Tagged....

I was tagged over a week ago and I'm finally getting to it. I must say....THIS IS NOT EASY...but I enjoy reading others, so I guess it's my turn.

Here are the rules...you have to list 7 random facts about yourself and then tag 7 other people at the end of your post. Okay, here we go...

1. I hate hearing people chew their food (unless I'm eating also). While growing up, I shared a room with my sisters, and my youngest sister would always come to bed with a carrot to munch on...oh man, it's like nails on a chalkboard!

2. I'm obsessed with clean feet --- I wash them every night (after I wash my face). I'd have pedicures monthly if I could afford it.

3. We've lived in our current home almost 5 years now (from moving up the street)....I grew up moving quite a bit, so the itch to move hits me often. It's just rare for me to live somewhere this long. Steve, who lived in ONE house growing up is my stabilizing force!

4. I'm a talk radio junkie....Glen Beck, Dave Ramsey, etc...I love it all. I don't know beans about music -- however, I do like to listen to it when I clean.

5. I have this administrative mind --- I love the spreadsheets, budgeting, etc. If only I were more organized. I'm working on that.

6. I spend way to much time blog hopping --- dang, it's addicting! I know if I spend less on the computer, my house would be cleaner... and I may even have more time to ORGANIZE!

7. I've never read a Harry Potter book, NOR have I ever seen a Harry Potter movie. SHOCK...I know.

Okay, now I tag Crystal, Heather S., Tiffany O, Holly D, Terri U, Kreanna H, Barb H.
Lets get crackin' ladies!!! :)

New Plan

After eating my way through fall break...I may have to try this tactic....

Mexico!

Hola, amigos!! Well, we survived yet another trip down to Rocky Point this year. I believe this is my family's favorite vacation, after all, what other vacation do we go on where the kids get to hang out for days on end with their closest friends. Sun sun sun....lots of sunshine, but NO wind (I hate wind) - we couldn't have asked for better weather -- except for some overcast skies while we were packing up would have been nice. Last year we did our top 10 list of things we loved about Mexico, but this year I was interviewing the kids on the way home and was going to post their favorite moments/activities, but everyone had the same favorites....riding the banana boats and staying up late playing cards with their friends. Mine and Steve's favorites were also the same -- sitting on the beach under the shade with our feet in the cool sand and visiting with our friends while watching our kids play on the beach. Aaaahhh...heaven!

Always a matter of priority to get the hair braided first thing....


Then there's the famous banana boat rides (or whale boat ride). Thanks to Bro. Loves price negotiating (or economics lesson to the boat owner), each person was charged $3/verses $5 in past years. Our large group sure kept their boats going all afternoon most days.



This is part of our large group -- colorful, aren't we? See my Joshua sitting in the sand? Everytime I would take a picture with him in it, he would shake his head and say "noooooooo" and start crying.
Emi and her cute friends...



Between everyone's contribution - we had lots of "toys" to enjoy in the water. The most popular by far, was the ocean kayak the Evans family brought along.





Enjoying the beach!


Steve and the kids did lots of snorkeling....the water was clearer than we've ever seen it!
One of my favorite memories of this trip would be with Joseph and his best friend Reese (both 5 years old) -- they are pretty inseparable. Anyway, our last day on the beach, towards the end of the day, I spot Reese all decked out in his brothers snorkeling gear...fins, snorkel, etc.) flopping to the edge of the water with Joseph following closely behind wearing a life jacket -- according to Reeses story, he was going to go snorkeling in the "deep water" and if he started drowning, Joseph would be right behind him wearing his life jacket to save him. I just couldn't get to my camera fast enough...but I laughed so hard. Cute boys. This is my only picture this year I could find I took of Reese and Joseph. Reese is the one of the wave runner with Joseph next to him on the crab.

And yep, a few sunburns were discovered. Ouch.


What a fun trip. Our many thanks to the Anderson family who coordinate this trip every year. We can't wait until next year!

Family Zoo Fun

To begin our Fall Break, we spent a day at the Phoenix Zoo...we couldn't have asked for more perfect weather (in the 70's). I usually get to the zoo pretty often with my younger children, but in 10 years, Steve's only been there once, so having their dad with us made it really fun for my kids. Also, my sister, Katie, tagged along with us --- for some strange reason, loves to hang out with my kids.



For some reason, my family really enjoyed the animal statues. Perhaps we should have visited a museum instead!

Let Fall Break BEGIN!!!

As you can see, my kids look very happy and relieved since officially at noon today began our Fall Break!! For those of you who don't live around here, the school district gives the kids a week off this time of year, and I LOVE IT! I never grew up with a fall break, so this is different for me, but they can add on a week at the end of school, or make the kids go a week early as long as we get this week off every year.

To begin this break, we have a family zoo trip planned for Saturday morning (rain or shine...probably rain). And then we'll be finishing the final preparations for our annual trip to Mexico on Wednesday and return home on Sunday. For those of you who don't know, we travel down to Rocky Point with around 20 other families in our ward and camp near the beach. Yep, there's a bunch of us....close to a hundred total, but we have soooo much fun and we look forward to it all year long.

Starr received a Kid of Chararacter Award at school today --- just in time, since she was feeling a little unappreciated and "invisable" at school these past few weeks. See Starr, your teacher DOES know you're awesome!

Conference Weekend!

Wasn't conference good? I was listening to talk radio a little too much last Thursday and Friday and it really got me down. I couldn't wait until General Conference to get that boost I needed...and it succeeded. The talks were just excellent and were just what I needed to hear -- especially about gratitude - finding joy in our journey.....and then learning from our mistakes and doing better. I know we all hear different things - but these are the things that rang true with me. I can't wait to study them more next month.

We had the most perfect weather this weekend --- on Saturday it was cloudy all day with the temps in the high 70's...maybe low 80's. Almost chilly...hey, I said ALMOST. Anyway, it put me in the perfect baking mood -- so I rolled out a big batch of cinnamon rolls that my family almost entirely consumed at this hour. Conference and fresh cinnamon rolls -- is there a better combination? Today we had another gorgeous day -- beautiful enough to get a break from the kids once in a while since they would hang out in the backyard....because once conference ends at 3pm, it becomes a VERY LONG SUNDAY!

Starr's Strings Concert

Starr really wanted me to post her first strings concert held last Thursday evening. She's playing the violin this year and is so cute...and you just can't hear "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" too many times. I didn't take my camera to the concert -- my flash stinks....but instead I took pictures while she and Janae were practicing a few minutes before they left.