learn to drive a stick~ check

a few white knuckled rides later and she's doing much better. Not good enough to go on the freeway yet, but good enough around town and to work and church.
She's catching on quickly and should be safe to drive to school in a few weeks!

a little disney~reminiscing

hey, it's my blog, I can post Disney photos every month if I want to:

Here we are in Mexico where the three big girls and I got chosen from the crowd to join in the celebration and traditional dance of the region. Must have been our graceful dancing sway that lured them in:) Here we are shakin it to La Cucaracha!







O'Canada. Such fun.













Some fah-bu-lahs statues! Disney is wonderful about paying attention to the smallest detail. I think we could have stayed a month and still not seen it all and the magic would not have worn off. Maybe when DH retires from his job keeping the free world free we can work at DW and be part of the magic. MIL thinks she would be a good fairy godmother, and I agree! Maybe we'll all work there :)

we love the water

the kidlets are fishies! I love to take them to the pool and watch them swim, it's like a little tribe? pack? school? of otters. They swim and twist and dive so gracefully.

Today we had better luck with school. H did science and handwriting and reading and is happily cooperative. E did phonics (not so happily) and science (a little better). Then we went to the pool and I floated on the raft and pretended we were a nice family and the kids swam and played.

We will probably go in after dinner too.

just read

photo is a link

I just finished a fun book, a fictional account of a real event. The Camel Bookmobile. I didn't know but apparently the U.S. has sponsored a travelling library to nomadic tribes in Kenya. The books go by camel.

The book was fun. The actual idea is awesome. I love books :)

count your blessings....

I love this picture. It's the kind of mom I'd want my children to have...if they didn't have me. Their real mom is not so serene, not so "lovely gown and up swept hair in a neat room saying prayers at nightish".

Maybe they wouldn't trade? I don't know, anyway, lucky for me no one is really like that...right?

We are in the middle of what feels like the longest summer. I don't know why. I love summer, and I always dread the kids going back to school. But this year summer is dragging on. We've been gone a lot which has been fun and tiring. The kids are up late a lot. They've been watching too much TV, and fighting, and the pool hasn't been as inviting due to all the rain.

We've been playing 'summer school', not every day, but regularly, and it's not going well. All the kids want all my help every minute. Brother, who is normally most cooperative has been not a bit so when it comes to 'school work'. Hhhmmm, hhhmmm, hhhm.

I feel very conflicted over our schooling choices. I have some fabulous friends who home school and do such a good job. I can really see great things in their schools and with their kids. I also have great friends who send their kids to public school and lots of those kids are great as well. I am not usually a person who has a hard time making a decision, but this one is t.o.u.g.h. I guess technically we have decided, we have bought curriculum and signed up H for enrichment classes and are working on getting a co op together and part of me is really excited and looking forward to it and hoping it will be awesome for the kids and our family. And part of me is just filled with dread and uncertainty. I just don't know if I can do a good job when my list, you know the one, the mental list all mom's have of things they want to/need to/have to/should do is long and often not crossed off. And kindergarten is so fun, and H does so well at school and wouldn't it be lovely to send them off on the bus in the morning. Do I sound like a crazy head swirling every which way lunatic woman? Yep, I thought so.

And we're moving, which will be fun but it's so long from now that it seems unreal yet it's looming there. Never far from our thoughts. I hope our home sells, and I'll miss my friends so much, and our pool.

And I wish my parents house would sell. I know they feel trapped and I will feel awful if we leave and they are here.

And the big girls are growing up so fast, that I miss them already. I miss D, she's busy and happy and I am so thrilled. I miss her here with me. I wish she lived on my street and could come for dinner every week and I could baby sit my grand kids (who are non existent at the moment). J is gone this week and S is working and driving and I can see that they will soon be on their own...which kind of stinks.

and, SHHH, this is a secret...I'm fluffy, okay I'm fat. But I'm really bad at dieting and exercising.

There are many good things in our life though, (and I am not depressed, mom, a person can note things that are not ideal without being depressed. ) For example:

• Tonight for FHE we had snow cones for a treat~ yum
• Lucy is learning to talk
• Brother is learning to read
• We spend many happy hours reading and laughing together
• Millie is the best dog, she doesn't chew our furniture or walls any more; and she finds snakes and scares passersby and guards us while we sleep
• S's new car is awesome (and I am sure she'll learn to drive it...some day :) )
• DH bought me a surprise present and it arrived today!
• I probably don't need surgery.
• I only have to teach my Sunday school class once a week and am not their seminary teacher.
• We have a fun ward activity coming up.
• And H has a very fun birthday party planned.
• And she's excited to be baptized.
• And Papa and Grandma will be back to go to her baptism.
• And Eclipse is coming out next week!!
• and I can still taste chocolate (sorry Joy)
• the food network
• And I made the bed this morning...and I think it's still made :)
• And I love the smell of bath & body works soap and we have some.
• And I have great friends.
• And the gospel.
• And a Savior who loves me even when I forget all the good and dwell on the bad.
• J bought me the most yummy smelling pineapple lotion before she left that I've been using.
• I love, love, love, the central library. Thank goodness we finally paid the fee to join.
• Our new water pitcher is great and having cool water is awesome.
• I'm reading a book I like.
• our front flower beds are looking better.
• all distance calling.
• imaginary friends
• new recipes
• cute little jammmied up kiddos snuggled in our beds with us.
• and many many more, too many to count :)

date night

DH and I go on a date almost every week. It's a priority for us. Okay truthfully more for him than for me; but for me too. (I think 2-3 times a month would be perfect, he thinks twice a week would be perfect, once a week is what we usually do and really that's a good thing. It's a good way to keep in touch with each other and remember that we are a couple not just parents.)

S had plans and J is in CA so we branched out and got a different baby-sitter. We got Nicole, who did awesome and I was very happy with how it went. We are spoiled with two girls who can baby sit right here who the littles love. I would call Nicole again without thinking twice and the kids liked her as well, which is good. Options are always good.

Anyway we went out for Chinese then to see No Reservations. I liked it. It was a sad romantic comedy with a sweet ending and no nudity. A fun date movie.

new to you never sparkled this much!

S and her "new" car!!!

Now she just needs to learn how to drive a stick and she's good to go!

Whoo HOoo!!

S and her "wild woman" friend at 6 Flags!!!!

what's in a name?

I'm blogstipated. I don't know why, really blogging has been so much fun and easy for me to do and now all of a sudden block. We still swim and read and eat and walk around saying witty things to each other yet some how the reporting has lost it's ...something.. for me. Grandma B was a big motivator for me to keep writing. She read all the time and loved it. She often sent me e-mails or snail mails telling of her delight in our antics and the closeness she felt to us as a result. So it was easy, I knew she'd be checking and I wrote to her.

Despite this slump I'm not really ready to quit so lets see....

It's been an odd summer. We've been gone on trips, both planned and unplanned.
S has her first job and now a second. She is cleaning offices for Durham at night. This one is temporary. I'm glad to see her interest in making money and sticking her toe into the grown up world of employment. When D was a junior she got a job at Washington Mutual with their HS intern program. It was a great program and she stuck with it for two years. I am really grateful that she and now S have been able to get such awesome first jobs, where they can not only earn money but also learn real life skills (not that dipping fries in hot oil isn't but these are both a little nicer)
I've spent a lot of energy thinking and planning for our schooling in the fall. It will be a really different year for us as H comes back home to learn and E, who is old enough for K, will instead learn at home as well. We'll have the two big girls in public HS and the littles home. I am excited. We have some great curriculum and plans. And nervous. We have busy bright and not always agreeable children.
I've also been working on getting my ankle back in order. It still hurts. Today I went for an MRI, which wasn't bad. The last ones I got were 15 years ago and they slid you in a tube and shut both ends and you had to lay perfectly still for a long time while it was noisy and shaky around you. Not fun. I am not claustrophobic but even still had to sing primary songs to myself to endure the hour (and if you've heard me sing you would know that that was bad enough!)
This one was open and loud and shaky but not scary and I had headphones with music and may have even drifted off to sleep at one point.

Yesterday we had friends over all day. It was great. H had two sisters Belle and Livie who were awesome and fun and they got along great all day. E had Ben (their brother) and they played happily as well.

Today we went to the library. The kids behaved and we had a lovely time.

Last night I took J to the airport where she very happily and excitedly boarded a plane all by herself for a fun trip to CA with her very good, dear and sweet and oh so fun friend Emma and her family. She's been looking forward to it for a long time. She will also spend 3 days with Grandma Joyce and is thrilled about that too.

quiz in the afternoon

You Are Toast

Old fashioned and a bit of a homebody, you totally go for comfort food. You're the type who loves to cook for friends, and they love you for it. You truly know what tastes good, and you can often pick out the best dish at a restaurant. You don't fall for food trends. You stick with what's been food for a long time!

What Kind of Breakfast Are You?

we've had a good day. E and H were invited to play at friends today. They were so excited. J, G and I went to the mall and J found everything she wanted on sale! whoo hoo. Now we're home and "thinking about dinner" which translates to spending a few mintues on line :)

in a nut shell (working backwards)

Today S is a 6 Flags. Hopefully she'll have so much fun. The rest of us are going to the mall because J needs a pair of pants. Tomorrow she leaves for CA to play with her friend Emma and see her grandma Joyce and we have to get her ready.

Last night I finished Harry Potter 7. I liked it a lot, except the end felt a little bit like an afterthought to me. There was something about it that I didn't love. But I won't spoil it for anyone so that's all I'll say. Mostly I loved it. It may be the best one yet!

Last night our friend Justin came over for dinner/FHE. His family is on vacation. We had a fun time. The kids were W.I.L.D. I partially blame him, he brings it out in people :) After the lesson, given by H, we played Killer Bunnies. Everyone laughed and thought it was so fun. E and H asked to play again the morning. DH didn't have as much fun since he didn't do so well. Good thing he won our first game ever or we probably wouldn't have bought it :)

I had an xray and a visit with the orthopedic surgeon yesterday. My ankle, that I broke last year, is still hurting: enough that I can't wear heels or step on it first when going down steps. He looked at the xray and said he thought that it might be because the ligaments were pulled and not healing. It's still swollen and he could feel the fluid in there. There is a chance I will not need surgery but we'll know more after my MRI later this week.

It's been raining, every day but not all day, which is okay.

Sunday night the girls went to the Petty's. Robin started a new tradition. Every week they will go over and read the Book of Mormon out loud together for an hour and then have treats. They are hoping to finish by the end of the year.

My friend Julia arrived from So Carolina and is now in our ward! Whoo Hoo! I'm excited.

it's finally here!

Friday we had our friends over to swim. They had been on vacation for a long time and we missed them. We were in the pool only a short time and it started to rain, hard. E and M stayed in and swam anyway. The rest of us took cover on the porch. When the rain passed we swam again, until the next rain. It's been the craziest summer: rain wise.

Friday night was the release of Harry Potter 7. Actually 12:01 Saturday morning. H and DH and I went downtown for the festivities. It was very fun. We went to both the library and to the bookstore. The library did a fabulous job. They had tons of fun stuff set up. One part of the library was Diagon Ally where they had booths set up to make wands, golden snitches, owls, satchels, dress up and have your picture taken, play games, have a caricature drawn, etc. They had Slytherin house there, with a snake show, and they had one of the older HP movies playing in one room. On the other side they had Hogwarts with a magician and games. H had a great time. At the bookstore we walked around and they had games and stuff. We got a treat downstairs. At midnight we did a countdown and very excitedly got our books! I couldn't' believe it, while we were waiting in line we could watch others getting their books and several people walked away from the line, flipped to the end and started reading while they were walking out! What kind of craziness is that?!

Saturday we cleaned, signed brother up for soccer, went back to the library to get another copy of the book (two for the house wasn't enough), swam, DH I went on a date.

funny boy

this kid is so funny.

A few days ago he wanted to have waffles for breakfast. We usually get our waffles out of those golden boxes in the freezer that you pop in the toaster. Well we were out. Two weeks ago before we went to Ohio I had gone shopping. Then we left in the middle of the week and had a lot of food left. When we got back I decided it would be fun to see if we could get through the week with what we already had. Which we did except for buying milk and last night DH had to work late and "when the cats away..." so we decided to do fast food and drove through Taco Bell, which is so cheap, cheaper than cooking. Come on 79 cent burritos? You can't beat that, although technically that's not what we ordered, and I know the nutritional content is some what suspect and I am pretty sure my arteries are hardening as we speak so we try and avoid that most of the time.


Anyway, back to a couple mornings ago. I told him we were out but we could make some.

Blank look.

I asked him to look under the microwave for a metal square that you plug in and went back to my browsing.

Triumphantly he brought it out! Is this it? Yep. So we mixed up the batter and made the waffles, which he declared outstanding and better than the box and then told me the good news that we would never run out again and could make them everyday.



Fast forward to waffles day three. He's still happily making waffles every morning.

This morning when we came out to the kitchen we found fruit flies. Yuck! He said (in a very happy voice), looks like we have lots of hunting to do today!!

The little sou chef is also pretty cute. Moments before she came to assist she was bouncing around the kitchen with her baby on her shoulder saying "shhh shhh shhh" She's such a little mamma.

sharing the pool

Since we've been home the weather has been perfect, just like it should be in the summer. Hot. We've had some clouds in the sky but they haven't let loose with any rain and we've been able to enjoy the pool every day. Each afternoon we've invited different friends over to swim.
Tuesday the kids were thrilled because they each had a couple special friends over. It seems like a popular age span for siblings and we have many friends with a match for more than one kid! H was able to swim with Amanda and K. Brother had his friend C and also Elijah, Zecheriah and Ryan over. The boys had an awesome time jumping in together and making big splashes!
Wednesday E really wanted to invite his friend Jason and his family and H had Sara and her family. It was fun. E "showed" Jason how to swim and that positive peer pressure really worked because he took off his vest and was able to stick his head in, kick and get from spot to spot!
Today the neighbor girls came over. They live sort of around the corner from us. Amy goes to school with J and Megan with H and Rachel is right in the middle. They are nice girls and the kids had a great time.

the colony is growing...

this morning we were unloading the car and out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash of red in our overgrown flower bed. I looked more closely and discovered that a new gnome had moved in. I was so surprised and asked S, where it had come from. She came home a few days before us and I thought she might know something about the new arrival. She said she saw him too but didn't know. So crazy! We are pleased and surprised...so mystery bestower of garden gnomes, we thank you.

Today is sunny and bright. We had some friends over to swim and the water was warm. We got our car cleaned out and vacuumed, now we just need to work on the house.

for the record, DH always does a beautiful job on our flower beds. Every year he plants and tills and cultivates and they look very nice. On our small lot they were most lovely. Now that we have "land" it's still lovely, although more overwhelming and difficult to keep on top of. This is the first time when the beds have just gotten away from him. We have big weed patches and tall grass. I'm sure it's temporary, we've just had an unusual summer with all the rain, travel and general busyness.

College MeMe

My friend Joy tagged me for a 8 random things meme: college edition.



Ok so here are the rules!1) Each player must post these rules first.2) Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.3) Tagged people post their eight things and these rules.4) End your post by ‘tagging’ eight new people to play.5) Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog for these instructions.



1. I went to college full time my first semester freshman year, then it took me another 7ishs years to graduate with an A.S.

2. I wanted to be a nurse and I ended up a teacher.

3. I finished my B.A. in Social Science (code for couldn't pick a major :) ) at Chapman University.

4. The hardest classes I ever took were BYU independent study courses, and Anatomy.

5. I never walked through any graduation ceremonies. I kept thinking when I get my MA (which I am just shy of) maybe, or a PhD.

6. I wanted to go to BYU, but didn't. I wanted D to go, but she didn't....I still have 5 kids left, maybe one of them will go :)

7. I never had the typical "college experience" since I lived at home and went to community college and then was a mom and going to school at night and/or part time but I LOVED college. I loved my classes, and studying and writing papers.

8. I wanted to major in eveything and take every class, it was so fun, still do.

I tag my sisters and whoever else wants to do it!

Cincinnati Zoo

We went to the zoo today. It's been a crazy week with trying to get everything settled and everyone needed a break.
The zoo was so fun.

The manatee habitat was awesome! They were so interesting and the kids were fascinated.
We went to the bird show which was really good. The birds were beautiful and the show was funny!

Besides the zoo we have been doing funeral stuff.

We've also swam in the pool, gone out to eat and last night Nana watched the littles and the rest of us went to see "Harry Potter". I liked it a lot.

After the service

Grandma B's service was very nice. We had a lot of family here and the minister did a good job. She had chosen her songs and verses and everything she wanted before and we were able to follow that.

Nana's house was very full with cousins and kids and uncles and aunts. Family, family, everywhere. Besides the fact that we were all here to pay our respects it was fun to see everyone and to spend time together.

Picture from the Pioneer Activity

Saturday morning the kids went to a Primary Quarterly Activity. They had a pioneer theme and did a really nice job. The kids all had tons of fun. They got to make butter and play pioneer era games. They got to hear stories of pioneers and color pictures. They had snacks and they got to dress up and have an old fashioned picture taken. Saturday was a busy day and we almost didn't make the time to go...I'm glad it didn't get squeezed off the agenda for the day.

Today is another busy day. We have lots to do to get ready. It's about 2 o'clock though and I feel like we're making good progress. Hopefully the drive tomorrow will go as well.

crash, splash and birthday bash

This morning the kids spent some time outside in the flower bed trying to catch a butterfly. This is a new favorite activity of theirs. I don't know why.

Then we went shopping. I got dresses for the girls because they both have grown a lot and their nice dresses were getting too short and we wanted something nice to wear to the funeral.

We came home to boxes on the porch! Fun surprise!
Then Lucy took a nap and our friends came over to swim. She woke up part way through and joined us. The kids love jumping off the diving rock. Baylee was in a grouchy mood so I got to man the deep end and get swamped with water. They were so cute jumping off and being silly. J spent the day with Emma.

After dinner DH took the kids swimming again. This picture is of Lucy waiting for him to be ready, she's got her cute swim diaper on and we were lucky she kept the couch dry because they don't hold pee.

I got new shoes. My ankle has been a lot worse lately. I have resigned myself that I will have to have the bone chips removed. I guess I'll do that as soon as we get back.

Oh, almost forgot, we got rear ended today. We were driving to our big shopping extravaganza and stopped at a light that just turned red. The car behind me didn't stop and ended up driving under our bumper. Her car was crumpled. Ours, we had to brush the paint she left on the bumper off. One plus to the suburban. We had some minor bumps but I think all will be well. S and I both had headaches from being pushed forward and then back into the head rests, my back was also kind of sore. I have an appointment with the chiropractor tomorrow before our trip. H hurt her foot smashing it into the seat in front of her. Over all we are lucky, the car is fine, and our scrapes will be find soon.


J went to RB's (Emma's dad) birthday. She was happy to be invited and wanted to bring him a gift, I told her dad's like candy so she took airheads.

She came home with homemade chocolate cake to share with us. Which was so delicious.

Tomorrow we have our venturing kick off meeting. I am refreshments girl so I need to take care of that. I also need to send off my good-mail pkgs that are sitting ready to go. We need to clean the car, buy trip food, finish laundry and pack. Hopefully we'll get an early start on Wednesday. Oh, I also need to find a baby sitter for Millie and take my key and Nikko's to Joy.

DH is feeling like he's getting sick so hopefully he'll be well, and everyone will be fine, and things will go smoothly.

Recap

Saturday DH took the littles to see "Transformers" , they liked it. S and J went to see "License to Wed", they liked it.
Z came over and helped us move our old couch, in then out, then in then out and finally we settled with putting it on the curb and it walked away today. Yeah. The new couch looks great and we are very happy with it.

Yesterday was ward council, very long but it went well.
I taught two lessons Sunday School and Relief Society. I think they both went fine.

My good friend Julia is moving to our ward in two weeks from So Carolina. I am very excited. Her husband arrived this weekend so we had him over for dinner. we had fun visit. Around 9pm Emma and her parents came to pick up J to go spend the night. They stayed to visit for a little while too, which was very fun.

Now today we are having some friends come to swim to celebrate the sun being out! and we're getting stuff ready to drive to Ohio. We're leaving on Wednesday for Grandma B's services.

Grandma Betty

Today Grandma Betty died. She was almost 87 years old, and had been in bad health. Still we were surprised and sad.

I met Grandma when she was already 78 years old, I wish I had known her even longer. She was the most wonderful lady. She was always cheerful and smiling. Always kind and interested in everyone and everything.

I remember the first Christmas we spent in Ohio. DH and I had just gotten married that summer and this was the first time the girls and I spent Christmas outside of CA. It snowed! Which was so exciting for us. On Christmas Eve we went to Grandma and Grandpa B's for dinner. She had the table set so beautifully. DH said that she always did, everything was always special when she did it. She made cute little salads out of pears for the girls that looked like mice and we tried buckeye's for the first time. They were yummy. She also poured their drinks out of a pitcher that played music when you tipped it up. They were charmed. I have that pitcher now in my collection, I need to remember to show the littles how it plays music.

She was a wonderful example of how making a little extra effort made things so nice for family and guests.

Every time we saw her she was always so thrilled and interested in each of us. She made you feel like you were really special and she was the biggest cheerleader you ever could meet. With that kind of love and enthusiasm how could we not try and shine for her?

One thing I will never forget is how she always got down on the floor and played with the kids. Even up until this last Christmas. She would get down on the ground and talk to them, and see what they were doing and clap and smile. She truly was just a delightful person.


She had many interesting stories to tell as well. She and Grandpa did a lot of travelling. They worked hard to raise two sons who grew up to be the nicest men. She had grand kids and great grand kids and nieces and nephews and I am sure many many friends~ all who loved her.

I feel sad for us because we will miss her. I feel sad for Abba, who was a good and loving son and who will miss her the most. I am glad for her. I know she is happy. She is with her sweetheart Bill again, and together they will spend eternity. They were always so kind and sweet with each other, sharing stories of a lifetime spent together and smiles. I know she knew the Lord and loved Him and served Him and I am confident that He greeted her with open arms and great love as His beloved daughter has returned home again.

I hope I can be like Grandma B. She had so many good qualities and was such a Christ-like, sweet, bright, awesome person. We are lucky to have known her and I will be happy to see her again some day.

baby steps away from babyhood

Lucy has learned how to climb out of her crib. I had no desire to move her to a real bed because, well lets face it, the handy dandy crib bars kept her safe and secure and at least while she was asleep I could know she wasn't leaving the house, or drinking something poisonous, or cutting the hair off the dog or....
But once she could get out we knew it was time, it was safer to move her. We used to have a toddler bed but Peter took it to Ohio with him so today we went off in search of a new one. We found this beautiful princess model at Toys R Us on sale for $45. We brought it home and S and J and I spent some time reading the directions, then sorting the parts, then putting it together, then taking it apart because it was wrong, the putting it together again, then looking for the parts that Lucy walked off with, then putting it together again.

We had a busy errand day. We went to the scout shop, which was hiding, and got venturing stuff. Then we got gas. We went to get the bed. We went to Sam's and ate samples for lunch and bought groceries. Came home and assembled the bed, cleaned up, read.

Tonight was date night. At Sam's I saw this awesome couch. We have been on the market for a leather couch for a long time. Years. We had a real specific look in mind. And a real specific price range. Those two never met. Today the couch I saw was in the price range, and although it was not exactly what we had in mind it was a good looking couch. So tonight I took DH back to look at it. He also liked it and then we found out there was one discontinued floor model left with a teeny tiny scratch on the arm so that made it $100 less. Sold. Whoo Hoo! I am very excited. Tomorrow we'll go pick it up and then our ghetto couch will be looking for a new home! I am very excited.

Randomly, there's this crazy guy on the discovery channel on a show called Man vs Wild, who is very entertaining.

the rest of the day

If you woke up and house looked like a hurricane would you
a) wake everyone up to clean together in a cheerful work crew style
or
b) play on the computer while the kids ate marshmallows left on the table last night and watched Fairly OddParents

I choose b.... but we'll do a at 10am. Teens love to sleep in and are much more cheerful helpers at 10 than at, say 7.

The rest of our fourth was very fun. The kids swam all afternoon.

S had friends over and they watched a movie and played games.

By dinner time only three extra teens were here and we asked them to stay and join us and, duh, they did. We also had the missionaries coming over. And I quickly called my friend JoyIsMyGoal since her son was one of the kids here and asked if they wanted a to come. Even thought it was last minute they said yes. Yeah :)

We had a very fun time. The food was yummy. Joy's cake was so pretty and she brought a smore maker that was very cool.

She also brought poppers and the kids had fun making loud noises.
Our neighbors always have lots of fireworks. We watched for a while, until the bugs had plenty of feasting upon us.

We also played CatchPhrase, which used to be Dh's favorite game and is very fun. They had never played so it was fun to introduce them to it.

It was a good day.

And now, we'll clean.

Happy 4th!!!

Happy 4th!

We got up early and went to get stuff ready for the breakfast.

The cultural hall looked great and the food was hot so yeah.
We had some difficulties with combining but over all I think it was fine.

The kids had a great time at the bike parade.

and, right now, the sun is shining so hopefully we'll have some pool time.


Waiting to eat breakfast!

Lucy and some friends ride in the wagon for the parade!

Sun shining fun!

This afternoon we have a houseful of teenagers planning on swimming, watching movies, cooking hot dogs, and general merriment.

We're also feeding the missionaries and watching fireworks. Our neighbors all shoot off fireworks so we just go in the yard and watch until we're tired of it. Then we go inside and listen for the next two hours. It's very fun.

it's raining, it's pouring, no one is snoring

What to do with our lazy summer days?

Last night we watched "Miss Potter". I really liked it, it truly is delightful and charming. J loved it as well. The little kids mostly just bounced around the room and S fell asleep but I think we have to give it a collective thumbs up.

Today we went to the bank and got free snow cones. Some of us had blue coconut~ yumm! others had lemonade~ also yumm.

Then we went to the mall. Brother got a church suit, J bought two turtles with a bucket full of change she had been saving. She named them Scout and Jem. We played on the play area, smelled the lotions and ate some noodles.

Next we went to the library. We checked out TKAMB the movie and some books.

Finally we went to Wal-mart where Brother finally got his new birthday bike. It's a very cool spider-man model. He also got a remote control spidey car and we got 4th of July fixins' although with rain on the forecast the festivities will be slightly less festive.

We got soaked running from place to place, but our car is looking might clean these days:)

funny things heard at our house today

J: "raise your hand if you are grateful we don't have enough zucchini to make pancakes with yet."

E: "I like being nak*d in our pool, it feels like nothing is holding me down" said while swimming in our two hour window of "warmish" weather and his swim trunks kept slipping down every time he dove in and finally ended up in a puddle on the bottom of the pool.

Lucy: talking on the phone to Grandma "i rash, my byeper, not fiin, byeper."

also Lucy: "my dahdoul" while running around in her byeper bonus points for anyone who can translate 2year old language

S: "why did you let D get that perm when she already had huge hair and braces?"

S: in a shocked voice "J, you graffitied on your temple"

Emma: coming down stairs after watching "The Ring", in the daytime, with a flashlight, and a blanket and two friends..."that wasn't even scary"

J: "Mom, help me kill this stupid mockingbird" she finally finished the book, which she liked, and now we are looking for lessons Scout learned. Tomorrow we'll watch the movie, can't wait.

J: "Mom, you are so acting like a 10 year old" After I called her 12 times and she came only when she heard the phone ring in case it was for her and then she asked me something and I said "I can't hear you"

DH: "just a minute while I beat E at Star Wars"
E:" You mean lose?!"
trash talk the early years

H: singing every Disney theme song all day long...loudly. too much TV, not enough sun.

little road blocks along the way

July 2nd, still over cast and we're expecting showers.

This is a problem on several accounts. First we, the family, have been hoping to have a BBQ/swim/fun fest with friends. We haven't invited anyone yet because of the weather. We just don't know if it will be nice out. The kids are sad, I am sad. I guess we still have until tomorrow.

We can always have people over just for BBQing but frankly we're just not that fun and the pool adds to our likability :)

Second we, the ward, have our annual 4th of July breakfast and bike parade which is normally the easiest activity of the year to plan because I delegate the whole thing out part and parcel but this year...not so much. I started with delegating. The high priests cook the breakfast, the elders set up, the primary does the bike parade, the RS decorates and the scouts do the flag ceremony. Perfect. I coordinate and am there to help. Yesterday we ran into a non weather related snafu. The Fossil Ridge Ward also reserved the building for the exact same activity at the same time. There was a coordination problem, obviously. Our ward had it on the calendar, but their ward had an okay via e-mail and somehow those two didn't meet. At church we discovered the conflict. Some time was spent last night trying to figure out what to do. One problem we have is our building is too small for two wards to par-tay together. We thought about offering to move our breakfast to the lawn, but the weather.

Finally we decided to set up in four rooms and have everyone mix and mingle. We'll combine programs, share food, and people can find seats where they can. It won't be the same as everyone in the cultural hall but it's the only choice. Now the only worry is the weather for the bike parade and the number of kids we'll have out there... which I am thinking will be a lot.

makes me wish I was in Heidi's fireworks stand with Dani selling away :)

Which leads me to the last issue to be solved. DH wants to go to Utah and spend time with Ben. He's thinking about in a month or so when the initial support is waning that everyday life sets in. I think this is a good plan. It's far away but really they have been good friends for a long time and we can swing it. So plan A would be for him to fly up there, spend a long weekend, fly back. That would be the easy and cheaper plan. Plan B, the one DH is rooting for, would be for all of us to pile in the car, road trip up (did I mention it was far), drop me and the kiddos at MSV's and then DH would go spend a couple days with Ben, then we would spend a couple days seeing friends and family, then we'd drive the 20 long, tedious, tortuous hours home. Which would be SO fun. I would LOVE to see D and G, and MSV, and our friends Sheila and Warren and Quinn and Sandy. We love going to Utah. The problem is we just drove to FL and it hasn't been long enough for me to delude myself into thinking it would be better. When we spread our cross country treks apart 6 months or so I forget a little, and I always think "well, the kids are getting older"....ha, actually double ha ha. That is the same thinking that made me labor SIX times to bring said kids into the world, recurring problem of worlds worst memory. Two hours into the road trip I remember and think "what have I done???" and then we grit our teeth and endure the crying for the next 18 hours. Same phenomenon. I get pregnant and then remember full well. In fact now that Lucy is bigger and babies are soooo cute and smell so nice and are so cuddly there is a teeny tiny little part of me that thinks "hhmmm, maybe another baby would be nice, and what if it was a boy?" We would have liked a brother for bub. Luckily we have taken steps to make sure our family is complete, which is how I want it, and intellectually I know I don't want another baby. They are cute though. I guess we'll be grandparent's soon enough and then the cuteness can continue. Not that this is a hint, it is not, if I had a vote, which I know I do not and I do not presume to over step, but if I did I would say enjoy your newlywed days and wait a little longer. You'll know when the time is right but once you have kids you have them for always and the time you have just the two of you is precious so enjoy and have fun.

S's EFY Fun!