Happy Birthday & Retirement Mom!

Today is a very special day for my mother. Not only is it her birthday, but it is the day she retires. Hopefully her friends at work are giving her an extra big party today. I thought I would share a few thoughts about my mom.

• My mom is ALWAYS there for me when I need her. I can call her any time of the day and know that she will take time for me.
• She is a spiritual giant. She is always in tune with the spirit and is a great example to me by following the Lord.
• She hates doing dishes, but always did the dishes for all 8 of us kids growing up. The laundry was also nonstop, but she doesn't mind folding clothes as much.
• I remember she rocked me to sleep even when I knew I was too old to be rocked. I love her rocking chair.
• One of her favorite hobbies is camping. She would go nonstop during the summer if she could.
• She loves buying new things. New clothes, household accessories, etc. She likes to stay in style and have nice things.
• She loves painting/crafts and is a perfectionist. She will paint something over and over until it is just right.
• She cares about other people and cares what other people think of her.
• She's the biggest worry wart I have ever seen (her and my sister Marilee).
• A Russell trait....any sniffle, it's right to the doctor.
• She has many talents (but is currently hiding her singing talent).
• She is social and likes it, but if you ask her she may not agree.
• She loves sweets (Peanut M&M's, Cheesecake, and Chocolate Chip Cookies are among her top favorites).
• She's the best Mom ever!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY & RETIREMENT MOM!

Stuck in the 90's

As I was adding songs to my music playlist, I noticed that almost every song I added was from the early 90's. The funny thing is...when I was in High School I told myself that I would not be one of those people who would be stuck in their time. So I am stuck in my time a little, but I know why I am stuck in my time. It's not that I wouldn't enjoy lots of music that is played now, it's just that I don't have the opportunity to do so. Whenever I am riding in the car I am listening to the DVD player or to Kids Songs on CD. And our radio at home doesn't pick up very many radio stations due to us being out in the middle of nowhere. So, there you have it...the reason (and maybe a little justification) of why I am stuck in the late 80's and early 90's. It's ironic that I am married to a Music Teacher because I am horrible about remembering the names of songs or their artists. In fact, I had to play an old mixed tape and ask Doug....what's the name of this song?...and add it to my playlist that way. Pretty pathetic I know. So if you don't want to listen to the 90's songs that are playing while you are reading this blog, you can always scroll down and click on "Doug's Playlist" or the "Kid's Playlist" for a variety. Are you stuck in your time? Or am I the only one?

Mason's First Haircut

I've known for a while now that Mason needed a haircut. My mom is the expert at doing these kinds of things, but since she lives in a different state...I just had to wing it. To give you a little background of my haircutting abilities......My mom asked me to just "straighten" her hair along the back (She cut all of her own hair, but just couldn't see in the back very well) and I just couldn't get it straight. We had to call in another sister to fix the mess I made to the back of her hair. I blame this on my cutting skills since Kindergarten. I have a progress report from Kindergarten where I received excellent on every ability except for cutting....I only received an "OK" on my cutting skills. I have to say that I have put in some great effort since that "incident" with my mom and have cut Jordan's hair a few times (but normally only in the summer when nobody really cares). Here are some pictures of Masons first haircut (I dare say that it turned out OK):

This is the before shot. He has been teething so you'll notice not only his long hair but the massive amount of slobber on his shirt, and red skin due to so much slobber.

This is Doug with the first attempt to cut Masons hair. :)

That didn't work too well, so I got out the hair clippers.

He didn't like it at all. I was trying to work fast. I intended to let him have a lollipop during this process, but one of the kids must have found it...because it wasn't where I had hid it.

Soon the whole ordeal was over and I got my smiley Mason back again. Whew...we all survived.

Highlights

This last month has been really busy and I thought I would share some of our highlights.

Jordan had his 9th birthday on June 12th. He invited 3 friends over for a sleepover. They ate pizza, played the Wii and watched a movie. He had a great time.


Fathers Day turned out to be pretty crazy and busy. We were able to throw some steaks on the grill and open a few presents. Doug is a wonderful husband and father. He always knows what to say to the kids to boost their self esteem and make them feel special. I couldn't have asked for a better Dad for our kids. We love you!

The Jensen Family came to visit the first week of July. The cousins played and had a great time. Some activities we did were:

• Lied Children's Museum
• Watched Wall-E in the theatres
• Swam in our pool nearly every day
• Movie night with popcorn and Pink Panther
• Walked through some local model homes
• Set off fireworks in the front yard on Independence Day
• Wii competitions (Tennis was fun...Doug and I against Stacie & Darren)
• Ash Meadows Reservoir (This wasn't as fun because it was closed when we got there)

Stacie, unfortunately, has been pretty sick with her pregnancy. She made it through all of our crazy ideas though. The cousins had a really good time together. It's too bad the Jensens went home with a flu bug. (It must have been a bug that we had already had because none of us got it and their entire family came down with it.)




Kaylee celebrated her 7th birthday on 07/11/08. The day before her birthday we went into Las Vegas and went Miniature Golfing. This is the first time our kids have gone and they thought it was so much fun. The Golf Course was decorated in black lights. We also went to the Mall and out to eat. The best part about her birthday is she lost her top front tooth. She, of course, wrote a note to the tooth fairy asking for something a little extra since it was her birthday.



This last week we had a great time with Doug's brother Kevin, his wife Pela, and their 2 year old Tui. They listened to a time share sales meeting and received 3 nights at the Stratosphere. We watched Tui while Kevin and Pela went on a date and spent the night at the hotel. The next night, Kevin and Pela stayed at our house while Doug and I spent a night on the town and slept at the hotel. Of course, we got the better end of the deal because they took our 4 kids while we only had to take Tui. (And we didn't have to sit through the sales meeting either :)) This came at a perfect time because it was my birthday. As a splurge, Doug and I went and saw the Blue Man Group. It was expensive, but TOTALLY AWESOME. I loved it. If you ever have the opportunity to go to a show in Vegas....this is the show to go to. So needless to say, I had a great birthday! I also went to a salon earlier in the week and got my hair done. This is a treat since in the past I normally only go about once a year.

Well...this sums up the highlights of this past month. I can't believe how fast the summer is passing us by.

Peaches

This year we actually produced peaches on our peach tree. Normally the bugs get to them.

Okay, Okay, so it's not a huge amount of peaches, but it was enough. The kids decided that they don't like peaches so I ate most of them myself. The neighbors gave us 3 gallons of apricots and I made some freezer jam. Yummy! Due to the high sugar content some of the kids will eat the jam.

Blogging withdrawals

Are you wondering why we don't have any new blogs lately? Our computer died and due to the incompetency of the computer fix it shop here in Pahrump, we haven't had a computer for one month and 5 days. We ended up buying a new computer and it is supposed to arrive tomorrow. I am at Doug's work using his work computer today. I can truly say that I have been going through computer withdrawals. Give me a few weeks to catch up on everything and hopefully you'll see more articles in our blog.