Michael Phelps...a Champion from Day One!!

My brother, Heath (a former swimmer and current swim coach), emailed this to me! I think it's hilarious- so I wanted to post it!! Thanks for the laugh Heath! ...and by the way, this is probably what you looked like at this age, too!

-Another Busy Day-

So here's Zombie Brant and Zombie Tyler! I don't think they even realized that I took this picture! Other than baseball, this is pretty much the life of a ten year old!! One thing I must say about video games: You can pretty much make them do whatever you want if you use it as bribery! All homework, chores and at least 20-30 mins. of some sort of exercise or physical activity can easily get accomplished w/o complaint if they know the reward has anything to do with the tv and a controller of some kind! I'm thinking about adding Tyler to our chore chart since he's over at our house so much:)

Rissa is loving running up and down the stairs! I keep all of the rooms shut up stairs except for her room. Today I went up to find that she had gone around the room and pulled all 1000 of her bows off of their 'hangers' and had them all right there on the floor beside her! She had also been digging in her drawers. She had found her baby leg warmers and had her foot in one already when I walked in ( and this was only about a ten minute time frame) ! So we put a pair of baby legs on her legs and then she wanted to wear the other pair, so we put them on her arms! Then she's grabbing bows and balancing them on her head to make them stay. Next thing I know she runs over to one of the tutu's that Meema gave her and was trying to push her little foot into it. Soooo here's the end result!! ....Hey-Tutu's, baby legs & bows are way better than Farts, belches & wedgies! I have to say, it really is fun watching her grow!


Jacob has really had some "Growth Moments" the past two days! This morning started with a trip to the dentist! They have never, until today, been able to get all of the X-Rays needed b/c of his 'gag reflux' issue. Today, he went in there and not only let them do all the cleaning, etc but got ALL of the X-rays that they needed as well! No cavities and his 11 yr old molars are coming in already! Shortly thereafter, we went to visit Dr. Chou, aka Bro Chou! He is a friend who is an Orthopedic Surgeon. He so graciously worked us into his schedule so that he could cast Jacob's arm. Thank you DR Chou!!! Jacob was excited that Ryan's dad, Dr. Bro. Chou was the one who was going to make his arm work again! His cast color of choice was, originally, BLACK but when he realized it would be hard for friends to sign it (& be able to see it), he quickly changed it to GREEN! At scouts tonight all of this kids wanted to sign it. I assured them that I would send a Sharpie Marker to school with him tomorrow so they could all sign. What a Brave boy he was yesterday and today!!...oh and the above picture is him w/ Mr. Bones.

Little Boys & Broken Bones!!

This morning Allyson and I went to some different stores looking for fabrics for a couple of different projects. On the way home, I stopped to pay car insurance and just as I left there, heading home, Marty (home to grab some lunch) called my cell phone to tell me that (Nurse) Jenny called from the kids school to say that Jacob may have broken his arm- He was playing outside b/f lunch and fell off the monkey bars! It was perfect timing b/c I was just about to pass the school when he called, so Rissa and I swung by and picked him up. He was ok...until he moved his arm wrong and then he would scream and cry. I knew it wasn't good for him to be doing that b/c usually he just cries or whatever once and then blows it off. I ran to McD's to get he & Rissa some lunch and then took him home for Motrin and ICE! His wrist is what hurts the most, his Radius (the top arm bone if your thumb is pointing up). He couldn't face his palms up and when his Pediatric Dr tried to move it that direction manually, he screamed and cried so hard that I wanted to cry. I felt so bad for him!! Since it was 5:00pm when they were able to work us in to get seen, all of the Radiologist were closed, so tonight I had to run him over to Goodnight Pediatrics so they could get x-rays. Final Diagnosis: Broken! His Radius is broken right near his wrist. As bad as it was hurting him, I think the X-Ray and Green Cast has made it all worth it!! Tomorrow, along with his long-awaited Dental Appointment, we will also be visiting the Orthopedist as well! So here are a few pictures. They wouldn't let me take any in the x-ray room. Jacob thought it was so cool and wondered why they gave us a disk of all of his x-rays...he wants to take it to school to let all of his friends see. I explained to him that the Dr. needs them tomorrow and that's why they gave them to us.( Oh-and I can't download any of them onto this laptop or else I'd post them!) ...A/W, here are a few that he let me take!
Jacob watching SpongeBob and "playing" w/some of his Transformers. I say, "playing", b/c he insisted on me getting them for him so he could play w/them...he couldn't even lift the big ones so they just sat beside him...his 'comfort'...he just prefers Transformers over Teddy Bears, I guess! I had drugged him up, wrapped his arm and had it on ice by now.

This is our second Dr's visit of the day! His spirits are high b/c he's excited about getting an X-ray, ya know, "the big machine that takes pictures of your bones!"


We have moved locations...a patient room. Jacob knows that he is one step closer to the grand moment that he will be able to experience having an X-ray! He waited so patiently and every so often I would see him sneak into a daydream (about the big x-ray machine, no doubt) and a smile would briefly flash across his face! It made me laugh.


The amazing experience has come and gone. Now he is absolutely not wanting me to take his picture!...this part isn't important to him. He is getting his temporary cast, in bright GREEN, to get him through the night. Tomorrow the Orthopedist will give him a real, solid one.

As I complete this post I'm realizing how funny this is! Just last Tuesday, I went over to Jessica's to get my hair cut. As she was running up stairs to get something, she turned and hit the step wrong and POP! She popped a ligament in her foot! ok- That's not funny..but boy, it sure is a busy week!! You know, they say things like this comes in three's...who's next, I wonder?

Mama Mia...Here I Go Again!

Kristi, Allyson, Autumn, Me, Denise & Brea (camera girl)went to see Mama Mia one night last week. I LOVE this movie!! Ok, so call me crazy, but this was my third time seeing it (Once with my mom...the second time was with my mom...we had 'errands' to run but three hours later we can home with nothing to show for it! -And this was numero three!!)


Me, Brea & Denise being Dancing Queens...don't be surprised if we show up to a ward talent show in Rhinestone unitards (mom, how do you spell that-spell check is no good!), stiletto clogs and microphones!!

Precious Moments Captured on my Cell Phone Camera...

I have a ton of pictures on my cell phone. Many of them are there b/c something was going on that I wanted captured but didn't have my camera on hand. Earlier tonight (much earlier, I might add), I found myself scrolling through all of these pictures. Some made me laugh and some made me cry. I want these to be a part of this when I print it out, so I decided to email them to my mailbox, download them onto the laptop and then tell about them. These are just the cutest and most important of the 100 or so that are saved on my phone.


This is my Nana! I love this picture and wish I could enlarge it and make it brighter and better! I love her in this hat! She is a hat hottie! I love that she's a fashionable, makeup wearin, glittery grandma...Nana (she prefers the N word over the g word). This picture also is special to me b/c of where it was taken, who all I was with when it was taken...time, place, everything! This past New Year's,2008, we were home visiting and one night Marty & I went to eat at one of our favorite restaurants, California Dreaming. We went with all three of my brothers and their wives, my mom & dad and Nana & Papa. During dinner, at one point, Nana & Papa took some time to express their love for us and just share some of their feelings for our family. It was one of those moments that I will always treasure. With an extended family as large as ours, I really don't remember a time that just our family has been with them like that. I love them so much. I'm glad I snapped this shot of Nana! (However, next time, I'll use my real camera!

This was all Jacob's doing! he came out of the bathroom and said, "Look mom! I look look Peepa now!!" Ok--that was hilarious!...It's Peepa's comb-over! (Which for the record, I'll just say that Peepa has cut them off and looks dashingly handsome!)
To the right is Jacob and Ms. Dinessa. She was his aide, at school, for two years I think. Last year she was in Nursing school and so wasn't working at the school anymore. She loved Jacob soo much that she totally remembered his birthday last year and came up to the school to give him a gift and gets lots of hugs and kisses from him! Man was he excited to see her!


When you're tired, and it's just too bright, pull down the shade...or the head band works, too!! She would do this every time she fell asleep in her car seat during the day!
I don't know how old Rissa was here but she's such a dang cute little stink butt!! I could just eat those chunky little cheeks up!!


Here's Brant in Mrs. Bains 4th grade class last Christmas, 2007. I went into his class to help with the super duper fun, decorate a Gingerbread House activity!! Here's his yummy house!! He's quite a creative chap!


This is the splotchy rash that developed on my right hand at the beginning of this summer (June 2008). It, along with many other symptoms like, fatigue, muscle aching, joint pains, dizziness, some memory loss problems and a few other things were the start of a lot of blood tests, MRI's and some X-rays. It kinda brings tears to my eyes to think about b/c it was pretty stressful for me at times. For the first six weeks of the summer, all I knew was that the Autoimmune Disease Test (ANA) was positive and my kidney's didn't seem to be functioning to full capacity. DR's thought my diagnosis was a toss up between Lupus and Fybromyalgia. After two visits to the Rhumetologist and giving 13 viles of blood to the Phlebotomist, it has been determined that my diagnosis is Fybromyalgia! I've started medication and it seems to be helping. Baby steps right, (that's what the Dr. says it will take)....It's sad that we sometimes forget how blessed and fortunate we are for good health until something like this scares us. I'm so grateful that this is something that I can live with.

This was Rissa's first 'buggy' ride...and yes, I said, BUGGY! It's not a cart or pushy-basket, or whatever the westerners think it is!..it's a BUGGY!!


This is, I think, the only picture I've ever taken with NO BANGS! I've always had an insecurity with not having bangs and I don't know why. I TRY to grow them out, Jessica-my dear friend and hairdresser for years--knows this!!-but I always end up chopping them off again!! So here's a picture. maybe one day I'll learn to leave them alone until they're long enough to not bug me so much!


Where's Rissa?? If you look, you'll see Rissa on her first 'ride' all by herself! This was taken a few weeks ago at Peter Piper Pizza. I took an idea from my good friend, Jenny; We started "Positive Pebbles" with our kids this summer. It is just a way to reward them for their positive attitudes and deeds. When both of their jars are filled, they get to each choose a friend to take to PPP (...well, that was the reward this first time. From now on, we'll probably give them a couple of things to choose from.) A/W, it's really helped the kids transition back into school w/homework and all. Brant invited Tyler and Jacob invited Bryan...I didn't get pictures of them though, just Rissa...sad, I know!

Snails...Masters of Disguise!!!

Ok, so just a little update on our (pet) snails! I am learning more and more everyday about snails! Snails' ancestors did a great job of putting up a BIG front to the people of the world!! For centuries they must have worked so hard to create an "image" for themselves as well as for all of their posterity! You know what I'm talking about! What do you think of when I talk about having pet snail? Oh--You first think of Gary on SpongeBob SquarePants...but after that--what do you think of? We have all been sucked into it!! We think of this cute little slimy slug that lives in a shell. He doesn't bother anyone, doesn't make noises, he's kinda cute when you really stop and watch and after watching a while you realize that they can actually move pretty fast! ...Well folks! WE HAVE ALL BEEN DECEIVED!! These little critters KILL! They EAT EACH OTHER MY FRIENDS!! Jacob's cute little, BLACK shelled pet wanted a little meat for dinner one day, so he ATE the yellow one!...yep..sucked him right out of his shell!! I didn't take pictures b/c, frankly, it was just such a horrific thing to witness (actually the batteries in my camera were dead & we had every other size battery except for AA's)! I was a little worried that the kids might be upset when they got home from school, but nope! Jacob ran around with his 'muscle' arms yelling, "Yes!! Mine is the strong snail!" and "The black one wins!!" and "Don't mess with MY snail, he'll eat you alive!"! ... great. Brant joined in on the news by coming up with new names for Jacob's snail. Some of them are: Darth Vader, Darth Maul (he didn't know what 'maul' means, so no pun was intended, but it was hilarious to me) uummm....The Black Knight, Snail-i-nator.... The crazy thing about it, too is that he's the smallest of them all! Maybe he had some kind of point to prove to the two biggest. Seriously, it was the craziest thing! I saw him, too! I looked at him at the beginning of his torture session! He was almost completely out of his shell and covering the opening of the other's shell. I almost shook their little water bowl, but thought I should let 'nature take it's coarse"...and really, I wasn't sure if they were mating or killing...so now I know!
So shall we observe a moment of silence for the cute (dangerous, deadly) little slimy creature.........................................................................................
Ok, ok that's enough! We will miss him, well, not really, but I do hate that he was murdered in such a vicious, cannibal-like way! I will never think of a snail the way I did before this event. They have us all fooled....they are Masters of Disguise! -In Closing, let me just say that three new pets have come to live with us since this snails death! A few days ago Joey C gave Jacob three of their Starfish...they are so cute (and super tiny, that's why I havent taken a picture of them) and ...I just can't help but wonder...WHAT SECRETs DO THEY HAVE??......................

Happy Birthday Marty!!!!!

Today is Marty's 34th bday!! Happy Birthday my love!! Last night we double dated with Peter and Allyson. We went to eat at Shane's Rib Shack at Westgate. My friend, Kelly, has a daughter who works there and she was telling me that the food is really good. It was fun to see Amanda and I must say that I think it was the best BBQ that I've had out here! Their BBQ sauce has vinegar in it and tastes more like our good ol southern mustard based sauce back home! YUM!! After we ate, we went back home and watched a movie and ate cake and ice...well, just cake! The cake was so rich we didn't even bother with the ice cream! Today we started the morning off with the traditional, Birthday Breakfast in Bed!! We woke him up with and bday song and his breakfast tray and we followed it up with his presents. He then enjoyed the day at church, helping me in the nursery the second hour and then teaching a last minute, impromptu (Elders Quorum) lesson b/c there was a mix-up with teachers and so no one had a lesson prepared! So Happy Birthday Marty!! I love you so much and appreciate all that you do for me and the kids!! I am truly blessed to have you in my life!! ooxxOX (little hug, little hug, little kiss, little kiss, Big Hug, Big Kiss)!

This is the old school-Old Fashion Chocolate Cake-that his mother made him for the first 21 years (bdays) of his life (give or take a few). When we got married, she passed the apron on to me...and for good reason: it takes a whole stinkin day to make!!Ok--well, in the past several years, I think I've gotten a little better at it so it really takes me about half a day to make now...but, that's half of a day! It's all made from scratch (no box mixes, people!) and then the icing is very thin and liquidy. It is poured, while hot, onto each layer (bf adding the next layer) so that it soaks through the cake. Over time the icing crystallizes just the way Marty likes it! I know that Marty's mom and sister, Janell can really appreciate the art of making this cake b/c they have made it a lot! And I'm not sure if it's an "art" as much as it just pure patience!! Anyway--I love making it for him b/c I know how much he loves it! I did the layers a little thick, but hey, I got SIX layers on there...uumm yeah, two layers are under icing!!
Here's Tyler & Brant holding the 'kids' cakes! Marty was so funny b/c he saw that we had a cake mix in the cabinet and he asked if he could help make a cake with that so the kids wouldn't eat his long awaited 'special cake' (however, the way he really said it was, "...so we don't WASTE it on the kids)! So I made 6 individual bunt cakes with a pan I have so that each kid could have their very own cake! It was a win-win situation b/c the kids loved having their own little cake and Marty's cake wasn't wasted on children!!

A Princess Story

There was a little Princess,
Who lived in a shoe.

She had so many chores,
She didn't know what to do!

So she looked at her list;
Looked it over twice-
And thought, "When I'm done with
all this, it'll be real nice!

She started with the dishes,

Then off to the 'frigerator.


And we all need clean clothes;

She did them sooner, not later!


When she was done,
She sat herself down
And had for lunch,
the best corn dog in town!!

Breaking Dawn Message....

So I can't remember who's blog I found this girl on, but ...for all of you Vampire Fans (W-Wolf fans included...) go to the link in my FAVORITE BLOGS list that says Daring Young Mom. She is hilarious!!! She always has the funniest posts, she's just got a fun personality. A/w, she and 10 others went to Forks for the Release party and she has a lot of pictures of the town and all!! ...I just thought some of you might like to check it out!! enjoy!...peace out!

Happy Birthday Brea!

This past Friday, we had a Bday bash at my house for Brea, and we had such a great time!! It was a great turn out and I think Brea really enjoyed it! I served a potato bar but switched it up just a little. I made homemade mashed potatoes and served it in Margarita glasses, so we all just loaded our potatoes with whatever toppings we wanted and could walk around and eat! I'm thinking I might do that more often b/c it was a lot easier to walk around and eat holding that glass than it is a plate!! Several others brought fruit and veggie trays and of coarse I had some deserts ready as well! It was a lot of fun...thanks for being born Brea,so we could party!!

So Brea's the cute one in green in the middle!
McKayla, Sara, Jessica, me, Meghan & Tina--we are the non-birthday by standers!

I asked everyone that wanted to participate to bring 28 of any item...so like 28 M&M's or 28 flowers, etc. So as girls arrived they'd put them in a gift bag that I had and we gave that to Brea as one gift...these are the items she got!!


Jennifer and her sister came to join in the fun too! I had never met Jennifer's sister before and so it was fun having her here! Seeing them together made me miss all of my siblings!


Pool fun out in the hot, hot sun!

McKayla & Meghan are so cute!!

Me & Jeanne chowing down on some grub!! I love Jeanne! I've been her VT for over a year now and I have just loved getting to know her!


Sara & Tina. Sara so unselfishly sacrificed her 'book reading time', oh yes people, you know what book I'm referring to!!! ...uumm Breaking Dawn!! --to come spend time with us!! And doesn't Tina just look smashingly beautiful??!!! She and Jess got here a little late because they were doing each others hair. (they are both beauticians).


Eat up Jenny!! She had to leave a little early but I made her cut the cake and eat some before she left.


Shelley & Jess--Jess, your hair looks beautiful as well! Shelley's sportin the look of a pro tennis player!

It's the First Day of School!!

Monday was the kids first day back to school. I only got one shot of them, as we were loading into the car. I can't believe how big they are! I did feel a little bad b/c they both insisted that I not walk them into school. [Really?! You don't want mommy to walk you into your class on the first day?!]Jacob was really excited about starting third grade! Last year we, along with his teachers, really started giving him more 'space'--backing up a little so that he could be responsible for himself more. He did have a lot of growth last year and began his journey to being an independent young man! With Brant being in the fifth grade this year, he is of the oldest in the school! He's the king of the jungle, the big kahoona the big dog on campus!! These are the reason's that my boys didn't want to have their "mom" walk them into class! Should I listen to my kids and do as they wish or ignore them and put my foot down 'as the mom' and walk them in anyway? I finally decided that it was all good - I would just do as they wish ...I wouldn't have to get out of the car (I looked a little scary anyway!)...I could just slow down and let 'em jump! As I slowed down (I did come a complete stop, I'm not that mean!), I looked over and Kathee and the Bishop were walking with their kids-probably walking each child to his class and giving them hugs, kisses and last words of encouragement! Nothing like putting a big lump of guilt in my throat! To make it worse, they all walked together to the front of the school so Kathee could get a picture of all the kids there. What a good mom she is...as well as my many other friends who insisted on getting out of the car share in the joy of this first day with their children. Despite the fact that my kids didn't want me to walk with them (oh my goodness, I've been thinking that it's an 'independence' thing...it just occurred to me that maybe they are just so embarrassed by me! I remember those days where my brother would make my dad park two blocks from the school...really though, that was b/c of our clankity car) a/w--they both did insist on getting a nice big hug and smooch from me!! I am thankful for that!!



After dropping our kids off at school, some of us met at IHOP for breakfast!!! The school district that Marty contracts into doesn't start back to school for a couple more weeks, so Marissa didn't join me on this breakfast venture, instead she stayed home for some 'quality time with dad'. Here's Rachel & her daughter and Brea and Connor (love that kid!! My heart melts every time he looks at me and says "Hey Tiffff-na-mee!" ...we were all probably still waiting on food! IHOP employees must not have eaten their breakfast b/c they were all working slow this particular morning!



Kristine, TJ & her kido & I (told ya I was looking scary). We had fun with Brea's little psychology story. One of these days I'll dedicate a post to Brea's psychology so you can share in the fun of it! Kristine is new in our ward, and so it was a ton of fun talking with her & getting to know her better! I'm enjoying getting to know TJ and Rachel also! It's crazy how there have been so many people move into our ward in that past couple of months.



It was fun to be there with Denise! Mr Zach did not want to have his picture taken...but we took a shot anyway! Just a side note, after lunch, I took the Twilight book over her, insisting that she read!..Last email from her said she's hooked!! Way to go Denise!!! Welcome to the club!!



Jenny and her little boy! They've been "back home" for most of the summer so it's nice to have them back! Now he was not camera shy!! It kinda made me wish that I had brought Rissa with me so they could 'play' together!




What a stinkin little cutie!!