Monosyllabic Beach Wrap-Up

The following post will be written at the level that my brain is currently functioning. In other words it will be entirely monosyllabic.


Years back, Glen searched on hand and knee for a beach prize so rare, but it proved too vague and he left foiled in his work. His failed quest has been a sore point for all these years, but on a bright sun filled morn last week the beach gave yield to the prize for which he sought. Yay for Glen.


My first-born son had a case of wave torn shorts which gave view to a side of him we wish not to have viewed. It is my joy to tell you that this vile pair has now been tossed and the back side of Spence is once more hid .


The beach house beds squeaked, but we did not care. I liked that we got to rest and wake up when we felt like it and I liked that Glen did not have to work.


I still cooked and cleaned and took care of sick kids, but I liked that we got to laugh and play and have fun and no one had to rush or run. True life seems so hard when passed this fun time so great.
Oh beach, fine beach. We hope to see you next year !


PS I hope to find full use of my brain soon, so I can stop to write in a more straight form so as not to bore, mix up, or put off all you nice blog friends. Wish me luck. :)

Can you leave a word back in the same form as me? It's a bit more of a stretch than you'd think, huh?

New Facebook Profile Pics and Status Updates for the Whole Family...

Note: This post is rated "PG" for a wardrobe malfunction.

Glen Hanging out with bro Alex at the beach. The waves are the best yet tonight and the body surfing was epic.


Ellie 101 degree fever and they're still dragging me to the beach. Also lost 2nd tooth, but the tooth fairy didn't know where to find me....again.


Lara's kids are accusing me of being a little snap happy with the camera. I, for one, am proud of my hours spent knee deep in the ocean capturing awesome shots. All with nary a drop of water on my camera.


Spencer My belly is scratched up like hamburger meat, but you can now call me Wave Master of the Universe.


Cami chilling with cuz at the beach and looking cute all the way!


Devin and Catherine (cousins) First time in the Atlantic Ocean and first time seeing fireflies! The East Coast is awesome!


Adam Fever Shmever. I caught at least 97 baby horseshoe crabs today.


Emma is loving the waves, the sand, and all the snacks lying around the beach house.



Bethany Beach is enjoying the view of the moon tonight (and I don't mean the one in the sky).

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Disclaimer #1: The last picture has been modified from its original form to be appropriate for all audiences.

Disclaimer #2: The "moonee" and his parents were unaware of his wardrobe malfunction at the time this photo (and several others) were taken. After the little problem was brought to his attention (by several children pointing and laughing ) he took efforts to be a little more modest. He was mildly successful.

Disclaimer #3: No teens were bribed or hoodwinked in the publishing of this post.

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Sunrise Over the Atlantic

How again are there atheists in this world?

Summer Rhyme Time

Oh, what do you do in the summertime?

When all the world is boiling?
Do you jump in an ocean and boogie board to shore?

Or laugh at the sunscreen streaks galore?

Do you find yourself sandy?

In places that aren't very handy?

Or just hang out with your brother?
Or maybe cling to your mother?


Or find baby crabs

That will grow as big as Mom's abs?

Is that what you do?

We do too!

Whoop-dee-do!

Red, White, and Blue Family Heirloom!

One day almost 20 years ago, my Aunt Valerie paid me a surprise visit to present me with a special gift. I was a BYU student living 1500 miles from home and I was thrilled to see a familiar and loving face.

And it wasn't just any old gift. It was a gift she'd been laboring over for well over a year and I wanted to take this Independence Day weekend to blog a little about this well-loved and cherished family treasure.


It's impressive enough in its appearance from a distance, but when you take a closer look you can see that she had hand-embroidered each one of these "squares" (which are really hexagons). She sewed them one at a time on the bus to and from work each day.
There's a "square" for each of the 50 states, with the state bird, the state flower, and its entry into the union all beautifully embroidered.

Here's a closer look at my two favorites...

My beloved homeland of Minnesota with the beautiful loon...

And the birthplace of three of my five kids....

And in the center is an intricately stitched map of the entire United States....
It's an heirloom that we treasure and enjoy. And while I'm too chicken to put it on any of the kids' beds on a permanent basis, it's something that is ogled at and admired often.

I am still amazed at the hours and hours of effort she put into making this beautiful creation and I want her to know that each time that we use it, that I feel the love of an aunt reaching out to her homesick niece. Thank you Valerie!!!

No more "Whinese"

Lest I be accused of speaking Whinese, which my kids are exceptionally fluent at, I did want to show that our summer hasn't been all vomit and creepy guys...
My 3 nieces have been staying with us much of the week, while their Mommy is out of town. They are total sweethearts and it's been so heartwarming to see the soft side of my kids come out when they interact with them.


The first day they were here, we needed lots of popsicles to keep us cool. We had over 18 days in June over 90 degrees, 6 of which were over 95 degrees.

Sweaty, albeit smiley faces were common sights the last few weeks...

Then yesterday, the humidity slipped away and left a blanket of cooler air that brought the kids outside for hours on end...
And even got Spencer in on the action. He kept making them cry every time he jumped, so he just gave up and started answering his texts while they bounced him.
I caught a glimpse at one of those texts. I'm sure he won't mind me sharing it here....

"I've got 3 cute girls chasing after me."
"Seriously"
"They love me."
"DUDE! No, U can't come over. These cuties are all mine!"


Disclaimer: Text message may or may not be based in fact.

MISSING

MISSING: Lara's Mojo

Last seen: May 10, 2010, ~11:39am.

Possible Sightings:
In the carload of junk we donated to Goodwill?
Accidentally discarded in the 7 garbage bags of crap we pulled from underneath the girls' bed?
Wrapped in the old red carpet in the basement?
Lost in the phone lines during several long irate calls to Verizon about our lack of internet?
Burned up in the string of bad recipes I keep trying?
Mixed up in the vomit spewed all over Adam by a total stranger at the park?
Maybe lodged permanently in my throat after a random guy jumped out of the woods and yelled, "Boo!" and started laughing hysterically while on my morning run on Monday?

If you find it, please call me ASAP. I miss it.

My Day in Boos and Yays

Finally grocery shopping after cooking "creatively" for a few days.

YAY!

Having to take 3 kids with me, because my older kids are off with friends for the day.

BOO!

Finding a good bribing treat at the grocery store.

YAY!

3 kids fighting over the bribing treat.

BOO!

Gazing into my clean and well-stocked refrigerator.

YAY!

Broken internet and 1 hour phone call with Verizon.

BOO!

Summer sports program that keeps 15-year-old happy and engaged.

YAY!

Glen has to work late and can't drive him to his practice right at dinner time.

BOO!

Made easy dinner early in the day, so at least we can eat early before going to practice.

YAY!

Bad traffic in a van with broken air conditioning.

BOO!

Built-in DVD player to watch movies when the kids get bored after running around the fields for an hour.

YAY!

Draining the battery of the car with the DVD player and discover the car is DEAD right at the end of Spence's practice at 8:30pm and we're over 10 miles from home.

BOO HOO!

Up-to-date AAA membership we've never used until tonight.

YAY!

Nice brother willing to let me hang out his house at 10:30pm and borrow his internet for a while.

YAY! YAY!

The Case of the Wandering Phone

If you've called our house recently you may have noticed that we rarely answer the phone.

It's not that we're always gone and it's not that we're screening our calls, it's just that we can never seem to find the phone. And when we do happen to know where the phone is, we know it's probably not for us.

Thank goodness for the pager button because based on the places we end up finding it (under the cushions of the couch, on the back porch, under pillows, and even in the bathroom (ew!)), I'm fairly certain we'd either be single-handedly keeping the cordless phone companies in business otherwise.

So why is our phone so hard to find? Here are three clues...

1. She has a lot to say.
2. She's not getting a cell phone for another year.
3. She's three weeks away from teenage-hood.

39 for the 1st time.

He's kind, gentle, sweet, thoughtful, hard-working, hot, 30 lbs. lighter, loyal, intelligent, devoted, and I feel blessed every day to be his wife.

Happy 39th Birthday Glen!!!!

Before and After

Before I show you the "Before" pictures of my basement I need to make a couple disclaimers:

1.  The red carpet was here when we moved in and it was brand new.
2. I'm a very thoughtful person who likes to make people feel better about their own decorating skills, so please don't laugh at the ugliness we've lived with for the past 9 years. 
  


BEFORE:  The front corner of the rec room and fireplace with exposed brick wall.  Notice the water stains.  

AFTER:  Waterproofed from inside and outside (3 years ago), new gutters (to take care of the water issues), drywall over brick, paint fireplace and walls, and new carpet.

BEFORE--This corner used to be the home of way TOO much stuff and I'm too embarrassed to post the BEFORE before picture, but you can see well how ugly it was.

AFTER--Got closets built, sanded the wood paneling,  painted, and got rid of the old red carpet!!!!

BEFORE: This used to be a very ugly old wet bar. 

AFTER:  Now it is built in closets with new paint and carpet. 

Now we just need to get rid of 3/4 of the remaining stuff and figure out how to decorate it.

Any and all suggestions and offers of help are welcome.

BIG things

BIG things are happening at our house...

which means there will be no FHE lesson today...

and very little blogging this week (and last week too if you didn't notice)...

Before and after pictures coming soon!!!!!