Goodbye to the Gemini...

Tonight Ian had absolutely had it with his latest loose tooth and was determined to get it out. It was the Gemini tooth (two teeth fused with one root) that we lovingly referred to as his "freak tooth". I wiggled and wiggled and tugged a bit, but just couldn't bring myself to pull it. The bottom two were so easy, they just popped right out, but these top two were alot harder. Finally Brady took over, wiggled and pulled and wiggled and pulled and then BAM! He popped that sucker out in a most impressive fashion! Ian gasped, I almost hurled and Bob's your Uncle! So I now have a boy with a double front gap! It is so funny to hear him say "th" now!

He is quite excited, not only because he will be able to eat properly again, but because he is sure this rare Gemini tooth will certainly bring top dollar from the Tooth Fairy! Cause really, how many of these bad boys does she get? Right? I wish him the best of luck and hope she brings him some fat cash for being such a brave boy! After all that tooth was a bear to teethe and bear to get out, but it's done with. Now we hope the one behind it is perfectly normal. What a big night for the Monkey Man!

Snaggletooth boy!

FINALLY! On Thursday September 3rd, Brady pulled Ian's 3rd tooth! It was the top, right tooth and talk about leaving one snaggletooth gap! He has always sported a healthy gap between his teeth, but now it's ridiculous! His big "freak tooth" will be the next to fall out. It's already pretty wonky, so hopefully it will follow soon! We're pretty sure the Tooth Fairy might bring him something extra special. After all, Gemini teeth are hard to come by, very special indeed! We'll keep ya posted!

The Influence...

My kids love movies. I mean reallly. LOVE. Movies. And they are non-discriminate, they love them all. The BIG hits include ALL Disney-Pixar movies, most of the Dreamworks stuff and lately a healthy dose of the classics (which in my world means circa 1980's). Since we have had such a scorching, hot summer, we have spent very little time outdoors and LOADS of time watching movies. Because of this recent addiction to digital entertainment there have been a few choice pieces of dialogue adopted by my sweet baby girl. Just the other day I was getting onto her about putting her toys away and she turned to me, little hand in the air like she was directing traffic and yelled, "Stand down SISTER!" It sucked! It's really hard to keep a stern, no-nonsense face when you're turning purple and trying not to giggle like a school girl! I finally broke and just had to laugh, after all, was there really in harm in it? And it WAS funny. Unfortunately the other favorite happens to be a little over the line. There is something a bit unnerving when you hear your 3 year-old in the next room yell, "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WIT CHU?!?" Thank you Ghostbusters! I mean, I personally think it's kinda funny, but I'm sure most would not agree. So I have to be diligent to make sure my little angel doesn't yell this at the top of her lungs at the grocery store or art museum!

Seriously slacking!

I just noticed that it's August and I haven't even posted the 4th of July! I promise to get on the ball this week and get some new posts up. I have to take some time to purchase more storage space though as my google/picassa web storage for photos and videos is about 97% full! So if I don't get a move on, I won't be able to post pics! EEEEK! Stay tuned for new posts and lots of catch-up soon!

Art and Crafts!

Although we spend most of our time at the cabin relaxing and enjoying nature, we do take time for arts and crafts. This year Grammy was nice enough to bring a load of clay with her! So we all sat on the deck, enjoying the cool mountain breezes and sculpting our masterpieces! Of course, Auntie Annie trounced us all, she is quite the accomplished sculptress! Get a load of this lizard!

It was definitely a family occasion! You know how it is... the family that "clays" together, stays together! ;)

Ian wrestling with that clay. I'm not sure what he was working on in this photo, but you can see the CUTE snake that he made down on the newspaper!

One happy Piggy!

Grammy working on her "masterpig"!

Fun in the Sun!

After pony rides, we took the kiddos over to the creek across the road. Technically I think this is part of the Rio Ruidoso, but it definitely seems much more like a creek than a river! The water was ice cold, but it certainly did NOT deter my little rugrats! Here's Grammy, Liz and the ruggies on the bridge.

Obligatory pic of Mama and her kiddos!

Ainsley took off with Liz and they explored up and down the creek.

Ian was all over that creek, climbing rocks, pulling up moss and in general enjoying the cool, clear water running over his feet! Although Ainsley hung pretty close to Liz most of the time, she just HAD to venture out with big Bubba, had to let the world know of her fearless nature! Here they are, KING and QUEEN of the ROCK!

There is nothing like watching happy children bask in the sunshine of a beautiful day! Riding ponies, playing in the creek, and enjoying childhood! I sure love these two little twerps and I hope they remember these days, I know I will!

Ian and Ainsley go on a pony ride!

I would love to say these are the pics are of Ian and Ainsley's FIRST pony rides, but they're not. Last year I took them for pony rides while we were in Ruidoso and I forgot my camera. I had every intention of taking them back that visit and snapping some pics, but alas, the Rio Ruidoso flooded, we got trapped in the canyon for 3 days and then got the hell out of dodge as soon as we could! But I had promised the kids I would take them for pony rides this trip and the lucky for us, the weather was lovely and there were NO floods! They both did really well until it was time to get off, then Ainsley pitched a wobbly from hell! It was so sad to pry her off that pony! At least it was fun while it lasted.

Here's Mr. Ian flashing that gorgeous smile while riding "Scout".

Miss Ainsley atop her milk-white steed!

Oh Deer!

Over the 6 days that we were at the cabin, we were visited by many critters. There were hummingbirds, bluejays, woodpeckers, juncos, tanagers, cardinals and even a flicker! We had several cool moths drop by and we even had evidence of a bear one morning (knocked over hummingbird feeders and some fairly convincing tracks), but our most prominent visitors by far were the deer! Mule deer to be exact with big long ears! The kids were thrilled! There is something so cool about having them freely walk right up to your deck and check YOU out! They were skittish, but not scared and really quite curious. They seemed to take more interest in the kids.

Deer spotting

Checking each other out

Such a little deer!

This was a surprise, you rarely see the bucks! And this one made himself right at home!

There was one deer that came everyday. She seemed quite taken with Ainsley. Ainsley would talk to her and coo at her and that deer would come right up to her and just check her out. I asked Ainsley if that was her deer and she said "yes". I asked if she had a name and she informed me it was "Kiwi"! Aaawww!

Ruidoso Trip--The Petroglyphs

The Petroglyphs are not the easiest hike in the world, so until this trip, I had never taken the kids. Ian of course, did great, but within the first 10 minutes Ainsley was already whining to be picked up (henceforth the reason I had not taken the kids before!) Ian was having fun exploring up ahead with Grammy and Liz, while I trailed behind with crabby toddler taking photos!

Mom and Liz

Grammy loves her boy!

Miss Ainsley camouflaged in the tall grass! Like a cheetah, she is! (A really cute cheetah!)

Ian fighting the wind and his bangs! He couldn't keep his hat on the wind was so bad.

Ainsley ready to take flight!

Mama and her babies!

All in all, the hike was great. It was a beautiful day, wind gusts aside, and we had a wonderful picnic afterwards. The park hosts were very nice and informative and best of all, had a VERY friendly Bassett Hound named "Rocket" that we all adored! I think Ian really enjoyed hunting for petroglyphs and Ainsley, well, she enjoyed whining, sitting on rocks and drinking out of her canteen! I always love the petroglyphs and I was glad to finally share them with my kids!

Ruidoso Trip--Take 1

What do ya know? I am finally getting around to posting about the Ruidoso trip! I figured I better get a move on since we'll be heading back in about 2 weeks! I took this trip with the kids and we met up with Mom, her friend Liz and my Aunt Annie. The trip over there was pretty good. I was amazed at how well the kids handled that relentless drive! In fact, Ainsley was in the middle of potty training at the time which led to an interesting trip with LOTS of potty breaks! Here are the kiddos, all loaded up and ready to take on an 8 hour trip to Carlsbad, our first stop.

The drive from Austin to I-10 was nice. We stopped at Stonewall to get fresh Texas peaches and okra. We stopped at the cleanest rest stop in Texas just before Fredericksburg and we saw camels on the other side of Fredericksburg! We stopped for a quick lunch at a decent Dairy Queen in Junction then it was on to the freeway with the 80 mph speed limit! Needless to say, we didn't get to take in much of the scenery at that point! In fact I saw very little of it as my eyes were fixed on the road. You can't mess around at that speed. The kids listened to music, read books and in general annoyed the crap out of each other, but at least they weren't too loud about it. However, alot of the time they played fairly nice (for them at least) and I was glad! Time flew between Junction and Fort Stockton as I had the pedal to the metal and the kids dozed off after a bit. But then of course, it seemed like FOREVER to get from Ft. Stockton to Carlsbad! When we arrived and were greeted in fine style by my cousin Danny and his wife Cindy. We were treated to a dip in the pool, a lovely BBQ complete with homemade mac and cheese. Danny even made sure to have a couple of cold ones for ME! Yea! So we sat around, completely full and happy, visiting and laughing. I miss my cousin, we don't see each other enough and he and Cindy are so great! I love 'em! They gave Ian their spare room and their daughter Lacey gave up her room for me and Ainsley. I slept like the dead! The next morning we had a leisurely breakfast, drank tea and coffee and then the kids and I loaded up to head to Roswell to visit Grandma!

Danny, Cindy and the Monkey Bunch!


The trip to Roswell was quick and the kids and I were both very happy to see Grandma! She has recently moved back to the Peachtree Assisted Living and it is such a nice little place. I am glad to see her settled where she doesn't have to cook or clean and she has help if she needs it. We visited, had a bite to eat, then Ian played with the Wii. Grandma, managed to slip a Furby and a Cabbage Patch doll into Ainsley's iron grip, so I was forced to take on 2 more little passengers!

Grandma and the kids!


We were once again on the road, this time to our final destination... the cabin in Ruidoso! The kids both conked out on the drive, which allowed me to put the iPod on shuffle and enjoy myself. I made one quick stop in Picacho to pick up some Cherry Cider. You just can't visit Ruidoso without getting Cherry Cider! We made it into town right around 4:30pm and it was perfect. The temps were 20 degrees less than Austin and the air was crisp and fresh and filled with the scent of pine! Aahhh! The kids were very good to help me unload and while we were doing that, Ainsley said, "Mommy! What's that?"

The Welcoming Committee of course!

The kids were so thrilled to get their first glimpse of wildlife! We made a quick trip into town to grab a bite to eat at the Great Wall of China, a cute little Chinese place that has been in business for 20 years in Ruidoso. They were so nice to sit us next to a large tank of fish which kept my bunch greatly entertained! One of the waiters also overheard Ian's desire to learn Chinese. He came over and announced that Chinese was his first language and gave Ian and impromptu Chinese lesson! He now knows how to say, hello, thank you and you're welcome! The kids were so excited with their new language skills that they ran around the house all evening thanking each other and saying hi in Chinese!

When we got home, the kids immediately got to work setting out peanuts and birdseed, and I tended to the hummingbird feeders (notice the sweatshirt... it was that chilly!).

Once all critters were stocked up with goodies, we settled in for the evening I pulled out "Clash of the Titans," we grabbed glasses of Cherry Cider and commenced to have a wonderful evening! By the time the movie was over and their Cherry Cider was gone, both kids looked like the Joker on a bad day!

What a great start to our trip! More to come...

Jammin' backyard BBQ

You know there's really nothing better on a Sunday afternoon than eating GLORIOUS tri-tip steaks (thank you Paul!), drinking ice cold beer and jamming out with your friends! After completely stuffing ourselves on steak and pasta salad, we rolled ourselves out to Paul and Chelle's gazebo to enjoy a little musical entertainment. It's so nice to have musically inclined friends! After listening for awhile, Ian decided he would like to participate in the music, so Brady started showing him a few things on his djembe. He worked very hard and you could see by the wrinkles in his brow that he was concentrating like crazy! It was so cute! I can definitely see that Ian will be a musician of some sort and I am thrilled to support that in any way I can!

Takin' after his Daddy!

And no... none of those beers were his! ;)

First Blues on the Green for 2009!

It is my goal this summer to do ALOT more outdoor activities and ALOT more live music with the kids. Ian LOVES music and I really want to encourage this. He definitely has musical potential and I want to nurture that love of music by taking him to see live music as much as possible. It doesn't hurt that Brady and I also enjoy live music! One of the best ways to see live music in Austin is a series called Blues on the Green. You hang out in a park with your lawn chairs and blankets, bring a picnic and enjoy some great blues artists. You also take along a camera and get entirely too many pictures of your kids! What can I say, they're just so damn cute!

Wallering and waiting.

Grimacing Daddy, can you tell he hates having his picture taken?

Just hangin' out!

Daddy's giggling foot-rest!

What a smile!

Mama and her girl! (In case you were wondering, the shirt says, "My Mom's tattoos are better than your Mom's", it's true!)


Crazy kids!

Is that your hat? Yeaaaah!

STOP TAKING PICTURES OF ME! ('Nuff said!)

When in Greece...

I know it's supposed to be "When in Rome..." but Ian and I are studying the ancient Greeks at the moment, so you know. We have been reading about the Bull-Jumpers, the Minotaur, Medusa, Hercules, and of course all the gods and goddesses. I always LOVED Greek mythology and Ian is no different, he is eating this stuff up! So we decided to make some Greek shields. We have them started and frankly, we need to finish them this week!

Day One: Getting started.

Day Two: Adding some decoration.

We need to do the final design on the front and attach a strap and the back this week. I will post photos when we're done!

Cheers to Melanie and Jorge!

I am so unbelievably behind in my blogging, so today I am playing catch-up! On Sunday May 24th we were so happy to attend Melanie and Jorge's wedding. It was so awesome to witness two of our best friends tying the knot! The bride was beautiful, the groom was beaming and the ceremony was touching. The reception afterwards was wonderful, full of fun, music, friends and family. We had a great time! In fact, my kids had the BEST time! Ian found other kids his age and they ran, played, danced and were honestly... utterly obnoxious, but with the loud music and dim lights, no one really seemed to notice or care! Ainsley on the other hand spent her entire evening charming anyone and everyone! I think she graced the dance floor with the bride and groom more than anyone else! The kiddos definitely have a special place in their hearts for Mel and Jorge and they were so happy to be included in the festivities! I have loads of photos of Ainsley, but Ian on the other hand was a whirling dervish and capturing him on film was damn near impossible! But here are few of the kids with some of their favorite people. We love you Melanie and Jorge!

Ainsley and the beautiful bride, Melanie!

Ainsley cheesin' with the groom!

Glorious in green... Ainsley and Ross

Bustin'a move with Mama!

Someone partied a little too hard!