Are Monkey's in Real Life?

Okay . . . so last week Halle asked me if "monkey's were in real life".   I told her "yes"and that some of them live in zoos . . . so people can see how they act "in real life".   She then asked me how they can be alive in the zoo "when their heads are attached to the wall!".   It was then that I realized a trip to the zoo was VERY overdue.   We have been to the BYU Bean Life Museum often . . . and that is where Halle is remembering the animals that were once alive . . . but now stuffed and on display.   So Saturday we went to the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake.


The weather was great and we all had a really good time.  But most importantly, Halle has now seen "monkey's in real life!"

Ben's Big Toe

[click on the image to see it really big!]

Last Saturday I sprained my ankle playing basketball. Since I was injured and would have to take some time away from the game I decided to have my toenail (that had been a little more than a toenail--for those that have seen it, you know what I mean--thanks to a dumbbell falling on it and breaking the nail growth plate when I was about 15) removed. It will be a long 3 weeks for me to heal . . . basketball, I miss you! (I guess I'll just have to focus on bulking up:)

Mother's Day

My Supermom . . . from Abby

(Abby brought this home from school)

My mom weighs 185 pounds.

My mom is 31 years old.

Mom mom's favorite food is home made maceron.

While I'm at school, my mom takes care of my sisters.

My mom looks prettiest when she goes to a weeding.

Mom mom loves me best when I obey her.

If I could give my mom something special it would be a necklace with a lockit.

My favorite thing about mom is that she loves me.

Response to Questions about Mom . . . from Halle

(Halle brought this home from play group)

What is your Mom's name? Shelley

What does she do? She makes breakfast for us.

How old is she? I forgot, 22.

How does Daddy call Mom? With a cell phone.

What is her favorite color? Brown.

What is her favorite food? French Toast.

What is her favorite movie? Just parent movies.

How many brother and sisters does she have? She only has 2 sisters.

Where does she like to take you for fun? She likes the church park.

What message do you want to send her for Mother's Day? I love, love, love you!

How could I not enjoy being a Mom today? Abby and Halle had made the funniest (and best) presents at school . . . see above. Ben was a wonderful husband (and doesn't just wait until Mother's Day!). I was pampered and showered with gifts and compliments. Being a mom is really hard sometimes . . . okay a lot of times . . . but it definately has it's happy times. I am really happy I chose this path and am grateful for three beautiful little girls. I'm not sure that anything else could be more rewarding. My own mom is wonderful. We sent each other the same Mother's Day cards this year! It was so funny opening the card she sent me and seeing that it was the same one I had picked out for her! She taught me well I guess:)

Rain

I love the rain . . . probably stems from growing up in Washington. Finally we had Washington weather in Utah today.  Abby and Halle were so excited to go out and play in it.  It makes me think they would probably enjoy LIVING in Washington . . . what do you think Ben?  What I don't love?  Water ending up in my house!   After playing outside, the girls were playing downstairs . . . which resulted in extreme excitement to let me know that the laundry/toy room ceiling was dripping!  We had water all over the floor!   AAUGH!   To make this situation even better?  Ben has been out of town on business since Sunday . . . so he isn't here to fix this for me.   Luckily . . . Ben will come home tomorrow . . . and fortunately . . . (in this situation only) I am glad that it does not rain as much here as it does in Washington.

American Idol

Right now, Tuesday night is "girls night" at our house.  We watch American Idol religiously.  The girls love voting!   But they are always devastated if the person they voted for ends up going home. (Brooke White).  It is pretty interesting to watch it with them and to see their reactions to different kinds of people.  

Modesty . . . you have to wear sleeves!  

Jason's long hair . . . "is he really a boy?"

Carly's tatoo . . . "did she have needles stuck in her arm or will that wash off?"

Jason's crucifix necklace . . . they just think it's bad.

Yeah . . . we live in Utah!

Selling Something?

I'm not quite sure where this came from, but this last week Abby told Ben and me at dinner that she wanted to quit school and get a job to "earn money before going to college".  Okay . . . she is only 6!  We quickly let her know that she had to stay in school in order to get into college. But she still wants a "job".  

Saturday morning she told me she wanted to "sell stuff".  I asked her what she wanted to sell. She wasn't really sure, but she wanted to sell something and wanted to do it "right away".  My mother in-law wrote a VERY cute thought book titled ABC's for a Happy Marriage (www.ABCHappyMarriage.com).  Ben was involved with the publishing aspects of it . . . and so we are storing a lot of the books at our house.  I pulled out a few for Abby and told her what kind of commission she could get if she sold one.    Very optimistically, she made signs and had me help her set up a table outside so she could sell books to "all the people that will go by".  Okay, we live at the  end of a cul-de-sac . . . so it is not very busy . . . but Abby didn't seemed too concerned with that.  Unfortunately, after about 20 minutes . . . and not selling a single book . . . she said she was done.   Hopefully she will be this determined to get a job to "earn money FOR college" when she is older:).

Fish Face

My daughters all seem to acquire this talent before the age of two.  They can make a GREAT fish face.  Check Gwen out!