Will it ever stop?!?

Do you ever feel like your life is a carousel ride? You keep going up and down and round and round. Every year it seems to keep getting faster with no sign of slowing down. It always seems like there is more to do everyday then I have time in the day to do those things. I keep waiting for it to stop and it never does. Sometimes I feel so dizzy that I want to puke. Between taking kids to school, soccer, karate, activity days, birthday parties, cleaning the house (right!), grocery shopping and sick kids (those never happen, do they?) when am I supposed to squeeze time in for the yard and church callings never mind trying to find me time, I am exhausted. Or maybe that was from the lack of sleep? It is hard to find some calm in this stormy sea of life, but I am trying. Any clues as to where to find the off lever on this carousel called life?

Family Reunion

Last week the kids and I went to my family reunion in Ellensburg, Washington. We took our time on the way there. We stayed 2 nights at the Hull's in Boise, 3 nights at my brother's in Oregon, and 3 nights at my aunt's house. We camped 2 of the nights in her back yard and the last night we stayed in the house as we decided to stay after all of our things were packed. It was a really relaxing vacation until the drive home. Due to the fact that we stayed in Washington on Saturday night, we had to make the whole drive home on Sunday as the girls started school on Monday. The kids did really well and I am happy to report that they all came home with me. I did not intentionally or unintentionally misplace them anywhere along the way. Here are a couple pics of my family. This is my Mom's side.

The tasty carne asada being cooked. Yes it was very good, even used in breakfast burritos the next morning.

There were tons of small kids. I think that I was told that there were 17 under the age of 5. My mom herself has 13 grandkids with 2 more on the way. No that is not an announcement for those of you who are curious! I am not having anymore babies!!!!!!!

So many things, so little time!

I know I have been A.W.O.L. for awhile, but I am back. I had a nice little vacation and need some time to gather my thoughts and photos.

Not a bad penny, just a mean sister!

I just found out that the reason Jaxon broke stuff in the chicken coop was because his mean sister Raven thought it would be funny to lock him in the dark coop by himself. She forbade Luke and Mason to open the door even though Jaxon seemed to be going bizerk inside. Erick said that from the damage that was done Jaxon must be claustrophobic. He said that he was extremely surprised that Jaxon didn't have a bunch of scratches or bruises on his little body. He said that Jaxon had torn through things trying to get out. Jaxon finally broke through the wall of the coop beside the door, breaking the door in half. Let's just say that the only thing that kept me from beating the crap out of Raven or locking her in the coop by herself was the fact that there were other kids sleeping in the tent next to her. This story came to light after she scared the tar out of Mason so bad that his frightened noises made the dog start barking in the back yard. I will admit that I am having a hard time controlling my anger towards Raven right now. She and I will definitely be having some words in the morning when we wake up. I absolutely will not tolerate my child being a bully especially to her own siblings! I know without a doubt that if the tables were turned and someone did to her what she has done to her brothers she would without a doubt be freaking out and screaching at the top of her lungs demanding justice and retribution!

A Bad Penny?

My family reunion is this coming weekend in Washington. The kids and I left yesterday so that we could take our time and mostly so that I would not feel rushed. We arrived at the Hull's in Boise about noon on Saturday. Since then my dog has tipped over the swing set, Jaxon has broken some stuff in the chicken coop and minor other stuff. I am waiting for Erick to tell us that we can't come back. The Hull family probably feels like we are that preverbial bad penny that keeps turning up!

9 WORDS WOMEN USE

(1)Fine:This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

(2)Five Minutes:If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. 'Five minutes' is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

(3)Nothing:This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with 'nothing' usually end in 'fine'.

(4)Go Ahead:This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!

(5)Loud Sigh:This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about 'nothing'. (Refer back to # 3 for the meaning of 'nothing'.)

(6) That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a woman can make to a man. 'That's okay' means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

(7)Thanks:A woman is thanking you, do not question, or Faint. Just say you're welcome. (I want to add in a clause here - This is true, unless she says 'Thanks a lot' - that is PURE sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say 'you're welcome' .. that will bring on a 'whatever').

(8)Whatever:Is a woman's way of saying 'SCREW YOU'!

(9)Don't worry about it, I got it:Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking 'What's wrong?' For the woman's response refer to # 3.

Mamma Mia Rocks!

Jill Clark and I have been wanting to see Mamma Mia in Las Vegas for sometime now. Everytime that we go there we comment on how much we want to see it.

When we heard that it was being made into a movie we decided that we would go see it together. We finally got our crazy schedules to correspond today. We went to the first showing. We were not disappointed except that one of the main characters ends up being gay. That was the only thing that I objected too. I love Abba so it was great to hear their music. Yes I know that the story is built around their music. I thought the movie was cast very well and thought Meryl Streep did a fantastic job. I didn't know that she could sing. So if you love Abba at all, go see the movie. I now have to save my pennies so that I can buy the soundtrack!

I am finished.......

Okay, I know that I really procrastinated reading the Twilight series just to be stubborn. I borrowed the first three books from a friend and read them all over Memorial weekend. I was hooked. I love Stephenie Meyer's writing style and feeling like I am sitting there with everything unfolding right before me. Her books are easy to read and clean. Everything was left to the imagination. I love that.

So early Saturday morning I got my hands on the last book. I finished it this morning. I love it. I love how she answered all the questions that I had from the other books. I am sad to be done and am looking forward to the book that she is supposed to write from Jacob's perspective. Want to know what happens? Do you? Then go read the book instead of my blog!