NERVES!

I feel like I am starting the first grade with C. On her first day of first grade she said
C-Mom, I really liked kindergarten
M-I know you did
C-First grade is prob. going to be too hard
M-But you are so smart once you get going you will remember everything and it will be easy like kindergarten
C-they don't have centers
M-They'll have new things you'll love
C-MOM you aren't helping-Don't try to make it better. I am just nervous!!!


Today is my first day of SCHOOL! So different than working 30 hours a week in photography where I am in my own zone-I am a bundle of nerves. I was actually fine until I started reading the syllabus for a couple of the classes. My nerves hit the top when I read that I actually needed to do oral class presentations. HMMM....as much as I love to talk you would think that wouldn't be hard for me. But for some reason when I present myself in front of a large group it all changes for me. I become a nervous wreck (thanks to Nana for handing down her best quality) My voice changes-my hands shake-I sweat-I can't remember anything about anything-SO if I can get over the fact that I have to present myself in front of others maybe I can figure out where my classes are held!!!

It's been 12 years with the exception of 1 class in 1999. I took some online photography classes but really 12 years since I went to school. I had just delivered Andrew and thought I was up for some more classes. I cried and was so miserable when I left he and Blake that fall. So, I dropped all my classes and went back home. Although I was really not that far to finish I couldn't keep my mind straight and I worried about them the whole time. So here I am now age 34 praying that my brain cells will come back!! Thank goodness for spell check! Too bad they won't have centers!

chicken in crock pot tonight. This is so easy-if you don't already do this I wanted to share

Whole chicken thawed

a couple of slices of onions

a couple of peeled cloves of garlic (crushed or whole)

Put chicken in crock pot and add slices of onion and garlic into the cavity of the chicken. Cook 8 hours. YUMMY

Mulipication facts cupcakes. No one can eat a cup cake until the person trying to learn their math facts gives the answer! These are for LB. She forgot her math facts over the summer so we are trying to remember. I loved this idea. Wish I had thought of it but I got it from Family Fun!

Warming up

This is my Caroline cold-tired-wet from the pool-trying to warm herself on the driveway in the sun. Could you imagine falling to sleep this way? Crazy girl!

Hanging out and playing games

Last Friday, the boys decided to have their Hale cousins over and a few friends. It turned into around 20 friends. After everyone started arriving I started to worry if we had left people out-since it was so last minute it just kind of happened! The kids had so much fun! We ended up playing some fun games and having a blast. We separated into two teams. We had a watermelon race. Where a swimmer swims the watermelon to a runner-then the runner brings the watermelon back around to the swimmer. This goes on until every member of the team has ran the watermelon! We had a ice melting contest. Our hands were numb. And a eat the donut off the string! We had a couple more games planned but they ended up playing their music and standing around! We ended with a movie (RM) on the garage door and Hamburgers and hot dogs go a long long way. Last night they went camping-but they are already planning another fun night before the warm weather ends!

Land PLEASE PLEASE-not a chance!

Orange flags are the bad ones. We were looking for red! The wrong kind of soil all around us!

Good bye my beautiful almost land!

Well for those of you who know us we have wanted to move out of the subdivision lifestyle for a long time. We "almost" have gotten so many pieces of property but something always happens. We were so so close this time. About a month ago we found the most beautiful piece of land, fairly priced eight acres. We met with a builder. Put an offer on the land-started packing up out house. In fact I was thinking I must really be crazy to go back to school at the same time I was selling a house and building a house. The customer accepted our offer so the chase was on. Our closing date was set- earnest money paid. We were ready to go forward. All the land around this certain piece of property perked. It had once been a cotton field and the owner was 85 years old single and just not needing a cotton field any more. So this past Wednesday was the big day to perk the property. Steve and I met the soil group at the perfect piece of land. We walked the land everywhere-they dug and dug. NO PERK..NONE..NADA...NO perk means NO HOUSE. Oh well on to something new! Maybe next time!

Back to School!

4th grader 1st grader
8th grader
7th grader

It can't be time already!

Summer has gone by so quickly. My kiddos are starting back to school today. Last night at the parent meeting I could feel the sadness kick in. It is overwhelming for me the first couple of days of school. I love summer and the freedom of no homework, less of a schedule, eat when we are hungry, read when we want not because we have too and lots of extra time with my babes. I could feel the agony starting when I was listening to the teachers talking about the fun and exciting things my children were about to do! I wanted to scream NO I'm not ready yet...I need another month!

Our cat (Papa) with 9 lives!!!

skipping rocks with the girls!

Cracking mom up as usual
40 year anniversary!!!

Papa was taken again by ambulance to St. Thomas Tuesday in the middle of the night. He will be having surgery this afternoon if his blood is thick enough!!

He is such a trooper - in and out of the hospital about every other month and just hangs on with such good spirits. He is always joking and has the most uplifting spirit about him! We are so blessed for his will to fight. My brother and I and our children are blessed with this incredible man in our lives. Serious one minute and crazy the next! Just Sunday during a ward conference I looked over at him-he had plastered a silver gum wrapper across the front of his teeth. He was smiling at my girls with silver teeth! They thought he was so funny! And yesterday at the hospital he felt really bad but still wanting to kiss on mom!!!

I have been given what some call a tender mercy this week. I only had a couple of picture appts. scheduled for this week which is very unusual for summer so when all this came about I have been able to spend extra time with both mom and dad that I would have had to do a lot of work to change my schedule. And he would have been worrying if I had changed my schedule for him!!!

Last night he was fortunate enough to have two stake presidents-Meredith and Tipps visiting him at the same time. He was given a beautiful blessing-that was prob. more comforting to me!

We love our sweet-crazy Papa!

Emma-My Story

Steve and I got to go to the movies to see the Emma movie this weekend with our friends. Then when we got to the movies mckenzie and her family was there too.

I loved getting to see it on the big screen and eating way too much popcorn! It is amazing what all that one lady endured. She gives me strength. What an incredible strong woman of faith.

Matching Sister!

Hugs today fights tomorrow. I tell them every day they are so lucky to have a sister!

They are at a sleepover tonight torturing their Uncle A! I miss my little stinkers!!!

It's official

After much prayer and pondering and talking and prayer and pondering and talking-----I am an official college student again!!! I can't believe I said it but I figured--- it was out...between my mom and my husband, they are telling everyone. I was going to wait and just see if there were really any brain cells left in my brain before I spilled the news but it's out!!!
This has by far been one of the hardest decisions I have had to make in a long time but we have been feeling like I needed to do this for a very very long time! I just really didn't want to and have been fighting the prompting for a very long time. So I will be wife, mommy, photographer business owner, church calling person, cheerleader for football and cross country, wrestling, boy scouts, and dance, and now a 34 year old Early childhood major Jr. in college student!
I had come to the conclusion that I would just talk to them and see what they say. When I found out I had 75 credit hours (only needing 120) How could I not go back? THEN I found out not all those will work any more but lots of them will-so what the heck-5 classes-16 hours...I hope my brain will still work! So if you see me and I forget to talk please be patience with me I am trying to add or remember when a sentence ends and begins!!!

We are alive!

We have had a fun, crazy busy last couple of weeks! The boys had scout camp-girls and I went to visit Granny and Nana and Papa. Followed by a week in Nauvoo Ill. at church sites then to see the arch in St. Louis.and now we are at Steve's work trip. It has been incredible. I didn't know how much I needed this. I even left my camera, computer, and cell phone at home for some of our trips! Can you believe it? We took a little camera so we would have memories though. But this week I do have my computer so I am hoping to catch up on some blog pictures. It just takes so long to upload! If you need me for just fun email-I'm still not getting good signal w/my phone-it's come and go but if you need me for work I 'll be back next week ready to work! Pictures to come! I am sorting through way too many trying to decide my favorites to post.

splash pad fun!

Thursday morning my little preschool class that I taught two years ago had a little get together and invited my clan. We went to a local splash pad...It was free which made it even more fun. We all had fun even the big kids. We took out little friend Logan. We begged and begged for Mckenzie to let us take him.Finally Andrew talked her into it. Too bad she just won't let us keep him.

Looks like Caroline has more on her mind than shooting the water gun! (maybe a potty break!)

Time flies when you are having fun!!!

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last blogged. It has been crazy busy the last couple of weeks. There are a few things I wanted to blog about so in no particular order. The last week of school we had Blake going to Holiday world, Andrew in cedars of Leb. for an overnight end of the year 6th grade party, Leah Beth's hawaiian 3rd grade bash and Caroline's swim and kindergarten graduation.

Wesley's 5th birthday party

Leah Beth and her friend Hannah

Blake and Andrew invited around 20 youth from church over to have a swim and movie night.

Watching the Best 2 years

Leah Beth and Caroline had their dance recitals. Leah Beth had 3 performances and Caroline had one. Plus all the dress rehearsals for the week made it a crazy week. Leah Beth's eye got scratched right before she went on stage for the first performance on Friday night. She was in a lot of pain. Thank goodness Sat. morning before Caroline's show she got some numbing drops and she performed perfect.

Steve's nephew Bryan got married in GA. The most exciting new of it all was Papa's had surgery the same week of all the other craziness. He did really well. I think he came home a little early and had a hard recovery but seems to be slowly getting his strength back. We are so glad. We love our Papa. He did look pretty skinny Sunday though. And last this girl hit her first home run on Saturday afternoon game. Yes in the 100 degree weather she played an awesome game. We were so excited. She has come so far from hitting the ball and running straight to 3rd base to now hitting home runs. I thought Blake and Andrew were going to run out on the field and carry her off. It was a great occasion for our family!!!

Although we have been busy the last couple of weeks we have been so blessed lately. Papa having a great surgery was the biggest blessing of all. How did we get so lucky to have such a good Daddy and Papa. As he suffers each trial with his sickness I get so worried every single time but I am so grateful that Heavenly Father knows we need him still. I tease that he's like a cat with nine lives and I am thankful for each day I still have him!