2 PEAS IN A POD

Talk about like father like son. These two boys of mine are so alike you wouldn't even know I was the one who gave birth to him! When Chad is home Justin follows him around like a little shadow. Although last night was the first time I was "allowed" to read him bedtime stories in almost 2 months :) Today I went outside and saw my little (almost) 2 year old packing wood into the back of the truck just like his Daddy was. I missed the picture opportunity because my battery was dead...dang it! He is hard to get a picture of these days most of the time he puts his hand to the camera and says "go" or just screams and runs away. But here are a few I got this past week.

Justin using his Daddy's deodorant on his face...because that is where it goes...right!?!? And that is water on his pants not pee I wish he was potty trained!
Helping Daddy take out the garbage. He wanted to wear his flip flops, camo mittens and hat. It is getting cold but not that cold!

Chad normally works a little later on Friday nights so Justin and I have made them "movie night" so Justin can stay up a little later (8:30) and wait for Daddy to come home. Justin alone can eat almost a whole bag of popcorn!

My two handsome boys before church. We had to give talks last Sunday and Justin sat up on the stand with us (heaven knows he won't let anyone else hold him or even look at him) I had 2 women come up and ask if we wanted them to take him and he just looked at them and screamed. Surprisingly he did great! He made it through the whole meeting and never fussed while we were speaking....way to go Justin! Candy works too!

Monday was 'wee play' at the swimming pool. Chad had the day off and was able to go so I got to relax (except when Justin went under which felt like forever) and take pictures!

Yum Yum Yummy!

I just wanted to show the soft, chewy perfectly golden brown, giant pretzels I made the other night. They were sooo good! Chad likes his with butter and cinnamon/sugar. I prefer mine with cheese and salsa and Justin will just eat them any way he can.

Great Thing About Kids

Here is one of the great things about having a kid....You get a perfectly good reason to sit outside and play with sidewalk chalk! It was a lot of fun watching Justin color and he thought it was a lot fun to lick my drawings. (Don't worry Tanya it washes right off)

Video

Hiking

We went on a hike earlier this week. This is called Scott's Reservoir. It's pretty but it is one of Chads major "trouble" spots.

Day at the Park

Chad had to spend the week in Payson for work and it is only about 2 hrs from here so Justin and I went over and spent a couple of nights with him. Chad worked from 8-8 but it is still nice to break up the day to day routine every now and then. We went swimming everyday and I found a really nice park to play at. I just really love to go for a drive sometimes. Especially when its a warm sunny day and everything around you is pretty and your kid in the back isn't screaming. It's good thinking time...anyway here he is at the park.

Payson, AZ

Lets talk about a county fair. I love fairs all the booths you get to walk around and look at, fair food and of course the always fun rodeos. But the carnival....what happen to them? I use to love going to the carnival. Logger Days anyone. But now rides are gross, the people are grosser (is that a word?) and it is dang expensive.

.....So we went to a Carnival...and I rode a flying pink elephant (the things you do as a mom!) We all went on the ferris wheel and Justin actually liked it. Chad got his Jumbo bag of cotton candy that him and Justin shared *Reminder to make Dental appointments*



But the best part was watching Justin with the animals. He didn't care so much about the horse or goat but those poor chickens. All he did was chase them around and try to hold them.

Trying to keep in touch

OK So this is my 3rd try at starting a blog and I have decided (after looking at several others) that 1. Mine Stinks and 2. I could step it up. So here we go again this time trying to do better.
Here is a quick update. As many of you know we are now in Arizona and although we are at 7000 ft in elevation surrounded by pine trees and "mountains" it is still Arizona and there is A LOT of dirt and rocks. We are looking to buy a home and my standards have dropped to "just a little bit of grass please!"
Officer Scussel is really enjoying his new job and its even better when he is not stuck in the office doing paper work. He has been 'on his own' now for about 6 weeks and already we can' t be in the car together with out me having to write down some trucks license plates who has stolen that load of wood with out the right permit (guilty until proven innocent).
Our Justin will be 2 in November! He is so much fun and starting to say sentences. Mostly "Whats that" and "Were did it go". He loves to give kisses and family hug before bed. And when Daddy gets home Mommy is out of the picture...no holding, no changing, no stories and no rocking its all Daddy all the time!

Summer Pictures

Here are a few pictures of our Summer. Chad was home for the 4th..YEA! First one in 5 years. We went to a great BBQ and Fire work show in Show Low (next town over). No sparklers for Justin this year. Who knew that Fireworks were illegal in AZ (boy do I miss MONTANA)! Justin loves to play with big kids and some how convinced one to share his cotton candy with him. When Chad was in Williams AZ for training Justin and I went for a visit. We went to a deer park...WHAT!?!...these deer were little and still had spots all of them which we all know is not normal but none the less Justin had fun feeding them, then we had to leave because they were eating my stroller and purse.

So we are trying our best to get to know Arizona and all that is here. We like to go out on the different trails and Justin has become quite the hiker. My goal is for us to do all the hikes in the trail system before we leave...wish us luck :)

Our days mostly consist of playing with trucks and trains, going to the park, trucks and trains, story time at Library, more trucks and trains, wee play at the pool, playing outside, feeding the ducks which is more like feeding Justin because he eats all the bread, reading books and saying good night to our trucks and trains before bed.

Our town really does have a lot to offer little kids. Just last month Justin was in the Itty Bitty Olympics. He competed in 5 events and gave a good effort. His picture was even in the paper. I was helping with events and wasn't able to get many pics but this one is of him getting his participation award and putting his ribbon in his pocket (I find a lot of rocks in the wash).

Other Pics

In trying to play 'catch up' here are a few more pictures that aren't to recent but to good to pass up. The one is of Chad at graduation from the academy in Brunswick, Georgia. Not only did he do great during the 19 weeks but he was given awards in driving, shooting and physical fitness. The other is of us in Savannah, GA. I went down once about half way thru training and then again for graduation. We left right after the ceremony and drove back to AZ in 2 1/2 days going thru Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Lousiana, Texas (the whole distance), NewMexico, and AZ. It was a great trip having been apart for 5 months...a lot of catch up time and I am very grateful for my sis-in-law who took Justin so that we didn't have to do that with a little one. We all know road trips aren't the same with kids!