Childhood Memories

At first glance this photo may appear to be a simple portrait of a cute, little 6 year old boy (MY cute, little 6 year old boy) but take a closer look....at the socks?

This is how my cute, little 6 year old son left the house this morning for school. Bring back any childhood memories of your own? Leg warmers, tube socks, tucking the bottom of your shirt through the neck hole to make a cute little mid-drift.... you know you did it!

Where's your retainer?

We were all waiting for Mo again this morning for early morning family scripture study. When she finally wandered in looking dazed and confused I noticed she didn't have her retainer in her mouth. Just as I was about to ask her where it was she turned her head and there it was, dangling precariously from a tuft of hair behind her right ear.

I've woken many a morning to find gum, jolly ranchers, chocolate, suckers.... stuck in my children's hair, but this one takes the cake. It was so funny it took everything I had not to fall to the floor in fits of laughter. Instead, I told her to stand still and not move while I rushed to the closet to get the camera. By the time I returned I was laughing uncontrollably and she was already in the bathroom trying to figure out what was so funny. I quickly snapped this photo, I couldn't manage a second one as it only took her a few seconds to find the source of my amusement and promptly removed it!

Afterwards I couldn't stop myself from randomly giggling all through scripture study. I’m finding it hard to not laugh out loud as I’m writing this now. :)

Girls just wanna have Fun...

My trip to Bali was brought about by my good friend, neighbor and extreme X-Box player (not really she's just pretending) Julie.

Julie had a week of time share available for use and since our hubbies had just recently come back from their excursion to Mt. Everest, she decided we should do a 'girls' vacation and luckily I got to be one of the 'girls'. Yeah for me!

Anyway, all of the above pictures we took in the Singapore airport. What an amazing place. It was more like a mall than an airport. Complete with gyms, salons (where we got foot massages), restaurants, free internet access, playgrounds, X-Box play stations where you could play free video games, and as you see in the pictures a beautifally landscaped pond full of HUGE coy. At first I thought the plants were all fake but...NOPE! What a great beginning to a lovely vacation!

One of the fist things we did after we arrived and hit the beach was get some Henna tatoos. If you can't tell, I love temporary tatoos. So much fun. By the time we left Bali we each had 3. These pics were taken in UBUD at a place call Monkey Forest. Obviously named for the MASS amounts of moneys. As you can see they were pretty friendly, one even took a little swing from my purse and another one crawled up my arm onto my hat and then up a tree. SO cool! I love monkeys!

Our other favorite pass-time was eating! On our way back to the hotel from Ubud we stopped and bought a half dozen donuts each and managed to eat 2 donutes each before we made across the street to the McDonalds drive thru! That double cheesburger tasted AMAZING! Don't look at me like that...I haven't had real beef in a year!

Our excursions included: White water rafting (TR, TL), Shopping in Ubud, Monkey Forest (BR), and a three island tour on a speed raft (BL, BM & TM).

For me, the best part about the trip was the once a day full-body massages by the pool! The Traditional Balinese Massage is my new favorite!

We had a great time enjoyed a relaxing week away from the everyday hum-drum of life. We are thinking of doing it again next year! Thanks again Julie for a great time, can't wait to do it again!

I NEED muSic!

I need a favor from ALL of my loyal Readers...yes, that means all 6 of you!

I'm completely bored with all the songs in my "Running List". I run at least 3 times a week (thank you...yes, thank I know) and I am finding it very hard to stay Motivated with the same 'ol songs!

Please give me one or two suggestions of your favorite motovating songs that you exercise to. Be sure to use the Chat Wall to the right > so everyone can see your wonderful suggestions.

Parenting Joys

The following is an email I recieved from R while on my vacation in Bali....

.....little T locked his room with all the keys in his room today. I don't know what he is going to wear to school tomorrow as all his cloths are in his room and he wore a swim suit for most of the day today! Thinking about putting him in some of Mishy's cloths to teach him a lesson.
Also he had a poopin accident today and a piece of it feel on Mishy's floor. He didn't tell me about it and so he ground it into the carpet trying to clean it up and then put Mishy's little green carpet thingy on top of it! What a
day!

Happy Birthday Mo!

Just want to wish one of my most favorite people in the whole world a Happy 14th Birthday!

Everest Revisited

Reflections on the trip from Mo and Big T:

From Mo:

I honestly can't believe that our trip is over. Just gone and done! I can't believe the 5:30am wake up calls have ended and the hikes around Delhi have been replaced by trips to ACSA with my friends. The crystal blue skies have been changed to grey Delhi ones and the millions of stars have just disappeared. Something that once consumed so much of my life and thoughts is now suddenly gone and I often find myself wishing i had it back. It seems just like yesterday that i boarded a small 8 seat er Gorka Airlines plane that started our journey, the excitement evident on my face I'm sure, because I sure couldn't contain it. That feeling stayed with me almost every second of the trip, even when we had been climbing inverted down hill for what seemed like forever!

This trip has, even though it was only 18 days, shaped me so much. The 4 or 5 months I spent training taught me diligence and determination. To not give up even when it hurts. During the trip I learned countless lessons about life, the Gospel and about myself. Now, after it's been over I've learned to not take a single second for granted, to make the most of each minute I have because you'll never know when it could end.

One of my favorite days was the 3rd day of the trip. It was an acclimation day which I thought meant we got to rest. I was wrong, but it turned out to be better. We were going to hike to the highest 5 star hotel in the world. My brother and I climbed together, we talked and encouraged each other all the way. Then when we reached the hotel, we sat on the benches and ordered drinks, just relaxing and taking in the miraculous views and things we saw. It had been a while since we had done anything together just us two so it was really nice to sit and talk with him. Then Dad showed up and we talked all together. That is just one of the many bonding experiences that we had. I loved every single second of the trip.

The views were miraculous and even if I tried to describe them I still wouldn't be able to do them justice. I can't believe I saw the things I did. The magnificent mountains that soared into the sky were amazing. The beauty of the trees and rivers were just incredible. Everywhere I turned there was something beautiful to behold, my heart was always filled with joy. There was something about being on that trip, being in the mountains that made me happier than I'd ever been in my short 13 (almost 14) years. I felt my spirits soar most mornings as I stepped out into the rays of light and thought of what the day held for me. Each time we rounded a corner and saw a new sight I couldn't help but gasp in wonder. Sometimes now in school I'll drift off day-dreaming and I'll find myself back on the trail hiking back up the mountain.

My dad and I were hiking partners most of the way up. It was so nice to have him to follow, stepping in his footsteps a lot of the way up the mountain. When I got tired he would stop and rest with me. When I was in front he never pressured me to go faster. He was always there behind or in front of me, never going too far away, always there when I needed him.

I never thought the trip would end so quickly. It was a life changing experience that I will never forget. The images and sights have imprinted in my memory never to be forgotten. I'll never forget making it to base camp and finding out it was just a bunch of rocks. I was disappointed at first but then realized it wasn't about the destination, it was about the journey we took to get there. The laughs and memories of everyone I gained are innumerable and priceless. The time we spent together on this trip has made a unique bond between us and this trip has a special place in my heart and will forever stay there never to be replaced!

Taylor chose to describe his feelings in a poem:

Never Stop Walking by Taylor Seipert

You set off for the time of your life

Not knowing if you will ever be able to make your goal

You start off sharp as a knife

Not even seeing the toll

Soon your spirit turns to strife

And you feel that your fire is now a coal

Even as you are seeing the splendor

You feel you can't press on

But when the goal comes into sight

You feel that coal ignite

And press on till there is nothing left