A DAY AT THE LAKE . . .

It has taken me a whole entire week to make this post, as I have been fighting & fighting to get the last 2 video's added ... and just when I was ready to surrender, I finally got it!! WooHooooo!! So here it is, all 3 videos and all!!

Anyways, last weekend we finally got the old raft out on the water and spent a day at Bartlett Lake!! Grandma even got to join us and we had an awesome day. Both the boys tubed for the very 1st time and we even got Trey up on the knee board. Although in order to make this happen, I had to get in the water and help him .. hahaaa .. so the 1st attempt I tried to stay on the board with him thinking we could both fit, ummm not so much and to avoid me losing my bottoms, which were pretty much at my knees already, we let go of the rope!! On our 2nd attempt I told Trey that he was going to have to go by himself, so I got him all set up on the board and strapped in and held him steady while the boat started pulling him .... we were successful and he was up and riding!! The only problem with this is I got left out in the water with all the fish, probably my least favorite thing as I usually jump in the water to cool off and get right back out immediately!! So I spent the entire time kicking, splashing and doing everything possible to keep the fish away until the boat came back around to pick me up ... creepy!! hahaaa!!! It was all worth it and we are so excited that the boys are now tubing & knee boarding, pretty soon they'll be out there on wake boards tearing it up!!

We also got in some fishing, of course, and Rilyn actually reeled in her very 1st fish, all by herself!! Very exciting, but once she had it all the way reeled in she started flinging her pole all around, not sure if she was freaked out by the fish or just being wild & crazy Rilyn, but she lost her fish before I could snap a picture .. darn it!!! So although we dont have a picture of her catching her 1st fish, we atleast have a story!!! The boys are just regular ol fisherman now and both reeled in more fish than I could even keep count of .. pretty sure Rhett was on his
6th last I was keeping track!!

4th OF JULY WEEKEND

This year for 4th of July we joined the Skaggs Family up in Munds Park for a long weekend of holiday festivities, riding, fishing, shooting and relaxing in the cooler weather. It was an awesome weekend and a great change of pace for us, especially since we havent had the ranger out since the weather got hot. We arrived there Sat. afternoon and knew immediately between the 80 degree weather and this amazing view from our balcony that it was going to be a great vacation!!


Mine & Rilyn's tootsies ... I decided to go festive with my toe nails for the holiday when I got my pedicure ... so I painted Charlotte & Rilyn's to match!!

Our 1st evening after we got all unpacked and situated, we went for a little ride around town and visited some friends and family of the Skagg's!!

Rhett & Rilyn cheesin it up!!!

We were just cruisin' along when I looked back and noticed Trey had his goggles on upside down and he had no idea ... the best part is when I looked back at him he was smilin, giving me the thumbs up .. hahahaaaa .. so I quickly snapped a picture and then filled him in on why I was taking his picture and of course we all cracked up!!!

DAY 2:

On the 2nd day there we went to the park for a little carnival type thing where the kids could play games and win prizes, but probably about an hour or so into it a storm rolled in and we had to high tale it back to the cabin to get out of the rain!! The kids had a blast while it lasted!!

Once the storm passed and the skies cleared again, we loaded up in the Ranger & Rhino and went fishing!! I would be telling fish stories if I said anyone caught anything, but everyone still had fun fish or no fish! I'm sure you can tell by the pictures that just the beauty of this place along with the beautiful weather makes for a great day no matter what you are doing!!

Once back at the cabin we made some dinner, played with sparklers, got in a little Wii time & put on a movie for the kids which pretty much put us all to sleep, adults included, and we called it a night!!!

Dinner time!!

DAY 3:

Our 3rd day was actually July 4th so we all got decked out in our red, white & blue gear, decorated the ranger & rhino and took them in the parade, which the kids thought was pretty cool, they loved throwing candy and necklaces to all the kids watching and Rilyn waved to everyone with both her hands above her head (soooo cute)!!!

All the kiddos, ready for the parade!! Rhett, Trey, Dylan, Charlotte, Logan & Rilyn

Our family with the Ranger all decorated!! Trey said "its a good thing we have a red ranger huh guys it makes it easier for decorating cause its already red"!!!

After the parade we went back to the cabin, removed any decorations that would fly off the g-rides, loaded the coolers and headed out for a ride to Mormon Lake & the Cinders. Rilyn of course crashed out pretty much as soon as we started our ride, something about the sound of the engine & the wind in her face just knocks her out every time!!!

In Mormon Lake we stopped at a restaurant and had lunch (probably one of the best burgers I've had in a long time)!!

After lunch we headed out to the Cinders to play around on the trails and do some shooting!! Here is the view from the very top! BEAUTIFUL!! The kids had so so so much fun on these trails with their hands up in the air (like they're on a roller coaster) and singing Happy Birthday To America!!! hahahaaa!!

Then came the day it was time to load up and head home and I'm pretty sure we were all dreading coming back to the heat but I tell you what for as much fun as we had and as busy as we stayed all weekend the time didn't seem to fly by too quick and we were able to enjoy every minute of the long weekend!!

Thanks again Skaggs family for the invite and for another awesome Skaintz adventure!! Hopefully we can do it all again next year!!!

AN EXTRA SPECIAL BIRTHDAY!!!

Last Friday my mom, me & Lay celebrated Lacey's birthday with a girls night out. Long over due time with my momma and sister and we had well ummm maybe a little bit too much fun .. hahaaa!! It always seems like our time together just goes waaayyy too fast and none of us ever want it to end!!! We started out with pedicures, then headed over to El Encanto for margaritas & appetizers and then ended up playing beer pong!! HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BEAUTIFUL, AMAZING SISTER ... I LOVE YOU AROUND THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD A MILLION TIMES and I'm so glad I got to celebrate with you even though we went out of town for 4th of July weekend!!!

RILYN MOMENTS . . .

Rilyn is at that fun age where pretty much everything she does or says is just the cutest and most entertaining thing ever ... hahaaaa ... so I thought I would share a couple Rilyn moments that we have had here lately, to name a few!!!

* she goes over to the toilet and leans over it and spits .. finally dawned on us that she is pretending to puke ... hahaaa ... guess that waht happens when everyone in the family throws up for 3 days straight!!! LOL!!!

* she loves singing Taylor Swift's song "Mean" and although I cant say she knows all the words she def has the beat of the song and knows the key words.

* anytime you ask her if she pooped or has a stinky butt she responds with "no, I toot"!! hahaaaaa!!

* she uses our kitchen stools for any and everything she needs to reach and literally drags them all over the house .. I have busted her on the stool in her closet, the bathroom, the pantry, you name it!!!

* constantly sneeking marshmallows by the handful!!!

* counts to three by saying "three, five, five"!!

* blows you kisses and then gets the cutest giggle when you catch them! (Grandma taught her this)

* refuses to leave the house without a hat, if her brothers are wearing their hats!

I am still blown away by the amount of personality in one little girl but I have to say I absolutely love her stubborn, independent personality!!

A TOOTH FAIRY PILLOW . . .

I have been wanting to get Trey a tooth fairy pillow for a while, knowing that the time for him to start losing teeth is here (in fact I am a little surprised it hasn't happened already), but during my online shopping, every pillow that I found just wasn't what I was looking for!! I wanted something that would first of all somewhat match his room and second of all be somewhat masculine and not so childish. A couple weeks ago the creative bug that I had been waiting and waiting for finally bit me and I had an idea!! After who knows how long of procrastinating, I finally sat down and made Trey a tooth fairy pillow myself ... the letter to the tooth fairy is actually written in Trey's very own handwriting which is my favorite part and the tooth is the pocket!! The letter goes like this (in case you cant read it):

Dear Tooth Fairy

In this pocket I will lay the little tooth I lost tobay (today, hahaa). Please tonight as I sleep leave me a coin my tooth you may keep.
Love
Trey



The back of the pillow is checker flag fabric to match his riding/monster truck room!!!

PARKER ... ADULTS ONLY!!

Last weekend Clay & I were invited to an adults only trip to Parker to spend the weekend on the river with 4 other couples and all I can say is oh my goodness did we have fun ... great friends, drinks, dancing, boating all equal heaven for a weekend!! I LOVE THE RIVER!! It was so nice for Clay and I to spend the weekend together with no kiddos and I didn't think this was possible but I fell even more in love with my hubby .. its so crazy to me how it just gets better and better as time goes on!! We had such a great time and got to meet some new people ... thank you so much Jesse & Jamie for the invite and we cant wait for next year!! BIG HUMUNGOUS THANK YOU to Aunt Lacey & Cody for keepin' and lovin' on our kids all weekend, you guys are awesome and the kids had a blast ... pretty awesome to be able to go have a good time and know that our baby's are in such good hands!!

All the ladies: Me, Jennie, Jamie, Teresa & Stacey

What beats breakfast on the river!!!

Me, Stacey & Jaime

The guys: Jesse, Sean, Clayton, Darrin & Mark

AMAZING AMAZING WEEKEND!!!

DADDY'S DAY

For Father's Day we spent the weekend at The Pointe Tapatio .. the perfect way to celebrate Father's Day without Clay having to work his butt off loading a trailer or getting the boat ready, etc... me and the kids can throw him in the truck and he can have a full weekend of fun with no work!! Even though our weekend didn't go exactly as planned we still managed to get in some quality daddy time and relaxation by the pool (well as much relaxation as you can get with 1,4 and 6 year old little kiddos)!!! So we got to the resort Friday afternoon and got in a few hours by the pool before heading back up to the room to get ready for dinner!! I thought it would be fun to put on a little something nicer than the norm and take daddy out for a nice dinner of his choice ... which turned out to be Aunt Chilada's since it was pretty close to the hotel. Up to this point everything was going great and the weekend was off to a wonderful start ... until about 20 minutes into dinner when Rhett started complaining that he had a really bad headache! So Clay went out to the truck to get him some Motrin from the diaper bag and in the 5 minutes he was gone Rhett just completely cut loose and tossed um all over himself and the table (I know probably a little too much info) .. so the waitress brought us a bunch of towels, we got our food boxed to go and were out the door. Once back at the room we got Rhett all situated in bed, ate our dinner (although at this point nobody really had much of an appetite) and called it a night. Then at about midnight Clay & I woke up to Rilyn throwing up ... and now we were thinking oh no!!

Saturday morning, Rhett woke up feeling great and ready to rock and roll but Rilyn was a little bit off ... so I stayed in the room with her while the boys headed down to the pool!! Rilyn took a super early nap and when she woke up she seemed to be back to her normal self so we got our suits on, made some lunch and about that time the boys came back up to the room for lunch. We ate lunch and then headed back down to the pool!!

Bradley and his family as well as Brandon and his family joined us by the pool on Sat and Bradley & Lorie got a room for the night as well, so that was fun .. the kids got to hang with their cousins and we ordered in pizza for dinner (sounds crazy but ordering in pizza is huge for my kids because we have no pizza delivery in New River so they think its just the coolest thing)!!

Rilyn ended up taking another nap ... this time pool side ... literally on the edge of the pool by where we were all hanging out so we covered her up with damp towels and she slept for quite a while!!

Clayton playing with all the kids in the pool ... just a big ol kid himself!!

Our Family!!

The Ingram Fam: Brandon, Dana, Brayden & Jade

The Ingram Family: Bradley, Lorie, Corey, Aly & Cort

Saturday night everything went wrong, again ... hahaaaa ... Clay & Trey were literally alternating turns throwing up the entire night and then I felt it coming on Sunday morning so I packed up the room as quick as I could and we headed home for literally a good 2 days of sickness and recovery!! I am very very happy to say that we are all finally feeling on top of our game again and up off the couch moving around!!!

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY DADDY'S DAY TO OUR DADDY, THE BESTEST DADDY IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD ... WE ALL LOVE YOU SO SO MUCH!!