ByeBye Kitty

Yesterday, we had to say goodbye to our 16 year old diabetic kitty. 

She was such a good friend to the kids.

Squeaky and Amanda from then...

                                                                        Till now...

Jaxon was sad to let her go.

Stacey Ann was Squeaky's BFF.  She stayed with the kitty right through the end.  I think it might be particularly hard on her the next time comes to visit and doesn't end up with a kitty purring in her lap or trying to style her hair.

Thanks for being our kitty Squeaky, you will be missed!



Scales & Tails

A little over a week ago, the kids celebrated their 9th birthday!!!

We invited a "few" friends.

The quads put on their favorite t-shirts for the big event!

The kids decided that they wanted a "Scales and Tails" party complete with all kids of creepy crawly stuff.  I took it upon myself to  make sure that everything that was transported onto our lot, was also transported off ;o)  I definitely wouldn't want many of these things crawling around my house!

Yep, that's a scorpion...

that the handler put it in his mouth.  Ewwwwww!

My dad held his great-grandson, Quentin,

Jaxon held a lizard

and Amanda held a snake around her neck.

Gail and Stacey did something really scary...(actually, when you have as many internet problems as I have of late, this is really a scary thing to do!)

My favorite?  An 85 pound tortoise.

This was the biggest lizard he brought.

And this was the biggest snake.  He was over 13 feet and 100 pounds!

We attempted to combat the 101 degree temperatures with misting fans.  Carson thought they were pretty cool!

Londyn showed us her teeth, while playing with her Grammy-J.

Damn...That's a lotta pizza!

One big birthday cake, with 36 candles topped off the day!

We couldn't have asked for a better party.  Thanks to all my family and friends who came out and celebrated with us, we had a great time seeing all of you.  And a huge thanks to Scales and Tales Utah for putting on such a fun and informative show!
Happy Birthday to my sweet kids!  I love you more than you will ever know!
Love,
Mom

365 Days

Today is the day that my Mom has been gone from this earth for one year.  Last year, I prayed for the one year milestone in hopes that my heart would have done some healing by then.  I still miss her, but my heart has begun to heal.  We have done all the firsts without her...Christmas, New Year's, birthdays, her 54th anniversary to Dad, but the first where they were in two different realms.  Mother's day was tough.  Harder than I thought it would be. Father's day was equally rough as we all knew that all Dad wanted was Mom.   Today I will do the last of the first's.  I will put flowers on her grave and be grateful for, and say farewell to, the first year.  It is gone, we all learned,  we all survived.
I love you Mom.
I miss you.
Even a 46 year old mother of 4 needs her own mommy sometimes.

Homeschooling at it's Best!

The perfect homeschool day starts out with a little computer time...

And ends with...

toilet scrubbing instruction.

Under the seat!

Don't forget the base and floor.

Mason shows the satisfaction of a job well done!

Jaxon is not nearly as happy about it.

Ok the lid isn't too bad to clean!

Now the top.

Finally finished.

Way to go boys!  Mom loves your hard work!

Mother's Day

 I ran across a picture the other day.  It's about 2 years old, I believe it was taken sometime close to Mother's Day but I don't remember if it was actually Mother's day.  Oh well, I'll just pretend it was.

I love this picture, everybody looks so healthy and happy.

The next year, Mom was starting to have problems and we were wondering how many more Mother's Days we would have with her.  Thankfully, I dragged myself, and my kids, over to her house that year.   I think I knew on some level that it would be her last, but I tried to reason that feeling away.  It did end up being her last, she died two months later.  Thank heavens for the last precious Mother's Day memories I have of her out at the playground with my kids. Those will never be forgotten.

This year, we celebrated a little differently.  We all really miss her, especially Dad.  Can't blame the old man, he was married to her for 53 years when she died.  Since then, the 54th has come and gone as well as her birthday, his birthday, almost all of their children's birthday's and several holidays, the birth of a great grandson, the death of her sister.  So many first times doing something without her, so many tears.  I really hope she is enjoying the other side. 

Happy Mother's Day Mom.

I love you

Royal Watching

Friday morning, me and Amanda got up very early and shared some fun girl time watching the Royal Wedding.

 Jaxon wanted to watch it with us but the 2am alarm proved to be too early for his tired little eyes.
I'm one of those crazy people who woke up at similar times in the past to watch Charles and Diana's wedding, and Diana's funeral. It was fun to finally have someone to royal watch with me... Something about the fantasy of the royal family intrigues me even if they are the world's most famous (and wealthy) welfare recipients. 
Now, in case you have been in a cave for the last week or so, and completely missed all the pomp and circumstance, Amanda re-created the processional for you.


Here we are, the full processional...

The upright red licorice are the altar's at which the betrothed couple knelt, the golden gummy bear is the Archbishop of Canterbury who officiated for the service.  The gummy bears off to the side are the wedding guests.

Here are the riders on their licorice horses who accompanied the processional from the church back to Buckingham Palace.  The gummy bears off to the side are the crowds lining the streets.



And, from the front...If you look closely, you'll see the Prince and Princess in a carriage made of cashews in the middle of the photo. They are just behind the four horses, two of which do not have riders.  Yes, she caught all the details!

Amanda is definitely creative!!  Gosh, I love that child, she makes me laugh!



And speaking of laughing...  Two billion people watching and THESE are the hats Prince Andrew's girls wear?  Amanda actually loved them...BUT she's 8.  I'm sure that bow hat reminds her of little Cindy Lou-Who ;o)



Well, it was all great fun, but I hope there isn't another for a while.  I need to catch up on my sleep now!

Time Marches On

Earthquakes,  tsunamis, nuclear disaster,  floods, the overthrowing of governments, two wars, political unrest in the Middle East,  soaring oil prices, record number of homes in foreclosure.  There isn't much good news lately and it seems the events that have been prophesied are unfolding right in front of us.  It's incredible, yet somewhat scary.

Meanwhile, I live my little blessed life.  I thank God for the gift of  my husband and kids.  We have shelter, food, transportation and a few dollars to buy extras.  Despite all the tragedies in the world, time marches on.  Our world just keeps spinning and my priorities changing.  I find so much joy in the little things...

Little things like Mason's first lost tooth

Or Jaxon giving me a thumbs up after having a tooth knocked out on the trampoline.

                                                                                      

Or the feeling of pride when the boys got their Bobcat in Scouts.

Despite all that is going on in the world, there are miracles that unfold all around us every day.   I realize that life as we know it can change in a split second.  I remind myself daily that God is in charge and He knows all.  What a wonderful time to be alive.  What an incredible life unfolds every day. 

Jax in a Box

Once again, I'm reminded that the best toys for kids are free...

Jax in a Box!

(Before you ask...Yes, he eats...)

Amanda and Carson (I DO dress them, but they never stay that way long...)

I guess even at their age the box is more fun than the toy inside!

And playing Wii games while standing in a box?  Well, that's just kiddie crack!

Amanda finally got the box to herself!  (For about 2 seconds.)

Gotta love a happy kid!

Friday Flashback!

One of my favorite pictures EVER!!

Mason, Carson, Jaxon and Amanda, 15 months old.

Nothing quite as cute as a baby tushies!!

I Miss My Six-Pack

And I'm NOT talking about beer.
Once Upon a Time, I had abs like this...

OK, so I was twenty-something at the time, but my tummy looked pretty dang good!

Then, something happened that gave those muscles a good stretch... 

I'm not complaining, because I'd take my four pack of kids over six-pack abs ANY DAY!!

But, I've decided that 8+ years later, I can no longer blame my flabby tummy on pregnancy and childbirth.  It's time to get back into shape.

So I ordered a couple of workout videos... 

Notice the Pringle's can holding up the video on the right.  Yeah, I'm all about eating healthy!

Jennifer, (my niece) saw me Hip-Hoppin' along to the videos when she came to visit the other day.  She said I was "cute."  (Kinda like when elderly people exercise?)  I have a feeling she wanted to bust a gut laughing at me,  which would have been a great ab workout for her.

A couple of days ago, I went to Costco.  I found these little numbers for a really great price and thought I'd give 'em a whirl.  After all, if they do what they claim, they might be a great addition to my "get ripped" repertoire. 

They might be ugly but, the box says that they are designed to help:

burn more calories

improve posture

improve circulation

strengthen the back

tighten abdominal muscles

firm buttocks

tone and firm thighs

firm calves

reduce joint stress

vacuum

wash dishes

Well, maybe I made up the part about vacuuming and washing dishes, but a girl can dream, can't she?

If all goes well, I'll post before and after pictures.  If not, I'll delete the "before" pictures and no one will ever be subjected to seeing my uncovered pooch and love handles.

Hmmm, on second thought, maybe I'll skip that post altogether.

I hear you breathing that sigh of relief!