Shame on Daddy

They played a little game of "how well do you know your son/Daddy" in Primary on Father's Day. Daddy was informed ahead of time so he could wear a tie that could be cut. Each time they got an answer wrong they would cut a little bit of his tie. It was hilarious!

"What's your Daddy's favorite dessert?"
Carrots

"What size are your Daddy's shoes?"
17

"Where was your Daddy born?"
Umm, I can't really remember....Probably in the desert with scorpions.

"How much does your Daddy weigh?"
25 pounds

This is what he came home with-

Putt-putts

Sums up my world without using words!
N is the T-Rex, S is the little dude, & G is the pig

White bootays

We've gotten more use out of our pool in the past few weeks than we have in previous 3 years. The boys have gotten really tan and have developed distinct tan lines. Z hasn't gotten as much sun as the rest of them, but we're working on it.

They even got new diving rockets. G has no fear and will swim to the bottom of the pool (in the deep end) to go retrieve them. We've got a fishy on our hands! N's expression pretty much sums up his interest in swimming. He'll jump in and swim, so long as his head doesn't have to go underwater.

He saw me taking pictures of the older boys and when they were done, he ran over to the wall, stuck out his booty and was shaking it, all the while yelling, "cheese!"

Yippee, $ for me!

This will be our 4th summer here. Do we love it? Not necessarily, but we are firm believers in finding good in wherever you are. Given the twists and turns we've been dealt in our life, we feel as though we can't complain about where we've gotten or how we've gotten there for that matter. We know we are where we should be and (hopefully) doing what we're supposed to be doing.

Choosing to go to school was tough. I felt as though there were a thousand other things that I should be doing with my time and school would consume lots of time. [Any of you who know me know I'm a complete numbers girl. The numbers have to work, that's just how I operate.] Our initial plans a year ago were for me to go back to school and we based that off of the tuition back in CA. We did the math and decided we would forge ahead and do it. We put the house up for sale and... well ok nevermind, God didn't want us to move back to CA. (silly us, thinking we knew what should happen) As the next summer approached, we knew that God had made his point and we weren't going to try to sell the house, but we would still continue with my school plans.

I go about my business and look into going to school here instead and hold up! No, this can't be! Seriously, tuition is how much? Initially we based my going to school on $xx each class (remember, I'm a #'s lady) but now it's going to be 3.5x that amount?!?! Aaahhh! Serious second thoughts because we planned for the original amount but not the 3.5x the amount price. Talk about sticker shock.

After much praying and informing Heavenly Father (just in case he hadn't been fully aware of the situation) that I was very uneasy about the immediate financial costs but would leave it up to him. In all honestly, it made me feel better just in case it didn't go right, at least (in theory) it wasn't me making the final decision. Sounds lame I know, but that's me. :p

So we ponyed up and start saving what little we have so we could afford to pay for school without sacrificing what has become "necessities" for our family. Summer 1 tuition, paid! Slightly painful, but we did it. Summer 2 tuition, paid! Hurt a little more, but it's for a good cause. It's not like it's going towards some fancy smancy electronic gadget or something, it's an education for crying out loud. Fall tuition's due date is rapidly approaching... aahhh, brace yourself, it's gonna be a doosy.

I was in the shower and ..... [ring ring ring- no I take that back, it rang we wish you a merry christmas because we still haven't changed the ringtone; just preparation for this year, that's all] you hear E on the phone then the talking stops and he comes in to say, "uumm, I think you may have just gotten a scholarship." I immediately warn him that he can't tease me like that, that's one place he didn't want to go. I quickly finished my shower and returned the phone call.

"Hi, this is Karen from the Chamber of Commerce and we've selected your essay as the recipient of our 2008-09 scholarship." Alright! It was exciting to know that people acknowledged my hard work and my essay stood above those other thousands that also applied. The following week, E and I got to go to the sit down dinner (400 people in attendance) and smooze with all the big wigs of the city. For those of you who live by us, OMG words wouldn't describe how awesome our city is. Getting invited to attend this awards banquet was an amazing opportunity. We got to see first hand all the hard work people have put in, to make our city what it is today. We also got to see the recognition that the Chamber of Commerce gives to people from large companies, to Mom & Pop shop owners, city police officers, and well as teachers and principals throughout the school district. All the more reason to enjoy where we're at right now.

Add that awards dinner to the scholarship that will cover 1.5 semester's tuition and I am one happy lady. Once again my Heavenly Father has given us blessings when we're doing what we're supposed to be doing. I want to send a big thank you to Mrs. Barbara and Joshua for watching our little monkeys so we could have our "date night" dinner.

really, it's 100 degrees outside and we're going inside a tent?


But it wasn't your ordinary tent, it was a tricked out version. Ya know, the kind with chandeliers, big screen TV's, and an ice cold AC




these guys work for the company that sponsored my scholarship


I pitched in some $ (100% goes back into the scholarship account to be awarded to other students) and got to keep the centerpiece. Isn't it cute?

Yes, we're still here!

Indeed it's true, we're still here. It's been about 3 weeks since the last post. Here's yet another recap...

Sam entertained himself while I was taking a shower. Just as I was getting ready to open the shower door, Nate came running in saying, "Mom, hurry, come see what Sam did!" I went to the kitchen and saw Sam sitting at the table with his usual. [he thoroughly enjoys getting the egg carton, bbq sauce, ketchup, and salsa out of the fridge to line them all up on the table.] He threw his hands up into the air and gives a big smile. He was so proud of his accomplishment. Everything got put back into the fridge and this time I tie the fridge shut. I go and take a shower, get out to dry off and here comes Nate again, "uumm, Mom, there's a mess now." In to the kitchen I go to find this. In his defense, he did get the towel to clean up his mess. [I've taught them well and he knows it's in his best interest to at least attempt to clean up his mess before Mom comes.] But seriously, does he really not know how expensive 18 of these are nowadays? Why don't you choose something that doesn't cost a lot of money, like water, little boy?






I caught a glimpse of heaven; isn't this what it's like? Aaahhh, 3 sleeping boys!


Sam has learned how to redeem himself. I suppose we can't be too mad at him because he's still so darn cute! Why else would we keep ski boots in the closet for?

Better Batter Baseball is the new favorite at our house. Nate got it for his birthday and it is getting well used. [You step on the red circle at home plate and the little cage automatically lifts up the next ball for you to bat.]

Zeke isn't our little baby anymore. It's a sad fact of life. Our little boy is 7 1/2 months old now. He rolls around anywhere he needs to get and can slither backwards. I went to get him out of bed yesterday and caught him on his hands and knees rocking back and forth. Oh come, that's means trouble is right around the corner.

Sam is ready to be potty trained, even if that means he takes matters into his own hands. He obviously knows something that we don't. Shortly after his 2nd birthday, he decided that whenever he needed to pee, he would take off his diaper and run to the bathroom. He is now a proud member of the "let's pee on the rocks when we're outside" club. If Mommy would just get on the ball and encourage him a little more (i.e. be ready and willing to clean up accidents) he could possibly be potty trained in the next month or so. We'll see!

3 weeks down, 2 more to go. I am more than 1/2 way done with my first summer session. I currently have 100% in my English class. It's not nearly as bad as I predicted, but ask me when the next session starts and I have to be AT school at 7 am. [I'm NOT a morning person at all. The world couldn't possibly have a reason to be awake sooner than 8.... those of you who have seen me before 9 am know that I'm a grouchy, stinky mess and let's be honest, you know it wasn't because I wanted to be awake.]

(Perhaps only Becca will find this humorous) Our potato masher, memory card, and cellphone are all outback next to the couch. Wait, scratch that, the potato masher has been located. The memory card and cellphone are next to the couch outback. Any of you wondering, the couch is at the bottom of the pool. Still can't see it? Go back outside and check again and don't come in until you find it. hahaha [it's what we'd tell the kids when the adults were playing cards and wanted the kids to get lost] Are you lost or confused? Good, take 99 North and get off at Shaw, then make a left. Guarantee you'll find it on Shaw, everything is just off Shaw!

Call me Zebra Woman! I was babysitting for my friend and lost the cell phone. It was somewhere between her house and mine, but not quite sure exactly where. We went a few days and without much luck in finding it, we went and got a new one. The boys think it's the coolest thing (besides Braxton wearing a baseball hat and listening to an MP3 player- that's for you HB) that we have a "zebra" phone.

The Razr cellphone has been located. It was by the couch, just happened that it was a different couch at a different house. The memory card has yet to be found and is still next to our couch outback.

The car is fixed and has new tires. The tires hardly had any tread left and we're better safe than sorry. We bought them at Costco and love them. [E says that it feels like it's gliding because of them being filled with nitrogen.] Anybody wondering what happened with the car when it was broken a little while back, you'll need to ask E about that! That's his story to tell. Let's just say that whenever you need to take wheels off for anything, it's a good idea to make sure you put them back on and tighten all the lug nuts.

E's bike has a flat tire. Yah, that's right- you fix one thing and something else has to give. It just happened that the thing that gave happened to be his back tire on the ride home, 1/2 block from his work. I thought that him pushing his bike home was funny, have you seen him carry a bike home?

It's been a crazy few weeks. Here's a recap... (I know that you may not have time to read all of it so the italicized part will give you the just of it)

Grandpa & Grandma P came to visit. We went to Schnepf Farms for the first time. Everyone had a blast. There was a petting zoo so they got to get up close and personal with some billy goats. Luckily Daddy and Grandma P don't mind getting dirty and went in with them. (There's no way you would catch mommy in there with those dirty, stinky animals. Yuck!) We then ventured over to the peach orchards to pick us some peaches. As we were walking we forgot that Sammy's little legs don't walk quite as quickly as ours do. After we noticing we were a man down, we turned around and saw him way in the distance. He was walking along with no care in the world. Poor punky doodles.

Summer has arrived! We survived our first 110 degree day for this year. We broke record highs 2 days in a row, and then it dropped down to the mid-70's. It was nice to see it cool off so I could catch a picture of our cactus flowers. We got lots of rain the next 2 days. I let the boys play and ride their bikes in the rain and Daddy, being the good Daddy that he is, taught them how to jump and splash in the gutter water. (Again, something that you won't find mommy encouraging) Gabriel, Sam, and Daddy built a rock dam and raced leaves to see whose leaf was faster. Nathaniel opted to cry at the top of his lungs because, "everyone is using my river rocks and that makes me very sad!"

Nathaniel turned 5 yesterday. He is very excited because that means that he only has to wait 2 more months before school starts. (Previously the requirements were waiting until July AND having to be 5 years old. "I'm 5 now so that means I'm almost in school!") Which reminds me about his kindergarten testing. For those who have already heard this story, skip the next 2 paragraphs.

Nathaniel completed his kindergarten testing. The school tests each kid to get an idea of where each child is. When we got there, 1 kid was already testing. A teacher immediately took Nate back while the other 3 boys and I waited. A few more kids arrived after us. One by one the kids would come out with their testing teacher having completed their test. The teacher held their hand and walked them over to their parent. The teacher would ask them, "what do you tell them?" Every kid was hesitant and would keep their head down and say, "umm, ahh, umm... I don't know." The teacher would ask them again and after the same response, the teacher would say, "(so-n-so) is ready for kindergarten!" The teacher would advise each parent of what the student needed to work on over the summer.... "she doesn't know all her colors and shapes", "he needs some work on recognizing his numbers and letters", etc. Meanwhile, Nate still hadn't come out and people who came in after us were already leaving. I started to get a bit worried.

A minute later I see the door fly open. Nate was running out, stopped to turn around to say, "Bye. Thank you!" He came over with a big smile and says, "Mom, that teacher told me that I'm really smart and that I'm coming to kindergarten." I smiled. (like they didn't tell the other kids that, right?) The teacher then came out and said that he did a really good job. I asked what he struggled with and what we needed to work with him on. She paused, thought for a little while, and then said, "well..... he sometimes grips his pencil the wrong way. So I guess you could work with him on that." Despite his occasional improper pencil holding, my big boy will be starting school.

Our good friends put their house up for sale. They moved to Utah in 2006 and have since decided to stay up there and sell their house here. I have offered my services to make sure that even though they aren't here, somebody will make sure everything gets taken care of.

I got my first ticket. I thought I was off the hook until I went to check our mail and SURPRISE! Here's a ticket and your pretty little picture the camera at the intersection snapped of the incident. Had the front tires been 6 inches further into the intersection I would have been fine, but that wasn't the case.

E started riding his bike to work. We purposely bought our house in the area that we're at, knowing that if something ever happened, we wouldn't be that far from his work. A few days before Mother's Day, I was on my way home from shopping and noticed and strange noise coming from the car. E drove it and heard the same thing. Our neighbor owns his own auto shop so we talked to him and he said that he would have to take it out to his shop to determine exactly what it was. No big deal- his work is 3.5 miles away, gas is a million dollars a gallon, and he has been wanting to be more physically active. What better opportunity? Which is cool until...

E's bike chain broke. He was on his way home, in the middle of a busy intersection, he was peddling but not moving. He was 20 minutes later than usual when (the boys and are were outside playing and) I see him turn the corner pushing his bike. I couldn't help but laugh because (1) I'm a mean wife like that and find stuff such as this amusing, (2) a guy E's size pushing a bike is already funny, and (3) I thought that he was kidding at first.

Our van sucks! I know, not a big surprise. After the bike chain broke and we didn't have the right tool to fix it that night, I went and dropped E off at work. When the boys and I got home, they really wanted to ride bikes and play in the front. I decided to multi-task and clean the van out while they were playing. Once I got everything out, I couldn't help but to complete the job by vacuuming it out. I moved the drivers seat forward to vacuum behind and underneath it, went to go move it back and nothing. The seat will recline, lift and lower, go forward, but not backward. This may be convenient if we were small people with short legs but we're the exact opposite. I tried to maneuver my way into the seat without success. I would have personally drove that piece of junk to the dump had I'd been able to drive it. (Heavenly Father was definitely looking out for me!) Our friends down the street came over to look at it. (Him: Is E at work? Me: Yes, he's gone until late tonight. Him: Why is his car still out front? Me: The guy hasn't had a chance to fix it yet. Him: Oh, that's right, he's riding his bike now. Why didn't he ride his bike today? Me: {trying desperately to not break down crying in front of him while pointing to the corner where the pathetic bike laid, chain dangling still dangling} Did I mention that's broke too? Him: Are you going to pick him up tonight? Me: Did I mention the seat is broken and I can't drive it?) He was gracious enough to educate E on how to uninstall/reinstall a seat from a van so it's all better. It no longer goes forward or backward but that's ok, at least we can drive it again.

We have things to break. After our fiasco, our eyes have been opened to realize that at least we have things that can break. There was a time when we only had 1 car. There was a time when we didn't live 3.5 miles from work. There was a time when we were broke and couldn't afford to get things fixed. We have been very blessed and fortunate to be able to have the "nice things" that can break on us, as well as the means to be able to repair them. Of course this realization came during God's joke when I wasn't so happy that he was getting a good laugh but I can now be grateful.

I let the boys go wild with fingerpaints. Not a big deal to you, but a huge step in me overcoming my OCD tendencies. Things have to be a certain way and messy hands are definitely not within the parameters of those certain ways. So long as they didn't have clothes on while painting, they could do whatever they wanted so long as they headed straight for the tub immediately following. Nate decided to put his hand prints all over his body. Gabriel wanted to smear paint wherever he could reach. Sammy couldn't figure out why the paint would transfer to whatever he touched. He scratched his ear, it smeared off, he wiped his face, it smeared off. He drove him crazy. In the end, they had lots of fun.

Picture Time

We've FINALLY got a family picture. The last one we had done was when Nate was 7 months old and I was barely pregnant with Gabriel. 3 boys later, we've managed to get good current ones. Hooray! Here are some of the boys.

(To see it enlarged, just click on the picture)