Happy Birthday Emily!

It is Emily's big day on September 13th. I hope it is a good one. I learn so much from you, and admire you, Em! Love ya!

Day-Dreaming

I love when I find my kids looking out a window. There is just something so sweet about it. I wonder where their thoughts wander to, and what they make of the world outside the four walls they see all the time. It is one of those simple things that just make me smile.


Unfortunately, it ended with this. Georgia of course, lowered herself behind the couch, and got mad when she saw me taking her picture. One quick pull of the couch away from the wall, and all was well.

The Wheels On the Bus

We were waiting anxiously for the first day of school this year. And after much prep given to us by our district and pre-school, (As in, me attending about 8 hours of orientation and classroom visiting time between the two of my kids, OVERKILL..) we sent them off! Wally has been agonizing about having to ride the school bus all summer, but when it showed up, he jumped right on with a big smile. Will was ready to jump on too, so the event ended in tears for him, but with a big wave from Wally. It was sad to watch my little guy drive away! We are excited for a year of good learning! Let's hope all goes well with these two energetic boys! We are so lucky to have them, and can't believe how fast they are growing up.

Excuse Me?

So I ran that My Heritage celebrity look-a-like thing.... and I guess I always wondered if I look like a man, but I had no idea I looked the MOST out of ALL the celebrities out there, like an Asian man I have never heard of! And out of ten celebrity faces that it did match me to, I had almost more men than women!! Del and I laughed our HEADS off over this! I am not feeling particularly butch lately, but I must be making people wonder if I am in drag if I am to trust what My Heritage has to say about it!!
I mean, I wasn't expecting them to tell me that I look like Angelina Jolie or anything, but come on! Does this thing have something against me? Shigeki Maruyama, Michael Schumacher, Gerard Depardieu, and Courtney Love?

So I better go. I am going to look into being a stunt double for Shigeki. Still laughing... so hard I am snorting.
Jessie

P.S. All of you out there should run your picture through this thing. It is really good for your self esteem!!

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Free family history - Family photos

Day At The Pool

We took the kids to the local pool for one more family dip before school starts. We have to keep a close eye on Georgia, as she thinks she can already swim and crouches down and puts her face in the water. It was so cute, and the life-guard told me we have to get her in a class. She is a little pro. And note Wally in his goggles. He looks like some kind of bug. He loves those things. It was a fun day for all of us!

The Reason Costco Is Dangerous...

Because this was just a "quick" trip!

Our 2008 Summer Utah Trip

We loaded up the car and drove to Utah for the second summer in a row.
It was a VERY long drive, only aggravated by my stupidity, when I took a wrong turn in Des Moines and almost drove us to Kansas City. So after the recovery from the realization I had just cost my kids even more time in the car, we zipped right through. We set a new record for ourselves on the way home by making the drive in 20 hours straight through. Our kids really were so good for the amount of drive time we put them through.
We had so much fun seeing family and great friend on our visit. It is always so nice to be surrounded by the people we miss the most!



Fun in Grandma's backyard with the cousins.

My parents took us to the Dinosaur museum in Ogden. The boys loved it, and are now absolutely fascinated by dinosaurs. It is all we hear about around here.


We also stopped at Hill Air Force Base and let the kids look at the airplanes.

We like to take the kids up to Gateway to let them run through the fountains. It was especially fun this year because both my sister Emily, and Del's sister Renee came with their broods.


Love that crack!

Od To A Vacuum

This post is a plea to all those out there who have found a vacuum they love.

I'll start by saying that I have been through at least three vacuums in this past year. They are all starting to blur together into one disappointing memory. I will admit that I have not shelled out the big bucks for any of those vacuums I have seen advertised as miraculously high powered and clog free, because my experience so far has been that no vacuum is able to escape a fate of being rendered useless after entering my home. So far, the vacuum I have now is the worst of in the long line of bad Bissels, Hoovers and Devils. I am left to wonder if there is anything invented, short of a massive ant colony, or serious industrial vacuum that can keep the floor crumb free in my house. The vacuum makes at least two or three major appearances a day with my kids, so this is an emergency.

So here is what I need... an industrial strength vac made for use in the home. I may have to resort to a ShopVac, and just crawl around on my hands and knees to get everything up. I need a vacuum that will not shy away from sucking up an entire box of spilled Teddy Grahams off the floor. A machine that has hose sucking power that will leave my licorice caked stair case fluffy and looking new. A vacuum that will pick up dust I didn't even know was there, and still clean up the clumps of mud left my my boys shoes. I need some help getting the walked on, BBQ potato chip orange haze off the carpet, and making the entire bag of rice spilled on the kitchen floor disappear. A tall order, I know, and if there truly is a vacuum invented that can take care of the needs of my obviously incredibly spill prone household, I would be willing to make a worthy investment. So please for the sake of my carpet, if you know of one, share your secret! Thank you!

Thanks for the picture Mandy. You and your photography are great! You are a super-duper friend, so don't let me hear you say otherwise again! I'll crack the code and email you!

Happy Anniversary Del!

We are celebrating our 8th anniversary on the 26th of July.
My, how the time flies! I love you Del and I am so blessed to have you as my husband for ever, and ever!
We have learned a lot together this past year, and hopefully we only get stronger.
The primary got it right when they declared, "Eight Is Great!"