Rockaway Beach, Oregon July 2012

 Sam in his Karate Kid pose

 Mackenzie in front of the rock from The Goonies

Henry protecting his pond from the tide, and Estelle rocking a mo-hawk.

Peppers and Homework

 We picked these lovelies from our garden.

Back when I was a kid, we only had homework if we didn't finish our work in class.

Those were the good old days.

Now, the homework is in addition to what they did in class.

I'm all like, "Come on, you had my kids all day, and I don't get to fully enjoy them being home until they get all of that extra work done?  No fair! I hate homework!"

Pictures from my phone...AKA watch Estelle age a year

 a Hero Factory scorpion guy made by Henry

 Gilbert, AZ Temple under construction

 turned me off pudding for days

 fox painting for a family reunion auction

 Sam's birthday cake made by dear Amy

 Rockaway Beach (summer family reunion trip) and the Tillamook Cheese Factory below

 Mackenzie got braces in August.  She will have them for a year.

 Found this great dining set on Craigslist for a steal.

 I painted this elephant for my niece

 Erik and I made this LEGO board for the wall.  Love it!

on a carousel ride last weekend

Halloween 2012

 Sam was a villain, Mackenzie a cat, Henry a pirate, and Estelle a frog (now they have all been the frog)

 She loved the photo booth at the trunk-or-treat so much, that she went back for a private shoot, even posing all on her own.

 I love these pictures, and I'm so thankful that talented Aimee did this!

I love Estelle, and Estelle loves her blanket

1st Day of School

August 8, 2012

Fun Facts:

• Their uniforms no longer look this nice.

• They were all asked to tuck in their shirts upon arrival.

• Sam's in 6th, Kenzie's in 3rd, and Henry's in 1st (in case you can't read fingers)

Estelle's Piano Concert

This is from several months ago.  She has only improved in vocals since then.

In loving memory...

 Hey, Henry, watch where you're going!

Melissa Ponders Again aka Heads Up, Hallmark

On July 4th, I kept hearing people say, "Happy Fourth of July!" or, "Happy 4th!"
and it made me ponder.
Are we going to start calling holidays by their calendar date?
If so, "Happy 25th of December!" is next...

Melissa Ponders

What do you call one of these?
Is it a band-aid?
What do you call a cotton swab?
Perhaps a Q-tip?
Seems to me that advertisers have us right where they want us when we are calling things by their name brand instead of by what they really are.
Can you think of any other examples?

This ad paid for by the product awareness coalition

Arrow of Light

 Highest award a cub scout can earn.

His expressions say it all.

Bonus Material:  A really poor clip of Sam walking across "hot coals"

Henry's Happy Birthday...aka Can You Put These Pictures in the Correct Order?

 Eating the cake

 The cake went through deconstruction/reconstruction phases

 How did he get to be 6?

Holy moly, he is a handsome Henry!

 his special breakfast request was crepes made by Erik

 A cake from our favorite designer, Amy, of Amy Scott Cakes

 He LOVED this cake, and he giggled with every item he ate from it.

"This is the best birthday ever!" ~ Henry