Friday, August 29, 2008

Big Day for my Little Boy

My husband is not a hunter but he comes from a hunting family. Every year the men go off to hunting camp, otherwise known as eating safari, and invite my hubby. This year he decided he would go along and take our 4 year old son. My boy has been so excited to be able to go! benadn him plan on taking hikes, playing in dirt, reading and having a great time while the guys hunt and then eating with the men when they return. I love that he is going to have some alone time with just daddy! Also his Papa has had a major arm surgery and is not allowed to pull a bow this year so he gets some good time with his papa as well!
So this morning at 3:15 am we got our baby up and into the van! This is the picture I got of him! I just love it. He looks so happy
Ben called at breakfast and said Ethan did not sleep at all on the first 4 hours over. They were hoping leaving so early would help Ethan sleep. Then when they stopped for breakfast he asked if they could "get it in bags" so they could stay on the road and get there faster!! He is on a high! I wish my husband had a camera this weekend but I kept it for the girl weekend I am planning with my DD6!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

A little Disney update

So today I pre-ordered a Disney Photopass. When you are in Disney there are people with cameras all over all the parks. They will take pictures for you and copy them on little plastic cards then hand you the card. When you get back you can order the whole disk with all the pictures or you can order just a few to be done as prints. Last time we went I did not take too many and did not want to pay $125.00 for the CD! Seems a little high. So I started a photopass share over at the DISboards and the cost of the preordered CD, $99.95, will be cut into 6ths now. So we will pay about $20.00, this includes copying onto a disk and shipping to them, and I will just copy the disk when it gets to me and send it on to the 5 others in the group.
I am glad to get another thing marked off my list. And excited that this trip I will take more pictures where I will be in them! When it is paid in advance I will feel like I must get my pictures taken to get my moneys worth!

Monday, August 25, 2008

Need Your HELP!

Okay ladies, and gents,
I am going to be blessed with a weekend with just my daughter. Ben is taking Ethan away for hunting camp, also known as eating safari, and I will have just Alicia. Alicia is my hard child and I really want to make this weekend a blast for us 2. We will go see either Kit Kittridge, if it is still at Northern Lights, or Fly Me to the Moon. I plan on doing a "spa day" but am not sure what that will entail. We will paint our nails but may need more creative ideas for this. What I really need is some really original ideas from you all. I would like ideas that are cheap, even FREE and I have her for 3-4 days so lots of ideas please!
I will admit this is going to be a hard weekend for me. Alicia can get under my skin in about 5 minutes! To have a whole weekend without buffers is going to be interesting. I love, love my girl so I really want to make this weekend special for us.
So bring on the ideas guys!!!

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Lost Blankie

We could not find Ethan's blanket today! He has had that blanket since he was old enough to have one and he NEEDS it for bed. So I cleaned house looking for it. Finally we sent him off to bed without it. He seemed fine without it but it BUGGED me. I lay in bed thinking of places it could be. Finally after Ben was snoring away I snuck out of bed and looked everywhere. I am sure the neighbors thought about calling the police as I snuck into our backyard with a flashlight and opened both cars up. Anyhoo I could not find it. I gave up, sort of, and decided I wasn't tired enough to go back to bed. So I ordered some clothes for the kids online and then started to think more about where it could have walked off to. The only place I could think of was our closet. Ethan likes to crawl under our hanging clothes and hide. But Ben was sleeping so I would have to wait until morning. Unfortunately Ethan has not slept well. He has been making sounds and just a bit ago he came out and said he "needs his blankie." He "cannot sleep" with out his blankie! So I snuck in and found that naughty blankie right in our closet where I thought it may be. Ben never even broke stride in his vibration of respiratory structures. When I handed it to my baby boy he curled up in bed and went uuuuhhhh! Best sound in the world to mommys ears.

This is not a picture from tonight. I decided that even though I would love to show you how he is hugging his dear blankie he may not appreciate being woke up by his momma at midnight. This is a picture I took about 4-5 months ago. But you can see that blankie.

Friday, August 22, 2008

The Summer Reader Winner!

I have been really interested to see what books came in over the week. There were books I have read and also loved, the Dee Henderson Series for example. I read that series on the plane to China 2 years ago! So it has good memories for me. I also thought Ray Blackston was a lot of fun to read. Perfect summer reading, light and fun. Then there was books I had not heard of that are now on my reading list, The Shack and Better. And then there are books I may never get to reading like Psychology Core Concepts or Dog Breath, The Horrible Trouble With Hally Tosis. Not that I have anything personal against these books but they just are not on my list. hehe.
So this morning I pulled the winner. I was excited to test this random.org site as I have heard a lot about it. So I put in the number 10, there are 11 posts but someone posted twice and 1 of those does not count, and out popped 5. So the winner is. . .drumroll please. . .Karrie Brown! She wins with the book Fairy-Tale Detectives.
I had a really good time with the contest! So much fun in fact that I plan on doing more contests through the life of my blog. I will ask for different things and give different prizes but it will all be tied to books and reading. So make sure to check back frequently to see what you could win! Add me to your favorites or to your blog lists so your friends can be part of the fun too!
Thank you all for making the contest fun for me and having such different reading choices. Now I am off to ensure I have Mrs. Browns address to send this gift card to!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Good News for Nicholas Sparks fans

I have read every Nicholas Sparks book there is. I even have his next book to come out (The Lucky One) pre-ordered. :)But that is for another post. This post is for his book titled Nights in Rodanthe. It has been awhile since I have read this book but what I remember is that a lady decides to help her friend run an inn for the weekend. Her life is in a bit of chaos as she doesn't know how to deal with her feelings left from her ex-husband leaving her for anothe rwoman and raising teenage children. Not soon after she arrives a storm hits the coastal town and she is left there with one visitor. He is also dealing with his own problems and feelings and they are forced to spend the weekend together.

Now I know that isn't all that descriptive but I know I liked this book and I always enjoy the love stories Sparks writes about. And this movie should be great as it will star Diane Lane AND Richard Gere! I am very excited about this movie that comes out in September! It looks like the perfect movie to with girlfriends to or to watch on DVD the one time of year that my husband will watch a "chick flick" movie, Valentines Day. Here is a trailer for the movie.

So if you like to read books before you watch it in the movie you should go out and get the Nights in Rodanthe!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

You ask I will answer!


So in my quest to see what you have been reading this summer someone asked about The Shack. Well I hadn't heard of this book yet. I am not sure why as it seems to have caused quite a stir in the Christian community. So I have ordered it online. I will not get this book until mid September as it is combined in an order of 2 other books I want that are not even out yet. I pre-ordered Devil Bones and Death Swatch. They are both books by authors and in series I really enjoy. I did not want to pay more shipping to have The Shack come in it's own order so I have to wait. BUT I will read it and I will let you all know what I think of this book.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Blubbery Mess

Okay! I am a blubbery Mess. When Shawn won the gold medal I was relieved that she would finally get what she deserves! But then when they said her parents have more then once mortgaged their house to keep her in gymnastics I LOST IT! I can relate as a mother. I just hope that as my kids grow up I can be as in tune with my kids to find that "thing" they are made to do. That I find it and back them 100% as Shawn's parents did! These parents deserve gold medals as well. I admire Micheal Phelps mom. Add I know behind most gold winners their are similar stories. I want to see my daughter smile, n beam, as Shawn did as she triumphantly waved to the crowd and listened to the National Anthem of the United States of America! I want Alicia to find something to be proud of, something God has made her for. O, I am a blubbery mess and you all got to be a part of my mess on paper. I think it is the lack of sleep from watching Olympics every night for way too long. They are too blame for the emotional state they have thrown me into!

Girls Day

Today the Wilson's had a girls day. This was the first time Alicia had gone on a "girl's day." She reminded me that I have gone on lots of these special days but this would be her first. Martha, two of my sister in-laws, Rachel and Donna, Donna's daughter Anna and my daughter all went to Lincoln City. We left Ethan with his boy cousins here at my house with a brave babysitter.

When we got to town we grabbed Ben's grandma who is staying at the beach and headed to the outlets. If you had 7 people you could get coupons and a $5.00 Gift card from Tangers Outlets. So we added two more wonderful ladies from church who just met us for the bucks and then sepereated from us. It was a fun day. We shopped, then had an icecream, shopped some more, ate lunch, then had our girls convince us this was a beach trip and we should actually go down to the beach. We weren't there very long as it was nasty weather but also because not 10 minutes of being there my sweet niece, Anna, got swallowed up by the waves. She was pretty wet. We adults tried not to laugh too much but it was so funny to see all of us running AWAY from the waves and one little one run sideways IN the waves ~and finally just eat sand. As we went up the stairs back to the SUV she made sure we knew she does not like the beach. Later she let us know her dad is strong and protects her when she was in the ocean with him.

A Reminder: Please read the post below to enter the book reading contest I am running until Friday. After reading your comments I am now planning on doing one book review every week. There are so many incredible books out there. I want us to find the good ones and stay away from books that would be a waste of time and money. So stay tuned for that!

Friday, August 15, 2008

Contest

So a few posts back I said I may have to think of something to get some of you to come out of hiding here on my blog. I think I have come up with an idea. . . . So to help you all come out, and LEARN to post, I am hosting a contest. If you post with a book you have read this summer and a review of it you will be entered in to win a gift card to Borders for $15.00. I will give you all one week. The contest will end Friday the 22nd at 8:00 am PT. Then I will randomly, or random.org will, a winner on that same Friday.

You may tell your friends to enter as well. I always love hearing what others are reading and love the idea of helping someone buy their next book. Have fun and GOOD LUCK!

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Random Thoughts on the Olympics

In two years with the 2010 Olympics in Whistler, Canada I will not have to stay up until after midnight to see the good stuff!! We Pacfic Coasters will be in the same time zone!

China has incredible Divers! Wowzers. We watch the synchronized divers and it is like watching a man dive in a mirror. They are so good. Unlike the American men tonight who had a dive that was actually perpendicular to each other. Someone needs to tell them they needed to be parallel.

Maybe you can answer me this question. Why, when the divers come out of the water, do they grab towels that are sitting in the water! Can't figure that one out.

My daughter asked me this question: Why are there 5 rings? So here is the answer for you. The five rings represent the five major regions of the world: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. Every national flag in the world includes at least one of the five colors, which are (from left to right) blue, yellow, black, green, and red.

I haven't been real happy with NBC. During the day while when we watch even more olympics they are advertising their primetime shows! I don't really need my children to see some of the previews!! Isn't Olympics a family event. I may be a conservative family but still!

Can you tell it is late. I am just rambling. But these are thoughts I have had for the last week. :) Watching tv this late sure does make me tired during the day! I am actually looking forward to next week when I can sleep more. I am not a big track and field fan and really, Jill~ cover your eyes, I am not a beach volleyball fan. So I can go to bed before midnight next week!!

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Did you see it?


Did you see the USA men win in the 4x100 freestyle relay!? I stayed up while Ben went to bed because I knew this was supposed to be a good one! But I had no idea how good. The French had trash talked about "smashing" the US team. The commentaters were saying we would probably take silver maybe bronze. Then the race started and Australia was doing well. At the last turn we started to see the US gain on the French. I sat up and started to yell at the t.v.! I can't believe with 3 sleeping bodies I was yelling. I am still so stoked! Incredible when Jason Lezak barely outouched the French team to break a world record and take GOLD. You would think I just swam or one of these swimmers are great friends of mine the way I feel. Great to be an American!

Have I told you lately that I LOVE the Olypmics.

Friday, August 8, 2008

One World One Dream

I took this picture from the Great Wall of China in August 2006. It seemed weird to see an Olympic symbol 2 years before they were to occur but now it is so cool to have this picture!

I loved the opening ceremony tonight! I am not sure if part of it is that I have been to China. I know how welcoming the Chinese people are. I have seen the "bird nest" in the beginning building process. I know how HOT it is in August. Sweltering. I can believe that some of what we are seeing is not smog but humidity. Take a look at my picture! You can not see the nest very clearly there either. Being there at the SAME EXACT time 2 years ago I can imagine what these athletes are working through.
I love hearing all the little bits of China's long history. But WOW the show was amazing. Such beauty. I am not sure how 10 people can sychronize something let alone have thousands of people move in such harmony. Then watching each country walk in in all the wonderful colorful outfits. Hearing the stories for athletes or the country itself. It gets me excited for the stories they bring all week long. you know, the ones that make me cry.

I love that once every few years all the world gets together and at least try to get along. As Morgan Freeman states in the VISA commercial, "We don't always agree. But for a few shining weeks we set it all aside and we come together to stand and cheer and celebrate as one. We forget all the things that make us different and remember all the things that make us the same."

It gets me to thinking about heaven. When we get there we won't be different anymore. We will be one family. There will someone from every nation praising Jesus TOGETHER~~ FOR ETERNITY! We will lift our voices and sing as one. There won't even be a whisper of war! What an amazing thought! How beautiful that will be!

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Embarassing Fact about Me

I love So You Think You Can Dance! I don't care for American Idol, or Dancing with the Stars so I am not sure why I love SYTYCD. I started watching two years ago and now I look forward to it every summer. I watch the dancers and wish I could just dance a tiny bit as good as they can. I am amazed that within a week they learn 2-3 dances that they may have never learned before, fox trot,jazz,etc., and then dance them beautifully. Also last night Josh danced 5 dances after being in the hospital for 3 days for dehydration! Can you imagine learning these dances in 4 days! These kids are incredible! Anyways, this year I really liked Joshua. From day one he has been my top pick. I have watched as America actually got every week right and the right people went home and the best dancers stayed behind. Last night was the final competition. Tonight we will find out who America chose! I am so afraid it will not be Joshua. Last night I belive Twitch showed he may be the best! But also he is 25 whereas Josh is 19. So Twitch just has a presence about him that comes along with maturity. I do like Twitch, he is likeable but O, what about my Joshua!!! There are 4 dancers, 2 couples, left. I do not believe that the girls have a chance against these guys. Though I do believe Katee could possibly make it, I know that as much as we all love Courtney she just won't win.

This video is one of Joshua. He is dancing with Katee to a bollywood routine. You don't have to watch the whole thing but watch the dancing! You will be amazed by him!

I do have to say that last year my all time favorite dance routine was by Hok Konishi. This is a rough video of my favorite all time routine. He is a hummingbird she is a flower. It isn't as hard as some but if you watched all season you saw how this really fit their personalities and was so beautiful to watch. He moves just like a bird!

After watching some videos I am more in love with this show!!!! The finale is tonight so if you have missed the season you can start watching tonight!