Beaver Creek Cabin

The Bean family vacation- Griswald style. Compton, Arkansas. Weekend at the spa...

Friday morning, we went to go canoeing and fishing on the Buffalo River. River was too low so we skipped some rocks and went swimmin' in the crawdad hole. Avery was so brave!

Zane wanted to fish, so we took the hook off and let him practice. After playing a nice round of pictionary and yummy hotdogs around the fire pit, we walked to the owner's other cabin with an "awesome view half-mile round the corner." He failed to mention the entire way you are going up and down, up and down STEEP hills. I think you would need 4wheel drive to get there. Here we are leaving...

It was a pretty nice view. This picture doesn't capture it at all...but oh man the walk back...

We celebrated that accomplishment by eating smore's! I like my chocolate melted...We ended the night playing Zac's Wii.

Saturday morning, we drove quite a ways to see a garage sale and then further away to see a 5 people selling their leftover produce (Don't ask!!). Went back to eat lunch and then the most photographed rock in Arkansas. We went the long way and added 30+ mins to our trip up there. Then we got lost going through the forest and asked this guy in the red truck to help us. He accidentally took us to the wrong place, but found two walkers who were also lost!
He got us there, and after a 3 mile hike up and down hills, ducking and climbing over trees, we made it to the rock! Here is one side view...Here is my crazy brother in law from the other side.Ended the night by interviewing my grandparents and then playing Imagine If and watching some comedy DVD's The Griswalds getting ready to leave...
Can't wait to see what next year will bring...

Random Kid Comments

Sitting in our sunroom, I can hear everything going on outside. It cracks me up when the kids threaten to tell on each other and then the offender will beg for mercy! This week, Zane said "I'm telling on you" and a neighbor girl runs to stop him saying "Wait, wait. Are you ok? Oh let me see. It will be ok. Don't you want to be a tough boy. When you get hit, just say, Oh I'm tough, that didn't hurt!" haha. He quickly got over it...it was an accidental kick from swinging anyway. Like I would have done a darn thing if he would have told!

2 minutes prior however, the neighbor said "Zane, if you take your underwear off, I'll let you swing on my swing." I quickly said nope and threatened not being able to play after that one. You would have thought they would have realized I can hear everything after that one...

When taking Zane to sonshine school, I was telling him how he was getting too big too fast. He excitedly informed me, "I know, I'm going to eat all my lunch and grow really really big so I can reach the gummies without climbing on the cabinets!" You have such high dreams buddy! Wait. What?

5 hours later when it was quiet time in bed, he said "Actually, I don't want to get bigger because I won't be able to hold you mommy" (of course he mean I wont be able to hold him) Aww. Ditto.

I just realized he REALLY IS climbing up the cabinets and getting gummies. I heard him trying to open it on his bed! He is waking up and going and getting them before I am awake! They are now on the refrigerator!

Avery cracks me up when it is time for her to clean her room. She is full of drama, that girl!! Last time we cleaned it, she said "Oh man, I wish I had a boyfriend I could live with so I didn't have to clean me room." WHAT?! Surely this didn't come from Qubo??! And the only big person show we'll watch together (and rarely) is America's got talent! I'm scared to have a teenager. Really. Terrified.

Nothing sounds more awesome than hearing your children sing "I don't wanna spend my spend my whole life askin, What if I had had given everything. Instead of going through the motions!" at the top of their lungs! It's much more beautiful than "You are beautiful my sweet sweet saw. Nu uh, It's song. No its not, you are wrong, It's saw. Stop it. You don't know anything. It's song. AHHH. UGH...."

If anyone sees Wes, be sure and tell him how awesome he looks! He's been getting up early to work out a little before work. He's also drinking V8 tomato nastiness as a snack these days. Barf-o-rama. Very much encouraging his motivation here, however, he bought a package of cookies before he started his new eating plan. They keep talking to me. Everyday. Maybe i'll have a neighborhood cookies at the park party?

Off to be nonproductive. My favorite thing about Tuesday's and Thursdays. You people who blog about having time to work out, clean the whole house, run errands...and sound excited about it!? What? Not me. I do a lot of NOTHING and THAT is much more exciting. I probably won't get away with it for long. It is going to be hard convincing Wes we need to hire my sister to clean the house when I have these days off. Welp, I'm going to enjoy it while I can!

I'll take Around the House for 500.

I have been lagging in the blogging dept lately, but I have more energy now! I don't know if it's the Mannatech I've been religiously taking now that H1N1 is everywhere. Or if it's that I've been reading 5 chapters of Psalms everyday the past week (even on my vacation). Or if it is because I have had 2 Tuesdays and 1 Thursday all to myself!? Either way, I feel great finally!

Here are some pics of the past few weeks.

On Friday's, it is just me and Mr. Z-man. We like to get on pbskids.org and play some games. His favorite is helping Cailou fix the train tracks so the train can move. His first day of school photo. This is the best picture we got after several crazy faced pictures.

Playing with the neighbors while I was busy reading Redeeming Love. Great book. This is the cheapest entertaining activity ever. I just sit in a lawn chair and watch/read (except the day Avery wanted me to show her and her friends a backhandspring. Thanks dad for showing Avery old gymnastics home videos of me. It is wearing me out!) Here is posed picture, face and all, of our newest pet. An iguana that goes from around 6-12 inches to a whopping 3 feet long, after a few days in some water. It is now shrinking. The legs and tail are really small but the body is still fairly big.

While most people were watching the OUvsBYU game, I had a neighborhood movie night where we watched Hotel for Dogs. Here are the boys...And the girls...Little LeeAnn could be Avery's sister.Maycee and Zane...

It was a fun evening. I think we'll do that again!

Tomorrow I will have the house to myself!!! That's a wrap.

It's all about how you grew up...

It facinates me how we form strong feelings about certain things by how we grew up. Here are just a few of my examples...

I ate a ton of bbq chips back when I was in grade school and after throwing them up, it was not until I was an adult that I ate them again!

You will not see me drinking sprite or gatorade unless I'm stranded in the desert with nothing else to drink! Those are only for when I'm sick, otherwise...they will make me sick!

I cringe just hearing the phrase "pulling weeds"

Wes cracks me up because he will save money by fixing computers, ice makers, a/c, my parents lawn mower, etc. However, when it comes to cars, he goes all out. His childhood American clunkers were always in the shop, so he likes newer foreign only and if you leave one piece of dirt in his car, you will forever be banned from getting in.

His dream in life is to drive a Porsche. Yes, this is soul purpose for living, stemming from days of watching a porsche drive by in his neighborhood while he stood next to the clunker!

Last night we went to see our niece play soccer and grabbed some Braums. I said “Oh, we could get the bag of burgers deal!” Little did I know that phrase to Wes is like my "pulling weeds" phrase! I guess he lived off those plain boring cheap bag of burgers for too long! He was going to pick the exact burger he wanted and no one was going to stop him!

Here is my cute niece!

I think Zane's burger was laced with some crazy mad cow diseased hormones!!? I could not get a single normal picture from him! In fact, the only way I can get a more normal looking picture is by saying oh look its a spider...and this is what i get...I am hoping that by letting Avery sing crazy made up songs at the top of her lungs, pretending she is Hannah Montana, will produce a girl that is so over Hannah Montana by the time she is 8!!I would hate for her life long dream to be a Hannah Montana impersonator.

Random things that are keeping up busy!

We already have homework...which for some reason I love! It's like a free activity that I didn't have to come up with or prepare!We sorted them into pairs, also stripes and no stripes, and tall and short. Then she colored them all. Now they are in the trash (but don't tell her!)

We love having playdates!Avery is getting even more brave! She was so scared to go down the slide, even though its only 2 ft. deep. I told her i'd go with her, but really just pushed her down. I was able to do this twice! I'm mean I know, but hey, she started doing it by herself!!

We went to visit baby OwenHad another swimming playdate. My skin is starting to match my kids finally! They loved "saving" the little frogs. The poor frogs actually probably wished they would have drown after the boys got through with them.

I am one that loves to stay busy. I can't wait for Zane's soccer to start!

Random Thoughts Thursday

Since tooting has been brought up on blogs today, let me just say...Zane has a ton of gas and I’m constantly smelling him, especially at church. In the past month he’s been saying “Hey Avery, listen….” As he pushes one out and then laughs hysterically. He gets in trouble for this, so it doesn’t happen as often! But for real, I am concerned about this insane amount of gas inside his tiny body.

After we get Avery to school, we will watch Qubo for a little while. I need to turn it off now – but I’m blogging. These commercials are killing me! I just bought a toothpaste dispenser and still pondering the bumpits!? Avery wanted chixo’s dolls from one of the infomercials (can't remember name) for her b-dayand Wes ended up getting it for her without me knowing. Very terrible product. Don’t buy until child is at least 7 or 8. I’m such a sucker and if it says my bathroom will never be messy again…I BELIEVE IT and MUST try! In 2-4 weeks, I better be way impressed.

I guess Zane has been standing up to potty in the last couple of days without me knowing. I saw him yesterday and asked him about it. He said “Sometimes I like to. Last time it got all over the floor but I’m pushing it in there this time. See I can do it!” I wondered why their freshly cleaned bathroom has been smelling of urine…

I have nearly perfected applique’s. I did an S yesterday and it looked good. Very excited.

I have officially came to the conclusion I am severely ADD.

Zane is fussing for attention. I must cut this short!

1st Day of Kindergarten!

Fourth blog today. Avery was very excited to start school. I went with her early to meet the teacher and take some pictures. Here are both me and her first day of Kindergarten school pictures! I think our hands look a like???

Zane really wanted to stay and play with playdoh! I can't wait until SSS so he can hang out with his friends too!

After dropping off Avery, there was a sip and sob time for the Kindergarten parents! I did not need any kleenex, but it was nice to get some coffee and doughnuts and chit chat with other parents. Zane loved the doughnut time too! We came back during lunch time to eat lunch with her and take a few more pictures.... Pretty sure I won't be doing that again for a long time! Avery's class was the last one to come into the lunch room...which time has changed since I was in school! No lunch card! Just say your name and the lunch lady touched the computer screen and charges the account! but anyway, they got mixed up thinking they were the first instead of last...so they were the first to leave. I kid you not, we just sit down with our food and took this picture...and were told we had just a few more minutes so finish up! I had to swallow everything whole, make Avery do the same, and just carried Zane's in my hand. I NEVER want to be one of THOSE moms...but I did express a tad concern that my daughter didn't get a chance to eat. Hopefully it will not be so crazy after the first few days and they will pay better attention to which class actually comes first and which one comes last!!

Pick up line was insane. I ended up parking and walking up to get her! I then read the letter she came home with saying not to do that! Maybe I'll just not go until 3:50!! Welp, she came home and loved it! She said her favorite thing was Art time! Isn't that suprising...

All in all - Good Day!