Today I am going to conquer the world! My to-do list consists of:

Clean the house

Do 10-12 loads of laundry

Pay the bills

Balance the family budget

Go to the bank

Buy Elli and Tay new shoes

Do the monthly grocery shopping

Talk through things with a friend regarding work issues

Finish self-evaluation for work

Finish Relief Society lesson for church tomorrow

Call Sisters that I need to help with my lesson

Remember to start fast for family members tonight

I think that's it. I just put on my super mom outfit, ie running shoes, yoga pants, prayer in my heart, and a water bottle. I'm so thankful I don't have to tackle it alone, I know that with my trusty partner in life, we'll get it done!

BRING IT ON!

 

Horsin' Around

Poor little Tay doesn't have an interest in organized sports. Never has, and unfortunately, it may be she never will. Somehow, over the past few years, she developed an interest in horses. We had to drive certain streets to school to pass the horses grazing in pastures. She got so excited every time. She watches horse cartoons, checks out horse books, and recently received cowgirl boots, a sweater with a horse on it (yeah, think Napoleon Dynamite), and a horse calendar. We tried to dismiss it for a long time, having dollar signs popping around in our heads. It's been said the squeaky wheel gets the lube. Boy has she been squeaky. And we finally lubed her. Found a Groupon for an introductory lesson for half price and decided to go for it.

Our evil little minds secretly wanted her to be scared once up on a horse. After all, she freaks out riding a bike with training wheels, afraid she'd fall off and get hurt. Being scared would mean we could find a cheaper hobby. She wasn't scared. Now we have guilt.

Tay learned about grooming and prepping her horse, Cinnamon. Naturally he became her best friend immediately.

Learning about using the reins to steer. Just a little help from her instructor.

Just a little pose.

Already wondering when she gets to do it again. Guess it's time to shop around.

We Moved!

Just wanted to note our move back into Round Rock...hallefreakinlujah! No more commute! No more of that other place. (Sorry residents of that other place, we never really meshed with the town).

Moved everything downstairs to clean the upstairs carpets. That was an interesting 4 days.

So long, they said.

The night we either love or loathe

Kids love dressing up, getting silly, and collecting candy. Moms and dads loathe the late night, waking the kids up the next morning for school, the whines when the last house cry is made, and being forced to eat most of the chocolate treats. (Been losing weight so good. Dang you tiny chocolate bars that taste so good in my mouth).

Cami ballerina, what else?

Elli dancer, again, what else?

Taylor ladybug ballerina.

Carter headless horseman.

All of em, posing. Carter wouldn't smile.

Amy and her Kinder team were rockstars.

I didn't dress up, I just hooked up with the drummer and got my own treat.

Knives and guts

Nothing like driving a sharp knife into the side of a gourd...

...pulling out it's guts...

...and sticking them on your......face?

Could be worse, you could be getting ready to make out with it.

We should have followed Tay's lead and just enjoyed the evening.

All finished!

Practice makes permanent...

The children had a hard time sitting quiet during sacrament at church today. When they got home we told them that they would need to practice sitting quietly because after all, practice makes permanent. So we turned on conference from April and made them practice sitting and listening. This is how well Cami listened....

She practiced until she crashed!

Lake Travis 2011

This year's trip to Lake Travis was a blast! It's a totally different boating experience when most of your children are self-sufficient in the water. I think Kelly's favorite part was that the older three were willing to try new things! These are a few things we did....

Captain for a minute....

The captain let Carter take the wheel for a few minutes. I think Carter fell in love for  the first time- with power! (The boat moved at 4 mph)

Randy wanted some action at the wheel so Carter let him touch it and never gave it up completely.

Taylor driving... I think 16 will come too soon!

Swim in the lake...

The waters were rough so Cami opted for two life jackets.

Much to the girls dismay, mom required life jackets in the lake regardless if they wanted them or not!

Jump off the side of the boat....

Unfortunately both Kelly and I were in the water when Tay jumped so we didn't get the photo. But this is her after, she loved it. The jump is about 10 feet which is a very big deal for our Miss Taylor.

Cliff jumping...

Dad talked Elli into jumping but she definitely had second thoughts.

There she goes!

After Elli's first jump there was no turning back. She went off over and over again!

Carter had no fear and did everything the dads did!

Cliff exploring...

Carter and Randy

Little Ms. Elli

Good Friends.....

The Hill parents and baby Jackie

Lani and me

Mnisa and the girls from the Harlow family

Half of the DeLeeuw family

The most amazing Captain...

Our Captain rocked. He was funny and patient with children. He let them drive and when we were parked he took out his fishing pole and let all the kids have a turn fishing. He caught and released a few...this one included!

oh my curls.....

Cami found the foam curlers under the sink
and wanted to try them.
This is the result Sunday morning....

She ABSOLUTELY loved it!!!!

Tay turns 9!

TAYLOR TURNS NINE!!!

It's hard to believe that our little Taylor has turned nine,
but it's true!
This year she opted out of the birthday party and took the cash.
(I take the money I would have spent on a party to pay them off!)

Tay's counting the money to make sure
that I upheld my end of the bargain!

Aunt Chandi also sent money for Tay's birthday,
she's super excited!

Not only does she get cash from us but she gets great gifts from family. Thanks for the darling outfits Grandma and Grandpa Whittaker!

She was super excited about the cute dress from
Grandma and Grandpa Birdie!

I think her favorite gift was the rolling backpack from the Hills. She has been begging me for the past year to buy one but I told her she could carry her own bag. Thankfully, Ms. Lani came to her rescue and bought one for her!

Her birthday wouldn't have been complete without a Justin Bieber poster. Carter knew what she wanted and made sure she got one. Man, what a great brother!

Of course, a birthday would never be complete without a cake. Taylor is loving everything peace so Mom made a peace cake (Mom and Dad also gave Taylor a peace outfit and notebook). We literally fed all the neighbor kids with this cake!

FYI: Taylor put half her birthday money in her savings account and spent the rest on school clothes. She bought three dresses and two pairs of shoes. This girl LOVES to shop!

PEACE OUT....

Bieber fever....unfortunately.

Our house contracted the filthy disease awhile ago, and our condition has been upgraded to critical the last few weeks due to extra time on the girls' hands. Plus it's so dang hot we can't send them outside to pass the time.

I was doing some things around the house, Amy was on the computer doing genealogy. Cart was away with a friend and Cam was playing PBS on the laptop (she has not had her soul viciously infected by the life sucking force that is Justin Bieber...yet).


Here's my two very pre-pubescent girls watching videos of their "love," also known as the "princess of pop." (My term for him, not theirs). Our phone batteries are sucked dry.




The antidote? Who knows? Maybe if his juevos drop, his voice lowers, and he is unable to sing like a girl anymore he'll become irrelevant.

Probably not.