Our New Pet

Living in the desert we have lizards and all sorts of odd creatures running around our property. Jeremy was skilled enough to catch one yesterday. Anden was ecstatic about that. Me, not so much. They really wanted to keep it as a pet but I quickly put a damper on those daydreams.

Anden really wanted to take him out and play with him...in the house! Um, NO! So we took the new pet outside. We explained to Anden that the little guy doesn't really want to "play" with you. So if you take him out he'll run away faster than you can blink! But Anden was too excited to comprehend the fact that someone or something actually wouldn't want to play with him. So Jeremy carefully showed him how to pick up the squirmy creature by the back as to not hurt him.

After the practice round of holding the lizard, we gave him full permission to pick it up all by himself and place it carefully on the grass. Apparently his sporadic amnesia kicked in. RIP Geico Gecko.

Oh and after all the excitement of the dangling flip flopping lizard (that in a half second predictably sprinted to safety FAR away from Anden), Jeremy's conscious got the best of him. He suddenly admitted to me that he actually didn't "catch" the lizard. The bug man's traps in the garage caught the lizard...but hey at least he transferred it from the sticky trap to the bucket.

Here comes Taylee!

We dug out Anden's old walker toy for Taylee. She wants more than anything to walk on her own but hasn't fully mastered the concept yet. Needless to say, she was in LOVE with the walker and did awesome! However, we made the mistake of letting her try downstairs on the tile, where there's no friction to slow it down, and she literally sprinted across the room. So we hauled everyone upstairs to the long carpeted hallway.

Anden couldn't handle not being part of the spotlight. So we allowed him the pleasure of joining in on the fun...pant-less and all.

(2nd video coming soon)

Just the Girls

On Saturday, Taylee and I went for a morning jog. The boys were away on a scout campout so we made use of our girl time. Halfway through we stopped at a park for Taylee to play...ok and also for me to catch my breath and wipe the sweat! Ya it was over 100 degrees by 8am. Taylee just looked so adorable in her "jogging" attire that I couldn't help but snap some pics of her. She just happened to be in photo shoot mode since she was lucky enough to be pushed on the jog. I, on the other hand, was not about to smile for a sweaty pic! We just love our little Taylee. She just keeps getting cuter every day!

A Day in the Life

So here's some of the things we encounter during a day at our household...

Anden loves to paint and do crafty projects. This time he insisted on wearing his chef hat with his apron. I'm sure his painting is quite the culinary masterpiece.

We're in the middle of potty training and wow is that a thrilling experience. I left him for 2 seconds to check on Taylee and heard him yelling for help. By the devilish grin on his face, I'm assuming this wasn't an accident.

And then there's the times when he's just a tad bit too quiet. You know something's awry. This time he was at his little table making himself into flying zebra.

Curse ever buying "non washable" markers! He wore that costume for 3 days with patches of raw skin surrounding it from scrubbing it so hard.

"What Mommy? You don't like my painting?!"

Anden's Driving Skills

Anden cracks us up! He was outside with Jeremy unloading the trailer from the weekend activities. Taylee and I came out later to check on them. I was busting up laughing at him cruising around in his Gator. He had loaded his quad into the back and was taking it for a spin. Here's an inside peek...

Jeremy literally beams with pride every single time he looks at Anden! Without saying a word, you can tell how much he adores his little mini me.

Unpaid Vacation # 5

June 19-21: Forest Lakes, AZ

This was a very successful, fun and challenging (4 kids under 3 years old) trip! Our friends Kyle, Ashley, Gage and Brigg came along.

After a hectic morning, we all finally arrived! It was perfect mountain weather in the 70s! We hadn't even unloaded the cars yet before I heard Anden yell "Mommy, my hands are dirty!". I hollered back "Hold on!" as I struggled to juggle Taylee, 2 suitcases, and a bag of groceries. We hadn't even been there 5 mins, how dirty could his hands really be?!

I guess it only takes 5 mins to play in the fire pit and then manage to rub it all over your face. After we cleaned him up, it was non stop running for Anden and Gage. Besides having to implement a constant toy referee, they had a great time together! Brigg and Taylee just had fun watching. Ok and Taylee also thoroughly enjoyed eating anything off the ground that she could quickly snag before we did.

Now since you're dying to know, the tree fort looks amazing! No sarcasm this time! :-) Here's the work in progress. The little boys were quite the helpers...or maybe the destroyers!

There was only one minor hiccup. Jeremy took the time to haul up the huge air compressor and the nail gun. However, he forgot one minor accessory...the AIR HOSE! I secretly laughed every time I heard him banging away with an old fashioned wood stick with a hard metal object fastened on the end called a 'hammer'. Such the life of a peasant. Luckily he survived the embarrassment of non air pressured tools.

Who knew what an outdated lousy hammer and some scrap lumber could build?! The finished product:

I'm sure it's just what they had planned for Father's Day. Scrambling to finish the tree fort in the precious one hour of child free time....aka nap time! They actually finished it right when the kids woke up! After receiving multiple accolades on their achievement, we let the kids give it the true test. Anden was on the top platform 3 seconds before he slipped halfway through a "hole"!! Jeremy: "Oh OOPS, that part wasn't finished yet!" Hhmm maybe the women should have been the quality inspectors instead of the innocent children.

Finally we loaded up and headed to the fish hatchery before heading back home. The kids loved feeding the fish! I personally think the fish were way too aggresive. Honestly, are they supposed to jump out the water and catch the fish food before you ever throw it??

During the Fish Farm visit, we also learned yet another one of Anden's hidden talents. He has the powers to be a superhuman flashlight.

Luckily he only reserves these powers for special occasions as they really wipe out his strength.

More cool shots! It was such beautiful scenery there!

Prepping for Unpaid Vacation # 5

Here we go again, another long weekend! I hate to admit it but I'm going to actually be sad when we get our full paychecks reinstated...and therefore have to go back to full time work status! This has definitely been a fun time having all these extra days to spend together as a family!

Ok we're heading back up to the cabin this weekend to play and finish (or should i say start) the tree house. Jeremy's out loading the trailer right now. I'm supervising this time to ensure we are prepared with the correct supplies. However, since I have no clue what I'm supervising, we're still at high risk of repeated failure!

Stay tuned...I'll post the outcome upon our return. Of course there's no internet up there! Heck we're just ecstatic that we finally get roaming cell service this year!!

Siblings

Here's our attempt to capture a picture of the kids. Anden wanted nothing to do with the picture or sitting by his little sister. He's only there because we bribed him with candy and then couldn't get the candy out of his mouth long enough to say 'cheese'. Then there's little Taylee who is just ecstatic to be included in anything and is clapping for joy. I think we'll have a lot of years of her attempting to tag along with her less than pleased older brother.

Unpaid Vacation #4

For this unpaid vacation, we decided to head up to our family cabin (otherwise known as 1970s single wide trailer) in Forest Lakes, AZ. We prefer to call it a cabin rather than the beauty it is. But hey, it's an escape from the Phoenix heat and therefore we love it!

We had been back in town from Idaho for a whole 5 days and apparently that was just too long for Jeremy. So at the last minute, he devised a plan to talk me into going so that we could "build a tree fort for the kids". How can I turn down such an adventure?! So we threw together our stuff and headed up north with our lumber, nails, and hammers in tow....ok and also the rhino and quad.

On our drive up, we passed something that I can definitely say I have never seen on a highway!

My laughter only grew louder when we got close and I saw the redneck method with which it was being held together. Nothing makes you feel safer than flying in a helicopter covered in duct tape.

I noticed Jeremy was quiet. I looked over and could see him drooling with envy. No, not that we didn't own a helicopter but that someone else had thought of a use for duct tape that he hadn't! We had just been dethroned as the most redneck truck/trailer/package on the road.

We finally arrived in Forest Lakes to a balmy 60 degrees with wind chill in the 30s (by my temperature gauge!) After much contemplation, Jeremy picked the perfect location for the tree fort. There he began the construction. Here's the beginning shot:

After a couple of hours....here's the finished product!!

Oh wait, did that look just the same as the first pic?! Ya, so Jeremy is very talented but preparation and planning aren't necessarily vying for the top spot on his skills list. He didn't bring the right length of wood. (of course it wasn't his fault, it was the tree's fault for being too wide apart! lol) So I hope the kids enjoy their 2 sticks of wood nailed to the tree. I just know they'll be the envy of all the other vacationing kiddos. We'll just tell everyone, "Why YES we did mean to build a balance beam for our kids!"

Here's some other fun pics from the weekend. What an adorable pair!

And then the urge to strangle his sister won the battle.

Luckily Taylee is resilient! She absolutely loved hanging out on this corner all weekend!

Me & the kids on an relaxing quad ride. Later Jeremy made the dreadful mistake of allowing Anden to drive the quad. Geez, nobody warned me I would get bucked off the back when he pushed the throttle from o-60 mph in half a second!

Here's more enjoyment from the weekend. It really was SO cold and windy! Definitely colder than Idaho! I should remember that the elevation is in fact 7500 ft. One of these times I'll finally learn to just throw in a spare snowsuit.

Busy Body Taylee

Taylee decided over night to become a big girl! Maybe she saw competition from her cousins while we were in Idaho? Because the moment we got back to Phoenix she just started crawling away, clapping, standing up, walking along couches, etc and grunting/flexing! The last skill is compliments of her cousin Jeslynn!

As usual, Anden steals her spotlight. I felt a bit guilty by my sudden change of tone of voice in the video clip. Then I remembered it was the 3rd take of the video and the 3rd interruption. Tone = justified!

We love our little Taylee who somehow isn't so little anymore! I'm positive she'll end up following in her brother's footsteps and be walking when she's 9 months old! I'm not quite sure if I'm happy about that or not! lol more work for me!

Vegas/Idaho/Montana Trip - Part 10

May 29: Blackfoot, Idaho Falls, Vegas, Phoenix

This was our last day in Idaho. We spent the morning exploring Danskin Estates (aka Dad's house). Even Taylee got to sit on a horse this time!

Then we headed to Idaho Falls to meet Mom, Luke, Mel, Brylee and Jeslynn at the Tautphaus Park Zoo!

From the Zoo, we rushed to Arctic Circle to cram the best burgers and fries AND fry sauce into our bellies. Then we rushed to the airport. The Idaho Falls airport is so tiny; which makes for an less exciting adventure. No sprinting, sweating or child dragging is necessary. This perfectly explains how we all felt after this trip!

Oh....but wait! After we landed in Vegas, Jeremy came up with a bright idea to just go ahead and drive back to Phoenix that night. Arrival at Harbeck Home: 3:15am. Worth it? You betcha!!

Thanks Papa Nolie for everything you did to make this such a fabulous vacation!

Vegas/Idaho/Montana Trip - Part 9

May 27: Blackfoot

We spent the next two days in Blackfoot. Actually to be correct it's not even Blackfoot; it's Moreland, Idaho. And we loved it! Summer is so pretty there! Our children didn't even know what to do with all that real actual green grass! We did find that Anden uncovered a hidden talent. He can easily camouflage himself in a field of dandelions.

We spent lots of time admiring (or harassing) the horses! We're so lucky to have a "farm" to take our kids to! They think it's the coolest thing ever!

After the horse adventures, we came back and played all night in the backyard! It was a perfect warm country summer day!

May 28: Blackfoot

On this momentous day, Dad decided to inaugurate our kids into the world of country swimming pools....aka flooding the lawn with dirty ditch irrigation water. Luckily they're as naive as we were as children and unaware of the bacteria and disease within the mini lake! They had a blast!

After we hosed everyone off with a slightly purer degree of water (and dug out all the rogue grass blades from unmentionable areas), we got ready for a family cook out. Courage and his kids came. It was so fun to catch up and laugh at old times!

Vegas/Idaho/Montana Trip - Part 8

May 27: Island Park and Blackfoot

All good things must come to an end. This was our last day in Island Park. We quickly realized that even the crawdads came to an end. Some creature had eaten each of their "ends" off during the night. That eliminated the need for a debate about bringing them home with us.

Before we left, we managed to spot a rare Albino Sasquatch!

Taylee helping load up the boat...

Good Bye Island Park!

Vegas/Idaho/Montana Trip - Part 7

May 26: Island Park

Another day full of boating and riding. Some of the highlights of the day were:

• Jeremy gracefully falling on the boat canopy and breaking the metal arm
• Jeremy constructing a "jeremy special" to replace the metal arm
• Jeremy misjudging the distance from the dock to the boat and thus splashing into the 50 degree water in his clothes
• Jeremy standing waste deep in freezing water and nonchalantly saying "Why don't you just make a couple laps and come back"
• Jeremy taking the walk of shame back up to the cabin to change clothes
• Aaron teaching Anden how to catch and hold crawdads; only losing one finger to the dreaded pinchers in the process
• Anden learning that you can make worms grow by holding each end and pulling
• Seeing Anden outstretch a worm and take a delicious bite out of the middle of it
• Frantically trying to force Anden to regurgitate the digested worm
• Watching in horror as Jeremy squeezed himself into a wetsuit
• Laughing when Jeremy couldn't breathe or walk in the wetsuit
• Watching the boys squeal like girls when jumping into the lake to ski
• Laughing hysterically while watching a grown man (Aaron) learn how to ski
• Hearing Lyndsay & Dad roaring in laughter on the boat over a mile away after Aaron got stuck on the wake and crashed
• Lyndsay casually reeling in Aaron's fishing pole and accidentally catching the only fish of the trip
• Counting the number of times (5) Jeremy changed clothes
• Aaron teaching Anden how to find leeches
• Prying the gross little blood suckers off Anden's fingers
• Scrounging leftover random winter clothes to wear because we don't know how to pack properly for Idaho
• Showing up the family by bravely (or insanely) jumping straight from the hot tub into the lake for a 9:30pm ski around the lake!

Vegas/Idaho/Montana Trip - Part 6

May 25: Island Park

It's just starts your day with a smile when you wake up to this...

Since it was a beautiful sunny clear day, we decided to finally launch the boat. Then we took a long ride around the lake. It was definitely cold with the brisk morning air hitting us! But we bundled up and enjoyed the ride. I can't even imagine having to bundle up for a lake ride in AZ! After that we headed back out to the dirt! How exhausting that our days consist of boating, eating, riding, eating! :-)

That night we went into West Yellowstone and met Uncle Kirk, Aunt Marla, Mason, Anna and Arleigh who came over from Bozeman. We had a picnic and then went to see Foot Loose at the Playmill Theater! We love the Playmill and try to make it whenever we're up there during the summer. We had front row seats....and you definitely stay awake cautiously protecting every one of your 10 toes from getting trampled on by the cast!

It was a joy having both kids on our laps. But they did really well. Anden picked his nose so much during the show that he got a bloody nose. (he regretfully learned how to pick his nose this trip due to a runny nose he just couldn't resist leaving alone) Taylee just wanted to talk to and touch Arleigh (who's a week younger than her). Anden joyfully clapped after each scene...even when he was asleep. While he peacefully slumbered, he started sucking his binky SO loud that rows behind us and to the side of us were cracking up laughing. Of course it was at the quietest moment of the show. Seeing as we were in the front row, the cast could undoubtedly hear him too. We finally pried the binky from his clenched jaw and the show continued without further interruption.