Dusty and Rachael

New Years

2012-02-11T13:39:00.000-08:00

Yep, I am behind. Far behind. This year is starting out very bumpy. my skills at, blogging, motherhood, being a wife, house keeper, seamstress, or any other task I have tried to carry out are lacking in every area. So, we might as well just start at the beginning.

New years Adam, Gracie, Paul, Dusty and I went out to the sand dunes. Not a surprise, we go every year. First ride out, a night ride, I wasn't following as fast as I should have been. I see the lights at the top of the hill, cleverly, I think I will take the fastest way, a straight line. I gunned it, straight up and back flipped down the hill, running over my ankle in the process. The boys had to straighten out my steering stem so that I could ride again. We got to where we were headed, and my ankle was the size of my calf. Needless to say, I sat in the rzr with Dusty and Gracie the rest of the weekend. Paulie got to commandeer my quad. He didn't mind at all. After the weekend was spent, I took myself to urgent care to x-rays. I tore some ligaments. No big deal, right? It's been over a month, and my ankle is still the wrong size.

Orchestra

2011-12-14T20:28:00.000-08:00

So, at the begining of this year our sweet Summer decided that she was going to join the orchestra and play the Bass. I said okay. Thinking that it was no big deal. Summer comes home from school with a note mentioning that I needed to rent that particular instrument. Fine. No big deal. I run over to the music store, in the beetle, and see what's up. Turns out, a Bass is bigger then the beetle and they wanted 100.00 a month to rent the darn thing. 100.00?! and I can't take it in my car! I left. Not the price quote I was looking for.

After some shopping around and Summer trying to decide if she wanted to switch to the cello, I finely gave in and rented a Bass from Milanos for 60.00 per month. I got smart and drove the truck.

Her concert was lovely. (30 minutes, direct and to the point) She played beautifully, and I was quite proud. She didn't even find herself sick to her stomache and ready to throw up when the cameras started snapping! If you watch any of the videos of Dawn Adam and I in Homespun Singers concert, I am always getting off stage mid way ready to barf.

I am so proud of Summer for dedicating herself to learning something brand new and practicing hard to achive her goal!

Puppies!

2011-12-14T20:12:00.000-08:00

For those of you who didn't know. Coco had her first litter of puppies. 9 in all. It looks like most are girls. 5 black and two yellow, and two that are a golden color. I didn't know labs came golden. None chocolate. She is a very protective mother. If she even sees Beans looking in her direction she gets all worked up. She doesn't seem bothered by people touch and petting her babies, but she certainly thinks that Beans wants to run off with on for her own.

Yes, that is still the birthing blanket. I thought she was done, and switched her to a clean bed, but she had two more. I will get around to changing out the blanket, but just haven't had time. To busy catching up on my blog.

Christmas!

2011-12-14T20:04:00.000-08:00

Gracie and Summer decorate the windows with gel films.

Dusty prepping the tree with lights. I don't know how I didn't get any pics of the tree with ornaments on it. The time will come.

Shawn, basking in the glory of just loafing!

oops! pictures are a bit out of order! You get the idea.

Summer Time

2011-11-09T17:28:00.000-08:00

Summer has started her very own blog. She is dissapointed that no one has posted any comments...
She is loving to practice her writing, and telling stories. Help me keep her interested with your comments!

Summerstimetoshine.blogspot.com

Feed Back!!

2011-10-30T12:15:00.000-07:00

I need feed back on my new website. Please, visit it and help me with wording! Any suggestions will be appreciates! All good and bad! This is not my forte! Please help me!

www.pillowtalkdesign.net

3:30 am

2011-10-21T04:00:00.000-07:00

dropped my socks in the toilet. Didn't want to disturb anyone so I grab then quick and decide to iron then dry once I get to work. Get to work, all the sudden it hits me.... I'm sick. so, I throw up in the parking lot. Feeling a bit better now. But, the day certainly didn't start good.

Shawn is 12!

2011-09-10T14:10:00.000-07:00

We had Shawn's birthday party at jumpstreet this year. Lucky for me! I don't think that I could have kept up with all the energy that 12 year old boys have! He invited a few friends, and we had some "fruit" cake. It's his favorite. It's just a take off of the dessert cookie. Yellow cake with cream cheese and marshmellow cream frosting with sliced fruit. He had a pretty good haul. New clothes, cash, socks and skate trucks.
After jump street, we dropped off the friends and took the kids to Kids that Rip. The kids had a blast there running out all the rest of their energy.
Sunday Dusty's boss hooked us up with some tickets to Sunsplash. Let me tell you, I don't think that I have ever had such an eventful birthday as that boy had this year!

Happy Birthday to Shawn!

First Day of School

2011-08-10T20:39:00.000-07:00

6:15= "Good Morning! Get up and get going!" Then, I go back to bed. It only takes me 15 minutes to get ready. 7:00 we get in the car. We proceed to Zaharis. I wish Summer luck and Shawn lets her out of the car. We have to stop and Jeremy's house to pick up Shawns backpack. There is no lockers at Freemont, except for in gym .Well, the door is locked. No key in the usual spot. We call Jeremy, he doens't know where the key is. So, I'm that mom. The mom that goes to pick up a back pack from walmart on the first day of school on the way to school. I take Shawn back to the bus stop. (there is 1 hour and 15 minutes between Summer and Shawns bus pick up.) I ask him if he has his lunch money... Nope. It must have fallen out of the car when he let Summer out at Zaharis. UGH.... So I hand over 5 more dollars. Then, I take off for work. Get to the shop, get the Laptop from the back seat. Low and behold, Summer's lunch box. Back to the school to drop off the lunch. Left the house at 7, didn't make it to work till after 9. Rough start to the morning....

Pick up went much smoother. Shawn was only a little confused about the locations of his classes, and Summer loved her teacher. Hopefully this is a start off to a great year!

4th of July

2011-07-07T18:01:00.000-07:00

Annual 4th of July camping trip! After re-routing to a new location we found the perfect spot! There were lots of trails to take rides on! If you didn't want to go on the same trail twice, you didn't have to! There was a wide open meadow for the kids to make a trail on. (no, your not supposed to do that, but we let the kid have at it) Plenty of wild life, cows, bulls, deer, turkey. We may have even seen a buffalo. Summer went out on a ride with Andrew and came back with a tale of a bull with 5 legs! That's right! straight from the mouth of Summer, "The 5th leg was on the under carriage and it was only 2" from touching the ground!" Shawn took a caravan out for a ride. He got to be the leader. There was some rocky terrain that he felt a little unsure about, but he did AWESOME!
Summer fell in love with the White family's 70. She road that baby around as much as she was aloud to!

She floats!

2011-07-05T08:44:00.000-07:00

After about a year of sitting on dry land, Dusty finely got his boat wet! Brand new upholstery and a rebuilt 454, and out she goes! Adam and Paul went along for the ride. There was an attempt to wakeboard but sitting in the sun left the wakeboard tow rope rotted and brittle. Hopefully we get a few good rides in before she gets sold!

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-05-30T18:36:00.000-07:00

Dusty, Adam and I took a trip up to the Cinders for the weekend. Kid free..
The weather was perfect, (maybe a bit windy.) It was supposed to get down into the 30, but it never did make it down there. Thank goodness! The manx didn't do to hot. Plenty of power, but the whoops made it so you could barely make it into 2nd gear. Not much use for all that power. Wish the shocks were bigger, and the travel was longer!

Adams quad ran like a champ. Just walked up the hills. No problem. The kawi was lacking paddles... Dusty said that I wouldn't need them and not to ruin my paddles in the cinders. I was not a happy camper when I couldn't make it up the face of the hills. (I had to roll down backwards SEVERAL times) Adam and I made it through. Poor guy had to wait for me to find the not so steep sides that were packed down a bit harder. I wasn't making it though any soft stuff.

Over at the drags Dusty and Adam did some racing. I did some bystanding. I go up to 43 MPH though cinder lake. I wasn't trying to scare myself, just see how fast felt comfortable to me. Adam ran his quad through the lake at 60. If I wasn't so notorious for falling off, I would have given it a little harder of a try, but can't afford to mess up my money maker...

The manx didn't fare so well on it's last run. Broke and axle and Adam had to make his way back to camp (in the dark) to get me and the truck so I could tow that little orange dune buggy back to camp. A bit of work, and we will be ready for the next trip in July!

6th grade Promotion

2011-05-30T18:33:00.000-07:00

Last week Shawn made it through elementary school. I was so proud of him! he made it through the 6th grade with flying colors. He was a little apprehensive about his teacher this year. He told me that she was mean when the school year started, but she proved to be a fun teacher. And, to tell you the truth, my favorite one that he has had. If you wanted my opinion.

The 6th graders started out with the cutest song I ever heard. They re did the words to "Wanted" I didn't get a video, but Shawn promised to writed down the words for me.

Of course, me being the sappy mom that I am, he walked up to get his certificate, and my eyes watered right up. He was so little compared to all the other 6th graders! I hope he does some growing taller over the Summer!!

He is now on his way to Jr. High. That makes me feel pretty old... He is such a good kid. I'm so glad that he is responsible and cautious. I don't have to spend to much time worrying that he is going to be okay.

I love you Shawn. You are a beautiful part of our family that I wouldn't be able to do without!!

Private

2011-05-21T07:08:00.000-07:00

I'm making the family blog private. I don't have everyones email to add to the list, so I'm going to need you to send me your emails!

pillowtalk@cox.net

For all of you

2011-05-08T17:28:00.000-07:00

who took the time out of their busy days to send me a text.. and comment of previous blogs about how I needed t o update, here is what has been going on in my life. Nothing of to much interest. But, all still me.

Wisdom Teeth

2011-05-08T17:25:00.000-07:00

Most recently, (Thursday) I took a trip to the dentist because my left wisdom tooth was coming down and I wasn't liking to move my mouth to much. The tooth wasn't new, it comes and goes, but the pain was. So, I opted to have it pulled. As long as it didn't take to much time out of my day, I was good to go. 1.5 hours later I was on my way back to the shop with instruction to not drink from a straw and to stay away from carbonated beverages. What?! Blue Monster and coke zero make up 90% of my diet. How as I to survive on water alone? I managed for a day and a half, but I'm back to filling my blood with the carbonated caffeine that I love so very much.
Summer asked me if the tooth fairy was going too come, so of course I asked the dentist if I could keep my tooth. Friday morning with the tooth in my purse, shawn was feeling upset that he was so far behind on his homework. I offerd to let him take my wisdom tooth to school so that he would have more wisdom. He just looked at me like I was crazy and said no thanks

Another belated update

2011-05-08T17:18:00.000-07:00

More recently, We took the kids on a quick camp trip. Just Friday. (two days before Easter) We hauled the toy hauler and the quads out to four peaks where the kids could practice their riding skills. From our little spot we rode down to the lake and the kids took a bit of a swim. Shawn is getting better at going on the longer rides. He needs a bigger quad I think, but it's still fun to see him venture of his track and go to a destination. Summer and Gracie had to ride with Dusty and I. They didn't seem to mind.

There were many things to do around camp, like climb the rock wall. ( I told the kids that it was a cow bath tub) Swing from the bucket swing hanging from the tree, and build baby fires over large ant holes.

Blog complaints

2011-05-08T17:11:00.000-07:00

There have been a few blog complaints that I haven't posted anything new and interesting....
So, here comes the catch up.

Several weeks ago we took a trip up to The Wooden Nickel cabins in Christopher Creek. There was a little bit of snow still. (hard to imagine now.) The kids had a good time making snow balls and playing on the extra large buffalo. There are fire pits out back and a play ground. Also forest for exploring. We roasted marshmallows and made some gourmet smores. We think that it would be extra fun to get the big cabin for the weekend and have all the cousins come up and play. Snow time would be the funnest. Maybe after Summer is over.

What's For Dinner

2011-04-11T20:07:00.000-07:00

How is it that everyone seems to make it look so effortless to decide what to buy at the grocery store and make for dinner?
It is the dreadful begining of the end of the day. Don't get me wrong, I love to cook when I have time to cook. But it seems that there is less and less hours in the day.
Sunday I recommitted myself to makeing dinner every night. (after eating out ALL weekend with 3 kids it gets expensive...) I sat down to make the dinner list. I was gung-ho to come up with 5-7 meals. I got 2 and a half. (Go me!!)

Sunday-

Stuffed peppers. Easy enough. Start the rice. Saute the onion. Brown the groud beef. Add the tomatoes, cheese and seasoning. Wash and core the peppers. Add the cooked rice. Place in baking dish. Place dish in oven. Peel and cube potatoes. Boil. At this point I decide, "I'm already in the kitchen, might as well make an apple pie." Peel and slice apples. Search relentlessly for ready made pie crust. Nothing. I forgot to buy one. Start pie crust from scratch. Dusty comes in and offers to make the lattice top for me. Sounds like work. I will let the man do the work. Put pie crust in fridge to chill. Mash potatoes. Microwave corn. Dinner is served. We eat, and I get the pie crust out of the fridge. Not all the way chilled, but if I don't get it in the oven soon the pie will be baking till after 9. Dusty puts on the lattice top. Put pie in oven. 45 minutes. it has been my experience that I burn the top pie crust. I don't know how to not. I trust the timer and walk away. 45 minutes later beautiful lattice top is burnt. Kids and hubby eat it anyway.

Monday-

BBQ chicken. Dusty doesn't love chicken normally. But with BBQ sauce there is an exception. Stove top stuffing. (love the stuff) Asparagus. (I forget to cook the darn things) and rolls. (rolls are frozen) I leave work a little early to get Gracie from school to take frozen rolls out of freezer and put on counter to thaw. Pick up Graice. Stop at Poppys and pick up fabric and pillow forms from Susan (Gracie is asleep in the car) Go by the shop and drop off the entire inside of my beetle. (I could not fit another thing in. It was STUFFED with fabrics and pillow forms) My mom is at the shop, she offers to deliver Gracie to tutoring on her way home. Good deal. Now I can finish folding drapes. Stop at customers house to look at recliner. Drop off rent check. (a few days late, I know) Pick Gracie up from tutoring. Get home, finish drapery quote for entire house full of windows. Drench chicken thighs in BBQ sauce. Put water and butter on to boil for stuffing. Turn oven on for rolls. Forget asparagus. Drop chicken on grill. Dusty comes home. I tell him, "You know I really don't know what I am doing with that BBQ." I almost always over cook on the grill. he takes over from there. I get dinner set out. Realize I have no vegetable. Grab baby carrots from fridge and ranch dressing. Dinner is served. No one eats the carrots. huh.

Tomorrow will be and adventure. Good luck to all you dinner cookers.

Mr. & Mrs. Papes

2011-04-03T19:41:00.000-07:00

Dusty and I finely tied the knot April 1st. I thought it was a joke when he texted me two weeks ago and said "How about April 1st." But, it turns out he was serious. The judge sowed up at the house at 7:00 (at least I think it was a real judge) and we had a bit of a ceremony. No one objected, (I'm pretty sure that my dad said "It's about time.") and the contract was sealed up with a kiss.

2011-03-31T20:34:00.000-07:00

http://www.superteachertools.com/jeopardy/usergames/Mar201113/game1301628797.php

I'm not in my 20's anymore.

2011-03-11T16:32:00.001-08:00

I feel pretty good about being 30. There have been times when I have felt like a bad mom, a bad wife, and a terrible business owner. But, right now, at this very moment in time, I feel pretty good. I love my family. They are committed to helping me with work, and any other venture that I may take on. My kids are doing pretty good. Shawn and Summer are doing well in school. (they have had thier rocky moments) I have Dusty who is more of a partner then anyone that I have ever had. I couldn't ask for more then what I have. 30 is going to be the best ten years I have had yet!

Summer's Birthday

2011-03-05T06:32:00.000-08:00

Summer did in fact get a birthday. I took Shawn, Gracie, Summer, Summer's friend, and Emillee to Amazing Jakes for a day of fun. Summer didn't want any presents, just the opportunity to attend a dance class they were offering at school. (There will be a dance recital in April)
Summer is a wonderful girl. Very kind and considerate of others. She is great at helping with the laundry and always does her homework with out being asked. I am so glad that I have her to call my very own daughter!

Work Blog

2011-02-05T18:06:00.000-08:00

Starter a Blog for the workroom. It's a work in progress....

www.pillowtalkdesign.blogspot.com

New shop

2011-01-06T07:39:00.000-08:00

I have finely bit the bullet. The 330 square foot garage is to small. I'm moving up to a new shop on the 15th. It's on Val Vista and Main. It's almost three times the size of the garage. Katt is going to get her very own desk. There will be a room for drapes, a room for upholstery, and a room to house the ready items! This is a very exciting time!

If anyone knows anyone trying to get a small refrigerator off their hands, or a microwave, I will be looking for something cheap!

The girls are very excited to be able to work somewhere with a REAL heater. Hands move slowly when they are cold. No more huddling around the iron for warmth!

Dusty is going to have his very own garage. No more building sand cars in the driveway and fighting with upholstery to get the air compressor out!

2011 is going to be a great year!

Gracie is 10!

2011-01-05T18:11:00.000-08:00

Gracie had her birthday on January 2nd. She is now in the double digit club! She got herself a brand new whiplash scooter. It's kinda tricky to ride. I am certainly not coordinated enough to get a handle on that sucker. (i cant even pogo)

Happy birthday to Gracie!

New Years

2011-01-05T17:46:00.001-08:00

New Years weekend brought freezing tempuratures and, you guessed it SAND!!! We loaded up the trailer, kids, and every pair of warm cloths that we owned and headed for the Sand Dunes.
The Manx ran like a champ. No more blown hoses! We actually made it out to the dunes to try that bad boy out! Dusty rebuilt the shocks since the last trip so the suspension was much better. The kids loved every minute of the ride. I even heard that Gracie was so scared at one point that she thought she was going to pee her pants! All in good fun though.
The highlight of the weekend for me was when Shawn decided to brave the dunes and make the trip over to Patten Hill on the kids quad! I loved following him and the responsible way he rides. He is so cautious!
Shawn and Summer even took turns trying to run up the hill. (It was the steepest part of patten hill...) They didn't make it far, but they did at least try.

The Manx made a good run down the sand drags... That bad boy topped out at 75 MPH! Luckily we got those 5 point harnesses!
We survived the cold and made it home!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Christmas

2011-01-05T17:30:00.000-08:00

Yes, we had Christmas at our house too.... The workroom has been very busy, and I haven't been able to keep up like I should.
We decorated the Christmas tree. Dusty put the lights on, and the kids and I pulled out all the ornaments. Even some left over tinsel. (Shawn said it wasn't festive without tinsel)

Dennis came over Christmas morning. We had just had Gracie that day, so we got to keep some presents under the tree for a few more days. Gracie got a haul of cloths, and her very own fish tank! (Dusty keeps his gold fish for the Lion fish in her tank) Dusty took her the next day to pick out a special fish just for her. The lion fish is not aloud to eat it!

After the Christmas festivities we took the Manx out for a test run in the desert. My Dad and Adam joined us, as well as Cristal. (her and I took turns in the miniature back seat) We made it back the the parents for some good food and some family fun!

Tuesday morning Shawn and Summer made it back home for open up their gifts. Summer got a frosty maker and Shawn a PoGo stick. (Between the three kids I haven't heard that thing stop pogo-ing since!) Also, the much needed cloths. The kids were all looking very orphan-ish. Dusty took the kids and bought me my very own pair of scissors. They even had them engraved with #1 Seamstress. I am pretty sure that no one in the workroom will use them!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Lion Fish

2010-12-06T19:06:00.001-08:00

After Dusty got the fish tank under control he told me we could buy a REAL fish. Sunday afternoon we went up to Pets Inc. and got ourselves a very fancy Lion Fish. It is a volatile fish. It stings you like a wasp or bee might. He is very cool. We are waiting to see him eat one of the Damsels. Dusty said that he just sucks them right in. I saw him eat a frozen fish this afternoon. He just sucked it right in.

Thanksgiving Sand

2010-11-28T16:35:00.001-08:00

We split from Turkey Dinner and trucked on down to Gordens Well. Adam joined us with his (and Pauls) Bombardier, Dusty took his Banshee and Manx and I ran the Kawasaki. The boys wrenched on their toy right up until it was time to load up, and spent some time wrenching in the sand.
The Manx got it's first run down the sand drags. Top speed down the strip was 62 mph. Dusty was taking it a bit easy for the first trip out.

That little car duned like a beauty. Adam had to make a few runs back to camp to get water when the radiator blew a few hoses. Nothing that can't be fixed. It's nice to have such mechanically inclined boys! The road out to the dunes was a bit rough over the whoops. Turns out the shocks were blown out.

A little sand, and a lot of fun, and we came on home to clean up and get ready for a brand new week of working and kids.

What once was Yellow....

2010-11-07T18:21:00.001-08:00

Is now Hemi ORANGE!
After much sanding and fiber glass work, (Shawn Paulie, Adam and Dusty) Dusty set up a "paint booth" (tarp blocking the neighbors yard so no orange paint got on his car) we moved our cars to the street, and Dusty sprayed on the Hemi Orange.

Adam, taking the credit.

The Manx is now off to the cage fabricator to have a custom cage built. Just a few short weeks and it will be rolling!
The hard part is going to be finding the time to reupholster the seats....

Sand Drags

2010-10-08T22:03:00.000-07:00

We are taking the toy hauler out to the sand drags this saturday (tomorrow). You are all invited to come. We are going to bbq and probably eat some brownies, and just kick it.

Hope to see you there!

Sunday Drive

2010-09-19T20:29:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning we started out for a morning drive to get some brunch.
Turns out that we ended up going to Globe to the Roosevelt lake turn off. Took that to some Indian Ruins. Had to jog up to the ruins before they closed so that we could go inside. It was pretty cool. Crazy how someone can just build a house right into a mountain cave.
There was a very pretty view of the lake. Worth the run.
From Roosevelt lake you can take the paved road back up through Payson, or the 22 mile dirt road by Apache Lake that takes you out through Canyon Lake. I had never been that way, so we turned that little baby diesel into a baja bug!
Stopped and had lunch in Tortilla Flats. They had the most expensive wall paper that I have ever seen. Dollar bills, stapled to everything! Great Burgers, really good fudge. Came home and had a relaxing Sunday afternoon together!

2010-09-12T20:03:00.000-07:00

Saturday after a long week of work, My mom and Grandma working long hours, making sure that I baby my silly shoulder injury, I petitioned Dusty to help me install the latest work of art. I gave putting the box up a good shot, but cant lift my arm above my shoulder, so had to call Oscar to make and emergency install.
Everything went up perfect. Something that big and involved is stressful. But. it turned out lovely.

New couch

2010-09-12T19:55:00.000-07:00

Thursday Grandma and I went to pick up a new sofa for us. I traded out recovering an ottoman for a very large sofa that fits perfect in out living room.
We had to stop and pick up the trailer at Oscars. He didn't answer the door. He didn't answer the phone. I knew that he was in the back of the house so I figured that I would just jump over the fence and get his attention.
I started up, almost to the top, grabbed a hold of a piece of steel cemented into the wall, and it gave. I fell back, landing half on the trailer. Resulting in a very black and blue elbow, a fractured shoulder blade and a chip broke off.
It hurst.
Couch fits perfect. It was a bit slow with a 66 year old woman and a one armed girl moving it. But we got it loaded. Everyone can fit on the couch now. No one has to sit on the floor. I am very happy.

Gumbo

2010-09-07T06:22:00.001-07:00

Dusty came home from work last week and said saw a picture in a magazine of some Gumbo.

So, we set out to make some. King Crab legs, sausage, chicken, scallops, clams, shrimp, and some corn on the cob. Called Katt and Andy up and they came over to help our food get eaten.

You know it"s love when you share a crab leg!

I am not a seafood loving person, but this was GOOD!

Shawn is 11!!

2010-09-06T16:18:00.000-07:00

Eleven and in Heaven. Shawn is a great little man. He is very athletic. Enjoys jumping on the trampoline, pestering the girls, riding his bicycle and motorcycle, and skate boarding. I love having him for my son.

Well, Shawn's birthday came and went. The boy was very pleased with his party turn out. We grilled burgers, which I didn't make enough of! I heard that my stuffed burgers were great, but neither Dusty or I got one! Next time I plan more food!
Swimming, and the kids jumped on the trampoline
His cake was a variation on the Dessert Pizza. Yellow cake layered with marshmallow cream, cream cheese, strawberries and kiwis.
Thank you all for coming!

Shawns Birthday

2010-08-20T09:35:00.000-07:00

Shawns 11th birthday party is going to be at our house, Saturday the 28th at 4:30. There will be swimming and hamburgers and hot dogs. Also, cake and ice cream!

Let me know that you can make it, or just show up!

Manx

2010-08-14T10:40:00.000-07:00

Dusty FINELY got his computer for the manx back from the programmers.
Saturday morning he installed the computer. Radiator is working great. Runs nice and cool. Tranny has a few bumps, but, it sounds good, and it's much faster then the RZR already.
Couple more hours and we will be off and running around the desert again!

Yes, that's Coco in the front seat. She jumped right in. After the first throttle push she had second thoughts.

Superior

2010-08-03T06:38:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning we went for a hike. Just outside of Superior there is a little water fall with a pool at the thop that you can rock climb up to. Here's a little taste of the terrain...

There were hand hold in some places cemented into the rocks, and ropes to hold onto while you pull your self up and strategically place your feet.

Once you make it to the top there is a waterfall.

Shawn and Summer swam out to it, for a buck... They were a little leery about swimming in a pool that wasn't cemented in.
At one point Summer put her feet down and exclaimed, "There is sand on the bottom!" She was expecting slimy rocks.

The climb down was a little trickier then the climb up, but we made it.

We took the wash back to the car. Summer and Shawn used the cable that was running down the wash for acrobats... tight rope walking and swinging back flips!

Remodel update

2010-08-02T07:09:00.000-07:00

Some of you have asked for a finished product blogger update. I don't have one yet. The remodel got put on hold so that I could do some work, and so that Shawn could sleep in his room. So here is the half finished product for your viewing pleasure.

The remodel

2010-07-27T07:01:00.000-07:00

You may know that Shawns room consisted of not much... a bunk bed that could only be placed on one wall because of a diagonal closet. My desk. That could only be placed under the bunk bed. And, a dresser. Anything that Shawn owned he had to keep on top of his bed or the dogs would eat it. It wasn't a great little boys room. The carpet was nasty from having so many puppies. It was already half torn up. So, finelly, I got a little crazy and decided to start the demo.
Took out the bunk bed, gave it to Katt. Ripped out the closet. Tore up the carpet. Bought a new bed. It was a water bed, the guy said it was a twin, when I got it together, it wasn't. Don't have a water bed mattress, had to retro fit the bed. A jig saw and some screws later, and there you have it. All the while with my wonderful confident mother standing by helping me.
Now comes the dry wall mud. The sanding of the walls to make the texture match, and hopefully some paint.

That's me, taking out the closet.

Katt staying off the carpet.

Rhodes

2010-07-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

Saturday afternoon we took the kids to Rhodes Jr. High pool. Dusty and Shawn rode the wave rider machine there. They did really great for their first time. They had two sides and they would knee board on one side, and surf on the other. Shawn was just getting good at standing up when they shut it down. Dusty of course did awesome.
Summer was off at a baby shower for her Aunt Jennifer, so she missed out on the fun.
Gracie braved the high dive. She walked half way out and then decided that it was to high and went back to go down the ladder. The life guard yelled that she had to wait for her to come over and go down the ladder with her. Gracie couldn't hear what she said, so Dusty just yelled up that the life guard told her that she wasn't aloud to go down, that she HAD to jump. So off she went. We got it on video just so that we could show Summer.
Shawn so spent about an hour jumping off the diving boards doing spins and flips.
It seems like when I was a kid the public pools were so much more crowded. Lots more kids. There wasn't to many people there. Seemed like mostly teen age boys.
I had some pictures but ever since my phone got dropped in the pool its hasn't saved any of my photos.
It was cheaper then the water parks, and the kids had just as much fun.

Woods Canyon Lake

2010-07-05T08:26:00.000-07:00

For 4th of July we took a bit of vacation and headed up to Woods Canyon Lake.
Dusty the kids and I left Wednesday night in time to get there at 1:00 am. Traffic was great. No one on the road. Visual for the camp site could have been better, but we got pretty close to prime camping realestate. Shawn, Gracie and Summer got the opportunity to ride everything without haveing to share to much for the first day. Lucky little kids.
Cristal was next to arrive, bright eyed and bushy tailed... okay, maybe just bushy trailed...She took a quick mini nap and was up and about to enjoy the time in the forest.
Grandma Millward was next. Trucking along with Otis.
Then the rest of the crew arrived late afternoon. Grandma Gillespie, and her clan of Julie, Elexa, Kylie and Deven. Dawn and Andrew and their kiddos.
The days were filled with motorcycle riding, (Dusty's day was filled with motorcycle fixing) hiking to the "pond" to catch snakes and lizards, maybe even a sock or two, tree riding, (this is where you find a pine tree and shimmy up till it bends over, then take turns holding down the tip while someone climbs on and then you let go and they bounce up and down)fishing, napping, and eating some good food.
Mom and Cristal ran up to Strawberry to kidnap Julia and Emilee so that they could join in the fun.
Grandpa Gillespie, Andy, Adam and Paul made it up just in time to do some fishing and Grandpa hooked us all up with some delicious cobbler.
I don't think that I have ever had a more fun camping trip. Everything was great. The kids were all good, not to much fighting, everyone seemed pretty happy.
Can't wait to do it all again! Labor day anyone?

Girls will be girls

2010-06-10T16:26:00.000-07:00

Here is what we have been working on in the workroom. Turns out you can make a whole ensemble in about 3 days and one night. including looking for fabric, designing, sewing and installation. Bedding, drapes and cornices courtesy of Pillow Talk Design.

Special thanks to Ginger Gillespie, Barbara Millward, Emillee Gillespie, Katherine Gillespie, and Dusty Papes.

P.S. If I left someone out, I'm sleepy!!!

Six Flags

2010-06-02T19:02:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day weekend we took Gracie to Cali to go to Six-flags and spend some time with Dusty's Sister, Angie and her family. We got to the hotel and split to Santa Monica Beach to eat on he pier and see the ferries wheel. Gracie got to mess around with her cousins for a little bit. They had a good time at dinner laughing and talking together.
Sunday Morning we were off to Six Flags to ride the roller coasters and be together. The coasters of course, never disappoint. It got a bit warm but we were fortunate enough to get SOAKED on the log ride.
Unfortunately Dusty lost his cell phone on one of the coaster. It just wiggled right outta his pocket.
I will try to post the video that Dusty took of Gracie on Goliath. He did an excellent job videoing considering he was getting tossed and turned all around as well!
Monday morning we were off and running again back to Mesa. Made it on half a tank of gas.

Boynton Canyon

2010-05-23T18:04:00.001-07:00

Saturday we took the kids hiking in Sedona. It was very beautiful out. The wind was blowing and the weather was perfect.
The hike was about 2.5 miles. Not to strenuous. At times it was a bit rocky and steep but not for very long. Unfortunately the destination was nothing really but a view. No water or old cabin. The view was lovely, don't get me wrong, but it's nice to hike up to something. At the 2.5 miles, we turned around and went back the way we came.

Mothers Day

2010-05-10T08:38:00.000-07:00

We took the kids to Sycamore Creek to ride and play in the water. Dusty and Shawn threw the football around for a bit, while Gracie and Summer made a tadpole habitat. The kids got to do some riding in the sand and some splashing in the RZR. We had a little picnic and tried to help some poor schmuck get his jeep outta the sand. Unfortunately I forgot the camera and only got pics with my phone, so no action shots.
After wards the kids made me some cards and we watched a movie and drank root beer floats.

Time to step it up

2010-05-07T17:15:00.000-07:00

We sold Shawn's little 50. He finely decided that he was to big for it when we took him o the track and he saw all the other kids riding on 110 and 65's. He tried one out, and liked it. So we sold he 50 and bought him a 110. He loves it. I have never seen the kids smile so much. (he even gave Dusty a hug!) All he wants to do is take it to the track and out riding. He did really well at ET moto park. Even got a little bit of air.

Lovable

2010-05-04T19:37:00.000-07:00

One romantic day in May a lovable man named, Dusty brought home a black bag with green tissue paper. Inside was a token of his love and affection for a lovable girl named, Rachael.

Yard progress

2010-04-24T07:42:00.000-07:00

So, we finely got around to adding somethings to the yard. Dusty and I went to home depot and picked out some trees, rose bushes and my mom gave us a grapevine, so we bought it a buddy. The funny thing is those plants would take me all day to plant. Dusty had them all done up in about 2 hours. So, two hours, and 120.00 later we have a little bit of color for the front yard!
I'm very happy with it.
By the way, the picture looks better in person!

Baby Diesel Meltdown

2010-03-18T07:57:00.000-07:00

Running errands yesterday with Shawn and noticed that the dash was smoking a little. Just for a minute. Then it stopped. So I didn't really think about it again. Later that night, I was taking Emillee home and the dash started smoking again. More then earlier. Rolled the windows down. Called Dusty to tell him that the dash was smoky. Decided that we should just go ahead and take the car back home and drive the truck. So I started to get off the 60 onto the 202 north. About this same time the dash lights started to flicker. And I said, "Oh look the dash lights are starting to work." But no, that was just the fire behind the knobs... Let me tell you, the on ramp for the 202 north is very long when your dash is on fire! So, I call Dusty again and say, "The car is on fire." and he says, "What do you want me to do about it? Stomp it out? Smother it with something." and I said, (thinking that he wasn't understanding) "The dash is on fire, inside the car." and he says, "So, you want me to pick you up?" and I said, "Yes." so I pull over. I tell Shawn and Emillee to get out. There are fabric book in the back hatch, so I took one out and tried to smother the dash with it. That didn't work, now there are flames coming out of the dash (which is melting by the way) "Water, isn't there any water bottles in the car?" Shawn tells me there is one in the back seat, so I look around and find it. I douse the dash with water and the fire is out. A police officer pulls over, and says, "Rachael Gillespie?" and I say, "Yes." I kinda recognize the officer, but I get pulled over a lot, so that doesn't mean much. "Heath Goodman." Ahh.... used to be the in the ward. Dawn went on some dates with him. So, Dusty came, took Emillee and the kids and I waited for the tow truck.
Now is the chance for a new radio....

Tombstone

2010-03-17T07:17:00.000-07:00

last Saturday we took the kids out to Tombstone. Took the baby diesel. Went there and back on less then a quarter of a tank of gas. We had lunch in a saloon. Summer told me that she was not going to be working in a saloon. The girls loved the bathroom because it was pink. We didn't do to much there, just ate lunch, walked the "strip" and then went to Kartchner Caverns.

They didn't allow us to take pictures at the caverns. Sorry. But, it was really cool. The mountains that the caves are in don't even look special. Just two little humps in the desert. It was amazing to see what was inside. Kinda like one of those ugly rocks that you break open and find cristals. We had a great weekend.

What do you know about tweetle beetles?

2010-03-03T11:49:00.000-08:00

Well, we sold the quad with the intention of getting a non gas guzzling vehicle that I can run the wheels off. Dusty spent hours and weeks looking for something cheap. A TDI would be good. 45 miles to the gallon. Nothing in my price range... Until,

This is it! My little baby diesel. I have gone almost 100 miles today, and haven't moved off of full. It's a beautiful thing.
href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_dRaXjSdMRdM/S46-D8GBugI/AAAAAAAAAZY/eSAhtU68N0E/s1600-h/snoopy.jpg">
Of course the snoopy makes it ridiculously cute. It's already cute as a "bug", but they had to add the snoopy....

caves and spiders and windmills, oh my!

2010-02-15T06:57:00.000-08:00

For valentines, we did the traditional candy hearts. Then loaded up and went out to Box Canyon. Dusty had some friends that were staying out there for the weekend.
Very nice place to camp, can see the kids for riding around, little jumps for the boys. Mostly flat ground for the girls to be comfortable, and not to far off from the canyon for the big kids...

I climbed right up this windmill. Not really my kinda place to be, I don't like heights, and
once I got up, I felt a little wobbly...

Shawn catching a little air.

Dusty trying to show him how its done. The little quad needs new tires, they don't hold air. Makes for a bit of a rough landing on flat tires.

Off into the caves. There was a lot of water once we went in further then the camera would take a pic. We had to turn back because our shoes would have been very wet, and the clay mud feels a little squishy between the toes. Maybe next time with some shorts, when its warmer with some flip flops.

Summer's Birthday

2010-01-31T13:41:00.000-08:00

For Summer's 8th birthday we got her ears pierced! She was very excited, even suggested that I take her out of school early that day to have it done. I told her there would be plenty of time after school for it. She say in the chair and get ready. She said that she wasn't even nervous. When the trigger of the gun pulled you should have seen her eyes get big. not a tear. Very brave.

Saturday, with all her friends and family we rented a bounce house and let the kids go wild!! (WILD AND LOUD) We had some fruit, and a pinata. Every kid loves a pinata. Rigdon even joined in on the hitting of the paper mache toy when he found out there was candy inside. Each kid got a chance to hit, and then, candy everywhere!! We got some cake, and ice cream and opened gifts.

Summer says thank you to all who came. She had a great party!

Summers Birthday Party

2010-01-27T08:07:00.001-08:00

We are going to have Summers Birthday Party this Saturday the 30th from 2:00-4:00. We are having a bouncy house for the kids to play in and cake and ice cream. It will be at our house on Exmoor. We would love to see you all there!!

the real story

2010-01-04T16:09:00.000-08:00

2010-01-03T10:17:00.000-08:00

Gracie is 9!!

2010-01-03T10:05:00.000-08:00

Gracie got to celebrate her birthday at the Sand Dunes this year. We had Grandpa Gillespie and Adam, Dusty, me and her. Cupcakes with sprinkles, she got a brand new beach barbie complete with a handy pail and shovel. Some new jewelry, and a bike barbie. Grandpa let her pick the movie on the drive home. All together I think that she had a great birthday.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T16:39:00.000-08:00

The anticipation waiting for Dennis. We tried passing the time with breakfast, but all the kids wanted to do was sit and stare at the tree. Poor things.

For all those who wondered about the tiny box. Inside were diamond earrings. My man friend has impeccable taste.

The kids had a good haul. Spoiled little things. They still get to have Christmas at their "other parents".
Shawn got a rail and a new skateboard. I'm sure that we will be posting pics as soon as he gets the hang of it.
Gracie made off with a new I pod. She was jamming out all morning.
Summer got her very favorite thing, a gigantic gumball machine.

Merry Christmas to all!

2009-12-22T05:55:00.000-08:00

Its Christmas. Designers are cranky. They don't care if one of your sisters worked till 1:00 in the morning to table their drapes. (Thank you very much Cristal) They don't care that you worked Saturday and all Day Sunday with you other sister (Thank you Katt) While your children entertained themselves. They don't care if you got up at 3:30 in the morning to make sure the job was finished by 8:00 so you could go to your other job. The only thing that they care about is that their client decided they want their bedspread to be 2" longer, how can they pin it on you. "oh, yes!" they say to themselves, "I will call her and tell her that the bedspread was crap and that she has to remake it." So when they call me and say this. (Which I was quite surprised I thought that it looked really good) I tell them that we can remake it and I am sorry that she was disappointed. To which they follow up with, "Well, I am going to have to order new fabric" and I say, "You don't have to do that I can use what we already have." and they reply, "Oh no, they need it to be longer." and I say to myself, "Ahhh... It's not that the workmanship was bad, it's because the designer made a mistake and would very much like to pin it on me so that I will remake the whole thing for free." Not a word about the rest of the house that got installed, making sure to know that I would not be getting paid for any of the work that was done until the client was pleased with the bedspread. (which was not my fault.) No worries that I already paid my employees for the week and might be short for my own Christmas money. (I'm not. I have enough)

Merry Christmas to all the under appreciated employees who get to take on the cranky people.

Tree time

2009-12-09T17:12:00.000-08:00

We managed to get the tree in the house... Dusty had to do a bit of trimming to get it to go in.
My pictures came out , sideways.... I turned them, but they don't seem to want to stay that way... I guess I have some computer malfunctions today. I will have to work on them. So, maybe soon...

Slow Driving

2009-12-04T21:04:00.000-08:00

It seems as though my slow driving has done nothing, but, slow me down. Thursday Gracie was late for school. Granted, first I have to drop Summer and Shawn off on University and Ellsworth to catch the bus and then drive out to the Hunt Highway and Gary (Crismon ish) to drop off Gracie, but I haven't been late before.
Today, I rounded the corner to Shawn and Summers bus stop just as the bus was leaving. I slowed, (I was going to just u turn and drive to the school) the bus driver stopped and asked if I wanted to let the kids on. I said "Sure, if you don't mind." Mean while Summer was tearing up at how embarrassing it was to be the last one to get on the bus, and that it was a special "stop". I guess I'm getting old when I can say, I just didn't understand. It's not like I turned the corner honking and waving the bus driver down. Yelling out my window, "Yoohoo!! Bus Driver! Wait for two more!" It was all very calm and collected. Poor girl was so mortified that she even told me after I picked her up that "Next time please just keep driving. Don't stop and chat it up with the bus driver."
It's tough being the mom. Sometimes you just don't know what to do....

Thanksgiving

2009-11-29T09:02:00.000-08:00

We skipped out on turkey to get a head start on the sand. Dusty and I took Coco with us to the Sand Dunes. I was fun. I can't drive the RZR without sticking it in the sand though. Dusty runs it good though. We went up, and down, and all around.
We were at the sand drags just kicking it, and who pulls in right next to us? Robby Gordan. He just wanted to kick it too. I didn't dare get to close, you never know when the itch will come to steal a real trophy truck. Hate to have good ole Robby take me to court.

The drags were packed! All the way down both sides was about 10 toys deep, at least.

The dunes are getting over run by sand cars, rails and side by sides. There are more of those out there now then quads, bikes.

Cocoa

2009-11-23T08:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we bought a new puppy. Her name is Cocoa. You can tell a difference from having boxer puppies to having a lab puppy. She is much more submissive. Those boxer pups are crazy. So far she gets along well with Pinto, Beans and the kids. We just love her.

Dusty the Pilot

2009-11-10T06:05:00.000-08:00

Dusty picked out this remote control plane and decided to learn to fly. The first flight was quite the learning experience. Which made every flight after a learning experience. Each time the plane took a dive, something broke. So every time the plane got repaired it was a little different. Which caused him to re-learn to fly every time he took off. Poor thing. About a week after the maiden voyage he finally got it. Flew around the golf course several times showing off how he can turn and make the plane go right where he wanted it, then suddenly the wings folded in half (mid flight) and crashed into the top of a palm tree of all things. The boys (Dusty, and Alex) grabbed the extension ladder and climbed the neighbors tree to retrieve the plane. Not quite all in one piece.

There will be a new plane. And more flight I do believe. So if anyone is itching to take a trip Dusty is on his way to get his pilot license.

Dusty's 34 Birthday

2009-10-11T19:39:00.000-07:00

We started the day off with, you guessed it, PRESENTS! I did all right with one, the Ipod touch. The other two were a miss. We are going to return them and get somethings more useful. Then, breakfast at I Hop. Off to Home Depot to get parts to fix the toilet... Then the poor man had to actually fix the toilet. Off to Freestone park. We rode bikes around and Shawn rode around on his skate board. We made a stop at the hobby store where we watched the RC car races, and Dusty bought a remote control plane. Then, home for flying lessons. Remote control planes must be and art... really. A few landing into trees and off to dinner at Rustlers Roost. A magic man made a stop at our table and mesmerized the kids with his magical coins. He was very entertaining. On he way home the car had some problems. Just wouldn't run any more. Called a tow truck, and Dawn... Dawn picked up all five of us and dropped us at home where we hopped into the truck and went to the sand drags/mud bogs. Hung out there for a bit with Dad, Mom, John, Paul and Ben. I hear that we missed Paul's best run on the 2 wheeler. But, we got to see him and my dad race a few more times. We met up with Dennis and Emily (friends from Dusty's work) and stayed at the track with them till around 11:00. Then it was home for cheesecake and a quick game of Suduko. Even with the plumbing, and the tow truck Dusty said that he had a GREAT birthday. I'm so glad. I love to see the man happy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DUSTY!!

Old and Busted meets NEW HOTTNESS

2009-10-03T16:11:00.000-07:00

Old and Busted

New Hottness

Dusty and I took a drive out to Deer Valley Rd and Central to pick up some new hottness for the truck. 1275.00 later we are rolling on 20"s. Such a beautiful ride.
Just in time too... ten more days and I can drive!

2009-09-29T13:29:00.000-07:00

15 more days and I can drive again. It has seemed like an eternity. Just one day over two weeks. UGGHH!!!

Utah Trip

2009-09-20T10:41:00.001-07:00

I finally got to go on the Utah trip. Even though it was only for Thursday and Friday, it was worth it. We met my Dad, John and Paul up there Wednesday night and had some dinner. When it was time to turn in, Dusty and I took the floor. Between John and my dads beds... it was like sleeping in a bear cave. I don't know how Paul slept through it.
Thursday was the GPS rides. We got to go pretty much where ever we wanted. We found geo caches, and grilled up some burgers on the trail. We were lacking a spatula for flipping the burgers. Dusty used his inventive ways and fashioned a spatula out of a empty monster can. Hence, Monster Burgers. They were so delicious. We ran into cows, and very seldom other riders. It was awesome. Next time we want to have a race to see who can find the most geo caches. I'm excited about that.

Friday we were going to take a ride that I hear was really good. But, the RZR was 7" to wide to fit through the gate. So with my Dad as courageous leader we took off into the unknown.... (well, he knew where he was going.) The trees were changing colors so it made for a really pretty ride.

We stopped for lunch at a cabin that had a little mine and railroad tracks, but no train. I got my dad to be the train. He did a great impression.
Friday night after dinner we took off for Page. Spent the night in a hotel, and got home Saturday afternoon.

Cinder Weekend

2009-09-09T08:03:00.000-07:00

Shawn's 10th birthday

2009-09-02T07:33:00.000-07:00

We had Shawn's birthday party last Saturday. Thank you all for coming he had a really good time.
There was back flips on the trampoline, swimming, fruit, (Shawn loves fruit) brownies, silly string wars, and many cousins.
My little boy is 10 now. Time sure does fly. 5th grade. Two more years and then Jr. high. What then?

48

2009-08-27T06:46:00.000-07:00

more days till I can drive again. I don't know of anyone who doesn't drive when their license is suspended. Everyone I know just keeps driving. They are just extra careful. There are so many people out there just driving along with no license. Not me though. Here I sit. Begging for rides. Mingeling my errands with the errands of others.
I feel so useless. My hands are tied to help anyone else. If I was a menace to society before I am surely a menace now for all who know me.

Shawn"s Birthday Party

2009-08-24T17:35:00.000-07:00

To all who would like to come! We are having Shawns birthday party at our house, at 1:00 this Saturday. Nothing fancy, just swimming and some cake and ice cream.
Love to have you! Let me know if you are gonna make it!

no more taxes!

2009-08-20T09:04:00.001-07:00

Quit my job last night. I'm just not cut out for the work place. I really don't work well with others...

New car

2009-08-14T08:29:00.001-07:00

The tranny has some problems in the WRX. 2nd gear is no where to be found. What other solution could there be but to buy another car? After all, that big yellow truck just sits in the driveway while I am unable to drive.

It needs a little washing, but I think I really love it. It's about the quarter of the size of the truck. I hope Dusty still has it around when I can drive again. It's fun to be little sometimes.

First Day of School

2009-08-14T08:26:00.000-07:00

Gracie is enjoying being a 3rd grader. She is going to a new school, and also a new babysitter during the week. All those changes, and still happy. Dusty must have done something right.

Shawn is my brave 5th grader this year. Summer is so excited to be in 2nd grade.
They are such good kids. They have been getting up and getting ready all on their own. Dressed, lunches packed, breakfast ate and hair combed. I couldn't ask for more.
I am so proud of you kids!

Puppies!

2009-08-14T08:18:00.000-07:00

Beans is now a mother of 11. Her entire litter totaled 12, but we had one with a cleft pallet. Poor old Button had to be put in the freezer. 4 more weeks and we will be selling them. If you know anyone who needs a puppy...

Slide Rock

2009-08-06T20:35:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday we took the kids up to slide rock. It was packed. The water was a bit chilly at first, but you got used to it. I had been there before, but never in the water. I loved it! The slides were faster and deeper than I anticipated.
We hiked up stream and picked wild blue berries.
Summer even took a little dive off the cliff jump. She looked so scared, but she did it. Crazy girl. She looks so tall and skinny jumping off the cliff.

Next time we will take a pick-nic. The kids had an awesome time exploring. If I had planned ahead a little better we could have stayed longer.

Working for the Man

2009-08-06T20:27:00.000-07:00

Well, the suspended my license about three weeks ago. 69 more days to go without driving.
They wrote me a letter after my court date. Told me that I was a menace to society with no regaurd for the law and becuase of my habitual speeding I had to have my license suspended.
On an even greyer note... I went back to work full time for Athena. Dusty and I were thinking of buying a house. It turns out it's super hard to get a loan when you are self employed. They wanted W2's. So, Dusty drives me to Carries house every morning, and I ride with Carrie (Athena's workroom manager) in to work. I'm a bit slow in my workroom so I don't have to work to late at night or early in the morning. Plus I still have Cristal for a few weeks.
I like riding to and from work with Dusty everyday. But, I miss being home. I have been pampered working from home. Especially being with Dusty. He made it easy to just work the work hours and not all nighters. I just love him.

Working on the Boat

2009-08-02T20:33:00.000-07:00

The boat has turned into quite the project. We started with the upholstery. It has been slow going. (the front half still isn't done) Dusty did some sewing, and some stapling. It's coming along.
Then, Dusty had to take apart the top end of the engine. He got it all put back together. With Shawn as his assistant. (Shawn even asked if he could come over when he was at his dads to help Dusty with the boat) then we took it out. We did some wake boarding with Cristal. I even got to drive the boat a little while Dusty wake boarded. I didn't do that great, but maybe next time. I stayed up on the wake board for a record time. All of two minutes. At least I'm not getting worse, right? While we were out (at the back of the lake) The boat started to make a new noise... Dusty babied it back to the dock, and now the whole motor is out. We are waiting on my Dad to get the bottom end put back together.

Last Day of the Vacation

2009-07-16T07:18:00.001-07:00

Back to Disney, relaxing by the pool and 80 dollar lunches. I promise these are the last of the pictures. (well, I have do hundreds...)
Fourth of July we got to watch the fireworks on the Ferris wheel. That was a lot of fun. We could see a bunch of differant shows, and there was no crowd. We had a really fun time, and it was a little rough getting back to work. I always hvae to play a little catch up when I take off more then a weekend.

Six Flags Magic Mountain

2009-07-15T17:01:00.000-07:00

Sorry, still running vacation pics...
Thursday we went to Magic Mountain. The kids loved it! They hated that there were rides that they couldn't ride. Always begging to just see if the attendent would notice that they were to short. I told them they would fly right out, and then I could never forgive myself.
All the kids were tall enough to ride X2. They were so excited to get on... Gracie and Summer sat together, Shawn and Emilee rode together, and Dusty and I together. When the ride was over (it was awesome... worth the wait) Summer was crying histericaly, "I hate this place! I hate this place!" The attendent was helping her out of her seat with her tear staind face as I rushed over, looking like a horrible parent for letting her 7 year old ride such and intense ride.
The next day of course she wanted to go back so bad and try it again. Such a good little adventureer.

A few more pictures

2009-07-08T07:36:00.000-07:00

VACATION!!

2009-07-06T19:21:00.000-07:00

We had our 4th of July Disney vacation!
Monday morning, we left bright and early. We thought that we would make it there before big daddy. He sent us a text letting us know that he was leaving late...
About 45 mintues from Disney he let us in on his little joke... he was almost there! We were very close to catching up, he was turning into the Disney parking garage as we were turning into out hotel!
The deal was, who ever can find him in Disneyland gets a golden dollar. In addition to that dollar, if he was found in Toon Town they would get two fifty cent coins...
Dusty found him outside of the Haunted Mansion, on the way to Splash Mountain. He got the golden dollar. We road with him on Splash Mountain, and sadly, I didn't carry my camera that day, other wise there would be evidence.
Tuesday we checked into our hotel for the rest of the week, and spent a few more days at Disney. Riding the rollar coasters and waiting in lines. (none of the lines were to terrible) Summer, wishing that she were just a little bit taller, (there was only one ride there she was to short for) Always wanted to make sure that she hadn't grown in the last ten minutes... "Can we just check and see if I'm tall enough now?" "You did not grow in the last ten minutes!" "Can we just stuff my shoes with napkins?" "No, we can't stuff four inches of napkins into your shoes!"
Nice lazy days. Spend the morning riding rollar coasters, afternoon at the pool, evening riding rollar coasters, catching a few parades, light shows, fireworks.
More on the vacation coming soon....

Bartlett Lake

2009-06-21T19:20:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning bright and early we took off for the lake. It was a nice drive. The lake was packed, parking was scarce.

Our Captain

The Skipper

Our Crew

My longest wakeboarding run ever!

We took the BBQ and the EZup and set up on the beach for the day. As we were eating lunch I looked at Summer who had just put away five handfulls of chips, a sandwich and a hot dog. I asked her where she was putting all that food, and she gave me a look like I was looney and said, "In my mouth." So matter of fact.

Is it necessary

2009-06-21T11:52:00.000-07:00

To have THREE chandeliers in your bathroom?

Did you know....

2009-06-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

that the Mesa Museums are free the first Sunday of the month?
Ahh.... yes. We took the kids this past Sunday.

There was the gold panning exhibit, and of course the jail. Why are kids so fascinated with jails?

Then also the Mesa Youth Museum, had a monster exhibit.

You all new this was coming....

2009-06-04T07:10:00.000-07:00

So, I got a notice in the mail from the MVD saying that they were going to suspend my license for three months for accululation of points. Unless I sent in a letter requesting a hearing to defend myself.

Of course, I sent the letter.

They send me a letter back stating that I will have my hearing conduct over the phone, June 15th. I didn't even know that they did hearing over the phone.

At least it's not court ordered, just ordered by the MVD. And, at least if they still see fit to seuspend my license, it's only 3 months, not an entire year.

I guess I have to start wearing lighter shoes....

Family

2009-05-29T07:09:00.000-07:00

Dusty's sister Angie, her husband Tim, their two kids Anthony and Madeline came over for a visit this week. Dusty made dinner while the kids swam and jumped on the trampoline. Maddy loved the trampoline. She would get up there and just laugh and laugh.

I gave Maddy a feather boa and she shook it around the whole house for Pinto. He loved it. But, there were black feathers everywhere.

This was the first time that I have met Dusty's sister. With only one, you would think that we would have gotten around to it sooner. Everyone was really nice and the kids got along pretty good.

Cinder Trip

2009-05-25T19:35:00.000-07:00

Friday night we finished up working and packed the kids up, (and Dennis, Dusty's Dad) and took of for much cooler weather. We met up with a few of Dusty's friends and camped up at the Cinders till Sunday afternoon.
The RZR ran like a champ. Went up everything (not super fast) except the front side of 100 dollar hill.
It was a little rainey, and a bit cold. Thanks to the new windshield Dusty put on the RZR though we stayed pretty dry and warm.

Brand New custom roll cage and back seat. Special for those little kids. Anyone else would get their heads crushed.

Summer, Gracie, Laena and PJ putting makeup on. On the down low... Guess they got caught.

Shawn and Dusty having their own drag race...

Dusty can't seem to keep his wheels on the ground.

View from the top of 100 dollar hill.

Dusty making a run to the top with bald paddle tires.

The Popular Girls By Summer Omerza

2009-05-21T12:17:00.000-07:00

This book is dedicated to my family and my teacher.

There were five girls that didn't know that they were popular. So they always played together.
Brooke's house got boring, so they went to Maegans's house and they stayed there for an hour.
And then they went to Cali's house and Kaia's house. They stayed there an hour, but it got boring.
And then they found out that they were popular.So the popular girls went to the mall to buy some jewelry and they were on their way.
They were there and they went in to the jewelry store... and they saw the most beautiful jewelry in the world.
They bought the jewelry and they shared together.
All five girls tried it on and then Maegan said, "it is safe with me." the girls did not know that Maegan stole the jewelry.
Then they forgot that they let her borrow the ring and they burst out laughing. "hahahahahahahahahahah!"
Then, they went to the movies to see Twilight. It was just another day with the popular girls.

About the Author
Summer loves to write and to read. She loves to hike and she loves ice cream. She loves music, and it's called rap.

(word for word, this is her very first published book. Every page is illustrated.)

All the rage?

2009-05-13T07:18:00.001-07:00

Turns out that it's all the rage to mix colors and patterns and textures on your fruniture. I re-upholstered this chair recently. These are not the only patterns in the room. She also has a dark brown leather couch, and geometric print on her curtains. It really is something....

Young Author Celebration

2009-05-13T07:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Summer had her Young Auther Celebration. Cristal and I took a break from working and brought some chocolate covered strawberries and listened to the children read their stories. Summer did a great job. She wrote a book called "The Popular Girls" It's amazing to see how her mind works in putting together a story and the points that were important to her. She did all the illastrations her self. I am very proud of her.

All in a long weeks work

2009-05-07T06:58:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Pamela and my mom, we got half of one of my clients homes finished. She loved everything. It was one of the biggest installs that I have done. Here are a few pictures.

Also did a house that is going to be featured in Phoenix Home and Garden. I hear that I get to be interviewed. Feels kinda like a grown up thing....

Also working on a house who's pool is going on the travel channel in a special for resort pools. Thiers is the only residential one that is going to be on the show. The rest are in actual resorts.

Work keeps going well, and I think it's time for a bigger workroom, more employees, and a new house. Keep your fingers crossed.

Pinto, meet Beans

2009-05-06T07:25:00.000-07:00

Last week, I'm in the thick of making drapes and valances for an entire house when I get a call from Dusty. "I got you a kitten." He says. Four weeks old. Someone had shot it's mother. Stray cats who lived under the cars at his work. I put on something cute... (white slip dress....) and go down to the shop to get this kitty. No one ever gave me a kity before... I get there and it was inside a box. I pick up the little GREY kitty and cuddle it. FIve minutes later the front of my dress is black from grease. Dusty says, "What did you expect? It's a mechanic." I take him home, give him a bath, (turns out he is orange) and feed him. Now he loves me. Sits on the sewing machine foot while I sew. Climbs in my bed and sleeps against my back. Also, he bites. I hope he grows out of that.

2009-05-05T07:06:00.000-07:00

Work has got me all tied up. We did go gold panning with the kids last weekend up in Prescott Valley. We took beans and had a pretty fun time. No one got eaten by any bears. We did not find any gold though....

Pre-Easter Skate Park

2009-04-20T08:01:00.000-07:00

Shawn set up some ramps and a rail in the front yard to practice grinding. After a few attempts, he made it all the way. So we took the kids to the skate park so he could try out his skills there. It was crowded. Shawn was a bit nervous. Thankfully no injuries. I can't wait to pay for a broken ankle. Shawn is very cautious. He never does anything that he thinks that he may get hurt from. Practices the small stuff till he can get on with the big stuff. I'm glad that he is that way. Unlike his sister. She throws caution to the wind every chance she gets.

Dusty demontstrates how to grind the rail the proper way.

Shawn getting ready to drop in while Dusty stands by to help if needed.

Easter Egg Coloring

2009-04-14T19:19:00.000-07:00

Saturday afternoon the kids colored Easter Eggs and Painted on them. There was a dozen eggs. I had to be schooled in the proccess of how it's all done. Who knew you were supposed to boil the eggs first? I thought you could just do the coloring, and then scramble them up for breakfast the next morning...