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Thursday, July 30, 2009

Company's coming!

Tomorrow the Summers' family is coming for a visit! I am super excited and starting to stress out. I have been really bad about organizing things for a long time and so the office (which doubles as our spare room) has become a dumping ground for stuff that doesn't have a proper "home." I have been trying to go through everything and put it away in it's place, but I am running out of time and still have a few boxes of stuff left. I'm thinking my closet will be a perfect hiding spot for the ones I don't get finished with, lol!

It has been ridiculously hot the last few days. we have had three days with temps above 100 degrees. It hit 107 yesterday, 105 on Tuesday and was about 102 on Monday. Today is supposed to be about 100 or so and then we "cool down" into the 90s again. I can already tell a huge difference between today and yesterday. Our poor air conditioner is certainly trying it's hardest. My flowers are suffering a lot in this heat. The hollyhocks look so pitiful, I am thinking I will just cut them down and hope that next year they do better. My dahlias fell down, despite me staking them, and need to be fixed. My poor cosmos just look pathetic. Darn hot weather! One the other hand, the garden is doing well, especially the tomatoes and sunflowers. I have already had tons of green beans and about 5 cucumbers. There are tons of tomatoes on all three plants, so close to turning! Rach is especially excited about her "mato plant" that she got from Sister Stum (her Primary teacher). It is growing big and healthy. We are planning on taking some of the first tomatoes from it over to Sister Stum to say thank you. :)

Okay, I'd better get back to work. I have been avoiding it for about an hour now. :) Have a happy day!!!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Scrappy scrap


This was for the Recipe Challenge at PGD. A 6 word memoir. The "recipe" was to use the following: One picture of one person, 6 word memoir about the person in the picture, no other words on the page, a monogram for the person in the photo, striped paper that isn't full size.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Icky Sickies revisited

So, Saturday we had planned on working on Steve's lesson for church most of the day and then running some errands. We went to the library where I ran in and grabbed a few Star Wars books that we had requested for Jake. As we were pulling out of the parking lot, I heard the sound that every parent dreads...the sound of your child in the backseat puking. Nice. Poor Jake was sick. We drove home and our plans for errands and such were gone. We spent the next several hours pulling seats out of the van, cleaning, vacuuming and then using the carpet shampooer to clean it out. On the up side, it is nice and clean now!
Steve finished up his lesson plans (he was teaching the 1.5 hour lesson for combine YW/YM because of ward conference) while I took care of my sick little boy. We all went to bed hoping that Jake would make it through the night without throwing up again. He did, Steve didn't. Poor Steve woke up around 4am and started throwing up. He hardly ever gets sick, so I was surprised. He was pretty stressed out about the lesson thing, but Ralph and the Bishop came over, gave him a blessing and took all of his notes and things for him. I'm sure they did a fantastic job! He went to work today, so this sickness is definitely a short-lived one. Only about 12 hours or so. I hope the girls and I don't get it...I was sick last week, with something different and now have cramps like I haven't had in a long time, so not much is getting done around here because I have been unable to do much. I have got to get things taken care of because we have family visiting in a couple of weeks.
So far today no one is sick. Please pray that it stays that way!!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

More scraps




Two more scraps for PGD challenges. Need to see if Tammy wants the one of her and Jadon...


Saturday, July 18, 2009

New scraps




Two pages I made today for the challenges at PGD. I miss digiscrapping!!! The first one was a photography challenge, you were supposed to get close and fill the frame with your subject. The second one is for the "wild card" challenge. We were supposed to use only the colors of our favorite ice cream. Mine is Mint Chocolate Cookie. YUMMY!! It was hard finding a photo that matched mint green and dark brown, so I am not thrilled with that page. Oh well, at least I got a chance to scrap. I need to get to work on the kids' scrapbooks, especially Jake's. I want to have them displayed at his baptism. It will be here before I know it!!


*ETA: I see the mistake in the text on the one I did of Andy...gotta fix that!

Friday, July 17, 2009

Friday!!

Hooray, it's finally Friday! Best part is that I am not sick anymore, worst part is that after going to camp and then being sick, the house might just be past the point of no return. I think today's picture for my 365 blog will be of the disaster that is my front room/playroom. Although it will be embarrassing, I will hopefully have a nice clean picture to share by this time tomorrow!

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Phew!

Wow! It's been a week already, a long, fun, fast, crazy week! Girls' Camp was amazing, as usual. I loved being there and getting to know the girls on a more personal level. I will post some pics later. Saturday I got home around 2pm, and we left for Bryce's baptism at 4pm, then stayed for his bday party at Grandma Ard's house. I also found out an exciting surprise about Afton and Brandon! :) It was fun, but I was so tired, I am afraid I might have seemed anti-social. Oh well, they probably just all thought I was being my usual grouchy self, lol.

I was supposed to teach on Sunday, but was totally unprepared. The lesson I had been working on at camp all week just wasn't doing it for me, so late Saturday night I decided to show President Monson's talk from the April 2009 YW conference. All was well until I realized the DVD i made had no audio. You could see Pres. Monson, just not hear him. I figured that the church library would have it, so I wasn't too worried. Well, guess what? They don't have it! A little bit panicked, I decided to drag Steve home in between Sacrament Mtg and YW and have him fix it, since he is the computer whiz. No prob, right? Wrong! He couldn't get it to work either. So, I went in there with a copy of the talk in my hands and a really big prayer in my heart that it would end up ok. I think it did. I got a lot of discussion from the girls, more than I usually get when I teach, so that was good. Thank goodness for the girls and the other leaders being willing to jump in and discuss things!
Monday I decided to tackle this horrible office. I haven't cleaned it up since before Christmas. We are having family come and stay with us at the end of the month, and this is the room they will be in, so it needed to be cleaned. By about 11:30am, I was sick. Like, feeling like I was gonna throw up sick. So, I stayed in bed or on the couch for the rest of that day. Yesterday I had to take Becka into the orthodontist and after that, I was wiped again. No more nausea, but I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. I spent most of the day in bed, watching videos with Rachel and refereeing fights between the older two kids.
Today I am feeling better. I am still kind of weak, but definitely improved. I took the little kids to see "The Tale of Despereax" this morning while Becka was at "work" (although I don't see playing with Kylie and Lexi as work!). I wasn't impressed with the movie, kept asking Jake if he thought it was weird. :) Poor kid. Now I am just trying to do a few of the chores that have been neglected since I left last week for camp, and rest a bit when I get going too much. My trusty glass of ginger ale has been a near constant companion since Monday evening.
That's about it, my week in a nutshell. Time to get back into the groove of things!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Yes!

I got a ride to camp for tomorrow morning! My sweet sisters (Cat and Dana) are watching my kiddos for me so I can go up with some ladies from the stake. I owe them both big time!!! I will have lots of pictures and fun stories, I am sure. Hooray for camp! See you all when I get back!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Girls' Camp!

"This necklace is a little gift
in hopes it might give you a lift.
And in the night, it will glow
to let you know we love you so."

"A snicker here and a snicker there
will never show someone you care.
Try to be a friend today
to all the girls who pass your way.


"It is through our trials and afflictions
that we can become like diamonds.
Strong and full of light."



"I am a child of royal birth.
My father is king of heaven and earth.
My spirit was born in the courts on high,
A child beloved, a princess am I."


"If you thought yesterday was a ball,
just wait for today!"


Phew! I have been going crazy with stuff for girls camp. I am not even sure if I get to go. There is a good chance I will though. Both Karen's and Kim's sons are expecting to receive their mission calls this week, so their moms will be driving back from camp to be there when they open them. If that happens on Wednesday or Thursday, they offered that I could ride back with them because Steve took Thursday and Friday off of work in case that happens so I could go up. Hooray! He wouldn't let me drive up there on my own for some reason. I won't get into that argument again, but this option is my best for now.

The pictures are of the little treats that we, as a YW presidency, are giving the girls every day. I had fun working on them and putting them together. I also made some stuff for the "Service Survivor" game they will be playing on Thursday night. I really hope I can go up. It will be so fun. I love YW camp!!!






Sunday, July 5, 2009

Independence!

I love the 4th of July. Maybe I just love fireworks...the smell of the smoke, the sounds, being wrapped up in a blanket watching them with friends and family. Having a BBQ, playing games until it gets dark enough to start the fireworks. Bug spray, sunblock, buckets filled with water and used fireworks, and matches. I love it all. Getting up early to proudly put out the flag. Singing patriotic songs with my hand over my heart, remembering all the men and women who have fought and are still fighting for my freedom. My dad in his Army uniform, boots polished, pants ironed stiff. Watching parades, feeling that surge of fierce pride when the soldiers walk by holding the colors of our country high.

Sorry, I sort of went stream of consciousness there. I have been thinking about this stuff over the past several days. Today in church, we stood to sing the National Anthem. I love doing that. I miss being the chorister. There is something so moving about leading a congregation in singing a song like that. Listening to them sing and knowing what it means to all of them and to me. It is an awesome feeling.
As we were singing, I noticed particularly the 2nd and 3rd verses of the song. Verses that most of us don't know by heart like we do the first verse. I love them, even more than the first verse of the song. They have so much emotion. Music does this to me often...paints a picture in my mind or helps me understand a concept better than other ways. I might be silly, but music moves me, speaks to my soul in a way that makes me feel the spirit of the Lord and makes me want to be a better person. I love it. I want other people to feel the things I feel when I hear or sing a song. I usually end up in tears when a certain song touches me. I love it!
So, enough of my blabbering, right? Well, not quite. I am going to leave you with the words to that song...pay particular attention to the second and third verses, and take a few moments to just "feel" and "see" the words.

The Star Spangled Banner

Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen thro' the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream:
'T is the star-spangled banner: O, long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

O, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,
Between their lov'd homes and the war's desolation;
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserv'd us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause. it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Friday, July 3, 2009

I am such a dork!


So, I decided to do a little preschool this fall with some of Rachie's friends from Primary. I didn't want a big group, and was happy to end up with 5 kiddos that she is friends with to join us. I wanted to make it official, so I came up with a name and then of course, needed to make a logo, right? :) I know that "doodlebugs" might not be the most sophisticated name for a preschool, but it fits me and my personality well. Do ya like my logo? :)