Hot Springs Trading Post

A few pictures from our visit to the museum and trading post in Hot Springs near Joshua Tree National Park...

Aren't my kids so stinkin cute??? Sometimes I just look at them and wonder how I got so lucky. They are awesome. Of course they have their moments, we all do, but they are great kids. So completely different from eachother and such wonderful friends. They love eachother so much and are so sweet with eachother.

It was great weather today at the trading post. It's crazy the many differenet terrains there are in the sate of California. I love it here. We went from mountains and snow to catus and desert in a matter of hours. Next we'll be at the beach and then back up to the snow. What other state can offer all that?

we are nomads.

Pictures from our Yucca Valley family reunion. Mariah playing with Daddy's gift.

Robbie

Desert Style...

Josh and Robbie

Kaniesha, Mariah, Josh and Robbie

Nomads. That's what we are. Here's a quick summary of our 'goings ons' this month or so:

December 6-17 Tennessee (pictures to come...)

December 24-26 Grass Valley for Christmas (pictures also to come...)

December 17- January 3 Yucca Valley for family reunion. Pictures on this post.

January 3-6 San Diego (Josh, the kids and I)

January 6-8 Arizona with Grandparents and Aunt and Uncle and cousins Yay!

January 8-9 Las Vegas (stay with Aunt and Uncle - another yay!)

January 9-12 Salt Lake City (Josh's sister Mariah is getting married!! Another big yay!)

I know, it stresses me out even thinking about it too! This is just one of the reasons why I've been so horrible at updating the blog lately. I will post some Tennessee and Christmas pictures as soon as I can.

Grass Valley

We went up to Grass Valley to see Bob-o, Nona and the kids for a couple weeks. It was finally feeling like winter-time! They recently got a new trampoline with nets around the sides and the kids love it! I love it too because they can't get hurt, well at least they can't fall off of it... The best toys ever.
Uncle Seth and Robbie...

"Sorry I made you fall seventeen times kiss"

Trampoline time.

kisses.

Seth and Robbie are best buds. He follows Seth around wherever he goes, even to school - so Seth has to sneek out the back door when he leaves in the morning. My kids are so lucky to have so many people that love them and spend time with them!!

Thuggin It Out.

New Camera!

I just got the camera I've been wanting for... FOREVER! Check it out!I apologize for the huge gap in posts, we've been doing a lot lately. We're currently out in Tennessee and I'm getting lots of fun pictures. I will try and post them soon...

Making Fires

Daniel and Robbie watching the flames.
Mariah triming the bushes...

Robbie playing on the patio furniture.

My cousin Daniel (who finally just started his own blog!! yay! danielhoer.blogspot.com) came out for Thanksgiving. He came down to good ol Hilmar for the weekend, along with my sister Rashauna, to hang out and help me out. It was so fun to have him around; it was one of our best visits. The kids totally recognize him and love him and he's suprisingly sweet with them. He even got up with them one morning to let me sleep! Bet you wish you had a cousin like me huh? He also smashed up all of our old outdoor furniture and burned it. I'm not sure if that was a favor for me or play time for him... either way - it worked out perfectly. Mariah loved having a fire and we even roasted marshmellows one night.

Swing Time.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thoughts of Thanks:
I have so much to be thankful for that it's hard to think of just one thing. That being said, the one I shared at the dinner table this year was, "My kids - and no I'm not being sarcastic." I added that last part because I was holding Robbie who was screaming his head off... But I truly don't know where I'd be without my kids. They have helped me to grow and learn more than I'd ever imagined. They teach me something new everyday. Even though they are crazy and can be a great challenge - I wouldn't be who I am and where I am today without them. I love you two!

Lucky

I am so very lucky to have kids that get along so well and love each other so much. The other night, for example, I couldn't even put Robbie to bed because he was hysterically laughing at Mariah. I still have no idea why. She kept trying to kiss him goodnight and right before she could kiss him he'd start cracking up again... Those types of moments are some of my most favorite.

The Thing About Robbie...

Robbie is the funniest kid. He's wild, he's crazy, he's stubborn, he's sweet... he's a boy. I have discovered one thing about him: if he's doing what he wants, when he wants, with what he wants; he's the happiest kid on the planet. But if not, look out.

Pictures

After we took pictures of the kids with Nona, we all went and had lunch at the cheese factory. Afterwards, the kids were running around playing so we attempted to take a few more pictures. It's nearly impossible to get them both looking in the same direction, let alone smiling. But we tried. Doesn't Mariah look happy?

Under the waterfall!

They're best friends...

The kids both LOVE the Hilmar Cheese Factory. The grounds are beautiful as you can see, and the food is awesome! Plus there's always yummy cheese samples to taste... my personal favorite.

Pictures with Nona

Nona (aka: my mom) came down this past weekend to hang out and help out. We've been wanting to take some pictures with her and all three grandkids for a while so we finally picked the date! The kids were dressed, we had plenty of candy, the weather was great...

What felt like ten hours later, through lots of tears, sweat and laughter we finally got what we were shooting for:

They're All Looking!

A quick look at some of the others...

Notice Mariah's hands... (no babies were harmed)

The only other possible winner.

The Zoo

Taraleigh and I took the kids to the Merced Zoo today (11-19-08). I have no doubt that this is the smallest zoo I've ever been to, but it was perfect for the little ones. In fact, we got to walk around the entire zoo twice and all in about an hour! Their favorite part was feeding the goats, even though one of them bit Robbie (Taraleigh took care of that one...)! There were monkeys, bears, tons of birds and a mountain lion. They love animals so much - they were in heaven!

They were both fearless - Robbie stuck his entire hand in along with the goat food.

Mariah belongs on a farm. Maybe one day...

In heaven.

Checking everything out. Mariah likes to go as fast as possible and Robbie likes to take it all in.

Sweet Taven sticking out his tongue at me.

Even though it was pretty expensive to get in ($.50 for the kids and a whopping $1.50 for me) we've decided to try and come twice a month because everyone had such a great time. We stopped at the gift shop and I picked up some stocking stuffers for the kids... Can you believe Christmas is around the corner? Especially with the weather we've been having - it was hot today and it's the middle of November!

Bad Day Huh?

Robbie was throwing a HUGE tantrum before lunch the other day (a daily occurance) and Mariah was sitting right next to him. In the midst of his loud screams and flailing arms, Mariah leans over to him and says, "Bad day huh?" It was hilarious... I ran to get my camera to take a video, but only got the last bit of the tantrum...

What a great perspective children have.

Santa in November

This past weekend the Hilmar Cheese Factory had their annual Holiday Open House. They had delicious h'ors deurves to taste, Santa and Daisy the Cow came to visit the kids and there was even a quartet walking around singing carols. It was a fun way to welcome in the holiday season. The kids loved it. Mariah was so excited to see Santa (who was so ghetto by the way - but they didn't care or notice) and she wanted to tell him what she wanted for Christmas. So we get up there and get the pictures taken and then let the next people go. But then Mariah remembered that she hadn't told him what she wanted!
So she ran up in front of these kids having their pictures taken to tell Santa her Christmas wish list. He was sweet and say "Okay!" and then she was satisfied. It's so fun that she's old enough to really get excited about Christmas this year. Robbie just wanted to grab the cow and jump off Santa's lap. But he loved trying all the food! We went with Trent, Taraleigh and Taven. I included a pic of cutie pie Taven on Santa's lap.

My Attempt.

This was my (and Taraleigh's) attempt at getting some pictures of the kids together. Mariah is no problem; she's sweet, she listens, she smiles,... then there's Robbie. He runs, he yells, he wont stand or sit still for more then .008 seconds... he's a boy. So that's my explanation of why almost none of the pictures feature their sweet little faces. After we got in the car both Taraleigh and I were sweating and out of breath. At least we could count it as a workout too...