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Yesterday we visited Uncle Lee Joe on the job site.  We brought him Arby’s and he took turns letting each kid take a ride on the HUMUNGO Scraper.  He is hauling dirtto make a burm for a golf course  to block off the view of the freeway.

It was bouncy fun.  Hailey loved the ride.  Lee Joe protected her head from bouncing off the steering wheel.  Sierra grinned and couldn’t wait to help Zach get the ride of his life.  He smiled from ear to ear and enjoyed his trip up the hill to get the dirt and back down to drop it off.

Lee Joe must have been having so much fun that he didn’t realize when he stopped to drop off Zach that he parked in a ditch 1/2 created by him and 1/2 already there.  He was STUCK!  I videotaped the event – but since you never see videos from me – you probably won’t see it.  We were all headed back to our car when he was trying to get out and ended up getting the bulldozer guy to push him out of the rut.   I thought this was an unusual thing so I felt bad that we came, but i figured it’s his fault for not looking where he was parking, after all – he is the driver of the “Heavy Equipment” and he should know how to drive it.  He came home and said it happens all the time.  There is a special bumper on the back of the thing just for such occasions.  He said it got stuck a number of times after that even.  SHWOO it wasn’t our fault.  The kids had a BLAST anyways and here’s the proof!

Thanks for the rides!

I hope you read this post. I don’t know how to say how grateful I am to you for EVERYTHING. – AND MAKE IT STICK FOR A LONG TIME not just 1-2 minutes.

I want to say. . .I am thankful for you, for;

For your kindness always.

Your willingness to give give give to the family

The clean Dishes

The soft touch

The food, clothes, kids

Your smile when it shows through the stresses and pains of life

You’re willingness to be forgiving of others

The kind tone in your voice always

I want you to always know I am thankful and grateful for you.  For all that you do. 

If I could give you the world I would.

You deserve nothing but the best.

I love you!

XOXOXO

For your Birthday this year you got

A white pipecleaner basket for whatever you want from Hailey

A Soda can holder basket made of pipe cleaners from Sierra

A day with your brothers Joe and Aaron for Breakfast, lunch, and playing Battlefield 2142 Most of the day.  You also went out Shotgun shopping with the boys.  I hope you had fun even though your bellies were filled to the brim all day long.

I also gave you a tool chest a big one with 2 levels 9 drawers.  I hope youwill keep it.  I think it’s a great gift idea for someone who has just about everything he always wants.  Now there’s a place to put all those tools scattered around in the guest bedroom, storage room and garage – and where ever else they have landed.

Enjoy, Happy 35th Birthday Sweetheart!

The girls were my photographers

Since Janika loves me i thought I’d add a few pictures of me since I haven’t been in front of the camera – I’m always the one behind!

You may have to read this post 2-3 times to get ALL of it.  it’s LONG.

Hailey and Sierra are in a school where they are off school for a few weeks to a month and back to school for 4-6 weeks.  you just never know.  I usually jet outta town and go visit family close since it’s actually all of their SUMMER VACATION sporadically dolloped through the year.  So I try to make it like a summer vacation. 

I also try to get them all out of the house so Nathan can work from home without disruptions and I don’t have to chase the babies up the stairs to scoop them into my arms just before they knock on his door while he’s on an important business call.  I say SHHHH SHHHSH to the kids so much in the house (unless we are downstairs) because, we never know when he’s going to be on a call.  If I’m not too busy making meals, cleaning or changing diapers,  I get to sneak in and talk to Nathan and find out what his schedule is like and when it’s OK for the kids to be normal. 

I can usually send the”Babies” as I call them down to the basement to play with the “girls” and that keeps them entertained for quite a while,  It’s nice when the girls are “off track”  they make it so I  can get other work done while they play with Zach and Aurora.

We have been having our “Lazy Days of Summer” these past 2 weeks.  I think we will continue into next week foregoing our semi-planned trip to Nevada. 

Besides Zach’s 6AM wake up calls I get to continue sleeping in – going back to bed every 1/2 hr to 1 hr(depending on his morning cartoons)  I don’t really get up until 8:00 when Aurora wakes up.  Then it’s diapers and I usually can make a great breakfast for all of them, Scrambled Eggs, Brunch Squares, PB toast with Bananas, Pancakes etc.  on really lazy mornings like today I will set out bowls for cereal so when the girls emerge from their nests they know what to do for breakfast.

Anyways to get to why I started writing today.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I felt unproductive, maybe because after my shower I just put on the same comfy pants and t-shirt I would normally wear to bed or to the gym.  However, I was FARRRRR from UNPRODUCTIVE.

I changed 3 poopies, 3 outfits, swept up the Trix cereal with the Swivel Sweeper (A highly recommended wish list gift you moms need on your list to your hubby’s) switched laundry, CLEANED out the GARAGE and re-organized it AGAIN – I think I do this every 3 weeks when Nathan is out of town.  It gets so cluttered so fast with all the decorations coming down and going up.  All the car trips and piles of trash we empty from the car on a daily basis.  The kids bikes and strollers taking up every inch of space that isn’talready taken by shelves full of things.  Outdoor equipment, food, paper goods, tools, more tools, yard maintenance machinery etc.  I cannot keep it clean.  I try and try.  I think this is the 4th time in 3 months I’ve overhauled it!  I Swept 4-5 times today – Aurora wanted the sweeper every time I pulled it out, then Zach would want it – So I would get out our 2nd one and give it to him, so the sweeping never really got done until 7PM and I was on a call while I did it. – Its Sierra’s “CHORE” Sun-Wed but I like to use the Swivel Sweeper and she was cleaning her bedroom at the time which was FAR more important to me.

I took out all the trash.  in the process I noticed how dusty the Master bath has gotten do I got on my hands and knees ans scrubbed the floor, cleaned counter top, trash can, toilet, etc.   It’s strange how much more you notice the messy parts and fix them up when you are home to see it all.

I also forgot. . . I picked up and sorted a bunch of stuff on the pantry floor and organized it so we could actually stand in it to reach the food.  It was full of grocery bags with canned food in them that never got put away.  That was something on my “to do” list a week before my tonsil surgery.  Which if any of you care to know my tonsils are much better now – I don’t ever want to have them removed AGAIN! It only hurts a little when I yawn now and that’s about it.

I also met up with some old friends on Facebook – I found Kyle and Joellen!!!! Nathan and Kyle will be able to communicate again, they were roommates in college when I met Nathan.  I’d been searching for them for some time now – or at least thinking about them.

I read through the sales fliers for the week and tried to figure out the best store/stores for me to shop at to ge the best prices.  I just ordered my 1st envelope of coupons to start couponing for real again.   Looks like Smiths (almost the exact same sale as last week).  If I even need to go.  I took the kids and went last night.  I saved $42 and Spent $49  not bad for a 1st time back.  It least it wasn’t a normal $100.00 trip.

I am trying to work with Zach on his walking.  It’s going to need a lot of reminders to stay straight and not walk on his toe.  He’s still got a pretty bad bend and twist to his leg and it’s been 2 weeks.  I should have taken him to the Dr today for his 2 week follow up but pay $25.00. . .I’m so sick of Dr visits and co pays.  I hate seeing the money flow out of the house like hot air!  This is probably the most important $25.00 though because It’s still pretty bad.  I wonder if it’s ever going to be normal again.  When I try to stretch his leg he acts like it hurts.  I have him put it straight with his foot flat and he doesn’t enjoy that.  I think he just needs a few good stretches every day and I’ll act as his physical therapist.  he did OK in shoes one day.  but now he doesn’t really like to wear them, and with us in the house all day I just don’t put them on.  He still stands on his toe in shoes when he walks anyways – ANY SUGGESTIONS???

After the Girls watched TV and Played Starcraft on the computer, Hailey put away the dishes for me and Sierra cleaned up the bedroom – which still had fragments of the tornado cleaning job we did on Monday when I went through their clothes and let them each pick out 10 outfits, socks,  3 PJ’s 2, Swimsuits, and some dance shorts.  Sierra put away all the toys and boxed up the extras.  They earned stickers for it.  They did quite a good job and offered more services and did more things to help without being asked or bribed with a sticker – they just did it!

We spent 1 hr reading “Christmas Jars”  We have been reading it for 4-5 nights now and we read more an more each night we are over 1/2 way done and it’s interesting enough they are into it.  Christmas Jars Book 50% off at Deseret Book

I played TradeWars – it’s a game where you just see numbers of “spaces” in Space, where you fly in a ship, and try to take over the place, you trade for money -or if you are a bad guy you rob and steal it from the ports, you build planets and so on.  Nathan has a game going on thestouts.com go to http://www.thestouts.com/?page_id=504 or click on Tradewars it will tell you how you can join the game I hear Nathan is going to make UNLIMITED TURNS for Saturday so anyone just joining can get caught up a bit.  There are 4 players right now Nathan, Joe, Aaron and I.  I think Mike Skembo would REALLY enjoy this – being off work and all and Mel, Mike and anyone else remotely interested in playing a FREE MULTIPLAYER game over the Internet trying to WIPE out my character and get rid of me should JOIN IN!  It’s fun trying to hunt down the bad guys and making money to buy mines and boost up your ships with fighters, cloaking fields, etc.  I got hooked a few years ago and we are finally in again!  It’s one of those kinda nerdy games, but I got hooked I want someone to come play and try it out.  Kim – Come get me!!

I’m going to try to get to the Boutique on Friday and have a Cookie Lee Jewelry Sale there.  There is a ton of business to be had on that corner by wal-mart!  hopefully the weather will be nice and I can find someone to play with the kids for a bit.  I could easily pull in $400 – $500 that would take care of my bank account – then I can start working on the family assets.

Zachs 3rd Birthday

Ventriliquist Mom with Zach the Puppet

Newborn Zach