Updated forecast....

It's getting even better...I won't copy the 7 day this time, but Sunday's high is now 39 with 2 snowflakes shown.....oh yes, we ARE getting snow. Possibly 3-6 inches. I think we had about 3 days of Fall. :)

Definitely, more pictures to come of this! I may have to run to WalMart tomorrow, as my kids have outgrown their snowboots.

This Weekend's Forecast...

This weekend does not bode well from me ever getting rid of this cold. I have been robbed of my ability to breathe through my nose, talk, and sleep all night. Wah! And yes, I'm whining about it.

Everything's dropping...temperature, stock prices...

At least I know I will get better. Nicole is back to 100%, and Jared and Ellie are improving. Riley never got it, lucky kid. Ron and I are left to suffer. But now to add insult to injury, winter is coming early to these parts. Look at that....73 on Wednesday, and 46 on Sunday. I was so wanting to get fall pictures of the kids, but I guess I'll change those to winter pics! :)

Just Overheard....

Jared's rendition of the famous Mother Goose rhyme "Baa Baa Black Sheep":

Blah, blah back sheep,
Do you have any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full.

One for my Master,
And one for you.
One for the little boy who lives down the drain.

Blah, blah back sheep,
Do you have any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full.

Maybe we should have the pediatrician check for excess ear-wax at his next appointment.

Naughty Monkey

A few weeks ago I stocked up on a couple pair of the Carters fleece footie jammies from Costco for Ellie to wear this winter. One of the pairs she chose is pink with brown monkeys. She has been asking every night to wear her "monkeys" since we brought them home. It got a teensy bit cooler today, and so I decided to let her wear them. She was so excited!

Daddy put her to bed, and then went to tuck Jared in. As he walked back out of J's room, Ellie stuck her head out her door and squealed, "Eeeee-eeeee-ooooo-ooooo!". Daddy asked her what she was doing. She looked at him with a scowl and answered, "I a naughty monkey."

Oh my....could she GET any cuter?!

Breakfast

Ellie informed me this morning....

"I need a phoom mommy, I need a phoom!"

A spoon with which to eat her cereal.

Well, I gave her a "phoom", and she proceeded to eat her cereal with her fingers. Just like every morning. Picking all the marshmallows out first. Thanks for the Marshmallow Matey's dad! We like Malt-O-Meal cereal at our house, cheap knock-off that it is!

So, everyone, grab your "phooms" and enjoy! :)

All I want to know is...

...who has been eating my chocolate?!

I have been busy.....making cards, wrangling children, school pictures, hoarding chocolate, reading other blogs....family history type stuff.....not really doing anything about it other than plans, but that's a start, right?!

I've been in a writing funk and more of an information gathering mode as of late. Oh, and that guilt imposed by dirty bathrooms and floors has been filling my mind instead of anything blog-worthy!

More fun coming when I get my ducks in a row. :)

ps....I didn't take that blurry picture....I stole it from google images....that was easier than pulling my bags of chocolate out of hiding, pulling the camera out, transferring images, and trying to not let the kids see the chocolate or their hiding place in all of that chaos. Whew!

**Roseola update: at day 3, all the "coco pops" went away, and Ellie is Ellie again!

I have to laugh

I think it's funny that no one has commented on the fact that my two year old is playing with poker chips and face cards in the picture below....such a stellar parent!

Or has someone turned me in to CPS anonymously?! ;)

Isn't she cute though?! That picture was taken on our trip to Colorado. We stopped in at a "Pioneer Town" that included a fun street of different businesses, including the Lizard Head Saloon. The kids thought that filling the glasses with poker chips was a blast.

As for Miss Rosie....wow, her "coco pops" are even more impressive today, including up onto her cheeks. Fun times!

New kid.....

Normally, we call this one Ellie.

Today, we have changed her name for the next day - to possibly a week.
Her alias is Rosie.

Rosie Lola....

...as in roseola! (Click on above pictures to really take in the glory of it all!)

She calls them her "coco pops". (Her adorable way of saying polka dots!) Now I understand why her fever didn't subside after we started antibiotics for her double ear infection....poor kid!

On to other fantastic news....it isn't summer here today. At noon, it was blowing, raining, and 45 degrees! Yeah, that would be 45 degrees. Even my husband, who had opened the windows to let in the "cool", decided it was now too cold and closed them up! :) By this afternoon though, the storm had blown through....sun shining, temp warming nicely into the 60's(downright balmy!), and we got a nice view of the snow topping off the mountains around us.....

nice...

Happy September 1st!

A Little Freedom: Take 2

Jared finally reached his long awaited first day of Kindergarten! Whoo-Hoo! He woke up this morning so excited, and we counted down the hours until it was time to leave. (He's in the pm class). We had some lunch, daddy showed up to help escort him, and off we went. Jared proved to be just like Nicole, in that he could've cared less that his parents were there. I was trying to tell him goodbye and give him some last minute instructions, but he was so preoccupied looking around and doing his puzzle that I don't even think my words went in one ear to go out the other....they just flew off into the air, completely ignored!

Jared and his teacher

So now Ellie and I are on our own for three hours a day, five days a week! Of course, it is during naptime, so she'll be involved in that many days, but on days that errands have to be run, she will be my little helper and it will be fifty times easier than it's been in years! :) I don't think she was bored at all with them not home. She does a great job entertaining herself when they are home anyway.
Before long, three hours had passed and it was time to pick them up. Jared was excited about his day, and had fun. He was already talking about how he was happy that he gets to go back tomorrow. It's going to be a good year!

...'Til we meet again...

Last Sunday my Aunt Marie, one of my Dad's older sisters, passed away. She lived a long full life, and will be greatly missed.

Jared, Ellie, I, and my mom are off for a very quick trip to Vernon, AZ for her funeral and time with family. We leave this morning and come home Sunday.....I hope we and the kids survive the 20+ hour drive! ;)

My cousin Bradi, who is much better with words, left this wonderful memorial on her blog.

Bradi mentioned a few of the things I remember about Aunt Marie....like the fact that the poor woman did not inherit the tall gene that pretty much EVERYONE else in the family did...she took after her mother and was on the short end of things....but she wasn't short on listening to people, which isn't a strong family trait! I didn't see my Aunt Marie often due to moving away from the home state of AZ and not being able to attend the family reunions and weekends at the ranch. But when I did see her, she knew who I was, and asked about me. I appreciated that so much. It's hard to be a member of a large extended family, many that spend a lot of time together, and still feel part of it when your visits are few and far between. But there are many in our family, Aunt Marie included, that didn't let you forget that you were as important as any of them.

She also told great stories. I think that is the thing that makes me the saddest as the older generation passes away.....so many stories go with them and are gone. I regret so much not bugging my dad and recording his thoughts. I came along after both my grandparents were gone, so I don't have memories of them. I got a few details out of my dad of his growing up years, but he really didn't talk about it much. My cousin Kevin is really trying to get some things recorded, and I applaud his efforts, and hope we can all benefit from it. We really do have an incredible family heritage to continue to build upon.

Thank you, Aunt Marie, for being a part of, and helping to build that strong heritage. You will be missed.

Aunt Marie is the older girl on left.

Aunt Marie is the older girl on the right. Check out the little boy in the suspenders on her right....no that is not my son, but it is his grandpa! I gave birth to my own father....

Children of DC & Ethel Nicoll, 1978
back: John, Kenneth, Guy, Cap
front: Joyce, Phyllis, Marie