Really I shouldn't get backed up like this.

I only have a FEW things to say.

1. I have begun 2 new projects.
2. First I am doing an internship at a photography studio. It is for a guy in my ward, he is teaching me studio lighting in exchange for putting some time in at the 'front desk' and helping with marketing strategies.
3. Second, I am now on a committee to help design a new high school. This would extend the charter school my kids go to from K-9 all the way to graduation. Wow...what a daunting task, but something I thought so worthwhile I couldn't say no.
4. I had both opportunities come up at the same time. A time when I thought, Hmmm I really should simplify.
5. I am not simplifying.
6. I just finished up an online photography workshop. It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot.
7. I really like photography
8. I finally feel like I am making some progress.
9. Yeah.
10. Yes Photography is my release from more serious concerns.
11. Summer went to fast for me. {Sorry Brenda}
12. I don't want to wake up early.
13. Emily is taking early morning seminary this year.
14. I will be waking up early.
15. As in really really early. But at least I don't have to get dressed...right away.
16. I might like waking up early. We will see.
17. I took Emily and 2 of her friends to see Pirates of Penzance at the Hale Centre Theatre.
18. Yes they spell it that way.
19. We had tons of fun.
20. The play was written in 1879
21. I mean I knew it was old but wow that's old.
    
22. There is a lot of silliness in that show, but I think Johnny Depp would fit right in.
23. Back to school night happened
24. and I wasn't there
25. {I was at the play...remember?}
26. Anyway, Mike did a fantastic job being the parent on duty.
27. Yeah
28. My kids started school today.
29. Everyone came home happy.
30. Lesson learned--when all the kids get in the car after school on the first day they all want to tell you something.
31. You may have 2 ears but they don't work independently.
32. If you make a teenager wait to long to talk, they won't talk.
33. Bummer.
34. Ethan missed his girlz and boyz.
35. Ethan is my little buddy though. So glad I have one more year with him
36. Speaking of, I want this to be a bucket list year of sorts. If you could have that last year before Kindergarten back, what would you do with it?
37. A few days ago we were at Walmart in the checkout line. Savanna was touching the candy when Ethan very authoratively stuck out his arm and announced. "We DON'T look with our hands! {pause} We look with our FEET."
38. I'm glad I don't look with my feet.
39. Ethan has said so many funny things this summer and I have recorded next to none of them. :( I commit to do better.
40. I have a brand new product that I could totally be on an infomercial for.
41. It is a Eureka 313 Steam Mop.
42. I love it.
43. I mean really, really, really love it.
44. If you have seen my house you know that half the downstairs is vinyl flooring.
45. I don't love that
46. BUT, I am loving it more now that I can steam it clean.
47. I mean really, really clean
48. I looked at all the reviews and this one came out on top for performance and price.
    
49. I love it when that happens.
50. So don't get a Shark, get a Eureka.
51. You'll probably have to buy online, I couldn't find any in stores.
52. It's worth it.
53. I might not be embarrassed about my kitchen floor now when you come to see my painted wall.
54. Yeah THAT wall, the one that still has no pictures on it.
55. Oh well, one picture. It's a silhouette of Sierra flying a kite on the beach in CA.
56. I {heart} it.
57. Plus it won a blue ribbon in the county fair.
58. Yeah.
59. Savanna got tubes in her ears on Monday.
60. I thought, great, I can finally get some reading done.
61. Nope, the doctor took her away at 9:04 and they came out to debrief me at 9:17. I 'guess' this makes up for the extra hour + that the same doctor took on Mike's sinuses.
62. Maybe.
63. We didn't get everything done that was on our bucket list this summer.
64. I'm ok with that.
65. At least we had a list.
66. Tim is starting out strong in the organization department.
67. Maybe all he needs is structure to organize with.
68. He even leant out a pencil today.
69. Yeah.
70. Oh, just so you know. There is NO joy is school shopping when your kids have to wear uniforms. Believe NONE, NADA, ZILCH.
71. Just believe me.
72. I like online school shopping when it comes to uniforms.
73. Oh yes I do.
74. I am looking forward to bedtime really being at 8:30.
75. Yep that is certainly a good thing.
76. IF you are taking a group picture of your kids on the first day of school. You can depend on the younger ones being very cooperative and cute. Not so much with the older ones. They asked for it.
77. Don't tell anyone, but I have a trip planned for Orlando in the middle of September.
78. Yeah I'm excited.
79. Mike has a conference and I am tagging a long.
80. Yes I will miss my kids.
    
81. A Lot
82. I think I'll be fine once I hit the freeway though.
83. Construction.
84. I hate it.
85. I think it will be a very long year as they tear apart and totally rebuild the road in front of the school.
86. I think I will be happy next year though.
87. Pretty sure.
88. I hope I don't forget to go pick up the kids.
    
89. Now that I can't carpool, I may think I've done my turn.
90. Have you ever been emotionally tired?
91. I am.
92. I wonder how you get your emotional health back on track.
93. I get to teach Sunday School this week.
94. I wonder what kind of lesson I need this week.
95. It is truly amazing how many things you can learn from the Old Testamant.
96. Last lesson we learned about the Syrians spreading propoganda. Yep right there in the old Bible. I thought that was cool. well, unless of course you are the one getting propogandaized.
97. I'm pretty sure propogandaized is not a word.
98. Too bad.
99. Well now that I've exploded all over blog land, here's a towel to help mop up.
100. Bye!
     

Really I shouldn't get backed up like this.

Change your information

My friend used this phrase with me, "change your information". I thought it profound.

How many times have we been SURE of something. Dead rock solid. Then found out one tiny detail that Changed Our Information.

Now understandably, if all the information is not there it is sometimes easy to think you have it all. But I think we need in all occasions to assume rather than we have all the necessary information that we are likely missing important information.

I think back to the speech I heard Rudy Giuliani give back in June. His speech was based around leadership. He said to be a good leader you needed to do a few things.

First: Read--Voraciously. The newspaper, books, magazines, Internet etc. etc.
Second: Process what you read. Examine, Intellectualize, understand.
Third: Take a stand and be able to defend it.
Fourth: Bring in someone that disagrees and has a differing viewpoint. Then debate it. You may change your mind (that's ok) or it will solidify further the points you believe in.

While he was talking about leadership, I think the ideas transfer here as well. We all need information and we need to make sure we aren't just getting it from our happy, feel good sources. Sometimes details we NEED to know, can only come from contrary sources.

We don't need to get mad about that information, we need to use it...productively.

And, IF we want someone to change their information about us. They need to be privy to that information.

Communication is key. Open-mindedness is good. Listening is grand. Understanding is golden. Patience is a virtue. Standing for something is a necessity.

Please remind me I wrote this from time to time...ok? :)

16 Random things for 16 Random years...

{For Mike} Do you remember...

The first time we went grocery shopping together after we got married? I asked 1 or 2 GALLONS of milk you about died and thought 1/2 gallon would be MORE than sufficient. I got 1 gallon and had to go back to the store in 2 days.

The red roses you gave me on our first anniversary? I'm sure you remember my peanut butter & jelly cracker breath.

How much I loved watching you give Emily a bath...and how nice it was when we figured out she hated the lotion afterwards.

Working everyday on the house thinking we would never make it? But, luckily, when I was done you were not and vice versa. Glad things work that way.

The {very} hard times...but how we stuck together and were stronger for it?

The trip to Victoria? I want to go again.

How weird it was to finally get to sit with your family in sacrament meeting? Kids are wild...but then again, you know about satellite feeds and little hands.

Wondering what we were going to do just a few days before Christmas when Iomega gave you your 'gift'? And the next three years of very lean times.

Working hard together to start a business though we were somewhat clueless about kitchen equipment.

Your best birthday present ever?

The feeling of having a steady paycheck once more?

The fun we have putting up the Christmas decorations each year and not being able to remember that 'one' year with the grass seed.

That crazy lady that yelled at me for having baby #5? I loved your response.

The completeness we felt when all our family was here.

That insane bike ride we took in the mountains? We should do that again.

The many times you have comforted my tears and celebrated my (our) successes.

Thanks for 16 great years...you are my best friend and my rock, and I love you.

Here's a girl...

That's kind,

thoughtful,
giving,
resourceful,
brave,
smart,
beautiful,
resilient,
happy,
inventive,
musical,
creative,
funny,
sweet,

and 14!
Happy Birthday Em!

Light and Airy

That's how Sierra's hair is now. :) gone are the long long brushing sessions full of snarls and pain. Here is the dawn of an easier hair do. I will miss her braids though...and hope she'll wear them again some day.

Those are some killer eyes I tell ya!

Family Awards

My kids like to ask me questions like...
Who is the best at...
And, who was the worst at...

So here they are the best and worst of awards July 2010.

The best sleeper as a Baby goes to SAVANNA closely followed by Ethan, then a tie with Emily and Tim and by far the worst Sierra.

The best puker goes to SIERRA. She lives on the top bunk but you can still count on her to make it to the bathroom. The worst--Tim...he knows why and so do the stairs.

The best eater goes to SAVANNA, I mean really when you have to say, 'No more broccoli until you eat your hot dog' it's a dead give away. The worst would definitely have gone to Emily as a toddler--the only food groups acceptable at that age was yogurt, milk, cheese and peaches. Thankfully, she's grown out of that.

The most creative come-backs goes to SIERRA. She regularly pulls a one-liner to put her older teasing brother or sister back in line. She can definitely hold her own.

The most dependable would go to EMILY. She only has to be told ONCE for jobs (usually) and creates the best times for her brothers and sisters. She would say that's boring. But I think it's cool in a fun happy way.

The most dramatic would also go to EMILY as well. I don't think it necessarily has to do with her short life in theater as an orphan in Annie or the Snake in Jungle Book, but it might be.

The kid that learned the most and got the worst grade would be TIM. Though his grade was barely registered (2 on a scale of 0-10) the comments by his teacher said. Tim is brilliant. (Now just hand in your homework!)

The award for the funniest sayings could definitely go to any one of the kids when they were 3 and 4. But, since these awards are for 2010 I'll have to go with ETHAN. I mean really, when you describe your self as a Cool, Awesome, Medium-Biggish Boy what else can you do.

Consequently ETHAN also wins the award for the best use of adjectives.

TIM earns the award for knowing the most digits of pi. Unfortunately since the rest of us only know it to 3.14159265 we really don't know if he is just making up numbers or not.

The award for the most excited to go back to math class...well that might be a draw, but considering SIERRA stalked the mailbox for 3 weeks straight to find out her grade, I think she has the edge and will receive the honor this time.

The award for having the most books on hold at the library at any one time would go to EMILY. Though, Sierra, Tim and Savanna are nipping at her heels for how many books read already this summer. (It's a lot!)

ETHAN wins the award for best helper around the house. Overheard, "Hey Dad, I have my hat, now how can I help you?"

TIM wins the award for having the cleanest room. Yeah, I don't know how it happened either.

SAVANNA wins the award for being most brave. Enough said.

The END