Summer Trip Photos...Sedona, Arizona

View from on high at Cathedral Rock

Cathedral Rock

Mom and Finn at Cathedral Rock

Gorgeous Cathedral Rock

Really weird man-face stone on our walk to Cathedral Rock

Mom and Collin on walk

Finn and Nik pausing for rest on an outing

Mom laughing about something... I like this picture

Nikki and Mom w/ boys in background...

On our Jeep ride morning

Collin on Chicken Point

Family on Submarine Rock

exhaulted from the fun of the jeep ride up the mountains!

...and the fun begins!! He looks terrified here but he was actally loving the drive!

The boys just as the pink jeep tour began...

Collin and the boys on a mountain

Out for a walk on trails behind Loews-Ventana hotel

Finn down at the canal...

Sally on point at Senator's Wash

Mom and the boys on a HOT day down at the canal

Waking up from naps...

Fun at the Loew's-Ventana pool in Tuscon

Mom telling secrets to Benjamin at the Children's Museum in Tuscon... Ha!Ha!

We do live in the desert, after all...

Several nights ago I was closing the door out to the garage and caught a glimpse of some movement near the refrigerator. A quick look showed a pale, hairy crawling something! I quick rushed to tell Collin and got a flashlight. We hurried back out and tucked in the narrow, dark space between the wall and the refrigerator was a camel spider about the size of my palm!! Ugh!!! Shudder and double shudder!! I am normally not phased by spiders. However, this one was big and pale and hairy and it was moving quickly and it was in our garage! At the time we didn't know it was a camel spider and we just let it go... I know, I know. We should've gotten it then. Collin found out the next day or so what it was.

Well, tonight Collin and boys were hanging out in the front yard w/ neighbors and Aiden found a black widow spider behind the planter on the front porch...next to the front door. Not so big, probably a quarter diameter in size. But right near the front door. So... that bug man who came by a few weeks ago and who Collin turned away saying " but Aiden loves to find all the bugs around the house!"... yeah, he's gonna have to go ahead and come back!

Yesterday was challenging again because, as I said, the hammer is down. It's a work in progress and I hope for some very improved days ahead.

Last night Collin made sushi! A friend at work made it so he thought he would give it a try. It was really yummy! he did a great job putting it all together and rolling it up. We have to work on some of the ingredients - the sticky rice is tricky. I always thought the rice was just rice...maybe a special kind that was very sticky when cooked? But no, it has vinegar, SUGAR! and something else in there that I forget at the moment.  The boys had rice bowls which didn't go over so great... especially for Finn and usually he is gaga over rice.  Although Aiden did try the sushi and he liked it! He also used my chopsticks for awhile to eat his dinner. He had very petite bites but he was successful using the sticks! 

As I said in the previous post I have been putting Finn on the potty regularly now. Yesterday he had a dry pull-up through to the afternoon! In general he has been greatly opposed to even thinking about pooping on the potty. well, yesterday I went into town to grocery shop in the afternoon and when I came home Collin said "Finn pooped on the potty...all by himself!"

He said he went in there to find him wiping himself after taking care of his business! Isn't that great?! I gave lots of praise for that when I came home. There were also 1 or 2 times when he said "oh no! I have to pee!" and he would jump up and head for the bathroom. Very exciting! We will continue to work on this and will heaping lots of praise on Finn for using the facility! I will keep you updated here as to how it all goes!

These are challenging days of late here at the McCafferty household. Little boys challenging authority, wanting to be the decision makers, plan deciders, alpha males...! sigh! Lots of not listening going on...singing to the tune of their own agendas (Aiden mostly on this one), talking to us as if he (Aiden) is an adult, making demands without a "please, can you...", getting angry when not getting own way... Finn is struggling with being told no... he also cares not to listen quite often of late. Then when he is punished (put in the corner) he completely cries his eyes out! this for small and big infractions alike!  for some reason too he objects to trying to go pee in the potty...even when we've been trying to do it first thing every morning when he gets up, "NO! I don't want to!", then we have some words and either he comes around to doing it himself or a little help and persuasion is given and mostly, he is successful! not sure why he is so resistant to this...he likes his pull-ups too!  he doesn't want me dressing him anymore either. no, huh-uh. don't even try putting the shirt over his head... " I wantto doit!!" and honestly he is doing a great job... so I say, go on ahead!

I know they are going through stages, Finn for sure. Aiden's behavior of late has been a little harder to gauge. He is such a big boy and so independent in thought and action that I often have to remind myself (the Mom!) that he is still a little boy! Yes he is five and going into Kindergarten this year and getting taller all the time but 5 is still 5 and very young! He is pushing boundaries and testing limits and we are his border patrol agents! :)