Tub-O is 3 Months Old

Danny is 3 months today (going from June 14th to Sept 14th), and my how he has grown!

Someday my prince will come, hopefully with a bigger horse

Faith finally got all the way to the end of Snow White and found it so inspiring she was ready to ride of into the sunset on her "pony." We should probably wait for the prince,unless of course, he too is a minature.

Why the British think all Americans are Rednecks

As I was following the latest on Hurricane Ike, I found a report from the BBC. Here is the direct quote:

But some residents were ignoring the dire warnings in Galveston, where Ike threatens to bring a 20ft (7m) high storm surge.
"If it ain't your time you ain't going anywhere," Emory Sallie, 44, told AP news agency, while walking and drinking a beer near his home.

Thank you Emory Sallie for being the spokesperson for all America. I am pretty sure that he does not remember the theory of "survival of the fittest," or did he get that far in school.

You know your in Rexburg when....

you look outside and see there is sun and the trees are not blowing in the wind and decide it is time to play at the water park. No matter the real temperature outside, there is no wind so it must be warm! I may not be the smartest mom, but I am fun!

East or West, which is best?

Wednesday was our family day! Once Josh woke up we were in full Fair mode. I rather enjoyed the Eastern Idaho State Fair, more so than the Western. Reason being:
1- It still has that country fair feeling with crowds of people walking around with cotton candy and tiger ears wearing tight pants with a little bit of manure on their boots
2- the animal barns are really barns, and there are a variety of sizes for the variety of animals
3- Faith is beginning to believe us that the cow really does say ‘moo’ as does the sheep say ‘baa’ and the rooster say ‘cock-a-doodle-doo’ As we were walking through the sheep barn there was one insistent ewe that kept baaing which cracked Faith up! We basically had to drag her to the next isle. One very wonderful young farm boy allowed Faith to pet his baby goat.
4- We watched goats being judged. Since Danny still needs frequent feeding, we stopped in the pavilion where the goats were being judged. It was enlightening to hear, finally, why one goat got a blue ribbon and one got red, and always the last place goat was commended for its beauty, or something or other insignificant for judging purposes, but nice to be mentioned so they didn’t feel like the looser.
5- The had more for the kiddos. There was a petting area with at least 20 minature goats running around pestering the kids. There were ostriches just beyond the chain link fence, which is the closest I have ever seen them and they are certainly dinosaurs. Those necks are freaky. There was also a science center display with all sorts of stuff for the kids to try, including giant bubbles.
6- The carnival part of the fair is on a different side of the fairgrounds than the animals so you could completely avoid it if you wanted to. Luckily, we are not yet to the begging for rides and candy stage so we were able to just enjoy animals and then see the artistry and be off.
Thanks to Dad for being a member of Westmark Credit Union and getting us free tickets in and some dry barbequed chicken. It was a full day of fun for absolutely free!

Righteous Traditions

As I have been studying Cheryl C Lant's conference talk, trying to understand how to best form good traditions for my family, it struck me: some traditions just happen. Such as Jacuzzi time at the cabin. It seems as though I cannot pass a stay at the cabin without engulfing myself in bubbles to the hue of blue. Well, now Faith is in on the tradition! As Sis Lant says " The most importan traditions are connected with the way we live our lives and will last beyond us as our children's lives are influenced and shaped." Maybe bubbles wasn't on her agenda, but it was comforting to me to realize that graciously, there are so many things about me that I will gladly pass on to my kids. With all the questions Sis Lant kept asking I got a bit flustered. I had never considered whether or not the things I intended to pass on to my children would "make it easier for (them) to follow the living propehts" or if the are "mostly material in nature." Comfortingly, I found the statement that connected me to bubbles; "traditions are formed over time as we repeat the same actions over and over again."

Check it out (by clicking on the title of this post), it is a wonderful talk to ponder and great tool for creating a family action plan for the future.

Night shift?

We did a mild test run to see how well Josh functions after our regular bed time on Thursday night. After returning home from cleaning the temple after midnight, Josh proved his moonlight prowess:
Seeking a snack to statiate his incessant hunger, he went to the kitchen. He figured one spoonful of cottage cheese would do the trick. He served out and ate, after which he found the lid to the cottage cheese container, however he could not locate the larger body. He looked all over the counters, on the table, and even in the fridge (thinking he had perhaps absentmindedly put it back without the lid). It was the obstacle that impeded his opening the fridge that reminded him where the cottage cheese was; it was, and had been the entire search, in his left hand.
Good luck this week in the ER from 6pm to 2am Josh. We are praying for you, earnestly.