you had to be there...

On Saturday night, we were all gathered at my mom's kitchen table.  Well, everyone except my dad and Ross, they were yelling at the basketball game on TV, a game which the rest of us didn't care about.

Anyway, we were sitting at the kitchen table because we had some planning to do.  My brother has decided to run for student body president (against three girls mind you) at his high school and we were doing some high level planning.

Really?

No, not really, we were pretty much screwing around.  You see, as these sort of meetings go, my mom is the supervisor trying to keep us all on track and appreciate everyones ideas.  I'm the bossy one who expects everyone to listen to her and they never do.  My sister is the comic relief who doesn't seem to be able to stay on topic and keeps changing the subject to something in left field.  And, my brother, whose political future we're planning, he's more worried about whether or not that hot dog he just ate was cooked all the way and if he's going to get food poisoning....forgetting the fact that hot dogs are cooked long before he sticks one on the George Foreman.

Flash forward tho the end of our meeting, the time when everything falls apart.  Mom had left the table because she was being helpful and productive getting pajamas on all the little people.  When mom leaves and my husband joins the conversation things can go downhill quickly apparently.

We were having a disagreement about who invented the name "shavy jones" for the shaved ice business.  The conversation went something like this:

Annie:  I came up with Shavy Jones

Willie:  No you did not!  I came up with Shavy Jones.

Annie:  No, you suggested Davy Jones and I came up with Shavy Jones.  Ross, back me up!

Ross:   (Not having any idea what were talking about) Annie's right. (Good husband).

Willie:  No, I came up with Shavy Jones, you are wrong.

**Note:  The conversation could have gone on like this for ages, but luckily that sister of mine decided to add the funny.

Haley:  Well, I created the octopus!

Annie:  Really?  You created the octopus?  Like, in the beginning you and God and Jesus were in Heaven planning the earth and you raised your hand and said, "Hey guys, I dibs the octopus?"

Haley started laughing.  I started laughing and my brother.....he had just taken a drink of bright pink gatorade and then, because his sisters are just so funny, proceeded to shoot that bright pink gatorade out of his nose.

His nose threw up.

It was awesome.

I almost threw up from laughing so hard.

But, I guess you had to be there.

in a nutshell....

Good Behavior on errand runs (especially LONG errand runs) is always rewarded with lunch and ice cream. Okay, not always, but on this day it was.

Before we could even blink we had a new concrete pad for shavy jones (a write-off none the less) and a patio for me. Yeah! The boys brought their little hoop up from the basement and shot baskets until they were covered in dirt and sweat and concrete dust.

Finding parts to fix broken sprinklers.

Awesome birthday party fun for our favorite 5 year old girlfriend, Lucy.

Saturday night adventures with Grandma at Shopko and McDonald's. Eventually, the chillins always end up in the truckster...this night taking Grandma on a trip to Disneyland.

Campaign planning meetings to help the big Iggie get ready to run for SBO president...against four girls.


And finally....I found this on my phone. Enjoy!

Tracking Elephants

Every morning at breakfast, I'm on the computer.  I get about 2.5 chances a day to check e-mail and blogs (yes, I prefer a laptop to my phone because it's easier to read) and the morning is the only real chance because the kids are distracted by breakfast and cartoons.

Anyway, what's that saying that copying someone is the most sincere form of flattery?  I'm not sure that's what was going on with my boy yesterday, but he was definitely into his projects.

We bought him this little laptop learning toy 3 years ago but just barely gave it to him for his 5th birthday.  It's still a little too advanced for him - the math is too hard and the reading is too fast.  That however, hasn't stopped him from enjoying the imagination that the toy provides him with.

Yesterday was no exception, it was actually the rule.  The computer was carried around quite literally the entire day we were at home (I wouldn't let him bring it in the car).  He had a mission as an animal scientist to track elephants.  You see, he was tracking three herds, the largest had 80 cow and calf elephants (his words, not mine).  The problem with this particularly large herd?

Two elephants were missing.

Sheba, the mama and Ella the baby were no where to be found.

Thus the tracking emergency.  The radio tags on these two elephants were active, but they were out of tracking range and it was the job of my two sons, the animal scientists, to find the lost elephants.

Tracking, or an attempt to track, started at 7:30 am and did not officially end until about 30 minutes before that kid of mine went to bed.

The elephants are still missing so I'm sure we have some additional tracking to do today.

But right now he's watching the backyardigans and getting ready for school so the elephants are on the back burner.

In a nutshell

I found a new photo book and cool stuff website.  I also follow them on instagram and they post freebie codes.  awesome.

www.papercoterie.com

We started the never ending yard project list this weekend.  Two truckloads of beautiful new black dirt. The start of our perennial garden flower bed out front.  The concrete guy came and gave us an estimate on a pad for shavy jones and an extended patio out back.  The yard will be coming together soon.  Yeah!

My home is a disaster.  Or was a disaster.  Thank heavens the family came over for dinner yesterday and gave us an "excuse" to clean things up, put toys away, and clean off the island in the kitchen.  It won't last much past this afternoon but for now, the clutter is cleaned up.

The boys walking out of the grocery store after a quick food shopping trip.  I was pushing the cart and they were....wait for it....being nice to each other.  A rare scene these days and I was very proud.

THG?  Yes, please.  I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I had to see the movie on opening weekend but it was well worth the crowded theater and the overly analytical husband.  I DO NOT do vampires.  Gag me with a spoon.  But, I do enjoy post-apocalyptic teenage fight to the death blood bath.

The camera was a bit jumpy for me and some key elements of the book (which I've read 2.5 times) were left out that I thought should have remained in the story line.  And, Peeta was just so poorly cast.  But, Katniss was awesome.  The intensity on the screen was the same I felt in the book and when sweet little Rue died I was very close to sobbing.

Well done and I cannot wait for the next installment.

What's in a ring?

In a little less than a month, I'll celebrate my 9th wedding anniversary.  Nine years is a long time to be married, let alone that we've known each other for a decade.  When we decided to get married, though I had no idea when the actual proposal would hit, we did go ring shopping.

I pretty much fell in love with the first ring I saw.  It was platinum.  It was brushed.  It was really pretty.  When the actual ring was bestowed upon me, I was so excited at the significance of it, and what that ring meant that I pretty much didn't take it off.  I loved the ring and the boy who got it for me.

Flash forward a couple years and that ring started to cause me trouble.  It started to leave what I could only call a burn mark on my finger.  We weren't sure what the problem was and after having it cleaned a couple times, chalked it up to something wrong with my finger and I quit wearing it for a while.  Then I got pregnant with Monkey #1 and there was no way it would fit.

Shortly after Elliott was born, I got my ring re-sized and we were reunited.  And then of course, I didn't wear it at all with Monkey #2 and wore it for about a year off and on after Wyatt was born.

Now fast forward again.  I haven't worn my wedding ring for almost 2 years.  It's a little tight, and it's very heavy and maybe it's a silly reason, but the weight of the ring that I loved years ago now weighs too heavy on my arthritic finger.  The last time I tried to wear it was to church, and I didn't even make it through the first hour because I'm a dork.

My kind husband has since then given me a couple of rings to replace it, when I want to look official (as if wandering the world with two little monsters isn't official enough). One of the rings is pretty fancy, and I save it for church and special occasions.  The other was a nice, simple little ring that he got for me that I wore nearly every single day.

Well, on our way home from San Diego in February, while I was driving my short leg of the trip I took my cute little flower off because it was sort of in the way and hooked it onto the straw of my drink for safe keeping.  We stopped in Scipio, Utah, because Elliott and I had to go to the bathroom and then continued on our journey.  Not until we were almost home did I realize that my husband had cleared the "garbage" out of the car at that pit stop, including my drink that I was not finished with and that was a safe keeping for my ring.

The ring was now in a trash can in Scipio.

Oh bother!

When we got home it was decided (by me of course) that I needed a reasonable replacement because unlike my husband who does not wear his wedding band, I like to at least pretend that I'm married.

I found a beautiful fill-in on etsy.  It came yesterday.  I really like it.  Not too fancy, but fancy enough.  Makes me feel official, at least until the day we get around to getting me a new band (much lighter weight) for my "real" wedding ring.