So a couple months ago we made some friends who we really hit it off with. They are super cool people and are actually moving into a house right down the road from us! We are very similar in the sense that we are all very active, have children and love the same things. We introduced them to climbing and now they are members at the gym and have gotten all their kids into it! Woo hoo! So we decided that we had to take them to Hueco to introduce them to outside climbing. We planned the trip for only the four of us so we could relax and get some time away from the kids. So we went last weekend and had a BLAST. Now obviously the company was great, but what really made the trip was our transportation and sleeping quarters. Mario works at an RV dealership and his boss let’s him take out RV’s all the time… just to use and learn about. So when he said he would get an RV for our trip, I was expecting something small and plain. Nothing fancy. HOLY MOTHER was I WRONG. I had to go to NM early for work on Thursday so I didn’t meet the three of them until Friday afternoon. When I pulled into the parking lot, I almost peed my pants. Mario had literally borrowed a house on wheels. This thing was HUGE!!!! I couldn’t freaking believe it. 2 bathrooms, 3 huge TV’s, a full size stainless steel fridge, granite counter tops, cherry cabinets, a microwave, two queen size beds, dishwasher, leather couches, tile, mood lighting, the works!! I felt like royalty…it was amazing. =) We had so much fun and the weekend was really relaxing. Mario and Maria did sooo good and we can’t wait to get them outside again. We’ve decided to invite them every time we go now bc camping in our pop up is just not going to do it anymore. Hahaha! Just kidding. We’re not that spoiled…YET. =)
The houseSide viewLook at all that space!BathroomView from bathroom in back – master bedroom areaTaking it all inTooling around on a classic problem and doing a one-legged start. So fun!Mario doing the bat hangWater at Hueco!
Hey everyone! Well once again life happened, and we have been so freaking busy our heads are spinning. I can’t believe it’s already March! This year is flying by – it’s insane how fast it’s going. Our year started off with a bang! A banging of our heads against the wall. We found a foundation leak in our laundry room when we got back from our Christmas break at my moms house. We ended up having to tear up the tile and concrete to get to the leak and then couldn’t repair it for two days. It was ridiculous. We did most of the work on New Years Eve and didn’t finish fixing the pipe until New Years Day evening. Long story short, it was horrendous. But Tommy finally fixed it and in the process we decided to make lemonade out of lemons and remodeled the laundry room. There’s always a silver lining. =) Needless to say, we are happy it’s done and I love the final results. The funniest thing ever was when Grandpa came over and saw it and said completely exasperated, “ARE YOU GOING TO RENT SPACE OUT IN HERE!!??” Hahahaha! That’s how nice it is. 😉
Our year has been going well so far. I have so much to catch you all up on…but it will take time. Please have patience and know that I am trying my best! Just to update you on the fam – Henry is a brain at school – he loves it and is doing very well. William is the terror of the household. He pretty much destroys whatever he touches so we are constantly having to keep and eye on him which is exhausting. Tommy is working his butt off at Raytheon like always and has taken on some new projects around the house. His new passion is welding and he was able to fashion a gate for us on the back of our property which is beautiful. I’ll take some pictures for you guys. I’m always surprised at what talent he has. I don’t know why though…he has proven himself to be amazing at anything he picks up. How lucky am I!? I’ve been busy with a new home business I started. I love it but it takes up a lot of my time. It’s going to do great things for us in the future though and I’m so excited to get my momentum going! We’ve been faithfully climbing at the rock gym and I have picked up running on Tues/Thursdays. Our neighborhood is so gorgeous and it is perfect for running around in. It has also been good at de-stressing me. =) Anyway, that’s what’s new with us! Hope you are all well. Hugs and kisses to all of you and I will try and keep you all better updated. Talk soon!
Hole dug up to expose leaky pipe…you can see how our laundry room is pretty vanilla…Closer look at hole…this was such a mess!!Hole in guest room that was unnecessary…it’s a long story. 🙁Ok, painting walls a different color. I wanted some life in this laundry room…cuz I’m constantly doing freaking laundry!!!We got a new cabinet. Didn’t have one previously. Just two dilapidated shelves.
Putting up my favorite part…these are plastic faux copper panels from Home Depot.Beautiful!Panels, cabinet and shelves up!All done!! Well, except for a skylight that we will put in eventually. 😉
Hi all! Went to Winterhaven last night for our annual tour and it was so fun! A lot of houses had new decorations which was nice and there actually weren’t that many people around! The weather was warm and the boys ended up walking through the last quarter of the neighborhood. It was great. Then of course we went back to Grandpa’s house where we opened presents and drank hot chocolate. Believe it or not, Grandpa outdid himself yet AGAIN! Check out the presents below…You’re amazing Grandpa!! We love you!
Present time!Will got a talking Mike WazowskiHenry got Phil the MinionA Lightning McQueen remote control car. He is racing it around the house as I type this…Ka-Chow!Oh, but the fun didn’t end there!Will got a Tow Mater one…heeeeeeeeeeThey both got M&M candy canes
Our present was the boatload of batteries these things are going to eat through….hahaha!They were thrilled…
We picked up our tree early this year and it’s beautiful! We have high ceilings in the house and wanted to take advantage of that so we got and 8 footer! It’s a huge noble fir and it makes the house smell sooo good! Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you all have a safe and wonderful holiday!
We picked up the tree Friday night…only to realize that our lights didn’t work and our base was WAY too small!A better view of how big it is!Realizing our lights are done…and that the tree is about to fall over! Ha!Next day…decided to put it in the corner to keep it from drowning out the light from the window…new lights and new base! Beautiful!Henry putting on ornaments…in his underwear of course.Trying to find some open spots…William dropped and broke a few of them…All done! Decorating a tree isn’t complete without A Charlie Brown ChristmasTime for cookies!Henry loved cutting them outPush hard!Grandpa came over to hang out and make cookiesWill woke up and wanted in on the action…
We took our 3rd annual trip to Bishop this year and had a great time. Of course like all trips before, it had it’s share of hiccups, but they didn’t stop us from having a wonderful time overall.
Our first bump was on our first day driving out to CA. We stopped at one of our FAVORITE places in the state – the FiveTen Outlet in Redlands. They were having a super duper sale on discontinued shoes and we made out like bandits!! Well while we were in the store trying on shoes, Will decided that he was going to barf all over himself. Don’t ask me why – he had a cold so we surmised that he was throwing up phlem – but he proceeded to puke up pizza all over himself while I was holding him, covering his mouth and making a mad dash for the front door while screaming “Tommy help me!!!” It was awful. We ended up having to throw his shirt away but believe it or not, not a drop was spilled on the floor in the store and only a little got on my shirt. The rest was on his face, up his nose, in his ears and in his hair! Poor baby! He was fine right after that though, so that was good.
Our second hurdle was that our original campground of two years previous turned off the water hook-up to our rig and then also turned off the hot water in their showers. We didn’t realize it until 2 days later when Will and I almost died of shock gttting into a freezing cold shower, so we switched campgrounds two days into the trip which was a little annoying but it worked out well. The new one had free, hot showers for as long as you wanted, free Wi-Fi, and laundry hook ups. It. was. Awesome…weeeeeeellll, except for the fact that a skunk died outside of our trailer the 4th night and stunk it up to high heaven. There is nothing like trying to eat pancakes while smelling that sweet perfume. Yuck! =)
I was really happy with this trip because I sent the projects I had failed to complete last year. My two highlights were Every Color You Are V6, and High Plains Drifter V7. Tommy found a new project, Morning Dove White, a V7 and was 3 moves from the top but didn’t have any gas left. He was totally cashed and technically it was supposed to be our rest day. So next year, he has some scores to settle. We’ve also found some new projects that are going to be great – my new one is Checkerboard, a V8 that is SUPER tall but the moves are great. It has a horrible start and a scary finish but the line is so stunning. Tommy’s new problem is Seven Spanish Angels, a V6. It’s a really cool problem with good moves but sharp holds. He’s excited to get back next year and crush it. =)
Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and stuffed themselves full of turkey and pie. We’ll be heading to mom’s again for Christmas so we’re really looking forward to that. =)
Love you all!!
Will playing in the grass outside of the FiveTen outlet...he hadn't puked yet..Climbing the treeThey had a lot of funFirst day out - This is just one of many instances where they're stuffing their faces...Will loved throwing himself on the pads...Loved these colors...Tommy warming up on a cool problem...The boys were content throwing rocksMy turn...this was a really cool rockAnother sit and stuff session...Turkeys...Getting caught trying to steal our trail mix...Cheesing for the camera...He was freezing but refused to put his coat on so he snuggled with me for a minute...My terrorsThrowing rocks...again.Will got in trouble so he went and laid on the pad and hid under Tommy's coat...and then fell asleep. HahaTommy getting ready to give his problem a go...Working a really pockety problem - super fun.Our view on the way to the HappiesWe all got sick the day we arrived...we must have gone through 20 of these Kleenex packages!William messing around in the tent - look at that hair!Crying for his hot chocolate...Third day on - the sun finally came out and gave us beautiful weather. This is Tommy's pad set up - hilariousHenry was such a doll - he tried to help carry the pads but they were way too heavy for him...My little shy guy...Henry did great this year and walked everywhere we went - Will did well too but the majority of the time he was on my shoulders which almost killed me. He is pretty heavy and heaving him up a steep hill and terrain was NOT funSpotting Daddy...adorableYelling at the canyon - it was hilarious...his chant was "Bad Dog!" HahaThis was supposed to be our rest day but Tommy really wanted to try his project again since we wouldn't be coming back to this area. The boys were of course running around and jumping off everythingMaking sure Daddy's got a spot...This is the heart of the Happies...lots of great stuffLook at how big these boulders are...Will looks like a little rag dollTommy giving his project a burn...such hard moves!Mt. Tom covered by clouds. So prettyHere they are stuffing their mouths again...Will looks like he stuck his hand in a light socketHenry doing the zombie run - hilarious!Don't be deceived...this adorable little boy is a terror! =)They started a snowball fightThis was another awesome problem! Green Wall Center V6...this thing really suited my styleHere's Will looking for a good line to climb...And two minutes later he was passed out on the padHere I am climbing to the top of the boulder after I sent my problem - High Plains Drifter V7I did it! Yay!!!This was right after eating Thanksgiving dinner...wow, that turkey took the life out of meView of Mt. Tom from a lower pointHenry crawled up this rock all by himself...He was pretty proud. =)Last day on...Tommy working Seven Spanish Angels. It was a beautiful day!Exploring my new project, Checkerboard V8. This picture does NOT do this rock justice. This thing is huge and the line is so amazing and scaryA view of the Buttermilks in the sun. Beautiful!The boys were messing around in the snow...Really cool rock formations out there...Cool looking tree on the hillside...
