My Handsome

Everytime I get this boys hair cut, it brings out this amazingly handsome face. I just cannot believe how much a simple hair cut can change they way he looks. I love it! Isn't this look sooo mischevious!

What a Weekend!

Art& Air Show was this past weekend...not too impressed, but kids had fun anyway...enjoy montage, music doesn't quite go along but it's Beau new fave song, LOL.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Spell it with Flicker!

This is so cool! Spell it with Flicker! A friend sent me this to try, go try it out! I LOVED it so much I changed my header using it!

Crawdads & River Fun

The other day we took the kids crawdaddin'(is that how you spell it?) Beau was so excited, he kept sayin' "We're goin' crawdad fishin'" all the way there. And, ofcourse, there were many, "Are we there yet?"'s, LOL. We only caught 2, seemed to be that everyone had been thinkin' the same thing, and so most of them were already caught, cooked, eaten and shells were lying everywhere! In any case, the kids had a ton of fun on the 'riber'.
FUNNIES: Grace was quite daring and would not listen to Dad telling her that the rocks were very slippery, and so she tried making her way across the river, and fell in not once, but 2 times! Ha! She also coaxed Drew to come with her at one point, Drew was very hesitant, but they mad thier way to a rock to sit on *in montage* and Drew cut her foot on a rock. This ofcourse, crippled her in her mind, and so they sat on the rock refusing to return unless I came to get Drew. I was like, "No, you got out there, you can come back!" So, they sat. Just about the time they were gonna try to get back into the river, Drew's letting me know her toe is bleeding. I said, "You better hope the crawdad's don't get a taste!" Her eyes got so big, she was even more glued to the rock after that! Sissy girls!
Beau was so excited to catch a crawdad, he truly had no idea what that meant, but when Darrin finally caught one, he was scared to death and would not even take a picture with Daddy holding the crawdad.
We stopped at a few different river parks, and at one, we ate lunch on an old picnic table. All kinds of strange bugs came crawling all over the table, inch worms, caterpillars we had never seen, tiny spiders, etc. One tiny caterpillar was going along the edge of the table near where Beau and Leah were eating, and Leah freaked out! *That is in the montage*

Here is a montage of some of the pics I took. Enjoy!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Made some changes!

I have made some changes to my blog. I have added permissions, this is to safegaurd my information, and photos of my children I post. I was deeply disgusted and provoked by the review I was emailed by a friend, Child Predators on Ebay. It got me thinking too about my blog. I love blogging, but I do not want something I love doing to risk the safety of my children. I hope anyone that may read my blog, without ill intent, understands this action. Lets keep blogging about out children fun AND safe!

Dilly Bars & Fountain Fun!

*Lulu trying hard to eat her first Dilly Bar, cherry, mmmm!

I went through the DQ drive thru today, and got each of the kids a dilly bar. I haven't had one of those forever! And, I had forgotten how fun they are for kids, Beau and Leah had never had one. Then, we drove around searching for a spot to eat them, and found this great little spot by the river. There was this HUGE water fountain feature, coming up from multiple grates in the ground, it was great! The fountain height varied, shut off, then would spout up again, almost 10 feet high. We were not at all prepared for water play, but they didn't care, as the photos show!!!

Even the preteen drama queen couldn't resist!

Beau was saturated head to toe!

Lulu just tried to kick the water and for the most part, was the dryest one of them all by the end!

Countdown!

I am getting sooooo excited! Only 13 more days til the DAVE MATTHEWS BAND Gorge concert! I cannot wait! I can't believe I am going!

My Family

This is a pic of my Great Grandma Marie to left, my Dad's Grandma, far right is my Daddy, my Grandma Nancy is holding him. Wasn't she lovely?

Handsome Men here! My Grandpa, my Mom's Dad to right, and then, I think my Uncle Leroy to left. What a great old b&w shot!

My Dad and Mom on their wedding day! How sweet!

My Grandma Georgia with my sister and I! I sure miss her!

I gotta go pee Mom!

Leah Lou has been taking her diaper off constantly, refusing to wear one at all! The other night she took it off while we were outside, I was watering flowers and Beau hollers, "MOOOOM! WEAH POOPED ON THE ROLLER COASTER!" I look over, and she had taken off her diaper, which she had pooped in, then sat on the roller coaster car and smeared poo all over it! GROSS! So, I hosed her off, and let her run nakey all over the yard. She loved it! So, yesterday I put the 'baby potty' back together, and she has been spending most of her day there when home! I now have to hide the toilet paper though, or she's gonna use it all up!

*BABA NEWS: I threw her bottle away today, just finally decided she is done with it. She asked for it a few times, but no whining, until bedtime that is, but she fussed a minor amount, and is already asleep! Woohoo!

Blackberry Pickin'!

Island Way Sorbet!

Today I went to Costco to pick up a few things, and they were sampling this amazing dessert called Island Way Sorbet. OMG, you have to try this! I bought the 12 pack that Costco is selling right now, not sure if it's gonna stick around, but I love it! The sorbet in served inside the fruit shell! So, the pineapple sorbet was in a 1/2 pineapple shell, frozen, and individually packaged. I am not one for eating pineapple or coconut, but these are simply delicious!

Friday Fave

Last night I sat down with Beau and Leah, and we read tons of books together. One they really really enjoy is this, "WHOSE NOSE AND TOES?" There is also another called, "WHOSE BABY?" Very cute books!

Garden Pics & Strawberry Harvest

My Coleus, first year planting one, and it has gone wild! I had bought a tray pack of 6, only one decided to grow, and it blooms this charming little purple/lavendar flower stalk at the top! I love the verigated leaves!

A volunteer sunflower that has grown to be absolutley huge! I cannot believe how tall it is, and it must have about 30 blooms! I plan to try and dry the seeds if I can.

The Boy posing with his days pick of our strawberries, and a few ripe pear tomatoes, which he decided are not very good, so Daddy can eat them!

MATTEL TOY RECALL

Yet another recall...this one from Mattel, including many Polly Pocket items, but luckily none of which my daughters have. I know we have owned one of the items described for Doggy Daycare, but I honestly think it has all since been randomly scattered about and lost, so I won't bother filing 0n this one. However...take a look at the list of recalled items here to see if you might own some of the toys affected. It will all be processed via email, they will even ship you a prepaid shipping label to ship your affected items.
I just received reimbursement today for the shipping cost to return my affected Thomas the Tank Engine trains, as well as a new free train that Beau did not have already, so it was nice! Still waiting for replacement trains.

Child Predators on Ebay

I have been thinking some more on my last post, regarding the review about Child Predators on Ebay. It seriously makes me sick to my stomach. I am guilty as well, of posting my childrens photos to my listings in the hopes of increasing sales. I never thought it harmful. Hundreds of ebayers do this, and many use thier own childrens photos. I can see a dramatic increase in earnings when I do this. However, this article has definitely made me think twice. I would say 99% of the time I receive payment via paypal. But, once in awhile I will have someone send a money order. I promptly respond, giving out my home address. I never guessed that I could possibly be giving my address out to a potential child predator.
My children's safety is a very important thing to me, and I have always tried to be on gaurd to anything that might happen. I once read this book called, PROTECTING THE GIFT, author GAVIN DE BECKER. It has been a number of years since I have done so, so I should read it once through again.
As a child I remember very vividly, a frightening incident. I was around my oldest dtr's age, 12, I think. I was riding my bicycle to the park which was only about a block from our home, and a straight-away at that. I rode by this house, 1/2 down the road, I heard a whistle, I looked over to see a man standing in his doorway, looking out at me. I blew it off. I rode home from the park a bit later, then rode back and this same thing occurred, he whistled, I looked over, and this time, this man was standing naked in his doorway staring at me. I freaked out! I was so scared, I rode the rest of the way down the road, and around the block to avoid passing this house once again. My Mom was livid when I told her what happened. She walked down there, and knocked on his door, he would not answer, so she peeked into his garage, and he was pacing, fully clothed around his garage. I was so fearful of passing that house EVER again. What might have happened? What was his motive?
Even in my blog, I have tried to avoid revealing too much information to my location. But, never in a million years would I have thought a predator would use Ebay as navigation to harm a child.
We must all as Mothers, and Humans, do what we can to protect our children, as well as others. Please take the time to read the links in this post.

Feeling ???

I don't know what is going on lately, but I am feeling so odd. People around me seem to me acting strangly as well. I have this underlying anxiety, this "butterfly in my stomach" all day long. I am having some trouble sleeping, and I just cannot pinpoint my feeling. Then, today I get this link from a friend...Child Predators on Ebay ...I read it, and now it's got me even more freaked out than I already was, not knowing what I was freaking out about. What the heck is going on? I don't get this feeling anymore like I did when we were going through the drama 2 years ago. It makes me want to hoard my children inside, lock all windows and doors, and just hide out.

I love this stuff!

I purchased some of this lotion called ILE DE TAHITI~COCONUT VANILLE, back in January or February when my husband gave me a gift card for Bath&Body Works, it was $1.50 or something close to that for a sample size bottle. This past weekend I went back to see if I could get some more, or get some in a bigger bottle, and they said it's been discontinued for months!!! WHAT? I love this stuff! It smells so heavenly, so tropical. I have been using it at work, after I wash my hands, and I could not count on 2 hands how many people have commented on how wonderful I smell. It's addictive! So, I thought, I'll just see if Ebay has any. Well, they did, and so I got a bottle. It will last me forever, but if not, I know where to get it now!

The description from the bottle says it all:

"The beach in a bottle. The tropical scents of Coconut and Bamboo float within White Iris and Musk, transporting the senses and imagination. Getaway is now every day."

They are trying me!

Today we did some B2S shopping with Grandma Linda, my MIL. She called around 10am, and said she'd be leaving in about 2 hours, well, she finally left WA at 2pm, and so it was near 4 by the time I got a call from her, which is fine, but I had tried to make sure the 'babies' had a nap before we went out, and Leah played in her crib for about an hour, NEVER SLEEPING. She has been doing this a lot lately, and it's driving me crazy! And, she takes her diaper off all the time, she hates it, but she won't pee on the toilet, she just wipes and wipes and wipes and plugs the toilet! I gave up, and we went to town. Beau did not nap either. IT WAS PURE HORROR! I should have come home, but I was not about to let Grace the preteen drama queen pick all of her own school clothing, since inevitably it would lead to me returing half of it :{ So, I stuck it out, Leah would not keep her shoes on, she kept taking them off and losing them! She was thirsty, I had a water bottle with me, and she poured the whole thing all over her and the store floor! She hid in clothing racks...dare I go on? Grace took FOREVER! Oh, and, it's all MY fault she ended up with hardly anything since I don't let her get ANYTHING! LOL. Drama Drama Drama! NO, I was not letting her pick revealing, sheer, lacy, mature clothing. I ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT GIVE IN ON THIS! My 12 year old dtr will dress as a 12 year old, NOT as a 20 year old woman! What is wrong with that? NOTHING. I am teaching her a simple value, modesty! Unfortunately I have a 12 year old daughter with a rapidly maturing body, by rapidly, I mean, she wears a larger cup size than I do at 12!!! (frustration overwhelming me) Enough already...back to Leah...when we got home it was 9:30pm, and so she was sooo tired, as was Beau. I had them brush thier teeth, and so while they stood at thier stools doing so I ran some laundry out to the laundry room. I returned to find Leah in the kitchen with her toothbrush, she handed it to me, "I done Mom!" So, I took it back to the bathroom and the counter top was covered with water, and so was the stool and floor. I said, "What in the world?" She was right behind me, "I sowy Mom. I not mean to, I not mean to Mom. I sowy." Awww! How sweet is that? All my frustration aside, I said to her, "I know you didn't honey, I love you." She said, "I wove you too Mom." A days hysteria gone in one moment!

Something fun...

Saw this on Margo's blog, had to do it too! What Your Pizza Reveals

Your appetite is pretty average. You don't go overboard - but you don't deprive yourself either. You are a very picky pizza eater. Not any pizza will do. You fit in best in the Northeast part of the US. You like food that's traditional and well crafted. You aren't impressed with "gourmet" foods. You are dependable, loyal, and conservative with your choices. You are cultured and intellectual. You should consider traveling to Vienna. The stereotype that best fits you is geek. You're the type most likely to order pizza to avoid leaving your computer.

What Does Your Pizza Say About You?

Soccer Camp

Drew is done with Soccer Camp now! She had a lot of fun, and amped up her skillz! She won player of the day award, which was only given out to 3 kids! Mom could stand a little more of that british accent...maybe next summer! Enjoy the montage!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Friday Fave

Gotta love the Veggie Tales!

Beau loves this CD right now. We have a couple of them, and his favorite song is THIS ONE!

Nature Talk

So we figured out that the moth DH had caught with Beau was truly a HummingBird Moth. Isn't that amazing? I have never before in my life seen one. We let it go, it was still alive, surprising with all the shaking Beau did to the container we had it in. My Mom said she would've pinned it to a piece of wood and let it dry with it's wings outstretched, but...it was such an random find, I'd so much rather send it back to nature! What amazing things our God has created!

On another note: I GOT STUNG BY A WASP! I was stepping out onto our back porch, and apparently they had created a nest with young in the corner of our slider door, and it just stung me right between my left breast and my shoulder through my shirt as soon as I stepped out the door! AUUUGGHHH! It hurt so bad! It was like fire! I have never been stung that I can remember, and especially not by a Wasp! Darn bee's! I think the Lord could have left those out! My sister was here and told me to put a copper penny on the sting to relieve it, and what do you know? IT WORKED! I have never heard of that before. *Thankyou Daddy for spraying and knocking down the nest for me!
Today was Drew's last day of soccer camp, and I had promised the little ones we would feed the ducks. We had a bunch of moldy bread anyway...they were so excited! Grace mentioned on our way to the pond, knowing there were also geese, "Don't geese chase you?" She said. I was sure not, I mean, the other day they just came right up to Leah and Beau, they were kind. Well, this had me thinking, and as we were feeding the ducks, one goose, male I think, and canadian, suddenly made a loud honk and lowered his head to the ground then came barrelling toward us. Grace grabbed Leah and ran screaming, then the goose stopped and started eating some bread. I figured, no problem. Then, it did the same stinkin' thing, and this time, I wasn't chancing it! I turned around to run, screaming too! I had to stop and grab Beau, he had no idea there was a problem, he was just 'feedin the ducks'. Makes me laugh now, we probably looked like fools!

More of Nature: We have 2 sparrow's nest under our shop roof.
I snapped a pic today of the 4 babies eagerly awaiting some dinner, QUICKLY, because the mother sparrow is vicious! She dives like an arrow straight at me every time I come near the nest. Althought I would hate for her to attack me, I completely understand her expression of fear.

Random pics

This week, with Drew having Soccer Camp, I have been visiting a bit with my Mom, who btw, is doing amazingly well! Beau and Leah have a hayday with her yard, and I caught this pic of them watching some ants come down her tree. Beau was telling Leah they were 'goin' to their house', Leah ofcourse always just goes along, "Oh, to da house..." I love pics outdoors! This is a perfect one, in my opinion, to show how closely bonded these two are.


Here are my Morning Glories, in all their morning glory! Hmmm, 6am, wonder why they are called such??

DH helped Beau to catch this very strange Moth but not sure what kind it is, it's body is HUGE, almost the size of a HUMMING BIRD. I have never ever seen one this large or with these markings ever before. Darrin seems to think it might be a Gypsy Moth. I guess I'll just have to look it up on the web.

I saw this Firecracker Fushia in June at Fred Meyer, and I loved it!
However, they only came in a pot with other flowers and they were priced at $24.99!!! I was NOT going to pay that! So, I forgot about it. Well, my Mom went perusing about the garden section at Freddie's last night and found them for 50% off, and grabbed one for her AND me! How sweet of her! I love it! The flowers are almost a neon pink, and the leaves are verigated green, orange and cream. Hers is bushed, but mine is more of a tree. I just hope the littles ones do not break it or pull all the flowers off!

OF NOTE: I have now lost 23 lbs!!! Whoopee! I still have 48 to go however, but it's coming off!

Throwback Thursday

This is a pic of me around the age of 6 or 7 with a fine catch while camping in Central Oregon, same place we just took the kids camping!

So Sweet!

A lovely patient that has returned home from his stay had sent us a letter last night and the DNS posted it at the nurses station. It was so sweet! I just adored this man, and so this made my day! He thanked us for the wonderful care, and said how great we were, EVERY ONE! We get tons of thankyou cards from patients and families, but this was a formal handwritten letter. I melted :)

Childrens Place Web Code!

Okay, hopefully all you bloggers are checking my blog, cause there is a great sale right now at The Childrens Place and I have a super duper code to share with you on top of it! Fill your bag, and enter web code FMR77 at checkout, make sure you also include a pair of shoes. You will receive %25 off your entire order plus FREE SHIPPING! You must have atleast one pair of shoes in your shopping bag. But, it's no problem since almost all BTS stuff is ON SALE anyway! So, Donna, Margo...get shoppin'! *not sure how long this code is good for*

*NOTE: code found on this great website RETAILMENOT

***WE GOT RESULTS:
From my cousin Melissa..."Thanks for the heads up, I got jayd 2 outfits and a pair of shoes for 37.00! Yeah, let the school clothes shopping begin!"
Mine...I got my Drew 2 full outfits and a pair of shoes for only $35.00!!! Woohoo!

Flower pics

This a morning glory that just suddenly started sprouting and has gone crazy in my flower pot! What a lovely surpise, since I did not plant it there!

My echinacea already has 4 blooms!

A "volunteer" Sunflower! It is huge! It probably has 10 buds ready to bloom all around and down the stalk! I have another that is even bigger, but it fell 2x while growing and is twisted. Once it blooms I will get a pic of it too.

Pics with New Cam @ the Park

Soccer Camp...Lost Kittens!

Today Drew started her week of soccer camp with UK coaches. I don't know why, but an English mans accent just makes my knees weak, and they are quite attractive to the eye as well! LOL. Anyway...she had a blast! She worked hard, I could tell by how bright red her face was when I went to pick her up. She sure loves soccer!
Drew is also taking care of the neighbors cats/kittens this week. We came home from soccer camp and she went directly over to feed and water them, but 3/5 kittens were missing from the cage! After searching and searching, we finally found them sleeping in the neighbors shop. Phew! Drew was hysterical, crying and so worried that the neighbors would be mad at her. I calmed her explaining it was NOT in any way her fault that they got out. And, they better not even blame her if it happens when they come home as well. I will turn into Psycho Mommy if they even so much as become upset with Drew.
Got my camera! I just could not do without it. I am whole once again...ha, ha! Took some pics of Drew's soccer camp, and got some video of the wonderful english/british accent..aaaahhh! I will post a montage of her soccer camp later this week...TTFN.

Happy Birthday to my Sissy...New Camera???

So today is my sisters 28th birthday! Gosh, do I wish I was still only 28! 30 is sooo old...LOL. Last year I had called her cell and left her a birthday song sang like Marilyn Monroe sang to JFK back in the day...it was hilarious! HILARIOUS! And, so today, I started thinking, how could I possibly sing Happy Birthday to her in a cell voicemail again this year? Fergie's Glamorous...I did it! I sang to her with my Gracie...B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y BIRTHDAY, then repeat...etc...you get the idea. It was funny, but not as funny I guess. I still have to get her something, I'm a slacker.

I took my camera in yesterday to get it checked out,
I paid the $25 service fee, which is to be used toward the repair cost, but it will be atleast 5 or 6 weeks out from now that I get it back, and I still don't know how much it will cost, so I am seriously considering a new purchase. I am looking at the Canon Powershot A560 It is on sale for $164.99. I figure I can swing that with my earnings coming this week from Ebay. Then, I can decide later what to do with my broken camera. I won't even find out the cost of repair for 3 weeks!!! Still contemplating...
Today: home, nothing exciting, just hangin' out in Pj's most of day, taking out garbage, doing laundry, eating and eating and cleaning. Boring...but sometimes those days are just as necessary, right?
Thankyou Lord, for this day...and for my healthy, happy family!