July is full of birthdays for our family. We start with Jeffrey’s birthday on the 1st  and as the month goes on we add Nana,  Pa, Jennifer, Mike, Ethan, and Clay. So we might as well just put a huge birthday bow around the entire month of July – it’s a party-filled month. Today was Nana’s special day and she loved having the kids at home and talking to everyone. We even had calls from the vacationing grandkids…Jeffrey and Jennifer.

Fun times and party traditions at home! Loved the food, fun, and fireworks at Clay & Ann’s this week. It’s the best party of the summer! Even though it rained, it didn’t slow the kids down a bit. Fun on the trampoline and playing washers and of course grabbing a snack between activities. And to top the evening off – we had fabulous fireworks!

Yes, you could now call us the “Cat Scratch Fever” family. We were so totally spoiled with Ollie Moe. He’s such a laid back, big, old fat cat who just quietly hangs out. Not getting into much – just occasionally shreds a roll of paper towels or cries to go out on the deck to harass the bugs. He pretty much follows Emily around and loves to curl up on the heating pad and watch TV with the rest of the family. Even when he was a kitten, he was never destructive or very mischievous. He even let Emily wrap him up in towels and carry him around like a little baby.

But Baby Cat, Tinkerbell is an entirely different story. She is a wild child – constant climbing, constant biting, and constant scratching. She hides under the furniture waiting for you to walk by so she can attack your toes and bite your feet. She jumps up on the bed waiting for you to walk by and then she leaps on to your clothes, clawing her way to your shoulder to sit and see what’s going on. At first we thought this to be so cute and sweet, but lately we’ve gone through more Neosporin (with pain control) than I care to admit. We have scratches up and down our legs, shoulders, and hands. And if you are wearing jewelry… well, just take a look at the scratches on Emily’s neck where she “played” with her necklace.

She pounces around more like a Tigger, than a little kitten. In fact, we are now calling her TiggerTink and are beginning to think that maybe she’s some sort of rare “attack cat” breed that we’ve never heard of. Either way, she’s become one of the family now. And I must say, both she and Ollie Moe have personalities that have some definite similarities to our “real” children. You figure it out!

Finally! It took me awhile to get around to this – but, at last it worked!

The video below was sent to us by the Mission President at the MTC while Alex was there. It’s a hymn medley (very beautiful, by the way!) and he is singing at a missionary farewell. We’ve always told Alex what a good voice he has – looks like he inherited that musical talent from his father and Grandad. I’ve kept in the DVD drive of my laptop nearly the entire time Alex has been in the Philippines and play it all the time. Enjoy!

Pics of Emily Ballerina in her latest peformance with the Ballet and Performing Arts dance studio…Emily was in the Sleeping Beauty waltz in Act I and lead the little ballerinas in Animal Kingdon in Act II. The performance was held at the Scottish Rite Temple in El Paso. A very old, beautiful auditorium with 2 spinx’s statues on pillars guarding the front entrance.

Indian girl Emily in Act II

Act II scenery

Act II - Other Variations - Animal Kingdom w/Pocahantas

Emily with "Little Flower"

Final touches on the ballerina bun

The make-up spread - Thanks to Jen!

The lipstick had to be just the perfect shade of Red!

Dad with Act I costume

The Sphinx

Heading home!Emily gets roses from her Dad!

We have a new critter at our house. I know…what were we thinking. But this little kitty is so cute and funny that I just couldn’t resist. Technically, she’s for Emily, but I’m the one rocking her to sleep at night. She’s 6 weeks old and pounces around and climbs on everything. She’s a little wildcat from El Paso!

Fun times! I was the official 6th grade “water boy” today for Emily’s school field trip to Western Playland. I walked around all day holding all the water bottles, sun screen, stuffed animals, & purses. Of course I had to snap a few pictures!  Emily loved the rides and had a great time. And even though it was no Kings Island, it was a very nice day and it was fun watching the kids having so much fun!

Emily and friends buying Dippin Dots

The Paratrooper

The Phantom Fury

Captains, Pre-game -Fall 1978

Where does the time go? Seems just like yesterday we were lining up to take the field for the half-time show. In reality, it’s been 30 years since the glory days of high school. Boy doesn’t that make me feel old and tired!

Still, it’s so fun to take that walk and remember good friends, fun times, and special experiences that definately last a life time.

Learning new stuff – actually it’s just copy, cut, and paste – but still very cool. From facebook to blogging… and back again!

Create Your Badge

You would think by now, homework would no longer be an every evening event at my house. But no, it’s surprising how much  homework one lone 6th grader can have. Lately it hasn’t been too bad, but tonight – it’s really driving me bonkers! We have (and yes I say We because all answers have to be researched on the Internet which means we have to share laptops, which is a whole different story) pages and pages of a workbook to complete about the Holocaust. While this is definitely a worthwhile study topic and something I do want my children to learn about – I just don’t want to have to help with the homework. I know, I’m a terrible mother.

But I admit it – I really, really hate homework. Now normally, I don’t use the Hate word – there are really very few things I actually “hate”. But in this case it’s totally true. I hate homework. And after raising 4 kids and spending countless hours stressing over spelling words, math tests, term papers, and pointless essay questions, I am ready to retire from the homework arena. While Emily is still only 12 and really can’t be considered “raised”, I try to pawn her off on her father or an older sibling to bug with homework questions. So Jeffrey & Jen – it’s payback time!!  Please answer the phone when Em calls!