Back from Vacation

Ahhh back home...I don't know why I am such a home body....but it feels so good to be home....we really enjoyed our trip to Delaware and Washington DC....Dylan was his usual champ most of the trip...the 2 hour time difference put a slight wrench into the whole sleeping thing...but sleep doesn't seem quite so important when you are on vacation...no work to worry about the next day....just more well vacation...some of the trip highlights....
We decided to make a detour into Baltimore on our way to Delaware for BBQ ribs....bad idea....we had plenty of warnings that this was not a good idea...but Collin and I decided jointly to ignore all of them....

First clue this is a bad idea---Phil told us don't stop in Delaware at night it is not a good idea
Second clue this is a bad idea--The restaurant we picked off the GPS was Ribs and Fish....really if a place does good fish...they probably don't do good Ribs
Third clue this is a bad idea--once we get off the exit in Baltimore we are greeted with a Popeye's Chicken on the left and 2 Gentleman's club on the right....
Most logical people would say ok lets turn around..........not us
Fourth clue this is a bad idea--we know proceed past a dunkin donuts with 5 or six guys passed out on the side of the buildings, all the gas stations have bars on the windows....only 2 miles to Ribs and Fish so we drive further into the city...
Fifth and final clue that this is a bad idea--we are the only white people in the neighborhood....no more gas stations but make shift grocery stores with bullet proof glass....ladies of the night on the corners and down the side streets we could easily have ordered a little crack and possibly got our car jacked at the same time....we were definitely in the middle of the projects......3 white people at 9:30 at night in a obvious Buick rental car with out of state plates.......not good folks...yes we finally decided to give up the Fish and Ribs and made a u-turn and made our way out of town....30 minutes later stopping for some good ole Wendy's....

We finally made it to Delaware and enjoyed our visit with Phil, Brenda and the kids, Travis and Marissa also made it to visit from New York....it really was a great time....we took in a ferry ride to Pea Patch Island, Philly Cheese Steaks, Phil made us some weird Delaware food in the morning...I can't remember what it is called but basically pig left overs ground up with stuffing....it was actually pretty good if you didn't think about how it was made....Dylan loved playing with Emma and Lukas...Delaware is a great place and land of the big yards....as Collin and I drove away we talked about how Collin could make a fortune mowing lawns in Delaware....

Washington was great...it is always good seeing family...Collin's Aunt Carol and Uncle Herb arranged for us to stay at their friends apartment in their building...they live right in the middle of all the action...we must have walked 3 or so miles everyday just looking at all the regal and wonderful homes in their neighborhood...they live nestled among many of the Embassies....Grandpa and Grandma Moody from California came in for the visit also....along with Cousin Scott from Hong Kong...we made our way to the zoo, took in a couple of museums and the highlight of the trip was the National Cathedral....it was just amazing and there were the most charming Bishops Gardens....I fell in love with the gardens and could have stayed there all day....Uncle Herb treated Dylan to a photo session in the gardens we can't wait to see the photo's...Dylan finally figured out that we were taking pictures of just him and started really working for the camera...just way to cute...
We made our way home yesterday...Vacation's are great but it feels so good to be home.....Jackson has grown quite a bit in just a week at 17 weeks or so he is almost as tall as Maggie already....his coat is getting curly and jeez he is such a nice dog....Maggie and Winston were happy to see us....and by the way Winston became a father of 5 during our trip....I think Dylan is happy to be home and to play with all his toys....today Collin headed to work....I worked around the house and did a little gardening...tomorrow I am having open houses and Collin is mowing most of the day...we are hoping to get a couple of small home improvement jobs finished up tomorrow night....Tuesday we will order our iron fencing........so exciting with that have a great day

Dylan

under the weather

All the sun and the blooms are finally coming out....so are my allergies...I worked in the office this morning made it home about 1:30 and Collin headed out to go mow lawns...we were hoping for the afternoon together finishing our planting but it is suppose to rain on Wednesday....Collin's next day off and we head out on Friday...so lawn mowing trumped planting the back yard....I am going to make my way to the back yard here shortly to get a little work done....a pollen alert is out for our area....and I can feel it....my eyes have been watering all day, my nose has been running all day and I have a congested head and pressure headache behind my left eye...I guess feeling fairly miserable....Dylan is being a champ...took a 2 hour nap with me and has been playing with his puzzles and coloring....he will enjoy going outside for the evening...

A Good Weekend

Wow the whole family spent the whole weekend together.....super good stuff....yesterday we spent most of the day at home planting a ton of perennials....I counted 91....it is alot but it doesn't look like that much since most of them are small plants....by the way this was just in the front yard and side yard...we still have probably 30 or so more plants for the backyard....and then I have my annuals to plant in my pots....the yard is finally coming together....it has been alot of work...it started out with
cutting down 3 pick up loads of junipers
trimming and removing trees 2 pick up loads
renting a stump grinder to get the roots and stumps out
2 pick up loads of dirt from the 5 flower beds dug out by hand
rototill all 5 beds
3 pick up loads of bark for the beds
1 pick up load of hand picked moss stones for the flower bed boarders
countless trips to the local home improvements stores for plants-over 130 to date
countless trips moving the plants from inside the house to the outside due to the weather and it has been to cold to plant them
as of yesterday 91 holes that I am on my knees in the mulch finding the perfect place to plant ...Collin shoveling and me planting only 40 or so more to go
oh and of course a new fence for the dogs
a new outdoor coffee table Collin made
numerous lanterns, planters, flower boxes , shutters, post, and canopy put up
the above all our own hard work
below the hard work that we had to pay others to do
a new shed
new patio
painted windows and trim for the exterior
still to come....
a new iron fence that Collin and I will install later this month
another canopy off the bedroom again Collin and I will install
and ripping out the indoor out door carpet in the sun room and repairing the concrete floor again Collin and I
the front door being refinished...we are leaving this to the pros
new storm windows....again leaving this to the pros
and a roof repair.....you guessed it the pros
and with that we are out of money :) ....thank goodness we are tired

Today Collin headed out with Jackson and Maggie to go and clean up our local green way...Dylan slept in and Winston kept me company as I read the paper and got everything ready to go for our big outing to the Rockies game today....my office had another listing contest....the team I was on did not win...but we were offered one ticket at no cost and just had to pay for one ticket.....so off we went....the company I work for reserved a suite again...which is just a awesome way to watch the game....first class all the way...no waiting in lines, no crowds, nice restrooms, wonderful food, waiters, awesome leather seats....fully protected....super nice with a child...Dylan had a blast and was such a well behaved little boy....it was super cool he also got his picture taken with Dinger the mascot and Dinger also signed a baseball for him....it was very nice because Dinger comes up to the Suite levels to do a meet a great...so no long lines to wait in.....and so much fun taking in the game with friends and co-workers....we are heading to another Rockies game on July 3rd....we are hoping to get there early enough that we can take Dylan's ball and have it signed by a player....we have super nice tickets for that game also...we are sitting at club level seats which is just one floor down from the Suites....not quite as exclusive but still less traffic and nicer facilities.....it makes it so nice with little ones....well with that I am going to call it a night.........

Score

Collin and I have been looking TVs for the family room for sometime...we almost bought one over Christmas but resisted....we have pretty much planned to buy one for Christmas this year...well I guess you can say Christmas came in May this year....I really am not that big into TV technology I can say that Collin pays more attention to it....anyways he eyed a Hitachi 55 inch LCD TV at Sam's club for a pretty aggressive price....he did some research on the TV and it had great reviews online and the cheapest price online was like almost $1600.00 this one was like $1115.00....so today he decided that we probably should get it...they are also offering 6 months same as cash so its kind of like getting it for Christmas since that is when we will have to pay for it....anyways as I went in....the price was $1015.00 I didn't think much of it since this is kind of Collin's thing anyways I just figured we transposed the numbers in our head and it was a better deal....so I went to customer service...verified that it was not the floor model and allowed them to pull my credit so I could get the 6 months no interest thing....I then proceeded to the check out and was advised that indeed the floor model was all they had left....I went ahead and purchased the potting soil I had in my cart...exited the line and asked for a manager....I was a little frustrated I would have never let them pull my credit or go through all this trouble if I knew it was the floor model....remind you I have a 2 year old son running around and nice friendly clerks that didn't really have a clue...that just lead me through a 45 minute mess for nothing....I explained to the manager that everyone was very nice and helpful but that I was frustrated since I originally asked if that was the floor model and would have never gone through all this trouble and getting credit with them....I asked if he could check surrounding stores for the same TV....he offered to do that but also offered a %20 discount on the display model....I thought that was more than generous and went forward with the purchase....so with a 3 year extended warranty we paid $885.00 for our TV.....Collin was thrilled ...it is a pretty screaming deal....he has been watching the TVs at Sam's pretty closely and I guess this model has only been there for the last month or so at the most.......so all is good..........with that Merry Christmas

to much

We have been debating on whether or not we will be having a big birthday party for Dylan....I think we have decided to keep it low key this year and have a big party for him next year...part of me feels extremely guilty over this...not sure why...I guess I just feel I should have a big party for him...but I think next year he would really enjoy it more....and the last month or so it has been like his birthday every week....he has a new riding tractor and yesterday we got his new DVD player and headphones...he loves it.....and honestly he has so many toys, books, cars, just to much stuff....I am thinking we are going to buy him a mini bounce house, perhaps a outdoor mud pie kitchen, and a backpack oh and of course some little boy clothes for me...bake him a cake have family over and call it a day.....I guess I kind of feel guilty because we have been putting so much energy into the house and getting it ready for summer...next year we will have minimal planting and that should be it for the outside....next year just would be better to have a large party at the house...and I will have more time to plan and budget for it....and I think he will be big enough to really enjoy it......yesterday was a pretty awesome day...snow and all...the whole family spent the entire day together...well needed and enjoyed....Dylan helped me bake banana bread and really had a good time....I am off again today....amazing....so Dylan and I will probably do laundry and perhaps some more baking today...since he enjoyed it so much yesterday...tomorrow I am slammed with like 4 appointments and floor duty....I will be running all day.........well with that until next time

Bad Parenting Part 2

Collin and I had another episode of bad parenting....I am sure that we have them daily and we just don't notice them or get caught with a hurt child ....last night we got our new treadmill set up....the one we bought 4 months ago....anyways....Dylan of course wanted to try it....and most reasonable parents would have said no...not us....I think if either one of us was by ourselves we would have said no immediately...but together we just don't think very clearly I guess...anyways Collin was in front I was right behind Dylan....Dylan loves the treadmill...and was quite impressive as he kept up with the speed of the treadmill....he would at times slow down or stop and I would be right there to pick him up...it never entered our mind that he would fall forward....well he did...and now today he has a big rub mark on his head and a good size bump....in our defense he didn't really fall that hard and in fact wanted back on the machine within minutes....boy that is a stupid defense....anyways it is really quite amazing that two old parents would do such a irresponsible act knowingly......crazy
Snow we are suppose to be getting snow tonight.....I am good with it...I guess...the 10 day forecast after Friday is good....so we will be finally planting this weekend :)...
Had a great day on the business side of life.....a million dollar house deal finally got signed off today and we will be going to engineering on Friday.....this has been a 8 month process....I will finally get paid sometime in December of this year....it is a 1/2 million dollar house that I will get both sides of making it a million dollar deal....1/2 million dollar houses in this part of the country are quite substantial.....we also got final approval from the FAA today and will negotiate the final contract here in the next 2 weeks or so....another million dollar deal...this has been in the works for close to a year and a half....I think this one I will get paid over a course of a year.....so it's not like I get this big check dropped in my lap....well I do just not today....but it is coming....I wasn't planning on these two deals coming together....they were both tough deals to put together....so we are planning on paying the truck off with the funds from the FAA....and the other check I am sure will be slated for savings and buying a rental next year....
Tomorrow I am taking the day off..........the whole day to spend with Collin and Dylan it has been like forever since we have had a whole day off together.......I think it will be filled with laundry, carpet removal in the sun room and snow....suppose to get lots of snow

The day after

This morning Collin is off mowing lawns, I am baking cookies for the endless open houses I have today....Dylan is playing with his new red tractor....last night we spent the evening at the Men's Culinary Cook Off...the team Collin was on won people's choice award...I must say it was well deserved...and lucky us we have a rack of ribs to go with our BBQ chicken we will be having this afternoon...I did not realize that they would be having a auction at the event....I love auctions ...I love the part of getting what I want...taking it from someone else...isn't that evil...so evil and competitive....the competitive part of my personality works very well in business....thank goodness because it helps off set the times like auctions when I get caught up in the moment and well lets just say that part of my personality can cost us a little money at times.....the good news is it all goes to charity.....right...as Dylan and I were reviewing the items at the silent auction nothing really jumped out at me.....this is a good sign....until we came across a child size old fashioned red metal tractor.....Dylan immediately went to the tractor and began touching it and wanting it.....I know he wants everything all the time...everywhere we go....but remember I love auctions combined with my motherly instincts and competitive nature well you might as well wrote sold on that little red tractor right then and there...there was no need to wait out the 2 hours of silent bidding Dylan would be the owner of that little tractor ...especially since Collin was off cooking and had no chance of reasoning with my judgement......initially the bidding was fast and furious on this little red tractor...once the bidding got to $100.00 in $10.00 increments I decided I needed to show these other bidders that I meant business...so I quickly put in a bid of a $150.00....and a hour later Dylan was the proud owner of a new red tractor...I visited with my mom this morning...she was concerned about what Collin thought of the purchase...I replied that my husband knows me well....and that he was just pleased that the tractor didn't cost us $250.00.....by the way Collin also loved the red tractor and was happy that we were able to get it for our boy and was fine with the $150.00....if the bidding had gone higher than a $150.00 I would have had to discuss the bidding with Collin....though once again you must remember I am a professional sale person so I think he would have gone the extra mile to get our son this wonderful red tractor.......well with that being said..I need to get more cookies in the oven and jump in the shower....off to work

Friday

Geez the whole family has been so busy....as soon as I think I might be able to take a afternoon off...something always seems to come up....it has been terribly windy and cold....ugghhhh I hate it...just one nice day with out cold and wind would be nice....I still haven't been able to plant due to the weather....perhaps next week....it is still suppose to snow maybe this weekend....but business has been awesome....I have some great listings and quite a few pre solds that are going for new construction...realistically we have maybe 3 more homes that we can fit in for the rest of the year and that would be pushing it....I am relieved that the builder I work with is pretty well booked for the rest of the year....I feel such a responsibility to keep business coming in and the books filled with building....the mowing season has started and I think Collin has somewhere around 15 lawns to take care of....mowing has turned into quite a profitable but busy 2nd job for Collin....we picked up rocks the other day for all of the borders around the flower beds.....we picked up close to 3/4 quarters of a ton of good size small moss boulders and miscellaneous rocks for the beds...I think once we get all the flower beds planted it will look really nice....we are going to order the iron fencing at the end of may...yesterday as we were picking materials at Lowes...this beautiful solid wood front door stopped me in my tracks....I thought it would be spectacular on our home....that was until I saw the price tag of $3000.00....I immediately stopped dreaming of it for the front of the home....the price tag shocked me right back into reality....though as I was cleaning the front screen door this morning...I began to admire our very own front door....it is also a solid wood front door though 80 years of weather and use are evident.....I would say that it would stop you in your tracks but really not in a good way....the actually door has beautiful details and raised panels.....I called a company that does wood working and refinishing....for a mere $540.00 they will refinish our old front door and bring its original beauty back ....I believe they can also make a new threshold that will also match....we are very excited....Dylan and I are headed out to a Men's Culinary Cook Off this evening....Collin is on a cooking team and helping our good friend George fixing ribs and brisket....last year George's team won so it should be a good time....Dylan is doing great and got to go to the mall this afternoon and play in the play area.....he has become such a pro on all the play equipment at the mall.............way to cute watching him run around so confidently.....

cold and windy

We are ready for warm weather here in Cheyenne....it has been cold and windy it seems like for the last week or so....Dylan didn't sleep well last night so therefore I didn't sleep well either...such is life......business has been busy....Dylan is napping on his own right now...gosh I am just so in love with this little guy.....I love that he loves to cuddle...and his little vocabulary is growing everyday...just way to cool...I have made a decision the other day that I have resigned myself to breastfeeding another year or so....we have limited Dylan's breastfeeding to 3 or 4 times a day....breastfeeding 2 year old boys in Cheyenne Wyoming isn't the most acceptable or popular choice....I think I put a 2 year limit on breastfeeding because first and foremost it would be nice to be done with it and number two I think I somewhat feel the pressure from outside sources....those are not the right reasons for myself or for Dylan....I think Dylan of course would be fine and get through it if we had to quit breast feeding....but the truth is that we don't have to....the truth is that he loves it....and gets so excited and happy when he gets to breast feed....I have done a little research on weaning children Dylan's age....most of what I read stated that they will usually wean themselves if you have breast feed them to the age of 2 sometime between 2 and half years old to 4 years old...especially if they are not drinking from a bottle, have a blanket, or using a pacifier it is way for them to soothe themselves....breast feeding your child beyond 2 years old is the norm pretty much everywhere else except in the United States.....it truly has been a amazing bonding and loving and very natural experience for both myself and Dylan....if you had asked me before I became pregnant if I would ever breast feed my child much less breast feed my child until he was 3...I would tell you HELL NO not happening here....so I understand the judgement that is out there...jeez I was one of them....but for Dylan it is the right thing to continue....so far I have parented from my motherly instincts and from my own values...the last couple of months I have had concerns about putting a time limit on the breast feeding....but I was also looking forward to having my body back....now that I have made the decision to let the breastfeeding completely wean sometime over the next year I feel so much better about it....I feel like I am giving my child what he needs and what makes him happy and in turn it makes me happy....I think over the next year we will limit the amount of nursing and once we feel Dylan is emotionally ready then we will wean him for good.....

Progress

All the outside projects are moving along and the home is looking better and functioning better...we still have quite a bit of work ahead of us the next 30 days or so but it is really starting to look nice....our new storage shed is awesome and was put up in one day....so worth the extra money....Garth, Justin, and Ryan did a great job it is built just like a mini house....very well built and is quite attractive....a good decision...Collin put the finishing touches on the 6ft cedar privacy fence on the side yard for the dogs...it also is built to last and looks great....all of the beds are mulched and begging for flowers....soon my little beds soon...the back patio is looking quite nice and I mulched all the beds in the back earlier today and moved rocks...hopefully this week we will get the lanterns hung and the canopy for the grill up....I am also ordering my iron flower boxes in the morning and Collin is going to make some shutters for the front window and a flower box for a back window....I am also going to try a wood platform under one of our front windows....you drill large holes in the platform and clay pots fit into them.....it looks pretty cool and will be perfect in front of one of our windows.....we are definitely doing a iron fence...I am just trying to decide on what material and how big the post will be....I am thinking we are going to wait until our trip to DC...it is filled with wonderful old homes that might spark some ideas for us....we have to wait to order the fencing until we decide on the post.....I must say that I am feeling a little cash strapped...like I have been working for nothing....it is easy to forget that things cost money especially once they are finished...it just kind of becomes apart of the home and you forget that you had to pay for all of those projects.....the only two large ticket items that are a must for this summer are the fencing which is already budgeted for and to rip up the carpet in the back sun room.....we are hoping that we will be able to salvage the concrete underneath if we can't we are looking at another $2000.00 or so.....otherwise we are going to call it good for the exterior....the good news is really besides general upkeep and adding small extras the exterior should be good for many years to come (well that is kind of a fib....in a couple of years I want to add a wood burning outdoor fireplace and pizza oven but that is only a dream for now)....I am so excited about the storage shed...it is going to allow us so much more storage....it will be nice to get the sun room back to a sun room instead of a storage area....the back patio is so nice it is a shame that you have to walk through the sun room to get to it in its current state....well that is enough about the yard
Dylan is saying so many new words everyday and fully understands everything we say....he enjoys working and playing in the yard.....he has a new show that he likes very much it is Ni Hao, Kai-Lan.....he loves it.....we are also getting Dylan his very own DVD player with his very own CD's......though we haven't had any trouble on plane trips with Dylan as of yet...we think he would enjoy it when we travel...especially when we travel to South Dakota......Dylan also loves his puppy and his cat......the cat really likes Dylan since Dylan and Winston provide him with most of his attention he gets....it was funny yesterday Dylan was throwing a fit and Collin asked him if he wanted to be a big boy or a baby as he was crying.....Dylan responded that he wanted to be a baby.....well with that until next time