Overheard: Rachel on a roll

Rachel: Mom, first grade and a little bit of second grade homeschool is too hard for me. Wait...first grade plus second grade is THIRD grade! No wonder it's too hard for me!

Rachel, to our 13 year old baby sitter.

Rachel: "Who are you voting for?"
Morgan: "What?"
Rachel, exasperated: "VOTING..you know when you choose the president of the USA?"
Morgan, humoring her: "Oh, ummm, I don't know."
Rachel: "I'm voting for McCain. He's not that great, but he doesn't want to take our money. Obama will take a lot more of our money."
Morgan: "Ok, I'll vote for McCain too."
Rachel: "Good."

She get's it from Dan :)

catching up

I asked Adam what shape pancake he wanted for breakfast and he said "An alien."


Dan taking the kids to "hike" the "mountain" near our home. The quote marks should clue you in on the fact that it's really a big hill, and that what they call hiking really means loading up their backpacks with yummy snacks and stopping on the trail to eat every 5 minutes.


One of my favorite things that happens nearly every morning is one or more kids getting in my bed to snuggle. Yes, I know I should be up before them so I can read my scriptures, exercise, bake bread and welcome them after they get up with a warm breakfast...but I just can't seem to give up morning snuggles.


Seriously now, could you give this up? For baking bread? Definitely for the scriptures- but I will get that in later. Jonathan (pictured here with Jake) has already banned me kissing him in front of his other kindergarten friends (snif snif) so something tells me I'd better hang on to morning snuggles as long as I can.


My sister-in-law Laura took this of Jake and I just love it. Maybe I love it because he has one of my hairs in his hand- probably ripped out of the really tender spot at the back of my neck where he gets his best death-grip. Mostly I love his rolls- he is my chubbiest baby yet. Why I consider that an accomplishment, I don't know. There is just something kind of sad to me about skinny babies.


The boys are 6!! Birthday presents this year were all about Star Wars.





Seriously, I am a Jedi. Don't make me use my light saber on you.


Conned the boys into going to "Sweet Tomatoes" for their birthday dinner (free b-day dinner for kids). Unlike Rachel who would eat salad all day, they said "Is there anything else except lettuce here?"


When I'm not a Jedi, I'm a dollar-store-helmet wearing really cool guy!

snowballs chance

One of my favorite sayings about the odds of something happening has always been "that's about as likely as a snowballs chance in h-e-double-toothpicks" (this is a G-rated blog people) which I've abbreviated to "snowballs chance."

In every day usage, this is what it looks like: Is Sara going to really make good on her promise to give up eating sugar? "Snowballs chance." What are the chances that no one is going to get hurt when I see my boys on the trampoline wearing helmets and carrying baseball bats? "Snowballs chance." See what I mean? Very handy- short and to the point.

That was before I lived in Arizona.

Now, I've not been to h-e-double-toothpicks, but I have a hard time believing it could be hotter than here. Fire and brimstone have NOTHING on Arizona in the summertime. When I'm outside it feels like I'm someone's entree parked under that heat lamp, waiting to be served. I can actually feel my brain simmering. So I've modified my little saying- "Snowball's chance- in Arizona."

Now that the heat has finally broken for the "Fall" (if you can call 90 degree weather Fall) I'm starting to love living here again- cactus and all. The best months are Nov-Dec-Jan- when a snowball's chances dramatically improve.

Overheard

Rachel, talking to no one in particular while holding Jacob, who had just spit up on her shoulder. "Taking care of babies is sometimes hard. And gross."

Amen, sister.

Be gone from my life

Dear Chocolate Chip Banana Bread,

Had I known it was going to end this way, I would've never invited you to share so much of the past few days with me. I don't know what to say- I feel like you've taken advantage of me. I thought you were one thing, and you've become another. You started as a snack and have become entire meals. I know you say "But, you made me! How could it be my fault?" I know. I added the chocolate chips because I felt good about using whole wheat flour and replacing some of the oil with applesauce. But, had I known the danger that one added ingredient would pose I would've never done it. Had I known that a "batch" was 8 mini-loaves, I would've thought twice. But, in my zeal to not let my brown bananas end up in some landfill, they are now ending up in my tummy.

You're just not who I thought you were. You started out as just plain old banana bread, but now you are all the more sweetly accompanied by chocolate chips, which, has been proven in numerous scientific studies, I am powerless to resist. I haven't even given my other snacks a second thought. All the carrot sticks and cauliflower that I so carefully cut and prepared sit idly by in the fridge as the spell you have cast over me brings be back to you again and again. It doesn't matter that I've given you away to friends and neighbors, too much of you remains in this house. You are a distraction, and it must end. You must be gone from my life- you have until the end of the day. If you are not gone by then, it's the freezer for you. I am sorry that it has come to this; I hope we can meet again in the future under more pleasant circumstances.

Sincerely,

Sara

Losing the battles, losing the war

It's the war on beans. Some of you may know about my recent tumultuous relationship with beans It's THE MOST love/hate relationship I've ever had. I love to eat beans, I hate to make them. I've burned them, spilled them all over me, made huge messes with them and ruined batch after batch of #$%@ beans! My last batch of beans looked SO promising until I got a little too fancy with the spices and they went the way of all the other beans I've made since living here in AZ- DOWN THE DRAIN, into the disposal. So far the score is: Beans, 5, Sara 0. BUT. I am a fighter. I WILL WIN.

Yesterday I bought the COSTCO size bag of pinto beans. I WILL WIN even if it takes me the entire bag. I will produce an edible batch of beans if it is the LAST thing I do.

Surreal

Friday night we went to the boy's soccer games (Johnny scored 3 goals!), came home and settled in for Family Movie Night; Star Wars. We ate popcorn and gummy bears and drank Sprite and had a great time. Miles away from us, friends and loved ones had boarded up their homes and were preparing for Ike. It was so weird for me to experience the first major hurricane to hit Texas while NOT living in Texas. I called people. I worried about people. I watched CNN all day long and worried some more. I remembered what it was like for us to evacuate during Rita; how unsettled and anxious it made me to see empty grocery stores and gas stations with no gas. I called more people. I worried when I couldn't get through. As I went to bed at 11 pm AZ time I knew that my friends were engulfed in that ferocious storm. Robin was trying to sleep with her family in a closet, Trina and Andy were with their kids sleeping in the bathroom as were countless others... and I lay down in my safe bed. So surreal.