Why I Blog

I'll be the first to admit that I am not the best blogger around, but I do have to say that I've been way better at blogging than keeping a journal. I enjoy creating my story into something interesting to read. Making a journey to the store to buy cheese and bread entertaining for you to read takes some mad skills. Some posts are better than others, but when it comes down to it, the reason I blog is for posterity.

Patrick and I went on a little mini trip this weekend to Occidental, CA. It's in the Sanoma county down by Napa. We were driving around and found this really old cemetery.







I would say that 98% of the people that were buried there were born in the 1800's and about 90% of those died in the 1800's. These headstones were so very old. Even the wording on some of them were not like they do these days. No birth date, just a death date and how many years, months and days old they were when they died. We came across this headstone:



As you can see, these people died in 1909 and 1918. On average, that was 100 years ago. Did you see that there are flowers there? Someone still thinks of this husband and wife and cares enough to bring flowers. Perhaps it was a family member seeking out their heritage, or maybe a grandchild with fond memories of these people. We will never know, but I'd like to think it has to do with memories...someone remembering them.

All those headstones really hit home. We start as babies, grow up, get married, have babies of our own, they grow up and give us grand babies, and if we are so lucky, our grand babies grow up and give us great grand babies...then we die, then our kids die, then our grand babies die, then our great grandbabies die and WE are completely washed from memory. No one else left on earth knew us, had memories of us. Can you tell me the name of your great great great grandmother? I can't and I definitely can't tell you anything about her. THIS, my friends, is why I blog. Yah, some posts are boring at times, but I'm blogging for posterity. I want my great great great great grandchildren to find my grave and put flowers on it because they knew me and knew of my experiences in this life. I may be grasping at straws here, but I feel like I am doing my part to keep my story alive by blogging and I hope that in 200 years, someone will read this post and say, Thank you for blogging. I'm glad to know you.

Kid Quote of the Week!

Carly: "I've got to put this hat on so I can be a scary-crow."

Best Friends!

The other day, I was making my morning rounds, waking the sleepy kids for another fun filled school day. I usually go around and turn the bedroom lights on and do a few things while the kids eyes adjust to the light. When I got into Malia and Carly's room, I noticed Carly wasn't in her bed. I knew for sure that she was not awake, but thought that maybe she went out to the couch or something. She wasn't there either. She wasn't in bed with me and for a brief moment I panicked. I went into Ethan's room and there she was. All cuddled up sleeping next to him.




The next morning, I found her in Ethan's bed again. I was a little bit perplexed because she usually would come and get in bed with me if she woke up in the middle of the night, but two nights in a row, she ended up with Ethan. When I asked her why she was getting in bed with him, Carly replied in a very sleepy voice, "Because he's my best friend." It was so sweet and cute.

For a third morning in a row, she ended up in bed with Ethan. This is how they looked when I went to wake them up:



So cute and a great blackmail photo for when they're older.

Last night, I was too tired to even put Carly to bed, so she got in bed with me and slept all night long...in my bed. Love those kids of mine!

Easter Festivities

This is going to be one of those "Ye of little words" posts. Truth is, I've been wanting to blog really bad, but haven't thought of anything other than my daily normal happenings to blog. I think I need a little more entertainment in my life...So, here was our Easter Fun:

Silk Tie Easter Egg Dying







Of course we had our own personal videographer (who got a haircut later that day)



Easter Morning...super early as church began at 9am.















Our Easter Best. Fun little fact: The girl who made my girls' cute skirts was recently a contestant on the Price is Right. She won a car and delivered our skirts in it. It was her 18th birthday...how cool is that?













And the Grand Finale...The Hunt















Happy Easter!

Imagination Station

CHURCH CLOTHES AREN'T JUST FOR CHURCH ANYMORE!

I've got to say, I have some creative kids. I've been noticing one in particular lately. This little guy:



If you can't tell...He's Indiana Jones. Ethan has used his church clothes more for dressing up in than going to church in. Occasionally, I get annoyed because he doesn't always keep them clean and when Sunday rolls around...well, you can figure that situation out. None the less, I enjoy watching his creative side come out (even if he sneaks my purse as part of his outfit).

Here he is as Han Solo:



Can you figure out what's in common here? That would be Harrison Ford. I was trying to explain to Ethan that Harrison Ford is a real person in real life and that Han Solo and Indiana Jones are "characters" that Harrison Ford plays in movies. Not 100% for sure he got it...I think he'd rather just BE the characters himself. Ethan is becoming quite the artist as well. It wasn't long ago (preschool), that the kid hated picking up a pencil for anything. It was a nightmare trying to get him to color something already drawn, but now, I can find him at the table for hours drawing, coloring, and well...using A LOT of paper.

This is Indiana Jones:



And on the back of the following picture it says: "We sneak up the rebel base and we get volcanoes and pour lava on the girls." I'm not exactly sure, but I think this might be a mixture of Star Wars and Indiana Jones stories.



I think that being grounded from the Wii for 3 months has really brought out his creative side! What do you think?

Kid Quote of the Week

Patrick: "How many yards are in a football field?" Ethan: "Two. A front yard and a back yard."

The Business of Being Raised!

The Apple Doesn't Fall Too Far From the Tree!

I recently had an "a-ha" moment. It was hilarious actually. In order for you to fully appreciate this moment, I need to give a little bit of background first.

Almost 14 years ago, at the ripe age of 20. I entered into a partnership with my husband. We vowed to love each other in sickness and health and all that other mumbo jumbo (actually, we didn't literally say that, but we all know that is what you do when you get married). Anyway, I didn't read the fine print on the marriage contract. You know, the stuff that says "Your husband CAN and most likely WILL annoy you with little tiny things that really don't matter" and the one that says "The way the toilet paper is hung, REALLY does matter." I guess I was too "in love" to really care what the fine print said. Not that I would have done anything different, but I just wished I would have known then what I know now.

After 14 years of marriage, I have come to realize that all the little things actually do matter. The way the toilet paper is hung REALLY DOES MATTER! In our house the toilet paper is hung over and not under...not because I really care, but because a certain male in the household does...I'll give you a hint...that male is not Ethan. Bread and cereal "should" be left out on the counter to be readily available, Dirty dishes go in the right side of the sink...not the left, and a strainer plug must be kept in the sink at all times so that silverware wont make its way down into the garbage disposal. These little things make a difference in the "happy" Patrick and the "I'm annoyed so everyone else is going to be annoyed with me" Patrick.

Last week, we ventured up to good ol' Boroville...errr I mean, Oroville to visit Patrick's parents. His mom had short notice that we were coming for dinner and was able to pull off a yummy dinner for us to enjoy. After dinner was over, I got in the kitchen and was helping to clean up. The strainer plug was removed from the garbage disposal as I was dumping food and rinsing dishes. As I was doing this, Patrick's mom walked by and noticed that it was not over the disposal. She then proceeded to put it back in its spot and said "Oh, I like to keep this over the disposal so silverware won't go down the drain". It was right then and there that I had my "A-Ha" moment. I realized that it was probably ingrained in Patrick's head growing up that the strainer stays over the disposal and that is how it is supposed to be and that is why he is so anal about it. Same with the dishes being in the right side of the sink, and possibly even the toilet paper being hung the correct way. I often wonder if he actually did the dishes, would the strainer stay in its designated place? I'm not sure I will ever know.

Sure, I've learned it isn't hard to make sure that when I put a new roll of toilet paper on the holder, to do it correctly. But one thing I don't understand and would like to know is...When is my husband going to learn that however I do things in our household, I do it the RIGHT WAY...no matter how he was raised? That, my friends, might take another 14 years of marriage before he gets it...and...I'm willing to wait!