Birthday Boy!!!

Well You guessed it! My baby boy is the big 2! I can't believe it and have been going through fits of shock for the last few days. It just seems like yesterday that he was a tiny little infant that I was doing my best to entertain. Anyways, the lucky little bugger got spoiled rotten and got two parties! We celebrated up in Idaho with James' family and then down here with mine. He was super excited to get all sorts of new things to play with!















This is how Dakota celebrated Oakley's b-day! A trip to Idaho is never complete without a ride on her donkey Snowflake!














Grandma and Grandpa Bethers needed some pumpkins carved....so we got our hands dirty!














The kids with their finished pumpkins.














Birthday Party in Idaho


















It's your birthday....wear your sister's PJs!

















Blowing out the candles


















His Loot!!! The John Deere trackhoe he picked out and it had to go to bed with him! He also really loves his hunting set that his sister got him! Way to go Dakota!

Great Pumpkins

No Halloween is complete without a night of pumpkin carving. Since this was the last time Dakota would be home for the month, we got ours done early. Let's just hope they make it until the spooks come out!

The Mighty Hunters

Tuesday morning I woke up at the buttcrack of dawn( 7:30- 8:00 AM) to the booming sound of my husband yelling in my ear "Get up, get Oakley dressed, we have to get on the mountain!" The frost was covering everything and he knew the hunting would be prime. So I pulled out the camo and to my surprise he told me we wouldn't need it but to wear it anyway because I look HOT in camo! My every wish came true in that moment...

Anyways we headed up Taylor Mountain and James spotted a couple of big bulls right off. When we got closer to them though something scared them away. So we started to head up to Oaks Park area and right off the road in the timber was a little spike bull elk. James would not usually shoot something so small....but Oakley was there and he was so stinkin' excited he didn't dare break his heart. James hit the brakes and we slid down the road for forever thanks to the thin sheet of ice that had managed to take up residence there. Once we got it shut down he jumped out of the truck and the chase was on. Poor Oakley was so flippin' excited he was panting like a dog and pressing his nose against the window to watch the action! I swear buck fever must be genetic!!! Anyways to make a long story short, James ended up getting this sweet spike in the thick timber. It was a perfect shot, especially for where he was. We ended up having Ryan bring his horse up and between the two guys and the horse they drug it out of the trees! It made for an AWESOME day!!!!

Way to go honey!

My Yardsale Find....Giddy Up?

I admit I am not much of a yardsale'r, but Marie and I were driving past a neighbors house the other day (on our way to watch our hubbys in a ranch rodeo) and I saw this bouncy horse that I didn't think Oakley or the rest of my future spawn could live with out. Since I knew the people and we were really short on time, I told them to hold it and we would be back later in the afternoon to pick it up. The sweet lady I bought it from about fell over laughing when we pulled up with the truck and trailer to pick it up (we were on our way home from the ranch rodeo and it happened to be on the way.) She and her sister were joking about how we didn't need to bring a trailer....we could just ride it home. I guess you had to be there to appricate the humor, but anyways I was right in the assumption that my boy couldn't live without it! He LOVES it!

My baby is growing up......

My baby is growing up and his mama is in one serious state of depression over it. James has been trying for a year to get me to convert Oakley's crib to a toddler bed and last week I finally gave in. Talk about BREAK MY HEART!!! I love the fact that Oak is talking now in complete sentences for the most part, but all of the rest of the growing up stuff makes me want to cry. That sad thing, I think, is that me is now mobile.... he can get in and out on his own. If he feels like running the halls, he can do it( that is until his mama catches him) but now he doesn't need me to get him out. Anyways, it seems like just yesterday I was bringing him home and putting him to sleep in this.....

(Please.....advert your eyes towards the crib in the background....since that is what we are really talking about here.....no need to look at that fat pregnant woman that is taking up most of the space...)















And now by big boy goes to sleep in this.....









Last night he even made it through the night without falling out of bed! That was honestly a relief!

A day at the Zoo

For some strange reason we have to go to the zoo at least a couple of times a year. Our kids absolutly LOVE it! This trip we went with the Watkins family and enjoyed every minute of it. There were so many new little babies!!! I wanted to take the baby Giraffe home with me. Anyways we had a blast...just wish Dakota could have been with us!


















Baby Zuri was intoduced to the public just a couple of days before we went! Look at the size difference! This was Oakley's favorite thing to see!












Oakleys second favorite thing to see!


















Please ignore the fact that I look extremely large and hump backed.....Marie was kind enough to snap a quick family pic! This is by far my favorite thing to see....probably because I have always wanted a pair of giraffe hide chinks. Don't know why....I guess it is just the Cruella DeVil coming out in me!!!




















I heart this little guy!





















This pic looks fun and innocent...but 5 minutes before this pic.....I was in a PANIC!!! Oakley took off while I getting the tickets out of the bag. I thought James had him and James thought I had him. The search was on....good thing he didn't wander too far. We found him trying to climb over the fence to jump on the carosel ride. I have never been so scared....except for the time my little brother ran off at the state fair ( but that is astory for another day)




















After a full day of fun at the zoo....it is time to catch up on some zzzzz!

(Only my kid can get that dirty at the zoo!! Still haven't been able to get that shirt clean either!)

The Life of a Domestic Housewife!

This right here....is reason number 1 for why I have been neglecting my blog. I do love to can beans. I don't know why....because it is a lot of work, but there is just something about it that gives me satisfaction!


















This right here......is reason number 2 for neglecting my blog. Joce came over and helped me with the salsa. I haven't ever done salsa before...and boy, was it good!!! I have had horrible breath for the last 3 days....but it is so worth it!!!


I don't have a picture of reason number 3, but it has to do with freezing a butt load of carrots. For as many carrots as I peeled and sliced I didn't end up with as much as I thought I would. Next year I will be growing more carrots in my garden and a whole lot less peppers. Joce and I shared a garden this year and we have so many peppers. It is a good thing they freeze.


So... now you know what it is like to live the glamorous life of the domestic housewife!!!!