The Salt Flats

On our way to Wells, NV, we passed the Salt Flats. It looks like snow and creates water mirages. Gehrig begged us to stop so that he could feel it. It was so bright that I couldn't see my LCD screen to take these pictures. You can really tell how bright it is by looking at Gehrig's face. It looked soft, but was more mushy/crusty. Emma really enjoyed it--until she tasted it (oops!). The salt taste is so strong I was afraid she might be having a reaction. She didn't seem that bothered by it though.

Amazing. . . I got another picture to show. Go figure. . .

But, you can't beat playing in the dirt with the big brothers!! She keeps right up with them!

Looks like I got one of my pictures to post. . .

Yes, one of her favorite things is emptying out her drawers and then stuffing everything back in!

Why Do I Keep Trying???????

Emma's Latest Tricks

Okay, I rotated this picture first, but for some reason, it's sideways. Sorry. I don't dare mess with it if I actually have a functioning blog. You'll get the idea anyway. Her latest and greatest fun has been climbing on anything she can. Outside, she climbs to the top of our playground and tries to go down the slide herself. I have to be very careful to watch her b/c she's fast and not quite big enough to do this by herself. She also climbs on chairs to get up on the tables, turn the blinds, turn the lights on and off, etc. She's a monkey just like our boys!! :)

AARRRGGGG!!!!

I upgraded Picasa (something I've been avoiding for months). That seemed to help, but I was only able to do the two posts. Since then, I've tried about 15 times to upload pictures and they're not loading. I have no idea what's going on. I'll keep trying. Maybe on occasion I'll succeed! AARRRGGGG!!!!

Our Trip to Visit Aunt Millie & Uncle Paul

Gehrig had a week off from school, so we took advantage and visited Camille & Paul on the ranch in Nevada where they've been living. What a wonderful experience! Gehrig expressed it best when he said on the first day there, "I knew this would be a paradise!" We had a wonderful, relaxed week from Monday-Friday and then came back to a fun Mother's Day weekend with Lou.

Emma is really growing up--way too fast! Her vocabulary is growing. She will copy most anything I ask her to now. The first thing I usually hear from her in the morning and throughout the day is, "Outside." She loves to be outside and loves it best if there is a dog or cat around to play with. This darling puppy is Carlianne's Mini Australian Shepherd (I think that's what it's called), Chaco. I figure an 8 week old puppy is about the same age as a 16 month old child--they were so cute together. Here, she's playing tug-of-war with Chaco. It made for a pretty cute video, but I haven't really figured out how to post those yet--at least in a reasonable amount of time.

The boys were in heaven exploring the vast fields and playing in the streams. They are such great friends! I love this picture because you can see them conversing with each other.

Mom and Carli visited at the same time with us. They came to help Paul on a cattle drive. Paul took a rare moment one morning to hang out and enjoy the beautiful weather and great company! :) Camille was an excellent hostess! I'm hoping to convince Lou to go back and visit with us soon!

You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown

I took the boys to a local theater a while back to see You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. They had a great time! The cast was cute to pose with them. The bandaides are covering up their rug burn wounds. Yeah, Gehrig thought it would be fun to rub his forehead on the carpet until he burned his head. Then, he convinced Damian to do the same thing the next day. The day after that, Emma fell off the outdoor swing and scraped her forehead. I was so frustrated to have their perfect little foreheads scarred, but had to step back and see the humor in it.

Would This Be An Appropriate Time to Swear Now???

!@#%()*@)*(#%"&")@!#%&*()"

I just spent another several hours "fixing" my blog. I was so careful to open a new browser each time I posted to make sure that the pictures were showing and now that I'm all done, they seem to have disappeared. HELP!!!! What am I doing wrong???

Can You See the Pictures Now??

The streams were one of the boys favorite places to play! Carli and the boys are getting one last time in the stream before we had to leave.

Fun on the four wheeler.

Camille saw a perfect backdrop for some photos, but the sun was too bright and Emma wasn't interested in sticking around.

Isn't this beautiful country? This is Camille with the kids.

Sorensen Ranch

This is the owner's home of the ranch that Paul works on. What a wonderful place to live! (Mimi--Emma calls her Papa, Emma & Quincy)

This is the first home on the property.

The Sorensen home.

A wonderful play house! The boys loved it. If you look closely, you can see a slide on the right side. The kids go inside the house, climb some stairs, go out on the balcony and slide down the slide! There are monkey bars and a sand pit on the back side of the house, kitchen toys inside. A true, miniature house!

More fun on the Ranch!

We've been reading a series of books called The Magic Tree House which has inspired Gehrig to wear his backpack and take notes of everything he observed. It was so cute to see him writing things down & drawing pictures. He nearly always had his backpack with him during our trip. He loves to write, spell and draw. He's always making up stories and using his imagination. Damian loves to be his sidekick and listen and contribute to his daydreams.

Quincy learned to be quite the good sport hanging out with Emma, who's used to playing with big brothers--ROUGH. She loves to chase him and tackle him. By the end of the trip, Quincy had figured out how to chase her! The two of them are so cute together, you just about can't stand it! I love this picture of them even though you can't see Emma's face. They were both so happy.

Camille found a pair of Quincy's Wranglers and put them on her. She made the cutest little cowgirl in those jeans. She loved exploring as much as her brothers did.

We drove to the cattle drive and met up with Carli, Mom and Paul (and the rest of the crew). We had a fun picnic and then the kids enjoyed riding with Mom & Carli behind the cows. Damian and Quincy are on with Carli and Gehrig and Emma are on with Mom.

Gehrig's Day at the Zoo with his Kindergarten Class

Mother's Day

Lou helped the kids give me a great Mother's Day this year! On Saturday, we went to IFA where they were letting the kids decorate flower pots for their mother's with a free flower. The kids had fun decorating the pots and giving me the flowers.

RCWilley was taking free photos for Mother's Day. Lou took us there, knowing how much I love family photos. We tried to get one of just the kids, but Emma wasn't cooperating. Lou gave her his phone to calm her down and it worked! If you look at it up close, you can see T-Mobile. I thought it would make a great advertisement for them. Aren't our kids cute?

Lou made Sunday a great day for me too. He made us breakfast (hashbrowns from scratch, toast and eggs), played Battleship with the boys, and took care of the rest of the meals (macaroni & cheese and pizza) including dishes! :) We had a great day at church where the priesthood brethren had prepared some food (mostly desserts) for the sisters of the ward during the last half hour of church. Overall, I had a great Mother's Day and thank Lou and the kids for making it such a great day! (I just included a couple of cute pictures of Emma here because you don't see her cry very often BUT you do see her reading quite often! )

Pregnancy Countdown. . .

This picture was taken about 1 1/2 weeks ago (35 weeks). No, I'm not having twins and NO, I'm not even measuring big. I only have 4 more weeks left! YIPPEE!! We can't wait to see the little guy and I can't wait to start getting my body back!