A Family Photo, Finally

So remember my post from a few months ago and the disaster that ensued when trying to get a family picture. Well it took a few months, but we finally did it. These were taken by my sister-in-law Adelle (she also took that picture of Greg and I in my profile section, and I love it). The one of Annabelle may have been taken by my other sister-in-law Jessica. You can visit her website and drool over her pictures at www.jrandallportraits.com. Hooray for family photos! We only looked like this for a nanosecond though, I am glad we caught it.

What I really need to Google...

As I walked home from taking Jacob to school today I was thinking about how nice it would be if someone created a database, linked to a search engine like Google, that has a list of punishments(I like to call them consequences) that fit with the severity of the misbehavior. For instance, I would Google a sentence like this after my little incident with Jacob today, "What is the appropriate consequence for a child who holds a sit in (protest) at the edge of the playground insisting that he will not go to school?" After finally coercing said child to start walking by severe threats of losing all dinosaurs in his possession and also any video games he has ever even dreamed of playing I would then Google this scenario. "What do I do to a child who then walks about as slow as a two-legged turtle with a limp across a seemingly never-ending playground while his class is all waiting for him and the tardy bell has now rung? Teachers are telling him to hurry up and does he hurry, absolutely not. HE STOPS! HE STOPS! Eventually he does make it to his class line and goes into the school, still limping and now succeeding in making an entire 2nd grade class late." (He has a mosquito bite on his leg that apparently has rendered it useless, although it was fine until he hit the pain- inducing force field at the edge of the playground.) Now since there is no Google database that I am aware of with this function, what do you think should be the appropriate consequence for said actions? If anyone had seen me watching all of this unfold from across the street they would have seen the steam just shooting out of my ears, just like in the cartoons. This fuming mother only has an hour and a half before he comes home to decide his fate. Oh and it's got to be good...

First day of School!

It's amazing how the pliable the human brain is. So easily conditioned. When I was in college and even after Jacob was born I detested quiet. I wanted noise all the time, it's probably because that was what I was raised with and worked with, and lived with. I would go out of my way to make it noisier, like turning on the TV, simply for background noise. I rarely actually sat down and watched it at all. Now it's 1:40 in the afternoon on the first day of school 7 years later, Maddie and Annabelle are napping and I have had peace and quiet for almost 2 HOURS! And I love it. Obviously I miss my children, but just think what a happier mom I'll be at 2:45 because I had time to regroup in silence. Ahhh...don't you love school?

Here are a few pictures of my BIG kids going off to school. Jacob started 2nd grade and Lorelei started kindergarten, and Madalyn, she was a little bummed that she couldn't join them. The first picture is of our back to school party we had on Friday night. It was a blast!


It was torture for them to wait until I found my camera, they wanted that school bus cake!


Madalyn


Lorelei - Doesn't she look the part of a little school girl? As soon as I saw that outfit I knew it was meant for us. LOVE IT!


I wish the full body shot of Jacob hadn't come out blurry because then you could've seen his awesome shoes he picked out. Come to find out - Jacob has pretty good taste.

Even more pictures

Here are a few more random pictures from our trip to Nebraska. We just got back from our last trip of the summer and I have to say I am glad that we won't be stuck in the car for hours at a time for at least a couple of months. Now we just have to get ready for school (when did that happen?)


Lorelei and Madalyn after swimming at Star City Shores


Pondering even in her sleep (Annabelle)


Did you see the size of this bone???!!!


Having a "mammoth" good time


My kids loved hanging out with Uncle Jimmy

Finally She's Five Years Old!

Lorelei has been waiting for her fifth birthday since she found out 2 years ago that that is how old she needed to be to start school. It finally came! We got to celebrate in Nebraska and what a celebration it was. She got to open her presents with lots of family around, go to Toy Story 3, ride on a merry-go-round, eat pizza, and have this, if I do say so myself, fabulous cake. She was a Happy Birthday Girl. We love her sunshine and easy going spirit.



Madalyn was a little upset that it wasn't HER birthday!

On to the next...

These are more pictures from Nebraska. We went the the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo one day. It was hot, but not terribly so. The zoo always wears me out, yet for some reason I keep taking my kids there. We went with my parents, and my sisters and their families. Good times, good times.

Grandpa in charge of the stroller


Silly Lorelei


Happy Annabelle (not taken at the zoo though)


Greg trying to keep track of Madalyn


Us (Annabelle was waiting out with Grandpa) in a big tree


Jacob and Lorelei, Jacob says he was pulling that face because he was embarrassed because he was getting wet. I'd be more embarrassed about that face.


With Uncle Victory - How many chances do you get to take a picture with
someone taller than a giraffe?


With Grandma in the aquarium - Watch out a shark might get you!

So much to share

We have been crazy busy. In the last month we have only been home a week. Which translates into lots of pictures and lots of fun things to share. We spent two weeks in Nebraska visting my family. I love Nebraska. I can leave for two years and come back and it feels like I've never left. I loved being there and my kids were excited for all of things we got to do. We got back from Nebraska and then a week later packed up to go to Bear Lake with my family for our family reunion. So much fun! Now we are finally home to stay for at least 3 weeks and I hope my kids find their routines again. We are on "detox". That's what my friend Lisa calls it anyway. We have to wean the baby off of being held constantly, my kids off of chocolate milk that was plentiful at Grandma's house, and the grown-ups have to start going to bed at a decent hour. Here are a few pictures of our adventures, I'll have to post them in seperate posts. If you don't hear from me for awhile it's because I am trying to find my house under all the suitcases and dirty clothes.

Children's Museum




Catching Fireflies