Going Back to the Basics

The 6th grade at our school is participating in the N.O.V.A. (Nurture, Opportunities, Values, Accountability) program (this program has taken the place of D.A.R.E.). Because I work with the 6th graders...and Camry is one. Our family is participating in 7 days of no technology. Thankfully cell phones are not included in this experiment (don't worry I asked, I mean, seriously!).

So think of us for 7 days going without all of the luxuries of TV, Blogging, Facebook, Wii, etc. I know a couple of little boys who are not too excited about this adventure!

See you in a week!

The Best Post of the Year!

My friend Danelle posted this on her blog and I had to copy it onto my blog so you could all see the "best post of the year" AND so I could have a copy of it for my 2009 blog book. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did! She is hilarious! Love ya Danelle...thanks for sharing!

i used to have the hardest time staying clean while i baked.do you ever experience this frustration?

it seemed to happen to me all the time, which made me very sad.just when i thought i would have to give up baking forever, something happened to change my dismal future. i got a package in the mail that changed this faceinto this facecan you see the difference? if you guessed it's the apron...YOU'RE RIGHT! i was quick enough to be one of the first three people to comment on autumn's "pay it forward" blog and this awesome apron is what she made especially for ME! isn't it so cute?and it is so versatile. i will show you just a few of it's many fashion abilities. i can wear it like thisor thisor look at how much fun i can have showing off my sweet, innocent, little-girl-with-a-bow-on-the-front-of-her-dress lookor i can kick it up a notch on the sexy scale and go with something more like this, what, you gotta problem with that?admit it, you're totally jealous. well, don't you worry...for just three easy installments of just $49.99 you too can have one of these "awesome autumn aprons", but not this one, no this AAA is all mine. i love it so much. even more than i love this breadthanks autumn! it's amazing that after not being in the same room for probably more than 20 years, you can create a prize for me that is so perfect. all of my family members were very impressed. thanks for paying it forward.

Move Over Yankee Doodle!

God Bless America!

I'm pretty sure Jace 'showed up' Yankee Doodle today at his Kindergarten Patriotic Program. He makes me laugh!

Here's a quote from Easton, "Mom, it's too bad Jace can't whistle..."

Jace and Garet...being goofy. Love the hats! Good job guys!

How LUCKY am I??

It is quite possible that I feel like the luckiest person alive today! I was the 1st person to comment on Danelle's "Pay it Forward" blog post! SCREAM!! Danelle is my awesome artist friend from my childhood. Danelle, THANK YOU!!! I LOVE my gift!! Seriously I think my family might have thought I'd lost my mind when I saw this! I don't know how you knew how to create the PERFECT gift but you did. I LoVe bLuE and of course books...and the hair is amazing!! I love all of the little personal touches you added...like the "A" on the book.

The pictures don't really do it justice...I probably should have removed it from the glass but I didn't want to risk messing it up at all. (if any of you want to see it I'd be happy to show it to you in person)

This collage was made entirely out of product boxes:

Hair and Tree: Cocoa Pebbles

Face: Golden Grahams

Arms and Feet: Jello Vanilla Pudding

Pants: Popsecret Popcorn

Shirt, Book, Headband: Strawberry Crush Soda

Isn't she amazing!? Thank you thank you thank you again! Love you Danelle!

Daylight Savings....GRRRRR

Okay am I the only one out there ready to move to Arizona? Seriously! I HATE Daylight Savings! What is the point? More hours of daylight...sure. But what about:

~Kids who can't go to sleep at night

~Kids who can't wake up in the morning

~Bags under my eyes

~Dinner at a ridiculous hour because you're not hungry at the regular time

~6th Graders who fall asleep on their desks

I could go on all day. So...if it weren't for the 4 seasons in Arizona being: kind of hot, somewhat hot, sweltering hot, and melting the soles of your shoes hot.....I would be packing my U-haul!!

Colby's Birthday at Disney!

If you ask me there is absolutely no better place to spend your birthday than the "happiest place on earth"! We were lucky enough to talk Dad into treating us to a day at Disneyland for Colby's 32nd birthday. How can you pass up getting into Disneyland for FREE on your birthday? I mean really!

Birthday Boy

The longest line we waited in all day was the line to get in to Disneyland. It was crazy! Thankfully once we were inside it was remarkably uncrowded! Yay!

Sage and his Daddy on the spinney rocket ride. Just watching this one from the sidelines makes my stomach turn! I'm a wimp!Sagers and GramsLove this picture of my brother. He is a good sport about everything. We had so much fun!Colby, Sage, and our Jungle Cruise CaptainMe and the birthday boyThis is how Sage felt about The Pirates of the Caribbean....not a big fan if you can't tell. This is Nemi and her Dad's "scared faces" right before we hopped aboard Splash Mountain. Which by the way I got the FRONT seat on. Ya...I was pretty much soaking wet for about 3 hrs after that ride! Good times!Cute little familyNemi, Sage, and Grandma in front of Sleeping Beauty's CastleGrandpa's girlSage sporting his Spiderman SunglassesMom, Colby, and Sage on Buzz Lightyear. We rode this one twice in a row. It was a favorite for sure!Thank you mom and dad for treating us to an unforgettable day! We had so much fun! And...Dad...that really was the best $50.00 hotdog I've ever had! :)

Grandma's Funeral

I flew to Arizona, then drove to California with my Dad & Colby and his family. Even though we were going for such a sad occasion we had fun seeing all of our cousins, uncles, and aunts that we hadn't seen in so long. Grandma's funeral was really nice. It seems like funerals are always sad/happy family reunions.

Me and Nemi on our way to California. Super windy!

Colby striking a pose

Colby and Dad at the viewing

Our family

Major Spiderman Undie accident in the parking lot. I was there for moral support

Mom, Autumn, Nemi, and Sage

Sage was such a good boy. It was a long day

Graveside serviceDad, Louise, and BarrySage was determined to pull the flags out at the cemetery. Colby had to chase him all over the place. Lil' Devil! :)Uncle Jeff, Mom, Uncle Craig, and Grandpa OttoAll of my cousins together

Brian, Christopher, Ryan, Autumn, Colby, MichelleAll of the grand kids and great grand kids with Grandpa Otto

Christopher, Autumn, Ryan, Mandy, Keith, Colby, Nemi, Michelle, Sage, Grandpa, and Brian

All of the boys with Grandpa

Christopher, Keith, Brian, Grandpa, Colby, Ryan