Backyard 'BUG-OUT!"

Anyone who is a fan of M*A*S*H or is in the military can tell you what the term "bug-out!" means. It means you have a short amount of time to pack up your things and get out of dodge because the enemy is coming over the hill...roughly! Anyway- growing up, my parents adapted this slogan a little differently. In our house, when Dad came home and declared a "Bug-Out!"- It meant you have ten minutes to grab your stuff 'cause WE'RE GOING CAMPING! Usually Dad was tired of the city and needed to get his Rocky Mountain High on! It made for fun memories growing up!

So it is that I pass that on to Mason! This last weekend,Ben and I were getting fed up with work, temps were gonna reach the 90's-so it felt like an opportune time to go camping. We were excited but the closer we got to the weekend, the more nervous I got on how Mason was going to do with it all. Was he gonna sleep through the night? or Wake up all the other campers? Is it gonna be warm enough? What if he wanders off when I'm not looking... Ahh! Plus most of the nearby campsites were going to be booked with Father/Son outings...... SO- We decided to have a TRIAL run on "Bugging-OUT!" in our backyard. We had everything we needed right here PLUS FLUSHING TOILETS!!!

Mason LOVED it! From helping set up the tent to roasting marshmallows... he just soaked it all in! We brought out our portable DVD player and watched some movies we rented until we all dozed off. It was just PERFECT and it calmed all my fears... We're so excited for the real thing this summer!

Family Night Out!

Thursday night, Ben and I decided that we NEEDED to get out of the house and do something since the weather was soooo nice! We went to Boondocks Fun Center to the batting cages and then let Mason go play in the GIANT jungle gym. It was soo much fun because there wasn't ANYONE else there using it. So Ben, myself and Mason spent hours climbing around in there...We definitely got our $3 worth out of it.

Mason has a FAVORITE arcade game that he's REALLY good at! It's the Popcorn popping game shown in the video. Now when I tried it....I ONLY caught 11 "popcorn" balls. Check out on the video how many Mason got! He must get his talent from his daddy! It was a super-cheap and SUPER FUN night! ( That's how Ben likes 'em! HA! HA!) :)

Please leave the MUSIC ON! It drowns out my annoying high-pitched voice!!! HEE! HEE!

Susan G. Komen: Race for the Cure

Susan G. Komen: Race for the Cure

This weekend, I participated in the 10th annual Susan G. Komen: Race for the Cure! It was a great experience to see over 14,000 men, women and children come out to support Breast Cancer Awareness. Something, obviously very dear to my heart-as I have dedicated my career to doing just that!!! I LOVE how involved we get to be with the community, here in Boise, through events like this. It always very touching to meet the Survivors of Breast Cancer , to see their ZEAL for life and to hear their "thank yous" for doing their mammograms. It puts into perspective what life is all about! I would tear up every time I read an " I'm racing in MEMORY of..." sign. And I'd quietly cheer when I read "racing in CELEBRATION of..." signs. I'm touched to be apart of something that helps so many and am VERY proud of what I do! As I walked in the crowd, I couldn't help but wonder how many many of these women's mammograms I had done over this last year. All jokes aside, I am so grateful to be a integral part in saving lives EVERY DAY!

My batteries died in the camera shortly before the race started so I couldn't showcase how huge this event was. So I added a link to one of the local news stations that covered the race. My favorite part is the aerial view of the start of the race. THAT'S ALOT OF PEOPLE!!

YEAH! She's FINALLY Here!

Congratulations to Torrey and Julianne (my little brother) on their new little sunshine!

Elizabeth Anne
9 lbs 4 oz
21 inches long

We are sooo happy for you guys and can't wait to meet her in person! Super-Congrats!!! Loves and Kisses to you all!

This is How I Feel on My Days Off...

Ben's attempt to make the Bathroom LOOK Bigger!

I'm sooo grateful I married a man who can make me laugh the way that Ben does! The funny thing about it is that MOST of the time he isn't trying to be FUNNY... It just happens! Take for instance this weeks endeavor- Ben was working out at a job site where they were remodeling, what used to be, a Pediatric Clinic. They were removing all the TINY toilets and replacing them with your standard size "johns". Then Ben had an idea..."This would be perfect to help Mason get potty trained!"

So unbeknownst to Me, He brought one of these bad boys home , bleached it from top to bottom and installed it in our upstairs bathroom. When I got home from work, all Ben said was "Mason and I did something while you were at work...We hope you won't be mad?!" :)

The last time I heard that...there was a giant HOLE cut out of the wall to access under the stairs in our old house!!! So, needless to say- my mind was just reeling with what they POSSIBLY could've done! I made my way up the stairs to find this ..... A perfectly pint-sized throne for Mason! I was rendered totally speechless! All I could do was just laugh and shake my head! I know that it's hard to tell the size of it so I placed a standard size "softsoap" dispenser to help relate the size... As I figured, NO ONE would want to see an actual person using it! You're Welcome in advance!

Mason, by the way, doesn't want anything to do with it. He's more interested in playing in it than using it. . So Yes! -the mini potty idea will be "flushed" very soon! BUT- I am half tempted to leave it in for when COMPANY comes! HA! HA! HA! Just to see the look on their face... I'm such a devil!!