KINDERGARTEN PICS

I was finally able to get the pictures of Carly's first day of Kindergarten off my camera. Rob had to go buy a new adapter/card reader to make it work. Something was wrong with the THREE others we had! Weird!
Anyway, here is my darling little girl (if I do say so myself) on her first day of Kindergarten.

Miss Carly on her way to her first day of Kindergarten

Mommy with her Kindergartner

She had her second day today and loved it. She came out so happy when I picked her up at the end of the day. I'm so glad she is having such a good experience.Yay!

MY KINDERGARTNER, AND MY GRATITUDE

It was Carly's first day of school today and she did so great! So did I--no tears! Rob and I both took her and then they took the kids off to learn about the library and to play on the playground while they gave the parents an orientation. Carly just got up and marched out with the other kids. She didn't even give us a backwards glance. She is a really happy, independent little spirit so that is exactly what I expected. She didn't disappoint! Love that little girl!

I was going to put a couple of pictures from the morning on here but I can't get them off my camera for some reason so it will have to wait for a day or so. Darn. Oh well, instead, I will share a couple of thoughts with you I've been having today. I come from such a good family, such good parents and have so many wonderful blessings. I have a really amazing husband and my children are not only blessings but miracles to me.

I've just been thinking how important it is to recognize my blessings--to really conscientiously realize them and be grateful for them. In being grateful, I can see that many of my blessings come from being raised by such good parents who were so loving and so giving to others. Their example has been so powerful in my life and I want them to know how much of an influence they have had on me, my life and my choices. Thank you Dad and Mom. I would not be the person I am today without you. I love you both very much.

I've also had some very wonderful mentors and friends who have blessed my life and of course my sisters who have been my best friends my whole life. Not everyone is so blessed.

I've had a song in my head and on my heart. It's one we sing in church that I love. It's called Because I Have Been Given Much by Grace Noll Crowell. I love the words to it and I want to share them with you because that is where my heart has been.

Because I have been given much, I too must give.

Because of thy great bounty, Lord each day I live.

I shall divide my gifts from thee with every brother that I see,

who has the need of help from me.

Because I have been sheltered, fed by thy good care…

I cannot see another’s lack and I not share-

my glowing fire, my loaf of bread-

my roof’s safe shelter over head,

that he too may be comforted.

Because I have been blessed by thy great love dear Lord,

I’ll share thy love again according to thy word.

I shall give love to those in need.

I’ll show that love by word and deed,

thus shall my thanks be thanks indeed.

MY HAPPY FOUR YEAR OLD

It was a Happy Day for my Birthday Boy. Lots of friends, family and fun. We are all so tired and worn out now. A few pictures - then I'm off to sleep. Love you Bubby!

Jono and Grandma

Ironman Jono

My Happy Guy

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST LITTLE GUY EVER!

This little bugger turns four tomorrow. I can hardly believe it. Time has just flown by. He is such an amazing little guy. He is full of energy and life and brings such love into our lives. He definitely keeps us on our toes and hopefully that will help keep us young. Happy Birthday Jono!We love you!

Daddy and Jono - my birthday boys

Grandpa D. and Jono -they shared a birthday week also but we lost Grandpa when Jono was 6 months old. We are so glad he got to meet his Grandson and so grateful for this picture of him holding Jono and smiling.

Our little preemie and a regular size Hershey bar!

Such a cutie pie

My Lovable 3.5 year old

My big, handsome boy--growing up way too fast!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROB!

Today was Rob's birthday. We let him open his gifts early and then Mom, Dad, the kids and I took him to lunch. We went to a Mongolian Grill. It was yummy.

Jono had his first soccer game tonight. He did really well. He was much more engaged in the game than he was last year. He seemed to even understand the rules -- a little bit. Lol.

We came home afterward and had cake and ice cream and now I think we are showing our age--cuz it's not even 10:30 and we are yawning like serious senior citizens--(no offense to any actual senior citizens). I am just saying we are beyond exhausted--and headed to bed!

Happy Birthday my sweetheart! I love you!

FUN DAY AT LAGOON!

Spent the day at the amusement park with some good friends supposedly amusing ourselves but I'm pretty sure we were just there for the kids. The kids did have a lot of fun and they got along great. I think I may have outgrown the excitement of going around and around and around and around and . . .  well you get the idea. I think they make pills for that kind of excitement at this age, don't they--compazine, phenagren? Lol--anything to keep the nausea at bay! Ha! Seriously though, I have learned to just close my eyes and hold on until it's over. I do love to hear them laugh and giggle. They are so cute when they are enjoying themselves.

Here are a couple shots of the kids together. Thanks for a fun day Char, Nat and Josh!

Carly and Kenzie

Jono, JoJo and Carly

MILESTONE - MILEMARKER 5

I registered my youngest daughter for Kindergarten today. Wow. Milestone. My baby girl is really no baby anymore. She is so excited to go to school. I'm excited for her and yet wish I could keep her young all at the same moment.

I have so many hopes for her and a few fears, but she is a strong, happy and resilient little woman. No one is likely to hold her back for long. I love my precious Carly so much and I can't believe the day is almost here when I will walk her to the door of her kindergarten room. I can already imagine it in my mind. We will walk there hand in hand both of us a little nervous. As we arrive at the door, I lean down to give her a hug and a kiss and with tears in my eyes I tell her to have a good day and she lovingly says "Mom--it's time for you to go! You don't have to hang around and watch me. None of the other kids mom's are still here. From now on, can you hug me before we leave the house? K? 

OK, so that hasn't happened yet--but it could! Good golly--I gotta get a life. Jono is not far behind her and I think his spirit may be even more independent than hers! Talk about getting empty nested early! Lol! Okay--so I'm a drama queen. I guess my girl's get it honest! Hahaha!

MORE FROM THE FILES OF KIDS SAY THE DARNDEST THINGS . . .

Tonight my daughter Megan was talking with Jono while I was in the kitchen cooking. She came over giggling and said I might have a problem with him when it comes time for him to be baptized. I looked at her a little funny, I guess, so she explained. Once she finished explaining, we decided his teachers must have taught them about baptism in Sunday school today. His four year old attention span is not very long, though, and in the end, the only thing that stuck with him about baptism is the way the word "baptize" sounds. Apparently to my little guy, "baptize" sounds way too much like "badguys". Lol! We talk a lot about avoiding "badguys" at our house--so my little guy will not be having anything to do with that baptize stuff if it has anything to do with those bad guys! Just sayin'! I'm glad to know he's listening even if he's getting a little bit confused! Hahaha! I just love my little man!

WE CAN REBUILD HIM - BETTER, FASTER, STRONGER . . .

Yesterday we got a note from Sarah that her husband Rich had been in a car accident and had been taken by ambulance to the local E.R.  Some woman attempted a U-turn straight into him as he was driving 50 miles an hour down the freeway. Yah, go figure.Not sure how she didn't see him--but it was not a pretty outcome. He is way, way blessed it wasn't much worse than it is.

Thankfully, he is only bruised and sore and he does look much than his car. We are especially grateful for that as we know this could have ended up much, much worse. In other words, the car is a total loss, but the technology now exists to, well, as far as Rich goes--if necessary we can be rebuild him. Actually, he is doing really well now~just missing his "cougar'. You know "the car." Lol! That's what he called it anyway. But should he give us such  a scare again . . . I'm sure the little black box in the cougar has Rich's DNA profile and coordinates stored so we could either have him rebuilt ----- or if we wanted to have some fun with it I hear they are pretty good at cloning these days as well. :)

Rich's Cougar, dead in it's tracks

Of course, if they are so good at all these things, how come they can't prevent traffic accidents, forest fires, cities and states from declaring bankruptcy, airplanes from falling out of the sky, little old ladies from making U-turns into moving traffic . . . but I digress. Pleasant dreams sweet cougar. We shall miss thee. Thank you for leaving Richard behind to ride again. :D

WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR

We met our new neighbors today. They are really nice. Best of all the kids made fast friends. They played so well together and they didn't want to leave when it was time to go. They aren't totally moved in yet so they couldn't sleep in the new place tonight but probably will tomorrow night. Carly and Jono are so excited for new friends. They have been so lonesome since their friends moved. They are the perfect ages, too. The little girl is six and the little boy is 4.5.  Happy, Happy--oh so happy! It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood! Hi neighbor!

HEIDI HAY, HEIDI HO, HEIDI HIGH!

Rob and I took the kids shopping tonight. It was mainly school clothes shopping for Carly but Jono needed a few odds-n-ends. How bad is it that my five year old begged for a pair of black and pink high top tennis shoes? Not bad enough? Add this--they were high heeled tennies and she called them by name--Heidi High tops! I hadn't even heard of them!! I guess they are one of the new must haves -- BUT NOT FOR MY FIVE YEAR OLD! NO, I DON'T CARE IF THEY COME IN HER SIZE MA'AM!

Holy cow, are you kidding me? As Rob pointed out to me, she will already be the tallest child in the class. So, what are we going to do--buy high heels for her so she can tower over them?! That will go over well. I DON'T THINK SO! WOW! I know, I know--welcome to parenting--again! Don't worry--I'm putting on my big girl panties. I can see I'm going to need them-every darn day! Lol!

THE EAGLE HAS LANDED AND HE'S MADE US ALL SO PROUD

My wonderful, sweet nephew Ian, Sarah and Rich's son, earned his Eagle Scout Award and had his Court of Honor today.  

Ian receiving his Eagle Scout Award



Ian with His Scout Master

Rich, Ian, Sarah (Ian with his parents)

 

In the process of being awarded his Eagle he was given a special Mentor Pin to pin on the person who had most influenced and mentored him toward completing his Eagle Award.

 

He came forward to tell us about this person and I was waiting for him to talk about his Scoutmaster or his Mom (who had been a constant influence and blessing to him) or even his Dad--all would have been excellent choices. But he surprised us all--Ian came to the podium and started to talk about how grateful he was for his Grandpa Carson and what a difference he'd made in his life.

 

He spoke about how much all the talks his Grandpa has had with him have meant to him and how grateful he has been for the encouragement he has given him and especially for his Grandpa's belief in him that he could do anything. He said his Grandpa's encouragement was one of the biggest factors in him finishing his Eagle and then he went over and pinned the Mentor Pin on Grandpa. 

 



Grandma, Grandpa and Ian

I 'm
not sure who else
in the room was crying but I know there were some--cuz,
I heard
them.) I just know there wasn't a dry eye to be found among the whole Carson clan.

I'm so proud of this young man my sister and brother in law have raised. He is an honest, generous, caring, amazing, loving young man and I am so grateful to be his aunt.

I love you so much Ian and I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!

JUST REAL QUICK . . .

Mom had her check up today with the surgeon and got her biopsy report back and everything came back clean. It was all normal as soon as they removed the parts of the parathyroid they thought were causing problems and they let her know today that even those were not horribly bad.

She is noticing already that her headaches are getting better and she is remembering things better--all problems most likely caused by the high calcium content which was caused by the parathyroid. Anyway--great news!
Thanks for all your prayers!

SUMMER DAYS

Today was a bit busy. We hurried through the morning just doing our usual routine but we had an afternoon full of plans. The kids went back to neighborhood summer camp today. It is a really fun idea. I think there were probably a dozen kids there in the 3-5 age range. Today they made and iced sugar cookies, painted finger nails, played all kinds of outdoor games and drew pictures.

Our friend who is holding the camp is helping her daughter do it as a fundraiser. I think she needs the money for something at school. Anyway, they have done two different ages of kids, 3-5 and 6-8. They did each group for two days and did all kinds of activities with them - some indoor and some outdoor. For instance, yesterday the games they played were outdoor. They had them wear swimsuits and then played on the slip and slide. They also played Red Rover and some other yard games. Plus, both days they got refreshments.

And for two days this week all of us mom's got a 2 hour break! For those of you who didn't catch that--All of the mom's who let their kids participate got four free hours this week! F-O-U-R, 1, 2, 3, 4 hours of free all me by myself mommy time! Get it? Got it? Good! And all that for only $10 a kid. I can't get a babysitter that cheap! Good gravy!

My main point is the kids had a blast! My second point is it's a great idea for a fundraiser idea, too if you just need to make a little money for something--assuming you like kids and all.

While the kids were at the summer camp I ran over and helped one of our friends who is moving do a little packing for about an hour. They were pretty close to done with the packing when I arrived so we just finished up the odds and ends. I am going back in the morning to help clean.

Once we all got home again, Rob joined us and we headed off to Lagoon to meet some friends. We spent about four hours over there tonight. We rode the rides and took in one show. It was just nice to be there as a family and have friends there too.

Well, better go for now. Take care. N.

DADDY'S HOME

We spent the week in Elko while Rob was installing a new machine at a hospital last week only to have him have to go back yesterday to work on another machine. He ended up having to spend the night last night so we didn't get our daddy back home until this evening. The kids really missed him. They don't like it when he's away.

It's been a smidge cooler here than it was over the weekend. It was near 100 degrees when we got back but it is only in the mid to upper 90's now. It has been a really warm summer.

Yesterday, the kids went to a little daytime summer camp organized by one of our neighbors. She is just doing a two-day crafts and games camp with them and several other kids and they had a blast. They go again tomorrow afternoon for a couple of hours. After that I promised to meet a friend and her grand kids at the amusement park--so they are really getting spoiled tomorrow.

Grandma is still recovering pretty well. She is still pretty tired and she seems to tire out more easily than before but I think that is to be expected. Other than that I think she is doing great.

Well, that's all I know for now. Take care.

TODAY'S ADVENTURE

I got up early this morning and drove to Julie's so I could go with her to a doctor's appointment. She hurt her knee about three months ago and kept thinking it was just a strain that would get better but it hasn't. So today we had it looked at. The doctor thinks she has a meniscus tear so for now she wants to treat it with physical therapy. We are hopeful that will take care of it. Megan had a very similar injury a few years ago and PT did work for that--so cross your fingers and toes with us that this works!

Also, while I was down there today, I stopped to see my dear friend, Venice. She made blankets for both of my babies when we got them. Well, Jono loved his so much--he "literally" loved it to pieces and we had to take it away from him. He's been really sad about it but we didn't really have a lot of choice since he had pretty much taken his blanket and turned it back into a ball of yarn. :P  So, my sweet friend made him another ( smaller version) blanket out of the same yarn.

I came home with it today and he was so excited he almost couldn't contain himself! It was so darn cute. He's so thrilled to have his "comfort" back. I have to say I am too as he's started to have some nightmares the last couple of months. He doesn't have them every night but when he has them they are doozies. He had one last night and it was all I could do to calm him down. When I gave him his new blanket, I told him this blanket was special and would keep away his nightmares away. Hopefully, my attempt at playing a psychologist will pan out! If not, I am in trouble! :) Check out my happy boy!

Jono with his new blanky (Baby II)

Jono with baby take II

QUICK NOTE

Susan and Russ came up to see Mom and Dad today. Susan always does a San Francisco Herbs order for her neighborhood and lets us get in on it, too so she delivered our goodies today. We like to get cinnamon and other spices from there. If you've never ordered from them, look them up--it's a great place to get spices, herbs, essential oils and potpourri. Here's their website http://sfherb.com/ if you want to take a look around.

We spent the day trying to recover from our mini vacation (for Rob it was work), getting the luggage emptied, laundry done and things around the house finished we had let go. We didn't get real far--but we tried. I'm not sure why there is always so much left to do at the end of my energy. Sigh.
Well, I have a good starting place for next week with lots on my list.

Have a terrific Sunday!

OUR FUN WEEK!

Here are a few pictures from our trip. We had a great time but are so glad to be home.

My Cuddle Bugs



Howdy Pardners! Riding the Mechanical Horsey

Mom, we picked up a Cat at Mcdonald's. Hope you don't mind! Lol!

Somewhere I have some swimming pictures but they weren't on this camera. Must be the other one. I will put them on later. Hope you had a great week and hope your weekend it even better!

A FEW OF MY RECENT THOUGHTS

Is anyone besides me walking around just a tad bit paranoid these days? I mean, when you're writing an email to a friend do you have that tiny little thought in the very back of your mind that wonders if you're really writing it to a bit broader audience? How about when you're talking on the phone--do any of you remember the days when there were party lines? My grandma used to have one and sometimes when my sisters or cousins were visiting her, some of us would pick up the phone and listen to neighbors conversations. They suspected we were there. They'd even make accusations and tell us to hang up--but they couldn't prove anything. It's not like they could see us, you know.  Heh, heh, heh! But I digress.

I think we are starting to get just the tip of the iceberg of information about the information that's being gathered on us everyday of our lives and I think it's a bit scary. I'm starting to not recognize our leaders, our government and my own country. At least that's how it feels.

When 9/11 happened I was one of those that felt the Patriot Act was necessary and didn't mind giving up some of my freedoms to give us more safety and security. I had no idea those who warned of this type of thing to come could have been correct. I thought they were fear mongers. Trust me, I don't want another incident like that to occur anywhere--let alone in our country. I don't want another one like we had in Boston either--but I think we have to draw the line when our leaders are taking more and more of our liberties and Constitutionally guaranteed freedoms from us.

They say they are not "listening" to our calls or "reading" our emails. I don't buy it. We just found out a few days ago they have asked Internet providers to provide them with our passwords. Though at this point, the ones we know about have refused, why would they need our passwords if they weren't reading our emails--or if they didn't intend to as they saw fit?

I feel we need to stand up and take back our country and our rights -- NOW before it's too late. I guess I'm just tired of feeling like I'm being watched, listened too and followed. If I wanted that kind of company--I'd hire a personal body guard. You know--they say you're only paranoid if it isn't true . . .  and I really don't tend to be paranoid.