I wanna be a photographer....

Kalen is by far my favorite subject b/c of those cheeks!

Love to laugh!

she is so beautiful

on the train at the zoo

work hard, play hard

the boys share a room, they are not supposed to share a bed but tell that to the little one

I wanna be a photographer but frankly, I'm not sure I'm that good. Maybe my kids are just so stinkin' cute that any picture with them in it is a good photo.  Not to mention, how much it costs to get into photography.  So, needless to say, I'm not a photographer but I love to take pictures and these are just some of the few, I've taken the last couple weeks.

Sam says.....

last night we're watching a movie about Moses and Kurtis says "he's carrying the 10 Commandments on stone tablets"....Sam replies "so you can't erase them?"

Sam's first day of first grade

Here he is saying "first grade" and showing his number one!

Getting on the bus to go do the school thing:)

Sam started school yesterday and boy, was he excited!  Mom was a nervous wreck....it was his first FULL day of school which included eating lunch at school, his first BUS ride to school, and overall just a full day of firsts in first grade.
As he got off the bus, he had a huge smile on his face and told me that his new teacher is the nicest teacher ever.  She let them have two extra recesses, which I believe may have been the reason that she is the nicest teacher ever.  She also let them have popsicles for an afternoon treat.  He sits right across from two children that sat at his table in kindergarten so that worked well too!  He only ate half of his sandwich and nothing else so today Mom only packed half a sandwich and much less for his lunch than yesterday:) 
I'm so proud of Sam and happy that he's taking change so well.  As a thirty something woman, I do not take change well and freak out over anything new and uncharted.  I'm glad that Sam seems to be following in his dad's footsteps!

first grade open house

Tonight we went to Bethel's open house so Sam could meet his new teacher and see his classroom.  We practiced walking from the bus to the classroom twice.  I'm a wreck!  He's totally excited and I'm glad but he's going to ride the bus this year.  He'll eat lunch at school (packed lunch of course)!  He will be there all day!  I can't believe that it's going so quickly.  My baby is going to first grade. I remember his birth so well and still think of that first time I laid eyes on him.  So much is happening and life goes quickly.  Sam, if you read this as an adult, just know that your mom has always thought you were one of the most amazing things to come to this earth!

little blue people

Today I went to see the Smurfs movie with my sister Becky, Sam and Isabel.  While it was not like the Smurfs from my childhood, it was a good movie.  It was just short enough to keep the kids engaged and clean.  Any adult humor was just that...adult humor that was over the kids' heads so I didn't have to explain anything. I love that I could share something of my childhood that I loved with my kids.  I love that Sammy and I could discuss our favorite smurfs and why they say "smurf" for everything.  I love that I could sit with my kids at a movie theater and have time with them.  They are so precious and to just enjoy them beyond feeding them, clothing them, keeping the house clean, etc. was so special.  I often feel taken for granted or underappreciated. I get flustered with all the little activity in my house.  I wish for moments of solitude and peace BUT when it all comes down to it, I would never trade this.  I would never give up the good, the bad, or the ugly with my kids b/c they are mine!  I love them and I would share these type of things with them every moment I get.....and hopefully, I'll get to share these things with my grandkids one day too!

I 'HEART" BRYAN ADAMS!

I seriously love Bryan Adams!  I  remember his music when I was a kid and then I remember some of his music as a teen and even now as an adult, he is still making music.  Whenever I hear it,  I want to dance and sing along.  I know that it's sad to feel this way but seriously, the man can do NO wrong!  I just love him!  I would move to Canada for him! I totally would!
I just was driving today and a Bryan Adams song came on and I thought "I love Bryan Adams!"  So it is my obsession for the day:)  So that's all I have to say.......

Me as a cartoon

I found this comic strip when I was in college and it fit me so perfectly that I laminated it and it's been on my frig ever since.  However, now thanks to technology, I'm able to share it with everyone and in case you didn't catch on.....
this is TOTALLY me:)

wild animals, oh my!

Took the kids to the zoo today along with my mom and dad; my sister and her boys!  what an exhausting experience!  First off, Mom and Dad got to ride the motorcycle and enjoy the wind in their hair while I drove the minivan with five kids and my sis.  So NOT a fair trade.  When I mentioned this to my mom, she smiled and said "I paid my dues when you kids were little."
When we got to the zoo, everyone was very excited.  We rode the train and saw lions and bears (but the tigers were inside and would not come out).  The cheetah (Sam's fave) was being moved to a new zoo and the giraffe (Izzy's fave) was "on vacation" while the zoo renovates its habitat so both of my kids were a bit let down.  Kalen on the other hand spent most of his time pointing at various animals and going on in baby babble about each one!  His favorite was the orangatan (misspelled) b/c it had its face pressed up against the glass right where Kalen was standing. I think he thought that was pretty funny.  He also loved the train and would clap when the "woo woo" sound came on.  By the time 3:00 rolled around, we were all a little dead and the drive home was much more peaceful thanks to napping children in the back.  I wish Kurtis could have taken off work and gone with us but it was a good time nonetheless.  But next time, I need to wear better sneakers!

Dinner with the college girls!

Sunday night we had Makenzie Szanto and Lea Palmer over for dinner.  Each of the girls have baby-sat for the kids and Lea had voice lessons with me for almost two years.  The kids have become attached to both of them.  With Lea leaving for Arizona in a week and Makenzie heading to Idaho in three weeks, we wanted to have a last hurrah with them.  The kids were thrilled to have the attention of the girls! Sam and Makenzie were serious pals for the entire evening and by the end of the night, Makenzie proposed to Sam.  Now he is betrothed but Makenzie has a long wait ahead of her 'cause my boy has to go on a mission!  Kalen kept climbing in Lea's lap every chance he got and just couldn't leave her alone. Isabel was happy to play with whomever was available at the moment:)  I stayed up chatting with the girls and they left at midnight!  News flash: I am now old and too old to stay up until midnight chatting with fun girls!  But it was so much fun!  I will miss both of the girls as they go on to college.  Hopefully, we can train new babysitters that the kids will love just as much as these two.

Lea and Kalen (with Izzy on the side).

 Sam and Makenzie cheesing for their engagement photo.

how quickly they forget

Today I had to run up to Sam's school to make sure he was fully registered for the year. As we pull into the parking lot, he says "is this a new school?"  "no Sam, this is the same school you went to last year.  Don't you remember?"  "Oh, well, it just looked different."
As we stop in the office, his reading teacher comes in from last year.  He doesn't recognize her; has no idea who she is.  The secretary asks him what grade he'll be in and he says "I think kindergarten."  "No Sam, you'll be in first grade."
I fear for what the first few weeks will be like.  Hopefully, it will all kick back in soon!

the diva!

Okay, so my little girl is a diva!  there is just no way around it....nothing is simple with Iz!  Today while selecting a cookie from the cookie jar, she takes the following steps:
1.dig through the jar and find the biggest cookie
2. inspect the bottom to make sure that there is no burnt spots anywhere
3. turn the cookie over and over to count how many chocolate chips you see
4. if the cookie meets her satisfaction, she proceeds to go sit on the couch and eat it in front of her little brother!
This afternoon she insisted that she did not need a nap.  Then she drags six babydolls out of her room, lines them up in a row with blankets, grabs her pillow and blanket and falls asleep in the middle of the living room floor.
Oy vey!  she is just like me!  And I love her so much but boy, does she make me work for the love:)

so why all the fuss.....

so I've wondered about writing a book, writing a blog, or just flat out sharing my opinion with the masses before but lately, blogs have been on my mind a lot....reading other blogs and finding out about friends and such has been so cool....then Leisy Miller gets up in church a couple weeks ago and challenges us to challenge ourselves, do something that we've been thinking about, and she says "go big!"....well, apparently, my head took her literally and decided that going big meant I was going to start a blog, work on food storage, and learn to play the mandolin by Christmas...meanwhile, I'm going to start teaching toddler music classes, do a parent-coop preschool for Isabel, and manage to keep my sanity.....yeah, I'm a nut and yet for the first time in awhile, I'm excited for what I might possibly accomplish!  this could be a huge success or a huge fail but at least I gave it a shot and I "went BIG"!!!!

Starting off!

So I have no idea what I'm doing but I finally gave into peer pressure to begin a blog.  I'm quite the talker and usually can go on about anything so this should be easy, right?  Well, we'll see.  Stay tuned to see if I can step up to the challenge and going with this!