Christmas is a great time of year for everyone, but it’s the best for children. I love putting the tree up, decorating it and putting decorations up throughout the house. It makes the house look beautiful and cheery. Now that I have kids there is something different about the decorations. Our boys are 15 and 13, so they’re old enough to do the decorating themselves and that is awesome to watch. I love to see what they think because in my eyes it’s perfect no matter what they do.

This year we put our tree up on Friday afternoon because Chris had to work. The family room and living room look awesome. They did a great job!

Saturday morning Kevin, Chris, and Josh went to my mother-in-laws house to help her put up her village. They did an awesome job as you can see in the picture below.

Saturday afternoon Josh went to my mom’s house to help her, my niece Shai, and my nephew Caalab decorate the tree and house. Chris had to work so he was not able to go. They did a great job there too as you can see from the pictures.

I love this time of year and when I see my boys doing what they think is perfect, it’s even better. My boys make this time of year awesome and I’m so glad God gave them to me. Love you Kevin, Chris, and Josh!!

Yesterday I posted a picture of our boys in the water standing on their hands. For Easter this year we took the boys to Las Vegas. It was a great time and the weather was just perfect. The pools were open and so on the last day we were there we took the boys swimming. This is a video of them standing on their hands in the water. This is something Josh couldn’t do at first, but after a few minutes of help from his big brother Chris, he was able to make it happen. Great job boys!!

Here is the short video of them standing on their hands.

We came up to the mountain last night to do some camping. It’s perfect up here this time of year. Usually it’s between 15 and 20 degrees cooler on the mountain so it’s a great way to escape the heat during the summer.

We were sitting around the camp fire laughing and having a good time when a bug came along and freaked us out. He was huge and made a strange sound. After he came to visit each one of us we decided to put the fire out and go inside the camp trailer. LOL

Once we got inside we found a huge black bug on the floor in the trailer so one of our son’s came to the rescue and got him out. He loves bugs so it was all good to him. Hehehe

So once we got him out things were good. We stayed up for a bit and then decided to go to bed. Kevin and I were in bed waiting on the boys to finish up. All the lights were off except for the one in their area. The next thing we know one of the boys jumps out of bed and starts jumping up and down making strange sounds. Needless to say it was funny and we were all laughing.

What ended up happening was a bug decided to come into bed with him. So once again the bug was removed and all was well. Well not until three bug checks were done. Sleeping bag, bed, blanket, pillow, everything had to be checked.

It’s the funny things we have happen that make camping trips like this fun and memorable. More than likely it will be a long time before we forget the bug check story and that camping trip. LOL

Yesterday my cousin Eric got married to his wonderful fiancé Ashley. Now I need to give you a little background information before you have an understanding of why the wedding was the way it was.

Eric and Ashley are very goofy and they love to laugh and smile. If you look through their pictures you’ll see pictures of them either smiling or making goofy faces. It’s also important to know that Ashley loves horses, her dogs, and her cats. Eric loves motorcycles and has been riding and competing since he was a little boy.

The bridesmaids had lime green dresses on and the groomsmen were black pants, black shirts, blue vests, and black Converse shoes with lime green shoe laces. Eric had black pants, a black shirt, a lime green vest, and black Converse shoes with blue shoe laces.

Ok so the wedding started out in an unusual way, but like I said before if you know them, there is nothing unusual about it. The wedding started a little late, but tell me what wedding doesn’t? So the pastor walks up to the front, then looked around, and put his hand in the air. The next thing you know you hear a loud motorcycle and then the pastor walked over to a tree near the house and then turned around and walked back.

My thoughts were, oh no this isn’t good. You see we were in the country so to speak so I thought for sure that’s what we were going to listen to for a while. I should have known better. Just seconds after that terrible thought came through my head the motorcycle sound gets louder and is next to us. It was Eric arriving at the wedding. He did a wheelie part way up and came around the tree and parked it on the stand by the tree. What an awesome entrance for a motorcycle lover. Yay Eric!

Ok so then all the bridesmaids and groomsmen come down the isle. Each of the groomsmen either hugging or shaking hands with Eric. Now next you would expect a ring bearer and a flower girl and that’s what you received so to speak. Those two positions were held by Ashley’s dogs. They looked lovely. The ring bearer dog had a little imitation suite around his neck and the flower dog had a veil on her head. It was just wonderful and again soooo Ashley. ?

Of course, Ashley was next to come and she looked just as beautiful as could be. Her shoes were not what you would expect to see on a bride. She was wearing black Converse shoes with glitter on them. How appropriate for a girl that doesn’t care to wear heels.

Once the beautiful ceremony was over and Ashley and Eric walked down the isle as a married couple and each bridesmaid and groomsmen skipped down the isle. Now traditionally the bride and groom would go for a car ride, but that’s not what happened. Eric and Ashley were loaded into a buggy and two of the groomsmen walked them down the street for a little ride. When they got back they changed drivers and had one of her miniature horses pull them the rest of the way in. We were all standing along the driveway and blew bubbles when they came down.

This wedding was an unusual one, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and I know it will be one that Eric and Ashley will never forget. Sometimes we forget that a wedding needs and should be what you want and not what others want. It’s important to put your own touches into it and make it one that you’ll remember for the rest of your life. If you make your wedding what someone else wants, you won’t have fun and will likely forget what happened. Don’t let that happen.

Eric and Ashley… you guys are perfect for each other. I’m so happy for both of you.

While we were camping last weekend we ran into a squirrel that was unique. We saw him at least once almost every day while we were there. In fact it was beautiful as far as squirrels go. LOL What made this squirrel unique was his tail. You see the tip of it was white. It was almost as if someone had tied a small cotton ball to the tip of it.

You could see him coming from a distance because that tail stood out. He didn’t blend in with the ground or the trees because of it. He would go up and down the trees and he’d run around the ground almost as if he was playing. It was almost as if he was playing a game. He was entertaining to watch.

To entertain us he would run back and forth through the area. He would run around the trees, he’d go part way up a tree only to come back down a few seconds later. I’m not sure what the purpose was for him to do that, but it was funny to say the least. It was almost as if he didn’t have a care in the world so he was going to play and have a good time and that he did.

During our camping trip last weekend we were driving around on the mountain looking at the properties up there and the different camping spots when we discovered something unusual. We stopped on the side of the road to check cell phone messages when we heard our oldest son Chris say, “look over there”. So we looked over at the huge hill of dirt and on the top of that hill was something we wouldn’t have thought we’d ever see.

We saw a deer standing at the top of that dirt hill. He was looking around at what he could see. The next thing we know he starts digging in the dirt and then lays down. Once he laid down you could hardly see him because he blended in so well. The way the hole was you could only the horns on his head.

Later in the day we drove by again and he was still there. He stood up again, dug a little in the hole and laid down again. What a way of life. LOL

We had a number of visitors to our camp site over the weekend. Some were people and some were friendly animals. We had quite a few birds, squirrels, and deer that stopped by at one time or another. It was nice to see them stop by to see what we were doing.

The sounds mother nature gave to each of her animals is beyond me, but they are so peaceful and beautiful at the same time. I truly enjoyed listening to them and trying to figure out what animal was making that sound. The one that amazed me the most was the sound a squirrel would make. I would never have thought it would have made the sound it made. LOL

One of the most beautiful animals that stopped by would have to be the deer in this picture. He stopped to pose for Chris just so he could take the picture. It turned out perfectly and Chris did an outstanding job with it. Thanks for taking it Chris.

Today is a special day in our household. 18 years ago today I married my best friend and a wonderful man. It was the most beautiful day and a funny one too boot. LOL

We planned our wedding for 12 1/2 months and for the majority of that time we talked about an outdoor wedding. You see, my mom kept harping on us about an outdoor wedding. She kept saying it’s Wyoming and the weather is very unpredictible. One minute it can be gorgeous and the next minute the wind will come up and it’s raining. For seven or eight months she did this and finally we gave up and reserved a church.

Now the funny part of that story is what happened with the weather that day. Our wedding was to start at 2 pm, but I wasn’t ready yet so is didn’t start until around 2:15 pm. We weren’t even 10 minutes into it and we hear this loud boom and the lights flickered. So of course you know what that meant. LOL It poured outside. So needless to say, we were thankful we listened go my mom and reserved the church.

I have many other memories of our wedding even though I don’t remember the ceremony itself, which I’m sure is pretty typical. At the time, my dad was the fire dept mechanic and so he asked the fireman to come in their truck and take us from the church to the Eagles Lodge where we had the reception. They went through the city with their lights on while Kevin and I were in the passenger seat.

I also remember my little ring bearer. He was around six at the time. He did good walking up the isle, but once he got there it wasn’t so good. He wanted to lay on the floor and at one point he even took his shoes off and kicked them up in the air. He did all of this while the ceremony was going on. All I can say is I’m glad I didn’t see it going on. LOL

Even though we had a few minor problems, our wedding was beautiful and it was the perfect start to our wonderful life together. 18 years later we have two wonderful boys, a beautiful home, a camp trailer, an awesome truck, and a bunch of other stuff as well. I couldn’t have asked for a better life and it’s all because of the wonderful man I married 18 years ago today. Happy Anniversary Kevey! I love you bunches.

A camping trip can be so fun and exciting, but if you forget something it can be a bad thing, especially if you forget something that is vital for the trip such as medicine, a pan to cook in, or food. Depending on what is forgotten you may have to make a trip to the store or worse back home. Being prepared is a better thing as it gives you more time camping and less time worrying about things. Here are some suggestions that might help you to remember everything you need.

1. To-do List

The best thing to do when you decide to go camping is to create a to-do list. You’ll want to create it early so you can add things as you remember them. A to-do list will be your best friend when it comes to the preparation of your camping trip.

When you create your to-do list it will help you to remember everything you need to do and bring for your trip. Included in this list should be the food you’ll want to bring, the sleeping items like blankets, pillows, tent, etc that you’ll need, personal items like medicine, deodorant, toothbrush and toothpaste, and soap, and you’ll need to bring propane or gasoline.

2. Purchase ahead of time

Waiting until the last minute to do your grocery shopping and make your other purchases will only cause problems in the long run. You’ll be pressed for time and you could potentially forget something. This could cause you to have to make a change in your meals or something else or you’ll have to go back and possibly cause you to pay more if you go to a closer store with higher prices. Making your purchases several days ahead of time will prevent this from happening because you’ll have more time to shop and if you do forget something you can go back again.

3. Pack early

When you pack early you have time to think about what you’ll need and to make sure you don’t forget anything. It will also give you time to prepare your camp trailer or the area where you have your camping gear. This will help you to remember the important things you’ll need to bring like batteries, dish soap, toilet paper, and many other things you always need while you’re gone.

Camping is a lot of fun, but it can be frustrating or be cause for a short trip when you forget things you need to make your trip successful. When you use these three tips you’ll have a better chance of forgetting things and that will make for a better trip.

Corrie Petersen runs a successful Virtual Assistant business and she’s the owner of WAHM-Articles.com. She is married and has a teenager and a tween. She loves spending time with her family. Catch up with everything she has going on when you click here to read her mommy blog.

We went camping at the lake this last weekend and I’ll tell you, we had a blast. It was nice weather and we had a great time with the boys and Kevin’s brother’s family.

We went out Friday night and came back on Sunday. The majority of the time was spent talking and fishing. On Sunday we spent most of the day on a boat and needless to say it was a lot of fun. We spent the morning fishing and then the afternoon we went to the canyon and around the water looking around and enjoying the water.

Fishing this time was a lot better then it was when we went over Father’s Day. Chris caught three fish, Josh caught two fish, Kevin caught two fish, and I caught one fish. Here is the information on each of them.

Chris

13 ounces and 1 foot
8 ounces and 11 inches
1 pound and 13 inches

Josh

1 pound 4 ounces and 14 ½ inches
13 ounces and 13 inches

Kevin

1 pound 6 ounces and 16 ½ inches
1 pound 5 ounces and 15 inches

Corrie

1 pound 4 ounces and 14 ½ inches

Needless to say the fish we caught this time were pretty good in size. Several of them put up a huge fight and that was wonderful. We had a great time bringing them in and the smiles were wonderful.

This weekend we’re going to the mountain for some relaxing time. It will be nice to be in the cooler air and not spend the time watching a fishing pole. LOL