Saturday, July 19, 2008

Rollin' on the.......you guessed it



We're planning a playgroup trip to Mud Island next week, so I thought I'd post a few more pictures to get everyone revved up....

According to the website,

"The Mud Island River Walk is one of the most unique representations of the Mississippi River in the world. It is a 5-block long replica of the lower Mississippi river, from Cairo, IL, to New Orleans, LA. Each 30" stride is equivalent to one mile on the actual river. Along your journey, you'll revisit historical events and learn about geographical transformations. The "1,000" mile journey concludes at the Gulf of Mexico, a one acre enclosure that holds 1.3 million gallons of water. "

I'm not quite sure this hill was meant for hiking....



Don't forget your boats, rubber ducks, etc...


As you can see, the kids love it. Callie asks almost daily to go to "the island". I will send out details in an e-mail, as I don't wish to invite any strangers who may come across this blog. Hope everyone can make it!

Friday, July 18, 2008

Tagged

I have been tagged by Jewly. Here goes.

How To Play This Game of Tag:

Post these rules on your blog.

List: 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself.

Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

3 Joys:

1. My husband. We celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary in March, which makes me feel really old. Anyway, everything good that has happened in my life since then is a result of the decision that I made as a stupid headstrong teenager. Dave is working so hard right now at FedEx, shooting weddings on Saturdays, graduate school, and finding time for our family in between. Love ya, babe.

2. My kids. They are also my greatest challenge. They teach me something every day. They make me laugh, cry, and occasionally want to pull my hair out. I can't imagine life without them.

3. The Gospel of Jesus Christ. It brings me peace that I can find nowhere else. One of my favorite scriptures:

"I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God. Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things." Alma 26:11-12

3 Fears:

1. I think I have already posted that I am terrified of sharks. Even in the swimming pool. Yes, I know it's illogical.

2. Speaking in Public. Teaching a lesson in Relief Society causes near panic attacks.

3. Scary movies. No thanks.

3 Goals


1. Keeping my priorities in check. Spending time on the things that matter most. Elder Scott: "Are we filling our life so full of "good" things, that there is no time for the essential ones?"

2. Someday I would like to go back to school.

3. Exercise and eat better. I joined "Curves" and try to get there when I can. I am hoping to have more time for it when school starts again.


3 Current Obsessions/Collections

1. I currently obsess over keeping the house clean. (Ha, ha, that was a good one.)

2. The Twilight Series! I too was one of the cynics. A friend recommended I choose it for Book Club. I was like, "A teenage vampire book?? Really?" I chose not to. A few weeks later another friend loaned me the first book in the series. Five days later, I was finished with all three (around 1200 pages) and had preordered the fourth. I am thinking about dressing up and going to the midnight release party. I am counting down till the movie release in December. I heart Edward.

3. I am in the process of "collecting" all of the Enchanted Nursery Disney Princesses for Callie's birthday next month. I racked up at Target today.

3 Random/Surprising Facts

1. I have had 10 sinus surgeries. The last one was about 18 months ago. I once had a doctor look in my nose and tell me it looked like someone had run a lawnmower up there. Don't be J.

2. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a writer when I grew up.

3. I will not eat seafood. I detest it, including the smell. It used to be that Dave couldn't order it in a restaurant and expect to sit at my table. I have learned to deal with it. I just breathe through my mouth for the remainder of the meal.

Five People that are "Tagged"

1. Val

2. Leash

3. Deborah

4. Nicole

5. Jamie

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Where is summer going???!!!

It seems like I haven't had much time to post since school let out in May. Things have been busy, busy. I also have been slacking on my picture taking, which is the driving force behind the posts. So, anyway, here's what we've been up to (without photos):

Chandler and Callie spent a week at Camp Ma and Pa. They have a great time with their McMinnville grandparents and Aunt Veronica. Catherine spent the time off running her office, as the boss was out of town. The kids started a summer camp at their preschool the first week of July. It was Callie's first experience at the "big girl" preschool and Mom was nervous. She walked right in and didn't cry. Mom tried not to. Chandler on the other hand, wondered what he was doing back at the preschool that he graduated from in May. I informed him that this was "camp", not "school". They have been having tons of fun and bring home all kinds of projects and artwork. They also started swimming lessons last week with the best teacher ever, Grandma. Chandler is a fish and recently learned how to get rings off the bottom of the deep end. Callie is doing what is asked of her, just not quietly. She is known to sit on the step and sob until it is her turn again. She is doing great, learning how to "reach and pull" and go off the diving board. Grandma will having her swimming before summer is over, whether or not the screaming will cease is another question.

Dave had another birthday last Saturday. We had a fun family day with lunch at Outback, swimming, and then to the Redbirds game. Dave is still doing really well in school. He finished his first summer term with a 100% in his class. We are so proud of him! I am keeping busy being the wife, mother, maid, cook, taxi driver, paralegal, etc. I am a little nervous about my new role of being the mother of a Kindergartner in a few weeks. It seems like Chandler was just born!

So that's the latest with us. I promise to post some new pictures soon!

June Visitors




We had some of our favorite people come to visit in June. Ma and Pa (Dave's parents) were able to come for Father's Day. Erin (Chad's wife) and their daughter Brianna came from California for a week also. Ma and Pa built some new cabinets for our kitchen to replace some we had to rip out to get the refridgerator in. (Ah, condo living). Pa and Dave spent Saturday installing the cabinets, while Ma and I took the kids to Mud Island River Park. Erin and Bri and the Georges came too. We had a blast.

Morgan, Callie, and Bri loving the water

Chandler, Ethan, and the waterfall


After church on Sunday, Erin took some nice photos. Here's the Sparkman family:


Here's the proud Grandma, with all four of her granddaughters in matching dresses.

We had a great time! Come back soon!