Monday Morning Musings - Alicia, This One's For You

MIA: Summer Fun Chart

My Computer is actin' a fool, so I ain't got no chart to post. Just know that it is summer here and we are for sure having fun! Most of the time.



I was chastised at church yesterday for not posting more. Apparently it is my responsibility to entertain my neighbor Alicia over the summer break. (We saw you and your brood walking in to C.H. as we were leaving this afternoon) And so far, she has not been very entertained. I told her I would go home and do 10 posts that day. As you can see, that was a big fat lie. Sorry Alicia. I will try my hardest to squeeze out a post on a more frequent basis.



Do you know how much pressure is on me now? I mean what if this post is totally boring? I feel like everyone is looking at me now and I have nothing to say!



I did something really really stupid last week. I made a deal with Zac that I would mow the lawn for him if he did something for me that he didn't want to do. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Hannah. Banana. I mowed for three hours straight. Seriously. Well, except for twice when I had to stop and fill the gas tank up again. I thought I was going to die. I now have a new found respect for my son and the daunting task he is faced with on a weekly basis. You know what the best part is? We only have grass/weeds on 1/2 the lawn! What the heck are we (and by we I mean Zac) gonna do when we have the rest of the lawn in? It'll take 6 hours to mow! If Zac mowed an hour a day every day, by the time he got to the end, he'd have to start back over at the beginning again. Next time Steve says something about needing to buy a riding lawn mower, I will go down to the store myself and buy one. Heck, I'll even skip a months house payment to buy it if I have to!



You know last week, I said something about Europeans being at the water park? I have been feeling really bad about that. I mean, anyone who is that comfortable with their body (especially when it looks like that) should be admired. So I take it back little European family, I take it back.



Steve and I are on the Youth Conference Committee this year. We are working along with another couple in our ward to plan a 3 day Youth Conference for the 14-18 year olds in our ward. It is quickly approaching and I am getting so excited. We are doing "The Amazing Race" and we have been planning and working on it for the last 6 months. It will be fun to finally see all our hard work play out.



I am patiently waiting for my sister Farrah to post her pictures from her trip to Boston. And I am also patiently waiting for my sister Kristy to post her pictures from her trip to Paris. And for my friend Dianna to post her pictures from her trip to Germany. If you are going to go on a trip like that, the least you can do is post some pictures and rub it in our faces. Get with it girls! And I, I will post pictures from my trip to...uhhh...my latest trip to...the grocery store. Yep. Because that's about all that's trippin' around here.



This is really getting long. Alicia, I think you should count it as 10 posts.



I LOVE my husband. He works harder than anyone I know. He has been working the most insane hours this month. Last week, he worked over 100 hours. This morning, he got up at 1:45 AM to go to work, and I am not sure when he will be home. I hope soon. I am not complainin', I am glad he has work, but I do miss him terribly. Here is a picture I found of us the other day. It was taken in 1996. Stephen! I love you!

Monday Morning Musings - She's A Yankee DOODLE Sweetheart

There is nothing I love more than free shopping. The kids and I went to IKEA last week. A few months back Steve and I went there and we took a bunch of stuff back. We didn't have a receipt so we had to take store credit. My favorite kind of return. Because that means you have to buy something else. Well, for some reason we had to leave before we found something we wanted to buy. So I figured I would go back another time and use it. I totally forgot how much money was on that card they gave me. I was thinking it was like $20. So I had them scan the card and tell me what was on it when I got to the store. WOO HOO! There was a lot 'O money on it! Well, a lot 'O money for me, who was expecting to go and only spend the $20. It was fun going on a little "free" shopping spree.

I have been thinking that I might pile all my kiddos in the mini van and take a little drive to the Big D. Tejas. The Lone Star State. That place where everything is bigger and better. I'm missin' my hometown and all the people I left behind. So anyhoo, I was thinkin' about driving there. Just me and the kids (Steve has to work far too much). Then I took the kids to IKEA. And on the way home not only did they fight and argue and make me crazy the whole time, but I kept almost falling asleep. I decided that if I can't make the drive home from IKEA, I probably couldn't make the drive half way across the country. Dallas will have to wait for me another day...

All I have to say is, Europeans at the water park today. If you are European and you are reading this, I am sorry, but....uhhhh.....uhhhh.....uhhhhh....

I bought me some worshshable markers down at the Whal-mhart last week. Zac has been using them to doodle upon his little sisters face:

Flashback Friday - This Time Three Years Ago

It is hard to believe that three years have gone by already. Three years ago this month Steve's sister Heather and her husband, also a Steve, came all the way from Missouri with their family for a visit. We had the best 2 weeks with them. We did all sorts of fun stuff. Here are just a few of the pictures from that trip. The kids (and I, unfortunately) have all grown so much since then. Here, if you are really bored you can go back and read all about our trip. Just click here. I am being lazy and only giving you the link to July 2007, you can scroll down and find the posts. It will be good exercise for your fingers while you are just sitting there.

This was the trip with the infamous strawberry ice cream incident when we had to take baby Addy to the ER in St. George:

A Day In The Park

The kids and I took a bit of a nostalgia trip today. We drove back to our old neighborhood and went to our old park with our friends. We were a little early for park day so we drove past Miss Margene's (where the girls took dance and preschool) and we went by Zac's old Taekwondo studio and then we drove all around the old hood. The kids BEGGED me to try our garage door opener on our old house. I have it programed into my car and I haven't reprogrammed it for the new house, so I am sure it would work. But I was mean and said no. I mean, that's the kind of thing you should do at night when it is dark with your headlights off. Not in broad daylight. Anyhoo, we had so much fun. All the kids were so excited to see each other. It was fun to watch them play together. These are kids that have known each other their whole entire lives. And up until 2 years ago, we spent almost every day of the summer together at this park. It was a fun day!

An American Birthday

Since the 4th of July was on a Sunday this year, all of the festivities were on Saturday the 3rd. We went to the parade in the town where my mom lives. We love going to that parade. There is always a little bit of sadness when we go though. When my dad moved from Big City Texas to Small Town Utah five years ago, he was so excited. He loved his small town. And he loved his small town parade. I can't go to the parade without thinking about him and his enthusiasm. After the parade we went to my mom's house for a yummy lunch. That night we went to see fireworks.

Monday Morning Musings - Postcard

Having a blast!

Wish you were here!

4 Wheelin' And Dealin'

We didn't make any big plans for the 4th of July weekend because we thought Steve would have to work on Monday the 5th. But at the last minute he worked it out so he could be off that day. We decided it had been far too long since we had gone riding. So we loaded up the ATV's and headed out for a fun day.

A Psychotic Bedtime Medley

Normally, I can fall asleep in 2 seconds flat. But when I am really tired, for some reason, my mind starts racing and even though I am exhausted, I can't fall asleep. Well, last night was one of those nights. I collapsed into bed and then it started. It started with a little

Jai guru deva

om

And then one thing led to another and my mind started its racing thing. It was going 1,000 miles a minute. This is how it went:

Jai guru deva, ommm...nothings gonna change my world-

Joy to the world, all the boys and girls, joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea, joy to you and
me-

Joy and pain, like sunshine and rain-


Blame it on the rain, yeah-e-yah, blame it on the stars-


Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are, up above the world so high-


You raise me UUUUUP, so I can stand on mountains(I can't stand this song btw)-

Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere, go tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is born-


Born to be wiiiiild, born to be wiiiiiild. Get your motor runnin', head out on the highway-


Get your kicks on route sixty-six, well you go to St. Louis, Joplin Missouri, Oklahoma city-


OOOOOOOOOk-lahoma!

But then that was the only part of that song that I knew and I couldn't think of another song with Oklahoma in it.



But then it didn't take me long to come up with this:

He was born in Oklahoma, his wife's name was Betty Lou Thelma Liz, he's not responsible for what he's doin', his mother made him what he is. And it's up against the wall redneck mother, mother who has raised a son so well. He's 34 and drinkin' in a honky tonk, just kickin' hippies booties and raisin' hell-


Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned-


Woman. Woe-man. Wooooooooah man. She was a thief, you gotta believe, she stole my heart and my cat. Betty. Judy. Josie and those hot Pussycats. Girls of cartoons, won't leave me in ruins, I want to be Betty's Barney-


YABADABADOOOOOO! Flintstones, meet the Flintstones, they're a modern stone age family, from the town of Bedrock, they're a page right out of history-

And then I thought about history and that made me think of Martin Luther King and then I thought, "I have a dream"-


To dream the impossible dream-


Dream a little dream of me-

And then I thought, "Dream". That is what I should be doing right now. And by that time my little brain was all tuckered out and I was finally able to fall asleep.

Flashback Friday - Birthday Boy

This post is dedicated to my brother, Sam, who turned 23 years old today. He had the misfortune of growing up in a house with 4 crazy older sisters. He returned home a year and a half ago from serving a 2 year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Mexico City. He is taking a break from Idaho this summer and is living with my sister Farrah in Dallas. My kids are sad he is not spending the summer in Utah. They LOVE Uncle Sam!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAM!

Monday Morning Musings - Where Did All The Monday's Go?

Wow! I blinked my eyes and an entire week has come and gone. I can't believe how fast time is flying this summer. The kids and I are staying super busy and having fun. Steve is staying super busy at work and catching a moment of fun here and there when he can. I can't believe that summer is 1/2 over! Really, it needs to slow down a little.

So today Addy comes up to me with a tape measure and said, "Let's see how big mommy is". I am not sure how I feel about that. Kinda funny, kinda not.

So Steve has been taking turns with the kids taking each of them to see a movie with him. Last week was Emily's turn. He took her to see "The Last Song" with Miley Cyrus. I don't think it was the kind of movie she thought it was going to be. She came home all upset and said, "That movie was rated PG, but it should have been rated PG-13! It had way too much swearing and way too much kissing!" Oh Em, I love you!

We went the weekend before last to see Toy Story 3 with the whole family. I was getting a little emotional as we were getting ready to go. The first Toy Story came out when Zac was just a wee li'l babe. He used to watch that movie over and over. And he had all the toys from the movie. And when he was 3 or 4 he had a Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Birthday Party. I can't believe he is all growed up now! And I LOVED TS3 just as much as 1&2. And a little tiny tear or two may have escaped me eye at the ending of the movie. Maybe. You know what would be really cute? If a few days after watching the movie, I caught my almost 13 year old son up after everyone else was asleep, watching Toy Story 1....Funny how a cartoon can stir such emotion.

Zac and I were driving in the car the other day and I might have become a little confused with my directions. Zac had to put me back on the right path. He said, "You're sense of direction is WAY off. I'm glad I didn't get my sense of direction from you!" I am too Z. I am too.

Addy was watching Max and Ruby and she said, "Max doesn't tell the truth just like Emily".

Emily was watching a commercial and a Kidz Bop commercial was on. She got so mad and said, "MOM! Did you hear that?!? They totally messed up Hey Soul Sister!" Finally! She gets it!

Emily had her external speakers on her ipod and she was listening to some song by some girl. I asked her who it was singing and she said, "Justin Bieber". I was like, "Oh, well, he sounds just like a girl."