Today..

...all I've done is clean up messes. Everywhere. All. Morning. Long. How can one little thing be so messy? But as I was following the little tornado around, picking up books, babies, trucks, toothbrushes, toilet paper, I couldn't help but laugh and think that one day "I'm gonna miss this". Because as they all get older there are bigger things to worry about, like, braces, boys, friends, teachers, sports, homework... I think you get the idea. And then one day you don't have those worries anymore. Maybe it's the holidays but I'm feeling a little sentimental.

I'll take this any day And the boys haven't even come home from school yet.
and yes that is my toothbrush she has.
Apparently she's a thief too.
I think the letter of the day is "T"

'Twas the weekend before Christmas...

'Twas the weekend before Christmas, when all through the house

All the creatures were running, ruining my clean house.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Mom and Dad soon would be there.

The children were wrestling and jumping on beds,

While visions of candy danced in their heads;

And Mama was in a hurry and Daddy was driving,

wondering when they would all stop the whining and crying.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the laundry to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the curtains, and threw off the cat.

The neighbors flood light glaring so bright,

Gave the luster of midday to objects alright,

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a monster of a work truck, and the man I hold dear.

With the tall young driver so weary and stiff,

I knew in a moment it must be him

More rapid than eagles his courses they came,

And he whistled and shouted, and called us by name:

"Now Carrie! Now Cole! Now Carson and Camryn!

To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall!

Don't dash away! Dash away! Don't dash away at all!"

He was dressed in work clothes from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with drywall and soot,

A bundle of laundry he flung on his back,

And he looked the weary traveler happy to be back.

His eyes, how they twinkled! His beard was so bushy!

His cheeks were unshaven and in need of a shower.

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the smile on his face did nothing but grow.

He wasn't chubby or plump, just like his old self,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself.

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He sprang to his kids, and showered them with hugs,

And away they all flew like a bunch of little thugs,

But I heard them explain as they ran out of sight,

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!

We are all so excited to have Daddy home for 2 WHOLE weeks...

The Cook Family wishes you all a very Merry Christmas and hope that you all will be spending it with the ones that you love the most. I know we will.

Authors Note: Please ignore the few lines that do not rhyme, I tried :)

Why Oh Why...

...do they HAVE to grow up?

(and why does she have the craziest hair EVER?)

'Cause that's the way things happen on the Polar Express!

"The thing about trains... It doesn't matter where they're going. What matters is deciding to get on."

Isn't that so true in life? Just taking that chance? Seeing what is out there?

I feel like that has been our life this year. I have been able to travel with Tom so much more this year than ever and I have enjoyed it tremendously. We have gotten to experience new things, ridden horses, played in the snow, hiked everyday, played on a park with a MERRY-GO-ROUND (the highlight of the trips for the kids), eaten Elk meat almost everyday, basically just lived a different life. Our last adventure in Colorado was getting a chance to ride The Polar Express. We didn't make reservations in time to get really great seats, but we loved it just the same.

Watching the train roll in....

Better have your ticket...

Not the best picture, but I'll take it... We didn't have film for our good camera so the digital will have to do....

My life...

"Seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can't see."

I love that the world still holds magic for my children. That simple things, like riding a train, can make them believe in some of the good things in life. Even if just for a little while longer.

Cimmaron Princess

Today, as we watched the "cowboys" wrangle up the cows, the boys were asked if they wanted to ride a horse. Both boys jumped at the opportunity and were so excited to ride "Cimmaron Princess" was described as a "DIVA".

Cam even got in on some of the action.

Wearing "Cowboy" Ralph's hat...

Ralph (who is leading the mare) owns the ranch we are staying on and is SUPER nice.

My new favorite thing...

Yeah, it's a poem. So?

Miracles

Walt Whitman

Why, who makes much of a miracle?

As to me I know of nothing else but miracles,

Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan,

Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky,

Or wade with naked feet along the beach just in the edge of the water,

Or stand under trees in the woods,

Or talk by day with any one I love, or sleep in the bed at night with any one I love,

Or sit at table at dinner with the rest,

Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car,

Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive of a summer forenoon,

Or animals feeding in the fields,

Or birds, or the wonderfulness of insects in the air,

Or the wonderfulness of the sundown,

or of stars shining so quiet and bright,

Or the exquisite delicate thin curve of the new moon in spring;

These with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles,

The whole referring, yet each distinct and in its place.

To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle, Every cubic inch of space is a miracle,

Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with the same,

Every foot of the interior swarms with the same.

To me the sea is a continual miracle,

The fishes that swim--the rocks--the motion of the waves--the ships with men in them,

What stranger miracles are there?

Sometimes we stumble on things that we need, sometimes they find us. This found me. I feel blessed to have all that I have. Sure, I struggle as we all do, but I am trying to find the miracles in every day, to be thankful this month for all that I am blessed with. But why should it be only this month? I wish I didn't need reminding.

PS... Camryn has started saying Thank You... Cutest thing EVER...

Beach Life.. (I wish)

Just a few pics from our trip.. I still have more pics to develop.

We played, ate, laughed, walked, got smashed by waves, found seashells, rode bikes ( a lot) and enjoyed each others company...

What more can I say?

Bird lady

See? They really do love each other...

I eat dirt.

Being so good...

Best Buddies...

What's up there?

Yeah Kyla.

Trouble 1, 2 and 3

“Our memories of the ocean will linger on, long after our footprints in the sand are gone.”

Attitude Gratitude

I need an attitude adjustment. And fast. There is nothing worse than feeling ungrateful. I loathe it. I despise it. Yet I find myself falling into it's ugly grasp every now and then, only to be jolted to reality.

Like:

Camryn having an "I WANT MY MOMMY ONLY AND NO ONE ELSE BETTER TRY AND PRY ME AWAY FROM HER!" kind of day (where I get NOTHING done), but wait, I HAVE A DAUGHTER!!!!

Attitude gratitude...

Having to lug all 3 kids to Carson's therapy appointments, but wait, he is only there for some mild physical therapy, not like the little girl who was there today with the most beautiful smile on her face and burns over 1/2 of her body.

Attitude gratitude...

Another day doing it ALONE. Tom has been gone for almost 6 months people! But wait, I am married to my best friend, we have a strong marriage, and appreciate HIS sacrifice more and more everyday. I could NEVER be away from my children or family for that long.

Attitude gratitude...

Why do I need to be reminded of these things? Why do I allow myself to miss the forest for the trees? To not see the whole picture? Anyone?

I know it could be worse.

Birthday Bash...

Camryn had a bad week leading up to her 1st birthday... She was getting her top 2 teeth, got sick, was attacked by a LARGE My Little Pony and got her first bloody nose, fell at Target got her second bloody nose (on the same day) , a bruise on her forehead and swollen nose, AND fell face first into the mud (of which I got a picture of because she totally didn't care that she was covered in mud)... But Daddy got to come home, we got to see all our friends and family and she got to eat cake...guess that's a trade-off...

Mud RunBirthday Girl

Yup. The girl loves cake. Not sure where that came from (wink. wink.)
Enjoying herself completely...

My favorite picture of all (thanks Auntie)

It was an exhausting week and an even more exhausting weekend. But I kept thinking about this time last year and how I felt and I would do it all over again.

365 days...

From this.... To this....

What a year it has been....

Happy Birthday Camryn Geneva Elizabeth Cook

Silly and Sweet...

I love when my kids are silly and I can catch it on camera....

Just plain goofy...

She is always trying to put clothes on herself...

Cole had to try too...

Love her face...

Cole was making sure Sissy didn't fall off the stool while they brushed their teeth...

I love these kids...

Take two...

Tom was supposed to come home, but due to all the work he had to get done, wasn't able to leave. Since it had been a month since we had seen him, I packed up the kids, grabbed Kyla and we began our journey of 5 states.... You may think I am crazy, but to be honest with you minus the last few hours of the drive home it went rather well... Thanks to Kyla and all of her help she made the trip all that much more fun and easier on Tom and me... I really got to know a lot more about myself, my children, my husband and Kyla. I have always wondered how Tom has really felt about me quitting my job, has me resented me? Does he hate having to work so much? Was it really worth it? But when I told him my plans about going back to Colorado I knew that I had (again) made the best decision for my family. I would have never been able to embark on this adventure if I was working. My kids did AWESOME in the car... better than I thought they would. The last few hours on the way home were rough for them, they were melting before my eyes, but we made it. And Kyla. Wow. I am so impressed at the young woman that she has grown into. I thoroughly enjoyed her chitter-chatter, our food fest in the monstrous kitchen and her calming personality. And I learned that I can do things without Tom, (not that I want to) that it is possible to drive across 5 states and live to tell the story. And even though we are more than 12 hours away from each other I think that this last trip has made Tom and I closer, I proved to him how much he means to me (not that I need to, but to be reminded once in a while is always a good thing) and to my children and we got to be together as a family. And that's what really matters in the end. No matter what has to happen for that to be.

This car is AWESOME... Kyla fell in love with it... The owner of the ranch said that it used to fit his parents, grandparents, and 4 children..probably not too legal now.

Minature Donkey... Kyla and I decided that he looked like the donkey from Shrek

Classis Camryn face...

Cheese!

True beauty...

Tom actually got to take an entire day off. So we went to Silverton Colorado and got to see some cool trains, got caught in a downpour and tour the town on a bike

My favorite men...

This is above the huntung camp that the owner of the ranch runs, it was an amazing night for a Ranger ride and we had tons of fun exploring... And we ran into some pissed off cows... I'll have to get the pictures from Kyla.

I am already ready to go back...

Just to preserve a memory...

...even if it is a GROSS one...

This one pooped in the bathtub this morning and ATE it...

I am completely traumatized.

Fishing Frenzy!

Ok. So I obviously married a fishing freak. We went from one fishing vacation to another, but had a great time with all of our family and friends. This last weekend we went camping in Bishop...

Adult total~10 Kid total~9 (Tom and I had just 5 with us ourselves)

We laughed, hiked, fished (of course), ate, and just enjoyed our surroundings...

Kyla climbed out onto this log to take a pic... She is turning into a little dare devil.On our "hike"

Carson and his fish... The boy loves to fish!

Please ignore the attire...it was early in the morning


Yeah. Camryn fell out of the trailer. Not cool.

Self pic

Carson was tired.. I think still from Colorado (I know I was)

The love bug

All smiles

D.Jay really fell asleep like this...

And places we fished....

Some caught none

Some caught one

But... We all had fun.

Can't wait to do it again...