Gone Are Our Lazy Summer Days....

Yep, it's that time of year... I send the kids off to school, wave "Bye Bye" and go home to a much quieter and not so messy house! Don't get me wrong, I love my kids! And I love having a break from school, homework, and everything else that goes along with it. And I really love the freedom of summertime and doing all of the fun things that we do together.
But I LOVE LOVE LOVE the first day of school!

Our first stop... dropping Jon off at his NEW school! He's a big Middle School kid now! I can't believe my baby boy is old enough for the whole middle school experience. He was totally surprised when I told him that they don't have "recess" as he remembers. They now have a "break" in the middle of morning classes and after lunch. He's not too happy about it... he's still a little kid at heart! He also didn't like that I kept telling him to turn around and wave at the camera. What can I say... I just wanted to capture the moment like every nerdy mom there!

What sweet faces!!! It's pictures like this that make me miss them when they are gone all day! James started Kindergarten (is he really old enough?!) and Josh is now a big 3rd grader. Jill had to be in the picture because, let's face it, she's so darn cute! James is having a bit of an adjustment to ALL DAY Kindergarten. He asks every day this week if 1.) does he have school today and 2.) is it a long day? And then he asks me what I am doing today. I've learned to not tell him exactly what I am doing. He feels left out. :(

First in line on the first day of school. Feelin' pretty special!


It is such a weird feeling having only 1 child at home all day now! I ALMOST don't know what to do with myself... but then I look around my house and I get over that feeling really fast. Jill and I are loving our Mommy/Daughter time together. I'm going to treasure it while it lasts!

New Blog to Check Out

This is a really cute blog I came across on Yahoo today. New Dress A Day is the inspiration of an out of work, get to work gal who didn't want to wallow self pity. She was inspired by the movie Julie and Julia and started her own blog about creating a new fashion from something she finds at a thrift store. The catch is ... she can only spend $1 fixing it and she is making something new from something old EVERY day for 365 days! She's incredible! Way to go Marisa! I'll be following her :)

Summer Tidbits

Just a few (ok, a LOT!) of pics to show what we've been up to all summer...

PLAYING IN THE BACKYARD

This is where Jonathan stepped on the slide and busted a big hole in it. But now we have the right glue to repair it. Hope it works!

BILL AND BINKI'S CAR SHOW.... always fun! The shirts are my favorite!

ARROW OF LIGHT AWARD FOR JON.... right before his 11th birthday! Way to go son!

BOBCAT AWARD FOR JOSH .... and now he has a few beads too! Almost a Wolf!

COUPLE OF TEMPER TANTRUMS....

A FEW VISITS TO THE GAP WATER PARK...


COW APPRECIATION DAY AT CHICK FIL A.... great way to get a free lunch for the whole crew!
MORE ADORABLE KID PHOTOS...


SEA WORLD IN SAN DIEGO.... We visited my sister Maree and her family and had a great week there!



WENT TO THE BEACH A FEW TIMES ... We got to see a lot of Earl's family while we were there too! A mini family reunion!

James took a spill on the boogie board... too bad because he was doing so good! Josh and Jon could have stayed out there all day. They loved it!

SCIENCE MUSEUM AT BALBOA PARK ...




MORMON BATTALION EXHIBIT IN OLD TOWN SAN DIEGO ....
YUBA CITY STAKE PIONEER TREK ... Earl and I were a "Ma and Pa" for a youth family and we had a great experience (although I am not a camper and didn't really enjoy no showers and only port a potties for 3 days!). Our testimonies were strengthened and we have so much more respect and love for our pioneer heritage. Thanks Mom and Dad for taking care of the kids!

Summer isn't over, but we only have a few days before school starts! I don't know how much we can pack into our week, but we are sure going to try to enjoy every last moment. It's been a fun summer and it's gone by too fast :(

Back in May.... I Was the Biggest WINNER!

So wayyyyy back in May I saw a sweepstakes on Facebook sponsored by The Milk Mustache Campaign that you could enter if you write a little paragraph about how you use milk to boost your family's daily nutrition. Being that my family drinks tons of milk (NOT!) I jotted down a few sentences. It went something like this...

Our family uses milk in our hot and cold cereals for breakfast. We add milk to our mac n cheese and creamy pastas at lunch. We encourage having a cup of milk with our dinner or we add a little chocolate syrup to it for a treat for dessert.

You didn't know I was such an accomplished writer.

The prize for this award winning essay.....
A TRIP TO LA TO THE BIGGEST LOSER SEASON FINALE!!!!

I am a self-proclaimed Biggest Loser junkie.

So is my husband.... it's our "thing". We love love love to watch this show together. 2 hours a week of good, quality TV time together. Yes, I said QUALITY!

So I zip off this essay, and then the next week I have one day ... ONE DAY ... that I say to myself, "Self, I am not getting on the computer at all today. Not even to check my email."

Yes, this was the day that I got an important email telling me I WON!

(stupid self learned a lesson that day... check your email.... no matter what!)

So the next day when I allowed myself to check my email (as I was eating a double cheeseburger at McDonald's.... a fine eating establishment for "Biggest Loser" fans) I see this email saying that some lady is trying to get in touch with me because I won tickets to the show.... my phone battery is dying.... I call her..... I'm in shock!

Sweet!!! The next week, and with a heart-felt thanks to my dad, Sarah P., Meggan K., and Melissa B. for helping me with my kids, my husband, Rebecca (my bosom budy and fellow BL fan) and I hopped on a plane and took off for LA on an all expense paid trip. Ya, I know, I get a tax bill at the end of the year. Big deal! I'll take it!!! It was one of the highlights of the year for me!!!

They had us stay at the Sheraton Universal Studios in Studio City. Little did they know when they made the reservations, ALL of the contestants and their families from BL were staying at THE SAME HOTEL! Well, all except the top 4 contestants. That's ok... we still met them all!

In the lobby of the hotel we bumped into Danny, season 8 winner.

O'Neal with Rebecca. I kissed his cheek.... I ♥ him!

Shay got another sweet deal with Subway!

Sunshine with Toa, Koli's sister. Toa is sending me "I ♥ Koli Bear" t-shirts. I love her. She is my new best friend. Thanks Toa!!!!

Sunshine! She definitely had the right team color.

Darrell... in the lobby again...

Ali, the host of the show. I hate this picture. I should crop myself and my double chin out.

Rebecca with season 1 winner Eric. And he wasn't the only one with massive armpit problems. Let's just say it was SUPER hot at the taping and at this exclusive after-party that we "wormed" our way into.... no, we weren't on the guest list, but they added us. Thanks again to the Milk Mustache Campaign and the fact that I could just "drop" that info at the door. Nice....

Holy Moly You Rock Koli! My favorite!
He should have won the 250k, but ONLY got the 100k.
Hey Toa, there is a pretty cute girl in my ward that I should set him up with. She's adorable. You want her info? Is he interested?

Ashley, the ALMOST winner....
She looked FAB!

Miggy. She had so much spunk and I loved her! I was sad to see her go. We had a great time visiting with her and learning about the cookbook she is putting together now! Way to go!

I loved these ladies!!! Cheryl and Sherry! Don't they look so beautiful!

This guy looks SOOOOOOOOO different now!!!! I love his dimples!!!
Daris is my running inspiration now. I run about 4 miles at a time now and I'm hoping to run a half marathon this year. He told me that even at his heaviest, he could run a mile in about 9 minutes (I'm pretty sure that's what he said... that's incredible!)

Sam. Sam. I love your biceps Sam. He should have won too. (Sigh....)

Oh, Ya, Baby! Too hot ladies!

After ooogling and harassing the contestants to DEATH we finally pooped out in the lobby. It was such an amazing experience! We had a blast!
P.S. Enter online contests! Only about 2000 people entered the contest that I entered.... my odds were pretty good.
I'm a believer!
And don't call me on Tuesday nights in the Fall! I'll be watching The Biggest Loser and running on my treadmill when the weather turns colder. Ok?!