running out of seats quickly

So we've all been crowded in my little Olds Mobile for a few years now. It's been ok because it has just enough seatbelts for all of us. Well we decided daddy needed his own vehical so I could keep the car when he went to work. So we paid cash for a motorcycle for him. Then we paid a visit to our family in MO. Wonderful visit, then we drove home, found out that mikes hometown was destroyed, and had to stop 1 1/2 hours from home because of lightning and get a hotel. YAY! :S   Then I go to take my car to get some groceries after being in MO for a week....and the car wont start. As Mike is evaluating the situation, I get a call that the car we just sold my brother is having issues. Great...now I feel guilty for selling him a car that broke after a few months. Lovely. My mom said don't worry about it, its just what happens with all cars...but it's still annoying that I didn't sell him as reliable of a car as I thought. To top it off Mike has come to the conclusion that it's probably a cracked engine block...YAY! And it's supposed to be rainy all week. Mike gets to drive to work on his bike in the rain. SUPER! Guess who's stranded at home without a car again! ME! I'm so excited! Oy....ok time to pick option A instead of E.

When life throws you lemons...

A) Live in denial and ignore them
B) Imagine they're something exciting and will somehow miraculously make your life better.
C) Shoot them like clay pidgins
D) Eat them anyway and just suck it up and be a man.
E) Throw a fit and blog


bet you can't guess what I'm doing!

Bin Laden cont.

So after my intial skepticism I found various things that really put it over the edge for me that Bin Laden really is dead. I do think it was very convenient for Obama that they acted on their intell now. But in the comments on the previous post, I posted a link to a very interesting article. Apparently there is a man in Pakistan who unknowingly live blogged the U.S. Bin Laden raid as it happened. Actually very interesting to read and it's not very long either. The Government has said that they have photos postmortem of Bin Laden but are yet unsure if they will release them. I'm pretty sure I don't actually want to see graphic pictures of a dead guy, but it'd be nice if we could have some people verify that the photos do exist. I don't blame them for burying him at sea, but for how many times Bin Laden has been "dead" it's understandable that people are demanding more proof.

I do have to say that we have some amazing men and women who work for our freedom. Hats off to that group of Navy Seals who got the job done. I really would love to hear more about those who actually trained for this, but as an abc report stated, "These men have done all of this in anonymity. It is standard procedure never to identify members of Team Six."  And yes, it's good to keep the names of them secret, as much as I'd like to hear more about them and to be able to publicly thank them, I'd much rather they not become a target. Capt. Duncan Smith, a SEAL spokesman who spoke with ABC News stated, "A lot of those missions--the majority of those missions--are ones the public will never know about...and thats a good thing." I'm so grateful for these troops who deal with threats on our country constantly. These people are the ones who help us Americans feel safe. So, whoever you are, wherever you are. Thank you. Anyone who goes into service for our country, to secure our freedom deserves our gratitude and love. God bless America, my home sweet home.

Obama/Bin Laden

You know, I have to wonder. Yeah, Bin Laden is dead, but isn't that a little out of the blue... Taken from CNN's webiste "the president said he ordered an operation -- carried out by a handful of U.S. troops -- to kill bin Laden in Pakistan. They did so after a firefight, bringing out the al Qaeda leader's body with them after their mission was complete." Isn't that a little out of character? I mean, Obama has not (as much as many may disagree with me) been a man of action when it comes to our military. He has repeatedly stated that we should withdraw our troops. Yet the troops remain (I have other views about the USA's Big Brother attitude and commend out troops for the Job they are doing). He is pro cutting military funding. His reason for this? “We can no longer afford to spend as if deficits do not matter and waste is not our problem,” Mr. Obama said. (taken from here) The defense cuts send “a very clear signal that this administration is not going to be as forceful on national security issues as the previous administration. I think that’s pretty clear,” said Sen. Saxby Chambliss, Georgia Republican. (if you ask me I think budget cuts should come a little more off the top, if you get my drift. And cuts also should come from the abused food stamp program....but that subject is for another day)


So why would a man, who thinks that our national security is not as big of an issue as healthcare "reform," come out of the blue to announce that a man who has orchestrated terrorist attacks on the United States of America, that most of the USA has heard nothing of in 7 years, was taken out by a small operation he ordered to Pakistan? Don't get me wrong, if Bin Laden is dead that's a good move in my book. But why now? Why would this surface just now, after no leads from anywhere that this was going to happen anytime soon, or that the hunt for Bin Laden was still on?


Another thing that strikes me as odd, is they had him buried at sea. Here they stated that, "American officials say bin Laden's was handled according to Islamic practice and tradition which calls for a body to be buried within 24 hours. Pentagon officials say finding a country willing to accept the remains of the world's most wanted terrorist would have been difficult, so the US decided to bury him at sea." 


Is this a little convenient for Obama?

Old Toys

These are the same waffle blocks that I used to play with as a kid. And we used to do the same thing, can you tell Mikey is making a car noise by his face?

I've noticed something. The things I get for my kids, I really get for myself. I love watching them play with the toys that I had so much fun with when I was little. Look at that Owen boy just chillin. It was his idea to get inside the blocks...and Mike's idea to push it. Classic toys never go bad.

I've noticed though, that when they don't take care of their stuff I freak out. Which I have the right too. If they break it it's gone and that means no more fun with that toy.

One of our new favorite things are these masks, they were a little more than what I would have liked to pay (about $9 at target), but they're very high quality and I'm definatly going to buy the whole collection for our costume box. They LOVE these things. As soon as a mask is on, they don't need anymore toys. They're no longer my little boys, and they refuse to be called by anything but the name of the superhero mask they're wearing. Xander is especially adamant that he IS spider man. 

I found 2 transformers masks at toys r us, and they're about the same price as the others, eventually I'll add those and the Thor mask to the pile. Owen even likes putting the wolverine mask on. Cute little boys.

My First Best Friend

22 years ago today I got my first best friend. Marshall and I were always doing something or other that was weird. Mom didn't usually put us together in the kitchen to do dishes cause we'd always end up just laughing the whole time and never getting anything done. Marshall put up with a lot of older sibling abuse. I told him it was going to be fun to jump from one bed to another even though they were completely way to far apart. I'm sure a lot of his bruises were vicariously my fault (I didn't do it I swear! It was the bed.) But with his ingenuity he got back at me quite a few times. One instance he somehow tied my bike into the tree in the front yard, very high up. It's funny now, but then I really had no clue how I was going to get it down (I think that was the idea) I was pretty fumed. Marshall was always there to talk to. We always had some secret that no one knew about...or well we thought no one knew about. And for some reason, we loved to wrestle. When we were younger I had the upper hand...but as time wore on. Well lets just say he takes it easy on me.

Marshall has always been true to himself and to others around him. And he "knows" everything (whether he really knows it or not), He has a way of making you believe the most absurd things (ask him about where he was born, or what colors smell like). I've always loved being around him. Everything is an adventure to him. At Christmas time all the guys got marshmallow guns and his was broken. He said the best part about it (other than shooting everyone) was having to fix it first. He's a lot like both of our grandpas. One thing is for sure, growing up around marshall sure gave me a lot of time to laugh and smile. He gave me quite a few memorable moments, and helped me become the silly person I am. Marshall, I love you so much. Thanks for coming along when you did, life would sure be dull without you. Thanks for the bike rides around Willard, the walks in strange fields pretending we were runaways, the late nights of made up obscure songs & nursery rhymes, the tv shows we'd watch together and make fun of, and the sincerer brother who's always loved me for who I am, and a person I always could be myself with. You truly are one of a kind, and I couldn't be more proud to have you as my brother. 

puppy people

Xander and Gavin have decided they are eachothers puppies. They trade off. The thing they're eating in the video is Vienna sausages. I find them disgusting, but the boys think they're puppy chow. ick. The thing I love most about this video is the way gavin talks. I love it. He's almost three but still doesn't have his letters right. I keep thinking about Xander and how at 1 year he was already talking. After 4 kids I now realize that is actually really early. He was Owens age. Yeah...these are the words Owen can say; mama, daddy, hi, num, oooh! yeah...thats pretty much it. He recognizes lots of words, he just doesn't say them, but he does know what you're talking about when you talk to him. Mikey is the strong slent type. He's always trying to take apart something or another. If a toy has a moving part he moves it over and over to see how it works. All of them are so different but they're all best friends. I sure love my boys.