Oh man, life has changed a lot in the past month. For the BETTER. I realize that most of you didn't known about the situation between Chris and I, so it seemed sudden and out of the blue, but that was the way I wanted it. I don't like to air my dirty laundry any more than necessary, and honestly kind of felt like a failure having to tell all of you that my marriage was ending. What I will tell you though is, I haven't been as happy as I am right now in years. And that is worth every ounce of difficulty the situation brings. I know that I am able to be a much better mother to my kids when I'm happy and confident inside myself, and THEY deserve that.

The kids are growing so much. Not just size-wise, but brain-wise. Austynn has exploded into a gushing volcano of words. She talks and talks, scolds the animals (and her brother), and makes her presence very known! Cody is a very protective big brother. He tells every person he meets, "I Cody. Austynn's my sister, and I keep her safe." I love them so much. They truly are the reason I get up every morning.

Just thought I would share some recent pictures =)

Been Awhile...

First off, I'm sorry for going so long between posts.. It has been an interesting few weeks. By now, I'm pretty sure everybody knows what is going on, but to try to keep the telephone game down to a minimum, here is the Reader's Digest Version...

Chris and I are getting un-married. (I hate the D word. So, "un-married" it is.) This is not a sudden, non-thought-out, heat of the moment decision, it has been a long time coming. Putting it simply, we bring out the worst in each other, and that is not the kind of environment I want our kids growing up in. It is not fixable. We have been trying to fix it for years, and have gotten nowhere. Chris and I are on very civil terms, and plan to keep it that way. In all honesty, we are probably getting along better, now that we are separated, than we have in almost a year. We both would rather have our kids grow up with two happy divorced parents than two miserable married ones. Thankfully, they are young enough that they don't understand what is going on. They are just excited about being at Grammie and Grampie's house with the horses and big yard.

So. The kids and I are holding down the fort at Mom and Dad's for the summer. I truly am fine, so please don't ask. This is the happiest I've been in a very long time, and I'm going to get on with life. As is Chris. We will just be doing it separately.

That's all for now...

Well, Hmmmm

Don't really have anything exciting to blog about today, so I think I'll just share some pictures =)

Scratch that, there was a rather interesting conversation that happened in the Tahoe on the way home from town today!

Cody: "Mommy, Austynn farted in her butt. Yes she did. I heard it. And it was stiiiiiiinky."
Me: (While trying to hold back hysterical laughter) "Is that so??"
Austynn: "I farted!!!"
Cody: "Yes you DID! Austynn, you're stinky!"

Wait. There is more to say while these pictures are uploading.. When we came home today, the valley was filled with smoke. Not sure what's on fire, but my allergies are surely going to be extra worse tomorrow. When we actually pulled into the driveway, our neighbor came out to tell us that a water line busted on the street below us, so we had to water. GREAT. It was already bathtime, and we had no water.. It finally turned back on about 800-ish. THEN. When I was unloading some stuff out of the Tahoe, I heard a weird hissing noise. One of our tires has decided to pick up a screw (I'm assuming that the window people missed when they were cleaning up), and the tires is leaking air like it's nobody's business.. Totally thrilled. THANK HEAVEN we have a Les Schwab in Gardnerville!

Quiet Mornings... Well. Mostly Quiet Anyways =)

I have to start this off by thanking Aunt Sally for teaching me how to drink coffee! I really don't know how I would get through the day without it. I have many times taken the advice of my best friend, and washed my coffee pot in the bathroom sink because waiting until I finished the dishes to wash it in the kitchen sink, just wasn't going to work that morning... Coffee, Aunt Sally, and Amanda, I LOVE YOU.

It's been pretty toasty here the past few days. It's about time! I was beginning to think we were never going to see summer weather! My tomato plants are much enjoying the sun! =) The yard is looking fabulous, because thanks to my Dear Momma... I'm a professional sprinkler mover hahaha. Seriously though, housing tells me not to leave the sprinklers going in any one spot for more than 5 minutes. I'm like, "Ummm, what? They run all night long at home!" I will say though, the ground here definitely doesn't absorb water like it does at home.. So I compromise at an hour per section of grass =) I find it a wee bit comical that the only two people on my street who actually water their grass religiously, are me, and the people across the street who also came from 29 Palms. What can I say, we hate sand and ugliness! =)

Momma and Daddy, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember our old swamp cooler making the whole house feel damp and sticky?? Our cooler puts out some seriously cold air, but dear goodness it makes the house feel disgusting. I don't remember our cooler in 29 Palms feeling like this either. And at least that one was run through all the ducting, and the air came out in all rooms, not just the one hole in the wall in the livingroom. Upstairs gets really hot during the day, and the only way to cool it off at least a little bit at night, is to leave the cooler running downstairs, and crack a window upstairs. By the time the alarm goes off at 6am, it's at least at a tolerable temp upstairs, but downstairs, its cold enough to kick the heater on at SIXTY. Which now that I think about it, may be why it wasn't any cooler than tolerable upstairs... Because the heater had been kicked on. Definitely have to check that out.. Anyways, now we just have to make sure the doors and windows stay closed and keep all the heat out during the day!

As annoying as the crazy shifts Chris has to work are, they become worth it when he's home before noon every now and then =) Sooo, I think I'll go try to con him into helping me fold laundry. (HATE HATE HATE folding laundry. Like, more than any other chore there is...)

More pictures to come when I find my camera that Cody lost somewhere!!

Toodles!

Fishing: Success!

Chris and Justin went fishing at Twin Lakes again today... Chris caught a 4 1/2 pound Rainbow Trout, along with a few other normal sized ones. He's just a wee bit excited! He says, "Babe! You have to put my fishing pictures on our blog!" So.. Here they are!

Tomatoes!

Our tomato journey definitely hasn't been easy! I'm thinking that Coleville weather just isn't ideal for the plants that like sun and heat! We started the plants from seeds in my bedroom window sill in early March. At that time of the year, my bedroom was the only part of the house that saw direct sun! It finally started warming up outside, so we decided to move 3 plants to a big planter, and one to the Topsy Turvy planter that Chris got me for Valentine's Day. (I know, fabulous substitute for flowers... Thank you dork husband!) After a week or so, we were kind of regretting the decision to move them outside, because the weather turned crappy again, and they were seeming to die =( Actually, the one in the Topsy Turvy DID die. I'm talking, shriveled up, no hope of living, DEAD. I followed the directions to a T, on this so called, "Super Easy to Use" planter, and it DIED. So, I quit watering it, and gave up. A couple weeks ago, the darn thing started growing! Like, really growing! Austynn fell on the middle plant in the planter, so it had to get cut off half way down. We'll see how it decides to grow back! Pretty excited to have home grown tomatoes this summer! =)

New Windows

Can I just say that windows that actually slide, are a FABULOUS thing!? Half of my old windows, I had to use two hands to open/close. It was a little ridiculous... The crew of window guys were really nice though, and best of all, they cleaned up their mess when they were done! They're pretty stinking fast too! I'd say that 4 houses per day is doing good! Housing looks so much better now. I'm hoping that maybe one of these days, we will get new screen doors.. The ones we have, match the old windows, and now look rather dumb. Not to mention, they're kind of falling apart too. But, for now I will settle for just new windows. Starting next month, all of the houses are getting PAINTED! I'm so excited to not see Barney-Purple and Mustard-Yellow anymore! They must have used crappy paint or something when they built these houses, because I guess they used to be a really pretty red & tan, but faded to what we have now. Aaaaanyways, thought I'd share a before/after picture of the windows =)


BEFORE (Yes, the kids attacked the inside of the window with sticky notes!)



AFTER (I'm hoping the new trim is going to look a little less retarded once everything gets painted..)

So Much Noise!

Skill saws? Check. Drills? Check. Grinders? Check. NCIS on my TV? Check. Toy Story 2 on the kids' TV? Check. Two very cranky kids in need of naps? Check. One very cranky husband who has been up for 24 hours and has to leave at 9pm for work, yet can't go sleep upstairs because our new windows are being put in? Check.

Windows are beautimous, but holy geeze I just need some quietness! Definitely going to bed early tonight...

What... A... Week...

As if the whole "Couldn't find dad to go save Cole from whatever predicament he was in" ordeal wasn't enough for this week... I woke up to a phone call from Heather this morning. Crying. (Heather doesn't cry.) So I'm immediately wide awake about to have a panic attack. She found out very last minute that she had to go pick up our 10 tons of hay today. It had to be completely off the field by 4pm when the irrigation turned on! With mom and dad being in Alaska, she lined up two parents from Equestrian Team to help her, since she obviously can't do it herself. They were supposed to meet her at the hay fields at 9am. By 11, they still weren't there. And weren't answering their phone. Basically, they just completely bailed on her, knowing full well what her situation was. Heather called every qualified person in her phone to come help, and either nobody answered their phone, or they were out of town. Father's Day is NOT a good day to have a problem, come to find out..... I started calling everyone I knew that could help, but had no luck either. By this time, I was feeling incredibly helpless being 6 hours away.. I called my best friend Amanda to see if she could think of anybody else. She called more people and still had no luck. Finally, I became desperate and put up a Facebook post begging for anybody able to help, to please let me know. Within a few minutes, Jon, our Photographer (who is also a firefighter) writes, "Where do I need to be?" I didn't have his phone number, so I had Amanda call him. (He's her photographer too...) He said that he didn't know how much help he would be, but we assured him that one extra set of hands was better than nothing. Amanda and I got Heather calmed down, and she headed home with the first of 3 loads of hay. She drove into the driveway to see not just Jon, but two pickups and FIVE other guys there to help her.

When we told Jon that he was the hero of the day, he said, "No, I'm just doing the right thing." Really, I wish more people were like Jon! Doing the right thing just because it needs to be done! We are all SO greatful. He dropped everything he was doing on HIS day, Father's Day, to help a girl in need. It's tough to be so far away from home and unable to help your sister! I was ready and willing to rip those two "adults" a new one.. But Chris and Mom talked me out of it.. Boo on that, because it would have been a good one! I was LIVID.

Once the Heather ordeal was straightened out, it was time to head into town. From now on, I will look outside to see how windy it is BEFORE I choose to wear a dress! I was standing in the door of the Tahoe laughing hysterically because I couldn't let go of my dress long enough to lift Austynn into her carseat! Not good!

Well, it's time to put Cody back to bed. He had a bad dream about bears. Way to go, dear husband, for deciding we needed to put the bear-skin-rug on the wall...

Smart Boy...

So, the conversation went a little bit like this...

Cody: "Mommy, what's Grampie doin?"
Me: "He's floating down the river in a raft."
Cody: "Why he do that?"
Me: "Because he has to take Cole a new propeller."
Cody: "Cole's Super Cub get broken?"
Me: "Yes honey, it got a little bit broken."
Cody: "It's ok. Grampie fix it!"

He's only 3, and he already knows that Grampie can fix anything =)

Alaskan Adventure

Well, today has been QUITE a day. For those of you who know of the Hawkins Family, you will most appreciate this story... Cole's wife, Cameronn, messaged me on Facebook this morning asking me to call her ASAP because she needed to talk to my dad. Come to find out, Cole flew out with the Super Cub to take a friend fishing in the bush. He has a SPOT (GPS tracker) that shows his exact location when logged into its website online. Cameronn's cell phone started lighting up with alerts saying that Cole had been pushing the "HELP" button repeatedly. Didn't know what was wrong, just that he needed help. So, Cameronn and I started desperately trying to find my dad. As luck would have it, the phone at the lodge was down (which would explain the ring, ring, ring, ring, ring etc etc etc), so I called Chris at work to ask him how on earth we were supposed to find dad. He then stopped what he was doing at work to call the Iliamna Air Taxi. He fibbed a bit and told them that a "family member" was down in the bush, and he needed to find John Burton with Rainbow River Lodge IMMEDIATELY. They were super helpful, and by a miracle from God, Dad had actually just landed at the dock! So, somebody flagged dad down, said you need to call your son-in-law pronto. Dad called Chris. Chris gave Dad Cameronn's number. Cameronn gave Dad Cole's coordinates from the GPS. Dad went and dumped his 1200lbs of groceries at the Lodge, got fuel, and put together some "air mail" for Cole since there wasn't enough water to land the Beaver in. (Radio and freeze dried food) Talked to him on the radio, and found out that the wind had flipped the Cub over on its back... They have dug a huge hole so the front end can go down and they can get it flipped back right side up. Fast forward a bit to the good info... Dad is going to float down the river in a raft with another propeller and stuff to patch the windsheild in the morning.. We're all so thankful that Cole and his buddy are safe. I think maybe Cameronn and I should start a detective business... Who needs the Alaska State Troopers when you have John Burton!? =)

Other than that, I'm pretty sure I have a cold on top of my allergies. My breakfast of choice today: Coffee, Tylenol, Zyrtec, and DayQuill. Do I feel any better? No. Fabulous.

Dear Allergies:

Dear Allergies: I hate you. What exactly did I do to tick you off? I've already exceded the "suggested dose" of Zyrtec for the day (same as with the last two days), and my head and face still feel like they got run over by a Peterbilt. Way to go DAD. I love that you passed them on to me.

Grossness!

So. It's 1 o'clock in the morning, and I'm playing with my new carpet cleaner. I've been wanting to get one for awhile, but after Cody's recent puke-upon-the-couch ordeal, the time has come. Now. I don't have fancy schmancy couches or anything, I actually have one of the old pink/purple/mauve/whatever color it is couches that my parents have had since I was 4. After cleaning only half of it, I'm fairly certain they have NEVER been cleaned, and I'm also fairly certain that we haven't seen their true color in about 15 years. I'm definitely going to have to take the carpet cleaner on the next trip home with me and clean my couch's twin. I think I'm a little grossed out at the moment... Dirt, horse poop, kid puke, spilled milk, etc, etc, etc... I'll upload a picture that you can hopefully see the color difference in.

We didn't get home from grocery shopping until 1145pm. There has to be something truly wrong with that. Chris didn't get home from work until 730, and it had to be done! Hour and 15 minutes in to town.. Hour and 15 minutes home.. This one vehicle thing is really not working for me. Definitely going to have to take the 4runner home this fall so Dad can tinker with it and figure out what its issue is.

Speaking of Dad... I talked to him on Skype when we got home from town, and of all the places he could be talking to me from...... He was in the BATHROOM. Yes. The bathroom. Such a wonderful husband for not wanting to disturb his wife's sleeping! =) He said he would have updated his blog tonight, but he couldn't remember his password... Oh brother, I thought I picked a simple one for him! But, I did tell him that Uncle Bill was very disappointed not to see an update, so he better get to it! Tomorrow hopefully!

Okey dokes.. I believe it's bedtime. Or time to finish cleaning the couch. I haven't decided yet. It's just so quiet! I can get so much done! =)

Toodles!

Sick Kiddies and Spiders!

Well, yesterday turned out to be rather eventful... The day began with puke, and ended with a Brown Recluse the size of Asia.

Cody had had a fever for about a day and a half, and lucky me, as soon as I finally get a system down that WORKS to get Tylenol into him (he's the biggest anti-medicine child you will ever meet)... He pukes the second it's down. Fabulous.

We finally got Skype working on my parents' end, so the kids enjoyed talking to them last night! Crazy how it was still broad daylight there when it was 1130pm here! I'm pretty excited that I successfully walked my dad through updating his blog. You can check it out at www.alaskaburtons.blogspot.com.

We're very lucky to live in a Military Housing area that actually cares about its appearance and our comfort. BUT. All of this construction noise is killing me. All of the houses are getting MUCH needed new windows. Ours should be put in sometime this week. But, this also means the kids get to listen to hammers and saws at 730am from their side of the house. Out my bedroom window, I listen to dumptrucks and forklifts at 645am. They are building a new Child Development Center down the hill, but need to dig a BUNCH of fill dirt out of the side of the hill 200 feet from my house so they can level out the building area. Sooo. We have been listening to dumptrucks FAR too early in the morning, for 3 weeks. The backhoe finally came off the hill today, so I'm hoping they're done. All of the dust they're stirring up isn't doing great things for my allergies, and I would really like to sleep normally in the mornings again. Cody comes in my room and says, "Mommy, it's too noisy. I sleeping!"

Now, about this spider the size of Asia.... I had to chuck the flat side of a huge hard-backed book at the wall to kill this sucker. It was no joke, bigger than a 50 cent piece. After it was dead, Chris took it to the neighbor's house to see what kind it was, and they voted Camel Spider. I, on the other hand, googled the stupid thing only to find that it really looks more like a Brown Recluse than a Camel Spider. Either way, they're both huge, and I would really rather NONE be in my house. Especially considering that Austynn loves to squish bugs with baby wipes. I'm a bit terrified that she's going to try to squish a poisonous spider, and we're going to have to drive 45 minutes in to the crappy hospital... If the housing office will ever answer their phone, I'm going to see what the skinny is on having the Bug People come spray for spiders like they spray for crickets at my parents' house.. Did I mention I've also killed 4 Wolf Spiders the size of nickels/quarters in the past 4 days? Ya. I'm a little bit done with spiders. I'm not generally squeamish around them, but these suckers that may or may not be poisonous, aren't really working for me.. Since Chris is deathly afraid of ALL spiders, it's all on me to kill them...

I measured the kids last night for my dad. Austynn is 33 3/4" and 25lbs, and Cody is 38 3/4" and 35lbs. I'm thinking they're going to be string beans just like Chris and I! (Thank you for the Skinny Genes Grandma B!)

Today is grocery day, so as soon as Chris gets home from work with the Tahoe, it's off to Carson City we go!

Toodles!

I love my view!

Out of all the places we've lived, this is by far... The greatest =)

MASS UPDATE

Cody turned 3 in February. He is 110% BOY. Loves to play in the dirt, ride his bike, and practice casting his fishing pole. His newest accomplishment is drawing. We have apparently been drawing airplanes for him for too long, because the other day, he randomly brought me a piece of paper (my grocery list, actually) that he drew an airplane on, all on his own. And it's great! He now draws nothing but airplanes. Fills them with passengers. Although I'm not so sure how we're supposed to fit 6 people in a Super Cub... Anyways. His comments generally consist of, "Mommy! I draw Grampie's airplane!" And, "Mommy, I draw this for Grampie. I give it to him?"

Austynn turned 2 in April. She loves to get pretty, but has no problem holding her own with the boys =) She loves to color (specifically with sidewalk chalk), has a serious obsession with Minnie Mouse, loves to look at books, and loves proving that anything boys can do, she can do better. Cody plays with the Hotwheels, she tells him what kind of cars they are. Seriously. Mustang, Bronco, Camaro, Baracuda, Charger... She can tell you which one is which, and what color each one is.

Living in Coleville, CA doesn't leave much to do. People don't realize how far out in the middle of nowhere we actually live. Even though we are in Military housing, Chris still has to drive 30 miles to the South to get to Base in the mornings, and we have to drive 40-50 miles to the North to get to "town." Gardnerville, Nevada (40 miles), is the first town with a normal-priced gas station, banks, and fast food. It does have 3 big grocery stores, but they are INSANELY expensive. Which brings us to the 50 mile drive into Carson City, Nevada. We do our grocery shopping at the Super Walmart there, because the price difference inside the store is more than worth the additional fuel consumption. Plus, they have my beloved Dutch Bros Coffee Co. =) That in itself is enough reason to drive 10 extra miles! Ok, not really. But it's definitely a plus!

On the "nothing to do" note... Thank heaven we're not city people, because literally, the only thing to do here, is go a hop-skip-and-a-jump across the valley to the shooting range (open area with a hill behind it that people go to shoot, nothing special at all...), or hit the Walker River, Lake Topaz, or Twin Lakes to go fishing.. Since we're only allowed to buy one box of ammo at a time (thank you Obama), it takes 10 minutes to go through a box, and it's too far into town to buy more, that doesn't happen as often as I'd like. But Chris has been going fishing with our neighbor, Justin, a lot lately. My freezer officially has 20+ Trout in it. I'm not really a huge fan of fish, but Dad taught me how to cook it so it's tollerable...

I've made a few really good friends here, but not without plenty of difficulty. I swear, living in Military housing is worse than being back in High School sometimes. You would think 28 year olds would have their crap together, but apparently they feel the need to act like they're 14, and I would rather be by myself than surround myself with all of the ridiculous immaturity.

Speaking of the good friends... We have made it our mission to go lay on the beach at the lake (5 minutes down the highway) and soak up the sunshine once a week. No kids. No husbands. Just relaxation =)

All of these pictures are recent. But if you don't understand why there are winter jackets in one, and bathing suits in another... Allow me to explain that the weather here is CRAZY. 80 degrees one day, snowing 2 days later. It can't make up its mind. And it's rather annoying..

Hello Blog World!

Well, my fabulous best friend finally convinced me that I should start a blog. Not only does Facebook not allow me to write as much as I want (what's up with the word limits!?), most of the people who are actually interested in what's going on in my world (FAMILY), don't have Facebook! So, here you have it =) I'm actually thinking that I should create a blog for Mom and Dad so they can update everybody from Alaska! I must admit, I'm having Daddy-Phone-Call withdrawls. I've been spoiled with a self-employed father for as long as I can remember, and I'm not used to not being able to call him whenever I want, for whatever reason I want, and have him be able to stick me in his pocket on speakerphone and talk while he's working! Hmph....