I'm still here...

Holy Hanna! I haven't posted on my poor little bloggy in for-evah!

Ok, this is gonna be kinda long - BUT it's our summer in a photo-nutshell.

June 2, 2009 - My oldest {Nathaniel} turned 11

June 24 - 28th we went to Ben's family reunion in Utah.

June 26, 2009 went to Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House
The temple was BEAUTIFUL!!!
June 27, 2009 HUGE Family Reunion at Bridal Veil Falls in Provo, UT
Ben's Family with all his siblings (minus 1) plus his parents & nieces/nephews

June 27, 2009 my beautiful daughter, Felicia, had her 10th birthday!
July 4, 2009 we celebrated Independence Day with a few fireworks of our own (in our backyard)!

July 23, 2009 these dorks guys left for Comic-Con in San Diego, CA

July 26, 2009 They came home.
Ben got all of us tons of FUN free swag!

Are these not the CUTEST little Batmen & Catwomen?

I told Ben he really shouldn't bother coming home unless he found some New Moon swag.

No I wasn't that mean, but he DID hook me up!

Awesome trading cards, plus see that Carlisle Ring? Everyone was waiting in line for raffles to win one of those. Someone thought his costume was COOL so he gave one to Ben! Woohooo! Way to go hubby!

He also scored these posters for me!

The big posters look just like the smaller ones, but the back looks faded & backwards almost like you're looking thru the poster! Pretty awesome!!! Thanks again babe!

Ok, so we wanted to wear the COOL masks too!

Do we look HOT or what? LOL

These two actually played together a LOT this summer!

August 5, 2009 This little guy got a haircut!

This is the BEFORE.

Are you diggin' on his sweet locks?

Well, don't get too used to them, cuz now they're gone!

There's my adorable Anson!

August 6, 2009 My munchkins got some new Webkinz

Thanks MOM for finding these amazing deals @ Costco!

August 7, 2009 I had foot surgery. OUCH!

And got to wear this cute shoe for the last 3 weeks.

Well, it's better than the one I wore 3 years ago when I had my bunionectomy.

I can finally squeeze into a sandal, so at least my shoes match now.

August 9, 2009 the Boys being silly after church

The Girls striking a pose after changing out of church dresses.

Yep, they planned on their matching outfits! heee heee

August 10, 2009 Ben left for Oregon (for work)

And my sister, Christy, had her birthday!

August 12, 2009 FIRST day of school

Nathaniel - 5th grade, Ashley - 2nd grade, Anson - Kindergarten, Felicia - 5th grade
Yep, my sweet fun baby is in all day school now! I have totally mixed emotions about that. I'm happy for him because he loves it & was so excited to start school. On the other hand, I miss my little buddy hanging out with me all day!

After 1st day of school treats!

Sonic Slushees

While Felicia was playing on the computer after school.....

I found Ashley like this...

She curled up on a jacket on the floor & passed out. LOL

I found Nathaniel sawin' some zzzzz's on the couch

Anson was watching tv, but quickly gave in to his heavy eyelids. haha

They had a wonderful 1st day of school, but apparently it totally wore them out!

August 16, 2009 10pm - Nathaniel got stung by a Bark Scorpion!

OUCH!!! Poor guy! He thought he needed to go to the ER or he would DIE! He knows those suckers are very poisonous! I talked to Ben on the phone {yep he was still out of town}, looked it up online and also called Poison Control. All I had to do was wash the area with soap & water, dry it off, apply a cool compress, and give him some Tylenol. As long as he didn't have an allergic reaction (like hives or trouble breathing), then he would be OK. Poison Control did warn me that this type of scoprion releases neurotoxins and within 6hrs he would probably have some numbness and/or tingling anywhere on his body. It could take 24hrs up to 2weeks for it to go away. He had some tingling the next day and came home from school early, but was fine later that evening. Thank goodness!!!!

That night ALL the kids slept in my bed with me.

I had our pest control company back at our house and respraying for scoprions inside & out!

August 18, 2009 Ahhh yes, that's water under our Hot Water Heater.

Well, it was 15 years old, so time for a new one!
Another thing to take care of while Ben was out of town.

Luckily, my Dad's friend came over right away to replace it!

August 22, 2009 we Celebrated Anson's 5th birthday!

{even tho his actual bday is August 23rd}

Ben came home for the weekend to celebrate Anson's bday!

But then he had to leave again early Monday morning :(

August 28-29th Nathaniel had his FIRST Boy Scout Campout! He was ecstatic! He loved that all the boys got to help plan the menu - he LOVES food! He came home covered in dirt, but had a BLAST!!!

See - my foot is healing quite nicely!

I took this pic this morning. I know my feet are covered in scars. But the newest one is on my left foot in the middle. My foot still hurts a lot periodically and I can't walk very fast.

Ok, sorry to end this LONG post with a pic of my foot (I know feet are gross) but at least my toenails look cute, right? LOL

Oh I had Parent Information Evening (PIE night) last night with Anson & Ashley's teachers. Their teachers seem nice & fun. Plus the kids love them! Looks like the year is off to a good start!

Today is picture day for the kids. We were late, but NOT because I was busy fixing their hair (I got that done on time) but Anson was stuck on the potty - crying in pain. Poor guy. He finally did his business and we were on our way! Felicia was the only one on time because I had to take her to school early for a student council meeting.

Tomorrow is PIE night for Nathaniel & Felicia's classes. I'll be busy trying to touch base with both teachers since usually Ben & I divide & conquer. But he is still out of town. In fact, he's on his way to Seattle today for PAX (Penny Arcade Expo) with his friend Trey. They will be helping EA promote the sequel to Army of Two xbox game {they will be dressed in total Army of Two gear}!

Ok, I'm out!

Updates & NEW Stuff

First, THANK YOU for all the kind thoughts & prayers sent our way. My Sister is recovering well from her surgery. She came home Sunday afternoon and stayed at our parents' house all week. She's doing so good that we were able to squeeze in our cousins' lunch too. It's always fun to see them & laugh for a couple hours! Christy had her follow-up doctor visit and got the OK to go back to work (sorry sis but you knew it was coming - LOL) and drive again. YAY!! Now she can feel independent again with her own car.

I've been trying to help my Dad by taking my Mom to some of her appointments so he can actually get some work done. This has been a BUSY week. My Mom has had several appointments EVERY day. I'm glad I am able to help out though. Plus it's time I get to spend with my Mom :)

We're trying to squeeze in our appointments before school starts again. {Yikes that's coming up quick - Aug 12th.} Nathaniel had his retainer adjusted since more teeth have been growing in. Nathaniel, Felicia & Anson all have their well visit next week. I had my yearly woman exam, then needed a sonogram (NO I'm NOT prego not even close). I've had painful monthly ovarian cysts since I was 21. Turns out I may have endometriosis now. My Dr wants to do laparoscopy to check for sure and if so, then blast any unwanted cells. {OUCH!} I also had my 3rd MRI on my left foot because of my dang toe joint that hurts. I have Freiberg's Disease and the pain just keeps getting worse. I'll be having surgery soon to remove part of the 2nd metatarsal head. Don't know how close together I can do these procedures, but I'll get it worked out. I'm going forward with the foot surgery first.

Ok enough with the blah blah blahs. LOL

DSO is still having their Designer Call and Site CT Call until July 31st

If you want a chance to sell your designs at DSO or love scrapping and want to be part of the DSO Store Creative Team, go apply now before it's too late! Good Luck ☺

DSO has a couple new talented designers in the store this week!!! WOOHOOOO!!!!

Sassy Sarah aka Designs by Sassy has joined us! YAY!!!

See what's new in her STORE

And one of my *online* designing buddies - Charlie (aka Charlie's Digiscraps) has joined the DSO team also! We've gotten to know each other thru blogging and at our fave digiscrap place DSO!!! Welcome aboard sweetie!

See what she's added to her STORE already

Oh I almost forgot, there's a couple new treasures in the store too!

Kim & Gaye (two very talented & creative sisters) have joined forces and created this amazingly beautiful Toof Fairy Collab kit:

You don't want to miss out on this kit!

It's so incredible & with so many hand-drawn elements!!!

{There are LOTS more pictures & close-ups HERE

& some FREE add-ons on their blogs!}

Ya know what?

This kit would go perfectly with this month's DSO Quote Challenge!

{hint - it's about *toothless grins*}

Bunny created this amazing poem wordart in this same theme:

Jazzy also has some darling Toof Fairy wordart

To see all the new designs go HERE

I also wanted to share some lovely layouts using my Hokey Pokey kit:

Renee's Flowering Cactus

Michelle (aka SunshineState) Birds of a Feather

{she won my kit at DST}
Bunny playing with glue again, made this darling hybrid box


I also want to do a little shout out to my brother-in-law:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIK!!!!

Hope it's a good one!!! Have a safe trip home!

I'm still here...

My poor bloggy has been so neglected this last month :(

I just wanted to check in and let you know we're all enjoying our summer break with the kids home. I have been using a point/reward system and it's working fabulously!!!

I reward *points* {they're really pennies - not allowed to be used as money per say} for certain things the kids do or how they behave. I never take points away once they've been earned. At the end of the day or the next morning, then I hand out the points. Each kiddo has a container with their name on it.

Then they get to *use* their points for fun things like xbox time, computer time, candy from the grab bag, sleepovers, etc.

When I first came up with this idea 2 summers ago, Ben called me Hitler. hahaha Said I was being too strict or whatever. But you know what? When I first mentioned it to the kids they were excited! Then when we put it in action, oh my gosh, they were ecstatic!!!

The kids. Love. The. Points!

I can see why Ben may have thought the points were too much because the kids have to do workbooks {to review their school year}, read books, do book reports, chores, and actually behave the way they're supposed to. And they're not allowed to *use* points until they've done a couple *work* type things, like their workbook and reading time. But they dig it & its totally working for us! YAY!!!

I only do points during the summer to maintain some kind of order {I am not a schedule person, I LOVE not having a schedule and get to plan whatever I want to do each day}. You know what's funny? A couple months before school was over, the kids start asking about summer points! Are we going to do points again this summer? Can we add more things to the list to earn more points? What kind of grab bag candy will we have this year? Can we help pick it out? etc etc!

What kind of system do YOU use in the summer? Or do you have something else that's working for you?

Do share.

Ok 'nuff about that. I need to get to bed. Sounds like the girls (Ashley & her friend that's spending the night) are finally quieting down. My clue that I can go to bed now. LOL Did your Mom ever tell you that she couldn't go to bed until YOU were in bed? My Mom did all the time, now I kinda get what she meant. tee heee :)

Tomorrow - going to lunch with my sis & cousins! WOOHOOOO!!! I look forward to these each month!

Friday - bunko with the girls!!! YAY!!! Can't wait!!!

Oh one more thing... do you remember this post about our cool praying mantis?

Well, she laid an egg sac on Halloween night last year. We looked online to find out when it may hatch. Turns out we'd have to wait until spring! Well spring came and went - according to Arizona weather. So we didn't think anything would happen with it. Suddenly, little praying mantis babies started hatching earlier this month! We had about 10 (approx one hatching per day). Nathaniel was so excited and such a good bug papa by feeding them little tiny bugs and aphids (they're favorite), but then some of them started dying. I guess nature weeding out the weakest ones. So now there are 2 left and they're growing every day! They are so cute!!! I'll post pics later.

I seriously need to go to bed. Ok I've updated my pathetic lonely blog. Hopefully I'll be back soon to update more!

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL 2009

I'm still in denial. Can it really be the LAST DAY of school??? Has it already been 9 months? I guess it has because whether we're ready or not, they're coming home & not going back until August!

I am excited that I don't have to do these again until August:
*pack 3 lunches (in August it will be 4 lunches)
*wake up early (Monday thru Friday)
*race to get kids ready
*throw on clothes or robe & run out the door to get kids to school on time (Barely on some days)
*nag about homework
*sign everyone's folder or agenda daily

Instead, here's what we will be doing this summer:
*NOT getting up super early every day (only if we WANT to)
*Reorganizing the kids' rooms
*earning points so the kids can "use" them to play video games & have sleepovers
*doing summer workbooks
*summer reading
*practicing violins (I'll be tutoring the kids)
*daily chores so the house doesn't look like several tornadoes hit
*squeezing in a little Webkinz time {gotta take care of my Olivia☺}
*Playing with Friends
*Summer Movie Fun
*Swimming, lots of swimming
*free school lunch (during June, Monday thru Thursday)
*going to Utah for Ben's family reunion
*Ben gets to go to ComiCon again
*hoping for NO fighting, hitting, screaming (is it possible or am I just dreaming? LOL)
*Having lots of FUN!!!

BUT, before all the summer FUN begins, I have a BIG day before the bell rings at 3pm & all the kids flee the school campus!

The kids have their Winners Assemblies shortly after school starts, so I will go to both of those (the younger grades & the older grades). Ashley will be receiving "Winning Attitude" award! YAY!! Felicia will be in the B.U.G. Club again (Bringing Up Grades or if you keep straight A's)! YAY!!! Nathaniel doesn't know yet if he's receiving any awards.

Then I get to meet my sister & cousins for our monthly Cousins Lunch! I'm so happy I get to see them more often now! Anson is looking forward to spending time with my cousin's son too! They're the same age & they have so much fun together!

I have a couple errands to run after lunch.

Pick up the kids from school & hear about all the exciting parties!

Let the kids swim for a little bit to cool off.

Then we'll all be off to Pack Meeting to see Nathaniel receive TONS of awards! We haven't had an official pack meeting for a few months because there have been other important meetings, like Blue & Gold Banquet, Pinewood Derby, etc. We are so proud to see Nathaniel accomplish so much! He has really been working hard and even achieving a few badges on his own {to surprise Ben - who is also their Webelos leader}! He will receive 9 pins, 1 belt loop, Webelos badge, Compass, 1 point on the Compass, and his Arrow of Light {which if you know anything about cub scouting, Arrow of Light is very Honorable}! He's so ecstatic to be receiving so many, especially right before his birthday! He'll be 11 on June 2nd, so he'll move up to Boy Scouts! He is growing UP way toooooooo fast for me!

Oh and Ben is also bringing the snow cone machine to make the treats for everyone at Pack Meeting! It's going to be yummy! And sticky. I'm glad I won't be in charge of that! LOL

Hope you all have a great day! And if your little ones have their last day of school today, hope your SUMMER is AWESOME!!!

And They're Off!

It's official - SUMMER BREAK is OVER!

Today is the FIRST day of SCHOOL for my kiddos!

They were so excited last night! I remember how that was when I was a kid, could NOT get to sleep from being so excited & nervous at the same time! Each one received a father's blessing from Ben, so they will have a great school year. They love that!

I made their lunches last night & the kids had their new clothes all laid out & backpacks full of school supplies. I suddenly noticed we didn't have anymore cereal for breakfast, so I whipped up some strawberry muffins (ok they were from a mix) and they were GOOD!!

Their backpacks are so full of supplies & lunches! Just look at their HUGE smiles!
Even Anson has school supplies (even though he's not going to school) in his backpack.
They rode their bikes while Ben and I jogged with them (Anson was in the stroller holding his backpack). I had to carry Ashley's backpack for her because it was too heavy (who knew school supplies could weigh her down so much). ha ha

We got to school with time to walk each munchkin to class. They even gave us hugs in front of everyone. They're so SWEET!!!

Now we're off to the gym (we already had our warm up jogging to school & walking home). Whew! It's already HOT outside!

I'm happy for the kids to be back with all their friends, but a little sad that our house is almost empty. But not too sad that I won't enjoy the quiet a little bit. LOL

Hope the kids have a great first day!

The *Shiner*

It all started on Monday (Aug. 4th), we were having fun swimming at my parents' house & having a BBQ.

Nathaniel & Anson (relaxing in his new hippo floaty)

Ashley & Felicia swimming with the pool noodles
My Mom & Dad (and Anson's little feet)
Ben was *holding* the hippo floaty while Anson was swimming without any help
Even their dog Madison joined us
I think this one was taken after the *shiner* so it didn't stop Nathaniel from having fun
Ok, so here's what happened..
Everyone was playing and having fun, then somehow Nathaniel got right behind or under Ben, well Ben went to move quickly and Nathaniel's eye got the brunt of Ben's elbow during a big stroke to swim away. It all happened so fast, that I didn't even realize that he got hurt until he came out of the water crying. We all took a look at his face. Yikes! Instant bruising and swelling plus a little cut. Poor guy! He put ice on it for a while then went back in the pool.


Here's how it looked when we were done swimming
(Ben felt so bad even though it was an accident)

He also kept ice on it while we watched "Goonies" that evening at my parents' house.
(The kids hadn't seen that movie yet and liked it. Total blast from the past. It came out in 1985. It was cracking me up the whole time!)


Here's how his eye looked on Wed morning
I used a little makeup to make it not look so bad (still very swollen though)
Here he is today. Hardly any swelling and most of the bruising gone.
He's already had to tell a few people asking about his *shiner* and who won the bar brawl. ha ha

He says it doesn't hurt much as long as no one touches it.

Good thing we have a couple more days before school starts. Don't want him looking like *Rocky* on his first day of school. LOL