I'm going to punch your Car!

What did you say?

Me: Carter it's time to get your room picked up.

Him: I don't want to.
Me: I am really not caring what you want...I want it clean.
Him: **MELTDOWN**
Me: You just lost the WII for the rest of the day.
Him: **BIG MELTDOWN**
Me: Carter, I will help you, lets get it done.
Him: I just don't like to move my arms and legs very much, it's hard to clean.
Me: You what?
Him: I don't like to move my arms and legs.
Me: **Laughing** Well, you can rest your arms and legs in bed after you clean your room. (as I walk out of the room giggling and slightly ticked)

what a guy!

I am DOING IT....it's time for a TIME OUT!

Yes...a Time Out can be such a wonderful thing.

I am so ready for a Time out!

PLEASE MOMMY...put me there!

SEND ME...I need one!

YOU SHOULD ALL JOIN ME IN MY TIMEOUT THIS YEAR! 

It just so happens that my Time Out will be in Phoenix...November 4th & 5th

CHECK IT OUT!

-who's with me?

What is wrong here?

Problem? What? Here?

You tell me?

I had to take this photo, while laughing out loud!

-be advised that the electric tower that is full of death currents is actually quite far away!.

She Had to go and do it!

I have been avoiding and delaying this post for 18 days.
I have been thinking about it for over 2 months.
I have been trying to write it in my head over and over again...knowing I will never get it right.
I have surrendered to the fact that my words can NOt do Justice for the love I feel for this little girl...who is not so little after all. The words in my mind...just can't explain the feelings in my body!

I have asked her for 10 years to just STOP it...stop growing up..Stop getting bigger...stop becoming someone that one day will forget that she needed me and that she really does love me.
I have told her over and over again that some day she won't want me doing her hair, or making lunches, or just watching her from a far, or laying next to her at night, or watching movies while holding hands.
I have asked her to just let me pickle her in a jar and set her on the shelf till time runs out....

But she had to do it.

She had to turn 8 and then 9 and then last year she hit the big double digits...THEN this year, only 2 wks ago she just had to push the envelope and have her 11th birthday!

I just can't believe it!

I have been so wanting her to stay young and little, forever.
BUT now that she has defied my orders, I must say...I love her growing and developing and becoming this amazing, strong, confident, adventurous young woman.
I LOVe watching her make steps in places I never thought she would go...like trying out for the talent show, or being the humor in a crowd.
I love watching her take on a more serious role of being righteous and knowing the right way is the RIGHT way!
I love watching her grow physically...where just months ago she was wearing a size 8 shoe and then last Sunday she wore my size 9 shoe. Just a few days ago we were dancing together and her head is at my chin...she's getting so tall.
I love watching her decide what she likes and having an opinion...but will still asks me mine!
Lastly
I Love that she has turned 11 years old and will still come sit on my lap like she did when she was 5 and let me hold her like a baby girl. That she will come up to me, grab a hold of me and hug me and say "I don't think I have hugged you today" OR that when we hug she tells me she loves the way I smell.
I love that she hasn't forgotten that she loves me!

My sweet little girl that I wanted to stay small forever is getting big and I am loving IT!
What a blessing she is to me!

NOW...let me say something about these photos of her birthday. Shelby my sweet sweet hilarious child has such a personality. I had to post all 4 photos because, to me, they were all so dang funny, I couldn't leave one out.

Also...I want to tell Mimi & Papa THANK YOU so much for coming down for Lainie's BIrthday Dinner. It meant so much to her and to us. We love you and love having you in our home!
You are such wonderful Grandparents!!
-xoxo

Lainie's Book

If you want to know about my daughter, me, Luke and my parents.
Read the following book that Lainie wrote this year in school.

It made me cry a little with homesickness for my parents.
It made me question my relationship with my sweet girl and how she sees us.
It made me laugh with her details and her ideas on certain things and how she got a few things confused!
It made me wonder if I was even her mother or maybe her Grandma.
It made me proud of her and her determination to have what she wants in life.
It made me wonder if I really "COMMAND" my children to do things. (yes...I suppose I do)

EnJoy!
(click on the photo to enlarge)

happy Mothers (grandmothers) Day

This is a video we made last year for our grandmothers!

It cracks me up!
You can just see the excitment from my oldest. The sucker bride was not interesting enough for her. But my boys & little sister..well of course they earn their bribe.



Happy MOthers DaY!!

Jelly Bean Jog

The day before Easter...me and my Birdie ran the local Jelly Bean Jog 5k, together
It was a fun morning.
We got up early, headed to the clubhouse to pick up our packets and just get a vibe of how the morning was going to look.
Once there...and after seeing these shirts....I just had to change into mine and wear it!
It cracked me up.
I thought "if this shirt is ever gonna get worn, this might be the only day" so.....I wore it with jelly bean pride.
Lainie did a great job. I was so proud of her and her endurance to finish the race. She is very strong and has a great mind for running. I have invited her to go with me in the evening once in a while and she always wants to push it just a little bit farther. She's amazing.

I had such a good time connecting with her...just us two!
After the race...we ate b-fast with the racers and those from the community that joined in the festivities.
What a good day.

Easters 2011

Easter is one of my favorite Holidays for so many reasons. Actually i think I say that about every Holiday, none the less....I love Easter. It always take me back to when I was a youngster. I remember the Easter Bunny working so hard to hide our baskets in the craziest spots. We always had a trail of jelly beans directing you into the unknown and once we found our basket...we had a new Easter Dress and of course chocolate bunnies.

One memory that came to me this year, that I shared with my girls, was when we would have an Easter Picnic out at the Sand dunes. Which is now a dang Lake! This was when I was 10, 11 maybe 12 yrs old.

We would run around the dunes while my parents made dutch oven or sandwiches whatever they wanted that year. They would hide the eggs around the dunes and  we would find them. We got to know the area quite well. Once we found all the eggs, we would have an egg rolling contest down a hill. You would start at the top of a little rock slope and let your egg roll. The point was to get it to the bottom without busting open. I remember doing this with my Grandma Goulding a few times.

The deal was...it was a "special egg." It was a really big silver egg. We had never see such an egg before...it was huge and I think reused every year. I remember one year the egg was pretty beat up and was taped in a few spots. Well, we figured out the "special Silver Egg" was actually a panty hose egg.

Great idea Gram! I loved those eggs!

I love walking down memory lane...especially with my kids. They love hearing how things were or were NOT when I was young.

This year, like every year, we colored eggs and then had a photo-shoot of their fave. eggs.

Lainie's says "EGG HEAD" on it.

Shelby of course named hers BOB. That's her favorite name to name anything! She cracks me up.

Carter worked hard on the colors and then put stars on them with a marker.

Creed's ended up so beautiful. I tried trading a few of mine for his...but he didn't bite.

Memphis was strapped in his high chair to keep the mess minimal!

We were able to make a trip to the Valley to attend the Easter Dinner at Mimi and Papa's home with all of Lukes' brothers and their families. We missed his Sister this year...but that shouldn't happen again! (RIGHT RUBY?)  Of course we enjoyed ourselves beyond. It's always such a treat to meet with these cool people. I love that we are all so different and love one another so much! It's a cool thing!
Mimi & Papa put a wonderful egg hunt on for all the kids. They collected eggs and candies and treats and trinkets....of course fun. WINNING!
And Luke and I got to rub shoulders with the family.

OH...don't let me forget the dessert!
WOW...I went home with a sugar headache.
Carrot Cake with healthy things stuffed into it with a lish icing, yumm-o eclairs if I do say so myself and then this ridiculous cookie dough pie.
FO-GET BoUT IT! Ridiculous!!

I mean really? These kids are just to cute!!

Now after all the egg coloring and Sugar photos!

Read this wonderful Easter Message for the True Meaning of Easter!

need some goose bumps?

Check this out!

Field Trip TIme!

I was able to attend a field trip with Carter's Kindergarten class to the Sonoran Desert Life Museum in NW Tucson. It was amazing. I loved it and want to take my other children back there one of these days. Of course Creed and Memphis tagged along, which made it fun and slightly slow going with the stroller. But, it was still a good time!

A fair is a veritable smorgasbord orgasbord orgasbord

A fair is a veritable smorgasbord orgasbord orgasbord

After the crowds have ceased

Each night when the lights go out

It can be found on the ground all around

Oh, what a ratly feast!

-Charlotte's Web

(but of course)

We just had to make our way out to the Pima County Fair this year. It is always a nice break from real life and puts you right in a freak show/good wholesome family fun.
Here are a few photos of our day.

can you see the items of interest?