Cousins

We spent a lot of time with our cousins. We only get to see my sisters and their children once a year. And normally it's in the winter time so we don't get to do much outdoor playing. My oldest sister lives WAY up at the top of this foothill. It makes me so nervous when we drive up there. My hands get all sweaty and........oh goodness, it's just scary. And this isn't even the top of the "foothill" where she lives. This is just coming down the street. Can you imagine going down that hill with SNOW??? She says it's not a big deal but it seems scary to me. But that is coming from a girl who doesn't see any hills where she lives. Speaking of good drivers...... My oldest sister has five children. They are all so much fun. We played outside and then we played Rock Band. Those kids are awesome rockers. We played just about every day. This is my big sister with her baby. I hadn't seen her youngest yet. She is just too cute. She looks like a little porcelain doll. I wanted to take her home. The boys did boy stuff. They even had a few scuffles. Brought on by my rough Cowpoke. Mean little booger. But in the end they were good buds. Cowpokette was obsessed with her "baby" cousin. Now her baby cousin wasn't too keen on her. Actually she was pretty scared of Cowpokette. They are only a few months apart and Cowpokette wanted treat her like one of her baby dolls. They all played really well together. Look at those two playing badminton. After some playtime outside and some rock band. We decided to try to go swimming. It wasn't too warm out. Maybe just 70 degrees. But we tried it anyway. It was pretty chilly and we only stayed in the water for about 30 minutes. All the kids' lips were turning purple! My little fish. Cowpokette really didn't want me to help her at all. She would have rather had me let her go on her own. My niece is one awesome flipper! Good form, I give her a 10! And last but not least a few shots of Cowpokette's favorite cousin. She is just too cute. It was so much fun being able to play with my big sister and all her kids. I wish we lived closer so we could play more often.

Toby

My little sister (who just isn't so little any more....sigh) has this dog, named Toby. He is so super handsome. When ever she would come over to visit with us at our parent's house, she would bring Toby. And boy did my kids need some dog time. They really missed our dogs. I never really realized how much my kids played with our dogs until we did not have any dogs to play with. So, here is my little sister with her dog Toby. Okay, so she is eating dinner and talking, but she is way cute. She is a super Karaoke singer! So much fun! And she is one awesome Guitar Hero player! Well, my little sister has one true love in her life, and that would be Toby. I think they are so cute. He is one smart dog. He does all sorts of tricks. There is just one thing about Toby. That is.....he doesn't really like little people, kids. He has this thing where small kids make him a bit nervous. He does really well with them, he just isn't ever around any little kids. But he has no trouble playing around with his mom or Grandpa. I love how stealth like he is. He can get so close to the ground!! It's amazing. Then he gets all crazy. He looks so funny here. He is just playing and running around, but he looks a bit scary! Grandpa spoils Toby dog with treats. Toby loves his Grandpa. But after Toby ran around for a little while and and Little Cowpoke to to know one another. The way to a dog's heart is by scratching in all the right places. Toby was alright with Little Cowpoke as long as he didn't move too fast or scream too loud. But the kids enjoyed his company. It was nice to be able to love on a dog. Oh no Toby!! What happened to your ears? Oh, that's better!! Thanks Toby for letting us scratch you and play with you.

Our FIrst Day on Vacation!

On our first day in Utah, it was a bit chilly. The weatherman had predicted rain for the entire week. The highs were supposed to be around 70 but some days we were lucky to get 60. It was a nice refreshing cool considering the blistering heat the South was getting. We got to sleep with our window open, which never happens in the South. My oldest sister (I have four sisters) and I had planned to go dress shopping on my first day there. So, while we waited for her phone call, to let us know she was ready, the Cowpokes and I went for a walk. Little Cowpoke was so excited about the sidewalks. When we went outside he said, "WOW! Mom, look they have sidewalks!!" He insisted on walking on the sidewalk for the first part of our walk. But then with the hills and such, he got a bit tired. So, he opted to ride. When we got home the kids and I explored the backyard. Grandma and Grandpa have a fun fish pond in their back yard. Little Cowpoke was really excited to see the BIG fish in the pond. There are only three fish left from a horrible raccoon attack. Cowpokette was a bit moody the first day. She was out of her element. But she had fun looking at fish too. Grandma and Grandpa have a really neat backyard. It's a bit different from ours. Well, our back yard is a horse pasture, so I guess theirs is a lot different from ours. The Cowpokes soon found the best spot to watch the fish. Cowpokette finally spotted one. There was one super big fish and two medium sized ones. They were acting like they were starving. It was neat to see the fish swim right up to the deck. They weren't too scared of the kids. We hung out on the deck for a while. It was a really nice morning. Not too hot and not too cold. Then Little Cowpoke wanted to take some pictures. He didn't do too shabby. Then we found out that the fish did get fed and so the Cowpokes were able to toss some fish food into the pond. They were really excited about feeding the fish. That is one animal we do not have at our house. There is the big guy. He was a bit camera shy. I tried to get a good picture of him, but he was a fast one. After feeding the fish, the Cowpokes and I went inside to see if my oldest sister called. She had! It was time to go Mardi Gras Dress Shopping!! We went to a store and tried on lots of dresses. This is the one that we decided looked the best. What do you all think?It's for the Formal Mardi Gras ball. The belt ribbon thingy is actually a chocolate brown color. I didn't buy it from that store because the service there was horrible. So, I found another store where I can order it made to fit me. And for cheaper!! So, now all I have to do is not gain any weight from now until January!! Wish me luck with that!! But it was a successful first day of the Cowpokes' and my vacation. Oh, and we only had one down pour of rain that day. Not too bad.