Photo Walk

A couple of weekends ago I actually had some time to myself (cue halleluia chorus) and so I went on a photo walk with Carin Davis and others. I have always loved Carin's photography and frequently visit her blog to see what she has done lately. Seeing her pictures is what inspired me to get a better camera and learn more about photography. I have a long way to go (obviously) but when I look at my pictures from a few years ago and what they look like now I can see some improvements. Of course it helps to be able to edit photos today versus the old style rolls of film where you were stuck with what you had. Thank goodness for today's technology to correct lighting difficulties!

here is a sample of what I saw on our walk.




Thanks to Carin for the inspiration and also for a fun night!

Secret Surprise

Some people love surprises... others hate them. Me - well ... it depends on the surprise.

If the surprise is Brett rolling a black ball of yarn at my feet and saying "is that a mouse?" then the answer is no. Initially funny for him as I scream and hop around but he pays the price for days with my skunk-eye looks.

If the surprise is a free cruise to Europe, a trip to NYC all expenses paid or winning a long-arm quilting machine. All-right I'll even go smaller than that... how about a simple date with my hubby or a clean house with laundry done and dishes put away? I like those kinds of surprises!

We knew when we moved into the neighborhood that there were plenty of kids. What we didn't realize was that the majority of the kids are girls. So on Friday when a cute little surprise appeared at our doorstep and we didn't see who dropped it off, I think it was safe to assume that it was left by some girls.

Here is what we found...


and this is what was inside...
Girls are too cute!

First Days of School

It's that time of year again when kids pack up their backpacks and lunches and head back to school. Because we moved in the spring we are at a new school so we are having to figure out a new school with new teachers and another new experience...

the bus...


The boys of course love it although if you are at all familiar with Giggles you will understand my angst about sending him on the bus.


He has a difficult time following rules and to be riding a bus with no seatbelts in it is just asking for trouble. He has his older brothers with him on the way to school to help keep him in line though. Or will they????





So when the boys started coming home with all of their homework in the 2nd week of school ... and believe me it was a lot... and I started commenting (aka complaining) to Brett about how much they had and did the teachers understand that kids need time to play?? I also said that soon Giggles would be starting and he would be bringing homework home as well. Brett said "kindergartners don't get homework". What the what??? Where was he when Sheriff and Wannabe went to kindergarten??? Apparently I did my job altogether too well and he was totally unaware of the cutting and pasting, the spelling tests and rhyming homework as well as reading homework the boys had in kindergarten. So on Tuesday when we met with Giggles' teacher she gave him an assignment (homework) and some questions for the parents to fill out. There was a question on it I needed to ask Brett's help with.

"what's that for?" Brett asks.

"Giggles' homework" I reply.

"But he hasn't even started school yet" says Brett.

"I know, but we met his teacher yesterday and she gave him some... you were saying something about kindergartners not having homework?"

I know, I know... I'm a smarty pants.

Uncle Jeff impresses kids

Recently my brother-in-law Jeff participated in a fund raiser called Over The Top which was raising money for the Special Olympics. The idea was to sponsor these individuals (donate money to the cause) and they would repel down a very high hotel in return and hopefully stay alive in the process.

Jeff wore one of his favorite shirts for the occasion:



We couldn't believe how high the starting point was....


Some of us were more concerned about who we wished we were sitting beside but weren't because someone else got there first...




Finally it was Jeff's turn and he made it look so easy...


How high is that???



It was amazing to see Jeff come down from that height! Of course we had to stick around and see a local celebrity do the same...



As an added bonus the boys got to meet him later:




Thanks for a great morning Jeff and for taking time for a worthy cause.

Family Reunion Bound

After Brett's parents rescued (towed back) our busted boat from Lake Powell last week end, his mom said to him "now you're going to the family reunion - right?" Hahaha!!! There was no getting out of it now. Actually we were already going to it anyways but this cinched it FOR SURE!!! Only death or worse could have prevented us from attending after that favor!!

So I made up a pasta salad, we packed up some chairs and all the kiddies and headed out for Brett's grandpa's family reunion.

There was lots of great food: (sorry Roxy... I'm famous for taking pics of people in the middle of eating... just ask Dede)
and the kids had a great time playing:



Of course everyone thought Brett was still single because he wasn't wearing a ring...
just kidding (he did get teased a lot for losing it though.)


I have to say that I love Brett's family and did from the very start. They are wonderful people full of generosity and love that welcomed me in and made me feel a part of the family. I am family.
Families come in all shapes and sizes but nothing beats the love of family.

You lost what???

The ring is a symbol of fidelity and its shape of a circle represents eternity. If you look in your drawer or perhaps on your hand you may find different kinds of rings.

There is the school ring:
the CTR ring:

the engagement ring:

the ring that grandma gave you:

and rings that only fit on certain fingers: (please ignore the knobby knuckles ... I'll never make it as a hand model)

last but not least is your wedding band:





but wait.... where is the picture of the wedding band???

THERE IS NONE.

In my husband's line of work it can be dangerous to wear a ring. You can lose a finger that way. However, he is in the office most of the time so he decided recently to put his wedding band back on. A couple of days ago he noticed that his wedding band was not on his finger. Where did it go??? This is where he thinks it is ....



I suppose I shouldn't be surprised because every year Lake Powell takes something as tribute from us. I guess this year it was more than just an earplug or a flowbee (frisbee). Still, perhaps he is wrong and his ring is just in his truck somewhere or even in the house in some odd place. My fingers are crossed.

Monday Night Fun

Our Monday nights are typically taken up with Family Home Evening - as they should be right??? Of course there are the occasional Monday nights when it doesn't work out and I feel the overwhelming guilt of not having fulfilled my responsibility as I should have. But this Monday was not one of those guilt-ridden nights fortunately!!! whew!

Of course, having just done a Lake Powell trip my brain was dead and I could not come up with a decent post Family Home Evening activity. Really... I was trying and trying. I couldn't even climb the stairs to look in the game closet and pull something down. So I did what any mom would do and turned the job over to dad. And then he had to wrack his brain all through the opening song, opening prayer, and lesson. When they were done he was still wracking his brain. No idea... Then I told him the boys were talking about racing earlier in the day and a light when on in his head. He had them do a regular race, a crawling race, a wheelbarrow race.

Then they had to wheelbarrow race HIM:


That didn't quite go as planned - and turned more into a tackle dad fest:



Only a couple of kids got hurt in this activity.

Don't you just love Family Home Evening??? :)