Gettin' Around

  These first pictures are just for kicks and giggles...although they are not G-ma Turek approved photos. Lets just say she has never worn this onesie to g-ma's house.

Jess hasn't mastered the crawling thing yet but she's figured out a way to get around. She's not as fast as her cousin Carter (he's only a month older but has been army crawling for two--maybe more--months) and she's not as creative as her other cousin, Alaina (she is a professional 'rower'--and is so cute when she rows) but she is cute in her own way. She will get on her hands and knees, then go to her hands and toes and do a circle (or half circle) and then get back on her bum. Her bum is her standard position. It's her starting and stopping point. I've enjoyed not having a crawler but she's happy to be getting around a little more. Now I have to try and keep my floors a little more clean.

I'm not sure what's funnier. Jess with her Buns up position or her brothers and sister cracking up laughing at her buns up position. We love this little stink bug.

Pine Wood Derby 2012

Payton was able to participate in his first pine wood derby this year. We got the car kit at his first Pack Meeting last month where he was branded as a cub. It sat in the box for a few weeks before Todd decided it was time to start looking at it. Todd watched lots of You Tube videos to see how to make a winning car. The weekend before the race Todd took the boys to his friends house to cut out the shape. They came home with more than just a cut out car. He had gone to other stores for supplies to make this awesome car.

Payton painted the car, helped Todd polish the axles and decided where to put the stickers. Todd pretty much did the rest. It was a good project (for Todd) and kept him busy in the evenings. The results? FIRST PLACE! I hope he doesn't expect to do this well all the time! I don't want to set a standard for something we have only done once. Payton was pretty excited! I think we'll use his car in the family race next year to see if Todd, and Payton, can do it again!

I'll upload the video of his last race between the top three cars later. The server won't allow it??

Pheonix 2012

Todd was able to take us down to Pheonix last week. He 'gets' to work while we play. He was doing a training down there. It was a great break for all of us. I was surprised to hear Todd admit that he actually enjoys the ride more when his family is with him. I guess it's like having a baby. You forget things after it's all said and done. We left Tuesday morning and traveled pretty much all day. The kids did really good. I'm sure taking the breaks helped. We got to stop at Aunt Cheri's, the Hoover Dam, a couple potty stops and gas stations and we finally arrived that evening.

While we were there we swam, watched TV, swam, played basketball, swam, took naps, swam, read books, swam, went out to eat (which is a big deal because we don't do it very often), and did I mention that we went swimming? The kids loved {LOVED!} the pool. I thought it was a little chilly-what do you expect from an outdoor pool in February. It was heated...just not enough for me to take Jess in for long.

We came home Friday morning and got to play in the snow, climb big boulders and take more and more pictures. It was a fun vacation and the kids are already planning their next trip to Phoenix. All I know is that before our next big car trip like that we will be doing it in a new van. The truck fits us all great but it's time to give ourselves some space and save a little gas. Come on tax return!!

{Do you think I took enough pictures?}