"Prince" cess Gabriel!

The other morning Gabe brought me these princess shoes that he wanted to wear. First of all...if you have ever seen his feet they are like flintstone feet, flat and fat! Second...princess shoes? These shoes are very skinny (made for petite little girls feet). With his constant insistance, I pried those babies onto his large feet. When he started walking in them, I couldn't help but laugh hysterically. He could not walk in them right. Picture a women trying to walk in six inch heels for the first time. I thought for sure he was going to twist his ankle. But he loved it! He laughed, he slipped on the tile floor and kept getting up for more! I just love this little guy. Especially, his flintstone feet!

School Lunch

Can everyone just say GROSS? I always loved school lunch but wow have things changed! Oh my goodness...Kassadi wanted me to bring the kids to eat lunch with her. We must have gone on a crappy day because the food looked absolutely disgusting! It was a choice between chicken nuggets and mac and cheese. They both looked unappetizing! The side dishes were a wheat roll (ok), baked beans (not too bad), mixed veggies (yuck), pink pudding (hmmm) and a half of banana. Sorry kids. If you want to make your own lunches in the mornings, you are more than welcome!!! Needless to say, Halle and Gabe had a great time with Kassi and her friend Taylin. Halle is so excited to be able to go to Kindergarten and have school lunch everyday :)

Pump It Up!

I took Halle and Gabe to a place called Pump It Up. They seemed to have fun. Halle loved racing with Jamie Crompton (and of course Halle won!) It was fun watching Gabe climb up the side of the slide and come down on his belly. It wasn't long before he decided that he didn't like it very much. So he would just climb up the side and then climb back down.



Then he spent most of his time in the car. What is up with that?? We are at a really cool place and you want to play in a car that nearly every child has in their own backyard?? Crazy kid!!
I will definitely have to take all of the kids next time. I think that they would really enjoy it. Thanks Jamie for entertaining my daughter when her fat prego mom couldn't do it!! You are the best :)

97* and Going Up!!!

This week has been unbearably hot!! (and the humidity hasn't even been that high...yet!) What a complainer I am!! We spent a lot of time at the pool with friends and also in the backyard with the mini pool and the sprinkler under the tramp. The kids have a blast with it all! I love the picture of Halle with her friend Chloe...
that was her way of cooling off! Always the poser :)

I was so surprised that Gabe got on the tramp with Kyle. He does not like the sound and splash of the sprinklers. But this time he absolutely loved it!

This is Halle and her best friend Ally. She lives down the street. They love to play together.

Gabe was unsure about the pool at first. But after warming up a bit, he loves to splash and lay down in the 6" parts.

Kassadi refused to let me get her picture. She has been a stink about that lately. HORMONES?? hmmmm...
Kyle played with some kids that he met at the pool. I think that he enjoys being the center of attention...especially with the girls! Just like his daddy :)

Severe Weather Warnings!!

Tornado Warnings...what are those? I come from Utah where the only time I have been involved in a tornado was an absolute fluke! Add to that warning...Severe Thunderstorms w/ 4" in diameter Hail....WHAT?? Now, to top it off...Steve is out of town for the week.

I got a couple of phone calls from some great neighbors, who were checking up on me. They asked if I had brought my kids downstairs. So now I had to make the decision around 9:30 p.m. whether or not to get the kids up and bring them downstairs to my room. Oh, the dilemma. I thought for sure this too would pass. The lightning was absolutely amazing. Picture the sky just a constant sea of light with barely a break in between strikes. It was crazy and beautiful at the same time.

By the time I heard the hail fall, I decided to get the kids out of bed and bring them down stairs to my room. It was difficult to get the girls up and moving...by the time we made it to my room, Kassadi was hysterical. (*on Sunday we had the movie Twister on and I didn't really think anything of it!! But Kassi was glued to the screen!) So that is all she could think about was that movie. Needless to say, it didn't help calm her nerves. To top it off, I couldn't get a hold of Steve because his phone was dead. And darnit, I wanted to vent to him...how could he not be here to help me with OUR family in this crazy situation! I had to stay calm (even though my nerves were on fire!) I felt such a huge responsibility for my family. It was kind of overwhelming. I am so grateful that I usually get to share this burden (blessing) with Steve! But last night, it was all me.

So this is where we are: I am holding Gabe because he won't let me go. Kassi is laying under my covers hysterical. Halle is shaking, but not crying, and Kyle is laughing at the girls. What is up with this? :) I look back today, I am sure we looked pretty silly!! Finally, Steve called and I gave him an ear full...all he could think about was: S: Is the car in the garage? C: Well, no honey, the garage is not cleaned out right now. S: Well, go and shove everything to the side and bring the car in. C: Your kidding me right?? (He was totally serious too.) He wanted me to go out in the hail, rain, lightning storm to risk my life so that we wouldn't get dents in my car!! Crazy guy! (Love ya babe) After consoling Kassadi a bit, I talked to him again. S: Why aren't you video recording any of this? C: Well, I have a 20 month old attached to my hip (I even had to use the bathroom a couple of times with him on my lap!) and I have a crying child in my bed who is scared to death if I leave the room. And you want me to go outside and record this?? Yeah...NO!! Kyle was in the background saying: I'll record it...I'll go outside!! Crazy kid. He would have done it too :) The funny thing is, if Steve were to have been home, I know that they would have been outside doing that! And they would have loved every minute of it.

This whole time the satellite was out, so I had no idea what was going on. (Steve was reading to me what was going on with his laptop.) I then thought...oh yeah, I can use my laptop too!! So we took the laptop into the closet and looked at it a bit. I then let Kassi and Halle play some games to keep them happy.

To make an already long story a bit shorter...after the passing of the second storm, I took Gabe back upstairs to his bedroom and Kyle too. Kassi and Halle decided to stay in my bed. We weathered out the storm with very little damage...only broken parts of tree and dirt blown all over the yard, deck and porch. I didn't even notice any damage to the car. YEAH! Leave it to me to get pictures though! Unfortunately, I didn't get any of the HUGE hail that was falling all over.

I feel like I matured over night...what a responsibility.

Happy Mother's Day!

I love you mom. (I love you too Brooke...) HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful women out there. Especially to my own mom whom I am so very grateful for. She has taught me everything that I know...good and bad!! I am who I am because of my mother and I think that it's a good thing!! I am grateful for the women and mother that I have become :) I think that I have such amazing kids that I would do anything for. I have been truly blessed and I am extremely excited for the new addition that will be coming in the next month and a half. While I was away in Houston, Steve took the kids out shopping for mothers day and they got me a musical card (which Halle has looked at everytime that we go to Target), and a really cool keyboard that I have been eyeing for a very long time. We had to leave our piano behind and I have missed it desperately! I know that Steve is thrilled to bring the music back into our home...especially the one song that I play all the time (Fur Elise) Only because it is the one that I have memorized! I promise that I will learn more songs babe :) I think that the kids are just as excited about the piano, they love to play it! Actually, Kyle is pretty good at reading music, which he taught himself. Kassadi made me a really great card in school with some coupons in it that I will definetly have to use. Kyle gave me an interesting card that he made in church and Gabe gave me a cute poem with his large handprints on it that he too made in church. We had a great day at church and had a good dinner together. All of the kids pitched in and we had tacos (one of my favorites). Steve then had to get ready to leave on his week long trip to Boston. I then was able to talk to my mom and Steph on the phone...I love you both!! All in all, it was a wonderful day... HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! Thank you Steve and kids for making my day special!

My Visit to Houston...

A good friend of mine put a fun trip together to go to Houston for a book signing by Stephenie Meyer. If you don't know who that is, she wrote the Twilight series and her new book The Host just came out. It was a great trip. The drive was about 3 1/2 hours. (not too bad) The company and the conversation was great! The directions...hmmm, not so great! We (or should I say me, the navigator) had a really difficult time finding our destination! But we made it :) We (7 of us) had a yummy lunch at the Icehouse and then went on to the school to see if we could get in line for the signing. It only took an hour for the line to start forming and before we new it, there were tons of people there! I couldn't believe it. We were #6 or so in line, thanks to Christine and her girls. By the time we were escorted into our chairs at the school, there were at least a thousand people there. CRAZY! She was so down to earth. I really didn't know what to expect, but she seemed so nice and normal! She answered a few questions and then we were off to get our books signed. I am so glad that we didn't have to wait the hours that those who were in the back of the line did. So I got The Host and my Twilight book sighned. I also tried to get her to sign a cute paper for someone, but her publicist would not let her...(sorry Jacklyn!) We then left to find our hotel, which was really nice (thanks Cheryl!) After checking in, we went to the movie theater across from the hotel and saw Made of Honor. It was really funny!!By this time it was about 12:00 a.m. and the girls wanted to go and sit in the hot tub! I am so not used to staying up that late! But it was nice. The girls then slept until about 10:30. If you know me, you know that I can't do that! So I got up and started reading my new book (The Host). By the time that we got out of the hotel, it was about 11:45. We went to a Denny's to get breakfast and then went to a Flea Market (lots of strange things!! stuff that I think even the DI wouldn't sell!!) But it was fun! We then decided to go to another movie before heading home. I am so glad that we did. We went and saw What Happens In Vegas. It was absolutely hilarious!! We made it home by about 8:30. All in all, it was a great trip. Thanks girls (especially Cheryl) for doing all of the planning. It was a great experience. I was going to post some really great pics, but unfortunately Cheryl's computer crashed with all of her pics and now we have none!! Sorry :)

Interesting Email

I thought this email from Erin was very insightful. I honestly had no idea about how some of these things came about. But are they true??? Thanks for sharing Erin!!

VERY INTERESTING STUFF

In the 1400's a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have "the rule of thumb"
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Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented. It was ruled "Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden"...and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.
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The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV was Fred and Wilma Flintstone. *Serious? I thought they slept in twin beds on either side of the room!
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Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S. Treasury.
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Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better than men.

*I don't believe that!
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Coca-Cola was originally green.

*Now that is just gross...that just shows how much crap is in that stuff!! Good thing I only drink diet!! ;)
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It is impossible to lick your elbow.

*Whatever...
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The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work:
Alaska
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The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28% (now get this...)
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The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%
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The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $ 16,400

*Good thing I don't have a dog anymore...TOO EXPENSIVE! Think of what you could buy with that!!
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The average number of people airborne over the U.S. in any given hour:
61,000
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Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.

*I must have a lot of that stuff in my hair...Now what is Zinc?? :)
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The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer.
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The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.
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Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:

Spades - King David
Hearts - Charlemagne
Clubs -Alexander, the Great
Diamonds - Julius Caesar
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111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

*COOL!
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If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.
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Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.
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Q. Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?

A. Their birthplace

*I guess that means I could move back someday!
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Q. Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat name requested?

A. Obsession

*I won't even tell you what the names of my dads boats have been!!
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Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter "A"?

A. One thousand
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Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers all have in common?

A. All were invented by women.

*Of course they were...we are the smarter sex!!
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Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil?

A. Honey
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Q. Which day are there more collect calls than any other day of the year?

A. Father's Day
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In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes.
When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase......... "goodnight, sleep tight."
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It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.
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In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts... So in old England , when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them "Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down."

It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's"
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Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. "Wet your whistle" is the phrase inspired by this practice.
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At least 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow!

*You know you did it!!
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Don't skip this just because it looks weird. Believe it or not, you can read it.

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?

*I could actually read that...what did I go to school for?
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Blog Background

I just want to give a shout out to Holly for the great background!! I love it and can't wait to see what else she comes up with. Here is her link if any of you are interested:

http://www.mybackdrops.blogspot.com

Thanks Holly!