My First Black Friday

I never quite understood the whole Black Friday thing. My cousin Treasure goes every year, and EVERY year I wanted to go with her to see what it was all about, but I just could never convince myself to get up before the sunrise and head out into the cold to wait in line. After scouring the BF ads for the past couple years my husband decided to go it alone last year and I stayed with the kiddos. After his experience he determined you definitely need at least TWO people (you have to have a runner...which I should have learned from all my cousin's BF blog posts..sigh). Anyhow, we decided this year we would send the kids home with the MIL and him and I would go out. I have to say, I think I'm hooked.

This is going to be a LONG post so just bear with me.

This was NOT at all like I expected. I expected to see humanity at its worst, but in fact I encountered a TON of really nice people and I felt this sense of community while shopping.  It was definitely crazy but it was a LOT of fun.

After scanning the ads after Thanksgiving I decided to come up with a game plan.  I found that several of my items were similarly priced at both Wal-Mart and Target.  There were some Wal-Mart specific items, and some Target specific items.  Thankfully we were not purchasing any electronics at Wal-Mart so we could go at midnight to get the toys and other items on our list, and what we didn't get there we could make up for at Target at 4am when they opened.

We arrived at Wal-Mart around 11:15 and the place was PACKED.  We got there and there was no cart anywhere.  I grabbed myself a little basket and decided that I would use that and hand carry the rest.  Wal-Mart had all their BF ad items shrink wrapped in the middle of the aisles.  (I can see the need for this but it caused MASSIVE congestion).  There were people huddled around them and tearing into them like crazy.  All the items were marked "ITEM DOES NOT GO ON SALE TILL MIDNIGHT", but unless someone was specifically watching, people were tearing into them like wolves.  I felt kinda bad disobeying the rules, but all is fair in war, so I snagged some of my items when I saw something I wanted.  There was a girls bicycle on sale for $29, Jamin went to grab it but some lady began yelling at him that we were not allowed to pick it up until midnight.  She was watching us closely, so he just decided to park there and wait for it.  While he was doing that I decided to go try and hunt some other items on our list.  I went to the back of the store to find the $4 pajama sets and they were heavily guarded in one area.  You would think this was loaded guns or something the way Wal-Mart was guarding them.  Ridiculous that people were lining up for PAJAMAS.

I went around the corner and saw another pallet of pajamas unguarded, and people were ravaging them.  It was somewhere around this time I heard a Wal-Mart rep say that we could get into the items.  I went ahead and found PJ's for both small girls and ran into a friend I hadn't seen in a while.  It was good to see her.  We both looked for PJ's together for a few moments.  I kept looking for the older kids some PJ's because they are about $5 cheaper than normal, and overall that's a savings of $20 for all for kids, so it's a pretty good deal.  I never found them for the older kids, so I gave up and went to find my husband.  This was a little after midnight.

He was in the back of the store, in gardening in LINE.  Oh.  MY.  GAWD.  I get back there and he has a $200 Kitchen Aid mixer in his cart.  I gave him a funny look because that item is NOT on our Christmas budget this year.  He smiled and pointed to a smiling gray haired man behind him in line and explained that he was sharing his cart with this fellow.  (We later found out his name was Bob.)

So there we were.  Me, my husband and Bob.  We stood there for about forty five minutes and the line was not moving at all.  I finally decided to go see what was up.  What I found was a complete and total traffic jam of carts all merging into one huge line.  People were just squishing their way into the pile and there was really NO real line.  I saw this and KNEW we'd never get out of there, so I started searching for a new line right away.  I found one that was in the gift bag aisle and I could see the register from there.  I quickly texted my husband to come find me.  He couldn't find me but ended up one aisle over in the cards.  I walked over and found him and Bob there.

Bob had found that line, went and found my husband because a nice lady saved his spot, and we all went into it.  Bob was with us for the long haul.  Our line quickly began to slow down.  Some lady at the register was causing a stink.  The manager light began to flash and the poor cashier looked like a deer in headlights.  This went on for what felt like forever.  They finally got a new cashier and the line began to move.  We were one cart away from the register and the lady in front of us saw our bike and asked how much it was.  We told her and she had that pained look on her face that she wanted one.  I told her "they are just right over there" (I could see them from where I stood).  I said "hurry, go get one".  She ran over there and grabbed the exact same bike as me.  We checked out, shook hands with Bob and said our tearful goodbyes...

Finally at 1:45am we were DONE with Wal-Mart.  We were both fading, and starving so I gave in and let my husband go to the Waffle House to eat.  (I usually don't like these places because they are dirty and scare me, but their bathroom HAD to be better than Wal-Marts bathroom and it WAS.  That's saying A LOT).

We got out of Waffle House about 2:30 and went to Toys R Us because we had time to kill.  We didn't buy anything there, just walked around.  We grabbed some coffee, and hunkered down in our warm truck in the back of Target parking lot and waited.  The line was wrapped around the store.  People had TENTS.  I wasn't about to get into that craziness for the few items I wanted.  We waited until the store opened and the line moved and we went up there.  At 3:55 "Eye of the Tiger" came on the radio...fate?  It possibly was.  It was like we had our own personal little soundtrack.  We were pumped, we were ready.  4:00am the doors opened and we filed out of our car towards the store.  Ran into the same friend that I saw in Wal-Mart on the way!  We got into Target a little after 4am.  My husband headed for the toys for one item, while I went to electronics for two other items.  We found all three items on our list and were checked out by 4:20.  Target was a dream compared to Wal-Mart.  We had successfully gotten everything on our list for the day and decided to head home.

We had gotten everything that we came for!  Total score.  We are the kings of BF shopping.

So here is what I learned:  Mob mentality CAN and WILL get the best of you.  Don't give into it.  Stay calm and you will most likely end up getting what you were after.  You have to go in there though with the notion that you MAY not get what you are after and that is OK.  You have to be QUICK and savvy, but you don't have to be rude.  People out there are also pretty nice and willing to help you, there is just a sense of camaraderie when you are out at that hour with people all on the same mission.  This whole experience was SUCH a trip.  I can't wait to do it again next year.

The House is DONE!

After seven LONG months our outside renovation is finally complete. WE are still in the paperwork process of getting it finished but as far as the work is concerned we are DONE! I'm so happy with how it turned out!

Here is the before:

 

And then the AFTER

I can't even tell you how THRILLED I am to be done, and how great it looks.  I LOVE the new colors. 

Before and Afters

I've been a busy little bee around my house. First we've still been in the process of the whole outside remodel (which thankfully is COMPLETE now...photos soon...) then we ended up flooding our den when our washing machine leaked. The carpet was bad to begin with and after water sitting on it all night long there was just no salvaging the carpet. At this time we decided to move the TV into the front room and make our den an actual den. We got new carpet, moved the computer out of our bedroom and it's wonderful!

Here are some before and after shots. (The before is when we first moved in and still had the BIG screen, but you get the gist of the layout, our flat screen was still in the same spot)

And here is the AFTER.  I LOVE it! I can't believe how BIG the room feels with that huge overstuffed chair out of the way of the entry.  (I plan to get rid of this furniture when I have some more money, but for now it stays...overstuffed furniture was SOOOO 2003...)

Next I decided it was time to take care of that UGLY file cabinet.  Nobody saw it in our bedroom, but here where it would be more prominent I decided I MUST take care of it.

 Before....

And after some ORB (Oil rubbed bronze) spray paint.

And last, we received some items from Aunt Blanche's home.  Our Aunt Blanche was almost ninety and recently passed away.  I can't tell you what an honor it is though to be able to keep some of her items in our family.  You can read all about Aunt Blanche on my Aunt Kathryn's blog here.

Here is a cute little handy stepstool we received. It will be used well in our kitchen by the little hands that like to help mommy bake cookies.  It was however, in need of some TLC.

Here it is after with some black paint and a coat of poly to make it easily cleanable.

Considering Aunt Blanche picked black as one of colors to paint her fingernails when the twins wanted to paint her nails, I think she would approve of the color choice.  MUCH better.

We got our windows installed in the house this weekend, but since they gave us all new trim on the windows we had to re-paint some of the outside.  I will have photos soon of that completed project and I have TONS of other items in the garage I'm currently working on!  Christmas is coming and we've started Santa's workshop in our garage!  It's going to be fabulous!  Can't wait to share it.

Renovation Nightmare

Two years ago my husband was driving to work and having a chat with God. He jokingly asked God to give him a new truck. Not five minutes later he gets plowed by a hit and run driver. Thankfully he was fine, but his Pontiac Grand AM was NOT. The car was totaled, and yes, my husband got his truck

This spring my husband told me we needed to paint our house. We were also in need of a new roof and some other outside repairs that we just didn't have the funds for. We jokingly asked God again to provide for us (we do realize that God is NOT a magic genie in a lamp). A few weeks later we were pummeled by a hailstorm. We had MASSIVE damage to our home. Looks like all those things we were needing to get taken care of insurance would cover.

God has a funny sense of humor when we ask him for things doesn't he?  Or is this just US?

I need to be a little more careful what I ask for. We are four months after this hail storm and still knee deep in the process of trying to get our house back together. Dealing with the insurance company and the mortgage company has proved to be a nightmare. On top of it I decided to be my own contractor to try and help save on my deductible. I've learned NEVER to do that again.

This is a long story so I'll try and keep it brief.  We had a claim for A amount of dollars.  B amount of dollars was our deductible.  C amount was our depreciation amount, so insurance cut us a check for amount A-B-C which I will call amount X.  We get our amount X Check and it is made out to us AND the mortgage company.  So, we called the evil bastards our mortgage company and they told us to get the check cashed we must send in the contractor information, their license, insurance the report from the insurance adjuster and a check for $35.00 for a home inspection when it's complete.  We explained to them we were working as our own contractor and that we would be completing some of the work ourselves and the work would be done by various companies.

Here is where things got messy.  Here is where I wish I would have thrown in the towel and just called a contractor.

The mortgage company said we would need a materials list printed from a supplier (Home Depot or Lowes), we would need insurance and license info for every company working on our house, and the estimates from all those companies.  So, we comply of course.  Problem is the people at Home Depot look at us like we have two heads when we ask for a materials list.  We decided to just send them a spreadsheet with the materials, the cost, and the item and where it will be purchased at.  10 days later, no word, and no money.  I have ROOFERS on my house installing a roof and I have NO MONEY.  I call the mortgage company and they tell us that they are missing information on a materials list.  The one we sent them wouldn't suffice.  Really?  So, my wonderful savvy husband prints a shopping cart from online and sends it to them.  10 days later we call and they tell us that a check has been issued.

Thank.  God.

So, we leave for vacation expecting a nice fat check when we come home.  We get home and yay!  We have a check!  We open it up and it is for HALF of amount X.  HALF.

I feel bile rising in my throat, and anger pulsing through my veins.  In the memo line it says "50 percent contractors material draw."  Really.  You have GOT to be kidding me. 

So, my wonderful husband gets on the phone to the mortgage company (because at this point I was about to postal on these people).  The representative explains to my husband that we can't get more money until the entire job is complete.  We ask her how we are supposed to cash flow the project and she is nothing but nasty to us.  She said we could release some of the funds for the roof, but we would have to pay to inspect ($35 remember?) every time someone comes out (roof, windows, paint, gutters etc...you get my drift).

So, we decided to get out of their nasty system, and pulled some strings to cash flow the project to complete it.   Once we get it done we will get the remaining funds from amount X from our mortgage company (granted that they don't need our blood type and a kidney from us).  THEN once it is all completed we will get amount B (the depreciation) from our insurance company.  THEN we will pay off the project.  Sigh.

It's October.  Hail storm was May.  My house is NOT done yet but we are getting there slowly.  My husbands truck was also damaged in the storm, when we found a repair shop insurance asked us "do you want the check mailed to you or the repair shop?"  I said "REPAIR SHOP."  I am backing out of the system and washing my hands of it.  I will let the repair shop argue with the insurance company and I will keep my hands clean of this mess ever again.

Here are some photos of my home and the hail damage it sustained:

Now we have gotten almost all the painting done.  We just need to finish the painting, do the gutters, get the windows fixed and new screens and we will be done.  I can see the finish line the end is near.

Here is where we are at so far:

One thing I can be completely thankful for is that through this entire process God has provided, and we have a gorgeous new roof, and we were able to redo the colors on our house and get a really great garage door.  The house looks a MILLION times better than it did and I'm loving it!  Final reveal of the home will be coming soon!

Decrapification - The Medicine Cabinet

I'm stealing the word "decrapification" from my new-found hero Thrifty Decor Chick.  I just love that word...decrapification.  Anyways decrapifification of my home has begun.  I do not want to appear on an episode of "Horders, Buried Alive," and if I continue on in the chaos I've been living in that's where I'll end up. 

I decided to start with my bathroom medicine cabinet.  It has been pretty much a total mess ever since we moved in.  I think I've cleaned it maybe once in the past two years.  Stuff just gets thrown up there and never really sorted through.  So I decided to dedicate this afternoon to organizing my medicine cabinet.

If you think I suck at decorating stuff, I REALLY suck at organization, but with all the couponing I've been doing it's been nagging at me that I was gonna need to eventually do something to control the chaos.  I start organizing and get into a total tizzy on how to organize stuff.  Like, do I go by ailment or do I organize by kids medicine vs. adult medicine, or both?  For GOD sakes it makes my head spin.  If you don't believe me check out my post on organizing my kids clothing.  It's enough to make me insane.

So, I actually GOOGLED "how to organize your medicine cabinet."  I'm not kidding people.  The consensus is to organize by ailment like "cold and flu" and "pain relief", etc...so I started on the daunting task of going through all my meds.

So, for those of you who are organizationally challenged like me, here is what I did.  Maybe it will help you, or maybe you can give me ANY advice for the future ;)

Here is my before shot.  It's NOT pretty.  It's downright embarrassing.  It's a total pain in the rear to try and find anything in there at all.

I cleaned it all out, and wiped down the cupboards.

Then I organized categories of meds into piles.  It about threw me into a tizzy when one medicine would fit more than one category.  For example:  Hydro-cortisone.  It could go into anti-itch or it could go into first aid.  I think I debated this one for twenty minutes.  Have I ever talked about my inability to make a simple decision?

  I then took out all expired medications, and put them all into baskets according to their category.

Then after about 30 minutes of cursing and screaming trying to get a label maker to work, I just decided to write the labels by hand with a Sharpee.  I put all the labels on and put them up in the cabinet, and finally I was done!  I wish my shelves were adjustable so I wasn't wasting space, but this is much better than where I started.  I'm pretty proud of my progress!

I learned some things I learned while doing this:

• I have enough feminine hygiene products to get me through the apocalypse.
• I have purchased Benadryl probably EVERY time I felt allergy symptoms. 
• I've purchased sunscreen every time I've gone swimming.
• I've bought aloe practically every time I've gotten a sunburn.
• Sunscreen actually DOES expire.  I never knew that.
• I had items in my cabinet that expired in 2007.  That's before I MOVED.  That means I MOVED this crap.
• I had BREAK FLUID in my medicine cabinet.  Not sure why, but that's a bit scary.
• As technically savvy I think I am for the life of me I can't figure out how to use a label maker.
• When left to their own devices, a three year old will try and mix water and Play-Doh to make a cake.

Tomorrow it's the linen closet.  Yikes.

Our Half Bath

So, we have this small half bath in the downstairs hallway and for two years I've been meaning to put stuff up (including a hand towel bar), but just never got around to doing it.  So, I finally got STUFF on my walls in my bathroom. 
So here are my photos of what I've done to make this room a much nicer place to pee for about $20 bucks:

(You think I would have at least emptied the trash)...I've had this photo for ages in my bedroom.  It worked much better in the bathroom in the space above the toilet.  Oh, and that's a magazine rack from Ikea I've also had for a while.  I thought it may work as a toilet paper holder.  I was wrong.

A hand towel ring!  Finally!  Woo hoo!  Total cost of towel ring $10 at Wal-Mart.  The candle holder I found at a thrift store for $1 this weekend!

The purple towels I've had, the painting was my moms (or my grandma's) when mom and grandma passed away I got one and my brother got the other.  The frame was absolutely hideous though so I never had it up on the wall.

So, I went to Lowes spent about $2 on dark brown spray paint and refinished the frame.  Looks totally gorgeous now and works nicely in the bathroom.  It's a family heirloom, so it's nice to keep it for sentimental reasons.

I was lucky enough to score this mirror when we moved in.  I love it.  Found the cross today at Hobby Lobby for $4.00 on clearance.  My final plans for this bathroom are to refinish the cabinets this winter and add new hardware to the doors.  That medium wood stain and grain of the wood is KILLING me.  Also I may get some vinyl wording to go above the mirror.  I saw one that said "our aim is to keep this bathroom clean.  Your aim will help" ....ummmm ok maybe not.

Underwear Parade

Holy cow two posts in one day!

This is a short one, but cute.

My middle daughter Evie comes into the room with only her underwear on, dancing past me in a line back and forth, hands on her hips, shaking her little booty and humming. After about three laps in front of me...

"What are you doing silly?" I ask.

"I'm having a parade!"

Of course.

The Decorating Bug

For two years now I've been in my home, and for two years I've had blank walls. The reason for this is two fold.

1. I consider myself to be a bit artsy and crafty, yet I don't have any works of art I feel worthy of putting up on my walls, but I refuse to just "buy" something made by someone else when I'm perfectly capable of making something.
2. It takes MONEY and TIME to make things. Both I always come up short on.

So, for two years my walls have remained empty and projects are left unfinished. SO, I'm dedicating this fall/winter to taking care of my walls and unfinished projects little by little. Thanks to Thrifty Decor Chick she has got me totally motivated with her savvy thrift store salvages and restorations.  I'm in awe of some of the stuff she comes up with.  Totally gorgeous and totally within budget.

So, I admit I kinda suck on decorating.  I just don't know how to arrange things properly on walls and what should go where.  I'm pretty awesome at copycatting things, so that's pretty much what I plan to do but add my own little flair to it.

So I started last week with my wine bottle project (which I totally stole from somewhere but can't find the link so I can't give them credit...so sorry).  Anyhow, I primed them, painted them a color to match my Asian tablecloths and then looked up the Chinese words online, crossing my fingers I didn't accidentally stumble across a dirty word ;)  I added some cherry blossom to them and plan to put them on a shelf in my dining room.  I really love the way they turned out.  I can't wait to get them up on the wall!

And yes, I'm missing one cherry blossom.  For some dumb reason when I went to Hobby Lobby and got them I only got four instead of five.  Waiting for them to go back to 50% off again to buy another.  Total project cost (since I had the wine bottles leftover and the paint on hand) about $5.00!

This was the old mirror to my dresser we got at a thrift store.  We don't use the mirror and it's been sitting under our bed for two years.  I pulled it out, cleaned it off and painted it black.  It's not the best mirror out there but it was FREE (oh and it had to be THIS weekend when I ran out of Windex...).  I found the candle holders at a local thrift store this past weekend, brought them home, painted them with a little ORB (Oil Rubbed Bronze by Krylon), and voila.  The whole project cost me about $12.00!  Now I have one wall in my living room done at least.

Anyhow, I have MANY more projects in the mix, just trying to find time to do them all!  Will post them as I get finished! I'm not quite as innovative as my guru (Thrifty Decor Chick), but I'm trying to get there.

My funny little girls

I was downstairs enjoying a nice quiet afternoon of reading while my two little girls were down for a nap.  Lucy had only been down for an hour when I heard the faint sound of a xylophone playing from upstairs.

I quickly dropped my book and ran upstairs wanting to quiet Evie from waking up her little sister.  To my surprise I found Evie's bed completely abandoned and Lucy was happily in her crib playing with the xylophone (which I can only assume her sister gave her).  It was a really cute sight.

So I grabbed Lucy (and the xylophone) and went looking for Evie, whom I found in my room.  I said to her "what are you doing in here?"

To that she replied "I was scratching my butt Mom."

You couldn't have asked for a more honest answer than that.  My only response to a statement like that of course would be "alright then sweetie, let's go wash your hands..."

Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

Has a year all ready flown by? Wasn't it just yesterday I was looking down at you in the hospital trying to figure out where you got all that black hair from (must be Papa) and kissing your chubby little cheeks?

Over the past year those cheeks have remained large but you've grown into them somewhat, your hair has slowly turned from black to a beautiful shade of brownish blond with a little red in it, and you still capture my heart just as much you did on the day you were born.

When you smile you smile not only with your mouth, but with your eyes.  You have the most amazing eyes ever.  They are blue, with a hint of green and golden yellow in the center.  I say it's the sun in your eyes just like the song says "look for the girl with the sun in her eyes..."  We couldn't have picked a better name for you.

I can tell all ready that you love music.  Anytime you hear music you bob your little head from side to side, and scoot on your bottom.  I'm certain that once you start walking you will be dancing shortly thereafter.

You are a little cuddlebug.  When I pick you up you grab my face and give me big smooches on my cheek.  I absolutely adore my kisses from Lucy.  (Daddy says you are a daddy's girl, but deep inside he knows you are a momma's girl ;) 

You are smart, and you are mischievous.  You can catch my eye from across the room and smile at me when you know you are getting into something you shouldn't. That tells us that you are definitely one of US.   You are curious.  I can tell all ready that behind those blue green eyes there are deep thoughts full of curiosity. 

You love your brother and sisters.  You want to be wherever they are, doing whatever they are doing.  You follow them wherever they go.  You love to laugh just like the rest of our family does.

You are totally attached to your bottle, and I'm in no rush to take it away from you.  After all, you are my youngest little baby.  You have the sweetest disposition unless you want something and then you will go to all lengths to get it (usually a screaming fit).  I give into you more than I should because I know you are my last little baby.  I've spoiled you a bit, but that is ok, because you are only little for such a short time.  In a blink of the eye you will be all grown up and I'll wonder where the years have gone.

God knew how to make you just perfect.  I could have never guessed exactly what you would be like. Before you were born I could only guess, but God knew.  He knew exactly what Lucy would be like before you even existed in my mind. I still don't know what changes will come in the next year but I love watching you grow, learn and watch your personality come out more and more each day. 

For now, I just enjoy you exactly as you are.  You are my silly little Lucy, and today you are one!

Toenails

Yes, only I could do a post titled "toenails."

So I was in the kitchen tonight when my son comes in to talk with me. I glance downward and notice his toenails are in desperate need of clipping.

Me: Dude! Look at those toenails. They are ridiculous.
Him: (nonchalant) I know.
Me: No, seriously dude, you could totally make weapons out of those things.
Him: Yeah,whatever.
Me: (joking)Is that your plan? Is that what you are going for?
Him: Nope. I'm going to be on "Ripley's Believe it or not."

Then he walks away.

Sisters

I didn't see Lucy crawling around so I asked Evie "Where is your sister?"

She says,"In the closet," and walks away.

I go and open the closet and find her in there, locked in the closet, happy as can be. She totally didn't seem to mind at all that her sister locked her in there.  Give it a few years though, I'm sure that will change.

Red River Vacation

So, last week hubby and I set out with a convoy of 7 vehicles to Red River, NM for a family reunion/camping trio.  I have to admit, I wasn't looking forward to this much at all, in fact, I was dreading it a bit.

Not because I don't enjoy his family (because I do they are MY family too and I LOVE them), but because camping to me with the kids is a chore.  It's been YEARS since I've camped without little ones and had to change diapers, worry about meals for them in the outdoors, them eating dirt and grass, etc...also ten hours in the car with four kids was not my idea of a picnic.

Surprisingly, this was one of the best vacations I've ever had with my kids.  I had such a great time.  First of all I didn't realize how gorgeous Red River was.  I knew I'd be in mountains, but I hadn't really wrapped my mind around that concept.  Right as we hit the mountains and the 70 degree weather, it started to sink in.

Also I didn't realize how much fun it would be driving with a convoy of cars.  We all had walkie talkies (yeah, a bit old school, but better than cell phones for this type of situation.)  We each had code names, Donut, Glacier, Bomber, Elders, Beamer, Rancher and then us Scrooge.  (My cousin Treasure tried to name us Oompa Loompa because of a recent unfortunate incident that I had with the self tanner, but that is for another blog post...).

We had quite a bit of amusement with these walkie talkies, joking with each other along the way, for example we discussed that here is a water tower that Aunt Kathryn probably backed into with her car (her and I both have a knack for backing into things with our vehicles).

Getting there truly WAS half the fun.  That night at our campsite we saw deer (thankfully no bears) walking close by.  I was totally amazed to just see them so close to our campsite!  We also had hot dogs with the family and made banana boats back at our campsite.

The next day we got up and decided (well my HUSBAND decided for me) that we would go on the chairlift.  I don't know how he convinces me to do these things, but part of me is glad that he does.  I'm TERRIFIED of heights, so me going on a chairlift is not as relaxing of a trip as some may think.  The trip up wasn't too bad, it was the trip down that had me in a panic attack.  It was when the chairlift would stop and sway in the wind that I started to cry a bit.  I did however manage to calm down enough to get a few shots, because it was truly an amazing view.


Here I am blissfully unaware of how frightening the trip down will be.

This is about when I started to panic.

I had to admit even in my panic stricken state, that it was amazing.

That afternoon we went on a jeep ride up into the mountains.  We saw even more amazing views.  I totally loved it.

This was the first stop we made in the jeep.  Breathtaking isn't it?

This lake we had to really work to get to.  It was this very narrow road up a pretty rocky path.  Took us a while to get there, but as you can see it was totally worth it.  A lake hidden up in the mountains.  It made me stop and think that if God made this earth so beautiful, what is heaven gonna be like?  Amazing.  Simply amazing.

We debated on wether or not to go to the peak, because time was ticking on our rental.  We went ahead and decided to head that way, and once again, it was totally worth it.

We headed back to camp that night covered in dust from the jeep trip, and cleaned up for a progressive dinner.  That I'll admit wasn't my favorite part of the trip (toting Lucy up and down the hills from one place to another was a bit rough while my husband cooked the main course for about 50 people), and I was exhausted from the long day we had all ready had.  Plus I had to get both my kids showers that night to clean all the dust off of them.  My day started about 6am and didn't end until 10pm, and that is a LONG day when you are camping outdoors.

The next day we went into town and let the kids ride go carts and spend a little of their allowance on some fun things.  We had a blast.

This made me nauseous just looking at it.

We got back to camp just before it started to rain.  Ended up spending a couple hours in our tent while it blew over.  I started to get a bit of cabin fever and stress that it would rain all evening, but thankfully it didn't.  As good of a time as I had, I was ready to go home.  The kids were starting to wear on me a bit.  That night we had smores with the kids and jiffy pop on the campfire.  It was a lot of fun.

It really WAS a great trip.  I had a lot of fun with our family and we got to do a lot of neat things.  I will carry with me some great memories from this trip!

To see a full slideshow of our photos from our trip you can click here.