School & Sports

Well here we go! We're off and running with the new school year. Between drill team performances, golf practice, tennis practice, school schedules, homework, signing all those stupid papers we sign every year!!! and my baby going to kindergarten ~ its been great so far. I wont mention the fact that when I dropped off Kately everything was fine, she went in and sat down then later some kid got dropped off and was freaking out and screaming. Kate started pacing the back of the room like a caged animal, I wanted to bad to go in and help but I had my friends 2 kids with me. Finally someone from the office came and took the kid out but all day long I wanted to go pick her up.... What can I say...Im co-dependant. Taner came home with the "this is gonna be easy" attitude and Tara and Sandra came home with, "oh my gosh we're gonna be swamped with home work" attitude's. Talia is so worried that I wont sign her reading log each day and she doesnt even have the log yet. Kate just says everything is great and doesnt really care if I turn any of those papers back in. I go zippo done yesterday so I plan on getting my workout and some laundry done today (gotta burn off the 5,000 calories in doughnuts I ate yesterday as I wollowed in self pity), no kids come home from high school until later today because they went to Vegas for a tennis match. Sandra has said that our schools here are funny. Her teachers in Germany are very staunch and strict and she about died when the principal and a teacher did a chest bump at the pep assembly yesterday, she says they are crazy! Its amazing to hear how different things are on the other side of the world. I'm pretty much learning that Americans are lazy, slobby, slang infected, worthless, and have no manners. Go Red, White, & Blue!

Kate Dance & Welcome Sandra

Well here we are, the end of the summer and the beginning of the school year. We end the summer with Kates last dance class, arent they adorable? And we start the school year with AN EXCHANGE STUDENT FROM GERMANY! Willkommen nach Amerika Sandra Stellmacher! This pict is of Tara and Talia right after Sandra came off the plane at the LV airport. Its late at night and 5am her time and she had been in airports for over 24 hours because of plane problems and switching flights around, so she was pretty tired. But anyway - we are excited to have her here and we hope that we dont teach her to many BAD things about Americans..... I warned her that we dont watch football, or baseball and thats the American sports, so if she wanted that experience she's in the wrong family. She's not sportsy so she really has no clue what I was talking about. She has good english but she cant understand us, we talk to fast. When I slow down to talk to her I talk really loud and have to remind myself she isnt deaf!! She often says, "i dont understand." and we explain it a few more times. When I asked her how her flight was, she used charades and made sounds to explain it. We just laughed. The language barrier thing is very interesting. Well, thats all for today.... Toodles!

Hi there!

So here are some more picts that I took. The girl in the photo with Tara is Ploy. She is an exchange student from Thailand. We had her for 4 days until she was put with another family permanently. But we have another student now. Her name is Sandra Stellmacher and she is from Germany. I'm going to post this and then start a new post because I really dont understand why it puts the new pict on the top of the post and not at the bottom. So..... TTFN

So I got a few lessons on photograpy from a lady in town that owns a studio. She's totally cool and doesnt mind sharing her knowledge. So what do you think? Feel free to use my awesome picts as screen saver or whatever, I'm cheep for now. And judging by what she taught me and what she tried to teach me about lighting and shutter speed, I have a lot to learn. Enjoy!

I cant beleive its over ~~

All the stress, preparing, planning, packing, and shopping (whoa, the shopping, yowza!) are all over! I cant beleive it. It was so fun and the only regret I have is not spending more time with my Tara. Well, that and being behind the camera, you never get your picture taken with your daughter, because you always have the camera....

Dad - thank you thank you thank you so much for driving all the way to do what you did. You were awesome and the girls loved you..... I'm so sorry you were so sick while you were there, I wish we could do it all over again and you could feel good. I enjoyed my time with you and I wish we could have had a dance out there so you could swing me around the dance floor like the good old days.

For the record, Keven dug his own grave last year...... He has this giant 5 gallon pressure sprayer thing he has used in the past to soak people and this year, they got him good. They surrounded his truck and drenched him every time he tried to get to his sprayer. I just sat by the fire and chuckled everytime he came back to camp all soaked. Eventually he got it but it was late and everyone was done so I guess what goes around comes around huh? Good Times.... Good Times.....

Summer Is Half Over???

Oh dear, when Shari posted to her blog it reminded me that I have one too! Where has the time gone... Summer is half over around here and we have survived EFY, Scout Camp, Youth Conference, Drill Camp, a backpacking hike in the High Uinta's, the Mesa Visit, and even a visit from the Dorians.. Now Girls Camp is this next week. Whatever will we do after that? I know what I'll be doing..... Packing in the miles in 100 degree weather, ouchy wa wa........

Here are a few of the latest fav. picts. REally I could create slideshow after slide show of all the picts I've taken...... Dont you love Tara's new glasses? I thought this pict of Kate pointing to the temple turned out kind of cool with the Angle of the temple and stuff. If anyone wants any of the picts I took of them in Mesa, let me know. I think Darren and Hank have them all but I can email them to you individually if you want.

Tah Tah For Now

Kate's Bday

Well the day came and went and its all said and done. She is 5. I cant beleive I am so old that my baby is 5! That makes the rest of you ancient, right? I mean Shari was telling me about Rachel not being in YW anymore and that's weird too. All these little mile stones we have to go through, they kind of stink but they are kind of cool too.

Cant wait to see everyone for Emilee's wedding!