My decision...

I am going back to school. I have 7 classes, 21 credits to get my degree from BYU. I know that I will have to pass my Stat's class, however, I can get a D and be just fine..lol. It's ridiculous to have spent so much time and money, and not finish what I started. Life is FLYING by, I'm turning 38 on Sat....scary.....and I would like to be done by 39.9.. :) Wish me luck!!!!

Sept is...

Sept is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Of all the people who get cancer, children getting sick seems the most unfair. It was very hard to watch my mother die of Lymphoma, I can't imagine the pain of losing a child to this dreaded disease. A little over 5 years ago, through an LDS group, I was linked the story of a little girl named Allie.

charitymom.blogspot.com

Her mother is an amazing women who has started a charity in honor of her daughter. Give her site a read, it is a great charity to give to.

What a week...

It all started last Friday morning when I woke up, sick!!! The kind of sick where your throat hurts so bad you'd rather just not have on anymore, you run out of energy just lifting your head off the pillow (but you must because you have 2 kids to get ready for school) and your house feels like an icebox. Normally I wouldn't have cared....I mean, no-one likes to be sick but hey, a few days in bed and you can be as good as new. But NO, I had teach the YW on Sunday....and Monday was our Stake temple trip and I was FINALLY going to get mom sealed to her parents... (only taken me 2 years) I had no time for sickness...so I did what any person of dire circumstances does, prayed like there is no tomorrow. Prayed to get well so I could teach a lesson I had no desire in the first place to have to be teaching...I know, I know...I shouldn't be afraid of a bunch of YW but I am. But most of all, I didn't want to miss the temple. It was the most important date I've had in a very, very long time. And guess what....all my pleading worked...by Sunday morning I was a functioning adult again. Not 100 % by any means, but I could move at a slow pace, talk and swallow again and teach my lesson. And the girls didn't eat me, or yell at me or worse yet, ask hard questions ( RS sisters are good at that...the really hard questions that is ). Monday was bright and beautiful, we all got to go to Folsom and enjoy our day at the temple. The Stake provided the babysitting, Alexis did baptisms and I got to have mom sealed to her parents. The blessings of a sealing are just what she needed and I'm grateful to have been able to do it. I did miss my workouts...and my eating was wayyyy bad ( taco bell burritos for lunch on Monday ) but I am fully recovered and back at my P90X program. And because I can't eat anything sweet or fattening, I have resorted to reading blogs about all the good food I am unable to partake of at this time. There are alot of food blogs out there!!! I am missing my fish tacos though!!!!

Accomplishments....

Life is wonderful because...

• Abby can now pee and poop in the toilet....hallaluea I have no more dirty bums to clean!!!
  
• Kaleb and Anya have started school. And so far they like their teachers, and I can make them walk home together....which makes me a mean mom because it is 99 degrees today and I still didn't pick them up!!!
• I have been released from Relief Society just in time to not have to teach..isn't that great!!! But Heavenly Father has a great sense of humor because I am now in YW (secretary) and I have to teach them on Sunday...oh, the irony!!!
• I didn't spend $60,000 on new windows and solar power that the salesperson almost had me convinced we needed...our roof would have been solid solar panels.
  
• My tomatoes plants have produced enough fruit for me to eat a tomato whenever I want to...and nothing can beat a fresh, garden tomato!!!
• On Aug 24th Thor and I started P90X....we are pushing 40 and Thor has put on a few pounds....so we eat ALOT of protein atm...too much for me somedays but I'm committed to helping him so I follow the diet too.
  
• And the best news of all....Monday we have a stake Temple day and I am going to have my mom sealed to her parents...better late than never :)
  

Look what Alexis did....

Alexis did this with paint (the kind on the computer, using her mouse) ONLY....freestyle!!!

Lasik

It is finished. My eyes have been cut and lasered. I put 2 kinds of drops in my eyes 4 times a day...and artificial tears. The numbing drops they put in my eyes only lasted a few minutes after the surgery, and they make you wait 30 minutes after you get done to make sure things are ok...they did give me Tylenol but that didn't help so much. After driving the hour home I was ready for my Advil. Friday was by far the worse day but by Saturday I felt fine. It is now almost a week later and my vision is as good now as with my glasses. Night time vision is still a little funky but should improve also. It is nice not to wear glasses or contacts anymore!!!!

Disneyland was fun....Abigail went on Splash Mountain and loved it!!! We even took her on Tower of Terror once...she didn't like that as much. She told us "it freaked me out" Her words exactly. The kids are now out of school and the complaining about being bored has begun. The real bummer this year is the pool is not open for normal swimming during the week..just swim lessons. I'm sooo mad about that. I really hate Stockton..it's hot in the summer and now there is no where to swim. And when the kids started to fight, I would take them swimming for a few hours and they didn't fight anymore. This news completely ruins my summer plans!!!!

In the very merry month of May.....

A month in review:

I had my anniversary on the 11th of May, and I've now been married for 14 years!!!! Remember how much it rained the day I got married? It was crazy!!! But then the sun came out for the reception and it was all ok. Here is a picture of my mom and Katherine....I found it on a negative.










I am only growing tomatoes this year because I was lazy and didn't make more planter boxes. Last years box gets too much shade to grow peppers or corn. It does have a few strawberry plants but the snails have eaten most of the berries. My tomatoes are growing in the corner, next to the daisies because that is where I put the old dead plants last year....presto, they seeded themselves. Speaking of those crazy daisies...who knew how big of plants they turn into!!!!

Anya caught me watching The Deadliest Catch. She walked in right when the deckhands were emptying a full pot of king crab. She was mortified!!! She could not believe they were "killing the fish" and that they had to be the worst men on the face of the earth. I told her all the shrimp she loves to eat comes from the sea just like the crab. She is now done eating shrimp...until I buy it again I'm sure.



Yesterday a yippy chihuahua ended up in my back yard. Turns out he was just scared and was soon brought into the house by my 4 children. We posted fliers on the mailboxes and I posted on Craigslist. I'm sure this was someones dog. Last night he stayed in the garage with the door opened just enough for him to get under. (I really didn't want dog poo under my car) This morning though, he has gone. I hope he has found his way back home because I don't want a Chihuahua. He was sweet and loved the kids but my cats hated him. But now Kaleb and Anya are so sad....oh well, they have cats :)

We are leaving this weekend for Disneyland. Anya's birthday is Tuesday and that is what she wanted to do. Having annual passes is great!!! We are staying at the Hyatt with free shuttle to the park. Abigail is now tall enough for all the rides at Disneyland....she is going to love Splash Mountain!!!

Stolen

Poor little Anya...her bike has been stolen. Her brand new Christmas bike from Santa was taken from our front yard. She has forgotten to put away her bike more times than I care to count, and I told her to stop forgetting...Stockton is a great place to live if you like to have things taken from you. I'm so sad for her, she really loved to ride it. Her birthday is May 26th and I have thought about buying her a new bicycle but I'm afraid she would just leave it out again. Grrr....I'm so frustrated!!!!

A girls day out...

YESTERDAY
I took Alexis to get her haircut..she used to look like this...

She cut off 10 inches to give to Locks of Love and now...

She is a NEW girl!!!!!

We ate at

and she actually sat next to me!!!! (She likes me, she really does)

The calm before the heat...

It is a beautiful morning...the sky is clear, the iris's are blooming and there is still a slight chill in the air. And by tomorrow, it will all be over, the heat is returning. By Monday it is going to be 93...93 degrees in APRIL!!!! It's not right I say, not right. I'd better double check and make sure our A/C is still working. Better go shave my legs...won't be able to hide them under long pants anymore. :(

Let them eat cake...

Hi, my name is Anya and I want to only eat ice cream. I ask my mom to give me some for breakfast but she just tells me NO! I get mad and cry. I just want to eat ice cream, nothing else. Why is she so mean?!?




Hi, my name is Abigail and I am addicted to cinnamon toast. I want to eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack time. I can't get enough of the sugary delight.












Hi, I'm Kaleb and I LOVE to eat good, healthy food. I eat carrots, peas, asparagus, and every fruit my mom buys. Aren't I the best son EVER!!!






I'm Alexis and well, my mom just cooks really gross food. No one should eat pasta with peppers and sausage, or meatball subs...that's just nasty. I could go on and on about all the things she cooks that I refuse to eat but I don't have time for this. I'm just going to go make myself another turkey sandwich.




I am the mother of these crazy kids who escaped for a weekend away. I drank Airborne with my sister Sarah so I wouldn't get sick, I ate grapefruit for breakfast along with delicious eggs and toast. And there was not one single kid around to tell me what they would or would not eat!!!

What fun!!

I went this past weekend to St. George to surprise my dad for his 65th birthday. I flew into Vegas where I met up with Katherine and Sarah, rented a car and drove to his house. Deborah is close enough to just drive down. We had so much fun and I think we really surprised my dad. Lin's blog has some great pictures of our arrival. http://www.lettersfromlin.blogspot.com

It was hard to say goodbye but at the same time we realize we need not wait so long to get together. I love my family!!!

Meridian magazine

I always like it when people can take scriptures and apply them to our times. I found this article today very enlightening.

http://www.ldsmag.com/zionperson/090401slippery.html


The Book of Mormon has such great knowledge for us...I love this book!!!

Just in case you were wondering...

Washable purple marker does not wash off door jams, walls, bathroom doors and stair railings. And it barely washes off naked 3 year old girl's!!!!

I can see clearly now...

I went to the eye doctor today. My favorite part is having air blasted into my eye. I got my retina checked out and tried on some new contact lenses. Now, I have tried contacts a million times...always with a big, fat failure. Wearing them makes it feel like I have sand in my eye every time I blink. BLINK..grit, BLINK..grit. Not fun at all. But today, today was different. I got to try on lenses that allow more oxygen to reach my eyeball and thus eliminated the sandbox from my eye. I purchased 2 box's, 2 whole boxes of contact lenses that will free me from the horror of my glasses. I despise my glasses and so today I celebrate modern medicine and oxygen rich contact lenses. On a side note, he did say I was a good candidate for Lasix....which is a very tempting choice. When I win the lottery, it's the first thing on my list.

E Book

For Christmas Thor bought me an Ebook. I love it!!! However, I get to download 100 classics for free....that is alot of books!!! And the list of books they have to choose from is very large. Oh my goodness. I'm picking at random and I hope my choices are good. Have you ever heard of the book: A Little Tour in France by Henry James or The Recruit by Honore de Balzac. It's fun though, I always love free books!!!!

Old negatives...

I've been going through my photo's and old letters. I found a bag of old negatives. It has been very fun to go through them and scan them in. Here are some of my finds....






We were driving back to AZ from Utah. I don't remember when exactly just that I took these near Kanab. And the last one is me and my friend Jeri from my senior year in High School. I had very big, blonde hair :)

Sunday

I have to teach Relief Society on Sunday. I'm a nervous wreck. I honestly hate teaching...I can't think straight or talk reasonably in front of all those ladies. I wish I could be released. I should tell the Bishop that my life is in danger every time I have to give the lesson, it's for my health that I regrettably must give up my calling. Do you think he would fall for it?!?

For Twilight and Potter friends..

I finished HP and the Deadly Hallows....it ended better than I hoped for :)

Harry Potter...

I don't like it when books end badly, ruins the whole book for me. I just finished reading The Half Blood Prince and now, I'm sad!!!! I will still see the movie but somehow, I'm not looking forward to it like I was before I found out the ending. Dang it....have to go buy book 7 now just so I can sleep at night and figure out who else is going to die!!

Beware, the washer....

My washing machine broke this morning..wouldn't drain or spin. Nothing like having a washer full of heavy, wet clothes to make your morning. So I had to call Mr. Handyman to save me. I learned today, that washing machines do in fact eat socks, and other small items. He pulled out 2 socks and a lone penny from the pump. The socks had done a number on my water pump and so I had to pay for a new one. It's fixed now but under the advice of Mr. Handyman, I will now be washing all small clothing in a zipper mesh laundry bag, I don't want another $250 dollar pump. ( My washer is 4 years old too ) Now, back to the laundry room...

A yummy discovery...

I love Jamba Juice...so refreshing and delicious. Today I went with Thor for a Jamba breakfast, I love it when he works from home :) Anyway, Jamba Juice now offers oatmeal...steel cut organic oats topped with berry, bananas or apple Cinnamon. I just had to try it because steel cut oats are no where near instant oatmeal in taste or texture. It was fabulous...I love it!!! So here is to oatmeal for breakfast again..way better than the glue-like paste of days past!!!

Please do not listen to this message.....

A message left on my machine on Friday....names have been changed to protect the innocent.

"This message is for Bob and Lou Ann, if you are not Bob and Lou Ann, please do not listen to the reminder of this message. This is Sally, please return my phone call at 999-999-9999 ext 9, again, stop listening to this message if you are not Bob and Lou Ann...My name is Sally, please call my number. We are trying to collect a debt, all information used is only to collect a debt."

Ha..I listen to the WHOLE message, I wonder if I can be arrested?

A conversation with myself...

My mind has become my mother...reminding me daily of what I should be not, not necessarily what I am doing.

Me...I don't want to clean the kitchen
My mind.....If you don't do it now, you will be doing it later when it is more messy.
Me...I hate cleaning the kitchen!!!!!
My mind....Stop being a baby and just do it already!!!
Me...Fine, but then I'm reading
My mind...Probably not a good idea, have you seen the mess Abby made upstairs? That should be your next priority.
Me....I want a vacation

Spiritual nature of people

Why are some people inclined to be spiritual? Why do some believe, with so much faith, in a God while others completely and utterly deny the existence of a higher power. How can some become bitter when life hands them difficult trials, and others bow down in humility, finding the strength to become more Christlike.

Look what I found....

Pictures from ancestry.com...I believe they are from Stanley's daughter. (Stanley is Papa's oldest child from his first marriage) Mary Brimhall is Papa's grandmother and then the boys are Papa and his brothers.