american pickers

We love to watch American Pickers at our house! In fact, our boys love it so much that Reed has decided that when he grows up he wants to be a "picker". Colby has tried to explain to him that it isn't a profession but just a hobby (in hopes of encouraging Reed to aim a little higher). Last month we held a boy scout yard sale (Colby is Scoutmaster) at our house. The week before the big day, the scouts went around our ward picking up donations and then put them in my garage for safe keeping until Saturday. There was so much stuff/crap crammed into my garage! I couldn't believe it. This was a dream come true for my boys. They went picking in the morning before school, after school, and late into the night. Oh the treasures they found- a radio alarm clock, a remote control robot, a gazelle exercise machine, all sorts of '80's vhs tapes, and all sorts of toys! I told them that they were going to have to buy what they wanted just like everyone else. So, on Friday the boys were doing all sorts of jobs for me to earn enough money for all those treasures they just had to have. Bright and early Saturday morning, my boys purchased their finds. By eleven o'clock, we were winding down and there was still a ton of junk! So my boys went to town buying as much as they could for mere pennies. I was so exhausted and overwhelmed to put up a fight with them.

The only picture I took to remember this whole ordeal is of Beau in his first purchase of the morning, a size 18 month-24 month santa suit (nevermind that he is almost 5 yrs old) He loved it and wore it for the next week!

Quinn Ruby Shepherd

I can't believe that she is 7 weeks old already! Yes, it seems to go by so quickly but not without those individual days (and nights) that seemingly go on without any end in sight. We are so glad that she is part of our family! I am so lucky to have my three boys, and Quinn is just icing on the cake. The boys love to "pet" Quinn's head and it is hilarious to hear their voices go up a few octaves when they say, "Hhhiiiiiii Quinn". They are all so good about feeding Quinn and very persistent in trying to convince her that she wants to suck on a pacifier (she's still on the fence about her pacifier).

When I changed the title of my blog to "Where The Boys Are" I thought my family was complete. I thought I would be a lonely girl in a boys' world. But now, this title is even more fitting. Quinn loves to be in the same room as her brothers and to hear their voices. She starts to coo whenever they look over her and offers big smiles to them. She wants to be where the boys are.

No doubt, Quinn is daddy's little girl.

Macaroni

At the end of July we let our boys in on a little secret... we're going to have a baby! They were so excited, to the point of telling everyone they knew and didn't know for that matter. We told them at the dinner table. Blue peeked under the table at my belly for confirmation. Thankfully he must have thought my belly was still small because when he came back up from under and table he had a confused look on his face. "No you're not." We explained that the baby wouldn't come until February. Then we discussed possible names. For boys, names like Hans Solo and Luke(no surprise there), and Percy(from Percy Jackson) were on the top of their list. Alex(I'm sure from Wizards of Waverly Place), Hermione(from Harry Potter, of course) and Halley(Reed's school teacher from last year) were suggestions for girl names. But the best name of all came from Beau- Macaroni. If we have a girl, he wants to name her Macaroni.

Well, we took our boys with us today to the ultrasound. It looks like we are having a Macaroni!

Our little slugger

So the boys have just finished the baseball season. This is the third season Reed has played baseball and I must say that he has improved tremendously thanks to his coach, Eric Lamb (Wayne's brother). Although his skills have grown, his aggressiveness not so much. This comes to a surprise to both Colby and me since we both played sports growing up and are a little competitive (just a little). Nonetheless, we have truly enjoyed watching both Reed and Blue "swing away".

I should also tell you that we have become a fearsome family when it comes to the game of "Slug Bug". Colby does not go easy on the boys when it comes to this game. His rule is that is isn't just one punch to the arm, it is a double hit and then you have to make sure you wipe it off. So technically you are hitting your victim four times. It is usually me against Reed or Colby against Reed. But on occasion, it sure feels good to give Colby a few slugs:). Reed has shown a little bit of passion for the hunt of a bug, a VW bug. A few of our favorite places that have plentiful slug bugs are the Gila Valley. We took our family down to the temple open house and the boys were amazed at how many "really old bugs" could be found down there. Our trip to San Diego was a great place for the game of Slug Bug also.

Back to my first story, Reed's baseball games. During his last game, Reed was playing out in the outfield. His coach was out there also. Halfway through the inning, his coach flagged me out to the outfield. He told me Reed needed me and that he(the coach) couldn't let him walk off the field in the middle of the inning. So I hustled out there, worried that Reed might need to use the restroom, which seems to be a common occurrence at the most inconvenient times. As I get out there, he slugs me with a big grin. "Slug bug yellow" he says. Are you kidding me?! I don't know that he was even paying attention to the game, he was scanning the parking lot for bugs. We have a slugger on our hands, just not a baseball slugger.

Land of Legos

Colby and I decided to avoid the summer crowds and take our boys to Legoland this past weekend. Not just drive over to California but FLY. Our boys were almost as excited for their first airplane ride as they were to go to Legoland. We figured an hour flight is a good test run to see if any of them get airsick (Blue has a tendency to get carsick very easily). Let me just preface that Legoland is a great place to go only if your children are Lego lovers. Don't expect an over the top experience like Disneyland or amazing rides like Six Flags, set your sights a little lower- like county fair lower, but with Legos. No complaints from my boys, they are at the perfect age for Legoland! The weather was beautiful and lines were nonexistent- a great combination!

The boys are "ready for take off"

Beau thought he was Joe Cool when it came to driving the bumper cars. Here he is kicking back as the rules are discussed. They got their own driver license and now he says he's ready to drive dad's truck.

There is a water attraction at Legoland also. It looked like a lot of fun, but my boys didn't want to spend a whole lot of time there.

The vacation experience started off with their very own rolling carry on luggage. The boys thought this was so cool! In fact, they packed themselves the night before we left without my help. Good thing I took a peek into their bags the next morning 'cause all Beau had was six pairs of underwear and two pairs of pajama bottoms along with one pull-up. This was all stuffed into the small compartment on the outside of the suitcase. Inside the actual suitcase I found six books. That's it.

On Saturday, before we headed back to the airport, we stopped off at the beach. We couldn't have asked for better weather, not that bad weather would have stopped the boys from chasing waves and rolling around in the sand. I guess the good weather was a bonus for me, since all I wanted to do was sit on a towel and soak up the sun.

Don't you just love the expressions on their faces? I'm not sure if they were trying to pose for the camera or just didn't want their pictures taken.

To sum up our trip, the best part of it (from the mouth of our boys) was take off in the airplane (it was as fun the rides at Legoland), picking out just ONE toy from the huge assortment at Legoland, and the swamp meet (swap meet- I forgot to mention we made a stop to the San Diego swap meet which is one of my personal favorite places to go- all that junk lined up for me to dig through).

yes, no, maybe so

So, I have gone back and forth the last few months trying to decide if I'm ready to commit to blogging again. It's not that my boys are no longer nap takers, mess makers, or future heart breakers- we've just added a bit of scoring soccer goals, making honor roll, puttin' up scout tent poles, and playing a little do-re-mi-fa-sol. As busy as they are, they are loving every minute of it and love living in Queen Creek! Occasionally, I will hear an "I miss Flagstaff" and watch them try to muster up some crocodile tears. It is the funniest when Beau tries to do it, since I don't think he really remembers a whole lot, he just wants to be like his older brothers in every way. Instead of trying to catch up, I'm just gonna start nice and easy with a few good moments.

Beau and I were playing swords today. It was his idea so we played by his rules. With my amazing sword fighting skills, I kept cutting of Beau's limbs, a leg here and a hand there. Well, Beau quickly made a rule that they grow right back so he wouldn't have to hop around on one foot or put a hand behind his back(this was a previous rule when a limb was cut, it had to be hidden). So the next time he got my leg, to avoid hopping on one foot, I tried to claim that it grew back. Beau then informed me of another rule, instant limb growth only happened to kids and not grown ups.

The other day, I was in the car with all three boys and Reed was talking about how cool the title "The Pearl of Great Price" sounded. "It sounds like a really big treasure!" Blue then chimed into the conversation with, "I wonder if Indiana Jones ever searched for it."

trophy wife

This hunting season I was drawn for an antelope tag. I was a bit surprised since I didn’t even know that I had put in for that hunt. Nonetheless, I was excited for the opportunity of a few days away with Colby.
After dropping off my kids with Chea (thank you so much), I headed to Flagstaff where Colby and I had our last warm meal (or so I thought- we actually camped about 3minutes from a Wendy’s) before stepping into the mysterious world of hunting. By lunchtime of opening day, we had seen a few antelope and blew the stalk (like my hunting lingo?) on a big one. After a nap in the trailer and Wendy’s for lunch- I know, it isn’t how I imagined hunting either, we headed back out. We found “the one” and started to hike towards our target. We kept getting closer and the antelope kept running over the next ridge. I told myself, “I don’t care how big it is, I just hope I get it ‘cause this hiking isn’t really my idea of a good time.” Luckily, with the pressure from another hunter, I got my chance to shoot. Colby was a little worried because the shot was a little far. I wasn’t worried about the distance, I was more worried about the other hunter getting MY antelope. I could see the antelope in my scope and asked if I could pull the trigger. Colby, again a little cautious about the distance, asked if I was sure I was ready. ‘Yep, let me shoot’. One shot and I got him! We had no idea how big it was until we saw it close up. Colby and his friend, Jay, were so excited! Apparently I had shot a pretty big one. I was so excited that I didn’t have to haul the heavy rifle around anymore.
Now, here is the most interesting thing I learned about hunting: trophy pictures. If you have ever experienced a grumpy husband during family pictures; let me tell you, it isn’t the actual picture taking they are grumpy about- it must be the setting. I witnessed these two guys literally rolling in the rocks and cactus just for the perfect picture- it was hilarious! When I looked at the pictures I was bugged that Colby didn’t tell me to smile more or to take off my hat. But then I realized that all of the picture taking wasn’t for me, but for the other trophy in the picture:)


When we got home, we found out that my antelope really is a trophy buck. It scores as the third largest antelope shot by a women according to the Safari Club International. The shot was of a distance of 508 yards, which apparently is pretty far. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. Thanks Colby for a great hunting experience.