Summer Update

So, not a lot to report on this summer. The kids are enjoying their summer camp, I'm enjoying their camp, the house is staying clean because my slaves have been working so hard, and we've been doing a lot a swimming and getting quite tan.
Plus my right shoulder is now permanently bruised thanks to Jake and a mean on-going game of slug bug. Thanks to Volkswagen for renewing our slug bug energy. But, like the commercials, we don't slug for any old Volkswagen, it has to be a bug (or an old VW van known in the Goodman family as a "double slug bug"). We also get to wail on each other for cruiser bruisers (PT Cruisers). I don't realize how many of them are out there until I get in the car and Jake starts beating the crud out of me. He is also our unofficial SlugBug police. As the family enforcer, Jake takes it upon himself to call anyone out on a repeat slug, (our car gets a little intense at times). No one gets away with slugging someone when someone else has already been slugged for the same car, or bruising someone if they mistakenly call the Chevy HHR a Cruiser Bruiser.
Our new game has even worked our imaginaton a bit. We've tried to come up with different cars to justifying hitting each other for:) For instance, "dodge this" - for any Dodge, "this will make you sob " - for a Saab, or even the "fit hit" for the Honda Fit. There was something about ramming someone for a Ram and that's about as far as we've gotten with our excuses to beat on each other in the car. It has been an adventure everytime we drive anywhere, but as always a good time.
So there you go, the summer has been great and I need to go ice my right shoulder.

What's on my mind

Here's what's on my mind this morning:
1. I'm getting kinda tired of all the SB 1070 nonsense. I agree with the bill (but I have to admit, I only read the first half of it - it all started to sound like the same stuff after a while). I'm getting sick of reading about it every single day in the paper. I know I have the power to not read it, but I find myself drawn to it daily.
2. I don't know what I want to be when I grow up. My teaching certificate is only good for another 3 years and I have no recertification hours logged. I don't know what kinds of classes I want to take. It's sort of hard to go to school when your heart is not in it.
3. Abby just told me a not so funny joke, but as with all my kids' jokes, it made me laugh because it was so off the wall: Q: "Why didn't the chicken cross the road when it needed money from the bank and he didn't have any?" A: "Because he didn't speak People." Hahahahahaha. When you finally stop laughing you can read on.
4. "H-A-D-L-I-E Hadlie Taylor Goodman". My Bro. Joe and Cassie just birthed a beautiful little girl last week and Joe made up this little jingle about his little girl's name. I'm kinda annoyed because I swore I wouldn't let it get stuck in my brain and here it is running through my head over and over again.

Why I love Kindergarten

I love how kindergartener's write. They have learned so much and they love to put their skills to work. Today as I was on the phone, Abby held up a note asking for an OtterPop (a summer staple at our house). Interpreted, this is what the note read, "Can you get my bike down so I can ride my bike in the cul-de-sac?"

About a month ago, we were sitting in Sacrament meeting and Abby decided to play hangman with Jake. She picked the word and Jake went to work figuring it out. As you can see from the pic, she kind of stumped Jake, and the word was "Jake". As I watched the game progress, I couldn't help but snicker at Abby's man she drew. Most people draw a stick figure starting with the head and then move to stick arms, legs, feet, hands, and then the face. Not Abby, She drew, in this order: the head, a freakishly large ear, the other ear, the long hair, the fat body, the massive belly button, then on to the arms and hands. It was hilarious. I know I should have been a better example to my children and told them to put the game away and be more reverent, but it was too stinkin' funny.

ps - I still can't get my scanner to work, so I just took pictures of the masterpieces.

Bring on Summer!

I remember being a young girl and waiting for my dad to come home from the farm and holding a tall glass of ice water for him. For some reason we always stirred our ice water with a butter knife to chill it. Odd memory, I know.

But I also remember coming home from school on the last day of the year, being welcomed home with a nice fun water fight.

I've carried on the tradition to my kids.

This year I spent the day filling up water balloons. I had a whole ice chest filled with 'em. When the bus rolled up in front of our house, Jake, Abby and all the neighbor kids got soaked! The water balloons were gone in a matter of minutes, and then the war continued with Super Soakers, the hose, sand pails and whatever else the kids could think of.

Noe, Colton W. and Brenton refilling

I'm not sure why Hannah looks so pouty

Abby and Noe (man, it was good to see her again, even though it was only for a day)

Jake soaking Bronson

The kids laughed, got soaked and got a proper welcome to summer.

Now it's time for the fun to begin. I told my kids that I'm excited to have my little slaves back for a few months. I hope our summer is to be filled with lots of swimming at Stapley Pool, a bit of house work, fun vacations and a relaxing, good time.

GNO

When the boys are away, the girls will play.

Jeremy and Jake went to Fathers and Sons Friday night, so I planned a little Girls Night Out for my girls. The evening didn't quite go as planned, so we dragged it out to be a girls night out and then a girls morning out, but they didn't care, they had a good time. The pedicures that we were set to get on Friday night (really just toes painted at the beauty school) didn't work out, so we had to go Sat morning. But what's the next best thing to a pedi? Yeah, you guessed it, dining IN at Taco Bell. I get a teased from some family members when they hear we've actually eaten IN at Taco Bell, and not just driven through, but it was well worth it on Fri night as they were celebrating customer appreciation. We scored a few free burritos and a taco, thanks to my girls big skills at ring toss.

Then it was off to Walmart to pick up some popcorn and whoppers for our big Redbox movie night of Scooby Doo- the prequel. It was quite entertaining and the girls really enjoyed it. Then they got to sleep on their little beds we made in the living room.

We got up Sat morning and went to get our favorite breakfast - donuts! As we were standing in line at Bashas' we saw the Ricedorff clan come in, so once again, we dined IN for breakfast, but this time with the Ricedorff's in the Bashas' deli. That was a first for me, the joint smelled quite chickeny, but the girls thought it was cool.

Then we were off to get the pedi's at the beauty school. I figured I got what I paid for. But the girls didn't seem to notice how inefficient the workers were or how slow they worked or how very mediocre their toes looked, they thought it was cool to be sitting on that chair being pampered and being able to pick out any color of paint they wanted. Then we just had to go to Grandma/pa Goodman's to show off our awesome toes.

What a fun weekend we had. I've never considered myself a very good girl mom, but after weekends like this, I think I just might make it.

(notice we're all wearing tank tops with skirts - one of the girls started it and we all followed suit).

You're crazy in the coconut

My kids new favorite saying is,

You're crazy in the coconut!

Well I'm here to tell you I think my kids can be a little nutty. Where do they get their wacky ways? Not me for sure.

********

They give themselves makeovers

They put bathing suits over their pj's

They wear mine and Jeremy's clothes.





They switch outfits


They play midget baseball

(I kinda feel like this post is like in People or US magazine where they say "Celebrities, they're just like us" and then they go on to say how they're supposedly so much like us, such as, "they take their kids to the park" but last time I checked, I don't usually have loads of paparazzi snapping pics of me and my kids at the park. I'm not sure which magazine does it, but after that long tangent, it was the wording that seemed the same - the paparazzi didn't take these pic, I did.)

I'll never know how they all got so crazy in the coconut, but I do know that I love the silliness.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day, Mom. I know it's a few days early, but I thought I'd take this opportunity to wish my wonderful Mom a happy day. I was just talking to her this morning about how it's been almost exactly a year since her stroke. Wow, what a morning. Getting a phone call that Mom had a stroke was not expected to say the least. Not only that, but no one seemed to have any info about the severity of the stroke. Prayers, panic and fear all overwhelmed me. I'm so glad that a year later she has hardly any lasting effects. Oh wait, there are some. Sometimes when you ask her to say words like Toyota or Railroad she sputters out things like Tiyota or Ray-road. Don't worry, Mom, with some intense therapy, those words can some day be conquered.

My mom has always been such a great friend and example to me. I know whenever I think I'm going through the worst possible crisis I could ever experience, she always makes me feel better and gives me the confidence to endure the crisis, telling me that I'm special and good and that Heavenly Father hears me and I'll be okay. So far, so good. I've eventually made it through all my trials.

A year later, I'm so glad you are still here and doing so well. You are a rock.

Happy Mother's Day.

I love you.

(ps - I know I've used this pic before, but I can't get my scanner working and the pic of me and her that I wanted to use needed to be scanned in)