100,000 miles baby!

Both of our cars hit 100,000 this month! Mine today. Here's to another 100,000!

My "baby"...

I was always irritated when other moms would tell me to "enjoy every minute" because they "grow up so fast"...but now I'm there and wondering where the time has gone.

Since we moved here I haven't been on top of "well" checks. We are at the endocrinologist and neurologist so much I forget about the pediatrician, especially now that we only need to go every other year. Anyway...Seth went yesterday for a check-up. I was shocked to find out that my child that can't even keep up a pair of pants which should be 2 sizes too small was 74% for weight! He was 90% for height which is no surprise.

Since Seth is 4 1/2 we were able to get all of his Kindergarten shots taken care of so we don't have to go back in the Spring. He was a trooper. Didn't even cry, just yelled at the nurse "That hurts!" We also got the flu vaccine taken care of...I chose the mist for him so he had one less poke. Now I need to get the other kids in for theirs.

Anyway, I am wondering where the time has gone. But I am enjoying (most of) my minutes now!

Look at this good-lookin' kid!

Jonah got his braces off today!!

Before...

After...

Seth has all his ducks in a row...

Literally. He loves his ducks. My new favorite is the one I brought back from NY.

Seth is getting to be such a good reader. He read me "Go Dog Go" last night with very little help. He has also been quite interrested with the solar system as of late and memorized all of the planets in order. The other day he said, "Mom, I can tell you the planets backwards..." and proceeded to name them from Pluto to Mercury. I haven't broken the news to him that Pluto is no longer considered a planet. No need to rush disappointment.

And lastly...some pictures of my "Ode to Texas" playroom. Don't mind the spackle on the walls...Jared filled in some little holes the other day, but we haven't gotten around to painting yet.

This is all the kids "Rodeo Art" & other projects from their school in Houston. I sure miss these!

Pictures in the bluebonnets and some from the Ranch this summer. I still need to put up one of JUST Rachel. There was a protest that she did not have her own solo shot!

And a few knick knacks and my bandana valences from the boys room in Texas recycled. The tall bushy stuff in the right hand corner is what I covertly aquired in the neighborhood.

Yee Haw!

How could I forget...

to post one of my favorite pictures from the trip? A highlight for me was going to the art museum and seeing all the Picasso. I LOVE it! I am a HUGE Picasso fan, so I was so excited to see a sculpture I'd never seen before "Pregnant Woman" and who better to pose by it than my 2 pregnant sisters! ;)

Some things never change...

Have I ever mentioned that I ran for President of my school when I was in 6th grade? Well, I did and my campaign manager (my Dad) wrote me a fantastic speech listing all of my qualifications for such a position, and then my opponent--Matt Schneider--got up and told the student body he was going to put soda in the drinking fountains...and guess who won? Not me.

My sweet Rachel decided to run for 6th grade V.P.--and today was the speech and voting. She too had a marvelous speech, and she too was beat out by some kid who promised to lower the price of Jamba Juice in the cafeteria. That dog! (P.S. since when does the Middle School have a Jamba Juice?)

So, Rachel came home a bit deflated but excited about the prospect of getting her name out there and knowing 7th grade elections will be in the Spring. And I am feeling sad again about losing to Matt Schneider. I think I'll go look him up on facebook and tell him what I think of his lies.

NYC...

After years and years of talking about it we finally went on a girls trip! Just my Mom, my sisters and Me! So much fun. Here are the highlights...

• A walk through Central Park
• The Manhattan LDS temple
• "A Tale of Two Cities"--LOVED it!
• Maternity shopping for my 2 pregnant sisters!! (First for both--Annie's havin' twins!)
• Grand Central Station & the Whispering Wall
• Interresting people
• Train ride to Greenwich, CT (now only 5 more states to go for me!)
• Ground Zero
• Wall Street
• Staten Island Ferry
• Carnegy Deli
• Rockafeller Center
• NYU
• A John Lithgow sighting

So much fun! Can't wait 'til next time!

Luke's Columbus Day Poem...

In 1492 Columbis salid (sailed) the osin (ocean) blue
He fond (found) the Indees, Yes that's true
He fond (found) Ameraca that was new.

Technology

I often think of how lucky I am to be in the generation which bridges "the good ol' days" and the fast paced techno world we now live in. I have many memories of watching Sesame Street on our little 10 inch screen t.v. and then as a teenager that after about 11 p.m. there was nothing but static to be found. I remember our big stereo box/t.v. thingie which also included an 8 track player and dancing in the living room to my Cinderella and Snow White records. I remember checking out filmstrips from the library and watching our 8mm home movies on a screen we had in our basement. I remember when we got our first VCR. We were the first of any of my friends, and had to drive quite a distance to get any movies--which wasn't much of a selection--and we usually ended up with "The Coal Miners Daughter".

So now we are in 2008. My kids know nothing of these things, nor will they. And when I try to enlighten them it is obvious that they, quite frankly, don't care.

We are big fans of the red box around here. Nothing better than a movie for $1 that you can return to any location! (That eliminates the $40 fees for returning a movie to the wrong location...or even the wrong chain for that matter!)

I feel strongly though that someone needs to post a sign with proper Red Box etiquette near each machine or maybe a "Red Box 101" course that is mandatory before using any machine. I was trying to get the newest "Wow Wow Wubbzy" for Seth on Friday and the people in front of me clearly were instantly sent forward in time 25 years and were having difficulty figuring the Red Box out.

They obviously were looking for a movie for adults, but were not aware of the "genre" feature and scrolled through each movie 65 times until they found one that was agreeable to them both. Then they seemed to not understand the VERY CLEAR picture which shows you which way to slide your credit card in the machine and after 37 swipes realized that maybe they needed to turn it the other direction.

So we got Wubbzy and we got our dollar's worth. Then came time for me to return Wubbzy. I waited again for all too long and then it was my turn. I smugly pushed the "Return DVD" button and put my DVD in the machine. I always wait because I wouldn't want it to be spit out and have some dishonest person be the recipient of a free copy of Wubbzy. Sure enough the darn machine spit it out. Once again I pressed the button and put in my movie. Again it came out. Third times a charm right? Nope, out it came again, and then a soft voice from a small child behind me said, "Um, I think you're putting it in the wrong direction." And sure enough I had over looked the rather large arrow with printing underneath that said "INSERT THIS WAY".

And I was sufficiently humbled.