Crazy Kid

Don't worry, we're bolting the shelf to the wall TODAY!
I guess Zach has found a new play place. He's such a goofy kid.

Swimming!

Checkin' out the joint

A bit nervous...
All Right, All Right, All Right... lovin' every minute!
Wow!
Needless to say, our first experience at the local swimming hole was a success! We definately look forward to doing it again.

Happy Father's Day

I forgot to post this earlier. What was I thinking!!! This was a handmade frame by Zach. Used some great Tempura paints (another freecycle deal) and some dollar store gems. Zach loved being able to use both a paintbrush AND his own hand to make fun designs as I turned the frame around and around. He also picked out each gem and I added glue then he stuck it, very forcefully, to the frame. It was a fun little project. I really like this picture of Jason and Zach at the hospital (as long as I'm cropped out of it! I had just given birth after all)

She's a photographer!

Well.... -ish
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I got the opportunity to be an "official" photographer for a wedding on Saturday. I know, I know, I not a professional or anything but I had a good time and I learned a lot and I THINK I actually got a few fairly decent pictures (out of the almost 1400 that I took)
I teamed up with my friend Melinda (photography blog HERE) so that between the two of us amatuers we would be able to offer some good stuff. I've also started a blog for my photography and the link is over on the side bar here. Or just go to http://www.gundersenphotos.blogspot.com/. I hope you will leave me some feedback as I'd like to be albe to improve to the point where I might dare charge next time. Though I have no idea how much.
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What should I charge for my services and a CD of all of the pictures I took? (not for this wedding, it was a feebie- for the next one.)

She's a Decorator?

Now that I'm a certified Blog Junkie I have been storing in my very tiny head all kinds of fantastic ideas. However, not too very many of them have actually come to light.

Finally- I followed through on one of my planned projects. I found these framed "Cars" pictures at a garage sale a couple weeks ago for $1 and I thought they would be perfect for my 2 "Cars" obsessed boys. (Yes, I counted Jason there) I just didn't absolutely love the frames they came in. Kinda plain, boring, and not really my style.

Here's the big one...
Well, I've seen tons of women (bloggers) who just rave about the magical powers of SPRAY PAINT so I figured this would be the perfect time to test them out.

TA DA!!

P.S. My latest favorite crafty blogger is The Thrifty Chick, I'm all about thrifty these days! She is also one of those who does the spray painting stuff.

Oh! And as I was getting these frames ready to paint I discovered that the pictures are actually taken from an old calendar! Genious!

After all is said and done though I do wonder- How is it that these women can be spray painting away on everything and not get terrible cramps!?! I did 3 measly little frames and I tell you what- I am hurting! (but I am known to be a pretty terrible wimp)

This Week's Favorite Toy

Zach has taken a liking to trains lately and this mega blocks one that I got from freecycle has been all kinds of fun. He drives it around all the kitchen chairs, under the table, around the living room, up the stairs and basically anywhere it will fit. The only problem is when it comes apart he has to take it to mom to fix it... which is a lot.

Zach Walks!!

New Landscaping

When we bought our house 3 years ago it had these beautiful shrubs in the front. A deep purple one and two green with pretty purple flowers. Unfortunately, these very shrubs seem to go through a regular "awkward teenage" phase each year. That phase actually seems to last most of the year, especially with the help of our neighborhood bunnies that keep eating the one closest to our door.

Here they are in all thier glory!

But as of today... THEY ARE NO MORE!

Replaced by some evergreen boxwoods that may not have as pretty of colors but they will actually stay looking nice all year around. I'm not completely finished yet. I plan on surrounding them with mulch and some flowers. But so far, I think they look pretty. darn. good.

Especially since I planted them MYSELF! (Well, Jason dug up the old ones and I replanted these.)
Don't worry, we didn't throw out our old pals. They just found new homes where they wouldn't be the center of attention durring thier dead months.

Here's the darker purple one under the garage window in the back yard.
And the other two have been moved to the side of the house.
Notice: they are about 10 times the size that they were when the original picture was shot. That's what I was talking about. They actually look really nice for about 3 months of the year, it's just the other months that they look like a pile of sticks. I was just afraid we would end up getting stuck trying to sell our house during the stick months so I figured evergreens were a safe bet. I'm sure glad for the change.

MOM! Look what I can do!

Since Zach has learned to say "keys" he also had to demonstrate that he knows what keys are for.
I LOVE that he's up on his tippy tip top toes. So cute!!

A new toy...

Yesterday we had a family garage sale trip. We came across some real treasures and I'm pretty excited about them. So is Zach.
This is one of those Mellisa&Doug puzzles but instead of having removable pieces to lose like the traditional puzzle, this one has locks and latches to practice opening and closing with a different color of animal hidden behind each door. They are also numbered so he can learn his colors, numbers and coordination all in one spot.

I thought I might be more impressed with it than he would be. I thought he was probably too young to understand all of the different latches. I was WRONG!

He has spent long stretches of time analyzing each and every door. I watched him meticulously latch and unlatch the yellow one probably 15-20 times today. Practicing and analyzing. It was really fun to watch.

Yesterday he was so excited about his new toys that I couldn't get him to take a nap. I finally sat him in his crib with this puzzle and went downstairs. I could hear him clickety clacking away for at least 20 minutes before he finally went silent without making a peep, he was sound asleep. I think this was ABSOLUTELY a dollar well spent.

(more garage sale treasures to come)

Happy Soon-to-be Anniversary

Since our 7th anniversary is coming up, 20th of July- I guess it's still a little ways away but I'm EXCITED, we decided to finally get a nice picture to put up in our living room. We had these taken for our engagement but never actually ordered a full sized one.

Jason jokes that we aren't ever going to look this good again so we really ought to use the pictures. Sadly, I think it's true. I don't think I will ever fit in those pants again and that shirt... HA!

Anyway, we actually purchased the negatives (dirt cheap too- I think he just wanted to get rid of them after all these years) and we are scanning them so that we will have a digital copy. We've only done a few so far but this one is one of my favorites.

Aren't we cute!!! And so in luuuuuuurve!

Camping Adventure

So, here's the story. This past weekend was one of those few weekends that I actually had a husband so we wanted to take full advantage. Some friends of ours (also med students) had the same idea so we joined forces for a fun filled camping weekend. They were a lot better at time management so they got a head start for the campground and we followed about an hour behind them. The plan was to leave around 2:30 and reach Buckhorn National park around 4:30 with plenty of time to set up camp and enjoy some campfire food. (My Favorite!)

We ended up making it out the door probably around 4:00 and about halfway there we got a phone call. Our friend's car had broken down on the highway and they were stranded at the side of the road. Luckily they knew we were on our way so they didn't have to panic. We stopped and bought some oil at a gas station in case that was the problem, in HOPES that was the problem. Sadly... it wasn't. They did manage to drive it off the highway and made it to a truck stop where we met them and, instead of campfire dinners we had truckstop diner food. Our waitress was really nice though and helped us find a mechanic.

We ended up leaving thier car at the mechanic's and then just making two trips in our car to the campground. When we got there it was already pretty late and completely pitch dark... OH! And there was a WALL of mosquitos waiting to greet us. We still managed to get our tents set up, built a fire and doused ourselves with bug spray. Unfortunately, bug spray isn't 100% so we still walked away with a good number of itchy bites. Check out my Mission24 challenge to see what Zach looked like when we got home.

That night it didn't just rain it POURED! And apparently there were racoons because they ate almost all of my bananas. Bummer! It was one of those "count your blessings" deals though. We had left most of our food in the car just in case and there wasn't any rain at all untill we were all snug in our sleeping bags for the night. The next morning the sun was out and the ground was dry and we were greeted with a beautiful day- and fewer mosquitos. Horray!
Jarom got to enjoy his kyak.

The water was glassy and beautiful.

The younger boys loved being packed around by thier moms. That's right... We're superwomen!

Here's the Gang!

Here's the camp.

Aren't we cute? I just love Zach's grin.

Cool photography Andrea.

Zach loved pushing his stoller around. Though he did try to make a run for it on more than one occasion.

All three boys thought our camp cart made a great jungle gym.

We did find these creepy web sacks around the camp. They gave me the heebi geebis like something from a horror film.

I was relieved to learn they weren't spiders though... still creepy.

On the way home I snapped this shot of a cool tilty house.

All in all we ended up having a great time. Maybe it took some extra effort in the beginning but I still look forward to many more camping trips to come. I was most nervous about how Zach would handle it and he was a real champ.

Unfortunately, the car is still in the shop. Our friends stayed an extra night. Since I was playing my violin on Sunday we had to hurry home. It worked out well though because Jason left right after church and went back up to pick them up. He didn't end up making it home until 8:00 but he's just that kind of guy. My Hero!

You know, I love that guy. He's just the kind of guy that will drop everything to help out a friend. I know he would have made the trip for them even if it had been 4 hours each way, and I love him for it.