Have cash will spend it...........

Oh my goodness don't you just want to kiss those little cheeks......Dylan and I had a good busy day today....we originally were going to go to Target this morning to get a pair of little leather shoes....and I needed to pick up groceries at Sam's Club....but I forgot my checkbook so I stopped by the bank to get some cash....me and cash just don't get along that well.....for some reason if I have cash I spend it.....all of it.....while we were at Target I decided to hit the toy section for Dylan.....Dylan Scored...he got his very first T-Ball set....I know I know....the poor kid can't even walk yet and we are already getting him baseball stuff....but it is for 1 1/2 years and up...so shortly.....we also got some toys for his sandbox that Dad will be building here shortly....a truck...and a ball.....we then made our way to Sam's Club and stocked up on meat....we bought a case of chicken breast, hamburgers, a whole rib eye, and some pork....and other odds and ends.....we should be set for a couple of months with meat....so I guess $200.00 really isn't that bad....we stopped by to see Dad at the fire station and took him lunch....it was really kind of neat...that once we left the fire station and headed home.....Collin must have gotten a call and he went whizzing right by us on a way to a call.....he was driving so it made it kind of a weird but neat experience.....we then made our way home to a delicious 3 hour nap together...it is one of my favorite things in the whole world....curling up on the couch with my little one tucked in close...I truly cherish this special time...because I know that someday there will come a time when Dylan doesn't want to sleep with his mom.....after our nap....I proceeded to make cookies and get some pork in the oven.....we then decided to take the dogs for a evening walk around the lake at the park....wow what alot of work....between my asthma....Winston stopping to poop 6 yes 6 times....Maggie pulling every time she saw a dog.....ugghhhh it was a little much...but we made it....and I am actually looking forward to going again tomorrow night......well I must call it a blog....Dylan is ready for mom to get on the floor and play ............until next time

We are ready for summer to begin

All is well here at the Moody household....it is the time of year that we literally seem to be running from one project to the next....I am very pleased to say that our new raised beds for the vegetable garden are in and Collin put in a additional bed against the garage that will be for rasberry bushes and strawberries...this bed is not a raised bed and should be the beginning of yearly rasberries and strawberries for years to come....we have enough material so we decided to put another bed against the back of the house....like Collin said...you can never have to many flowers...a man after my own heart.........we are also going to put in a sandbox for Dillybar to play in.....otherwise the patio furniture is out...the flower beds in the front are mulched and weeded and ready to go...the grass is green and fertilized....we are ready for summer to begin...

Dylan is doing quite well and has mastered walking behind his push toy.....it is amazing how quickly he has grown....he has quite the smile and the most wonderful infectious flirtatious laugh we are having a great time....

More projects....we will be closing on Dylan's rental property here in the next couple of weeks and have been busy lining up all the improvements that are to be made before our new tenant moves in on June 1st.....it rented out in less than 48 hours and we literally had our choice of tenants from a Doctor doing a internship here at the hospital, the director for the Board of Education for the State of Wyoming, and about 6 in total that wanted it...we ended up renting it to a psycho therapist that is going thru a divorce and absolutely loves the home....it is working out very well....quality rentals usually = quality tenants....the exciting news is that we bought this property for Dylan and our initial investment of $34,000 will actually yield him a very conservative $250,000 in a little over 18 years.....the rental income actually covers the mortgage with money left over ....so it cash flows very well....so we pretty much have already taken care of his college education and put a nice little nest egg away for Dylan....we are planning on buying a investment property every 2 years for the next 10 years or so.....the real key is location and the right property at the right price.......

It is a beautiful evening here in Cheyenne...I love that it stays light outside so late into the night..as I sit out front on the deck....Maggie is exploring the front yard checking out the neighbor mowing his lawn.....I love to listen to the rhythmic sound of the lawn mower going back and forth across the yard.....Winston is laying at my feet....Mr Mooks is sitting on the chair still trying to take in the last of warmth from the sun ready to set....Dylan is at the front door with his dad by his side....and with that it is time to call it a night.....

Back to the battle

Well now that vacation is over and life has slowed down some....it is time to get back to my weight loss....I was able to maintain the 15 pounds I lost since the first of the year but now it is time to buckle down and get the scale moving south again..the first couple of days are always the hardest but at the same time I am looking forward to eating healthier and feeling better....will keep you posted on my success :)....it is a beautiful spring day here in Cheyenne...looking forward to taking Dylan and the dogs to the park once he wakes up from his nap....otherwise the rest of the day will be spent doing laundry....and I am going to put the clothes out on the line for the first time this year.....I am also going to attempt to get our to do list done sometime today or tomorrow...I seem to do much better when I actually have a list of things that need to get done both for business and at home....I think we are going to be pretty busy the next 45 days or so...with getting the rental ready.....the rental yard landscaped...and get our yard in shape for the summer....I really really want a garden also....and that probably needs to be prepped during Collin's 4 days off.......I think that will be top priority...if that doesn't get in and ready here in the next 2 weeks it won't happen...........anyways I am just rambling now....so until next time

Collin Lost The Car Moody

please not that the actual blog somehow posted right before california bloom---so you will need to go back one blog before to read this.........sorry I so terrible with computers....................thanks

California in bloom

Ahhhh finally home and on the couch.....we had a wonderful trip to California....it really is a great time of year to be visiting California....everything seems to be in techno color....compared to Cheyenne this time of year....everything in Cheyenne is still shades of brown with a little bit of white snow thrown in....I must admit though today it really is beautiful..all of the snow and the sun peaking thru the clouds makes everything so bright outside....but when you have seen brown and cold all winter and to be suddenly dropped into green grass, warm sun, and beautiful burst of colors from all the blooming flowers is really quite a impressive treat....we enjoyed our first night in Carlsbad and stayed at a wonderful hotel.....the whole family was pretty darn tired once we got to the hotel.....we had a quick bite of lunch with Grandpa and Grandma Moody and then headed to our hotel room for a afternoon nap...that well seemed to last all afternoon...while Dad slept....Dylan and I made our way to the hot tub and to the pool...we then finished the afternoon mastering Dylan's crawling skills on green grass....Dylan wasn't a big fan of crawling in the grass....it was really neat watching him explore the grass...it makes me so excited for summer to arrive in Cheyenne....we were planning on going to a nice dinner the evening we got in but ended up at In and Out Burger instead.........no complaints...pretty good grease...we woke up the next morning....and Dad and mom got to enjoy a cup of coffee on our patio....taking in the beautiful roses surrounding our patio and a quite moment just for the two of us as Dylan slept soundly....once Dylan woke we made our way to the hot tub for a morning soak....as we came into Carlsbad we could not help but notice this entire hill side of blooming flowers..as we investigated further we found out that it is actually a local attraction called the flower fields...we decided to take in the attraction and Collin's dad joined us for the day....we took in the flower fields, the beach, and made our way back to a great authentic Mexican restaurant that we thoroughly enjoyed twice during our trip....the flower gardens were awesome...they are only open about 60 days a year and am so glad that we were able to include them in our trip what a feast for the eyes.....we ending the day with heading to my dads which is about a 2 hour drive away...we spent the next day Saturday catching up with family and making our way to Joshua Tree National Monument where we took in a hike and sightseeing....by the way Dylan was a perfect angel the entire trip....the only time we had a issue was on our descent in the airplane into Orange County Airport...the poor little guy screamed the entire last 2o minutes his poor ears....it was really kind of scary...otherwise our little guy was a true champ the entire visit....we enjoyed Easter with about 40 friends and family and Dylan loved his basket and actually played with his Fisher Price Easter Train....we headed out early Monday morning had a nice breakfast with Grandpa and Grandma Hill and made our way back to the Airport in Orange County....traffic was light and allowed us to swing in for a quick last minute visit with Grandma and Grandpa Moody and our 3rd trip to In and Out Burger...we touched down into Denver about 8:00pm...all in all we had a great trip...Collin did lose the car...........and of course I am excited to say that this will get it's very own blog............stay tuned....it is always fun to travel and it is always great to come home....

Collin Lost The Car Moody

As we woke this morning Collin asked if I was going to blog about the lost car....he commented that I would probably exaggerate what happened for the sake of a good story...

So with that I will state only the facts...

Collin was fully responsible for parking the car at the Denver airport...he dropped myself and our son off at the gate and then proceeded to take the car to the parking lot...

As we boarded the airplane he confidently showed me how he logged in our location of our car in his phone....that way it would be easy to retrieve once we got back to Denver...

Once we got back to Denver at 9:00 pm ...after being up since 6:00am ...we made our way to the bus...the bus was packed...Collin quickly got out his trusty phone to retrieve the car location...

Collin just interrupted me to state that he doesn't think this whole blog should be about the lost car...that it should include other things about our trip....I completely agree and once I finish this blog about him losing the car...I will then blog about the rest of our trip....

He also just advised me that he didn't lose the car...he just couldn't find it...which is correct ....unfortunately him not being able to find our car still left us in the middle of a parking lost at the Denver airport with a 9 month old baby after being up for 15 some hours...and so now back to my blog without husband interruptions....

So as I was saying Collin quickly got out his trusty phone to retrieve the car location...and as our location approached we quickly got off the bus at location S-1....Collin's trusty phone had us at S-5 not such a long haul but about four football lengths walk...as we approached S-2, then S-3 I am beginning to get excited knowing that we are close....close to dropping the bags into the back of the car....nestling our son into his car seat and close the the comfort of the heated leather car seats that would take us home....as we get to S-4 we begin to realize that S-5 doesn't follow....that we can't find s-5.....now where did that darn S-5 go....where is it hiding...after a couple of minutes of wandering....Collin waves down a bus to ask where S-5 is located...we are quickly advised that there is no S-5 that S-5 does not exist.....as my heart began to sank....Collin advised the driver and myself that the driver that dropped him off wrote down S-5.....not out loud... but to myself...I am saying I know this isn't true...why would a driver that drives everyday write down a non existent number....I think the Jamaican driver was thinking the same thing I was....

this wonderful Jamaican man took pity on our family.....I am sure that he could sense my frustration with Collin...Collin's fear for losing the car....and throw a cute baby in the middle of the night...and how could this nice Jamaican driver say no....we quickly came to the conclusion that s-5 was really suppose to be SS....that Collin must have mistaken the drives s writing for a 5....as we get to SS.....no car....no Volvo anywhere in sight....as I sit on the bus....literally seething at this point....Collin... the smart man he is...stayed close to the driver with his back to me....I am sure though he could feel my eyes burning thru his back...all along the nice driver going up and down the isles...helping Collin look for the missing Volvo....

at one point Collin came back to check on me during what felt like a hopeless search...among thousands upon thousands of vehicles in the night....I quickly told him that he would need to make sure that he had money to tip this nice Jamaican man....he quickly shook his front pants pocket and advised me that he had some change....oh no my mister frugal....this one is going to cost you....and alot more than a couple of coins...I quickly advised him...don't even think of going there...you better pull out one descent size bill and it better not be a dollar....I wanted this to hurt Collin....I wanted him to remember the pain of giving this kind man a good tip...I never wanted to be in this situation ever again.....

Finally what seems like a oasis in the desert...right in front of us...there it was parked...the most beautiful sight on our whole trip...unmistakeably ours adorned with all those stickers on the back... sat our beautiful gold Volvo.....a sense of relief came over all of us...especially the nice Jamaican man...I am sure he thought he would never get rid of us.....as we got off the bus....I quickly noticed that we were actually parked at V-4 .....I have no idea how you get S-5 from a V-4 but Collin Lost the Car Moody somehow did..........

the sick part of me...was kind of glad that it happened...........that darn Collin is pretty darn close to perfect....perfect can get kind of tough to live with ....especially when someone like myself has so many faults...its kind of nice to have the goods on a guy like Collin....not to mention it is so much more fun to blog about

I guess we could live in Fort Collins after all

This will be a fairly random blog....first and foremost....did you see those pictures above...wow those are some cute babies....lucky us...Dylan and his cutie patootie cousin Avery...

Aunt Megan and Cousin Avery made a trip from Portland to spend sometime in Eaton....most of last week was spent trying to figure out how to spend more time with Avery and Aunt Megan....it was really awesome watching Dylan play with his cousin Avery....he really wanted to do everything his big cousin Avery was doing....Avery is even cuter in person...she has the best smile ever....and she is very smart...I only wish we all lived closer.......

We were suppose to have a date night last night and Nain (grandma moody) was going to watch Dylan but just as we were getting ready to get into the car.....the snow began....with a forecast of over a foot of snow on its way...we decided it was best to stay put....we took our little Dylan out to Dinner with us.....and we thoroughly enjoyed his company and our dinner.....he doesn't even talk yet but somehow he fully and delightfully entertained us thru Dinner....

Speaking of snow..........ugggghhhh we got dumped on.....stayed home today with Dillybar and Daddy went and shoveled and snowplowed this afternoon with his various snow blowing jobs.....I did though make sure that he had a plate of chocolate cupcakes waiting for him when he got home.....

Ice cream..........It was quite funny....we are rather cheap when it comes to eating out and ice cream...we only go out for ice cream on the 2 for 1 days or 99cent cone nigths at Baskin Robbins....during one afternoon in Fort Collins we had a afternoon ice cream treat with Megan and Collin's Mom...........Collin and myself had a slight sticker shock at $4.00 a scoop.....ARE U CRAZY.....earlier that afternoon we were commenting on what a nice community Fort Collins was....on the way home....we laughed and stated that we could never afford to live in Fort Collins....with ice cream cones at $4.00 a scoop.....here is where it gets rather amusing....one day later the Schwanns man made his way to my front door....he had stopped by a about 2 weeks prior and dropped off a catalog.....as I scanned the catalog 2 weeks ago...I quickly calculated that Schwannns was easily twice as much as the grocery store prices.....and no coupons....as the Schwanns man made his way up our walkway I quickly recalled how he told me he was new and just building his route....I remember thinking....wow...this is a pretty tough gig of a job during a recession....really who can afford to spend twice as much for food as what you pay in the grocery store....maybe some neighborhoods can....but I assure you ours is not one of them....but as he made the way to our door....I felt compelled to reward him for his guts and moxy to come and ask me for business....I kind of felt that perhaps by me buying something might give him the incentive to knock on 10 more doors....so as I answered the door he quickly reminded me that he had stopped by 2 weeks ago and was curious if I would like to buy something....I quickly asked to see his catalog...and decided that ice cream would be what we would order....as I am trying to find a affordable ice cream.....ahhhh by the way they have none....nothing is affordable from Schwanns....he noticed Dylan and stated that he is having his first child here in the next month or so...........great now I have to buy 2 cartons of ice cream.....I mean I want this young man to find success and I know they get paid commissions....next I notice his shoes as I am placing my order...they are worn out....tired looking....I remember when I had little money and I waitress ed in the most awful uncomfortable shoes...my feet would hurt so bad...but it was all I could afford and with that I asked if he had any garlic bread.....he quickly said of course....the next thing I know is I am paying $22.00 for 2 cartons of ice cream and some garlic bread....and with that I wished him well....he smiled and reminded me that he will be back on the 14th.....lucky me....perhaps we should plug in the freezer downstairs or have Collin's dad come visit more because it looks like we are going to have lots of expensive ice cream around the house....I guess we could afford to live in Fort Collins after all..........