Something New. Something Blue.

Wanna see what's in my garage??

It's blue.

It's new.

At least it is to us...

It's our new 2005 Dodge Durango.

Look at that!

Leather seats even.

Isn't it pretty?!

We found out really fast that the DVD player doesn't work.

We brought the price down and wrangled up to $200 from them to fix or replace it.

Helps to wrangle.

It looks good in the garage.

Even better on the road!

I'll wave as I pass.

You may not see me though.

This thing packs some power.

Freeway driving is awesome!

My Joy.

The other day we were kneeling for morning prayer. Isaac was saying the prayer. He asked Heavenly Father, among many other things, to bless his mom at home to have a good day and to have Joy. I choked up. You know how I am about Joy. Find it every day. It's my word for 2010. Actually it's my theme for the rest of my life. Joy.

Last night Daniel and I were at the temple. I love being in the temple. So peaceful. The plan was to do the endowment for names my aunt brought back from the Azores Islands. Off the coast of Portugal. I'm mostly Portuguese. Cool. Anyhoo, I forgot the name slips. And we would not have gotten into a session if we'd gone home for them. So we went. As I listened I realized that the word Joy is said a whole lot. The whole purpose of His Plan is that we have Joy. That and return to Him.

I thoroughly enjoyed being there and having the Joy of being in the temple, the Joy of having a wonderful hubby, the Joy of having the three most bestest kids in the world.

Oh my heart.

Van Update.

The first thing Ruthie said to me this morning was, "School!" Love it!

So here's the situation with the van. I got pulled over for no back lights a couple weeks ago. I have to have proof of fixing it, sale or donation by September 13. We are looking at vehicles...

Daniel stopped to look at one after work yesterday. Needed a new windshield and back bumper. Backwards on the loan and needed way more than it was worth. No go.

So I called him with a wonderful vehicle just listed that morning. He called me back and said it was sold almost immediately. It was a beauty, too! Darn!

Then I called with another to stop to look at. Nice, but smelled of cigarettes and deodorizer. Another vehicle he saw in the lot that would be great was already sold. So I just sent him about 5 or 6 to look at today. We decided to go a little smaller than a 'burb and then go to that in a few years if needed.

As for the van, it's totaled. The electrical is shot. We would have to actually fix everything to re register next month. So we are gonna have the insurance total it and take it. We asked Daniel's dad if we could borrow his truck next week if we don't have a car yet.

So that's about it now. Anytime we gotta drive in the dark, we take Daniel's car. Which was fun coming home from Idaho in last Friday night. I tell ya! We will have to go on our date to the temple this Friday night in it, too. Fun.

Gotta go get ready to meet Kim for lunch! See ya...

The First Day.

They all just sat at the counter for breakfast. The boys wanted mac and cheese. Who am I to argue? While they sat there I thought, "Oh my! They are so grown up. I'm really gonna miss them!" Then we got started for school.

They got their backpacks on and stood in front of the crumpled back end. Aren't they cute?!

And I'm not washing my car for anything! I don't care that it's filthy. Inside and out. It will be gone soon enough. I need to use all my gas.
I dropped the boys each off at their grade kivas and then waited for Ruthie to go into her classroom. My baby is in first grade!
Then I got home.
I ate breakfast.
I cleaned up a little bit.
Yesterday we cleaned the house, so it wasn't much.
I checked email and such.
I decided to put some jars to work.
We use sticks with each of our names on them for prayers.
When your name is picked you pray.
Then you get to pick the stick the next time we pray.
The sticks have been in plastic cups for a while.
The cups aren't very sturdy.
So I hot glued some signs on the jars.
One for prayers.
One for Saturday jobs.
And one for summer boredom busters.
Which we used already.
Then I thought, "What the heck? Let's make a jar specifically for the sticks to go into as we use them?
And why not label the jar I have all my pens, pencils and scissors and such in?
And the mess at the bottom of the pen jar, you ask?
It's purple ink that leaked from a broken purple pen.
I didn't know it was broken and put the pen in my church bag Sunday.
When the kids pulled out a pencil, all the leads were covered with purple ink.
I still haven't looked into my new zebra print awesome church bag to check the damage.
The fabric inside is black.
I'm assuming it will blend.
Then I took a shower.
I ate lunch.
I made first day of school after school snack cookies.
I missed my kids.
I went to pick them up.
They had a tremendous day!
So we went to get Icees to go with our cookies.
The End.
At least for the first day back to school!

Cute Quips.

On our way home from our last day of summer lunch celebration, we talked about the cars we are looking at. We will be replacing the van asap. I'll explain later.

So we are talking about where everyone will sit and the subject of new baby comes up. Sam and Ruthie then go into this whole conversation...

Sam: "Mom, you could be pregnant and have a baby."

Me: "I would die. I can't be pregnant."

Ruthie: "It could be an accident. Oops."

Me: Laughing hysterically!

Sam: "Well what if you were pregnant and Heavenly Father made it so you didn't die."

Me: "That would be a miracle, wouldn't it? But I don't think I will be pregnant again. How about if our next baby comes to us through adoption?"

The Kids: "Okay. The baby can sit....." then a whole bunch of answers like "by me" "in the middle" "over here" Etc.

Then later in the day, I was showing pictures of the car Daniel will look at tomorrow and Isaac suggests this...

Isaac: "I know. We can pay $100 in tithing in one week and then you could have a baby and not die."

Me: a little choked up..."Well, that would show a lot of faith, wouldn't it?"

Me: I tell Daniel what Isaac just suggested...

Me: "We show our faith by paying our tithing all the time. What else could we do to show our faith?"

Daniel: "What if we fast and pray?"

Isaac: "Okay. But if we pay a lot of tithing, we might get our baby."

And that's what went on in our family today.

My faith just grew a hundred fold. I might be able to move a mountain soon.

Do You Smell That?

It smells like school.

And I have been dreading it.

I will be alone all day.

Boo hoo.

But last night my sweet kids and I went to Back To School night.

I started by seeing my good friend Holly as she was leaving.

Then I saw the class lists!

I was giddy!

I was thrilled!

We have 3 spectacular teachers!

Ruthie has Isaac's first grade teacher who jumped up and shouted YAY when we walked in.

Sam has Isaac's third grade teacher.

She gave me a hug and said she was so happy when she saw our last name on her list again.

Then we met Isaac's fifth grade teacher.

His are always the ones I'm slightly nervous about.

I don't know the teachers.

He's my first.

But she had a huge smile on her face and asked me all about Isaac and is excited to have him this year.

And she's quite shorter than I am.

My Isaac has a giant spirit, but his height hasn't quite matched it yet.

She kinda reminds me of his Primary teacher.

Then we came home and Dad gave everyone a Father's Blessing.

I cried.

I hugged them each.

Then he gave me a blessing.

I love that!

I am excited for my kids and their upcoming school year.

I am excited for what the Lord has in store for me this school year.

Tomorrow we begin!

Tomorrow begins a glorious year!

I may start off with a nap.

My Anxieties Are Cooler Than Yours.

I'm gonna share my latest anxieties with you. Or whatever it is. I dreamt 2 nights ago that I went out to get in my van and there was a car jammed into the front of it. My front tire was gone and the engine was in the driver's seat. I ran into the house and told Daniel. Then we had to track down who did it. But I kept thinking, “Let's just get another car.” But we found the guy who then started to fix it. He was actually fixing it. The problem is, he didn't fix the back of the van. Anxiety.

Last night I woke up to go, um, potty, and checked my blood and went to get something to eat. It was low. I love how my body wakes me when that happens. Although I am really tired right now. So I turned on the TV because chocolate cake seems to keep me awake.

I flipped through channels and guess what I learned?? Fox 13 news at 9 is on at 1:00 AM. So I caught the last bit of yesterday's news. For some reason, those Fox 13 people make more sense to me at 1 AM with chocolate cake in my system. Usually they remind me of high school.

Then when that was over. At 2:00 AM. I flipped around some more. I found Martha Stewart. Wow. I thought she was dead. Or something. Wait! She was in prison, right? She had some girl on who I didn't recognize. After all, it's now 2 AM and the chocolate cake is dissipating. But this gal had some funny stuff which I can't remember now. But one thing stuck.

TP. You know, toilet paper. Do you put the roll on with the TP coming over the top, or underneath? 80% of their audience does it on top. That means 20% put it underneath. Or don't use TP. They didn't qualify that. We use TP here at our house. But it made me think...how do I restock TP?

Here it is. Before I had children I put the TP over the top. I made sure of it every time. But there were only 2 of us, so I didn't have to replace very often. Then the children came. Who invited them?? Oh yeah, we did. And we love them!! But they do funny things with TP. Like unroll the whole roll. Into the toilet. Then flush it. Along with toys and stuff. Or they unroll it while walking through the house. Or wipe noses on the whole roll they just unrolled. And of course that's all before they actually start using TP for the purpose for which it was created.

Then comes potty training. Yeesh! And more creative things get done with TP. Like wiping without ripping it off the roll. Or peeing and then unrolling TP into the potty. And the pee seeps up the roll. Or or or...I could go on. But potty and stuff are, well, a necessary part of life. Everyone does it. But it's gross. So let's get back to the TP, shall we?

I put the TP underneath now. It helps with the ability to unroll easily. Otherwise we go through TP like wildfire in dry grass on a hot summer day. But we still go through it. They find ways. It's been used more creatively though. As wrapping for mummies. As blankets for baby dolls. As a table cloth. As head wrapping when injured. As a trail to find their way home. As a quick cleaner upper when something spills. Creative. I'm tellin' ya!

So my question for you is this. Do you put your TP on over the top? Or underneath? Do you use TP? And then answer me this. Do you crease the corners of the TP when you put it on the roll?

I need to go put my anxiety down for a nap now!

Thank you very much.

A Day In The Life:Wednesday.

It's Wednesday. Only one more week until school starts. Todays happenings included fighting off a headache. I canceled piano lessons and we actually ended up going to a movie. Cats and Dogs. The theater was cool. That helped. We ended our afternoon with pizza and bringing out the mattresses. Slumber party! I hope they fall asleep soon. I need to head to bed.

Tomorrow we go shoe shopping.

Not for me.

Darn.

Kids need school shoes.

Flip flops don't cut it.

Then maybe McFlurries again.

A Day In The Life:Tuesday.

Another day. But first, to finish off last night. You all remember what happened to me back in June, right? Rear ended! And still...we wait for the insurance to get it fixed. But we checked the rear lights right after to make sure they worked. They did. So we didn't think much more about it. So last night we left Katie and Sean's around 9 pm. At 10 pm we were so close to home. Then the lights! Oh the lights. Flashing. Bright. Getting every one's attention. I get pulled over by a really nice officer who tells me that all my back lights are OUT! Dark. Black. Nothin. I did have brake lights and turn signals, though. He followed me to make sure. So then I can't find my registration or the insurance card. Well, I find registration and insurance cards from 2002. But not the current ones. So the nice officer takes my license and tells me to wave out the window (please don't get out of your vehicle, ma'am) when I find them. Finally. Find them. Wave my hand. He comes and gets them. Then he gives me a fix it ticket. He said we could probably just call and say I had been rear ended and the outed lights were a result. But I can't do it till Monday. So I called Daniel and told him we need to just go get a new car on Friday when he gets home. Ha! We'll have to drive his car at night for a while. Or at least till the dumb insurance gets some moolah to us!

Aahh.. So here we are on Tuesday.

First item of business was to email Isaac's pictures of his creation to dad. Done.

It picks up little balls with the motor attached.

Then Ruthie took tons of pics of herself to send to dad. Here's one of 'em, dad!
We got a couple of DVDs from this place.

Went to Wolf Den meeting. 8 year old boys crack me up. One boy wanted bacon for snack.

We also got some treats while picking up our DVDs.

The children are now asleep and the house is quiet and I'm gonna hit the sack. We were up way too late last night. Then Sam and I were up to watch a PBS special about sealife and then watched the BYU dancers do their thang. From 2-4 AM. AM! I'm wiped!

Good night!

A Day In The Life:Monday.

This isn't your normal day in the life post. Ha! I haven't done one of these for ages! But Daniel is out of town for the week. So we are keeping him aprised of our daily happenings!!

Frozen waffles for breakfast. It's nice to have kids old enough to pop stuff in the toaster and eat it.

I promised the kids a McFlurry. yummy. Ruthie and I went to grab them. They made us all happy.
Our uncle Sean had surgery and we are gonna go visit them tonight. We're gonna order Papa John's pizza. This is the cake I'm taking for dessert. Mmmm. I know. And we're taking lots of root beer! We gotta go in just a few minutes so I gotta hurry!

Ruthie was caught reading this book. She said it was something about the physics of something or other. She makes me laugh.

Isaac used his Power Functions to build a device to pick up little balls. It moves really fast, there isn't a slow button on PF. Yep. It's almost 4 pm and he's still in his PJs. We know how to party on in our last week of summer!

Sam just would NOT sit for a picture. This is him running as it clicked! You can see the smile in his one eye!

Hon...the house still stinks. Though not as bad as yesterday. I got some more contacts. Yay! I can see. Cass is still alive. We're glad. I got a call for the attorney with your name. It was an older lady. I found him in the phone book and gave her his number. I haven't gotten one of those calls for a looong time. Still nothing from the insurance. Call us on my cell or we'll call you on our way home tonight!! Love you and miss you! Now we need to get going to Katie and Sean's.

Bragging or Complaining?

So many idiots and they're all driving. We got that on a license plate frame for my dad one year as a gift. He loved it. It's so something he would say. We scored!

Every once in a while my dad will say something and it sticks. At one point in his career he came home and shared some stupid stuff someone was saying. He then said something that has come to my mind on various occasions. “Are you Bragging or Complaining?”

Think about it. When you complain about something so long, so often, in all circles of life, the inevitable question is...Are you Bragging or Complaining?

It'll stop 'em in their tracks. It will make them think. Hmmm. Maybe I have been talking about it for too long. But. Most likely they won't notice. Except to think you're really rude. And that you're the problem.

I'll admit that I have talked about things for so long that I actually think it to myself! Can you believe it?! I mean, it must be really bad if I have to ask myself if I'm bragging or complaining. Sheesh. But it has happened.

My point is this. No, not the one on my head. The one in my head. Knock it off. If there is a problem, solve it. If you don't like something, change it. If you really think it's cool that you are going through something so horrible that everyone and their dog needs to know about it, get counseling.

I'm not talking to anyone in particular. Just talking. Maybe I'm complaining. Maybe I'm bragging. You may never know. I may never know. The freezer just stopped working again. I won't brag and I won't complain. I'll just say. Then I'll work to fix it. Or call Lance to come fix it.

Calm Vs. Spazzy.

So the goat is ours!
Our neighbors left for good yesterday.
But our Wednesday was more than just officially getting Cass.
She was distraught.
Very distraught.
After they came and got Cooper, Cass broke out of her collar and ran amuck.
Seriously.
She didn't eat our garden, though.
Luckily.
But the kids and I chased her all day.
By piano lessons I didn't smell very good.
But we went and chose a new collar for her.
And a better leash.
Oh, and a second collar.
Just in case.
I got a nice bruised scrape on my arm from her horn.
When Daniel got home we cornered her out in the east weed plantation.
We got her chained up.
Then moved the calf shed and got her over to it.
We got some hay from the neighbors yard.
This morning when my kids went out to check on her she jumped through the window of the calf shed.
Dumb goat.
And all of our Wednesday activities (much of which I left out) reminded me of something.
On Tuesday we had our Wolf Den Meeting at my new co den leader's house.
She is our Bishop's wife and is awesome.
Her kids are calm and good and stuff.
She has this dog.
She's cute.
And calm.
So I asked about her.
As she explained how they got her and what a calm and good dog she is I realized something.
Every one who comes into their family is calm and good and stuff.
And after Wednesday's escapades with Cass the Spass(z), I realized that everyone who comes to my family is a spaz!
And I'm so okay with that.
I love my spazzy kids.
The goat...
Well...I'm still working on that one.

Oh No He Di'in't!

A quick reminder. This is city Jennie speaking here.

This boy has loved having Cooper and Cassidy (the goats) at our house.

He has drawn plans for a goat house for Cassidy.

He goes out and sits close to the goats and talks to them and pets them and feeds them.

He loves those goats.

So I told Daniel that Cooper got out of the chain.

He just wanted to get to some other grass.

Cassidy was bleating like she lost her best friend.

Which she did. He just left her there.

All tied up with a chain.

So Daniel says, "Let's just give Cassidy back when we give Cooper back."

Say What?!

You mean you don't want a goat in the back yard?

What kind of talk is that?!

So when he got home I told him that his son's heart would break.

Seriously. Break.

He takes such good care of those goats.

He has trained Cass to trust him.

Well, as much a a dumb goat can trust a kid.

And she'll keep the weeds down.

So I talked Daniel into keeping the goat.

We may have to invest in a second goat to keep her from gettin' lonely.

But Isaac will be able to build a nice spacious town home for them.

He would be perfectly happy to.

All this crazy talk from City Jennie.

A Thought For Thursday.

This just seemed timely and appropriate to share today.

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"God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.

The family is ordained of God. Marriage between a man and woman is essential to His eternal plan.

We warn that the disintigration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets."

The Family

A Proclamation to the World

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Count Down.

It's Wednesday.

You know what that means??

It means 3 more weeks until school starts.

SCHOOL!

I can hardly believe our summer is about to end.

I was trying my best to ignore the fact that summer is running out.

But it's inevitable.

They will be back in school in 3 weeks.

For the second summer in a row I don't like it.

I know I will love it when it's done.

But right now I dread it.

My kids are hilarious and quirky.

They keep me entertained.

Thoroughly entertained.

I'm gonna be bored in 3 weeks.

And

In 4 weeks I'll wonder why I dreaded it so.

Oh yeah,

Homework!

A Shout Out.

One of the things I knew I'd miss most when I was released from Primary was the baptisms. I LOVE the baptisms. I love how excited the children are. I love how nervous many moms are about their baby taking such a big step. I love how the dads are just beaming to be able to baptize their kiddos. I love how clean and sparkly the children are when they come out in a new dress or new suit with wet hair and huge smiles. I love baptisms.

I realized that when I got released that I would no longer really know about the baptisms until the Sunday after when they were announced in Sacrament meeting. So now I just look over at the cleanest people in the building and just smile at how happy and sparkly they are.

Last Saturday 2 boys in our ward were baptized. I got invited by one of the boys. So this is a shout out to cute, wonderful, clean and sparkly Regan. Thank you for letting me come and watch you follow Jesus' example. You are a wonderful example to me!

I love baptisms!