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...