Brayden's Mischievous Monday

Brayden has had a very active and mischievous morning. I have been sick in bed and I've tried to keep him entertained, but before I woke up he got out of his room and had a little fun around the house.

The first thing I noticed when I got up to get him breakfast was a chair moved next to the kitchen counter and the waffle iron on. We had made waffles yesterday morning, but I thought the waffle iron was out of reach next to the toaster. Apparently nothing is out of reach for a two year old. Anyway, I unplugged the iron and then I noticed the case to "Ice Age" open close by. On a hunch I opened the waffle iron and found the paper inserts for "Ice Age" cooking inside.

So, now I'm exhausted and slightly fearing for my life, so I strap Brayden into his highchair, put on a Disney movie, and go back to bed. When Craig called to let me know he was on his way home for lunch, I climbed out of bed, started the oven preheating for pizza and got back in bed. When Craig got home he smelled something funny coming from the oven. He checked inside and found one of Brayden's toys from McDonald's melting on the oven rack. Apparently Brayden had placed it there earlier that morning before I got up. You can see what was left of the toy in the pictures.

Realizing that today could have been a lot worse, I decided to clean up before anything else happens. Before I put away the toaster, I felt the need to clean out the crumb catcher tray thing and found about six earrings in there. I guess that before Brayden moved the waffle iron so he could plug it in, he dropped a few earrings into the toaster. I'm glad that wasn't plugged in. Looks like it's finally time to invest in a gate.

Feeding the Ducks

We had some left over hamburger buns so we decided to take Brayden to feed the ducks by our house. He had so much fun! Craig tried to hold him up so he could clear the fence, but he preferred to throw it through the fence.

Neighborhood Park Days

I love our neighborhood! Every Tuesday during the summer, they meet at a different park. It's been a great opportunity for Brayden and I to socialize with our neighbors. I was amazed at how many people showed up.

Kelsi's Final Hurrah

Craig and I are planning on trying for another child soon, so we planned this camping trip to celebrate my last few days before pregnancy. We planned on leaving as soon as everyone got off work on Friday, August 13th, but it took longer than we thought. That's not a big surprise considering it was Friday the 13th. By the time we got to Soapstone, it was already dark and pretty full. We stopped at the first site we could find, even though it had no shade and tons of ants.

We spent Friday night setting up camp, eating dinner and s'mores, and looking for shooting stars.

We woke up on Saturday to a beautiful day. There was an awesome rock slide nearby that we climbed up after breakfast. Craig, Charles, and Jen had some stuff that they needed to buy, so they went to the grocery store in Kamas while Deana and I stayed behind with Lucky. We played cards and chatted until the others got back. That night we ate yummy tin foil dinners.

Kelsi feeding Lucky some of her tin foil dinner.

Nom Nom Nom...

Deana patiently waiting for us to finish eating.

Craig taking care of the fire.

 Saturday night was my favorite part of the whole weekend. After a delicious dinner, we cracked out the drinks and started laughing. I'm kind of glad I don't know what time we finally went to bed.

Charles and Jen trying to avoid a hangover.

I know I look like I'm dancing, but I'm trying to catch my balance after tripping on the chair.

Craig showing off his battle wound from his fight with a tree. Believe me. The tree lost.

Deana looking gorgeous while taking down camp.

Sunday morning, Charles experimented with cooking bacon over the fire. It had an interesting taste, but it was delicious! Then we packed up an come home. It was so dirty there that Craig and I went to the Matiyasic's that evening so we could sweep out our tent. While we were working, Brayden was playing with the hose.

Dorothy was kind enough to supply dessert after we were done cleaning. Here is Brayden thoroughly enjoying his first ice cream cone. It was a great weekend. I can't wait to do it again.

He Got Caught

I caught him because I could hear him trying to put the container of sugar into the microwave. He had moved his highchair over to the counter, climbed up, and started playing. The white stuff on the counter is a combination on flour, sugar, and powdered sugar. Later I found powdered sugar inside the sugar container. He was so cute so I couldn't do anything else besides laugh and hug him.

Camping for Craig's Birthday

Last week, my wonderfully adorable husband turned 24. With all of the holiday stuff going on this month, we decided to celebrate this weekend. We were hoping there would be fewer campers to share the mountain with and we were right.

We (Deana, Jen, Charles, Joe, Craig, Brayden and me) drove straight up to Soapstone after work yesterday and found the perfect spot. It was just secluded enough to be surrounded by trees and our little car easily made it up the path.

This was the first time Brayden has come camping with us, so it was nice to be surrounded by friends that could help us keep an eye on the little guy. He was in heaven the whole weekend. Camping is pure bliss for little boys.

Deana brought up her 4-wheeler for us to play on. We all had a lot of fun taking turns until a ranger caught Craig and Brayden on their way back to camp. Apparently, you can ride around on most roads up here, but the ones that are restricted aren't marked. You have to find out before you come by looking it up on the Internet. It just so happened that one of those restricted roads was the one we camping off. It's less than a minute ride, but that one minute got Craig a ticket. I wasn't impressed and neither was Craig, so we were done with the 4-wheeler for the weekend.

There was still plenty to do. We went on hikes and played cards. And when I was too exhausted to keep up with Brayden anymore, Deana's dog, Lucky, took over. They had a lot of fun running around with each other.

Overall it was a good weekend. I wasn't thrilled when Charles, Deana and Jen left to go play with the Rainbow Rendezvous, but Craig, Joe and I had a peaceful evening around the campfire. I look forward to the future when we can go camping with other families with kids, just for my sanity.

Cowboy Hats at Walmart

My boys never cease to keep me laughing. While wandering through Walmart today, Craig found a bin of adult cowboy hats on sale. Knowing that Brayden has an unusually large head, we wanted to know if they would fit on him. Of course they fit!

And then Brayden started hamming it up. He was like my little model making all sorts of faces. We even got a peekaboo shot.