Look a Like

I thought I would see if the computer software could tell us who Josh lookes like. It seems that the software can't tell who's child he is either!! I was hoping for a more definate answer than what it came up with. I am pretty sure he is mine, I was there...

Barney Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

Barney Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Family tree research

Rock On

Since my back is feeling better, I decided to try it out at a Rock Concert. I guess the word "Rock" is relative, but for me it was pretty....Rockin'. I went to a Lenny Kravitz concert with Emerson Hart and Finger Eleven. I was looking forward to Lenny of course, but came away an Emerson Hart fan. I have included one of his tracks on the playlist. He is best know for being the lead singer of Tonic..which I also included on the playlist. He was awesome, I really enjoyed him. He wasn't a stand up and dance kind of act, but a listen and enjoy kind of act.

The next up was Finger Eleven. Again no expectations, which was good because these were the guys who were clearly living the Rock style life. They have a couple of good songs, but most of the songs they played consisted of the lead singer mostly screaming and the lead guitar guy kept on dropping his guitar. I couldn't tell if this was intentional or not. Even though they were not quite my style, the last couple of songs were familiar and they got me out of my seat to act like a true fan..

The last was Lenny Kravitz. Expectations were moderately high and he delivered. Pretty much, he could just walk around for an hour and I would be satisfied. He was awesome and I stood the whole hour dancing like a teenager. Although at one point of the concert he did ask for everyone to jump up and down. I did, then I realized there was a reason that I didn't do that very often. Oh yeah, I have had kids and you know, I pretty much had to stop jumping or we would be in trouble.

I am so glad I went, I felt AWAKE again. Although my ears were buzzing when I went to bed that night and I couldn't talk the next day..It was worth it!

I'm Back

Literally...I have had a bulging disc and could not touch my knees. It has been better for the last couple weeks, but I have been trying to make up for lost time. I have been doing Physical Therapy which is a Treat. It is not quite like a spa experience but I do get a massage each time I go. That and the fact that I can walk without pain keeps me going back.

My favorite memory of being immobile is my Kids begging for dinner. I got up and slopped some leftover casserole in a bowl and put it on the kitchen table. I went back to the couch and said, "Your dinner is in the kitchen, if you want it fine, if you don't, put it in the sink for your Dad to clean up!" Then after they ate dinner or whatever they could find, Brett came crying to me. He said, "Mom, Josh is throwing cars at me!" I responded with "Save yourself, lock yourself in your room and don't come out until the coast is clear."

I am sure I will be winning a prize for best parenting technique this year. It's Good to be Back!

Sad Day

Our Stake Center burned down this past Monday. It is always sad when a church is burned down no matter what denomination it is. It affects so many people, but life goes on and the church will be rebuilt. Brett is going to be baptized this year and it has been rescheduled for another building. It will still be a special event of course, but still sad that it will not take place in "Our" Stake Center.

Suns Game

I never take a camera to the Suns game, and when I am there I always think...why did I not take my camera?? We had a great time as usual..The Suns won and it is always a good "people watching" activity.

I took a picture of Raja Bell, he is injured and on the side lines. I waited for him to turn around, when he did, he noticed I had the camera square on him, I still took the picture. I was feeling very "paparazi-ish", but smiled after I took the picture and gave him a "thumbs-up." I am such a Dork, but I can't resist taking a picture of a famous person, he looked very handsome in his suit BTW!

Double click on the picture to enlarge it...They aren't the best pictures because my camera is a dinosaur...HaHa...Maybe for Christmas, If I am good, Josh can get me a new one since he "lost" mine...

--A side note to any "The Bachelor" fans. We have a Phoenix Suns dancer who made it to the final two. She was there, but I didn't get a picture because she was always on the other side of the arena. Anyway, the Suns Doctor who sits in front of us told us that she is "Mum" on the subject, but she gets alot of attention from fans of the show. The cameraman likes her to, because anytime they were dancing on center court she was always featured...--

Chocolate Cake and Lego Star Wars

These are Josh's two favorite things right now. Basically, these are my two secret weapons that I use when I have lost all control. The other day, I told him that he could not play his favorite Gamecube game (Star Wars Lego addition) for some reason (I have already forgotten :)..Anyway, he was fearful that he would loose his favorite game, so he went into the bedroom and retrieved the game disc and decided to hide it. Well, lucky for me I saw where he hid it. I have to admit, I hadn't thought of this place yet...It was under the Oven. Good one Josh, I am sure if I hadn't seen you shove it under the appliance I am pretty sure it would have been lost forever!! As I lay on the kitchen floor trying to retrieve it with a wooden spoon, I thought...maybe he hid my camera under here too... No luck, just the Gamecube disc.

Last Sunday we had dinner over at Grandma's house. For dessert she had chocolate cake...After we sat down for dessert, Josh put his arm around my neck and said "Mom, you are my best friend!" He kissed me on my cheek and my heart melted. My perfect little boy, right?? Oh yeah, I forgot he had a big slice of chocolate cake in front of him.

What Kind of City are you?

My sister-in-law sent me this quiz. I was London!! What city are you?? I guess my next destination should be there..Good enough reason for me!

You Belong in London

A little old fashioned, and a little modern. A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock. A unique soul like you needs a city that offers everything. No wonder you and London will get along so well.

What City Do You Belong In?

Not so great Halloween Pics

Okay, so my pics didn't turn out quite the way Mom's invision ideal Halloween pics, but my boys never stayed still!! Also, Brett is becoming aware that the camera is on him and he turns away as fast as he can. So I have to work within these guidelines to get half decent shots...and that is what I got!

Josh was a Power Ranger and he wore the costume every day for a week, so by the time Halloween came around, the costume had been washed 3 times. Brett was a "Blade Ninja." He had found the costume in the Party City advertisement and had begged me for a week for it. I finally gave in and brought it home for him to surprise him. A few days before Halloween, he went to Grandma Barney's for a Trunk or Treat at the park. He wore his ninja outfit. He hated it...I told him, sorry all sales are final, he'll have to deal with it!!

So, when Oct. 31st came around he refused to put the ninja outfit on and choose instead to wear his Costume from last Halloween, a Clone Trooper from Star Wars. Whatever. So we got dressed and went to the Ward Chili party before we went trick or treating and Josh liked Brett's Star Wars mask, better than his own Power Ranger mask. Lets face it, the novelty of the whole costume thing wears off after you have worn it for a week.

Brett as a Ninja, Josh as a Power Ranger - Doesn't Brett look excited??



Brett, Brandon (neighbor) and Josh with the Star Wars Mask


At the beginning of the day, Mike decided to fix the Boy's broken Toilet. Well he fixed it by getting a new toilet!! He also decided to use it as a prop for Halloween and filled the candy bowl, and put it in the toilet for the kids to get there candy out of...I told him, he was going to pass out candy because I couldn't make the kids do that!! Here is a picture of the toilet...Brett decorated it with Spray Paint and a Sharpie :)



Well, here is a cute picture of the Boys I took while we were picking out a Pumpkin. I guess one out of 15 pictures is pretty good for us...Oh BTW, when Halloween was over, we took a sledge hammer to the toilet and found a car stuck in the toilet, it was a pretty good size toy car I was surprised he could flush it! I was hoping it would be my missing camera, the mystery lives on...

Not Fast Enough

As I was preparing to walk out the door to do some errands, I told Josh that we were going to the store. I heard him as he headed for the garage and I thought, I better hurry before he opens the garage door. As I gathered my last minute things like my list, a coke and put away the last dish into the dishwasher, I headed towards the garage door.

As I was walking out, Josh came back in to the house and said, "Mom, I started the car for you!" Fear struck, but I knew Josh was safe. When I approached the car, the car was locked with the keys in the ignition. The radio and the air conditioning were on, but the car engine was not running. At that point I did not care if I was locked out of my car, but thankful that nothing was damamged, including Josh!

Now, I put my keys up in the cupboard instead of my purse. All I can do is try to keep one step ahead of Josh, until he catches up...BTW, if you see Josh driving my car around the neighborhood, I have not given him permission to drive. So, please give me a call, I appreciate it :)

Twenty Years...

I can't believe it, but I just had my Twenty Year High School Reunion. It was too much fun seeing everyone. So much better than the 10 year reunion, although I had fun at that too. This time, I didn't worry if I hung out with them in High School, rather just a chance to connect with people that have the same past as I did. I added some pics of some of my BFF's from High School. We, of course, look sooo much better than we did in High School :)


The night was perfect, except for a stalker that followed me around hoping to get a ride home with me. I had to ditch him with some help from my friends and a few old football players that jumped into protective mode...Ahhhh, High school all over again.

Neola, Me, Carmel, Julie - This is the Big Surf, Y&R at lunch, Mesa High Boys, Devil House crew !!



Peggy (Best Friend from Elementary School), Me, Becky (Best Friend from Elementary - College - Too many secrets to reveal here...She was my goto friend for adventure for sure!


Brian, Me - Maybe a small crush....


Marci, Toni, Me - My BFF's from Elementary to Present - It's good to have great friends - Love you guys!

Die Hard Sparky Fans

We finally all made it to a game this past weekend. We had fun, but only made it to half time. Brett had been up early handling his garage sale (see Garage Sale post) and the game was going to last a while. Mike was a little sad to leave but the alternative was not looking good. I love this picture of Brett with the Band in the background. It doesn't look real, but it is!!

My Heroes

My boys are big Power Ranger fans, so when we learned they were making a live appearance, we could not miss it. We arrived at the Az Mills Mall and lined up to get our picture taken with them. Brett and Josh were very excited and they couldn't wait to meet them. They finally made it up to the front of the line and they exchanged "high fives" and "ninja moves" and we snapped some pictures.

I wonder if Brett will remember this day...He has watched the power rangers for about 4 years and knows all about them. I think he will look back and remember fondly how cool he felt to meet these heroes. I look at it and see that there are two men, who have to put on this costume, which most men would never try on, even in a dare. They get to do silly poses and they can not talk to the little kids.

But in the end, I gave the rangers a thumbs up and thanked Heaven that someone created these characters and the movies have given me many moments of peace and sanity. Thanks Power Rangers!

Garage Sale

We had a community garage sale which we did not partake in. I only really wanted to sell one thing, a stroller which we never use. It was just too big to sell on EBAY! Anyway, Brett woke up at 6:15 on Saturday morning and was mad we did not wake him up earlier.

Unfortunately, I don't do garage sales, so his Dad had to introduce him to the cut throat world of bargain hunters. He was sure he was going to get $2 for his McDonald toy that he had pulled out from the bottom of his toy box!

Brett stuck with it for 2 to 3 hours, sitting out there trying to hock his wares. He even bartered with the neighbor to give him the basketball hoop for free, then he promptly made a sign for it and sold it for $1 at his garage sale. He pretty much had no shame and every time a car went by, he held up his merchandise like a proud merchant.

I am afraid we will never miss a garage sale again :)

Random Pics

Josh's first day of Preschool



Brett going to the ASU game



Surprise pics when I loaded my pictures. What a kid will do with a camera!


Cute Baby Kelly Marie Conway born Sept 28, 2007


Brett holding his new "Girl" cousin. One of his three new girl cousins making there appearance within 6 months. I think he is trying to look happy here. :)

Finally a Night Out

Once in a great while, we actually plan a babysitter and have a destination in mind to enjoy an evening together. Last Friday, was just an occasion where we planned to go out with friends to the Tempe Marketplace for Dinner and hanging out. I got dressed in something else than my Mom uniform and got the house ready for the babysitter.

Mike had arrived home, so I told him to watch the kids, while I picked up the babysitter (name withheld :) When I arrived to pick her up, her Mom informed me that she was having a bad day and she was emotional and was a little behind getting ready. So I talked with the Mom, while the babysitter finished up and off we went.

When I arrived home, I opened the garage to find a little boy inside, he quickly pushed the button to shut the garage. I opened it again, and he ran toward me and slipped and fell. I got out of the car to see what was the matter and there was a bottle of Armor-All car soap emptied out on the garage floor. He also had other car cleaning supplies like a squeegie, towel, bucket and of course MY CAR KEYS!

I see he was planning a quick car wash and take the car for a spin when it was sparkling clean...

I picked him up and went to find his Father...I only told Mike that there was a mess in the garage and he needed to clean it before we left. Believe me, he got the picture. Now, I had to clean Josh and I now had soap on my outfit, since I had picked him up.

After an outfit change, we were off. On hour later, we received a "Text Message" from the babysitter that Brett had lost his tooth and he wanted to hide it from the Tooth Fairy. He wanted to make sure we saw it before the tooth fairy came and took it away. He double wrapped it in ziploc bags to be sure she couldn't open it.

Well, we did have a great time out and enjoyed a great dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. I had the Crab and shrimp Miso Salad, which has been calling my name ever since. When we arrived home I asked the Babysitter how everything went. She said, "Good, but Josh threw-up and I don't know why, Luckily, my Mom came to clean it up, because I would not touch it."

Thank Heavens for a peaceful Night Out!

My, Me, Mine and I

These are the favorite words of a Three year old. Josh loves to use them, in fact I think they are in every sentence he utters. Sometimes, I do get around to correcting him on being polite and courteous, but sometimes I laugh because he says them all jumbled up.

Example:
"My go outside"
"No Mommy, Mine do it"
"Brother hit me" (He's got that one down pretty good by now.)
My Favorite -- "Me put on my seatsbelt, Mommy Drive"

Speaking of the seatbelt. He insists on putting it on by himself or he gets out of his car seat. So sometimes, I will be sitting in the store parking lot for a good 5 minutes before we can move on to the next destination. All I can say, is that I am glad that it is finally in the 90's and I don't melt while waiting for him to buckle his seat belt!

Have a Good Day

I have a daily habit/obsession. I read the newspaper everyday. If I don't, my day doesn't seem to be organized. I also read the obituaries and usually call people when someone they know has died. I figure since I read the whole paper, I might as well read the obituaries too, right?? Well, today I saw the obituary for a friend I had in Jr High and High School. She wasn't a close friend, but a friend that I have fond memories of. Of course, I called my friend Toni to share the news. We both agreed it hits too close to home.

So I realized that today has to be a good day, and tomorrow has to be a good day and all the rest of our days need to be enjoyed. So today I enjoyed being with my kids, playing Mario Party on Game Cube, rollerskating and playing cars. I even enjoyed Spongebob, which I usually tune out. Here is a quote from Sandy the Squirrel, that I found was strangely appropriate for today. "Sometimes it is time to hang up your hang-glider and just watch the sky." Who knew Spongebob could teach me a lesson.

Oh My ....

All kids say funny things, some kids say naughty things. Josh says funny and naughty things. His favorite thing to say right now is "Oh My Crap." The first few times I thought it was cute, and realized that I probably say "Crap" to often and I need to watch myself more closely. I thought it would only last a couple of weeks if I didn't give him any positive reinforcement. When I realized that he hasn't moved on to another phrase, I try to replace this one with another, more acceptable phrase like "Oh my goodness gracious" (a little long) "Oh my gosh" which is a little too boring for him. The funny/naughty thing is that he says it CONSTANTLY. For example, I say, "Josh, Rachel is coming over to play!" His response is "Oh my Crap!" Even, "We are going to McDonald's" again, his response is "Oh my Crap!" So I apologize to Kristen, who is his preschool teacher...I have tried to fix this issue all summer long and it has not resolved itself. I have to admit that I haven't shown myself to the Nursery leader in church, I don't even want to hear how he has corrupted an innocent child. Oh My Crap...

Friends Win

This is a brand new social network that is launching in September. They are allowing preregistration right now. It is free to sign up, check it out...http://www.friendswin.com/?sponsor=208

They started signing up people on Aug 3rd, as of today Aug 11, there are over 1000 members. It has a great comission structure for all of you that have a great blog following!!

Last Vacation Shots

We went up to the White Mountains to the cabin. Here are some shots at Heber overlooking the Mogollon Rim...Arizona is beautiful!!





Swimming in our pool...






Josh riding the Quad...by himself in Grandma's backyard.

Vacation Over

Today is the first day of school and I was a little nervous for Brett to go to school. Don't know why, I thought I would be celebrating with lunch and errands. But, as I watched him walk to the neigbors for the carpool ride, I flashed back to my first day of second grade.

I remember wearing a dress, and I was in tears. I did not want to go. I was sick to my stomach and scared to death. I remember begging my Dad to let me stay home. I was sure that tears would work for my Dad and I would be able to never go to school again. I remember him talking to me trying to convince me to go. I think he must of made some sort of deal, because my next memory is of me saying "ok" and getting into his car to take me to school.

Brett was so willing to go to school today, to meet his friends from last year. He asked me if I could take off his necklace that he was wearing. I told him that it was okay if he wore it, but make sure that he did not play with it. He said, " Mom, I better find out what the classroom rules are before I wear it to school."

I am glad we didn't have drama this morning...we're lucky ;0

Brett 2nd Grade
(Okay, I only had one shot at this photo before he was running down the street to catch his ride)

Cancun

At our hotel, Avalon Grand ( Picture is a little foggy because of the Humidity!)
Wow, our first time in Cancun and it was a blast!! I was actually more worried about the airplane trip than the week stay in Mexico. Luckily, I had packed a bag of tricks that worked great on the first leg to Houston. Once we arrived at Houston, we had a 2 hour layover. Josh spent most of the two hours running up and back on the people movers in the airport. Mike and I took turns running after Josh, while the other kept an eye on the luggage. Finally, we hopped on our plane to Cancun and Josh was out like a light as soon as our flight had taken off and he stayed that way until we landed!



We met Grandpa Barney at the Cancun airport, he had flown in an hour ealier and they had lost his luggage. Turns out his luggage was not found until three days into the trip...yikes! Pretty soon, the whole gang (Mike's sister Lynda and her family came too) and we were off to the hotel. When we arrived at the hotel and walked in to the room, Josh exclaimed, " I want to go home now!!" Sorry kid, you are here for a week :)

Once we were all settled we staked out the hotel and did some exploring to get our bearings. If you haven't been to Cancun, it is basically the Las Vegas strip on a gorgeous white sand beach. It is very American, with no need to speak Spanish or change your Dollars to Pesos.. There are restaurants like Chilis, Ruth's Chris, Outback and Bubba Gumps and of course McDonalds and Starbucks. Most of the tourists take advantage of the all-inclusive style, so they can eat at the hotel for their meals. We did not have all inclusive, so we made the bus ride (65 cents) to Walmart about 15 to 20 minutes away in downtown Cancun to stock our kitchen.

The kids enjoyed the pool and the beach of course...that was their favorite thing. They basically swam in the morning, got out to have lunch, then back to the pool and the beach. They were in paradise!



This is our personal beach!! Nice...



Brett "wasting away"



(Infinity pool at the hotel. That is Mike and Josh raising their hand :)

We had an incredible time visiting the Pyramids. Brett and Josh tagged along to Tulum where the Pyramids are on the coast. They enjoyed seeing the big Lizards running around the pyramids...too cool.



Josh and the Lizard posing. Click on the picture so you can see the lizard up close!



Tulum



Pyramids on the beach!

Lynda and I went to "Chichin Itza" These are the big pyramids in the Yucatan. They won't let you climb the pyramid anymore, because they are campaigning to make it one of the 7 Wonders of the World. That was fine with me ;) Here are a couple of pics.



Chichin Itza



One thousand towers with Chock Mol on top of the pyramid. He was the messanger to the gods (you can see him as the "U" shaped figure in the middle on top of the structure.



This is the Sacred Sinote. This is were they would sacrifice the Virgins to the Gods. This is a fresh water hole that is so cool. You can actually jump off in to the water. You can see these fish that looked like mini sharks swimming around, so I decided not to jump.



Should I Jump???



These are a couple of random pics



Eating at Bubba Gumps



Eating in downtown Cancun - only 2 people got sick from eating the mystery taco sauce....



Ride on the Bus to Walmart...



Visiting the Mayan Resort on the Mayan Riviera...Beautiful



Cab Ride Home!!