COUNTING THE DAYS . . .

(Sorry everyone--blogger was down last night and wouldn't let me post!)

We have been counting the days and today we are down to just two days until Grandpa's Sister Sally and her husband Seth arrive. (That's Aunt Sally and Uncle Seth to me!) We are all very excited for their visit. They are coming for Dad's birthday. They have never seen Jonathon so it will be fun to show him off. He was born about a month after we last saw them, if I remember right.

We gardened today for awhile. Grandma planted and Grandpa supervised. I added some Alyssum seeds to the edges of the garden while Julie let the little ones run through the sprinklers. Once we turned the sprinklers on we knew it would rain. Sure enough, within the hour it began to cloud up and the rain started. Luckily it did so right as we finished.

Once we put the kids down for a nap, Julie and I decided it was time for the dogs to stop shedding all over the house. We pulled out the hair clippers and each grabbed a dog and began shearing them. I took our lab and it took about 3.5 hours but she is totally naked. Julie took our lab collie mix and unfortunately her clippers weren't quite as sharp because it took her about 5.5 hours to make her naked. However, they are a lot cooler now and they love that! And we won't have to be sweeping up after them all the time. Yippee! Skippee! WE LOVE NAKED DOGS!

Well, gotta get some sleep. The kiddos wake up early!

IT'S BEEN A LONG DAY

Don't know why but it sure seems like it's been a long day. Maybe because it started at 4:01 a.m. when I heard the baby crying. At least I thought it was him. When I got to the room, turned out it was Carly. She says, "Mom, I need a piece of bread." I told her to go back to sleep and I would see her in the morning. As I started to leave the room, she got louder--"No Mom, I really need a piece of bread!" I started to tell her what time it was (like she cared) when Jono started crying and saying "Mom, bottle." Gah! Yah, that's when my day started. So, I broke out the bread and water, er, milk. ( Hee, hee, hee) I guess feeding them at that time helped a little because they let me sleep in until 8:15. Lol!

From there to getting our new freezer --getting it unloaded and re-loaded in a hurry, trying to get the house cleaned and then getting an overdose of therapy at physical therapy--ugh--to running Julie back and forth to training for her new job. Oh yah and keeping up with the two fastest little ones in the west! Then as soon as Rob got home we had to take off for a friend's wedding reception an hour from here. Finally got home a little after ten. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for holding down the fort and the kids (hopefully, not quite so literally :} ) while we were gone.

It's just one of those days you think might not end and when it does you want to just fall into bed. But there are still diapers to change, faces to kiss, bottles to make, loves to give and so you just keep going until you are done. Then you fall into bed--like NOW . . .

IT'S ALWAYS SOMETHING

I took Jono to a photo shoot today. He did his first official modeling. He became a tie model today for Taylor Joelle. He wasn't so sure this was a good idea at first. It took some real doing to get him to stay on the set and then some further coercing to get a smile out of him. It was almost painful. I guess he is just at that stage where he has to have Mama hold him if strangers are around. They did finally get some cute shots of him. They are going to email me some of them and when I get them I will put them on.

Got home from the shoot and Grandma and Grandpa had gone to run a few errands. Turns out they had done some more flower shopping. I think Grandpa thinks you can never have too many flowers in your garden.

Over the weekend the compressor started going out on our big freezer. Gah! Luckily, we caught it and didn't lose the stuff in the freezer. Got a new one coming in the morning. I guess it's like they say: "It's always something."

SATURDAY'S STUFF

You know those days when you have only one major thing you want to accomplish and by the end of the day you've never even gotten near it? Yah, I had one of those days! But, I did get a bunch of other things done--so it wasn't a total loss.

I thought my kids were getting better but after today I'm pretty sure they are still somewhat sick. They are both a whiny mess. They are way more whiny than usual, plus both of them still have runny noses and intermittent coughs. I think they have that Summer hanger-on-er virus. You know the one that just will not go away!

One of my friends called me a while ago and her son snapped his femur bone in two today on their trampoline. He is in surgery right now. He didn't even hit anything. He just landed on his leg a little awkward and it snapped. Poor guy--I'm really feeling for him--and right at the beginning of Summer, too.

When I put Jono and Carly to bed tonight they couldn't agree over who would say the prayer. Usually when this happens I let them each say a separate prayer but I didn't have the energy tonight so I just asked Carly to say it. I was helping her with the words and it was really cute. She would repeat what I was saying and then just barely behind her Jono would also repeat what I was saying. It was like a double echo. I'm sure Heavenly Father got a good laugh from these two cutie pies who have not one ounce of competitiveness between them. Wink, Wink. Hahaha!

Well, night all. Have a terrific tomorrow!

PRETTY HOT

It is getting pretty here with everything in bloom but our temps have been in the high eighties and high nineties the last couple weeks. We finally had to turn on the sprinklers and the air conditioner is on high!
Sure thankful for modern days and electrical devices! I would stay inside non-stop if it weren't for kids who want to go out to play. They don't care what the weather is!

We really didn't do much of anything today (other than play outside with the kids) because the weather made us feel so lethargic. I excelled in that today for sure. The heat just takes the life out of me.

Grandma and Grandpa are doing good, except I think they were feeling the same.  None of us ventured very far today. Well, wish I had more to tell you.  Got the kids down early. Gonna celebrate by hitting the hay myself. :)

FLOWER GARDENS BY CARSON & CO.

Forgot to ever show you the gardens last year! So, thought I would get an early picture and a later one this year and put them up. My parents have worked really hard on the flower beds in the front of the house. Oh, that just made me realize I didn't get a picture of the two on the front side of the house. Silly me. (More coming later, obviously!) Anyway, my mom has especially put in the blood, sweat and tears. Dad's more on the planning and management team. He does have a good eye--that's for sure. Anyway, the flowers are just starting to really bloom nicely. We have had so much cold and rain they have only had a couple of weeks to really get their roots down. I think they are beautiful! Thanks, Mom and Dad! We love you!

(Hint: If you want a larger view--click on picture.)

A BETTER DAY.

Well, all of us who have been sick seemed to have a better day today. We weren't up to eating a whole lot but other than that we did pretty well. Grandma and Grandpa even got out and ran an errand. I wasn't quite that brave~maybe tomorrow. Night all.

UGH!

We are all sick! Well, everyone but Julie and Rob but I think it's just a matter of time. This is no fun! We seem to have a sort of flu with all the side effects. Yuck. That's all folks. Back to my bed. :{

MY VERY HANDSOME TWINNERS!

Rob and Jonathon wearing their twinner ties they got for Father's Day. Unfortunately, Jonathon was sick and didn't get to get dressed up to go to church. But we think it looks great with his camo jammies. Don't you? Yay, for my very handsome guys!

AN INTERESTING DAY

Woke up, had an assignment at church. I was working hard on it when we we finally had to wake Jono up. Turns out he was sick. He'd vomited several times sometime during the night and had gone back to sleep and was deep into it. Poor little guy. I felt so bad for him. Carly has been sick for a couple of days but hasn't been vomiting.

Julie stayed home with them while Rob and I went to church so I could fulfill my assignment. We came straight back home after and got them settled and then got ready for our Father's Day dinner. Luckily we had most things ready to just throw in the oven and only a few things left to make.

Susan and her family came by to celebrate with Dad and visit for a bit. We invited them to stay for dinner but they just came for a short visit. They brought him chocolate cake and ice cream so I think he was pretty happy.

We had a very nice evening with all of our local kids, Rob's brother Steve and his kids and Mom and Dad. Carly and Jono even seemed to be a tiny bit better. All in all it turned out to be an okay day--although not exactly like we had planned it. Like anything ever is, right? Lol!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO MY GUYS ~ AND ALL OF YOU!

                                          My Hero's ~ My Heart

SHE DID IT!

Julie landed her first job today! One interview, one job! I'm so proud of her. She will be making pizza's. Not bad for her first teenage job. She starts tomorrow morning. She even managed to talk them into giving her Sundays off! Way to go Jules!

Carly and Jono had a bunch of friends over this morning to play. They all went out and played on the swingset and when they got tired of that they came in and watched Tangled. Mommy and Julie provided refreshments and cleanup and were as glad to see the kiddo's go as they were to see them come! Lol!
Somedays naptime is our favorite time of day!

Don't forget it's Father's Day! Remember your husband's and father's this weekend! Nighty night!

ANOTHER MILESTONE . . . HOWEVER SMALL

Today I did something I've never done before. I drove my teenager around to help her apply for her first job. It may seem crazy but all these little milestones, while they are progress in her life, make me just a wee bit sad. Yes, I want her to have a job. She definitely needs the experience. It's just that she is growing up and out of our home so fast. Oh, she has another year or two she will be with us for sure. She will be a senior in high school next year and she may go to a college near by--who knows. Wow, how the time has flown since she was a young girl! I can hardly stand it! :/

SHE'S NOT ONLY ADORABLE, SHE MAKES ME LAUGH OUT LOUD!

 Carly came in the bathroom today while I was washing my hands. She loves water and anytime she sees it turned on she wants to wash her hands. She asked me if she could wash her hands and I told her "no." (She always makes it into an ordeal and I didn't have time for an ordeal.) She asked me why she couldn't wash her hands. I said: "Because, you haven't done anything to get them dirty." She said: "But I still want to wash them Mom!" I replied; "Well, that doesn't make a lot of sense, does it?" To which she says: "But Mom, I don't have a lot of sense!"

BA DUM BUM!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG SIS!

My big sister turned old today! Ha! Just kidding. If I wasn't, that would mean I would turn old next year on my birthday! So, she's definitely not old, yet. Hee, hee, hee. Mom and Dad did drive down to take her to lunch and I'm pretty sure they wore themselves out. But it is good for them to get out once in a while.

My physical therapist decided to really start strength training me today. I did pretty well during the training but when I got home I couldn't do much with my right arm the rest of the night. I mean, I couldn't do much that required me to lift my arm above the elbow or lift any weight. It's so surprising to me how little strength I have in it. I sure hope I can work into some strength pretty quickly.

We finally had a full day of sunshine here! It stayed warm all day today. It's taken forever for us to get this kind of good weather. Although, it's been frustrating it may have been for the best. We have been under threat of flooding in this area from snow melting from the mountains too quickly. It's probably good that it doesn't warm up and stay warm too quickly.

Well, that's all the news for today. Take care and more later. N.

THREE CHEERS FOR GUMBY!

Went to physical therapy again today. They added some new things. They are starting to strength train my arm and shoulder. It's so weird but I really have no strength at all in that arm. I noticed it over the weekend when I tried to help lift things for our yard sale. I guess they already expected that because strength training was on the docket! We started with two pound weights today! Lol! I feel a bit like a wimp but after 30 reps I understood why we started with two pounds. It was plenty!

However, they did tell me they have never seen anyone get 100% range of motion back as quickly as I did. It usually takes months, I guess and mine was back within a week. Yay for my Gumby like body! I always have been really flexible. I'm guessing that somehow helped. :/

Tomorrow is my sister Susan's birthday. I won't say how old she is but she is older than me! Ha! Mom and Dad are planning to go down and take her to lunch, I think. That will be a nice get away for them.
Susan is an hour from here.

Everyone is doing pretty well right now. We will cross our fingers, knock on wood and say our prayers that it stays that way! Nothing else to report here. Have a lovely Tuesday everyone.

MR. FEARLESS

We were at a friends house the other night and they have this really steep slide. Carly was brave enough to climb it and slide down it several times. She started out with some help and then could do it on her own. Mr. Fearless, however, decided to short-cut it up the front of the slide and scare his mom nearly to death! He didn't need any help and he didn't need the stairs. He had his own way! BOYS!

SHE'S HOME

Had a great yard sale! Got rid of a bunch of stuff and what we didn't sale we donated. So, we are starting to see a glimmer of space. Still more to do but it's a start.

We got Julie back this afternoon from her youth camp! She's been gone all week and we have really missed her! I'm not sure who was more excited to see her-Carly and Jonathon or Rob and me. It was probably the latter because she watched the kids for us and let us have a late afternoon nap! Hee hee! Love you Jules! :)

OUR FRIDAY

Went to a good friend's home tonight to help her and her brother's and sisters help celebrate their parents 50th wedding anniversary! That was a lot of fun!

Have an early morning tomorrow! Got a yard sale to produce. Wish us luck! Hopefully, we can get rid of the whole lot of it! :)

Have a happy weekend!

SHE MOVES AGAIN!

I had my first post-op check up today with my orthopedic surgeon. He was so happy with my progress I thought he might literally jump for joy! He managed to contain himself--but just barely. Lol!

Anyway, he is having me continue with PT and wants to see me back in a month but was really thrilled with how far I had come so quickly. Yay ME!

Spent this evening going through other people's treasures, (i.e. our junk) preparing for our yard sale on Saturday. Got some great stuff for y'all to come and get! It'll be like you've found the end of the rainbow, er, almost. Hee, hee, hee.

The kids had a couple of neighbor kids over tonight to play on the swingset and all of the sudden they started reproducing like cells--the neighbor kids, that is. Seemed like our back yard was full of giggling, happy kids. And after awhile they disappeared just as quickly as they appeared.

Meeting one of our young nieces at the airport early, early morning tomorrow on a layover she has here just to visit a little. That will be fun except for the early, early part of it.

Well, better get myself to bed so I can get myself up to go for that. Take care all!

LOOKING BACK; HAPPY MEMORIES; A LITTLE KISSY FACE

Yes, I took the day off yesterday. It was our 6th anniversary and we actually were able to go out and celebrate alone together thanks to our daughter Megan and Grandma and Grandpa! They did "tag team baby sitting" for us! Megan fed the little ones, played with them and got them in bed and Grandma and Grandpa took the monitor and just had to tell them to stop talking and be quiet a few times! (I remember them telling me and my sisters the same thing! Hee hee!) Guess the experience came in handy! Lol!

Anyway, it was a really nice evening and yes, we are still very much in love! We even still LIKE each other! Oh, and yes, I'm going to make you look at a few of our wedding pictures again. I especially love the ones of me with my parents. They are favorites!

I am married to the best guy in the whole world! Love you Sweetie!

MY YUCKY DAY

This will be short because I am exhausted. It's been a very frustrating day although in the end things worked out.

This morning I left the house at nine a.m. to take Julie about an hour from here to a youth conference. I planned to check her in and turn around and come right back home because I had a physical therapy appointment. Well, the check-in was the worst organized check-in I've ever been to in my life. There were thousands of kids going to this youth conference and she had to wait in a very long line to get what we thought was her packet or what she needed for the week. That's what happened last year. Well, we waited in that very long line and she got her ID card, then they sent her to another long line to get her notebook. From there they sent her to another long line to get her T-shirt. Are you getting the picture? Yah, after that she still had to get her packet and her key. Yep, two more long lines. GAH!!!

Then, I had to drive her to her dorm room. They forgot to mention the construction that blocked the normal route in. So, that took time while we took the wrong way and then finally found the detour route. :(

Finally got her dropped off :) and realized I probably would not make it to my appointment on time. :( So, I stopped and got the kids something to eat and called to see if I could re-schedule for an hour later. They said yes. I start the car to leave and the hot temperature light comes on on the car! No Way! I call Rob and can't get ahold of him--so I sit there in a McDonald's parking lot with 2 toddlers hoping the engine will cool if I leave it off long enough.

Since I couldn't get Rob, I called Dad. He said it wasn't something I should try to drive with unless I'd had it checked out. Luckily I wasn't far from my sister Susan's house so once the engine cooled I made it there without any problem. Mom and Dad were almost out the door to come and rescue us when we found a shop that could look at it right away. Although, right away took several hours still. Anyway, they checked everything out and couldn't find anything wrong so I was able to finally get back on the road to come home around 5:00 p.m. Traffic was really bad so we pulled in just before 6:30. Got home with 2 cranky kids and a pretty good headache but in the end things turned out fine. My PT place let me re-schedule my appointment so even that worked out.

On a happier note, Rob and I are celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary tomorrow! He makes me so happy! I love you Sweetheart! :)

POSING BEFORE CHURCH

Sorry this isn't a better picture. I lost my photo editing program in my computer crash and need to load a new one. I didn't even realize it until I went to edit a photo just now. Gah! Anyway, I had some other photos to put on but it will take too long to do it without an editing program. Anyway, my little ones aren't so little anymore, are they?

Have a terrific week! Wishing you lots of sunshine and nice breezes. :)

BECAUSE . . .

Today, Julie and I went shopping and were brave enough to take the the little tykes with us. I had a really cute moment with Carly when a couple of women passed by us in a store. They were having their own conversation that had nothing to do with us. They were talking about buying something for someone and somehow Carly decided their conversation was about her.

As soon as they passed us Carly asked me what they were getting her. I told her they weren't talking about her. She assured me I was wrong, that they were talking about her. We went back and forth on the matter for some minutes. Finally, I said; "Carly, they don't even know you. Why would they buy you something?" She let me know she was sure they did know her. Again, I tried to reason with her. "Carly, why would those women be buying you something when they don't even know who you are? Then came the answer I should have expected all along. "Because I'm Carly, Mom!" Lol! That's my girl!

Now in all seriousness, I think she really thought they knew her and were talking about getting her something. Her three year old brain seems to work that way. But what really made me smile and made my heart happy is to realize my little girl has such a positive self image. I know, I know -- it's a hop, skip and jump from there to spoiled brat. We are really trying to raise happy, independent, kind, loving, intelligent, and good children. I'm certainly no fan of spoiled brats and I sure don't intend to create and send any out into the world. It is just so important to me that my kids feel good about who they are and what they are capable of contributing in this world.

Well, that's deeper than I planned to go. I'm just a happy Mom tonight with a self-assured little girl. :) Hope you have a lovely weekend!

SCHOOL'S OUT!

Today was the last day of school! Yippee! I love summer vacation! I love having Julie home more. Of course, this summer she will be looking for a job this summer. But it's still nice to have her around more. I love my teenybopper.

It is finally warming up, I hope. I could tell the kids are feeling it because they were so full of energy today. They got to spend time outside for the first time in a week. It's been pouring rain or snowing for the past week so the heat is a welcome change and they had all this pent up energy to get rid of! They were happy to expend it outside.

Grandma finished up the front gardens this morning. They need to get a little growing time on them and then I will take some pictures and post them. They look really pretty! She has worked so hard on them. Grandpa helped too but Grandma put in the most blood, sweat and tears.

Hoping to get a lot done around the house this weekend. Hope you have a terrific weekend, too! :)

OH MY! OH MY! OH MY!

Someone should have warned me the pain medicine would wear off and this would really hurt! Yeeooouuuucccchhhh! Wow, I have new respect for people who are in pain and who undergo physical therapy and follow all their instructions. It is really hard. I know it will be worth it in the end but wow, I had no idea how much it could hurt. Sorry, just needed a second to whine. I figure it I can whine, I can do anything! Lol!

I have the most patient husband. He has been so good to me throughout this. He has even taken a few days off to make sure I get the rest I need and get to my appointments without any problem. I am so lucky to have him! Thank you Honey. I love you!

GREAT NEWS!

Ned's stepson Larry was treated and released back to his company. One other in the vehicle was treated and released as well and two others were flown to Germany for treatment. None of the wounds were severe. Ned said the vehicle took the worst of the explosion. Thank goodness! What a blessing. Thanks for all the prayers and please keep them going for all these young men (and women) in uniform.

I made it through my shoulder surgery today. They sent me for physical therapy this afternoon and every other day this week. I was pretty sore when I came out of surgery but already had more range of motion than when I went in.

I did great at the PT's office and they said that was a really good sign. I was supposed to do another set of the exercises tonight before bed. I did and I thought I was going to die! I was so sore I couldn't believe it. Of course, this morning when I went to PT, I had major pain meds in me from the hospital still. Tonight, I just had Tylenol. It wasn't a match for the swelling and pain. But, I still did pretty darn good with range of motion! It just took me a few tears to get there. :( Hopefully, a good night's rest will take down some of the swelling and tomorrow will be a little easier. I am determined to my full range of motion back.

Well, that's about all I paid attention to today. Is that bad? Seriously, though, thanks to my Mom who kept everything afloat at home and my cute hubby who helped me out all day! More later. N.