Driving

Aaron loves to get in our cars and pretend to drive.... I have brought my Bible study or a book in there with him as he will actually stay occupied for a decent amount of time! Too bad when it gets hot enough this activity will no longer be a possibility....

Speaking of driving.... Sorry about the lack of posting this week - I have been uninspired and bummin' as I got in a car accident this week =( Here are my thoughts on it since some of you have been asking:

The good: No one was hurt at all. Not a scratch or a bruise - nothing. Because I did slam on my breaks as soon as I saw the inevitable, the impact was low enough that my air bags didn't even go off, and I wasn't even sore the next day. And the other party involved, a little old man, was super nice and very friendly. Also, because I was coming home from a bike ride, Aaron was not in the car with me.

The bad: I got a ticket. So between that and the insurance deductible, it is an expensive "whoops."

The ugly: I freakin' ran a red light!!!! So I feel really stupid about it because it was completely avoidable if my brain would have been engaged. Arg. I am still kicking myself that after 14+ years of driving without ever causing an accident, it has come down to this.

I guess considering what might have been, I got off pretty good and I am thankful that the Lord was watching out for me and rescued me from a far worse outcome. I am trying to maintain that perspective when I catch myself focusing on the negative things and learn what I can from this....

So that's all I have to say about that. The end. =)

Random Odds and Ends....

A few things of interest this week....

*Aaron seems a lot more interested in repeating various words to us and has added several words this week verbally (meaning he actually says them, not just knows what we are saying). Some of the new words this week: pasta, Tanya, leaf, night night, pee pee (Grandma Debbe bought him a potty training seat - though we are FAR from attempting this endeavor, we are trying to at least talk about it more) =)

*We tried peanut butter for the first time last week and as expected, a big hit and no allergic reaction which I am really grateful for. It's always nice to add new things to the food list...
*He insists upon climbing up in his own high chair AND buckling himself in without help- not sure how he figured out how to do it without pinching his fingers.

*He loves building and playing in a new "fort" with Daddy

*He and Cousin Brynn are really starting to get excited to see each other and even ask about each other when apart. Aaron always has lots of hugs and kisses for Brynn which she patiently puts up with. They seem to share pretty well together.... In fact today, while Brynn was in the police car, Aaron decided to get in too and she didn't protest and they happily sat together in it....

*Things are continually moving along with the impending Harvest church plant - be sure to check out Lee's blog at http://harvestccaz.org/blog/

*Last but not least (and most random of all) - I always thought that the expression of getting bugs in your teeth was simply just that, an expression for going super fast. I got to experience it in a literal way for the first time on the mountain bike trail this week when I rode through a swarm of gnats or something. Really, I had to pick them out of my teeth. Crazy!

Bike Race

The biggest mountain biking event of the year (at least the biggest in our little world!) happened this past weekend - Lee and a dozen or so of his friends formed a few teams and raced in Epic Rides' Kona 24 Hour series in Tucson, AZ. They had a blast together and needless to say after 24 hours riding mountain bikes, are quite exhausted; and needless to say that my laundry room now smells of an interesting mix of sweat and campfire - mmmmm. Lee's team pulled an AMAZING 2nd place in their single speed division and we are very proud of him and all the other guys who raced!

Sooooo.... since Saturday was Valentine's Day and Lee was gone, it was a good thing I have another "man" in my life to celebrate with....Aaron and I had a good time hanging out together and other "widows" of the bike race, Grandma, cousin Brynn, etc. Oh yes, and I can't forget our blessed time with my dear friend Kohls and my 30% off coupon. (Heck yeah for $4 pjs for Aaron and $9 jeans for Lee!)

Aaron made it a good weekend for me by actually saying and calling me "Ma Ma" many times, which he never has really done - He knows my name but hasn't really said it as he is an 18 month old of few words. =) It SOOOO warmed my heart to hear it!

And of course, my husband still showed me some love despite being gone and had this amazing cake made and delivered to me by one of our college girls, Taryn, who is a professional baker....

And yes, it tastes as good as it looks!

Honestly, it was a good weekend for all of us even though we were apart. Lee is off tomorrow so we will get some good time as a family! Hey, honey, how about a nice long mountain bike ride together????

Grill-master

Seeing as Aaron is obsessed still with the word "hot" and anything that may fit in that description, this is a naturally an AMAZING toy to him...

Auntie Tanya found it at Once Upon A Child ....

Look at that smile! This toy may actually replace... gasp... his true love, the vacuum!!! =)

Backyard pics

Despite a few odds and ends and some other items that need to be purchased, and lots of help from our family and friends, the majority of the backyard project is complete....

We finally put together Aaron's sandbox from Papa Bob and Grandma from Christmas and it was a big hit....

And Mommy is super glad it's a stand up sandbox so half of the box doesn't end up in the house.

Thanks for all your hard work Lee! Now if we could only get the weather to clear up a bit so we could enjoy it more....

Visit from Gi Gi and Grandpa

We have had a busy and fun week as Aaron's grandparents from Florida came in to visit.

Lee also took the week off, so we've gotten to do lots of fun things together - one day we went and visited the biggest fountain in the world that's only 20 minutes away from us in Fountain Hills....

Aaron of course, thought it was pretty sweet....
He is still asking me about it - Of course, in his own way not using any words. It's amazing how I still know what he is trying to tell me with hand gestures and intonation.

We've also been very busy working hard on the backyard.... (I will post some pics when it is complete which is hopefully very soon!)

Aaron got a pretty bad "owie" today when trying to mimic daddy pounding in stakes. Poor little guy smashed his finger pretty good, but he was pretty tough about it. He will absolutely in no way by ANY means tolerate a band-aid on it - he cried more about having the band-aid on than the actual injury so I gave up and took it off....He loves to show his "owie" - be sure to ask him next time you see him.... =)

We had a great time with Gi Gi and Grandpa! It is going to be SO boring stuck with just mom again all day long next week.....