Wash Your Mouth Out With Soap!

This is what I get for raising a smart-aleck... Bridger taught Brig a rude word. Not a swear word, mind you... just a word that I really didn't want Brig screaming out during Sacrament Meeting, you know? So, Brielle comes running in and tells on Bridger & before I even have a chance to react, Bridger walks in, laughing. He's holding the bottle of dish soap and says, "Sorry Mom! I'll get this one myself!" Then he proceeds to dump a big old blob of dish-soap on his OWN tongue. It was like he was swigging a soda pop! ~ And then he started BLOWING BUBBLES!!! As he's laughing, the bubbles are popping rapidly out of his lips! No matter how stern I tried to act, we were all laughing within seconds. How is this a punishment, I ask you?

37 and counting...

Last night ~ or should I say 'THIS MORNING' ~ at 12:01 am, Brooklyn and Kenna came in to my bed sang me happy birthday! They are super sweet! I'm looking forward to a quiet day while everyone is at school to simply DO NOTHING! We have a birthday rule at our house that you don't have to do chores on your b-day, and I've never actually done it. This year, I'm gonna MILK it! :)

Our Family Just Grew By Two!

Te-Yu Lin or "Danny" from TaiwanAnuwat Budda or "Noo" from Thailand

Bridger, Kenna, Danny, Brielle, Noo, Brooklyn, & Me

Danny on the drums, Noo on the Guitar, Bridger rocking out the vocals! Brooklyn just looking cute.

Oh, we've had such a fun thing happen to our family. We got Foreign Exchange Students! Danny is from Taiwan and Noo is from Thailand. They are hilarious. They've been in our home now for almost 2 weeks, & it has been non-stop laughter. They are so fun. Their sense of humor is amazing & innocent. Our kids are loving having "big brothers". They are helpful around the house & actually get my own kids to work by jumping in to clear the dinner table or take out the trash (without me asking them to. WHAT? They are awesome!). Anywhoo ~ they've only been here a short period of time, but we've already had a dance-off in the basement (holy crap, they are good!), gone 4 wheeler riding (now that was scary! :)), Tony took them winter camping in a snow cave, rockband tours (Okay, they can run both the foot pedal AND the drums at the same time. How on earth? That is impossible!), etc. We've played lots of crazy games, & recently learned thru the game "WhoNu" that Danny secretly loves Fashion Magazines & Noo is scared of Unicorns! Unicorns?!? Really?! hee hee! You'll have to tease them both about those... In fact, we took them to the mall in Pocatello, & a photographer walked up to Danny & asked if he could take pictures of him for a "Face of Pocatello" campaign. How awesome! Who knows. Maybe he'll end up BEING in one of these American Fashion Magazines someday!

All my kids just love them, especially Brig. Danny & Noo will chase him around the house or play hide & seek with him or just talk to him & make him laugh. It has been such a blessing to have them move in. How lucky we are to have these guys join our family for the next 3 months! Tonight, we are going to Salt Lake to hit a Jazz game & even though they are Koby Bryant fans (gag, hiss, puke!) they promised to cheer on the jazz since we are playing New Orleans. I'm excited that my nephew, Andrew, will be there with them so they don't get lost in the crowd! We will also hit Temple Square & meet all the family of mine that will be in Utah for the game. I think they like us right now, but maybe the masses of people in my family will scare them off! :) We are glad they can be in our family for a short time. We just love them!

TIC TAC TOE

You've GOT to check out my daughter, Brooklyn's blog on the sidebar. She has this fun version of Tic Tac Toe that you HAVE to try! Who knew it would have so many fun levels! And PLEASE, if you play it, leave her a comment. She wants to know who is playing it. Thanks!

Lice!

Okay, let me start with this: WE DON'T HAVE IT!

Last night, I think I truly lost my mind. No joke, Tony looked at me like I was a retarded dork. I was, but let me back up & explain why...
See, I've been subbing at the grade school for the last 3 days & yesterday at the end of the day, the school secretary comes into my classroom & hands me a note that says, "Someone in your class has lice." WHAT!??! Immediately, I started itching. Clawing myself is more like it. "Who?" I begged. Then here's the DUMBEST part: They won't tell me! I'm sitting here teaching 22 students who are all 6 years old. I'm tying their shoes. I'm zipping their coats. I'm fixing their barrettes when they fall out of their hair. I'm getting hugged every two seconds. And they WON'T tell me who to avoid? RUDE! And not in a RUUD way, I might add... I was so bugged. But luckily not "bugged" in a lice way.
The secretary informed me that a nurse would be coming in tomorrow to check EVERY ONE'S head, including mine. Oh, the humiliation! The horror! What if I had it? I was SO SCARED! Anywhoo~ when I got home from the school, I ran STRAIGHT into the bathroom. I took off all my clothes and refused to put them into the dirty hamper (if they had lice on them, it might SPREAD!) I stripped all the blankets & pillows off my bed and did a 3 hour sanitize cycle in the washing machine. Yes, I said 3 hours. On HOT. That had to cost an arm and a leg. I got in the shower (like THAT would really help) and washed my hair again and again and again. When I got out of the shower, I didn't want to sit on the couch in case I had it and it might spread to my couches. I wouldn't sit on my bed in case I had it and it spread to the wonderful mattress I have on my bed. I refused to make dinner in case it was on my hands and I accidentally fed lice to my family. Or worse, what if I ATE IT?!? In fact, I tore the basement food storage area apart and found a plastic shower cap. I figured that if my head were covered in saran-wrap, I couldn't spread it. I was a MESS! Tony had checked my hair as soon as he saw my frantic stripping act in the bathroom (I know what you are thinking, but no, the whole lice thing kept him from liking that moment...) & told me I didn't have it, but I was too paranoid to believe him. But amidst his laughing, he did manage to sneak a picture of me on his cell phone with my head all wrapped in a plastic shower cap. I'll DIE if it ever gets out.
Okay, so fast-forward to today. First thing this morning, they hauled everyone down to a supply closet and took everyone in, one at a time, and checked heads. I was SO RELIEVED to find out that NO ONE HAD IT! The kid that had it was home (there were several kids absent, but I think my detective work figured out which kid it was...) & won't be allowed back for 7 to 10 days or something like that. Oh, I'm so incredibly grateful we didn't catch it! And if my picture ever shows up of me in a plastic shower cap, I'm TOTALLY saying that it is my brother, Ben, since we look EXACTLY alike when I have no make-up on and my hair is short! :)

Here's the promised slideshow from Brielle's Birthday weekend!

Brielle's Baptism!

We had SUCH a great weekend! Brielle turned 8 years old on Sunday and we had lots of family come up to see her be baptized & support her. She was all smiles all weekend!

I wanted to post a slideshow of everything that went on ~ From the baptism to the Rock-Band-Fest to the Basketball shooting to the Birthday cake that we tried to light the candles on the burner in the kitchen at the church since we forgot matches ~ (Bishop, forgive me for that one. Or maybe if I do it a few more times, they'll release me from my Relief Society calling! :)) but I can't load my dang pictures still from my camera. Someday I'll get a new one, I swear! Until then, just know that my little Ellie-Lu was a pure ANGEL! Thanks to all who came. She has good family who traveled far, good friends who traveled not far, and good church leaders who make her feel important. Thanks all! And Brielle, don't go yelling at me again when I wake you up for school. You JUST got baptized, & these sins COUNT NOW! (hee hee)

Cards...Thank you!!

With this busy time of year, I feel overwhelmed with all the stuff I DIDN'T get done, (like baking homemade goodies for the neighbors ~ wait ~ I don't have neighbors ~ Good! That guilt is gone.) But there is one wonderful thing that keeps happening! CARDS! Thank you, all of you who have sent me Christmas Cards. Especially the picture kind. I just LOVE them! I have them tucked all over into my nifty little card holder. Jen, Brooklyn DID do a fab job taking your family picture at the Oregon Coast. And all you Ross's look like MODELS! Val, your beautiful family is just, well, BEAUTIFUL! Those pictures of the kids are to DIE for! Kally, my little pearly-girl gone and grew up on me! And those eyes... The boys will be mesmerized! Deb, your team-theme is the BEST! Bridger was pretty mad we didn't think of it first. He kept mumbling, "our beach pictures are SO GIRLY!" Erika - it looks like you guys are STILL in Disneyland! Do you lucky dogs EVER leave that place? My kids want to join YOUR family! D... you are looking GOOD, buddy! Your oldest daughter is your little twinner! And do you guys EVER stay home? I think you travel more than anyone I know! Mindy (Gwen), you guys look SO GOOD in black and white! (Course Ken always looks black with his perpetual tan!) Wendy, those boys of yours are little hotties! Am I allowed to say that? I'm speaking for my 7th grade daughters... The rest of you... hmm here's a big sarcastic thanks for the cards! Or lack of... (hee hee just kidding! Now all of you are gonna remind me that I didn't send YOU one either!)
Merry Christmas everyone! Now, go drink a nice big egg-nog for me ~

FIRE!

So, yesterday I'm in the basement & all of a sudden I hear a whole bunch of commotion upstairs. I am a mom, so OF COURSE I can't ignore it, & I go flying up the stairs. Tony is outside on the back deck putting out a fire from a greasy pan. Apparently he started cooking, then got side-tracked watching a football game, & forgot about the pan. Brig was sitting at the island in the kitchen & says in the sweetest little non-emergency, but most admiring voice, "FIRE!" Everyone ignored him for a few seconds while he continued to repeat his amazement, then someone actually looked up to see what he was talking about... And he was talking about FIRE! The pan had fire all the way up past the microwave oven that hangs above it. That's the commotion I heard ~ everyone RUNNING to grab Brig & put out the fire! Luckily Tony was smart enough not to throw water on it (I've seen that you-tube clip about grease fires & water... YIKES!) & so there I am watching him put out our fire on the back porch. What a smart 2 year old! He saved our home from destruction by telling us there was a fire! I've spawned a genius, I tell you! And I'm married to an idiot... (hee hee just kidding!)
So anyway, today I'm sitting there & Brig comes walking up to me with that same innocent yet amazed look on his face & he takes my hand & says, "Wanna see my fire? I made it myself!" Panic mode hits! I mean, I'm BELIEVING this kid, now! Remember, he saved us just a day earlier?? So I pick him up & yell, "Where?! Where is the fire?!" & this adorable little guy leads me to the HUMIDIFIER he had turned on in the bedroom. You see, it makes FOG... but it looks like SMOKE coming out the top of it, so he thought he had made a FIRE! Relief! No Fire! Just this cute little kid who thought he had made a fire because he had seen smoke. Oh, he melts me...

Spilling Family Secrets!

The 1st grade teacher at the school called me last week because her father had passed away, & she asked me if I would take her class all week. I did, & I think I spent most of the week laughing my buckets off! Kids tell family secrets. Funny things... & they don't even realize they are being funny!
There was this one little guy that I'll call "L". L sat by me & stuck his pencil into my armpit & asked if he could see in there. I laughed & asked "why?" & he said he wanted to see if I had short little hairs growing in my armpit like his mother has. Hee hee. L also told me that he likes to make "armpit farts" & asked if I can do it. I told him that I used to be able to when I was younger but I can't do it anymore. He nodded his head, like he understood something that I honestly didn't get, then he told me that his big sister used to be able to make armpit farts, too, before she started wearing a bra! I decided that this kid could sit by me anytime, cause he kept me in a good mood when all these other little grubby kids were tattling or picking their nose... When it was time to have the kids write their own sentences using the word, "mom", L's sentence went something like this, "My mom says hell." I started laughing so hard, wondering if this sentence was allowed at school, when L came walking up to me and said, "My mom also says S-H-*$@! That night after school, I was talking to L's mom, and I told her the funny stories. He was absent the next day. I wonder if she was just worried about what he'd tell me next! Hee hee!