Radio

So, a couple of nights ago Jacob and I were snuggling on the couch listening to the radio(what one does when we have no TV stations). Some classic station talking. Some guy was on sing talking funny things. Anyway...to the point... He talked about how some restaurants are small and one half is for smokers and the other half for non smokers (always hate those kindof restaurants!), then he said it was like having a public pool that has a section for pee'ers. HA! totally made me laugh! And the way I've been feeling I needed a good laugh!

Minus 1

I guess the stick figure picture of my family is no longer correct. We are now minus 1 dog. Sorry Kelty but you were the only member of the family that could be given away with out tears! With #4 on the way, the amount of dog hair on the floor, on our clothes, and yes even sometimes in our food...I just couldn't do it anymore! Besides the fact that every time I looked at her I felt guilty!! She's a Lab and needs exercise. The one thing that I was the only one to do anything about, and didn't ever give her enough of! Jacob and I just got to the point where we just didn't like having her around. I hated feeling guilty all the time and I couldn't stand it when she got in to the trash or any food. And boy could she find any food that might have been left around. Drove me crazy! So, we wanted to give her a better life. Owners who would love her, exercise her, pet her, spend time with her. Now she's someone else's dog that I'm sure gives her all that stuff. Plus she has a dog pal to hang with when no one's home. It was a little hard to give her up. I felt like a dog owner loser. We've had her since she was a puppy-4 1/2 yrs! But, I must admit that I don't miss her, the everyday guilt is gone, and I seem more peaceful. I was prone to let Kelty be the brunt of my frustration and she was the one that would get yelled at. The only thing I miss is the kitchen floor isn't magically void of food and crumbs anymore :(

So, there you have it. We're just not the dog lovers we thought we were!

Some whine with that cheese?

If I hear another whinny voice I'll probably scream! Adam has a cold and hates having a wet nose. Every 5 minutes he comes to me, whining, that he needs a "blesshew" (aka tissue). The blesshew word is way cute, but him whining telling me I need to go get him one and blow his nose is getting real old. Every time we have the same talk, "You bring me the tissue, Adam, and I'll help you blow your nose!" "NO! You get it!" with all the whine he can muster. Of course I stand my ground! Learned that lesson long ago. Give in and all the work you've done must start over from square one. Anyway, guess I'm venting. It probably doesn't help when the kids get to bed late and are naturally prone to whininess when they're tired and couped up because mom doesn't feel good and it's freezing outside!

Viewers

I was wondering if people I know actually view my blog. Sometimes I wonder if I go through the trouble of posting for any good reason. I never really know. The only time I get comments are when I don't post for a year. I started the blog for family but think that they've never even visited the site. Or do I just not update enough, so friends and family have just stopped checking?...

Anyway, just thought I'd add my thoughts for once to the blog. And these are the thoughts I always have when I go to my blog to visit others' blogspots.

Stephen's Lake and spray park

Above: Ethan and his friend Jared
Below: Sierra and her friend Mary

Niece Kristina Came to Visit

Random pics of Adam

Above and below: Adam's 3rd birthday

Adam's new pose for pics:

But I want to touch the computer!

Trying to attract the fish:

Fishing with Gma Vickie:

Ice Cream!

Potty Trained!!! Yeah!

Spray park. One of many in Columbia.

He's good at it! Learns from his sis. Obviously not from his mom!

Our Subdivision Pool!

Our most favorite past time this summer!! We went swimming almost everyday. Adam's surfer tan was quite impressive!

Sierra and Kelty

One of Sierra's favorite past times...dressing up Kelty! Necklaces, bracelets, hair clips, the works. How does she do it? She tempts Kelty into her closet and closes the door. Kelty is her captive!

Missouri Storm

The storm that brought these clouds was quite interesting to watch. Seeing these clouds, we were in awe! Not sure whether we should hide in the basement or stay out on the deck and marvel! Welcome to Missouri.

Happy Now?! By the way, we moved!

So, as many of you know, we moved! Thus, the lack of updating my blog! Sorry, it's not top priority. This is our new house! We love it. I'm finally adjusting to the amount of extra cleaning and yard work I now have to do. The kids and I moved in April. Jacob moved in the end of June. Life has been hectic (to say the least)! I'm still not quite settled in but you all are begging for updates!! :)




Here are the kids. Ethan will be 8 in a month, Sierra 5 in 2 wks and Adam's 2 1/2 (and he just potty trained himself! With a little encouragement from dad (the peeing in boots and anywhere he pleased wasn't working for us!). In this pic they're holding the cards they made for Jacob's B-day in April.

The Love of Books!

Every night before I go to bed, I check on Ethan and Sierra (I'm afraid that if I went in Adam's room he'd wake up. Heaven forbid!) It's usual, lately, for Ethan to have fallen asleep while reading (a new found love in his life that I'm more than willing to support!). But this night when I went in to check on them both of them had fallen asleep with thumbs in the books they had been reading/looking at! It made me so proud! I know, I'm weird! All 3 kids love books! Every night they're usually surrounded with tons of books that they "read." I just love it!

Can you say "Princess obsession!"...
I'd be worried, but I notice all girls her age are the same way!

Ethan's love for reading was fueled by the Magic Tree House Series. I could hug that woman for writing books that interested my son so much that he just couldn't stop after I was tired of reading to him! Now he'll read 4-5 chapters a day on his own. The only downside: He picks up where I left off and I never know what happened in between!
It's a great series of books!

Dress Up

I can't remember for the life of me what she was dressing up as, but I do remember getting enough of a kick out of it to get the camera out! But, Sierra is definitely queen of dressing up in this family!

Playing Together

I was gone at Young Women's Night Activity and when I downloaded pictures these were on there. They were too cute. I guess the kids all wore their Crocs and a backpack and were pretending to go on a vacation! Too cute! I love the one of Sierra helping Adam get his shoe on! She's so motherly that way to Adam. :)

My crazy plant!!

So, normally I'd say I definitely do not have a green thumb! I'd describe my experiences with plants as a brown thumb because I seem to kill every plant I've ever had. The worst was a plant Jacob gave me when we were first married and expecting Ethan. He did the whole I know you'll be a good mom because you can take care of a simple plant. Well, that plant didn't last long!! But, lucky for my kids, I can't over water them and I can put sunscreen on them if they're outside too long! And I can understand their wants and needs better than I can judge what the heck to do with a plant. How much is too much water by the way?!

Anyway, for Christmas our Young Women's President gave me this plant. My first reaction was, "Great! She doesn't know my background with plants! Hope she knows this thing has no chance in my hands!" So, I read the instructions and did exactly what it said. They seemed simple enough: After planting, water as needed. OK I can do that. So when the bulbs started growing I was excited. Before long I noticed that it seemed to be growing several inches during the night! One bulb's leaves grew like crazy but the flowers all wilted away without ever growing and the other one's flower grew like the beanstalk in 'Jack and the Beanstalk.' Yet the leaves didn't really grow and the other flowers, too, wilted. Maybe the plant can just feel the love! Or maybe there's something really wrong with Riverside water!!

Here's the plant next to Ethan and Sierra so you could see the craziness!