was desert brown. It was a very good crayon.....until it was partially ingested by a 17 month old child. We would like to honor that crayon with a moment of silence.

Rollers, Brushes, Water, and Baseball?

Kitchen before last weekend.

When Friday rolled around Colin mentioned that we should paint our kitchen this weekend. Without thinking I agreed. We had no idea of the task we were about to undertake. It was two days of a lot of taping, priming, and painting. I don't want to paint ever again and Colin would gladly agree to that. We do have a few more rooms to go though. There were times that we thought we just couldn't do it in one weekend. At one point I thought we would only finish the cabinets. But, every time we got really discouraged we took a break and played with Jason. Jason wasn't allowed to really get into the paint mess for those of you that are wondering about our little helper. He was banned from the project when he dented the refrigerator with a piece of molding that he pulled off of the living room wall. It was and interesting point in the weekend activities.

Pizza and baseball watching break.

Colin was glad to take breaks when there was a game on. Both him and Jason love to sit together and scream at the TV. Jason even has a mitt, just in case a foul ball comes his way.

Watering the back yard.

Even though we were super busy with the kitchen we still found time to get outside and water. Jason loves to play in the water, that is until he gets mud on his hands. That is another story though.

Our kitchen this morning.

I know the suspense is just eating away at you so here it is. This is what we have finished so far. We still have to do all of the molding. We really don't want to think about that at this point. The project did turn out way better than expected. Today I am going to get hardware for the cupboards and they will be finished. We are just chipping away at the projects in the house. Though the Red Sox lost, we made the best of our weekend. I hope all of you had a great weekend as well. As for us, we are going to enjoy what we have finished, rest our sore muscles (from painting at least), and water the yard some more.

A quick note: Colin's company announced they are being bought by Uranium One Inc. The formal announcement can be viewed if you click on the following link

http://www.nyse.com/about/listed/emu_news.html

Have a great week everyone.

One last thing..... When looking at Zacks video suggestion I came accross this.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y88IYGOcJKE&mode=user&search=

Enjoy

Snoring....Bonking.......You Know...

It has been the week of rain. A much needed rain at that. This is good for our plants but can be tough when you have to stay indoors. We haven't let this bring us down. When so many people give in to the dreary weather, we had a surprisingly wonderful week. Everything just worked out in our favor. We did have a lot to be happy for this week though.

To start the week, Colin and I over seeded the back yard (before the rain.) The timing couldn't have been better. The rain began to fall about 3 hours after we seeded. I also mowed the front yard before the rain fell. This just added to us being happy. We still had to spend many hours indoors due to the water that kept falling from the sky, but boy has it been wonderful.

We played in Jason's tent.

Caught up on some much needed scientific experiments (pouring water.)

Relaxing

And taking care of some loose ends.

You may be a little confused on the last one, but we hit a big milestone this last week. WE PAID OUR CAR OFF!!!! It is finally ours.

As you can see it has been an amazing week of fun and now we are ready to get back to playing outside. The weather should improve over the weekend, our mud pond in the back should dry up a little, and we will be back in the sandbox creating castles and other miscellaneous piles of sand. I hope you all have a great weekend as well. Till next time..........................