Who Needs A Pool Anyway?

Usually our pool provides us with hours of entertainment.


It is a great way for the kids (and Brad) to splash, swim and play marco polo and other annoying water games.


This summer it has been nothing but a headache! Between leaks and actual holes I was ready to slash the thing with a knife! Then it seemed that all of the problems had been fixed. We enjoyed it for about 2 weeks and I even kept the water really clean and chemically balanced! Then one side started to sink, which made the other side pop up. I could see some kid getting stuck in our pool as it slowly folded in like a burrito! So we drained it.... again.


I was done with the darn thing. Brad wants to try again...maybe...Me, I am done. We will try again next year.
And while I feel bad that it limits the kids activities, it turns out that with a little imagination; Brinley (with some help from Mia) can turn our drive way into a pool! (rumor has it that Mia has skinny dipped in our "pool" once before)







Our driveway has a crack and is sinking, water pools there when it rains or snow melts. Brinley and Mia filled the puddle up and went for a dip!

They can practice the back float!

And their strong swimmer kicks!

And let's not forget, the great fun of standing still while someone runs around in circles!

Great fun...doesn't really last for more than 30 minutes, but little kids never stay in the big pool for more than that anyways. And its a lot cheaper than replacing the other one.

This picture has nothing to do with the post. But it was way cute! Brinley and Mia's apaptation of Princess and the Frog. Now known as "Princess and the Bumble Bee"

Thoughts on staying at home

I realize I am not an expert.
I can only be considered a stay at home mom 3 months out of the year.
But seriously you guys...
How does a stay at home mom EVER go to the bathroom with out interuption!
I am in there for like 20 seconds, and I hear FRANTIC yelling, "mom, mom, where are you!"
They act like abandonment is a real issue in our home and so they have to know of my where-abouts every second. And worse the majority of the interuption comes from my 11 year old. The last time she was FRANTIC in discovering my location, my tush had barely hit the seat. I was so bugged I wanted to yell down, "Can't I even take a *#@*( )".
Don't worry, I didn't....I just thought about it.

At work I never have this problem. I go and no one even notices I am gone. Its very pee-ceful. (pee-ceful...that was funny!)

But I guess it is nicer to be so loved...and so worried about that i can't even *#@*() with out interuption

If this is family programming we are in serious doodoo!

Last night Brad and I watched one of the Harry Potter movies on ABC Family.
Yes-we have seen each HP movie ump-teen times.
But-we have 178 channels and it was the only thing on.
Yes-we do have a Netflix movie we could have watched-but then one of us would have had to go upstairs to find it, then we would have discussed who put this piece of crap on the cue, and then we would have had to find the remote to change the TV's input..
Trust me-it was easier to watch HP
Plus-it is a HP Weekend and every so often they would show clips from the new movie that comes out in November!

yes-we are nerds
even worse-we will be at the midnight showing in November
Brad, at this point out, would probably like me to point out the difference between a nerd and a dork.

A nerd-goes to the midnight showing
A dork-dresses up (like Harry or Ron or Snape) at the midnight showing

We fall into the nerd category and insist that's were we will stay.
We won't dress up...
although it will be November
and it's cold in November
so we have an excuse to wear our matching Gryffindor scarves

Hey! I see you pointing and making fun!!
Do me a favor and take off your Team Edward hoody before you jugde me!
Oh and get the vinyl off the back of your mini-van...
no, not the one of your stick family...
the one that says "Love at first bite"
cuz, you my friend ARE A DORK!

Anyways...I digress

So while watching HP Weekend
I saw the series that they put on this trashy channel.
Seriously, Who is the focus group that ABC Family uses?!
First we have a show about teens that get pregnant...not just one...but lots of teens end up prego.
Then there is a show about a group of girls who are somehow responsible for a friends disappearance...its even called "Dirty girls Dirty Lies" (or something like this)
Then there is a show about gymnasts-who might make it to the Olympics, if they ever stop canoodling with their boyfriends.
In every commercial the teens are shown fornicating or drinking (hey. when teens are holding red dixie cups-at a party-I can pretty much guarantee they are not drinking pumpkin juice!)
This is FAMILY programming?!
Worse ABC is owned by Disney!

I am thinking of starting a petition...

a Love/Hate relationship

In a week or so my family and I will be going on our annual family vacation to "The Cabin". Its in Wyoming. I am already stressed! See I love the cabin, I look forward to going...and yet I HATE it at the same time. To start I am going to list the reasons I love the cabin and then why I don't.

Things I Love:
1. it is gorgeous
2. there are no phones or internet (so I don't have to listen the constant chirping of Brad's I-phone or his sheep as he plays Farmville)
3. it is a cute, rustic cabin
4. i think about grandma reese in the tiny kitchen and her cooking a "big breakfast"-cleaning up and starting on lunch-cleaning up and starting dinner-cleaning up. We make it a point to have a "big breakfast" in her honor at least once
5. the lake is cool...but the lake on a boat is FANTASTIC! Hours of fun and sun!
6. the stars from the front deck are incredible. At night you can see falling stars, identify the different constellations...and see the satelites rotating with the earth.
7. Brad is not cheap when we are on vacation!
8. The mom and pop shops in town are cool. As are the mom and pop diners/restaurants. The city doesn't even have a McDonald's. In fact the closest fast food is like two hours away. How refreshing is that?
9. I get tons of uber-cute pics to scrap!
10. We do have a lot of fun

So I know you are all thinking, what is there to hate. My number one thing is that once the sun goes down, I do not like being there! I asked Brad 2 years ago if we could spend the DAY at the cabin and then go to town and sleep in a hotel at night! He looked at me like I was crazy and mumbled something about my being a princess. I don't care...at night this cabin becomes...scary...and I dont sleep!

See I never sleep well when I am away from home (even when I bring my own pillow)
I just can't seem to relax anywhere, but at home. But at the cabin, my insomnia is worse.
Every noise makes me jumpy! And trust me it has a story
It was 5 years ago and I was 8 1/2 months pregnant with Brinley. the 6th Harry Potter book had just come out and I was reading it at 3 am. Brad and Em were sound asleep. I hear a rustling and look up from my tale of Harry and the Half Blood Prince to see what I think is a bird fly by. I wake Brad up...he tells me its a moth and to go to sleep. So I go back to reading and listening to this "moth" flap its wings in the next room...when it flys over my head and practically dive bombs me and I realize it is a BAT! I scream! Brad sees it and yelps! The bat flys into the room where Em is alseep! We get her out of there and Brad shuts the door and says it's trapped in there we will all just sleep together and take care of it in the morning. Just then ANOTHER bat flies past him! We high-tailed out of the cabin and spent the next 5 or 6 hours driving around western Wyoming trying to figure out what to do.

The next year we go up, and a bat lands on me while I am asleep. Even worse a baby bat gets trapped in our towels and we bring the little bastard home with us!

The bat problem has been solved. there haven't been any for two years. Still I do not find the cabin restful at night. I lay awake all night, jumping at every little noise. freaking out when an actual moth brushes by. At about 3am I have to pee, and will lay there until I can't take it and run to the bathroom, turning on every light and ducking my head the entire way. I lay awake until the sky goes from black to milky gray and then I fall asleep. I put in my ear phones to drowned out the noise, but then think that if some crazy mountain man breaks in I won't hear us being murdered, so I take out the earphones, and then hear every bump and moth fly by...its a vicious cylce! My imagination comes ALIVE at night! Its why I can't sleep.

Other things to dislike:
1. True nature is pretty...but it is dirty and like bugs live in it. Last year (or maybe two years ago) I had 65 mosquito bites! Brin had 33! Yes I do realize they make bug spray, but I am a concerned parent and have read all of the warnings about DEET. But that year my girly and fresh smelling bug spray did nothing to deter the blood-sucking bugs! I had to contaminate my kids, my self and the ozone with deep woods off-which contains a ton of DEET.
2. there is no phone service-so we can't call anyone to help us out when bats dive-bomb us. Along with that there is not a TV. Which seems like a great idea, until you are trying to do something and can't tell your kids to go watch Disney channel. Not that I EVER do that-it would just be nice to have the option ;)
3. It is a rustic cabin-with only a septic tank (a very old tank). So the motto is "if its yellow let it mellow...." you know where I am going with this
4. the dirt road is very narrow and I refuse to drive down it. Heck 3 years ago I made Brad drive down when he had kidney stones. I just can't do it. I even make my sister drive our van down to the boat dock because its so narrow!
5. The lake is COLD...Butt cold...I do not see how my kids can swim in it
6. I do not get any sleep at the cabin!

I guess my list of dislikes is shorter than I thought.

Still it would be nice to go to a hotel.

Funniest Blog EVER!

some of you may remember my hormonal rant the other day. Well I have found a blog that expresses all of my frustrations in a sarcastic and HILARIOUS way! I found the link on Beckie's blog and have been reading all of the older posts for 2 days straight! I have laughed so hard -I peed! Here is a link:
http://seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com

It is a fabulous look at the mormon mommy sub-culture we live in. Looking at it like this- proves how pathetic and judgemental we become when talking about motherhood, our callings, our crafting, and even our choice in hair styles.

The blog makes fun of everything: from working moms to women who have babies after 30. Since I fit into both of those categories and have heard all of the cliches (which of course are not directed at me, but said loud enough for me to hear). I find it VALIDATING to see these judgements done in a sarcastic way.

check it out!

I Miss The Bubbles

I have recently, like 4 days ago, given up Pepsi. It was a decision only based on elimating caffiene from my life. Yes I know I should have done it because it is empty calories and probably contains chemicals that will kill off my internal organs, but I did it for the caffiene. I didn't even get a caffiene headache, I just miss the bubbles! The syrupy, delicious fizz. Heck, I even miss the fizzy nose burps that it can cause when I drink it too fast!

Three weeks ago, I had a conference on BYU's campus and there wasn't a caffienated drink ANYWHERE! I smuggled one in my purse and poured it into my cougar eats cup...IN THE BATHROOM! Brad thought this was a little extreme. But I was worried that if campus security caught me they would put me into outer darkness! As I was telling another teacher of my sinfull behaivor she said "now you know how an alcoholic feels". Which in itself is a tell-tell sign of how she views caffiene-right up there with vodka and immorality. But it did give me reason to think that I had become so addicted to something that I was hiding it, IN A BATHROOM at BYU!

I guess I can try rootbeer or something else. I will not try sprite or 7-up. It reminds me of being sick as a kid. But then, I think about all the empty calories and chemicals that will kill my internal organs.
Still...
I really miss the bubbles.