Is it just me???

Maybe it's a sign that I've been a housewife too long...

or maybe I need to cut back on the coffee just a smidge...

but do you ever find yourself talking back to the TV commercials?

Or cursing toy manufacturers as you try to pick Polly Pocket pieces out of the vacuum cleaner canister?

I mean, seriously.

Allow me to set the scene for you. The other night I was watching TV and a commercial came on for the Special K chocolate cereal. This woman is baking chocolate brownies with her child, and just as she is about to swipe the inside of the bowl with her finger, it freezes and a voice comes over saying, essentially, "OH, you don't want to do THAT do you?" and she calmly goes and pours herself a bowl of Speical K chocolate cereal so she can indulge in chocolately goodness while not gaining a single ounce of unwanted fat on her Talbots-wearing-size-2 frame.

Me? I look at that and think, "So, she's going to dirty up another bowl that SHE has to clean, in addition to the brownie mess? And really, what kind of mom doesn't sacrifice herself to taste the sides of the bowl? Yes, sacrifice... as I explain to my children, Mommy HAS to taste it to be sure that if the eggs are bad and everyone will get food poisoning, Mommy will get it first and everyone will know to steer clear."

I'm just sayin'...

And WHO invented those Polly Pocket shoes, combs, and accessories that are no bigger than a staple and not only get EVERYWHERE (namely, my vacuum cleaner) but are also IMPOSSIBLE to get onto the actual Polly Pocket dolls themselves! Are we trying to teach my daughter that it's ok to have to squeeze into her jeans? Are we testing the full suction capabilities of my wonderful new vaccuum?

I mean, really!

I think I need to get out more...

Birthday Pics

In Henry tradition, the birthday boy/girl gets their initials written in pancake batter and they get to eat it for breakfast. Well, Duane decided to make Caleb's entire name... it looked great... until he tried to flip it! Then it just looked like a pile of random pancake pieces. Still tasted good though!

For Caleb's birthday we invited several of his friends over for a "Half Sleep-over" which I think is the best invention EVER. Basically, everyone comes in their pajamas, we do dinner, popcorn, and a movie with cake (of course) and then everyone goes home at 9:30! Caleb voted to roast hotdogs and do s'mores over our firepit, so here is a picture of Caleb with his flaming marshmallow birthday candle that he had to blow out as we sang Happy Birthday. Good times!

A very cute moment of brotherly affection (and rare stillness on Colin's part) as we joined Caleb for lunch at his school on Monday.

A growing Perspective...

I know it has been a while since I've posted... sorry about that... we've been busy busy with the various holiday preparations and activities - all fun stuff, but still... busy busy!

Our oldest son, Caleb, turns 11 this weekend. So hard to believe - he's getting so big, trying so hard to figure out grown-up issues like the elections and economy in his 5th grade mind. I think he's beginning to realize that things aren't always black and white (in fact, they rarely are) and that needs to be OK with him. Seeing him struggle is hard, but after all, that's what growing up is all about, and it will make him stronger in the long run. One great insight came a few days ago when he was really, no offense, being a royal snot. So Duane and I told him to take a break and go ride his bike around the neighborhood. Oh sure, he fought us on that one too, but eventually he did, and when he returned he was in a much better mood and as we talked about it, he said "You know, going on that bike ride, it just made me feel good to have control over something." Whoa... that's some perspective - there may be hope yet! :-)

Santa baby...

Recent photos

Arrrgh - WHY, after 5 hours of cooking, is there STILL pink in this turkey! We were having flashbacks to our first Thanksgiving dinner experience! :-) Oh well, it all turned out OK and nobody got food poisoning!
For Thanksgiving dinner, our neighbors came over - Jaqueline and her two girls, since her husband is off playing on some Navy ship somewhere! Fun times!

Battle Droids and Snow

Right now I'm sitting here at the computer... (duh - obviously!)... with my mug of coffee and the sounds of Star Wars battle droids duking it out behind me. Yep - Colin is alive and well this morning, apparently not at all phased by his 4:30 a.m. venture into my bed. I can not say the same for me.

But it's hilarious, listening to him make battle sounds and talking back to them in R2D2 noises.

Yesterday, we had a few moments to spare before preschool, so we sat in the car in the preschool parking lot and I let him do his favorite thing - that is, play with every single button and dial in the car.

Pure 4-year-old bliss.

Ahh, the joys of discovery as he put the radio on from RIGHT speaker to REAR speaker to LEFT FRONT speaker, he started flipping through the radio stations and he landed on one that was PURE STATIC.

Just when I was about to ask him to change the station, he stopped and looked up at me and said, "Hey Mom, this sounds just like snow!"

Wow...

what a perspective...

so we sat there for a few minutes and listened to snow.

Battle droids or static... it's all great when seen through the eyes of a child!

What happened?

For those of you who know me well, you know that I absolutely love Christmas. Much to my husband's annoyance and my children's embarrassment, I will sometimes break into a round of "Winter Wonderland" in July. I try to tell them that it's to keep me cool in the hair-frizzing-sweat-upon-wakening sweltering humidity that they call summer in Florida.

But I digress.

I admit, I love the smells of nutmeg and cinnamon, orange rind and apple cider. I love the twinkling lights, angels and nativity scenes in all of the stores. I love Christmas music, and I'm pretty sure Duane had written in fine print in our marriage vows that I wasn't allowed to play my Christmas cds until the day after Thanksgiving.

And while I, too, roll my eyes at our local Walmart putting out the Christmas decorations right next to the Halloween decor, I can grudgingly admit that in this materialistic, rush from one holiday to the next without a breather society, that's what stores must do in order to keep their profits in check.

Not that it makes it OK, but it is what it is.

But last night I was driving to pick up a friend from the airport. And as I flipped through the radio, I heard Christmas music! No joke... and not just one song, but several in a row! It's only November 12! I haven't even made up my Thanksgiving menu yet (more on that in another blog soon). And it's not like walking through Target or the stores, who have xmas music piped in, hoping to stimulate your Christmas-spending urges. This is the radio... for some reason that really bothered me.

As one of my friends said, what happened to Thanksgiving? This holiday, which celebrates all of the bounty God has provided us with. Think of the pilgrims - simply thankful for food, being alive, for the freedom to worship God without fear of persecution. The pilgrims came here looking for God, and they found Him. Praise God for that.

So I'm going to try and stop a bit more - and just be thankful. My motto lately (thanks to another conversation with a friend) has been "When God gives you this time, you need to use it!" It can be an hour, or just five minutes. The point is to take that precious time and be thankful...

For Scott and Traci...

On the way to school today Colin was singing his own made-up songs about sharks and his aunt and uncle who work with them... no offense to his other aunts and uncles, but in the world of a 4-year-old, working in an office just isn't as cool as diving with sharks! :-) ANyway, I got a couple of his songs on video - enjoy!

Halloween Madness!

If you ever wondered who would win in a duel between Harry Potter
and the Pirates of the Caribbean... Harry won... no contest!

Argh, matey! Surrender ye booty!

A very cheerful Harry Potter

Our grumpy fairy - ahh, the mood swings of girls...

Some pics of our funny crew !

I wanna take off from a carrier...

the first video is Duane coming in for a landing on the carrier - he put the camera down at the very end so he could fully experience the landing - unfortunately for us watching, it looks like he crashes! The second video is when they were launched from the catapault - SO cool!

Questions...

Conversations that Colin posed on the way home from preschool today - a 10 mile, 15 minute drive at best.

• "Why are sharks blue and white and gray? If I were a shark I would be brown on top and white on the bottom, and mommy, if I were on Shark Tale I would be Lenny because he's a nice shark but he really needs to learn how to be a shark. And Mommy, why do sharks eat seals? I would not want to be a seal!"
• 
  
• "Tomorrow is show and tell and the letter is A and so you know what starts with A? Avalanche - can I bring snow to show and tell and throw it at people?"
• 
  
• Mommy, why does God make sharks eat fish? Are the fish scared of sharks? What do the fish eat? Who eats sharks? Do sharks go to heaven? Do fish go to heaven? Are the sharks still hungry when they go to heaven? Does God want them to eat the fish?
  

• Colin, what did you do at school today? "Well, I didn't go to the time-out table and we talked about Halloween but we didn't learn about Halloween and I'm going to be a pirate for Halloween, but I really want to be a great white shark and maybe next year I can be a great white shark or maybe a hammerhead shark or maybe Caleb can be the diver and I'll be the shark and Clarissa can be the fish that I eat!"

If you can't tell, Colin has recently become rather obsessed with sharks - we have no idea where this came from, but we have checked out EVERY shark book our local library has and we are all now experts on every kind of shark there is, their diet, behavior patterns, etc. And while I'll admit it gets rather annoying (even his poor teachers have had enough - he was at the time-out table at school yesterday for talking about sharks too much!) I love the fact that he is such a sponge right now - he is learning so much, taking it all in, and remembering every detail!

And of course - his Uncle Scott and Aunt Traci are just the WORLD'S Coolest Aunt/Uncle because they SWIM with sharks and FEED sharks and oh my, everyone Colin meets gets told about his aunt and uncle who swim with sharks and DON"T GET BIT! You guys are cool...

Whale Underwear

You know, sometimes you have to just stop in the middle of the chaos and laugh... or cry... depending on the hormone levels of the day. But mostly, laughter is key... because I'm starting to realize that the years pass by WAY too quickly and all the things you think you won't ever forget, you do, because even though they are precious and hilarious, somehow the daily grind of grocery lists, sports schedules, meetings, carpools, and laundry... it all gets muddled together and the truly priceless things get smooshed down and forgotten.

So, I'm trying to do better.

Trying to remember the cute little sayings, and at the very least, putting them in an email or this blog so they will be archived forever in internet prosperity. But I also have a Mommy Journal - I"ve been writing letters in it to my kiddos since Caleb was two - and in the back I have written down many of the precious sayings, also known as blackmail during dating years.

But I digress...

My three young children have, for the most part, been raised in the south. Now, for an LA girl whose only exposure to the south was through Mark Twain novels, this has been somewhat of an adjustment for me, not the least of which has been the twang that prevails down here. But y'all (Yes, I said it) - I'm a firm believer that it's just not fun if you can't make fun of the quirks that make the south, well, the south!

For example...

Last week Colin and I were in Barnes and Noble to get Starbucks, I mean, look at books. While we were in line, I asked Colin if he was ready to go. "Waaiiilll, I don't know" he replied. I looked at him and said, "Whale? Are you a whale? There aren't any whales here!" He cracked up... I cracked up... the cashier looked at us kinda funny, until I explained I was from California ("Ah, that explains a LOT!" he must have thought)... and now it's a personal joke between us. In the middle of nowhere Colin will pipe up, Hey Mommy,. WHALE! And we'll both laugh... 'cuz it's the little things, I'm telling you.

And then this afternoon, we stopped by the house for a total of ten minutes in between activities. During that time, Colin took off his jacket, shoes, socks, and changed clothes.

Obviously he's been taking notes from his sister, who can change outfits five times in 90 seconds.

But again, I digress.

So, when I - not quite in the "aww isn't that cute" mood - more like "SERIOUSLY?????" mood... said asked him, "WHERE are your socks and shoes?" and he responded, "Under there" I, not thinking of course, said, "Under where?" To which he promptly cracked up, rolling on the floor in uncontrollable 4-year-old belly laughs. When I looked at him strangely, he said "Mom, you said UNDERWEAR!"

Obviously he has also been around the jr.high humor that is oh-so-popular with the local 10-year-old and pervades most fighter pilots in this family not that I'm naming any names, Caleb and Duane.

But, I'll admit I laughed. 'Cuz you're only 4 once... WHALE UNDERWEAR!

I've been tagged...

OK - my blogger friend Fiddledeedee posted this challenge - and not only is it kinda fun, but I just really don't feel like being productive yet this morning (the coffee hasn't hit my system yet) I loved her intro, so I kept it for you - mainly because I pretty much did the same thing last night.

(And yes, Vicki, I know you tagged me with a photo blog, but though I love you all dearly, there is NO WAY I'm going to voluntarily take a picture of my pantry, laundry room, or refrigerator and post it here for EVERYONE IN CREATION to see! Not without a major overhaul from the Container Store or Martha Stewart... which I can not afford...)

From Fiddledeedee: (You can see her blog on my link to the funniest site ever...)

My bloggy friend, Shalee, did this meme recently. And it appealed to me. Mostly, because I thought I could put it together as I watched the presidential debate. While hitting myself in the head with an anvil. Because I can multi-task, my friends.

Here are the rules:

• Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following questions.
• They have to be real places, names, things. nothing made up!
• You can’t use your name for the boy/girl name question.

1. What is your name? Sally

2. A 4 Letter Word: Sing!

3. A Boys Name: Seymour Scooby - as in our last base, and a strange but kinda funny old cartoon

4. A Girls Name: Sylvia Signiore

5. An Occupation: Sexy secretary (Hey - I think I just found my Halloween costume!)

6. A Color: Silver

7. Something you wear: Stillettos. (See #5)

8. A Beverage: Strawberry smoothie

9. A Food: Shrimp- only the best from the Gulf Coast!

10. Something found in the bathroom: Schmutz - that indescribable stuff found around the faucets (What IS that?)

11. A place: San Fransisco - a wonderful place with great memories for me!

12. A Reason for being late: Slipping on random schmutz that is left sitting in the entryway

13. Something you shout: “Shooottttt!” As I slip on said schmutz and sideswipe the sidewalk!

Okay, I tag all of y’all.

Sharks, Firemen, and Fruity soap... random thoughts

So, I'm having one of those mornings. One of those where every thought of mine is interrupted by my 4-year-old's voice constantly at my side saying "OK Mommy, you pretend to be the hammerhead shark and I'll be the diver like Aunt Traci and you try to get me and I'll say Stop and you'll swim away and mommy why does God let sharks swim like that and Mommy do sharks go in rocket ships and mommy is God bigger than anything even sharks and rocket ships and does God want firemen to save people and what if a shark AND a fireman were in a burning building which would God want you to save first and..."

Sigh...

And yes, I'm trying to remind myself that before I know it he will be moody and secretive and won't want to tell me anything much less all of the little thoughts that are going through his mind.

But still...

And while I'm on the subject (?) of random thoughts... WHY are there no normal smelling kid soaps and shampoos?

Seriously!

Last night Clarissa and Colin both took baths. Clarissa had her Hello Kitty shampoo, Colin had Suave for kids.

When they both came out for me to brush their hair, I was literally swept in waves of nausea from the sweet fruit-basket-gone-bad stench! Strawberry/banana/watermelon/mango... Why on earth is it necessary to have their shampoo smell so fruity sweet? Does it have something to do with the "no tears" stuff? Does it automatically make it smell sickenly sweet? I don't think so, becuase honestly, my favorite baby shampoo is Paul Mitchell's Baby Don't Cry - which yes, doesn't smell horrid, has a nice chamomile/earthy scent, but also costs an arm and a leg in comparison.

At least Caleb has graduated into "real" shampoo - good 'ol manly stuff, just like his Dad's. Now if only I could get him to use it on a regular basis...

Anyway - I'm rambling... and yes, again, I know that before I know it my little ones will have all graduated beyond the cutesy shampoo stage and I'll be having to REMIND them that showers are our friends and soap is not evil...

So maybe I'll stop, if just for a moment, and take a deep breath... snuggle with my kiddos... treasure the nonstop questions that come from my little one's ramblings... and shrug off the waves of fruity shampoo-induced nausea if only to savor these moments that are just as sweet... and pass all too quickly...

Columbus Day

This past Monday Duane had the day off - nice of the military to give our guys the day off - after all, Columbus was the first "navy" guy to make his way to America, right? However, our schools here apparently don't think that Columbus deserves any recognition, much less a day off, so the kiddos had school. So what wild and crazy things did Duane and I do while the kids were in school? Well, I don't know about Duane, but I slept! I had been in charge of a massive lunch/fundraiser auction at church the day before and while it was hugely successful (almost $900 raised!) I was exhausted! So, I took a nap! And Duane, well, he amused himself by cleaning the kitchen, straightening up the house, and then making the comment "Wow, time really goes by fast when you're not working!" After I gave him the "death glare" for that insensitive comment, he made me another cup of coffee and all was forgiven! :-)

But, our hours of quiet and freedom were fleeting as Colin's preschool is only 3 hours (I SO could use one more hour... but oh well) Anyway, when he got home the noise and activity level increased as only an active 4-year-old can do, so Duane took him out on the trampoline to:

a) exert as much energy out of Colin as possible
b) test the weight limits of our trampoline
c) remind Duane that perhaps he should do this more often
d) have some great Daddy/Colin time without interruption or competition from his siblings

Very fun - and of course, I got some fun photos!

Tell me I'm not the only one...

So, a friend of mine who has teenage boys was talking the other day about how obsessive her boys have become about hygiene and how they look. And yes, I remember the day I walked into my bathroom at home and found that my brother had more hair products than I did! So apparently this is something to prepare myself for... the time when my boys care endlessly about their hair, smells, and other bodily aromas.

Right now, I'd take any portion of that...

Because my son, frankly, could care less.

Seriously.

My local ten-year-old walked out this morning and I bust out laughing. I'm sure Caleb must have thought, uh oh, mom's creamer in her coffee must have gone funny, she's lost it! But I quickly recovered and said, "Caleb, do you seriously know what you are wearing?" Ladies and gentlemen, my son was wearing gray and red race car pajama bottoms, and a green and purple striped pajama top!

(Never mind that I somehow didn't notice this last night... that's beside the point... in my defense, I was on massive amounts of Motrin due to a pulled hamstring... I'll leave it at that...) As it were, I'm so glad there wasn't a fire last night, as I'm sure they would have taken me in for questioning by the Attire department of Child Services.

Sigh...

So tell me, moms of pre-teens and teens... is there hope? I so tire of trying to explain WHY he shouldn't wear white athletic socks with his dark blue church pants and brown church loafers... I'm thinking of making posters to put around the house... "Deodorant is our Friend" "Just say No to Mixing Patterns" or "Be Cool when you go to School"

It goes without saying that I really don't have to worry about Clarissa - nope, my little princess can change five outfits in 3 minutes, all coordinating in some way, shape, or form, and top it all off with carefully selected socks and shoes. Lovely... at most our discussions wrap around things like "No you may not wear your church dress to school when you have track in p.e. and are painting with neon green paint in art today!" I can handle that...

Maybe it's not too late to start on Colin...

Random pics and thoughts...

Duane and I went to our annual Air Force ball last weekend - I forgot how much fun it is to get all dressed up, have my hair and makeup done, and, oh yes, see my husband in his dress uniform! I'll try to get some of other pics from our friends... my camera wouldn't fit in my purse!


Caleb was home for a couple of days last week with a stomach bug, and Colin, in an attempt to play, decided to play doctor... guess it worked, Caleb was up and about two days later!

When Caleb didn't want to cooperate with Colin's attempts to get him to play, Colin lay down beside him in a sympathetic gesture... don't know if Caleb appreciated it or not! Poor guy...


Here are the kids at the beach a few weeks ago - with the "massive" (insert laugh from my CA family) waves from Hurricane Ike behind them. Colin is dressed in the fireman jacket I picked up for him at a garage sale - it is now his favorite thing to wear!

Well, my recent pics don't really have much in common... just every day life around here with some randomly cute moments sprinkled in between!

My good friend Erika sent me this cartoon... it says it all! Thanks Erika!

Amazing, huh... no hurricanes on the horizon this week ( a rarity lately!) Kids doing well in school (no time-out table for Colin this week - yea!) and I've been asked to take on more leadership at church and in our squadron... a good week... so not much new to share, but a good friend caught this picture of Colin in the pool this week and I thought I would share it with you.



Oh, and our favorite quote of the week - I was driving through town and a cute little 2-seater(!) convertible pulled up next to us. Jokingly (kind of) I said, "Hey kids - there's my car!" To which Caleb looked around and said, "Well, see that Camry over there? I think that's my car!" And Colin piped up, "Well, I want a fire engine when I grow up!" After a few minutes of silence Clarissa piped up from the back, "Well, I don't know about you, but I want a limosine!"

Oh my... you couldn't better describe my children if you tried... my practical first-born, my diva daughter, and my adventurer third child! I love it! :-)

We interrupt this program...

Just for a reference - we live on the Gulf Coast. Look behind the cute 10-year-old... notice the waves. "Waves?" you ask... that's right... that's the big waves we get around here. Pretty calm - just an occasional ripple or two - warm water, white sandy beaches, it's all good.

So this morning I was wanting something a little different for a workout - and going to they gym just didn't seem appealing to me... so I decided I would go run on the beach.

Let me just pause for effect... 'cuz it's not everyone who can just randomly decide to run on the beach... and it's pretty cool...

Only I didn't take seriously the weather reports.

Namely, Hurricane Ike.

Now, Ike isn't going to make landfall in our backyard or anything, no, he's aiming at Houston - a mere 500 miles away. But, seeing as how the Gulf of Mexico is only 5 miles away from us and Ike is truly a huge storm, well, this is the view that was waiting for me when I got to the beach this morning:














Yikes - a little bit different than what we are used to seeing around here! And yes, I know that all of you living in CA are thinking "Boy has Sally gone soft since she moved from CA - those would be mere ripples in the Pacific!" And maybe you're right...

But folks, people on the Gulf Coast are relatively spoiled... and it makes me laugh that not only do they insist on building their houses OVER the water - literally, on stilts - but they also build on islands that wash away every time a storm comes (but never fear, they build them right back again!) And we wonder why we can't afford the property taxes and property insurance in FL... geez...

Anyway, not only were the waves impressive, but the wind... oh my... I actually was walking at a 45 degree angle just to get these pictures for you. 45 mph winds... craziness...

That's how much I love you guys.

In order to justify my "workout" I decided I would head on base and instead run along the Sea Wall. Yeeeaaahhhhh right... that wind I mentioned was whipping the water up over the wall and pushing me around the walkway. So do I get points for resistance training? :-)

What's the Dress Code?

So... the kids are in school... all three of them (Did I just hear a rousing rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus behind me?) Now, granted, Colin is only in pre-K, which takes place every day from 8:30 - 11:30. But, let me repeat... that's EVERY day. (Repeat Hallelujah Chorus again!)

Some may criticize me for these feelings of freedom - "You chose motherhood, you've always said it was the most rewarding thing you've ever done, WHY oh WHY would you rejoice at this time AWAY from them?" But really, it's not just the joy of having a few hours to do those little things that are just so much harder, even impossible, to do with young company... but it's a bittersweet feeling of accomplishment as I see my children growing up, becoming more independent as they try new things, slowly separating themselves from the cocoon Duane and I have nurtured them in so far. And yes, having a few hours free is nice after 10 years of constant company everywhere I go!

And so, now I laugh at myself. Because for the first time, I find myself wondering what I'm going to do with my precious three hours each morning. I've pretty well established a routine of getting the older two off to school, then enjoying an hour of Colin-time before I drop him off to pre-K. Then, I trot myself off to the gym... OK, maybe TROT is too perky of a word... this morning, for example, I had a VERY lengthy discussion with myself over the virtues of exercising versus going to Starbucks and hiding in one of their cushy chairs with a good book and a grande mocha-light coffee! Sigh... but in the end, I know I'll go to the gym... but maybe I'll reward myself afterwards with the Starbucks - you can't say I'm not goal-oriented!

One thing I know for sure, though... I will not allow myself to become guilt-ridden over enjoying this time off. Nor will I allow myself to be unproductive during this time... lose 10 pounds, tone up the rest, stop for an occasional Starbucks (do you see a theme this morning?), it's all good...

Why I haven't blogged...

Well, we've been watching this storm pretty closely since Monday, and we still aren't real sure where exactly it is going to go. Hurricane's twist in a counter-clockwise motion, so if it hits anywhere between New Orleans and us, we'll still get a pretty major storm out of it... so, while Duane prepares to fly the planes to safety, the kiddos and I will be preparing for, well, anything! Stay here and face the potential for storm damage, loss of electricity for possibly weeks, etc. (Of course, we also have friends and a great military support and church family to help out) OR - we can evacuate, take a trip for a week or so, visit some friends in Dallas... or go up to Goldsboro... decisions, decisions, decisions... keep us all in your prayers, friends!

Here are some pictures of the kids' first day of school - Caleb's in 5th, Lissa's in 1st, and Colin is in pre-k!

Caleb's trip...

Thanksgiving Point, Utah - a site where they have dinosaur bones galore! Very cool...

Caleb also got to see his Great-Grandma Henry, who just recently moved to Salt Lake City!

They went to the Hogle Zoo and got up-close and personal with a bald eagle!

The Battle Continues...

OK, so last week I posted about my latest find into stay-at-home-mom bliss... the discovery of Mr. Salty Chocolate covered pretzles, only 100 calories per package... I reiterate, bliss!

You know, as a full time mom, I do find joy in the antics of our kids, and I try to stimulate my intellect by listening to debates on NPR, heading up church committees, and running our squadron student spouses' club. All this to assure you that I'm not completely brain dead or devoid of other human contact.

That being said, when someone threatens the few escapes I have, I will fight to the death.

Case in point...

Caleb came home yesterday from his week-long trip to Utah. So this afternoon he was in the pantry and I heard him exclaim, "Oh wow! Mr. Salty Chocolate Covered Pretzles! Cool!" I immediately shouted, "STOP! You MUST read my blog before taking one more step!" To which he responded, with an evil grin, "Oh but I did..."

A fierce battle ensued... and if you have ever tackled a gangly 10-year-old boy, you will know that it did not bode well... elbows and knees flying, screams and cackles galore... truly hilarious. Oh yes, and my oh-so-loyal younger children following us through the house hitting their beloved mother with pillows... the same mother who spent upteen hours of labor with them... I tell you, where's the love? :-)

It all ended with me throwing the individual packets of yummy pretzely-chocolately-goodness on top of the refrigerator, and the last sacrificial one being burst open by the many hands who were grabbing for it, leaving us all in a shower of chocolate pretzels. Amidst the laughter, we all ended up with two pretzels each, and a fun memory as our summer comes to a close...

But next time, I won't let him get away so easy...

:-)

Caleb visits Oma and Opa in Utah

Hey yall. Caleb here. You know four eyes. This past week I have been in Salt Lake City Utah. I have been very busy.

Here is all that I have done.

Sunday: Fly there and have Uncle Trent, Aunt Latrice,Autumn and Gabe{my cousins} over for dinner.

Monday: Go to the hoggle zoo. See Grandma.

Tuesday: Go see grandma by walking. As we were walking back,Taffy[my uncles dog] had a seizier Go Downtown riding a train. have dinner and go through stores. Go back

Wednsday: Go to Raging Waters.

Thursday: Opa {my grandpa} and I went and saw Grandma,Go to the library,Got to go a dinosaur museum,And saw W-ALLE. .AND Slept over at Gabes house.

Friday: a day to relax. NO CAMPING.

Saturday : Go up in the mountains and have dinner.

Sunday: Fly home!

(more coming soon...)

Happiness in Little Things...

OK, so I know this is totally random, and for the two of you who regularly visit my blog looking for pictures of my little family or deep insightful words of wisdom such as how to remove yogurt from towels, mirrors, and the bathroom ceiling after your 4-year-old has a tantrum while holding a yogurt container... sorry... not going to happen today.





Know why?





'Cause I just went to the store... with my two youngest children in company. Caleb, my oldest, has obviously HAD IT with going to the store with us and has fled to Utah for a week of intense Oma/Opa therapy (Duane's parents). Anyway... as I tried to go through the store as quickly as possible without running over (or BEING run over by) senior citizens in their motorized carts... my eyes glanced up, and oh, what did I see? Check it out!



In case you can't figure out what these are, they are Mister Salty Chocolate Covered pretzels, and they are oh-so-conveniently packaged in 100calorie packs! Oh, heavenly bliss! Sweet, Salty, and Low Calorie! (Insert evil laugh of delirium here!)

I obviously don't get out enough.

But, seeing as how I still have yogurt to take off the walls and bath mats (would this be a good enough excuse to redecorate?) and I came home to find our largest fish dead in the tank, who then apparently was TOO big to flush down the toilet and so now our toilet is plugged up and the plumbers helper isn't working and our handyman isn't returning my phone calls...

I might just eat the entire box.

A quick P.S.

I forgot to mention - this last week was NOT the greatest for Clarissa and I to be gone, as Duane had his final exam for his master's classes, as well as a 25-page paper due! Yikes - sorry honey! But, with the boys taken care of and Clarissa in CA with me, he managed to get his paper in on time and the test taken... and... he got A's on all of them! Way to go, honey! He's enjoying his current status as a Straight-A grad student! :-) (Of course, he's only had these two classes, but it still counts, right? I love you babe!

California Dreamin...

Clarissa and I travelled to California last week for a 5-day visit with Duane's extended family. A family bridal shower was being thrown for a cousin's impending marriage - hence the excuse to party in Cali! We made it a "girls only" trip, with just a couple of uncles thrown in to balance all the estrogen!

Here's our sweet girl, all ready to take off! We had a long day of travel, but she was really good through the whole experience. Books, coloring, countless games of Uno, a new Cats Cradle game book (complete with Cats Cradle string!), and the wonderful ipod complete with hours of mind numbing games, videos, and music... what more can a girl ask for? We stopped in the Dallas USO (one of the best I've ever seen!) where she was duly fawned over and spoiled by the sweet ladies there!



Our trip began when we spent the night at Aunt Traci and Uncle Scott's house. What fun to FINALLY see where they live! Clarissa just adores her Uncle Scott, and he got the honor of reading her bedtime story to her! After such a long day of travel, she was exhausted!

And of course, you can't visit Nana's without picking oranges from Papa's Orange Groves!

After Clarissa, Traci, and I drove 3 hours down to Fresno for a quick lunch with Aunt Susie, we stopped at her house before heading to the airport to pick up Latrice, our sister-in-law. It was SO hot and Clarissa had been such a trooper on the long drive that I told her she could jump in the pool...with her clothes on! You would have thought she had won the lottery, she was so excited! It helped cool our little princess off and jump start our fun girls weekend!

Clarissa (next to Aunt Susie), got to meet her new cousin, Isabel, whose mom is the lucky bride. Clarissa was thrilled to have another little girl to play with - the Barbie accessories simply flew through the air! After the bridal shower was over, Oma Henry and Clarissa settled in for some serious cats cradle games! They even figured out some new moves... what fun! And isn't that a gorgeous cake? Wow...

Clarissa and I ended our trip back at Scott and Traci's (Duane's sister). We went hiking in the woods behind their home - climbing the Redwood tree stumps, exploring the creek, checking out the reproductivity of ferns (don't ask...) and getting up close and personal with banana slugs... it just doesn't get any better than that!

So now we are home, back to our own beds, our own shower, the sounds of the children fighting... sigh... Duane said the boys didn't fight at all while we were gone, so the question remains, did they not fight because they were busy at friends' houses all day and by the time they got home they were too tired to fight? Or is Clarissa the instigator of all quarrels? Hmmm... maybe it's a middle-child thing... I'll ask Duane, he would know!