Willie and The Gang...

I feel like I must be a distant relative of Willie Nielsen.  Not just because I love a good red bandana, or  a set of braids... but because I have a major need to "get on the road again" that takes over every part of me until it's realized.

Hence, a road trip through southern Utah last week with my little sidekicks. 

And mind you - I didn't even pack the real camera, so if the quality of these images is less than overwhelming, know that every one of them was an IPhone shot.  Not bad, Apple and definitely not too shabby, Wayne Wonderland.  

I should tell you that this is basically the prettiest place you can ever catch the ugliest little critters on the food chain.  Sorry, Crawdads, but the truth hurts.

Kaelster got that stellar new "crawdad net" from Grandma Gail and Grandpa Hooky for his birthday and it was the first thing in his suitcase.  He was going to test it out if it was the ONLY thing he did.

Turns out, we're pretty stellar crawdad fishers.  Dax was especially hard core and he kept fishing long after his brothers wondered off into the hills exploring.  He gets that from his mama.  I admit it... I could have fished for those little buggers all day.  It was oddly exhilarating.

More to come soon.

These little men of ours have gravel in their guts - they're such road warriors.

I freakin' love it.

Fancy Stuff for Sale...

Sometimes it hits me like a brick over the head that I have boys.  

This was one of those times.

I was inside actually trying to primp for the day.  The boys were out in the garage.  I heard shuffling.  The doors opened and closed.  Running footsteps. More clambering.  Since I didn't hear screaming/crying/or a fire alarm, I rolled with it.

When I emerged from the "powder room" all dolled up (fine - with dry hair and a little make up on) I saw this.

A boomin' business.  Complete with punch bags and juice boxes for sale and neighbor kids galore.

 They had even recruited a bigger neighborhood boy to write up their menu board and completed their little ensemble with a money jar.  Because, duh.  

And that is when I saw first hand that a dolled up and darling lemonade stand may or may not be more lucrative than a bare bones situation.  It's your basic Relief Society/Elders Quorum joke but it's SO real.

Like a good mama, I tried to doll it up a little bit.  With a sign and piss-pore bubble letters because I'm not in high school anymore and I'm out of practice.

 For the record, sales did not increase.  But remained steady all day.  

This has been a science experiment brought to you by "da boyz club"... of which I am an honorary member.  Boo-Ya.

I SEA You...

Well, my swista and I had been putting this trip off all summer -- {We're good mamas like that}  Our reasons were legit... a trip to the crowded aquarium on a hot summer afternoon sounded like, well, torture.  But we promised during swim lessons that upon graduation there would be a trip to the aquarium to see all the other "swimming things"... Blah... so off we went.

And guess what?

We were SO right in so many ways.  It was ridiculously crowded.  It was freakin' hot (there is an actual South American jungle section of the aquarium that is humid and hot and, whelp, feels like the jungle) and the kids were on sensory overload crazy mode.  All five of 'em.  And Lou almost went into labor is what.

There you go - a brief summary.

WAHOO!

But on a positive note... there were some really cool features.  The shark tank, for example was a huge hit.  And not surprising, all the "petting" areas were highly regarded.  The kiddos touched starfish and sting rays and giggled every single time.

Ace and Haven ADORED the penguins.  They stood at that viewing area together for at least fifteen minutes watching our little black and white friends waddle around and dive into the water and torpedo in front of them.  They had little sound effects for each penguin action and I think the entire platform of viewers had more fun watching them than the actual wildlife.

Arguably our little group's favorite parts were comprised of climbing on the orca statues and steering the ship and crossing the rope bridge in the jungle.  You know, the highly intellectual/educational parts of the aquarium.  :)

 And major bonus - Not one little chillun' was lost or eaten by the Anaconda.

So, success?

 Sure.  We'll leave it at that.

Take us out, Nemo!

The Par-Tay...

He had this day all planned out in that little blonde head of his for about six months.  His first "friend party" was going to be epic, and leave it to Kaelster to request,

"When everybody leaves my party, they get a dog just like Cooper".

Parting gifts indeed.

And I'm not gonna lie, it totally lived up to all the hype.  Which is really saying something because Kael, like his mama, has the occasional problem with building things up in his head to an unattainable level.  And that's can make for a quick highway trip to disappointment, because in your head you can do things like send a yellow lab pup home with a camo ribbon tied around its neck to all your little five-year-old buddies, you know?

Turns out shooting ranges and fish feeding are like the mecca for little gents.  And all the planning in the world (even six months worth) couldn't tarnish a single thing at the mecca.  It was awesome.

 There was a plethora of camo. {Not surprising}

 And a LOT of target practice.  {Also not shocking}

And there were many a trophy mule deer taken from this particular hunting spot.

Photo ops at Birthday parties might rank right up there with kids selling lemonade and Sunday naps, in my humble opinion.

I couldn't tell if he liked his friends singing Happy Birthday to him.  Or if he liked his "Monroe Mountain" birthday cake complete with a motorcycle and "Golden" candles.  Hint, if you ever play Colored Eggs with this little man, he is ALWAYS the golden egg.  :)

 And no one will ever know if he liked to open presents.  :)  We talked about manners the night before.  I said, you might open a present and think it's not your favorite toy, but everybody who brings a present is doing something nice for you on your birthday, so what will you say even if it's something you think you don't really like?  He responded so sincerely,
"I will say, 'Um, No thanks, my friend.'"
Oh boy. 

Eventually we got it all figured out and he knew he would say thank you and give each friend a hug for helping him celebrate.  I know the gratitude was heart felt as he full on strangled his gift giving friends with glee. 

 We wrapped up the magic with a "campfire pinata". 

Which no one liked at all.  :) 

Our little five-year-old dug out a party hat from my supplies and sported this get up all morning long as we ran errands.  I told him it wasn't his party yet and he didn't have to wear his birthday shirt if he didn't want to.  He retorted,
"MOM!  I want to wear this!  So everybody will say, 'Happy Birthday' to me!"

Duh.

And finally at home, we finished with a little Birthday spankeroo session and the obligatory kiss and smoosh the birthday boy picture -- because, those cheeks deserve such things. 

 This kid.... One in a million, I tell ya.

So happy to party with our five-year-old!

XO

GQ...

 Not that I'm biased or anything... but if I were to select the cover of GQ Magazine for next month's issue, it would probably look something like this...

Or this...

Or maybe this.

And yes, I stood back with an editing eye staring at the hangers of little man duds hanging from kitchen chairs.  And yes, I layered and then re-layered and switched out these jeans for those jeans and squinted and tilted my head to the left and right like a crazy person to get just the right look.

 Truth is, they could wear paper bags and look adorable.  So the self-imposed role of "outfit coordinator" was totally superfluous.  But it was still fun.

 Let's not mention the fact that our Kaelster looks like he is posing for his senior pictures here.  All they needed was a graduation cap on the floor near his big paw and my time warp would be complete.

(Tears)

Also, who can make lying on the floor look this good?  Big K can... that's who. 

This is the famous "sliver wall" - so named by the three amigos.  It's fitting, really.  They have LOTS of experience in the sliver/tweezer department. 

 Don't matter - they're tough.  :)

 

And they are IT for this mama.

I adore my little GQ men.

 XO