Fall 09

I know I know I know... I have totally slacked on getting posts out lately. No really good excuse so I'm not even going to give any. So... here are a ton of pictures to get you all updated (and a few fun videos at the end), and I'll save the writing and all my thoughts on life for the next post. But don't worry, all is well here, actually great. No H1N1 (or what we like to call the "hinnie" flu at work) invading our family so we are all very happy so far. Needless to say non of us got the vaccination, much to the dismay of my employer, but hey, never was one to follow the normal trending pattern. Hope all of you are healthy and in the same boat.

Sophia's B-Day. Yes she got her very own trampoline! Definitely a hit, not to mention a great workout for ALL of us. I did some research and found that you burn the same amount of calories jumping as you do going for a run. Pretty cool.

One hard jumping little girl. She pretty much jumped until she was ready to pass out. Great way to get her ready for her nap...

We all had fun watching her...

Todd's B-Day...

Best friends, ever since forever!

My little Chunky Monkey...

Some of my new favorite pictures...

This was at one of my co-worker's house. I went to help him vaccinate his horses and he let Sophia ride. She loved it!

Sophia takes her camera everywhere and never misses an opportunity to snap a pic. She even records all the events at the local grocery. This pic cracks me up.

This time of year is so beautiful here. It never ceases to amaze me how truly spectacular Pagosa is.

Sophia decided she was going to work at EMS with me. She figured if she wore my boots she was a "shoe in" to work on the ambulance...

We went to Sutherland Farms in Aztec, NM, to get our pumpkins this year. It was one of our last warm days. And yes, Sophia is milking a purple cow... and having a blast!

Sushi and Bikes

Our little girl is growing up fast.  Who would have guessed she would be riding a big girl bike before she was three!?  (And what a cool bike too!)  We are actually thinking of taking her down to the soccer field, removing the training wheels, and let her rip!  We'll see.  

Neighborhood scrappers!

Sushi, what?, being eaten by a two year old?!  Whoever heard of such a thing!  I had to share the experience.  She actually ate them all but I had to stop taking pics so I could indulge as well.  Sushi, what can I say...

First Solids!

Today was the big day.  A little sweet potato and a lot of laughs.

Looks pretty gross, but very tasty.

What in the world is this all about!  What am I supposed to Do with it?

Hmmm, very interesting...

I don't know if I should be eating this considering it looks like something else I am very familiar with.

Seriously, look at this, it totally looks like... well, you know!

How does this spoon thing work?

I could get used to this... More please!

Sat night

Sitting at EMS again!  Yes, I know it seems like I'm here a lot.  Actually I only have 6 shifts this months it's just the only time I have to do some computer work.  Funny that I come to work to rest and catch up.  Although it's totally hit or miss.  Lately it's been pretty busy at work...a bunch of crazy calls.  I just ran on an 11 year old boy that was bull riding (yes, 11 years old!), got his hand caught, and was dragged and trampled by the bull for approx 45 sec!  He escaped with only a tib/fib fracture of his right leg, but the worst part was his family kept saying, "Cum on, coyboy up!  Walk it off"!  Meanwhile his poor leg was just totally flopping.  I could have screamed at his dad.  The kid was so sweet too, and brave!  I have seen breaks way less severe than that with adults and they are yelling their heads off.  Even with all his pain he asked me if I was going to give him a shot.  Then, after he had some pain meds on board, he asked me if I was going to cut open his leg in the ambulance to fix it!  I just wanted to take him in my arms and hug and hug and hug him.  It's so crazy what I do, I never cease to be amazed!

Totally blurry pic but I had to put this in.  Just downloaded this off of Todd's phone.  It was taken exactly 2 weeks before Caleb was born.  I don't look preggo in my bunker gear, just really fat!  I love it!

Caleb is doing awesome!  Had to put in this comparrison...

That pic still makes me cringe.  He went through so much at such a young age and now, well, basically you can't stop him from smiling.  He totally melts my heart.

New table centerpiece...

Cooper totally rules the roost at the house.  Poor Diego isn't even allowed on his huge dog bed half the time.  He here is on Diego's bed (yes, I KNOW I have to wash it) playing inconspicuous.

Caleb's new shirt, the original poster!

A day in the life of Pagosa...gotta love it.

Todd's perfect pancake...He was very proud of this one!

My cousins Melissa and Wes...don't kill me Mel, I love this picture, and it's harder than pulling teeth and nails to get you to post a pic of you!

My dearly missed friend Kerry and her Little Red Farm House where she teaches and sings to a group of very lucky children!  Love you Kerry!

Going to the hot spring tomorrow.  Sophia can now touch in the shallow end so all she does now is jump up and down in the water.  Gotta get her that trampoline!

New Car!

Sorry, no pics yet, but Todd is driving it home from Denver as I write this.  2005, sage blue/green mint condition, with 36K miles!  The best part is that it is paid in full!  Never owned a "nice" vehicle that was paid off.  Kind of feels like I have graduated to a certain level of "grown-upness".  Sure we have had to take a few hits to become debt free but it feels like the clouds have cleared!  Now we will be able to put some $ away to move with when Todd gets his epic job in Calie.  Honestly though, don't know when that will happen what with the whole state being diseased with debt.  I heard that people were even paying their utility bills with IOUs!  It's a scary prospect to pick up and leave a stable job, stable income, and stable health insurance to go to an area in such disarray.  Todd has been diligently pounding away with resume submittals, follow-ups, and the like, with no luck so far.  I just have to have faith that, although I have such an urgency around getting to the west, that everything is happening just as, and when, it is supposed to.  I look back on when we were trying to move to Austin and at the time it felt so right and we were SURE that was where we were supposed to be.  No job panned out, we switched focus, and now Austin doesn't feel right at all.  Too hot...too isolated...too many scary crawling critters!  But one year ago you couldn't have convinced me for nothing that California would be a good place to move the family to.

Haven't blogged in a while so here are some pics from July:

The 4th...Sophia had so much fun.  She still talks about the ferris wheel just about daily.  But her favorite is definitely the bounce house.  I have never known a child that loved jumping so much.  She jumps on her bed, on our bed, on the couch, on the dog bed, in the grass, even on our concrete floors!  We are going to try to pull it off and get one of those big trampolines for her birthday.  Not only will she and Caleb be able to use it for years, but they are great for exercising for adults as well!  Plus look how much fun we would all have.

At the parade with my good friend "Skirt" the clown.  She is actually a firefighter clown but here she is sporting her nursing outfit.  I thought Sophia would be freaked out by the clown but she totally dug it!  She kept saying "My like her."

So cute...the little one was so little that it didn't even need a bridle.  At the end of the parade he was so tired that a little girl was actually carrying it!  Ha!

A true Nebraskan at heart.  She was actually eating this corn raw then sneaking the half eaten cobs back into the bag!

This was pretty cool.  Sophia took this picture and was able to catch this butterfly...

The arm belongs to Caleb...it took me a while to realize that!

Sophia and the neighbor kids playing in the sprinkler...love the dimpled buns!

...and the boots!

Yeah...first teeth.  I think he is already teething again too.  Not sure where they are coming in but they are definitely coming.

Imagine waking up to those eyes!

On our way to Grand Junction.  Sophia got a total kick out of the binoculars.

Passing the Mercy Regional Hospital in Durango.  This is where I bring my critical patients in the ambulance (one hour away from Pagosa).

Eating lunch in Ouray...Sophia is starting to become quite a photographer.  She took these two great pics...

Off to hang with the family on Sunday.  We are going to the pool today!