Thursday, June 26, 2008

Oh Aspen!!

Aspen & Sierra went to their friend's house, and this is what they were up to! This is Aspen photo shopped into a picture with the Jonas Brothers. It's even autographed!! I guess Sierra did one too, so I'll have to post it when she brings it back. I am still laughing!!!!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

My Bubba is Coming Home...Finally!!

Ryker has been gone for over 3 weeks now! I can't believe how much I have missed him. He, on the other hand, hardly spoke to me at all during his trip. He was just having WAY too much fun to stop and talk to MOM!! How sad for me. Anyways, he won't get here until Midnight, so I am going crazy waiting. Here are some pics to keep us all busy while we wait! These are all from his first week with my Family. They went to Capistrano Beach and Sea World. Ryker had a blast learning how to swim in the waves and make sand castles. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Sunday, June 15, 2008

What am I going to do with this cutie?

As most of you know, Marina is our baby. Let me emphasize that...Marina is our baby!! She really does get away with a lot more than the older kids. Probably just because I'm tired by the time I get to her. Well, bedtime is getting to be a real hassle. She really feels like she should not have to go to bed at all! So, Thomas and I are usually going in 2, 3...10 times before we can get her to settle down.

Last week, she really made me laugh. I was in there for the umpteenth time, laying down next to her and she was stroking my hair, and telling me how she needed more hugs and kisses. I mentioned to her that I needed to go get ready for bed, and that I was going to leave because she really needed to go to sleep. Her answer to that....

"But mommy, I'm not finished with you yet!"

I couldn't help myself. I started laughing, and, well then, she started laughing. So, needless to say, she didn't get to bed anytime soon after that. I mean, how could I resist that!!!

Friday, June 13, 2008

She's growing up!


I can't believe it! Aspen has her very first, all by herself, not for family babysitting job! She can't be old enough, right?? It is for a cute family in our ward with 4 year old triplets (yes, triplets!) and an 18 month old. Now, before everyone gets all crazy on me, she will only be there for a half an hour before they will be put to bed. Then, she basically just has to "be there" in case anything happens until the parents get home. Plus, I am only 5 minutes away! She was so excited last night when she was asked that she couldn't stop jumping up and down! She has been waiting for this day for, what seems to her, forever!

Next stop....Young Women's...yikes, make it stop!!!

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Is this a Daddy's Girl, or what???

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Save The Fish!

Man, is this rain ever gonna end! It has been a crazy couple of weeks here in the Midwest. Luckily, all the extremely severe weather seems to hop right over our side of town. (Knocking on wood) Well, today it rained up to 11" in some parts just south of us. Needless to say, there is tons of flooding going on.

I was going crazy from being stuck in the house all week, so we decided to go and see Kung Fu Panda! (So good, by the way!!) While we were watching the movie, we could hear the rain pouring down. I couldn't believe how loud it was over the movie in the theater. Anyways, when we got back home, the kids found a fish in our gutter. Don't ask me how it got there, as there is not a river anywhere near us. Thomas couldn't tell for sure, but thought it might be a rainbow trout. It was still alive, so the kids decided to save him. They scooped him up into a big cup, and then we all walked it down to the pond in our subdivision...which, by the way, was so full from the rain.

They were so proud of themselves! I'm proud of them too!


Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Severe Thunderstorms & Tornados

Well, we have had a busy week as far as the weather goes. All this severe weather is so new to us, that the kids are pretty freaked out. We have had thunder & lightning like I have never seen before! As we were cleaning up the house last night, we felt like we were in a haunted house with a strobe light on. The thunder out here quite literally shakes the house and rattles the windows. It also is not just a BOOM sound, but you can actually hear a "CRACK" and what sounds like the sky being cracked open like an egg! Last Friday and last night were pretty bad. I learned that last Friday, as well as with last night's storms, that lightning was striking in the 10,000 per 1/2 hour range!! Whoa...WHAT??? The weather guy said that means that last Friday, and probably last night too, that we had around a million lightning strikes!!

We also had a tornado last Friday and 4 last night, that I know of. None were too close to us, but close enough to make us worry. The one last Friday was on the East side of Indy. We are in the South East of Indy. It tore up and destroyed an apartment building and knocked over gas station pumps. The 4 last night were all about 30-40 miles south, south east, and south west from where we live. The one in Moscow, IN destroyed the longest covered bridge in Indiana...needless to say, a state treasure. Also, at that particular location a woman was thrown about 50-60 feet from her home! She is in critical condition.

The kids got a bit scared last night when they heard "tornado" on the news, but our tornado sirens never went off. Harley was the most freaked out by the lightning and thunder and wouldn't leave my side! Thomas is in Vegas right now, so the kids just wanted him to come home so they could snuggle with him. He'll be home tonight, hopefully without any trouble getting here as the storms are supposed to pick up again when his flight is planned to be arriving.

Here are some photos from the news station of one of the tornados.


You can check out the story here. CLICK HERE On the right hand side of the story is a picture gallery of photos taken after the storm. There are some amazing pictures!

We are just grateful to have such incredible technology available to us, as this helps calm us and prepare us. I don't know how the pioneers dealt with these storms. Such a testament to their great courage! The doppler radars can pinpoint exact streets as to where these storms are located. It's amazing to watch!

We are so happy to be safe and cozy in our house! There are so many today, who cannot say the same!