When He Comes Again

{JACK'S "WHEN HE COMES AGAIN"}

I have mentioned before that this is Jack's favorite song, & I'm finally getting around to putting it up on the blog.

I tried really hard to load it here on the blog, but I've been trying for 3 days & can't get it to work.  Man, I hate being computer stupid.

So click on the link above & go see how awesome my little man is!

He sings it constantly & I love it!  It's not unusual for us to sing this song for the whole 30 minute drive to town, or during dinner, or in the shower or pool.

He usually does the 2nd verse also, but this night he was exhausted & wanted to go to bed, so we cut it short.

Hearing my 3 year old learn new songs & develop a real love for singing has become one of the great joys of being the Primary Music Leader for my ward.

(Oh, he is also obsessed with The Oxcart Song.)

(We sang that one 13 times in a row last week after church!)

I WANT TO REMEMBER THIS FOREVER!!!

Growing Up...

You know that the 6 year old is growing up when he only wants to use Mommy & Daddy's bathroom because he wants to read Daddy's hot rod magazines while he's pooping!

Hee, hee!

Too funny.

A Hot, Wet, Cold, Wet, Practically Perfect Day

There are a lot of wonderful things about living where we do.  However, there are some things you can't get in our area- one of them being the pleasure of a small-town holiday.  Seriously, could my kids push our wagon (with Frank in it) into the midst of the parade in Tucson & escape unscathed?  Probably not.

And does Mt. Lemmon have a family cabin where we can play with cousins, visit with grandparents, & enjoy ourselves for an entire afternoon, knowing  & waving at pretty much every person that drives past?

Definitely not.

And does Vail have Nana's house, where Uncle Tanner can teach the older cousins the proper way to set off explosives (OK- fireworks), while the little ones slip & slide their way into an exhausted oblivion?  Most certainly not!

Do the deputies in Pima County ignore the giant explosions of color launching over every property in the vicinity because, let's face it, they were the ones setting off those fireworks not too  many years ago?

I don't think so!

Yup- our 4th of July this year was pretty dang perfect.

Goodbye Connie!

(Our last visit to our girls before they moved.)

(Connie is the elephant on the right.)

Yes, I know that you'll probably think that I'm silly, but I cried today when I found out that elephant Connie had died at her new home, the San Diego Elephant Odyssey.  We've missed her since she & her companion Shaba left us in February.  Our family has been Reid Park Zoo members for years, & each of my children has come to know & love the animals there.  They especially loved Connie, who swayed to a rhythm that only she could hear.

Apparently she's been sick these past couple of weeks, & the decision was made this morning to put her to sleep to alleviate her pain.

There's more information here on their blog: Elephant ICU Loses A Member.

We will miss our old friend.

" Mama Said...."

Everybody sing along!

"Mama said there'd be days like this, there'd be days like this my Mama said!"

OK- I get that.  But does EVERY day have to be a "day like this?"

I'm ready for a day not ANYTHING like this day.

1 Day Down....

 My brand new 1st & 3rd graders ate breakfast in style yesterday.  That's because they were gettin' geared up for the first day of the 2012/2013 school year! 

We have a modified year-round schedule, so it's 7 weeks of summer with a 3 week break in Sept/Oct, 2 weeks at Christmas, & 2 weeks for Spring Break.  It kinda rocks, especially in AZ, where it's too dang hot in July to be anywhere but inside anyways!

Mr. Frank says that there is NOTHING the same between kinder & 1st grade.  He loved eating in the cafeteria for the 1st time & even got a kiss from Emma when they were passing on campus.  Too sweet. 

Lucky Frank gets to have the same teacher that Emma had for kinder & 1st, so we feel like we're back in familiar territory.  She's AWESOME, so this year is really something to look forward to for him.

Emma was up at 5:30 am, rarin' to go.  She managed to wake everyone else up too, so the 3 year old was passed out in the shopping cart at Fry's at 2:00 that afternoon.  Sigh....at least I don't have to drag her out of bed by her hair, right? 

She's got a really great teacher this year, and some of her best friends are in her class, so we're hoping for a year full of growth & fun!

Poor Jack was almost beside himself all day because he missed Frank so much.  After school he kept full-body tackling him & it really made Frank mad!  (Until I explained it was because Jack just loved him so much!)
Today is better, with Jack & James "creating" a secret handshake already this morning.  Too funny!

As for Mommy- I was staring at the walls as the day dragged on & on.  Seriously- I was bored out of my mind too!  But I got over as soon as I got to take a nap.  :)

We're Ready!

Well, I don't know if Mommy is ready, but the kids sure are!

2012/2013 should be a great year!

1st day of school pics coming tomorrow!

Remember when....

....it was SO COOL that your teeth hurt?

Because that meant that they were loose & you were FINALLY entering that stage of being a REAL big kid?

Remember when .... it was just the best thing ever to play in giant puddles? 

.....and the dirtier you were, the more fun you were having?

Remember when....popping popcorn was totally fascinating?

Remember when....cousins were your very best friends?



Even if they lived far away?

Ahhh....here's to being young!

Alone Time? What's That?

No, seriously.  Andy & I have been married for almost 12 years & have never gone on a getaway.  Never.  Pathetic, right?

But we remedied that- well, actually I bullied him into not inviting the kids when we went to Oceanside, CA for 3 days last month.

Andy was learning how to do some awesome concrete work & Mommy just hung out on the beach, ate by herself, slept in, & pretty much didn't know what to do with herself!

This might be the worst picture of us I've ever put on this blog!  But it's all I got.

 We spent some time watching this father-daughter team doing stunt-surfing.  (I don't think that's what it's called, but I'm from AZ, what do you expect?)

And as we had a  most amazing meal at a fabulous restaurant, with no spills, screams, or high chairs, we watched sea lions play in the harbor & wished that we lived on this little houseboat.  And people really did!  They ate at our restaurant & then went home, just about 50 feet away.  It was awesome.

Sigh- I think I need to plan another, longer getaway for our anniversary in October.  This trip just whetted my appetite to hang out with my hubby all by our lonesomes!  I think I'd forgotten how much fun we really are!

Summertime Fun

These last 5 weeks of summer have just flown by.  We've been keeping VERY busy- here's what we've been up to!

A couple of Tucson Padres games (San Diego's AAA team)

Basketball camp at home & at EAC

Yay!!  We've got the pool up!

(Do you like my swim diaper?  Speedo-licious, right?)

We've made some pretty darn awesome Hot Wheels tracks.

 And yeah, we've taken our fair share of naps.  Having this much fun is exhausting!!