2009 top ten

Another year is coming to a close.  It’s hard to believe that my kids are a year older.  I’m trying to avoid the fact that I am as well.

Here a list of the top ten things that have happened to our family this year, sort of a la David Letterman, I’m just not as funny.

1.The princess started preschool.

2.The TRMintator started his last year of elementary school.

3.Hubby put his car in a car show for the first time.

4.Hubby also got to race his car around the track at Miller Motorsports Park, and he didn’t do too shabby!

5.Hubby and I celebrated 12 mostly blissful years together by going shopping in Park City!  (my idea, not his)

6.We got to travel (yay!) and celebrate 2 nephew’s baptisms, one in Kemmerer, WY, the other in Las Vegas.

7.The princess and I went home to Iowa to see my family.

8.G-man finally mastered the art of tying his shoes.

9.TRMinator graduated from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts and earned his Arrow of Light award.

10.Both G-man and the princess got stitches for the first time, in the chin and forehead, respectively. 

11. (I can throw in an extra one if I want!  It’s my list!)  We have all made it through another year healthy and happy and grateful for all that we have.  We have been very blessed this year when others have not been as lucky.  We have wonderful family and friends and are grateful for all that the Lord has seen fit to bless us with.  On to another great year!

So this is Christmas

Christmas is a magical, fun time for kids and parents.  Once the calendar hits December 26, though, I am ready for it to be over.  I am ready for the mess to be put away, for all the new toys to have homes, and for life to be back to normal.  Does that make me a Scrooge?  If so, so be it.  I can only take my house being in a chaotic state for so long!

For some reason, I never get very many pictures on Christmas day, and I’m not really sure why.  I think I just forget to grab the camera.  I always remember to take pictures of the kids in their new jammies on Christmas Eve, though!

   One of our traditions is the kids get to open one present on Christmas Eve.  Which is usually the pajamas that I made them.  This year they got new robes and slippers also.  I’m not even going to go into how many stores I went to looking for kids slippers!  You wouldn’t think it would be hard to find kids slippers, especially this time of year.  You would be wrong!

Of course, I didn’t get pictures of the kids opening their presents, so I told them to get 2 or 3 of their favorites so I could take their picture… 2 days later.

This was TRMintaor’s

This is the G-man’s

 

And the Princess

 

Then there was me!!

Dude!!  I got a Dell!  Isn’t it pretty?!  The design is called Princesses Rule!  I think that is hilarious.

Hubby asked me a month or so ago if I wanted a laptop for Christmas.  I think I laughed at him.  I thought, “why on earth would I want a laptop?  I would never use it!”  Well, lo and behold, when Hubby got his new Macbook for work, I found myself using his old one just about everyday, and I decided that I did want one.

Well, Christmas morning rolled around, and I saved what I thought was my laptop as my last present.  When I opened it and found that it was a new electric griddle instead, I tried not to be too visibly disappointed.  I really didn’t think that he would pass on an opportunity to go computer shopping for me, but maybe he decided to be super responsible - you never know, it could happen!   Then he pulled out one more present.  When I opened it, it was a laptop sleeve with a piece of paper sending me on a scavenger hunt through the house.  After deciphering TRMinator’s clues (he helped with this scheme)  I found my beautiful new computer.  Hubby spoiled me yet again!

Christmas aftermath

Christmas afternoon.  I think at this point, I turned around and went upstairs to my bedroom to avoid the mess and bedlam.  That, and I wanted to go play on my pretty new pink laptop in peace!  I’ll post some pictures of that later!

Tales of Christmases past

Join me blog buddies as I tell you a story.

Once upon a time there was a little boy, we’ll call him Bubba.  Bubba was a happy, cheerful boy with an active imagination who liked to play  with his 2 big brothers.  Christmas was one of his favorite times of the year.  He loved the magical season when Santa always seemed to know the deepest wish in his heart.   

One Christmas, when little Bubba was eight years old he anxiously waited for Christmas morning to dawn.  After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, he rushed from his bedroom to join his brothers and sisters to see the Christmas tree and to find what Santa had left for him this year.

Imagine his surprise and excitement when his two older brothers saw BB guns lying there under the tree with their names on them.  Little Bubba looked at their guns with marvel and awe, then looked for his.  Santa would know that he would want one too, wouldn’t he?  After all, Santa was magical!  He always knew the things that you wanted!   After hunting around for his gun for a few minutes, he found something else with his name on it.  This couldn’t be his, he thought!  Why, it was a pop gun!  It had a cork that was on a string!  That was for little boys!  He was a big boy like his brothers!  Where was his BB gun?  Santa wouldn’t have let him down?  Would he?

After searching through everyone else’s presents he realized, that yes, indeed, Santa had let him down.  How could this be?  Santa had always known what he had wanted.  He just couldn’t understand how this had happened.

Little Bubba grew up.  Eventually the sting of not getting the BB gun faded, but he never quite forgot that day, and his disappointment.   Then, one day, during his now grown up family Christmas party, after all the games and laughter had died down, and the bits a wrapping paper had been thrown away, his mother found a letter stuck in the Christmas tree.  It was addressed to Bubba, and it was from Santa Claus!  As his trembling fingers opened the envelope, he pulled out the letter and began to read.  He found that Santa had not forgotten about him!  Santa had realized his mistake so many years ago, and wanted to make it right.  Then right before his eyes, out came his mother with one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen!  A Daisy Red Rider BB gun!  He couldn’t believe it!  Santa finally made one of his biggest wishes into a reality!  After all those years, he never forgot, but neither did Santa.

The end

 

Christmas season smorgasbord

I thought I would post a few pictures of our Christmas season so far.

TRMinator had his piano recital on Saturday.  He played 2 songs and did really well.

I think I was just as relieved as he was when it was over.

Last week G-man had his 3rd grade Christmas program at school.  They sang lots of Christmas songs, and thankfully it was only a half an hour long.

 

Sunday they wore their Christmas outfits to church.  TRMinator had a tie that he had to learn to tie.  He was pretty protective of his knot!

That’s the rundown of the last week.  Stay tuned for more action-packed activities!

Oh alright fine, random Friday

I wasn’t going to post anything today since I just did yesterday.  Really, I wasn’t.  I guess I just can’t resist a random Friday, when I can just throw out all those random thoughts in my head and not tie them all together.  (Sometimes that’s harder than you think!)

My boys are out of school all next week.  I am quite happy about this because they will be home to entertain the princess instead of me.  And by entertain, I mean they will be on the computers playing games and she will be sitting next to them watching and giving “helpful” hints the whole time.  Thankfully, they either don’t mind her little hints or completely tune her out.  They are even nice enough to let her play for them when they take a bathroom break.  (They are filled with brotherly kindness.)  I will also get to run all my errands sans children because TRMinator is old enough to stay home with them.  I’m sure that I will have more than enough of other people’s children to deal with while I am at the store!

I think I am done with all my Christmas shopping, really.  I thought that two days ago, but Hubby and I ran to the store last night and got some more stuff.  (I’m not mentioning what store because TRMinator reads this and he will figure out what we got, he’s smart like that.)

Here’s yet another example of my craziness, I think I’m going to make new Christmas stockings.  Never mind the fact that I made new ones last year, thinking that I hadn’t made new ones for several years, when in fact, when I pulled out my Christmas stuff, I realized that I made new ones the year before.  In case you got lost in that long, run on sentence, this will be the third year in a row that I’ve made new stockings.  Here’s the reason why, first of all, when I bought the material for them last year, I bought way too much, so I have enough to make more.  The second reason would be that Santa has told me some of the things that he’s bring for their stockings and I don’t think they’ll fit, and bigger ones would be oh so helpful.  So, since I’m done with all my other sewing, I figured, why not?!

I’ve got a few other random things running through my head, but I need to get off the computer, and try to be productive.  Namely, get those new presents wrapped before the kids get home!

The lovely stages of childhood

When the G-man was younger, he spent a lot of time in the corner.  And by a lot, I mean that sometimes he took his naps there.

Thankfully, I’ve blocked most of his naughtiness out of my mind, so I had to ask Hubby to refresh my memory on why he was always in trouble.  He said that he would ignore us, and never listen.  Then the memories of counting came flooding back.  You know, give them to the count of three before all heck breaks loose, counting.  I would say in my, I’m the parent, and you will listen to me, voice, “ONE!”  And after enough training, (for some reason Pavlov’s dogs come to mind) he would come running.  For those of you who know G-man in his current greatness, the fact that he could be a naughty little boy might surprise you.  By the time the princess was born he was out of that particular stage.  (he’s been through a lot of stages, *withered sigh*) 

The princess hasn’t had any really naughty stages till the ripe old age of four.  It’s been about 4 or 5 years since I’ve had to put anyone in the corner or in time out, so I’ve kind of forgotten that is an option.  I don’t ever send my kids to their room when they’re in trouble  because that’s where most of their toys are, they will just go and play.

Case in point, when I was a kid, I only remember being sent to my room once, and it was by my dad!  Let me tell you, that was on odd occurrence.  He was not the disciplinarian in our family, my mom was.  My dad is a pretty mellow, easy going guy.  He doesn’t get riled up.  In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him angry.  He gets annoyed by things every once in awhile, but I can’t really even picture him actually angry at something or someone.  I have no idea what I did that day, but it must have been something!  I remember my mom was gone, (probably working) and after I was banished to my room, I roamed the upstairs to find something to do.  I don’t think I took it as seriously as I would have if my mom had done the banishing,  I actually remember being somewhat amused, it was just such an odd occurrence!  Anyway, I found some crayons and a coloring book to pass the time, and for some reason felt the need to ask him if I could use them.  I called downstairs to ask and he told me no, (Wow!  He was asserting his authority!) but I figured, I have them, I’m still going to use them.  So the time I was sent to my room actually ended up being play time.  (sorry dad, to let you know 20+ years later that your attempt at discipline didn’t go so well!)

Oh yes, the princess and time out!  (See, I get back to my point eventually!)  She is going through a mouthy stage right now.  She likes to argue and huff, and roll her eyes at us and generally try to make us feel like we are the dumbest people on the planet.  (and I was under the misperception that wouldn’t start till she was a teenager!  Ha!!)  I generally just tell her to knock it off and to not talk to me like that.  Then I remembered time out!  I make her sit in the front room by herself for 5 minutes and she doesn’t like it!  She’s not used to it, and she really doesn’t like having to sit there by herself.  Hopefully we can nip this little behavior in the bud, because I don’t want a bratty child!

Wordless Wednesday

 

Christmas Card Conundrum

Is it bad that my Christmas cards are a bit impersonal and have no handwriting on them anywhere?

Let me give you my background on Christmas card-age.  My mom never sent out Christmas cards when I was growing up.  That’s not to say that she didn’t enjoy receiving them from other people.  In fact she still has all the cards that people have sent her from the last several years.  (I’m not sure which I find more amusing, the fact that the queen of no clutter and throwing things away has actually kept several years worth of Christmas cards, or that she keeps them in a tacky, clearly out of date plastic canvas Santa holder.) 

I decided several years ago, that I should break my family’s non-card sending tradition, I figured people might want to see a picture of my children.  So I went to the store and got those cards that you just stick a picture in.  Then I realized that I actually had to write in all of them!  I don’t have the best handwriting in the world, so between trying to keep it legible and trying to think of something somewhat witty and person appropriate, I just about gave up on the whole institution. 

Then I discovered a beautiful little thing called photo cards.  I had Hubby create one from scratch one year, but then had difficulties finding a place to print it for me at card rates instead of picture rates (card rates are cheaper!)  So I found a lovely online place that has lots of templates and you just drop the picture in, click order and they magically appear in your mailbox about 4 days later.  I was happy with these, people saw how much my kids have grown, I don’t have to write on each one, but I still hand addressed the envelopes, so they still had a bit of a personal touch.

This year I decided to involve Hubby.  I had him sit down with me last night to address the envelopes.  Now if you know my hubby, you know that if he’s involved, so is the computer.  I read off addresses, he typed them into the computer so we could print them off, which I was actually okay with, because it sure made getting them addressed snappy!  Then as I was stuffing the cards in, I thought, “Umm, there’s no handwriting on here anywhere, some people might perceive these as a tad impersonal.”  So my conundrum is, do I care?  I know that I will be receiving beautiful, handmade cards from all my sisters in law, but at this point, I don’t think I care how impersonal mine are.  I think I’m just going to be happy that I can check that task off my list and call it good!  I guess conundrum solved, right?  Right!  (at least that’s what I’m trying to convince myself!)

Random Friday

I posted yesterday some of the things I didn’t like about winter.  Well, here is one thing that I do!  My car.  I love my car in the winter.  I have an Explorer with 4 wheel drive and tires that are bigger than the standard ones, so I have a bit extra clearance also.  (Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have huge, mongo, montster truck, I’m going to run over all the smaller cars, tires,  they are very tasteful.)  I have found that I can get through pretty much anything.  That being said, when I finally get stuck one of these days (you never know, it might happen), I’m sure that I will be stuck good!   I’m also sure that hubby won’t be able to pull me out with his little Mustang!  Let’s just hope it never happens so I won’t have to worry about it!

Have I mentioned that it has been cold and snowy?  If I haven’t, it has been cold and snowy around here lately.  I’m talking highs in the teens and lows in the low single digits.  Today it is supposed to warm up to 25(!), so I decided to get out for the first time this week and go for a run.  (When I went it was still 17, but that’s almost a heat wave!)  It wasn’t too bad, I put on 3 layers, and did my usual loop.  The only problem was that some sidewalks weren’t shoveled, so I either had to go out into the street, or run very lightly over them so I didn’t fall. 

Running in the winter almost makes me wish I had a treadmill.  Almost.  I hate treadmills because I get sooo bored.  As soon as I’m out of breath I’m done, which would mean that I’m on there for a total of 2 minutes.  When I’m running outside, I’m half a mile from home when I’m tired and want to be done, but I have to get home, so I have to suck it up and finish.

Hubby and I are going on our annual date/shopping night, tonight.  We take the kids to my parent’s, then we go Christmas shopping and go out to eat.  I love it.  I kind of  have to take Hubby shopping with me now, because he knows which Lego set is better and what the boys would think is cool better than I do.  I’m the better clothes shopper, he is the better toy shopper.  We usually eat when we’re done shopping, then I get to enter my version of nirvana, and sit at the table with my notebook and write down everything that we bought and make a list for each of the kids to make sure that they are equal.  Aaahhh!!  I love lists and organization!  It almost makes me giddy just thinking about it!  The best part is, the kids are spending the night there (the princess has been wanting to spend the night at grandma’s for some time now) so we don’t have to hurry and can take our time to find everything that we need.  (I’m one of those crazy people that doesn’t want to take advantage of my parents or have my kids overstay their welcome, so I start getting nervous to pick them up after a couple of hours.)

My kids are off from school the whole week of Christmas. I’m trying to think of some fun, maybe crafty things to do with them while they are home.  Any ideas?  I don’t want to make a tons of treats that will be calling my name.  If I come up with something good I’ll post some pictures!  We’ll see what happens.

Winter idiotsyncrasies

I’ve discovered that I have a few odd idiosyncrasies, or as I like to call them, idiotsyncrasies about winter.  I don’t like the sound of snow crunching under my feet.  For some reason it gives me the willeys.  It’s almost like I can feel it crunch through my whole body, and I just don’t like it.  It’s the same thing when I’m driving over crunchy snow, it just kind of icks me out.

I also don’t like frozen, matted down tire tracks of snow in my driveway.  I like it to be completely clear and free of snow.  We live in a south facing house, so usually the sun takes care of any tire tracks we might drag in from the street, but the last few days have been so exceptionally cold that the sun hasn’t been able to do it’s job!  It’s been kind of bugging me lately that there are still tire tracks, but I’m trying to ignore it and let it go… probably unsuccessfully.  I’m sure I’ll be out there scraping them away as soon as I pick up the princess from school.  I know, it’s silly, but I don’t care, I’ll feel much better when it’s clear.  And double bonus!  I won’t have to listen to my tires crunch over it anymore!  (shudder!!)

Wordless Wednesday

It just dawned on me that it is Wednesday, how sad is that?  So here’s one to make us think of warmer days!

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree!

 

Putting up the Christmas tree, a yearly family tradition, right?  Well, not in my house!  Hubby puts it up for me, (we went to pre-lit artificial several years ago, he got tired of stringing the lights)  then no one gets to touch it but me!  Yes, that’s right, I and I alone decorate the tree.  I take decorating the tree very seriously, and it has to look right.  All of my ornaments have to be in the color scheme that I have (this year gold or silver) and they have to be put up in the right place.

I know, it should be a fun family tradition to decorate the Christmas tree together, but not for me.  I got my kids their own little trees that they have in their rooms that they can decorate however they want, so long as they don’t touch my tree!  I don’t care how lopsided and thrown together their trees look, no one sees them but them!

I’m not really sure when I became so OCD about my tree.  I think maybe one year I got it just right (when my kids were still to young to want to help) and from then on I realized that tree perfection had to come from me and me alone. 

Let’s all enjoy this holiday season and enjoy the time we have to spend with our family and loved ones, just please…                           

DON’T TOUCH MY TREE!!!!!!

Thanksgiving pics

When I pulled the pictures from Thanksgiving weekend off my camera, I realized that I didn’t get any pictures from the actual big day.  Which is pretty typical for me.  I never do, and I don’t really know why.  I see my sister’s in law getting out their camera’s, but I guess I don’t feel the need for more pictures that I’m not going to do anything with.  (I think I’ve pretty much given up on the whole scrapbooking thing, except for the 2 times a year that I go and scrapbook with my SIL’s and let me tell you, I don’t get much done then.)

This year, we decided that we wanted to do a little bit of the touristy stuff because TRMinator wanted to go to M&M World.

 

Just as a side note, we hadn’t been to the strip for years, holy cow, I forgot how R- rated it can be!!

The one thing the boys wanted to know about when Hubby and I went to New York last year was the Statue of Liberty, so I had to take a picture of TRMinator in front of the Las Vegas version.

On Saturday, while everyone else went riding motorcycles and four wheelers, we took the two younger ones to a children’s museum.

They had an exhibit called Grossology, which was a bunch of things about how the body works.  Of course they loved it.  That is a big piece of skin that they are climbing.

This was a big bubble station.  It was pretty cool.

We had lots of fun, and it was good to see everyone.  Till next year!!

Thanksgiving travels

The fam and I packed up and went to Las Vegas for Thanksgiving.  Not because we wanted to remember what we have and be grateful for it as we watched it go down the drain in a casino, but because Hubby’s brother lives there, and that’s where everyone likes to go for the holiday.  (Just for the record, neither Hubby nor I have ever even played the slots, let alone the tables, I would be a confused mess if I ever did.  Sometimes it’s just too hard for me to count to 21.) 

If you’ve read my blog in the past, you know that a seven hour ride in the car pretty much equates to seven hours of torture for me.  I get really bored.  So, I prepared myself for seven fun filled hours of looking out the window and refereeing the fights between my children. (my wonderful hubby drove the whole way and didn’t make me take a turn!)

If you’ve ever gone down the interstate, you might notice a thing called an HOV lane.  Now, these special little lanes clear on the left side of the road have been around for awhile, you would think most people would have the hang of them by now.  Some people are under the misperception that as long as they have two people in the car, it’s just another lane, and it’s perfectly acceptable to putter along at 65 MPH.  I would like to take this opportunity to enlighten the general population.  The HOV lane is designed to encourage carpools,  and to help those people not get bogged down by the rest of the traffic as much.  If there was ever a lane to go faster in, it’s that one!  Seriously, if you are only going to go 65, don’t get in the carpool lane!  We got stuck behind so many slow people, it was ridiculous!  Other than that, the drive actually wasn’t too bad.  I’ll post more on the trip and the fun stuff we did and pictures later.  Now, I am sooo ready to sleep in my own comfy bed!

Thankful Thanksgiving

Things I am thankful for!

T-  TRMinator

H- Hubby

A- A very special princess

N- New kitchen appliances

K- Kind people

S- Sales on stuff that I’ve been wanting

G- G-man

I- Ice cream

V- Very big hugs from my children

I- Internet access from anywhere!

N- Neighbors

G- Grandparents

Wordless Wednesday (from Las Vegas!)

 

I posted this while in Las Vegas, the picture wasn’t taken in Las Vegas. (just to clarify!)

It’s the most wonderful time of the yeeaaarrrr!!

Aahh the holiday season.  The time of peace on earth, goodwill toward man and the time where everyone runs around like they have lost their minds and common sense and courtesy go out the window.

I have a pet peeve about something that is generally worse during the holidays- shopping carts in parking lots.  Seriously people!!  How hard is it to put the cart back in a cart return!!!  Even when my kids were really little I could manage to put them back!   There are so many times when I see a cart stranded in the middle of a parking spot, and there is a cart return right on the other side of the aisle.  I watched a lady one time put more energy and effort into putting a cart up over the lip of the side walk that ran in front of her car so she could leave it there, than it would have taken to turn around and wheel it to the cart return that was directly behind her car.  It’s amazing to me that people can’t take the extra 2 seconds of effort to just put the cart where it goes, and show a little courtesy to everyone around them.

As I’ve gotten older and more crotchety, I’ve found that I try to avoid shopping centers if at all possible during the month of December.  I like to try and get as much as I can done early, so I can stay home in my nice warm, comfy house, instead of go out and curse under my breath at all the people who left their common sense and manners at home.

Aaahh, the holiday season, it’s the most wonderful time of the year… as long as I can stay home, and not deal with the general public!

p.s.  Here’s another one that I saw when Hubby and I were out shopping on Saturday, if it’s cold enough outside to be wearing a coat, don’t you think it’s cold enough to put socks or some type of footwear on your baby?  Don’t you think their little toes might be just a bit cold?  Some people’s ignorance amazes me!  Sorry, I try and keep this blog positive, but that one just bugs me!!

Are you smarter than a preschooler?

How is it, that a four year old can make me feel like one of the dumbest people around?

I was running errands the other day with the princess and she was pretty much chattering non-stop in the back seat.  Her chattering consists mostly of questions, and her questions are of the inane, pointless, makes no sense, variety.  So I find myself saying, “I don’t know” a lot.  

She also likes to play whatever game on the computer that her brothers are playing.  Of course, they are games that I’m not interested in, so I have no idea how to play them, and either does the princess, for the most part.  Every time she asks me how to do something in the game, I have to say, “I don’t know.”  Let me tell you, after spending half the day saying  “I don’t know” and the other half  saying, “What?” because I can’t understand her, or I have no idea what she is talking about,  I’m left in a near constant state of befuddlement, and I’m really starting to feel like I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed. 

It’s moments like these, when I think I’m going to lose my mind because I’ve been talking to a 4 year old all day, and I’m really starting to think my intelligence level has dropped below hers, that I try and take a step back, and realize just how lucky I really am.  I get to stay home all day with her, and I get to hear all her inane questions, and not a babysitter.  I get to be the one that she comes to when she wants to know why the mountains are over there, and not over here, or why chips come in a bag.  I get to be the one that listens to her count out the 5 things she wants for lunch every day.  Being a stay at home mom isn’t always the easiest, most exciting job, but it’s the most important one that I will ever have and one that I treasure and wouldn’t give up for anything.

Wordless Wednesday (as wordless as I can get it)

 

I thought since it was cold outside, I would post a picture from our cruise 2 years ago, so I can dream of warmer days!    This was a beach in Cozumel, Mexico.

More of that dredging stuff

More picture posts!

I was going through old pictures of my boys this morning, and I had a hard time narrowing it down to two.  They were so cute!  They both had chubby little cheeks and their teeth were still proportional to the size of their head.  Aaahh, the good ole days.

This was when they used to let me dress them alike and they didn’t care.  I haven’t tried to do that recently, but I’m sure they would throw a little fit.  This was Christmas 2002.

Father’s and son’s campout 2003. 

Okay, I couldn’t resist!  One more!  2003, also.

Dredging up old memories

I’ve really got nothing exciting to write about right now, so I figured I would just post a picture or two.  This week may be full of wordless picture days, except not quite the wordless part, because I’m too chatty to be completely wordless.

I was going through my vast library of pictures (what do I think I’m going to do with all of these?  I’ve pretty much given up on scrapbooking!)  and I found some pictures from TRMinator’s Arrow of Light ceremony.  He (and I) worked pretty darn hard for that little patch for his scout uniform, so I thought I would post a couple of pictures.  This was from August.

He even got an actual arrow, and no, he hasn’t broken or lost it yet!  I know, impressive!

Come on, he was almost 11, it’s not like he could have all serious pictures!

Things to ponder

My sister in law, Carla forwarded me this email a couple of days ago.  Normally, when I get those, I read them and move on, but this one was pretty funny.  (I may have cut one or two out)

1. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.
2. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
3. There is great need for a sarcasm font.
4. How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
5. Was learning cursive really necessary?
6. Map Quest needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
7. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
8. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
9. Bad decisions make good stories.
10. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.
11. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray?  I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.
12. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to the ten-page paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
13. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this --  ever.
14. I hate it when I miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dang it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?
15. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day.  What a waste.
16. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
17. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Gripe session!

I’m kind of in a mood today, so excuse me while I gripe.

Is it just me, or does the state of Utah have an extreme amount of dust?  I think I just might become friends with the dust and let it be.  Obviously it likes my house and wants to move in and become part of the family, so I think I just might let it.  Frankly, I’m getting tired of trying to keep it out.

As you might be able to tell, I’ve been cleaning the house today.  One of the things I cleaned was the bathrooms.  One of those bathrooms is the one my children use, more specifically my boys.  I won’t get into the nitty gritty, but holy cow!!  I may soon institute a ‘sit down’ rule in our house.  It was a bit ridiculous, between that and the toothpaste all over the counter, I think I might be living with a bunch of Neanderthals.

I went shopping last weekend.  I was so excited because I had friends and family coupons for 2 of my favorite stores.  One was for 30% your entire purchase at a clothing store for the princess.  (my other blogging friends never mention store names.  I’m assuming that’s not kosher for blogs, I don’t really know, but I’ll stick with what works for them.)   I got her two really cute outfits, and even with the 30 % off, they were still kind of pricey.  I just got an email from them and all the stuff I bought is now on sale.  I hate it when that happens!!  I can’t really get a price adjustment, because the extra 30% was only good for last weekend, and everything is 20% off now, so technically I got a better deal than I can now, but it would have been a heck of a lot better if they were 20% off to start with, then I got an extra 30% off.  Grrrr.

My other coupon was for an extra 20% off your total purchase at the fabric store.  I wanted to get flannel for the boys’ jammies and fabric for the princess’s Christmas dress.  Usually most everything is already on sale at that store, so I thought I would be scoring a good deal because my coupon worked on sale items too.  Well guess what.  Hardly anything was already on sale.  Aren’t we supposed to still be in a recession?  Let the consumers get some good deals, for pete sake!

I suppose I’d better get back to work now that I’ve gotten that off my chest.  I think I would be happier if that stack of ironing that is waiting for me magically ironed itself!  Either that, or hubby decided that it was cool to wear wrinkled shirts to work.  What do you think the odds of that are?  Yeah, not good.

My Babo’s still got it!

I have the best grandma!  First of all, let me explain her name.  We call her Babo, my brother came up with that when he was really little and for some reason it stuck.  So now that that’s out of the way, let me tell you a bit about her.

She was never one of those coddling grandma’s that baked us cookies and read us books (my other grandma read us books and always had the store bought iced oatmeal cookies in the cookie jar.  I loved those because that was the only place I got them!)  She was the fun, outrageous one that would blast Kenny Rogers from the radio and dance around the kitchen.  I loved to hang out with her while I was growing up.

She and my grandpa ran an apple orchard while I was young.  They had a building out back that was called the Apple House, where we sold produce in the summer, and did crafts in the winter.  I think we made more Apple Annie dolls than I could count!

I have great memories of running among the trees, and exploring all the corners of their property.  I also loved going to their house because she always had so many tubes of lipstick, and the really great thing was, she let me try it on!  It was fun getting all dolled up with makeup, then putting on one of her numerous pairs of clip-on earrings (the best!) and putting on a show.  I really think that I had a better childhood because she was a big part of it. 

My Babo is 82 now.  Most people slow down, and mellow out by the time they reach their 80’s.  Not her!  In fact, she got pulled over for speeding just the other day!   The policewoman said she had to run her license twice because she didn’t believe she was 82!  How awesome is that!?  My grandma is the best, and I wouldn’t change anything about her!  I love her!

It’s a bee-yoo-tiful day in the neighborhood!

I like to tease Hubby that he can’t write anything that is only one line long.  Whenever he puts out memo’s at work, they are about a page long (so I’ve heard) and generally includes at least one word that half the office isn’t quite sure what it means.  He tends to be long winded. 

I think that I might possibly be the kettle that is calling his pot black.  Whenever I think I will write a post that will be really short, it ends up being 4 paragraphs and way longer than I had anticipated.  Oh well, I just wanted to write a quick little entry praising this beautiful mid 60 degree day in November.  It is so nice outside today that I actually washed my car!  By hand!  In my driveway!  I’m amazing, huh?  I could go on with another little anecdote about washing cars in our family, but I’ll just stop here.  I can do it, really I can!

The laptop hunt

**Warning**   Boring blog ahead!  If you feel your attention start to wane, and your eyes glaze over, feel free to skip it!

Hubby has no less than 3 laptops right now.  Yes, 3.  You might be asking, “why on earth does he have three laptops?”  Well, I would be asking the same thing.  He has been shopping for a new laptop for the last several months, and let me tell you, that is no small task.  To his credit, he uses his laptop a lot, so he wants one that has all the specs that he needs, like the right screen resolution, and the list goes on and on.  Suffice it to say, there is not a perfect machine out there for him, so he has to compromise on something.  I guess he’s still trying to figure out which thing on his wish list he can live without.

So, why on earth does he have 3?  Well, he and his uncle decided that he should write an application for the I-Phone to go with their restaurant software.  Apple is very proprietary and will only let developers use Mac software to develop new apps.  So he has been shopping for a used Macbook Pro.  He found one for a good price locally on Saturday, so he bought it.  (With the intention of the business reimbursing us for it.)   Meanwhile, Windows 7 was released 2 weeks ago, so the new generation of PC laptops were released also.  He ordered a new HP Envy 2 weeks ago sight unseen, because he thought it would be a good one.  Now, if you’re like me, your thought process should be somewhere along the lines of, “Huh, extremely picky guy that has to try out every aspect before he gives it the okay, like how the keyboard feels, the screen size and ratio, how thick it is, battery life, etc., etc., etc.  Buying a laptop sight unseen…  hmmm, might be a bit risky, but whatever.”  This new HP beauty arrived on Monday.  He still has his old laptop, the Macbook and the HP.  He’s trying to decide if he likes the HP well enough, or if he wants to send it back.  He’s thinking that he might want to keep the Macbook as his own (now that he’ installed Windows 7 on it, it’s useable) because it’s a pretty nice piece of hardware, even I have to admit.

So we own 3 laptops.  I’m a bit anxious for him to make up his mind so we can either get reimbursed for the Mac, or send back the HP.  Counting the 2 desktops, at the present moment we have 5 computers in our house (oh, I forgot, that doesn’t include his server he has running in the basement, and we still have my mom’s old computer that I’m not really sure what his plans for it are), in case you forgot, that’s one for every member of our family.  That’s a bit ridiculous.  The computer count in our house better be going down soon, or heads (really, just one in particular) are going to roll!

Hallelujah it’s over!

Halloween is over!!  Hip hip hooray!  Now I can relax, right?  Wrong!!  I have this little personality quirk that makes it virtually impossible for me to settle down and relax when there is something on the horizon for me to do. Christmas is next month!  I have robes and pajamas to make!

Hubby says that I live about 12-24 hours in advance.  I’m always thinking of what I need to do next, and rarely stop to enjoy what’s happening now.  The perfect example of this is when we went on our cruise a couple of years ago.  I never stopped and just lounged on deck, or watched the ocean go by for more than about 10 minutes at a time.  First of all, I got bored, then I kept thinking about where we should go next, or what we should do next.  It was really kind of ridiculous.  I had a great time, and would love to go again, but I wish I would have done a better job of living in the moment and not worrying about the things that are in the future, and the things that are out of my control.  I probably would have had a better time!

So, since this little ‘quirk’ of mine isn’t going away anytime soon, I guess I’ll get busy and get the robes and pajamas done, so I can at least not worry about those, while I worry about everything else that has to do with Christmas!

Oh yes, pictures from Halloween.  You don’t think I would go to that much work, and not show it off?!! My two clones.  This picture really doesn’t do them justice.  Each one had 14 different pieces to it.  Each leg had 3 pieces, each arm 3, and shoulder a piece, with the body and the belt.  Then I had to figure out how to make it so they could actually get it off and on.  Let’s just say, I get really tired of sewing on Velcro.What handsome clones!

 

My little Tinkerbelle.  I sprayed her hair yellow.  I think that is what she was most excited about.

 

These two went with Dad.  TRMinator went with his friends.  (Notice the cape!  It kept her warm!)

 

  Getting ready to terrorize the neighborhood!

Yes, I am that crazy

I think I’m losing it.  Yesterday I finally finished up the boys’ costumes.  I am soo tired of sewing at this point, at least sewing on clone costumes. 

As I was laying in bed last night I started thinking about the costumes and the layers that they will be wearing underneath them.  (It’s snowing this morning, so I’m assuming that it will be cold tomorrow night)  I got to thinking that I don’t think the princess will be warm enough.  Maybe I should make her a little cape/jacket to go over the top.  I could run to the fabric store in the morning and get some type of fluffy fake fur stuff and make her a little jacket, because she is not wearing just any old jacket over that dress.  Oh, and maybe I could make her a little hat too.  Seriously.  Am I crazy?!?!  What’s wrong with me?!!  I just barely finished the costumes!!  What am I thinking trying to make more stuff??!!  Am I insane?!!!

I think the answer to the previous question would be yes.  Watch for pictures.  I’m sure they’ll be a little jacket in them.  I don’t know about the hat, though.

*Sigh*

Seriously.  This is really not helping with my resolve to stay focused on Halloween and not skip ahead to Christmas.

Attack of the Nerds

Hubby had a nerd party on Friday.  It was under the guise of a Windows 7 release party.  Hubby is a computer programmer, and he uses and programs with the Windows operating system.  He likes the Mac hardware, he just doesn’t like their operating system.  There was a company that was sponsoring Windows 7 release parties, and if you were picked to have one, (yes, you had to be chosen!) they gave you a free premium copy of the new software.  So, lo and behold, he was picked to host a party.  They sent us this party pack a week or two ago, and when I opened it I just laughed!  There were 4 packages of streamers, a pack of balloons, a poster, 10 gift bags with all sorts of little ad things to put in there and beverage napkins with the Windows 7 logo.  Wow, they want us to go all out for this party!

Friday night rolled around and by golly, I used all the stuff to decorate!  I blew up balloons, and put up streamers and put together the gift bags.  We even put some boxes of Nerd candy in there with little tags on them that said, “thanks for coming to our nerd party!”.  (my mom’s idea!)  I thought, “If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do this right!” Of course, as soon as people started coming, I left!  I didn’t want to sit around and listen to the specs on this laptop verses that one and blah, blah, blah.  When I hear computer-speak, my eyes start glazing over, and I immediately lose interest, so I took the kids and left to go get some ice cream. 

The kind of sad thing was, the turnout wasn’t great because there were several last minute cancellations, but the few people that hubby wanted to see because he hadn’t seen them for awhile were there, so he was happy. 

I can check that off my mental list of things that I had to do, now if I can only finish up Halloween costumes!!

Wonderific!

I think I may have reached a good stage in life.  As I sit here on the computer, reading other blogs, I am directing my children to clean!  They are scurrying around putting things (mostly their crap) away, and coming and asking every once in awhile where things go.  The hubby is having a nerd party tonight (more on that at a later date) and I don’t want people to think that we live in a constant state of chaos, hence the cleaning of the house.

I’ve been thinking lately of how I think I’ve finally moved into the “my kids are older” phase, not to be confused with the “I have teenagers” phase, which is thankfully not the case yet. (I’m not that old!!)  The  “my kids are older” phase consists of kids that can get their own lunch, turn on their own entertainment, i.e., turn on the TV, X-Box, or computer, and basically handle themselves.  Of course, not everything applies to the princess, because she is only four, but I have a wonderful little invention called the oldest son.  Man, he is a great thing to have around!  He is very helpful and reliable and the great thing is, the teenage hormones haven’t kicked in completely yet, so for the most part, he is still enjoyable to have around, and still wants to hang out with us. 

I have been really enjoying the time that they have been off track.  I have been able to do glorious things like go to the grocery store by myself!  I almost feel a little smug strolling up and down the aisles while other mom’s that haven’t reached the glorious stage that I am in, deal with crying, whining, and screaming kids!  It’s amazing how I can leave the store now, not about ready to kill anyone!  It’s wonderful!

The down side to the “my kids are older” stage is now the things they want just get more expensive.  Hubby and I noticed last year after Christmas that the boys’ piles were much smaller than the princesses pile, but those smaller piles cost a heck of a lot more.  We’ve discovered that as they get bigger, their toys get smaller and more expensive.  I guess I should have known, Hubby is the biggest kid by far, and he definitely knows how to shop for small and pricey! (for himself, not for me, let’s get that straight!)

Ahh, let me bask in a few more minutes of thinking my kids are awesome before I go see what their version of clean is, and how it differs vastly from mine!

Wowza!

I don’t know if it’s just our school district, or if everyone went to  this new grading system that we are using.  I would like to know what happened to letter grades?  Do older kids still have them, and since my kids are still in elementary, we don’t?  I understand letter grades, that’s what I grew up with.  Is a letter grade too detrimental to a child’s fragile self confidence, so they don’t use them anymore?  (that’s a whole ‘nother soap box.  I might have to let hubby do a guest post on the practice of giving everyone a trophy when they play soccer, because heaven forbid, someone feels like they didn’t win.  I know, it’s appalling to think that we might teach our kids that they are not going to win in every situation in life, and maybe possibly teach them how they should deal with failure.  Aahh!!  Banish the thought!!)

Let’s see, what was I talking about?  Oh yes, report cards!  As you may or may not know, my kids are off track right now.  This would be the end of their first quarter, so they got their report cards.  G-man got his on the day they went off track.  His was pretty good, but he’s having some issues with not finishing his work at school, so it probably wasn’t as good as it good be.  TRMinator’s teacher told him she would be mailing his to him because she wasn’t quite finished with them yet.

Well, they had been out for a week and he  still hadn’t gotten it yet.  Only TRMinator would worry about that!  Most kids could care less, but my big guy was concerned.  I’ve known his teacher for about 12 years now, and she is in our ward, so we went up to her on Sunday and asked what the hold up was.  She said he should be getting it soon, and lo and behold, she appeared on our doorstep Tuesday evening with report card in hand.  (we get our report card hand delivered by our teacher!  Do you think that’s a good thing or a bad thing?  hmmmm)  I’m not usually too worried about what I’ll see when I open TRMinator’s grades.  He’s a pretty conscientious and hard working student.  I’m not sure that I’ve even seen this before, though.

I don’t know if you can see that or not, but that is pretty much a perfect report card.  They are graded on a number scale with 3 being the highest.  Yep, he got all threes.  Usually he gets some 2.5’s  or some 2.75’s, but not this time.   All 3’s.  Yep, I think he takes after me!   HA!!!! HA!!!!!!!

Shhhh! Don’t tell Halloween I’m here!!

I’m sitting here at the computer because I’m trying to hide from Halloween.  Remember how I said I was going to attempt to make the G-man a Star Wars clone trooper for Halloween?  Well, I am, and it’s not going too bad, it’s just not fun to do.  I am making it up as I go along, so I have to try it on him a lot, which he’s not too happy about, and it’s just not a lot of fun.  Have I mentioned that already?  Costumes are supposed to be fun to make, and this one isn’t.  The extra joyous thing is that I get to make TRMinator one also once I’m done with G-man’s.  Whoopee!

I really want to start on Christmas instead.  I always make the kids jammies every year that they open on Christmas Eve.  This year I’m making them robes also.  I’ve already got the fleece for the robes and I really want to make those instead right now.  It’s taking everything I have not to drop these dumb clone costumes like a hot potato and start on the robes instead.  I’m trying to remind myself that Halloween is in 2 weeks and that I have 2 months till Christmas.  It’s not working very well,  so I hid that material away, so I don’t look at it longingly too much.

Alright, here I go. (deep sigh)  I’m going to go thread that needle again and try and knock this thing out.  May the force be with me!

Our adventure with nature

Since my boys are off track for the next four weeks, we decided to take a little adventure.  We went to the Ogden Nature Center.  (I know, pretty adventurous)  I had never been there, but both my boys had.  They go there in kindergarten for a field trip.  It was nice because we pretty much had the place to ourselves and the weather cooperated with us.   

They had to check out every little animal shelter they found.  If you’ve never been there, it’s basically just a nature preserve.  There is a trail that goes around the perimeter with lots of nature in the middle.  We actually didn’t see that many animals.  I don’t know if that’s normal or not. TRMinator did find a little friend.  He wanted to know if he could bring it home.  I told him, “Heck no!”

They had a good time.  It’s nice to see them doing stuff together that does not include X Box, TV, or computer.  It’s especially nice to see the G_man enjoy himself without technology involved.  (he’s my little techno-nut)  They got to run around and explore and hear the princess yell, ”Brothers!  Brothers!  Wait for me!”  And the really sweet thing is, they usually would.  So cute.

Then we had lunch and went to the grocery store to pick out some pumpkins.  They were on sale for 14¢ a pound.  Woot woot!  I know, it would have been more authentic to go to a pumpkin patch, but I’m looking for a deal and go to where they’re on sale!  That and they had a branch of my bank in the store so I could get some more cash.

***Update!!  Got my new debit card today, now just need to get my new pin and I will have a working debit card again!  That deserves a big Woot!  Woot!  Hallelujah!

I’m going to try and think of someplace new to go next week.  Stay tuned to see what we come up with.

GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, I finally drug myself to one of TRMinator’s soccer games (I’ve been out of town, leave me alone!).  It was pretty darn cold, but I’ve sat through worse.  I guess his team has pretty much dominated every team that they have played this season, or so the hubby says.  They were pretty evenly matched with the team they played Saturday. 

About halfway through the first quarter TRMinator was in the pack down by the opposing team’s goal.  The ball came to TRMinator and he kicked it and GOALLLLLL!!!!!  It went in!!  The first goal of the game, and I might also mention, the first goal of TRMinator’s  illustrious soccer career.  Yes, he hasn’t scored a goal up to this point.  He has played soccer for about 5 years now, and has always loved it and had fun, he just hasn’t been the most aggressive, coordinated player on the field.  He’s really come into his own this season.  He’s the same size as the rest of the boys and he’s getting more comfortable with his skills.  The hubby said he’s had some pretty close calls with scoring the last couple of games, and thought he might this game.  This was the first one I could come to, and I really wanted to see the first time he scored.  I’ve gotta admit, I did cry a little when he scored.  He has wanted to for so long, that it was really exciting to see.  He was so excited he couldn’t wipe the smile off his face for the rest of the quarter.  Then he started to get cold and was knocked down a few times, and eventually the smile came off.

Oh, BTW, they lost the game, but who cares!!  TRMinator scored a goal!!!!!!!   Good job T- man!!

Seriously, get a real job!!!

I got a call from our bank this morning.  The lovely sounding young man on the other end of the line (I swear, our bank only hires cute, young people) told me that they got a call from the police department last night telling them that our PIN was compromised.  What?!?!  So they are terminating our PIN immediately and are going to send us out new debit cards and we can’t use our old ones in the mean time.  What the what?!?!  Of course it’s Columbus Day Monday (big freakin deal!  He discovered this country!  News flash!  There were already people here!  They already knew about it!) so they won’t send out the cards till Tuesday because they are closed Monday.  When I told him (in a possibly somewhat whiney voice) that I was going to go shopping this morning, he suggested that I go into a branch and withdraw some cash.  I can’t use my PIN, see, so I can’t just drive up to an ATM, either. 

Now, I don’t know about the rest of you, but using cash just kind of confuses me.  It’s kind of like, it’s there one minute, then BAM!  it’s gone.  With my debit card, there’s seems to be some accountability.  I have to write it down in my register, so I know how much I’ve spent and where.  With cash it just seems to flow out, and all of the sudden it’s all gone and I have no idea where it went and why it’s gone so fast.  I know, it probably doesn’t make sense, but that’s how my weird little mind works.

I went into the bank this morning to get my little wad of cash (that’s the other problem, how much should I get?  I don’t know!  I don’t want to get too much because I want it in my account if I’m not going to use it, but I also don’t want to get too little!  I know, a serious quandary) and talked to the teller, and she said that it is actually affecting lots of people.  They don’t know exactly where it happened, but apparently there was one of the phishing things on a card swipe somewhere and it sent lots of people’s information to the bad guys.

At this point, I am actually okay with the whole situation, a little annoyed, but okay with it.  I’m glad that they caught whoever it was, and that we didn’t lose any money and that we weren’t the only ones, (I know, weird, but true) then I got home to go online and balance the checkbook.  I check our account online usually once a day, that way I can record what the hubby has spent.  I can’t log on!!  My PIN was deactivated. What the #@$!!!!!  Okay, now it’s personal!  Seriously people, if I can’t get onto my account online and see what has cleared, I may go a little crazy.  How am I supposed to know exactly how much money we have?!  How am I supposed to know what has cleared our account so I can put a little check next to it in my register?  How am I supposed to know how much the hubby spent yesterday, because he never thinks to tell me, and he doesn’t keep the receipts?  Really, tell me how, because I’m going to go nuts!

These crooks that do this are obviously intelligent people, and they put a lot of effort into their schemes.  I think they could probably get a real job, and put their efforts into legitimate things.  I mean, really, get a real job, and stop messing up other people’s lives! 

Let’s talk about the big G

My G-man is a funny little guy.  I was going through his backpack today, which let me tell you, was no small task.  They go off track tomorrow, so he cleaned out his desk and brought everything home.  No wonder he couldn’t find anything, it was stuffed with papers!  Anyway, while I was going through all his papers, I found a ticket for an entry into a drawing for a bike that his school is doing.  I asked him if he wanted to take the ticket back to school tomorrow to enter in the drawing, and very matter of factly he told me, “no, I’ve already got a bike”.  Leave it to my G-man to not enter a contest because he already has what they are giving away.  I guess you could call him practical.

He definitely marches to the beat of his own drum.  He is a very sweet little boy, but he doesn’t really care what anyone else thinks about him.  The hubby and I think that when he gets older he is going to drive the girls wild because he’s cute, and he’s got that ‘I don’t care’ attitude.   I guess I should prepare myself!

He also pays attention to the little things.  He loves the little army guys and he sets up battles with them where he lines them all up in perfect little formations.  It’s fun to see his little battles ready to go until I step on one, then kick the rest over in frustration!

Only my G-man spent so much time in time out in the corner when he was little, that he actually fell asleep once.

So of course, I grabbed the camera and took a picture!  What else was I supposed to do?

  He was picked to be Humpty Dumpty in a calendar they are making at school today.  His take on it was “Humpty from the Hood”  That’s how this Humpty rolls!

Aahh, my G-eezer geezer, what would I do without you?!

Blah, blah, giveaway!, blah

I don’t really have anything exciting to blog about today, but my friend Sarah is doing a giveaway on her blog.  So I wanted all 5 of you that read my blog to hop on over to hers!

Now that I’m trying to be healthy and exercise and all that nonsense, I’m not sure how I feel about fall and this cooler weather.  I used to get up around 7am and go for a run or walk before the kids were up, so I could get it out of the way and be done with it for the day.  Now that it is freaking cold and dark at 7am, I have to push it back till at least 10am.  Which is not really good, because that gives me more time to talk myself out of it.  I’ve been running  for about 4 months now, and I still don’t really like it.  It still just about kills me every time.  So why do I do it?  Because walking alone wasn’t getting my heart rate up very much anymore, and I wanted something that pushed me a little bit more, and because it works!  I’ve lost almost 20 pounds since I started, I’m in much better shape, I have better lung capacity, and I just feel better.  That said, I still hate running.  I still get butterflies in anticipation because I don’t want to do it.  At least when I’m done, I’m glad I went and that I bucked up and did it.

A day in the fall(really?) leaves

I mentioned in my last post that I wanted to get some pictures of the kids in the fall leaves.  I thought it would be a good chance to take some family pictures too.  I bought new shirts for the kids in coordinating fall colors, and drug them and my mom (someone needed to take a picture of the whole family) up Farmington Canyon to bask in the fall colors.  What we found was very disappointing.  Not many of the trees had turned yet!   The weatherman said if you want to go for a drive to look at the leaves, this should be the weekend to do it.  Well, let me tell you.  It wasn’t.  We still took pictures, but the background wasn’t nearly as pretty as in years past.  Here’s a sampling:

 What a handsome boy!

 I forgot how hard it is to get 3 kids to look at the camera and smile at the same time.  You would think that would get easier as they get older.  It doesn’t.

Let me give you some idea of the difference in color this year. This is from 3 years ago.  (look at my baby!  She was so little!)

 

This is from this year, same spot.  You could say it was a bit disappointing!

The really kind of pathetic reason behind the pictures?  Our bank lets you personalize your debit card, and I wanted a new picture for mine!  What’s even worse is that if I see someone that I haven’t seen for awhile, I have to pull out my debit card for a picture of my children because I don’t carry one.  Yep, I’m just awesome like that!

An open letter to Mother Nature

Uncle!!  I give up!!  Now can you please give us back summer  for a little while longer?!  I mean, come on, this rain all day, temps in the mid 30’s and freezing my tomato plants at night is just a bit early, don’t you think?  September just ended yesterday, for pete sake!  I think this crap that we are calling weather is just not necessary.  Maybe in another three weeks I’ll allow it, but not now!  I am refusing to  turn on my heat yet!  (kids, just go get another blanket!)

Is it because I wanted to get new pictures of my kids in the fall leaves this year?  So you had to go and put snow on the mountains?  (I think that was a bit extreme, by the way)   So help me, if this completely ruins the leaves and I don’t get one picture, I am going to be ticked!

Okay, let’s think of a truce.  How about, let it warm up to a decent temperature,  I’m thinking mid 60’s, it doesn’t have to be too warm, for a little while yet.  Let me get my pictures, then it can get cold again, and do whatever, maybe even (cringe) snow.  Then we can be friends again.  Just don’t let the whole snow and cold thing last till April, okay?!

Oh give me a home, where the ma-squitos roam!

I originally hail from the town of Burlington, Iowa.  It’s a place nestled on the banks of the Mississippi River.  It’s a nice little city that hasn’t changed much in the last 14 years since I’ve left.  If you’re not familiar with the midwest, it can be very humid and buggy in the summer.   Thankfully it was cooler, so the humidity and bugs weren’t as bad when we were there a few days ago, but I still got several bites that were pretty good ones!  I think that Iowa bugs are super bugs.  They could beat up Utah bugs in heartbeat!

The Princess and I were able to go home (I guess it’s really only home for me, Utah is home for her) to Iowa for six days.  We just got back last night, and I’m happy to report that she was very good on the plane both ways.  I’m even happier to report that I didn’t lose my patience with her even once and wish that I hadn’t brought her!  I suppose it helps that we had a mini-DVD player and new movies for her to watch.  Boy, is it hard to travel these days, with being able to go halfway across the country in 3 hours and watch movies the whole time.  We have it rough!

My grandma and aunt and uncle still live in Iowa, so I try and get back once a year to see them.  This time my cousins and aunt that live in Virginia were able to come also.  My mom was there too, but she got there about three days before I did.  It’s fun to go and see my family and “get back to my roots”.  The funny thing about Burlington to me now is, the roads seem so narrow and the speed limits low!  Oh, and what seems like 4-way stops on every other corner.  I guess I’ve gotten used to wide shoulders, turning lanes in the middle of the street and 4o mph speed limits just about everywhere!  I know, “waa waa!”

Here’s some pics to commemorate my trip!

Burlington has some of the most beautiful parks!

 

Don’t mess with the princess!  These are guns from one of the world wars, I think.  I loved climbing on these when I was a kid.

 

Continuing the tradition on making cherry pies in the fire.  We always made these at my grandma’s whenever we had a fire going.

 

We had lunch at Hotel Nauvoo, and they were doing free carriage rides!  Awesome!

 

We had to take some pictures of us in front of the temple!

 

My grandma!!  I love her!!

I just realized that I didn’t get any pictures of all of us together!  I’m going to have my cousin send me all of her pictures, and maybe she has some.  If she does, I’ll post it!