Duck Creek Camping

So, we brought Arlene's motor home up from AZ back in March and took it up to Mount Charleston for an overnight camping trip and decided we loved camping. I have never been exposed to it much- growing up in a family of girls, we camped in hotels or in cabins at girl's camp. For Memorial Day weekend, we joined a large group of friends in Duck Creek, UT (about 35 minutes up the mountain from Cedar City) for a weekend of extended camping. What a blast! The boys loved it- as they should. They romped in the mud, rode on the rhinos and quads, ate smores and drank hot cocoa, went on nature walks, and stayed up late in their beds chatting and giggling with each other. The great thing is we left the motor homes there with one extended camping family and are headed back up again this weekend for another extended weekend of camping fun!

Santa Barbara

It was time for the annual golf tourney in Santa Barbara... so off we went on a mini-vacay and visit with Grandpa and Grandma Noli! The weather was nice and cool and the boys enjoyed the beach and the hot tub. I loved the farmer's market and stocked up on lots of delicious, fresh fruits and veggies- YUM!

Happy Birthday my littlest boy

Nathan turned 3 this month! I can't believe he is already so big. It is sooo true about the fact that they grow like weeds.

Nathan at 3:

Favorite drink: Milk (still likes it warmed)

Favorite food: Everything, especially fruits

Favorite cartoon: The list is long- but Mickey Mouse, Backyardigans, and Special Agent Oso are pretty high up there

Some of Nathan's daily sayings: "Hair"- I know this sounds weird but his go-to word is hair, example "Old MacDonald had a hair...", "This old man, he played one, he played knick-knack on my hair"... do you see where we are going with this? Another thing he says all of the time, "I love you!"- Randomly, all day long Nathan will walk by and say this to whoever he is with- very affectionate.

Nathan has a special spirit about him! He is definitely a jokester and Brandon and I know we are going to get calls from his teachers for being the class clown and getting himself into trouble. He is really smart, but doesn't like for us to know it. He is a cutey!

Happy Birthday our Big Little Boy!

Happy Mother's Day to me

Austin and his teacher, Miss Sherry

Austin's preschool did a little Mother's Day tea today. Austin was so excited for me to stay with him at school. He had been working hard to make me a gift and learning a cute mother's day song. While we were sitting in his classroom Austin kept randomly reaching over, hugging me and saying "I love you". I am glad I got to share this special day with him and even though it was for me, I just enjoyed being with and watching him.

Mystery Mom Questionnaire (Questions asked by the teacher)

1. What is your mom's favorite color? Yellow

2. What does your mom cook the very best? Everything

3. How old is your mom? 30

4. What color is your mom's hair? Blonde

5. What is the funniest thing your mom does? Tell jokes

6. Why do you love your mom? Because she hugs me

7. If you could give your mom any gift, what would it be? A heart

Family Pics

Wooo! What a lot of work the photographer had to do to get these great smiles! Austin turned 5 in March and Nathan turns 3 in 3 more weeks so it was time for annual pictures. Plus, we wanted to get one last family portrait as a family of 4 (Posted above). I think they came out great!

Austin and his mommy

My sister found this great child interview through one of her friend's blogs and shared it with me. It was really fun to ask Austin these questions and get his perspective. I have to say, I am glad I did it today, a day when I FEEL like I have been yelling, refereeing and redirecting them all day. I am glad that none of his answers reflected this and it reassures me that he knows I love him and sees me as his "mommy" and not just a screaming monster.

1. What is something mommy always says to you?
You love me
2. What makes mommy happy?
When I smile
3. What makes mommy sad?
When we argue
4. How does your mommy make you laugh?
Tickles me or makes silly faces
5. What was your mommy like as a kid?
I didn't know you... I think you still loved me
6. How old is your mommy?
30
7. How tall is your mommy?
60 inches (pretty close- 64 inches)
8. What is mommy's favorite this to do?
Everything- Something
9. What does your mommy do when you're not around?
Work
10. If you mommy is on TV someday, why will she be on TV?
I don't know
11. What is your mommy really good at?
Keeping track of us
12. What is your mommy not very good at?
Arcade Hoops on the i-pod
13. What does your mommy do for her job?
Keep track of us
14. What is your mommy's favorite food?
Nothing
15. What makes you proud of your mommy?
When you play with me
16. If mommy was a cartoon character, who would she be?
Dora. And I would be Tyler from "Pinky Dinky Doo"- because I like that name.
17. What do you and your mommy do together?
Play cars
18. How are you and your mommy the same?
Our arms- we both have 2. and our eyes and our nose and our foreheads
19. How are you and mommy different?
Our shirts (Mine is pink and his is white)
20. Where is your mommy's favorite place to go?
To that restaurant on Rainbow (Sweet Tomatoes??)
21. How do you know your mommy loves you?
Because we hug and kiss

Austin's preschool did something like this for Mother's day last year and it really is cute to capture their responses to look back on. (Feel free to copy this from me- I didn't think of it myself and copied it from someone else, too- plus I would love to read your posts!)

Potty Training Week

Well, we finally have a week of warm weather and not too many deliveries/pick-ups for the business so potty training has begun! Austin is on week 2 of night training and has had 3 dry nights so far. He's doing well and starting to wake up on his own to go at night! Nathan is on day 1 of underwear and has only had 1 accident and has told me he needed to go twice... we have worked a little here and there with pull-ups over the last few months but haven't really pushed it. I am so excited to get them trained!!

T-ball

Official T-ball pics came back.... Austin is definitely saying "Cheese!" :)

It is really cute and fun to watch them play! Austin is really enjoying himself and seems to be getting the hang of things. He knows what his jobs are, if he could just get the rest of his teammates to catch on too. I'm sure there will be many more years of games to come...

Nathan's Quote of the Week...

Daddy, "Hey Nathan, what do you want to be when you grow up?"

Nathan, "A Grown-up."

I love the pure innocence and simplicity!

Baby girl

Well- baby girl Quaid is growing, which means Mama Quaid is growing... we will post pics soon! But, what I wanted to point out is the voting poll that we have opened up on the right hand side... please help us- you can even vote for more than one. I don't know why we are having such a hard time deciding on a name this time, but we need some help. If you don't like any of the names we have suggested, please send us your favorite! Love you all!

Austin's 1st t-ball game

Austin was in the "ready" position!

Our little #8 ready to bat

Run! Run!

"Go Team!"

Austin is playing in t-ball this year. He is in the 4-5 year old division and they are soooo cute. The uniforms barely fit, the helmets slide around on their little heads, the gloves can barely be squeezed... but gosh darn it if they don't give it all they have. Austin had a great time at his first game- of course they are still learning the basics of the game, but they had a blast! It was great to have my mom and our good friends Tom and Sandy come out to share this with us. Only 15 more games to go!

Trip to AZ

We made a trip to the valley in early March and were able to squeeze in quite a bit...

Riding Grandma's horse

The fountain at the park in Fountain Hills- I can remember going to this park to visit my dad as a child, so it was pretty cool for me to see the boys there.

Feeding the ducks with Tata and Theresa

Grandma's graduation! We are so proud of you!

Christopher (11), Ryan (9), Carin, Raquel, Austin (5), Nathan (2)

Quaid's first camping trip

Well, as I mentioned Arlene loaned us her motor home for a while and we took it out for our first camping trip. Mount Charleston is about 35 minutes from our house and so we booked an rv spot and took our inaugural trip. The boys absolutely loved it! Well, Brandon and I did, too but it was more about them. There was still snow on the ground there so the boys had a blast stomping around all day. They got to sip hot chocolate and roast marshmallows. They loved it all! We can't wait to go again... and with the motor home it is so nice... my way of camping- running water, soft bed, heating and a/c. What can I say? I grew up in a family of girls!

Broken Camera

Bummer... my camera has taken a dump! Hence the lack of pics. But, I thought I would catch you up on Quaid life.... Let's see.... Austin is in t-ball and has his first game tomorrow (I will have to borrow mom's camera for that one). They are so cute running out on the field with all of the proper equipment and having no idea what to really do! One day at practice Austin had hit the ball and was on 2nd base with his helmet and everything, the next batter hit a ball that went rolling towards center field... next thing you know there goes Austin, not towards 3rd base but running after the ball! It was so cute! Nathan loves to go to practice because the field is at an elementary school and there is jungle gym stuff right close that he gets to run around on. Oh, we also had our first camping trip... Brandon's mom sent us home from her house after our last visit with her motor home. So, of course we had to try it out (I do have pics from that and I will post that next...) Also, my husband and mom secretly planned a weekend getaway for me to San Francisco to visit Drea last weekend (I am waiting for her to send the pics and then I will add those). Other than that... we haven't been up to much :)

Austin Lee Turns 5

Well, it's hard to believe but Austin is finally 5! He had a great day of celebration. He was so excited that he got to choose EVERYTHING for the day- Here is a list of some of his choices:

1. Breakfast- Roller coaster pancakes

2. Book to read at carpet time in school- BIG Numbers (a book about the power of 10's)

3. Cupcakes for school- 1/2 chocolate, 1/2 vanilla, Backyardigans with sprinkles

4. Movie in the car- Backyardigans Mighty Matchup

5. Lunch- Chuck E. Cheese

6. Dinner- McDonald's

7. Bath or Shower- Shower

8. Bed time book- 10 Little Rubber Ducks

Everything Austin did for the day, he was sure to point out- "I haven't done that since I was 5." or "I haven't been there since I was 5." Very cute. He was very excited about his special day and even got to where a crown all day that he got from his teacher at school.

We are so proud to have Austin as our oldest son. He is super intelligent, kind hearted, empathetic toward others, understanding, loving and overall a wonderful child. As you can see in the video he is already looking forward to his 6th birthday!

Oh- one more funny comment... to end the night we sat as a family and watched the video Brandon made after Austin was born. Nathan sat there the entire time (5 minutes) sucking his thumb and not saying a word. Finally we get to the part in the video where they show baby Austin getting checked by the nurses and his initial shots and stuff and Nathan gets a huge grin on his face and shouts, "Look at brother's big pee-pee!" It was hilarious and we laughed for quite a while on that one.

Incredible little boys

Breaking NEWS

• Austin is a genius! Sunday, Brandon and I were watching the Nascar race on t.v. and Austin was in and out of the room. He walked by and saw the ticker at the top of the t.v. that said that the race was on lap 13 of 100. So, like nothing, Austin says, "They have 87 laps to go." Brandon and I looked at each other with expressions on our face that said, "Did he just say that??" I asked him how he knew that. His reply, "Well 10 would be 90 take away 3 more and that's 87." He really is a brainiac! We are amazed every time he opens his mouth. He just gets it all!
• Nathan is a terror! Nathan has a little mean streak in him. I have no idea where it comes from but he just likes to be mean. I have tried timeouts, loss of toys, loss of playtime, rewards, EVERYTHING! He just continues to beat on us and his brother. The latest episodes today involved a shoe hit to Austin's head and ping-pong paddle smack to Austin's face. What can I do? He will be absolutely sweet and playing nicely with everyone and then WHAM! I hope this phase passes soon...
• Comedians among us- Austin and Nathan are into telling jokes lately. Nathan's are amusing and cute. He gets the point, but is just plain silly. For example, Question: "What did the wall say to the wall?" Answer: "Green beans!" Ha ha huh? Austin gets it and about every fourth joke he tells is actually funny. Question: "What did the x say to the z?" Answer: "Where's the y?" Pretty cute! This has become our lunch time activity and everyone gets a chance to tell a riddle and then everyone gets a chance to answer.

(Photos coming soon... I've been a little lazy the last few weeks and only taken a few pics. I tried to upload them the other day and somehow deleted them from the camera without transferring them.)

Happy Anniversary!

High School Prom 1997

Engagement photos

Today is our 7th wedding anniversary. Happy Anniversary to us! Saturday, my mom watched the boys and Brandon and I went to a preview show of the new Danny Gans show at the Encore and had a nice dinner at the Wynn. It was a simple celebration but it's always nice to spend a little time alone together. As you know we are expecting our 3rd baby this August and more than ever we have pulled together as a team. A little history- for those of you that don't know the story of Brandon and I. Brandon and I started dating when I was a senior and he was a junior in high school. We were introduced by our best friends who were dating at the time, Brett Grey and Michelle Bodley. Our first date was a double date with Brett and Michelle to a pool hall. At the end of the first date, we sealed the deal with a kiss. It seems as though we became inseparable from that moment on. We were engaged in December of 2000 and married on February 2, 2002. Since then we have hit our bumps and have conquered mountains together and things continue to grow stronger and get better with every passing married day! I love you baby and hope to have another 77+ years with you.

Happy Anniversary

02/02/02

Superbowl Party

The boys had a good time playing with the 3-D commercial viewing glasses.

That's what you get Steeler fan- Shane injured himself celebrating the Steelers first 3 points... ha ha ha!

Cardinal and Steeler fans were all dressed to support their teams!

What a great time we had watching the Cardinals take on the Steelers in the Superbowl! Of course we had to have a Superbowl viewing party- with the majority of our friends being Cardinal fans. However, our friends Shane and Chrissy are Pittsburgh die hards and teased and taunted Brandon about the Cards all week- notes on the truck in the mornings, faxes at his office, e-mails... It was really fun. And how great it was for us to cheer so loud when the Cardinals took the lead for a brief moment. Especially since every time the Steelers scored, Chrissy would blast her little stereo with some Pittsburgh song or polka. We had a great time! And as the game ended, Austin said, "They lost... That's ok, they can try again next year". That's right baby- there is always next year!

Chuck E Cheese

The holidays were really busy with the business- deliveries and pick-ups all week and weekend long. When we finally had a slow down and had a day where the whole family was home, we went out for some fun. The boys love Chuck E Cheese. They both love to play ski ball, basketball, and air hockey. It was a great time and it was nice to have some time set aside just for each other.

Prego Mama

So- this pregnancy has not been very kind to mama! I feel like I have been sick since the week after finding out we were pregnant. First I had the flu- I thought it was morning sickness- as I threw up at the park (Thank God we were the only ones there!) but once the chills set in, I knew. Then, that went into a cold that I have had since the day after Christmas- yep! I still have it. On top of all of the illness I have also had horrible morning (all day) sickness and have had no energy. I feel like all I do is sleep, cough, puke and sleep some more! I am so thankful Arlene was here to get us through the holidays and now my mom is back from her vacation and helping out tremendously with the boys and around my house and with the business. I am so lucky that she lives near by now. So, I am starting to show a bit and can pretty much only wear pants with elastic waist bands and hoodies so I don't look like a fatty with a bulging belly. I hate this in-between stage. Oh- I also went to see "7 pounds" the other day... BAD movie for a pregnant emotional lady. I cried from the moment I figured the movie out- which was about 30 minutes into it. I was exhausted and had huge swollen eyes leaving the theater. But, really it was a great movie! Will Smith was awesome. Great movie for non-pregos! So, there you have my gripe session... I really am happy that we are having another baby and usually enjoy the whole pregnancy thing... this baby has just been tough! I know what your thinking... maybe that means it's a girl... I am not getting my hopes up. We have about 10 more weeks before they can tell us what we are having. Gotta go... I'm off to rest!