SUGAR!!!!!

I've eaten waaaaaay too many carbs today.  Here's why:

Old Henderson

A couple weeks ago I was able to go out with my camera.....by myself, sans children, solo mio.  I didn't go very far, just a ways down from me is a museum about Old Nevada with a little ghost town.  Here are some of the pictures I got :)

  

The following pictures are for my mom, a barn lover.  Now this is my kind of barn, complete with window units and a fake horse (which isn't showing in the picture, but it was there).

Reece the food critic

Time to brag on my oldest for a minute.  He wants to be a food critic.  He loves to taste new things.  He got a perfect score on an oral report he had to do at school.  The report was on his career choice.  Because he did almost 100% of the work himself (research, visual aid, and the speech), and because he got such a good grade, we took him out for sushi last night.   Here he is looking a little worried.

Taking a bite of tuna karai (a raw tuna and seaweed salad)...........

Look what a pro he is with those chopsticks!  He chose the shrimp lover's roll in the following pic.

And a golden california roll which contains eel (this one is my fave).

He eventually got tired of the chopsticks........

And even got some gelato for dessert :)

Reece tasted everything we ordered and I think he really enjoyed it.  He would take a bite, and then make a comment like, "I like the crunchiness and the flavor."  It's not very often we have Reece just by himself, and we had a wonderful time!  I love that he's so adventurous, and if he pursues becoming a food critic, I know he will make a great one :)

Postcrossing

One of my very favorite things is to travel.  I was fortunate to have been able to travel extensively during my college years, and I have many souvenirs that are precious to me.  So when I found the website Postcrossing, I was so excited!!!  It's specifically for lovers of all things foreign who might not be able to travel much (um......me).   The idea is very simple:  I'm assigned a random person in a foreign country to send a postcard to, and in return, I will receive postcards from random people all over the world.  My first postcard will be mailed to a lady in Germany.  You can request to find out specific information, such as where to get the best cup of coffee in your city, the population of your city, popular foods & traditions, etc.  The lady I will be writing to has specifically requested to know how my city got its name & what it means, and she speaks French!  Yay!  I can't wait to begin!

Here are some of the smaller trinkets I collected during my travels.

My little Dutch girl I got in Amsterdam

  The bangle is from Israel & the blue jewelry from Paris

British money

My pyramid charm I got in Cairo, and other charms I got in Europe

A jewelry box a friend brought back from Viet Nam for me

I am so thankful for the travel experiences I've been blessed with.  One day, when my kids are all out of diapers and sleeping in their own beds for the entire night, Steve & I will get to travel!

The Joy of Luck - Day 2 - Green

I was supposed to do this post for St. Pat's Day, but I'm late.  Whatever.  So the theme here is "green," which makes me think of "green thumb," which is apparently something I don't possess.  Several weeks ago Steve & I decided to grow our own herbs since we cook with fresh herbs all the time.  I think we planted seeds into 72 little pellets of dirt.  Basil, green onion, green pepper, lettuce, red onion, oregano, chives, cilantro.  My pellets didn't do very well, but of course Steve's did.

I hope these keep going because I would love to be able to just grab fresh herbs from our own garden.  We seem to waste a lot of produce.  Anyway, there's my green post.  That's all I have to say today.

The Joy of Luck - Day 1

I can think of a slew of things I'm grateful for:  my family, being able to stay home with the boys, the fact that Steve's still working.  I could go on and on.  But there is one thing I know I take for granted:  my health and my family's health.  Just in this past month, the only person in our household that hasn't been sick is Reece.  My voice is just now coming back after several days of coughing, and the other three boys seem to be passing it back and forth to each other and have had constant coughs, runny noses, and goopy eyes.  Even Steve has been coughing.  HOWEVER, I know those symptoms will go away.  We have no major health problems.  I can't imagine dealing with a major illness, especially if one of my boys were infected.  I look at these photos and thank God that my boys can run & jump & play.

I guess that means I'm also thankful for the water all over the kitchen floor, the toe nail polish on the toilet lid, the orange marker on the microwave, and the ground up Cheez-its on the rug :)

I Heart Faces Challenge - Sun Flare

My I Heart Faces entry :)

Flowers

The Joy of Love - Day 28 - the Future

I wonder about the future a lot.  For example, will Tyler ever wear pants?

Will the boys ever stop fooling around with the water cooler?

Will Reece ever really WANT his picture taken?

Will I ever stop finding the debit card in weird places?

Or kleenex by the Ranch dressing?

I love my boys more than I can even express, and even though I get frustrated, I love their little quirks and their differences.  They are precious, precious, precious, and I thank God daily for healthy, happy boys.  I am truly blessed :)

  

The Joy of Love - Day 27 - What they say

Tyler & Riley have their own language.  For example, when they ask for chocolate milk, they ask for "choccanilk."  When Riley says yeah, he says "La," as in fa la la.  When Tyler says vegetables, it sounds like "bitchables."  When Riley says fork, it sounds like......well, never mind what it sounds like.

Their favorite words these days come from the Disney movie, Cars.  I think it's adorable.  Apparently they do too, because they quote Mater CONSTANTLY!!!

From left to right, we have Sally, Mater & Lightning McQueen.

Riley will hold the case and ask for , "Maner, Maner, Maner!" 

Doesn't Tyler look thrilled?  Mater is always saying, "If I'm lyin' I'm cryin!"  The boys love this line, though it mostly sounds like, "Line crine!"

And finally, here's Tyler telling me he's "free years old," (and looking like he just came from the liquor cabinet).

The Joy of Love - Day 24 - Where we met :)

I've known Steve for most of my life.  I would guess my earliest memories of him go back to when I was 5 years old.  We went to the same school and church until I moved to Illinois.  I should add that I also had a crush on him the majority of that time, although he was totally oblivious.  Life took us in separate directions until 2006, when I came to Nevada with a friend for a visit.  My friend and I had dinner with Steve, and that is where the following picture came from.

This photo is almost 5 years old now, but I still remember that night very clearly.  We're now going on 5 years of marriage :)

The Joy of Love - Day 23 - Fave FB photos

Ok so I thought this would be really easy.  But since I have a billion photos of my family of FB, it was rather hard to choose some of my favorites.  So here goes.....

These are several months old now, but I still love looking at them :)

The Joy of Love - Day 22 - portraits

Today is portrait day.  So I have a portrait for you (sort of).   Here is Tyler, February 22, 2008.  He weighed 6 lbs. 4 oz.  He's my smallest baby out of all of them.  But his personality definitely makes up for it!

 

                                      

Happy 3rd birthday to my precious Tyler!  Don't ever stop making me laugh :)  I love you so much!