Kindergarten... WHAT????

That's right folks, the day is quickly approaching. My Jaker is going to KINDERGARTEN! No that isn't a typo... KINDERGARTEN! I can't believe it myself! I was just sitting here looking at all the fun pictures of this little dude, and I still can't believe Kindergarten is in the 30 Day forecast! Is there a way I can stop time and just enjoy him as a little kid a little longer??? I am so not ready for the school business. Preschool was tough for me. Call me overly protective, but I don't like being away from my Jakester! He seems so young!

He is so excited to start school! In fact, tonight he said the blessing over supper. In his prayer, he thanked Heavenly Father for Little Learners (the school he will be attending) and prayed that he would be able to listen and learn good. So dang cute!

I bought him some school clothes yesterday at the OshKosh Outlet (Great deals there I'm telling ya!) As I was going through the racks, I kept thinking... I remember buying baby clothes for him here... it seems like yesterday when I was making sure he had a onesie on, and he had little frogs and bugs embroidered on all of his clothes. His shirts all had coordinating socks. Now??? He's wearing "Big Boy Socks" no designs, no colors, just basic white socks with HANES on the bottom. What happened to my little boy??? I can't believe how fast time has gone!

Here are some old pics of him... Such a cutie!

What is he Doing???

Okay friends and neighbors...some of you may have been asking yourselves, what is going on over there???
Why is there the constant pounding of hammers?
Why do they keep parking their cars outside??? HELLO??? it's hot outside!
What is with all the saws running constantly?
Do ya'll have a new obsession with Lowes and Home Depot???
And why on earth are you not up at the lake every weekend???

Here's your answer folks... (No we are not adding on to the house!)
Turtle has designed and is currently in the process of building a deck. Not a small one either... it's not the little joke of a deck we had before... this is a real DECK! And if I had my guess, knowing Turtle and his engineering skills, you could park a car on it with no problems whatsoever. (Don't worry, I won't try it!)
The deck is coming along quite nicely! I am excited to have a nice deck made with Trex! Something about not having to maintain every year puts a smile on Turtle's face!
So here are some before pics. Our backyard was UGLY! Don't worry you can agree with me... I won't be offended! I think the backyard was a HUGE deterrent to this house selling.... Now that we have decided to stay we are doing something about it! (Thanks honey!)
Once it is done... Turtle is getting a new car... Just kidding!

Fun times at LAGOON!

Yesterday we had the great opportunity to join our good friends at LAGOON! They had some discount tickets they were willing to share with us... and boy did we take them up on the offer! It was FANTASTIC!!!! We met up in the morning and had some good times at Lagoon-A-Beach. The kids LOVED it! Jaker was having so much fun going down the waterslides as fast as he could with Asher. I think they were racing against time! We all loved the Lazy River. Jokester thought sitting on my lap in the tube was very nice, and Jaker... he just loved practicing his swimming skills down the river. We made sure the boys had life vests on... I think it made everything more comfortable!
After the water fun, Jokester went with Mindy to take a nap at her MIL, and I took Jaker to a Dr. Appt... Then it was off to pick up Daddy! Jaker was SO EXCITED to ride on rides with DADDY! I have to admit I didn't think he would really love the rides... I thought he would be nervous and uncomfortable. BOY WAS I WRONG! He LOVED IT! The bigger the ride the better! His favorite ride was the Lady Bug Drop. I went on this ride with him, and it scared me... but he thought it was great! He insisted on sitting next to a cute girl on the ride, not his MOMMY! He is growing up! He also loved the Bat. He is quite the little daredevil!
Both the boys loved the Rattlesnake Rapids! They thought it was great that we all got pretty wet! Jokester was a big fan of the cars, and also Puff! He would just Giggle and Giggle and GIGGLE! No fear... just fun!
It was a great day! We are so grateful to the Francis fam for invitings to join them! Here are some pics (courtesy of Mindy!)

You might be _____ if...

1. You eat a small amount of ice cream and suddenly feel the urge to vomit.
2. You are super way hungry, but nothing sounds appealing.
3. You are extremely happy one moment, and crying or angry the next.
4. You could sleep 10 hours each night, and still have the need to take a nap in the afternoon.
5. You are hot and sweaty when your house is at 70 degrees.
6. The thought of eating certain foods kinda makes you heave.
7. Things that never bothered you in the past, all the sudden DRIVE YOU BATTY!
8. You feel overweight, but you haven't gained a pound.
10. You can drink a liter of water and you are still thirsty.
11. You get excited to take your kids to Chuck E Cheese, then you get there and you are ready to go home.
12. You suddenly have the strong need/desire for PERSONAL SPACE!!!
13. Exercise sounds like a good thing to do, but you know you have no energy to do anything.
14. You look at your children and are reminded how much you love them.
15. Suddenly a Mini Van sounds like the way to go! Let's be practical!
16. You take a pregnancy test and it comes out POSITIVE!

Yep... you got it... We are expecting our third child. We are super way excited. I am just about 8 weeks, and it is super early. I am not feeling all that great, okay not great at all... but I am still surviving and enjoying every minute of it. Hopefully we have a healthy happy baby! We are very grateful for this pregnancy!

Good Readin'

I have been reading this book for the past couple of nights. I can't put it down! One night I stayed up til 1:30am reading! Okay.. it doesn't help that I didn't start reading it til midnight, but you catch my drift!

This story is phenomenal! What's even better is it is TRUE! The author is writing his experience after being involved in a head on collision with a semi truck. He is a baptist minister and he talks about his experience right after the crash, as well as the following months in recovery.

I haven't finished this book yet, but I am pretty sure it will be done tonight. It is so good, and I HIGHLY recommend it! My mumsy told me about it, and it is better than I thought it would be! It is more than just a true story. There is so much wisdom this man shares with his readers... things he learned through the service of others!

Flustered....

I have to say I am at my wit's end. My kids won't eat! They won't eat anything I make unless it is Peanut Butter and Jelly, Mini Corn Dogs, or Beef Enchiladas, other than that they turn their nose up to everything! You would honestly think I am feeding them dog food or something by the way they behave. What do I do?

I am losing patience. I worry about their nutrition. Let's face it, the kids can only eat so much McDonalds, and Burger King, before they started becoming FAT!

The only somewhat healthy stuff they will eat is Applesauce, Granola Bars, Cheese Sticks and wheat bread. Not exactly a balanced diet! I don't know what to do to get them to eat a meal. Any suggestions... come on, I am DESPERATE HERE!!!

Best Feeling...

Last night we had the opportunity to have my brother's four children over for a few hours. We had a great supper, and I was happy to see that some children will actually eat what I prepare. (Keep in mind it wasn't my kids, But still!!!) After supper, Turtle decided to take the children up to the park to play, and allow me some time to clean up. It's amazing how many dishes you use with SIX kids, as well as the cleaning up! WOW!
Back to the story, Turtle had been gone with the kids for about 30 minutes when I got a call to come and get Jaker, he needed to come home. So I get in the car and get Jaker. We get back home, he starts feeling better, and wants to join the kids again. On the way back up to the park, Jaker says, "Mom, are you gonna come play with us?" When I told him I wasn't, I was making some treats for when they got back, he responded, "I think I would have lots of fun if you came to play."
This is a simple conversation. To most it probably doesn't mean a whole bunch, but to me... it's priceless. Jaker and I have a little bond. He has so much confidence in me, that I will take care of whatever happens, I will make him feel better, I will make sure he has fun etc. etc. It makes me happy to know that he is so sure of this. In the daily grind of things, I do my best to make sure the boys have all the attention they need, all the fun they can have, and still take care of my responsibilities in the home. Hearing this last night made me think, I guess I am doing something right!

Father Sons Campout!

A couple of weeks ago Turtle was Brave. VERY VERY BRAVE! He decided to take both the boys to the Father and Sons Campout with the Elder's Quorum! I had the house all to myself! I missed the the boys and Turtle immensely, but I enjoyed sewing until the WEEE HOURS of the MORNING! It was fabulous!

Turtle and the boys thoroughly enjoyed playing in the dirt! The boys totally dig sleeping in a tent! In fact, I think Turtle's status with them has increased three notches because he let them sleep in a tent, in the WOODS!!! With all the excitement, they didn't get much sleep! Jokester had lots of fun playing with his nursery buddy M. Jaker of course played with some buddies from primary and even let Jokester tag along!

In addition to sleeping in a tent, the boys got pancakes for breakfast (Definite BONUS), roast marshmallows, get glow sticks, and drink hot chocolate. It was a dream come true for them. Best of all they got Daddy all to themselves! Here are some pics from the event. Turtle had his hands full with the boys, so there aren't many... but here are some cute ones!

Thanks for being the best daddy to the boys Turtle. They LOVE YOU to pieces!!!!

$100.00.... I'll take that!!!

Today, I sat down and really looked through the ads. I used to use a service that did it for me (which was awesome by the way.... http://www.dealstomeals.com/) but, I decided I could save myself the $5 a month and do it myself. I just wanted to see if I would be successful. While looking through the ads, I had my trusty pen and paper, and wrote a list... yep, that's right a list! No more spontaneous shopping for me... we are going by the list and that is that! Before I tell you the great deals I got, check it out for yourself!
Take a guess how much all this cost... Keep in mind my entire table is covered in groceries....that is a ton of food!
Do you have your guess?
You Ready???
Just under $120.00! No really, I am serious! I just saved myself $100.00!
Here's the breakdown:
Coke Zero (cuz you know I live on that stuff!)
9 BIG boxes of cereal
6 jars of Skippy Peanut Butter
Two loaves of Bread
Two Gallons of Milk
Dozen Eggs.
2 Loaves of Tillamook Cheese
2 bags of Lays Potato Chips
2 Bags of Doritos
1 bag of Cheetos
2 6packs of applesauce
2 bottles of Hershey Syrup (Turtle and the kids dig Choco. Milk!)
1 half gallon of Breyers Ice cream
1 DiGiorno Pizza
10 Bottles of Gatorade (Awesome for workin hubby's and sick kiddos)
7 Cans Refried Beans
2 Loaves of Gramma Sycamores Bread
16 oz bag of Marshmallows
5 bags of Goldfish Crackers
Box of Capri Sun (Boys dig it!)
2 gallons of milk
2 Boxes Pasta Salad mix (super yummy)
2 Bottles of Vitamins for momma
1 Can of Tuna Fish... (tryin a new brand that is on sale.)
2 Boxes of Pop Tarts (great for breakfast on the run!)
1 Cantaloupe
1 box Wheat Thins
1 Box Triscuits
I am pretty stoked.... I am stocked up on a lot of items that our family uses. I have to admit it is gonna take us til October to use up all the chips... but I know they will be used up!
I am sure I can do better... but wow it is amazing what deals you can find in the ADS!!! GO ME!!!

Do you Ever???

Here's the question...
Do you ever look at your kids and think... How in the Stars did you get so BIG???
Yesterday as we were hanging out with friends I looked over at Jaker and thought, holy cow you are HUGE!!!! Not just in size either. He is huge in spirit, in maturity, in intellect... he is getting so SMART!!!! I am so ultra proud of him!
Lastnight was of course the 4th of July. Anyone who knows my little Jaker knows he doesn't do well with Fireworks. When I say he doesn't do well, I mean... HE REALLY DOESN'T DO WELL! Last year we were in Steamboat Springs at a Rodeo for the 4th of July. The fireworks were AMAZING! Where was Jaker? Curled up in a ball in my lap, burying his face in my chest, head covered up with my sweatshirt (it was chilly), covered again with another layer of daddy's sweatshirt, all the while shaking in absolute fear, crying and just begging to go home.
This year... He did pretty good. Does he love fireworks. NOPE! Does he want to light them??? NOPE! Does he like watching the display in the sky??? That's is an absolute HECK NO!!! However, he did maintain composure. He was calm. He asked politely to leave, but didn't have a meltdown. He sat with dad or I and watched them, pointed out the colors, and overall observed the fireworks, for about 25 minutes... then he decided he was DONE! Huge improvements! I am so proud of him!
I look at both of the boys, and I am so proud of them. They are so much alike but so DIFFERENT too! They look alike, they like the same things (particularly any toy that the other child has in his hands at the moment) , they love their daddy like he is a SUPER HERO, and they love me too... most of the time! But at the same time their reactions to things are so opposite. Jokester has no problem with commotion. I honestly think he tries to cause it just to be funny. Jaker on the other hand... would prefer to have a quiet setting. Jaker gets heartbroken if you reprimand or discipline... Jokester thinks it is funny...
Moral of the story.... I definitely have my hands full!

A little Close and Personal...

It's been a while since I posted a whole lot. We are still here, I promise.
I'll be honest. I'm struggling a bit. I have decided to try to get off my "Happy Drugs." I have been taking medication for depression and OCD for nearly 9 years. I got off for a bit while I was pregnant with the Jokester, but after I had him, I went WACKO! I really struggled in the hospital, and BAM! Jumped right back on the medication. They don't do a whole bunch, mainly take the edge off. I am a little more pleasant, a little more patient, a little more easy going (I SAID A LITTLE !!!), but it doesn't make the whole world seem like roses! If I took more maybe it would though!
I hate being dependent on medication to handle emotions, and anxiety. It's almost like I feel weak for taking it. When you hear the statistics of how many people are on medication like me, it makes you wonder... Are there that many people with problems? or is it just an easy way out of dealing with reality????
When I first started taking the medication, I really did need it. I couldn't handle things, simple things like driving up the canyon, would send me over the edge. The anxiety was unreal! I was constantly begging Turtle to check the brakes. I washed my hands to the point they were raw. If I got a drink at the gas station, I couldn't use the first cup on the stand, I had to use the third or fourth, I mean what would happen if I got germs!!!! I couldn't bare to think of trusting Turtle to make the money... I had major control issues. MAJOR!
Fast forward to now. Do I still struggle? Absolutely. But not to the point I did before. I am on a 1/4 of the medication I was on before... and I have been for over two years. I don't think I am "CURED" by any means, but I think I am older now, and I am able to think things through a little more. I can usually think before I speak, I try to speak rationally when upset (I said TRY!) and I think I can manage life without medication.
So now, I am going through the motions of getting off. It STINKS! I mean that! IT REALLY DOES!!!! The withdrawal symptoms are TERRIBLE! It's Vertigo, times TEN! It feels like my brain is disconnected from my body. I am emotional, and edgy, and I just don't feel great. I try to go a few days without medication, then take it...etc etc. I am hoping that eventually the symptoms get better and I can go longer and longer without taking it... We shall see!