Killer of Fun

We have a conversation jar which we use during supper.  Someone pulls out a topic/question and we all get to answer.  Tonight the questions was "What is the one thing you wish you were doing, and what is stopping you from doing it."  It was written better than that, but I threw away the little slip and had to improvise.  After thinking about it I said I wish I was in better shape.  I proceeded to give reasons why it wasn't happening such as it costs money to join the gym, it is hard to find time to exercise, and I lack motivation.  Miles said he wishes he could spend more time with his family but work was standing in his way.  He later added that he wants to travel around the nation and hunt every kind of bird you can legally hunt.  Unfortunately the whole "spending more time with my family" is standing in his way of that one. 

Next it was Bailey's turn.  She didn't even hesitate and said "I want to have fun everyday, but Mom is keeping me from doing it." She went on to explain that I always say no or somehow keep her from doing anything fun.  When I prodded her for an example she couldn't come up with a single one, but she still stuck to her guns.  I really wanted to explain just how un-fun I could make her life.  My very spoiled daughter has no idea how hard life could actually be.  So in her mind I am the killer of fun in this house, even though I arranged a playdate at the pool for her today and brought home her friend from the pool to play more at our house, sat through multiple "performances" she put on that were somewhat mind-numbing, lined up two different get-togethers with friends for tomorrow, and even managed to not take away her Baby Carrie for the night.  And that was just the last 24 hours.  Who's fun now??

12 Mile Dam

We had quite a storm last week, and one of Miles' fishing access sites was hit very hard.  He told me about the huge trees that were uprooted, and we decided to go check it out this weekend.  The site is called 12 Mile Dam, and it used to be a nice place to camp and fish.  Unfortunately it is quite a mess now. 

Cousin Jacey

We watched cousin Jacey last week, and the girls loved it.  Okay, that is a lie.  Josie hated it.  She cried everytime I held Jacey.  She did not like Mommy holding that other baby!  But Bailey did love helping with Jacey, and begged me to let her give Jacey a bottle.  So cute.  Josie did like to rock poor Jacey in her seat, and would have crawled right in there with her if I let her. 

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

Yesterday was a day of ups and downs.  Mainly one big up - Josie took her first steps!  She has been standing and taking half a step for a couple of days, but we are officially calling yesterday her first steps.  She took two steps before sitting back down.  Of course we got out the video camera and tried to get her to do it again to no avail.  Stinker.

Then we had one big downer at the end of the evening.  I will start by saying Bailey was very tired, and so were Mom and Dad.  We meant to get her to bed early but somehow we failed.  I won't go into details about what started the huge meltdown because that isn't really the point of this story.  I will just say that it was a monumental meltdown.  We tried to reason with her, we tried to get tough, we tried hugging and loving her.  Nothing worked.  Finally it came time to dish out the worst punishment known to man (or girl) - we took away Baby Carrie.  Yes, we ripped Bailey's dolly out of her arms while she screamed and cried on the floor.  It was not pretty.  It was understood that losing Carrie for a night would happen if she could not get herself together during a meltdown, but never before had it come to that.  I had to fight back tears myself, and my heart was breaking right along with Bailey's.  When we threatened another night without the doll she did get herself together enough to make it to bed.  Unfortunately she continued to sob in her bed until she finally fell asleep.  My heart continued to break until I too fell asleep.  Sometimes being a parent is a really nasty job. 

Upon waking this morning Bailey rushed into my room to get Carrie back in her arms.  All is well with the world again, and it seems we have been forgiven.  Until the next major meltdown anyway.

Grandpa Wayne

Grandpa Wayne came for a visit.  He really wanted to take Bailey fishing, so they did just that with Miles last Saturday.  I guess they caught quite a few, Bailey is pretty sure it was 12, but they threw them all back.  She sure had fun though.  She also talked Grandpa into a couple games of Horse Bingo later that evening.  Sounds like a pretty good day to me.  

Just a few things ...

Sometimes I end up finding pictures I like that didn't get included in any particular blog post, but still worth sharing.  For example:

I somehow missed this one when I posted about my CA trip.

Ladybugs!

I can't remember if I have included this one, but it is so darn cute that I don't care.

Catchin a little TV time with Daddy

Sprinkler Girl!

4th of July

This was our first 4th of July in Miles City, and we weren't sure what to expect.  We didn't hear the typical fireworks each night leading up to the 4th, which was kind of nice actually.   But we started thinking maybe it wasn't a big deal around here.  Come to find out you can't light off your own stuff in town.  But things got much more exciting when the big day got here.  It started with a parade and festivities in the park.  Then in the evening we headed to the fireworks show to check it out.  WOW!  Everyone in town was there and they brought their own show with them.  It seems that you can light off your goods in parking lots and areas surrounding the show.  There was so much going on that we didn't know where to look.  Bailey was amazed!  Grandma and Grandpa Johnson were here too, but I managed to not take any pictures with them.  Bummer. 

Encinitas CA

I was lucky enough to head out on a little kid-free get-away!  My great friend Greta lives in Encinitas, CA which is a perfect spot to visit.  I had a perfect mini-vacation until the terrible trip home.  But I don't want to dwell on the 24 hour delay I experienced because the time I spent in CA was much more important.  I didn't take many pictures, but here are a few.  Thank you Greta for such an amazing time in Encinitas!