Greg's New Toy

I just had to blog about Greg's new toy. He got his new company car yesterday and he's in love with it! I must admit, it's pretty nice. He upgraded to add leather seats, a sunroof, Sirius radio, and a few other things. But what he didn't expect was something called "Sync" which allows you to actually hook up your cell phone to the vehicles speakers. He can call and received calls with only voice commands and then he just talks and the person on the other end, responds through the speakers. It's very cool!! I have to admit that I just had to go get a new cell phone (one that's compatable with Sync) just so I can call people while driving, well, WHEN I get to drive his car!! :)

Here's a picture of Greg and the kids with his new "Golden Calf" (I always mention that just for you, Ken). Oh, I suppose I should say what make it is. It's a Ford Explorer with an additional row of seats in the back...because our family is so HUGE, we really needed that! Please don't take that like I'm complaining, because I am definitely not!

Moving Forward...slowly

"Time passes. Even when it seems impossible. Even when each tick of the second hand aches like the pulse of blood behind a bruise. It passes unevenly, in strange lurches and dragging lulls, but pass it does. Even for me."
"New Moon" pg 93, Chapter 4-"Waking Up"


Ok, so I am slowly recovering from my latest addiction. I am now able to sometimes think of other things besides "Twilight", though I still have quite a ways to go. The paragraph above, says it all, at least for me.

Quickly I'd like to welcome some new comers to the Twilight fan club...Katie S., Melissa N., and someone who would like to remain anonymous (your secret's safe with me-though recognition is the first step to recovery). Hopefully soon, we will be welcoming Karie H. and Shannon R., both who will soon be starting the series.
The "Twilight Family" is growing bigger every day :)

Now for my actual "post". I have been working hard on getting my storage room organized. I got the first, of hopefully several, Shelf Reliance Switch Back Shelving Systems up for my canned food storage. It seriously, is a gift from heaven!! Completely amazing!! I recommend the systems to anyone interested. They are totally worth their weight in gold!

The only set back to organizing my food storage has been realizing that I have an over-abundance of some things and not nearly enough of others. So, right now as it stands, if there was an emergency, our family would be living on canned corn, canned green beans, macaroni and cheese, cream of chicken soup, ramen, tomato soup and of course, the 10 yr supply of cold cereal I've somehow managed to acquire. These items are bounteous within our home. If you are ever in need of anything listed above, you know who to call.

So, I still have two more shelves to organize and then I'll be taking a few photos to post, so that you all can "ooooo & aahhhh" along with me. I am SO excited!!! I am hoping to have the photos up later today.

Until then.... :)

I'm back with some photos!

This is my new switch back shelving. I LOVE IT!!!

My original shelving but now it's much more organized!

This is where you can see my "lack" of household supplies (very pathetic, I know) and my "over abundance" of cereal. Now to put this into perspective, Hannah is the only one of us that eats cereal, usually about once a week, and even then I won't let her eat the sugary kind! (I may have to add Lucky Charms, Cocoa Pebbles, & Cinnamon Toast Crunch to my eating plan...NOT GOOD!!) This morning, I insisted she eat a bowl of cheerios, with fruit and yogurt. I would hate to see all my "free & $0.50" boxes of cereal go to waste. What a shame that would be!

100 Dreams

For work, Greg has been reading this book that's suppose to help him inspire those under him to reach for their dreams, at work and in their normal lives. Well, this has prompted Greg to inquire about my dreams. I must admit that I don't have very many. Like I told him, I would love to take photography classes and maybe take some sort of archery/shooting classes, also. And if I could dream BIG, I would also include making it onto a reality TV show! So, my list was very short and did lack in the creative department. He encouraged me to write down 100 dreams that I have for my lifetime. OK, now that may not sound hard, but let me just say, I'm on #14!!! Yeah, and that was with me racking my brain!!! Greg says that the book states that we should have 100 dreams that we can be continually reaching toward on a daily basis. Now, I don't mean that all 100 have to be reached for on a daily basis but progress in at least one of the areas. So, when I sat down last night to begin my list, I was very disappointed with myself. 14? That's pretty pathetic! Anyway, I am now encouraging all those who read my blog, to make a list of 100 dreams that you have. I am hoping that I'm not the only one with a lack of imagination for this kind of thing. I am actually beginning to wonder if I fear failure! Maybe that's why I have so little to shoot for. The more I'm shooting for, the more likely I am to fail in some of the areas. This has given me a chance to analyze myself, which I am always grateful for. I like trying to figure out my inner self and in so doing, helping myself grow. So, I hope each of you have fun with this little challenge and make sure to get back with me on the number you were able to come up with. And while I wait to hear back from each of you, I will be exerting all my energy in coming up with more for my list. I at least need 20, right?!? Good luck :)

Let's Play Dress-Up!

I really thought these photos were cute, though I'm sure Gabe will think differently in the near future :) Hannah was having fun dressing him up and of course, I just had to take pictures. The truth is, Gabe really seemed to enjoy being Hannah's little Ken doll. Doesn't he make the cutest ballerina!?!

Here's some other cute pictures I took of Gabe. I had him playing in his room while I was putting away laundry and I went to go check on him, and of course, he had destroyed his room BUT it looked like he was having fun!! Do any of your kids have fetishes with the heating vents?!? Because Gabe won't leave them alone!! I may have to super glue them in so he can't get them out :)

Well, that's about it! Just wanted to post something and this is what I came up with. My kids are my world so why not blog about them, right?

Cynical synopsis...I'm flattered!

(Please read these words with lots of sarcasm in them, because they've got tons!!)

This is a special post to a new "friend" of mine, "Cynical Synopsis". My new friend decided to go out of his/her way to post a comment concerning my issues with Walmart. I must have offended the individual with my comments which tells me that he/she must have Walmart on a pedestal. I would apologize but I'm not sorry. This is my blog and my opinions. I suppose, Cynical Synopsis, if you would like to shed some light on those of us who can't stand Walmart, maybe you should start your OWN blog and enlighten us! Instead, I see that you have simply registered, without any personal information, so that you could comment on MY blog!! Are you trying to hide who you are? I mean, if you want your opinion heard so bad then at least take credit for it! I really do look at the fact that you went through the registration process, as quite a compliment to me. For you to go out of your way just to comment about my distaste for Walmart says a lot! It says that my opinion counts to you, why else would you even bother to comment? When reading your comment, I did sense a bit of hostility in your words, like some sort of caged-up revulsion toward me. Did I stand you up on a date in the past? Was I mean to you and your friends in high school? Am I thinner than you? What?!? (I believe that there's more to this story than meets the eye!)

As for my real friends, I did "trash" the comment because that's what it was...trash! I really don't mind comments that are different from my point of view, I think diversity is what makes our world wonderful. I challenge you, Cynical Synopsis, to leave a comment about this post BUT own up to it!! Don't hide behind a vacant name, fill in your information, so that we all know who you are. Are you too afraid of standing up to me if I know who you are? It's your choice but really, you seem rather pathetic hiding in the shadows, taking cheap shots at people who choose to voice their opinions loud-and-clear, while also taking accountability for them. I highly doubt you'll comment again, unless you remain anonymous, BUT I could be wrong. There's always a first time for everything, right?!? :)

Pictures, in this weather?!?

Yes you heard me right! For those of you who live in Utah and saw the SNOW falling today, you can only imagine what it was like trying to have our family pictures taken out in it!! We met with Carma Gray up in Alpine for the photos! What a beautiful park it was! Anyway, while we were driving there, we just knew that we were in for it. The wind was blowing SO hard and it was sprinkling which made me so upset because I had spent most of the early morning straightening my hair!! When you add my "straightened" hair to moisture, you get.......FRIZZ!!! YUCK!!! So, we ventured out in the weather because Carma seemed pretty sure she could get enough good photos to make the shoot work for us. We were game because we were already there. Why not try? Let me just sum up the shoot in two different phrases, the first would be..."Carma is AWESOME, seriously!! Love her!!" and the second would be..."We were freezing!! Totally freezing and totally crazy!!" Gabe's poor nose started to run and so we had to wipe his face with a moist wipe which then started chapping his little face. The wind kept blowing mine and Hannah's hair every which way. It was really out-of-hand!! I told Greg that it reminded me of a shoot I did on the beach, in the middle of February, wearing swimsuits! I never wanted to relive that experience again, but I got a second chance, lucky me!! At least this time, I was wearing warm clothing :) Needless to say, the pictures turned out cute and both of the kids were wonderful, under the circumstances. We finished the shoot about 10-15 minutes prior to the snow falling, so we had perfect timing or some amazing luck :)

I would recommend Carma Gray to all those who are interested in new family photos!!

Proud Mom!

I want to start out by saying that I have received my new Twilight Tshirts so you'll be seeing me sporting those really soon :) YIPPEE!!!

Now for the real reason I'm blogging! I am just so proud of Hannah. She started piano lessons about a month ago and she is doing so well!!! I was sitting down with her while she practiced yesterday and I was so amazed at the fact she can already read the music and play the notes. I swear, there doesn't seem to be anything that she can't do! I wish I could claim the genes that have given her such amazing abilities but we all know I can't. And since I can't, I feel like I can brag alittle without offending anyone :) Here are some photos of her practicing!!

Allow me to brag just a little bit more...Hannah brought home a paper from her 1st grade class that rated her on her reading ability. The scale said that children starting 1st grade should be a level 3. Most of you know that Hannah was reading prior to kindergarten so I assumed that she would score a bit higher than a 3. As I looked at her rating I was pleasantly surprised that she was rated a 16+, which was the highest rating :) I was so happy for her. She loves to read, especially the scriptures! She's such an amazing child. What a blessing she is in my life :)

Well I hope I didn't make anyone nauseous with all of my gloating BUT I really am so proud of her. But I also know that every mother is proud of their children's accomplishments, that's something we all have in common.