Not So Long Ago...

Audrey & Branson

2 months & 1 month old

Audrey & Branson
22 months & 21 months old

Gotta Love Technology

After waiting two long months (my printer died in the middle of making a ton of Day Camp copies) my large format printer has arrived! Now I can print out some of the layouts I have been working on.

NOT My Kind of Fun

OK, so go ahead and tell me the story of The Little Red Hen but spending three days and nights on a boat in the middle of a lake and fishing 24/7 is not something I ever want to do. But I will be happy to eat those Steelhead, oh yes.

Happy Mail

It had been a super long time since I had received mail containing this logo. And it's been a long time since Anderson finished treatments for Leukemia.The letter I opened a few weeks ago had three simple questions to follow up on Anderson's progress.

1. Has there been any relapse of cancer.

2. Are there any other major health issues due to his Leukemia or treatment?

3. Do you have any other concerns?I can not tell you how amazing it felt to check the NO box for each and every one of those questions.

Today I Learned that...

~smoke detectors start beeping even before you can see the smoke billowing out of your daughters bedroom.

~when toddlers are in a deep sleep they don't like being ripped out of their crib even if the house is on fire.

~the County Fire Department can get to our home in less than 4 minutes.

~even though the house may be on fire it is still fun to see the look on your toddlers face when the fire engine pulls up with sirens blaring.

~pretty potted flowers on your front porch get in the way of the fire hoses.

~Grandpa Cazier is a stubborn old man who gives the sheriffs department a hard time about leaving the house.

~it is not a good day when you are told, "we will only destroy walls and rip through the ceiling as a last resort to find the source."

~your street suddenly becomes the most popular road in the city when there are emergency vehicles parked in front of it.

~my kids know me too well when Cayden said, "Dang it mom. All this cool stuff is happening and your camera is still in the house. Now you can't blog about it."

~when fire fighters come they search the house from top to bottom and the thought races through your mind that you are so very glad your house is clean.

~the bishop really is "always there" when you need him.

~once the fire crew is there and you are pretty much sure that your house isn't going to burn to the ground it's kind of thrilling to sit back and watch them work.

~brand new air conditioning motors can reach over 200 degrees, even though they aren't supposed to.

~when air conditioning motors reach 200+ degrees they send billowing smoke throughout your entire house by way of the air vents.

~burned up air conditioning motors make your whole house smell like an over cooked hot glue gun.

~the excitement lasts the entire evening when your kids keep singing, "Burn baby Burn" and "Is this burning, an eternal flame" and "The roof, The roof, The roof is on fire!"

~Fire Fighters and Police Officers rock and I am ready for a vacation.

Never Say Never

Branson is a fish. He loves water so much that he jumps in the pool whether someone is waiting to catch him or not. Oh, he's been told "NO!" countless times and he's started to sink to the bottom several times but he comes up coughing and smiling! It's scary. I don't dare blink when we are near the pool and in a few days we head to a week long vacation on a lake. I bought something that I swore I would never by. I will be using something that I vowed I would never use. For $6.00 at Wal-mart I became one of "those mom's." And when we are at that lake Branson will be wearing a safety harness. Yes. Call it a leash if you like. Make jokes about tying him to a tree. But I want to know where that little stinker is every minute we are on vacation!

Day Camp 2009

So the theme this year was CSI: Cub Scout Investigators...very cool. As always it took hours, and hours, and days and months to get ready for three whole days of camp. But that is what kept me out of blogging land for so dang long. I took over 600 photos but I am really pretty much camped out so the bottom line is, I think it went great, the boys had a good time and I am so appreciative of everyone who helped make it a success. So here is just a glimpse at one class out of 18.

What is CSI without an autopsy! My sweet husband took his 14/15 year old scouts out and caught almost 100 Shad...I kid you not! These nasty fish gave the scouts you see above a fun fishing trip and several hours of service. And the boys at Scout Camp learned about swim bladders and fish eggs. Yep...I think that's enough about camp 2009. Now to start planning for next year: Cub Scout Amazing Race USA!

My Book Blog

So I finally started my book blog. I am so excited to have a place where I can keep track of all my good (and bad) reads. If you ever need a good recommendation just head on over to http://amysbookcollection.blogspot.com/

TODAY

TODAY Sydney asked me, "If the earth all of the sudden started revolving in the opposite direction would it be Monday again?"

TODAY Branson drank about 1/2 the water in my mom's pool. That kid has turned into a fish. He can use swimmies but hates them so I stand guard over him on the steps. If I glance away for even a second he flings himself into the water. Scary, I know. He always comes up coughing and smiling and ready for more.

TODAY I got attacked by a swarm of wasps and one of those stinkin' bugs stung me twice right in the middle of my forehead! Man those things hurt...but he hurts more since I stomped on him real good with my shoe.

TODAY I sat and watched Branson run back and forth in my bathroom. He was laughing and swinging his arms around as he tried to catch all the dust particles that he could see in the sun shining through the window. He must have run through those specks like you would a sprinkler for at least 10 minutes.

TODAY Sydney and I picked Strawberries while Grandpa Cazier pushed Branson in the swing. Later Sydney cleaned the berries and took their tops off in the kitchen sink. Branson ate them faster than she could put them in the bowl.

TODAY I found out that the printer I ordered a month ago is going to take even longer to arrive...dang it.

TODAY is actually tomorrow but I can't sleep.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

CAYDEN age 12

"A professional basketball player. Well, I'd at least like to get a basketball scholarship to BYU."

BRANSON age 20 months
Demolition crew (I'm sure of it)


SYDNEY age 8
"I'm going to be an author. My book's almost done and I'm going to get it published."

ANDERSON age 13

"A Hit Man." (laughing) "Just kidding Mom...a bounty hunter." (more laughing)

(I still haven't gotten a straight answer out of him yet.)

Oh....Where the heck have I been? That's a long story. Let me get back to you on that.