My sister's kids

If you want a good little laugh you should go check out my sister's blog olpinhappenings. They're pretty original those boys!

Green and blue make what? CHARLEY!

We went to our friends Doug and Shannon's house for dinner one evening (it was delicious by-the-way!) and Charley got to play with their son Patrick.

Patrick has these great sandboxes in their backyard and Charley was pretty excited about them. Doug was able to capture a little bit of the "wild abandonment" of childhood.

They started off rather tamely.

The blue is very becoming!

Mixin' it up a bit . . .

Ameri showing off our little work of art!

Tres chic!

4th of July

As I've been clicking away, checking out other people's blogs, I have been shamed. Where do you people find the time to do such amazing things??? Kudos to you all. I'm impressed and more than just a little bit jealous. Well, you may have the ability to blog like a pro, but I can write a work out program that would knock you all flat. (I think that whole "competitive and love to win" aspect from my little car quiz is personifying itself . . . though I don't think I'm winning!)

ANYWAY, I am wishing you a Happy 4th of July. Aren't you excited you get to re-live it just a little? I knew it. We went down to Steve and Vicki's house and just had a relaxed day. Here are some of my favorite shots.

Uncle Steve, "TT", is the pony ride here. He was a great sport and the kids had a great time!

More pony rides!

AQUAMAN, A.K.A. : Josh!

I think I got everyone in this shot: Madie, Steve, Charley, Ameri, Emily, Josh (barely) and Vicki.

Daddy's girl!

I'm a Porsche 911!

You have a classic style, but you're up-to-date with the latest technology. You're ambitious, competitive, and you love to win. Performance, precision, and prestige - you're one of the elite,and you know it.

This is my Dad's favorite car. No joke. I guess now I know why he loves me more than any of my other sibs! Har har!

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

Ameri wanted to take the test too

Here's Ameri's score. I guess women in the 30's would have been lined up at his door.

113 As a 1930s husband, I am Very Superior Take the test!

Let's just hope "very superior" doesn't go to his head!

Tennessee

The girls and I returned from Utah and then got ready for Ameri's graduation. His family flew in for the weekend and then we were off to Tennessee. My sister Jennie lives there. She was having her thyroid removed and since her husband is in Iraq, my Mom, sister Julie and I decided to go and take care of her kids while she was recovering. It was really an excuse to get together. Kind of a "Thyroidectomy" party. Whoa, we're CRAZY!

Little miss Charley and her sweet cousin Katie - Twinners.

Charley taking her turn in the hippo floatie that was much to small for her. Such a funny girl!

Madie and baby Brooklyn. Very cute together. My sister Jennie and my cousin Lisa have a very similar picture when they were little.

Grandma and Katie

When diapers become fashion, you know you've changed one too many!

I couldn't believe the sky in Tennessee - so blue!! It reminded me of Montana. We just don't get blue like that in my part of California!

Katie and Charley exploring Jennie's backyard. Oh to have such space . . .

Grandma joins in the exploration

Madie was not crawling yet and Brooklyn took advantage. Madeleine got pinned a few times!

All aboard the Grandma Train!

Tuckered out!

Playing "doctor". It was very cute to watch!

Katie had a doodle board that everyone wanted to play with. After so many fights we just got one for every kid.

A.J., Xander, Katie and Charley. Lunch time!

Xander climbing to the summit!

Madeleine avoiding a mauling - can't you just see Brooklyn scheming?

It's in her eyes . . .

Reading time.

Utah

I'm just going to post some photos from our different adventures this summer. I've been such a slacker I figured you guys really don't want my thoughts - just visuals.

Charley with bed-head. Happy to be at Grandma and Grandpa's!

Madeleine enjoying being loved on by her taties!

My girls in a happy moment.

Grandma is obviously not giving Charley enough attention!

Grandpa and Charley at the park. Charley loved it!

The three top priorities in our house!

Pick up your feet Grandma 'Nece! Notice Katie still prego in the background!

Charley found a new friend at Macys.

Eli arrives!!! June 1, 08. We were happy to see him before we left for home!

Baby Katie and baby Eli. Congrats Katie-did. Oh yeah, you too Ben!

Random

This is a very random post on my part! I thought I'd share with you some things that made me happy this summer. The first is my new double jogger stroller. I had to wait 3 months to get it because it was on back-order, but it is awesome. All of you mothers out there can understand how a fabulous piece of kid equipment can make your life a whole lot easier. Here are a few pictures of Charley and Madie "helping" me put it together.

Charley looking skeptical!

It has potential . . .

Charley with the finished product

Madeleine gets strapped in!

My second fun purchase of the summer I found on Ebay. My Mom had this great cookie press (still does actually) that we all love because it's not the stupid plastic model that they sell these days. We all have laid claim to it over the years but while I was in Tennessee with my Mom and sisters I decided to get on Ebay and see if I could find and old school model. I found several!! They were really inexpensive and so I bought myself and Jennie one. They had never been used before and I even got the original cookbook with mine. Crazy eh? It works like a dream for this baker and I can't wait until Christmas. Oh, the small and simple things!!

This last picture makes this post "random". I was putting away some things into the cupboard outside on our patio and I looked down and saw this really thick web between our emergency water barrels. I leaned in for a closer look and I saw a huge, shiny, black spider just sitting in the middle of it! It was dark so I had Ameri bring a flashlight out to me because I was sure it was a black widow! Yuck!

It turns out that that is exactly what she was! She was hanging upside-down so you can see the big, red hourglass on her belly. It freaked me out so I had Ameri go and get our insect spray to kill it. I knew she would be too fast for us to get her otherwise. Besides, the web was so thick that a shoe would have just hung there!

We got her square-on and I hope she is perishing between the barrels. Gross isn't it? Right out in the open. I thought they were supposed to like dark places. I'm just glad my girls were inside and nothing bad happened. I hate insects. Sorry Kim!

P.S. Thanks to everyone for letting me vent. I called my OB back and with some persuasion from the actress long dormant in me I was able to get an appointment for about 10 days from now. All you have to do is say the word "DEPRESSION". I'm so naughty.

Healthcare Hell

Yes, I have officially been called a slacker blogger, but I have cataloged and edited all of my pics from this summer so I will be updating photos soon. I will also offer up lots of excuses for not blogging.

I just have to vent right now. I am not an advocate for socialized medicine for many reasons that I will not go into at the moment, but one of the reasons I am not an advocate for it is that for many specialists you have to wait forever to get in to see them. So that being the case, WHY am I waiting forever to see a specialist when I faithfully pay my insurance premium every month?

As you well know, I had wee little Madeleine in December of last year. Since then I have had several problems ( I won't bore you with the details). Recently, I had my hand on my neck and stopped short because I had a big bump starting at my thyroid and ending at the gland right under my jaw. I knew immediately that I had a problem because both of my sisters have had their thyroids removed due to benign thyroid tumors. I called both of them and I share many of the symptoms that they had.

Anyway, I did not have a primary doctor or an internist so I asked many of my clients who they might recommend. One of my clients is even a friend of the CEO of the big fancy hospital here. I got several referrals from them and started calling.

STRIKE ONE: We are no longer taking patients. We're too busy.

STRIKE TWO: We are not taking PPOs right now. NOT TAKING PPOs? I'd never heard that one before.

STRIKE THREE: We don't take insurance. Your first visit will be $450.

Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera! It went on and on. I finally got into an endocrinologist for October 22! In frustration I called my existing OBGYN's office to see if they could help me. They turned me away rattling on and on with the same lines everyone else had. When I made a stink they said, "Well, I guess we could get you in on October 28th . . ."

I'M AN EXISTING PATIENT! Ridiculous.

I wanted to scream. Luckily, I blog.

Shake, rattle and . . . is this an earthquake??

There are several things about L.A. that I'm not crazy about: smog, crowds, traffic and EARTHQUAKES!! As many of you probably know by now, we had an earthquake measuring 5.4 this morning at 11:40. I have never been in a really big quake and I pray I never am.

I was watching Hadley (Charley's friend) this morning and so I had three little girls here with me. My house was a disaster because I was sweeping and mopping so everything was out of it's normal place. All of a sudden I feel a little rumble and then I hear the earthquake. I don't know how to describe it. I had only been in 2 tiny earthquakes before this one so I had to stop for half a second to figure it out. Luckily, Madeleine was close so I grabbed her and ran to Charley's room (probably the most earthquake friendly room in the house) where the girls were playing. They were rooted to their spots and wouldn't move when I called them to me. After a little loud coaxing we got into a safe position together. The girls really didn't comprehend what had just happened, but I was shaking like a leaf. Once I was sure the quake was over I laid Madie in her crib and let the girls go back to playing. I had to sit for a minute and compose myself. I just kept waiting for the aftershock (which we have not yet experienced in our city thus far . . .). Nothing happened and I pulled myself together and tried to go back to work.

Fortunately, we were not the epicenter and the quake only lasted about 5 - 10 seconds. It's hard to tell when you're in the middle of it. It seems so silly that such a short quake would get me so on edge, but for someone who didn't grow up in "earthquake country" it is not pleasant. I couldn't get in contact with Ameri who was on the train headed downtown and my phones wouldn't work. My sister Julie called to check on me so I knew my land-line was at least working again. That was a relief and it was nice to have a calm voice to listen to and to have a listening ear. Thanks Jules!!

Well, now I'm thinking about emergency preparedness. In church on Sunday we had a Sacrament meeting on being prepared and this just drives the message home. We need to be prepared. Ameri and I have our water barrels filled and have most of our 72 hour kits together but we definitely have a weekend project this Saturday!! If you do not have a 72 hour kit or do not know what it is I hope that you will go to providentliving.org or to lds.about.com

There are my thoughts that were literally shaken into me this morning. We just never know what's coming. It was a beautiful day today and we had not a care except to vacuum. Again, thankfully, it was a small quake that didn't last long. So we carry on and thank our Father in Heaven for the reminder!

If you were a 1930's housewife . . .

I found this on my friend Laura's blog. Kind of a fun little test. I was surprised by my results - I think if it had been, "If you were a 1950's housewife" I totally would have failed!

67 As a 1930s wife, I am Superior Take the test!

How do you measure up? I guess I did OK, but I'm not willing to ask his permission to buy stuff. I'm also NEVER dressed for breakfast!

Silly, Willy, Nilly 'ol Bear

Charley loves the Disney version of "Winnie the Pooh". She also loves the songs that go with it. She has memorized the opening song and sings it to Madie when she is sad. She will also sing it to her dolls when they are sleepy. Sorry for the dark picture, but we were getting ready for bed.