time out for cooties

Ana and I played "Cooties" today. Then she decided that the cooties were her babies. A few minutes into this game, she said, "Mommy, my cootie said 'stupid', she needs a time out."

So, she set her cooties on the time out chair, set the timer, and waited for it to go off.

(Now, in our house, after Ana has a time out, we always ask if she knows why she got a time out and then talk about it.)

After he cootie time-out was done, she walked up to her cootie, picked it up and said, "Now, why did you get a time out? ... that's right. Don't say 'stupid.'" Then she turned to me and said, "she's sorry. She won't say stupid again."

I guess now I know what she remembers from the day.

p.s. the carpet in our kitchen is stellar, huh.

good news

After 1 1/2 years and thousands of dollars, David has been accepted into medical school.

Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine accepted him this morning into the class of 2014.

Everything that has been up in the air for the last 2 years finally has landed on a path. We have until Dec. 14th to let them know. We will wait to see what happens from Rochester and Vermont before we decide.

But we can relax now...

Congratulations Dave!

he calls it a "ticka"

When Ana was Jack's age, we lived in Rexburg. At the grocery store there they always gave Ana a sticker when we went through the check out. I always thought, "what 1 year old thinks a sticker is cool?"

Then I realized it was just Ana. She still doesn't love stickers that much.

But, boy oh boy, Jack loves stickers.


And juice.

back to normal

Dave was gone for a week and a half.

Well, there were a couple days in between where he was home, but for all intents and purposes, he was gone for a week and a half.

While he was touring upstate NY, I was here. I earned a little bit of money, went to lunch with my mother-in-law and a couple of Dave's sisters, and then went to visit my mom. Oh, and the kids got sick. Nasty colds that they are finally starting to get over.

Dave has been wiped out since he got home and he has gone to bed before me every night since he got back. Boy, does this little girl have him wrapped around her little finger.



So we're back to normal now. Only normal means no more days like this:



It is freezing around here. On the plus side I can bake without turning my house into an oven. And I'm really excited about Ana's Halloween costume.

another bulleted list

*Dave is home. Yay!!! He did really well in his interviews, and he really, really, really wants to get accepted to University of Rochester.

*Loved General Conference.

*When I got home from Poky the other day to a freezing cold house, I learned that the gas got disconnected in our house and I have to wait until Monday to get it turned on. So we spent a few days at the in-laws and are using space heaters tonight. Its still pretty cold in the house...

*My kids are sick. Jack isn't sleeping well, and they are both coughing. Sad.

Drive to Rochester

I took a ferry across Lake Champlain. It was really cool. The guy who was operating it used to design armaments for government contract stuff. He said he outfitted a C-130 with two Gatling guns during Vietnam. Anyway - here is the area the ferry took off from and then a picture of me on the ferry.




This is a picture of my rental car enjoying the scenery. They upgraded me from an economy car to this one for free because it is what they had.


This was an awesome little road I got to drive on for a few miles - leaves flying behind me just like the commercials.


Then I went to Palmyra. This is a replica of the Smith log home that my uncle Eddie helped build while he was on a service mission there in 1998.


One last picture.

Update from Burlington

Well, my interview went pretty well today. I think so anyway. I think I gave them a good idea of who I am and what I am all about. So, if they think I will fit things should work out great. If not - nothing I can do about it.

Anyway, here are some pics.

Between the two main parts of the Detroit airport is a big tunnel. There was this "art glass" on the walls and its colors changed with some music that was playing. It was pretty cool.



This afternoon when I was done with my interview I went into downtown Burlington. This is a picture of Church street. There were a ton of shops and places to eat.


I also walked down to the lake. It was cool. I think I am going to take a ferry across the lake tomorrow as part of my travels.


Well, there you go. Hopefully it will work out to put up another update later this week.

Dave is currently sleeping soundly in Burlington, Vermont. His med school interview is tomorrow, then he heads to Rochester, New York for an interview on Friday. I don't like sleeping by myself, so I am putting off going to bed to bring to you a bulleted list of randomness:

* I really like "The Office."

* My children are really cool. Today, while eating a sucker on our way to Wal-Mart, Ana said to me. "The only things I love are suckers and juice. And mush [cream of wheat]." She also said, "Mommy, can I call you Daddy for short?"

* Dave did really well in last week's interview in Des Moines. My husband is cool.

* My dryer broke. I've been drying most of my clothes on our line outside, but I didn't want to hang my underwear out there for all my neighbors to see, so I took them over to my MIL's house today. We ate dinner, did FHE, and played outside. My in-laws are wonderful. I hit the jackpot with Dave's family.

*I really like Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Especially for a bedtime snack. I'm going to go have one right now.

*Good night.

sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy

The other day, I was reading cjane. Because I like to blog stalk and whatnot. She wrote this post. It is beautiful and I cannot get it out of my head. If you haven't read it, you should.

We had a picnic in our backyard yesterday. I love how Ana just laid down on the blanket like she was so comfy out there. I've really been trying to take in these last few days of warm weather. I wish I could bottle up sunshine so that I could have some in January... and February ... and March.

I hear a lot of people say how fall is their favorite season. The cooler weather, the harvest, etc. Admittedly, fall is hard for me. For me it means the long winter coming, and I really have a hard time in the winter.

I love summer. I love the combination of hard work and carefree-ness. (Is that a word?) I love working in the yard and camping and fishing. I love fresh fruit and going for walks and bike rides. Mostly, I love the sunshine and the warmth.

This is the summer of my life. Motherhood is hard work. You sow seeds, hopefully good seeds, you tend and take care of your little children and the harvest seems so far away. "Summer is for working, weeding and cultivating those seeds--while fighting the heat and the sweat."

It is so easy for me to forget to bask in the sunshine and the warmth of these mommy days. I get so caught up with the work, that I forget the light. And there is so much of it.

Find the sunshine everyday, and then the harvest will be sweet. Maybe I can bottle it up and save it for winter.

In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer. ~Albert Camus

let's talk politics

I don't want to talk about my political views. Or yours even. Let's keep our personal views out of this.

I know lots of really good people. They are educated and well-informed. They read the news, vote and are good citizens. They obey the law, make good choices, take care of their families and really want what is best for the country. And their political views fall all over the political spectrum from the right to the left, liberal to conservative and everywhere in between.

How can this be? Who is right and who is wrong? Is there truth and falsehood in all of this political madness or is it all right and wrong at the same time?

Discuss..