I did it

well, the race is over
I did it-
not the greatest thing I have ever done,
I could barely breate by the end.
I don't have asthma,
but I think I got a taste of it.
not good.
I am taking a break from all exercise.
for a while.
then I should do something
cause I have a nice pile of jeans
that are just a bit too small.
and I would like to wear them,
since it isn't really capri weather anymore.

this morning I got my girls room cleaned up.
hopefully we can maintain it for a while.
that is a tough thing.
I know,
because my room is a mess.

Jed is still not sleeping in his smelly room
maybe tonight.
but it looks good.
a neutral taupe kind of colour.
he has a bed that has wagon wheel looking things on the end
so we are going with a cowboy theme-
I bought some horse shoe hooks a while ago-
should hang those up today.
then my sister picked up a wanted poster at Fort Edmonton
that has his name on it.
too cool.
and I have a cordouroy quilt I need to get put together.
boy, his room is going to be nice!!
and he keeps it clean.
I don't know where he gets that from.
oh, maybe his dad,
he's kind of a clean up kind of guy.
well, I should go try and clean up my room
then I can just maintain.
it's a dream I have.

want to see a cool photographers blog I found- look here
Brenda's Blog
okay, can't get the link to work- but it is
bloggingwithbrenda.blogspot.com.

I don't know how I found it, but she is totally inspiring me.
I think I am going to dust off the old angel wings, and play a bit today.
someday, I will be good!!

getting ready

ready to run- well , mostly walk, but some running
in Melissa's road race in Banff
on Saturday.
I just hope the weather is good.
should be fun.
painted first coat of Jed's bedroom today.
looks good,
but man, that oil based paint is stinky
I bought a mistint can,
not really reading the label
but now I know.
get water based.
washes out way easier.
at least it looks nice,
but I will have to do another coat tomorrow.
and stink up the place some more.
I think I will finish my kitchen next.
a while ago I painted half of it.
Next week I will finish it.
got a new oven- well a new, old one!
so nice to be able to bake things again.
well, that's about all that's going on around here.
I guess I will go get some kids to bed!
yay.

the latest

so,
my internet was out for a few days.
wow.
so many times I just wanted to sit and look,
but couldn't
so I did other things.
but now it is back,
and I can waste my time here again!!

our van has been having some serious problems.
apparently it's the transmission.
so anyways,
we are the proud owners of a "new" van.
a Safari.
very roomy.

and the other day, while turning off my oven,
the knob for the temperature broke right off.
so, haven't been able to use that for a few days.

that's what has been happening around here.

and a recent layout. I put a few up at 2peas.

the wants

I've got a case of the wants.
I want a clean house.
I want to be a good mom.
I want to have good kids.
I want to learn how to handle Jed.
I want to be more thrifty.
I want less junk around my house.
I want to be published in a scrapping magazine.
I want to be the greatest seminary teacher,
(okay not the greatest, but a good one)
I want to be a runner.

and on and on.

most of these things can be worked on,
I just need to do it,
just do it.
hmm.
off I go...

while the boys are away...

the girls will play.
yesterday spent a bit of time
with the girls
and my camera
had fun.
Sadie wore a little tutu I made,
can't really see it in the pictures,
but a good excuse to pose for some!
I need to update my wall,
(and grandma's too!!)
Well, trying to work on some good goals
for a little group of girls,
we got a challenge going on,
and the goals are exercise,
spiritual time
drink more water!
and more time off computer!
so , I should go, and read my scriptures!
see ya!

ahh, sweet school days.

so, back to school today.
nice.
quiet.
but Maggie seemed to think she needed to be a trouble maker to make up for the quiet without the boys!
she is a stinker.
but she is napping now,
so all is well.
Camo pants seemed to be the choice around here for back to school attire.
Sadie gets to go to kindergarten next week.
why they have to wait a week is beyond me.
they are dying to go to school,
so let them come!!! sheesh.
Spent the weekend in Stirling
it was nice.
went to a few cute shops.
bought a bit.
need to do some redecorating around here.
painting.
having a garage sale this weekend.
maybe I can make some money to buy paint!
seminary starts tonight.
I'm a bit nervous.
but should be good.
alright, need to go preview the flick we are watching tonight at seminary, then finish up some laundry, vaccuum some floors, tidy up some, find more stuff to sell, etc, etc.

A cake and a hat

okay, I have tried to upload these pictures at least 5 times, but it finally worked- yay, so here they are:



the cake I made for Jed's party
a picture for you, Shelley!
(it was yummmmmy- chocolate pudding in the middle)
and one of the hats.
I just cannot stop knitting!
should have another one finished today-
if I can fit it in.
Doing the seminary open house tonight,
taking the boys for back to school haircuts.
not feeling so hot.
should be a great day.
p.s. I wrote this this morning, but the pictures weren't working, now that they are it is night time, seminary thingy went well. we ate scones and honey butter- a little bit pioneerish/church history-ish. feeling much better. boys have some short hair again.
had a great time at Childrens Place. tons of $3.99 deals. who can pass up cute little denim capris for Sadie for $3.99? not me. and some t- shirts, and capris for Maggie, and some army pants for Ben and Jack (but they weren't $3.99) and maybe a few more fun stuff. then we had to go to dollarama. so much fun at that store. my favorite purchase was an orange tin with a black pumpkin face on it. so cute. can't wait to fill it with halloween candy. anyways, I have to be out of the house with 5 kids by 7:30 in the morning- and it has been a while since I have had to be ready to go by that time, so I had best go to bed. I get to go to a seminary scripture mastery day camp with 3 kids from our class. it sounds like a fun day. my kids are hanging at the other teachers house for the day, then I get her kids on Thursday while she takes some more kids to it then. should be good!
okay, I just looked at the pictures,and the hat picture is pretty dark. the hat is blue with a red tip, which is tied in a knot, and there is a little sail boat on it. I will take a better picture of the next hat. it is soooo cute. just need to do 2 more stars. okay, I am off to bed.

so nice

so,
cory had planned for a while to take the boys camping tonight.
all good.
then I thought, hey, Sadie would love it too,
so I asked if she could tag along-
sure.
so, they are packed up in the van,
and I say, hey
I need to go feed Carrie's cat,
can you drop me and Maggie off,
and we will walk home.
sure.
so, I did think it was a bit odd that the stroller was already in the van,
but, whatever.
so Cory drives me there,
I get out,
open the back door to get Maggie out,
and he takes off, and says have fun.
what?!?!
So, I am standing there, thinking he is just turning around.
but no,
he took all the kids camping for the night.
What a guy.
I think he could tell I was having a hard time this week.
so sweet.
so I knitted,
made squares for a church party tomorrow,
made buns for same party,
and am now going to scrap late into the night-
because I can.
and I can sleep in.
and no one will wake me up in the middle of the night.

wow.
thanks Cory.
I love you.

the photos...

yay, it worked. we had a good time.
today, not so good.
I am sooooo ready for school to start-
and there's still 2 weeks.
heaven help me.
I need to be nice.
be nice.
love those kiddo's.
soon they will be gone all day.
hurray!

an adventure

so yesterday, we left the house.
me and the kids,
and headed to Gull Lake
where Jason and Joanne- brother and sister in law
were supposedly camping
we went to the beach-
and never found them,
but had a good time none-the-less.
so we played,
and dug
and fed the crazy seagulls
then when we were driving away
we saw the turn off for the corn maze,
and thought- why not!
so we went in, and got lost.
then finally,
found our way out
played in the corn box
(Maggie did not want to leave it)
some tire horse ride thing
(that maggie did not want to get off of)
then we came home
what a day.
I have decided that I need a cabin on a beach.
then I will be happy :)
p.s. I have tried three times to post pictures,
but apparently blogger is having problems, so I will try again later.

eliminated.

I have a tiny sense of what those poor souls that are eliminated near the beginning of Survivor feel like. Sucky.
I decided to give a challenge a try and entered the Last Scrapper Standing challenge on the Dares blog. Made it through two rounds- which really, is more than I should have done, but then,
yep -
eliminated.
checking the long list of names to see who is still in,
and no me.
sad.
so I don't feel like scrapping any more.
okay, just for a few days.

actually,
I bought the cutest knitting book- on baby hats-
soooooo stinking cute,
so really, I just want to knit.
and knit,
and knit.
but first I need to find a real store that sells the good yarn,
no more walmart acrylic for me.
I need the good quality stuff,
for my cute hats.
I am almost done the base of a cute one for Maggie,
then, when I have the good yarn
I get to make some cute roses for it
I am so excited!
must go knit!

the latest and greatest-

So much fun.
It's called Wig Out.
and we are hooked.
the kids have played it everyday
since it has come into our house-
okay, it was only Sunday
but we have played it a few times a day
since then.
too fun.
Jed got it for his birthday from Auntie Shelley
(she's the best!)
the boys were playing it this morning
and giving them all nicknames-
I need a kissy face, etc.
silly boys
silly game.
apparently it is found at Target
I aim to go there someday soon!!
I hear nothing but good things about it.
oh, the house situation-
it is still a mess.
I tackled our bedroom,
cleaned off my dresser,
emptied the clean laundry baskets,
but alas,
the house is still a mess.
hmm. someday.... someday.

wow.

so, looking around my house this morning, I am feeling a little overwhelmed. The mess, the laundry, the dishes, the same old, same old. over and over.
more and more dishes,
more and more laundry.
never ending.
walls to clean.
a basement I really want developed.
a ton of stuff I should just get rid of.
5 kids who seem to be alergic to cleaning.

alright.
enough whining.
as Cory would say-
if you spent as much time fixing the problem as you did whining, it would be done. (He porbably wouldn't say it in those words, but you get the jist.)
so , I should just get off my hiney, and get moving.
Off I go.
wish me luck!
(I don't know if it will really work)
but okay, here I really go...
no really....

Do we have a birthday here?

yes, we have a birthday here.
Birthday where?
birthday here!
oh, oh, oh , oh
happy birthday ,
happy, happy birthday,
happy birthday
happy, happy day,
HEY!
{imagine us singing this with restaurant waiter style gusto to our seven year old guy today!! cupcakes galore. love me some cake and icecream. even better- cupcakes and icecream coming up tonight!!}

thursday happenings...

wow. August already.
July just flew by.
Jed turns 7 in less than a week.
wow. 7.
he is such a troublemaker.
I wonder if he will ever outgrow his craziness.
I sure hope so.
went for a pedicure today.
my feet feel so good.
what a nice treat.
well,
I am now free on Tuesday nights.
for the past 4 years or so
I have been hanging out at the church on Tuesdays with the young women.
I just got released on Sunday.
Tuesday felt so strange.
to not be planning something
going to the church,
doing activities.
weird. but nice.
I do miss those girls.
well,I will be seeing some of them in seminary in the fall.
yep, seminary. homestudy, so only once a week.
should be good. well, I should go watch a movie with my kiddos.

our vacation

or part of it anyways.
we started out at writing on Stone.
what a great place.
played in the hoodoos, or as Brayden, our cousin liked to say-
doodoos.
then of course, the nightly bonfire.
smores. love them!
then the next day, the beach.
the boys, and Sadie, went canoeing down the river.
oh ya, Jed didn't go. little bit of a chicken, that one!
but then we played on the beach.
so nice, and warm.
someday I want to rent tubes and go tubing there.
that would be so much fun!
had to wash the sand off maggie,
cute little tush.
then the actual reunion.
in stirling.
lots of people
super duper hot.
and some serious cereal necklace making
by Jack.
then we went to Waterton,but apparently
I am not allowed any more photos on this post, so those might have to come later. so much fun.

summer time..

and the living is easy-
today we got to sleep in!!
yesterday we had some kids come play
they were here shortly after 8,
their mom had an apppointment.
that was early.
sad, because in just over a month,
the kids will have to be about ready to leave the house by 8.
that will be a hard thing-
for a little while anyways.
so, my cute hubby Cory commented about a lack of pictures on my blog, so lets see what I can find to show you all..
okay, I have lack of blogger knowledge. I meant for the pictures to be down here, but that is not where they wanted to be.
the wedding one is a shot from a wedding
that I had the priviledge of practicing some photography at.
learned a lot,
so I guess it was all good.
the others are of the girls,
on a bench
in a field.
(okay, there was supposed to be two pictures, but one didn't show up- I really have blogging issues!)
got the idea from a photo on Rebecca Coopers blog,
where she had her girl on a chair in a field.
too cute.
I want to go out and try some again
on a nice overcast day, when I have the time,
and can convince the kids to cooperate-
hmm, that might never happen.
we shall see!

we're back..

and what a week!
hot, hot, hot weather.
until the day we headed home
then it was cool.
Writing-on-stone was fun.
could have used another day at the beach though.
we left our camera in Stirling
sadly
so I have no pictures to share
yet.
glad to be home.
still need to clean out the van
and the trailer.
putting that off for a while.
need to do more cleaning in this house too,
surprise, surprise.
well,
it has been thundering here all afternoon.
good stuff.

make like a baby...

and head on out..
at least that is what I hope we will be doing
and soon
as soon as Cory can get out of bed
after staying up late
watching a movie
then reading after that
and now we need to hit the road
and go way down to southern Alberta
and play with some cousins
then more cousins
and more...
family reunion on Friday and Saturday
should be fun.
be back next week.
that is,
if we ever get going!!

sad, happy, sad...

well, I have some sad news-
our little green neon we got on trade
from a family member
is not doing so well.

but, happily,
we have aquired a new car-
a shiny silver nissan Altima..

but...
sadly...

it is a standard.
and I am not so good at driving a standard...

yet!!