It's sad to say, but sleeping in is now defined by sleeping until 7am.

I braved Costco on a Saturday, with Katelyn, and came out alive.

I'm tired of all the political stuff going around and all the uneducated people that come with it.

I subbed for the first time ever on Friday.

The rising gas prices having me planning our spring break and summer activities very close to home. Just another reason to wish the election was over -- lower gas prices.

It's almost March, which means, graduation is that much closer.

My Week

What I did this week:

• wrote "c", "t", & "r" twice on 500 beads for a grand total of 1000 times
• went to three (yup, that was a 3) different Walmart's to find Katelyn a "Hello Kitty" lunch box.  Thankfully I was successful and tragedy was adverted.
• completed a project to give to my juniors on Family History.  I hope that find it as interesting as I do.
• printed labels for 35 primary cd's
• planned tomorrows sharing time
• cleaned my house (several time, actually. I do have a pre-schooler, you know)
• ironed by clothes for school next week
• went on a date with the hunky hubs
• went visiting teaching
• made primary room signs
• went to campus for the same transcripts that I could have printed off of my computer and send to APS, but they insisted that they had to come from UNM.  Ugh...
• wrote on this blog, TWICE!
• family night with a rarely seen cousin
• lots, and lots, of laundry
• and to top it all off, Girls Night Out!!

And this is my vacation.  Next week I am back at school.  I can only imagine how busy I will be then...

Hostess

This morning, the Today Show ran a story about the Hostess company and their recent filing for bankruptcy. Because of the the yummy treats we all love (but rarely eat in my case) would go away. Treats such as these (see below) would disappear!

I rarely buy treats like this because lets be realistic, we don't need them. But the idea of ding dongs, hoho's and twinkie's not being available for the occasional treat made me a bit sad. Since I had already scheduled a trip to Walmart I splurged and picked up a box. My kids will be so excited.

Trying again

Just now I discovered the iPhone blogger app. Maybe this will help me be better about blogging, maybe not. It's worth a try, wouldn't you agree?

Christmas is over, New Year's too. The kids are back to school and I have just one short week before I report to my student teaching position. This term is be very, very busy, but hopefully it will go by fast. The big prize is waiting for me if I survive it; graduation!

Other things are happening, of course. Life doesn't remain static so I can finish school. The kids are busy, Brandon too. Work, school, calling, activities, and sports, to name a few. I will be happy for summer when we can spend our days on the pool.

Since picture are often what makes the blog interesting, I will leave you with one of our new dog, Daisy. She is a two year old spaniel mix that we rescued. Jaz and her get along well, for the most part, but they have their moments. Her personality is very interest, to say the least. It's easiest to give you an explanation through her nickname, which is "crazy Daisy."

the Simple Things

Lincoln City, Oregon

I love this picture of my boys at the beach.  This vacation gave both of them their first taste of the ocean and they loved it.  They could not get enough of the chilly Oregon coast.  What I love about this particular shot (and there are some amazing ones which I will slowly get posted on here) is that you get a sense awe that my boys had for these mighty waters. 

I hope that I will have the opportunity to bring them back to this beautiful beach.

 I am joining the Simple Things challenge.  Go here to see what it is all about.

Berry Booty

Berry Booty
(My Mom finds this title highly inappropriate, by the way)

I have memories of berry picking when I was a kid.  We would head on out to the local berry farm and pick a ton of strawberries.  There was a system to the picking, one in the bucket, one in your mouth, one in the bucket, one in your mouth...  We never left the strawberry fields hungry.

I wanted my kids to have this experience.  We arrived in Oregon July 6, a tad late for berries, but I wanted to try.  So I convinced my Mom and we loaded up and headed to Lone Pine Farms to pick us some berry goodness.

While there were not as many as there might had been at the peak of the season, nor were they very big,  there were plenty of berries for my kids.  They were ripe and sweet.  My kids enjoyed the hunt and their "lunch."

At Lone Pine Farms, they also have a beautiful farmers market, goats to feed, and a playground.  The kids really enjoyed the merry-go-round.  They do not have those in New Mexico and so it was another new experience. 

After all the play we finished the afternoon with a yummy bowl of Umpqua Ice Cream.  So yummy!

Photo Phrenzy

I think that my biggest problem with vacations is the picture taking.  Not that I don't want to take the pictures, 'cause I do, but it is the amount of pictures that I take.  For example, I was out of town for 3 week, exactly, and I took 488 pictures.  FOUR HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-EIGHT!!  The math on that is 23.238 pictures a day (488/21=23.238).  Does anyone else take 23 pictures a day?  I might have a problem.

But every shot was priceless.  Well, almost every shot because I am far from perfect and had to trash too many -- some while I was there and others after I dumped them from my camera.  But seriously, could you imagine if I hadn't deleted any pictures while I was there?!  Definitely over 500 shots in those three weeks, but I digress...

I have every intention of writing a post about the pictures and the accompanying activity, but I have barely started the editing process.  And editing is necessary because my sensor is d.i.r.t.y and I have not yet taken the time to figure out if it is self cleaning or if I have to deal with it ($100.00 to clean it is more that I am willing to pay, especially when photo shop does such a good job for me).  In case you were wondering, a dirty sensor leaves pretty black dots on your nicest pictures.

So, for dealing with my ramblings, I will treat you to one of my favorite pictures of the boys at the Oregon Coast.  This vacation offered their first experience with the ocean.

joy ~ lincoln city 2011

I will be back soon with more.

FOUR, QUATRE, FORE, 4, FOR, CUATRO!

Katelyn is four.  FOUR!!  My little girl is growing up.  She is an amazing daughter.  She sets the example in out house for sharing; she is always kind and loving.  She is funny, sweet and cute.  She loves to sing and dance.  She is loved by all.  I am proud to be her Mom.

She was born at 10:22 pm (which is why this is posting at 10:22), 2 weeks before her due date, but we were completely ready for her.  She really is a blessing to our home and we are so happy that she choose us!

Kate ~ June 25, 2007 ~ 1 day old

Kate ~ June 24, 2008 ~ 1 year

June 24, 2009 ~ She's 2!

Kate proudly display her 3 years! ~ June 24, 2010

And now she is FOUR!!!

Happy Birthday Kate!  We love you!

The Bishop is the Father of our Ward

I had thought that it would be a good idea for the Primary kids to give a Father's Day gift to the "Father" of our ward, the Bishop.  I had found this super cute idea at Make It and Love It that I knew we had to make one (sorry, I didn't get any pictures).  But instead of the little flag that she recommends, I made subway art (inspiration found here) that can be framed and kept on his desk in his office or at home.

I LOVE how it came out!!  This was my first time making subway art and it was so fun.

when I grow up...

ERIC:  "Katie, what do you want to be when you grow up?"

KATIE:  "Uhm... a doctor, and a teacher, a mom, a grownup, and a mermaid."

ERIC:  "Why a mermaid?"

KATIE:  "I just want to."

Try and guess what her current favorite movie is.

Random Videos

I made these fun videos for a class that I had this spring.  It was for a class titled "Microcomputers in the Schools."  While I enjoyed the project and will use it again for personal reason's, I am still unsure as to how it would be useful in the classroom.  Oh well, I got an "A" on the project and that is all that mattered to me.  Enjoy!

(P.S. -- They have music so make sure you have your volume on.)

Aahh, the blog. 

Clearly, I have been avoiding it.  But I am not sure that “avoiding” is the word that I want.  I, simply, don’t know what to write about.  Truthfully, life has been hard the last 6 plus months and it is sometimes hard to write about things when you aren’t enthusiastic about them.  Or worse, to find things to write about because what has made life difficult is something that I would rather keep within my family (or the VERY small group of people that are privy to that kind of information).  Actually, it is easier to write a short, one sentence statement, to post on Facebook, then a longer, more detailed account here.

But there has certainly not been a lack of blessing.  There have been many that I can think of quickly and I am sure that there are many more that I am overlooking.  We are healthy.  We survived the school year and all did remarkably well.  Brandon got a new job; one that he likes.  Both Brandon and I received callings that we love.  I was accepted into the College of Education against all odds (only 25% of those who applied were accepted).  The kids are content with our summer at home.  I will have the chance to student teach at one the schools that I was hoping to teach at.  We have wonderful friends and family.  We will be able to take a vacation to Oregon.

So here is my pledge.  I will start taking more pictures (I have a pitiful amount from the last little bit) and I will post them here and write about them.  I might even back track to show what we have been doing.  I will not promise to do this.  I will simply promise to try. 

I say this because I know that at least one person reads this blog.  She is the one that called me out.  I will do this for her, and maybe the rest of you.  But honestly, you are all like phantoms to me.  I have no clue who you are, if there are any readers to write for.  So, if I begin to blog again, I need you to comment.  It’s all about the instant gratification, people.  I need it.  That is why Facebook is so appealing, the comments.   People who agree, disagree, or offer random thoughts.  So, do we have a deal?  I will uphold my end of the bargain; the rest is up to you…

Before school starts again...

As my Christmas break winds down I come to the realization that I have not blogged about any of the happening in our family since early/mid November.

With a birthday, a baptism, a ballet recital, and of course, Christmas, we have been fairly busy.  It was quite fair for me to say, on Christmas Day, that my break was really beginning (9 days after my last final).  So here a month by moth explanation of what has been going on here.

NOVEMBER

Josh turned 8 in mid November and he was one excited boy!  He always feels that he has to wait the longest for his birthday to come around (Kate is in June and Eric, October).  I try to explain to him that he waits as long as everyone else, but, well, you know how logic works with kids.

His favorite part was, obviously, the gifts, and he sat by them while everyone else around him played.  He was patient, while being impatient.

We are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and when a child turns 8 we give them the opportunity to be baptized.  Josh made the choice to be baptized and we did this special event on November 20.  Josh was baptized by his Dad.  It was such a special day.  Brandon and I sure are lucky to have such a great kid like Josh as our son.  We are so proud of him for making this decision.

 For Thanksgiving, Brandon's Grandma came from Ohio to spend some time with everyone.  Here is a picture of her with all of her great-grandchildren.

DECEMBER

December brought in Katie's first ballet recital, the reality of finals, the threat of snow (at the same time) and Christmas!

Katie took ballet with Miss Sarah over the fall and LOVED IT!!  She tries really hard to do her best at each class and was so excited for her recital.  She even performed a solo!!  I was amazing to watch her dance with confidence and with pride.  She was not afraid and we all loved watching her.

The very next week brought my finals, the kids last week of school (with all of its accompanying parties/gift exchanges) and SNOW!!!!!

Thursday afternoon, the day before my last final it started to snow and it never let up!  The picture of the kids playing is from that same afternoon/early evening.

Don't you just love Albuquerque snowmen?  All in all, we received 6 inches up in the highest part of the northwest section of the city (where we live).  I studied while watching the news hoping for a delay at UNM so that my final would be cancelled.  UNM has a policy that if the final is cancelled for a delay or a school cancellation then your grade stands as it was on the last day of class.  I was good with that since my final was with my hardest professor in my hardest class at 7:30 in the morning.  No such luck as UNM was the ONLY thing running in the city on that Friday morning.  But, whether it be a gift for showing up to the exam or my incredible knowledge on the subject, I discovered that I did EXTREMELY well on the test and managed a B+ in the class (I had an 84 before the final).  I don't normally acknowledge my grades (because I doubt anyone really cares) but this professor is very difficult and hardly ever hands out A's.  I was happy!

Next up came Christmas. I had the great idea that I would make a lot of gifts for people and the kids.  Not sure that I will do that again.  So stressfull when you cannot devote a lot of time to making them before the 17th of the month.  But all went well and we had a nice Christmas.



So that is just all the big stuff that we did.  I also...baked through several pounds of butter, flour, and chocolate, took kids to various play dates watched a TON of college football (quack quack) and hung out with friends and family.  I also finished painting the bottom half of Katie's room and sewed some curtains for the half bath (that I messed up on and must redo), cleaned out closet and small rooms.  I read books that I did not have to report on or remember in anyway.  Brandon and I finally made it to Harry Potter and had some other time together (thanks Steph) to take care of things that needed to be done.  I also watched a ton of tv and learned to digi-scrap (thanks Steph).   It was busy, but it was good. 

And now, back to our regularly scheduled life.

A New Adventure

There are so many words that could describe the experience that I had with Kate this week.  But I feel that it is best told in pictures (with captions). I feel that it is important to note that this is a first in my house.  Part of me wonders why it was my daughter and not one of my sons to have this "first", but what can you do?

Do you notice anything different?

Maybe in this picture...

or this one?

Here is the evidence.  The culprit was her brother's scissors that were supposed to be at school.

This is how I fixed it.

She has no idea what I am going to do to her!

WOW, so much hair!

 Now she knows.

But she's not mad!

 Her new look from the back.

She cut her hair so that she would look beautiful.  And she is beautiful, ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL, isn't she?