Are We There Yet???

I'm imagining that I will hear those words uttered 15 bazillion times between tomorrow morning at 8 am and Wednesday when we arrive in Idaho at my parents house. Yep, me and the kids are leaving tomorrow morning bright and early. Not too early, so I'm not exhausted before we even get going, but early enough that we make our destination in Nebraska before dinner time. I'm going solo this time. Some of you are wondering why in the world I would attempt such a feat. Residency has made me more independent and much more self-sufficient. I actually do a lot of things on my own that I never would have previously imagined, so I'm chalking this 21 hour drive across country with 4 small children as one of those independent ventures. I can totally do this. People keep giving me the "eyebrow raise" look when they hear what I'm about to attempt. I'm guessing it might appear that I have the word "stupid" printed across my forehead, but when I look in the mirror I see the word "capable". One of Shawn's co-workers said, "You are just letting her go?" Shawn's response, "Why not?". He's confident in my abilities. He needs to be. He has to trust my abilities at least 98% of the time because that is how often I am left to make decisions concerning the children, house, bills, and cars on my own. His confidence in me only boosts my confidence in myself. Do I think this trek is going to be easy? I'm capable and I'm also not in denial. I'm preparing myself for all out war against a 20 month old that doesn't like to be strapped down, a 3 year old that has more energy in 10 minutes than I can rack up in an entire day, a 6 year old that has a new DS game that requires you to yell into the microphone to get the horse to run faster, and a 7 year old that doesn't like to be looked at or touched by the 3 year old sharing his space. I'm armed with a DVD player that is a new novelty, a large bag of skittles, paint that only paints on specific paper, new notepads and coloring devices, magnetic dress-up dolls, various 100 calorie packs of cookies, fruit snacks, and of course my very own ipod which I can hook up to my own little ears when all else fails and I need to drown out the sounds coming from behind me. I'm excited to be embarking on this adventure. But then again, we haven't really started yet have we.

Honesty is still the best policy......

I love the "friends" series. One episode comes to mind today. I remember an episode where Phoebe ends up with money accidentally being deposited into her bank account, and when she calls customer service to rectify the situation, instead of withdrawing the accidental cash, they end up depositing the same amount again doubling her accidental increase. She was frustrated because she didn't want the extra money and nobody at the bank would take it back. That is what has happened to me-------kind of. When my kids finish summer school the money they earn is put on a debit card credited with the amount of money earned. Shawn and I don't want our kids to think all money is just on cards, so we give them the cash and then use the cards ourselves. I went to Walmart wednesday night. My total was $58. I used the card I had for $75 leaving me with a balance of $16. Last night I went to walmart to buy some things for our trip. My total rang up to $94. I was planning on using the balance on the one card, and then just paying for the rest with another debit card. When I swiped my card and signed my name, the card took longer than usual to clear. When it cleared it came up as paid in full. I mentioned to the cashier that my card only had a balance of $16 and I owed her a lot more money. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "It cleared. If you really want to I guess you can go to customer service". She made it sound like I should just be happy it cleared and leave the store. I can't do that. My conscience won't let me. So I head over to customer service where they tell me to call the number on the back of the card, maybe there was more money on it than I thought. I called the number on the back. The customer service rep told me their services were down and I'd have to call back tomorrow. Today is tomorrow, so I called back. They told me they have no record of last nights transaction and that I have a balance of $16. Okay, I still can't let it go at this point. I call Walmart. I tell my story to 3 different people and am then passed onto accounting. The lady in accounting tells me there is nothing I can do. Maybe they don't understand people trying to give them BACK money when most of their litigation suits are due to people wanting money back themselves? I've tried everything. Apparently nobody wants this $94 that is floating around somewhere in space unclaimed. I suppose I could take a check for the amount owed and try to give it to a clerk, who in turn would question me as to where the goods were I intended to purchase. I feel that now I owe it to myself to have a clear conscience because I've exhausted my efforts. Secretly, a part of me is thinking of what else I should have bought last night that would have cleared on that card. I guess I'm honest, but I'm also human.

Early Birthday Celebration

Kennedy will turn 6 on Saturday August 4th. We will be in Idaho without Shawn, so we decided to celebrate a little bit tonight so he could join in the festivities. In all honesty, I think the gift I'm giving her will be beneficial to me on our 21 hour drive across the country. She got a nintendo DS, a hand-held nintendo gaming system. Ethan got one for his birthday last year and Kennedy has been coveting it ever since. Tonight was VERY low key. She opened presents which weren't even wrapped in traditional paper, just placed in the Target sack they came in. No complaints, she got what she wanted.

She told me this morning that she wanted a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting in the shape of a heart. Simple enough. When it came time to blow out the candles I discovered we only had 4, so I used 2 matches in addition to the 4 candles to represent her true age. When we lit the candles the matches struck quit a spark, enough that she was afraid to sit too close to blow them out. Lucky for her 6 year old lungs pack quit a punch and the candles were able to be extinguished from a 2 foot distance.

After cake and ice cream it was time to get ready for bed. Like I said, low key. Ethan was trying to show Kennedy all the tricks her new gift could do while trying to be obedient and putting on his pj's. Shawn and I had no idea the things had an internal wi-fi system which allows for communication between two of the same systems within a certain distance. Ethan was in his room, and when I went to tuck Kennedy into bed this is how I found her:

She was sitting all cozy on her window-seat sending a message back to her brother in answer to whatever question he'd asked via nintendo DS. My first reaction was to shut the secret communication down for the night, but Shawn mentioned this might boost the written vocabulary of our little girl. Lucky for her, education is on her side. I'm still impressed the two figured out how to use these little handheld devices to their full potential. I'm also in disbelief that the little girl I gave birth to only 2 short weeks after moving to the 'Ville is actually turning 6. Happy Early Birthday Kennedy! I'm sure we'll still celebrate with Grandma and Grandpa next week, lucky girl.

Back to Reality...

I can now live my life back in the real world-------Harry Potter 7 is finally finished. Some girls wanted to get together this morning to discuss the book, so last night brought flashbacks of 6th grade. I was supposed to read "The Lion, the witch, and the wardrobe" for a test and started reading it at 7:30 pm the night before. I was up all night and still wasn't able to finish. This time it wasn't as drastic. At 9 pm I only had about 250 pages left. I knew I would be done by midnight. I wasn't taking into account my full day yesterday and by 11 I had re-read the same sentence 10 times. I relented and went to sleep. When Shawn woke up at 5:30 this morning I turned on the lamp determined to finish before I took a shower. It ended up being read for 10 minutes, eyes rolling back in head, sleep for 20, start again. Finally at 7:45 this morning I pulled the covers off and made myself as uncomfortable as possible knowing this had to be done before 8:30 so I could clean my house and make a treat to share with these lovely girls. The funny thing about this is that this book was wonderful. If I hadn't been so tired there is no way I would have stopped reading until the last page was complete. All is well, the book was read, I made Erin's lemon blueberry biscuits (my new addiction), cleaned the house, showered, fed 4 kids breakfast, got them all dressed, got myself dressed, and even had time to put on mascara. Erin, Jodie, Tiffany, Danielle, and Kristy showed up with kids in tow, and we discussed the book for 1 1/2 hours. That is officially the longest book club discussion we've had to date. It's also probably the longest book we've read to date. It was a fun morning. I think J.K. Rowling did a great job of wrapping things up in this series. I don't want to give anything away to those of you still plugging through, but I do want to say that I'm happy with how things ended. They ended how they needed too.

Our house...

(Pam, this one's for you)

November 2005 we bought a house. We moved in exactly 7 days before I gave birth to Landon. Not the best timing, but it was nice to be able to come home to a house that fit a family of 6, rather than the 2 bedroom place we had been living in previously. I actually did not want to buy this house at first because of the unfinished basement. I'm a "move in when it's all done" kind of girl so I can experience the joy of everything right away. Shawn was able to convince me with his cunning ability that this was the house for us. "See the vision" became his famous quote everytime I griped about the giant cement room down the staircase that I felt was just a huge waste of space not being used to it's full potential. Shortly after we moved in he got to work on the bedroom. We hired out the bathroom due to his lack of plumbing knowledge, but the bedroom became his baby. It was carpeted by April 2006. The rest of the basement was still just cement. Who cares that we had a guest room and bathroom finished, nobody really comes to visit us anyway, right?! I wanted the kids to play, and the tv out of earshot while I cooked dinner. "See the vision Jayne". Framing became an evening event. After a time he was finished with that, but the pile of sheetrock in the garage was just taking up space, and he had no more evenings to spare. Residency hit us full-blast and time was a precious commodity. After a few months of deliberation (4 1/2 to be exact) we hired out the hanging of the sheetrock. We then came to the realization that the mudding and taping would occupy much more time and energy than Shawn had to spare, so we hired that out too. We, however, did the painting all by ourselves. I still feel like it is our baby because we put so many long nights and so many coats of primer and paint on the walls. I chose the carpet. Due to an earlier disagreement I was granted full ownership of the decision. Naturally I made sure he would be pleased with my choice, just out of love. Carpet was laid March 2007. We were able to purchase furniture in April. You might notice the upstairs and downstairs furniture is actually the exact same set. Shawn and I have a difficult time agreeing on price and quality of objects. (See the post about Luggage) When we found this set that we not only both loved for the appearance, but was extremely comfortable and fit within the budget, we decided to save ourselves the agony and buy enough to fill both rooms. Some might call it crazy, I call it genius. These pictures really don't do the space or comfort of this home any justice. You'll have to come visit to get the full effect!

(The Dining room is not shown, but connected to the living room, only it has wood floor. The kitchen has a half-wall between it and the living room. The Master bedroom is to the left of the kitchen, the kids bedrooms are on the opposite side of the living room---a great bonus. Downstairs there is a kitchenette with just a sink and fridge, and a fireplace is hiding behind the furniture on the wall in the center. If you click on the pictures you can get a better view. The picture does not do the lighting justice---Shawn insisted on over 40 can lights. He was right. The bedroom downstairs is to my back and so is the bathroom. We also have a room that Shawn made into his weight room, and also a storage room.)

Shawn was right about this house. I love it and will be very sad to leave it in the hands of some other owner in two short years. I will now listen to Shawn when he says "See the vision". Well, depending on what that vision is.........

Siblings...

Sometimes I love my kids for the way they treat each other. Last week when we were at the park Shawn got a photo of this:

It's fun to see them all play together just because they sometimes like to. Here they were playing a game where they walked sequentially around the ramp and back. At first they were running but decided it wasn't safe for Landon, so they slowed to his pace.

Pets? Really?

My kids really want a pet. Bad. It's getting sad the things that they are starting to call pets. The wonderful state of Missouri allows us to catch numerous frogs in our backyard, along with turtles, and other little critters. None of them are allowed in the house, so there has been many a morning where a dried up, thirsty, hungry, caged pet has left this earth and moved on to better places. Some are able to escape, but most meet their demise. We have now made a rule that most animals can be caught, looked at, admired, and taken pictures of, but before bedtime they must be let go to find their own homes. The toad in this picture was a survivor. The snail, however, has a different fate. Ethan has named him "Gary, Larry, Jerry" in honor of all those snails Spongebob has taken care of over the years. He even let him out on the lawn this afternoon for a time to "get a drink, some food, and some exercise". He is now sleeping in Ethan's bug catcher in the garage. Our garage has no windows. Remember it is still July. I think we all know the outcome of this situation. You might wonder why I don't allow this small creature to sleep in his home atop a dresser in my sons bedroom. Last summer I fell for that with the crickets. Once that bug catcher tipped over we heard chirping in our home for the next 4 months. The garage will do just fine.

Dominoes with dots......

Ethan came running downstairs yesterday shouting, "Mom, you've got to come take a picture of this tower I made and post it on your blog. It's amazing!" Great, now my blog is being taken over by my 7 year old who deems his work of art more important than what I have to say. Of course I ran upstairs and grabbed my camera to capture the moment. What else can I do with these pictures other than post them on my blog? I guess I'm even predictable to my children.

Leftovers....

Jack has been "lighting" fireworks for the past 4 days. Leftovers that is. He takes his dump truck out into the field across the street, loads all the burnt remnants of an overly celebrated 4th of July, along with the poles used to launch said fireworks, and brings them into our yard. He spends quite a while using his plastic hammer to make sure the poles are in the ground securely.

He begins by digging for the perfect firework to light.

After he finds one he makes sure it fits in the launcher to his approval.

When he's finally satisfied he yells "Mom, watch this one!" and lights it using his magic fingers. Amazing display I must say. Oh, and the backpack? Full of all the clothes from his dresser. He filled it with most of the clothes he owns. It was all fun and games until we lost the backpack yesterday somewhere between our house and the park. Getting dressed the next few days will be interesting to say the least.

MY computer...

My kids have taken over my computer. Ethan finds games on this thing that I didn't know even existed, Kennedy loves to play on Disney.com, and Landon loves to steal my mouse. On our pull down menu the kids can usually find what they are looking for quite easily. Kennedy used to need my help, but she's learned enough to navigate things on her own. Today I went to my pull down menu and this huge, unrecognizable website appeared: search.mywebsearch.com/mywebsearch/cfg_rdir2. I could type in the entire address, but you get the picture. Wanting to know what kinds of websites my children are searching for, I clicked on the link. It happened to be the ask.com website. What did I find in the search bar? play haos dsne. I was laughing out loud at Kennedy's attempt to search for her lost website on her own. How cute is that? When I looked at what the search engine found for her I noticed that it actually brought up things like "Disney" and "play Disney" and "Disney games". Whoever runs this search engine obviously has a 5 year old in their home.

Wading pools

I love wading pools. They are actually the best part of this little town. I'm not sure why they call them wading pools though. We swim in them. They are only 2 feet deep, but they are huge. Bigger than any backyard pool I've ever seen. My kids float on big inner tubes, even wear goggles and go "snorkeling" in these things. They are great because the big kids can play in the "deep" end (2 feet max) while the moms and babes can play in the shallow (1 ft) and pour and dump water into buckets and cups. I can't believe I haven't taken a single picture at these wading pools this summer because we frequent them. We were just there this afternoon. At the beginning of the summer Landon was your typical toddler dropping toys in from the ledge and staying quite dry for being near a large body of water. Until recently. He's taken it upon himself to become one of the big kids. I even had to buy him a giant innertube to stop the tears shed while trying to pry Kennedy's out of his chubby little hands. He loves to hold on to the edge of his tube, pick his feet up from underneath him, and float. Sometimes he puts his feet on the ground to walk, but he floats a lot. Today we got there right as it opened, and it was just us. There is a real life lifeguard on duty at all times, but I never trust that because it is usually so crowded that she wouldn't be able to see a child drowning. Since we were the only people there, I figured letting Landon play on the opposite side of the deep end was safe. He was just floating around in his tube. Then he went under. Now, he was directly at the feet of the lifeguard and I was about 15 feet away. I jumped up and yelled, "he's going under!" I'm running as fast as I can through 2 feet of water and what is the lifeguard doing? Just sitting there. She calmy says, "No, he's just playing. His head isn't all the way under." Me--"Yes it is" as I grab him and pull him to safety. His head is soaking wet, eyes dripping with water, and he lets out a huge belch due to swallowing extreme amounts of the pool. I've seen this happen to mother's countless times, but it's usually during a crowded playtime so I've given the lifeguard a little bit of credit. Now I know better. I should probably get a leash for the little guy who thinks he's big enough to roam with the older kids. Or, I should get some more entertaining buckets to dump with to coax him into staying little for a few more weeks.

Just A Day Trip....

Saturday me & my little brood, Shawn included this time, headed out of town. Mission: luggage. We are headed back west in two weeks and we have only the luggage I received for high school graduation. Shawn almost needed to duct tape it closed after his last trip, so being the genius I am decided we each needed our own suitcase. I envision future (probably distant future) trips in the airport with every single person wheeling their own suitcase behind them so I'm not loaded down with anyone's but my own. Shawn agreed that wheely suitcases suited our needs much more efficiently than handled ones, and that we each needed our own. (Truly, I just don't want to have to dig through fifteen different duffle bags to find one pair of shorts for Landon in the morning.) So, off to the "city" to search. 1 1/2 hours we have to drive just to look for luggage. We left around 10, so of course just as we pull into town the kids are already complaining of hunger pains. First stop: BK. Playplace included. Landon discovered that with a little help from his siblings he could make it way higher than if climbing on his own. He didn't eat anything due to the exciting view from high up in the rat-like tunnels.

Next stop: Sam's club. We don't even have a membership, just an expired card. Tisha offered her card if we needed it, but turns out we didn't. I can always spend money in Sam's, but we (or rather Shawn) didn't see any luggage that suited his taste. Shawn is actually awful to shop with. When we have a certain item needed we have to go to every store possible within a 50 mile radius that might sell said item. Then when we've experienced every possible style, price, color, brand, texture, smell, whatever else you can possibly imagine, we end up going home empty handed to discuss for weeks which was best. A few months later we repeat the process and finally end up making a purchase. After Sam's we headed over to Macy's and found quite a few bargains. But, we hadn't scoured the mall yet. Off to the mall. I stayed in the play area with the kids while Shawn search JcPenney. Then we all headed to Dillards, Sears, and Target. Of course we stopped in a few more shops along the way just for fun. One happened to be icing by Claires, where my Kennedy got her little ears pierced. She was so brave. She looked like she was going to burst into tears, but pride held them back. Aren't they cute?After scouring the mall Shawn suggested we drive clear over to the south end of town to see what Kohl's had to offer. At this point I had to put my foot down. It was already 5 pm, I was exhausted, Landon hadn't had a nap, and Jack needed to run. I reminded him our trip was in

two weeks and luggage was a necessity, not an option. A purchase must be made today. I then reminded him of the awesome sale being held by Macy's. I guess I basically told him that we were going to back to Macy's to purchase our luggage together, or I was going myself to do it. Off to Macys we went, hand in hand, or rather, just together. After finding the exact pieces we needed to purchase, we realized Landon hadn't had his diaper changed since early that morning and they only hold up to 38 pounds. He was starting to leak. (What a horrible mother I am!) Shawn took him to the van to change him while the other 3 and I made our purchase. I wish I'd have had my camera to capture the grand exit we made. I was pushing and pulling the luggage for Shawn and I, Jack was pulling his own, Kennedy hers, and Ethan and both his and Landons. It was quite a sight, as you can imagine. Hunger pains again? It's only like---oh, 6 o'clock! My poor kids were starving! Back to the mall for the food court. Hot dogs for some, pizza for others, Panera soup and sandwiches for Shawn and I.

At this point Jack still hadn't been able to run yet. (Well, besides in between the racks of clothing in Target.) So even though it was nearing bedtime, we ventured over to Cosmo park. I wish I could do this park justice by showing pictures. It is huge. If I stand in the very center I still can't see all the mini-play areas surrounding me. It's probably pretty dangerous if your kids aren't predictable, or if it's really crowded.

Then we started the trip home. Shawn was happy that he was able to get the suitcase he wanted instead of the one's on sale that we purchased for the kids.

Fitting 6 suitcases in a mini-van already full of children is quite the task. The kids managed to smile even though their space was somewhat over-run.

We started driving into a storm

but off to my right it made for a beautiful sunset.

Mission: accomplished.

I've been tagged.....

Chantel tagged me with the college edition.
1) Each player must post these rules first.
2) Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3) Tagged people post their eight things and these rules.
4) End your post by ‘tagging’ eight new people to play.
5) Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog for these instructions.

I think I talk enough that everyone already knows 8 random facts about my college years, but I'll participate anyway.

#1) I attended Ricks College for 2 years where the 1st year I dated fiercely, but the 2nd year I stuck with Shawn.
#2) I was given a 1/2 tuition scholarship for academics upon entering, but lost it after my first semester due to the fiercely dating I mentioned.
#3) I got married and headed to BYU where I entered the Education Department majoring in Elementary Ed.
#4) I was very vocal in my classes, and when a test was "ridiculous" to pass, I let it be known to my professors. I also never let the teacher make a statement I didn't agree with without some sort of vocalization. (I was probably the student nobody wanted).
#5) I did my student teaching in Payson in a 5th grade classroom and decided that was the grade I really wanted to teach.
#6) I was hoping to get pregnant so I didn't have to ever apply to teaching when I graduated because I was too afraid of failure by not getting hired due to a high volume of elementary teachers and a low volume of positions available.
#7) I graduated and ended up being hired to teach 5th grade by none other than one of the professors mentioned in #4 because he liked me and thought I'd fit in with the other teachers. (He was the principal)
#8) I taught 5th grade at Valley View Elementary in Pleasant Grove for 2 1/2 years. I LOVED the faculty and fit in amazingly well. I broke my contract midway through my 3rd year because I gave birth and couldn't bare to leave him with a sitter.

Okay, I know that now is when I'm supposed to tag new people. I'm not going to. Most of the people I know have already been tagged, so I'd just be re-tagging. Besides, I'm the one that breaks most chain letters, so if I started fulfilling them now, I'd always have to. (I still love you Chantel!)

Summer Reading Not Just For Kids....

This year the library held a reading program for the adults in town. I signed up. Partly to be a good example to my kids, but mostly because the books I wanted to read would become "homework" and it would be my excuse to neglect a little housework. "Six books in Six weeks by Six authors" was the plan. The books must come from the library to count. These are the books I chose.
#1) Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

#2) The Road by Cormac McCarthy

#3) Blink:The power of thinking without thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

#4) The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult

#5) The Art of Losing by Keith Dixon

#6) The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

The first two books on my list were recommended to me, so I decided to give those a chance. The next four were just randomly chosen. I did want a variety of genres, so #3 is non-fiction and #6 is an autobiography. These books were all totally different, and I gleaned something from each of them--whether it be knowledge or purely entertainment. Tonight we all met at the library at 6 o'clock for a potluck salad supper. For those of you that really know me, you know that I love to read. I've mentioned before that some people intimidate me. Well, attending things like this without any kind of crutch (crutch meaning with someone I know) actually frightens me. This situation is one that ranks high on my list of out-of-my-comfort-zone activities. I attended anyway. All alone. Just me. I decided I need to break down some barriers and grow up a little. I'm really glad I went. There are about 5 "regulars" that attend the library book club throughout the year. This past year I actually intended to join this particular club. I even purchased the books, and read most of them. At the end of each month as the meeting loomed near, something would come up. Shawn would be on call, enrichment of some sort, some kind of cooking club, or a game night. I recently came to the conclusion that it really wasn't these things that held me back, they were mere excuses for my intimidation. After meeting these people, I am saddened that I missed their discussions. I really think I can learn a lot from these well-read townies. This fall I will once again purchase the books with the intent of attending the library book club. If I happen to not make it to one, it will be a legitimate reason, not merely an excuse.

A Final Farewell...

The time has come where all the 2nd years are packing their moving vans full of belongings and memories and heading off in different directions for clinical rotations. I actually really hate this time of year because so many awesome people that teach me so many things about motherhood, cooking, friendships, and just life in general, leave this town. Most of them will never cross paths with me again in this life. I'm grateful for the opportunity to have gotten to know these awesome girls. Some of you are reading this and wondering if I'm even talking about you----yes, it's you, the one's that don't think I've really paid attention to how amazingly awesome you are with your kids, or heard your laughter in the halls at church, or noticed how you jump to help anyone that needs it. I sit here with tears streaming down my face quietly saying goodbye on my blog because I hate real life goodbyes. It makes it too real. It's funny because I'm actually pretty territorial when it comes to you all that are leaving. When the new 1st years move in I don't immediately jump in to introduce myself. For a little while they are the enemy because them moving in means that someone has left. When "so-and-so's" house becomes "that new families" house, it really takes adjusting for me. I eventually adjust and begin to form friendships with "that new family in so-and-so's house", but, I never forget the people that leave this unique little town. Thanks for all you've taught me, and good luck on the rest of this Medical School journey. It won't be long and you'll be back for a whirlwind of a weekend for your husbands graduation. I will still be here hoping to catch a glimpse of you all at the wading pools.

Summer Reading Program....

Today was the culmination of the summer reading program for the kids in the 'Ville. It is this big fair that has many games with a renaissance theme complete with a juggling court jester. Last year it was held outside and was so much fun to wander to the different booths. Today it was held inside due to a rainy forecast. It was actually a beautiful low 80's day and sunny, so it was tough to be crammed into the library knowing we could have better enjoyed ourselves out in the fresh air. But, what do you do? We heard that there was going to be a maze that all the kids could enter if they had the right "clues". We guessed "Wizard" was the answer, and we were let in. I'm not sure if it was the correct answer, but you don't really tell a mother of 4 she can't let her children enter the main attraction.

Inside the maze choosing prizes.

Landon crawling out of the maze.

Showing off the toys chosen.

We then decided to venture out into craft land where we made our very own goblets. I gave one to Landon and he wasn't quite sure it was what he wanted. He seemed to prefer the sunglasses to the plastic goblet.

Next was the sand bottles. Endless line, only to find out when it came our turn there was only enough to make 1. My kids all took turns pouring in the sand and nobody complained. Wow. I was amazingly surprised, and quite pleased at the attitude my kids took not being able to make their own.

For the grand finale there are prizes given via a drawing. Upon entering this event we were all given tickets with numbers. The numbers are called and you've won a prize if you hold the winning ticket. The first number called today was #13. Jack held the winning ticket! He won a lovely gigantic poster of a transformer. The poster is larger than him.

Of course when Jack won the prize there were a few tears from Kennedy who really thought she should win something and Jack probably really had her ticket. She was fine when she realized nobody was in the maze and she could go back through to claim yet another "prize" from the box. After the great library extravaganza we headed over to Wendy's-----every thursdays all summer long kids meals are only 99 cents. (I recognized quite a few of the mini-vans in the parking lot.) I think today it is going to be Wendy's for lunch, and probably dinner too. I think my kids think that makes me mother of the year. What they don't realize is that I'm not doing it for them, I'm doing it so I don't have to run the dishwasher which will then need to be unloaded, and I also get out of making two meals today. I think Thursday is my new favorite day.

Ewwww........

I like to think that Landon is a pretty smart kid, minus the lacking vocabulary skills I've mentioned many times before. I'm noticing that he is becoming quite the independent child because of this. If he's hungry he'll head into the kitchen and start eating leftovers from many a previous meal dropped into the deep crevices of his high chair. I enter the kitchen, see him foraging, and get him something decent to eat. If he's tired he'll start stamping his feet, grunting, and pointing to the secret place I hide his pacifiers because they are only for bedtime. I ask if he wants a nap and he nods his head. See, he's figured out how to get my attention without words. Today he did the unthinkable in order to get my attention over his need for a drink. I was folding laundry in my bedroom, so crying wasn't going to get me into the kitchen to see him pointing to his cup placed just out of his reach, so he resorted to getting his own drink. Shawn had left an empty cup on his nightstand and I watched Landon pick it up. He's always transporting things room to room so I thought nothing of this activity. Kennedy happened to also be watching him and she sometimes follows him around simply for entertainment. I kept folding (mountains of laundry always) and then I heard Kennedy from my bathroom saying, "Oh, Landon, no, oh, Mom, Landon, no, no, don't, ewww". It actually sounded kind of urgent like she just didn't know how to solve the problem herself and she needed my help. I arrived just in time to stop the actual drinking. Landon had ever so carefully dipped the cup into the toilet, and scooped it full to the top. I caught him when it was almost to his lips. I think I threw up a little in my mouth. Of course I went and got him a drink from the faucet, after I scrubbed both his hands and my own. I guess now the mystery is solved as to why this particular child has had rotovirus 3 times in his very short life. Who knows how long he's been drinking out of my toilet. I now keep the bathroom doors shut so if I ever hear them open, I know he must be thirsty.

7-7-07

People are referring to this day as the day of luck. Lucky 7's. I myself find it to be a special day because 12 years ago I was being sealed for time and all eternity to the man I love. Wow. 12 years seems like forever ago. I still remember the day I met Shawn. My ward at Rick's College was hosting a fall barn dance. Shawn and his roommates attended this affair with none other than my FHE sisters. Shawn must have thought I was hot because he asked me to dance. His roommate Stace also asked me to dance. I was just out to have a good time that night so didn't take particular interest in either boy. A few nights later Stace asked me to a formal dance hosted by the school. Apparently him and Shawn had discussed me and Shawn being the gentlemen he was (and not wanting to get involved with the opposite gender due to extensive schooling in the future years) relented and let Stace have me. So, that is how it went. I dated Stace. Only Stace wasn't really my "type". He was a beefcake that drove a fancy pick-up that he treated like a child. Don't get me wrong, he was fun. We always had a good time. One night we had gone to the movies and ended up back at his apartment around 10 pm or so. Shawn was sitting at a large table in the middle of the living room holding a 48 oz. caffeinated beverage and studying from various textbooks spread out within his reach. Stace and I sat down on the couch to discuss further plans for the evening. (Remember when the night started at 10:30? Now it ends at 8. What a change.) Shawn obviously didn't want to be disturbed, but he was also easily distracted and very friendly. He and I engaged in small talk. It seemed only minutes had passed when I looked at the clock and it was 5 am. Stace had fallen asleep on the couch hours ago and Shawn and I were enjoying our conversation so much we lost track of time. I vividly remember walking in my apartment door and telling my roommates "don't ever let me date Shawn because if I do, I will marry him". (I guess I failed to mention that at that time I was waiting for a missionary. What a patient "waiter" I was.) Obviously Stace and I called it quits shortly thereafter. The next year I ended up living with Shawn's sister Rhonda. We both later admitted to secretly arranging this living companionship, but it was so sneaky on both our parts neither one was the wiser. Shawn and I basically became best friends. I started to get hooked and when he'd call to see if I wanted to go to the laundromat with him, I'd quickly empty my drawers into a basket so I had something to wash. I found myself waiting by my apartment door until I saw him exit his door across the street so we could walk to class together. It was pretty pathetic. We finally started to date a little, or rather just admit we enjoyed one another's company. It wasn't the traditional dating. We did things like homework, laundry, he'd call me over and make me pancakes for breakfast, and just real life things like that. I was woken many a morning to help him push start his car so he could go to the grocery store. Even push starting his car was enjoyable to me. Crazy. I'd kill him if he woke me up now at 7 am to push start a car. We officially broke up 2 days before we got engaged, and spent those 2 days discussing with each other how crappy it was that we couldn't get married. Sounds so silly to me now, but at the time it all made sense. So, on 7-7-95 we joined together as man and wife. Every year around this time we like to reflect on all that we've accomplished in the years we've been together. We really have done a lot. As I sit in this comfortable house, with my 4 kids sleeping upstairs, knowing I have 2 vehicles that start everytime I put the key in the ignition, I can visibly see how far we've come. It's good for me to remember the push-starting corolla we once owned and all that wedding money we received that had to pay for our first months rent in that spider infested basement that was so damp I got strep throat as a wedding gift. It helps me to see and appreciate how hard Shawn works for our family. We aren't celebrating this year as I'd hoped. Shawn is in Utah at his sisters wedding and I'm home with the kids. I did go out to lunch and shopping with some friends in lieu of my celebration with my husband and had a great time, so don't feel sorry for me. He deserves the much needed break. As for our anniversary celebration? We'll find sometime to sneak out together and enjoy one another's company. I love his company more and more with each passing year. It's funny to think that on our wedding day I loved him as much as I possibly could have, and I marvel at how much my love for him still grows. I love you babe. Happy Anniversary. Life's only going to get better, I'm sure.

Fabulous Fourth........

What a great day. Shawn wasn't on call so we got to see him all day long! Fabulous. The kids played outside and downstairs with dad in the morning so I was able to clean up all the things I've been putting off until I had back-up. Fabulous again. Jack took a nap on the couch so he could enjoy the fireworks without driving us all insane. Super fabulous. Then the real fun started. The 'Ville started doing a parade on the 4th a few years ago. It's a small parade, but totally worth it. When I say small, I mean it lasted a whopping 15 minutes. I actually really love this parade because you can show up 10 minutes before start time and get amazing seats. By amazing I mean in the shade only 20 feet from where you actually parked your vehicle. Who can beat that? The kids came prepared with walmart sacks to gather candy. You'd think with such a short parade you wouldn't need an entire bag to hold the loot, but we still have candy tucked away in the garage from last years homecoming parade. Best parade ever. Short and sweet, just how parent's like them.

Is this candy going to ever start being thrown at me?

The Candy Scramble.

Happy for the popsicle, irritated at the photography.

Hot little firecracker.

Landon loves those motorcycles.

Jack savors his sweet parade finds.











Landon sports his new prize from the home depot float.

After the parade we headed home to the neighborhood block party. That's right, I said BLOCK PARTY. I feel like a real-life-true-blue adult. I'm old enough to host a block party with my neighbors. Crazy. I'm not really old enough, am I? We started off with a little parade of our own. All the kids decorated their bikes and scooters and rode to the end of the street and back. Most were sporting swimsuits due to the extreme weather. High 80's with 97% humidity. It felt like a sauna.

After the parade, bring on the food! Everyone brought goods to share and boy were they good! We ate until we could eat no more, and until the men could no longer hold off lighting their explosive entertainment.

I'm happy to say that I know my husband as well as I thought I did, and when he came home from the fireworks stand yesterday, he didn't disappoint. Fabulous. Looks like explosives win out over knowledge of danger. So much for that medical degree. He even went over budget as I anticipated. He is seen here in this picture using one of his "launchers". I guess it is a necessary part of this holiday to use some type of launching mechanism in order to get the full effect. Unsurprisingly fabulous.I was proud of Shawn when he handed over the "punk" to Ethan and let him have a go at lighting the display. Ethan really got into it and I don't think the punk was ever returned to the rightful owner.

Jack was a little apprehensive, and Landon pretty much stayed on my lap. I was literally stuck in this chair all evening. (I don't use the word "stuck" lightly. The humidity made everyone sticky. )

Overall I'd have to rate this fourth as one of my favorite. I guess it's the first in a long time that I was actually able to enjoy the fireworks outside instead of viewing them through the living room window due to an inconsolable child. Fabulous. Ethan is already planning on what to buy next year. After all the kids were in bed (10:30 pm) and I was washing the sticky sweat off of my face, Shawn said to me, "good thing no accidents happened this year." My guess is that by the time the 4th rolls around next year the medical degree will kick in once again---that is until he enters that first firework tent and remembers what all the hype is about. Fabulous.