5 Tips for Camping Fun!

We go camping every year for Cassandra's birthday and Mexican Mother's Day. I believe the tradition started when Cass was little and that was what her mom wanted for Mother's Day, so off they would go every year to the same camp grounds and spend about 4 days. This is only my 3rd year being of part of this tradition, and I love it! When her family camps, they camp in style, with a Cabelas set up kitchen, shower/bathroom tent, pop up ramada over the picnic table and 2 people per 8-10 man tent.  Seriously, we have people stop by and comment on how nice the set up is and ask how long we've been camping. We always have a blast and sit by the creek and fish as much as possible. So, here are the few camping tips I've  learned in the past three years.

1.) Styrofoam will keep your buns toasty. Cassandra's dad always takes rectangular Styrofoam pieces that he cuts in half long ways and duct tapes to the concrete picnic tables. This is GENIUS...not only does it add a bit of comfort, it also keeps your bottom really warm when it is super cold and the concrete is even colder. Seriously, I would highly encourage you to give it a try. You can get Styrofoam at Lowes or The Home Depot for $5.00, you may need 2 to cover the benches, but it will be worth the $10.00!

2.) When you camp, everybody pitches in. Cassandras parents said it a few times, "when we camp, everybody works." Truth be told, I napped the first 2 days, and they were glorious naps...however, I also helped cook, wash the dishes and put food away at night. Let's face it, there's not a lot of cleaning to do when camping, but nobody should have to do all of the cooking or washing. Also, this makes set up and take down go by much faster. I was not looking forward to packing up at the end of our trip, but it went by quickly and smoothly because we all pitched in. Even Albert packed up his toys.

3.)Socks. You cannot take too many pairs of socks camping. Even if it's hot they may get wet in the creek, or full of sand or whatever else can happen to socks. We happened to camp during a cold front and we doubled up on socks while Mr. A usually had 3 pair on. I'm a desert rat so I don't like being cold as it is, but when my feet are freezing it's just horrible. 

4.) Don't forget the games. We did. We still had a lot of fun, but I was really looking forward to playing dominoes. I guess I was too focused on packing enough socks, that I forgot the dominoes.

5.) Smores are a must! Here's my secret. I like to place the chocolate on the graham crackers and place them near the fire (usually there's a ledge or a little grill) and let the chocolate get melty while I toast the mallows. So yum. 

We love to fish and Cass makes her own bait by mixing cheddar cheese with garlic powder and little bit of flour to bind it. The trout loved it. We were also told by a little boy that he uses corn and tosses a hand full in right after he casts. We saw a guy doing it and he was reeling them in! We had fresh trout for lunch one of the days and mmm mmm it was delish!

Summer is here and it is always good to reconnect with nature, so get out there and enjoy the great outdoors. Remember to clean up after yourselves and give your left over firewood and Styrofoam padding to your camping neighbors.

Time for my shameless plug: 

These fishing lures are handmade and flat out awesome! They make a great addition to your tackle box or a great gift for Father's Day which is just around the corner. You can order them here.

I take special orders and try to accommodate your bottle cap requests. 

Adoption Day

The day we have been waiting for has finally come! We have officially adopted little Mr. A! I can't explain how nervous and excited we were that morning and the days leading up to his adoption! I just wanted it to be perfect for him and us and it was!

The adoption took place first thing in the morning, so of course, we were up early and still running late. Walking in to the court house I was a nervous wreck; most of our family was already there waiting and it was just so wonderful to walk through the doors and see our family and our case workers who have been on this journey with us. We sat in a waiting area until it was our turn and it was so fun to see Albert run from person to person giving hugs and just being his happy little self. He loves Superman right now, so I had told him that he was getting adopted just like Superman...he loved it and he told everybody!

In the state of AZ, we are not allowed to legally adopt as a couple, so the adoption was under Cassandra's name only. I knew going in that they would ask Cass questions, the judge would sign off and then the adoption would be completed. Well, when we got in the room our attorney told me that I can sit up in front with Cass and Albert, which made me very happy. The judge then asks us who we are and when I said "co-parent" she smiled and said "Albert's other mom." You have to understand that we didn't know who the judge was going to be or how it would be received that we are two women raising a child together, so her immediate warmth was unexpected and wonderful! The attorney asked Cass the questions, and then turned to me and asked me the same questions. Again, unexpected, but so very wonderful. The attorney included me in the entire process as if we were both legally adopting and the judge not only included me, but our  family as she asked them to introduce themselves and how they know Albert. The entire ceremony was even better than I could have imagined it. At the end of it all, we went up to take pictures with the judge and she gave Albert a medal because "Adopted kids are extra special." 

Afterwards we went to Albert's favorite spot, Peter Piper Pizza, to celebrate. Our whole entourage went with us and we had time to chat and hang out. We then went home to relax and nap before our BBQ that night. Cassandra's dad really out did himself this time, we had so much delicious food and I didn't have to raise a finger. Our friends who couldn't make it to the adoption came over to celebrate and of course Albert's buddies from next door came over to play. The day was wonderful and more than I could've asked for.

We are so blessed, by our little boy, but also by the people in our lives. We had so many people go out of their way to spend the day with us and it means more than they can imagine. 

I have to leave you with this last picture which was taken at the end of the night when Superman was tired...

Bad as you wanna be

So, I recently watched a show on the DIY network called Rehab Addict...if you have never seen it, you should! Basically, there's a lady named Nicole Curtis who buys historic homes and restores them. However, she's a total bad ass who does a lot of the work herself (or at least demonstrates how to do it), has handy dandy little tricks that make the work easier, and still manages to be pretty and girly. I was watching the show thinking that she's really nailed it and that I really need to start learning how to do more handy stuff. Well, lo and behold we got a visit from the City of Phoenix saying that the Oleanders in our backyard needed to be trimmed back and within a weeks time. I decided that I can tackle this just as well as Cass and I have more time, so I started the project. It took me close to 2 hours and I felt great! I, too, am a bad ass woman who gets things done! However, I WASN'T done. The oleanders in our back yard are huge and line the back fence so this was a big task, and I had just cleaned up the sides and pulled a lot of the dead branches out. I was so proud of what I had accomplished and got back out there to finish the job a few days later. But the meaning of this whole story is that it feels to good to feel like a bad ass and everyone needs to feel that way every now and then! Dennis Rodman had it right, I am as Bad as I wanna be, just maybe in a different sense than what he meant. :) Go out and conquer something that reminds you that you're a total bad ass, whether its doing yard work, running or taking down a pile of laundry.

My Hometown

We've spent the last two weekends in my hometown, Ajo. When I tell people I come from a small town they usually ask "which one?" which is quickly followed by "where's that" or "on the way to Mexico?" Ajo is a  little gem, tucked in the Sonoran desert, that a lot of Arizonans just don't know about. I can give you an exhaustive history of Ajo and how it came to be but unless you're a history buff you probably don't want to read all of that, so I'm going to post pictures and tell you why I love it.

1. Because it's home. My parents home is just so comfortable and when we're there we spend a lot of time outside.

2. The People. Awesome people. 

3. It's gorgeous. Ajo has a lot of houses that need work and unfortunately that is what a lot of people see when they pass through, but Ajo really is quite beautiful.

Not to mention the gorgeous churches that surround a beautiful plaza. I will have to post pictures of that at another time...perhaps when we go down for the Ajo Reunion.

4. When we are in Ajo we get to be a part of stuff like this:

5. This awesome open pit mine. 

My hometown has a special place in my heart and its great to see how much Cassandra and Mr. A have fallen in love with it too.  People from Ajo have a lot of pride in our small little town and that is one of the other things I love about this place. 

My Mom & Pop

Last weekend we celebrated my Mom & Dad's 40th anniversary! My parents little family of 4 has grown and now we have 16 people in our immediate family! My siblings and I wanted to throw a little party for them, so we got invitations out and started making plans. The weather in AZ has been gorgeous, borderline hot for this early in the year, so we were planning to spend the day in the warm sun playing horseshoes and grilling. The day of the party was the ONE day that was super windy, overcast and rainy. Seriously, the one day in weeks that was not the perfect warm Spring day. The party was planned to be outside. So, we had to make a few adjustments and move some stuff around to make it work. I was a little stressed as each of my siblings text asking what the backup plan was, and I talking about moving the party inside when my mom said "It will be perfect, no matter the weather or where we have the party, it will be perfect. This is actually a great example of marriage, you plan for a warm Spring days and sometimes you get wind and rain, but that doesn't mean it's not great. The party will be perfect!"  Dang, mom...what a smart lady!  Of course we all want and expect warm sunny days, but the reality is that there are windy rainy days where you just have to tweak the plans a little.  The party was not what we thought it was going to be when we were going through the planning stages, however it was a great party! I've been thinking about all my parents went through as a
couple and as parents and I have nothing but love and respect for them and their 40 years of marriage.

We have such a great big extended family and were fortunate enough to grow up close to both of our grandmas. Family is so important to me and Cass and something we would like to pass on to Mr. A. who already loves spending time with his grandparents (both sets) and cousins. I hope that he learns to be hard working and down to earth from his grandpas and soaks up all of the wisdom (and some of the wittiness) he can from his grandmas. 

Mr. A & The Terrific 2's

2014 has been such an active year for us so far! We've gone to Monster Jam, to California, to my hometown a couple of times and most importantly...we have a very active and opinionated 2 year old. Mr. A has always been an incredibly well behaved little guy and we kept wondering why the 2's are so "terrible". Well, lets just say we've gotten a taste of it. Don't get me wrong, I still think he is amazing and he's so well behaved most of the time. In fact I feel bad even writing this because it feels like I'm complaining, but honestly, I'm just being real. Our little boy is so smart that he already knows how to push our buttons and then how to turn right around, change his tone of voice and sweet talk us! It's amazing! 

For some unknown reason, I put an enormous amount of pressure on myself  when it comes to parenting. Here are three things I've learned in the past few weeks

1.) Kids test their parents patience all the time. Every single one. I text a friend of mine and said my little guy was just driving me nuts one day and a few days later received a similar text from her. All of our kids push our buttons and test our patience. I'm glad I'm not the only one.

2.) Even the perfect parents aren't perfect. My brother pointed out to me that every child grows up and blames their parents for something they did wrong, (pessimist, I know). I don't think my brother was trying to instill wisdom when he said this, but it made me think...I bet every person can name something they think they're parent did wrong. Maybe I'm backwards, but this kinda made me feel better; even perfect parents aren't perfect. 

3.) He's just a kid. My best friend, wise woman that she is, reminded me he is just a toddler. He's 2 and he's a wonderful kid. So what if he throws a fit every now and then or if he talks back, at the end of the day, he is growing, learning and pushing the limit and I should be happy that he is doing all of those things because that means he's right where he should be.

I haven't really written much about parenting in the past, but this past weekend I realized how much pressure I put on myself...and if I'm not careful, I could easily transfer that pressure to our little boy. I don't want to do that, so I'm trying to give me and him a little more credit and not been such a worrier. It's been almost a year that this little blessing has been in our lives and I cannot even begin to express what he has done to our home, hearts and families. He is amazing and I am beyond thankful him!!

My Dog ate my Yoga mat

True Story. I got the bright idea to place my Yoga mat under my towel when I was laying out soaking up some AZ sun. I left it outside draped over a chair and my dog chewed it up. I hadn't used the thing for actual Yoga in months, and honestly have not missed it until today. My friend, Lyndsey, and I both want to shed some pounds, so we are trying to motivate each other to work out. She posted THIS 30 day challenge on my Facebook with a cute little note, "how about this today?" Watching 15 seconds of the workout made me sore, there's no way I want to ever attempt this workout!! But since this was posted on my Facebook, I couldn't punk out and I completed day 1 today. This is when I remembered that my dog ate my yoga mat, I thought its absence was going to make my planks that much harder; then I did the planks and honestly, my abs and legs hurt so bad that I didn't even notice that I didn't have a Yoga mat! Lyndsey kept saying it's only 12 minutes and she was right, I was glad I did it, and even more happy that the instructor was winded and struggling just like I was. I didn't use a sand or rice bag, the lunges were hard enough without them! So, if you are a glutton for pain, or if you just want to really challenge yourself, then maybe you can join us in this 30 day challenge! Here's to 12 minutes of torture and hoping it will pay off in the end!

Closing thought: Did they seriously make a Barbie that cleans up dog poop?!? Do little kids really enjoy pretending they are cleaning up dog poop?? WOW. Just wow.