My Christmas Presents

You know you've been married for awhile when you actually put appliances and tools on your Christmas list. This year, I actually found out about what Shawn was planning on getting us for Christmas, and ended up talking him out of it. :-/ He was looking at a new washer/dryer set. Ours are old and small, but are still working really well. With his job predicament he's in right now, I convinced him it just wasn't worth it even though we have the money, we never know what the future brings. So, instead, I convinced him to get some new doors for the upstairs. The doors that we had were hung incorrectly, dark, painted over and over on the bedroom sides, and Oakley's room even had (what I thought to be) gang signs scratched in all over it. Needless to say, I was excited that's what he decided to get us for Christmas (along with a beloved carpet shampooer)! It has taken us since Christmas to actually get them hung because we had to cut, sand, notch, paint, sand again, notch again, and paint again.

Here's what my dark and dreary hallway looked like before today:

And now!!!

Bear Lake 2010

Before you read this, please be aware that there are 4 new posts today...GO ME!!!

Shawn and I had had a week long trip to a condo up at Bear Lake. The vacation had been planned for months and Shawn has been out of work, so I figured there'd be nothing stopping us from going. Well, just a few days before we were supposed to check in, Shawn got a short call to work on a shutdown for 10 days. Murphy's Law- it was just over our trip days. So, I tried desperately to find someone who wanted to occupy the condo during the week, but failed. It all worked out in the end, though, because I was able to go up with just my little brother and sister who are out here for school. It was a great sibling reunion, the weather was perfect, and the crowds were obsolete!

I completely forgot to pack Oakley's PJ's so he just used a T-shirt and stuffed his ball up in there! He rolled onto it, then couldn't get back up!

We had our share of good wipe-outs

And a lot of good wakeboarding-it was just after this shot was taken that a skimmed over an entire school of fish...only about a foot below the surface. For those that know me-I was absolutely awestruck and terrified at the same time! I just prayed I didn't fall in close to them!!!

He was playing with his truck on the seat and just gradually got lower and lower...;-)

I didn't know I was raising a flamingo

Helping me drive

Anyone for some crack?

Our view-and yes-the water is THAT clear!

Oakley's "tube ride"-I played the part of the boat

Warming up before having to say good-bye to the beach :-(

How old am I???

We have a lady in our neighborhood who runs a daycare out of her home, and also opens it for a little preschool during the school year. Kids only have to be 2 by the time school starts, and all we have to pay for are the supplies, which made it super cheap. So, of course I chose to send Oakley for 6 hours of free time a week!!! As we were getting ready for his first day, though, I found myself totally taken back at how fast time has gone. My baby is in preschool and looks more grown up than most the kids in his class. He is the youngest by about 6 months, so he is a little behind when it comes to being able to just sit and listen to the teacher, but he's slowly catching on. He talks about his classmates and teacher all day. I really enjoy the walks we get to take to get there. He just jabbers about stuff the whole time!

He was totally posing for these pictures!

Yup-we made that studmuffin!

Where has the summer gone???

We have been such slackers with our blog lately! Every time I take a cute picture or have something happen, I think, "oh, that'll be perfect for our blog" and I just keep forgetting! So, here are a few random posts in one.

This summer, our niece on Shawn's side got married. While the family was all together, we decided to go on a little family outing to Willard.

Our niece zonked right out with the nature sounds all around her.

This is Shawn's mom with our oh-so-cute baby niece.

My brother-in law taking in the beautiful scenery

Oakley missed his nap and was super tired. I expected him to be beastly, but he just sat in that chair and watched everyone. He sat there for over an hour-basically asleep with his eyes open.

This is just a shot I couldn't resist. We've been loving having Daddy home all day.

Do you think Oakley may be outgrowing his swing??? He pushes himself.

My favourite ;-)

For those that remember about Shawn's fashion sense, here's a new one for you to giggle about. Shawn's been playing Mr. Mom lately, and this is what I found when I got home from work. I got a good laugh out of it! Oadie added the single shoe on backwards, of course!

Here's Oakley helping daddy work. I finally have switches in my house!!! My project that I wanted done was to put some in our living room because we used to have to walk through the dark room and pull the chain on our light. Now, not only do I have switches, but I have 4-way switches at every entrance into my living room! And, I can turn on my kitchen light without having to walk through the kitchen and reach behind the microwave. Shawn decided that while he was at it, he put switches in our room and Oakley's room for our fans. It's so nice!!!
This shows the true cowboy side of our son. He was supposed to be taking a nap, and I kept hearing him grunting and struggling with something, but he wasn't asking for help, so I just left him. After he stopped, I went in to check on him...and this is what I found. He had been working so hard to get his boots on. I now have to keep his boots out of his sight, or he has to wear them all the time-he even throws fits if he had to take them off to get in the tub!

Congratulations!

I've been absent from my blog for some time now (cough *two months* cough). I noticed my birthday ticker for Oadie Toadie said, "Oadie Toadie is now 2 years old. Congratulations!" Did my blog even doubt my parenting skills??? I'm glad we've all made to see his 2nd birthday. Here are some pics to prove he had one ;-) More pics from our grand travels will be posted later.

We started the day off right by going on a hike to see the Assateague Island light house. Here we are with my family.

and my second family-the Receveurs

I then spent the rest of the day making this (with a little help from my mom and Miss Tina-the cake decorator!)

He's still figuring out the whole blowing concept.

My favourite shot from the day. He picked up the cake and started playing with it right away ;-)

My little Picasso

Is there a better way to end the day?

I can almost count the days on my fingers!!!

I know we've been major slackers lately keeping up on our blog. It happens ;-) I chalk it up to the fact that we've got a big trip planned on the 21st. I'm soooooo excited about this trip. First of all, Shawn and I could really use the break from reality. Also, Oakley's just at such a fun age right now, I can't wait for my family to see him. He shows off, mimics, plays, and even tells his own jokes-it'll be so much fun! We are flying back to PA then driving straight down to VA for my big brother's graduation from UVA Law. On the way down to VA, we are stopping at some long-time friends house and visiting them for a day/night. From my brothers graduation, we are heading straight to a sea-side condo in the Chesapeake Bay where we will spend the week playing games, fishing, crabbing, and playing on the beach with some other long-time friends. From there, we head back up to PA, drop Shawn off at the Philly airport for his return flight, and continue straight up to another condo in the Poconos. There, we get to do the same thing...play, swim, relax! After that week, we go back to my parents' house where we get to go to my little brother's high school graduation, spend a few more days visiting, then fly back to UT. There will be a lot of driving involved, but it will soooooooo be worth it! I can't wait!!!

Sneaky Little Devil

I went downstairs to trim my family's hair and this is what I found.

After searching the entire basement for close to an hour, I started getting a little suspicious of Oakley's toy trike. My suspicions proved correct when I found

this...sneaky little devil!!!

Model Train Show

For the past few years, Shawn has gotten so excited about the Model Train Show at the Union Station. Every year, we've forgotten about it and missed it. This year, I even put it in my trusty phone. It reminded me about it, we hopped in the car, and went! Oakley liked it, but got bored with it pretty quickly. I think he'd appreciate it a little more next year.

Oakley ignored the trains at first and ran straight into the Car Museum. He got a little mad at the fact that he couldn't grab them and play with them.

Watching the trains go 'round

I took this pic, noticed Oakley's face, and tried for another one. I was so focused on Oakley's face that I took another one and didn't even notice my hubby.

This is what I saw when we got home...what to do with him?!

It was amazing to see all the detail they put into the models. I'm glad Shawn's not quite as obsessed with his trains.