Oh the beauty.....Oh the luck

The wild weekend of fun was fun...............but interesting. It involved a lot of food (good food), visiting, relaxing, and even some golf. Chad met us in Casper and we all made our way up to the city of Meeteetse. I took oh so many pictures................... That evening I went and visited the soon to be mother of two (next week or sooner), Sheena, while Colin and Chad went to scope out the camping spots. After seeing the rain fall at the campground, they opted for down on the river at grandpas house. The fire pit was stocked with wood and it had pretty much everything we wanted. So, grandpas house it was. Sheena, Scott and I visited while the boys played. They were so cute and both growing up so fast. William has a little four wheeler that made for a lot of fun too. I have to say the Coales look very good and appear to be quite ready for their new arrival.



Mom made us roast on the bbq and had all of the food and beer we could ever want................... YUMMY!!!! After dinner we made our way out to grandpas to set up camp, start the fire and have some s'mores. It was so good. The beer and Yeager were flowing like a river. There was plenty for all. Jason loved throwing sticks for the dogs and running around exploring. Instead of camping by the fire, Jason went in to town to camp out at grandma and grandpas house. I think all three of them were very happy about that decision. But, he did get to enjoy the fire and the enormous herd of dogs.

The next morning we made our way into town to play a few rounds of golf with dad. Once again I brought my camera to document the weekend. You may be wondering where all of these great pictures are by now.....................well, they are gone. On our golfing excursion the camera was lost..................A very sad moment, since it had some great pics on it. After golfing we enjoyed some pizza and discussed the possibility of finding the camera again (a slim chance in my eyes.) Then the rain came....................and it rained and rained and rained. Colin, Chad and I rushed up to grandpas to get the fire started before the wood was too wet. While we gathered the wood and worked on the fire our chances of finding a functional camera faded. The rain fell so hard.

We were very wet, but the fire was started and the weather soon passed so that we could begin to dry. Mom and Dad came out to visit again and eat some more s'mores. They were just as good the second night. Grandpa was able to come down too. Chad and Jason ran around playing for a lot of the evening. They were having a blast. When Jason got tired Mom and Dad headed to town but grandpa stayed because the company was just that good (HA!HA!) The time flew by and we decided to go ahead and cook some buffalo burgers for a second dinner. Everything seams to taste better on a fire. Grandpa had never had buffalo but I think he is hooked now. Chad is a great cook.

The next morning we were sad to have to move on. But, Chad had to go back to Colorado and we had to go to Cody to visit Colin's family. I am sure we will be getting together again before long. Chad is a lot of fun and it is always a good time when we all are able to visit.

Colin, Jason and I made our way over to Cody and one of our first stops was to Walmart to purchase a new camera. Jason played in Connie and Jay's new back yard while we looked on. He really enjoyed his time playing and as always fell in love with the dogs. When Brian got off of work, play time took on a new level. Jason though Uncle Brian was pretty cool and wanted to play. It was a nice evening. It was quite warm though and their new house doesn't have any sort of cooling system.

A rare sight......Colin and I riding a bike.

Checking out the back yard........There is a lot to see.

Loving on Loafy.

Finishing out the evening playing the piano..............What beautiful music.

The next morning we made our way back to Casper. It was so nice to be home in our own house with the swamp cooler. Jason was really excited to see he toys again too. Now we are just trying to get back into our usual groove. Hopefully next weekend I won't lose the camera and I will be able to post a lot of pics of Pat's wedding. But for now, I will continue to share more chapters in the Chronicles of Jason.............................

Supersized

Eating Cherries is turned into an event.

We all watched the show Super Size Me................but I am talking about a much healthier type of supersize. Crissy had mentioned that even the simple days sound interesting. I have to give the credit to Jason. With him everything is supersized.

If it is the excitement of seeing his first big red balloon or just a simple trip to the grocery store. Bringing home a bike is very exciting (it is a good looking ride.....like Gardenboy pointed out), but for Jason it caused quite the wild time. When we got home, he got on it, squealed and then jumped off and did the worm on the floor (quite the site I must say).

Many of us know how exciting it is to get a new book, but Jason didn't just get a little excited...........he wanted to carry it through the store and cried when the cashier had to scan it. We brought 3 new books home on Sunday (one being quite long) and we have almost memorized them all. Even his love for reading is supersized.

Jason with his new Curious George book.............he loves monkeys.

My favorite supersized moment is when Colin gets home from work. If Jason hears his vehicle he screams DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! then he runs around the living room, up the hallway, back to the living room.......screaming DAD!!!!!!!! over and over. It is so cute and such a cool thing to witness.

I have mentioned the really wonderful things that are supersized, but it can also go the other way............. big time. You may think I am joking, but I have to say this couldn't be more true. Jason's emotions are supersized to the max.

If he runs out of juice it is the end of the world. He gets to upset that it is difficult to understand what he is trying to say. It begins with a little cry and turns into this huge scream fest. But, the second he gets his juice everything is right with the world.

Speaking of end of the world moments. Here is a supersized one for you. When it is too hot I take Jason to the mall to walk around and run. There aren't many people there during the day and he can look at the puppies at the pet store too (he likes the kittens better). It is just a perfect thing to burn off his mega energy supply. I brought him last week, before it cooled off, and I decided to let him play on the kiddy toys. He wanted to ride the bus, but I didn't have any money. Jason didn't care........he jumped in the drivers seat and started to drive. After about 15 minutes of having the time of his life (The bus never moved, but it made him so happy) it was time to go. I told him we had to go and he replied "NO!" I grabbed him and stood him next to the bus and tried to make the transfer to hold his hand. He screamed "NO" at the top of his lungs again and tried to get back in the bus. I pulled him back and repeated myself saying "we have to go Jason." Instead of just crying and coming with he had a supersized tantrum, right there in the mall. He threw his body back, his head smacked the floor and the screaming started. Taking my moms advice I let him throw his fit and let everyone around watch. After about 15 minutes of this all I could hear was the blood pumping through my body as I scanned the huge crowd that was watching. I kept on looking at Jason and then his audience. Finally, after realizing this wasn't going to end any time soon, I picked him up and walked all of the way through the mall with him under my arm until I got to the exit near my vehicle. You would think that the tantrum would have ended there, but it didn't. Jason is a stubborn child and won't give up easily. That tantrum was supersized, it lasted for over 2 hours. Jason was ready for a nap when it was over and I was partially deaf. Oh the fun of it.



His boo boos are supersized too. Monday when I bought him the trike, he had a huge wreck. You may be wondering how a little one can wreck a trike...................I am telling you it wasn't pretty. He tipped it over, falling into the TV stand and smashing the soft spot behind his ear on the sharp corner. It was bad enough it almost warranted a trip to the emergency room, but he survived and even got up on his trike ride again so he could feel that wind blowing through what little hair he has. So, his wrecks are supersized too.

So, I have to say thanks to Jason. He gives me a lot to write about and gives Colin and I daily adventures to share with you. Have a great weekend everyone. I will have a lot to post on Tuesday when we return from one of our many big trips this month. Since plans change a lot.........it isn't a river trip this weekend, but it has morphed into a camping trip up by Meeteetse. So you Meeteetse Warners and Coales watch out we are coming your way....................

A picture is worth a thousand words....

Many of us have those memories that stand out from our childhood. Some are really good and others we wish we could forget (like getting punished for doing something really bad.) Jason has racked up a lot of the naughty things, but nothing too major...........yet. We do know that day is coming. There have been some wonderful moments though. He has been too young to remember a lot of them, but he just might have made a memory to remember this week.

We bought Jason his first trike. The first thing he did was climb up on it. He started by just pushing himself around with his feet.....not touching the pedals ( I really don't think he even noticed them at first.) Yesterday he decided to attempt to use the pedals. I think he will get the hang of it very soon.

Nice new ride. 0 miles, right off the lot.

Yesterday was Parade Day here in Casper. Travis and Crissy know what I am talking about, but for those of you that have never lived here before here goes..................... Since every other town around the state has set aside holidays to celebrate their town and the people in it, Casper evidently didn't get in to the pool before all of the days were taken. So, they made up their own day........Parade Day. So, Meeteetse has Labor Day with the parade and festivities, Cody has the 4th, and Casper has Parade Day. At first this was quite strange, since businesses around town close for the event (all except the bars of course.) The bank was even closed. So..........Jason and I decided to get in on the action. We parked at a friends house close to downtown and walked a few blocks finding ourselves at the City Park. After setting up camp, we called Colin to come and join us in watching the parade.

Having fun at Jason's first parade.

It started out fun, but Jason was tired and his happiness quickly turned to anger and then to a whole other level. We stuck it out for quite a while, screaming and all.

Ready to make a day of it (at 10:30 in the morning.)

The weather was beautiful. Jason even had to wear a sweatshirt for a while. It hasn't been that cool in over a month. We were watching and having a good time (Jason was tolerating it) when a man came up and stood very close to us. It wasn't like there wasn't enough room for him to leave a little space between us, but that didn't matter to him. After watching him for a while we noticed him paying too much attention to the little girls around. Then a group of very young girls doing cartwheels went by and the man gave a strange look and grabbed a screw driver in his pocked. After seeing him clutch the screw driver and check out every girl under the age of 13 around us we decided to move. It was very creepy and gave us another strange story for the books. After moving we watched a little more before heading for home. Jason loved the marching band, the always popular balloons (he is a big fan of any balloon), and the horses. He even tried to make a horse noise which sounds more like a hack that an old person would make, but he is working on it.

After the parade we made our way home. Our friend Traci came over to visit and have a few drinks. Sorry I didn't take a pic.........I will get one next time she is over. When Jason woke up from his nap he flirted. Even though he pulled out his best moves she still had to go home. He was very sad, but I am sure she will be over again. He won her heart. I hope all of you had a great Parade Day too............even if you didn't know it was a special day. Have a wonderful rest of the week.

Finishing out a perfect weekend!!!

Feeding time!!!

Oh the fun, it never stops around here. Even when we have lazy days there are things that need to be done. The regular cleaning, laundry, and the ever so intense feeding the dogs. You might be questioning my use of intense, but to fully understand you must know one little fact about that job...........it is one of Jason's chores. I know he is only 18 months old, but he wants to be able to help so we have given him a few chores around the house. He feeds the dogs, washes the cabinets and the table, and helps pick up his toys. On occasion he helps fold clothes, but I really don't think we can count that since his idea of folding is holding the piece of clothing above his head, grunting a few times, then puting it down in a pile while nodding. We will say it is a chore, just to humor the little man.

Playing with Cream.

After the chores were finished it was time for hair cuts. Sorry no pics there, but take my word for it..........it was similar to a marathon. I cut both Jason and Colins hair and then we went out to get mine chopped. It went rather quickly as marathons do and then we were back at the house to play. Jason enjoyed some time chasing the neighbor's cat Cream around before we made our way next door to enjoy some games and steak. Jason had a chance to watch movies with Brandon and we partied on............and on. Who ever knew that pictionary could be so challenging. Might I add the women kicked butt up one side and down the other............Ok, we lost one game.

Jason and Brandon watching movies.

With all of the relaxation, we even had time to fit in a walk with the dogs. I have to say that it was short lived due to the weather. Everything was going well. We were chugging along just fine when suddenly a big wind came up pushing me just enough for me to have to catch my balance with one of my feet. Little did I know that this would include a pile of cactus. Since there cactus is as thick as grass in a lawn.......I should have thought it was a possibility, but of course I didn't think before I stepped. Needless to say, that cactus is quite healthy and can really give a stab (through shoes.) After I passed Jason off and got the cactus pulled, the wind increased and a storm appeared to be rolling in.


Walking...............just before the cactus incident.

We weren't lucky enough to see moisture with the first round of wind and lightening that we witnessed on our walk, but it did come. After a month with no moisture we were wondering if we could even remember what rain looked like or felt like. Nature reminded us in a big way.........

The storm 3 minutes in.............

There were flood warnings all around our area.......even in town. Our yard wasfinally watered well and we have found a little relief in our drought. It was a lot of rain, near an inch in about 40 minutes. What a beautiful way to end a perfect weekend.

Good fun and food!

Though I said earlier that we weren't doing anything for the 4th, we couldn't help ourselves. Like my parents we love the improvised parties. Our friend Dan came over with his kids to watch the fireworks. It was a blast, literally. Jason loves Brady and Maddie so much. The dogs couldn't get enough of them either.

He loved watching Brady hit himself in the head with the ball.

Maddie with Mae.

Brady and Jason.

Friday was Colin's day off so we had big plans. Since we love food so much.......it was a day for cooking. Colin baked two batches of cookies, one was white chocolate macadamia nut and the other was oatmeal butterscotch. Both were wonderful...............so much that there are few left.

Leaving the rocks behind for one day to become a baker.

Taking a break from cooking.

Then it was time for me to make dinner. I get tired of the same old stuff all of the time, so I went to none other than the Food Network for some spice. In this house we truly love all food, but some stand out above the others. There is GARLIC (the biggest and best around here), Spinach (it just tastes good despite the wives tales), Cheese (its all good), and of course pasta (it needs no introduction). Keeping all of these ingredients in mind I found the perfect dish. It is spinach goat cheese pene with garlic. It isn't for the hater of garlic since it will make you smell like it for days (it is a very good thing Colin has a long weekend otherwise the people in the office would think he stinks..........they still might). This turned out to be a very simple, refreshing, tasty, and stinky dish. It was so good that it was difficult to stop eating.

Jason and I finishing dinner.

The finished product, Jason couldn't keep his hands off.

The cooking was exhausting for Jason. By the time dinner was done he was tired and didn't even help clean up after we ate. Naughty Boy!!!! He was over done and very dirty. So, to finish off the day he had to clean up and get ready for bed.

Getting cleaned up at the end of the day.

Now we can use the rest of the weekend to eat leftovers and relax. I hope you all enjoy the rest of yours.........................