a little of everything!

So, remember that my stake president issued a challenge for "no screen time" for 4 weeks? Well... we are about 2 1/2 weeks into the challenge and it's been interesting... until now- I'm feeling pretty over it- I'll keep doing it... but I'm to the point now where I'm feeling done. The kids have really been great about it and I have been reading, but being a single mom as much as I am in the evenings, I'm ready to just turn on the dang TV for a little bit before bed. The pic to the side of this is just a random shot of me that my secretary took while fiddling with my camera... but it kinda portrays how I feel...



We got a way from town a little bit last week...
Here are Joc and Kenna in the hotel room... we swam, played, ate, and just had fun. We went up to McCall/Cascade area, I've never been and it was gorgeous. I should've taken more pics but all i got were these of the girls and a couple of Marie's kids at breakfast and me and the girls at breakfast... oh well, we were there and had a good time. Nice to get away with the family, even if only for a short trip...




Here are the girls playing crazy 8's... they've really entertained themselves well during the no TV/Computer challenge... I love this pic- it was taken either before or after swimming lessons and i think it's funny that Joc is in long sleeves and jeans, and Kenna is in her suit- my mom would say, "make up your mind, are you hot or cold?"
The 15th of July was Jocilyn's 7th birthday... I only got close ups of gift opening... so here is kind of a wide shot of the table where she was opening gifts. McKenna also got some late gifts that were the bigger presents from mom and dad... we had a hard time finding time for dad to go help with the big gifts (bikes, scooters, etc...)




Here is Kenna opening up a double fish tank... they were NOT registering what that meant...



Here are their faces as I carried the fish into the kitchen... They are thrilled- each has her own Beta now... Mom, I don't know if you can make it out, but the ring you gave Jocilyn is on her right ring finger- she loves it...

Here are the kids on the last day of swimming lessons waiting to get in the pool...
I do not know what was so funny, but I LOVE this picture of the girls... I'm so thrilled, and blessed that they love being friends... I hope it lasts...
An action shot of Hunter jumping in... I must say- I'm proud of my girls and the strides they made in swimming- they overcame a huge hurdle of just being afraid of getting their faces wet... but this little boy was fearless and he can now swim across the pool without any help- He had a blast at the hotel pool in McCall- It was fun to watch the change in him- Good job to all of the kid-o's!!! Fun summer memories!

Hope yours is going so well!

My AC went out on the car this week- i think it's just the fan- but still- this week I'm pretty thankful that I no longer live in Phoenix!!!

And for those of you wondering- the countdown on top for "Breaking Dawn," is for a book that is coming out on Aug. 2nd- it's the 4th in the Twilight series- they are juvenile... and I'm hooked on them... it's fun.

TAGGED! Get ready, you're next!

Tagged by: Lynn-a-gin...

Rules: list 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions, and three random facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end.

3 joys

~Matthew, Jocilyn, McKenna, baby movements from the next addition...all of my family: Dad, Mom, bros, sis, in-laws... I'm lucky. Driving to work this morning when I was saying a morning prayer, I stopped and thanked Him for families- I know it is a blessing to us- but it is SUCH a blessing...

~Music- makes me so happy, I've been on a Broadway kick lately and I love that my girls are starting to love it too

~Time away from work and away from home at the same time (hopefully spent with joys listed as #1)

3 fears

~One of my biggest fears is always that the people I love don't know it, or don't know how much I love them... I really fret over this one- I worry that "what if" something happens and they don't know... So I hope you know who you are, and how much I love each of you-

~ That I won't have taught my kids well enough... I guess that is fear of failing as a parent

~ Bugs, mice, insects, winged beasts... and hornets- apparently they are HUGE (I think they fall under "wing-ed beast" actually...)

3 goals

~To be a stay at home mom, or at least a less at work mom (how's that?)

~To go visiting teaching this year... seriously, I have not been (this isn't something I'm proud of)

~ To be financially free by 40... what? No one said the goal had to be realistic...

~ I'll add a 4th because #3 is so far out!!! - how about this? To be more positive and to yell less as a mother

3 current obsessions

~ The Twilight series... I'm so excited for book 4 in Aug, and for the movie in December... During our Stakes "No Screen" month (no TV or Computer/video games... I call blogging "family journaling... so it doesn't count!) Anyway, I'm re-reading the series to get ready for book 4... it's ridiculous, I know... but that's the funny thing about obsessions

~ Maternity clothes... I just want to find some things that fit comfortably, in which I don't look like a whale...

~ I obsess about school starting and my girls being in 2 different schools- this causes me a great deal of angst... I'll get over it.

3 random facts about T...

~ I like to pay for things with exact change- it drives Matthew crazy when he's in the drivers seat at a drive through... I will also sort through my bills (paper money) and pay with the most wrinkled and tattered ones so that the crispest bills stay in my wallet longer....

~ I have multi colored dishes (they match, but are different solid colors- if that makes sense)- specifically, some of the kids cups, and our cereal bowls... I can't have them stacked with 2 of the same color together, for example: I need the 2 blues to be furthest away from each other, the 2 reds, etc... and the 2 color of kid cups need to go every other... I've loosened up a little because I just appreciate the help putting dishes away... but it really bothers me

~ I hate seafood, the look, taste, smell... everything about it- I occasionally think I might like it and I try it out again only to find out that- nope, I still hate it... another food thing, the older I've gotten the more rare I like my steak... don't know why!

Now, I tag (I don't have that many people on my blogging connections- so, sorry if you've been tagged already!) Amanda, Dianne, Scott, and whoever!

So I went to the doctor...

Anyone care to venture a diagnosis?


It's true, #3 will be here in November. I'm in my 20th week- pregnant with what we believe to be daughter number 3...

Just thought it was getting time that ya'll should know!

Happy 4th!!!

Our neighbors host a fabulous 4th celebration every year. This year during the day my girls went to a movie with Nancy Ball- one of my mom's dearest friends- and then they "swam" in her Jacuzzi- Here they are with her at the party that night- Kenna is so.... well, Kenna... I love it (she dressed herself too, if you can believe it!)
Some of the fireworks...
The night went long and every scared kid in the neighborhood ended up in my front room watching fireworks out my windows... the noise was pretty loud, and a few times I wondered if the guys down lighting the things were dead or alive... Matthew was among them. Something happens every year at this time. The 6 year old boy comes alive in every man I know. Who knew that lighting things on fire and essentially blowing things up could be such a giddy event? They are too funny.

Happy 4th!

Swimming Lessons

Today starts "no TV/Screen time" MONTH for our stake. We are instead to read. The hope is that 50,000 pages (maybe it's 500,000) will be read, collectively, by the end of the month. So no TV, computer games, video games etc... I'm putting blogging into the category of journaling and calling it good.

Here are some pics of the girls in swimming lessons. They started 2 weeks ago, these pics are from day 2- I'm happy to say that there has been progress. Hunter, Jocilyn, and McKenna are in one class together- my girls are a lot more hesitant than Hunter to throw caution to the wind and submerge... especially their faces...

Here they are practicing at grandmas the evening of their first day of lessons...

This is the next day- much better. I wasn't at the first day- but apparently there were a lot of tears. NO tears on day 2, getting better...

Here is Jocilyn doing the superman glide.

And McKenna starting a superman glide...

Their second 2 week session begins tomorrow, I'm sure there will likely be more pics... Happy summer all!

Parents love this kind of stuff...

Yesterday the girls had a hard time getting along. While I was on the phone with my mom they were hitting each other and yelling and then being yelled at and getting in trouble. I told my mom, "Most of the time they get along great, but sometimes they just have to be siblings..."

It's true, 97.3% of the time they are best friends and it's awesome... last night when Matthew and I went to bed we found their bedroom light on and their bed empty. Our light was off and our bed was occupied (felt a little like the mama bear coming home to find Goldilocks in my bed!... just kidding, it happens too often for me to have felt like that!) Anyway- we went to move them and realized they were holding hands!!!! Fingers laced and everything! It was awesome! So I sent Matthew for the camera, he came up to shoot a pic and the battery died and the camera shut down..... WHAT!!! So we ran and charged it for a few min, came back and they were no longer holding hands, so we created a re-enactment by careful placing their hands together the best we could without waking them. I couldn't wait to post it, so it is 4:55 a.m. on Monday and I'm posting as I head out the door for work (even though I just finished a post just before finding my sleeping beauties)... Hope you all have a fabulous day! Just remember, get along and go to sleep holding hands...

Quick update

Mostly pics this week, with a few comments to e'splain them... at least that's my plan so that i can get to bed on time!

We had a lot of water fun at mom and dad's house this week. Marie set up a 12' diam/3' deep pool so that we could take the kids during the summer- the task now will be to figure out pool maintenance. My good friend Jessica, my kids "goodness mother," sent them a slip and slide and it's finally warm enough to bring out to play... I think the kids had a good time.... Thanks Jess!





McKenna is in this mess of towels somewhere... she was "soooo cold!!!" Her little lips were blue, but she kept getting wet and having a blast!


Until she finally had to come inside and she got to chill with a fruit snack and be warmer in one of grandpa's t-shirts.

















It was also this little girls birthday on the 17th. Here she sits with a few of her presents. One of them was bubble gum... which if you know this little gal, she loves the cheap, sugary, bubble gum, and she can work it,boy! She's even taught Gwennie how to blow a real bubble! That's my girl!!

Before we went swimming McKenna had gotten in trouble for something (can't remember what now) but the punishment was that she wouldn't be able to swim. Well, as any parent knows, sometimes the punishment just makes things more difficult for you. So I told her she could earn back the privilege if she did some school work. So her sister helped her with sequence rummy and she had to practice her name. We didn't get Kenna into preschool, so she has some catching up to do in order to get ready for kindergarten. But I must say, she's coming along nicely- she's a smart kid-o...




I thought this was a cute pic... I caught Jocilyn reading a story to Gwennie and Hunter- it's fun having cousins...


Here are a few pics of the daddy's on Father's day. They were helping the kids catch tadpoles in the pond of our common area. First you see our hunting party... then the mighty hunter in his stealth approach/sneak attack... did it work? Was he successful?

Yes!!! Of course he was!!! Here is the transfer of one of the tadpoles- they probably caught 5 or so that day... I have to give a thankful shout out to Marie for keeping the tadpole tank at her house... The kids love it, the moms not so much... thanks Marie.







Jocilyn grabbed the camera and snapped a couple of she and I... just kinda fun...






Matthew and Travis had to work on welding some latches for a job, but there was a break so that daddy could help his girls conquer their 2-wheelers.... off came the training wheels and they have been riding all week without them- getting better every day.... It's funny because they got their bikes about 2 Christmas' ago and have had zero interest until now... I'm glad that they are finally enjoying them.

Here is Matthew welding and Travis grinding to get about a million latches done in time for this job to be finished... I know you aren't suppose to look at welding in progress, but I snapped a shot.... then I took quite a chiding from all of the kids who were certain that I would now be blind... so don't look too long at the pic... I don't want to be responsible for your optical demise!!!







Who knows how these pics will line up in the actual blog... hopefully the explanations make sense... This random one was cute of Tyler and Marie pond-side while the tadpole hunt was on- Tyler would throw a rock into the water and clap up a storm for himself... it was cute.










Here is one of Matthew at deaf story night. His brother was asked to tell some stories but couldn't and so they asked Matthew... I have to say (and I know I'm prejudice) but I think Matthew did a better job than anyone else! I laughed and really enjoyed his animation and enthusiasm. There were several deaf there who couldn't believe that Matthew is hearing- they all really enjoyed the stories and Matthew, I think, really enjoyed himself- he was totally in his element.

There's always a surprise for me at the end of blogging... I posted it and when I looked there were these random pics that somehow ended up totally out of order and without explanation... clearly they go with the bike riding sequence... This program isn't always friendly to me when it comes to organizing my pics... ah, well... at least it's a new post!!! Love you all!