some pictures for grandma

Ok... not much to say... these are our cute babies

Happy Anniversary to Us.

So, it's eleven years now! Paul was sweet and got me a gift card for a hair salon. So I went and got an awesome cut, my very first highlights (red and auburn) and she even styled it for me. (Paul said, so you mean that's not the way it's going to look when you fix it every day?) It was really fun and someday, I might do it again. I'm so cheap though... it was my first hair cut that cost more than 15 bucks including the tip. I'm saving so much money cutting Paul and the boys hair myself though... I might actually treat myself again... I really like the cut.

We tried to do dinner and a movie at the Movie Tavern. Uh, I think next time I have to take a baby on a date with me, I'm going to go to a sporting event where it's ok to scream. :D It was nice to have some time together with my honey.

Batter Up!

These are all pictures from our visit to LaGrave Field for our first Cats game. We had a blast. Mahala got picked to get an autographed ball during the 3rd inning. There are some pics of that below. We are so thankful to Granny Alfie for getting us tickets. The Norlems and my brother Andrew and is fiancee Heather all got to come. We wish the Cats had won, but it was a great night. Most of us really enjoyed an awesome fireworks show at the end. We are all hoping to get a chance to go again soon.

Oh, the Pain!

After having waited many moons... fearing spoilers and reviews... I am sad to say that on this "Harry Potter Day", I still await my book. Suddenly having the library binding doesn't seem nearly so important. Alas, perhaps by the end of the week I will emerge a more patient and satisfied Harry Potter fan.

EDIT:

I finally got my hands on a copy on Monday. Thank you to my wonderful husband for putting up with my withdrawl from society to consume the book. I loved it. Couldn't believe I was right about some things, and was totally surprised by other things. I'm so sad it's over. On the prowl for new books to read... maybe I'll try Discworld.

Awards Ceremony and Walking

Sounds like graduation, huh?

Sunday, in Honor of Alicia, and Eli helping Mommy to get their messy room clean without whining, we held a quick awards ceremony. I made up a certificate to hang on their wall to remind them of what a great job they did. I should have posted this sooner though, because it is messy yet again. Mahala was being "camera shy".



Also, on Monday, Lily decided to walk for us. She was fresh out of the bathtub, wrapped in a towel, and wanted a yellow beaded bracelet I was holding, and then took off. It took a few times, but she managed to get pretty good controlled steps for about 5 at a time. She was so excited and cute.

I can't remember which day it was, but she's also got 2 teeth popping in on the top with two more close behind. Looks like she might actually have a mouthful in time for her birthday!

Now, you'd think that after having all this rain...

and whining about hating water, that I wouldn't be interested in something like this...

BUT! we got one... it's only like 2 feet deep, but I'm telling you, it is refreshing! I just hope it doesn't collapse!

And now for some random photos:

Water

So you probably already know that I have a thing about water. The crazy person inside me can hardly drink it from a cup with out a straw. I hold my breath without thinking about it if I see an underwater shot on TV. I have to drive as far away from the side of a bridge over water as possible (i.e. left lane) in order to lower the chances of driving off the edge. I have strange/scary dreams about too much water and flooding, and I am paranoid about taking my kids swimming.

AHHHHHH! Wed. night we went with Alicia to an activity where she was swimming. To make a long story short, she didn't get out when everyone else did. I turned back to check if she was getting out and saw Mahala trying to help her out. Alicia was getting tired and beginning to bob up and down and gasp for air. I did the nano second calculation of how far away the floaty thing was, how long it would take for me to get it, and factor in that Alicia couldn't even grab it if I had it now, which equals, mom jumped in the pool. Fortunately I did not have Lily in the sling. Unfortunately, I had all my clothes on and my cell phone in my pocket. But most fortunately, Alicia was ok. It was really scary for her because she didn't know if she would be alright or not.

She was really sweet and said the closing prayer and asked for my phone to be ok. I really didn't think it would work again, because it got really hot, and I took out the battery. When we got home an hour or two later, I was shaking water out of it. I took the hair dryer to it, and within a few minutes, it was working again. I'm grateful for the way we are blessed even when it is something small compared to someones life. Heavenly Father blesses us in so many ways, big and small.

The Drive Home

Ok... So this is dull and boring, but somehow I was compelled to post pictures of the drive home from Walmart.

Procrastinator Extraordinaire

Ok... I'm not so good at keeping up with this as I'd like. Procrastinating posting helps me to get other stuff done though. (see http://www.structuredprocrastination.com/)


Ah... let's see, Mahala has lost 2 teeth.

Lily LOVES Oreos. Just ask Daddy.
Grandma & Grandpa Amon had their 60th Anniversary celebration at Spring Creek Barbeque. It was fun to get together. I let Alicia take pictures... this one has Grandma in it in the background. Maybe I should have given her some directions. :D Eli had to go in for a big boy test. He has an IV in underneath that thing on his arm. He was so brave. When I asked him about it, he said "I was only a little bit not brave when I had to go potty." We'll find out the results on July 5.
Silly little Parker is a mountain climber in training. I heard him calling me in the kitchen. He was mad that I stopped to take this picture before helping him down, but I couldn't resist. It's not the first time he's gotten himself stuck like this.

Harry Potter Stuff

So... This is just cool.

Yeah, I know, I'm addicted.

Library, Library, Library. Circus?

Well, I have to admit, taking the kids to the library does sometimes feel like a circus. This week we visited libraries 3 times. Saginaw Library had the Ringling Bros. Clowns Slappy and Monday come for a visit. It was a wonderful performance that we all loved! The kids will get free circus tickets when they read 5 books. They will also get lots of fun prizes for reading by the hour. Alicia has read a boat load of hours already. We challenged her to read the first 5 Harry Potter books by the time the movie comes out so that she'll be allowed to see it. Apparently, that was high motivation because she read the first book in less than 1 week.

Yesterday we visited the River Oaks library and the kids got to learn a lot about Cherokee heritage from a woman in our community. Then we headed out for playgroup in White Settlement. It was water day and the kids got completely soaked. I can't imagine them having more fun!

Today we went back to the Saginaw Library and saw a performance of the Tortise and the Hare. The kids had a front row seat and loved it. All the kids got to "help" make a salad for the Tortise using their imaginations. Eli was picked to put dressing on the salad. It was so cute.

We have been enjoying having Daddy at home with us and homework free for a few weeks now. Today he started his new job delivering pizza for Dominos and we really miss him! But we are also happy that he has a job he will like. Here he's getting ready to read to the kids before bed.