let's go on an ADVENTURE!

This is what I exclaimed to the boys after James woke from his nap. "Where are we going on our adventure?" William asked. He had many guesses:

the jungle?

the park?

grandma's?

the airport?

Grandma Fisher's?

All good guesses but none of them right. We hurried to get ready and then hopped in the car. William was still guessing: the store? the jungle? (again)

And then we pulled into a new neighborhood nearby. I've seen for weeks the sign "Model Home Available." It's been screaming my name. So we went. And looked around. We got free chocolate. (Mmmm...) I pretended to the nice man that I actually was interested in buying. When we were done, William wanted to go to another house. It was hard to explain that we couldn't just go into any house we saw. So we drove back home... the long way. And played "I spy."

The End

and the winner is...

... ME! Growing up I never won anything--not even a student of the month award at school. (side note: Every month I would hope that I would get student of the month... I was a good student right? And every month was a disappointment. Sad sad story of my life.) In fact, if anyone won anything growing up it was Amy. She was always winning things--coloring contests, drawings, etc. When I was in college I won a "free date" which comprised of tickets to some show in Salt Lake and a gift certificate to Outback Steakhouse. I never did use those tickets because I didn't have a car and for whatever reason didn't ask someone with a car to go out with me. But for the past few months or so I have been on a winning streak. (And now that I write about it, it will surely end.)

It all started back in May when I stopped by Molly's Favorite Things and entered a giveaway. To my utter astonishment I won the cutest little monkey backpack. I think it's adorable! And William loves it too.

Then in July I entered another one of her giveaways and, when the winner didn't contact her, I won again! This time it was a tassi... quite a convenient little thing. Especially now that I have short hair that I can't just sweep into a ponytail when I wash my hair.

I entered yet another giveaway (this time on another site) and won a custom design from Announcements to Ponder. I still haven't cashed in on that one yet. I have to use it by the end of the year so maybe I'll have some custom Christmas cards. We'll see how it goes.

Occasionally I take surveys for different companies and they reward you with points. I entered some of my points into a sweepstakes and I won a portable DVD player. I've been thinking forever that I should buy one for road trips and such but just have never actually done it. I thought this one would be some cheap-o brand but it's actually really nice!

And most recently I grabbed a soda from my in-laws fridge. On the cap it said "1 in 6 Wins." Now how often do you actually remember to get online and enter in that code on the inside of the cap? I usually forget about it and throw it away. This time I thought "why not?" and set the cap on the counter. Then I got annoyed that it was just sitting there so I finally got online and entered it in the computer... and I WON! It was just a coupon for a free soda--but still! When I told Rich he got pretty excited. I didn't think it was a big deal... it's only a free soda right? But then he said, "Who ever wins something from a soda can?" And really it's true... have you?

So there you have it. My winning streak. Now I probably won't win a thing for the rest of my life. It was good while it lasted.

pretty bird

James loves birds. If he hears or sees a bird he has to tell me (and will continue to tell me until I acknowledge it). He's always looking out the back door to find birds.

(Sorry that this video is sideways!)

He's even recently started calling all animals "birds". Apparently bird = any and all animals. When we're driving in the car we'll pass cows and horses and James will be shouting "bird, bird!" He's so funny.
In the past week or so James contracted hand, foot, and mouth disease. And an "unusual" case at that. Poor baby. William and I decided to make this bird feeder so that Jamesy would have some birds to look at. Unfortunately we had some bad timing because it's been raining ever since we hung it up... which equals no birds on our back patio. Hopefully the sun will come out soon so that James can enjoy the birds up close and personal.

is there a plumber in the house?

Seriously. I was minding my own business when I hear a quiet sob coming from the bathroom. Oh no. I head in and see my brand new towels spread out on the floor trying to cover a puddle of something. My first assumption is that William missed the toilet and was trying to clean up after himself... which would also explain the crying. But then I notice the toilet is full to the top. Then my eyes wander to the toilet paper... it's nearly gone. I'm pretty sure that it was at least half full last time I checked. Great. So I calm William down and then start to clean up the mess. The toilet is so full that I can't even try the plunger without sloshing toilet water all over the place. Oh and did I mention that the idiot who built the house decided that the bathrooms should be half carpeted? Brilliant. I plunge and plunge and decide that I should try flushing again. Bad idea. More water comes spilling out. Now I have nothing left. I start scooping water out into the trashcan. Disgusting. Bleh! And now I hear James crying. I have William go play with him for a bit. I plunge and plunge and plunge some more. It's not working. By now, James is screaming. So, I disinfect myself and the sink where I have been dumping the trashcan full of toilet water (I figured the sink would be easier to clean than the tub), lock the door behind me and run to the aid of my boys. Last I checked, the toilet is still full. I think from now on I'll hide the toilet paper.

party at chester's

As I've mentioned before, Chester the Clown is a staple at Piedmont functions. So it only seems appropriate that the end-of-the-summer-reading-program-party be held at Chester's Party Barn.

The boys had a blast! They loved petting and feeding the little goats. I was actually really surprised that William was so willing to go up to the animals--usually he's so hesitant about stuff like that. James, of course, had no reservations whatsoever. In fact, I was more concerned for the goat's safety than for James'.

William continued to amaze me when he wanted to go on a pony ride and then didn't cry out of fear at all. (And it was great for me too... because it was free. Being the cheap-o that I am, I'd rarely, if ever, pay for a pony ride.)

Next, we were treated to a relaxing hay ride.Luckily for William and his fear of clowns, it was so hot (as Oklahoma summer's tend to be) that Chester decided to forgo the clown costume. He did still put on a magic show for the kiddos though.

William thought it was hilarious! It was so fun to watch him be amazed at the magic--and he still talks about it!

Yea for Chester's Party Barn! Yea for the Piedmont Library! Yea for a wonderful way to spend a Saturday as a family!

breaking dawn

Friday night, instead of being asleep in my comfy bed (like any sane person would be), I was at Barnes and Noble with my cute sister-in-law, Lisa waiting for the release of Stephenie Meyer's newest book Breaking Dawn. There was so much going on! There was a costume contest, face painting (where you could get "bite marks" on your neck), and a trivia contest. Lisa and I thought we would do great at the trivia. Wrong. The questions were hard! So hard that, after seeing Lisa attempt, I decided to forgo the embarrassment of not knowing a single question! I was amazed that some of the kids actually knew answers!

There weren't many people dressed up which disappointed us greatly. We were hoping to gawk at some strangers dressed as Edward or Jacob or Bella. No such luck. There were plenty of people just dressed up for the heck of it though. We saw one guy walking around as a ninja chicken. Random. Here is Lisa with some of her crazy friends who dressed up--even though the costumes had nothing to do with Twilight.

And although there weren't very many costumes there were TONS of homemade t-shirts declaring either "Team Edward" or "Team Jacob". Actually, most were some form of "team Edward" shirts. Lisa and I, being bigger fans of Jacob were disappointed with the lack of support for our werewolf friend. Our favorite find of the evening was a girl that had a shirt reading "Edward Who?" (Of course I think we scared the poor thing to death with our enthusiasm.)

But let me tell you this: Despite the late hour and all the waiting...Really. I read it in just over 2 days. Just about everything ended perfectly... even though I never could have imagined the outcome.

And now that I've finished? I can get back to my normal life.

stage fright

Last Sunday William came home from Primary with this stuck to his vest:

We practiced all week long so that he would have his scripture memorized to recite for the rest of the Primary children. William and I even headed over to the church during the week in order to practice speaking into the microphone. I explained the whole scenario to him.

He had it down pat. Flawless.

And then it was go-time. Rich and I sat anxiously in the back of the Primary room to watch William during his first public speaking engagement. The primary leader helped William to the microphone and looked at me as if to say "Are you going to come up here and help him?" I mouthed the words, "No. He knows it." I'll have to admit, I was pretty proud that William had memorized that scripture in just a week's time. And then nothing. William just stares. I hurry to the front to help him. He won't even say the words as I whispered them in his ear. So I speak the words in the microphone. Finally he says the last phrase in a quiet, mumbled hurry.

On the way home I asked him, "What happened? There were a lot of kids huh?" "Yeah," he answered. "And they were all looking at me. I didn't want them to look at me."

I guess every one's entitled to a little stage fright. Especially when you're three.

i am a MOTHER

I borrowed the most wonderful book from a friend on Tuesday night and finished it by Thursday morning. Every woman should read I Am a Mother. So so so good. Enough said.