Well, it's been over a MoNTh since I last updated my blog and what can I say. . . I took and extended break? I was soo busy making all kinds of holiday goodies that I just didn't have time. . . more like EATING all kinds of holiday goodies!! I'm pretty sure that all my hard work over the summer (remember 140 by 40?!?) has been completely destroyed by my weak willpower when it comes to sweets!

I wanted to post an update on our family since I didn't get around to even sending out a Christmas letter with our cards - - hey, at least I got the cards out right?

Here is the rundown of our 2008:

February: Took the "big kids" on a cruise along with some of my family to the Caribbean to celebrate my parent's wedding anniversary - - and made it a graduation gift for Matt & Jade. Jack and Madeline had a GREAT time staying with Grandma & Grandpa Harris and came back completely spoiled.

May: An eventful month - our basement flooded (frozen hose bib) resulting in tearing out the carpet and drywall in both of the downstairs bedrooms. Poor Jade had just had her wisdom teeth out and had gone to bed when I woke her up and said "Um, I know that you just had your wisdom teeth out and are totally drugged up right now, but I REALLY need you to help me move your dresser - - we have LOTS of water in your room!" She was a great sport and helped me the best she could.

As if that weren't enough excitement, a week later the engine in our Jeep "threw a rod" - as I understand it, this is very bad and now I know that this is VERY expensive!!

Then something GREAT happened - - Jade and Matt both graduated from high school!
CLICK HERE for pictures of Jade's graduation.
CLICK HERE for pictures of Matt's graduation.

It was lots of fun, especially since I was on the "Grad Night committee" at Jade's high school and in charge of all the games at Grad Night. This meant that I got to go to Grad Night too. Jade was a good sport about it and we had a lot of fun. The best game?! Using the "drunk goggles" from the Utah Highway Patrol to navigate a obstacle course - hysterical!!
CLICK HERE for Grad Night pics.

July: Matt received his mission call to the San Fernando, CA - Spanish speaking mission - reporting to the MTC on September 17, 2008.

August: Mark & Jana rode in the "Utah Lake Epic Century Ride" (ULCER) around Utah Lake (the whole lake - 112 miles). This was my first Century ride and I had never ridden 100 miles before. 75 miles, sure but not 100. I finished, but it was not pretty at times!
Click here to read more about THAT adventure.

Jade started college at Utah Valley University and Jack started pre-school at Miss Hollie's.
see pics here

September: Matt entered the MTC on the 17th - I think he was a little scared about all that he would have to learn, but I also think he was looking forward to it too.

I finally found an old bike to put on my porch (after about 4 years of searching!)
CLICK HERE to see some pictures.

Mark and I went to Hawaii for a structural engineering conference. Yeah, he did the work while I laid in a lounge chair by the pool and read my book. I also managed to completely stick my foot in my mouth BIG TIME.
Click here to read more . . . you see some things never change!

November: I turned 40 - yikes! But, it wasn't as bad as I imagined and I had a great birthday. Click here to see pictures.

December: Here is a brief update on all the kids:

Jordan (22) Living in Provo and working as a brick mason. He seems to like it, although it is a bit sporadic at times and I think that is hard for him. He just moved into a house with his girlfriend Karen and seems upbeat about life. He comes home about once a month or so for dinner, etc. I wish we saw him more, but I guess he has a life too - at least he calls every week.

Matt (19) Arrived in San Fernando on November 17th. He is adjusting to missionary life and still working on his language skills. His companion is from Peru and speaks only Spanish - this is sometimes trying, but he has a good attitude and I think he will be fine.

Jade (18) Working at Costco (24 hours a week!) and just finished her first semester at UVU. She is living at home, determined to "sponge off us as long as she can" (her words). All joking aside, I am glad that she is at home, even though I don't see her much between work, school and her boyfriend, Willy who is also attending UVU. She is a great big sister to Jack and Madeline and will even still babysit for me on occasion!

Jack (almost 5) Goes to pre-school 3 days a week and loves it. He is learning site words and can sound out a few words on his own. He loves all things "super hero". Right now his latest obsession is Indiana Jones. He has a whip, hat and now a pouch to store his important things in. He goes around the house constantly humming the Indiana Jones theme song!

Madeline (almost 3) Loves all things princess. If you ask her what her full name is she will say "Madeline Princess Harris". She also loves animals and sometimes thinks she is a cat. To read a funny story about that click here. She has lots of personality and I am quite sure she is going to give me a run for my money!

Mark - Still working for Reaveley Engineers and is keeping busy (a good thing these days!) He has introduced me to biking and we have been riding together quite a bit. He learned to "surf" behind the boat this year and loves it - much easier on your body than slalom skiing! Went on a "Man Trip" with some friends to jet ski down the Colorado River and had a great time. He is currently serving as the assistant Ward Clerk in charge of memberships and callings and whatever else they need him to do. Our ward is crazy big - we have lived here for 4 years and have been in 4 wards! We split about every year.

Jana - Busy chasing kids and trying to keep up on everything (including my Blog!) I recently played my violin in church - scary, but I'm glad I was able to do it. This was one of my "Four by 40 goals." I am still taking lessons and hopefully I will get better so that when I get out the violin Madeline won't tell me "That thing annoys us!" (true story!) After taking a break from Young Women's, I was recently called as a Sunbeam teacher in our ward (my class has 14 kids and there are two classes that big!). You know, I am noticing that there are lots of similarities between YW and Sunbeams!!

We have had a great 2008 and wish you and your family all the best during this holiday season.

Love,

Mark, Jana
Jordan, Matt, Jade, Jack & Madeline

Daily Madeline

Daily Madeline

Madeline woke up Sunday morning complaining that she was sick. I was immediately suspicious since she has been having a hard time going to her class. About 3 weeks ago she suddenly decided that she didn't want to go anymore and it has been a fight ever since then.

I asked her where she felt sick (meaning stomache, head, etc.). She thought about it for a minute and then said "I feel sick at church."

I had a good chuckle at that and then said, "well if you are sick, some part of your body doesn't feel good - is there some part of your body that doesn't feel good?"

Again thinking for a minute she said "My leg is sick - it has germs in it."

Mark leaned over to me and said "Does the term 'A Run for your Money' mean anything to you?"

Oh No the Big 4 - 0 !!

Yesterday was the big day - - I turned 40 and still lived to tell about it.

Then & Now:

Here is a picture of me 40 years ago - - haven't aged a bit have I?!?!? I actually tried to find a picture with both me and my parents in it. Since I am the oldest I figured that they would have TONS of pictures and they do have quite a few, but not so many with both of my parents in them. I guess Mom was always taking the pictures and Dad was the designated baby holder.

For those of you who read my previous post about my goals of "Four Before 40" (http://queenredhen.blogspot.com/2008/07/four-months-but-whos-counting.html) Here is an update on just how I did on those goals:

1. Loose weight - 140 by 40. Weelll, I didn't quite make this one (shocker right?!?) I am 4 lbs. away (what's 4 pounds among friends?). Anyway, I am not giving up on this goal. I don't know if I will ever weigh 140, but I would like to be more tone and loose the muffin top/bakery rolls that seem to have invaded my mid-section.

2. Do some cool physical feat. I chose the 112 mile bike ride around Utah Lake. For full details on this adventure click here: http://queenredhen.blogspot.com/2008/08/check-this-one-off-list.html

3. Add some culture and learn a new skill. I have been taking violin lessons since January of this year and will be playing the violin in church in December which is (gulp) only a few weeks away. I have been practicing The First Noel Pachelbel Canon like a crazy woman as I don't want to completely embarass myself and don't want the 12 year olds that I will be playing with to show me up. Stay tuned, I'm sure there will be an update.

4. Don't sweat the small stuff - learn to have fun with my kids. I am doing better at this. I think this is an ongoing thing though. The other day we were out running errands and my kids have been begging to go to Carl's Jr. for lunch for-EVER. We passed it and they asked again and I thought "Why not? The laundry can wait." That was such a small thing and didn't really take that much time out of my day, but they loved it and talked about it for the rest of the week.

I have to say I had a really great birthday. Mark and I went to dinner on Friday night at one of my favorite restaurants - Cafe Trio - in SLC. Then he totally surprised me with a night at the Grand America Hotel downtown! We have a friend who helped get us a really good room rate (Thanks Fred - you ROCK!!) and our room was amazing!

Here are some pics to show you just how much of a redneck I really am:

It had it's own sitting room.

There was a plate of elegant goodies.

Check this out - it's a piano made entirely out of chocolate with chocolates inside of it as well!! What more could a chocoholic want?

Then of course I had to try on the robe and slippers - soo nice!

When we got home the next morning my sisters had done some handiwork on my house.

And Jade added the finishing touch!

Happy Halloween!

Here are some pics from our Halloween Festivities:

Carving Pumpkins

Jade & Willy working hard on cleaning theirs out!


Mark carving Madeline's crown (was there any doubt as to what she would choose?!?)

Jack with his IronMan Pumpkin


Jade & Willy's hard work paid off (it's a witch)

Jack & Madeline with her finished product.


Ohh Scary! Notice the "M" carved on top of the crown - yes her idea!


My nephew (aka "The Prince) at our family party - pretty sure he won the Best Costume Award!



Ready to go Trick-or-Treating!

Madeline's favorite prize of the night - aren't they lovely?

Best Halloween Quote:

When the kids got home Jack started to eat some of his candy and Mark told him to wait until he could check it. Jack's reply? "Why? So you can see if I got any good stuff?"

Witches Night Out

Each year I get together with my sisters, Mom and Aunt for Witches Night Out. This is where a bunch of otherwise grown-up, usually sane, women get together dressed as witches to eat, cackle, and shop.

It is lots of fun and if you love people watching this is definitely the place to do it. There are scary witches, cute witches and more than a few trampy witches! I mean really ladies - - it IS about 40 degrees outside, cover that UP!!

This year we decided to fore go some of the craziness and had dinner at my house before we went to the actual witches night festival. Here we are just before we hopped on our brooms. . . er. . got in our cars and drove into the night.

Daily Jack

Daily Jack

Mark had to go out of town for a few days and told Jack that while he was gone he would be the Man of the House. This meant no fighting with his sister (riiigghhhttt) and that he needed to help his Mom.

The next day Jack said to me "Mom, why did Dad say I have to be the House of the Man?"

Daily Madeline

My friend (who also has a Jack) does a post called the "Daily Jack" where she writes some of the funny things that her little boy says. I thought it was a cute idea and since imitation is the most sincere form of flattery . . . . here is the first ever post of the Daily Madeline. I'm sure there will be a Daily Jack soon to follow.

Daily Madeline

Madeline thinks that she is a cat. When you ask her a question she will answer you in "cat".

Example:

Mom: "Madeline what would you like for lunch?"

Madeline: "Meow, meow, meow, meow."

Mom: "Does that mean you want toast?" (her word for a sandwich)

Madeline: "Meow, meow, meow, meow." (nodding her head vigorously)


On Sunday we were sitting in church, singing the opening hymn for Sacrament Meeting and instead of singing or humming, Madeline meowed it!

Husband Tag

My sister Julie tagged me with this Husband Tag and since I don't want to face her wrath, here you go:

1.What's his name? Mark Harris

2.How long have you been married? 16 years in November

3.How long did you date? 5 months - married 6 weeks after he proposed!

4.How old is he? 45

5.Who eats more? Mark

6.Who said "I love you" first? He did.

7.Who is taller? He is.

8.Who sings better? Definately Mark.

9.Who is smarter? Mark. He has a Masters Degree in Engineering, which I always throw in his face when he burns the microwave popcorn. ;-)

10.Whose temper is worse? Uh, probably mine, but neither of us really have a temper.

11.Who does the laundry? Me.

12.Who does the dishes? Mostly me.

13.Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do. It's closer to the door to get the kids.

14.Who pays the bills? I do.

15. Who mows the lawn? Mark does. Sometimes I edge the yard cause I don't like the way he does it - but usually I'm too busy with other stuff to worry about it.

16.Who cooks dinner? I do. When we both worked we would switch off - I would cook and he would do the dishes one night and then he would cook and I would do the dishes the next night. Sometimes I miss those days. (sigh)

17.Who drives when you are together? He does

18.Who is more stubborn? Uhhh that would be me.

19.Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Probably me, I’m usually wrong.

20. Whose parents do you see the most? Mine

21.Who proposed? He did, on a carriage ride around Temple Square with a "Pre-nuptuial Agreement" where I agreed to limit my gross accumulation of shoes to no more than 50 pair at any given time. And he promised to love and care for me and the three amigos (Jordan, Matt & Jade) for eternity. What a deal!

22.Who has more friends? Probably me - I'm more social and outgoing, or maybe just more loud?!

23.Who has more siblings? I do. 7 to 2

24.Who wears the pants in the family? He wears the pants; I zip and button the pants.

Hawaii! (I'm a HUGE sLAcKeR!!!)

So, as you may have noticed, I've been AWOL from my Blog for about a month now. Part of it is due to the fact that my computer crashed and I didn't get it back until right before we left for Hawaii. Literally the night before. But then I had to reload all the "stuff" that was once on it to make it work for me once we got home. As I mentioned in my previous post - I'm not the most technical of gals. Then, life just seemed to catch me and my blog seemed to get pushed further and further down on the list.

Anyway. I'm BAAACK!!

So here is the rundown of our trip to Hawaii.

The purpose of the trip was for Mark to attend a conference for SEOC (Structural Engineers of California). Yeah, I know we live in Utah, but they usually have a really good conference with good technical sessions and Reaveley Engineers has done some work with several firms in California. Blah, Blah, Blah. . . . . .

We went to the Big Island of Hawaii. Everything there is different from what I expected it to be. The airport is very small - you have to walk down the steps of the airplane when you land. Usually not a big deal, except that I had totally crammed my carry on and my "personal item" (backpack) full so that I would only have to check one bag. This proved to be tricky - navigating the stairs carrying both of those. (Yeah, Jade got her grace from me).

When we landed I was pretty sure we landed in purgatory and NOT paradise. This is what I saw:

Wait, um - THIS is Hawaii? What about green palm trees or ANY trees and WHERE'S THE BEACH?

When we got to our hotel it was absolutely gorgeous and had a beautiful beach. While Mark went to his conference every day from 9:00 am - 1:00 pm I laid around the pool and read my book. This was my view at the pool:

The resort was super nice - they had these great lounge chairs with towel things on them that wouldn't slip down when you moved around. You could put it on yourself, or you could have a pool boy do it for you. Check it out:

There was also some great people watching / entertainment to be had at the pool as well. Each morning this guy and his wife would come to the pool. Both about mid fifties and already super tan. She had really blond hair - let's just say it was not a color of nature, and wore this garish pink lipstick (yes while at the pool). He was quite the snappy dresser - but more on that later.

They would always pick lounge chairs near me and seemed pretty nice. On about the second day I overheard him talking on his phone to someone telling them that he was at the SEOC convention and how it was going great, he's working hard, blahbaty, blah, blah.

I'm thinking to myself "Dude, you are at the pool with BARBIE - you are most definitely NOT at the convention!". From then on I dubbed them Rico Suave and Barbie and it seemed that I saw them EVERYWHERE!!

Here is Rico and Barbie waiting for the pool attendant to fix their lounge chairs:

The reason I started calling him Rico Suave is that every time they came to the pool he would wear these snappy loafers with his swim suit. It's not like they are nice loafers - they are some plastic looking things. This picture is pretty tame in comparison to some of the other looks he wore, but you get the idea:

So of course I tell Mark about it and point them out to him when we see them at lunch later that week. We have a good laugh.

But the story doesn't end there. Later, on Friday, we are having breakfast with one of Mark's friends / business acquaintances from California and are talking about some of the people who come to the conference for basically a vacation and not to really attend the conference. So I pipe up and start telling him about Rico Suave and Barbie. He seems pretty interested and so I start to describe him - short, mid 50's, blondish grey hair, wife looks like Barbie baked in the sun. He starts laughing hysterically - turns out this guy is one of his biggest competitors!

Oh man that size 8 flip flop I had for breakfast was TASTY!!! AGGHH!! Actually, it wasn't as bad as I had feared, he saw Mark later in the day and told him how funny he thought his wife was (I'm sure Mark was thinking just that same thought) and that he would forever think of him as Rico Suave. Well, glad I could brighten someones day.

After Mark's conference was done each day we did some sight seeing. We went to Kona - which is where they hold the Ironman Triathlon each year.

Did a little shopping.

Then we rented some bikes and rode on the Ironman trail. We did NOT do the entire 112 mile ride - we're on vacation you know. We just did a 40 mile ride to Hawi town and back.

Let me tell you about the ride into Hawi town. First of all, we drove it to kind of see what it would be like. I pointed out to Mark that it looked like it was mostly uphill going in. It is actually "big roller" hills. When we were talking to the guys at the bike shop they said "Oh, don't worry you only gain about 500 feet elevation total - it won't be too bad." What they failed to mention is that you climb those 500 feet about 30 times during your 40 mile ride.

When we are close to Hawi I see a sign that says "Hawi 7 miles". I think "Oh yeah, 7 miles, I can do 7 miles easy." I turn the bend in the road and am hit with a major headwind and the road starts to go uphill. I look to my left and this is what I see:

Yep folks those are windmills, as in a WIND FARM!! They don't put those there because the wind just blows a little or once in a while. Pretty when you are driving - - NOT something you want to see when you are on your bike heading uphill into a headwind!

Pretty much I just had to gut it out and do it. I'm sure I was probably going about 6 mph (my rental bike didn't have a computer, so I have no clue how fast I was going). But I did make it to Hawi.

On the way back Mark decided to take some action shots of me while he was riding. This is very impressive to me as I can barely drink and ride and have just barely managed to master taking off my arm warmers and stuffing them in my back pocket while riding. (Yea, I have MAD skilzz)

He kept saying "Hey look over here at me" I told him - "If I look at you I will probably crash and this bike costs more than my car!" So you get this goofy picture of me - looking but not.

The next day we drove to Hawi with the bikes and then rode up this canyon to this scenic overlook. It was really pretty and looked like what I think Hawaii should look like. (Having only been to Maui before - this is how I judge all Hawaii).

All along the road they have these signs that show various points of interest - or important things and they all have King Kamehameha on them. As we were biking we came upon this one and I just couldn't resist:

OK, say what?!? What makes this rock so important? It is by the side of the road and if you are not looking you will totally miss the sign. Shall we see this beloved rock?

I figured that if it was so important one of us should have our picture taken with it - who knows maybe it brings good luck - kind of like that Brady Bunch thing?

On our way back into town we found this GREAT shave ice place - I mean it was the BEST!(sorry Doreen) I'm not really a shaved ice fan, but this was excellent!

It was so hot and HuMiD I needed something to cool me off.

When we got back into town there was a statue of King Kamehameha. I told Mark to take my picture with him. Then I got to wondering. . . .just what was he wearing under that little skirt thing he was wearing? Maybe it was the heat that made me do it, maybe it was the sugar from the shave ice. Anyway, I LOOKED - - Ladies, you are not missing anything. He was wearing yellow underwear.

On the highway between our hotel and Kona we saw this sign:

Who knew?

One last question - What is the Hawaiians fascination with SPAM?!? You can get Spam and Eggs at McDonalds. Burger King has a Spam breakfast sandwich, (so does McDonalds). They actually advertise this and brag that you can't get this on the mainland. Like it would SELL on the mainland!

When you go to Walmart or any other grocery store they have a huge section dedicated just to SPAM. I don't get it!

All in all we had a great time, but I really missed my kids (yea, you too Jade!). So it is always nice to come back home.

CRaSH!

Well, I guess it was bound to happen - but yesterday the other shoe finally dropped and my computer crashed. Apparently with my teenagers using it and my own online use we were infected with a nasty virus which then corrupted all my files. YIKES! Now, just so you know, I am not the MOST technical kind of gal. You see, when I worked at Novell and other high tech companies, I always worked for one of the "top dogs". This meant that when I called Tech Support, they were always "johnny on the spot" to come and fix it because of who my boss was. This also meant that I really never had to figure anything out for myself. Back then I thought it was nifty. Now - - not so nifty! Jade has been kind enough to loan me her laptop so that I can do a few things. Bless her!

I was supposed to have the computer back by tonight, however we have not heard a peep from the guy who is working on it. This does not bode well. Either it is REALLY, REALLY bad, or he is just taking his time. I am hoping for the latter option.

In any event you will probably not be hearing from me for a while -- not only because of the computer issue, but because I am lucky enough to be going to Hawaii for a few days with Mark!!Truth be told, I feel kind of greedy since this is the 3rd time in two years that we have gone (all work related). This time we are going to the big island of Hawaii, so that will be fun since the last two times we went to Maui. I plan on finding myself a comfy beach chair and reading uninterrupted for the entire time!

The kids are going to visit Grandma and Grandpa Harris in Reno along with their cousins who live down there and I am sure they will have a fabulous time as well.

So check back in a while and I will share my vacay pics with you!

TaGGeD!

My 18 year old daughter Jade just started blogging and on only her 3rd post has already TaGGed me! Agghhh!! I am usually horrible at things like this, but for you, Jade, here goes:

10 Years Ago I was:

1. Working full time with "only" 4 kids

2. Living in a different town

3. Had a "lunch hour" every day

4. Ran 4 miles every day

5. Dreaming of what it would be like to have my "dream job" of being a full time mom


5 Things on my To Do List Today:

1. Go visiting teaching

2. Laundry

3. Make dinner for family & parents

4. Pick green beans from garden

5. More Laundry


5 Snacks I Enjoy:

1. Popcorn w/ M&Ms in it

2. Junior Mints

3. Fresh Pineapple

4. Chips & Salsa

5. Red Licorice


5 Things I Would do if I were a Millionaire:

1. Pay off my house

2. Take my family on a fun vacation

3. Take all my sisters & Mom on a cool trip to New York to see some plays, eat some good food and just have lots of fun together

4. Go to Paris France and shop, shop, shop (shoes, shoes & more shoes)

5. Invest so we have enough to live comfortably


5 Places I have Lived:

1. Pleasant Grove, UT

2. American Fork, UT

3. Phoenix, AZ

4. Lehi, UT

5. Saratoga Springs, UT


5 Jobs I Have Had:

1. Snack Stand Worker @ the Baseball Park

2. Lifeguard @ water park

3. Paralegal

4. Executive Assistant

5. Dream Job - Mom


I Tag:

Joy, Doreen, Kristin, Sherri & Karalee

(More) Trash to Treasure

For those of you who have read my previous post about the potting bench , you know that I have a thing for turning junk into something cute. I am always looking at things and thinking to myself "how else can that be used" or "what else could I do with that besides what it was intended for?" Kind of a sickness I have, if you will.

My Mom and my sister both have these cool old bikes parked by their front porches. I absolutely love them. They decorate them for each season and they always look soo cute. I have been secretly (or not so secretly) coveting them for sometime now. I know, I know it says in the Bible "Thou Shalt Not Covet". But, does that really apply to old bikes?

I have been "on the hunt" for one of these bikes, looking on KSL.com, eyeballing every yard sale we pass on a Saturday, telling all my friends, and asking my husband if we can go to the dump to look for one. This last request he adamantly refuses to entertain.

You see my sister, Julie was taking some things to the dump when lo and behold there was a man unloading a jewel of a bike from his truck. She asked if she could have it and he was only too happy to give it to her. He thought she was crazy, but he gave it to her. Her husband was not so pleased. His response? "Honey, you are supposed to LEAVE things at the dump, not BRING things HOME!" But, since he is such a great guy he let her keep it anyway. (I think he didn't want to take the chance of making another dump run - - who knows what she would have brought home the next time?!?)

Which brings me to the point of this post. The other day I stopped in at a bike store in town because they had a spinning bike outside and I have been looking for one to keep me in shape over the winter. I chatted with the guy about it while trying to contain my two supervisors who were trying to ride every bike in the store.

Then I asked him if he ever got any old bikes just dropped off at his store. He gave me a weird look and then said "well yeah, I have some out back, you can look at them if you'd like to." After digging through a pile (literally a pile) of bikes he came to a really cool one. I asked how much he wanted for it and he said $20. Personally, I think he was anxious to get rid of me and the supervisors, but whatever I'll take it!

He then looked at my car (Honda Accord) and said "did you want to come back later and pick it up with a truck?" I laughed and said no, "We're just going to put it in the trunk of my car." He gave me the "you're wacky on the junk" look and wheeled it over to the car. I giggled and thought to myself - - dude, if you only knew the crazy things I have had in the back of this Honda, you would be AMAZED at what will fit back there. But that's a post for another day.

I was so excited I had to call Mark and tell him. This is how our conversation went:

Me: Hey honey, guess what?! I FOUND AN OLD BIKE AND IT ONLY COST $20!!

Loving Husband: WHAT? You paid $20 for an old beater bike?! What in the world are you going to do with it?

Me: Decorate it cute and put it on our porch.

Loving Husband: Oh, no. That thing is NOT going in our yard. It will just junk it up. It will totally look like junk. No way! That is not going in our yard.

Me: (Giggling uncontrollably) Honey, remember on Christmas Vacation when Clark Griswold is in the forest getting the Christmas tree and Russ says to him "I don't think that thing will fit in our yard Dad." and Clark says "It's not going in our yard Russ, it's going in our Living Room!"

Loving Husband: Yeah, so, what about it?

Me: Well, it's not going in our yard, it's going on our porch.

Loving Husband: Oh yeah, you are one funny girl. We'll see about that.

Me: Just hold your judgement until I get done with it OK? Remember the potting bench?

Loving Husband: Grudgingly agrees - mumbles something incoherent and changes the subject.

I rest my case.


Here is a close up of the bike. I really didn't do much to it. I bought a basket at a craft store, painted it black (is there any other color?), put it on with some zip-ties (greatest invention ever!) and put some flowers in it. I still need to fix the tires - I just love the white-walls! And I think the fenders are cool too.

When I asked the guy how told he thought it was, he said about 40 years old. My teenagers thought that should qualify it as an antique. I then pointed out to them that that was as old as I was. My next sentence was "you better run, and run fast NOW!" Oh yeah, everyone's a comedian at my house!

First Day of School

Last week was the start of the school year at our house.

Jade started college at Utah Valley University.

Jack started his second year of pre-school.

Since Jade and I are "sharing" a car - this means that I usually have the car and drive her around - which, secretly, I love. I picked her up from her job at Costco and took her to school. Her BF Willy has a car and they have almost all the same classes so he can give her a ride home and pick her up from work on most days.

On this particular day she asked me to drop her off at Willy's car so she could meet him. Since it was her first day of school and she claimed she was in too much of a hurry to take a picture while we were at home, I brought out the camera and took one while she was waiting for Willy. She was HORRIFIED!!

Oh, I know she looks happy enough in this picture, but let me tell you she was not a happy camper. As she later told me I completely embarassed her. First, it is bad enough that your MOM has to take you to school, but then she is taking pictures of you on top of it?!?! OHHH the Indignity of it all!!! So here you go Jade - I love you and I'm just proud that you are going to college!

A few days later Jack started Pre-School at Miss Hollie's Happy Hive Preschool. He goes 3 days a week and LOVES it so far.

On the morning that he was to start school he woke up and wanted to wear some of his new school clothes. I explained that his school clothes would be a little hot for that day, but he insisted.

As he was getting dressed Madeline came in and demanded to know where HER school clothes were. I had a feeling that this would happen since she has been talking non-stop about when SHE is going to go to school with Jack and when SHE starts school, etc. So I had bought her a new little outfit as a little bit of "screaming, meltdown, fit insurance". We got everyone dressed and avoided any major mishaps that morning.

Jack was only too happy to have his picture taken and didn't even seem to mind that Madeline insisted on being in every single picture since she thought that she would be going to school too.

When we pulled up to let Jack out, Madeline started saying "let me out, I'm going to school too!" "Unbuckle me!" She was very angry that I would not let her go with Jack. She thinks that she is his equal.

When Jack got out of the car I asked him if he wanted me to walk him up to the door and he said "Nah, I can do it." He then started to run across the lawn and then it was like he suddenly remembered that he needed to be cool and started to walk again. It was cute.

All that morning as we were running errands she kept saying "let's go find Jack". She really missed him, only if it was for 2 1/2 hours.

And then it hit me that before I know it, I will be sending Jack off to college. Who knows, maybe I'll drive him to school on HIS first day of college and take his picture.