My Paper Chain...

My paper chain (until school is out) is getting shorter and shorter! For the kids it means that sleeping in and hours of morning cartoons are right around the corner. For me it means hearing endless phrases like..."He looked at me", "She touched me", "He crossed the invisiable line" (you know the one that only the child in charge can see)! But there are also great things that come along with summer vacation; no homework, no more sack lunches, trips to Lake Powell, a break from book reports and time consuming projects (that we as parents do 99.9% of!). It's a good thing that the kids get a break from school during the summer months when the weather allows for out of doors activities (cooking smores inside just isn't the same and sleeping in a tent in the living sucks...it sucks outside too!). Bottom line summer vacation is like any other vacation, the kids still have to eat and dirty laundry seems to pile up faster then it can be washed and shoved away (the shoved part done by the kids).

You could be a winner...

First one to tell me where this picture was taken (the exact location) is the big winner...of what you ask...NOTHING!

Birthdays...

I forgot to include the fact that we also celebrated three birthdays over the holidays...

How Many Days 'til SUMMER?

The Thanksgiving turkey's been eaten, the Christmas Tree has been decked and halled out of the house, the New Year has come and gone(along with all New Year's Resolutions), reality has set in! It's winter, it's cold, it's still January!

It's that Time of the Year... AGAIN!

I know that we haven't eaten any turkey yet, but this type of weather makes me want to put up the Christmas Tree and listen to Joy to the World. So don't be surprised if you visit our home before Thanksgiving and are welcomed by the sight of lights, holly, and mistletoe! After all, T'was 50 Nights before Christmas and all through the house...

Candy Troubles

It's Halloween Night and the kids have just been tucked into bed, how long do you wait to raid their Halloween Bags? You know that Snickers Bar is calling your name...or is it the fun size bag of M&M's that causes you to steal from your own kin? Shane and I don't have to worry about sneaking candy because from Cade's 1st Halloween we had a plan. The plan was simple...teach them that after sorting and counting their candy it is ALL put into one BIG bowl for everyone to share. They don't mind! In fact they usually find the largest bowl in the kitchen to put it in and then stand in awe that it doesn't all fit. But tonight the thought crossed my mind, who is going to provide me with my Halloween sugar fix when my kids are no longer Trick of Treating? Do I buy several bags of candy to pass out hoping that I have a huge bowl of "left-over" candy? Do I ambush a small group of helpless children on the street? Maybe Shane and I need to once again sit down and come up with another simple plan...so far the first plan has pay off very sweetly if you know what I mean!!!

HALLOWEEN '08

And the WINNER is...

Anna's 5th Birthday

HOLy COw

That was my first thought when I came to visit my own blog! I guess I've been a little out of touch with my inner blogger! Don't give up on me yet. So much has gone on since my last post, so I'll give a quick update. First, during the summer our home computer began a slow and painful electrical death. After trying several times to create a slide show and having the computer freeze then simple turn itself off, I stop using the computer at all! However I knew that when Anna refused to visit barbie.com that we were in serious trouble. The problem has been resolved...I'm now blogging from the comfort of my own bed on a beautiful HP Pavillion dv7-1133cl Entertainment Notebook PC (translation: half-way decent purchase from Costco with instant $100 rebate!). Second, school started!!! Cade, Madalyn and Anna have all adjusted very well to being Wildcats instead of Braves. Cade is playing football, just received his Arrow of Light and moved up to the 11 year old scouting program, and he went to the "Maturation Program" at school today(he has hair in his pits...a true Brown!). Madalyn is still swimming with the Wildcat's Pre-Comp Swim Team(she swims like a fish), loves to be with her friends, and is very quickly entering the "tween" stage. Anna turned 5 on October 12, I have never seen anyone so excited about being 5 or just being alive. She got in the car the other day and said that something was "hideous", and during a moment of weakness on my part she exclaimed "you cannot raise your voice at me because I am a princess", enough said! Third, a couple of months ago we had one dog...then we had nine dogs...then the runt never grew and we had eight dogs...and now we currently have three...this number will increase to four soon because Shane will be joining them in the "dog house", once again enough said! Finally, I am great. I have recently become a spectacle to watch every where I drive my van. My drivers side door was smashed by a postal patron just trying to get his mail. Needless to say it doesn't close very well and opens when it feels like it...like while driving to drop Anna off at preschool. This is when I became a spectacle... I calmly pulled over use all my upper muscle strength to partially close the door and then use all my lower body strength to kick, not just once but several times, the door shut...for the time being. Many cars passed me during my 'how to shut a door tight" demonstration on State Road 32, I laughed to myself the rest of the way to preschool wondering what they were thinking as they drove by. I was simply thinking Safety First, Door Second. So there you have it in a nut shell...peanut shell... beach shell...bomb SHELLter?(Marci the last one was for you)!