Keep an Eye out...

So, it looks like we are going to dodge Hurricane Gustav...whew!

Poor New Orleans - almost 3 years to the day of Katrina!

The kids asked what Labor Day is ... so we decided to let them know it was the day we labor in our homes and yards. We'll be doing all sorts of cleaning and organizing. They asked why people have barbeques and parties if that was the reason for the holiday. "Well," we said, "of course everyone then celebrates all the labor they did in the morning."  

*If anyone tells them the "real" history, you'll be coming over to help clean with them!

What is a girl to do?!

So now that the kids are back in school, everything is just...

Dishes are calling, cleaning is calling and so is dinner prep - but all I can do is look at my iMac. This whole computer obsession has gotten a bit out of hand, don't you think? If any family member is looking for me, check the office where I'm with...

Even Sugar doesn't know what to think or do other than watch the mouse go 'round and 'round

A Boo Hoo or Happy Day?

So, what kind of day was it for you?  I was kind of doing the Happy dance (but didn't let the kids see..shhh)

Ryan was really excited to be in 5th grade since they get the BACK of the school bus!

Tess was happy to get back to school to see some friends but not excited for the work of it...my kind of gal ;-)

We can't believe we now have a High Schooler - we're far too young!  Tomorrow starts seminary - 5:30 am pickup...yuck.

Bummer thing is there are NO good friends in her lunch period - something's wrong with that!

My Olympic Update

Okay - so I complained about no NBC air time for the synchro swimming (see post below). I usually have the Olympics on my TV non-stop whenever they're airing - even if I'm not into the sport.  So, this morning we're doing our Saturday chores and listening to music (everyone moves faster) when I remember, "the Olympics are on!!" - turn the channel!  To my delight and horror (since I miss all but three teams) Synchronized Swimming team finals were on NBC!  So, we got to watch the Japanese team, the Spanish team and the Russian team (the gold medalists) do their thing - AMAZING.  Did you see that beginning flip thing the Russians did? That alone deserved GOLD (unfortunately I couldn't find a picture of it yet).  Jose asked if I could do something like that in our pool - I responded "of course, but I'll need a headpiece like they wear".  

My good friend suggested trying to see video on the computer - Nicole, it worked and I got to see the pairs routine - I always had a suspicion the internet was good for something ;o)

I Can't Wait!!!

The Amazing Race is coming soon!!  This is my absolute favorite show of all time!  Only a week after my birthday - Happy bday to me :D  Join in the race and watch with me starting Sept. 28th. Phil is the ultimate host (they have Emmys to prove it).  Will discuss soon...stay tuned!

Synchro Swim...where'd it go?!

For some reason this summer Olympics has kind of been frustrating. I've enjoyed the swimming, diving, gymnastics, volleyball and such - but one sport I really like watching is the synchronized swimming. I don't know if I like the whole girly part of the sport - sequins, glitter, makeup and all.  Or maybe I just enjoyed the SNL skit with Martin Short so much that I love the real thing! The problem is that it's all on the Oxygen channel which my cable doesn't provide. Maybe if I knew this ahead of time, I'd have been able to do something about it! So, I'll have to wait another four years to hopefully view it. 

Our Kitties

This is Sugar - our newest Ragdoll kitty. Here's a picture of him as a baby and now. He's two years old and bigger than Cocoa. He's almost 20 lbs. and just fluffy as can be. We just love hugging on him even though he's kind of our scared kitty.

This is our first kitten, Cocoa.  He is a six year old Ragdoll cat. He was so white when he was little but reached full color at age three.  He always wants to be around the family and in the mix of things.

Summertime!

We just built a new pool and have been in it almost 24/7 this summer.  The kids especially love the waterfall and rock slide. We do have a grotto/cave they can climb through but the girls are convinced there are creepy crawlies and don't go in very often. 

Ryan is our biggest dare devil on the rocks. He tries to get away with anything he can - jumps, flips, dives, etc. 

 We've had some fun pool parties and swim time with friends this season. We've even had a dislocated shoulder by one of the boys at church roughhousing on the slide - that wasn't the fun part.

Utah Trip

We just spent two weeks up in Utah seeing family & friends. We got to see Manny & Carla who came down from Park City to meet us for dinner.

We stayed at Cathy's house and had so much fun with them and their doggie, Goldie. We went to Cherry Hill waterpark and just goofed off and had fun. Marisa spent most of that week at EFY down at BYU - and had a blast there.

Ryan with Tim's kids - Tyson, Bryce & Katie. Checking out the Aflac Nascar racing car that was in town.

Tess making cookies with Aunt "Weesie".  She loves Louise and always remembers that she makes lots of treats at her house!

Visting our great friends, The Vances. They moved up to Utah this past year and we have missed them so much. The kids loved seeing them again and had fun hiking right out side their home, playing in the nice soft Utah grass and hanging out with all their girls. Ryan got a major case of "road rash" while he and Madison raced down their mountain on a scooter he couldn't stop. We thought football season was at an end, but he's healing well and surviving practices - a little painfully though!

 We celebrated my mom's birthday and had fun just hanging out with everyone. Here's a picture of Tess, Marisa, Grandma Judy, Ryan, Cathy, Kimberly & Christopher (Cath's kids).  It was a great trip and we had so much fun - thanks to all who hosted our family - We love you all!!

We're in the world of Blogging!

Some of my great friends have been blogging and we've loved keeping up with their lives. So, with the purchase of our new beloved iMac computer, we're jumping into the pool with everyone else!  YeeHaw - here we go!