Talan's 2nd Birthday/Thanksgiving

This year Talan's 2nd birthday fell on Thanksgiving. We decided to have dinner at our house since it was his birthday. We wanted to do a little celebration for him before his big party next weekend. We ended up having about 25 members of our family over (yes, we have a big family) My little boy is not so little anymore. I still think of him as my baby! He is talking so much now. He says so many different words and puts them together in sentences. I wish I would have taken more pictures from the day but I was so busy cooking the turkey and ham and running around like a crazy woman. Everything turned out great though and Talan enjoyed his day.

I still can't believe that this little guy....

Has turned into this guy...

Time goes way too fast.

I LOVE YOU TALLY BOO!

Anyways, here are some more pictures from the day.

Talan enjoying his pancake face breakfast.

Talan showing off his new bike.

mmmm...Cupcakes!

Opening presents.

Enjoying his new stuff.

Turkey Feed 2009

I have been a bad blogger lately and have not been keeping up with all the stuff we have been doing! I am going to attempt to catch up in the next couple days but I am not going to guarantee it because this week is going to be hectic. I am having Thanksgiving at my house this year (with 20 people) and it is also Talan's 2nd birthday on that day! Whew...to top it off I woke up yesterday with a sore throat that has progressed into a sore throat/stuffy nose/earache today! YUCK!

So the weekend before last we went out to our river house in Blythe to the Aha Quin Turkey Feed 2009. It is an annual event that has been going for the last 9 years (I believe) The boys wake up early and pack up the rhinos and dirtbikes and they ride from Desert Center all the way to Aha Quin. It is about 107 miles. It takes them about 7.5 hours to finish. I haven't yet had the pleasure of riding along yet, but hope to soon. Last year I was pregnant with Gavin and this year he is just too young to do it...I think Talan is too young too, but don't tell Mark that!

So Mark left early to go on the ride and I was left to pack up the boys (and ALL the stuff that goes with having 2 little ones, diapers, wipes, toys, pack and plays, bottles, sippy cups...and on and on and on...you get the point) I didn't realize how hard it is to pack everything because I always have Mark to help me. I woke up early, when Mark woke up (about 5:30am) and still I wasn't ready to leave until 1! I had to sneak in a nap for the boys and feed them lunch too before we left.

Anyways, we finally got to Blythe around 5:30. I was exhausted! We set up all the boys stuff and crashed for the night. We got up early and went and had breakfast at the store and got our spot for the Turkey Feed. This is a pot-luck style turkey dinner. They also have a table decorating contest. Our friends, the Coleman's always go WAY out for their table. This year they turned their table into a full on pirate ship! We haven't decorated our table yet but I am thinking about it for next year!

They also had a pinata for the kids and Talan got to hit first which was really fun for him! All in all we had a great time and can't wait until next year! Here are some pictures from the weekend.

A Beautiful Day at Aha Quin

The weather was PERFECT! 72 degrees and clear.

Uncle Tom and Talan

Waiting in line for turkey dinner.

Weeeee!

This little girl was in love with Gavin

Family Pic (It never fails...someone is always looking the wrong direction)

Our un-decorated table!

Talan the Indian

The Coleman's Pirate Ship Table

Talan and Matt Coleman

George and Uncle Tom

The boys right before we headed home...such a fun trip!

Poor Frankie

So Friday I left around 8:45 am to go to my Stroller Strides class like I normally do. I had no idea that Frankie had snuck out while I was loading the boys in the car. I went to my class. Around 11 Mark calls me and says "How long till you will be home?" and I say "Um, in a few, why?" and he says "Frankie has been attacked by something, the pool guy just called me. He is bleeding and won't come to him." OMG I guess Frankie had somehow gotten away! Mark rushed home and so did I. I bawled the entire way home. It was all my fault that Frankie got out! I got home to see Mark holding Frankie in a towel covered in blood. I wanted to see him just in case he didn't make it. Mark rushed him to the vet. After what seemed like an eternity Mark finally called me to tell me that he was in surgery and they were checking to make sure that he would be able to eat and drink normally, if not then it would probably be best to put him down. I started bawling again. Finally about 2 hours later Mark called me again to tell me that he did good in the surgery and he "should" be fine. We just need to make sure that he eats and drinks normally for the next week. My poor little Frankie. Here are some pictures of his wounds.

Stitches along the top of his neck.

2 puncture wounds under his neck

Then this morning on my way to Stroller Strides, at 9 am I see this running down the street! So scary. We called animal control and they are going to come out and investigate! What is going on? We have never had this problem before.

45 Life Lessons

I was browsing through some other blogs and found this post. It really hit home with me. We have been struggling a bit lately, financially, (as I think everyone has with this crappy economy) and this made me look at the bigger picture. I highlighted the ones that I really like....

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio
“To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I’ve ever written.

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and
parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.{amen!!!]
11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey
is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never
blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up
to you and no one else
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.
35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d
grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come…
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.”

Halloween

Halloween was a lot of fun this year because Talan actually understood what was going on. Last year, not so much. We went out to Orange to AJ and Jaime's house so all the cousins could go Trick-or-Treating together. Talan was a Vampire, Gavin was a Devil, Cade was a Skeleton and Brodie was a Pirate. They were so adorable!! They had a blast getting all the candy. I think they ate half their bags too (they snuck it out of their pumpkins while we weren't looking) I kept catching Talan with a different packet of something or another! Luckily some people were nice enough to hand out pretzels or crackers instead of ALL candy. Plus I don't need it lying around...I have eaten my share! Here are some pics...

Gavin and Grandpa Steve

He loves this push car!

Talan and Great Grandma Charlotte

Gavin and Daddy

Mommy and Talan

Talan and Cade in the wagon

My little Vampire

Brodie as a pirate. He didn't want to wear his hat so we painted a beard and mustache on him.

Talan, Cade and Gavin

My little Devil