The Fourth

So, we had a great weekend!! I love feeling patriotic and celebrating our freedom. Doesn't watermelon always taste just a little sweeter in July? Friday morning Dan's brother's in-laws were kind enough to invite us to their house for breakfast and swimming again. It has become a tradition and we love it!! That afternoon Dan watched baseball, the kids played, and I got the food ready for the BBQ at my brother's house. We went to Ammon's house later in the evening and took a tour of his new house. They have really done a lot in one week, and it looks great. The food was delicious. We shared our $11.00 of fireworks (mostly sparklers and flowers). The best part of the fireworks was watching Seth's and Jackson's expression every time a flower would take off. They loved it.

We left before it got too dark. Jackson, Maddie, and Zachary watched the neighbors' fireworks from across the street. Jack got a little frightened from all the loud noises and stayed in the garage for 30 minutes and then asked to go to bed. Mad's and Zach stayed up until 11:00 watching the illegal fireworks from all over the neighborhood. We could also see the Meridian Speedway's firework show perfectly from our house. The kids were mesmerized.

The next morning we drove to the Boise Foothills and took the kids on a hike through Camel's Back Mountain. It was perfect! The weather was gorgeous, and the view of the city was breathtaking!

After the hike we let the kids play at Camel Back park for a few minutes, then went to McDonald's for a quick lunch. We must have worked the kids hard because I've never seen them eat so much so fast. They were very hungry. Then we went to the Ada County Court house to clean Dan's new office, set it up, and decide where to hang pictures, clocks etc... He is going to have a nice and classy office.

We got home and worked hard the rest of the afternoon. Dan worked outside, I worked inside, and the kids played.

Read the blog below this one to hear of my adventure with the Ada County police.

Maddie gave a great talk today. She read it all by herself and did a beautiful job. Tonight we fed the missionaries. They were so excited to see that we were having Mexican. Apparently they get a lot of potatoes and meat. They told us that their favorite meal, however, is breakfast for dinner. I will have to remember that for next time. They were very nice, and ate a ton for little skinny guys!

Overall, we had a great holiday weekend!

Pulled Over

I was pulled over yesterday!! I am having the missionaries over for dinner today, so last night after we put the kids to bed I decided to go the the grocery store to pick up a few last minute items. On my way to Winco, I looked over to my right and saw a police car with his lights on ticketing someone. I checked my speed and was proud to say I was going ten under so I thought I had nothing to worry about. Twenty seconds later I look behind me to see the officer right behind me with his lights on. Not knowing it was for me, I politely pulled over to let him get by, only to realize he was pulling me over. I was completely confused. I was in Dan's car, so had no idea where things were, so I started going though the glove box. When the officer came up to the car I said, "Officer, without you getting mad at my stupidity, what did I do??" He did not look pleased and told me that it was common courtesy, but also the law, that when an officer has pulled someone over the other drivers on the road are to switch over to the next lane and slow down. I had done none of those things. I was guilty, simply because I did not know that law and apologized profusely. He also told me that my tail light was out, and my brights were flickering when I drove. The worst of it all, the officer had to show me what my registration looked like by going through Dan's pile of junk in the glove box. I was also apparently sitting on the new insurance card (which I later found) and had to give the officer the one that was three days expired. What Luck!!!! Surprisingly I was not crying, and I was quite candid with the police officer. I'm not sure that he liked that very much, but I was just given a warning, and some "educating on the law." Dan claims it was my good looks that got me off, but I'm not so sure I have any. I am sure the police officer drove away thinking I was one more ditsy freak with a driver's license, but Dan's been living with this ditsy freak for over ten years now.

The Great Office Switch

Tomorrow is Dan's last day at the Juvenile office. He is so excited to be moving on and doing different things. Dan has been there over five years; Zach was just a baby when he got the promotion. We are so excited for the change, but I know Dan is a little sad to see the end of a chapter in his life. Dan, thanks for sacrificing so much for our family. We love you. I thought a clip from "The Office" was perfect for today. You may want to pause my music to hear it a little better.

(I should probably clarify that he is still staying with Ada County, he is just moving up to do adult crimes, he stepped down from his position at the Juvenile office to move on to a trial team in the near future. . .so watch out baby murderers, drug dealers, and all other miserable low lifers of Ada County because Dan is unstoppable!)

A Good Mom Day

I think it's a bad sign if you can tell what time it is by what is on Nick Jr. or PBS kids. For instance, yesterday I heard the theme song to Caillou and thought, "Oh wow, it's lunch time already, what should I feed Jack-Jack?" It was that moment that I decided to change my lazy ways and get the kids more active. Maddie and Zach both have summer camp three days a week, but on the days they are home I have decided to minimize the T.V. and maximize their creativity and imaginations. I wont lie by saying that they will only watch 30 minutes of T.V. a day, I will be realistic, but I have decided to get a little creative this summer. Some days we will just have a lazy movie day, because every mom needs to get a little house work done, but I don't want to go to bed every night constantly feeling guilty about the constant lack of time I have spent with my children.

Today for instance:
8:00 a.m. ate breakfast and got the kids dressed
9:00 a.m. Kids played in the sandbox for over an hour (yesterday I cleaned out all the junk and filled it with brand new sand.
10:00 a.m. The kids played in the kiddie pool
11:00 a.m. We made superhero masks and played superhero fights the super-villian. Jackson always wanted to be the super-villain
12:30 p.m. Lunch
1:30 p.m. Toy Trains, while I bloged and checked my e-mail
2:30 p.m. Stamped and made cards for various members of the family

I figure by 4:30 p.m. we will start cleaning up and do the final prep for dinner and my day is done!

So far we have had a lot of fun, but who knows how long it will last. Notice that there has been no T.V.!! They still haven't taken off their masks! I am sure by August I will be mothered out and thinking school can't start fast enough, but for now we are loving summer!

A Hot Day For Baseball

Today was 100 degrees, but it didn't stop Zach from having a fun filled day of baseball. Dan and Zach spent over 5 hours out in the sun today. I lathered Zach up in sun screen, but Dan currently has a face as red as a ripe tomato! Team pictures, followed by a 12:30 game, and a team party complete with swimming directly after the game, made for a very busy day!
This is Zach's team, the KC Royals (Jackson thought he should be included in this team photo). As you can see, Zach took off his uniform and put on his swimming suit before the party even started! Zach was amazed that his trophy looked a lot like him. He has seen Maddie get a lot of cheer trophies and medals so he was so excited that he finally had a trophy of his own. He is proudly displaying it in his room now.
Maddie and Jack were good sports for such a hot day, but they enjoyed a dip in the pool at the party. Jack wanted this picture added because he got a new dinosaur shirt that he is very proud of.

Oh My! Meet Jackey???

What is wrong with this picture below?Someone new to this site might think this is an audition picture for the next group to sing "YMCA." If I got Dan in there posing as the sexy construction worker, they might actually have a chance. But no, actually it is the little two year old on the left who has decided to dress up as a princess today. I promise I tried very hard to get him to wear the Tigger costume, the Batman costume, and even the Peter Pan costume, but my persistence only annoyed him. With tears streaming down his rosy cheeks he cried, "I wanna be Snow White right now!" So.....what's a poor mother supposed to do?
I just hope this is just a phase. . .don't you??

Tim Russert Dies at 58

Many of you know that Dan and I don't share the same political views, but we can always agree on one thing... Meet the Press is one of the greatest political news shows around; Dan DVR's it to watch Sunday evenings. We were both very sad to hear of Tim Russerts sudden passing today. For more information link here. In my opinion he was one of the best moderators around. Who will ever forget his wipe board he brought to every presidential election he moderated. Mr. Russert, you will be missed.