This so made me cry

I've been a Oprah junkie for a long time, I love her. She has a variety of people on her show, a few days back, she had Marie Osmond. Her son jumped to his death last February, after talking about her 18yr old son, Michael, she sang this, and holy cow.

http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Marie-Performs-Pie-Jesu-For-Her-Son-Michael-Video_2

Please pass the salad

So I recently decided, I hate touching raw meat is no picnic for me. I wear gloves and think it is an evil task.

With that said, I figured, ya know, I'm not one to eat it, sometimes it just doesn't taste good to me.

I'm officially a non meat eater. Don't call me a vegetarian because that does something in my head that makes me need chicken. But, you can happily call me a fruit and vegetable enthusiast!!

I don't go out of my way to eat "vegetarian" labels. I just cut out the meat.

I think its fun to see what I can come up with. I've had fun. Now, if only Jeff was in the same boat....

Seasons

I feel very alone on this topic. But, every year as the leaves change, and when school starts for kids, my
world seems to take a detour of some amount.

It's official. I don't like it.

So many goals and chances to do so many important-to-me things, always get put on hold.

We grow up with being told to dream big, reach for the stars, and that I'd we put our mind to it, we can accomplish anything.

I beg to differ. Karma and life stop goals from being achieved. Which, when you're putting a big effort for one thing, it can be rather discouraging.

Finding motivation is slow. So can be with achieving goals.

Looks like my patience is being tested.

More to come in January about a few things.

She's totally right.

I was online the other day, and saw a post that my cousin (dad's side) Katie posted, it reads:

"There is too much hate. I wish that people realized that, regardless of their own beliefs, it is not okay to be hateful and down-right mean. EVERYONE is supposed to love EVERYONE."

How RIGHT she is!! I read that, and was in total agreement with her. I am honestly ashamed to say this, but I personally don't know Katie too well. I know she's an Elledge who looks like a spitting image of a girl version of her dad, who I love. He's SOOO much like my Dad. But, our sides of the family haven't met up in 20 years or so. But, I know this, she's right, and I think more people needs to ease up. This was also on her same post, which is even more true to the T.

"Especially with regards to the resurrected Prop 8 issue, I believe both sides are at fault for blowing the issue up, and causing so much turmoil. I find it sad that so many people who claim to follow Christ are so quick to find fault with gay people just for being gay - that is not the issue at hand. I also find it quite upsetting that so many supporters of gay rights, gay marriage in particular, are just as quick to judge and condemn Christian people for voicing what they believe to be true. It goes both ways."

It's all a finger pointing game! She is dead on. I get equal rights and so on, but...there's something to be said for hate.

You hear about hate crimes, about a latino in Pennsylvania being brutally assaulted until his death, because he was latin AMERICAN. He was a US Citizen, born in the country. But because is name was of his heritage, he was beaten to death. Two white teenage males are currently serving heavy sentences in a federal prison.

Hate itself, is wrong on so many levels, especially on the human one. Hating broccoli, totally fine. Hating because someone is born abroad, and comes to the US for a better life, and have a different hue of color to their skin., or an accent..Just hand yourself a ticket to hell.

I get the people that hate the person who are responsile for a loved ones death, but even then, you see people in that situation, who opt to forgive. Be the bigger person.

We live in a world full of hate, fighting, threats...it's everywhere. It is never ending it seems, but doesn't mean we're required, to take apart in it.

Good job Katie. I may not know you as well as some of my other cousins, but I do know, that is a dang good point and I applaud you for sharing it with me :)

2, the new 4.

As Landons big 2nd birthday sneaks up on us rather quick. Holy COW!!!

We're currently experiencing, tantrums, refusal of naps, alot of screaming/yelling, no desire to potty train, and alot of "NO NO!"'s.

I'm not a fan.

I went to change an un pleasant diaper he offered me today, instead of letting me pick him up and walk him to where I was going to change him, he runs away from me. I then get him to hold my finger, for a milisecond. He then throws my hand, walks over to the carper, screams, cries and has an absolute hissy fit.

I WILL NEVER MISS TANTRUMS!

Dear 2 years old, hurry up, come and go and let my boy be!

Hello, Dory.

Do you ever have a "Dory" moment, when all you can blurt out is, "I suffer from short term memory loss". And then you get the glare, of "are ya freakin' serious??", and you space all the time. Hmm, I suddenly have an urge to watch Finding Nemo!

That's when it occures to me, I need a vacation.

With that said, I haven't been on a super vacation in quite some time. I think for my 30th, I'll go to Hawaii, no really, Jeff cleared me too. I think I'll take my kids too. I'd wanted to go to Bermuda, but to fly 3 people there, is ridiculous in the middle of summer. We can go to Hawaii for half the cost, so, that we shall do, and enjoy.

The total irony of this, I had a tangent to go on about spacing out...and I crap you not.


I FORGOT WHAT I WAS GOING TO SAY!!!

Oh wait, I remember now! HAHA!

My new lines this month, are: "It's ok, I have socks on!" and, "Bananas, what joy!" Just for the sheer amusement, of people staring at me.

If you can't laugh at life, you are doomed. Seriously.

Starting this month, I shall have random quotes to use when there is an awkward moment. Next month shall be revealed in a few weeks. Please, suggestions are open as I'm drawing a blank....or a sleigh.

Crazy or Ambitious?

I got to looking and editing my photos that I took of my kids, so cute. So HARD to get Landon to smile though, holy cow! I just need to shoot while Jeff's home, plain and simple.

As I was editing them....the thought occured to me. THREE MONTHS TIL CHRISTMAS! YAY! I LOVE CHRISTMAS!

Wait, it's only September...but who am I not to have things done early? So, with that said, ladies and whoever else reads this, read this and weep..


MY CHRISTMAS CARDS ARE ALL DONE! That's right, I borrowed the Boy Scout motto and wanted to be prepared, and prepared I am! I had a fun time on tinyprints.com and was ooing and ahhh'ing over some of the adorable templates they have, I LOVE the customization. I wanted to make my own templates and all that, but...my creativity does hit it's limits. I already made baby shower invites, my mind is on a block for a while after that.

On another note, this is the most dorkiest thing that I'm excited for. Especially now that I'm in primary, talk about barricaded off from what's going on in my own ward. But..


SUPER SATURDAY IS NEAR!

relief Society puts this on about once a year, and I was kinda "Meh", about it this year...and then I saw a sample...

I know it sounds totally goofy, but I saw this really neat table of like, Christmas ornaments and MEGA creative things the ladies at my ward had put together and were going to offer classes on how to make all these super schnazzy things with basic already-have-at-home items...um.. YAY! Sign me up! So far, I'm going to be making a clock to replace the finnicky one in my bedroom with our last name on it. (CUTE!) and will be doing some glass etching. How many people are glass etchers?! Sign me up, I would LOVE to do more of it!

I already have Jeff lined up to watch the kids and hopefully can go and catch up with some of the few ladies I do know at church who if anything, make me laugh and are fun just to socialize with in general.

On a funny note, I think I love singing time in Primary the most. It's too funny. The chorister is pregnant, and she's open about having "baby brain", I just know that I probably laugh in there more each week, just because of basic things happening, teachers being caught off guard etc. Who knew I'd have the giggles even after the fun was over? I'll sit and think about it, and snicker to myself. All that aside though, everyone in there puts forth alot of time and effort to make sure those little kiddies are listening, it's just funny because their attention span allows so much and it's our job to be as creative as we can. Ahh, little creatures!

Back to School!

AGHH!

Kids grow up too fast, Leenas first day of school today, 3rd grade and I'm slightly clueless as what to do while she's gone. Granted I have alot of laundry to do and so on...but...sheesh, this again for 9mos? I guess I should enjoy it and not wonder?

I told Leena I didn't want the generic school pictures, I can take better ones. She never smiles in her pictures so I end up paying for a a bad picture. So, after begging, pleading, whining, and bribing, she agreed that I could take then.

I'm SOOOO happy with how these come out!! It did take a litle while longer than I had anticipated because she kept giving me fake smiles, but...overall. I have some good ones, here they are!

Happy Birthday Ashlee

I haven't ever done this, but...something just kinda told me I should I guess. Her Birthday was August 5th, this is very much delayed.

Cutest baby ever, I feel bad I didn't get to spend alot of time with her, but...kids come when they come, and we all leave at our assigned times, ready or not. I have always felt a bond, even without her being here. With that said, miss love, love you, see you on the other side!!

Thank you, JFK.

After feeling slightly pounced on about my personal beliefs, I found this. And was glad I did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CHSVC2nAl8&feature=related

Bullying, something dangerous.

I was watching a show on TV, called "If you really knew me". Which challenges people in cliques, to peel off their mask, and spill what's really under it. As it's proven that many kids do things to lift their spirits. I felt SOOO bad for these kids, I almost cried. It was horrifying to hear their stories and just all around made me depressed as a mom and a sister myself.

One girl at a high school in west virginia, has a mom is in prison, has a drug addict father, and is horribly abusive to her. Things were so bad, that her best friend and her, had made a pact on Christmas Day, to commit suicide. Right as they were about to take their own life, Dad walked in, and obviously, she's still alive to tell the story. Her Dad has told her she's crazy (as she suffers from depression and bipolar disorder) and he kicked her out, and told her she was the worst daughter there was, and only one person offered to take her in. If I was in that girls shoes, I have NO idea what I would've done. The whole story itself it just horribly sad. And the bullying started when she went to a knew school, it seemed to follow her at every school she went to.

One other girl, at the same school....Little sister got sick one day, parents took her to the hospital. As they were under the impression it was nothing major. She didn't say get well or feel better, or, that she loved her. Little sister passed away at the age of 7, the next day. Shortly after that, her mother passed away. She says her biggest regret is not saying she loved them to EITHER of them. This girl is also picked on for liking things like hunting and fishing. What the?

It continues on and on, and it's heartbreaking! I'll admit, I was bullied in 9th grade, and I didn't tell my parents. Other people told them, because their kids had either witnessed it, or I had mentioned it to one of their children. My biggest regret is not telling my parents. My locker was broken into, clothes/shoes thrown into the toilet, food thrown at me when I was walking to class. One kid even picked me up and threw me into a mental pole, and I hit the concrete planter on the way down. I had a few bruises. I didn't tell my parents about it, it was embarassing to me, not to mention I didn't want to talk about it.

Long story short, always open up a listening ear to a teenager, I wish I had confided in someone. I finally caved and told my parents of only ONE incident, and my mom was livid and made sure that whole group of boys were suspended for a week. And I know now, that these kids seem to take a more brunt of bullying as we have things like text messaging and facebook. Mine just went on at school, I can't even fathom what would it have been like if I had such things 14 years ago. We moved that next year, and needless to say, a new school (Inglemoor) was my saving grace and I didn't get bullied at ALL. In a perfect world, we'd all be happy in our own skin and wouldn't ever wear such masks, but that's not even close to what we live in. Sad day.

And we're private...

Pat yourself on the back if you can read this. I had a few random comments from people that I had NO idea, who they are.

So, this will be private for a while. Thanks!

To My Wonderful, Amazing, Loving, Grandpa Wayne!

This is to my AWESOME Grandpa Wayne!!

Raise your hand if you know The Old Prospector Stories. Raise your hand if you have a fun, genuine, faithful and loyal grandpa just like mine!!

My Grandpa has been thrown many curve balls in the test that we live daily, called life. But he never let go of his faith, he has been a good dad to my dad, and a wonderful grandfather to me and my children.

What you should know about my Grandpa is, he has the best sense of humor. He makes good salsa, he even called me a wuss once for not trying it because I don't do good with heat. Well Grandpa guess what, I can eat it in small doses now! The wuss was an inspiration. On a side note, he's WONDERFUL about doing family history, I know sooo much more about my family than I could have ever known, he's awesome at doing it, and telling us about our heritage that we probably wouldn't have ever known.

He and my Grandma make tamales, and they'll blow any mass manufactured ones way out of the water.

I've noticed over the years, my Grandma and Grandpa, make a really good team. Seems like a good balance from observation.

I remember one time when I was a kid, and I'm sorry Mom and Dad for just now coming clean about this! We were due to go back home to San Bernardino from Tucson. I was HORRIBLY upset, the thought of leaving my grandparents made me so sad. Not to mention I was having fun with my cousins too. I had started to get a bit of a back ache, and...I'm so sorry for admitting this 20 years later! But, I kind of blew it out of the water and said it hurt more than it really did, so it would buy me more time with my grandparents. It bought me about 20 minutes while my parents convinced my to take a pain reliever. I was even in tears I didn't want to leave. I just remember, that what made me feel better, was when we were pulling away from their house, they said "We love you!!" and waived good bye. I think that was all my little 10 year old soul, needed to hear.

But Grandpa, you've taught me SO many things, to never lose faith and hope, and to always pray, and that family is IMMENSLY important, it's who we are. I've learned that laughter and stories are memories in itself, I've learned that you are really a dang good catch. I love you more than this entry could ever tell you, you're a amazing grandpa and I thank you from the bottom of my heart, I LOVE YOU!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDPA!!! 83 has never looked so good!

A thousand percent random.

Ever sit back and think, who the heck thought of that?

Things like:

Ice Cream Cake
Traffic lights
Underwater Aquariums
3D Televisions
Computer Animated Films
Latex Mattresses
The Internet
Silicone Bra Inserts (yes, they do make those as I have seen them)
Atomic Clocks
Toys That Talk (WAY TOO MUCH!)
Speed Limits
Bacon Flavored Candy
French Fries
OR
FRY SAUCE (sorry, not a fan of that stuff, it seems to be a UT and ID thing)


Or, have you ever wondered how Harrison Ford managed to be in his 60's and pulled off a successful Indiana Jones Film in the past 5 years? Talk about aging well!

Or, why the Ford Focus looks way too much like the Fusion over time?

Or, why people ask if Landon is "ok", because Jeff is 5'3, this still gets me. He's just short, nothing is "wrong" with him.

Why ear infections have to be so brutal? I would've been in less pain as a child if this were the case.

Why and where does cancer form, why aren't we as clued in as the doctors yet? ANd why do they always grow in the bra region on women? Ok, not ALL but that is a big chunk of people.

Why do people drive slow on the highway?

These are life's questions, if you know the answer, post them to amuse me.

Girls just wanna have fun!

I've lived here for about, almost 13 years. And that's about how long I've been friends with these ladies. One by one they're all getting married, having kiddies etc. All in all, there are about 7-9 of us, that have been friends since high school (I was "adopted" my sophmore year in high school) and some since 2nd grade they've been friends. Anyway, we were talking about it, and we realized not many groups of friends, stay in contact as well as we do, especially after high school. 10 years later, we've all managed to keep in touch very well, and pulled off many dinners at Red Robin as well too. I Love these ladies mucho, we're all good/close friends. Life wouldn't be the same without that, and I can honestly say that!

Melissa is getting married next month, so her bachlorette party was at the lovely KOA in Leavenworth. I had made plans with Jeff on Saturday evening, so I could only go up for a day, but I'm glad I went. We don't get much time away from kids and home life, so it was much needed as well as fun.

Anyway, here are the photos!


Attempting to hang a banner from a tree, with bubble gum....that worked, briefly.



Kacie


Hanna


Andrea


Jen

A smidge of gratitude

As I was running around cleaning my house like a mad man, I was noticing all the things I was picking up. Cars, DSi games, more cars, legos, the list goes on. And then the thought hit me, I can't possibly imagine my life, without my kids!!

Without my kids, I would:
-be lonely
-never slip and fall on a hot wheels cars
-never step on a lego, barefoot
-never wake up to cold hands and feet being put on my warm sleepy self
-not know what to do with my days
-not have anyone call me Mommy
-not have the fun of going and buying a variety of girl and boy clothes, in their perspective sizes
-not have to turn off the xbox 360, many times daily (Landon turns it on as it's at his level)
-not do 8 loads of laundry in a day
-not cook 3 meals a day
-not change 6 diapers a day
-not have to go up to Seattle every few days
-not go to the park, swimming pool, water park, achievement days and pediatrician appointments

And a MILLION other things. But, WITH my kids, I have learned to:

-be loving
-be kind
-be patient
-be sincere
-be genuine
-be honest
-be healthy
-learn to cook a massive variety of things
-watch my actions, in every way, 2 small people are watching
-teach my children about the blessing of life, and the many that just our family has received
-appreciate every single milestone
-appreciate legos, they really are an art, honestly
-love cars
-laugh at MANY things, funny or not
-give countless hugs and kisses, even if I'm in a funky mood
-do more pretty hairstyles
-cut little boy's hair (sorta)
-appreciate the sacrifices that everyone in our family goes through, for them

And so on and so on. I can't believe Leena is almost 9, she's not fully a lady, but we're working on the bot things she in advertantly does, per the boys at school teaching her. Landon is my car and toe enthusiast. He loves to gives hugs, blow kisses and most importantly, talk to stangers. He greets everyone at the park with a big warm smile and a cheerful "HI!!! HI!!" It melts them all. I'd be a lost soul without my kids, I really can't imagine how my life would be so drastically different, and I'm not sure if it would be in a good or bad way. But with them, I feel so whole and happy, they are my little healers when I'm having a a bad day, the sweet hugs and kisses and "I love you Mommy", maked every ounce of bad day, just vanish. I love those little kids more than anything!

So much, so fast.

Landon is my little chatterbox. He's putting sentences together and I'm just loving it, not to mention THRILLED at this big break in our communication with him.

We were getting in the car, which he has his prized hot wheels (toy cars)in, and I open up the car door, and he looks at me...I can tell he's processing something and he says "Mommy....cah pees?" I clapped and kissed him and handed him not one, but TWO cars for a job well done, YAY LANDON!!!

He usually says "MommyMommyMommy" as fast as he can numerous times, just for kicks. Today at dinner, I said "Can you say "Landon", honey?" and he smiles and says "Un-Eeeee!" it cracked me up! And I asked him again to say his name, and he sits up and shouts "NANDY!" HAHA. We do call him "Landy", for short, rather often so I'm not surprised in the least bit that's what he said. It was so cute and just made me so proud and smile a million times over. What a sweet and precious little soul he is!

We've been working on his relatives names, particularly the ones we see the most often. Such as my parents, and siblings (Katie, Cody, Seth, Hillary, Aaron) and I took a video of it, cuase it was so cute! Here it is! By the way, Papa, is my dad. His other Grandpa, goes by just that.

Whale Wars

As a little girl, I loved the grace and beauty of whales and dolphins, I thought dolphins were cute and would watch anything that had either creature in it. I loved Shamu at Sea World, at one point, I wanted to be a whale trainer at Sea World.

And a few months back, I saw an ad on Animal Planet for a show, called Whale Wars, where an activist group tries to stop the Japanese whalers, from hunting endangered whales. This hit a HUGE soft spot with me, I found it horrifying that the Japanese would go and kill a whale for "research", which they sell whale meat in Japan...

The episode I just watched, has me infuriated. The Japanese ship, harpooned a whale, it didn't die. It was making crying noises and trying to get away, they took a rifle out, and shot it SEVEN TIMES, and it finally died. I felt my heart sink, it was so sad.

I don't call myself an animal activist or super animal lover, but things like this, I think need more spotlight and attention. I didn't care much until I saw what REALLY happens. Arctic dolphins are harpooned and slaughtered for their meat. Humpback whales and Minke whales are harpooned and slaughtered for "research", which we all know, they take back to Japan and sell the meat on the market. With how many whales are being slaughtered to death, there really won't be much left of them. The IWC needs to make a decision, and fast.

This is inhumane!!

Some of Leenas other good ones!

School is winding down to an end...ok ready set, sing the "HALL-E-LUJAH!" with me!

I took these photos for Father's Day, and lo and behold I have a nice new gorgeous picture of my little girl up on my wall in my not as dull living room now, yee haw!


I am mesmerized at how she *CAN* be photogenic! She did inherit my genes! Ok, that calls for another HALL-E-LUJAH!





She's a cute little bug! I can't believe she'll be a 3rd grader! We plan on keeping her busy with "Where the Red Fern grows", this summer as far as reading. We have her in a little club at borders that if she gets 10 book reads in, she get a free book. She sure is a bookworm! It's cute though, she starts gymnastics here soon. We're going to a new gym, a smidge further away, but it shouldn't be too bad, knock on wood. She'll be in a competitive gym, so we will see. I don't think it'll stunt her growth as she's fairly tall as it is, and she has been only doing it a few years, and they've lifted many diet restrictions which were once imposed on gymnasts. Needless to say, she's excited!

The joy of my boy!

My little man, who was pretty sick, happily enjoying a small portion of pepto, who knew it would be sugary decadence?!

Doing little updates on a toddler, seems to bring me alot of smiles and giggles and excitement!

"Landy", as we call him, is 19.5 months old now.

*He LOVES cars, and trucks. ANYTHING with 4 wheels, he's a hapy, and quiet camper.
*He has discovered that he has a high pitch scream, and he tests it out regularly, driving his father crazy.
*He is learning to run, but with that, comes alot of falls. It's more falls than run.
*He is TERRIFIED of anything loud.
*He runs to Leena everyday when she walks in from school, to give her a hug. It melts me daily, he's so crazy about her.
*He just mastered "MOMMY!", I love that 2 syllable word!
*He thinks he can drink out of a cup no problem. Truth be told he can pick it up and try, but usually ends up soaked. A for effort, son.
*He also mastered "DADDY!"
*He LOVES to talk on the phone, it's the funniest thing! He just has so much to babble about and he really could care less if there is anyone on the line!
*He LOVES anything soft, blankets, fleece, you name it. He's usually seen with 2 blankets in tow almost daily. He will plop them on the ground, grab a pacifyre, and lay on it. No more than 5 seconds though, can't miss anything!


*He can say the following words:
-Mommy
-Daddy
-Leena (NANA! or E-NA!)
-Car (KAH!)
-Truck (Guck!)
-What's that? (Es-sat?)
-Uh oh!
-OWIE!
-No
-M-hmmm (he got that from me! oops! Ha!)
-Eat
-Out

We've also have decided because he IS a boy, and he IS behind, that sign language would be a valueable tool, and it's definately aided with our communication with him. We can ask him "Landon, are you hungry?" and he will do the sign for eat, so we put him in his highchair and he's one happy kid. And if he starts whining when his food is gone (or on the floor), we ask him "Do you want some more food?" and he will do the sign for more. So, it's helping, he can tell us what he wants alot easier!

he sure keeps us busy, but also keeps us laughing and entertained, that's for sure. He really is a joy and wonderful soul from heaven, truly he is. We love our little Landy!

WOO! Family Fun!

For ages, I've been hinting that my road tripping loving cousin, Amy, make the trek up here with their kiddies. They live in Provo, so I knew it was a drive...I also knew they liked long drives! PERFECT!

Anyway, they made it here and we had some cousinly fun! It was great to see her as I hadn't seen her in almost 8yrs. My family is spread out, and it's hard to get to see all 35 cousins (on one side) of mine.

We got to go to Owens beach Park in Point Definace, (where the girls loved to pick up jelly fish!) in Tacoma, Climb a rockwall, eat at Johnny Rockets (which was nothing like I expected, but the kids seemed to like it, so hey!) and have a big uge family dinner at my Mom's house, fun filled weekend, LOVED HAVING YOU GUYS!! Come again, seriously!! =)

And next time, we need to try the hot chocolate!! I can't believe we missed that! He's the pictures that are totally out of order but hey!

They grow up way too fast!!

Father's Day is coming up, and I decided to take a few photos of Leena...Well, here are the best of the best. She's growing up so fast and is so pretty in all of these! I love my little princess!!