EEEEWWWWW! NOT for the faint of stomach

Does anybody else get a blow by blow of what their kids are doing? I got to listen to this - from Anna who won't say anything to anybody unless she is coerced, bribed, and about to loose life or limb..

Anna: I mean I gotta go! I really gotta go. I thought you were gonna go so I ran as fast as I could to go before you. Now I'm going. Nope it's stuck. Hmm this is a hard one. Oh boy oh boy it's big. Now it's stuck again right in my butt. I need some medicine. Whew there it goes.

(Then of course the ol')

Momma will you help me wipe...

Here's What I'm Thinkin'

Sell the House, Sell the Kids, move to a deserted island in the Caribbean and live off my gardening skills...

OK, so my garden skills didn't prove to be as awesome as I thought they would be. Ya know - cucumber where I swear I planted zucchini, pumpkins where I know I didn't plant any and a big tall pile of plants centered in the middle... maybe we'll plant sod. AND we'll just have to keep the kids.

A Little Road Trip to Niagra

My sister came to town for a visit and since I was neither moving nor having a baby I didn't actually have to put her to work and so we took a little road trip to Niagra Falls.





A view from the observation deck 200 feet up.

It was here that I stood in awe of the Amish family also visiting - no not the falls. How did they get all their very small children to be soooo quiet and follow the parents around with out wandering off?


Riding the Maid of the Mist

(Can I use this as our Christmas picture since everyone is in matching ponchos?)



Smart move - to put the kid who climbs on every railing and leans over, no matter where or how high)- in a stand-out pirate rain coat!





Lexsie loved getting sprayed by the water fall. She was soaked after the boat ride!

This is for my sister. Because we decided to leave the perfect parking spot right near the falls that we had already paid $10 to park in, for an even better one - 2 blocks away up in a parking garage (where Kaid leaned over the edge and almost gave Stacy a heart attack) that cost us an additional $5. (Sarcasm folks - had to be there)

This is the view from our 'even better parking spot.' You can see where we parked the first time - ya know the spot right near the falls in a central location - from this view.

We saw a movie about Niagra Falls and somehow both Stacy and I were bawling by the time it was over - pathetic! Now I see that we just weren't thinking straight after that heart wrenching movie, that's why we had to move the car...

It could have been worse. My little stunt man took a spill down about 50 wet, slippery steps. He went head over heels twice and slid a little farther. After I realized that he actually stopped before plunging into the falls itself, I thought for sure there would be a broken bone. After clearing the mud and slime from his head, making him move both arms, hands, his neck, legs, and checked for broken ribs I couldn't believe this is the only evidence

11 Years have come and gone

Wow! 11. Today. What a day! This is what happened on Beks 11th birthday.

1. you got a basket full of smelly stuff from bath and body (your fav)



2. broke your old glasses



3. got to sleep in until 6:15 am



4. got contacts



5. set the speed record for learning to put in new contacts



6. got sung to by your bus driver



7. lost your 10 year molar (too bad when you turn 11 the tooth fairy doesn't visit any more - if only it happened yesterday LOL)



8. had spaghetti - at your request



9. Had Language Arts class sing to you



10. Got to listen to Lex screech (and I mean loud!) through your whole, entire visit to the eye doctor



11. got your very own chocolate dove bar from the gas station and didn't have to share

I know what a birthday! We know how to celebrate around here! And just as a side note - we will have her birthday party next weekend when everyone is around to help celebrate.

Seriously, Bekah you are one totally awsome kid! You are fantastic with your brothers and sisters, a great student, a gospel scholar, and a great example to all of those around you. We love you! Happy Birthday! Maybe 12 won't come around tooo quickly!

For my friend Boedee

Yes, this is what he showed up at church wearing last sunday. And yes, I had my camera in the car... (which makes your post - Boedee even funnier) On more than one occassion Kaid has gotten to church (or where ever) with no shoes - or only one shoe, which makes me wonder does he only have one leg? I mean how do you leave one shoe at the swimming pool and walk to the car and not notice until we are home? I mean really Kaid!

I'm so Proud

Quinn know all his colors perfectly...

'Bekah, Anna, Kaid, Me, and Lexsie.'


It makes sense when you know that every kid in our family is 'assigned' a color - for everything - water bottles, laundry baskets, swim bags, etc. But I'm not sure his future teachers will not let it slide.

And Then There Is Kaid

Well after a morning of crying, "I don't want to go to school. I don't like that school, I don't want to wear shoes with socks, I don't want to wear underwear..." we got the big girls off on the bus and the little kids loaded up in the car and all of a sudden it was smiles and excitement and couldn't wait to be at school. Then it was - don't even give your mom a kiss goodbye at the door as he raced in. But what really astounded me was when he came home, went over to the bookshelf and picked up a couple of alphabet books and said, 'mom, we need to read some books, I need to learn my letters!' Uh this is the kid who has been allergic to books, pencils, crayons, scissors, and paper (anything remotely resembling school stuff). I think this preschool thing might be good for him.

Now you know my opinion

I admit I have gotten a lot more politically aware recently and to those who converse with me on a regular basis know that I am not a fan of our current president - but this really disturbs me.

On Tues, Sept 8 at noon he will be addressing the school children in the nation. It disturbs me because

• 1. He is the only president in our nations history who feels he needs to 'sell' himself to our young children. (No other president has had a press conference directed only to the children before) and
• 2. He is doing it in relative secrecy. I know in our school district when the superintendent was contacted he know nothing of this press conference and yet all the teachers had been 'encouraged' to show the speech on TV (via teachers union email).
• 3. He has provided a discussion 'guide' for his speech which includes leading questions such as:

Why is it important that we listen to the president and other elected officials?

Why is what they say important?

What new ideas and actions is the president challenging me to think about?

Are we able to do what President Obama is asking of us?

• 4. He wants the youth to make a video and submit them for a contest telling others how his speech has inspired them.

All under the guise of 'helping our children become all they can be' Isn't that our jobs as parents? To instill a of love of learning, to teach right from wrong, to give our kids a moral compass? When did it become the governments job to do these things for our families and children? You can read his 'advertisement' here http://www.ed.gov/

Fetish

I was just doing some laundry and looked at my 'ready-to-go' swim bucket thinking I'm gonna have to pack it up soon and replace it with the 'hats-n-gloves' bucket. And I realized I have a bucket fetish! I love buckets!

Food Storage Buckets - Memento Buckets (color coded by kid)

Bean Buckets and Picture Buckets (still color coded)

Laundry Buckets (of course color coded ) and Swim Bucket (jsut thrown in no colors)

Lego Bucket - Bekah and Anna Bucket

Scrap Buckets and Socks / Bill Bucket (I know these are 2 random things in the same closet - but it works for me LOL!)


Laundry Bucket (we have to stack em' high around here) and Toy Buckets

Folks the pictures could go on and on! I love buckets!