THIS is why we live in Washington!!

Enough said!

Oink! Oink!!

Is this how humans get the swine flu?

So I knew something was up when David fell asleep in the car trip down to Bellingham on Monday and stayed asleep the entire time Amber was at bassoon lessons. He didn't even budge when I took this:

The next morning he looked like this:

Notice the Star Wars pillow turned to the dark side? That's the clue that he doesn't feel well.

We didn't think too much about his illness as it just seemed routine coughing, snuffy nose, and tiredness. And there was NO fever. Last night David complained his ears were starting to hurt. "Uh oh!", I thought. "Ear infection starting". Well, you can imagine our surprise when Dr. Dickson said his ears were clear but the eustation tube was closed, like it is when you're on an airplane. And all the other symptoms? "Suspects he has the SWINE FLU"!!! WHAT?!?!?!?! Complete shock! This illness is SO mild. Especially if you compare it to the seasonal flu he had back in March. And the Dr. confirmed that as well. From what he has seen, the seasonal flu is way worse than the over talked about H1N1 virus. He also said yesterday there were 50 kids out sick at one of the local schools and he saw 6 patients (all kids) in his office yesterday with these same symptoms.

So Mr. D, more than likely, gets to stay home for the rest of the week. Mom gets to clear her calendar. Woohoo!! Never a dull moment around here is there!

Me thinks we have a .....

...PUMPKIN PILFERER!!!!!

So really, tell me. How can we go from this in July

Remember this post about 3 separate pumpkin balls and all the blossoms.


to THIS??? In October!!


Can you believe this? Only ONE pumpkin!!! An itty bitty baby! Lizzie size :D

Upon closer inspection, I discovered there are actual plants missing. So either it's a pilferer of the human kind (which I really hope not) or we have a bunny, squirrel, or raccoon lurking nearby. I guess I should be thankful they left us one pumpkin that is almost ready to pick. I need to turn it over to face the sun so the green part will go away. Or maybe I should just pick it now before something or someone else does. Hmmmmm, decisions!

So sorry to those of you who had such faith in me to have a bounty to share. This City Girl is still learning. So do you have any ideas of what went wrong here? Should we put up a little fence next time around? What are your thoughts?

Josh's Birthday!!

Sorry for the delay in getting these pictures up. It's been a tad nuts around here.

September 11th was also Josh's birthday. He's SO oooooooooooooooolllllllllllldddddd!!! He's that decrepit old age of 23 years old. And nothing says Happy Birthday like your very own gun cleaning kit.

Love how Tabitha is peeking over the back of the couch! Some things never change.

Your own box of Chocolate MINT pudding.

If you know Josh, you KNOW his passion for anything mint!

Amber gets the "brownie points" for the most creative gift. Four, count them 4 boxes of brownie mix.


And the start of Josh's very own droid Army!!


The birthday BROWNIE!!! With a side of gummy-worm dirt.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSH!!!!

Why does it seem that we forget?

Where were you
when this happened?

The ages of our kids at the time:
Robert - 16
Tabitha - 13
Amber - 9
David - 4

Rob had just left for the gym and both Robert and I were barely awake as he needed to get up and ready for seminary (Bible study). Within 10 minutes of Rob leaving he returns. Somehow I knew something was terribly wrong when he walked into the door. I sat up in bed and said "What's wrong?" It all unfolded. Immediately I called Grandma Vicki to make sure both Shaun and Connie (her son and daughter-in-law) were safe. They both are flight attendants for American Airlines. They were safe as I woke them up with the news. I next called my friend Kim, whose hubby was getting on a flight that morning. He was safe as well and returning home as we all know further air traffic was canceled immediately.

We just can't forget!!! We can't forget the innocent lives lost. And those that worked in the twin towers that had something "happen" to them that made them late for work that day. We can't forget our heroes that day.

And the heroes that keep our country safe! Thank you!!!

Amber's Presentaion

Last week Amber's seminary (Bible study) teacher asked her to prepare a musical number with someone else for tonight's kick-off meeting. This other person wasn't going to be around this weekend so it was all up to Amber to figure out something to do. Sing, play the piano, play her bassoon? What to do? Then she came up with this idea. Use pictures of the Savior to one of her favorite songs, Come Thou Fount. It turned out amazing!!! Wonderful job Amber. We are SO proud of you!!!

Back to School

Weird that we are on the tail end of our kids going to school. At one point in time we had

• A Senior (Grade 12)
• A Freshman (Grade 9)
• A 5th grader
• A Kindergartner

All going to school the same year!

This is from our (the parents) school book. This book stays with Mom and Dad. It has all their first day of school pictures as well as their senior pictures. It's funny how they complain about me taking these pics on the first day of school and now, they LOVE this book.

Now? This is all we have.


A Senior


and a 7th grader!

When did that happen?

We All Need One of These!

Especially if we have daughters!



Yeah, I know it's a late post! So now I'm off to bed!

Favorite Concerts

So ever since I posted about Foreigner being in our top 5 favorite concerts of all time, I've had people ask me "So what are your other favorites?"

Some of them I don't have video of or pictures. But here you go.. I'm giving you 6!

#6 The Nylons

#5 Lionel Hampton

We saw him at Disneyland and danced to his music at the Carnation Plaza.

#4 Dave Brubeck

When Robert was a young teenager, we took him to see him. WONDERFUL!!

#3 Foreigner

#2 Pat Benatar

We've seen her twice in concert and it's NEVER a disappointment!

#1 Bon Jovi

BEST birthday present EVER!! Well, except for the time that Rob took be to see the Nutcracker performed by the Joffery Ballet. That was heavenly and another birthday I will never forget.

What are your top 5 concerts?

Life is Good!

This week has been a good week in so many ways. LOTS of changes going on and many of them are good ones.

This week I had the opportunity to talk with exercise expert, Susan Powter on the phone. What an amazing woman! She's so inspiring and encouraging to help you get on your journey "to fit". She has helped get me on a different way of life with exercise and eating and thinking. I can't wait to see the changes. And the hardest thing? I'm not allowed to step ONE FOOT on my scale for the next 90 days. Yikes! You wouldn't think that to be hard, but it really is. Especially when you see your body changing (for the good) and want to see how much weight you've lost. But she told me that if I do, I could destroy ANY progress I've made. So that's my promise, I will NOT step on the scale for the next 90 days.

At this same time, I started an online class called "Help! I don't know where to begin!" from Simplify 101. This class have helped me learn how to move from feeling overwhelmed to feeling motivated, inspired and empowered to get organized and to learn a simple approach for decluttering your home. And you know what? It's working!!! I am SO feeling empowered and dedicated to getting my house in order and KEEP it there. LOTS and LOTS of bags going in the trash or being donated. It's wonderful.

Getting the kids ready for the start of school next week. Picked up their schedules (already knew Amber's. I'm very please with David's classes and teachers. It should be a good year for him.

Friday we had an unexpected house guest for the night. Tabitha!! Josh was off at a Cub Scout overnight campout so Tabitha came and played with us, ate our food, jumped on our bed, chatted into the wee hours of the morning (1 am-ish) with Amber and David being the typical 12 year old brother. It was just too fun :D

Then Church today was just amazing! The kind where you are so filled. Where your Spirit is rejuvenated and guided to know how the Lord wants you to be and act and do. So I just have to share some video's that sink into my soul today.

This first one has many memories with it. Especially of one amazing piano player (Robert) that does this piano run the best.



And this next one goes along with what our Bishop shared with us today. Having our offerings to the Lord being a "broken heart and contrite spirit". This song just went along so well with his message. (Thanks Tabitha)



Please remember how blessed we all are, no matter our struggles and difficulties. Our lives are in God's hands.

We are all loved and Life is Good!