SUPER SMITHS 7

Gotta Love This...

2010-09-15T15:39:00.002-05:00

I was just looking at pictures of London when she and I were in the hospital on the computer with Autumn when she says, " You look so beautiful." I said, "Really? You really think I'm beautiful?" and then comes her sweet but painfully honest response, "Even though your fat your still beautiful" Gotta Love It!!! Just had to share. I am so far behind I'm scared to update my blog but I will try soon.

The morning after ... the EPI-PEN!!!

2010-07-26T06:02:00.006-05:00

Well, I guess it was getting a little dull in the Smith household. We hadn't had a life-threatening emergency lately so I guess it was our due.

Short Version:

Noah was outside with his sisters playing at the end of the cul-de-sac last week (Monday). After a while, they came into the house and Noah was rubbing his eyes like crazy. I took one look at him and knew it was his worst reaction to SOMETHING?? ever! Underneath his eyes was swollen out at least an inch. I yelled at him to wash his hands and face and lay on the couch. I ran for the Benadryl!!! I gave him 3 teaspoons -- his dose was 1 or 2 teaspoons but he really needed some and fast. I ran back over to the couch to closer evaluate the situation. I heard him wheeze and asked if he was having difficulty breathing and he said a little. As I looked at my baby boy I had a scary feeling that I would need to give him his epi-pen. I called one of my friends, Gayla, she had given her son an epi-pen last month and is in nursing school too. Next was a series of miracles:

1. Gayla was home (She is busy and hard to get a hold of)
2. I found Noah's epi -pen
3. The epi-pen was not expired

I told Gayla what I was seeing (face progressively swelling, eyes almost swollen shut, and difficulty breathing). I asked "Am I going to need to give him his epi-pen?" Gayla was like, "I think you are going to need to give him his epi-pen." She talked me through it with Noah panicking in the background because he could tell I was going to give him a shot! The girls were great and had him squeeze their hands while I gave the shot. The first time it bounced right off his leg but the next time it went in real good. It was kind of freaky because you have to hold the epi-pen to his leg for 10 seconds after you give it. Well, fourth miracle ... it worked!!! Breathing resolved and slowly swelling decreased. The worst swelling was his eyes -- the white part of his eye was swollen out past his eye socket and this I noticed after the epi-pen when I was looking at him from the side.

I called the Dr. and they said to bring him to the ER but after consultation with my two friends and with me in my pajamas, with 5 kids and swimming lessons and swimming fun scheduled with friends I decided to just observe him at home. After all he was breathing fine now.

Noah's thoughts, "It was scary when you were talking on the phone and talking about the epi-pen."

I didn't even think of taking a picture that day but managed to take a picture of Noah holding the epi-pen box the morning after.

We know he was playing in a cornfield for a few minutes outside and the corn husks did touch him all over his body. I guess that is what he was reacting to -- still not sure but definetly no playing in the cornfield anymore.

Update to this post to follow with more excitement to come ...

Calling Everyone Who Eats!!!

2010-07-07T08:11:00.003-05:00

I have a challenge for anyone who eats, cooks, and or breathes air. I just found out some more foods my kids are sensitive to and therein lies the challenge. If you have any ideas of any meal, snack, dessert that meets the following or most of the following requirements please let me know:

1. Gluten - free (no wheat, gluten, flour, malt)
2. No Nightshade vegetables (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, paprika, eggplant)
3. No Soy
4. No Corn
5. No Eggs
6. No Peanuts or Tree Nuts

Thanks in advance!! It's getting to be a real challenge to feed this brood! Although Brooklyn decided to eat AIR for supper and found it quite tasty!!!

Today is the day I am going to SNAP!

2010-06-24T11:46:00.002-05:00

Today is the day I am going to SNAP! Why?

I can't go into it or you would snap too!!!

Autumn's Classic Sayings ...

2010-06-22T19:57:00.003-05:00

I love this girl! She is so sweet and hilarious all rolled up in one. Just a few of her classic sayings over the past few weeks:

1. We had a Family Home Evening about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. We talked about how much Joseph Smith sacrificed to get us the Book of Mormon and how much he loved Jesus. We also watched part of the talk given by President Holland at conference a youtube mormon video that talked about Joseph Smiths sacrifice. At the end of FHE Autumn says:

"If some bad guys had me in prison and they told me that you could get out of jail if you said that you didn't believe in Jesus or they would KILL me --- I would say you just better KILL me because I believe in Jesus."

Doesn't that melt your heart!!! I cried!!! This is what being a parent is all about and makes everything worth while!!!!

2. Tonite we were talking about funerals and if the kids would go to their grandparents funerals (hopefully not soon). The girls have been to at least one funeral and Noah has not. In other words, he has not seen a LIVE dead person.

Brooklyn says, "It's like their sleeping they are just dressed up -- not wearing pajamas"

Eric says, "It's like Mom on Sunday afternoon."

Autumn says, "No it's like Mommy going to bed except without snoring."

It always seems like I end up being the brunt of most jokes in our household.

Another BAD Sunday ...

2010-06-06T17:08:00.004-05:00

You know it's bad when you wake up on a Sunday morning and...

1. You try on the new skirt you just bought and say to your 9 year old, "I don't know if I like this skirt, it makes me look fat" and she says "It's not just that skirt Mom, you look fat in pretty much anything you wear!"

2. You go to cut your bangs just before Church so you can see - all the kids in the car - you look at the clock and it's 8:58 am. Church starts at 9 am.

3. You are putting makeup on - on the way to Church, not buckled in (yikes!), and pull in 5 minutes late into the parking lot ready to run into the Church only to be stopped by a policeman!!! And I quote, "Did you not see me trying to pull you over on Burlington Beach, my lights flashing and then hear my siren?" All I could say was "No - sorry!" Anyways, I was clocked going 46 mph in a 30 mph zone. I wasn't trying to speed. He must not have seen me without a seatbelt on because he didn't mention it. Thank goodness!!! I normally wear my seatbelt it was just crazy this am. Anyways, I got a warning - not a ticket which was totally amazing. I never get out of tickets! I told Eric it was probably because I was going to Church and Heavenly Father knew I would snap if I got a ticket.

4. We were in such a rush for Church I didn't change the baby's diaper and figured I would change it after sacrament. During sacrament Eric gets my attention and asks if I had changed London's diaper?? ... then points down to the huge wet spot on his pants.

5. I came back into sacrament after taking London to the bathroom and Noah was up standing in front to give his testimony and not saying anything --- finally the Bishop whispered to him and then he came back and sit down. I didn't know what was going on and was really embarassed for him. Come to find out he had a frog in his throat and couldn't start his testimony. He did later that day.

6. London started acting crazy and crying in sacrament so out I go again and I was not too happy ... Sister Berry followed me out and took London for me -- she knew I was having a bad day since she saw the cop pull me over at Church.

My one major highlight of the day was that I got to hold Odessa Richardson (only a few months old) for Relief Society. When I came to get London to go to the bathroom, Odessa was crying and I offered to take her to Relief Society with me. Niki (mom) has three kids and is the nursery leader and one of her kids is nursery age, one almost nursery age and then the baby. It was so fun to hold her baby and I had a few people who thought she looked good on me!!! What a beauty! We will miss you Niki!!!

Needless to say this was my day from 6:40 am to 12 noon. Sundays do seem to be a challenge for our family but I'm sure we'll survive. Had to record this for posterity because otherwise I would want to block it out.

Mother's Day Weekend

2010-05-09T14:05:00.021-05:00

Today has been a great day! Well, to be honest, it has been an AWESOME weekend -- What great kids and husband I have! Here's the highlites:

FRIDAY

- Tiny afternoon nap while Brooklyn watches London (I cashed in an early Mother's Day coupon)
- Dad grabs pizza for supper because I'm tired (Mother's Day weekend begins)
- Scrapnite! All night party with friends, treats and my favorite hobby

SATURDAY

- Sleep in a little
- Eric goes grocery shopping with London / I go to primary activity with other 4
- Eric makes luch for me and all the kids
- Long afternoon nap --- it was awesome!!!
- Bike supervising outside with 3 middle kids
- Eric makes supper (Salisbury Steak -- very good!)
- Movie (Sherlock Holmes - I didn't care for it too much but Eric really liked it)
- Dairy Queen Blizzard (Turtle/Carmelly one)
- Falling asleep in Eric's arms

SUNDAY

- Sleep in a little
- No early Sunday meetings for Eric (this is really a treat since he normally leaves at 7:00 am and I am responsible to get everyone there for Church at 9:00 am.)
- YUMMY and big Southern Breakfast (biscuits and gravy, bacon, sausage, pancakes, hashbrowns ... this is not a diet weekend)
- Really cute cards and coupons from the kids (ex. job coupons from Brooklyn and Noah, Autumn's card said "I will love you dear Mom even when your old I will speak kindly to you" and Autumn filled out a info. sheet on her Mom that is hilarious (see picture of it).
- Super awesome surprise from Eric! (Albanese Candy Factory assortment and a LEATHER COUCH to arrive on Wednesday). It was a big surprise - I was not expecting it at all but what was really funny was that when we were watching the movie Saturday night I was telling him about how more comfortable a new couch made of leather would probably be. We had looked at one about 3 weeks ago but didn't end up getting it. I thought maybe one day...
- Allowed to read my book in peace this afternoon
- Sunday dinner (Roast, potatoes, carrots, onion, corn, salad)

Thanks for an awesome Mother's Day Weekend Eric! I love you!!!!!

Noah writes, "You'll always be my mother mom no matter how short, or tall, big or small. I'll always love you and I hope you'll always love me to. I love you for you mother and it's because your the greatest you can ever be. Love, Noah."

Brooklyn writes, "mother I just want to give you something you can use and is not expired tell Jan. 1 so here it is your present." (4 job coupons)

My mother is the most wonderful mom in the whole wide world.

She is as pretty as A RAINBOW

She weighs 100 lbs (I love that girl!)

She is 50 FEET tall

Her favorite food is MEAT ON A BONE

Mom is happy when I GIVE HER KISSES

I wish my mom would TAKE ME TO BUTTERFLY PARK everyday

I would not trade my mom for MY SIGN-IN JOURNAL

Love, Autumn

Autumn writes, "Happy Mother's Day. I will Love you Dear Mom even When your old I will speak kindly fo you."

Eric's Card says, "Happy, Mother's Day from the guy who made it possible for you to celebrate today ...

... and believe me, it was a pleasure!

(wink, wink)

Love You

Happy Mother's Day Laura

Your leather sofa will be here on Wednesday. (What an awesome surprise!!!)

I love you!!

Love Eric

**Being a mother is great and something I have always dreamed of. It is a great priviledge and even though there are many ups and downs -- I wouldn't trade it for the world!**

POTTY TRAINING HELL! HELP ME!!!

2010-05-07T11:58:00.005-05:00

I am in potty training HELL! London has been diaper free for about 3 weeks (except bedtime). She has been doing pretty well but today has not been good!!! I think today is the same or worse than the 1st day we started. She was only having a few accidents a day and a few days with no accidents. So far today, it's not even noon, she has had 5 or 6 accidents (one being #2). She has yet to master #2 at all in the potty but #1 had been going pretty well.

The problem is she doesn't even care if her underwear is wet or she is standing in pea. What 2 year old doesn't want water to play in?

I hope I make it to bedtime! Wish me luck!! Any tips for a stressed-out Mom trying to potty-train a I love to make water (pea) and dance in it 2 year old?

My husband the comedian ...

2010-04-27T08:29:00.003-05:00

Last night after Family Home Evening my tailbone was killing me!! We were in the girl's room and I was sitting on the floor for awhile. I couldn't get up!!! It's probably because I'm fat and old but I blamed my tailbone --- it was really hurting! Eric couldn't even yank me up so I was going on and on about how my tailbone was broken or cracked and how was I going to ever get up.

Well I decided to try and get on my knees and up from there. One more time I said, "My tailbone must be cracked!" Noah asks what a tailbone is and we say it's like your bottom. Then when I turned my back to everyone to leave the room Eric says, "Oh my gosh, your butt does have a big crack in it!"

Well, I gotta admit it was pretty funny!!! And the kids got a real kick out of it -- laughing all the way down the stairs to get our treat.

Family Home Evening is never boring in our house!!!!

SCARLET FEVER?!?!?!

2010-04-26T16:08:00.003-05:00

Well, it was getting a little boring at the Smith house. No medical emergency, except the fake 911 call, at the Smith home for over 1 month. So...

1. Take one Autumn
2. A sore throat (so sore Autumn and I hit CVS at 4 am this morning in search of throat cures -- $10 later none of which worked or she would take!)
3. Fever of 101.2
4. Rash all over chest and back and some on face and hands

You have a VERY bad case of strepe throat with rash (aka. Scarlet Fever!) Scary huh?

Sounds more scary than it is. Just treated the same as strepe throat with anitbiotics but I think a little higher dose than normal. She has been home from school today and will be tomorrow for sure too.

I have to say that people at Church should love me for making that baby stay home Sunday. She had a fever Saturday night but felt ok in the morning but I thought it might be better for her not to go to Church in case she did have strepe. A good Mom moment!

Well T.V. and ice pops have been a hit today and so far everyone is holding their own. Everyone took a nap -- we all didn't get much sleep last night!!!

Any well wishes for Autumn? Wish us luck!!!!

The DRAMA of just one day ...

2010-04-18T15:54:00.004-05:00

Well it's only early afternoon on Sunday and we already have had plenty of drama -

1. Brooklyn would not get ready for Church. I tried to get her out of bed to go in her P.J.'s and she hung on for dear life so... I drove to church with 4 kids and sent Eric home to get her out of bed, dressed and to church. Definetly 9 years old going on 15 years.

2. London has been doing very well potty training but you can't be perfect and had a #2 accident when Daddy was in charge after church. The underwear and #2 went straight into the garbage. Daddy said it was not salvagable. Mommy was at a scout committee meeting.

3. Autumn asked if she could call a school friend. Accidentally or curiously --- the verdict is still out --- 911 was called instead!!! As soon as Autumn heard them ask about an emergency she hung up. They called back and Eric answered. Eric explainned it must have been one of the kids (we have 5). Then the police came! SWEET!!!! Not only did she come to the door and talk with me I could tell she wanted to look around inside the house. So she did and saw everything was ok. Which is good -- it could have been worse! Eric heard the knock on the door and headed straight for the bedroom for me to deal with the police. Gotta love it!

Well, it's 4 pm and we still have 4 hours left before bedtime. Can't wait to see what happens next!

I think I'm In HEAVEN!!!

2010-03-25T19:49:00.002-05:00

Sit down for this!!!

The kids and I were downstairs cleaning the basement and they were actually doing it and singing a song from the movie "Pippi Longstocking" and NOT fighting!!! I have to say this must be what the Celestial Kingdom is like. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Even Brooklyn noticed that things were running smoothly for that moment (rare in our house). What an awesome 30 minutes of the day -- can't say much for the rest of the day but I figured I better document this moment for posterity in case it never happens again!!!

Pampers make me SNAP!

2010-03-25T19:46:00.003-05:00

Sorry to all the pampers lovers out there but I just have to say they drive me crazy!!! We usually buy Huggies but last time Eric went to the store for diapers he got Pampers and I thought no biggie!! It was a biggie!!!!! It seems like I have to change London way more often and they just ballon up like crazy. What is your favorite diaper?

You Will Get A Kick Out Of This!!!!!

2010-02-26T11:57:00.004-06:00

Autumn just came home from kindergarten and London was being really screechy! Screaming and running around the house and screaming for things etc.... You get the picture. I jwas just serving up their lunch when Autumn asks innocently,

"Mom is it just me or is SATAN always with London?"

I just about died! What a classic!! I just had to share!

Any guesses on my answer to her question?

Laura

Lost Some More!!!

2010-02-06T19:26:00.002-06:00

Well I weighed in yesterday and found out that I lost 3 more pounds! I have lost a total of 4lbs! Not a ton but pretty good for two weeks. I am losing my exercise motivation already! I only exercised 1 day this week. Please help! Give me your exercise ideas! I usually use the treadmill so any good ideas for this would be great.

Laura

Is It Possible to Lose 40 lbs by 40?

2010-02-01T21:27:00.002-06:00

That is the question. Is it possible for me to lose 40 lbs by 40? If I do then I will be 40 and weigh under 140 lbs. Won't that be cool?

I was on my treadmill today and I thought that I needed to come up with a goal to help me lose weight or I am not going to stay motivated. So I got to thinking and realized my 40th birthday is coming up in November (10 months) from now and I started figuring out that maybe I will be able to lose some serious weight by then. So I came up with the mantra "Lose 40 by 40".

What do you think? Can I do it?

Weight Update!

2010-01-29T08:24:00.004-06:00

The news is good but not great! I have lost 1 pound only this week. However, I think I am about to bleed out ... so that being said I am doing pretty good since I can usually gain 5 lbs at that time of the month. My other clue is my severe grouchiness!!! Let's hope this is not permanent!

Weight - 177.8 lbs (loss of 1 pound)

BMI - 32.5 (loss of .2)

I have realized that I eat due to stress alot!!! And of course my life is constant chaos!!! I have exercised every other day except weekends but not more than 20 - 25 minutes on the treadmill. I probably need to increase that a little. Also ...

I need good snack ideas!! I love to eat after I put the kids to bed 8-10pm at night. I know this is not good!! but I usually have three snacks so just cutting down to one snack a night would be a huge improvement.

Let me know your favorite (being good) snack ideas!

Laura

The Honest Truth is ...

2010-01-22T12:13:00.006-06:00

I'm scared to put this on my blog but tons of people have said that it has helped them be accountable. So to anyone who follows me and knows that my love language is words of affirmation I need lots of encouragement and support because I need to be skinnerish -

January 22/2010

Weight - 178.8 lbs (Don't scream too loud with fear!)

BMI - 32.7 (OBESE - Noah saw me checking and asked what obese meant - I told him super-overweight and he thought that it was pretty funny for Mom to be in the super-overweight category but thought that it was even more funny for me to say I was trying to just be overweight)

Exercise - 20 minutes at 2.5 miles on Treadmill (I did this tody for the 1st time since before Thanksgiving)

Intial Goal Weight - 163 lbs (Then I will just be overweight)

The Dr. has told me also that my cholesterol is high and I have two months to bring it down or I will have to be put on medicine. Any suggestions?

Wish me luck and I will update often!!!

Thanksgiving In Alabama

2010-01-19T20:37:00.017-06:00

We drove to Alabama for Thanksgiving. We had a great time! Here are some highlights:

Aunt LeAnne and Aunt Bridgette give each of the kids a birthday present. Girls received Build - A- Bear animals and outfits, Noah got Lego's, Book and Pinata, and Ryan got several textured balls. Thanks so much!!!

Ryan loves his new balls from his Aunts.

Uncle Jason and London bond!

Noah is recovering after a hive attack. He was playing in hay with his cousins, unbeknownest to Mom, and after a great photo shoot with his cousins in the hay he came in with tons of hives. After a monster dose of benadryl and a bath and a new set of clothes he took a long.... nap! We wanted to go to the hospital in Alabama but it just didn't work out! Psyche!!!!!!

Ryan, unsupervised, made his way out to the barn and proceeded to take off his shoes and socks and play in the dirt. This is right by the barn and can I just say is a place where you NEED shoes. Yikes!!! Where were his parents?

Brooklyn and her cousin, Kayla, play on barrels outside. All the cousins had tons of fun with this activity. It was definetly a highlight of the trip.

We had fun playing games together. Autumn is with her cousin Sean and Aunt LeAnne in this picture. The game is "Guess Who" and was a hit!

Here is a picture of the group who went to Chuck - E - Cheese to celebrate cousins birthdays. Aunt Rachel had the great idea of having all of our kids names on the cake since we live so far away. Uncle Wayne gave us a great coupon for the tokens and it was a steal of a deal! Where were most of the dads? Watching the Alabama/Auburn game of course!

What trip to the farm is complete without a bonfire? We roasted (burnt) marshmallows. It was a little more than a marshmallow could handle!

The kids loved going out to the barn with Grandpa Smith every morning and evening to collect eggs and milk the goats and feed the animals. They love farm life!!

Just before we left Grandpa gave the kids a pony ride. London totally FREAKED out but It was a huge highlight!

** Look at the right side of my blog for two cute video clips of our trip**

1. Pony ride led by Grandpa Smith. London totally FREAKS out!!

2. Just before our trip we made up a cute MORMON song and used the same tune as a song Autumn learned in kindergarten. We performed for the Aunts in Alabama. It is too cute!!

We had a great time and will be back soon! Thanks everyone in Alabama!!!

Laura

Wii Woes!!!

2010-01-15T07:24:00.003-06:00

The Wii has taken control of the Smith household! Wii tends to want to rule our lives. I need to develop a policy but I am not sure what would be good.

Do you let your kids play Wii every day, if they are done their chores for the day then they can play, in the morning before school if they are totally ready, only once a week, never? Since I know everyone reads my blog I do not doubt I will have several ideas or suggestions. Hurry before Wii takes over the Mommy -- I must say I do like Mario Kart!

Help Us!!!!

Laura

Kindergarten Field Trip

2010-01-13T08:49:00.011-06:00

I got to help chaparone a field trip for Autumn's class in November just before Thanksgiving. We got to go to a local feed shop and learn about birds, birdhouses, what they eat and for a finale see a live turkey. It was tons of fun!

This is Autumn signing in at the beginning of the day.

Autumn is not so sure she wants to be a bird. Dehydrated worms do not make the top of her snack list!

Autumn is still not so sure about the bird business.

This was the baby turkey we got to see up close and personal.

We got back to school and the kids sang a few songs as a group. What a cutie!

Drawing a turkey and writing one sentence about the experience.

Autumn has a flair for writing.

Beautiful Brown Sugar Beach

2010-01-12T16:07:00.016-06:00

Dear Mommy -

Thank-you so much for leaving the bag of brown sugar open on the cupboard today! It was so tempting ! I couldn't resist throwing it all over the kitchen and creating an edible beach indoors for me to run between my fingers and toes. I love it when you leave open bags of flour and sugar and rice and powdered sugar and ... around the house. Today was awesome and I had a great time! I can't wait until my next edible beach!!

Love You,

Ryan

Don't you just love the sugar crusted cuffs of his jeans?

I wonder how that sugar feels on his foot? Now that is a sensory experience if I ever saw one!

This was in November 2009 and so far I have kept most items closed and not out on the cupboard but sooner or later I will forget and Ryan will have another day at the beach!!! I don't even get mad anymore because he is so excited and has so much fun with the various items he throws to the floor to feel with his toes.

LOVING Leaf Pictures!!!!

2010-01-11T08:46:00.026-06:00

I took these pictures in Novemeber and I just loved them! Leaf pictures are so fun! I am way behind in my posts but these were too cute to leave off my blog. Some of these are blurry but I just couldn't resist their cuteness -- blurriness and all. Enjoy!!!!

Did you like it? Leaf pictures are AWESOME!!!!

Avatar is AWESOME!!!

2010-01-08T09:38:00.004-06:00

If you have not seen this movie yet it is a must see!!!! Eric and I finally went on a date -- it has been 3 or 4 months and we were going to go out to eat. I was talking to my sister Stacey and she mentioned that her and her husband were going to go on a date too. They were going to see the movie Avatar. She wasn't really into it but her husband was excited to see it. I got to thinking and thought it might be good. When I was on the couch resting for 2+ weeks I had seen some commentaries on the movie and it was supposed to be really good and was the most expensive movie made. I didn't want to miss out so I asked Eric if he wanted to see it.

Needless to say we went to the movie. It was soooo good!!! We went to the 3-D one and I'm sure that helped make it even better. It is a long movie but I didn't even notice and couldn't believe it when it was over. I was really into it -- so much so that at times I yelled out "NO!" and other phrases (no swearing) during the stressful parts. Every muscle of my body was tensed. It felt like you were really there and that you were in Pandora (I think that was it). It was as good as getting really into a book and being unable to stop reading it! It has to be an all time favorite movie and I could definetly see it again! I am not a see it again person either. It is a total love story but with a lot of guy parts. Girls will like it! My sister really liked it too!!!

So basically, I totally recommend it and hope some of you have had a chance to see it. Let me know! I wonder how many babies will be named Jake and the main girl characters name this year!!! If I was having a baby I would be tempted..., catch your breath, .but I'm not so I will leave it up to you my friends.

I dodged the HOSPITAL bullet!!!

2009-12-19T17:25:00.003-06:00

Recently, I have been majorily sick with my asthma. It all started just before Thanksgiving. I was a little wheezy, nothing major, and then we went to Eric's Mom and Dad's for Thanksgiving. They live on a farm. I didn't go out to the barn or pet animals but FUR was in the air and I got a little more wheezy. Nothing major I just had to take my inhaler a few times a day and some allergy medicine. We got back from Alabama and then I volunteered at Noah's school timing an obstacle course Thursday 2 weeks ago. It was all well and good until I decided that I wanted to run the obstacle course. It was pretty hard but I did pretty good for a member of the 39 club. However, when I finished the course I could not breath. My asthma really flared up!!!! I had to concentrate on breathing. I, of course, did not have my inhaler with me and still had 1 1/2 hours to volunteer. I finished at the school and went home to grab my inhaler which I proceeded to take about 20 times. Eventually my symptoms subsided somewhat ...

Over the weekend I developed a cough and wheeze and by Monday a week ago I could not talk to someone on the phone without getting winded and I was wheezing alot. I tracked my Dr. down in Schereville (50 minutes away) and I was about to die. I failed the pulmonary tests and received a breathing treatment in the office, and was given a steroid inhaler and high dose of steroid medicine (prednisone). So ... I took my pills/medicine and kept going with my crazy hectic life. NOT a good idea!!! Dr. wanted me to come back to see him on this Tuesday and when I went I was a little better but still not breathing too good (very wheezy). He added another steroid inhaler to my medicine arsenal and more prednisone and said I really needed to ... REST!!!!! I got a good chuckle out of that! So I took it easy Tues night and decided not to go to cub scouts Wed night . By Wed afternoon I was spent and even worse despite all my medicines. I sat myself on the couch and then basically did not move until Saturday morning except for a few instances and an occasional stroll to the Ladie's room. Eric helped get the kids on the bus Thursday and Friday and my friend KayLynn came to my house and TOTALLY cleaned my kitchen and watched my 2 little ones at home and then took all 5 of mine over to her house after school to join her 6 until Eric got home at 5 - 5:30 pm. She is awesome!!!! My friends carried on with cub scouts, brought meals for 2 days, wished me well and my family talked to me lots on the phone.

I thought for sure I would end up in the hospital when I started having to take my breathing machine every 4 hours too on Wednesday night. I was not getting better even though I had been resting ALL day. My chest was on fire and felt like I had a 20lb weight on it and many times when I took a breath I would go into coughing hysterics. Eric gave me Mucinex and a blessing on Thursday night and after about 20 minutes I started to get a little bit of air. I was so exhausted!!! Anyways, I think I have weathered the worse and am on the mend. I go to the Dr. on Tuesday and one of my good friends, Brandi, is going to watch my brew because I don't think I can handle all of them at the DR. still being in recovery. I am still trying to take it easy and I think I need to end this post and rest some more but needless to say it has been a crazy week and I can't believe Christmas is just around the corner. I'm so glad I ordered tons of my presents online during Novemeber and 1st of December or I would be in trouble.

I better get to resting but thought I would give an update ... I was going to get caught up on all my posts this week too!!! Ugh!!!!!

The Nativity

2009-12-16T08:59:00.003-06:00

On my sidebar is a really awesome video "The Nativity". This is produced by the LDS Church and then someone on you tube set the video to music by Amy Grant "Breath of Heaven." Please take a few minutes and watch it. It really helped me to get in the mood for Christmas and my kids LOVED watching it too! Since I already have music on my blog to hear the video good you can go down the side of my blog to the playlist and press the pause button. Then go up to the video click on it to get full screen and then you will be able to hear the music with the video. Let me know what you think? I LOVE it!!!

I have taken the video off my blog but you can find it on you tube if you look for Nativity and Breath of Heaven song. It is really good for anytime of year especially Christmas.

HALLOWEEN!!!!

2009-12-12T16:40:00.015-06:00

We had tons of fun at the ward trunk or treat party. Our friends from down the street came to the Church with us for the fun. Four adults and eight kids was alot to keep track of with tons of other adults and kids running around. There was a chilli cook off and meal and then the kids went out to get the goods! They ended up with tons of candy and had an awesome time. London did get lost at one point and thankfully ended up with one of the young women. All in all it was a great night!

Sabrina, London, and Big Boy play ring around the rosy.

London and Anthony. She is so friendly it is scary!!!

Noah wins the cake walk. He is all smiles!

Autumn and Sabrina. I think they both won a prize at the cake walk too!

Ryan enjoys a few moments of spare time out of his stroller. He was pretty good for a little while and then need to have a break in his stroller. He is sitting by Sister Newman who is his cub scout den leader. He went up to her and was saying "Hi" trying to get her attention.

This is my friend Brandi (who ROCKS!!) and her son Jude. She made turkey pumpkin chili for the cook off and won the prize for the most unique! It was so good! She had made it and I tried it a few weeks before the cook off and I told her it was so good she should enter the contest. Let me know if you want the recipe! How could it not be good with cilantro in it?

This is a picture of our group minus the adults and the baby (Sophia). I think our friends had fun and the kids received a pretty big stash! Good news for Mom and Dad!

The kids are enjoying some of their hard-earned candy! However, we did have a little snag in our Halloween activities. I let the kids eat as much candy as they wanted and then Autumn woke up throwing up that night (probably too much sweets) and then the next night Brooklyn woke up in the night throwing up!! This time I think it was an allergic reaction to wheat and malt which are ingredients that are both in a Milky Way and which Brooklyn is allergic too because she has Celiac Disease. Yikes!!! Not my best mother moment! Oh well, we now know that Brooklyn can not eat Milky Ways ever again!!!

This is a shot on actual Halloween night. We went around the neighborhood and it was good weather. Not too cold! We went with our friends Sarah, Anthony and their kids and our other friends Brandi and two of her kids.

This is how we ended the night. A most of the group shot. We had some good treats and unique ones too (juice boxes, pencils, fruit and pudding). The kids really liked the juice boxes and drank these on the walk back home. We left a bowl of candy outside our door and left a note for people to take 2 or 3 pieces of candy. When we got home there was still some left but some had been taken so I guess it worked out. Yeah!!

I love how the kids costumes sorta coordinated even though you would think they didn't at first. In my previous post you can see their costumes better but this is how I think of it--

Brooklyn is a princess who has been kidnapped by Ryan, a jail - bird. The superhereos, Noah, a white Ninja, Autumn, Wonder Woman, and London, Supergirl are sent to rescue the princess and return the jail bird to prison.

Don't you love it! Halloween is my favorite holiday of all!!!!! Can't wait until next year!!!

DownTown VALPO Trick or Treating

2009-12-12T00:54:00.011-06:00

My goal is to post my Halloween pictures before Christmas so here it goes ...

The kids and I got ready to go trick-or-treating downtown a few days before Halloween. Eric was still at work so I had to bring all five kids by myself on this adventure. It was soooooo cold!!! I was not prepared. Too many Halloween's in warm Alabama. The kids were troopers and we had a pretty good time but we froze to death!! We had no coats! Brooklyn and Noah were really big helpers since we had Ryan and London both in strollers. At one point London fell out of her stroller on to the road as we were crossing the street. O.k. Let's be honest, it was a gong show but also tons of fun and what wouldn't you do for FREE candy!!! I love Halloween!!!

Autumn loved her Wonder Woman costume!

Ready to head down-town to get the goods!

Here's our gang on the take ... I'm not sure what Noah is mad about.

Here's our group trying not to freeze to death. The wind and cold were crazy!!!!!

More Halloween to come!!

Carving The Pumpkin & Bonus Music Video

2009-11-15T13:41:00.007-06:00

Here are the pictures of us carving our pumpkin for Halloween. It was a real fun family activity. The kids had so much fun, Eric was brave to carve the biggest pumpkin ever, and it was the first Halloween London was really into.

London FREAKS out when Eric takes the top off the pumpkin!

Ryan reaches in for the seeds with Mom's help but is not too thrilled.

Ready to reach in for the seeds.

London starts trying to put the pumpkin back together again. She got really frustrated that Eric kept carving and pumpkin body parts were falling.

London was really surprised when we put the pumpkin outside? She couldn't quite figure out what was going on.

London goes for a close up of the pumpkin.

The best part of the night was when we put a candle in the pumpkin, lit it, turned off the lights and London broke out in a spontaneous "Happy Birthday"! The other kids joined in and I tried to quickly push the movie button on my camera. Enjoy!!!

Best Friends Forever!!!

2009-11-14T18:19:00.008-06:00

Autumn's best friend is Angela Mathews. They love playing together and never fight. Angela is younger than Autumn so she isn't in school yet. Angela and her sister Ally were at my house with their mom KayLynn scrapbooking. We went outside to get Autumn off the bus and here was their reunion!!!

Here are all the girls together. London and Ally are real good friends too!

Isn't great to have a BFF?

Autumn's Birthday!!!

2009-11-04T17:37:00.011-06:00

I am so way behind on my posts!

Autumn turned 6 October 10th! She was really excited and we had a great day! We have just started the year of family birthdays (no friend parties -- so Eric and I can have a break). Autumn chose to go to McDonald's for breakfast. We had tons of fun and good food and she really liked posing in the birthday chair.

Later in the day we went to get Autumn's ears pierced! I don't know where the idea came from? I have my ears pierced but never wear earrings and I have never really talked about it with her. But she was determined and I was like ... it's your birthday ... why not?

She is getting really nervous!!! I had the Walmart lady get another lady to help her so they could do both ears at the same time. I figured we would have one shot at this and I thought she would look best with both ears pierced.

This is a picture right after. She was pretty traumatized!!! But she survived! Good move for doing both ears at once.

Within about 5 minutes she was all better and posed with her new found friends at Walmart. She looks so pretty with her pink earings!

Autumn picked out some Dora cupcakes for her family birthday and her she is blowing out her candles.She opens one of her presents. Her Dad picked out a deluxe make-up kit for her. She loved it!

Autumn hams it up for the camera. Are we surprised?

Autumn we love you and are so proud of you! I can't believe you are in school! What a big girl! I love your free spirit and fun-loving personality. You are really good at helping your baby sister London and are such a good friend to your older brothers and sister. You are a leader and I love that about you.

Hugs and Kisses,

Mommy and Daddy

Cousins visit=Paradise!!! Cousins leave= WITHDRAWL!!!

2009-10-17T16:39:00.036-05:00

Ok ... I am finally going to post something. I know you have waited with baited breath and today is your lucky day!

My sister, Karen, and her family (husband - Brad and three kids - Danaka, Jeremy and Travis) all came to visit us from Canada. They came Sunday, Oct 11th and stayed until Saturday Oct. 17th. We had so much fun together! It was a full schedule and I think the kids only got to bed 1 night sorta kinda on time. Here are some of our highlights:
(with the exception of the Children's museum - I will post this later since I forgot my camera and had to use a disposable camera that day).

A group photo at the Museum of Science and Industry in front of the train. We went to Chicago for the day on Monday and got free admission! It was one of their free days they offer to the public. Awesome! Awesome! Awesome! Regular price was Adults - $23.00 and Kids - $16.00. I was really pumped that I found this free activity -- that is except for the $20.00 each for both vans for parking. Chicago -- Ughhhhhh!!!!!!

Eric started something when he lifted one of the kids to see the model of downtown Chicago. It was really cool!

We tried to have a group shot here but we only got some of our bunch.

Looking at the Am Track train driving around the Chicago model. It was kinda ironic since the Chernenko rode the train from Shelby, Montanna to Chicago -- 27 hours long!!!! but alot cheaper than going by plane.

Autumn admires a baby chick. We got to see one baby chick hatch from it's egg and then try to walk around right after it was born. It was really cool and one of my very favorite things we saw that day.

The kids dancing around and seeing their thermal images on the screen. It was entertainning!

Another try at a group photo! Oh well -- 7-8 kids and 1/4 adults isn't too bad!

We left the museum when the kids were dying of starvation. We had packed a lunch and decided to have a tailgate party right in the parking garage. The lunch was awesome and the kids were ready for the next adventure. I mentioned to Karen that our Mom would be proud of us. I'm sure it's something we did as kids! Cement makes the best picnic table!

We drove down by Soilder Field so Uncle Brad could take a picture of the stadium where the Chicago Bears play. He didn't get to see them in action but he seemed happy enough to at least document he was in the area! Eric and I circled with the kids while Uncle Brad and Aunt Karen ran up the stairs, took several pictures, and ran down the staris. We didn't want to pay $40.00 parking for a few pictures. The traffic police only almost yelled at us once!!!

Here we are in China town! The kids were intrigued by the roasted ducks we saw for sale in the window (neck, head, eyeball and all)!

London tries a green bean/pea we bought at one of the shops in China town. Karen said she had tried these before and bought some for us to try. Since London eats Tic Tacs by the ton I thought she might like them too! Eric said she didn't even eat it -- just gave the bean/pea a few licks. It must be really hot!!! I wasn't brave enough! We also bought some dried pinneapple and mango slices at the shop but it was quite a trick since no one spoke English. I mean NOT AT ALL! Through sign -language and reading some English labels we got our point across and didn't know how much we were spending! The Chinese ladies loved it when the kids said Hi to them in Chinese. I think it was their highlight of the day too! We bought some awesome tasting rice candies there too and you could eat the paper with the candy. The kids loved that!!

Eric took a picture of the great view of the Sears (Willis) tower from inside China town.

Uncle Brad jumps with his boys on our trampoline! The kids loved it! Too bad it rained almost every day the week they were here.

On Tuesday Eric, Noah, Uncle Brad and Jeremy went to the Chicago Bulls game!! They had so much fun!!! This was one of the boys and mens highlights of the entire trip. Especially because Eric got such a great deal! Four tickets to the game priced at $85 each (and got by Eric for $35 each), a $25 parking pass for free, a night out with the Dad's ... priceless!! Check out StubHub for other great deals!

Back from the game with t-shirts for the boys to remember the great time. This will be a great memory for them. Noah is already trying to hit Eric up for another trip to see the Bulls around his birthday in January.

Of course a stop at the candy factory was on our list. I love this place and of course all the kids do too!!!!!

We went bowling one night. It was kind of crazy with eight kids 10 and under but fun all the same!

Uncle Brad gets us all set up to bowl.

Aunt Karen and Travis take a turn on the trampoline!

Brooklyn and Danaka playing with their stuffed animals and kitchen.

Is Travis jealous of Aunt Karen reading London a book?

Noah talks Jeremy through a game of SPORE on the computer. Jeremy and Danaka both loved this game!

London loved getting to know her Uncle Brad!!!

A rare moment of love between Travis and London. They were oil and water, fire and ice, ... you get the idea!

All in all it was a great week! The kids had so much fun! There was some serious tears, wailing and gnashing of teeth when the moment of separation came!!!!! Can't wait until we see you again -- 2012 or bust!!

Going for overweight ...

2009-10-10T22:24:00.003-05:00

instead of obese. Isn't that depressing? I am obese! Right now my BMI is above 30. I am getting closer to overweight but not there yet. I am actually trying Weight Watchers by myself and I am pretty proud of myself so far. I am about 6 pounds away from overweight status so wish me luck (my sister and her family come visit for a week tommorrow) I need it!

Drama Queens

2009-10-10T21:18:00.007-05:00

Ok, so I wanted to get Brooklyn's haircut before our company comes tommorrow. So... the other day I still hadn't made an appointment for her so I decided to do it myself. I have done it a few times before so I wasn't too scared. Well then Autumn wants her hair cut too! They both announce they want to be twins and have their haircut the same length. I asked how short they wanted it ... and Brooklyn showed me on Autumn. (Note to self, this may not be a decision for a nine year old to make without some major guidelines).

Anyways, I made the first cut on Autumn per Brooklyn's length instructions and I was scared. I didn't know what to do except keep on cutting!!!!! I was a little shocked at how short it really was once I cut half way around her head ... but I just kept on going. After her haircut Autumn went and looked in the mirror and I tried not to have a heart attack. Her hair was just past her shoulder and now it is at her jaw bone. When Autumn came out of the bathroom she came over to me and took one look at her hair on the floor and started crying! I calmed her down the best I could and told her not to worry because I was going to cut Brooklyn's hair the same way --- just as short! What else could I do? I wish I would have thought to take before pictures but here are some shots just after the cuts.

This is all of their hair I cut off! Yikes!!! I wanted to save it but Eric nixed that idea.

The next morning before school they started fighting (surprised aren't you?) so Brooklyn didn't want to be twins anymore. I made her take one twin picture with Autumn anyway.

Brooklyn wanted her hair to be different than Autumn's and chose two pigtails. Autumn is devastated and won't even pose for the picture.

Autumn and I agreed that she would look great with one ponytail in the back and that way they were still sorta twins because they both had pony tails in their hair. Drama --- Drama --- Drama! I hope I live!!!! With three girls in the house every moment is either UP or DOWN!

By the next day and with a little bit of a curl from the curling iron I actually really like their hair and they do too!!!! All in a day's work! That night I cut Ryan's hair too!

Beautiful Sunrise!

2009-10-10T21:10:00.004-05:00

I was up between 5:30-6:00 am the other day making Ryan's lunch when I looked out the window and saw the beautiful sky! It was really quite amazing and the pictures do not do it justice.

What a beautiful world we live in! These are views from my deck in my backyard.

Do you know ...

2009-10-10T21:02:00.003-05:00

everything about North Dakota? Brooklyn and I do! Here she is with her poster about North Dakota for 3rd grade. It was a major project!!! Quite alot of work for a 3rd grader I think. She recieved an A on it and I am glad! Here are a few fun facts about North Dakota:

1. If you dance wearing a hat in Fargo, North Dakota you can be put in jail!

2. North Dakota is the only state that has never had an earthquake!

3. It is against the law to fall asleep with your shoes on in North Dakota.

4. North Dakota grows more sunflowers than any other state.

So, if you need any info. on North Dakota you know who to look up!

Sabbath-Day Daddy Dogpile!

2009-09-28T19:48:00.016-05:00

Last Sunday Eric and the kids had so much fun! The kids had fun attacking Daddy and trying to survive his infamous tickles. What a great way to keep the Sabbath Day holy --- having fun as a family! Eric really started to have fun with the kids and was lifting each one of them up over his head. Quite a feat when you have 5 kids! And of course, it all was tons of fun until ... someone got hurt!!!!! Noah slipped out of Eric's hands and fell onto Autumn's back!

Here are some highlights:

Backyard Apples for Applesauce

2009-09-28T08:43:00.003-05:00

My friend Kay Lynn helped me make applesauce, just over a week ago, with apples from my tree in my backyard. It was tons of fun and I learned alot! The kids played while we made the applesauce and then Ally was the bravest and ate it!! She loved it and ate 2-3 bowls of applesauce. I'm excited to send this new treat with Brooklyn for lunch. It's gluten-free!!

TWO-rific Birthday Party!

2009-09-20T18:31:00.018-05:00

Last week we had a birthday party for London with her friends. It was totally fun! She had alot of friends come and we did many fun activities. What 2 year old doesn't love: bubbles, books, beanbags, dancing, cupcakes, and tons of candy!!!! She did seem a little overwhelmed with all the attention but overall it was a great night! Thanks to everyone for making this a great night for my baby girl. Here are some party highlights:

Reaching for more marshmallows and candy to put on her cupcake. Everyone had the chance to decorate their own cupcake with cool-whip and then top it with marshmallows and candy!

Getting ready to blow out the candles!

Bubbles were a big hit!

Story time seemed to hold their attention for a few minutes too!

Individual story time was really fun. I think the kids loved having an adult read to them a favorite book!

The best laugh was when Charlie was walking all over the playroom with the bucket on his head!

London can't decide what to put on that cupcake!

Since we celebrated her birthday on 9/11 we talked about how grateful we were to be Americans, how proud we were of all the people who helped us on that day and how we were glad that we could all come together for good on that day despite a horrific tragedy. Then we all blew out one candle together as a symbol of how we all worked together on that day. I really liked the chance to remember the hereos of 9/11 and I think it will become a tradition in our family on that day.

Isn't her dress cute? It was only .75 cents at Unique's the thrift store in Merrillville on 1/2 off day! Thanks Holly for introducing me to my new favorite place!

Money!!! Dollar Store here she comes! It will be fun to let her pay tithing too!

She got lots of great presents and the last was a baby doll. She loved it and started to rock the baby and sing. It was so cute! I can't believe my baby is now 2!!!!

What A Wonderful Life!

2009-09-18T20:29:00.002-05:00

What do you think of the slide show I made? These are some of the best pictures ever! Hope you enjoy!

The Jr. Monopoly Genius ...

2009-09-18T12:54:00.004-05:00

is not me! It is Autumn! You totally snowed me today at Jr. Monopoly. What does that mean? Anyways, I loved playing Monopoly with you. You are so smart!! I am so proud!!! Maybe we can start a tradition of playing a board game every few days when you get home from Kindergarten. I can't believe how fast you are growing up!

Love,

Mommy

London and Missionaries

2009-09-17T18:47:00.004-05:00

What did you think of London's performance for the missionaries? Every time we see it we laugh our heads off. She was on fire! It took me forever to figure out how to load these on my blog and I even had to open a you tube account. Hope you enjoy it! Leave me your comments! You know I love it and that is my love language!

I posted these videos on Thursday but didn't work. Should work now!

I put the videos at the bottom of my blog. Check them out!

Am I the only who didn't know about...

2009-09-14T07:40:00.008-05:00

JOSH GROBAN!!!!! He is my new obsession! I saw him perform on "Oprah" last Monday and he was amazing. I was asking some friends about him and everyone knows about him. Even Eric had heard of him. Where have I been? Under a rock! He was obviously the best kept secret from me for years!! What's even more crazy is I don't really like Oprah so I catch one of her shows about 4-5 times a year at the most. The song I loved the best was "Awake". It is sooooo good! I love his voice and the words. Needless to say, I looked on the internent a ton on Monday and found lots of his songs and then added them to my playlist on my blog.

My favorite three songs on my playlist of his are: #20 - Awake, #21 - To Where You Are, # 26 - You Are Loved. Go to my playlist and click on the second box (beside the box labeled create your own playlist) and my playlist will be displayed on your whole page and you can scroll down to any of these three favorites if you want to hear some awesome tunes.

Noah must have been worried about my obsession because the other day he asked if Dad and I were breaking up! I asked why and then realized I was listening to Josh Groban again and telling Noah how much I liked him. Ooops! I reasurred him and to ease any of your fears after reading this post I am still totally in love with Eric and, to be honest, every time I hear the song Awake I like him even more! So to anyone, if there is anyone, who doesn't yet know about Josh Groban -- check out my playlist on my blog -- he will not disapoint!

Supernanny ROCKS!!!!!!!

2009-09-13T14:06:00.006-05:00

It's a miracle!!!! London has been sleeping in her bed since Monday (every night, all night)! Supernanny is awesome!!!!!! She gets most the credit.

On Monday I watched at least 3 episodes of Supernanny and finally decided that supernanny or her book had to come visit our house. Eric even watched one episode with us. So, after seeing the show I drove to the bookstore in Valpo and they didn't have it, so I drove to Merrillville and they had it in stock. I was on fire!!! and needed this book NOW!!!

We just followed her programs and now we have a baby-free house by between 8 and 8:30 pm every evening. It is actually amazing to have some actual Mommy and Daddy time without London and to have a London-less couch. Don't get me wrong but London has not slept in her crib for months and maybe even over a year if I really think about it. This is how supernanny and us got London to sleep in her bed (mattress). Basically, we do a bedtime routine with her (sometimes bath, pj's, teeth brushing, book, prayers with family) and then we get her pacifier (I'm not ready to give that up yet!) and go into her room with lights off, lay her down and sit on a stepstool beside her bed. When she gets up we lay her back down and cover her up with the blanket and say "Sleep". We stay in the room, on the stool until she falls asleep. The plan is to gradually move your stool closer to the door and eventually you do the routine from outside the room or I guess just lay them down and leave. The first night it took 30 minutes, actually better than I thought, for her to settle down and fall asleep. She got up a zillion times but I just kept laying her down and saying "Sleep".

The first night she got up about 5 times and would try and get in our bed. The key is to put her back in her bed! Not too hard, except it's 1 am and I am sleeping. When she would try to get in our bed I would get her and say, "It's time for bed. Go to sleep. I offered her a drink of water and then lay her down on her mattress and go up to my bed. The first night she came up almost right after I laid back down and then she got smarter and would wait 5-10 minutes until I was almost asleep and come walking in to sneak into our bed. When the child keeps getting up you talk less. So, after 2 times when London would try to get in our bed I would just pick her up and carry her down to her bed and then walk up to my bed. I had to do it alot but it worked!!!

Anyways, Friday and Saturday night this baby went to bed between 8:00 and 8:30 and slept ALL night in her bed and did not wake us up once! Good job London! We are so proud of you!!!!It was totally worth the drive to Merrillville and $17.00 book. Let me know if you want to borrow this book it has been a lifesaver! How did I survive without her?

This is a picture Tuesday morning of London sleeping on her mattress. I guess maybe we will need to buy her bed now that she will actually sleep in one!

My first ...

2009-09-08T14:08:00.013-05:00

GARAGE SALE!!!! It was alot of work but totally worth it! I had tons of help from my friends and wonderful husband Eric. I couldn't have done it without you! Eric was up late with me sorting and organizing and testing toys with batteries to make sure they worked. Then, he was up again with me at 5am on Saturday to help finish organizing and setting up. What an awesome guy! Amy and her Mom, the garage sale guru's, helped me sort 15+ bins of toys ... ok I tried to get rid of it all but ended up finding some real lost treasures and kept 4 bins of toys I just couldn't part with yet! Maybe next year! Amy's mom also donated some of her Malaluca (I know I spelled that wrong) product to get nail polish off my crib and it worked awesome. Kay-Lynn came over for a playdate and ended up helping me list my garage sale on Craig's List and then helped me organize and tape together toys and package small items together.

I still have tons of toys in my playroom so I am not sure how this garage sale helped de-clutter my house, but my shed is very spacious now! Hopefully, we will now be able to move some things out to the shed. We also moved our food storeage from the garage to the downstairs cement room so it has been a chaotic mess at our house but it can only get better! I had tons of kids clothes too! I am bringing the leftovers to the consignment shop and then will give the rest to friends or the thrift store.

Everyone has asked me if I will ever do it again? And I just tell them that -- I was $157.00 richer at 2pm than I was at 7am that morning -- HELL YA!

Some garage sale highlights:

My friend Amy, the garage sale guru, stashed some of her favorite toys before the sale and came to pick them up on Saturday. Thanks Amy!!!

Me with Brooklyn, Luke (Amy's boy), Noah and Autumn. My kids tried their hands at selling lemonade and popcorn for 10 cents each and made $3.35. They recieved a few big tips and only worked for about 1/2 hour ... I guess it's not all that it's cracked up to be because then they wanted to play. Good job guys! London and Ryan played inside with Daddy.

Brooklyn plays Barbies with Samantha across the street. They played for hours and had so much fun!

Autumn keeps me company at the table.

Noah was pretty bored until he made up a game with his Nerf gun. We predicted different garage sale items we thought he would be able to hit with his Nerf bullets.

Now Autumn is across the street playing with Barbies.

I got really sun burnt! Part way through the day Eric came out and told me I needed to move into the shade. If he hadn't I would have been a goner! I am holding up my loot! $157.00! I only sold 1 item for $10.00, 2-3 items for $5.00 and all the other items for $3.00 or less. I was a happy woman!

We took the kids to Dairy Queen and spent some of our money on dipped icecream cones/cup. Did you know DQ had chocolate icecream? We didn't but were really excited! Everyone got chocolate icecream with hard chocolate on top except Autumn who wanted just chocolate icecream.

Ryan really LOVED this treat!

All in all it was a great day! I'm already collecting for next year!

TWO Cute!

2009-09-02T21:33:00.018-05:00

Dear London -

We love you! You are two cute! We had fun singing "Happy Birthday" to you multiple times. Every time we sang to you; you enjoyed it more. We can't believe you are two!! Time has flown! We had a family party for you and all your brothers and sisters were so excited for you to be getting older. We put two candles on a Debbie cake and you blew them out on the first try. You are a professional! We had a meal we thought would be your favorite (Hamburgers, French fries and fruit). You didn't eat much. I guess you were too excited to get your presents. We gave you two presents (Candy and a gigantic doll - at least 2x your size). We had chocolate/vanilla ice cream and you loved it! There is definitely some Meldrum in your blood. Grandpa would be proud! You are such a sweet girl and shared your candy and doll with your siblings. Don't get me wrong -- you can be a terror too! You had an eventful day! I know you want to grow up and use lipstick but it goes on your lips not your hands and knee! You wanted to have a bath and when Autumn got home from Kindergarten you went for a swim together. What a great sissy! You even got a haircut today courtesy of Mommy. It was really just the bangs but you needed it so we could see your beautiful blue eyes. We love you and wouldn't trade you for anything! We hope for you a happy life, everyday joys, an eternal marriage, and a close relationship to your Savior and Heavenly Father. Remember that Heavenly Father and Jesus love you!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Two sayings that I think of when I think of my beautiful toddler girl are:

1."A face without freckles; is like a sky without stars"
2."There once was a girl; with no curls; but with freckles right on the bridge of her nose. And when she was good; she was really, really good. And when she was bad; she was HORRID!"
(I modified #2 a little but if you have been in sacrament meeting with London you know that it totally fits!)

Family Party Highlights:

Ryan Flings Food Storeage

2009-08-28T17:15:00.005-05:00

Eric, the kids and I were in the garage trying to go through boxes and move food storeage to our downstairs cement room. Ryan was twirling a food storeage container with his feet while lying on his back and then it bust open everywhere. It was all over him!!! It was pretty funny!! I let him play with it for awhile and took tons of pictures. What that guy will do for a bath!

No bed again!

2009-08-28T17:12:00.001-05:00

Here London is again! Asleep on the kitchen floor! What am I going to do?

New Glasses Again!

2009-08-28T17:06:00.002-05:00

We had to buy Brooklyn glasses again! She lost her pair over summer and we couldn't find them when school started. She had to go to school the first day without glasses and after school we went to go get her some glasses at Lens Crafters so she would have them for school the next day. I love these glasses!!!! They are super cute and PINK!!!!

Spin-the-bottle FHE

2009-08-28T16:58:00.003-05:00

We had a fun family home evening on Monday. Earlier in the day I was reading a book to Autumn and it talked about spin the bottle. She asked what that meant. I told her that it was when you spin the bottle and then tell a secret. However, I didn't want to focus on the secret telling so I told her that we could plan "spin the bottle" for FHE and we would do it differently. So ... we talked about gratitude and being thankful for things and then played spin the bottle. When the bottle was pointing at you everyone took a turn saying something they loved about that person. We had tons of fun and the kids loved having compliments from Mom/Dad and brothers and sisters. Another twist: Spin the bottle and the person who the bottle is pointing at says something they are thankful for.

London's ToeNails

2009-08-28T16:51:00.003-05:00

I finished painting London's nails on Sunday morning after she started the job. I was on the computer and started smelling nail polish and knew no one was up except London. She had the top off and was painting her little piggies! Thank goodness I was able to help her finish the job.

Autumn's boyfriend

2009-08-28T12:26:00.003-05:00

Autumn has been in Kindergarten for 1 1/2 weeks today and she just announced at lunch that she has a boyfriend! Yikes!! What am I going to do?

Garden Tomatoes

2009-08-28T08:47:00.011-05:00

Look at our tomatoes out of the garden! We have tons and they are just starting to get ripe. So we decided to have BLT's (Bacon, Lettuce, Tomatoe) sandwiches. What better way to eat tomatoes!

This was too cute! We just asked her to get ready for prayer and she did!

Brooklyn loves tomatoes!

Noah eating a BLT sandwich!

Can't see the tomato but doesn't the bacon look good!

I meant to get a picture of Eric and forgot and tried to get a picture of Ryan eating bacon and he was too fast. Autumn boycotted the sandwich but LOVED the bacon. No vegetarians at this house!

Kindergarten Shots!

2009-08-27T15:31:00.009-05:00

One week ago Autumn had her Kindergarten check up. There was some confusion and we couldn't find her shot records so we had to request these from Alabama but then we did find them at our current Dr.'s office. They let her start school anyways and she had gone 2 days without the records but they really wanted them asap. I wasn't going to give her all the shots twice. Oh well ... we found them ... all in a day of my life. Just another run-of-the-mill crisis!!!

She needed two shots and she did awesome. She didn't even cry! The nurse gave her a hint to help it not hurt as much -- breathe out in puffs fast (lamaze for shots). Interesting... it must have worked. No tears at all! Good job, Autumn.

Pizza for Breakfast?

2009-08-27T08:56:00.002-05:00

I have to say I was pretty awesome this morning. I helped the kids do homework 3 out of 4, checked homework, made a pretty cool breakfast and got everyone to their buses on time. All this without swearing and minimal yelling. Noah was complaining about not wanting cereal, toast, yogurt etc. What am I going to feed this kid? I had a revelation. Pizza for breakfast! What kid wouldn't love that? I had some English muffins in the fridge that the kids hate so ... I talked it up and put pizza sauce on each half of the English muffin and then covered it with cheese. I had never done this before but heard of it. I put it in the microwave too long the first time but found that 30 seconds for 2 halves is about right. Noah and Ryan both ate 3 halves. Autumn was interested but a little too nervous. I will have to find a substitute for English muffins for Brooklyn because of allergies and London wasn't interested. Anyways, I am real proud of myself for a sorta nutritous and fun breakfast. I just want to know how many Mom's make their kids pizza for breakfast!

First Day of School For Four!

2009-08-26T08:32:00.013-05:00

The first day of school, August 19 2009, was one week ago today. It has taken me this long to post first day pictures. It has been a crazy week! For some reason I am alot more stressed with 4 kids in school and only 1 at home than I was with 5 at home? I guess I need to adjust to the new schedule and get organized. Any pointers? Anyways, here are fabulous first day pictures:

Brooklyn 9 years, Autumn 5 years

Brooklyn loves pink! She is nervous but excited too! She has lost her glasses over summer so we will be going to Lens Crafters to get a new pair AGAIN! Any guesses on what color her new glasses are?

Autumn is so pumped for Kindergarten. I think she will have tons of fun! She was a little disappointed she doesn't get to bring lunch. Only half day kindergarten at our school.

Noah is really excited! He found out that one his friends from church, Gabe, is going to go to Flint Lake too! He is already planning what they will do at recess and they plan to eat together at lunch.

Noah 7 years and Ryan 10 years

Ryan was excited for school. He takes the bus and loves it!

This picture is a little blurry because I had to take it mega fast. They had already gone out to the van and I realized I hadn't taken a picture of all of my four school kids together! So, I made them come back in and get one group picture. As a result...

I had to chase the bus down two stops past ours to get the kids on the bus. The bus driver even let me run get my camera out of the van and come back to get a picture of them getting on the bus. Not a great picture because of the shadow but a fun story of a crazy mommy chasing a bus on the 1st day of school. The kids still laugh about it!

I brought Ryan to school on the first day so I could talk to the teacher. Here he is by his locker at school.

Ryan is excited to see his teacher and pulls up his notebook just as I snap the picture! Aghhhh!

Here is Autumn after kindergarten. She was happy before she saw me and then started crying. That's why she doesn't look too happy in this picture. Why was she crying? I picked her up instead of letting her take the bus home!!!! What a horrible mommy! LOL! I cannot figure this girl out ... oh ... wait a minute ... she's a girl. No wonder! Even mom's can't figure girls out!

It was kinda weird that I had only London (23 months) home but I liked it. I missed my kiddo's and was really excited when they got home and I got to hear about their day.

Professional Sleeper

2009-08-25T08:08:00.002-05:00

London can sleep anywhere ... except her bed! We packed up her crib because she never sleeps in it. We have a mattress she can sleep on because we gave away our toddler bed before she was born. We should buy her a bed but she won't sleep in it! She is a professional couch, kitchen floor, living room floor, rocking horse, hammock swing, coffee table, highchair sleeper. Oh well, I guess on the up side if you ever come to visit you will have a bed! In a few years she will probably be joining Autumn in the hallway on the floor. Beds are over-rated! Who needs them?

Night Before School Nerves!

2009-08-25T05:23:00.012-05:00

Last week, on August 18, 2009, Brooklyn, Noah and Autumn went to Flint Lake Elementary to meet their teachers for the upcoming year. Tonight is the night before school starts. They are excited but nervous too! Eric had a meeting so I took the three middle kids to the school and my AWESOME friend Brandi watched Ryan and London for an hour or so until Eric could pick them up. We had a great time meeting all the new teachers and I think it will be a great year for everyone!

Ready or not -- here we come!

Autumn's Kindergarten teacher - Mrs. Biggs. She taught Noah the second half of kindergarten the year we moved here. She is really good and we were so excited for Autumn to have her for Autumn's teacher.

Noah's 2nd grade teacher - Mrs. Douthett. She seems really fun and we heard she likes smiley faces!

Brooklyn's 3rd grade teacher - Mrs. Hoffman. She is really energetic! Brooklyn and I both are nervous for 3rd grade! Brooklyn kept whispering to me during the presentation that she didn't know if she could do 3rd grade and I was thinking I didn't know if I could do it either. I am pretty scared to help Brooklyn in 3rd grade ... I may have a Master's degree but 3rd grade might be beyond my reach. Eric may have to head the homework detail this year!

After they met their teachers, I took a picture of them on the bench outside their school. They are all smiles and I think they are excited for a new year! Brooklyn has to go to the whole other side of the building so there will be lots of changes for her this year.

Back to the van, after meet the teacher, with mostly empty school supply boxes and "homework" for Mom. Later that night Eric gave everyone a father's blessing for the new school year and London one just because. Ryan has meet the teacher at his school after school starts! LOL! That's fine -- he has the same teacher he had last year.

Good Luck in the new year! We love you!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Beach Bums!

2009-08-24T08:49:00.033-05:00

Okay, so here's the deal. We took the kids to St. Joesph, Michigan last week just before school started to go to Silver Beach. They were so excited and we had such a wonderful time. To be honest, it was the best beach trip ever! Why? Autumn did not get lost, Ryan did not "almost" drown, no fighting and a great picnic lunch courtesy of Daddy. I know I am a picture maniac and always take too many pictures but I didn't even put all of them on my blog but some I couldn't not put on my blog so.... I know it's a ton but hopefully you will be able to see why this was such a great day trip! Only one hour away!!! Anyone want to volunteer to watch 5 kids so Eric and I can have a weekend getaway here? It is so quaint and has tons of bed and breakfast places, and a beach and....

Here are some highlights:

Arriving at the beach and ready to get in!

Getting used to the water!

London was pretty scared of the water! She would cry when it touched her feet!

London wasn't too sure about the water even when I was holding her!

Daddy Attack!

Brooklyn had tons of fun and her swimming lessons she had this summer made her alot more confident in the water. Totally worth it!

I love this picture of Ryan!

Ryan decided he was going to attack this flotation device and come HELL or highwater he was going to sit on it in the water. It was so funny! He spent at least 10-15 minutes conquering the float and I took pictures the whole time! This was the highlight of our trip! Totally worth it! Enjoy!

London with Daddy!

Playing with sand. What a life!

Our 5 little beach bums!

Collecting rocks and shells. The kids found rocks for Ryan and then he chose which ones he wanted to save for his rock collection for cub scouts.

Noah really enjoyed looking for rocks!

Ryan's two favorites meet. Sand and water!! He was so excited!

London playing in the sand. She liked to stay on the edge and was really unsure of the water.

We loved how it was so shallow and the kids walked out pretty far with their dad.

Had an awesome picnic lunch with the kids after the beach. What a perfect day!!!!

Fort Building and Party in the Basement

2009-08-23T20:15:00.009-05:00

Noah, Brooklyn and Autumn build a fort downstairs and have fun "camping" out in their fort ALL night! They had so much fun and stayed up and played downstairs for hours! I don't think they went to bed until after 10pm.

This is their sleeping quarters!

They made a special fort for London and Ryan to play in too!

I went down and took pictures before I went to bed of my little "campers"!

Another view of the fort

Another view!

What great memories my little babies will have! I think we may have to make this a monthly tradition! It's worth no kitchen chairs for a few days!

FREE Water Fun!

2009-08-23T07:20:00.013-05:00

About a week and a half ago the kids and I went to the Splash Pad in Highland, Indiana. The kids and I had so much FREE fun! We went there and met some friends. It was free for families with kids with disabilities and their siblings! These are some of the highlights:

Ryan loving water more than life itself!

London hangs over by the edge with me most of the time and is such a cutie!

Brooklyn, Autumn and Noah had alot of fun at the water park and playground park next door!

Water and Ryan have a perfect relationship!

I decide to try out the water park too! Not my best look but I felt alot cooler after!

London gets thirsty and decides to take a drink!

45 minute drive to Highland, keeping track of 5 kids at the splash pad, putting swimsuits on and sun screening 5 kids, getting this picture...PRICELESS!

Noah hanging out in the splash pad.

Don't Stop Till You Drop

2009-08-15T22:02:00.004-05:00

London, 23 months, is our 5th child and she always tries to keep up the big kids. She knows no fear, danger or task she can't do! She is always running full tilt and does not stop til she drops! Literally!

Autumn's Best Friends

2009-08-15T21:57:00.002-05:00

Autumn has a great imagination and can play for a long time by herself. She has such a good time and is so creative. This day she lined up all her stuffed animals on the couch, stood on the coffee table with a tamborine, and gave them a concert with her singing a song she made up. It was a very good song too!

Imaginations on Fire

2009-08-15T21:34:00.003-05:00

Brooklyn has tons of fun making and decorating a princess crown! It's a princess crown because we all know who the Queen is don't we? Her imagination has really taken off since the T.V. time has decreased. She did a great job making this crown and it occupied a good portion of the afternoon.

Brooklyn designed crowns for her and Autumn and their animals. Autumn helped decorate the crowns. What great memories of fun these sisters will have!

Ryan Eats On His Own!

2009-08-14T08:00:00.005-05:00

Ryan (10 1/2 yrs) is learning to feed himself better and better every day! I decided to take pictures of how good he is doing!

Drinking from a cup by himself!

Feeding himself eggs and potatoes. He was pretty motivated!

YUMMY!

Exercising With Food Storeage!

2009-08-14T07:40:00.005-05:00

With our T.V. time program the kids have become more creative and imaginative. I love it! The other day the kids came upstairs and told me they were starting an exercise program! In their hands was food storeage! It was so cute I grabbed my camera to document their exercising with food storeage program. I wonder if we could market this....?

The middle kids gave London a can of oranges and told her to shake it!

Ryan wasn't sure what was going on but he held the can for a picture.

Noah ran around with those cans over and over again and later that day tried to weight lift a number 10 can of tomatoes but it did not go well and he ended up with a scraped nose!

Autumn is going strong!

Isn't she cute! Brooklyn is having a ball!

Fast, Fun FHE

2009-08-14T07:26:00.002-05:00

For family home evening last week we talked about Samuel the Lamanite. I got the idea for this FHE out of an awesome Family Home Evening Book (Book of Mormon Family Night Lessons That Teach With Treats by Cindy S. Pedersen) and then gave it a twist and we had our lesson and activity. We made a rice krispie tower and discussed the story while making the tower (chocolate sauce for glue). I planned to have the kids throw fruit chews at the tower like the bad guys and then out of the corner of my eye I saw a Samuel we could use for the top of the tower (my twist). So we put Samuel on top of the rice krispie tower and we tried to knock him down with fruit chews. We had a great discussion and the kids had action/fun and a ready made treat! I know we were the bad guys...but it was so fun! Stay tuned for another FHE idea soon compliments of my Mom...burning King Noah at the stake!!!

Noah really got into this activity. Ryan liked sitting by me and eating the fruit chew "stones" that came his way.

This is Samuel the Lamanite on his rice krispie tower!!

Indoor Edible Sandbox

2009-08-13T19:39:00.006-05:00

Well, another day in my life...of messes! We were watching a movie as a family and I was really into it. All the kids were in the area and some were watching the movie and some not. A commercial came on and Eric went to go into the kitchen. Yikes! He found that Ryan had made an indoor, edible (sugar) sandbox! Ryan was having the time of his life! What a sensory experience! Eric was about to vacuum it up and I told him to wait and let me get my camera. I thought this was a pretty good blog moment. When life gives you lemons...get your camera 1st then deal with it! I told Eric to let the kids play in it for a little while ... it's not like it could get any worse? I am speaking from experience when I say 5lbs of sugar on the carpet is better than 2lbs of powdered sugar on the kitchen floor!

This feels so good between my fingers!

It doesn't get better than this!

I love the feel of sugar between my toes! Come join the fun, sis!

The sugar sandbox dance!

T.V. Troubles

2009-08-06T21:12:00.007-05:00

T.V. addicts no more! The kids have been T.V. addicts this summer. Waking up at 6 am wanting to watch T.V. I was going crazy! They would want to watch t.v. constantly and then fight about what show to watch. So, at book club we were talking about how to get kids to be good and we talked about how we need to talk with them and discuss options for different situations instead of bossing them around. The next day I talked with the kids about how watching t.v. all day would not be healthy. They agreed! We came up with the idea for the three kids who watch t.v. to get one hour a day of t.v. and when it is their turn they get to decide what show to watch. It has been a wonderful week! They track their own t.v. time -- they did this on their own and I just ask for updates. No fighting on how much t.v. to watch or what show and they are being accountable for their time. Love it! Thanks book club buddies! Here are my former T.V. addicts using their imaginations:

Noah makes up a game of bowling.

London plays with a car.

Brooklyn has a great time playing with playdough.

Autumn makes a playdough creation.

Ryan rarely watches T.V. so he just kept on keeping on. I am so proud of my little ones for using their imaginations and not being so dependent on t.v. for entertainment! I only wish we would have figured this system out sooner!

Great Garden Veggies

2009-08-02T19:31:00.012-05:00

Noah poses with the vegetables we got out of our garden on Friday July 31, 2009. We harvested one tomato, several potatoes, one zuchinni, and tons of squash. Noah was so excited! He has a green thumb and is always checking the garden to see what is ready to harvest.

London, Noah and I pick the vegetables out of the garden. Brooklyn takes our picture.

Everyone wants their pictures taken with the vegetables.

We fried up the potatoes for breakfast! Everyone loved them!

Ryan had several helpings of potatoes! I think it's a thumbs-up from him too!

London enjoys the potatoes.

Poor Daddy was at work and none were left over! Better luck next time!

London loves Lyrics

2009-08-02T19:20:00.005-05:00

London loves the church music I have on my blog. When she heard it the other day she grabbed the speaker and listened and then broke out into song! I told the kids that she recognized the songs from heaven! What a cutie!

Terrorific Tree Climbing!

2009-08-01T20:44:00.008-05:00

Autumn and Sibley in the tree.

I'm on the way up the tree to rescue Autumn.

Before I rescued Autumn I had to take a picture of her stuck in our backyard tree.

Autumn is almost not seen in the needles of the tree.

Yum! Yum! Yum!

We had friends, Brandi and her kids, over for a playdate so I could be shown how to make this blog. We had fun in the backyard playing, eating freezies, and climbing trees... That is until Autumn got stuck!!! The girls were having a competition with the boys to see who could climb the highest. I can't remember who won but I do remember who got stuck! Autumn has alot of Meldrum in her (a competitive spirit)!

Cub Scouts at the Fair

2009-08-01T20:12:00.015-05:00

Went to the fair with cub scouts to promote scouting! We had tons of fun! We had recipe card holders for people to make who visited our booth area. Thanks for all the help to make this event a success! Maybe next year we will go as a den to the fair and catch a few of the free shows the fair has to offer! The boys seemed to have a good night and the leaders did too!

Jacob and Jacob sanding blocks of wood.

Nathan and Cristian sanding more wood.

What a happy scout!

Amy, den leader, helps Ryan sand a piece of wood. She is SOOOO good with him! She always tries to involve him in every activity and I appreciate it as cub master but especially as a MOM!

Here we are helping visitors make their recipe card holders.

Jacob shows a few girls how to put their project together.

Ryan and Jacob hanging out at the fair.

The boys take a break from card holders and walk the rope bridge.

Porter County Fair

2009-07-29T11:05:00.037-05:00

Ryan enjoys sitting in the driver's seat of the fire truck at the Fair.

Brooklyn is loving the swings!

Noah has a fun time on the swings!

My friend Brandi and I, with 8 kids total, went to the fair Monday morning before Eric and I went with the kids that evening. Her daughter Sibley wandered away at the time we took this picture. We had tons of fun!
On our way back to the car after the fair festivities!

What's a fair trip without Cotton Candy!

Brooklyn walks the monkey bridge in the cub scout area.

Eric and the kids enjoy the hypnotist show at the fair.

Ryan sits back and relaxes during the show.

London with her Daddy at the fair.

The kids enjoy the roller coaster. Went on it twice!

Ryan and Noah ride the roller coaster. They loved it! I had to go get Ryan out of the seat and he did not want to leave! In a few years I'm going to get a wristband for the kids so they can ride the rides over and over again for hours!

More roller coaster!

Waiting to begin the ride!

Autumn can't believe she has just seen someone skip rope while riding a unicycle! Noah looks like he is questioning this feat. And Ryan seems confused too!

Man on a unicycle jumps rope at the same time!

Autumn was impressed with the magic show! She really liked the snow made out of paper!

Enjoying the magic show.

Love the surprise and wonder in their eyes! I was so busy taking pictures of them I missed most of the show!

The kids try to twist their arms around and give the thumbs up sign without releasing their fingers like the magician! No one could do it!

London and Mommy wait for the big kids to get off the swing ride! She can hardly wait until it's her turn!

Isn't this priceless! Ryan was so excited to ride the rides at the fair! So worth it!

Having such a good time!

Autumn 5yrs, Brooklyn 9yrs, Noah 7yrs and Ryan 10yrs are waiting with anticipation for the swings to begin. This was a great ride at the Porter County Fair! It was a fun long ride too!

Loved the fair! Had so much fun and can't wait until next year!

Confused!

2009-07-28T15:17:00.000-05:00

I am going to have to try this later with some help!

2009-07-28T15:10:00.000-05:00

I have no idea what I am doing but that's not unfamiliar for me. Let's see if this works. My first blog post ever! Any pointers?