"But Mom, there's no more water in the bottle"...

Which was said after this child was asked if he/she fed and watered the dog.

Not to mention the fact that the child was standing right next to (or in?) the bathroom.

Not to mention the fact that the child was right around the corner from the kitchen.

Well, gosh, where do you think you might get the poor dog some water?
I usually think of this child as smart, but thought that was a pretty silly statement.

(give me a break...)

What crazy thing has YOUR child said lately?

Memories, Memories

♥Here are the directions:
♥ 1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together
It doesn't matter if you knew/know me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
♥ 2. Next repost these instructions on your blog and see how many people have a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see their responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you are playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Anyone? Anyone?

Yippee!!

First of all.. School has started, we are thankfully getting back into a routine.
*whew*

Secondly, I went to my 10th Weight Watchers meeting last night and got a pleasant
surprise!! I'd lost 4.something pounds, for a total of 22 lbs! Hooray!
I was totally excited!
I had been hoping to reach 20 by the end of the session, so was rather pleased
to make it OVER that!
I initially started WW since my company will rebate me 1/2 of the
session price (ka-ching) if I lost 5 lbs over the session! I did it!

(please let me contain my excitement!)

Anyway.. I will continue to attend.. try to reach my first goal...

Then, I got in the mail today from the Animal Care and Control..
a bill for license fees for our cute beagle!
$16 annually it seems..

Where you live (if you are not in the same town as me) do you have dog license fees like that?

Blasted Beagles, Batman!!

I apparently have to pay penalty fees of $46 for not having him registered!

I don't know if the previous owners said anything to us or not,

it was two years ago, and I still was an emotional wreck from

my mom passing away.

So, it pays to have your pet licensed (blah, blah, blah..)

or else YOU'LL have to pay.

(and I want to know why they didn't send me a late notice

a YEAR AGO!!)

And They're Off!!!!

FINALLY!! They're Back to School!!
If a 7 year old is ready at 6:20 in the morning, do you think she is excited to go back
to school??

If a 6th grader fusses with her hair and changes clothes a couple of times,

do you think SHE is ready to go back to school??

Um yeah.. I think so!

We went to Meet the Teacher last week, and I think the girls will

have a good year. They both have a friend or two in their class, and

some don't have students in their class that I'm GLAD are not in their

class (is that bad for me to say??)

Anyway, I can relax at work today, not waiting for a phone call

saying someone is being mean to me.

Whew...

Last one... off to 8th grade.. with his stylin' plaid shorts.

They are all the rage.

What happens when...

You give a 13 year old boy a camera and send him to the mountains??

(I have no idea how these are going to be laid out.. but I thought they were funny... I especially like the pic of the knee...)

I'm just not feeling it..

I have nothing to say, except..
I am SOOO ready for school to start!!

Anyone want an 11 YO & 13 YO? ?

Really.. I"ll give them to you cheap!

A funny thing happened on the way to Mt Graham...

It Rained!!

We climbed and we climbed! I know that we hit 10,000 ft at some point, but we never saw the sign! It was a beautiful drive! It was so nice to be out- the temp got down in the 50's on our way up. I had the windshield wipers going full blast at one point. We thought we might be the last ones there to get boys, and we were.

Janet kept an eye out for her husband to come down the mountain, as he had been one of the directors there. We did see him, and she could have jumped in and went home with him, but she stayed with me, thankfully, to the top! Since it had rained on us going up (and then we were ABOVE the clouds, ) we figured the boys would have gotten some rain. We were a quite welcome sight to them! They were all sopping wet, as they'd been stuck OUT in the rain. They were not allowed to go back in the dining hall, since it had already been mopped and cleaned.

Janet and I walked up to the main camp while the boys got their things loaded in the Suburban. There was an extra young man who'd gotten left behind, so we gathered him up as well. It was beautiful up there, although we couldn't see OFF the top of the mountain. The boys were NOT too stinky, because they were wet!

We had a good trip! Only one fell asleep on the ride home - Since everything was wet, we rolled down the windows for part of the way- beautiful fresh air! We stopped at the Sonic in Thatcher to get some lunch, then loaded up for the drive home. Janet wanted to hear what everyone thought of the training, and they were eager to share, and many wanted to come back and serve on the staff next year, so she was happy! We were gone from 7:30am to 4:00 pm, so it was a long day on the road, but an enjoyable trip overall!

ROAD TRIP!!!

Well, I haven't actually taken it yet, but I'm leaving in an hour or so...
It unexpectedly, turned out that I need to drive to Safford/Mt Graham today!
My son has been gone all week to Silver Axe Scout camp, an NYLT program up on Mount Graham. The gentleman that was going up to get him and 3 other boys was having problems with his vehicle, so I offered to go instead. I have never been to that part of Arizona, so it will be a little bit of an adventure for me.

However, I won't be going alone. Janet, a lady my husband works with and who was partly responsible for getting my son and his cousin going to the camp, is going with me. She works with the regional scout council here, and her husband is also at the camp. She is going to be my navigator, since I've never been there. It will be interesting because she doesn't like heights, and it is 11,000 feet or so at the camp! Also, I've never spent this much time with her, (it is about a 3 hour drive) other than seeing her at work, and occasionally we gave her a ride home. So, we'll see how it goes.

I'll be bringing home 4 stinking tired, make that stinking, and tired, teenage boys in my Suburban, for three hours...

Should I invest in a nose plug?

Happy Fourth of July!!

Oh Wait, that was last week, wasn't it?

Okay, so I am slow in getting things posted..

We went to the Diamondbacks game on Friday night! There was a special half price ticket promotion thru work, so I took advantage of that! After the game, which was very boring and the Dbacks lost to the Padres, there were fireworks! It didn't look like we'd be able to see them from where we were.. so, when they were opening the roof, we went out and crossed the street to the top of the parking garage next door.. It was fabulous! I haven't seen fireworks that close in forever! We had smoke in our eyes and there were still burning ashes coming down! The kids loved it!

I didn't attempt to take pics of the fireworks - not really worth it! But we had a great evening!
I'm glad to live in a free country!

A 24 Hour Vacation!

Tuesday afternoon, my neighbor and I took our total of 6 kids and left town! We finally left the other side of Phoenix about 5, and headed north to cooler country. Trying to make 6 kids happy with dinner would have been impossible, so we made an executive decision and stopped in Cottonwood at Casa Bonita Family restaurant. We got everyone fed and then drove the short distance to the resort. The kids had fun in the pool and then the jacuzzi tubs, we played some games and got everyone to bed.

We kind of lazed around in the morning.. had some breakfast then headed out! Our destination was http://www.pr.state.az.us/Parks/parkhtml/sliderock.html. I haven't been there in probably 17 years, when I went with my brother and 3 other guys! (Woo! What a trip!) I don't know if the state park was established back then.. I just remember hiking down to the creek from the road! We got there by 10 am, and the kids promptly went for the slide!

Brennan was the first to get in - they were too cute with their goggles!

Mallory was a little more hesitant! Overall, she didn't like the slipperiness of it all, and she didn't get in the water too much after her slide!

Jessica just went for it!

And as cold as it was, even I took a trip!

Here we are with the famous red rocks of Sedona as our background!

We went back to the resort, and everyone got cleaned up, we had some lunch, and were headed out of town by 3 pm! Made it back home about 5:15pm - so it was a quick turnaround, but it was really nice to get out of the hot valley, and up where the air was a little bit cooler! We love our neighbors!

Oh, and we made it to the Weight Watchers meeting, and I lost another 5 pounds ! Yeay me!!

Another wedding pic..

It's the only one we have of this - it was tough to scan from the album, but one of my favorites!

Here's where it started..

Tagged by Kaja..

1. WHAT DATE IS YOUR ANNIVERSARY? August 1

2. WHERE DID YOU GET MARRIED? Mesa Arizona Temple

3. WHO PROPOSED AND HOW? Mark originally proposed in January, but due to some extenuating circumstances, we were officially engaged for real, in April.

4. HOW LONG WERE YOU ENGAGED? Around 3 months

5. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF YOUR WEDDING DAY? (AND IT CAN'T BE YOUR HUSBAND) . I spent the night at my friend Leisa's house, who lived across the street from the temple. So it was fun spending time with her!

6. WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE IF YOU COULD? I'd make it not in August when it was so stinking hot!

8. REMEMBER ANYTHING SPECIAL ABOUT YOUR WEDDING CEREMONY? Not really, (it's been so long..) ..kissing him!

9. WHERE YOU CLEAN OR MESSY WHEN YOU CUT YOUR CAKE? Clean, if I remember correctly!

10. WHERE DID YOU GO ON YOUR HONEYMOON? Here's where the story is.. We left Phoenix in August in a car with no air conditioning. We drove across the desert to Las Vegas with a gallon of water to drink.. no rest stops. We stayed one night in Vegas, spending only a few dollars on nickel slots, not winning anything. Then drove up to UT and stayed in the basement of his brother's house. We went to Lagoon, an amusement park, and I think mostly visited family and friends the rest of the time! But, hey, we were together!

Anyone else who is willing to share, consider yourself tagged...

My invention would be...

This summer I have decided we need a new invention.
It wouldn't really be much.
Actually two versions...

A towel that talks? or a towel with legs!!

We came home from our trip away with what I think was nearly every towel in the kids bathroom dirty.. .let me rephrase that... WET! They went swimming plenty, and I think that
they used every towel possible, instead of hanging them to dry, and then reusing them.

SO.. I suggest that towels be made with legs, so that they can take themselves to the clothesline, or else to the Laundry basket.. OR.. that they be talking towels, so that when they are dropped on the floor by unsuspecting children, they shout out "PICK ME UP" or "HANG ME UP"! Wouldn't that save ME from doing so??

Or? if they made them both talking and walking? Then they could follow the children around shouting at them UNTIL they picked them up!! Sound good??

Update..!

So, even though I went away for the weekend, through the airport with Cinnabon, Cold Stone Creamery, TCBY, CPK, Burger King, and ate out for 2+ days, I still lost weight!

Yeay Me!!

I actually lost 6.8 lbs! The last time I've lost weight is due to my trigeminal Neuralgia.. when my face is hurting, I can't eat.. so I lose weight. Now that my pain isn't so much, I'd been munching again, and so put much of it back on.

I made a conscious decision to make better choices. But even though I had two (yes.. two) Bear Claws this weekend at St Louis Bread Company (aka Panera) I still lost. And I also had frozen custard from Ted Drewe's. (oh, my, that was good!)

And here are a couple of cool pics (at least I think so..)

We didn't go up into the arch, as the lines were too long... didn't have and hour and a half to wait. So we drove, and drove, and drove! There are so many cool neighborhoods, kinds that we don't see out here in the desert!

Okay... I'm committed.

Weight Watchers.

Stop Dieting.

Start Living.

Or so they say. I'm going to start an At Work program. If I lose 5 lbs over the eight weeks, my company will give me back half of the fees I paid. I figure I can do that.

So, here I go... starting to be healthy.
Aren't I doing great. (after I finish my Dr Pepper on the table.)

YUM!!!

My friend Tara is a graduate of the Scottsdale Culinary Institute, so she knows how to make all kinds of YUMMY stuff! Every now and again we have a little mini class with her, and she teaches us how to make something! On Tuesday we made cream horns!

Wrapping strips of Puff pastry carefully..

Then an egg wash and some chunky sugar..

We can smell them baking...

Fill them with chocolate whipping cream/pudding

mixtures, or strawberry whipping cream..

And VOILA!! Cream Horns!

Tara dolled up the one below- she's good like that!

We had lots of fun! We delivered a few to some friends and

neighbors nearby! Thanks again Tara for an awesome afternoon!

Whew!

Made it through another week. (Guess it's been more than one since I blogged last.)

There were no knock-down drag-out fights between my children while I was gone to work. (thankfully).

I don't want to quit my job - I enjoy the extra income, and the interaction with adults. But.. if the kids can't get it together... I think they did fairly well, but it's not good when a child hangs up the phone on her parent... sheesh. We'll get there.

On a brighter note, I want to challenge you to do something, my loyal readers (hee, hee).

This last week we went to my nephew's first birthday party. It's a family tradition of ours to let the 1 year old have his own piece of cake and let him dig into it! Jessica also had her hair cut to donate to locks of love - it looks really cute!!

Anyway, I pulled her close to me while we were at the party, and had my hubby take a picture of us! She tried to squirm away.. silly girl! Some of you may know how temperamental 11 year olds are. Anyway, I told her that I would give anything to have a more recent picture with my mom! Or even more when I was younger - there aren't many.

So, my challenge to you is to get a picture of you and your mom! You don't have to post it to your blog - but if you live in the same vicinity as your mom, get a picture taken of the two of you!

I used to think that I didn't look much like my mom, but I guess more and more I do..

The Beginning, and The End

Alternative post title... SCHOOL'S OUT!

They started on August 13th - more than ready to get back into the swing of things...

And May 22nd, they are done!! I think Brennan has grown a few inches since then..

And now they are going to have to figure out what to do with themselves two and a half months before school starts August 11th!

Brennan was accepted into National Jr Honor Society - He's had mostly A's this year... now he tells me he got a B.. in English. He went to California with the Symphonic Band to play at Disneyland. He also tried out for the District Honor Band, but didn't make it.

Jessica was her class finalist in the Spelling Bee - did a great job! She also performed in two acts in the School Variety show this last month. She plays the flute in the 5th grade band, and will be attending the Taylor Jr High Band camp in July!

Mallory.. has had a great year in 1st Grade! She's had different "friends that are boys" during the year, but I won't name names! I've enjoyed sharing the Art Masterpiece program in her class this years! It's been fun to hear "Hi, Mallory's Mom" from the kids in her class. I also did AM in her class year - so there are plenty of kids who know me!

I don't have the same flexibility at work as I did last year, so the kids will need to figure out how to get along better than they have.. I think there will be some financial incentive to not call Mom every 15 minutes while she is gone!

Happy Summer Everyone!

Happy Mother's Day!!

I think my favorite quote lately is..

There is not one way to be a perfect mother,

but there are a million ways to be a good mother.

I have given up trying to be perfect, but I will keep struggling to be

a good one.

I am thankful for the opportunity to be a Mother, I know it is an important job, and I am thankful for the help I receive in doing it.

I am grateful for the example that my own mother set for me. I miss her dearly. Whenever I am going thru a rough spell, either with parenting or something else, I know that she would have done whatever she could, and wished she could take away my pain.

(Dec 1994, right after I became a mom, with my mom, and her mom.)

I am also thankful for the opportunity that I had to look after both my mother and my grandmother when they each became ill. It was the least that I could have done for them, after all that they had done for me.

(Yeah, and I'll try not to cry too much today. Stop it already!!)

Tagged by Lisa

Hmm.. 6 Random things about me! I've been thinking about it for a few days, and I think I might have it.. (those who have done 100 random things.. more power to you, I don't think I could do it!!)

1. I have never had a manicure or a pedicure. I think I am way to thrifty, and don't like my toes anyway. My fingernails grow well, so I don't feel the need. Also, I waitressed for a long time, and we couldn't wear polish much, so I didn't get used to it.

2. I have a Hippo birdfeeder. Amazingly, birds have gorged themselves from it lately (I think its the pigeons.) I have alot of hippos, mostly stuffed, so this is my most unique hippos. (If it weren't dark outside, I'd take a photo..

3. I have never tasted alcohol. Just never felt the need, especially as I was taught growing up that it was not good. I was floored when I found out my younger brother drank himself sick one night with the swim team. He never did it again, however.

4. I have sat on what is purported to be St Patrick's grave. I went to Northern Ireland when I was 17, and we visited the site - a large stone, and I mean large, covers the grave. We joked that when Christ comes again, St Patrick will have a difficult time getting out!

5. I have a condition called Trigeminal Neuralgia. It is something more common in OLDER people, not young like me. I've had it for 14 or so years, and it has become increasingly worse over the past 4-5 years. I am considering a Gamma Knife procedure very soon to take away the pain that recurs.

6. I kissed a boy on top of the World Trade Center. We were on a choir trip to NYC in college, I liked him, we had sort of dated previously, but somehow I managed to get him to kiss me while we were there! Ahhh, blond haired, blue-eyed, cute boy. We couldn't have married, though, and I'm okay with that.

The rules:
a. Link to the person who tagged you.
b. Post the rules on your blog.
c. Write six random things about yourself.
d. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
e. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment at their blog.
f. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

I tag..
http://www.fatsassyandmrwonderful.blogspot.com/ Kayola
http://lynnewsnyder.blogspot.com/ Lynne
http://puffyspatter.blogspot.com/ Puffy
http://www.kristyskritters.blogspot.com/ Kristy
http://blueberrybuckets.blogspot.com/ Kerrie
http://dfliesblog.blogspot.com/ Dragonflies

(and then would someone please tell me how to get this linky thing to work!! It is driving me nuts!!)

Whew.. that was tough! Good luck ladies!