Great Family Movies!

Lane and I went to the video store last weekend to hopefully find something that would be good for the whole family to watch. We happened upon a series of 4 movies done by Michael Landon Jr. and based on the books by Jannette Oke. They are such great movies! Our whole family loved them. The first one is called "Love comes Softly". There are 4 of them, so make sure you watch them in order. We all know how rare it is to find movies that are clean and wholesome these days, so I wanted to pass these on.
Well, I am off to San Diego tomorrow....so excited! I will take lots of pictures so I can post when I get back! I will kiss Shamu for all of you!!

Back in the Routine

Well, I figured I better find something to blog about so that I can get my birthday one off of here. 3 of my 5 kids are back in school now (the little girls still have almost 2 more weeks off) so the family is back on a routine again which feels really good. After sleeping in almost everyday this summer, I am actually happy to be up at 5:55am again and getting the day started. I leave the house to work out at 6:15 and get home at 7:30, still have all morning to get things done around the house. Sometimes I feel a little draggy by 3 or 4pm, but nothing that a 15 minute power nap won't take care of.
Abe is in his last year of elementary (6th grade) at a brand new school just opened right in our neighborhood this year. He is loving it. Gets to do safety patrol! Mariah is a sophomore and Alex is a SENIOR!!! IF I was a better mom, I would have first day of school pictures to post, but I don't think I have done that for several years! It poured rain yesterday and some of them were swimming in the pool as it was raining.....it would have been a great picture but the camera battery was dead, so sorry.
Well, I am looking forward to a weekend trip to SanDiego with Becky and her kids next week! I am taking Lora and Emma and we get to go to Sea World! (thanks for the free tickets Becky!) That should be a blast. I haven't been anywhere all summer and I can't go to my family reunion for various reasons, so I am really looking forward to this!!! I will try to take lots of pics so I can post when I get back.
I can't wait to come to Utah next month for 9 whole days!!! yippeeee!!! my sisters and mom better be ready to have some FUN!!

Happy Birthday to me!

Well, the second half of my birthday was much better than the first half. I don't know what my problem was this morning, but I woke up very sad and couldn't manage to pull myself out of it until about 5pm! I managed to take a shower and then go to the all exciting Wally world to pick up some Miracle Whip. (can you tell I thought hard for a reson to escape??)Lane and the kids finally convinced me to go with them out to dinner.....that is all but my eldest hunk, who is too busy working out at the gym these days to give his family the honor of his presence! I guess it is a natural thing that happens in life.....but still a little hard when mom isn't top dog anymore. Kind of hard to see your kids grow up, but I guess that kind of stuff happens when you are 39!! I can't even believe I am that old. I guess I have one more good year in me.
Like I said, Lane and my 4 children who love me, took me to one of my favorite restaurants, "The Elephant Bar". It was very yummy and fun to be with my family. We tried to take a cute pic to post on my blog but the darn battery died in the camera, so you will just have to imagine me and my children all sitting quietly and being very well mannered as we ate. NOT!! Abe and Emma were acting a bit crazy tonight, but no one kicked us out so I guess it was ok.
Well, my day started off sad because I have been missing my family so much lately! And my best friend has been out of town for a week! (thanks Becky!) I guess that means I am blessed to have people to miss so much. My sisters both said very nice happy birthday things to me on their blogs...made me cry....and Becky called me and let me cry to her for an hour. What are friends for huh?
I am so excited go home to Utah next month and hang out with my mom and brothers and sisters who are the GREATEST! I love you and can't wait to see you.
I am sure that this year will end up being wonderful, just like the last 38 years have been. I guess we have to have a bad day now and then to help us really appreciate the good ones.

Bored kids!

This is a rare picture, so I thought I would post it. 3 of my kids actually reading a book without me asking them to!

Emma Got a Haircut!

Emma finally agreed to get her haircut yesterday! We had to convince her that she would still look like a princess.....she is obsessed with Princesses. I for one am not a fan of little girls with long hair....since it seems that Emma, at least was always getting food in her hair. Since she loves to dip everything in Ranch dressing, that seemed to be the scent of her hair frequently. She also would cry every time I had to brush it out. Anyway...we think she looks adorable with her new do!

Lora's Baptism

I was just thinking tonight that I don't think I sent any pics of Lora's baptism to the family. It was a special day, although a little bit sad without any family here, but I guess that is what happens when you move away. Her friends from school came and even her teacher for this upcoming year came! Lora is such a bright spot in our family. She makes us laugh all the time.

Mariah and Lora

Mr. Eyre and Lora

Blog rhymes with Frog....so why not???

Well, after feeling left out of the blogger world every time I read my sisters blogs...I decided to sacrifice a little sleep time and stay up late tonight to set up a blog! I just used the word BLOG alot huh? I always wish that I was a late night productive person, but usually as soon as the house is quiet and I could actually do something I really need or want to do...I just feel myself dropping off to sleep. I guess that means that I work too hard during the day right? Please agree with me, otherwise I just feel lazy.
I know that I will enjoy doing this and sharing my life with my sisters and friends (if I ever get a friend that blogs because right now I don't.....hmm.. I have to do some recruiting.) I think that blogging might be therapeutic because I always laugh at the stories my sisters write about, even though I KNOW they are not laughing! Somehow it is easier to see the humor when it is not your kid that left the banana peel in the backpack for 2 months or lost the hamster in the house. Maybe I will actually see the humor in what my kids do instead getting completely frustrated!ok, well I feel good now that I actually did something productive and everyone in my house is asleep!