Happy New Year

This is the perfect day to do this list of favorites for my blog. We’ll call it April’s faves of 2006 or something.

Favorite flavor: Um, I’ve been drinking a lot of hot chocolate. Shall I go with chocolate yet again? Stephens Milk Chocolate. With whipped cream please.
Favorite moment: Of the whole year? Yikes. I have so many yummy moments with my kiddos. Smiles, kisses and cuddles… Mmmm… There have been a lot of good ones. I did love holding my nephew Brannon for the first time. Lets go with that.
Favorite song: The video for Over and Over is on here for a good reason. That song is special to me. Definitely a favorite.
Favorite part of your body: Um, my legs. I’ve always liked my legs.
Favorite place: Hitting Park City with the squirrely girls has got to be right up there. I love Park City. Love my squirrely friends too.
Favorite goal you reached: Reaching HWL with Arrie was bittersweet, since I made it the night of the patch. (Meaning I couldn’t purchase the weapons I’d earned the right to buy.) I’m glad I did it, but am still working towards those things that should have been been mine that night. :p
Favorite movie: Didn’t go to the movies much this year – but I did love the Lake House. That might be the only movie I saw in the theater. Yikes!
Favorite smell: Hmmm… I think I’ll say new babies. We’ve had lots this year in our family. More coming too. Mmmmm…
Favorite clothing item: This sweater and these jeans.
Favorite season: Actually, this year it was Spring. I got to walk a lot and take some cool pictures of flowers and such.

Hope anyone reading this has a safe and happy New Year.

Cuteness

We're still dealing with sick kiddos - all of them have had a turn at throwing up now. Fun fun! I've actually been enjoying the time with them. A few days where we take it easy can be a nice thing.

I've been slacking in sharing pics of my sweeties. I didn't really take many pictures on Christmas morning (unusual, I know) but it was kinda dark and I was half asleep. I did get this one of my babe. Isn't he getting big? He still gives me a hard time when I try to take pictures of him. He wants to play with all of the camera buttons and makes a beeline for the lens. :p
Love him so much! Lucky me, it's time to go cuddle with his cuteness. :)

Take two

Yesterday was a very long day. Little Vern joined Elijah in throwing up all day and night long. My job was to give them showers and baths, help with emptying bowls and a bunch of laundry. (I think every blanket we own got barfed on at some point.) Oh, and I provided kisses and cuddles. Lots and lots of cuddles. My favorite.
They both seem a little better today. Of course, I'm not sure I feel all that hot at the moment, but I think I'm going to call it lack of sleep rather than declaring myself sick. And I haven't exercised yet, that always makes me feel better. I probably should at least run/walk for a bit before I start playing. I need to keep cleaning too so that whatever bug those boys have had doesn't spread any further. So I guess this might just be long day, take two. :p

Cuddles and Gatorade

We were doing so well. We made it this far into winter without anyone getting sick. (Go us!) Well, it was bound to happen, right? Elijah has thrown up four times so far today. Poor baby. Lots of cuddles and gatorade on tap for him today.

Christmas was good. The most important thing for me was having happy kiddos. They were. I'm so glad they are easy to please. With their computer coming early and all of them needing clothes there wasn't as much fun stuff under the tree as some years. They didn't seem to mind. I love my sweet kiddos!

Well, I hope those who read this little blog of mine had a fabulous Christmas. I need to go cuddle with my babe.

Christmastime

I didn't get any cards in the mail in time to let people know that we love them and are thinking of them this Christmas. Not everyone reads my blog, but for those who do - in spite of being a little busy and lost at this time of year, you're thought of, loved and wished a very merry Christmas. :)

Oh, and here's how the new tree is looking. Love it! I need to get more pics of the kiddos in front of it, and maybe even have Brandon get a shot of me and Vern.

Friends and Photographs

So after being grumpy all day yesterday because I coudn't play WoW, I could if I wanted to right now but I'm here instead. :p I am such a moody girl. lol
You know, I've said this before and will likely say it again - it's not really about the game, it's about the people you play with. Last night Vern was in AQ with his guild laughing his head off on vent. He needed that. At the same time I was upset and Jody had me smiling in no time. (Muah!) Then this morning I logged in and was greeted with much needed hugs from a friend. (Thanks monkey!)
Yep, it's about the people more than anything.
I log onto the squirrely boards for girl talk (been slacking there lately, sorry!) and I log into WoW to play and hang out. Don't get me wrong, the game itself is fun, but much less so without cool people to play it with.

Oh, and speaking of cool - I'm so excited to announce that my camera seems to be working. Yay! Vern went to pictureline yesterday & bought some new batteries for it. (The biggest problem it had been having was that it'd just randomly shut down, even with a newly charged battery in it, I was hoping we just needed new ones - the ones we had were a few years old.) Anyhow I charged 'em up and was able to take pictures of my tree last night. (No, I didn't sleep again. Missed an important call and stayed up much of the night hoping they'd call back. Took lots of tree pictures... lol) So, with four days 'til Christmas I'm ready to capture all of the new memories.
Yay!

Well, I really should go exercise and at some time today I should see if Elijah will nap with me. I might log into WoW to see if Jody's on and if Eric got the pictures we sent. Maybe do some pvp - been slacking there.

Pictures coming soon! Yay! Blogging is much more fun with pictures. :)

disconnected

I have to admit, having no internet for most of today made for one grumpy April. Yes it did mean that I got some stuff done around here. (What does a frustrated April do? If you guessed clean and exercise like a mad-woman you'd be right.) I also had some quality cuddle time with Elijah and little Vern. All good things, but it doesn't stop me from being upset that I couldn't play at all.
Oh, and to add insult to injury, now that I finally can get online I'm over three hundred in queue to get into Draenor.
Well, at least that means that I have a minute to blog.

Three's

Yeah, I'm actually blogging for the third day in a row. Don't fall over or anything. lol
Thing is I'm not sure what I'm going to blog about. Hmmmm... Maybe a list since I'm blanking.

Three reason's I'm not ready for Christmas.
I can't find the kid's stockings. Might be time to buy new ones. :p
I haven't bought cards yet. Yikes. I may not get anything sent to my family in Canada in time. :(
I haven't been on an evening drive yet to see Christmas lights. Need to fix that.

Three songs on today's playlist.
Far Away - Nickelback
By the Way - Red Hot Chili Peppers
My Immortal - Evanescence

Three people in my thoughts.
Becky (who's been scarce of late)
Lori (who's burying her son today)
Jody (just because)

Three things I still need to do today.
Spend some quality time on my treadmill. I'm sore from lifting weights yesterday - lower body day today.
Get out of my bathrobe & into some clothes. (Lazy, I know... :p But it's so comfy & I'm not planning on going anywhere.)
Cuddle some more with Elijah. Mmmmm...

Brrrrr...

You know the big window that I enjoy my desk being under in the summer? Well, in spite of us doing a gazillion things to try to insulate it for the winter I feel like I might as well be sitting outside half of the time with the air that comes in. With how cold it's been here lately this is not a good thing. I wrap myself up in a blanket, but there's no help for my hands and arms. My hand that needs to be on the mouse get it the worst. Brrrrrr... Makes it hard to play well or ps well. Meanwhile, I've been living on hot chocolate and begging for hugs wherever I can get 'em.

I hope anyone out there reading this is warm wherever they are. If not I'll share my hot chocolate. :)

Have a great day.

Ahhhhhh...

I finally got to log into WoW tonight and they were about to shut down our realm for some reason. Grrrrr... I made it (mostly awake) through everything we had to do today and was really looking forward to some play time. :p I took the opportunity to run on my treadmill, which gave me some much needed energy. Now what to do with myself? This is my treasured "me" time, when everyone's asleep. Guess I could find me a book, or run a few more miles, or check WoW one more time...

Sadness

My camera is broken. :(
I ended up having to take Ben & Wendy's pictures with their camera. (Thank goodness they have a decent one.) It started giving me error 99 messages almost every shot, and then just kinda died at the shoot. I'm so sad. Right before Christmas too. Grrrrrr...

*sigh*

Well, I didn't sleep last night and have lots of family stuff to do today. I'd better shower and figure out how to keep myself awake long enough to make it through the day. Have to be at Vern's parents at 11. Wish me luck!

Happy Sunday! :)

Sleepy Me

So when I finally tried to go to sleep last night it just wasn't happening. (Grrrrr...) That makes for a groggy April today. I'm seriously not sure that I've been fully awake for a month. :p There have been good things going on, stressful things going on - well there's just been lots going on.

Anyhow, I do plan to try and blog on a more regular basis again. I have a Christmas photo shoot on Saturday and hope to get some pictures for myself as well, seeing as I'm dusting my camera off. I do love our new tree - need to get some shots of the kiddos in front of it. Still not feeling all that Christmas-y for some reason, but am working on it. :p I'm already enjoying some big gifts. I have a new treadmill (I'm so excited to be able to have another way to move even when it's cold outside & I can't go anywhere) and an anniversary band. (Yep, 10 years and I finally have some diamonds on that finger. Pretty ones, too.)

Like I said, there will be pictures. For now I just want to say Have a Great Day!

It starts right now.

It's December already and I'm barely thinking about putting up the Christmas tree. Wow, I am so behind in everything it seems. I've been a litle lost and am just trying to keep my head above water so to speak. November whizzed on by (Mmmmmm... pumpkin pie) and now I'm trying to convince myself that Christmas really is upon us.

Sooo... today is dedicated to making my home look like it's December and making me feel like it. I'm going to crank up the Christmas carols, make some rice crispy treats and hot chocolate and ask my sweet kiddos help me put up our tree.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, I'm a day late and still recovering from the turkey hangover, but wanted to post here to say that I hope those who read this little blog of mine had a wonderful holiday. Sorry to be scarce, I've been so tired lately. Vern took the week off from work - he's needed a break. The kids are enjoying having their dad around for more than dinner and bedtime. A good thing. :)
I've been so grateful for the friends who've kept me (somewhat) sane through these last few weeks. The guys I'm thinking of will never see this, but here's a /hug /poke /squish and big thanks to them anyways. :)

Have a great day. :)

Done

Little Vern is done wearing his brace. His collarbone is almost fully healed & he's back to being his wild and crazy self! He had a hard time not being allowed to run, jump, climb etc. while it was healing.

Brandon's done with his first quarter of High school. He did really well. We're proud of him. Go B!

Kirsten goes back on track on Monday. She was about done being stuck at home all day with the little boys and me anyway. lol

I wish I could say that the work on our ceiling has been done, but not yet. :p The roof's fixed though. No more leak!

I'm about done with my glass of pepsi, and am ready to go curl up with a book before bed.

'Night!

about me

So I got this from Julie's blog, thinking it'd be a quick entry for my poor neglected blog. It wasn't as quick as I thought but hey, it's an entry! An about me sort of one. :) Thanks Julie!

1. What is your occupation?
SAHM. Photographer.
2. What color are your socks right now?
My feet are bare.
3. What are you listening to right now?
Elijah playing with a train.
4. What was the last thing that you ate?
Um, some garlic bread last night with dinner. I haven't eaten yet today. :p
5. Can you drive a stick shift?
lol No.
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Sky blue.
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone?
My hubby.
8. Do you like the person who sent this to you?
She didn't send it - I kinda stole it but I love her to death.
9. How old are you today?
34
10. Favorite drink?
Pepsi
11. What is your favorite sport to watch?
Figure skating.
12. Have you ever dyed your hair?
lol Um yeah...
14. Pets?
No
15. Favorite food?
fresh berries, ceasar salad, smoothies
16. What was the last movie you watched?
Elmo in Grouchland. Thanks Elijah...
17. Favorite day of the year?
December 24
18. What do you do to vent anger?
Hmmm... Yell. Sometimes swear. Clean. Work out.
19. What was your favorite toy as a child?
Barbies. Unless wheels count. I lived on my rollerskates & loved my bike.
20. What is your favorite season?
Summer & Autumn are tied
21. Hugs or kisses?
Kisses!
22. Cherries or Blueberry?
Mmmmm both!
23. Do you want your friends to email you back?
Email? What's that?
26. Living arrangements?
5 crazy people and me. ;)
27. When was the last time you cried?
Yesterday. Stress.
28. What is on the floor of your closet?
Vern's clothes that need to be dry cleaned. :p
30. What did you do last night?
Reached warlord with Arrie! Countless AV, AB & WSG matches.
31. Favorite smells?
Freshly baked bread, rain & Elijah's head after a shower.
32. What inspires you?
Places. People. Things I read.
33. What are you afraid of?
Anything at all bad happening to my children.
34. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers?
Cheese!
36. Favorite dog breed?
Samoyed
37. Number of keys on your key ring?
2
38. How many years at your current job?
Um... 15. Been a mom for 15 years.
39. Favorite day of the week?
The day I get to sleep in...
40. How many states have you lived in?
1
41. Favorite holiday?
Christmas
42. Ever driven a Motorcycle or heavy machinery?
No. I love being on the back of a bike though.
43. Who is your favorite NFL team?
Um, none.
44. Do you have a house phone that is NOT cordless?
Only cell phones in use here.
45. Prefer 10 inches of snow or 100 degree weather?
Depends on if I'm in the mood to swim or ski - but prolly the 100 degree more often than not.

2 clowns, 1 prince and a teenager to walk them around

That's what my kiddos decided on for costumes this year.
I keep meaning to blog - there's been stuff to say, I've just been busy enough that I haven't sat down to type it. I do, however, want to say Happy Halloween!
Hope everyone has a safe and fun evening. :)
I'm off to sneak another handful of candy corn. Mmmmmm... That stuff and pumpkin pie milkshakes have made for a very yummy month.

Hooray!

This is a post about achieving a goal. (It's also a post that may sound like gibberish to anyone who reads it. lol)

When Vern got me to start playing WoW again I decided to try AV. Blizzard had instituted cross-realm battlegrounds while we were gone and I wanted to check it out. Oh, it’s so much fun! Man, do I love pvping.
My two main characters (Arinne & Arrie) were both exalted with AV within 2 weeks. I bought Arinne the Frostwolf howler since she plays mostly in instances with Vern and his friends. Sadly, I couldn’t buy one for both of my characters. (It's 640 gold - a lot of money in the game.) SO, I decided that Arrie would look cooler on a black war raptor anyway. It costs less money, but you have to receive rank 11, which takes a lot of pvp time and you are competing with every other player on your realm each week for honor. On my (very crowded) realm that is a lot of competition. PvPing with Arrie is a blast, so I decided to go for it anyway.
I’m not super competitive with others, but will make goals for myself and do whatever it takes to achieve them. Every day I’d say I had to have this much honor, and do a little better than the day before. This last Tuesday, when they posted the updated honor I finally got my reward. I actually decided to get four of them. You see, if you work hard enough to get to rank 11, you can buy any of 4 epic mounts from your faction, and while the raptor is my favorite, I decided to buy all four. (Only 9 gold each!) Along the way I have met some cool people. Sadly most of them play on other realms, so I only see them in the battlegrounds.
Anyway, I was so excited to reach that goal. I'm going to keep going until I hit warlord, for my epic pvp armor set. (Another couple of ranks.) I made it halfway to the next rank anyway, might as well keep going, right? Ha. Who knows, I may even ho for hwl. It only means little sleep for an extra month or so. lol
Anyhow, I don’t expect that most of the people who actually read this will know or care, since most of my friends don’t play WoW, but I was so excited that I took screenshots just so that I could blog about it. =)

Arinne on her howler...

Arrie's new toys...

Bed time! Sleep well. =)

The Day the Sky Fell In

Okay, so it wasn't the sky, it was our ceiling.
On Friday night, when Vern came home from work he called me upstairs to look at something. He points to a huge bulge in the ceiling in the front room that looks ike it's going to fall any minute. (It actually took about five minutes...)


Apparantly there is some sort of leak in our roof, and that area of the ceiling had become saturated enough to fall down. Two big pieces. It hadn't rained for days, but the wood and sheetrock were dripping wet. It happened pretty fast, there was nothing noticable when the kids and I were playing up there at lunchtime. I'm sure glad Vern walked in when he did.

It was a huge mess. Blown-in insulation everywhere. The wet stuff stained the carpet and the dry stuff coated everthing in the front room, kitchen & dining room.

Fun, fun fun. So, we are borrowing a steam cleaner and are waiting on some sort of action from our landlord. Meanwhile I hope it doesn't get any colder for a little while.

Lovely, huh? It made for a crazy sort of a weekend.

Works for me...

Playing catch-up again. It seems like time has been flying by extra fast lately.

I didn't get to post on Monday (mine and Vern's anniversary.) He took the day off, so I was busy enjoying time with him. We had a good weekend. I'm still in disbelief that it has been ten years. Crazy. I was hoping for a picture of us to post, but that didn't happen. Just imagine that there's a picture of two smiling 30-somethings right about here. lol Works for me. =)

In other news, LV broke his collarbone last night. (Him and Kirsten were playing around and he fell.) He's being a trooper about it. He'll be in a back/shoulder brace for a couple of weeks. The hardest part seems to be finding a comfy position to sleep with it on. Fun fun.

Hope anyone checking in here has themselves a great day. =)

hi and bye!

I'm going to be gone for a day or so. (Like you could even tell I was here. Ha!) Sorry to not be posting - I've been busy with photo stuff again. I said no to doing a fellow photographer's wedding, but yes to some other stuff. I'm now thinking the wedding would have been easier. Figures. lol Anyhow, I've been here, just busy.

Anyway, like I started to say - Vern and I are headed for a little getaway for our 10th anniversary. Nothing too fancy, just a hotel that's practically but not quite down the street. I have to decide where he's taking me for dinner tonight on the way there. I have no idea yet. A night away does sound great though - even if the scenery out the window doesn't change much.

10 years. Whoa. I'll have to do a special post on our actual anniversary.

Happy Friday! Have a great weekend!

Mmmmmmm... Fall

Yesterday was such a beautiful, sunny day here. We drove up to Logan for Brannon's baby blessing. I absolutely loved the drive. The mountains are all decked out in their fall colors and are looking just gorgeous.
The blessing was wonderful. Beth gave a sweet talk - lots of people cried. I'm so proud of Brian though a part of me can hardly believe he's a dad. When I first came to Utah he was just a cute kid. It's amazing what 10 years will do!

It was a perfect Sunday. Family, friends, a beautiful fall drive and celebrating the cutest new little addition to our family.

B and Me

Brandon is a good little photographer. I've been going over his assignments with him and checking out the shots he's taken so far. He's got a good eye and is grasping the technical aspects well. I'm so proud of him. He's doing great all-around in school, but I must admit there's an extra little twinge of pride when it comes to his photography class.

None of my kiddos look like me, but hey I must at least rub off on them a little, right? Yep, when it comes to his grades in school, and now photography, I see a little of myself in my oldest. A very cool thing.

Fallish

Been loving the Fallish weather we've been having. I got to wear my favorite sweater the other day! Yum!

Been doing a lot of cleaning in this house lately. Eeeeewwww... My kids can be so dirty. Seriously, it astonishes me some of the messes and such that I come across. Some days I wish I weren't so outnumbered. At least Brandon helps with stuff. And LV too. Working on Kirsten. I think my hubby is a lost cause. lol

Tagged by Julie

Yay! A meme!

Search your blog archive
- Find your 24th post
- Find the 7th sentence
- Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions
- Tag five people to do the same


Um, I ran into a problem. There wasn't a 7th sentence in my 24th post. lol It was about Canada Day. There were four sentences and two pictures. So, um, yeah. They were nice fireworks shots though. :)
How about I tag any squirrelly girls who read this. :D

Happy birthday Aaron!

My (not so) little brother turns 33 today.
Aaron, wherever you are, whatever you're up to - I hope you have a fabulous day!

Is this thing still on?

I have lost my mp3 player. Seriously. Been looking for weeks. I'm so sad. :o(

I let Brandon buy some iTunes the other day, and now Hey There Delilah by the Plain White T's is stuck in my head. Thanks B.

Jill and Josh are expecting! I'm beyond excited for them - they've been trying forever. They will be such awseome parents.

Kirsten had her picture day today at school. She looked so cute - made me sad that Vern doesn't "do" school pictures. He figures we can take better shots ourselves. I guess I ought to break out the camera when she gets home. :o)

I wish I had a recent picture to share, but haven't touched my camera since SGU.
I guess I could share pictures from that fun get away. I've banned all pictures of myself from that weekend. I actually forgot to bring my makeup (*Gasp* Yes, I know.) I did have lip gloss in my pocket and a little powder compact thing that did nothing to hide the fact that I still get breakouts in my 30's. Only real friends would endure me in all of my pookiness for an entire weekend. :D

So yeah, here's some of the rest of us. ;o)

Amy B

Wendy

Erica

Becky & Nicole

Aren't they all the cutest? I have such great friends. Somewhere there'a a group picture with all of us. So many of us are missing from these few. Micki, Carin, Mary, Kassie and a bunch who couldn't make it this year. We're thinking we'll maybe do it in WA the next go around, in Helena & Amy G's neck of the woods.

Once a Week

Ok, so once a week blogging is better than nothing right? Elijah and I have had the sickies & the other kiddos have been busy with school. There's just nothing new and exciting going on at the moment.We're doing well though. (Well, except for some of us being all stubbed up. I think it's just the traditional change of season cold.) I'm excited for fall though! My favorite! Sweaters, soup, pretty colors. Bring it all on!

Wowsers

How many days has it been since I last blogged? I've lost count. Truly, I think I've lost my head. Life is crazy and out of whack.

School report - the kiddos going are loving it and those home with mommy are sleeper-inners. Too much so, in fact. Elijah slept past noon today. Kirsten joined the school choir and is having fun with it. Brandon is loving high school. Well, he's not all that fond of his French teacher but there's gotta be at least one teacher you don't like, right?

Home front report - Well, like I already stated, it's crazy around here. Truly. Elijah doesn't sleep well at night, then wants to sleep the day away. Oh how his schedule makes me tired. I need to get things changed around so that he sleeps better at night and sees more daylight.Thank goodness for older kiddos who help so much after school. I can sneak little naps in that way. Speaking of which, the kids are eating dinner & Vern is hoping to leave work soon so I think I'm going to try to nap off a monster headache.

Have a great evening!

Four things

...on my Friday to-do list.

1. "Help" Kirsten clean her room. Think big garbage bag here. I'm tired of waiting for her to finish it up. It's time to step in and make the mess disappear. (Into the trash, that is.)
2. Find my mp3 player. I've been looking for it for days. At this point I hope it's in the car, because I'm not finding it in the house.
3. Spend the last bit of money off of my last iTunes card. Ask for a new one. ;)
4. Laundry. In this house there's always laundry.

Have a great day!

*sigh*

Getting all of my kids ready to go to school. Brandon starts next week. Soon it will just be me and my Boo at home during the day.
They grow so fast.

UnStabLe

Our internet connection, that is. We've had problems all weekend and are trying to figure out what on earth is going on. We're lucky when it stays up for 15 minutes, it seems. Stink-o-rama. Meanwhile, we've had movies going nonstop, which has been fun. So far this weekend I've watched:

The Legend of Bagger Vance
Jersey Girl
Hitch
Monsters Inc.
Spanglish
The Princess Bride
Cool Runnings
Notting Hill
50 First Dates

Now I just need to find the Fifth Element & How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days to make the day complete.

Have a great weekend!

Blessed

What a wonderful day.
I didn't go anywhere fancy or do anything out of the ordinary. Kirsten went to school, Brandon went to the sophomore bbq, and I had a quiet day at home. Brian and Beth stopped by with my sweet new little nephew Brannon. He's just a little over 2 weeks old & I finally got to hold him. Oh my, he's seriously adorable. He has red hair. Lots of it. I could have rubbed my cheek against his head all day. Mmmmmm... I so did not want to give him back. New babies are just heavenly.
I felt so blessed to be able to have some quiet time to visit with them this afternoon.

I enjoyed him so much I forgot to grab my camera.
I'll have to get some shots of him soon.

Have a great day!

CraZy BuSy

Oh my, it has been busy around here. I had a great weekend with my friends. Exactly what I needed. I'm so lucky, I have such a great group of friends. It was so nice to not be mommy for a couple of days, even if that's how long it took me to figure out what to do with myself. lol

Sunday was Brandon's 15th birthday. Truthfully, I came home, handed him a treat and passed out for most of it. (Hey, I didn't get any sleep Saturday night.) He did get some cool gifts though. There's more to come too. :)
It's been sophomore week at the high school. B's been going. He's having fun trying to figure out where his classes are. His favorite part has been the free stuff though. lol Here he is in his t-shirt from today. Lookin' sharp B!

Kirsten started 4th grade on Monday. Her school is year round. Her 9th birthday was yesterday. Besides having her class sing to her on her second day of school there were a few fun surprises in store for her. (Like much-needed new shoes and slurpees with mom.) Mostly a quiet day but a good one.
We've got to get LV in to the dr. for immunizations so that he can start kindergarten too. Then it will just be me and Elijah at home. Maybe then things will feel a little less busy.

Girl Time

I'm getting packed and ready to head for a squirrely weekend get away. It'll be so good to see my friends. Park City, here we come! lol
It's going to be a blast. It always is when we get together. :)
The timing is perfect for me. I've been struggling on this new medicine & have been more tired than normal, Elijah is still sad that I won't nurse him (and I am so sore from stopping) and life has been stressful enough that a weekend escape sounds just about perfect. Of course, with squirrely sorts involved I'm not expecting a super relaxing weekend, but I do know I'll have loads of fun. I can't wait. :)
I hope my friends travelling from afar to come and play will do so in safety.

I'll see some of you tomorrow!

heartbroken

Poor little Elijah. I've been trying to wean him off and on for months now, but it makes him so sad that I always seem to give in a little. It's so hard to say no when he's crying and it's the only thing he wants. I've continued to be his source of comfort up until now. This blood pressure medication has changed everything. I can't nurse him on it.
He's heartbroken.
I'm tired.

Wish us luck. And sleep.

Thirty-four

Well, I'm a day late even with my own birthday post. I did have a good day yesterday. I woke up to a phone call from my dad, ended the day with a phone call from my mom-in-law and hung out with my kiddos in between. Perfect.

I spent my first 24 years in Toronto and the past 10 years in Utah.
I've had 4 cute kiddos and 9 wedding anniversaries.
I've met people I care about. I have friends I that I cherish.
I've stayed up all night talking.
I've watched sunrises and sunsets.
I've photographed many weddings.
I've laughed, I've cried...
I've had an amazing 34 years.

Sorry for the icky birthday picture. I almost didn't post it, but decided it's okay that I wasn't looking my bestest. It's been a long and stressful summer & it shows. That's life, right? It's funny, I still feel young & people guess me as younger than I am all of the time so I look at a picture like this and am floored by how a camera can magnify every flaw and make me feel old. :p

*picture removed* Ick. sorry. Hate looking tired. :p

Spaghetti Night

We had spaghetti & French bread for dinner tonight. Mmmmmmm...

Elijah sat in his high chair smack in the middle of the kitchen stripped to his diaper. He fed himself his little cut up noodles and had a good time of it. He must take after his mommy - he tried his very best not to make a mess & didn't like it when he missed. He picked up every noodle that he dropped.
Little Vern sat at the back porch and enjoyed his spaghetti while he watched the cool lightening show going on outside..
Kirsten joined Little Vern watching the storm. She ate double what I did. She must be ready to grow some more. Fabulous.
Brandon, who helped me make dinner, watched TV while he ate. He's been loving Hell's Kitchen this season. Even I was glad to see Sarah go home. Ick.
Vern sat at his desk while he ate like he does most days. I'm not sure what he was playing. We were just about ready to serve dinner when he walked in the door. He tends to head for his computer pretty quickly.
I sat by Elijah, ate more bread than noodles and tried to decide who I was going to nominate to give Elijah a bath. lol I ended up doing it myself.

We are so not an around the dinner table family. We don't have enough dining chairs for such things, and for some reason it isn't a habit we've ever established. It works for us. I smiled tonight thinking that we were all home and had the same thing at the same time. We may not have been bumping elbows at our little table, but it was good. It was us.

Somebody slap me please.

So I've had the phone number for the internist my doc referred me to sitting on my desk for over a week and I haven't called and made an appointment yet. I'm not sure exactly why this is a scary thing for me but it is.
So go ahead and slap me. Maybe that'll get me to pick up the phone.

Oh, and I must say, I almost didn't get out of bed today. It was so incredibly comfy - no horrible heat or stickiness. Heaven. If only there weren't so many things to do I might still be laying there. Ahhhhhh... Maybe I'll get to sneak back up there at nap time.

I haven't spoken to Julie & Kyle in weeks. Kyle's computer is broken so we haven't been playing like usual. The gaming break has been kind of nice for my kiddos, but I miss my friends. :( We're thinking about you guys! Hope everything is okay.

Speaking of gaming, I have a different sort of proud mama moment I'll share. Brandon has a level 60 warrior as his main character in WoW. Since we've had WoW back up he's joined a fairly big guild and has been MTing in places like MC & ZG and doing a rocking good job at it. Gibberish to anyone who doesn't play, but those who do will understand. It's sort of akin to having your little athlete make captain of the team or something. :)

That's enough random Monday stuff I think.
Have a great day!

Saturday naps & kisses.

If you were this little guy's mom could you resist this kissy face? lol
A hundred times a day my answer is absolutely not.
Now to go wake Vern up and see about getting some shopping done. He had to work this morning and came home & collapsed on the couch.
Hmmmm... Maybe I should let him sleep a bit longer.

Happy Saturday!

Happy birthday Vern!

My sweet hubby is 32 years old today. Sadly, he left for work before the sun came up and won't be home until late tonight. Hopefully he'll at least be able to get away for lunch.

Vern wasn't raised making a big deal out of birthdays. It makes it hard when I want to do special somethings for the kiddos on their special days. He figures the hoopla is silly. He made it into adulthood without ever having anything more than cake on a Sunday for all the family birthdays within the same month. That's fine, and I'm glad he's cool with that, but it doesn't stop me from wanting to change it. I think everybody should be made to feel important and special on their birthday. I mean it's only one day a year. I'd love to whisk him away from work. Really, he deserves the day off but that is so very out of the question with the iso audit going on.
*sigh* It will be one more uneventful birthday for Vern. At least I can control how it ends. I'll do whatever I can to make sure he has a great evening.

Have a great day. I'm off to make a cake.

Hodgepodge

The thing about not blogging every day in the summer is that I can gather things to talk about, hodgepodge as they may be.
Woohoo!

Vern and I went to see the Lake House. Good movie - we both liked it.
We took the kids swimming yesterday. It was the only sane thing to do in this heat. My eyes are still bugged out from all of the chlorine though.
We're still trying to plan the August trip. After figuring out actual costs I'm a little worried that we're not going to pull it off. Hey miracles happen - I'm not giving up just yet. :)
I'm going to be an aunt again any day now. Beth has been ready for weeks, poor thing. That baby will arrive sooner or later. Hopefully sooner. August babies make for hard third trimesters. I know - I have two mid-August children.
Tomorrow is my hubby's birthday. He gets to celebrate by going in to work early and staying late. (It's the first day of their ISO inspection.) He was thinking today would be the same. Makes for a possibly rough week. Fun.
I'm thinking I should play with my camera today so that I can have some sort of recent picture to share.

Have a great day!

Another blank

I opened up this window figuring that I should blog today. It's been days again.
Thing is I'm totally blanking.
I haven't even been playing with my camera lately to be able to share a new picture.
Maybe some fabulous idea or thought will come to me later.
Crossing my fingers.

Happy Saturday!

A couple of things...

I've been meaning to write on my blog, but it's been a little crazy around here of late.

I found out today that I need to be on medication for high blood pressure. It'll be good to try to get it under control. When I went in for my yearly ob/gyn appt. last month he didn't like how high it was. It was even higher when I went back for a follow-up today. Bummer. Unfair when you consider that I actually love to exercise & take care of myself. Grrrrr...
Kirsten's new school is a year-round elementary & we're trying to figure out which track she'll be on. She could be starting in 2 weeks. She's excited, but we aren't quite ready. She's grown out of so many of her clothes. She's outgrown her shoes too. Can I send her barefoot in underwear? Probably not. She's in desperate need of a shopping trip.
We're trying to figure out a way to get to the Buffalo/Niagara Falls area in August to try and meet up with my family. They don't know this yet, and I'm not sure how or if it's going to work but we are trying. I'm looking into hotels & Vern is figuring out car/gas stuff. Vern's boss gave him the go-ahead if we can figure it out. I'm really hoping that my younger kiddos will finally be able to meet my mom. I'm not sure how we're going to get her to Niagara Falls from Toronto, but I hope we can. It's been way too long since I last hugged my own mama.

His list

If you were to ask my dad how he's doing this is the response you would likely recieve.
"I'm falling apart. I have a touch of emphezema, a partially collapsed lung, fat around the liver, irregular heartbeat, sugar diabetes, high cholestoral & hearing aids in both ears. But hey, at least I still have my hair."
At least that is the response I got when he called this morning to wish my hubby a happy birthday. He was 10 days early on the phone call (his b-day isn't until the 26th) but it was good to talk to him. At this point every time I talk to him I worry it will be the last time. He's right, he is falling apart. And when I asked him if he's managed to quit smoking yet he didn't answer. That old man is going to die with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth choking the air he's already struggling to get. I'm worried he'll be gone before I have the chance to see him again.

Five for Friday night.

1. Elijah is finally napping. He hasn't slept much this week. Makes for one sleepy mama.
2. Vern is bringing home pizza. Hooray! It's too hot to cook.
3. We're one day closer to SGU! I can't wait to get away for a weekend with my friends in August. It's been too long.
4. I think that the excedrin is finally kicking in. Goodbye headache!
5. There is snickers ice cream in the freezer. Mmmmmmmmmmm...

How To

The Google homepage has a How To of the day section. Some of them have been comical. Some have seemed useful. Mostly I just glance at it to see what they've come up with next. These are some of the more current ones:

How To:
Begin Running
Expand Ivory Soap
Be Photogenic
Protect Yourself in a Thunderstorm
Solve a Sudoku
Grow a Goatee
Deal With Being in Prison
Understand Soccer Strategy
Make a Cloud in a Bottle

These were from today:
How to Cool Yourself Without Air Conditioning
How to Protect Yourself in a Thunderstorm
How to Do a Running Catleap

There you have it. Some possibly helpful how-to's. If you actually want to see one that I didn't link to you'll have to go to the google homepage yourself.

Thanks Google.
lol

Five Words

Five words that describe me today.

Tired. The story of my life as a mom of four.
Sore. I worked out yesterday. Really worked out. Yay me!
Loved. My kiddos are experts at making me smile & feel loved.
Comfortable. Yes, it is the middle of the afternoon & I am in my PJs. I plan to shower & get dressed soon. I do love a slow start to the day - complete with brunch in my jammies at my computer desk.
Happy. I may not have everything I want, but I have sufficient for my needs and then some. Vern & I have made it through the past 10 years & have the sweetest kiddos. There's a lot to be happy about.

An old favorite.

I remember the day I took this picture of Kirsten. Two homes & more years than that ago.

This shot made me smile back then.

It still does.

Sometimes

Sometimes the only truly stress-free thing to do is nothing.
That's exactly what we did last night. Bliss.

I'm tired and wishing I could do the same today, but there's laundry to fold, messes to clean & kiddos to feed. Oh, and I promised LV we'd go get slurpees later. Now that I'm looking forward to.

Happy Birthday America!

We celebrated the Fourth with a family bbq followed by the fair & fireworks at Riverton Park. Elijah & LV were both sound asleep by the finale.
I didn't get to take many pictures due to the rain. It was just a little drizzle that seemed to begin & end with the fireworks. It was actually enjoyable except for the fact that my camera isn't currently equipped to play in the rain. I was looking forward to new fireworks pictures. Oh well.
A storm earlier in the day brought high winds & closed down the booths, cutting short some teenaged playtime for Brandon, Lauren & Kori. They managed to have fun hanging out at their house anyways.

All in all it was a fun day. We enjoyed a slow, quiet afternoon and a family & fun filled evening.

Oh, and the pictures that I was able to take I'll share soon. I'm too tired to upload them tonight.

Temptation

Oh man, it's hot and I don't feel like cooking, yet my kiddos do need to be fed. On days like this I wish I had
a little stash of money. When I went upstairs to decide what to make them for lunch I was faced with a fridge that looks like this. Mmmmmmm... Temptation. The mac & cheese I decided on was actually well recieved by the kiddos. Hooray for me!
The problem is that now I realllllly want an Arctic Circle shake. And pizza. For some reason the brownies don't look all that appealing to me. Crazy, I know.

This boy

Elijah made my day today.
With a horrid headache and the tail end of a head cold I didn't feel like doing much at all. Elijah decided to be my buddy and we cuddled and giggled and enjoyed a quiet day inside while my other kiddos had their own version of fun going on outside. (It involved water, bathing suits and a LOT of noise.)


Thanks Elijah, for being my sweet little teddy bear today.

I spy...

With my little eye...
These five things while sitting at my desk:

1. A bottle of Excedrin. The only thing that works on my headaches.
2. A half full glass of diet coke with lime. (It was on sale, and it's actually tasty.)
3. A cute little pair of green slippers that no longer fit Elijah.
4. My camera. It's battery-less at the moment. Sadness.
5. Kirsten and little Vern having a picnic outside my window. (They're still soaked from the slip 'n slide and not allowed to come in just yet.)

I need to head out for a walk. Have a great day!

Getting Wet

I can't think of anything more fun than getting wet on a hot summer day.

Q & A

Sophia had this questionnaire as a challenge on her blog. After a long walk on a hot day it was the perfect idea for an easy blog entry. Now if dinner were so easy...
1. FIRST NAME? April
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Nope. And no, my birthday is not in April.
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? A few days ago. A hurt feelings moment with Vern.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Sure.
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Shaved turkey. Mmmmmm...
6. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Yep. Four cute ones!
7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Sure. The problem is I don't know that either of us would be making the first move. lol
8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? I don't write in it often enough, but yes.
9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? I should probably say yes to this one.
10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? No. That's a long story.
11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Maybe. I used to really want to. I'm not sure I still have it in me.
12. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No. I rarely wear shoes that lace up anyway.
13. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? In some ways I am. In others, not so much.
14. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Hmmmm... Dreyers Swiss Orange sherbet is an all time favorite. It has yummy chocolate chips in it - so good.
15. SHOE SIZE? 7.5
16. RED OR PINK? Both. I've been on a pink binge lately though.
17. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I wish I wasn't so self conscious.
18. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My mom. I wish we lived closer together.
19. WHEN AND WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Toronto, 1972
20. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Faded jeans & bare feet.
21. WHAT IS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Frosted shredded wheat for breakfast. I should probably eat again soon. The day has slipped by.
22. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? No Rain by Blind Melon just played. Insensitive by Jann Arden is starting as I type.
23. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? After my walk today, tan. Ha! (Fighting the urge to say PINK!)
24. FAVORITE SMELL? Fresh bread, babies, pumpkin pie.
25. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED WITH ON THE PHONE? My cute hubby.
26. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU MEET? Eyes/face. How they hold themselves.
27. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I was blanking (well, I was trying to think of something non-photography related) and asked my B. He says "cameras/photography, photoshop, scrapbooking, video games & farming." lol Not traditional farming. It has to do with said video games.
28. FAVORITE DRINK? Pepsi
29. FAVORITE SPORT? Swimming & volleyball.
30. HAIR COLOR? Brown. I used to be blonde, it got progressively darker with age.
31. EYE COLOR? Light brown/hazel
32. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No, but I should. I have glasses that I never wear. Maybe I'd be better with contacts.
33. FAVORITE FOOD? Just one thing? Can I blanket it and say things involving melted cheese? Then it can include all of the Italian & Mexican foods I love, and even include perogies & poutine.
34. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING? Happy please!
35. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? The Saint. B put it on the other night.
36. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Blue.
37. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer!
38. HUGS OR KISSES? Lots of both.
39. FAVORITE DESSERT? Cheesecake or lemon merigue pie.
40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Naked Empire by Terry Goodkind
41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? My mouse? The mouse pad is black.
42. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Rushing water, my kiddos' giggles & laughter, falling rain.
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? The Beatles.
44. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? San Fransisco.
45. IF YOU COULD PICK ANY TWO PEOPLE TO HAVE DINNER WITH, WHO WOULD THEY BE? My mom & my brother. It's been way too long since I last saw either of them.

In good company

These two kiddos are my walking companions. They make it even more fun to be out and walking. Elijah loves the stroller ride and Kirsten loves the one-on-one time to talk.


I'm so lucky to have such cute kiddos to keep me company. :)

Lost and Found

I'm so glad that I had a moment to spare today and decided to browse through my blog a bit. I stumbled across a comment that I missed in May. It was from my friend Denise.

Denise was my neighbor and one of my best friends growing up. Her mom was my second mom. I used to get on my knees as a teenager and knock on their door and ask for cookies. I went to Nova Scotia with Denise to visit some of her family there. Over the years there were sleepovers, dances - you name it. I was there when she met her husband, but that is not a pretty story. (I'm still so sorry about that night!) She is family. They are family.
I had lost track of them.
My mom still talks to her mom. My brother went to her brother's wedding. Last I had heard she was expecting a baby. It's been long enough that the baby could be a toddler by now. My mom has always been great about keeping me up to date when we talk. Sadly, it's been months since I last talked to my mom.

Anyhow, in May Denise commented on my blog and I almost missed it! I have no e-mail address or anything, but just in case she ever peeks here again I'm hoping she'll see this and we can change that. I want info! lol Oh, and thank you Robin for telling her about my blog. Hopefully I'll be able to find a way to be in better contact with her again. That'd be so cool.

Oh man, I wish I had a working scanner. The pictures I have to go with this entry would be so much fun. Pictures of us as teenagers on a train to Nova Scotia, as little kids playing on a blanket in front of our houses, from swim meets, camping and Youth Center dances. Oh my. Good times.

Daddy's Day

I will do my best today to make sure that Vern has a fabulous day. Hopefully he'll feel loved and appreciated. He deserves it. He's an awesome daddy

I don't have a recent pic of my sweet hubby, but I will share a shot I took of my dad the last time he came to visit.
Happy Father's Day to dads everywhere.

Two steps behind.

Awww man. Know what I realized today? That I've been blogging for a year! I totally missed my anniversary on the 3rd. I'm so glad I had a reason to go back and check out that first month's entries (looking for the date of the first post.) It made me smile to see what I was writing about back then. I ended up reading the whole blog. Now that was fun! It would have been cool to have realized the anniversary on time, but that just isn't me.

I'm not fabulous when it comes to remembering and acting on things like that. I'm horrible at getting birthday cards in the mail. I think about people all of the time. I'll note that a bithday is coming up, then I miss it completely when it arrives and they don't hear from me. I had planned to do something for my nephew Tyler for his birthday (May 27th) and have to admit that I missed it. Again. Same goes for April 5th. Every year leading up to Vivian's birthday I think of her and how much I'd like to do something nice. Then I write about it on my blog a couple months later when I'm admitting that even though I have good intentions I tend to forget and miss things. It is not on purpose. I'm not sure why I tend to fall two steps behind, but that is where I tend to be. Something to work on.

Anyway, in the past year thousands of people have read my blog, with 1584 individuals & 5566 total hits since I put the counter in. (I forget when I added the counter - I'm thinking Winter? There's that memory again. It was January, I just checked. Yay - I was right!) Anywhere from 5-30 people peek per day. A handful of you have posted replies. I have made new friends and kept old ones up to date on the happenings of my life. I've shared lots of pictures (completely filling up a photobucket account along the way.) I've written about everything from mommyhood to American Idol & snorkeling puppies on toilet paper. Sometimes I didn't write much at all.

It's been fun. Imagine that. :)

So happy (belated) blogging anniversary to me.

Babies and a Father's Day Shoot

Four of Vern's five brothers are expecting babies in the next 9 months. The latest pregnancy announcement came from Ben & Wendy. So much fun!

Ben told Wendy that all he wanted for Father's Day was a picture of her and their daughter Abby. So Wendy, Abby & I had a quick little secret photo shoot in my front yard yesterday. (It was cut short by hail and an error 99.) They're so cute that all we needed was a few minutes anyway.

Happy Monday

As I struggled to get out of bed this morning (last night was a late night) I was greeted by sweet, smiling kiddos. Generally, my fresh-out-of-bed disposition is not all that sunny. Okay, so I'm a grump first thing in the morning. Anyhow, I've noticed that my family is capable of changing that rather quickly. Little Vern has this knack of being extra cute and cuddly right when I need him to be and I think he's been teaching Elijah his tricks. Even Vern was in a good mood after work today and made me smile. The poor man is on some heavy duty pain meds for his back - it might have cheered him up a little to be in less pain than usual. For his part though, he brought some cheer to my day too.

These were 5 of today's happy moments:
1. Elijah's was the first face I saw this morning, and he was smiling, cuddly and chattering away.
2. Little Vern was such a big helper today. I love how he does what he's asked without whining. I wish that all of my kiddos were like that.
3. Brandon took some pictures of me this weekend. Thanks B! Needed a new shot for on here. I love that B can work my big old camera for me. :) I have to admit that I hate how when I'm this tired it shows and makes me look like 50 years older. Ugh. Oh well, I'll use these shots until I have something new to work with. (Preferrably taken on a day when I'm not so tired. :p)
*pic removed-space issues on photobucket*
4. Kirsten fed Elijah lunch and played with him so that I could close my eyes and try to nap away a headache. It worked and I was grateful for the help.
5. Vern let me finish his ice cream tonight. (It was the only chocolate in the house.) Yummy! He was in a good (albeit loopy) mood, and when he's happy I'm happy.

I...

Saw this on Becky's blog and wanted to give it a whirl.

I AM: always stubborn, usually optimistic and never 100% sure of myself.

I WANT: a new camera. Actually two - one for me and one for Vern. And a few new lenses. And... and...

I HAVE: a good husband, beautiful kiddos and some chocolate ice cream in the freezer.

I WISH: that we could afford the dental and orthodontic work our kiddos need.

I HATE: phone calls from bill collectors.

I MISS: My family. Toronto. Jamaican patties.

I HEAR: Kirsten reading out loud. LV singing. Some birds.

I WONDER: how Nina and Lauren are doing on their trip to the Holy land (They were planning on being at the garden of Gethsemane today) how Kenyon is doing in England and if Elijah is asleep enough to put him down.

I REGRET: leaving Toronto without first making amends with my mom, visiting more family members and taking more pictures.

I AM NOT: a morning person.

I DANCE: with Kirsten, LV and Elijah.

I SING: all of the time. I make up songs and sing 'em to my kiddos. I sing along with almost anything that plays on the radio. I love to sing.

I CRY: at movies, when sad songs play, when other people cry, and when my feelings are hurt.

I AM NOT ALWAYS: patient.

I MAKE WITH MY HANDS: food for my family, photographs... Not as many things as I used to...

I WRITE: often. It's my favorite form of communication. I express myself much better in writing. If I could hand out notes to people I come in contact with and limit the need for speaking I would be much more comfortable.

I CONFUSE: easily. Ha!

I NEED: a vacation. It's been a long and stressful year.

I SHOULD: finish getting ready for church.

I START: to get overwhelmed and then I shut down. That's what my therapist says. I'm trying to get a handle on things so that I don't shut down so often. (Apparantly it isn't healthy to cease to funtion.) It starts with learning how to not let things overwhelm me. If you know me and the particulars of my life then you can say "HA!" along with me now... (Though I am trying. Wish me luck!)

I FINISH: this blog entry with a challenge to those who read it. Your turn to finish these sentences!

Hooray!

I have been without a computer for days. Oh man do I rely on this baby for so many things. Now I have a new video card and all is right in my little world again.
Hooray!

It's true.

I've always said that Elijah is beautiful. These days this is is constantly confirmed by strangers. Whenever I take him on my walks people stop and tell me what a beautiful baby boy he is. He's always smiling and happy. Such a sweetie.

Even covered in his toddler bonks and bruises he is a beautiful little guy.

This Boy

Only little Vern would learn how to play baseball with a lightsaber and a pingpong-like ball. He was walking around the house hitting it around. (And with great aim, I might add.) So, we got him playing (outside) with a bat and ball.
Yep, the boy is a natural.

Memory Lane

I love how passing thoughts or comments can snowball into trips down memory lane.
A conversation about high school, bass players and how skinny Vern used to be had me wanting to find an older pic of my hubby. With no working scanner, and nothing on my hard drive I decided to check my stuff in the old 2ps gallery.
Voila! I haven't posted anything there in years, but since I wasn't looking for recent it worked. The kids and I had fun looking at old layouts and pictures. What a blast! Man, my kiddos have grown. So have Vern & I, but not in the same way. Ha!
Anyway, I did find me some 10 year old pictures of Vern & I that show that Vern really did used to be too skinny for his own good. He's filled out in such a good way over the years.

I'm so glad I ended up looking through that old gallery. What a fun way to spend a part of my day. :)