It's official.......i'm a bad parent. Notice in the picture Seth has a shiner. Yep I did that. And here's the story.....


This afternoon we decided to make brownies. I had to buy some more baking cocoa. So I had to open this new can. Well here's where the fun begins. Seth was sitting right in front of it when I opened it. Didn't realize it was pressurized as much as it was and when I opened it, cocoa went everywhere. Most of it landed on Seth and in his eyes. So we rushed him into the bath tub and proceeded to pour water into his eyes to get it out. So the shiner is from me trying to keep his eyes open to flush the stuff out. It took about 10 minutes to get it all out. Fun.....so now he has a shiner thanks to mom trying to get baking cocoa out of his eyes. We officially blame it on the brownies. First known case of brownies causing a black eye.


Dan took this picture while we were enjoying the brownies that caused Seth's shiner.

getting ready for school

It's that time of year again. Getting ready for school. Although this year it's a little different because not only will Seth be going but Keegan will be entering Kindergarten this year. I will say that I still LOVE the idea of uniforms for school. I spent a grand total of $16 for both boy's clothes. I spent more on supplies than I did on clothes. Awesome!! Keegan still has mixed emotions about it but I think he'll be ok. He'll be riding the bus with Seth and I think that will help. The really fun part will be trying to find something to do with just me and Paige during the day. It's going to be strange to just have one at home. I haven't had just one at home since before Keegan was born. Anyway...hooray for school!

Kite Flying

There's a storm blowing in today and the boys decided to get Keegan's kite out. Perfect flying weather. It held their attention for about 30 minutes until they decided that the wind was just too rough for them. Ignore the jungle int he backyard. I hate rocks.

Just couldn’t stay awake any longer!

Friday night we were watching Ghost Adventures. It’s one of our new favorite shows. I went into the bedroom to do something and came out and they had all fallen asleep.

Band of Brothers

don't know who wrote this account, but I'm glad he did, it's time we remember the real heros:





One of the "Band of Brothers" soldiers died on June 17, 2009.

We're hearing a lot today about big splashy memorial services.

I want a nationwide memorial service for Darrell "Shifty" Powers.

Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry.

If you've seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel, you know Shifty. His character appears in all 10 episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them.

I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn't know who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was at the right gate, and noticed the "Screaming Eagle", the symbol of the 101st Airborne, on his hat.

Making conversation, I asked him if he'd been in the 101st Airborne, or if his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the 101st. I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served, and how many jumps he made.

Quietly and humbly, he said, "Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and was in until sometime in 1945..", at which point my heart skipped.

At that point, again, very humbly, he said, "I made the 5 training jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy . . . . do you know where Normandy is?"

At this point my heart stopped.

I told him yes, I know exactly where Normandy was and I know what D-Day was.

At that point he said "I also made a second jump into Holland, into Arnhem ."

I was standing with a genuine war hero . . . . and then I realized that it was June, just after the anniversary of D-Day.

I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France, and he said; "Yes. And it's real sad because these days so few of the guys are left, and those that are, lots of them can't make the trip." My heart was in my throat and I didn't know what to say.

I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in Coach, while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to get him and said that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have it, that I'd take his in coach.

He said, "No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are still some who remember what we did and still care is enough to make an old man very happy." His eyes were filling up as he said it. And mine are brimming up now as I write this.

Shifty died on June 17 after fighting cancer.



There was no parade.

No big event in Staples Center.

No wall-to-wall, back-to-back, 24x7 news coverage.

No weeping fans on television.

And that's not right.

Let's give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet way.

Please forward this to everyone you know. Especially, to the veterans.

Rest in peace, Shifty.

Another Lowe's Craft. This time it was a pirate chest. This one was a bit more tricky than the ship, but they turned out great and the boys had a great time! Wonder what it will be next month?

Dan forgot his phone the other day so we met up with him at lunch and decided to grab a bite to eat at Carl's Jr. I really think Dan could live there.

4th of july

Here are some pictures from our activities on the 4th!

ready for the ward breakfast

best friends

he got what else? a train

patriotic flower

dan and brian

on the way home from breakfast to get ready for a baptism

munching while waiting for fireworks

having fun with other ward members

an AZ sunset

For FHE Monday we talked about the creation of the Earth. We spoke of how we were created in Heavenly Father's image. Simple really. Well out of the mouths of our kids.... We asked Keegan if we were created in His image (kind of reiterating it and making sure he understood what we were talking about) and here's his reply:
"No we don't look like Heavenly Father, we are wearing different clothes!"

He was so serious about it too. I love it!!