Bennett the Brave

For my fellow mamas... AGAIN!

And again, from Sally Clarkson!!!

CLICK THIS LINK!

Family afternoon at 49 Degrees North

Muddy parking lot = HAPPY boys!

Mr. Bennett skiing with Daddy.

Soy Sauce helping place the cones for the ski school.

And then he got a fun ride with Daddy!

"Thanks Dad, that was way cool.  I sure love you."

Spring skiing is THE BEST!  THIS MAMA LOVES WARMTH!!!!!  ;)

Just an artsy little picture of the ribbons the kids ski under on the bunny hill.

Happy Bennett :)

And even HAPPIER once he got to dig into the BBQ chips for tailgaiting!!!

Sawyer and Daddy being dramatic about how relaxed they were... ;)  

Spontaneous Road Trip!

Erik left for a three day trip on Monday morning... 

well, practically Sunday night because it was such an early wake-up time for him... 

Anyway, when I looked at his schedule in more detail on Monday I saw that he was going to have an 18 hour overnight in Pasco, Washington starting at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday... sooooo......  I say to Shelby, "Hey, i'm thinking of doing something crazy."  She says to me, "Tell me something I didn't know.".  LOL JK she didn't say that.  She said "What?!", and I said, "I think we should pack up the boys tomorrow morning and drive to Pasco and surprise Erik!!!!!!"... Of course Shelby was up for the adventure :)  So we started packing!

Pasco is only a three hour drive from Chewelah, and considering Bennett and Sawyer hardly EVER have to ride in their car seats anymore, I figured they would enjoy a road trip, and I also figured Erik would be so happy to see us in Pasco when he expected to be alone in his hotel room all day. 

The drive went great!  We only stopped once because I had to get gas, and there was a McDonald's at the gas station so we got a Shamrock Shake for the boys.  I had some too... it was my first Shamrock Shake!!!

The drive to Pasco is beautiful in it's own way, it is mostly a desert, 

but the rolling fields and sunshine make for a gorgeous landscape.

The boys were well entertained by Auntie Shelby on the drive...

I most likely would NOT have done this spontaneous trip if I didn't have anyone with me to take care of the boys in the back.

Anyway, we rolled into Pasco just before 11 a.m., and Erik was already at his hotel room so on the phone with him we were just talking casually and then I said, "Oh hey, can you tell me what your room number is at the hotel"..... Of course he was like... "Um... yeah, just a second... 2229... WHY?!!!!" LOL!!!!!!

So I told him, "WE ARE OUTSIDE YOUR HOTEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

He was really happy to see his little boys running around outside in the parking lot when he came out to greet us... and the boys both RAN over to give him a big hug when they saw him :)

It was a fun fun fun trip... Sawyer got to go swimming for the first time! 

And after the three boys all passed out for an afternoon nap after swimming, Shelby and I took advantage of being in wine country!

This is at the Gordon Estate vineyard north of Pasco about 10 miles.

And this is at their tasting room in Pasco.

Yum SYRAH!!!!!!!!!!!

Lastly a picture of Sawyer being a little stinker in the hotel room ;)

The drive home went great yesterday, we got home by 1:30 in the afternoon and Erik got home a couple hours after that, and now he is off for a WEEK!  And Shelby is here a couple more days until Saturday.... me and the boys do NOT want her to leave!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  She is the biggest help for me, and the boys love her so so so very much... Sisters/Aunties are the BEST!

Monday with Shelbs

SHELBY!

It was SUPER last minute planning... 

and some insane luck for her flying standby... 

on not one, but TWO full flights...

 but she is HERE!!!!!!!  

And I couldn't be happier!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My baby sister and I @ the wine bar in Chewelah (ChewVino)

SPRING BREAK 2014!!!!! lol ;)

 Auntie Shelby and Soy Sauce.

*MORE PICS TO COME, SHE HAS ONLY BEEN HERE TWO DAYS AND I WORKED BOTH THOSE DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!

SO NOW I AM OFF THREE DAYS AND I WILL TAKE MORE PICTURES OF HER I PROMISE!!!!!!

Cell phone photo dump

Sawyer and I have been sick with a cold the past week so I got behind on blog postings, but here is a photo update from the past week.  Sawyer and I are feeling better now too, don't worry :)

Skiing with Dad @ 49

Nothin much beats tailgating with your favorite guys on a sunny spring day :)

Sawyer loving the warm sun!

Bennett's first day out wearing a t-shirt this spring!

Some close-ups of our neighbor cows, Cream and Sugar.

                                         This is Cream,                                        and this is Sugar!

I named them :)

#loveyourselfie

#outdoorwino

Poem by Randy Grayson

God loves little boys and all that they do

Exploring and laughing and roughhousing, too.

God loves their energy, eagerness and wit.

 He loves their serious side and their fanciful spirit.

He guides them and tends them while they grow,

Giving them all of the grace he can bestow.

God's plan for his boys is wondrous as well,

  Because soon in their place little men will dwell.