Cook Adventures

changing......

2010-06-29T11:47:00.001-06:00

So if anyone out there reads this.... I am changing my blog. You can now find me at http://cook-stories.blogspot.com/ I will keep this one for sentimental reasons... but just needed to update and change things.

MIA

2010-04-20T13:41:00.004-06:00

Man have we been busy! Went scouting for turkeys so Chuck and his dad could get an idea of where to hunt. They went hunting on Chucks birthday and came home that night with no turkey, they said there was just way too many people. Been busy at work with a new boss. And Greyson growing so big. He will be 8 months in just two days. Here are a few pictures from a nice afternoon we had and Greyson's first time on the trampoline. He wasn't too fond of it but maybe someday.

Easter 2010

2010-04-06T22:08:00.007-06:00

Oh what a sweet day it was indeed! We are blessed to have a risen Savior and hope everyone took time to remember him not only on Easter but every day!

My boys had fun going thru their baskets in the morning.

And then we got all dressed up to go to church. These boys clean up well don't you think?

Then it was off to my moms house. We had a nice lunch with our Pastor and my parents. Tristan was anxious and ready for an egg hunt.

Then it was off to my in-laws house. We had such a nice dinner with the family. We always have fun with all the cousins. Here is Greyson eating peeps with Grandpa... a good day indeed!!!

Family Pictures

2010-03-21T14:26:00.003-06:00

So since we had my oldest step son with us for the week of his spring break I decided it would be a good time to get some family pictures made. We just went to Sears but I am happy with the results. Here is my family...... I love them so!

This one is my absolute favorite of all of them! My boys are so cute!

Show me love

2010-03-14T21:35:00.002-06:00

So Greyson has discovered his toes. He is so funny though. He will only play with his feet if he has no socks on.

We went to the Dr almost 2 weeks ago and Greyson is doing great. I was filling out a questionnaire about "Does your baby do ___?" Well one of the questions was does your baby lift his feet in the air and try to play with them. Well he had just started doing this a few days before. Next question... Does your baby suck his toes? Nope...and I look over at him on the Dr's bed thing and what is he doing..... Sucking his toes! Such a cutie!!

I just love these PJ's, they make him look so grown up but still so small. :)

So it was a day spent indoors since it had snowed over night. We did lots of cleaning and playing throughout the day. Then it was time to get PJ's on and get ready for bed. Tristan asked if he could read Greyson a book. Of course! He picked out a book that my dad (Grumps) wrote which was very special. And then I sit there and watch this..... I tell you my heart melted. Greyson loves his brother so much and Tristan is such a wonderful big brother. Looking at this picture makes the screaming, messy house, failing grades, stress and everything else just fade to the background. I love these kids so much and will do anything to keep this love as innocent as it is at this moment!!

I'll love you forever
I'll like you for always
As long as I'm living
My baby you'll be!

no news

2010-02-03T17:04:00.002-07:00

Nothing new going on here so I thought I would just post a few pictures.

I've been bad

2010-01-31T16:08:00.003-07:00

at updating this blog that is.... Greyson is now 5 months old and he steals my heart more every day!

And a video of his adorable laugh... He laughs for everyone but his momma :((

Long awaited pictures

2010-01-19T20:52:00.002-07:00

I am posting pictures right now as I listen to my little bundle of joy scream because he doesn't want to go to sleep in his crib.... Oh how I need him to learn to sleep in his crib!

Grandad Chitwood

2009-12-30T22:42:00.003-07:00

Grandad Chitwood came to visit for Christmas. It was so nice to see him. It was his first time to see Greyson too. I will always cherish these pictures!

Cook Christmas 2009

2009-12-30T21:06:00.006-07:00

Christmas 2009 was very wonderful. It was so nice to be around family and it was very special being Greyson's first Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve with my family. We went to see my grandparents in the early afternoon. Then out to my moms for the evening. My Grandad came up from Silver City. It was his first time to see Greyson. I'm really glad he got to come to visit. We had quite the adventure trying to make tamales. Us girls vote to buy them next year! It was a great dinner and then it was time to open presents. My kids are extremely spoiled! They got some great gifts. Then my mom surprised us with a very special gift that she had worked on for months. She created a cookbook that is full of our favorite recipes and tons of family pictures and stories to go along with. It is very special and had all of us crying. Thanks mom. Here are a few pictures from Christmas Eve.

Christmas morning Tristan and Greyson opened their gifts and it was great fun. Greyson loves his activity center he got from his nana.

Christmas afternoon went to Chuck's parents and had dinner. Its always fun with all the grandkids around!

Picture Post

2009-12-21T20:16:00.004-07:00

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks... we are so excited for Christmas!!!

This is a picture of Greyson at Thanksgiving and in the picture frame is a picture of my Dad (Grumps) from when he was young. Its one of my favorite pictures of all!

This is Greyson drinking out of his first big boy bottle... man it looks so big!!

My baby enjoying a bath...he loves them!

Our Christmas tree in all its glory.

My boys who I love so much!!!

2009-12-14T08:49:00.002-07:00

I promise I have not forgotten my blogger friends. I just have not made time to make some new posts. That is my goal this week..... get some new pictures and stories posted. Wish me luck!

3 Months!!

2009-11-22T17:09:00.003-07:00

Yes Greyson is 3 months old today. *wipes a tear* I can't believe our little boy is so big. He is 11.3 lbs and 23.5 in long. He is smiling and cooing so much more. He recognizes our voices and Tristan just loves that he smiles back at him. Tristan is such a great big brother. Greyson's eyes are such a beautiful blue. I am blessed to be a mom to this wonderful child. I can't wait to see the things that God has in store for him. Momma loves you Greyson!!!

Tristan's Birthday Party

2009-11-22T17:04:00.002-07:00

Tristan had his 11th birthday party this saturday night. We had it at the Big Bounce. He had a blast and got lots of great gifts. He had a wonderful time with his friends.

Church Thanksgiving Dinner

2009-11-22T16:57:00.002-07:00

This past Wednesday we had our church's Thanksgiving Dinner. It was wonderful. Soooooo many people showed up. I was so blessed to have my best friend Crystal and her sweet son Kade join us. We love her so dearly! Kade was the entertainment for the evening. The food was great. Thanks to everyone who helped. My mom and dad worked all day getting stuff together. We missed eating with them since they were working so hard. Greyson looked so stinkin cute if I do say so myself. He is a stud with his little mohawk.

Might be getting old

2009-11-17T11:37:00.004-07:00

and you may get tired of hearing it but I can't tell you how much I love this kid. He has the most wonderful smiles and sounds! He is now 11.3 lbs and he'll be 3 months next week. Everyone tells you having a child will change your life but you have no idea till you have them.

Here are the boys. They love each other and it shows.

Greyson loves his daddy and gives him the most precious smiles. Chuck is so good with him and they have a good time during the day while I'm at work. It melts my heart to see them together and see these smiles.

Can I just say...

2009-11-12T07:26:00.002-07:00

I am dead on my feet exhausted! This full time work and full time mom thing is absolutely exhausting me at the moment. Not going to bed till 10:30-11 and waking up at 4:30 isn't all its cracked up to be. Just thought I'd share.....

My Little Man

2009-11-08T16:06:00.003-07:00

Just thought I'd share a few pictures of my cute little man in a new outfit his nana got him. He is such a doll!

Oh the smiles

2009-11-04T16:05:00.002-07:00

So Greyson is starting to smile more frequently now and it is just too cute! Him and I were hanging out last night and I caught a few of them with my cell phone. They are fuzzy but I love them! I love this kid!!!

What a day!

2009-11-03T06:23:00.003-07:00

So even though yesterday was the first day I had to leave Greyson it ended up being a wonderful day. Everyone was happy to have me back at work, I got home to find that Chuck and Greyson had a good day no screaming just hangin out, Greyson woke up as soon as I got home and gave me lots of precious smiles, Chuck surprised me with a new beautiful ring, we went to dinner and a movie and then picked up Greyson from my mom's house. It was a day I want to bottle up and remember forever. Just fun and oh so sweet.

Back to the grindstone

2009-11-02T11:13:00.003-07:00

Well I started back at work today. Extremely bitter sweet! Its nice to be back around my friends and feel productive... but oh it was so hard to leave all my boys all sleeping peacefully in their beds. I got here at the crack of dawn so I can leave early so that will be nice at least. Just a few more hours to go. I do love my job. I have a great boss and I work with great people. And we are very lucky that Greyson gets to stay home with his daddy but oh I miss him. He is smiling more these days. He was super cute for Halloween. Tristan and him had a great time Friday at the fall festival here at the office and then Saturday at the trunk or treat for the church. It was a nice weekend with the family. Greyson was dedicated at church last night. It is so special to know that there is a church full of people praying for him and our family. He is a very much loved little boy. Funny story though.... we were up on stage and I was holding Greyson well I just happened to ask Chuck if he wanted to hold him so I passed him over. Well Pastor Bardwell came and they prayed over him and anointed him with oil and then they went on to the next baby. I look at Chuck and he whispers "he just peed all over!" Greyson had soaked his diaper, it leaked all over Chuck's tie and shirt. Well then Pastor and Sandi were gonna come and hold each child, Greyson's pants were soaked.. we had to apologize to Sandi afterwards. So I had to take him out of his cute little outfit and put him in what ever I had in the diaper bag. Of all times for him to soak his diaper! Oh well.... I guess we'll have a story to tell him when he's older.

How time flies..

2009-10-28T15:13:00.002-06:00

Greyson is now two months old... I can't even believe it. He is smilling and getting so big! Here is one of his halloween costumes...he only has three! lol I go back to work on Monday and I'm really dreading it. I don't want to be away from him so much. He is lucky he gets to stay home with his daddy but I'm still gonna miss them both! So here is our little cutie....more to come after the weekend.

Greyson Allen Cook

2009-09-06T22:20:00.002-06:00

So its been about two weeks since I last posted and so much has happened. The night of my last post our son, Greyson Allen Cook, was born. He was born on Aug 22 at 11:55 pm at 34 weeks and 2 days. He weighed 3 lbs 8 ozs. He is beautiful! I am so in love! I had a C-Section and it all happened so fast I didn't have time to get too scared about it which I'm very thankful for. My husband was wonderful with me the whole time. He is a great man and I love seeing him with our son. Greyson is still in Albuquerque but hopefully he will come home soon. His momma really needs him home! Anyway.... to bed I go for now because I need to wake up early to see my baby in the morning.

Hospital

2009-08-22T07:43:00.002-06:00

Thats right folks, I'm in the hospital. I was admitted to the hospital yesterday in Albuquerque. I will be here until the baby comes. The doctor says it won't be longer than a week!!! Thats really hard to believe. The amniotic fluid is really realy low so that is one of the major reasons I'm here. So here I am... never been in a hospital before and now stuck here for a week! Thats all I have to say about that.

Hangin in there

2009-08-16T14:52:00.002-06:00

Just a short update. We are still hanging in there. I am 33 weeks now and the baby has put on a little bit of weight over the past few weeks. He is doing good. They will try to keep him in there until 37 weeks but if anything changes they can take him around 35-36 weeks. Which means he could be here in like 2 weeks! I'm so not ready for that, thats for sure. I had a wonderful baby shower at work and got some lovely things! I'm excited for the baby shower at the church as well. I'm trying to be good with bed rest but it gets difficult. I went to a movie yesterday and I went to church today. But I'll do better... or at least try. Well folks, thats all for now, back to my movies.

Bedrest...

2009-08-08T13:25:00.003-06:00

So we saw the specialist in Albuquerque. I am so glad we did, he was very informative and explained things so well. So as of Tuesday Aug 4 our baby is in the 17th percentile of the growth rate for this stage in the pregnancy. Which means he is very small. His head is in the normal range but his body and torso are about a month behind in size. There are no deformities or anything like that. They are not considering him technically IUGR until he is in the 10th percentile but the Dr. said with what he was seeing he will be there in just a few weeks. They are watching his measurements and the blood flow thru the umbilical cord very closely. Which means I get ultrasounds twice a week now. The Dr in Albuquerque said there is no way we will wait any further then 37 weeks which mean we will have a baby in 5 weeks if not sooner. If Greyson does not start putting on a little weight in the next couple of weeks they could take him sooner. The way they explained it is if he is not getting the nutrients in me then they should take him and try to get him better nutrients outside the womb. So all this is what we were told on Tuesday. So Wednesday I went for an ultrasound here in Farmington. They show his measurements at 11%. But the Dr wants to wait and see what the measurements are on Monday before deciding to do anything. So its official....... I'm on bedrest. I finished the week at work and am now sitting in bed. I am not allowed to go to my step sons football games. I am not allowed to go to church. So here I am sitting in bed....wish me luck.

WOW

2009-07-29T10:36:00.002-06:00

I don't even know where to begin. We had an ultrasound yesterday and there is some concerns with the baby. They are calling it possible asymetric IUGR. I've read all I can about it and it doesn't seem too serious but it still is scaring me to death! With this the baby's head is at a normal size and the stomach and torso is not growing at the same rate. My baby is not getting enough nutrients, don't know if its my fault or just something that is happening with the placenta and baby and all that stuff. But man.... do I feel like a bad mom already! I know this added stress is not good now either but its really hard to not worry when there could be something wrong. My Dr. is sending us to a specialist 3 hours away for a second opinion. If this Dr. feels the same way then it looks like the only treatment is bedrest. I know I know.... it could be worse. It can always be worse and I should be thankful for the blessing thus far, and I am, I really am but I would be lying if I said its not eating me up inside. I'm not sure if there is even anyone out there that reads this stupid blog... but if there is.. if there is someone out there that cares, say a prayer for my little one.

SO BUSY!!!

2009-07-15T14:12:00.003-06:00

So its been about 2 months since I've posted.... I need to get better at this blog stuff! As you can read we found out we are having a boy. His name will be Greyson Allen Cook. I am now 7 months along and he is kicking and moving so much. It is amazing. I have had a breeze of a pregnancy. I've only thrown up one time and my worse symptom is heartburn. I can handle that! Its getting down to the wire though and I'm getting nervous.... but on to other things.

We have been unbelievably busy lately. Every weekend seems to be full. We took pictures at a wedding, had our 2 year anniversary, celebrated mom's and Steph's birthdays and got to visit with Aunt Debbie. Then it was the 4th of July and that was full of visiting family and celebrating Alexander's birthday. Its hard to believe we have a 15 year old! I can't believe he starts high school next month, man do I feel old. So that is my update in a nutshell. Still have lots going on for the next few months, getting into the new church, baby showers, school starting, Tristan playing flag football, Chuck getting lasik..... I swear there is never a dull moment!

I will try to post more often.... that is when I get a second to breathe!

We're having a....

2009-05-13T08:25:00.002-06:00

BOY!!! We found out yesterday that our little bean is a boy. He was moving around like crazy in there! The doctor had a hard time finding the heartbeat because he was moving around so much! He is measuring 6 days ahead of my dates and so far so good. We are very happy to have another little boy in our family. We havn't decided on a name yet but have a few in mind. I can't wait to meet my little man this fall. So send some prayers this way for me and my little man that things continue to go good and healthy!

Still hangin in there

2009-05-04T10:27:00.002-06:00

A short update... we're still here. Nothing much going on. Kids are getting ready to be out of school, I'm ready to be out on the boat. Lots of working in the house, cleaning and getting rid of so much stuff. It's amazing what you collect of the years that you really just don't need. Its been nice to have some warmer weather now and then and I'm looking forward to a relaxing Mother's Day next weekend. Until next time......

How time flies

2009-04-02T08:07:00.002-06:00

Well I kind of let this blog go to the wayside for awhile and decided I'd pick it up again. A LOT has happened since I last posted anything. I got pregnant right after my last post (thanks to Moab, hehehe). And we lost the baby not long after that. Chuck and I went to Hawaii for Christmas and had the most wonderful time. I'll never forget it! Everyone made it thru the holidays and started the new year good. Found out the end of January we are pregnant again and this time everything is going good so far. We are very excited about this baby but also stressed and nervous. Time is going by so quickly and it seems like I'm running out of time to get things done. But it will all work out I know it. I am 14 weeks along right now. We had an ultrasound a couple of weeks ago and got to see our little treasure. It is amazing what God does! So anyway... any of you out there who might see this blog keep us in your prayers over the next few months. And I promise to try to keep up this blog better and let you know what is going on in our lives.

Moab

2008-09-08T18:18:00.002-06:00

Chuck and I got out of town this past weekend. We took off to go to Moab. We went thru Canyonlands National Park. We were not too impressed with it really and Chuck was not feeling good so we didn't stay too long. We got up early early and went to Arches National Park on Sunday and we really enjoyed it. We watched the sunrise over the hills and arches. There was a lot to see and more to get out and do there. We hiked up too some arches (yes even me). I hope we got some great pictures. I would recommend Arches National Park to anyone. Now back to the reality of work and school....yipppeeeee!

Flag Football

2008-09-08T18:11:00.002-06:00

Yep we got roped into coaching. We are coaching 2nd and 3rd graders in the Upwards Flag Football league. We have some great kids on our team and are having fun so far. Our first game is this Saturday so we'll see how that goes. Our team name is the Raiders (of course) so come see us play!

School!

2008-08-18T11:31:00.003-06:00

So the kids started school today.... I hope they have a blessed year. God bless all the kids and teachers out there. I pray God puts a hedge of protection around you and that God opens your mind to learning all that he has in store for you.

We had an incredible church service last night. We had service up at our new church property that is being built. We were all given a marker and a piece of paper that had the many names of God and their meanings. We wrote the names of God all over that building! It was awesome. Even little kids that could only write God (or Gob in one little girls case) were writing it on every steel beam. This will truly be a House of God!

Lake Time!

2008-08-14T08:22:00.002-06:00

So the staff from out church (which includes my mom) decided to rent a boat and do a group outing. So mom invited Chuck and I to meet them with our boat and hang out for awhile. So Chuck and I got up early and decided to do some fishing cuz we knew they wouldn't be out there till later. We fished for a couple of hours and Chuck caught only one little Perch. But gosh do I love fishing! Well we met up with the staff and found a great place to beach the boats so we could hang out and grill. Dad fell in the water and I think we all about peed our pants but thats a whole story in itself. Off to the left of the beach was some sandstone that was about an inch underwater so they were great to play on. On the edge of the sandstone was about a 15ft. drop off so the guys were diving into the water. Our youth pastor lost his wedding ring in the water...that was so not good! My dad grilled burgers and we had a great time. But.... men will be men and apparently men don't wear sunscreen! Chuck is sooooooo burnt. Had little blisters and he is peeling now. But he has been in pain since Saturday now! I've been there too so hopefully he's learned his lesson now.

In other news.... Tristan only had one cavity! woohoo and he is really trying to brush better now. School starts in just a couple of days. The kids are not ready to go but go they must. Alexander gets a laptop thru the school this year which should be interesting. I think it will be great for the students to have laptops to use but I just hope they take care of them as they are told.

Well thats all the Cook updates for now... Check back soon for more exciting information!

July has come and gone

2008-08-05T16:04:00.003-06:00

And I didn't post once! How rude of me!

July was busy but fun. Our oldest son Alexander turned 14! Its hard to believe I have a 14 yr old. He is a great son but growing up too fast. We took him bowling with my family and had a great time. Then left the next day for a quick trip to Albuquerque. The four of us had such a great time. We watched "Hancock" while we were there, went to Cliffs, swam at the hotel and then went to Hinkle family fun center. That place is such a blast! We played miniature golf, the boys rode bumper boats and go karts and we played in the arcade and then the four of us played laser tag! That was a blast! The next day we went to the zoo. I haven't been to the zoo in years and I love going! The monkeys were hilarious. We got some good videos of the boys having fun.

Let's see... a couple of weekends later we took the boys out on the boat for the first time. and now I did not fall off this time! They were so cute catching all the little fish. They really enjoyed the boat more than I thought they would I thought they would be scared, especially Tristan but they did so good. We've been to the rock wall climbing every week and I'm looking forward to getting to the pool one night this week hopefully before school starts.

So that was July.....whirl wind... but oh so fun with the family!

It's a Holland Thing

2008-06-24T10:47:00.002-06:00

We just got back from the Holland (my mother-in-laws side of the family) family reunion. We left on Thursday to go down to Hurley, NM. We were all going to stay at grandpa Cook's house. The house has 2 1/2 bedrooms and 1 1/2 baths. Chuck brought our tent and sleeping bags knowing there was not going to be a lot of room. There were 12 people staying at the house the first night, which was manageable. We invited the other parts of the family over for a fish fry that night. It was fun. We set up tables and chairs outside and just made a night of it. It was nice to get to meet parts of the family that Chuck tells all these stories about. Then it was time to find a bed for everyone.

On Friday more family was expected in town that afternoon. We got everyone up and showered and Chuck, the boys and I went to the Silver City museum. That was fun. We bought the kids these cute hats that were animal heads. They were a big hit. Then we went and bought flowers and put flowers on all our grandparents graves. I have one grandma that is buried there and he has all four of his grandparents buried there. That is always emotional for me. So then we got back out to the house and the rest of the family had arrived. It was good to see Chuck's sister Desiree from Phoenix and her kids. I miss them and my boys miss them dearly! We got to cooking and had a big BBQ with the whole family again. Meeting more family. Video taping Brian playing the guitar. Watching the kids get to know the other kids. Eating some great food! It was a nice night. Then it was time to find a bed for the now 19 people staying at the house.

On Saturday the plan was to have a picnic with everyone out at Little Walnut. I remember going there as a child and it hasn't changed a bit! It was fun. Again, had great food and sat around talked to everyone. Listening to stories from way back when. They got some teams together and played some horse shoes. Then the wind started kicking up and a big storm rolled in. It rained for over 3 hours which crashed our plans and almost the tent. So we took our fun to the bowling alley. That was a blast for everyone! The kids loved it, the adults had a great time. It was a wonderful way to end the reunion. We shared addresses and said our good byes. And hit the road to home on Sunday morning. It was overall a great trip. It was fun to get to meet everyone and hear some funny stories, but like the end of every trip it is always good to be home!

Time to Catch Up...

2008-06-24T10:13:00.004-06:00

Well since I have last posted we have been very very busy! We had some events with the Royal Rangers that had us tied up. We sponsored a "One Club" golf tournament and then that same afternoon we had a Fishing day at Farmington lake. Both events went great, we had good turn outs and I think everyone had fun! On Sunday June 8th, Chuck and I left for our one year anniversary... Its hard to believe it has been one year already. We left early early in the morning and took the boat down to Lake Powell. We got out on the water and did some fishing. I caught the first fish in about an hour. A small bass that we decided not too keep. Chuck caught one awhile later and that was it for the catching! The weather was beautiful. There was lots of debris in the lake with the water level rising each day. We decided to call it a day about 3 in the afternoon since we weren't catching anything. Then the fun began.....

We pulled up to the dock and Chuck told me to hold on to the dock cleat so we didn't bang the side of the boat. So I did... I'm holding the cleat. Well then the boat starts drifting away from the dock and I'm still holding on. And it keeps drifting. Chuck tells me to just let go but I didn't. I'm still holding on and the boat is still drifting away. Well I finally let go of the cleat but by that time it was too late. Chuck tried to pull me back into the boat but I just did a flip right off the side of the boat right into the water. Thank God I still had my life jacket on and there were no other boats tied up to the dock. Chuck couldn't get me back into the boat and I couldn't climb up onto the dock, so I had to swim my happy little butt down the whole dock and get out and walk back down the dock to the boat. Needless to say...... It sucked! I ended up with a horrible bruise that went all the way down my arm. It looked really gross. We had a quiet night from then on.

The next morning we got on the water ready to fish! There were lots of people on the lake, skiers, tubers, cruisers and boats with huge wakes! I'm not used to being on the lake with such big wakes and I was quite scared! We fished around Halls and didn't catch anything at all. Not even a bite! We tried up in Moki Canyon. It was beautiful up in the canyon for sure and Chuck got a couple of bites but never landed anything. So fishing was a bust! We called it a day and went back to the trailer. We headed for home the next morning and were excited to share our anniversary gifts to each other. I got Chuck a large print of the picture he had up in Time Square and the week before he picked out a new guitar he wanted. Chuck got me a beautiful diamond necklace.... I love it! Over all it was a wonderful anniversary and I am so very blessed to be married to this man.

The next weekend we went to a friend's wedding. It was in Hesperus Colorado and it was such a pretty setting. Mountains in the background, a cool breeze blowing, beautiful sunflowers and friends all around. We took my family to get ice cream afterwards in Durango, a sweet ending to a sweet day. So you are almost caught up now..... How's things in your world?

Mother's Day

2008-05-14T17:22:00.002-06:00

Hope all you mothers out there had a great mother's day. Mine was good too. Tristan made me a birdhouse. It was very sweet. Church was nice and lunch with mom was great. Had dessert with my mother in law that evening and the day was done. It's just nice to think back about how blessed we are to have mothers. Mine is truely amazing to say the least. She was one of two ladies picked for mother of the year at the church. I am blessed!

New Boat = New Adventures

2008-05-05T12:02:00.002-06:00

I thought that since we bought our boat and summer activities are coming up I would start a blog to keep track of our stories for our family to read... So here it goes!

So we took the boat out for our first fishing trip this past saturday. We are so excited to get out on the water on our new boat! Well we hear that this is a bass tournament out at Navajo Dam this weekend. Being novice boat owners we decide to drive a little out of our way and launch at Sims Mesa Marina, thinking it would be less crowded. Chuck and I not having been to Sims Mesa in years and years "think" we know where the turn off is. Well we get out on the highway and we have been driving for quite some time, and we finally see a sign that says Navajo Dam. So we assume that is the road. Well if any of you reading this are familiar with the area, that was not the road to the Sims Mesa, instead took us across the dam itself and we ended up launching at the main marina. This turned out ok, since we got there at the perfect time. The early fishermen were already out and we had the ramp to ourselves.
Chuck backs the boat into the water (since I am not good at backing the boat yet). He is checking everything on the boat making sure everything is good and we haven't forgot anything. Well we then see water shooting out the side of the boat (bilge pump). He says "Pull the boat out I don't know what's going on" So we get the boat out of the water and we guessed the boat plug must have fallen out because it was not there anymore. Thankfully my husband is prepared for anything and he had a spare boat plug. He goes to put it in and finds the original boat plug...... in the livewell drain! That was one mistake we won't make again.
Being the novice fishermen that we are we did not dress appropriately either. We were on the water by 7 in the morning and the water temperature was 46 degrees. I now know why bass fisherman wear carhart gear in the mornings on their boats! We froze to death. Our fingers and toes were numb! We finally got up one of the canyons where we wanted to fish and tied off to a tree and just sat there trying to thaw out. It really hurt!
So after we thawed and were ready to fish, we had to find the fish. We tried many different spots and found nothing. Finally picked a good spot, I caught the first fish! And we continued to catch fish for about 1.5 hours. We caught 21 croppie over all. But about half way thru we began to think.... What are we going to do with these fish we have in our livewell. We failed to bring anything to put them in. So the search began. I had packed us a lunch in a small cooler and had our sandwiches in a plastic tub. Our livewell has a minnow bucket in it. So Chuck put the fish in the minnow bucket and took the tub and a knife to the bank to clean the fish. Well he put the minnow bucket on a rock just a little bit in the water. He had cleaned a few and everything is going good. Another boat cruises by and his wake of course makes a little wave hit on the rocks. Well all the sudden the minnow bucket starts floating away! Two fish escaped before Chuck could get in the water and re-capture our fish. And of course I laughed and he was not very happy. But the fish got cleaned and we were headed out.
So back at the marina now and it is busy! Lots of boats coming in and out of the water. So since I'm not good at backing the boat up Chuck did that. He came back to get the boat and I got in the truck to back it up the rest of the way. He got the boat latched up front and he wanted to guide the boat on the trailer as I pull it out so it sits on the trailer evenly. So he tells me to pull up. I proceed to push on the gas, not realizing the truck is still in reverse! So the truck went a little further into the water then needed and a quick STOP. We managed to get the boat on good and straight even.
Over all it was a great trip. We learned our lessons and I'm sure we have many more lessons to learn. So this is the end to the first Cook Adventure. Many more to come!