AROUND MY HOUSE

Here's a little peak at what I've found this morning,

Toy on the baskets...

Poster on the floor....in the front room?!?

Handcuffs......Asher's favorite toy right now

Doesn't everyone have some nutella (sadly, without a spoon!) and a play handgun at their bedside....apparently I do. 

And last but certainly not least.....the fish

I think it has a name.....

I remember now - Samurai.

Kyler won this fish at our Ward Trunk-or-Treat last year.  I thought and still think it was a cruel joke.  I was not happy about taking 4....YES, FOUR!....fish home that evening.  I refused to acknowledge them.  After all they were cheap-o fish that would be dead by morning....right?  Well...the first three did die off rather quickly, but not this one.....I just thought of a new name for him - I AM NUMBER 4!  (I make myself laugh)  Anyways, I refused to do anything for this fish.  We borrowed fish food from a friend and wouldn't you know it, the fish outlived the food.  I had to buy some food but refused to upgrade his home - a recycled milk jug.  Kyler asks once in a while if I can get him a fish bowl, but I know that the second I do, he'll die.  Every time I walk by their bathroom I can't believe that fish is still alive.  This silly, feeder fish who lives in a milk jug that we fill with plain, old tap water and rarely clean it out (which is probably why you can't even find him in the photo...but he's there) has been with us for 10 months. Maybe we'll upgrade his home if he makes it to October 30th....the one year anniversary of taking him home. I'll be sure to write all about it. 

Don't worry....I'll write about the fish funeral the very next day - it's inevitable!

STILL IN LOVE!

 It was very hard to get a decent picture....but this was the best I could do.....and I'm happy to have it!!!!!  Thanks to my friend, Trudie, I got to see Donny Osmond on Monday night!  He really does have a great voice and is very entertaining....even when he falls flat on his face!!!!  He sang songs from when he was a little boy all the way through to a song from his most recent album (do they still say album?!?) and a little bit of everything in between.  Trudie and I both loved when he performed Close Every Door to Me from Joseph - but without the loin cloth....bummer!  Which reminds me of a story when I received my Donny & Marie barbie dolls as a little girl......but I don't think it's blog appropriate!  Anyways....

Do you see that purple paper behind my ticket?   Some lucky people were given this paper to fill out a question for Donny and request a song.  The papers were taken back stage to Donny himself.  Some REALLY, REALLY LUCKY people had their purple card selected.  In case you were wondering....I'm just lucky.  I'm happy to say I still LOVE Donny Osmond....always have, always will!!!

May tomorrow be a special day

May you find love and laughter along the way

May God keep you in His tender care

Till He brings us together again,

Good Night, Everybody!

BE STILL MY HEART!!!!!!

This is who I'm spending my evening with........FOR REALS!

22 YEARS!!!

Can you believe it's been 22 years since Tony and I were married?!?  I guess it's easier to believe if you look at our wedding pictures!

There we were.....just babies!  

Tony was 22....I was 19.

 My mom took the boys this weekend so we could have the house to ourselves!  (thanks!)  Unfortunately, our van's a/c broke down on Thursday and we were hosting a dinner group for church on Saturday.  We didn't let that get in the way of our weekend alone!  It did get me thinking on anniversaries past that also weren't ideal.  Like our 5th Anniversary- we had a miscarriage a few months earlier....oh, and we both lost our jobs that summer too!  We did get to see Harry Connick Jr. in concert.....because we bought the tickets before the job loss.  Or our 7th Anniversary- where Tony insisted we take Colton with us to dinner.  He didn't see how an anniversary celebration would ever be complete without taking our child (or future children) with us!!!  I offered to walk around with Colton during our appetizer so I could sit and enjoy my entree.  (note: Tony has never suggested we take our children with us to celebrate anniversaries again)  There was the 15th Anniversary- we went to see Van Halen in concert and Tony was thrilled to change our song to Van Halen's When It's Love.  There was also a memorable anniversary where we dined at Fat Burger and came home to watch The Simpson's Movie.

I love looking back on the past 22 years.  I love seeing all the ups and downs, the adventures, the drama, the fun, the craziness, the busy times, and the busier times.  I love watching my boys grow up (even though Asher is now dangerously close to being a teenager.....HELP!!!!!) and live their crazy, fun-filled lives...and yes, I even love their drama!  Now I'm off to continue living this very crazy, 

very busy, 

very blessed life!

(I also love last year's anniversary post if you want to see it again here)

ASHER

It's hard to believe that this little boy has grown up and is already 12, in Jr. High and has a 1st Dan Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do!  He's worked hard over the past 3 1/2 years.  Lots of hours spent on lessons and sparring and practice and reviewing questions, but it was all worth it.  Asher's Black Belt is registered with the World Tae Kwon Do Federation and is recognized in 197 countries.  We are so proud of him!!!!!

To celebrate this accomplishment, Mamita took him to SeaWorld!  They were able to spend a whole day at and they had a GREAT TIME!!!!!  They enjoyed the rides, the shows and the fireworks.  They (YES, they....I just don't have a photo of Mamita!) even enjoyed the face painting that was offered at the company dinner!

This did startle me a bit this morning!  

Asher's were so proud of you!!!!

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL 2011/2012

With less than 8 weeks of summer, it really does fly by fast!

Introducing....Colton our Sophomore!

(SOPHOMORE....when did that happen?!?  It goes by too fast.  And sadly, all I can think of when I say Sophomore is a line from Sixteen Candles "sophomore, dude, sophomore.  Fully aged sophomore meat")

 As scary as it is to have a sophomore.....it's been much more emotional to have my second son be a 7th grader!!!!!  It took me by surprise (don't know how since I shopped with him, filled out his paperwork and took him to the school to shadow a 7th grader last spring) when he came into the kitchen in his uniform.  Don't tell Asher, but I even cried after I dropped him off at school!!!!!  (and yes, I'm fully aware I have frames above the chalkboard with no photos....maybe that could be a project for me this weekend?!?)

 Finally my baby!  He's already in 2nd grade and look at how serious he is!

 That is until we let him hold Asher's mace.  I'm just thankful that our arsenal of weapons is mainly made by nerf!  Wasn't I just at girls camp making friendship bracelets, flying sock monkeys and decorating paper mache letters?  Now I'm back home with boys and weapons!

Here's to a successful school year!

GIRLS CAMP 2011 - THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME!

***Here's a link to the devotional I gave with the Ruby Slipper***

 

I was able to go to girls camp again - that makes 3 times out of the last 5 girls camps!  We don't have a lot of girls, but they are all wonderful!!!!!  Instead of a hike, we went to the Snowflake Temple. 

 I love the beautiful grounds - waterfalls, grass, trees, benches and flowers.

 Our theme this year was There's No Place Like Home from the Wizard of Oz.  Every day had a theme - Knowledge (the scarecrow), Courage (the cowardly lion), Love (the tin man) and that last day was Home.  I asked if I could give the devotional on Home since I had a great idea for my handout - yes, handouts are that important!!!  I decided to give them each a ruby slipper!  Here's how they came together:  First, buy some clear plastic shoes.  I've seen them at the dollar store for years....but as I finally needed them.....no more shoes at the dollar store!  I bought these at JoAnn's craft store - with a coupon!  You can find them in the wedding favor section.

 Second, they needed a base coat of red.  Enter - spray paint!

 Third, after letting them dry overnight, I painted them with regular white glue (Elmer's glue) and then glittered them!  I have LOVED glitter since I was a little girl and I don't think that will ever change!!!  It makes me happy!!!!!!!

 I wish these pictures would have turned out half as good as these shoes!  They were PERFECTION!!!!!!  I packaged them in some little chinese take out boxes I have and they fit perfectly.  I couldn't wait until I could unveil them on the last day.  Finally it was time to give my devotional.  After my talk, I told them I had something to give them and it was already in a "to go" box since we were packing up to leave.  Then I pulled the little glittered shoe from the box and I heard a collective gasp!  They were so cute and LOVED their ruby slipper!  I love serving in Young Womens!!!!!!

 Before you knew it, it was time to hit the road.  It was a first for me to drive in a van with a canoe on top of us!  But I do think it's a perfect "camping" adventure picture.

Thank you, girls camp......There's really no place like home!!!!!