Oh my goodness...where has the time gone?

I don't even know where to begin with all that's happened the last few weeks.

So I'll start with the "fun" stuff that I have pictures for:

Its been hunting season up here and Abe went out quite a bit in search of his elusive first kill (well, BIG kill anyway.) Cole and I even went "truck hunting" with him a few times- meaning we drove around down the highway into the mountains until we saw something, at which point Abe would get out and try to go do his thing, Cole would "hunt" from his car seat and I would play card games on Abe's phone and text my sister- it was actually more fun than it might sound.
We also learned that, after some HEAVY rain up this way, one of Abe's job sites close to the house had a puddle bursting with tadpoles. In our infinite wisdom, we thought it might be cool to take a few home and watch them turn into frogs. Well, we took home 7 tadpoles and by the time we went to release them...

...we had 5!!! Now, we didn't kill/let any of them die, just two of them became frogs faster than we expected and jumped the coop! After the second one got away (to who knows where!) we decided to take the rest and release them back to their puddle.

Cole did the dumping honors

While I had been taking pictures from the other side of the puddle, and positioning my child for a primo shot (which, of course I never got) ...

I noticed this little guy poised and waiting- obviously for all the frogs as they grew and left the puddle. Hopefully ours were able to stay away from him!

During this same little outing, Abe gave Cole this gift from one of his hunting buddies- his first gun! (It's just a pellet gun/air rifle, and we have discussed endlessly the rules pertaining to the gun...)

Cole was sooo excited- especially since he wants to do everything and have everything just like his dad!

Learning how to line it up:

He loves his new gun- especially when Dad would just shoot it for him. Its still a little big, but I know that thing will end up getting a lot of use!

Meanwhile, I have still been looking for houses. And I mean LOOKING. I check Craigs List at least 30 times a day, check the classifieds in the local paper every morning, all the property management sites...basically making myself crazy. I noticed one that posted while we were in Michigan (yes, I was making sure to check even while we were on vacation!) When we got back, it was still available (which was a shock considering the current rental market, and the reason why I check everything so often- the good stuff just gets gobbled up faster than you can believe!) but, it was going for a little more than we wanted to spend.

After a price decrease, I thought, aw- what the heck, I'll check it out. It was this stinking cute little house (well, smaller than what we're in now), on almost an acre, in an awesome school zone, and fenced! I took Abe out the next day, he liekd it and deemed it perfect- minus the location, we want to be in the pines after all. So, a day or two later (and panicking that this house would get taken) I went out with our realtor to see the inside for the first time, and it was even better. Put in an application and decided I wanted Abe to see the inside before we did anything definite. Took Abe out, he liked it, though we were still thinking how we really wanted to be in the pines, but this house met every other criteria we had asked for, and decided we would go ahead and sign a lease that Tuesday (it was Labor Day weekend and the PM was closed till Tuseday.)

However, as cute and perfect as all aspects of this house were, I just wasn't getting as excited about it as I had the other homes we have wanted. The reason why came Sunday morning of that Labor Day weekend. Like my daily ritual, I checked the classifieds of the local paper and the second house listed was a 4000sq ft home in the pines for less than what this house we were going to sign papers on was going for. I thought there must be a typo or something, because we have watched this area meticulously and there has been nothing decent for under $1600. I decided to wait until 9:00am to call- it was Sunday after all, and at 8:59 and 30 seconds, I called. I was the first person! (this is huge in the rental market, since they usually work on a first call, first served basis!) I set up a viewing for 1:00pm (Abe was out hunting till then) and, after talking to the owner, I knew EXACTLY which house this was. As I said, Abe and I have watched this area like crazy, we will even just go and drive through it on a Sunday afternoon- and on every one of those drives, we have made a comment about this particular house.

When we arrived we were totally stoked because, if anything, we were going to get to view this house that we have been so fascinated with. I didn't say anything till we were in the front door (but I could have said it before we even walked in), but I looked at Abe and said "just ask for the lease and sign it!" He waited till we were around the corner of the entry and then said "I'm just going to sign the lease" The thing is amazing- so much so we realized once we were home that we hadn't even looked at the bathrooms, but we really don't care. There are also some quirky things that were deal breakers with other homes, but this house is so amazing we decided we could make whatever quirks there are work. It is truly a piece of art, built with recycled materials (tires and pop cans) and concrete and adobe (which put at ease our concerns of heating a 4000sq ft house in the pines!) The space is amazing, the woodwork is custom and from the trees taken down to clear the building site, the back patio is gorgeous, and its on an acre in the PINES!!! We are still working on a few details, but as long as nothing CRAZY happens, we are moving in next week! Which means I have been packing and going insane! I'll post some pictures and talk about it more once we're in.

On top of all that, Abe took a trip to Alaska this past week to go moose hunting with his dad and best friend (his mom was along, too.) And to Abe's utter happiness and excitement, he actually got one (I will get pictures from him eventually, and hopefully they won't offend too many.) Getting home was an entirely different challenge, but he's here with his antler's and Cole couldn't be more proud of his dad!

Just before Abe left, I got a text at 5am on the 9th, that my sister had gone into the hospital (she was supposed to be induced that evening- so I had planned on getting ready and heading down that afternoon.) With our family's history, I knew I didn't have much time to make it, so I mad dashed around the house and the town getting ready and was out the door by 7am. After dropping Dozer off at my parents I pulled into the hospital parking lot at 8:37 and Miss Brylee had been born at 8:33! I made it just in time for us to go in and see the happy little family (well, mom and dad weer happy- Brylee, not so much)


Here is Brylee Dell Parks, born 9-9-10, 6lbs 3oz, 19in long.

She is absolutely tiny! Definitely the smallest baby to grace this family! (smallest head too, by far!- so not fair!!! haha)

Cole is smitten with his cousin. This is the only time he would hold her, he likes it better when I hold her and he can just come over and snuggle her

So, with Abe being gone, Cole driving me nanners, and this little thing to cuddle, Cole and I went back to Phoenix this past weekend. Which also means, I have an extreme amount of packing to do- so I need to get off the computer!

But seriously, check back for when I am able to put pics up of the new house! And if you're in the area, give us a call and stop by- we are hoping to be here as long as they'll let us {wink}!

CRAZY Month!

So things have been a little crazy/hectic around here. Nothing major- just things that have kept me from being able to post.


Mostly it is the out of control, curious, rambunctious, and overall crazy 3 foot tall being that resides in my home. He still will not take naps, goes to bed late, wakes up early, and just keeps me constantly on guard. Although, if I take him to playgroup in the morning, he will occasionally crash- but its usually in my arms. And I'm sorry, but while my only child still wants to sleep cuddled up in my arms, by golly, I'm going to let him- and take full advantage of it, rather than spending that precious time blogging/cleaning/doing laundry, etc. Selfish, I know, but I want to truly enjoy every moment with this little person as much as I can.

I also have a lot going on with my MOMS Club right now- mostly me prepping the group for my imminent departure. I have been planning/prepping/executing the annual Open House (where we try to sucker in new members) and preparing/corresponding/and still need to execute the election process for next year's board. Its been pretty time consuming and I can't even begin to say how relieved I am that it is almost over. I have even made arrangements to get rid of the numerous file folders and containers of junk that have been cluttering up my home for the last 11 months! YEA!!!

Cole and I have also spent a few weekends in Phoenix, and Cole spent a weekend in Carefree. We have spent every other weekend touring Prescott in search of a new home. Yes, that's right, a new home. We are going to rent for at least another year (our current lease is up at the end of the month), and the owners of our current house have their house back east on the market, meaning they could be ready to move here at anytime (though they said they would give us three months notice). I however am ready to get out of this house. As much as I will miss the view and the overall size of the house, that is it! I am so ready to move on! I think Abe is a little more hesitant since moving is so much work, but we NEED a new house. We have our eyes on one right now- 1/2 acre, middle of town-and walking distance to Cole's school, fully fenced yard, basically everything we want in a house (minus being in the middle of the forest, of course- but that will come) and I am stoked! Both Cole and the dog need a yard they can run around in, I love the overall feel of it so much better than our current home, and we will have plenty of room for all our stuff- inside and out.

During one of our "touring" weekends, we visited the Wild Fire Safety Expo that was held downtown (for when we do, ultimately, end up in the woods.) Cole enjoyed all the firemen and trucks and there was a really cool Game and Fish booth with all kinds of wildlife (though it was kind of sad, because they were mostly animals that had fallen victim to wildfires.) We even ran into a friend- though we didn't know it.

That's our friend, Damian, in that suit. Damian is the son of Abe's dear friend, Bob, who passed away a while back. It was pretty funny cause the giant fireman leaned over to his handler, who then said to us, "he says to tell you that its Damian in here" We laughed for a good while and Cole got a tattoo of the giant fireman (which he was so proud of, and then devastated over as it faded away from his arm)
That was Cole after the expo. So funny! He was using the balloon as a kind of pillow. One plus, he did take naps as we all drove around town together!

On one of our Phoenix trips, my parents treated Cole and I to a movie- his first one. We saw "How To Train Your Dragon." Cole did pretty well, though his attention span shorted out {shock!} and he spent the last half hour or so climbing all over the bars (thanks to seeing his grandpa and uncle do it-we were in the front row where the rails are.) I can honestly say, I think he did pretty well for a 2 1/2 year old, and since he is under 3 and free- who cares?!

I also made an attempt at some Strawberry Freezer jam. Cole helped by building a "housh" (aka house) with the strawberries. I haven't tried the jam yet, since I had an opened jar I want to use up, and the homemade stuff only has a shelf life of 3 weeks in the fridge. I figured I can wait- but it looked and smelled super yummy...I'll let you know.

I also have been knee deep in crafts. I don't know if I mentioned, but I started a craft group in my MOMS Club, and being that I'm in charge, I have to force myself to be creative- which I LOVE (and is the only thing I will truly miss about the club, which is why I'm going to continue it with a select group! haha) Here's the latest project (I can't share others, since they will gifts!)- its a dry erase board made from a frame and some fabric. Super simple, cheap, but oh so cute! (Not my idea- I got it from a crafting blog I read, but so simple and useful- and SOOO much cuter than a store bought board!)

I also have other Cole issues going on, including a new evaluation from a developmental specialist this week- but I'll talk about that once I know if anything is truly going on.

Until then, I think that's a good summation of what we've been up to. I will update once I know what's going on with Cole, but that might be it for a while, since HOPEFULLY we'll be MOVING!!!