Daddy Dressed Me Today

The T-shirt is fitting- it reads "If I Don't Match It's Because Daddy Dressed Me"

So what's wrong with this outfit you ask? (Pay close attention to the shoes)

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a great time to sit back and enjoy one of my favorite things! TURKEY! It is also a great time to reflect on a few of the things I am most grateful for. And my boys would be at the top of that list! But we are also quite grateful for the rain that we are getting. It rained buckets today! And since we haven't had rain in a long time, it is definitely a blessing!

Do the Hokey Pokey..

Happy Birthday Lorina!

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday Aunt Rina!
Happy Birthday to you.

We Love you tons.
Have a great day! You only turn 40 once so live it up!

Future Mac Genius

Christmas on its way

My Christmas lights are up!! And not just mine- my Mom and sisters too! And yes I realize that it is not even Thanksgiving yet. But it was a gorgeous day today and I just knew if I did not take advantage of it, the next time I had time to do it, the temperature would have changed and it would be freezing out. So I pulled them out of the attic this morning and put them up in what I consider record time. (A few years ago we discovered light hooks that make the job a much quicker endeavor-no more nails or staples!!)

Justin hates putting the lights up. Well, I think he more hates the whole height thing but the two seem to get melded together in his head! And since Rachel and my Mom were at the girls soccer game I was on my own. But like I said it was a quick process. Lincoln wasn't too happy with the whole Mom on the roof thing but luckily Justin was able to keep him semi-entertained while I got the job done. I am just excited to know they are up. And in case anyone is wondering they are not on, just up!

One Done and More to Come

Well, Justin has been back to work for a week now. And to put it mildly it is kicking his behind! He has not had to work this hard in a long time. He used to work hard labor every day when he installed windows, but he has gotten out of the habit over these past few years. But he is surviving and we are grateful for the blessing this job promises to be. We were a little scared there for a little while thinking that after all the time they spent training him, they would lay him off again. But luckily they just moved him to a different part of the warehouse. Instead of staying in the preloader area he is now working the irregs.
The irregs is where the irregular packages that can not go on the conveyor belt end up. They have to be sorted by hand and then moved to the appropriate trucks for loading. So Justin is now a part of that team. He likes it much better than preloading but he says it is still a lot of work. And he is hopeful that perhaps this job might get him back on the wagon in terms of losing weight. If that happens it will be another blessing for both of us!

Best Intentions

Well this past weekend we had big plans to spend the time out in Valley of Fire enjoying the outdoors and the beautiful weather as we took Lincoln on his first camping trip. But due to some not so friendly winds in the early afternoon and tired husbands the trip was canceled! :(

The Richins (the family we were going to spend the time with) did come over Friday night and we did still enjoy an awesome Dutch Oven dinner! It wasn't camping out exactly but we still had a great time. The boys played as well together as can be expected for a 16 month old and a two year old can! They are both fascinated by cars so that helped out!

Maybe one of these days we will actually get to actually go camping. Although this way is sure a lot less messy and all our clothes didn't smell like campfire. So maybe I shouldn't wish for the camping to work out!

Working World Here He comes...

Ready or Not here he comes! Justin officially starts at UPS tomorrow morning! And morning might be a bit of an exaggeration, due to the fact that I consider 3:30 am to still be part of the night! I know he'll be great it's just going to take a little getting used to! And I'm think I might be a little lonely myself as it is not quite 9:00pm and my boys are both already in bed!

The House that Pa Built

On Saturday morning we headed out to Spring Mountain Ranch again. This time it was for a much more memorable event. Justin's father loved everything that had to with the Ranch. He spent years there as a Docent, which means he basically volunteered many, many hours to the cause. And he loved everything that had to do with the Mountain Men that used to roam the West. One of his favorite things to do was participate in the Mountain Men Rendezvous. As part of this passion, he did quite a bit of research into the life of one particular Mountain Man known as "Old Bill Williams". complete it. And if it had not been for his friends that had theAt one point he even found what he believed to be a stopping point for the men on their travels on the back side of Spring Mountain. But due to circumstances beyond his control this "dugout" was destroyed. So he decided to build a replica of what one of these would have looked like on the ranch. And before getting sick he started his project but then with the onset of his cancer he was not able to same passion as himself, it might have ended there. But his fellow Docents decided to make sure his dream was realized. So yesterday we attended a small dedication ceremony of the "Old Bill Williams Dugout" in Justin's Dad's honor.
It was amazing to see the work he was so adamant about come to life. And it was definitely another testament to the influence he had on people and to how much he was able to touch the lives of those around him. He truly was loved by all and is still sorely missed by those that loved him back.

A Big Thank You!!

A big thank you to everyone who has kept us in your thoughts and prayers. As of this afternoon Justin is officially re-employed. He returns tomorrow to complete all his paperwork and find out when he officially starts. He will go through a training process before he starts his regular hours but we don't have all the details on that yet so we will have to wait and see what happens. Needless to say we are going to have some changes to our life when he starts working the 3 am - 9 am shift. But I guess we will work those out. Although it is a relief to think that we will be able to have a little more padding in our finances I think Lincoln is going to miss having his Daddy around all the time. I think those two have become quite attached over the last few months! Luckily, I think they will still be able to spend a lot of time together after Justin is off work.

What Will the Future Bring...

Well lets start with the good news. Justin has a 2nd interview with UPS tomorrow morning, so hopefully that is good news for us. We've had two friends that already work there put in a good word for him. So hopefully that has paid off and we will have good news tomorrow afternoon! And it might be just in time. I just finished watching the President Elect speak to our country and although it was a moving speech full of hope and promises of change. I can only think that things are going to get worse before they get better.

Hiking With Dad

Lincoln and Justin went up to the Redrock loop with Aunt Christina today. They were going to just go walking at the park but since it was such a beautiful morning I think the mountains were calling them. It looks like they had a ton of fun but I guess Lincoln ended up sleeping most of the time! I think I would too if I got to be pushed everywhere!

Life's Little Blessings in Disguise

Well, last Friday I got an inkling that it was time to try and straighten up the garage after sending stuff off to DI a few weeks ago. I was tired of looking at the random assortment of boxes scattered throughout and with the removal of some larger items there was plenty of room to rearrange things. So we got up on Saturday and headed out. As we were moving stuff and sorting it into its proper spots I happened to shuffle some stuff past the water heater. Upon moving it I was surprised to find a puddle of water on the box the heater stands on. Upon further inspection I found that the heater itself was leaking! Just a small drip but a problem non the less!
I was quite annoyed and frustrated with this discovery. I swear if it is not one thing it is something else. Just when you think things might be looking up another problem arises! But then I sat back and thought perhaps I had been blessed! Not with the heater needing to be replaced but with the fact that we found it so early on. Maybe my desire to clean the garage was a blessing in disguise. If we had not been out there that morning the leak could have gotten worse and caused a significant amount of water damage. So although I am still quite frustrated with the prospect of having to replace the heater, I am trying to focus on the blessing of finding the leak early!

Little Soccer Star

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

It was a wonderful sunny afternoon so we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and headed up to the mountains. We ended up at Spring Mountain Ranch a small State Park near Redrock. It was really nice. Lincoln loved being able to run free and found it quite interesting to try and eat everything he found!
When it was time to go he did not want to leave, but the Rangers were pretty persistant. So we headed out and decided to stop in Calico Basin on the way back to Vegas. Justin and I used to go there as teenagers, but had not been back in years. And all I can say is it looks totally different than what either of us remember. They have done a lot of improvements including installing a walking path, so that was quite nice. But it sure did not bring back any memories! I guess we know have new ones to reflect back on ten years from now! :)