Brinly's First Dance Recital

Brinly was adorable at her recital! Watch and enjoy!

And then there was one....

About a week and a half ago, we found out our little 14 year old Geo Prizm needed some serious work...more than we would be willing to dish out for our faithful commuter. We weren't quite sure what to do- run it to the ground, try to sell it, or save up for repairs. Shane posted it on craigslist just to see if there would be any interest. He also took it to Carmax for a quote-- they offered him $300. I honestly thought there was no way that anyone would buy it for more than $500 max with the knowledge of it's needed repairs.

Well, Shane had TONS of calls on the car--like 3-4 every day! The first guy came to look at it last night and HE BOUGHT IT for $850!! I was quite surprised, but feel really good about it. Now, we'll start saving for our next car...in the meanwhile, Shane's getting to know the Henderson Public Transit:)

Brinly is sad that the "Baby Car" (as she calls it) had to leave and now we only have the "Big Car".

Odds and Ends

This picture is too good to pass up. After Shane's school day of "surgery prep" he came home with some fun equipment. Shane didn't want to miss out, so with the help of their dad transformed into Dr. Brinly:) She was thrilled.

EVERYDAY, this is what I find in the living room! At first it drove me crazy, but I am now more laid back about it. Brinly and Cade have so much fun tearing the couch apart.

My camping boys a few months ago. We went camping with Jami, James, and Addison up in the mountains of Fairview, UT. It was really pretty...though, camping with kids doesn't allow you to enjoy the experience as much as you would like:) We're just going to day camp from now on...that is until we have OLDER than 1 1/2 yrs. old:) We'll see how it goes next time.

This is a little outdated, but I had to document our 4th of July at Grandma and Grandpa W.'s. They invited us to do some fireworks and sparklers. The kids enjoyed them, that is, until Cade grabbed a burning sparkler. He burned his had pretty good. We'll wait a few more years before we do sparklers again...they are just too little still. BUT we still had a good time and the kids really enjoyed watching the fireworks.

I LOVE this picture. Cade's adorable eyes shine through.

Prepare and Ye Shall Not Fear...

This is a litte outdated, but I wanted to record the efforts made on starting our food storage. I started collecting rice, wheat, and beans for a number of months, as you can see from the following pictures. They became mountainous! So, what did I do with all that rice, wheat, and beans? Scroll down and you'll see:

(Don't mind Cade in this picture, not sure what he's doing:) But his belly is adorable, I think.)
I borrowed the sealer from the church cannery and pouch sealed hundred's af pounds of life supporting dry foods:) It was actually very satisfying and quite the simple job.

It did take me several days to complete the task, but I did get it done!

This is what my hallway looked like for a week, until we secured a place to store it all. I have had strong feelings for a while that I needed to work on my food storage (I had NONE), so I took that feeling seriously. I'm still working on it, and am now collecting other items and will probably repeat this adventure in a few of months. Happy Preparing:)

I've been tagged (thanks Geneva):)

Joys:

1. Eternal Perspective
2. the U.S. of A.- I LOVE patriotism!
3. Watching my children laugh together

Fears:

1. Earthquakes (only since I've lived here in LV--I guess I've never lived in an earthquake area or close to one since I was a little girl)
2. The inability to pay back student loans (isn't likely, but definitely something I worry about)
3. Dealing with death of a loved one

Goals:

1. To teach my children proper principles and Independence- I want them to understand and be ready for life.
2. Cook anything, but especially naturally nutritious foods
3. Write a book--possibly about my life and family's experiences--it would be a page turner!
4. Gain an advanced degree- some day I WILL have a MS or Doctoral degree! Education is something I thirst.

Obsessions:

1. Organization-- I love to have everything organized, down to each receipt (yes, I keep and file all my receipts--this may also make me a pack rat)
2. Diagnosing my children's illnesses/sicknesses-- I want to know what is wrong with my child when sick, no matter what the dr. says--I feel like I can research and find the correct diagnosis (my faith in Pediatricians depletes every year-- not b/c they don't know anything, but b/c many don't take the time to make correct diagnosis). I usually feel satisfied with my own research and home treatment, THEN I'll take my child to the dr. if necessary and voice my opinion. I'm sure they LOVE me!
3. Fiddling-- I'm always fiddling with something. I comb my fingers through my hair, pick my nails, etc . It is showing how much I do this-- whenever Cade plays like he is talking on the phone-he scratches his head (just like I do!).

Facts about self:

1. I secretly have a passion for buying "things"-- it is just very satisfying at times--but isn't often something i can actually allow myself to do:) Don't tell Shane, I'll deny it!
2. I once had my head stuck in the fence around Buckingham palace while watching the "changing of guards"--fyi, if you ever make it to Buckingham Palace in London, don't watch so close, the fence posts are really quite narrowly spaced! Oh man, I really thought I would make the papers, but fortunately, after some coaxing and calming, my blood pressure decreased enough to shrink my head and pull it out:)
3. I always thought i would make a good ballet dancer-- anyone who knows me would laugh at that statement, and yes, it is true that I'm not very graceful or poised...but it is definitely something I enjoy in the privacy of my home (my children are probably the only one's I have actually shared my "skills" with:).

Cade the Narcissist

We think Cade is adorable...apparently, he agrees with us:)

Narcissisim:

Freudian term, drawn from the Greek myth of Narcissus,

indicating an exclusive self-absorption.

A typical bad night

So we still have problems with our children sleeping in their own beds. Not every night, but Brinly is definately the worst. Almost every night she tries to climb into bed with us, always asking Shane (therefore, I don't realize she is in bed with us until I get wacked in the face a time or two). Cade is pretty good...he usually doesn't wake up in the night any more, but every now and then he does.

Seventh Time is a Charm...

Let it be known....I AM the queen of flat tires! I was involved in my 7th flat tire last night (yes, 7th in 9 years!!). Unbelievable! The kids and I were on our way home from a spontaneous day trip to visit my parents and sisters (who were all there but Tara, so I didn't want to miss out). There were many "fortunates" though- some being:
- I was just outside of Las Vegas, not in the middle of the desert
- it wasn't 110 degrees, only 90 b/c it was late (9pm)
-I had changed 6 roadside flat tires before (and taught YW on several occasions)
-it was a rear tire (at the freeway speed I was going, it could have been really bad as a front tire)
-the kids slept through the entire ordeal!
- Shane was close enough to come help

Disclaimer: I do not get flat tires due to poor tire maintenance or service--almost every time it has been in a different car (twice in my parent's van) due to some random object.

My History of Flat Tires:

1st time- in college, and I changed the tire entirely on my own before a guy came and offered help (he was very impressed BTW, and I was quite proud of myself!:)
2nd time-I was driving with my mother and we pulled up into the driveway and the front right tire flattened entirely as we parked! I changed it.
3rd time- All my sisters and I, and my mother were driving across country to somewhere (can't remember where) and a trucker flagged us to let us know our rear left tire was flat). I changed it and finished as a trucker pulled up to help behind us. He said that the cb radio's were buzzin' with "6 girls on side of road changing tire". Interesting.
4th time- In college, again--i don't remember the circumstances.
5th time- On my way home from girl's camp, in a caravan of 3 cars and 6 or 7 YW. It wasn't my car that had a flat that time, but my friend, Lindsay's. Again, I changed the tire with a screaming baby Brinly and several giddy teenage girls on the side of the road:)
6th time- Shopping in Virginia with my sister-in-law Kathy. For some reason we borrowed my father-in-law's NEW car. On the way out we realized we had a flat. I was prego with Cade and couldn't get the lug nut's loose (and we had trouble finding the tire key)--fortunately, a nice fellow helped us out that time.
7th time- last night! Notice Shane came PREPARED-- headlamp and all:) I was so grateful for his help...I was a bit nervous on the side of the freeway with two children, in the dark, feeling very vulnerable (I even emptied my wallet-- all but my license and one credit card-- into the van's garbage drawer, just in case-Ha!).

So, beware, if you're driving with me, I average a flat tire every 1.3 years! But no fear, I do know how to change a tire:) If you need a lesson, I'd be glad to teach you :)