Still playing catch up :)

Ok, so this post will cover our snow trip! :) Mark and I had been wanting to go for a while but things just keped getting in the way, we were finally able to make a weekend trip up to flagstaff which turned out to be great. We had a blast & really enjoyed the time being with each other & together as a family (Yup we took our little man). The drive up took us a while because it was still snowing hard, it was extremely foggy & windy. We drove to an area designated for sledding, we obviously couldn't go snowboarding since we had E, but sledding was more than enough. Mark really wanted to take E down a small (VERY SMALL) hill, but I was too much of a paranoid mommy & put my foot down, (next year for sure) E still got the chance to sled though, (well kinda) I held him on the sled while daddy pulled us around. He didn't really seem to care either way, I think he was too interested in looking at all the people, He started becoming uncomfortable because the wind was pretty strong & snow was starting to fly in his eyes so he went back into the car with Mark while I raced down the hill with some kids. We went back to the hotel & then kinda did some sight seeing, found a really good Italian Restaurant where E made some buddies. There were two little boys at the table next too us that were doting all over E, he of course was loving the attention. After dinner we headed back to the hotel, put E to sleep and had some good cuddling :) We woke up early on Sunday morning had breakfast & started packing everything up. It had continued to snow throughout the night and the truck had about 4 inches of snow on it so it took us a good 20 minutes to clear some of it off. We made the ride back home slowly stopping in several places to get some pictures.

In other news... I have been MIA because we have been pretty busy. My sister is now living with us which means we inherited a new puppy! :) So now Eddie has a playmate which is great, she even sleeps in the room with Mark and I, she is such a cuddle bug and follows me everywhere. Kayla (my sister) is going to start beauty school in the summer and asked if she could come stay with us in the meantime, we of course said yes which has turned out to be an incredible blessing for me (an extra set of hands to help out with E) Those of you that are around us frequently know that my dear child has been anything but easy for mommy. He still does not STTN, and I continue to baby wear, I have come to realize that the ring sling and the moby wrap have been the best items purchased so far! :) He is incredibly attached to me (not sure if that is a good thing) so if he knows I am around I need to be within eye shot of him if not carrying him. I thought that this phase would have worn off by now, but nope it hasn't yet... I am very optimistic though and still cling to some little hope that he will eventually start STTN. Well having my sister around has made for me making some extra time to fit in some things I hadn't been able too since having E. I started somewhat scrapbooking again (I am still in the organizing/categorizing every single picture portion) which I didn't realize how time consuming that was going to be. I have cleaned out the entire upstairs of the house, Kayla's room was pretty much used as storage, I had all my school/craft stuff in there so I cleaned it out for her. Cleaned out E's room & closet, as many of you know, he has been blessed with having way too much clothes. So everything that he used and has outgrown is neatly organized in boxes out in the garage being stored for any future kiddo's! :) (Yup, Mark & I have been talking about future babes... so stay tuned to know when we will start trying) What he didn't wear is also put in a box to donate to a local women's shelter. We also cleaned out the Garage & had a garage sale this last weekend which went great. We held it for Saturday & Sunday and sold pretty much everything we had. There were a few things at the end of the day on Sunday so we just loaded them up into Mark's truck and took them over to Goodwill. I have also started cleaning out our Computer room. It is going to turn into my craft room! My sewing machine and Cricut have been permanently stationed on the dining room table so I think Mark finally got tired of seeing them there and suggested we turn the computer room into a craft room. So he wants to build a unit to hold all my scrapbooking & crafty nicknack's instead of me storing them in plastic boxes. (So excited for that) We have also been spending a lot of our weekends looking at different flooring. We are going to re-floor our downstairs, we considered tile but I think we are going to go with hardwood floors instead. Mark has also been working on the backyard... I got some more fruit trees this year! :) So excited, Mark surprised me with them, I came back from my parents and they were already planted! He is also putting in a small water fountain back there and eventually (most likely next year) we plan to build a Gazebo. I have also started planning E's 1st Birthday! I already made the invitations :) I got his piñata and have started on the Goody Bags... I picked a hard theme (didn't realize it at the time) so I pretty much have to make everything myself since I can't find anything. I have been playing with Fondant because I am going to make his cake (or should I say try to make his cake) I have found that the fondant is pretty easy, I think the hardest thing for me has been rolling it flat so that it's even. The ladies from my support group are sure enjoying my "trying" since I take what I make in on Fridays! And if you noticed, I am changing up the blog a bit and I started a photography blog as well. Mark and I have been looking into buying a domain for me so I can get this thing going. We have both been taking a photography class on Saturdays (it's a 5 week course) and then we are going to have some private sessions here at the house. I was given the opportunity to take photos of the RR Fire Station & the Engines & Equipment later on this summer/early fall so I want to get familiar with the camera as much as I can. I also just did my youngest sisters (Kenya's) Graduation pics, I will post those later, and will be doing at least one more graduation session down in RR with her friend. :) I am also doing a wedding in October. Yup, you read that right a Wedding! I am not good enough nor have the confidence for that, however I will be the "second" photog. and if they like my pics they will just pay for the copyrights. So I am very excited for that as well. I have continued with E's 365 but have not uploaded them, will do that tomorrow along with his 8 month Stats! I can't believe our child is 8 months already, my how time does fly when you are having fun!