Wesson's Birthday Week.

Yes, it took a whole week to celebrate our one year old's birthday. That's how it is in line life. You fit stuff in where you can :)

Our original plan was for Mike to ask for Friday off and we were going to celebrate than, he wasn't able to get the day off so we got over being bummed and made it work. Luckily (well for us...) Tuesday the 22nd Mike's crew got winded out, they had the option to do other things but Mike took the opportunity for us to celebrate!

We pack up our day bag, called around for an opening for doggie daycare, and headed to Vegas. After we dropped Remmi off, we headed to Mandalay Bay to grab lunch and hit the aquarium. We were really excited to see Wesson's reaction to the aquarium since he had such a fun time last time at only 3 months old. And we weren't disappointed!

He laughed and love trying to grab the fishies. My favorite was his reaction to the GIANT squid crawling? swimming? across the glass. It was hilarious.

 

We were able actually touch sting rays too. Wesson wasn't able to reach in to touch but of course he laughed the whole time and thought it was pretty cool when they got close to the surface so they splashed the water. I think more than anything our water baby probably just wanted to swim with them.

 

Since our day was last minute we didn't have time to wrap presents or bake the cake so we saved presents for his actual birthday.

 

Friday was pretty laid back here. Wesson and I grabbed ice cream with Kristina and Tarah and their kids. It really is so nice to have more families here to help get through days that are meant to celebrate with families back home. It really is hard seeing all the birthday parties my friends get to throw for their babies, not only do we wish we could be there, we just wish we could offer the same for Wes.

 

our line family!

Birthday Boy!

 

Once Mike got off work we drove right into presents! Although he still didn't grasp the opening part, he was pretty happy with the toys inside. He's obsessed with the safari truck my parents sent down. He's such a boy!

 

 

We invited the guys over (since Kristina left me! okay she's just on vacay but still... and Tarah was having family time) It was up to the tough lineman to sing happy birthday to our one year old... and sing they did! It was perfect. Thank you guys for making it special for us... As one of them asked Mike, "ever thought you'd be celebrating your boys birthday with line trash?" it completes our life :)

Once again he proves to love his cake!

 

Such good sports!! :)

haha getting hosed off before he was allowed inside. seriously such a water baby!!

 

We finished Wesson's birthday off with his 12 month check up today in Mesquite, another 1 hour 45 minute drive. I knew it would be a long day but it proved to more mentally exhausting than planned. We found the doctors easy enough but once we got there it was already 90 degree (at 10 am!) Since I would be gone all day, I brought Remmi with me instead of letting him melt in the trailer. I got there early enough to check in and than go outside and let Remmi out so he wouldn't die. I was in the middle of asking the receptionist to come get me outside when they were ready when this mean lady came in demanding who drove the big, brown truck. Well... that's mine. I am not exaggerating when I say she flipped out on me. Yelling at me (in the middle of the office!!) that I was killing my dog and that I didn't deserve him OR my child And if he was out there in 10 minutes she was calling the cops. WOW! Instantly I teared up, I talk that I can handle issues and most the time I can but it had been a long few days people. Luckily the receptionists and the other patients came to my defense and ran her off. Still feeling like shit and hoping the nut didn't steal my dog, I wasn't sure what to do. One of the nurses came to my aid and said she would take care of him during our appointment. What a life saver!! She played with him out back and than let him hang out in their break room. :) so great.

 

After the appointment was over (and Remmi wasn't dead.) we grabbed lunch and hit the park before making the looong drive home.

 

yes, crazy Mesquite lady I clearly abuse my dog.

 

and now I have a fun announcement!!!

 

THE MCBRIDES HAVE A PLAN!!!

 

Yes that's right we're officially leaving Alamo. in TWO weeks, yippeee!!! We decided now that the temp isn't going below 90 and in the 10 weeks we've been here we've paid off 2 credit cards and 2 loans the Ely 500 kv line has served it's purpose. Although I am honestly really sad to leave our friends that we've made here, I know this crazy life will bring out paths to cross again.

 

We will be packing up and leaving Nevada on the 13th and heading HOME! It will take a few days and cda will not be permanent but it will serve as our stepping stone for now. Our ultimate goal is to get on a local utility back home but Mike needs some hot sticking time first and like I've said before we're not fully ready to be back in cda.

 

We're planning on bringing the trailer home than going to sign a few books around Washington, than coming back and hanging out until we get a call. We're thinking it will probably take a few weeks but if it takes any longer than a month we'll leave again. There's always work somewhere, we're just aiming for closer to home to make all those exciting events coming up.

 

That's all I have for now. As more details get sorted out I'll let ya all know! yippeee. We can't wait and we're so excited to see everyone!! :) 



 

The day we met Wesson Michael.

Its 5:30am on April 26th, this time last year we were officially checked in at KMC, Mom was probably just showing up with fuel for Mike and Brandy & Robyn were coming to keep me company while Mike snoozed.... wow one year ago. If you're a momma and feeling sentimental about birth go read this, my birth story. I bawled my eyes out. Thank you again Dad for the pictures.

Time sure does go quickly, too quick. We have a one year old. A crazy couch climbing, puppy chasing, pb&j eating, almost walking, always talking big, one year old son. I'm in shock and so much in love. I'm such a mom now, eeek!

The days I would dream of my future husband and family, the hours Mike and I spend over talking about our future babies, the moments I would feel my baby boy moving my tummy and dreaming what'd he be like. Those all seem so long ago. Distant memories.

My days are now filled with early morning slobbers, wet shirts because Wes loves to climb out of the tub and into my arms. I'm busy pushing Remmi aside to clean up the left over lunches. Making walks back and forth to the laundry mat and folding little boy shirts, not just onsies now. I was picking up a pair of Wesson's shorts and noticed he got a grass stain on it, how do I have a such a little boy already?!

Wesson may be my identical twin, okay Christopher's twin but he has his daddy's attitude. He is so laid back and welcomes every day with a smile.  Wes already has the sweetest personality but knows how to be such a stinker at times. He takes on new challenges and loves to push the adventure line. I was slow closing our screen door a few weeks back and that little guy went straight for the escape... and right down the steps. He cried, I cried; but I held on too long, he wanted to try it again. He laughs over any and everything, he loves to make us smile.

I knew he would change our lives but I had no idea how much he would be my little buddy. We've made a home in 5 different towns and he's made the transitions easier. How does a less than one year old offer so much peace and comfort during crazy moves!? I've branched out into different communities more since Wes, you don't look like such a loner when you're holding the hand of a cute boy. Bringing a newborn into a trailer life is a difficult task but having such a perfect baby makes life so much easier.


I should probably finish up here and start my day before Wes thinks its time to start his birthday. (or before I decide its time he wakes up... hey what can I say I get excited!)  He's  really hilarious in the mornings, he wakes up every day laughing. Typically tossing his giraffe on the ground letting me know he's ready to start the day and explore something new.

Happy 1st Birthday, my sweet baby boy. We love you so much.

April

 

May

June

 

July

 

August

 

September

 

October

 

 November

 

December

 

January

 

February

 

March

 

 

You make our days that much sweeter, baby boy! 

Turtles & Spas

Alright friends I know you've been waiting for me to explain the turtle situations! Well folks apparently outside of Alamo lives endangered tortoises and on Saturday one of the Sturgeon crews took another one out. A few weeks ago they had hit another one and were given a warning that if they killed one more the job would be shut down. Its ridiculous. They have biology majors out there patrolling the areas watching out for these little guys and when I say little, I mean the one they killed was the size of a silver dollar. How do they expect to even be seen?! I know "poor, cute little turtles" but in our case they may as well be ugly vultures because they are such a pain in the ass.

So Saturday our guys came home pissed but laughing. Seriously its such a silly reason to be shut down! Kristina and I instantly thought yes this is our moment to sneak away to Vegas! And yes that's exactly what we did! We knew they for sure had Sunday off but we were planning a big Mexican dinner (complete with beer pong, ice cream making, smores and fires) so we thought Sunday would be rushed for time so when we heard they had more days off we made plans for Monday!

BIG thanks to Kristina for planning out our day! We left Alamo bright and early and headed to Vegas! We've both never had acai bowls before so we found a cute little Juice n Go by our nail salon and got the hook up! Since I'm trying to figure out the weirdness in my body (more on this later) I'm cutting out sugar, gluten and dairy for two weeks, I know crazy but I'm hoping I can start feeling "normal" and more balanced. So my acai bowl didn't get the yummy yogurt or granola but sheesh was it good!

We headed to the nail salon, where they cured my dragon, desert feet! Seriously I feel like I have new feet! The only down fall was there was an unhappy baby next to me while getting my nails painted. Not what I wanted to listen to while I was in escape day. Oh well we both left feeling pampered with cute Chinese flowers on our toes! :)

Next we headed to Caesar's Palace for the Qua Spa! O.M.G. I couldn't take pictures inside but wow. It was so cool. We each started with 75 minute heaven scrubs and massages. Perfect, just perfect! My lady was pretty hilarious too and she even scrubbed my belly! I know understand why Remmi rolls over ;)

 

 

 

After that we fueled up on fruits and water before going to the Roman Baths. You walk into this peaceful, dim setting where they had water coming out of the ceiling and three baths. Each a different temp and the pools changed colors. I was impressed. Once we relaxed there we hit up the sauna rooms. There are 3 rooms; wet sauna, dry sauna and an ice sauna! whaaa? it snowed on us and had an ice machine. brilliant! my pores were feeling happy after our rounds there! Plus it was hilarious talking to one lady in the ice room. I'm pretty sure she thinks we're mad for living in trailers in the desert with babies. I love explaining our life to strangers! :)

 

 

Once we showered... okay at home I have one shower head and it depends on the day what kind of pressure and how much hot water I'll have.... at Caesar's my shower had a giant shower head and FOUR other heads!! my head, back and front got showered at once! Think they'll let me move in?! after we got ourselves all pretty we found a salad shop inside Caesar's. I'm slowly expanding my pallet and got a yummy Asian salad, I was pleasantly surprised!

We started the drive back home shortly after. We could have spend all day wandering, enjoying no one needing something from us but we figured our husbands were probably needed back up by now. Thanks again for being such great sports guys! And thank you Kristina for a perfect mommy day! I couldn't have asked for a better partner during my Alamo time!

When we got home Mike's grandparents were already there and loving on their great grand baby. Its not very often we get to see family so these rare occasions are so wonderful! They are on their way into Idaho from Texas. Snow birds, traveling gypsies, birds of a feather :) They also brought a mini birthday cake for Wesson, since he'll be a year old NEXT FRIDAY! eek! It was so funny watching him poke it, taste it, and of course face plant right into it. such a boy. They got to spend the yesterday here also, even though it was the crummiest day in Alamo we made the best of it. Good thing they have a giant motor home for Wes to crawl around in. That kid needs more space!

 

Mike is back to work today. Even though the rest of the guys are still on stand still... I think they're starting to feel sorry for us wives in Alamo, they're going stir crazy! We're pretty sure the job isn't going to be shut down but its not for sure yet. They're working out the price it'll cost to let them finish now... all over a silly turtle! haha.

The Sick Bug.

"i've seen better days, but i've also seen worse. i don't have everything i want, but i do have everything i need. i woke up with some aches and pains but i woke up. my life may not be perfect but i am blessed."

That was my go to verse for the week. Yes it was a very, very trying week but if a little bug is all our health issues I count myself very blessed.

This last week was defiantly not my favorite. Which I guess I had it coming to me since we've been on a pretty great roll lately. I had to say good bye to my mom on Tuesday so I should have known than it would be going down hill. On Tuesday I had to go pick up Mike so he could stay with Wesson while I took mom to the airport. I can't remember if I mentioned the nasty bug that attacked Mike last week... but it knocked him on his ass and after a few days going by I thought for sure I missed it. Well it caught up and hit Wes Tuesday morning, in the nastiest form of explosive diarrhea. I know TMI but hey I'm a mom and its my blog. deal.

my poor sick babes

 

I took mom into the airport, picked up a few groceries on the way outta Vegas, only to now notice we need formula, diapers, and wipes. Go figure. Now I'm plotting out an exhausting day of driving and errands with Wes and Rem. Mike is back on 7s so there is no waiting for a day off now.

The bug hit me a few days later and I can't remember the last time I have been that sick. It brought back all too vivid memories of 9 months of puking. Baby #2 might have to wait longer, I'm not looking forward to that again. I learned a hard new mommy lesson of trying to change sheets, keep a sick baby entertained while trying to keep myself under control. It was a long day and thank God I felt a million times better the next day. Since than I've been busy battling diapers, making laundry runs, and attempting to keep sane.

By the time Saturday morning rolled around even though Wesson was still sick we were all feeling a bad case of cabin fever. I had signed up while ago for a local 5k, thinking maybe I'd get lucky and Mike could get it off. With that not happening I decided to try it out with both boys in tow. I was pretty happy about how it turned out except my stroller has a hop in the front tire. Every once in awhile while running the tire would go all crazy and force me to walk. That part was frustrating but we did it and it ensured a great nap time that afternoon! I may not be the biggest fan of living long term in Alamo but the people are pretty rad. The race benefited a scholarship program created by family members who had lost a local man 7 years ago. He was a volunteer fireman here but worked in Vegas. He was killed in a car accident coming back from work, leaving his wife and 3 young kids. I felt a little out of place as they were sharing stories before the race but it was so touching to see people come together in his honor.

After the race

 

We did get a fire pit though and that kinda completes my life. Last night I think I ate 5 s'mores, hah so worth it. I don't know why in all my years of camping, bon fires and marshmallow roasting I've never even thought of replacing Hershey's chocolate bars but last night we had a smorgasbord of candy to try out... seriously so yummy and so much fun. It saves my sanity to sit around have real conversations, drink a beer and eat! 

Now that April is here, Mike's days are getting a little hot out in the desert and the tiny town of Alamo is starting to close in on us, we're getting ready to make decisions about our next move. I can't really share any details yet but hopefully the end of next week we'll know more!

Easter, Vegas & my Momma

Happy Monday. Happy day late Easter. Happy April!

I don't know if its just because I am a mommy of a basically toddler, wife of a man who constantly needs more food and supplies me with an unlimited amount of laundry or this is just how life is now but man I feel like I am always busy. Like big sigh when I get to sit down busy. I'm not sure how I'll handle another baby one day! sheesh!

So this last week was nothing short of, well ya know... busy. We got another linewife in Alamo last Sunday. Readers meet Tarah and her lineman Adam! :) They have 3 kids around the same ages as Kristina. So fun.
 

Tarah & Adam

 

The week was full of park dates and last minute cleaning before I got to go pick up my favorite person ever, my mom! My mom flew into Vegas Thursday afternoon and we've been having fun lounging in the sun, walking and catching up. Even though we literally talk every day, okay twice a day, it just doesn't beat good conversation face to face! She's the best and helps me calm down and stop stressing over not knowing where we're going. Even though its fun deciding, its a weird shock to know our life is now fully in our hands.

 

having lunch at the Scoop!

 





Since we first got to Alamo, Mike and the guys have been talking about going to Vegas to celebrate Mike topping out. Of course we figured I wouldn't be able to go cause we have Wesson. Well they started talking about it last Sunday since they all got Easter Sunday off so Saturday night would be perfect. I wasn't planning on leaving mom alone with my crazy bunch but last minute I decided to join in the boys trip to Vegas and boy am I glad I did!

We (Mike, Matt, DJ and myself) left after they got off work, drove 90 miles to Caesar's Palace to check in, and immediately got ourselves drinks & found the card tables. I will spare you all the drunkenness that happened through out the night (not to mention the pictures on my phone....) but dang was it a fun night. Couple of lineman, free drinks and large paychecks turned into limo rides, bar dancing, almost hookers, and lots of pussy cat dolls in gages while gambling (and somehow winning) all our money that we spend in Vegas. Nothing like a free trip, perfect, quick trip. We finally feel asleep at 5 and was up out the door at 7 am. Being Wesson's first Easter I was anxious to make the trip back home to my baby. Thank you again mom for letting us escape and thank you again crazy boys for an unforgettable night in Viva Las Vegas!

 

 

Our Easter was pretty laid back. Luckily I made most of my Easter food the day before and only had to do a a few last minute stuff so I was able to sneak a nap in before having to be social. Wesson's first Easter was nothing short of a memorable one, even if he won't remember. Kristina, Tarah and myself teamed up and divided tasks to make dinner for all the other guys and it turned out great! We had plenty of food, beer and things to laugh about (ie the ridiculous vegas stories) After dinner we set up an Easter egg hunt for their older kids and it was pretty great watching the guys (most of which don't have kids) hide Easter eggs. I had to remind one or two that kids don't climb trees or poles for that matter!

 

fooooood!

 

Hiding eggs!

 

way to be team players guys!

 

line babies <3

alamo line ladies

 



After dinner is was so relaxing to just sit around, watch the babies play, and really see how lucky we are. We've lived in some fun and not so fun places but having good friends to help make holidays special really takes the cake. We really are so incredibly blessed to be here.

 

 

Now I'm off to enjoy a few more days of having my mommy here! :)