Christmas Cabin Adventure

Over Christmas break mom took us all up to a cabin in Madera Canyon for some good ol' fashioned "Whaddya mean there are no electronics?!" time in the mountains. I'll admit it, I was scared. Scared that the moment they walked into the cabin and realized there was no Xbox or computer that I might have a full mutiny on my hands.

Funny, though, as we drove up the mountainside and the trees came into view, arching over the road, the kids started to get excited. (Side effect from living in a desert full of brown.) "Wow, Mom! Trees!"

Score.... Nature = 1, Electronics = 0.

We drove up the long, winding dirt road to the cabin and the kids were giddy. A deer was wandering around near the road and Katelyn yelled, "OMG I LOVE this place!"

Nature = 2, Electronics = 0.

Here's the front door of the cabin. There were large rocks everywhere, both inside and outside of the cabin.


The deck in the back wrapped around the back of the house with stairs down to the fire pit.



Rock. Big rock. INSIDE. Seemed to be one in every room. Good ol' mountain decor. Can't move it? Build around it. What I didn't get a picture of was the very large tree in the middle of the house that they built the house around.


The cabin was huge. I think mom said something like 2500-3000 square feet. The living room was great because it had windows the spanned the wall so you could be sure to see any wildlife that might come along. I know. I stared out the windows waiting for wildlife that never came. No, wait. Mom and I did see one bird! Ha!


Ethan and Alex watching uncle Casey sharpen the axe blades so he could teach the boys how to use an axe. Uncle Casey, being the RN and safety freak that he is, had the kids wear safety goggles when chopping wood or shooting the BB guns. However, if you keep a sharp eye out, you'll see the kids wearing them in almost every picture. I don't know if they just forgot to take them off or if they're poor, lost city kids that are worried they might get fresh air in their eyes.



Casey Lesson #1 - How to use an axe to safely chop wood.

Step 1 - Safety first. This is Casey's "You will be safe or I will END YOU" look.


Ethan did great. In fact, as soon as Casey was done teaching him how to use an axe, that's all he wanted to do the rest of the trip. They chopped so much wood, they stocked enough for the next visitors to use during their stay.

Score... Nature = 3, Casey = 1, Electronics = 0.



Grandma and Alex collected twigs for the fire.


A quick refresher course from Casey. See how Ethan is holding the axe up and Casey is standing IN FRONT of him. That made for a scary moment a few minutes later when Ethan was eager to try chopping wood again before Casey moved out of the way.

Ethan Lesson #1 - Don't stand in front of me when I have an axe, Uncle Casey.


WATER. The stream that runs around the back of the cabin. Desert dwellers have to take pictures of water whenever they see it because they might not see it again. I should go run the faucet and take another water shot right now!


Which food do you think Alex is devouring? An orange or a frosted sugar cookie?


Steve finding solace in a quiet corner.


This was taken at the beginning of our stay. They look pretty happy! Although, with the fire there and all the campy ambience, I really should have had them wear ugly christmas sweaters for this picture. I will remember next year!


And now...

Casey Lesson #2 - Slingshot Fun!

Here's Casey and his minions hiking down to find the perfect spot to use their slingshots and collect rocks.

Slingshots only have a few simple rules:
1. Stay behind the fire line
2. If someone walks on the other side of the fire line, put the slingshot down until they're behind the fire line.
3. Be aware of your surroundings.

Score... Casey = 2, Electronics = 0



This picture is where Nate forgot a few of the rules. Note Uncle Casey's stern look of "What did I say? Don't point that thing at people." I think that came about because Nathan had loaded and pulled back his slingshot, then turned to talk to Casey and ask him if he was holding it right. Only, when he turned, so did his hand and he was aiming at his sister. Subconscious move? Ha!



Before dinner the first night we went out for a hike on the trails that ran around the cabin. The kids, being used to only having mall adventures where they have to stay close, would get 15 feet ahead of us and then stop and turnaround. Casey, perplexed, would say "What are you doing? Go hike. Go have fun." They honestly did not know what to do with themselves.

Nature = 4, Casey = 3, Electronics = 0




We brought a whole bunch of activities to keep us busy at night since the sun went down in the canyon about 4:30/5pm. Casey and the kids were building some fantastical creation with these gear toys. Note the smiles and lack of Xbox.

Casey = 4, Electronics = 0



Ethan is obsessed with World War II and Civil War history, so he's kicking back with a few of his Civil War books he got for Christmas. Nerds rule the world!


Grandma took the time to prepare and pack up the food for the entire trip. Here we are devouring dinner on Day 1.

Score... Grandma = 97 (That's for the cabin, the food, and the level of awesome!)

I'm not really sure if Casey's look should be interpreted as "Why are you taking a picture of me with food in my mouth?" or if it looks more like...

"SAVE ME."



Casey Lesson #3 - BB Guns

BB guns basically had the same rules as slingshots with a few additions (that I got in trouble for not following!)
1. Put the safety on while you reload.
2. Don't put your finger on the trigger until you're ready to shoot.

Casey = 5, Electronics = 0

Kate kept telling me to put the safety on while I was reloading and pumping the gun. Pssh. Mommy doesn't believe in safety. REBEL.



Now, come on. You can't go on a camping trip with BB guns and not get some awesome hick shots of your daughter rockin' a weapon. If only there had been an old toilet or junked car behind her.




The line to Casey's BB Land o' Fun!



Casey Lesson # 4 - Building a Fire (WHEN I TELL YOU TO!)

Casey ran through how to start the fire and keep it going. Of course, safety was key, so the rule was always ask before building a fire or throwing anything into the fire.

School is in session...

Casey = 6, Electronics = 0



Me and Nate the Great



I don't really recall what fun game was going on here since I had come down with some awful cold/flu thing earlier, but it looks like fun.




One night we pulled chairs around the fire with our hot cocoa and decided to play a story game. One person would start the story, get a few lines in, and then pass it along to the next person to tell a few more lines of the story. Sometimes they were funny. Sometimes they were weird. (Steve's new nickname is Kitten because of the story game. Remember that.)

The funniest part, though, was when we were going around the room and telling a funny story about ourselves or one of our friends. Each person would take a turn and then we'd go around the room again and let everyone tell another story. Each time we got to Alex, he would tell the EXACT SAME story.

"One time...one time.....umm...my friend Bailey...umm...umm...my friend Bailey had peaches in his mouth...and...and...he started to laugh and spitted the peaches into my other friend's mouth! Ahahahahahaha! " He would laugh hysterically...everytime he retold the same story. Although, subsequent versions he said "spat" instead of "spitted" thanks to Uncle Steve's grammar correction gone awry.

Nate's birthday happened to fall on the second day we were at the cabin. Grandma baked him a cake and we decorated with M&M's. Although, I forgot to bring candles. (I know. FAIL.) Mom found some old nasty candle in a drawer in the cabin, cleaned it off and put it on the cake. (I protested! Ew. But Nate was happy.)

Score...Grandma = 98




Day 3 - We're packing up and getting ready to leave. The kids decided to go on short hikes around the cabin. The owners had built trails with tall rock walls, so it was like a huge maze around the cabin. Ethan had the kids convinced these were war trenches.

Nature = 5, Electronics = 0


Uncle Steve and his favorite pose.


Grandma bought all the kids nerf guns for Christmas, so Steve entertained them by annihalating them with nerf guns. These guns held somewhere around 40 darts with a big missile in the middle. 4 guns with 40 rounds each + 4 kids + Steve + Casey = Recipe for pure mayhem.

No matter how many times Uncle Casey said no shooting in the house, Uncle Steve would find a gun and take them all down. Casey couldn't help it. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

Steve = 3 (for the number of days of annihilation), Casey = 7, Electronics = 0

Pretty girl...



Growing up so fast.


Since it was around Christmas, we had a hankerin' for caroling, but there was no one around for at least a mile. So we found an old outhouse and sang...

I kid! They look like they're singing though, right? They're actually saying "OUTHOUSE!" They were fascinated with the idea that anyone would have to leave the comfort of their home to go to the bathroom in a hut in the middle of the forest. What we couldn't figure out was the Outhouse that had two holes. Is that an upgrade like modern bathrooms with two sinks? Why would you need two "toilets" in an outhouse? Anyone?

Score...Outhouse = 2



This was taken on our way out, so it's sans Casey. He left the night before because he had to work. He also left me with his 9mm in case I needed to take care of business for any reason. The park ranger said we should be able to see wild turkeys, bears, illegal immigrants, and deer, so I dreamt of killing angry bears. Funny part about that is if you remember earlier in this long novel, we only saw one deer and one bird the whole trip. Ha!





We had a blast. Thank you to Grandma Waldron for making our adventure possible and taking care of us while we were there. Thank you to Uncle Casey and Uncle Steve for showing us a good time. And thank you to war veterans who left the trenches for us to play in. :-P

The videos from our trip have been uploading for a while. As soon as they're done, I'll put up another blog post where you can watch them.

Kirsten

New Year's Resolution 2011

I think at some point I thought to myself last January, "I should blog more. Definitely. Need to put some pics up. That's my resolution".

As you can see, 2011 resolution to blog was a FAIL. I managed to go the ENTIRE year. Too bad my resolution wasn't to stop blogging. I could have given myself a gold star today!

Alas, I did actually take pictures and do fun things with the kids this past year, so I have tons to put on here. I think we will go in reverse order, starting with our Christmas cabin trip with Grandma, Uncle Steve, and Uncle Casey.

Ready....set.....GO.

Casey the Indestructible Hero

Random conversation at dinner tonight. We were talking about the chicken we were eating, and then...

Alex: "Uncle Tasey is a nurse. He works at a hospital."
Nate: "Yup. He takes care of people. He works at a hospital."
Alex: "He saves people. He fixes people. Uncle Tasey works at a hospital and saves people."
Nate: "I know. Uncle Casey fixes them when they're sick and when they're dying."
Alex: "I KNOW. He makes people NOT die!"
Nate: "I KNOW! He works at a hospital and saves lots of people!"
Alex: "I KNOW! Uncle Tasey also fights the bad guys. When the bad guys try to get me, Uncle Tasey gets those guys. Like yesterday when I was home and those guys tried to get me. Uncle Tasey GOT 'EM!"
Nate: (Perplexed look that seemed to be wondering how he was somehow trumped in this conversation about Casey's awesomeness.)

U of A Band Day 2010

Having completed four U of A Band Days myself, I was excited to return to the stadium and watch Steve march with the Pride of Arizona. (P.S. Mountain View...what the heck?! A rating of GOOD?! Lame.)

Mom was super nice and forked over her life savings to pay for us all to go see Steve march.

I apologize for the poor quality of video. I'm a slacker and only carry my phone with me. My camera is more of a trophy camera that enjoys long naps on the shelf. That and apparently only nosebleed seats were available.

So here they are marching onto the field. If I find that mom's camera video is better than this, I will replace this one so you guys can enjoy the full 15 minutes of Steve's gloriously blinding sequins and shiny tuba.

My sadness is that I did not get "Bear Down" or the tuba line dance. The pain haunts me. Next time I go over to Mom's, I will have Steve do a solo dance in his uniform, just for you. (Yes you will, Steve. Shoosh.)




(NOTE: YouTube took my video down because it was too big, so here's a couple someone else posted with the link included in case the screen doesn't widen enough on my blog.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g36TOrIrsb4



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ivVt-w19sQ


We love you, Steve!

U of A Homecoming Football Game - Arizona vs Washington

I was completely stoked when I won football tickets from my work for the homecoming game. Football, yeah, okay, but Steve does a halftime show! With SEQUINS! So we waited for halftime in great anticipation. Did I mention with SEQUINS?!

So...Great football game. Good nachos. No halftime show. FAIL.

But here they are in all their glorious spirit standing at attention on the field while homecoming ceremonies took place.




My only solace: We kicked Washington's BOOTAY!

Halloween with Cousins

So, you probably realize I'm only blogging tonight because Jami knows where I live and will harm me if I don't put the Halloween pics I have up.

I have lots of other super awesome pics and videos to blog, so just as soon as the children are grown, move out, and I'm retired, I'll get those up. ;-)

Side Note: I have no idea why these images are tagged with a 2007 date, but let's pretend it says 2010.

Here are all the babies before we headed out. Ethan really doesn't like it that he's included in that group "Babies" because he's almost 12, but he's included until I say he's not, darn it! (He looks enthused, doesn't he? Sort of like "Next year I'm just buying a bag of candy, a computer game and staying home...")


We have Harry Potter, or Nate as we like to call him. The cute thing is Cody LOVES Harry Potter, so as soon as Nate donned his Harry Potter costume, Cody just called him Harry Potter. It didn't matter how many times Nate corrected him, Cody still said "Hey, Harry Potter!"

Next to Harry Potter is Katelyn and her own witch costume concoction. I think she did a great job! And she loves holding baby Casey all snuggled in his Super Man costume. Cape included!

Katie was really confused about Emmy's costume. "Why is it red like a devil but it looks like a fairy?"...to which Jami answered something along the lines of "Because she looks cute but she's a little devil!"

Cody was Batman. Cody is Batman. Cody will always be Batman, because he never takes his costume off. lol

Alex is our resident Jedi. You may recognize his costume from 2008. Yes, thank you, thank you. He wanted to be Iron Man, but I told him that "Jedis are WAY more powerful, cooler AND they get lightsabers. What does Iron Man ever have, huh? A glowing chest? LAME!" And THAT, my friends, is how you recycle costumes from previous years.

Ethan is a dementor from Harry Potter. Look at that grumpy face! He's really getting into character...


House to house we go, begging for candy.


Ethan said his dementor costume was too hot and his gloves were making it hard to open candy, so I took a whirl as a dancing dementor. Yes, I am a freak.


Alex using his Jedi mind tricks on me. "You will get that camera out of my face and carrrrryyyyyy meeeee...."


Nate and Kate truckin in the motherload.


Cody was Batmaaaaaan...Batmaaaan...Batman! (Yes, I'm singing to you.)


Every year we go to the same neighborhood where some friends live. It's great because all the neighbors sit outside on their porches or driveways and hand out candy. One guy takes pictures every year and puts a rotating slideshow up on his garage door with a projector. There is also one house every year that had little nooks and crannies where guys dressed up like Freddy or the undead jump out at you and scare your socks off. We LOVE going here every year. Turns out, we met another Harry Potter fan who asked to have a picture taken with Nate because she hadn't seen another Harry Potter all night!


Here's another house that went crazy with a Nightmare Before Christmas theme. Love it!


The kids did a Halloween play and sang a Nightmare Before Christmas song (This is Halloween), so Kate was really excited to see these decorations.


We had a blast. Saw lots of great decorations. Met great folks. And got to spend our first Halloween with our cousins. Sorry I don't have more pictures of Emmy or Casey. If I find some on my phone, I'll be sure to post.

Happy Belated Halloween! (At least I made it before Christmas. Don't hate.)