I'm so happy we have a girl. . .

There are days I am so happy I have a daughter. This was one of them. If I didn't have her, there would be no puffy pink princess dresses prancing around my house. There wouldn't be tiaras floating all over, and none for me to wear! There wouldn't be layers of necklaces or bracelets to pile on for fun. We wouldn't get to giggle over all the sparkles on her skirt or how shiny it is. I love how she spins around and collapses in a pile of pink netting. I think no matter how old you are, a girl is never to old to spin in a dress, and the bigger the better. Older girls just get wedding dresses. I love there is someone else who says 'Ew, gross' when her Daddy does icky things. I love that she loves to have her nails painted and thinks makeup is fun. I love that she is a girly little thing who is a fabulous shopper. I adore her cute little phrases and mannerisms. I even love her independent stubborn streak. I love that she is mine.

Locked in the camper

So I left Cowboy and Paige on Sunday afternoon to attend a coworker's bridal shower. I was gone about 1.5 hours and arrived home with groceries. I saw the camper in the yard that we are borrowing (thanks Rick & Jane) for the weekend so I knew Cowboy had gotten it in the time I was gone. I go and find them, and have Cowboy ask me, "Did you hear what happened?" Umm, no. Not sure who he thinks I talk to every second of the day.
Apparently our clever daughter went into the camper and locked herself in. The key was in the camper and Cowboy couldn't get her to flip the little locking mechanism open. The A/C wasn't on so I think he sort of freaked out (understandibly) and got her to open up the escape window latch. So he got the ladder out and climbed in through the escape window and saved her. My father in law pointed out today, why didn't he just open the window and tell her to hand Daddy the key?. . . I can't wait to ask him that and see the look of "well I didn't think of that at the time." I guess she didn't even freak out for the few minutes she was captive. Girls know when their Daddys will save them.

Happy Birthday Dad!

So Saturday was Dad's birthday--no candles on the cake so it wouldn't start on fire :) Just kidding; that is my homemade chocolate cream cheese zuchinni cake w/homemade icing. Worked my tail off on it; I appreciate Betty Crocker a whole lot more now. We had a nice supper with my parents and some of their friends on Saturday night. Our ex-neighbors had just returned from the Grand Canyon and were there when President Obama was there; so we had great dinner conversation.

Copying Gramma . . .

Blue eyes

"I love bubbles!"

Medora

Last weekend we went to Medora to the steak fondue and musical on Saturday night. We met a bunch of Ryan's family up there and survived the rain. Luckily it stopped raining and drizzling before the musical began and we weren't drenched during the performance. We had great seats--first row (thanks Keith) and Paige really enjoyed her first musical. Paige also got to see her hero, cousin Dani, who helped her pick some wildflowers for us.

Julie/Julia and Kristy/???

So I started reading the book that the Julie & Julia movie is based off of on Monday. Apparently it has motivated me to be a better cook because I looked at Cowboy last night and asked if he realized how good he'd been fed this week. His comment was yes, and he liked it! Since Sunday, I have made tacos, polenta (how's that for a new food--its cornmeal based if you don't watch Food Network), chicken Parmesan, and fried chicken. Cowboy and I were flipping channels on Sunday morning and Food Network was on and Danny Boome was making polenta--which captivated me and made Ryan wonder 'what the hell?' The test of a potential new recipe for me is making him curious, and then he usually will try something. I have to give him credit, he will try most things. We may never eat them again, but he's a sport and will try things. That is more than what most guys in 'meat & 'taters' country will do. The bonus of our culinary week--Paige ate fried zucchini, and like it. She also didn't detest the polenta. The bad thing of cooking so hard, is that I don't want to cook tonight. I sense frozen pizza coming our way. . .
Oh, and I am about half way through the book. Its alright so far. Its a book you don't want to read for hours on end, but works to read in small segments at a time. Its pretty funny, but also a little chaotic--different thoughts randomly appear and are somewhat hard to follow. I like to read the books before I see the movies, so I am excited to see Julie & Julia to see how it compares. Bon appetite!

From the mind of men

I learned a few things about how men think today and am astounded. The first being, if you market a men's body wash correctly toward 'rough, tough' men like my husband; they will give in and buy it. Never thought I'd see the day I bought a loofah and body wash for Cowboy. The body wash is from the same manufacturer as his deodorant; and they market the loofah as a 'scrubbing tool' and put a rubber gripper on one side. The packaging on the loofah was a work of art as it was done in sailor jargon and made it sound like every roughneck in the world uses this to get clean.

The second thing that made me laugh today was my husband using my point of view in an debate over something--he is looking at a horse feeder for his horse to help eliminate wasted hay on the ground. I understand why he's looking at them and was just patiently watching him analyze. Then he goes and points out "this way hon, you wouldn't have to go into the pen to feed him either." I wasn't even saying anything negative about his potential purchase when he told me this; and I was sold. I just laughed and told him I was impressed he knew how to finally win a debate with me. Glad he's catching on!

Overheard

The wit of my three year old never ceases to amaze me.



The current phrase that is over used is "of course." Such as, "of course I will be nice today" or "of course I want to eat this." Add the attitude and you feel like an idiot when she responds with the "of course" and the look.



Last night we were debating taking a bath and she tried to counter my offer! "If I take a bath tonight, I will quit chewing on my fingers." Cowboy burst into laughter at the comment and the look on her face because she knew she had won. She's been chewing on her fingernails constantly and I am constantly nagging on her to stop; so she knew that would push my buttons.



The adjective of 'super' is a regular and most things are "super beautiful" such as her new cowgirl belt which is all sparkly and shiny.



I think by the time she's older that she will have a better vocabulary than me. I better buy a word of the day calendar.

Buckin' Bull Show

My mom, Paige, and I attended the Adams County Fair's rodeo on Saturday night. Paige lives for rodeos and was so excited to go see the "Buckin' Bull Show!!" as she says it. She had her big sparkly cowgirl belt on, her Wranglers, and her pink boots. She doesn't have a 'real' hat, so I hid her pretend hat so we wouldn't have to take it with.
Once we were there, she was in her element and is a good audience member. She gets a little impatient waiting for bucking horses and bulls to show up, and kept looking for the girls who wear all the sparkles--I assumed she meant the queens.
The best thing she said all night was when a guy roped his calf, and had finished tieing its legs--she watches him get up and leave the calf there and says, "How come he didn't brand it?" I forget how much little people absorb, and she attended several brandings this summer. I still hope she doesn't become a cowgirl. I think its a losing battle. Sigh.

Karma

I have decided that I am sick of people yelling and chewing on me at work--had a bad incident last week where a lady decided to vent all of her frustration at me. That's fine, I listened and when she called back the second time, I listened some more and finally hung up on her. I was so mad when she came in that I was fuming. . .but I remained calm and was the better person. However, I am still annoyed 3 days later. Why can't I let things go and they have to run my day when it isn't even my issue?
Anyway, I am going to try to just let things go--hopefully the karma gods will realize I am being the better person and reward me! That is my rant for the day, thanks for listening :)

A weekend at Kelly's house

Paige and I enjoyed a Friday off and headed to see my college friend Kelly and her family. We stopped along the way to buy a new bike helmet to go with our new big kid bike, and to return the printer I had bought last weekend. I highly recommend Walmart on a Friday morning in the rain; no lines :)

Anyway, we arrived at Kelly's in time for lunch and plenty of playtime. Our kids are roughly the same age and played very well together. I was smart enough to take Paige's bike, so the two oldest enjoyed the new concrete in front of the garage for several hours. Lots of visiting and lots of playtime. We had a great time and will hopefully return soon!

Baby Kallen, aged 7 weeks. I got my baby fix and got to hold him for hours. Very nice.

Picking peas in the garden, what a fabulous treat. Too bad its the only picture I have of Kelly; and we didn't even think to take one of all the kids lined up. Next time.