Jake in D.C.!!

This last Summer, Don took Jacob to Washington D.C. with him!! They had the opportunity to see many of the sights there, the Lincoln Monument, the Space Museum, and they also went to the building where the Declaration of Independence is. Both Don and Jake had a really great time, however, when they came out of the space museum & went to where their car was SUPPOSED to be parked, It was nowhere to be seen!! After about 45 minutes, They found out that their car had been "Courtesy Towed" WHAT!! I thought "Courtesy" meant "favor"... So, two tired, very irritated people, had to take the subway, the closest stop was somewhere sort of close to their hotel, which meant they had to walk the rest of the way & were then stranded at the hotel without a car! Apparently, the City has the right to move the car, if it gets in the way (whatever that means) and they don't even have to inform the owner of the car.

So , after making alot of phone calls and finally locating the car, Don took the Subway the next morning, back to get the car. Because of this, Don had to change their flight, due to this little mishap! I am sure this is a trip Jacob will never forget!!!

Just Blame It On George!

The Other day Don and I were at the grocery store to buy a few things. We were walking down the cereal aisle, when we saw a little old man looking for his favorite brand of cereal. As one of the helpful workers came to help him, we heard the following conversation:

Little old man:excuse me,miss, I can't seem to find my favorite cereal.

Helpful Worker:Oh,I'm sorry! We don't carry that kind of cereal in our store anymore.

Little old man: Dang George Bush! It's all his fault!!
(We could tell the man was obviously joking, by the look on his face).

I have noticed lately, however, that everything bad that happens in this Country is George Bush's fault. It seems that everyone wants someone to blame, and he is just an easy target! Now I know that he is no Ronald Reagan, and he has made some mistakes, but come on, give the poor guy a break! Nobody's perfect. Here are just a few things(and there were hundreds more) that are being blamed on him:

1- The 2000 Election.(Al Gore lost).
Somehow he rigged the election.

2- The bad economy...

3-9/11..which probably was being planned before Pres. Bush even took office. Think about it, an attack like that must have taken years to plan, in order to pull it off!
That also hurt the economy.


4- Hurricane Katrina/broken levees & people NOT evacuating their homes.

5- High gas prices...He actually has been trying to convince the liberal treehugger types to drill in the U.S. and offshore in Alaska!

6-The War in Iraq...the Vote was Unanimous! The politicians voted "yes" until we got there , then they backed off and let George Bush take the blame! BTW, we have not been attacked on our own soil since 9/11! But you don't hear much about that now do ya.

So,remember if any thing bad happens, you can always say"It's George Bush's fault"!

Our Not So Little Helper!

Last month, after only being married 15 years ;~) we bought some new furniture for our front room. Before our couch and love seat arrived, we were looking at the empty space where our furniture would go. After some thought, Don mentioned that we should probably paint the walls too!! Well who am I to argue with such brilliance (besides, It wasn't like I was going to be doing any of the painting). Casey, our not so little Irish Setter LOVES Don. So much so, that he follows Don everywhere he goes. But think about it. Wet paint and a nosy dog... what does that mean? T-R-O-U-B-L-E-! That's right, when Don was cleaning up after the paint job, he turned around to see that Casey was trying to help. Casey had paint on his nose, tail, and all in between. This little episode reminded us that Casey also gets his nose into everything else we are doing, including getting between us and anybody who comes to visit. So we decided to add French doors to our front parlor. As it was, Casey had a tendency to scare away anyone who came to our door. And we need all the friends we can get!!! :~) If you have been refusing to come to our house to visit, your excuse is gone!!!

"3's"

Good things come in 3's, thanks Brandy, for the tag!

Here are the rules: List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 surprising facts, and then tag 5 other people. Leave a comment for the people you tag so they know they have been tagged. Here we go……

3 Joys:

1. My husband and children.

2. The Gospel

3. My extended family and my friends.

3 Fears:

1. Not being a good parent.

2. My children getting seriously injured. (I am very protective of my kids & it stresses me out when they are with their friends, thinking that they might do something dangerous!

3. Becoming a widow!

3 Obsessions/Collections:

1. Scrapbooking- I am so behind that if it is not an obsession, I will never get it done!

2. I save EVERYTHING! Not Junk, just things that I don't have room for(I am afraid that if I throw it away, I will all of a sudden want/need it). This obsession has rubbed off on my darling daughter as well:)!

3. Being able to control what my children watch and listen to. At least I have control over what they are exposed to in my home. Making sure I teach them what is right, so they can better choose the right! (It's a scary world).

3 surprising facts:

1. I actually like cleaning toilets-My bathroom must not smell like a bathroom. I love the satisfaction I get from a clean toilet!

2. I have an uncanny ability to remember things. (seriously like EVERYTHING).

3. My "happy place " is Disneyland! I looove it & I don't get to go as much as I would like to, (hint, hint).... Don this one is for you:)!

So there you have it, I now tag:

Calli Ellinger, Laura J, Joy W, Linsey Linford & Ashley McBride

My "Twilight" fan

So, like many other people, I am a huge fan of the twilight series, in fact, once I start them it is pretty much all I do until I finish them. I haven't actually bought any, except for the first one, because I just borrow them. Any way, Ashlee found the first book on my nightstand , and started reading it, every time I would look at her she had her nose in the book (who would've thought she would be so interested in Vampires & humans falling in love). The thing is , after she finishes each book she is in a real hurry to start another , like, before she has even turned the last page, she is chomping at the bit to go buy the next one. She is even willing to pay for them herself (if needs be)! So, last night she bought the third book in the series,"Eclipse". This is what I saw, first thing this morning, it seems as though Ashlee is also a fan!! Thank you Stephenie Meyer for writing such a great series:)

Got Mail?!?

Last Summer, Don & I were watching T.V. in bed, when we heard a loud bang! It sounded like a firecracker or something like that, we really thought nothing of it, we hear noises like that all the time & just figured it was the neighborhood kids goofing off, which they do quite often! So the next morning, my friend called and said that someone had blown up our mailbox, yes, it was in a million pieces all over our driveway! I guess it was time to buy a NEW one, So we headed off to Home Depot to buy an expensive, steel, never to be blown up again, mailbox(this one was a whole lot sturdier than the last one.) Anyway, two nights ago James & I were watching T.V. & we heard a sound, James looked over and said to me "mom, that sounded like a gunshot" again, we didn't think too much of it. So, when Don came home about an hour later, he said "someone blew up our mail"! The mail box held up, however the inside was full of ashes from our mail. We had to clean most of it right away, but here is a picture of some of the damage. The problem with our mailbox,is that it is so close to the road and no one can see it from the house! I guess it is just too hard to resist the temptation.(or maybe someone is just out to get us!) Ha ha!!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Today is our 15th Anniversary! It seems like just yesterday, that we were sitting in the Celestial room of the Temple, waiting to be married. Time goes by way too fast..... I just want Don to know how much I love him, and how much I appreciate everything he does! He is such an amazing husband and father, and he makes me so happy! I am so grateful that I have him for Eternity, because this life is just not enough!! Don, I love you Forever.

1ST DAY OF SCHOOL!!

5 fingers for "fifth grade"

I think this is how Ashlee really feels about school!

Ashlee

goofing off for the camera

Jacob & his Best friend, Kyle

So today was the much anticipated 1st day of school for my kids! After almost 3 months of having way too much fun, late nights & hanging out with friends constantly, we will definately be making some changes. Now that school has started, we are going to have more structure in our home, we will eat dinner as a family every night (hopefully) & have earlier bedtimes! Every year, we discuss with our kids what is expected from them scholastically, spiritually, etc...etc.., and then they sit down & make some goals of their own. This seems to work quite well, however, we usually have to dangle a few carrots in front of them, oh, alright, we bribe them (but whatever works, right). So any way we told all three of our kids, that if they got at least a 3.5 G.P.A the first quarter,(It had to be a goal all 3 kids could acheive) we would take them to Disneyland over Christmas Break. The catch is, that it is ALL or NONE. So will we be going to Disneyland or not! I guess we'll see. By the way, James informed me that he is too cool for a picture on the first day of school, (being a junior in high school and all) so that is why I haven't posted one:)

Niagara Falls

Last weekend while traveling to Toronto Canada on business, He was able to go to Niagara Falls. He (Don) said the view was AMAZING!! Here are some pictures he took, they almost look like they came from a magazine. These pictures were actually taken by a camera phone.

Our Park City Getaway!!

Olympic Park

Practicing my ski skills!

Wow! Look at that jump

The good old Alpine slide

The Coaster!

The Ziprider! It took all of 50 seconds to get from the top of the mountain to the bottom!

So I have been needing some alone time with my honey, so we decided to take a little vacation. James was away for the week at football camp, Jacob was staying with his cousin, and Ashlee went to St. George with the Olsen's. So on Monday morning we drove up to Park City, to stay for a few days. I have to admit that we had a lot of fun. We hadn't been down there since the Olympics (except to go to the outlet stores), So it has changed quite a bit! We went to the Olympic Park, and while we were there we saw the Chinese Ski Team practicing their ski jumps, into a pool of water, of course ,since there was no snow. They were amazing!!!! We also went to the Park City Mountain Resort, and went on the Alpine slide, the Coaster, and the Ziprider, What a thrill that was!! We did lots of relaxing, and eating, and just enjoying each others company. It was a much needed getaway, & we had a really good time! Now I must get back to the real world:(.

Fun Times!

Our weekend in Roosevelt

I just wanted to say "Thank you" to Kathy for the fun, fun time we had visiting her & her family. She was such a good hostess, it's funny, but I felt so much at home that I didn't feel like a visitor at all. We had a good time spending time with all of the Berlin's & it was so nice. Since it was Ashlee's Birthday on Sunday, we took her to lunch on Monday, and she had SHRIMP! She let Ashlee Tie Dye a shirt. We had Family home Evening with them on Monday night! Let me tell you it was so much fun, they played Ipod karaoke, and then there was the drama with the snake, Jeff chased Brandy with it, Mckinlee even held it. So funny! We played on the water slide at Brandy's with Chase, Colby & Cooper! Ashlee and Cooper were looking for butterflies,she found a life long friend in Cooper,they really hit it off!!
On Tuesday, We had a picnic in the park with everyone. Kathy you really have the cutest grandkids, We will have to come back again soon( if you'll let us). We love you all, Thanks Again!!

Pictures will follow! I am having technical difficulties with my computer...

The Birthday Party!!

The Birthday GIrl

My Cute Little Ashlee