Appearances can be decieving! Don't we look like a nice family?

except check out Evan...HA!

My computer is on the fritz and I'm getting really impatient to get it back. It has all my pictures and enough room to put more, so right now I'm stuck with the ipad and the occasional use of Amanda's netbook. So sorry Mom about the no pictures thing. But here is an updated funny family anecdote!

About a month ago, the South Park Christmas Special was on Netflix. I suppose my husband was unable to help himself, so with his "secret" nightly bowl of ice cream in one hand and the remote in the other, he stealthily turned it on thinking no one else would know. HA! I know and see all. We don't let the kids watch shows like that - not because we are above that kind of humor, but because my 2 boys are like sponges and are fascinated with any bad word or bit of crude humor. So as he's watching, he hears hysterical laughing coming from the back of the room. Crap! They heard (listen at your own risk - crude lyrics disclaimer)

"Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo!", and now it has become a family favorite, at least with the boys. Dustin swears that he turned it off after he saw they were watching, but I wonder since every time Austin uses the bathroom, he yells, "Mom, I made a Mr. Hankey!!" Or Evan sings, "Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo!" at the dinner table...SIGH!

So as we are sitting in circle time at the little Montessori school yesterday, the teacher is asking all the kids if there is something they would like to share. Austin raises his hand and says, "Miss Janet, do you know Mr. Hankey?" All would have been cool except I was there and of course I reacted in a panic and said, "Austin, NO!!!"

Luckily these are parents whome I'm sure would never bring such language into their homes. Most of them won't even let their kids eat off of plastic spoons, So watching South Park is I'm sure out of the question. They probably have no clue who Mr. Hankey is!...Anyway, that's how I will delude myself into thinking no one noticed!

What are YOU Thankful For?

I'm thankful for a husband that is brave enough to drive a ginormous RV into the city.

I'm thankful for friends that are willing to let us pick them up at 2am in the morning, drive into NYC and camp like Hobo's with us on the streets of NY.

I'm thankful for a warm home and a couch that I can curl up on and watch the Thanksgiving parade because it's cold watching it live and in person.

and I'm thankful for yummy food and an awesome Mom who taught me how to cook so I could make a fun Thanksgiving meal.

I really am not sure where the idea origionated from, but somehow we got it into our heads that we wanted to go into NYC and see the Macy's Thanksgiving parade.

Then it evolved into not only driving into the city, but doing it in the RV and camping out on the streets of NY until early morning so we could get a good spot to watch the parade. We picked up our friends on the way there, so picture 11 people crowded in 1 RV. Yeah, we're pretty much nuts!... But willing to try anything.

The idea seemed realistic, and our plan went off without a hitch until the 2 husbands, Wes and Dustin overslept and got to the parade route a little later than anticipated. There were thousands of people already filled in between the barricades by 6:30am. CRAZY PEOPLE!

So the Husbands scoped out a spot and parked our lawn chairs in an area right at the corner of 7th and 35th. Well, I wish officer Joel, the NYPD officer had told us what we were in for because this ended up being the pedestrian through way for the duration of the parade. These lovely, inconciderate New Yorkers paraded through in front of us. Waited there until the police made them move across the street, then the circled the block again and again until the parade ended. ANNOYING! So pretty much all we got to see for the duration of the parade was the backs of heads, the occasional float, and my kids cute hineys as they stood on my lap to try and see something. So pretty much the Macy's parade is for the birds, but cross that off my bucket list! It still was an adventure and the kids made some good memories!

I mean how many can say they camped in an RV on the streets of NY?

Downer Disclaimer!

So today is a beautiful day outside. We haven't had many of those this Autumn. Today is also one the first Saturdays that I haven't had to take my girls to dance rehearsal. I'm kind of sad...no, I'm really sad. I decided recently that Dance was just taking over our lives. My girls couldn't do ANYTHING else, including church or even homework. When I saw on the new season calendar that there would be quite a few Sundays away, I decided it was just to much. My girls are enjoying their first Saturday of freedom, and I'm glad they are able to be enjoying this beautiful autumn day. I should be feeling happy to have this new found freedom to not have to run them everywhere and have them cooped up in a dance studio all day, but really I'm just feeling totally depressed.

I guess I just don't deal well with change and it was a huge part of our lives so I'm having a difficult time letting it go. I know I've upset people at the school; people I really care about and anyone who knows me knows that I HATE THAT! Making people unhappy, disapointing them or displeasing them. All decisions I make are based on who I will or will not dissapoint. But sometimes, most times, you have to dissapoint someone to not dissapoint others, or yourself.

The girls will still be dancing, just no opportunities to perform except for the recital (which is of course on a Sunday. That's one reason why I picked this school 10 years ago (Sat. recitals), but now it's changed...and I'm annoyed! That and teachers I loved being an influence on my kids have left. Why does life have to be filled with conflict and change? Why do we have to make decisions for our kids and then worry after if it was the best for them? This should be clear to me! We chose Church over dance, so why does it seem so unclear right now?

Click here to see what we won't be doing anymore

This Sucks!

I'm sure I'll only be sad for a little while and then I will get used to not being somewhere I love and it will pass. But right now I'm just feeling yucky inside.

For The Logistically Challenged!!!

How do you get babysitting for 10 children, 3 husbands to Morristown by 4pm and then 3 wives down to Morristown by 7pm, spending the least amount of gas and putting the least amount of miles on the cars? Sounds like an algebraic equation to me. Do you want to try and attempt to help me figure this out, because this is about when my brain goes to sleep and I start hearing "This". Then 1 husband (are we wondering whose?) throws in, "Oh I have to take my Kayak so I'm taking your car and you take mine... Hmmm... Oh never mind now you're taking your own car, I don't have enough time to put the Kayak on the top of your car." So... I don't understand anything I'm doing right now. Lets just hope that we all make it down to Morristown safely for Stake Conference to hear our current Stake President, Timothy Pettit (whom we will miss dearly) speak for the last time before he is released tomorrow. Oh yeah, and please pray that all our children are taken care of and that none of them fall in the Lake while we are gone. I'm going to go and try to make myself look hot now. We don't get date nights like this often enough.

These are the things that we deal with out in New Jersey, So for all you families who live a block away from a Church building, NO WHINING ALLOWED!!!! pththpthpth!

I LOVE SUMMER!

Sunrise on the Bay!

Lemonade Stands!

Cape May-Lewes Ferry!

Ocean Fun!

Eeeeeew! Dead Shark! How did it get on the beach?

Oh!...Evan pulled the dead shark in by it's tail. Groooose!...With Dad and Uncle Jeff watching. Where is the Hand Sanitizer and adult supervision when you need it?

He's just so Handsome! I had to share it.

Garden beauties!

It's not summer without spending a day up a tree!

Summer has almost come and gone. I love summer! The Lightning bugs in the evening. Cool summer nights sitting out on the deck under the stars. Lemonade. Just the freedom of not having to stick to a schedule and run your kids all over town. I love the opportunities to just hang out at home and not have anywhere that you have to be. Saying "Yes, you can stay up and watch that Movie", and having 4 thrilled kids who can sleep in the next day. I find myself getting annoyed when we actually have to go somewhere. We have had a lot of adventures. The best moments however are those "Yay Me" moments that just don't come as often as they need to.

Some of my triumphant moments this summer!

Getting my new Nikon 3100 after Dustin threw ours in the Bay.

(Click here for musical inspiration)

Dustin exchanged a bunch of printer cartrages someone was throwing away at work and got $400. We used it towards a new awesome camera! LOVE IT!

Taking 4 kids to the grocery store with complete cooperation and no Mommy melt downs in one entire visit. That may only happen once or twice in my lifetime.

After letting the boys pick out a treat at Wal Mart, and Austin completely flipping out over what he picked out, Evan traded what he chose for Austin's choice. Then traded back 'happily' when Austin was still not satisfied... YES!!! Maybe I'm not failing at teaching my kids kindness.

Going to girls camp as a leader "in charge" of lots of girls, and not coming back dead or dismembered. And none of the girls got lost. Well, only one for about 20 min. But it was pretty origional. She tried to impersonate a Hill Cummorah pageant cast member and had plans to go up on the stage with the cast. Definate points for creativity.

Finishing the Hunger Games series finally.

Reading "The Help" (click here to see the trailer) again and going to see the Movie with my daughter and friends. Well worth your time if you feel so inclined.

I did have some moments that were not so triumphant, however.

I lost the diamond from my wedding ring and spent 3 hours crawling around on the dirty floor. But I did realize that a true friend stays with you, crawls around and pokes through Wal Mart grime in an effort to help you find your diamond right along side you. So grateful for good friends...And a husband who doesn't mind spending money and surprised me with a new diamond in a fancy new setting. He's Great!!! I'm totally spoiled.

Allowing my kids a Television Marathon with this one particular show. I now have 2 little girls addicted to this H2O show (click here for cognitive stimulation) found on Netflix. Not a good idea. Can't decide if I should make them go cold turkey or ween them off slowly.

I also realized that I like electricity and being able to use my dishwasher. Hurricane Irene helped me realize I could not have walked the plains behind a handcart. They would have had to bury me quickly after my first turn at washing the dishes in a pot and not being able to shower for 48 hours.

We had a great time at Chincoteaque IS, VA , hence the photos above at the beach.

And we spent many hot summer days at Mountain Creek Water Park.

Summer is almost over again and school will begin again soon. I'm determined to enjoy whats left of it!

5 days and counting! Am I ready? NOPE! I think I need one more day at LBI to prepare myself.

Who needs school supplies, schedules, and registration forms?

I'm a slacker so here are some pictures!

Big Black Bear

The Smith Family came for a visit over Memorial Day! Just Love that family!

Ashley and Amanda had their piano recital!

Amanda started taking pointe classes. Here is her shoe before it got all mucked up from Dancing.

One of the Only pictures not at the bottom of the Bay!

Austin! He's just so cute when he sleeps. What an angel...till he wakes up and turns into a terrorist!

So Dustin went on his annual fishing trip with his brothers this year. They always go in April during Rock Fish Season. One of those things I don't complain about too much because usually they bring back a big old Rock Fish, cut it all up, and share it. Sooo divine! Yummy! Artichokes, lemon butter and Rock Fish! Food of the Gods!

This year however, right after our Myrtle Beach Spring Break vacation, Dustin took the camera with him fishing. In his excitement to catch a great picture of, I'm assuming a fish? - I haven't seen it, since the picture now sits at the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay. Yep, you heard me correctly. My camera slipped, plip plop, right into the bay as Dustin grabbed the side of the boat when he almost fell overboard. All (or most of) our vacation pictures are now at the bottom of the bay. The ones I have were taken with Ashleys ipod touch, hence the low quality pictures...I'm totally bummed and am now shopping for a new camera. Any suggestions? Something with a floatation device would be nice...

I've been such a whiner lately!

Have you ever just laid in your bed in the morning wishing you didn't have to face the things that you commited yourself too? Well, I have. Sometimes... ok, I always have a hard time saying no to people...and even worse, when I say no and someone argues their point as to why I've made a poor choice in saying no, I totally do what someone else thinks...then I get annoyed. This really bugs me that I do this, so I have been being very stubborn lately. Almost to the point of revolutionary. Yeah! Pretty much I've been a big grump and putting my foot down a lot when it comes to my own opinion.

But, thankfully, someone else is watching out for me and sending me good people to surround myself with. And opportunities to be blessed in spite of my cranky attitude.

What is that scripture? "If you give a gift begrudgingly, it is better that you had retained the gift?"...hmmm! I wonder how many blessings I have missed out on because of THAT one. HA!

Well today I woke up thinking I was in for a day of drudgery...and consequentially, it turned out quite the opposite of that.

I've always been in Young Women so I never knew the difference, but in the Relief Society, there seems to be lots of these little jobs (or big ones) where you seem to be just giving and giving. You know, playing Henrietta Homemaker, and Sammy Service... Totally not me. I know I'm going to sound like a big jerk, but bear with me, I'm just being honest...Compassionate service is not a strong point for me, unless its my idea. The serving random strangers I don't know is more difficult for me. I have a hard time pushing past the "I'm annoyed" feeling in the beginning.

But today I was truly touched and humbled. It was the Sparta Ward's turn to cook a lunch for like 180 Missionaries for their Zone Conference today. We did tacos. After browning half a cow, and driving the hour to the Stake Center, we prepared for 2 hours and then served the Missionaries their lunch. Like I said before, I was having a hard time getting out of bed this morning and facing it. How I have managed to get out of these things for this long I don't know, But I'm so glad I didn't get out of it this time. As these young men are going through the cafateria style line, a lot of them seemed truly thankful that we were there. One of them said, "this is the best food I've had in a long time. I'm tired of living on pop tarts and cereal"...Awwww!!! I was touched that a lot of the Missionaries that had served in our area before and left remembered my name...I had to look at a lot of name tags... Then at the end, they called all the serving ladies in to the cultural hall to thank us.

The army of Missionaries sang us "Called to Serve" and after, yelled, "Thanks for Lunch!" It was kind of cool to look out into the sea of Elders, recognizing the ones that had served in our ward, who looked truly happy to be singing to us. I was touched. What a cool experience it turned out to be when I would have rather stayed in bed. Kind of glad I didn't.