Bargain Shoppers

Yes, me and my mother were in the Arizona Republic newspaper yesterday.  The article was called "Bargains: Always in Style" on the front page of the business section.  Aren't we big time celebs now?!  But if you read the article, it is 100% us-  we are definitely bargain shoppers!  This picture was taken the last time we went to Last Chance- one of our favorite stores!!  They had interviewed us, and taken our picture- but it was more than a month ago, so we had forgotten all about it, until Taylor gets a call from his brother, saying "Did you know your wife is in the paper?"  We all had a good laugh over it!

Strawberry Hill

We had our Candland Family Vacation this weekend up in Strawberry.  The kids had such a blast!!!!  Each family had their own cozy cabin, and the common area had a fire pit, ping pong table, basketball court, and playground.  Taylor's parents are amazing.  They always put so much effort and time into planning our annual trips to make them so fun, especially for the kids.  I just want to thank them so much, we had the best time this weekend!

This is Talmage having fun on the bounce house.

Aunt Chris had the best idea-  she took nylons and filled them with flour, and everyone had a "snowball fight" 

This is Barrett at the goat and llama farm.  He loves petting the animals!  Talmage wouldn't touch them (I don't blame him!)
Grandma and Pappa treated everyone to Out of Africa.  We had never been before, and the boys loved the tiger show!  

...and feeding the giraffe!

This is me and Talmage hiking at Rainbow Bridge.  Talmage only made it halfway down, but the view from the top was beautiful!

Talmage and his bff (cousin Eva) painting snakes back at the cabins.
more fun on the bounce house!

The Mess I Made

So this is what I get for allowing my child to pick a fudgesicle instead of a candy.  Talmage is my son that teaches me patience (EVERYDAY).   Every time we go to the grocery store I want to rip my hair out.  So, being the horrible mother that I am, I bribe him.  If he is a good boy, then he can pick a treat at the end.  His teeth will probably rot, but it is worth my sanity!! And even though Barrett is 16 months old, I still forget that if I say "yes" to Talmage, then it means "yes" for Barrett too.  Today Talmage eyed one of those small freezers near the checkout counter and immediately wanted an ice cream, and to avoid a meltdown I said yes right away, not even thinking of the consequences of this.  And this is the mess I got to clean up when I got home.   So while I was wiping away (thanks to clorox wipes), I wondered if it was worth the mess to not have Talmage throw a tantrum in the store..... I'm not quite sure yet.

Bike Ride

Taylor went to the doctor the other day, and the doc told him he HAD to lose weight- for medical reasons (which is definitely a good thing because he does have some serious health issues!)  So he bought a new bike, and took Talmage on his first "bike ride" around the neighborhood.  Talmage was just loving it!  They even had matching helmets!
There they go!!!
Poor Barrett felt left out.  He stood there like this and watched them go!