I just remembered I said I'd post a link to the little store my friend Michelle and I are working on together. So here ya go. We're "Peanut Butter Baby", a part of "Lemon Tree Lane". The store is hosted by Hyena Cart, a place for mostly moms to sell their mostly hand made items. It's mainly cloth diapers and cloth diaper accessories, with a little of everything else thrown in. At any rate, here's Lemon Tree Lane--scroll down to Peanut Butter Baby to find us.

http://hyenacart.com/lemontreelane/

We're in the middle of a Hawaiian theme right now. It's pretty fun, kind of an experiment to see if this is something I really enjoy doing and would like to do more of with my own stand alone site, etc. It's a good place to start because Hyena Cart is really cheap, and the other moms in Lemon Tree Lane all split the cost of advertising. So besides fabric, our monthly fees are about $4, for the site and advertising. Pretty sweet deal.

Sigh. You know, I putz and fiddle with those pictures to get the lay out just right, then BAM! As soon as I publish the post, everything goes wonky. I give up. I have no idea how to get it to look the same when I publish as it does when I compose. Goodnight.

Some Ado About the Zoo

Well, I already composed this post once, but I didn't like the way the pictures looked, and everything felt futile today, so I threw my hands in the air and hit delete. Now I'm sure wishing I hadn't, since there's a lot of pic's, and it takes a fair bit for them to upload. And I'd really like to just take a shower and go to bed. But, just so it feels like I finished at least ONE task today, I'm going to plod along (or "blog" along, I suppose, lol!).

Abby's been asking for several weeks if we could please "go to the zoom and see some nanimals". So on Saturday we were up bright and early and out the door on our grand adventure! We really enjoyed the day and being together. On the way home, Bj was kind enough to let me "stop" at Ikea (you really can't just "stop" at Ikea...it's an EVENT to shop there, lol!) and JoAnn fabrics. (Making it even more wonderful to me!)

And so, I give to you, "Our Trip to the Zoo". (Bear with me, I'm tired, ok??)

First pic of the day: Abby cops a very teenaged attitude about the camera and tosses me this forced courtesy smile. I think she senses a long day of "Smile kids! Abby, smile! Say cheese, Abby!" She's got very keen senses--'cause she was right.

Moving along...first stop of the day: monkeys. This little baby was sooo CUTE! He was jumping and running around and climbing all over his mommy! See that bald spot on the back of mommy's head? When I hold Alex, he always grabs a handful of hair right at the back of my neck. I had a hair stylist actually ask me if I'd accidentally cut a chunk of my hair out back there! His little sweaty, sticky fingers are always getting tangled up in my hair and breaking it. So I feel her pain.

Next up: aquariums. This was a little disappointing because the dolphins were in the middle of their show, so we didn't get to see much of them. Alex loved the aquarium with the sharks and sting rays though!

He made this new friend:

He's a like-able guy, eh?

Moving along to the monorail! I thought the kids would get a kick out of the "train ride", but we could have saved our money. They weren't too impressed.

Still, we got an arial view of camels and buffalo!

Next stop: lunch! And treats...

Those sno-cones came in little bags, isn't that weird? What happened to ice crushers and syrupy flavor squirts?

Then we stopped to play on the playground...

Then we took a "wagon ride" (nicest farm wagon I've ever seen) to the "farm" (cleanest farm I've ever seen!). Alex was very suprised to find that "moos" (cows) are quite a bit bigger than he originally thought!

Mooooo!

There was so much we missed...by the time we finished the farm, the kids were wiped, and it was already 2ish. Soo...back to the car we hiked. Alex couldn't make it...

I feel myself running out of words and fading fast...so here's an "Awwww" moment to close this post...

Wishing you lots of piggy snuggles for the rest of this week! Ciao.

This is really interesting!

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1626519,00.html

Happy Father's Day!

Thanks, Dad for sacrificing your whole self for us for more than 35 years. Wow. That number seems huge seeing it actually written out...that's right, isn't it? What a gift you've given, thank you. Because of your example, the good parts of me are what they are. There's the fun stuff...flying kites, riding bikes, root beer floats, Big League Chew, sledding, reel-to-reels, polka music, and a thousand other little memories that are all part of a much bigger picture of what you've contributed to me (all of us!) as a person. Then there's the other things...the things that aren't memories, but little threads of character woven into who we are. They're the things that are so hard to put into words. Maybe in part because YOU never put them in words, but rather lived them. Thank you for your example and demonstration of integrity, sacrifice, love and hard work.




Grandpa Rob, thank you for being such a willing part of the grandbabies' lives. We all appreciate you so much and the relationships we've had the pleasure of forging. Your open heart and generosity speak volumes about the man! And thank you for the best gift ever--Bj!! :) Have we told you that Alex points at your picture and says, "Bop Ba!!", which I'm assuming is "Grandpa". (We have your Thanksgiving picture up in their room.)





I can't close this post in good consience without also acknowledging the phenomenal standard of Daddy-ing my own husband demonstrates. Thank you, Bj for providing for all our children need, in every area of life. You've surpassed my imaginations of what kind of father my husband would be, and I love you so much for it.

Wahoo!

I figured out how to get video uploaded to the blog (I think)! I got tired of fiddling with the banner, so we're moving on until I'm motivated to mess with it again.

So, without further ado, here's the worldwide celebrated phenomenon, Alex, singing his hit single "E-I-E-I-O"!

Couldn't live without...

the borders on the pics. So they're back. But now the banner doesn't fit its border. I'll be back later to fix it, sorry...you'll have to live with the tackiness for a bit...

...Ok, fixed the size issues...now I'm messing with font and colors...meh. Think I'll just change the whole banner...the title just doesn't fit on this one well, eh?

It's Summer!

Well, hello! It's been a while again...sometimes I just run out of stuff to say. Then sometimes it feels like there's so much going on, I just don't have time to blog. With all that going on, you'd think I wouldn't run out of stuff to say?! I dunno how it works.

Anyway, I'm feeling us slide into the summer swing of things...less scheduled, hassling less with things like baby baths and makeup, being outside, grilling, just a general laid back feel. It's nice. I'll clean the house whenever I get to it...same with laundry.

Bj's been going the opposite direction--he's busier than ever. Contractors are sending jobs daily, and he's putting in some long days, even weekend time. This makes the days feel kind of long to the kids and I sometimes--to help pass the time we've been walking down to the lake. We all love it there...something about a lot of water is so soothing. I love watching the sun make the babies sparkle and glow, especially in the evenings, when it's so intensly gold. It sparkles off the water, hits their hair and eyes and everything about them glows while they play. They spend as long as I'll let them digging in the sand, playing in the water and on the playground.

Usually when it's so peaceful and glowy like that in the evening, I hear the song by Edwin McCain in my mind:

These are the moments, I thank God that I'm alive.

And these are the moments, I'll remember all my life.
I've found all I've Waited for, And I could not ask for more.

I could not ask for more than this time together,

I could not ask for more than this time with you.

Every prayer has been answered,

Every dream I've had's come true.

Right here in this moment,

Is right where that I'm meant to be.

Here with you, here with me.

ANYway...(*sniff sniff* lol)...here are some pics...(Uh, oh yeah, call me dense...for some reason I assumed I needed an online host for my blog pictures...yeah, no. Lol--I just realized I can upload them right from the computer to the blog--DUH! Why didn't any of you tell me??!)

There are those fat feet again...

sandy this time!

See what I mean? The sun makes them all glowy!

Most of that playground equipment is the same stuff I played on twenty years ago...there's your useless fact for the day...

Every once in a while, despite it being summer, I DO have to get something done at home...look at the poor exiled babies! Lol...banished to the porch while I washed the kitchen floor!

I'm serious about these Cheerios! If you don't keep them in check, they get out of hand!!

And I suppose that's enough for now...you all have a wonderful weekend, full of sun and relaxed summer-ness!