The House of Gemini's

CANNOT believe this time has come!

2009-05-20T09:55:00.001-07:00

That's Right!

Wasn't this JUST yesterday?

Love this lady!

2009-04-16T22:11:00.000-07:00

It's TIME

2009-04-03T09:42:00.000-07:00

to makeover this blog and start posting again!.......

My new guilty pleasure....

2009-01-10T11:08:00.000-08:00

Can't wait to wear these babies with shorts in the summer time!

2009...off to a rocky start

2009-01-06T13:57:00.000-08:00

It's Jan 6th, 2009 and the year is not beginning as I had planned. We had a great new years eve, the kids all had fun and that's about it. Lauren has been sick since about Saturday and I have been home with her Mon and Tues of this week...bi-lateral ear infections if you can believe it. Just the way I wanted to start the year absent and unproductive at work!! Not much I can do about that I guess.

Here are some pics of the last few months that I have failed to post. Some of Lauren on the day of her school program and then pics of those crazy people that I spent my new years with.

Happy New Years...some of my favorite people...

Jenny and Collin...the best neighbors ever!

Zuk...

Me and J

Happy New Year!

2009-01-05T10:11:00.001-08:00

2008-12-01T12:18:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays!

2008-11-19T07:11:00.000-08:00

Another BSU win and...a discovery by my 5 year old...

2008-11-09T21:38:00.001-08:00

So, BSU walluped on the Aggies (that's Utah State Aggies) yesterday! Another high point to a very good weekend. BTW, J and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary this weekend. Lauren stayed at the neighbors house overnight and we got a hotel room downtown. Hung out, had a relexing dinner and even went dancing. it was great! Oh yes and how great is this coach??? Soooo cute.

Lauren (so stinkin hilarious) came to me yesterday with an incredible...5 year old discovery. She said to me "momma, guess what I discovered...when you close the fridge door the light goes off and when you open the door the light comes back on!". I asked her and yes, you guessed it, she really thought the light was on all the time. Kids are so funny.

Happy start to your week...I hope it is enjoyable!

Do you bleed BLUE?

2008-11-08T11:50:00.000-08:00

Welcome to game day.

That's right baby! 38 to 3

2008-10-02T04:10:00.000-07:00

and LA Tech goes DOWN!!!! What a great game last night, it was incredible! BSU truly had their game on and crushed LA Tech. 4 and 0 and here we go!!

Life is busy, busy, busy right now...here's a little something until I get a chance to really post

2008-09-19T09:50:00.000-07:00

You Are A Gold Girl

You're dependable and hard working. You never miss a deadline - and you're never late.

You have a clear sense of right and wrong. You're very detail oriented.

You get frustrated when your friends are sloppy - or when they don't follow through.

You're on top of things, and you wish that everyone else was!

What Color Girl Are You?

Living in the NOW.......

2008-08-14T09:54:00.000-07:00

I've found myself a little melancholy lately and have been struggling with what might be causing my mood. I know it is somewhat related to our empty house, our kids went back to Boise and we are left with Mom, Dad and little Lauren. Not that she doesn't keep us running, but there was so much more going on with all of our kids in the house. So, we both miss that aspect. Also, summer is winding down and I am not ready to let it go just yet. We've been running every weekend, doing fun things, going on adventures and just enjoying the warm, sunny days. We had a meeting one evening this week at Lauren's school - it was a "welcome to Kindergarten" meeting with her new teacher for this year. It made me realize that life will be changing on September 2nd and we will be entering a whole new world. So I am sure this has helped with my "down" mood. I'm excited for the future and the possibilities that are opening up for us, but it's always a little sad for me to change and move forward.

On the way to work today one of my favorite songs came on the radio...Stealing Cinderella by Cuck Wicks. I listened to the words and was touched by a bit of sadness for the future. If you haven't heard the song, you should listen to it sometime...very sweet. Then I realized after listening to the chorus that I am living the life RIGHT NOW that someday I will be missing. So, my goal for the week and forward is to focus on what I have right now and be thankful for it all - to live in the moment!

This is my life right now...and I am truly thankful for my little girl who seems to always be:

Playing Cinderella

Riding her first bike

Bouncing on the bed and looking for a pillow fight

Running through the sprinkler with a big popsicle grin

Dancing with her dad, looking up at him

Priceless...

2008-08-07T19:14:00.000-07:00

List of chores:

make beds = 50 cents

wash dishes = $1.00

clean family room = 50 cents

etc...

etc....

The kids earnings....nearly $45

Lauren's loot = $9

Kira's loot = $12

Grand total at the Dollar Store = $37

Not having to keep the entire house clean by yourself and getting a few kids to chip in with the chores....PRICELESS!!!

Weekend fun.

2008-08-04T15:03:00.000-07:00

We had a mostly quiet weekend. Spent a lot of time around the house on Saturday, bbq'd at night and mostly just hung out as a family. We got out into the woods on Sunday and discovered the most beautiful falls on the McKenzie River. I am always amazed at how beautiful Central Oregon is. We find so many wonderful things when we get out and explore. The two falls we visited were Sahalie and Koosah falls. We had a lot of fun exploring. Hope you enjoy the photos and have a great week!

These first two of Sahalie Falls

This is Koosah Falls

The kids at Sahalie...we found a little pond down below the waterfall

Jason and I - Alex took this shot of us.

The family picture at Koosah - there were one's of J and I not kissing, but they weren't quite as funny.

Sisters

We found this awesome plant that looked like Peppermint Sticks...very cute. After getting home we discovered that it is called Allotropa Virgota "Candystick". It's a mycotrophic wildflower.

And of course, a little chipmunk came to share our lunch. The kids named him Alvin...he sure loved the Doritos and wasn't afraid of us at all. This is Jason hand feeding him.

And this was out of the ordinary...a real phone booth. So, we had to take some pictures in this. My favorite is the last one of Jason...

This is so crazy....I have no words...

2008-07-25T14:22:00.001-07:00

We went to a place called "Bouncing Off The Walls" last night for Family Fun Night. You pay one fee and the kids get to play on all of the "equipment" there, plus you get pizza and soda pop. Sounds like fun huh? They have a huge room - Lauren's old gym - with lots of those blow up mazes, slides and bouncy houses. Plus, lots of room to run and be crazy. Tucked back in the corner is their Velcro Wall - who knew it would induce so much terror into our lives that night....

We had been at the facility for probably 30 mins. The kids had been playing around and wanted to go back on the velcro wall. So, we suited them up. The way it works is they were velcro suits and there is a bouncy platform that they use to jump onto the well. Lots of fun and the velcro is super strong - it even held Jason up. Well, the kids were playing and Lauren caught a bad bounce which knocked her over the side face first. She kind of somersaulted off and landed right on her back. Well she was screaming so loud that I was sure her neck was broken. Nope, no injuries but we never expected what we had found...she had landed flat on her back, into a pile of velcro suits. So, her hair was sandwiched between the suit she had on and the suit she had fallen on and she was STUCK...seriously stuck. It took us nearly an hour to pull her hair out of the velcro, but I was dead set on NOT cutting it. She recovered fairly quickly and had a pretty good time. The owners felt horrible and offered to give her a free stuffed animal, so that seemed to help with things.

The second worst part of the adventure was coming the snarls out of her hair. It took the rest of that night and then some more time today getting the rats out. She lost about a hand full of hair, but I guess we are lucky we didn't have to cut it. Such a crazy, crazy thing to happen - it was seriously miserable for her (of course) and for daddy and I to try and comb it out. Here are some pics of the event:

Not a great picture, but it gives you an idea of what the wall and velcro suits look like:

Lauren, at home after we pulled her hair from the suit

Starting in the bath by trying to dig out the elastics, then pouring conditioner and painfully combing and picking through her hair

It all looks so easy here, doesn't it?

This is the SECOND day - daddy's still picking through it. We finally got them all out, but her hair is quite a bit thinner...I am so mortified!

Oh yes - another edition to our family...

2008-07-24T11:03:00.000-07:00

We added a new member to our little family on Monday. I finally got a picture of him and am just getting around to posting it. His name is Cooper and he LOVES to play with the kids. He is quite comical and has been entertaining us since he arrived. As daddy says to Lauren "he's not a barbie doll - stop dragging him around!". So you can imagine our house is very busy right now what with getting him settled and with the kids learning how to treat and handle him. He is very sweet and fun and needed a good home. He is full grown, but quite a bit smaller than you would expect. I will write more and post more pics as I get them. But for now...introducing COOPER!

Just a little maternal panic...

2008-07-23T13:26:00.000-07:00

As I was working today and noting dates on various documents it occurred to me that we had passed the half way mark on this year and then I began to panic...
It seems I do this periodically. If I think too much about how quickly my baby is growing up (that is; my baby who turned 5 years old this year), I begin to panic. Am I crazy or does every mother do this to some degree?

I always worry that I will forget the stages and ages of her life. Will I forget how small her hands were when she was little? Will I forget the sound of her voice or the way she pronounces certain words with her toddler vernacular? Will I forget how her hair smelled or the things she loved from day to day? With photos and camcorders; scrapbooking and baby books; journals and blogs I know I am capturing these moments (or at least attempting to), but it's just so different than the real thing to me sometimes. So I was a bit melancholy for a moment and I took some time to look through her baby pictures.

I just can't believe life is flying by so fast. There are so many things I want to do that I hope I can fit them all in and still be a good Mom, Wife, Friend, Daughter, Sister, etc. I'm sure it will all work out just fine...in the meantime I will still cry from time to time over these photos. (Oh yes, while speaking of time flying by...take a look at what I posted at the bottom of my blog page...yup, only 155 days left!!!!)

Truly, a thankless job

2008-07-21T15:53:00.000-07:00

I don't know why, but I am always amazed at how thankless being a mother can be (and being a stepmother - even more thankless). I enjoy it immensely, but sometimes, some days, you just want to hear "gee, thanks mom for all that you do!".

So it's Monday, a day when the weekend is over and the long work week begins; a day when I am almost always a little melancholy.
To make a long story short, I am amazed at how daddy can sweep into the house and be the hero of the day while I am standing in the midst of settling dust, buzzing clothes dryer timers, scents of bathroom cleaner and piles of "to be done" laundry. I had spent the morning cleaning bathrooms, straightening up after kids, making breakfast for 3 (yes, a hot breakfast), starting 5 loads of laundry, vacuuming the house, making jello, brownies, lunch, clay for the girls because they were "bored", watering the flowers outside as well as our little garden, begging my 5 year old not to jump on the couch, putting her in time out, asking the kids to stop picking at each other, asking the kids not to jump with the balls on the trampoline, removing countless splinters from my 5 year old's fingers (cause she had to climb the fence to see what was on the other side)all of this while putting in a few hours at my full time job. Well, at 1:30 dad walks in the door and the kids all rave....."it's Daddy!". Now, he was very helpful when he got home, he got my 12 year old to mow the lawn - which was a great help. As the kids began to wander around they started in with the "I'm hungries". Really?? I think. I had made them lunch 1/2 hour earlier...and granted it wasn't anything great but sandwiches are a good lunch for summer days (especially when we have been eating out as much as we have). Well, I probably have two of the pickiest children in the world along with another child who eats barely enough to keep a bird alive so I don't know why I am so surprised when 2 of the kids didn't eat much of anything and the third picked at her food. But...I refuse to run an open kitchen for the picky and the disinterested, so they know it's eat it or go hungry until the next meal. But, dear old daddy (who was being very helpful) made them each a "peanut butter surprise" sandwich. What I established was that he put peanut butter on bread, poured on the chocolate syrup and the kids LOVED IT.
So, see what I mean. Daddy, the hero every time. All I wanted to do was make sure everyone had a clean home, clean laundry, healthy meals, yummy deserts for after dinner and oh yes, make some money on the side....Thankless, I tell you - thankless.

I hate to end a post on a negative note though, so I have to say that I am proud of my clean home, I am proud that my children have clean clothes to wear and that they get nutritious meals and that I am able to help provide for my family financially. I have happy, healthy polite and for the most part great children who I know love me and someday...someday, they will look back and see all that I have done for them. I wouldn't trade being a mother for anything else, no matter how difficult it can be.

Swimming and Yummy Kabobs.

2008-07-19T22:45:00.000-07:00

We found a great swimming pool in Sunriver today. We have driven past it before, but have never planned the trip out there. So, we packed the kids up at about noon and headed over. We stayed for about 4 hours, it was a great day for swimming. The kids had a blast, even Lauren who is not a big fan of actually being in the water (which her picture will show). There is a "baby" pool though at about 1 foot deep and she played quite a bit in there - even by herself! The coolest thing about this pool is that every hour at quarter to the hour, the kids have to get out of the big pool and it's adult swim for 15 minutes. No kids, no splashing, no screaming and yelling...no extra shenanigans. So nice! We will definitely be going back soon. Enjoy some pics from our day and some yummy kabobs that Jason made for dinner the other night. They were so pretty that I had to take some pics.

Our family photos

2008-07-17T20:12:00.000-07:00

As promised...photos from our family photo shoot. They turned out really great, I think. I have more to post later...

Thought of the day and a thought from my baby girl...

2008-07-15T14:02:00.000-07:00

"We become what we think about all day long" Ralph Waldo Emerson

I was painting the girls toenails last night - the cutest summer pink. We are having family photos taken today and I we will all be barefoot so I wanted the girls to have pretty toes.

Anyway...Jason was taking the polish off of Lauren's toes and fingers from the 4th of July and little Lauren looked up and said "My toes look empty". Then when I had finished painting her little nails she said, "Look, they're not empty anymore. Now I'm pretty again".

She is such a doll and a little diva...

I'll post our family pics once we get them back...

Mini Vacation

2008-07-14T11:14:00.000-07:00

We took off on Friday morning (ok, late morning) to head to the Oregon Coast. We ended up in Reedsport which is the southern part of the coast - somewhere we had never been before. Got a little hotel room there - it was about 7pm. We had some yummy seafood and then headed back to the hotel for some swimming. It was a fun trip over and evening as well. Jason and I left the kids in the hotel room for like 5 minutes just to run downstairs and get them a candy bar in the lobby. We came back to the hotel phone ringing...and I knew just what it was. Apparently the kids had been jumping from bed to bed (and I'm guessing landing on the floor in between)...we had a noise complaint from below. So Jason told them that the hotel was going to call the police if they acted up any more and that seemed to take care of it. It was hilarious though...I guess 3 kids can get into trouble pretty quickly...especially when they are as excited as they were.

Next morning we headed up the coast, stopped at "Winchester Bay" for a minute and eventually ended up in Newport. We grabbed a hotel room there and then headed down to the beach for some fun. Here are some pics of our adventure:

The beautiful Oregon coast...
Alex...

Kira doing cartwheels...

Digging in the sand with dad...

The baby....

Sand art by the kids..

Lauren drawing "Eve" from Wall-e...such a cute movie!

Sand sculpture by dad...the kids helped by adding the nose hair.

We also found some sea creatures on our adventure...some of which just had to make the trip home with us...a few sand crabs and clams (not pictured).

The crab in the red bucket is "cheetoh" as named by Kira...he was not feeling well when we got home so the kids were all worried that he was going to die.

The other crabs (horrible color, I know, but I still don't have my photo editing software loaded yet)...I think this is "pepsi" and the little guy on his head is "pringles".

I'm not sure these guys will last, but the kids are having fun with them for now.

We got home Sunday night at about 9pm - it was a great mini-vacation and we were all sad to leave.

We were really excited when we got home and found that our little spider charlotte had returned. If you remember from posts past, the story of our cat face spider family...this is the third generation "charlotte". You can see she is just a baby, but she had her little web spun and was quick to eat the tiny bug that Jason threw in her net.

We are hoping she will stick around for the summer, grow and have her babies here too. This all coming from the mom who hates spiders...but seriously, you have got to LOVE a spider who chooses to spend her life in your backyard and who's babies return to the same spot to live out their lives.

Oh, yes I almost forgot...on our way over to the coast we stopped to have a picnic at Belknap Hot Springs. There was a tiny little butterfly who was quite fond of Lauren...he landed on her finger and spent nearly the whole time there...it was pretty difficult to get him off when we were ready to leave. We'll call her the butterfly whisperer from now on.....

Dancing Diva

2008-06-24T15:15:00.001-07:00

Since I've been without a properly working computer for a while, my bloggin has been really bad. I always think I am going to jump on at work and make a quick post, but it never works out. My fabulous hubby brought home a laptop, new to me (though not new, but hey, not too old) and he is reloading programs, favorites, all of my thousands of pics from my old ghetto laptop to this new one. So, I'm back! One of the programs that has not made it over to the new laptop, however, is any of my photo editing software, so the photos I will post will be raw and untouched. Most of them were taken inside, so it's the camera...not me!

Lauren's jazz dance class finished this last weekend with their big yearly recital. We had dress rehearsal on Sat morning at 11 am and then had to be back on stage at 6pm that night for the big performance. Then, her little dance team was invited to perform at a local, annual event here called the Bite of Bend. It's a downtown event where food and beverage vendors get together and you can eat all you want, buy local goods and there is a kid's area to play as well as music and other entertainment. Part of the entertainment was her dance studio performing - so her group was invited to perform along with them. It was great! Busy, busy weekend, on the go and me with LOTS of anxiety. I get so nervous when she performs, but it was so much fun - and Lauren did awesome.

Here are a few untouched pics of the weekend - I will post more when my software comes available.

Getting all dolled up!

Ready to perform.....

99 red balloons....! What a cute group.

Lauren's fabulous instructor....Miss Marissa

And the winner is.....

2008-05-28T09:07:00.000-07:00

My Dad! Primary elections were held for Fremont County yesterday and by 9:30 pm the results were in. Out of 14 precincts, 13 carried my father. With a total of 1,590 votes compared to his contenders who had 137, 771, 307, my father swept the election.

Awesome, awesome, awesome! Way to go Dad!

Fremont County Commissioner

Our FABULOUS weekend (lots of pics!)

2008-05-21T12:17:00.000-07:00

On a whim, Saturday morning at about 1 am, we hopped in our car (with little packed - or just enough to get by really), grabbed our sleeping baby (who remained asleep for several hours) and headed off down the road with a group of friends for the ocean. We were having a going away BBQ for a friend of ours who wanted to see the ocean once more before heading back to Boise. It turned out to be a fabulous weekend! The weather at home (in Bend) was 90's and 100's - the weather at the coast on Saturday was nothing short of PERFECT! Our friends left at about 10 am to head back home to Bend, but Jason and I decided to grab a hotel room and stay for a night and enjoy the very unusual weather. So after much searching we finally found a little hotel room just across the road from the ocean. It was so perfect that we ended up spending nearly 5 hours on the beach just playing and enjoying the weather. If you know anything about the Oregon Coast (or most of it), you know that it is very rare to actually be able to wear a swimsuit and get a suntan. We did both the whole day - it was incredible. Here are a few shots of our day. We headed home Sunday afternoon - exhausted and sun burnt...but it was so much fun!

Lauren and daddy - diggin.

She got braver as the day went on...

Running for miles........

Footprints....

Lauren's sculpture of me

This proves I was there.

Lauren and daddy

There were lots of BIG black ants on the sand...they weren't mean, but they would crawl all over us. So we made a little ant coral and kept them held up for a while. We let them go before we left of course. And just look at Lauren...not scared of bugs a bit.

Jason's "alien head" sand sculpture.

We met the CUTEST little puppy playing on the beach...he loved Lauren!

My favorite pic - I took one of these when Lauren was little, maybe 2 so I had to take another one this year.

And back home that night...didn't realize how sunburned I had gotten!

Here's a pic of what we found that evening...a little catface spider - just a baby as you can see. We had a grown catface spider living at our house two summers ago...she made her web on our deck every night and we would watch her and sometimes feed her flies. Well, she had babies and then was gone...we figure this is one of her babies. We call her Charlotte - of course. She's been missing for a few days, but we hope she sticks around to have her babies here just like her momma.

Enjoy your week!

Catching up...

2008-05-14T11:01:00.000-07:00

What's going on.....let's see...
My beautiful little girl has become quite the "accident prone" nightmare for us. After her fall which resulted in the extraction of 4 teeth!!! she was running and playing on the blacktop at school the very next week and had another fall. We picked her up from school and were "debriefed" on what had occurred and the extent of her injuries...they included a pretty yucky scrape / "road" burn on her elbow and a smaller, yet just as yucky scrape on these side of her hand at the wrist. Well, it could have been worse, right? after what we had been through the week before. She was a little lethargic and her eyes looked a little glazy, but we figured she was just tired and in a little bit of pain - those black top burns can be really painful (per daddy). Also, we were told that she cried quite a bit when the accident occurred, which is very unlike Lauren. She has the pain tolerance of the devil - I like to say. This was somewhat disconcerting to us. We got home, started to get some dinner together and Lauren was sitting on the couch coloring. I went down the hall for a moment and heard Lauren start crying pretty loudly, somewhat out of the blue. I came rushing down the hall to see what was wrong and met Jason coming from the other way. "Something's wrong" he said. "She doesn't usually act like this, somethings not right". So, we scooped her up in a hurry, loaded her in the car and headed to the ER. Now, we could be accused of being uptight parents, but with an incredible hospital and ER staff just moments away and a $25 copay for ER visits, we figured better safe than sorry! Our main concern was that she was holding her wrist funny and would not let us get near it...so we figured that there could be a hairline fracture or a sprain that needed some attention. We were attended to very quickly upon entering the doors of the ER - I knew practically everyone in there as I had spent about 4 months last year working in the ER admitting area. It was nice to have the attentiveness to our situation. Well, after a visit with the Dr. and we think...some time for Lauren to relax, it was determined that she did not have a sprain, fracture or anything other than a very severe "road" burn. So, we left feeling much better and Lauren got a stuffed animal from the ER stash for being such a great patient. I tell you...there is nothing that compares to affordable health coverage and on top of that, we are part of the "family" at St. Charles, so we are always very impressed. We are so blessed to have such affordable and incredible health coverage and health professionals at our fingertips! Crisis averted....this week. We are prepared for more with her however...daddy taught her to climb a tree on mother's day. I have pics to download and post of that adventure. Our little tomboy in a princess dress.....

Does the tooth fairy visit a 4 year old??????

2008-04-30T21:30:00.001-07:00

Oh what a day this turned in to. Jason received a call at 12:30 today and called me shortly after...there had been an accident at school and we were needed right away. I showed up just moments after Jason did and saw the look on the school master's face, followed by Jason's voice "She's ok". I rounded the corner and there sat Lauren with a bag of ice against her quickly swelling lips. Apparently she had been dancing and twirling in a classroom, lost her balance and landed on her mouth on one of the classroom tables. So, we scooped her up and rushed her to the pediatric dental office. Lauren was wonderful! Didn't wimper, didn't cry and did everything she was asked by the dental assistant. It looked bad, lots of blood, lacerations on her gums, maybe a loose tooth or two. I wasn't prepared for what the dentist had to tell us. The left front tooth and the tooth next to it had been badly damaged and would need to come out. To keep everything straight and in line, he suggested we remove the other front tooth and the one next to that - four in all! I was taken back for a moment, but we knew he was telling us what would be best for Lauren. So we agreed and after about an hour we had our little girl in our arms, minus 4 teeth and about $200 dollars. She was such a trooper and didn't cry until we started heading home; that is when I think it finally hit her. She cried for a little while, asked some questions about her teeth and was most concerned about her swollen lip. We took her back by school so that the teachers could see her. They were all so concerned and upset about the accident - if something like this had to happen, what a blessing that it occurred at her school. Everyone there is wonderful and they took such good care of our baby.

So, here is our before baby....

And here is our after baby....

Quite a change! She is such a brave little girl and so amazing! After a moment or two of crying she was back up and didn't miss a beat. Notice the roller skates...she was ready to roll in no time!

So, with four little teeth placed carefully under her pillow, she has drifted off to sleep with visions of tooth fairies dancing in her head. And mom and dad can finally take a deep breath and let the day settle in. We can certainly learn a lesson from out little girl today...take the bumps in the road with stride, stop and cry for a minute or two, wipe your cheeks off, head of to your next adventure and always, always find the good in everything.

Sweet dreams baby girl...more beautiful every day - even minus a few teeth!

Our Crazy Weekend!

2008-04-21T10:10:00.001-07:00

Jason and I get some alone time sans our baby...

Our upside down baby...

Babysitting got CRAZY on 4-20 !

MORE TO COME..........we have a lot of explaining to do... :o)

Where have we been? Where have you been!

2008-04-16T15:29:00.000-07:00

Over the course of the last few weeks that I have not blogged, we have had some pretty great weekends. Not last weekend, but the weekend prior, we had a "Horton Hears a Who" kind of weekend! We got up one morning and took off to have breakfast at IHOP. Yup, they were serving Who-Cakes and we just had to check them out. Lauren actually went for the smiley face pancake, but the waitress was so awe struck by Lauren that she doted on her the whole time. So, while she didn't have a Who-Cake, she got a little pink dum-dum sucker on the top of her pancake. If you have seen, or once you have seen the movie, you'll understand the significance of the pink "sucker".

After breakfast we headed off to Barnes and Nobles to pick up our very own copy of Dr. Seuss's Horton Hears a Who. It is one that we did not have in our Seuss collection, and it was a great addition!

After the book store, we headed to the theater to see the move Horton Hears a Who. If you haven't seen it, you need to. It was great! Lauren sat through most of the movie without fidgeting too much (but you know her little bony bum gets sore!) So that was a very fun weekend and Lauren still talks about it. At the end of that evening we of course chose Horton Hears a Who for our bedtime story.

This past weekend we had above 70 degree temps both Saturday and Sunday. We didn't do anything crazy, except thoroughly enjoy the sunshine! I tell you, after a long, cold, damp winter and spring, the sun really warms your bones and just makes you feel better. We had breakfast on Saturday morning at our favorite breakfast place "Jakes". They have the best biscuits and gravy and we can get one plate of food and share it between all three of us...it's great. I actually got sun burned while sitting outside eating breakfast. It was a great morning! After this we took a fairly long walk while the oil was being changed in the car. Washed my car cause it looks so pretty when it's clean - and the car wash was complete with "rainbows" - which is what Lauren calls the wax/soap they wash the car with....it really is rainbow colored and only a four year old would ask "daddy, did we pay for rainbows?".

Much of both days was spent sitting outside on our deck on our "sun chairs" as Lauren calls them. We painted toe nails, enjoyed each others company and even had a friend over for dinner on Sunday evening.

We are looking ahead to a damp and cold weekend, this weekend, but we had lots of fun over the past few weeks so I think we can find some fun rainy day activity to keep us busy.

Our fingers are crossed for more yummy weather to come.....!

Tax day....ick...

2008-04-15T20:54:00.000-07:00

So, it's been a while since I last posted. I have lots to tell, but tonight will be just a check in. So, tax day today...and I have to say I truly dislike this day. Not just the day, but the realization that there is one more "person" holding out their hand to take our money. I swear, it's like we NEVER get ahead. Once again we had to pay this year and I'll just say, it was over $3,000. Yahooooo, huh? As if we didn't give enough hand outs to other people throughout the year..... UGGGHHH!! So, it's over and I'm over it. We worked it out and paid it in full and we'll continue to save and pay bills and be wealthy very, very soon! No more of that business! On to happier thoughts.

Here is a picture of my father. He is running for re-election as Commissioner of Fremont County. He was elected nearly two years ago (it's hard to believe) and it's time to run again. He did a fantastic job...from what I hear and I hope he makes it again. So proud and amazed by everything that he does - my father can decide to do anything and be successful at it. He's truly a role model for me. Best of luck DAD!!!!

and that is what we call...Strep Throat!

2008-04-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness, what a week it has been! I started feeling icky - sore throat - on Sunday night. I remember saying to Jason, "my throat hurts" right before laying down for the night. I woke up so stinkin early on Monday - got to work by 6 am and I think , I really didn't have any time to realize how bad I felt. I left work by 9 am and was feeling miserable! I sacked out on the couch with a pillow, blanket and the fireplace going strong. Between work and napping that is all that I did for the rest of the day. By the time Jason got home from work I was feeling no better. He, being the sweet man he is, ran to the store to get my favorite soup Creamy Tomato Basil from Safeway - cause he knows that is the only thing I want to eat when I am feeling yucky. He walked in the door, groceries in hand and he looked at me and said "what is wrong - I feel horrible?!" So, by bed time he was feeling as bad as I was. We both stayed home from work the next day, sacked out on the couch and feeling miserable. Lauren was so great, she tried extra hard to be good and quiet and not too needy. She was happy to have a "stay home day" in the middle of the week. On Wednesday we both went to work - I was really feeling a lot better, but still not great. Jason sent me an email at about 10:30 that said, "if you have what I have, you are not going to be very happy - STREP THROAT!". He had just gotten back from the urgent care clinic. The Dr. was nice enough to give him enough penicillin and some pain meds for both of us. So I headed home from work at about 1pm and here we are - still sick today! The Dr. thinks Lauren is a "carrier" of the virus and likely will not get sick from it. So, that is the blessing for us...if she can at least stay healthy then we will be doing ok. This is truly a miserable illness! We just hurt everywhere, head, neck, throat, ears, body aches. It's good to know what we have, but we can't wait for it to be gone!
So this has been our week - it is quite difficult to both be ill at the same time. We have to take turns bathing and feeding Lauren. She has been a sweetheart through it all.
I hope your week is going better than ours!

Yummy cookies, what was I thinking? and yes, diarrhea

2008-03-30T15:05:00.000-07:00

Jason has been at work all day today and some of yesterday. So, Lauren and I have been hanging out together here at the casa. She has really been on one this weekend, so it has been trying at times. And when she and I go at it - WATCH OUT. So, we've had some tough times, but I didn't want it to be all about that. We played dress up dolls this morning after we had some scrambled eggs for breakfast while watching some cartoons. Then I headed in to clean the kitchen and she was right behind me. She helped with washing, tidying and she kept saying "washing dishes is fun! Isn't it mom?" So, I am glad she enjoyed it and we did get to be together. Then we gave Shelby a little soak in her bath. She's shedding and this helps her with that. After that we had some lunch and then I decided to make some cookies - I had found a new recipe on a fellow bloggers post and they looked really good. So, we baked a batch and then she has been playing with her neighbor friend ever since. I'll post the recipe for the cookies later...you gotta try them. So keep checking back.

So, I'm here catching up on some scrappin, bloggin and organizing. Wishing my husband was home cause I really am not use to this alone stuff. It's fun for a while, but it's nice to be together on the weekend since we both work full time during the week and are exhausted most evenings. Hopefully he will be home soon.

Oh, about the diarrhea...Lauren and I were cleaning her room yesterday and I was piling up some sketch books, color books, etc. I found this tiny little pink notebook and I asked her where she wanted it. I made the mistake of calling it a notebook and she said "Mom, it's my diarrhea...it's very special". I cracked up! Her diarrhea...who knew she had one already?! Guess she put me in my place. Hilarious!

Oh yes and take a look at this...what was I thinking? It was too cute - we found it at Costco for under $10 bucks. I figured maybe I would be able to use it someday, or it would be a good gift for a friend. Either way, I just had to have it.

Did I mention that it snowed last night. Seriously? I am over this winter stuff!

The Secret....what's this all about?

2008-03-27T09:13:00.000-07:00

So, in my browsing of the internet and different message boards, I stumbled upon something called "The Secret" from Oprah's show. I hadn't heard of it so I went to check it out. I believe the concept, the DVD, the Oprah show itself talked about The Secret being more or less intentioning what you want to achieve out of your life. Intentioning good and abundance and all that you want your life to be. So...I am still in the process of researching, but figured it couldn't hurt to start right away and intention positive in my life. Here is what I found out - I hope you all have a marvelous day as I know I will!!
"...start making a conscious effort every day to take actions that will sync with the energy of the life you dream about. "When you're talking about action, you're talking about walking in the direction you want,""
"But not just any action will do,...It has to be one that comes from the heart and will provide a real service. "It's not, 'If you build it, they will come,' necessarily. It's, 'If you build it and it provides value, they will come,'" he says. "It's that heart space. Not 'What can I get?' but 'What can I give and how can I serve?' And when you're in that moment, the universe lines up behind you and it's at your command.""

Yup...snow for Easter, Lauren's Easter outfit for school and our baby snake...

2008-03-21T14:58:00.001-07:00

It's Friday!!! So excited cause it has been a long week (seems like I said that last week too...) We got all of our Easter goodies made for Lauren's class and her teachers. I actually finished her Easter shirt for her school Easter party and got Easter packages mailed off to my two other kids in SLC...so it was a highly productive week, but I am pooped! Oh yes and the Easter ham is thawing and the eggs are all boiled and ready to color. I just need to make my mother's famous Mustard Sauce for the ham and we will be good to go! It is so yummy.....! Here are some pics of our front yard this morning - I was quite shocked to say the least when I stepped out my front door at 6 am! SNOW - for EASTER! I just had to snap some shots of proof and let you all see it. We have an easter egg hunt tomorrow, for my employer, so I hope it warms up a bit. It is actually mostly gone now, but what a surprise for us all!

These are some pics of Lauren heading off to school. I really had to barter with her to stand outside long enough for me to snap a few shots. You can see her little fists clenched cause she is freezing...well, for a four year old I think drama can be created out of anything. I made the shirt for her because she was having an Easter party at school.

Here are some pics of our new pet - Shelby. She is a ball python, just a baby as you can see. She is still quite small and such a sweet little thing. I did not know I was a snake lover, but they have such a different aura about them. Just look at that face...you can't help but love her! She is shedding this week, so that is a new experience for us. Like all the girls in this family, she is quite spoiled. My husband wraps her in a nice warm wet towel every night and she just snuggles down in it. She obviously likes the moisture and the humidity from it and it helps her to get some of her skin off.

So, that wraps up our week. We hope to have a great Easter weekend - quiet and fun. We'll head to church in the morning and then come home for lunch/dinner. Oh yes, and Easter bunny in the morning.

Happy Easter to all!

Happy St. Pattie's Day.....

2008-03-17T17:04:00.000-07:00

A few quick pics of Lauren on her way to school this morning. She has turned in to quite the little skirt girl, so I try and plan my holiday outfits around her skirts and capri/legging fetish. We are planning to have a nice irish dinner tonight - Corned Beef and Cabbage in the new crockpot that Jason bought for me. Should be yummy! I am hoping to enjoy it as long as my meds keep working. Turns out I have a nasty ear infection - forgot how painful they can be. The Dr. gave me some antiobiotic and something for the pain. So, swallowing and chewing are not quite as painful as they have been.
Happy St. Patrick's day!!

Age Calculator and Unique Traits

2008-02-27T14:59:00.000-08:00

A friend sent me an age calculator, along with it, it displayed unique traits to those born during certain times. Jason and I had the same traits...cause our birthdays are one day apart. Lauren's was slightly different. I am amazed at how accurate most of these are - especially Lauren's....
Jason and I:
JUNE
* Thinks far with vision
* Easily influenced by kindness
* Polite and soft-spoken
* Having lots of ideas
* Sensitive
* Active mind
* Hesitating
* Tends to delay
* Choosy and always wants the best
* Temperamental
* Funny and humorous
* Loves to joke
* Good debating skills
* Talkative
* Daydreamer
* Friendly
* Knows how to make friends
* Abiding
* Able to show character
* Easily hurt
* Prone to getting colds
* Loves to dress up
* Takes time to recover when hurt
* Brand conscious
* Executive
* Stubborn
* Those who loves me are enemies

Lauren:
MAY
* Stubborn and hard-hearted
* Strong-willed and highly motivated
* Sharp thoughts
* Easily angered
* Attracts others and loves attention
* Deep feelings
* Beautiful physically and mentally
* Firm standpoint
* Easily influenced
* Needs no motivation
* Easily consoled
* Systematic (left brain)
* Loves to dream
* Strong clairvoyance
* Understanding
* Sickness usually in the ear and neck
* Good imagination
* Good debating skills
* Good physical
* Weak breathing
* Loves literature and the arts
* ! Loves traveling
* High spirited
* Spendthrift

Our Newest Addition

2008-02-27T14:37:00.001-08:00

Her name is Cassie - a Honduran Milksnake or more common name Tangarine Milk Snake. She is the sweetest snake I have ever been around. Such a sweet little face, cute little eyes and a great disposition. Plus, she is absolutely gorgeous. Even Lauren was excited to get her and loves to hold her. More to come, but wanted to share our new baby with everyone. She's about a foot long now and we are hoping we can provide her a good home.

Total Lunar Eclipse

2008-02-27T14:27:00.000-08:00

This evening was a lot of fun...we sat outside and watched the lunar eclipse. It probably took about a full 45 minutes to go from 1/4 of the moon covered to the full eclipse. Lauren started to get a bit cold, but we invited our favorite neighbors over to watch it, so it appeased her for a while. It was quite beautiful and spectacular and it was nice to share something like this with Lauren. It was a good learning experience...course it helps that her daddy is so smart. I don't think I could have explained the process to her as well as he did. We got a few great photos of it. Hope you enjoy...will be a while before we see another one of these.