Back from Vacation

We just got back from a nice vacation in Colorado. We were there for two weeks and had a great time. Our friends, Andee & Jack, went with us because they had never seen Colorado before. To say the least, it was an interesting car ride with four 2 year olds. We spent the first night at Yia Yia and Papa Mike's new house in Palisade. She has a great two-bedroom place next to the river on a very quiet street. Then we went to Nana's house for a couple of days, went to Grandma and Grandpa's "Ealge House" to spend the night, followed by four days at Papa Fatty's house. The kids had a great time seeing the cows, throwing rocks in the river, and of course, riding the 4-wheelers. On Monday, we took a 14 mile long ride to see some of the country and the kids ended up falling asleep on the "wheelers". I wish I could sleep anywhere like that!!!!
We took the kids to the new rec. center in Gypsum where they swam until their hearts were content and us "big kids" got to go down the water slide a couple of times. On Friday, Nana surprised the kids with a treat to the local museum where they have a caboose and real-life scenes from "the good ol' days". Next we got to go to the Eagle Fire Department where we got a tour of the whole fire station including where the firemen live when they are on duty. To round out this fun tour, the firemen took everyone (Andee, Jack, Cameron, Izaac, Zoe, Nana, & myself) for a RIDE in the fire truck!!! That was so much fun!
Next we headed up to Sylvan Lake State Park to see some of the interactive displays and take a nature walk. We got to see lot of pretty fall colors. After we left there, we went to visit Mike Bradley who raises alpacas. Alpacas are related to Llamas but smaller, and much cuter!!!
Saturday was the "Booby Party" for Aunt Tuff so the kids stayed at Aunt Tammy's house with the babysitters while the mom's got some away time.
Sunday, Andee woke up with Pink Eye so we had to make a trip to Avon to have it checked out by a dr. This put us behind schedule so we didn't make it out of Eagle County until Monday.
On our way home, we stopped at Yia Yia and Papa Mike's again where we went to the park and spent some time playing in the leaves.
We got home around 8pm and all the kids were happy to see their Daddies. A fun time was had by all and some good memories were made!

(Pictures to follow - camera is still in the suitcase)

A Plea for HELP!!!!

Call me the queen of procrastination and now I'm paying for it!!!! On Wednesday, I was in the bedroom getting ready for the day and the kids got too quiet. That's the first sign they're doing something they're not suppose to. I go into their playroom and they have found a BIG jar of Vaseline and smeared it all over themselves, the wall and the carpet. Of course we have somewhere to be in 45 minutes so I throw all the kids in the tub and TRY to get them cleaned up to the best of my ability. I leave the playroom covered in Vaseline and away we go. Why do I leave the playroom in this state you ask? First, I have NO idea how to get Vaseline out of the carpet! Second, (Wishful thinking on my part) Maybe the kids won't get into it anymore. YEAH RIGHT!!! So, this afternoon, Zoe's in the playroom, being too quiet and guess what she's doing...You've got it!!! She's covered in Vaseline.

So here's my plea for help....

HOW DO YOU GET VASELINE OUT OF CARPET, HAIR & WALLS????

Out of the Mouths of Kids II

So, I'm standing in the kitchen checking my email and the kids are in the living room fighting over something (what's new!!!) and Zoe starts yelling as load as she can. Then I hear Izaac say in a very calm voice "You really need to get out of the house", and Zoe starts yelling again. Once again Izaac says, "You really need to get out of the house, Zoe", so she goes outside to yell. Sometimes I wonder what is really going through those little brains.

Zoe sitting on her "potty" while camping.

A Trip to the Fire Station

The tattoo we got at the fire station

On Wednesday, August 1st our MOMS Club took a trip to one of Flagstaff's great fire houses. The fireman gave a good presentation about "Tools & Toys", "Stop, Drop, & Roll", and how to call 911. Although the kids are still a little young to understand, they had a good time. After his presentation, the fireman put on ALL of his gear: pants, coat, helmet, and oxygen mask. Izaac and Cameron were okay with all the gear until he put on the oxygen mask, then he was "scary".

Next, everyone got to go out and look at the fire trucks. We got to climb through the back where the firepeople sit

and we even got to sit in the drivers seat!!!

Zoe driving

Izaac driving

Cameron driving

After all the "driving" everyone got a chance to spray the fire hoses.

Izaac spraying the hose

Zoe spraying the hose

Cameron spraying the hose

And then we got to splash in the puddles we made with some of our friends.

And to end the perfect day...just as we were finishing up with our tour, the firemen got a call and had to leave. So we sent them off with a great big thank you and wave and they drove away with light on and sirens blaring.

Out of the Mouth of Babes!!!

Last night when I was making dinner, I had the refrigerator open and the kids saw cans of 7-Up sitting on the shelf. To them, anything in a can is "beer" so they all started saying "I want beer. I want beer!" So with dinner, they all got a "beer".

I got them all set up at the table outside and they were eating so I went and got my plate. When I came out and sat down with them Izaac looked at me and said "Mommy, you have no beer", and I said "No, Mommy doesn't have a beer right not", and he said "Mommy, go inside and get your beer now!"

I'm sure if the neighbors were listening they were wondering what kind of parent I really am!!!! Giving my children beer and letting them run around the backyard naked.

A Lot Going on in the Rucker Household

We've had a lot of things going on in the past month. It all started with a trip to Albuquerque to see cousin Jesse compete in his very first National Karate Tournament. He did very well: 7th place in form (Kata)(sp?), and 4th place in sparring. Good job Jesse!!! The kids had a great time running around the hotel, checking out the elevators and being somewhere new.

The next weekend was Easter. On Saturday, we went to a local nursery (Warner's) to hunt Easter eggs and visit with the Easter Bunny. There was a lot of kids there so the staff asked that everyone only get five eggs each. Well, we got way more than our quota. All the eggs were filled with jelly beans. As you can probably guess, all the jelly beans were gone by the time we got back to the van and the kids were all saying "My tummy hurt". I wonder why!!!! On Easter Sunday, Yia Yia, Grandpa Mike, Auntie Roo Roo, Rhett, the Kids and I all went to Little America for their Easter Brunch. We all ate WAY too much and the kids go to to see the Easter Bunny again. Both boys loved the Easter Bunny, especially Cameron! Every time they would see him, they would run up to him and give him a hug. On Saturday, they wouldn't let go of him after we took pictures. Zoe on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with the big rabbit.

Things I've Learned Today

Some of the things I've learned today:

1. Kids LOVE making anything as long as it makes a mess!
2. Just when you think your children "listen" to you, they don't.
3. Kids don't care if "eating uncooked eggs will make your tummy hurt".
4. Kids don't hear "Don't stick your finger in the batter yet!"
5. Cookies still turn out if you don't add the salt or the baking soda!!!

Today was our first experience making cookies together. All-in-all it turned out pretty well but as you can see from "what I learned", it was very interesting. Maybe we'll wait a few more months before we try again!!!!