My Lucky Day

Whooohooooo!

I didn't draw out for any hunts this year! Every year, Ryan puts me in for a hunt or two in hopes that I will share his love of the sport.

It hasn't worked. . .

Bless his heart, I do try. But really, hiking around in camo just doesn't do it for me. Truth be told, I think that girls who hunt are pretty dang tough. I'd love to be one of them. But I just don't have it. I have no problem camping. Short hikes are OK. But I just don't have the attention span for hour upon hour of fruitless searching and hunting.

The whole processes of hunting and scouting and hiking and looking and walking and stalking are deeply satisfying to Ryan. Actually killing something is just icing on the cake. Me, I'm lazy. I just want to shoot something big, get my picture taken with it and head back into Arby's by lunchtime. Yeah, I kinda have a rough time with fishing too.

So, this year I have hit the jackpot. I get brownie points for letting him put me in for hunts, but "dang" I guess I just won't be able to hunt this year. "Shucks".

As a bonus, Ryan, Cade and Syd all got elk hunts. Lauren and I are just going to plan a trip to Disneyland...

Route 66

On Tuesday, the girls and I took a little trip up to Flagstaff. As we were driving, I gave them a brief history lesson on Route 66. That was all great, as long as we were speeding our way toward shopping. But when we actually stopped to see some of those sights. . . well. . .then history wasn't quite as useful. Notice the teenager's face to see who wasn't too happy about the detours.

How many times have I seen the Jackrabbit "Here it Is!" signs? And not once have I stopped to see "IT". Well, here "IT" is!

These ruins have always fascinated me. The area is named "Two Guns". I've driven the road between SJ and Flagstaff hundreds of times since we moved to St. Johns when I was four. I used to make up stories of how these things came to be. It wasn't until a couple years ago that I read the story behind them. Originally, there was little trading post there, but soon after, it was leased by a man (somewhat of an eccentric man) who built a long stone building that he called a fort. In actuality it was a wild animal zoo. When I was young and saw the writing "Mountain Lions", I thought it may have been like the Lions' Club Meeting house or something. But no, it actually housed mountain lions, as well as other wild animals. He also built some "ancient" Indian Pueblos, among other structures. It was pretty cool, but we didn't stay long, as I was outnumbered by the the non-interested crowd.



I didn't force the La Posada Hotel, Twin Arrows, or the Wigwam Motel on the girls this time. I figured we could save some of the excitement for the next time . . .

Spring Break

Thank goodness I got a sunburn on Saturday. . .
Napped on Sunday. . .
Cleaned on Monday. . .
Shopped on Tuesday. . .
Did a little yardwork on Wednesday. .


Because

THIS is what Thursday looks like. . .

Back it on up

Looking back on the past few weeks. . .

On St. Patrick's Day (OK, to be technical-the day before St. Paddy's) my mom hosted her annual Irish meal of Corned Beef and Cabbage.

She also makes a ham for those of us who have lost our Irish eating heritage somewhere amongst the tacos and tamales. (my family).


She also creates a treasure hunt with a pot of gold treasure for the kids. I should say the "little kids". Cade and Syd and even Ryan didn't get home from their practices until dark, so they were left out of the fun.

This year featured the kissing of the "Blarney Stone". After seeing the back bend Lauren and Hayes had to do in order to accomplish this, all the adults declined the opportunity.

Doing My Part for the Economy

We spent the weekend stimulating the Chandler/Gilbert economy to the best of our ability. Both the mall and Target are a little bit richer because of the Ashton girls.

Actually, my car was acting up, so we couldn't do as much shopping as I had hoped (Ryan's probably relieved). But we did get some summer clothes for Lauren and an 8th grade graduation dress for Syd. And we became addicted to mall pretzels. They are great for dinner . . . and breakfast the next morning.

To top it off, we followed the baseball team out to Surprise to watch an ASU baseball game. We enjoyed the beautiful evening, and yep you guessed it, another pretzel. Lauren sat with Steven and Cade on the very front row next to home plate. They taught her how to talk trash to the other team. Now, I'm trying to convince her that it's "against the law" in little league. She doesn't believe me.


PS: The boys (as in the high school baseball team) played well, had fun, and ate enough Panda Express to keep them happy until May.

Just the Good Ol' Boys

Just'a good ol' boys
Never meanin' no harm.
Beats all you never saw
Been in trouble with the law
Since the day they was born

Staightnin' the curves
Flatnin the hills
Someday the mountain might get 'em
But the law never will

Makin' their way
The only way they know how
That's just a little bit more
Than the law will allow.

I hadn't thought of this song in a long time, but yesterday it came blaring on the radio. Funny how songs you learned as a kid stick with you. Or it could be that I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED The Dukes of Hazzard.

Lauren always wants me to tell her stories from when I was a kid. Sometimes I can remember a few, other times, well, she is disappointed with my efforts. So when a random memory comes to my mind I better grab it.

Here is one: Like I said, I loved the Dukes of Hazzard. In fact, I loved them so much that I had a poster of Bo and Luke hanging up in my room. (How funny that my parents let me-I was probably only 8-10 years old at the time). Sometimes, when I was feeling wild and crazy, I would pull a chair over to the poster and kiss ol' Luke Duke square on the lips. What a thrill! I didn't have those same romantic feelings for Bo. . .But that dark hair of Luke's. . . Ooo Laa Laa!

The Boys of Summer?!

Baseball started, and winter returned. Why am I surprised? At least there isn't snow on the ground. . . yet. . .

Buds

Ryan and Chase have a special kind of relationship. Chase is usually on the go, and Ryan is usually pretty quiet, but it works for them. Chase likes to watch TV and read magazines with Ryan. And Ryan is always up for a game of catch.

My Girls

Recently some of my good friends came over for a "murder mystery dinner". The setting was a candy shop. Does it get any better than that? My sweet Syd decorated the tables for me. And Lauren begged to sit on the stairs and listen to us. I love that my girls can see me having fun with friends.

We dressed in dorky costumes and acted like our normal dorky selves.



I'm grateful for such good friends. We don't all get together much, but like all good friendships, we can pick up right where we left off. Hopefully we won't another 6 months to plan another evening with each other.

The Weekend Comes Early

Today was my last day of work this week. Tomorrow, we will be heading down to the Valley to cheer on the baseball team at a tournament.

That is, if we make it to the tournament.

At this time, lounging around a hotel room, reading a book, watching TV and sleeping sounds more appealing. As does shopping, going out to eat, and generally enjoying the big city life.

But as I sink into my blissful fantasy, reality begins to creep in. Let's be honest. Lauren is only seven. Bless her heart, but her attention span is well under an hour. Lounging only lasts so long. She'll want to show me all of her tricks at the pool. And Syd, bless her heart too, is a teenager who hasn't seen a mall in 6 months. You know where she will be aching to be. She tries to be patient, but wandering in and out of mall shops for three days would be a dream come true. ( I can only last about an hour).

So in the end, hopefully we'll all get a little of what we want. No matter what, it will be great to do something a little different.

Oh yeah, and hopefully the boys will do well and have a little fun themselves.

A big 'ole shot in the butt

In one hour and fifteen minutes I will get to go to the Doctor and get a shot.

I can't wait. Really.

For the past week or so, I have been in a haze of Zyrtec, Alavert and Claritin (none of them really work too well for me). Every year it's the same thing. I'm miserable for two weeks before I break down and get a shot.

I'm thinking that I ought to just pre-schedule them. Kind of like a dentist appointment or a pap smear. Every February 28th I should just have a standing appointment.

Today one lady told me that if I'd just get all the sugar and white flour out of my diet, I would be fine. I told her bring on the shot.

One hour and ten minutes to go. . .