Discovering "our" Mountains

Yes, it is true, on our hike in the wilderness we tackled, "Ward Mountain" and on Ward Mountain we discovered "CJ Rock", "Star Wars Mountain" and "Princess Mountain" all named by the one who discovered it... CJ Rock being discovered by CJ, Star Wars Mountain by Preston, and Princess Mountain by Aparri. We were a little shocked when we went exploring by our campsite and the kids looked up at this really steep mountain and said, "Let's climb that" and off they went. CJ zoomed up the mountain, Preston had a fast take off, but as it got steeper - stayed close to Dad and Mom, and Aparri stuck with us the whole way to the top. It was quite the hike, but we were all pretty proud when we got to the top. We even had the sore calves the next day to prove what a hike it was to! At one point Clay went off exploring a second mountain and CJ was right there with him! Laura and the younger kiddos stayed and played on Star Wars and Princess mountains. It sure was tough, but felt good when you were done.

 Above - This is "Star Wars Mountain"

 Above - This is "CJ Rock"

 Above - this is "Princess Mountain"

Camping "Adventure"

Adventure...that is a good word and contains a lot! We spontaneously decided to head up to Mt. Charleston for an overnight camping experience - which turned into an adventure! The day-time was wonderful. We set up camp, explored, hiked, found treasures, had a great taco dinner, Boys hunted Bears, Aparri swinged in her tree swing, we played uno... fabulous day... and then THE NIGHT happened. Oh man... bad night. I swear, Laura being pregnant, had to PEE all night long (3 times... and that is an adventure in and of itself when you are camping and have to exit a tent and get out -), there was a kid up every hour with this and that and having to go to the bathroom themselves, the wind was rediculous - literally felt like we were going to be swept off the mountain a few times, and when we finally felt that things were hopefully starting to calm down...like 3 AM... CJ wakes up moaning, sits up, has enough time to say, "My belly hurts" and throws up. Luckily it was contained in his pillowcase and that immediately became a camping trip casualty that went straight into the garbage - no salvaging that one.... whew.. but after that "experience" things did settle down...so Clay and Laura got 2 maybe 3 hours of sleep. Needless to say, we had breakfast the next morning (which was also an experience since we were having pancakes, and "someone" we won't name names... forgot to pack silverware!) and then headed for home for a much needed afternoon nap. However, after all is said and done, we all had plenty of food to eat regardless of how it got to our mouths! and a camping experience we won't forget!

Aparri brought her trusty pals with her camping.... Snow White, Aerial, and Darth Vador!  What a combo... it was hilarious to watch her play with all three dolls and see Darth Vador dance with the princesses!  Oh, that's our girl!

CJ was soo excited to be the one to start the fire!  CJ, Preston, and Clay did a great job getting our fire going!  The boys are little pyros now!  They are obsessed with lighting pine needles on fire!  Oh no, what have we done!

Motorcycle Bikes

Boys and motorcycles go hand in hand.... Preston comes up to Laura and says, "Dad, CJ and I are going to build motorcycles" Laura a little confused, but not too worried because Clay was involved gave a little encouraging, "Great" and off he went.  A little while later, Preston runs in the house, finds Laura and with more excitement than he can contain, grabs Laura and drags her outside to see his motorcycle.... waa laa.... motorcycle bikes!  The boys were so proud of their creations!  They rode them everywhere and got quite a few compliments on them.  Preston was devistated when the card board started to fall apart and couldn't understand when Mom and Dad weren't able to duct tape it any more to keep it alive.... all I can say, Wow..what a good Dad you have boys!  All three of you are amazing!  I am quite impressed with your motorcycles.

Second attempt at Hiking at Mt. Charleston

After a good 7 month break, we finally got the courage to try another hike up at Mt. Charleston. Since our last attempt at hiking up at Mt. Charleston was such a disaster, we were alittle apprehensive. Thank goodness though, this hike was smooth as butter...whew. No rain, no freezing children, no crying fits down the mountain, no hating mom and dad by the time we got back to the car! The kids enjoyed the hike - CJ even packed his own bag, full of the essentials, or what he felt was essentials; juice boxes, fruit snacks, 2 large bottles of water, and snow boots! Now, it is June in Las Vegas, we tried to tell him snow boots are heavy and not necessary - but he insisted and said that he would carry the weight..so we didn't argue! We hiked for a good while, enjoyed nature, were a little silly in the mountains, and then came down and ended the trip with a good lunch at Red Robin...it just doesn't get much better than that!

Swim Lessons 2012

Summer has officially began, not because it is warm weather (we have had that for quite some time now)...swim lessons are on! The boys did awesome in their first classes this year! We saw lots of improvement by the end of the session! Good job boys! They are both excited for their next round that begins mid July! Now, we can go practice at the pool in the mean time!  Aparri was a great little cheer leader for her brothers as she watched on the side!  The lessons provided 2 special treats this year, first, since Clay is on swing shift, he got to watch the boys do swim lessons, and the second  the last day of lessons...they got to go down the big slide!  CJ went down with NO hesitation whatsoever, Preston was a little nervous, but enjoyed it once he did it!  (Sidenote:  the other day, CJ was talking to one of Laura's friends and she asked him about swim lessons.  She asked CJ if he learned anything new during his class... and he looked at her and said, "My mom put me in lessons without even asking my permission.  I was a good swimmer before, and I am still a good swimmer now!"  Wow...CJ confidence is key!  Never knew he wanted his mother to "ask him for permission" to sign him up for swim lessons! Note taken.  Laura and her friend had a good laugh over that one...oh.. the joy of 7 year olds!