This Post is So Lame, I Know!

So I know that this post is so lame! But since I don't have anything better, you are subjected to looking at pictures of the cat! You can just hit the close button right now if you want to. My feelings won't be hurt....*sigh* But if you want to see some silly pictures of Tiger, scroll on down. And NO Little Brother, I don't carry my camera around with me all day and take pictures of my cat like you do! Ha!


Tiger seems to think this is his perch! It was ok until we caught him doing this...


....trying to catch a snack!


And then try to roost IN THE CAGE! The boys took Oreo, the guinea pig, out to play and the cat decided to make himself at home!


While doing something in the kitchen, I heard DVB in the bathroom talking to the cat. This is what I found! DVB said he was washing "Tiggy's hans!" I thought cats weren't supposed to like water but this cat doesn't seem to mind. He likes to hang out in the sinks as well as jump in the shower when someone is done!

Apparently, Little Tykes climbers are attractive to not only kids!

Toni and Tiger are buddies now. The cat is definitely in charge! It's funny!

Sorry for the boring post but I felt like I had to post something! We have a fun weekend planned so there will be better photos coming soon!

Holy Rain!

We have got more than half a year's worth of rain in 4 days! You out of state people might think, pffft, 3-4 inches is nothin'! But where we live, this is unheard of! It's not supposed to rain this much in the desert in such a short period of time. And if it does, it means flooding. Massive flooding! All of our neighborhood parks and green belts are now lakes. The kids say they go to school on an island! It's going to take weeks to dry all this water up!

This is our main park that I would guess is now a 2 foot deep lake complete with real ducks!

This lake usually has a side walk down the middle of it. I couldn't believe the kids who were trying to ride their bikes around it! I bet they were a little wet and in a little trouble when they got home!

This is the school. The drop off line this morning was about 3 blocks long in each direction! There wasn't even any crossing guards out! I think every kid either rode the bus or got dropped off! Imagine 800 kids' parents, in the pouring rain, where it nobody knows how to drive in it, trying to drop off their kids! What a mess!

DVB liked looking for the ducks in our new lakes!

I'm sure you are all laughing at us wimps with all this rain! It really is a big deal around here. And we are not even close to having any damage like the poor people just an hour north of us who got 5-8 inches of rain! Now that's a mess! Not to mention the several feet of snow the mountains got!

But looking at the bright side, Spring is going to be beautiful! I better make a doctor appointment to get that allergy medicine refilled!

This Is Delish! You Gotta Try It!

I've been in a soup mood with all this rain and wintry weather. Of course all the boys in my house turn their noses up at soup! But that didn't stop me! I whipped up a batch of this yummy stuff and I have enough to eat all week! I don't know what everyone else is going to eat! Ha!


Chicken Taco Soup- I modified from original recipe from Allrecipes.com

1 onion, chopped
1 (16 oz) can of black beans, drained
1 (16 oz) can of pinto beans, drained
1 (15 oz) can kernel corn, chipotle flavor, drained
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1-2 cans or bottles of beer-depending on how soupy you want it.
2 (10 oz) cans of Rotel with green chilies, mild, not drained
1 package of taco seasoning
3 whole skinless boneless chicken breasts
shredded cheddar-optional
sour cream-optional
crushed tortilla chips-optional

Directions:
Place the onion, beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer, and Rotel in a crockpot. Add taco seasoning and stir to blend. Lay chicken on top of the mixture, pressing down until just covered. Set crockpot for low heat and cook for 5 hours.

Remove chicken breasts from the soup and shred it. Then put it back in the soup and continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve topped with cheddar cheese, sour cream and crushed tortilla chips! Enjoy!

I didn't top the soup with anything and it was still delicious! Hope you like as much as I do!

The New "Woody" (with picture overload)

We finally had some time to do some camper shopping a couple weeks ago-we had been meaning to for about a year or so! Actually, that would be GOB finally had time to shop. I let him go on his own and weed a few out for me to look at. Then he made me do the wheeling and dealing! Blech! I hate doing that but he seems to think I'm good at it!

Anyway, I digress...

So after tons of shopping, stocking, prepping, packing, and reorganizing, we took "Woody" out for his maiden voyage this past weekend! Every one was so excited. We thought we should try a camp ground for our first outing so we could easily test and try out all the bells and whistles! We chose a state park just out side of town. Here are a TON of pictures of the new rig and our first outing!


This is "Woody"! He is a used 2009 28 foot toy hauler. I'll have to explain where the name "Woody" came from some other time!

Here's the back door. It's so nice and easy to load all our toys in here. Although we aren't using the space for real toys like 4 wheelers and dirt bikes, we can still manage to take advantage of the space!

Here's the living area. The couch and table both fold flat for beds. Also, there are 2 bunk beds. This area is supposed to sleep 8 people!

This is LOB checking things out!

This is the master bedroom! It's nice to have a little separation from the rest of the camper!

This is the kitchen complete with a microwave, stove, oven, fridge, and freezer! The only thing I'm missing is a dishwasher! I guess that's why you're supposed to use paper plates while camping, right?

Here's the bathroom! It's so wonderful! Let me tell ya! A toilet, shower and running water in the sink make camping a little more convenient!

LOB and DJB trying to play a stacking game...

Here's how I set up the beds for the boys. DVB was supposed to sleep in his peapod. LOB and DJB were supposed to sleep on the bunks!

But this is how they wanted to sleep! On the floor!

This is the view from our campsite. My camera lens must be a little dirty!

Here's the boys coming back from a hike. This park had some great hiking trails.

Toni LOVED camping! No, the cat did not get to come along! The boys tried to convince me to pack the cat but camping with a litter box doesn't sound too good to me!

Sure wish I would have cleaned off the lens!

DVB is having a snack! Look at his feet crossed!

GOB was checking out all the connections and buttons and figuring things out!

DVB loves to dig in the dirt and move rocks around!

This was so funny. We were hiking down a trail and DVB decided he needed to take a break!

He's not exactly a great hiking partner!

Checking out a metal coyote along the path!

Grammy and the boys! Grammy or BoBo as DVB calls her, and Grandpa or Bampa, came to visit us. They have their RV parked just about 5 miles from where we were.

Well, there you have it, the new camper! We are hoping we can take Woody out once a month. And of course the 4-5 days at NASCAR twice a year we'll be using it. Hopefully we can add a couple more weeks during the year camping in other states too for vacation!

Happy Trails to us!

Lately...

Lately, we've been busy! When aren't we? I know!

Lately, I haven't been keeping up my blogging duties!

Lately, it's been easier to Facebook! So find me on there if you want more frequent updates!

Lately, we've been spending a lot of time (and money) on getting our new camper stocked and ready to test out!

Lately, I've been meaning to put some pictures on here of said camper but I can't seem to find the time!

Lately, I've been thinking I should really do a better job at blogging and I promise (maybe) that next week I'll have a little more time to do so! And I'll find that time to post some pictures!

Gotta run! I'm busy!

My First Award!

I received an award! Ooooh, I've never got a blog award before! My BFF sent it to me!



I'm supposed to tell you about 10 things that I enjoy. Ok, I can do that!











Here they are in no particular order:



1. My Family, of course! Well, usually! You know...when everyone is cooperating, playing nicely, eating their supper, cleaning up their toys, doing their homework, listening the first time. I don't ask too much of my family, do I? That includes GOB too!



2. Crafting! I haven't had much time lately but I should would like to work on some of those projects I have stacked up in my craft closet! Someday!



3. Shopping sans children! No explanation needed there!



4. Friends! We've got a great group of friends in our neighborhood that we enjoy hanging out in the front yard with. I sure wish I could get together with my oldest friend more often! Well, not that she's old, but she's been my friend the longest of any other friend I've had!



5. My pets! I may say that Toni is a PITA (pain-in-the-ass) but she can be sweet and I can't imagine our house without her! And new little Tiger makes me happy too! He's so sweet and cuddly!



6. I'm not ashamed to admit that a glass or bottle of beer makes me happy. Michelob Ultra on tap would be my first choice but I also enjoy Blue Moon, Bud Light Lime, Gordon Biersch Hefeweizen, and a few others!



7. Eating dinner out! Preferably without children! Anywhere!



8. Working! I know this sounds weird to most, but I do enjoy my job. I didn't realize that I missed working as much as I did after not working for 5 years. I really like the people I work with and for. It's fun!



9. A clean house! I used to me a little better at keeping things organized. Lately, I've been a little laxed on the organization...my closets look like a hurricane has blown through them! But when I do have a clean house, it makes me happy!



10. School! Like the place I drop DJB and LOB at every morning for 9 months of the year! I really wouldn't mind year round school! They really enjoy school at the moment and I am really happy when they jump out the van door in the morning!



So there you have it! 10 things that make me happy. Of course there are many more but this will do for now.

I'm supposed to pass this award on to other bloggers. There is a problem though. I don't personally know any other bloggers that BFF didn't already tag. Oh well, thanks for the award Mrs. ESPN! It was fun!

They Named Him "Tiger"

LOB, DJB, and DVB love their new kitty! We adopted him from the Humane Society the day after Christmas. He's about 1 year old. This cat is the most mellow cat I've ever seen! Right away he was comfortable with the chaos in our house! He's even tolerable of the dog! He's wonderful with the kids. DVB drags him around and he could care less! He's perfect! So here are a few pics of the little guy!


The cat's name changed about 30 times before everyone agreed on a name. In the shelter, his name was Sebastian. He was also briefly named Buzz, Gizmo, Spike, Mr. Whiskers, Tinsel to name a few. Finally everyone decided "Tiger" was the perfect name for this orange kitty. DVB calls him "Tigo."

Ooops, I forgot to correct this picture so you'll have to turn your computer instead! Anyway, he's laying on his back on my lap! Talk about being relaxed and comfortable!

The Christmas tree came down pretty quick after Tiger's arrival. The boys got a good laugh when he tried to climb the tree!

The highchair was one of the first spots he checked out!

Stay tuned for some more "Tiger Tails" in the future!