When it rains... and other stuff.

It's been raining, a lot. I'm not complaining because, we really needed it. But, because it doesn't rain very often, the heavy rains of the last few weeks have revealed an issue with our roof...

First the ceiling looked like this:

Shane climbed up on the roof and calked around the chimney to fix the problem, then patched the damage on the ceiling... a few weeks later when the rains started again it bubbled up, and exploded. Now it looks like this ...Time to bring in the professionals?

On the bright side, I found this note sitting on the stairs ... the boys are always good for a laugh.

Maybe "like" and "wedgey" need to be on his next spelling test?

I'm a terrible Halloween Mom ... and have very little enthusiasm for the holiday. In an attempt to be on par with my kids excitement and trying to make some memories, we did a few crafts.

Here is Isaac with his "Funkin" (must be pronounced with care). Why, oh why, couldn't I have invented these!? They are awesome, all of the carving fun with non of the goo.

In another insane attempt to be enthusiastic about the holiday, for the first time,the boys and I dipped some carmel apples and rolled them in Oreos. Oh my, that was messy!!

Lets face it, they're hideous (we need A LOT of practice)... but they were delicious.

To capture more of the holiday magic we spent saturday at a pumpkin farm (it's more like a Christmas tree farm, with some pumpkins) with my friend Allison and her little girl Madison --

Here they are... Isabella, Allison and Madison... love this picture

The activities included...

Jumping, rolling and wrestling in the hay:

King of the Hay!

Here's Shane, the biggest kid of all, wrestling with the boys in the hay, and only rolled over a few unsuspecting toddlers.

Isabella and Madison LOVED the hay

Taking a choo choo train ride pulled by a riding lawnmower. The funniest part about this was was watching Shane count all the heads and marveling over how much these farmers were raking in. Now he's determined to get our riding lawn mower hook up some jerry-rigged riding cars and solicit the neighbor kids for a choo choo train ride $2.00 a pop... You could just see the wheels in his head turning...

Isaac and Isabella were all smiles while riding on some very depressed-looking ponies:

And for $2.00 we had the opportunity of being shoved through a gate into a seriously over- crowded and tiny cage, to feed a bunch of ravenous attack- goats... and step in all of the excrement. EEEWW.. Hand sanitizer here we come!

Jackson was so freaked out by the aggressive goats that he only lasted about a minute before he handed me the food.

At least I got a cute picture of Isabella...

Here's Allison , just trying to keep the goats away from little Madison who got knocked over a few times. Even Allison who is a veterinarian, wasn't overly thrilled by the whole goat thing.

A great day with good friends.

Blogging Dilema

A friend of mine blogged about blogging recently and it really got me thinking about my motives...

Sometimes I get really bored of my blog. I started it because we have lived away from our families for 8 years and have made friends along the way that have all moved on. I thought it was an easy way to keep in touch with them. Since then, it has evolved into something else... For me, blogging is cheaper than therapy. It helps me to see the bright side of a dark situation, and it keeps me company while Shane is in the trenches. Writing changes my perspective and brings to life, the adventure it is to be raising kids, while trying to strike a balance. More importantly, blogging gives me an opportunity to laugh at myself. To me, blogging is discovering how I really feel about things, despite what I might tell people in person.

For example, It seems like every time a friend or family member calls, the typical conversation goes like this:

"So what's going on?"

"Oh, same old, same old... you know, mom stuff "

But I realize now that lame answer is soooo far off, for all of us. Every day brings something new, some new challenge or hurdle, whether it's just us trying to decide how to best spend our time, working toward a goal, breaking up a fight, fixing something that's broken, wether its a plumbing problem or a kid... or just trudging through the changing emotions of the day.

I also love reading blogs of my friends, some who I haven't seen for over a decade. I feel a genuine connection with them, realizing that we are all more alike than different, and... they just make me smile.

Recently, I realized how narcissistic our society is becoming with the advent of reality T.V. shows and that tragically, certain families that have been falling apart because of it. How quickly something that starts out innocently, as a way to document your life can become a three ring circus...

So I want to clarify what my blog is not... It's not an attempt to gain attention or make money. I don't want to expose my kids to criticism or to the public. They are precious to me, so recently I've been a little nervous about the whole family blog, and wonder if I should take it private. The only reason I haven't done it so far is because it seems like a huge pain! I'm not under the delusion that a bunch of random people are following my blog, but the thought scares me.

So what's your opinion... should I take the blog private?

I scream, you scream, we all scream....

Why is it that kids look so cute eating icecream? Look at those blue eyes and crooked hat. Just adorable.

Even with an icecream mustache he's stinkin cute.

On the other hand... this is how I look eating icecream... Isn't it sweet of my mom to capture this very flattering moment mid-lick?

Here's Jackson wondering where it all went so quickly.

And Mason, not wasting any time...

Of course, the best part of eating icream is pretending like you are one of the Jonas Brothers... and rockin' out with your microphone.

Code Brown

Yesterday I had an experience... I had heard other moms speak of this experience before and wondered what was wrong with them or their kids. I have since learned the hard way, to never, ever judge another parent, because someday that person will be you!!

Isabella woke up from her nap and I heard her screaming, usually she wakes up relatively happy so I wasn't sure what was up. When I went in I saw why... a code brown I like to call it... all over the crib. She had taken her diaper off and put her hands in places they should not have been... then touched them to other places. I looked at her in shock, she looked right at me and said, "sgusting"... her favorite word.

Right at that moment my friend rang the doorbell to pick up her son's jacket that he had left the night before. I quickly wiped up Isabella... while my friend was standing there waiting for me to answer.

"Sorry, to keep you waiting," I explained, "I'm in the middle of a little crisis" I had to explain why my daughter was standing next to me with no pants or diaper on... that looks like some serious red-neck parenting, right there.

That's okay she said," I'm having a little crisis of my own" ... she explained that her son had just thrown up at parent teacher conferences. She had to strip him down and walk out of the school passing many parents who I'm sure gave some pretty judgmental looks as they saw a woman carrying her toddler in nothing but a diaper, through the school. Then he threw up in the car on the way to my house. Poor baby looked miserable.

I grabbed her some wipes and a towel to clean him up... I felt bad for myself, but even worse for her.

Later that night... Isaac and Isabella were in the bath when he screams... MOM!!! I didn't even have to hear the rest. I knew... code brown in the bathtub.

Parenting is tough, one day you think you know all about good parenting and your house is working like a well oiled machine, and the next, your daughter code browns twice in one day. Don't judge, or you'll be next.

The Latest...

Things have been CRAZY the last few weeks. I'll try to update you without totally boring you...

Looks like we already lost Shane... oh well.

The month of September has been one of celebrations, stress, and new and exciting experiences.

Mason and Jackson started cub scouts and love it! Thanks to their amazing den leader... as you can tell from this picture, she's got her work cut out for her. But seriously, aren't cub scouts the cutest?

--The young men and young women worked all summer on a production which they performed for a ward activity. They all did an AMAZING job, and discovered hidden talents that none of us knew they had. Several kids would have been nominated for an academy award if it wasn't such a low budget production... amazing, the sets you can make with cardboard, tin foil and garbage sacks.

Our awesome directors Katie, Tricia, and Lori worked tirelessly to give the kids a chance to shine, and they did! Here are some of the pictures.

I also made the mistake of mentioning to Katie a while back that I was once, in my previous life, a clogger (no wooden shoes, or plungers involved:) She thought it was a good idea for me to use some of those clogging skills in a hoe-down for the production. It had been so many years, about 15 or so since I had put on my shoes and kicked up my heels that I wasn't sure it was such a great idea, but decided to take a chance anyway.

I had to order some clogging shoes online, and once I got them in the mail and put them on... like magic my toes started tapping away, amazing how the body can remember how to do those things you haven't done for 15 years, even though the jiggle factor had increased somewhat. I went on the back patio and started to practice while my boys looked through the window and wondered if they would need to commit me to a mental institution. It turned out to be a fun experience and I think the ward was a little surprised to see me move that fast since I can't ever seem to make it to church on time.

In other news....

Shane and I flew out to Utah for Shane's mother's 60th Birthday surprise party. I left on Thursday night to stay in Dallas for a Friday morning flight. Having worked a 30 hour shift and done an appendectomy that morning, Shane raced up to Dallas, to catch a flight. I was so relieved when he called and said he had made it on the plane safely. We got to spend the afternoon with my parents and they watched Bella while we went to the party.

It was such a joy to be able to be with her and our family on this special night. We met at the restaurant overlooking the Salt Lake temple and had an amazing dinner while each of us took turns reading our favorite memories and thoughts about her ... after the tears started flowing she said, "I'm not dying! I'm just turning 60!" We all laughed, and are thankful that we will get to spend many, many, many more years with this amazing lady. Love you Julie!

NOVA SCOTIA

We got home on Saturday night from Utah and on Wednesday Shane and I traveled to Halifax for a Pediatric Surgery conference where he was presenting. We were so excited because we haven't gone on a trip together for about 10 years. Even though we would only be there for 3 days and much of it was for business, I was excited. At the same time I was VERY nervous about leaving the kids. However, when I picked up my sister from the airport, I felt so much better. If you need someone who can keep a cool head in a crisis, she's the woman ! Both Isaac and Isabella got sick while we were gone, so I was thankful she was there! She is awesome. Thanks Trish!!

I picked up Shane at 3:30 a.m. from the hospital-- he had worked another 24 hour shift and was running on fumes but we had to catch our 6:00 plane in Austin. So we had no choice. After a small setback at the airport and frustration running high, we got onto the plane, and then two others.

Finally we made it to Nova Scotia where we soon learned that our suitcase with all of our clothes in it... had hitched a ride to Ontario. Too tired to care and on the verge of being comatose, we went to our hotel admiring the amazing fall colors and beauty while hearing all about the government in Pakistan from our very friendly and hard to understand Pakistani cab driver. We ordered room service for dinner and fell asleep at 6:00, exciting so far?!!!

The next day we didn't get our luggage as promised and although I took a shower, couldn't wash my hair without a hair dryer and flat iron to tame it. So I put on my clothes from the day before which I'm sure were smelling a bit like airplane funk... and made the best of things. Poor Shane went to the first round of conference presentations in a t-shirt and jeans. And if you know Shane, you'll understand how hard this was for him to do. By the end of the day we got our luggage and a much needed change of clothes.

I know it's hard to get overly excited about someone else's vacation. So I'll try to keep the pictures and captions to a minimum...

Shane with his poster presentation... he also had a power point presentation where he did a great job saying lots of big fancy words.

View of Halifax from the Citadel

Shane trying on the Scottish Brigade garb, minus the kilt ... a perfect fit!!

Shane in the Citadel fortress... what a great smile he has.

Me and a really cool, old brick wall.

Imagine our luck!! As we were traveling to the Titanic cemetery we passed a group commemorating world Ostomy day! Who knew there was a day set aside just to spread awareness of Ostomys? Shane and Dr. Little couldn't contain their excitment and had to join in the fun... If you don't know what an ostomy is, consider yourself lucky.

This sign says it all.

Pictures from Peggys Cove... a sleepy little fishing town with a gorgeous landscape and lighthouse. The highlight of the trip.

Dr. Little and his cute wife Rebekah