Discovering Clovis

My friend Camille & I & our kiddos went to downtown Clovis to discover the various shops.

I have to say that I was impressed by the variety of items people had to sell.

(This is Makenzi & she's wearing a lovely bonnett...she loved pushing Keedan around in his stroller)

We discovered a ceramic shop called "Color Factory & More" that barely opened the previous Saturday.

It's similar to Firehouse Pottery where you pick the piece you would like to paint and they provide everything that you'd need. They also clean up your mess...what can be better than that?

We had plenty of time to kill so we decided to paint some ceramics.

Camille painting a very cute bowl...Keedan trying to grab Adrie & Makenzi smiling brightly.


Makenzi & Keedan discovering their artistic abilities.

Keedan is very serious about his new hobby.

We had a great time!

First Project @ The House

My first small project at our new house was pulling out the UGLY astroturf that was in the front entryway of our front house as well as dusting out the cobwebs, dirt and leaves.



You can't see it from the picture but there is glue all over the concrete. We are going to need to think of something creative to put over this area.

Ah, doesn't the house have so much more curb appeal now?

I would like to add some pretty plants to the front, but I'll be leaving for a month so I'll have to wait until I get back so that the plants won't die.

30 Something

Last Saturday was my 30th Birthday. Ryan threw me a somewhat surprise birthday/pool party. He told me about 30 minutes before that he had invited people over and they were to show up farely soon.

He's sooo cute!

At first he said that people were coming over to check out our new house and then he spilled the beans that they were really coming over for my Birthday/Pool party :)

I guess he wanted me to be prepared, hahahahah...probably due to the fact that I was pretty funky looking with unpacking, and organizing etc...

For my "Birthday Cake", Ryan put 6 candles on a cheescake (each representing 5 years) and everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to me.

I had a really good time and was definitely surprised by Ryan's little plan.

First Week @ "THE HOUSE"

1. Garage Door Opener began to flame up once it was plugged in. It's a good thing that Ryan and I had already discussed replacing it.

2. Moving company broke our dryer so I put up a close line in the backyard.
While I'm glad to be practicing a bit of green living, I seem to forget to get the clothes off the line before the treacherous storms are upon us, which seems to happen at around 6-7 pm.

3. Stumped the side of my front BIG toe, so hard that after a couple of hours I thought that it was broken.

I'm the queen when it comes to stumping my foot or toes. After this stump I announce my decline from being the Queen of Stumpness. Candidates are now being considered.

My picture does it no justice. You can't even see the pain.



I got to the ER door, drenched might I add from the sudden storm, and the door didn't open.

Thankfully a nurse came out after about 3 minutes....which is almost a lifetime when your about to emotionally lose it.




Positive Experience throughout this Stumped Foot ordeal:
- Keedan had two fabulous babysitters
- I was only at the ER for 3 hours
- Everyone that helped me was very nice and accommodating
- I didn't have to get a TETANUS shot, as once proposed by my doctor
- NO Broken Foot/Toe....just some really bad swelling that will be alleviated with much rest, elevation, ice & tylenol.

To Swim or Not to Swim.....hmmm

So, this afternoon I was super excited to go into the pool. As I got closer to getting in, I noticed a GIANT frog swimming. That's him below.



I'm pretty sure he's the same froggy we spotted last week in our yard.


Can you see him? He's a bit camoflauged in the grass.

While in the pool, he struggled to get out with no success.
I'm grossed out very EASILY by reptiles, but I mustered up the courage to get him out with a net.



Now, do I really want to swim in the water or wait until after I add chemicals this next week?

I'll probably end up swimming in the water....what's the worst that could happen?

Megan Fox...You go GIRL!

I have grown up being picked on and made fun of b/c I have a deformity.

I have always tried to hide my "deformity" as best I could but there was always someone that had to make me feel super small when I was just feeling good about my self and my "deformity".

I actually never knew there was a term for my "deformity" b/c in my youth the Internet was not as informative or even accessible as it is now.

You're all probably wondering...what is Amanda talking about? Take a look at the below picture of Megan Fox. What stands out at ya the most?



Megan, like myself, has a clubbed thumb.

I was watching television when I heard a news correspondent saying that Megan was voted the sexiest woman but that her hotness factor is going down from a 10 b/c she has a clubbed thumb.
To make matters worse, I looked online and people were 100X's crueler to this young lady.

For all you haters out there or should I say VAIN people that have ever made fun of my thumb or Megan's thumb or let's just broaden it to all the people with clubbed thumbs...Fooey on you!!!

You (haters) should all go talk to a shrink b/c you've all got personality deformities, which are waayyyy worse than a little nubby thumb.

OUr NeW HoUsE

We are super excited to have finally closed on our house here in Clovis. Our Lender, Realtor and the Representative from the Title company wanted us to close so badly that they drove out to us and we ended up closing at the laundry mat at the RV park. There was no air conditioning, so we just opened the window's. How awesome is that. They are tooo kind!

RV living was fun for the first week or two, but it did get hotter and smaller pretty darn fast.


I know, it looks a bit scary, but just wait. Hopefully you and I won't have to wait tooo long.

We were lucky to have gotten a foreclosure that needs much tlc.



We have a ton of work ahead of us in upgrading the house so that it looks nice. All are welcome to come and help...we'll even let you swim in our pool :)



After loading our cars at the RV and then unloading when we got to "The House" we jumped in the pool.



It's still a bit dirty, but the pool man said it was safe to swim in. Can't be worse than the ocean or a lake, RIght?


I will definitely be working on NOT having a farmer's tan.


My two favorite boys relaxing and eating some Papa John's Pizza in our new living area.

The Fly Trap

We have entered into the FLY season.

I'm not talking Air Force jive here, I'm talking about the bug.



They have been so bad in our RV, that Ryan created a homemade fly trap.



Of course Keedan jsut had to play with it.



I do have to say that it was pretty fun to watch Keedan moving his head every which way as the fly he was watching in the "homemade" trap flew around.



Hopefully they will all dissapear very soon...but I'm not holding my breath.

4th of July

We had a very low key 4th this year. We got up early to attend a pancake breakfast at our church and stayed until almost noon.



Then we stopped off at Bahama Bucks for a refreshing treat. Ryan had a smoothie of sorts and I had a cherry coloda snow cone. They decorated it with a cute little flag...so cute. After shopping we got tired fast, so we went to the RV to take naps.



Later that evening we had dinner at Applebee's and then ....my favorite part of all - We parked our truck in a parking lot near to where the city of Clovis had there annual fireworks show, put an air mattress, blanket and huge pillow in the back of the truck and lounged as we were dazzled by the fireworks in the sky.


(Keedan's reaction to the lights in the sky)


(I took this pic from inside the truck...it's not too clear, but you get the idea)

It was AWESOME!

Malnar Family Reunion

Ryan's family reunion was at a campsite in or around Neola,UT. It was sooo beautiful! We got there on Friday around midnight and thankfully had a tent and a wonderful air mattress to sleep in/on.


Keedan LOVED the great outdoors and loved even more to play with all of the kiddos that were there. We all had a GREAT time!

Here are some pics of our experience.


Ryan's Aunt Lana cooking up some breakfast.


Ryan's Uncle Raymond


Malnar Family Auction



Meredith & Jaxson


Monkey's in a tree


Keedan & Hunter


Trina & Olivia dancing on the BBQ pit.


Making Buttons


Gone Fishin'


Poor Aidan got his line all tangled up


Yep, it's pretty tangled.


Marietta & Keedan by the stream.
1, 2.....


3 - Yipeeeeee


D'mar, Anita & Camilia


Cutie Pie Olivia


Keedan & Camilia


Chillaxin @ the campfire


Jaxson's bottle Salvaged from the fire....Good work Meredith!


Ryan just rising & shining from his slumber


He's not shining tooo brightly but I see some sunshine :)


LOT'S of SUNSHINE


Keedan's cousins cheesing it up.