I just loved these pictures and thought I would share them. I rarely get pictures of just Chris and I, and even more rare, is to get a picture of me. So, here you go...
I'm off to get Nashua and Nellie for me to get my hair done and then go on a date with my hubby! Dates make me happy. :)
Good first:
We have a pool deck and I took a bunch of pictures! I am SO EXCITED!
Continued good news:
I enjoyed Neil Diamond's performance last night and I know that Chris and I will have a great time with my mom in October at his concert.
Bad: :(
Brooke is gone (from American Idol). I was teary about that.
What is wrong with me?
I loved American Idol last night! My mom is such a Neil Diamond fan and it was exciting to watch the idols do their interpretations. Mom, Chris and I are going to see Neil in concert in October.
Interesting side note, my mom is such a fan that her dog is even named Neil!
I voted like crazy! For Brooke and David Archuleta, of course. :)
Which Twilight novel character are you?
Quizilla | Join | Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code Today was busy with going to Sanford to drop off my car to get it serviced, then:
Cracker Barrel for breakfast,
Stop at a nursery to look at palm trees,
Lake Idamere for a late arrival to Jason's birthday party,
Home for me to go to Publix quickly,
To the Bell's for a cook-out and swimming,
Home for baths, prayers and bed.
Fun, fun, fun.
Tonight Chris and I went to dinner at Chili's and then to the White's neighborhood clubhouse for "The Not-So Newlywed Game". We got to the game late because we didn't leave the office until after 6:30. (The get-together started at 7.) We apparently missed the portion of the instructions that tells you what happens to the couple that loses. You get toilet papered as a bride and groom. I must say that my groom still looked cute, smart, etc...
Anyway, Chris and I had a great time despite coming in last place! We were the couple married the longest there and we lost! Can you believe that?
After the game, we stopped by Harlo's in Mount Dora to hear our next door neighbor's band play. I was pleasantly surprised how good they were. Too bad there weren't too many people there to hear them. Doug and Suzy from the neighborhood were there too and Chris and I were having such a good time that midnight came and we were still there and more importantly, AWAKE!!!
But, because the music was so loud, we couldn't hear Nashua and Nellie calling to check on us. We haven't stayed out that late on them and they were worried. When we finally got their call we headed home to bail their sleepy selves out.
It was a nice date night for the 'poor answering, not-so-newly-married couple'! :)
What a face! (This was taken on the boat in the keys. I think she looks quite cute. Aislinn doesn't lack for personality, that's FOR SURE!)
Well, no matter how many times you say it, someone has to do it!
This time, it was Kerstyn, and her foot is really hurting! Now off to the doctor for some x-rays.
The doctor called and it looks like the heel, the are that she is complaining about is fine, but the fourth toe looks like it could have a fracture. No need to worry though, you just let time take care of it.
Do you think they'll listen now?
This was taken on Saturday outside the temple. We've been together 14 years and counting and I never take a day for granted.This morning Chris and I had the following conversation about Ooh-Rah:
Chris: "That dog is chewing on the funiture, eating our books, slobbering all over my shoes, scraping the kids faces, pooping and peeing on the carpet, waking us up in the middle of the night..."
Melody: "Honey, don't talk mean about the dog."
Chris: "Oh, I'm NOT, I'm counting my blessings of dog ownership!"
Of course, Chris was being VERY sarcastic... Surprise?
He really is quite patient with the kids.
I just LOVE that face! (Even when he is eating my book!)
Ooh-Rah (blue harness), Roo (red harness), Polar (the white one), Biscuit (on the leash).
Ooh-Rah (you can just see his behind), Roo (in the red harness), Polar (the white one) and Biscuit (on the leash).Here is the shelf that I blogged about last month after my trip to Tallahassee for Time Out For Women. I totally love it!
Check out the website http://www.shelfreliance.com if you are interested. I highly recommend it because it helps you use your oldest food first and it is very easy to tell what you have, how much you have of it, and it is very easy to see how quickly you use the stuff.
How did you meet your spouse? We met at a party of fellow singles ward people in December 1992. He called me on my birthday, March 3, 1993 and left me a message wishing me a happy birthday and he always joked with me saying, "I call you all the time to ask you out and you're never home." So, I told him, "no message, no call". He also said that I was always dating someone, which was true. So, when I broke up with the last boyfriend, I got brave and walked up to him and told him that I was single and ready to go on a date and he slammed me by replying, "What, you were married?" I was devastated! Then, the next Sunday, I went back for more and bet him that he wouldn't call me 7 times before the next Sunday and they had to be one call a day, not 7 on Saturday night. If I didn't answer, he had to leave a message, remember, "no message, no call". He missed Wednesday, and we set up to go to game night on Thursday night. I stood him up! So, I called him on Friday and begged for another chance. He gave it to me! :) That was September 17, 1993. We were engaged on October 17, 1993 and married January 29, 1994. I LOVE HIM!
Where did you go on your first date? To a movie and my roommate went too. She even sat in the front seat and I was in the back!
How long have you been together? 14 years and almost 7 months.
Who eats more? Depends...
Who said I love you first? Chris
Who is taller? Chris, by far. I am vertically impaired!
Who sings better? Me
Who is smarter? I say him, but he'd probably say me.
Who does the laundry? Me, I don't think Chris even knows where the washer and dryer are. :)
Who does the dishes? The dishwasher
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? If you are facing the bed at the foot of it, I do. Chris made me pick when we got married, and it's not allowed to change!
Who pays the bills? Me, but only because he has other stuff that he can make money doing. He makes it, I spend it...
Who mows the lawn? The lawn service.
Who cooks dinner? Me, if I don't then they all eat peanut butter on a spoon. I'm serious, ask the kids.
Who drives when you are together? Usually me because I am an awful passenger and Chris rather I drive so he doesn't have to deal with me!
Who is more stubborn? Depends on the issue.
Who is the first to admit when they’re wrong? Usually me.
Who kissed who first? He kissed me first and I still remember how my heart skipped a beat.
Who proposed? He did even though he says that I told my roommate we were getting married before he knew we were. I guess we communicate differently?
Who is more sensitive? We are both very sensitive, but in different ways and areas.
Who has more friends? Neither of us have any friends. (You know, it's one of my 'issues'.)
Who has more siblings? Chris. He has 3, one brother and 2 sisters. I have 2 brothers.
Who wears the pants? He does, every day!
OK, so I'm going to tag... Kasey and Janet
We have been trying harder as a family to have fun together by playing games or just talking with each other on Sunday afternoons. We don't turn the television on or allow video games so it forces us to interact with one another.
This afternoon, we were working on our pavilion project as a family. Well, you know with the ages of our children, it is quite a challenge, but I think that we have fun overall.
It is always fun to watch and listen to them play together. What distinct personalities we have here in our home.
I haven't been sleeping much lately and the little sleep that I have gotten, it has not been 'good' sleep. So, Chris decided that I could sleep in this morning and he took the kids on some errands with him. (This is a BIG thing for Chris because he is not used to doing errands with the kids, and he knows that it is very hard to do them with all of our helpers.)
They went to The Yard Stop to look at plants and possible landscaping around the pool, and to eat at Chick-Fil-A for breakfast/lunch. He was gone with them for a little over 3 hours and I slept and relaxed. It was wonderful!
since nobody has confessed to being bosox, I am going to need to go private. I am concerned about safety.
Please e-mail me at shipleys at yahoo dot com. Anyone and everyone that wants to read can, I just need to know who that is. Sorry you all, but I am sure that you understand.
I am going to go private within the next few days, so get e-mailing...
She went to St. Edward's Pre-School this morning for the first time. Miss Shawnie is letting Aislinn come on Tuesday and Thursday to help her transition for next school year, and to help me be able to work in the office those mornings.
I was a little worried if Aislinn would go in okay or if she would pitch a fit. She did great! She got out of the car with her lunch box and headed off to the toys.
My kiddies are growing up! :( :( :(
bosox? I have gotten comments from bosox twice, and I thought I knew who it was, but I don't. So, please let me know who you are.
We gathered all of our stuff up this morning and headed out. But, not before a few pictures taken in front of Ellen's house.
The kids. Nice hiding of the face, Aislinn.
The family. I hope that we made many memories this past week.We went to Pennycamp Park today and took the glassbottom boat out to the reef. It was beautiful water but the seas were VERY rough. The kids and Chris did great, but I got sea sick. Not fun...
On our way out to the reef. It was a beautiful day. The reef is 6 and one half miles from the park. Who's the fat woman with my kids?
The kids swam at the beach after the boat ride.
The coral reef. (I took this before I got sick.)
Lauklan and Aislinn
All of the kids ran up to the top except for Greyson.Daddy and Grandpa are here! We're so glad! We missed them so much!
Chris and Lauklan.
The kids just couldn't get enough of their dad.
Chris getting ready for the 'big' jump.
Lauklan getting out of the pool after his big jump.
Chris and the boys.More rest for me in the morning. I am definitely coming down with something.
Then, Kenney and Alyssa went to have their nails done while I took the kids and Bay to Bass Pro Shops to purchase some new Crocs. In the afternoon, we went back to the pool for some more daredevil diving board jumps and millions of trips down the slides.
Kerstyn isn't scared anymore.
Neither is Lauklan. He can do anything that he sets his mind to. Even swallowing a Tylenol. GO LAUKLAN!
Aislinn having a blast!
Poor Ooh-Rah gets so tired. It's a hard life, I'm sure.We went to the Theater by the Sea in Islamorada today. There was a bird, dolphin and sea lion show which we all enjoyed very much.
Kerstyn holding the parrot.
Greyson was brave too.
Wilbur, the sea lion.
One of the dolphins doing tricks.
Ooh-Rah had a big journey down to the keys and he found refuge under the cars. He was a trooper, for sure.
It's rough being paddled around in a kayak, you know.
Aislinn playing in the kid pool area.
Brennan jumping off the high dive.
Kerstyn was a little timid at first, so she did the small diving board first.
Ellen's home in Key Largo. Also the place that Chris and I went on our honeymoon a little over 14 years ago.
As soon as we pulled in the driveway, the kids put on their suits and got in the ocean.
Greyson and Lauklan having a blast!
Greyson was a little scared at first, but he warmed right up.
There were not enough kayaks for all the kids so they had to share, and that was hard at times. But, we still had fun.Brennan and Kerstyn got to have field day today. Aislinn and I went to visit with them for a little while. We all had a nice time and the weather was just beautiful.
Tonight Brennan and Chris left to go camping tonight and won't arrive until late Saturday night. I am sure that they will have a great time doing their Boy Scout stuff.
Lauklan had field day today. Brennan and Kerstyn have it tomorrow. I also had to work at the office this morning, so I went in there and left a little early so I could visit with Lauklan. I missed all of the field day events, but I did get to sit with him in his classroom and help him with his journal entry. We then headed to lunch and enjoyed lunch together.
Tomorrow, back to see the older two. I still can't believe that Brennan will be in middle school next year. Where did the time go?
Enough said?I forgot to mention on my Easter blog that Chris was released from Elder's Quorum President yesterday. We were sad. It is always hard to be released from a calling, but this was especially difficult since Chris had developed many special relationships with the members of his quorum and loves them very much. Chris served as EQP for a little over 2 years.
This beautiful Easter morning was started off by my parents coming over to meet Ooh-Rah and then going to sacrament meeting with us. They drove 2 hours and 15 minutes one way so that they could hear Kerstyn sing a special musical number.
Kerstyn did GREAT! She got up there in front of the whole congregation and sang like a 'big girl'. I never heard her do as good of a job as she did in sacrament meeting. She had all of us crying. Papa started right from the beginning and Chris lost it in the second verse. I held it together until she was done but then lost it myself. She sang 'I wonder when he comes again'. Click on the title of the song and you can hear it from the church website.
I love the whole song, but the second verse is just beautiful:
I wonder when he comes again, will I be ready there? To look upon his loving face and join with him in prayer? Each day I'll try to do his will, and let my light so shine, that others seeing me may seek for greater light divine. Then when that blessed day is here, he'll love me and he'll say, "You've served me well, my little child; come unto my arms to stay!"
Now you see why we were all crying, right?
It was a treat for me this afternoon because lunch was provided by Chris, hot dogs and hamburgers. I know, it's not the traditional Easter meal, but the key was that I didn't have to make it! Good!
Later in the afternoon, Chris's dad and Kenney came by. We had a short, but nice visit with them and Alyssa.
Brennan and I attended 11 year old day camp today. We had a fun time and learned a lot of neat stuff like, how to read a map and follow the compass. We also learned several new knots, the uses and types of saws, some first aid and did skits.
I think that I had a s much fun as Brennan, however, I am sure that I came home more tired than he did!
I just had to take the opportunity today to quiz the children on Good Friday and Easter and the significance that it has with Christians. Since they had the day off from school, I just had to keep them hoppin'.
Whew! They passed. Maybe I AM doing something right.
I am glad, and feel blessed, to have the gospel in my life. What a blessing it is to know that I have a Heavenly Father and a personal savior, Jesus Christ. What a blessing it is to know the plan of salvation!
Well, I sure hope this doesn't mean that all of us are going to take our turn being sick, but this morning Lauklan woke up complaining of a headache and being hot. I took his temperature and it was 101.4. So, he took some Tylenol and stayed home from school.
He had to go to Chris' office with me and about half way through the morning he said, "Mom, why didn't you tell me that you were working today?". I told him that I did and then asked him if he would of rather gone to school. He replied that he would have rather gone to school then be at work all morning. I guess the Tylenol was making him feel better and it seemed that he had grand plans of playing games and watching television all day. Oops, I messed that up for him, didn't I?
Cute.
I finished reading Sarah's Quilt last week and I forgot to post about it. I found myself laughing out loud several times throughout the book. A great read that I really recommend. It a the sequel to These Is My Words which I really enjoyed. The next is Star Garden that I will begin in a few weeks after I get done with Between Husband and Wife which I bought at Time Out For Women.
Do you find yourself asking when I get the time to read? Well, it's either in the sauna at the gym or late at night when I'm half asleep.
