Oh Jeeves- bring the car around. I'd like to go for a spin!

Eric has been working on some automotive products for work for a while. Gasoline additives and the like that improve gas mileage and reduce emissions. He has been working with a company in Germany to manufacture and market these products. Well today he got to go downtown and do a shoot (pics and marketing footage) for the marketing campaign to take to Germany in a few weeks. They rented a beautiful Lamborghini for the day. Here he is cheesing it up for the camera. What a job!

A time for thankfulness

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Today I had the chance to sit in complete silence. Kids at school, no babysitting today, done with homework- a few moments to reflect and think.

I don't know if any of you were following the Diaryofadyingmom.blogspot.com that I have linked. It was essays posted daily by a very scholarly mom of two who was dying from an incurable rare disease. She had time to reflect on her life, prepare her home, family, and friends for her inevitable demise. She prepared her funeral, gifts for her girls, husband, and mother. She became so sick in the end, that all those around her where giving her permission to let go and quit the fight. She was only 37. It gave me time also to appreciate how precious and fleeting life can be. When you contemplate your death- all the things you want to accomplish in your life come sharply into focus. Before she died, she said, "I have accomplished all that I wanted to." What a beautiful thing. I have been making a mental note of all that I would like to accomplish before I die. After reading her blog for the last few months- I think my goals are less lofty, and more important. I would like to thank Michelle for helping me and many others realize how blessed and special we are- because we are mothers, wives, daughters, and friends.

I also had a close friends of mine recently separate from her husband. Having been through it myself, it has stirred up many emotions that I have suppressed for quite some time. I know that chaos, disappointment, and grief are a part of life. It is just so upsetting that I need these events in my life to finally appreciate the simple joys I am blessed with everyday. I thank God for my health, my children, my husband, my parents, my education, my job, my home, my neighbors, my community, my friends, and the beauty all around me that I take for granted so often. I am blessed.

Tana Bear

Montana got her cast off today. She wanted to wear her sunglasses the whole time so that she wouldn't see how "disgusting" her arm looked. All the skin underneath was peeling off and it smelled pretty bad. So we washed it right there in the hospital room and the poor thing must have lost 4 or 5 layers of skin. The doc still wants her to wear a supportive brace for 3 weeks because the bone is very new & flexible at this point. She needs to keep it on for everything except bathing and sleeping.
Once we got home she couldn't wait to take a shower. Bathing with a bag over your arm for 6 weeks really isn't fun- so I don't blame her. It still has a bit of a curve to it- but I am so thankful that she didn't need surgery. She is a trooper!

Now that her arm is healed- her eye decided it needed some attention. She woke up today with a flaming red, swollen eye. It's not oozing so I know it will probably clear up by tomorrow or the next day. She is very suseptible to pink eye for some reason and catches it quite frequently (inherited from Grama Laura we think :-) So she ended up staying home from school.

We have the opportunity to go up to Primary's quite often with Tana's eye appointments and what not. I always come home thankful for my childrens health. There are so many family's struggling with various degrees of health. Although sometimes we worry about Montana's vision- in the scheme of things it is such a small struggle. We are so blessed!

Sierra Update

We finally heard from Sierra today. She headed off to Disneyworld and then a Disney Cruise to the Disney private island (somewhere in the Bahama's) with the Jepson Clan last Friday. She was in Orlando this morning on their way home. She said they had a great time! She went snorkeling and was able to catch several "non-stinging" jellyfish. When you lift them out of the water they turn to jelly! I was once stung by a jellyfish so this really intrigued me- sounds cool. She said they had a teenager group/club on the ship that had lots of fun activities and dances for kids her age- so she was well entertained. She also did some hardcore shopping and picked up some great deals (at least I have taught her something). I'm telling you, this girl is SPOILED-but she is worth it!!

Chris is finally closing on his new condo this week. It has been under construction for over a year. It is beautiful- and hopefully worth the wait. It will be so nice to have them living closer to us. We are missing Sierra like crazy and are excited for her to come home!

See you soon sweetie!

Beverly Hill Chihuahua

Eric and I took the little ones to see B.H. Chihuahua last night. It was really cute and kept the kids captivated the whole movie. It made me think of my grama's old dog "Penny". She was so cute and loveable. We are itching to get another dog, but Eric is holding his ground with a big fat NO! I decided it would be cute to dress Roxy up as a Diva Dog for Halloween,like the dogs in the movie. She has a cute pink coat we got her last year that she has never worn. So if you see and doggy jewels let me know! (I know I am a nerd!)

Our Neighbors

Sometimes Montana is so silly. Today she took the junk mail that was addressed "To Our Neighbors" and put it in our neighbors mailbox. She also took the mail that was addressed "Friends at" and put it in her friend Briana's mailbox. We had a good laugh.

Tonight I took the kids to pick up some Panda Express after Justice's Tae Kwon Do class. He was still in his uniform. They have a security camera that has a TV you can see from the lobby. He lined himself up so he could see himself on the TV and started going through his kicks and forms. This girl walked by and he almost kicked her. We were all laughing at him. He thought he looked pretty good.

Justice and Jordan's Bear Lake Trip 08

Justice was invited to go to Bear Lake with his friend Jordan and their family. They were staying with friends who have a cabin right on the lake. As you can see- they had a great time!!