Hey sweeties :)

Just finished a dark chocolate Haagen-Daz ice cream bar. My honey got it for me when he ran down to the store. Mostly cuz he loves me. I would say that he was uber cool, but my brother informed me that I'm not allowed to say "uber" anymore. Possibly I'm too old? (I'm only 31 for craps sake!) hmm I was laughing too hard at his comment to ask him why.

Anyway..had a play date with Kristi & Kim and their lil kidlets this morning over at our stellar Kuna park. It's kind of a neat place, minus the bazillions of daycares who fill it. I got to hold baby Berkley the whole time, dang she's a cutie and a half! Perfect little girl. It was nice to see the girls again. With gas prices as they are, I've had to cut down on play dates, as in cancel them all together. I miss my buddies!! It's always nice to make time for things that really matter. And, they do!

On the way to the play date Corinne called and asked if I could come into work early b/c they needed help with the website. Um I ain't no website master people! But, I guess the willingness to learn and spend time figuring things out qualifies me. So, I went in at 12:30. Then once work was done at 5, I rushed to WallyWorld to get 2 weeks worth of groceries and a bday present for little Kailey Sue (my niece). And then needed to be to the birthday party by 7! Yeah, we were a little late. If the check out gal didn't feel like completely rearranging my items before bagging them I would have been home on time. As some of you know, I already put things on the counter exactly as I want them bagged so when she told me she needed to find and bunch together "specific things" I almost went postal. But I thought, hey, if it makes her go faster, fine. Put the eggs in with the cans, I care not. Just get the crap in the bag and let me go! But, as I said earlier..it didn't speed things up. Oh well, she was a sweet girl. A little nutty, but sweet.

Kailey's party was nice, the kids had fun. We got her a little outfit that she loved. The party had to stop momentarily so Amber could put it on for her. Cute. Can't believe she's already two. She still had no clue who we were, that's a feel good moment. Oh well..not much I can do to change that. Just love on her as we are given the opportunity.

Came home and Mom n Dad were waiting for us, we are watching Nezka (their dog, mini schnauzer) for them while they go camping. She's a princess..she doesn't camp.

Now I'm down here in the office listening to my blog music (at this moment that happens to be You are Everything by Matthew West) and Chris is upstairs playing with his buddies. I went through that phase where I enjoyed his game nights cuz it gave me time to do whatever I wanted, remember? Well, that time has passed and now I hate it and wish every game console we own would blow up. And that the part of his brain that craves that junk would dissolve. But, no.

Speaking of my wonderful husband, who I adore, he's been working ALL day to fix his computer. The computer that we transferred all of my pictures over to in fear that my old computer couldn't take much more and would eventually lose everything. WELL, MY computer is totally fine. But now his computer all the sudden out of the blue decided to completely meltdown. WITH ALLLLLLLLLLLL OF MY PICTURES from the last SEVEN years!!!!!!! And, yall know I take a TON of pictures. I have thousands. When he told me (over the phone) I had to just sit there and say ok. Thankfully the Lord had placed me in a conversation with my Mom (she was waiting on hold while I heard the news from Chris) that made any other bad news seem like nothing. The good news is, Chris was able to (just before we left for the party) retrieve my pictures!!! Woohooo!!! :) Good man. He hasn't been able to retrieve a video he made for me one year for Valentines Day yet though. When he told me about that I started crying. That video means so much to me. I pray he can get it back. He promises he will. He's such a sweetie. Did I mention that it was a COMPLETE meltdown? Meaning that all of our music is also gone? Do you know that we dont own hardly any CD's b/c we uploaded them all onto our PC and then sold the actual discs???? Hope he can get that back, too. Oh LORD you never realize how much of your life is on a computer until it goes tits up.

But, on the phone, my Mom was telling me about a little 8 year old boy who is here from the Philippines who watched his whole family be massacred in front of his eyes. His grandma had custody of him but gave it up in order to get him out of that situation. So, he's here now in foster care. I guess he's an absolute sweetheart, that he is loving and a great artist. That he was able to talk about what had happened instead of shutting down. That he is just a well adjusted wonderful miracle of a little boy. I pray he finds a family who loves him unconditionally very soon. The lady told Mom that it has been extremely hard to place him just b/c of people knowing what he's been through. They love him until they find out his past. So sad to think about children who are tossed from home to home, just hoping that they will be "good enough" to be loved forever by the family..hoping that they won't mess up and be rejected again. I can't even begin to tell you how that breaks my heart.

Well, I guess I'll go for now..gonna go up and relax and watch my story and my Project Runway..and my Bounty Hunter! YEEEHAW, Dog is back! Hopefully he's cleaned up his filthy little racial slurring mouth so that I can love on him again. We all make mistakes, his just happen to be broadcast. Still..there are just certain things you don't say..whether in public or private. Hopefully he's learned his lesson and changed his vocabulary.

I have a super long day tomorrow so I dont know if I'll blog again b4 the weekend. Gotta clean the grandparents' house in the morning then go maybe visit with Beth for awhile then to work then to the Edens family girls night (will have Ash with me all day b/c of this) and then rush back to Kuna in time to go see the fireworks that they're doing for Kuna Days! Oh and somewhere in all of this I need to figure out a snack to bring to girls night. hmm

Love you! Enjoy the rest of your week. Look for the beauty and don't forget to take time to pull the weeds!

Ashley's eye

Jaden's eye

Chris' eye

Sadie's eye

Thought I'd finish off the eye pictures tonight :) I had to leave the birds out, damned things won't stay still long enough to get a good one. Not that I tried. Anyway, all the dudes (except for Sadie) got to pick how they wanted their eye pic to look. Hope you enjoy them! I still like mine the best, but then again we all like "ours" the best!

What you see here is children pulling weeds. I bribed all of them. It was a joke, but they jumped at the opportunity! I know, I was equally surprised. But, hey..

So, I told them, whoever wanted to pull all of my weeds would get a popsicle every day for the rest of the week. Woohoo! I think I got the good end of this deal. Well truthfully, Cody, Andrew and Ash were super excited to do it. J and Brandon just went to his house and got free popsicles. Hmm.

Anyway, it's a good day!

Got this email from Jenn this morning:

"He is doing well, tired some days etc. He had a blood transfusion Friday, and had no bad reaction, so that's good. Got home Sat. afternoon and he is doing well taking his meds. We go back tomorrow (Wed) for another round of chemo and another bone marrow test to make sure everything is going as it should....
...Thanks to you and your friends for the lovely cards, words of encouragement and gifts."

Have a great week everyone
~Sarah

Ever have the feeling you're being watched?????

Anyhoo, I felt like taking eye pictures..this one is mine. Maybe I'll post some of J and Chris later. I'd post one of A, but she's not here. She's still with Mom & Dad.

We're just hangin out, relaxing. Day dreamin of payday which will also be gas day and grocery day. Oh, please Lord, let that day come faster than humanly possible!! The 1st just isn't soon enough!

Had to return the popcorn maker I bought last December for Chris' birthday, today. The $70 popcorn maker. I got it for $58 with a coupon. It was a Cuisinart. Should have lasted forever, but no. Pieces continued to fall off of it at increasing speeds. So, I called the 800# telling them that I had no receipt, no box, just a shitty popcorn maker and asked what they could do for me. The guy said, "No problem, just take it to the store and give them the card you paid with, they will look it up." I said, "Even though they had to order it for me online b/c they didn't have it in stock?" He says, "Yes, Ma'am, you'll be fine." I say, "Ok, sweet! Thanks!" Then I promptly call the store I bought it at to see if they'd sing the same tune. They did! So, today before work I took it down to return it and hopefully get some gas money....

After I explained everything, Elizabeth (my clerk) said, "No problem, just let me see your debit card." I gave it to her, she couldn't find it in the system, asked if I could have used another card. I informed Elizabeth that that is the only card we have to our names. She said, "Hmm ok, well I'm gonna have to give you an in store credit, is that ok?" I said, "Umm, no, not really." With a nice smile on my face..half of my smile saying "but I'm sure you'll do something else for me" and the other half of my smile saying "I'll burn this store down to the ground if you don't give me my cash". She looked at me, and quickly said, "Ok, let me get a manager." I said, "Alright!" The manager (Jennifer) came up, asked Elizabeth what was going on..Elizabeth nicely explained, although a little flustered, that she couldn't find my info, etc. I again told them at this point, "Could it be because I had to have your manager order it on the computer back in housewares?" They look at me and excitedly (as if I've just given them "the golden ticket") & say, "Yes!!" Mmmhmm, I think to myself, Mmmhmm.

She calls the manager, he says he'll try to find a receipt on the system b/c all that they will show is that I paid for it, not HOW I paid for it. (Are you bored of this yet? Then go to another blog cuz Momma just got started! LOL). I say, "I will give you some time to figure this out, I have 10 minutes before I have to leave for work. Just page me when you have figured it out." I smile and walk away, they thank me for my patience as I do. I walk around, praying for the Lord's favor, and call Chris asking him to pray too cuz brotha let me tell you we really need the money.

A few minutes later they call me back up to the register and tell me that the manager can't find the receipt but that they know we bought it there and they can see the receipt online (although not the form of payment) that they will go ahead and give me the money back. ANNNND, queue the heavenly choir! HALLELUJAH, HALLELUJAH!! I happily give them my debit card, they credit back the amount, I thank them for being so willing to help me even though I didn't have the receipt with me (their policy states you do not need it for cash returns as long as you have your original form of payment with you, but still)..the girl thanks me for being so patient..I begin to walk away and then think, hmm..how long do I have to wait for that credit to appear? I ask her..she says it should be quick but it could take up to 30 days. THIRTY DAYS!?!?! Um, Lord? Is the choir still singing, cuz I can't hear them too clearly now.

Anyway, I leave..get in the car, look at my loverly gas gage showing at 1/8th of a tank as I start the car..I'm thinking JOY! SO excited to figure out how I'm going to make my daily hour long commute on 1/8 tank of gas for the rest of the week. Suddenly it sounds like the heavenly choir is singing, "your screwed!" instead of "hallelujah". But, I ignore it. I know the Lord will provide..and sometimes the way he provides is through me selling crap to Hastings! Which is where I will be tomorrow before work. LOL!

Have I mentioned that I am NEVER going on vacation again? And that I am NEVER going over on my cell phone minutes by $200 dollars worth? AND that I'm never scheduling 40 doctors appointments in one month? Well, I'm never doing that again.

The good news is, I'm home..hubby mowed the lawn and it's gorgeous..He also made a fabulous dinner that we all enjoyed. And now the boy, the pup, the hubby and I are sitting in the office relaxing and having fun together.

The moral of the story..yes, we are being watched..and I do have the feeling to go along with that. But not the feeling of fear, the feeling of safety. The Lord is watching, and He is taking care of every little thing. I have no need to worry, just need to believe.

Love you guys, have a great night!

"Look at the size of those roots!?!" (well, they were either saying that, or they were having heart attacks from all the digging..not sure which)

J and Daddy diggin

Unca Matt getting ready to rip that sucker out

Me & Dad fillin the hole back in

Matt & Chris planting the tree in our yard!

Laura & Josie lookin at our purrty tree!

Ta-Da!! Here she is this morning in all her glory :)

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Our new tree is planted!!!! Chris and Matt worked their tails off, for sure. We got to their house around 6:30, they started digging pretty much right away and kept digging and digging and digging..and cutting and cutting and cutting...... Turned out they had planted the tree on top of some other tree stump so I guess this one was growing into the roots of the old one (or something..I don't really know LOL) So anyway, Matt was cutting out huge chunks of big tree roots just to try to get to where they could dig out our new beauty! Then towards the end Mom n Dad showed up to get Ash, and Dad started helping..they ended up yanking it out with one of Matt's trucks. Woohoo!! We left their house around 9, got out to Kuna around 9:45. Then Chris hopped out of the car and went over to start getting the hole ready for the transplant! Matt n Laura showed up at 10, and they worked until almost 11 to get it in. But, all the hours were worth it! She's absolutely beautiful and we LOOOOVVVVVE her!! Dad gave us some fertilizer stuff that helps reduce shock for transplants, so hopefully the tree won't shrivel up and die on us :)

This morning I took up Tylenol and water to my hubby in bed..he's a bit sore. LOL! Ok, it's not funny..but it is, sort of. That was a TON of work they did last night! He's gonna relax today, and rightfully so. :)

Thanks again, Matt & Laura for telling us about the tree opportunity, for not letting me give up on getting the tree when it seemed like too much hassle, and for spending your Saturday evening helping us dig when you could have been relaxing! We love you and are thankful for you! :) Oh, and thanks for the fertilizer and the help, Dad!! :)

Well, enjoy the pics. And, have a great Sunday!

Love ya :)

Mornin my little turtle doves! ;)

Having a nice Saturday mornin', are ya? Surely hope so.

I'm sitting around, doing nothing. Might do some Origami with the kids later today, we got a book for it at the library yesterday. It's a book on KIDS Origami, so I should be able to do it ;) heehee

We're still supposed to go get our tree from Matt & Lauras' neighbor tonight..I've been fighting off some joyous stomach bug so it was up in the air..but I think I'll be good to go by tonight. And, Chris (and maybe Matt if we smile at him real purrty like lol) will be digging out the tree..I just have to sit and watch. I should be able to do that, no problem.

I was supposed to go to Jess' this morning to help with her garage sale..but here I am, at home. Oh well..maybe next time! Don't wanna risk getting those little kidlets of hers sick if I DO still have something hanging on...at any rate we've been texting back n forth all morning and laughing..so it's like I'm there, only not there.

I'm hungry. HUNGRY. Feeling the need for breakfast. Wondering when my knight in shining armor will be greeting me with his sweet self..hopefully soon.

Have a wonderful day guys, take time to love on each other and enjoy your surroundings..even if the surroundings and circumstances are less than you'd like. There are always reasons to smile, if you look. :)

Loves!!!!!!!!!

Got this update this morning from Jenn's sister, Alicia.

"Joshua is doing a lot better. He got the port put in, he was in a lot of pain yesterday morning which was a bummer because it was his b-day but last night when I called he was doing a lot better and actually got on the phone with me and the boys. This morning Jenn called and told my mom that they might be doing a blood transfusion because his hemoglobin was really low, but they still might let him out this afternoon so its all good news. I know its from all the prayers from all over this country."

She also said that Jenn had talked to her Mom last night about setting up a CaringBridge site, so I'll let you know if they do. Many of you probably remember that site from when Jon's friend Alex was in the hospital.

Thanks for the continued prayers, the family appreciates all of you.

Dandy good mornin to ya

It's a nice breezy somewhat cool and a tiny bit humid mornin here in Kuna, ID. Kiddos are out back. A is playin with Sadie in the pool and also having a small soccer game with her. J is sitting out at the table with his Batman Laptop, trying to figure out why the "OSS" has denied his access to the computer and why they don't think that he is doing his job when "HE IS!!". So, it's a normal day in the Mendiola family. :)

Chris is sitting here an another meeting, 2nd one of the day. This one is at least entertaining for me, too. So that's nice :)

Got a text from Jenn late last night that they were doing well and that she would call today. So, so far, so good. Today is Josh's 6th birthday, hope he finds reasons to smile even in the muck of the situation.

Chris finally got the stump out of the front yard last night. Holy crap it was quite the task! Turns out it had some sort of metal stakes in with it, not exactly positive as to WHY, but it did. And they are still in the ground. BUT, the stump is gone! WOOHOO!! Now we just need to go dig up the other tree and bring it on over. "Easy". Yeah RIGHT But, it will be beautiful in the end! Nothing fabulous comes without work..usually.

I've gotten extra hours this week so that's been nice..will help pay for the cavities I have to get filled soon! Eeek!! And, it will help for that pesky surgery I have to get, too. Speaking of that, I really should call and get the name of another surgeon. Maybe I'll do that here in a minute.

Well, have yourselves a great day! Love ya

Hi guys :)

The pictures above are of my dear friend Jenn's son, Joshua. We're asking that you all please join us in praying for her sweet little man. He was diagnosed with Leukemia today, after being taken into the doc for a very swollen gland and a high fever. Jenn and Darrell are understandably in shock as this news has come out of left field, but are going full force ahead to do all they can to save their son. Joshua will turn 6 on Thursday. The doctors have given him a good prognosis so far, saying that with how early they've caught it and with the type they think he has (will no more tomorrow), that he has an 85% chance for recovery. He has the port put in his chest tomorrow and also starts chemo tomorrow. They say that depending on how his body reacts to the chemo, he could go home in a week or it could be a month.

He's such a sweet boy, and as you can tell, looks a lot like our Jaden! Anyway, my heart is heavy tonight as I know my friend is fighting this without her Mom and Dad being able to be near her as they still live in California and she is in Georgia. But, Jenn is a strong woman and she knows that we serve a mighty God and believes that He will heal her son. Joshua has 3 siblings, Mason, Emma and Owen.

----

Father, You say in Your Word that where two or more are gathered, there You will be. So we come before you and ask that You hold Joshua in your arms tonight, let him sleep in peace. Fill him with your spirit Lord as he prepares to face this battle. We know You are the Healer and the Provider and the Deliverer. And we know that when we call on You, You are there. That You know everything about us, even the number of hairs on our head. You know our needs before we know them. And so, Father, we thank you in advance for healing Joshua and for letting his healing be a witness to others. Father, we also ask that You would comfort Jenn and Darrell, Mason, Emma and Owen. We thank You that you are placing the perfect people in their lives right now, that the doctors and nurses and staff are all being hand picked by You, and that You are watching over Joshua and ministering to his spirit. We rebuke any feelings of doubt or fear or panic in Jesus name. We command the devil to flee. We thank you Lord that you are putting a hedge of protection around Joshua and his family, and that You are blanketing them with peace right now. We thank You that finances will be taken care of, that their home will be taken care of in their absence Lord, and that their family will grow closer together through this trial. We know that You turn all things for the good, that you have plans for your children, plans for good, not evil, and we are excited to see those plans unfold. It's in your precious name we claim all things Lord, Amen.

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I will post updates as I get them, she says she will try to call every few days at least.

Thanks again everyone.

Love you

I just remembered I have a Blogger account. ;)

Pulled weeds on Sunday, and pruned my bushes. Looking nice now :)

Angie has strep so I got to work all day yesterday. Monday's are always insane at work..yesterday was SUPER insane. Thankfully Gail was there so we were sort of full staffed. My back has been all jacked up so I was in severe pain all day. Barely made it home, ate dinner and went straight to bed to have a date with my trusty ol' friend the heating pad, stayed there all night. Feeling better this morning, minus the headache. And, I haven't heard anything from work, so Angie must have gone in. Who knows how long she'll last..maybe just long enough to leave germs on everything. We disinfected EVERYTHING yesterday.

Cody n Andrew came n played with the kiddos yesterday, always good to see them. They're sweet boys. I'm glad they live so close.

I enjoy it when people brush their teeth. It's a definite plus.

Well, I better go. I have zero to share today. But, I love ya!

P.S. I'm not seeing my background, it's just showing up white. Can you see it? crap..guess I'll be messin with that all day! lol

Today is Batman day, I'm trying to get super excited! Considering that Keaton was my favorite Batman I'm having to stretch ;) But, I finally saw (after trying for 3 days and falling asleep every time) the last Christian Bale Batman movie and it was ok..even pretty good. My bro called this morning, they saw Dark Knight last night and he said it was dark but good and that I should be ok with it, so that helps. Anyway, we get to go see it with Jason and Tiffany while Mom n Dad watch the kids (no way in HELL they're seeing the movie!) so it should be fun :)

Ash is off to spend the night with her good buddy tonight after the movie, so we'll just be having time with the sweet son tonight. Maybe take him out on a bike ride or something.

Other than that we're just staying home! Trying to stretch gas money means we go nowhere! Suckin gas money..

Well you all have a wonderful weekend! Do something that makes you smile..maybe even something a little silly! Like, for instance, kick your wife off the bed onto the floor while she's trying to talk on the phone. Chris got a kick out of that doing that to me this morning..a few giggles.

Love you!

Gramma has never smiled so big for a picture in her life! She was just beaming over this new lil great grand baby. I'm so happy that even if Gramma isn't here with us anymore when Monet is old enough to know her, at least we can tell her that Great Gramma was so excited to hold her, and we have pictures to prove it! Special moments :)

Anyway, her 95th birthday party went great (that's where the picture was taken). She was so surprised and had so many friends there! Mom really outdid herself. Gramma said that J went up to her and asked, "Gramma, do you wish that Grampa was here with you today?" She thought that was sweet, and yes, she did. She misses her husband dearly. And J is always thinking about him, too.

The kiddos were gone camping up until yesterday. They got home around 4 I think. J is covered in mosquito bites!!! Hate those things. But, they had a fabulous time, did lots of things and made lots of happy memories. J says Grampie caught SO MANY fish! Ash had fun driving the 4 wheeelers, my Dad says she's no longer scared to shift..so that's great! Mom said they all had fun at bedtime with silly stories, laughing their heads off. AND, drum roll please, J didn't try to drown himself again!! WOOHOO!!!

Well, I don't have much else to say this mornin. Sorry the blogs have been less than exciting lately. Summer blogging has proven to be harder to keep up than I'd hoped! But, know that we are all doing great and having an awesome summer together.

Love you!

OH, and btw, the Dads say that Chris' 2 aunts and his gramma are all doin better now..thanks for the prayers!

I can't remember what I wrote about last..but anyway, we get a new tree! The free one I think I may have mentioned before. The "if you haul it, you can have it" tree. Matt found out it's called a Flamingo Box Elder...ooooh, the flair of that name delights me! Here's a close up of how the leaves look (found it online, this isn't OURS), although I don't remember if I saw any pink on the one we're getting. I just remember seeing green and white. I guess there are different variations. Seems you can also get the same thing in a bush instead of a tree. The pic I found may be of the bush..no matter, the leaves are the same. Anyhoo the tree is about 8 feet tall I think and it's got good foliage. I'll take a pic this weekend. In fact, we might be moving it over here this weekend.




My Gramma turned 95 yesterday. Mom & Dad are throwing her a party on Saturday. Mom invited a few of her friends from the park to the party, should be really fun and cute to see the girls visit. Gramma still doesn't know there's a party planned. I hope she doesn't die from the surprise! It didn't start out as a surprise, but Mom figured if she told her she might not go so she'll just go pick her up instead I guess. Not sure.. Anyway, I hope she's having a good day on Saturday. She's in pain a lot with her feet swelling constantly. We'll just hope for the best! I just can't imagine being NINETY FIVE!!! So glad she's still with us, though.

Chris and I got our hair cut tonight!! WOOOHOOO! Kristi is still on maternity leave but I keep buggin her to plllleaaase go back to work cuz we're dyin without her! So, she called this morning and said, "How about today!" Ummm Chris freaked out excited and said YES!!!!!! So we met her in Meridian at the shop she's thinkin of switching to. We got to see little baby Berkley too! She's sooo perfect and sweet and precious you guys!!!

Well, I suppose that's all the news for this week so far. Hope you are having a great week and remembering to love on each other and yourselves!

Oh, and will you please keep Chris' family in your prayers? His Gramma Bea and Aunt Mary and Aunt Claudia are all having medical issues right now. We'd really appreciate it!

((hugs))

(my new most fave pic from my trusty camera)

Well, all good things must come to an end. Who said that anyway? WHY do all good things need to come to an end? I'm just not sure I believe that that is true with all things. BUT, with vacations, I totally believe it. I hate it when they end. Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, hobos and tramps, cock-eyed mosquitoes, and bowlegged ants (one of my Dad's fave sayings)..I am here to tell you that our vacation has ENDED. Today, we go back to work. Chris' day started off with a 2 hour meeting, his favorite! And my day will start at noon instead of 2. But, for the first time ever (or at least that I can recall at the moment), I love my job! I'm excited to see them all again and to do my job again. Don't get me wrong, I would still TOTALLY rather stay home, but as far as jobs go, I'm super happy to have this one. :)

It was a great vacation though..man, we had a blast. And we got to top it all off with a new niece and then a dinner with my bro n his wife down at the Hollow (used to be Harrison Hollow now I think it's Highlands Hollow..whatever..it could be called anything, I'd still show up). . and THEN a freakin GREAT nap!

Chris and I watched Drillbit Taylor last night. It had a few laugh worthy moments for sure. And, as usual, some offensive ones. But overall a pretty good movie. Not purchase worthy. But, I do love Owen Wilson. He's hilarious.

My pup is soooo soft. She's like those super soft stuffed animals..or the best pair of slippers..or the highest quality sheets only found in the homes of royalty. Just thought I'd let you know :)

I got a video of Jon changing his first diaper and I can't for the life of me get it to upload to my web album! I've gotten other longer ones to upload so I'm just totally confused, and a little wee bit pissed.

Matt n Laura came to spend the night on Saturday night..we had a great time. They brought Sadie's newest cousin, Josie. Chris and I call her Josie Wales..we had just finished watching the movie b4 they came over. Funny. Anyway, Sadie and Josie are the best of friends. Here's a pic of them playing..

Later in the night, after mom called to give us the fantastic news of baby Monet arriving (woohoo!!), we ran down to Taco Hell to get some crunch wrap supremes and Matt wanted to try the new Quesowrap supreme. We get there and they say they are out of all the stuff to make them b/c someone didn't want to restock. I promptly tell them that that person should be fired. We leave and go to the other Taco Bell, my good new pretty Taco Bell on Eagle. THEY had what we wanted. We get home to eat them, take them out of the wrapper and, WTBF? They're about 1/2 the size they normally are! And, I'm pretty sure mine was missing the lettuce and tomato. F. Matt says that lots of businesses are reducing the size of the meals instead of raising prices. Well, F that. I'll be making my crunchwrap supremes at home from now on.

ANYHOO, we then busted out the Rockband. Boy were we rusty..well all of us but Matt, he always rocks out the tunes. Laura was back to her kickassery drumming skills in no time. It seemed to be only Chris and I (ok mostly me) who continued to struggle. Laura and I were too tired to continue so we passed out and the boys continued on in their quest to dominate the Rockband world. Next mornin we all sat outside and waited for sleeping brute to wake up and make us breakfast. Ash finally went up and got him up. He came down and made a super delish breakfast. Thank you honey :)

OH, we might have a new FREE tree for the front yard!!! M & L's neighbor is re landscaping her front yard and has a "If you can haul it, you can have it" tree in front. He just has to make sure she hasn't changed her mind and that it's still available. It's not as big as our other one but it's more established, has a ton of foliage. YAY!! In other news we broke our shovel trying to get our stump out of the ground yesterday. Had to go down and buy a replacement..one that hopefully will not let us down.

Well, I guess I'll letchya go for now, I gotta go get ready for work. Happy Monday! Have a GREAT week :)

Loving you!

We have a new niece and cousin! Monet Marie Mundy was born last night at 9:37pm. She is 21.5 inches long and weighed in at a whopping 8lbs 2oz! Pretty big difference in size from the tiny baby the doctor had predicted! We get to go see her today and are so excited. DeAnna put up one hell of a good fight yesterday. She went for 18 hours of hard labor before finally deciding to go with a c section. Baby Monet was posterior & just didn't want to turn around! She must be stubborn like Mommy n Daddy ;) She'll fit right in with our family! haha. We had all been praying she wouldn't have to have a c section b/c she reallllly didn't want one, but in the end the Lord (and Monet!) had different plans! And, hey, I think c sections are a fabulous thing..I always begged to have one! Regardless of how lil Miss Monet made her entrance, we're just glad she did!

Anyway, we get to go see her later today and are SOOOOOOOOOO excited, obviously! Happy that both Mommy n baby are doing so well, and that Daddy is, too! You know I'll be taking pictures..but I may not post them for awhile. I think the proud parents should have the glory in that department!

Anyway, that's our news for the morning. Have a great Sunday! And, thanks to all of you who were praying with us for a safe delivery..we appreciate you!

Love ya

Well, another 4th of July has come and gone :) We spent the evening at Mom n Dads, it was a great time..fun and relaxing..no drama..ahh beautiful! DeAnna was having contractions all night, not that we could tell! She is amazing. She would hop up and out of her chair like she wasn't pregnant at all. WHAT! I could barely move! LOL I guess that's the difference between being in shape when you're pregnant and being a fat effing sow when you're pregnant. (the fat effing sow would've been ME). Anyway, she's been in the hospital since early this morning and is still truckin along, helping little Monet make her appearance into this crazy world! So proud of her. And, I can't wait to meet my niece! If yall could keep her in your prayers we'd all appreciate it. She's been goin at it a long time today and is pretty tired, as she should be!

I sent out the web album of yesterday, did you get it? If not..as usual, let me know.

It's been a quiet day..well except when My Mom calls to give me a baby update! I've had a raging headache since early this morning so I haven't been too overly excited to do much of anything. Plus, it's our last 2 days of vacation..I'd like to spend it doing N O T H I N G..well except for holding my niece ;) Chris has been up relaxing, watchin movies and napping all day. Ash and J watched a movie and are now sitting out back. Oh, Chris put a pork roast in the crockpot so we can have tacos later. YUM. Me = hungry

I'm afraid I don't have much else to update you on! Hope you're having a great holiday weekend though, and that you're getting in some rest, too!

Te quiero mucho!

My Friend Ernesto made this video to go along with the song and Matthew West chose it to be on his myspace page! It's too good & powerful not to share.

Hi :) I'm tired. Slept like roach poo last night..damned restless leg syndrome. I can clearly see how someone could go literally insane with this crap. It just won't stop. I loath medication so I don't go to the doc to get anything for it. My boss gave me some bone strength pills, said that it helped hers, but hers isn't severe. I've had mine since I was 16, and it no longer only stays in my legs, it also goes through my arms. I'll try the pills my boss gave me, but if they don't work I just might have to ask my doc for some meds. This is just ridiculous.

Took the kids to see Wall-E today. Cute movie as long as you don't dwell on the fact that they are making the social statement that we humans have all ruined the earth and are causing global warming and that we're all fat useless mindless slobs. The kids loved it. I just long for old normal cartoon movies like Fox & the Hound..we have enough political bullshit as it is..leave it out of the effing cartoons would ya? shit. Anyway..after that we went to ice cream, it was super yummy. While we were there J stole a jawbreaker, unintentionally of course. They were in a jar on a display so he thought he could just have one. Was totally stunned when we told him that wasn't the case. Another stroke of crap though..one jaw breaker 16 cents. Are you flipping kidding me? When I was a kid they were a penny. We've gone up 16 fold in 31 years? Good GOD is nothing sacred?

I pulled weeds this afternoon..needed some quiet time and the heat of the afternoon felt really good on my sore muscles. Plus, it's always nice to have everything pretty. I still haven't tackled the back along the fence..I need a hoe. Not that kind of hoe. A yard hoe..ok, this isn't going anywhere.

Kids rode their bikes this evening..I laid in the yard and relaxed and watched them..kids across the street were playing in their pool..lots of other kids riding their bikes in the neighborhood. I love living here. It's so quiet, yet not too quiet. And, it's beautiful..we still have 360* views of the mountains out here in Kuna, the sunsets are amazing. Especially if you walk down to the creek at dusk. Wow.

Tomorrow morning I have to go down and clean the Grandparents' house..my only 2 hours of work this week of vacation. I'm ok with it :) Then back home to hopefully rest awhile before we go back down to Boise to Mom n Dad's for fireworks. It will be a late night so I would love to get a nap in!

Well, it's 12:39am..maybe I should get to bed. Have a great 4th of July everyone, Independence is a wonderful blessing. I'm so glad we have it.

Love you

Mike & Claire, where are you! We hope to be able to see you while you're here in town :) Maybe Saturday or Sunday?

Today, we fished.

I'd post a virtual scrapbook with more pics, but nunya folk would be able to view it w/o irritation apparently, so I won't. Stupid computers. Why can't they just do what we want them to do! ;0)

Anyhoo..we started out in Nampa, fishing Wilson's Pond (or something like that). Spent hours there with no luck. Will be thinking of my neighbors who recommended the spot later when I have my voodoo doll out.

Later this afternoon we decided to go fishing one more time, but this time we went to Indian Creek which is at the end of our subdivision. We love our Indian Creek. We've never fished it before but thought, what the heck! We had lots of nibbles but not any full on bites. J just wasn't happy with this scenario so he decided he'd liven things up by trying to drown himself. Yes, he again, fell into the water and began the drowning process just like he did last summer. Only this time Carolyn wasn't here to save him, so Daddy had to! J sat in the grass for the rest of the fishing trip. He's again told us that he won't be getting that close to the water again.

I posted the web album of today and sent out invites. Did you get one? If you didn't, let me know.

Well, it's been a great day! I'm sitting here drinkin on my iced water and enjoying life. :)

I think this will be a backwards blog. Cuz now I'll tell you what we did yesterday! :) Yesterday (Monday) we took the kids to see Speed Racer at the dollar theater. I say dollar, but really it's the $4 theater (that includes the ticket and 2 food items). It was a pretty entertaining flick. Better than any of us thought it would be, but probably not one we will purchase or look forward to Netflixing. And, if you were to invite us over for dinner and a movie and the movie was going to be Speed Racer..one of us would most likely come down with diarrhea and we'd have to cancel.

BUT anyway..on the way home Chris stopped and got me my all time fave..the huge chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich from Chevron. OH, thank you sweetie! We got home and were relaxing..hangin out outside and then went inside to cool off..I think I may have taken a nap..but I can't really remember. Then we all gathered to watch American Gladiators in our room and just as it started, the power went out. WTF??? Crap. Of course this happens on a 103* day. But, at least it was 8:45pm, so it had cooled down to somewhere around 85, I think. We saw all the neighbors quickly congregating outside so we went down to join 'em. Kids all rode their bikes..we sat around and chatted with the neighbors, I pillaged a table from the neighbors down the street who moved out..the neighborhood kids, our nephews, Chris and the kids all played football..oh did I mention that earlier in the evening (in a random stroke of bullshit), a breeze came up and my huge tree in the front (well huge it was about 15 feet tall..maybe more, not sure..hmm..I'll go with 15.) snapped in half. The neighbors all got a kick out of it. Why would it break for no reason??? Hmm..oh well..I'm sure I can run out and buy another $500 tree to replace it..mere pocket change. Until then, I'll just enjoy the spear like stump sticking out of the ground. Maybe I'll go throw myself on it if the week doesn't go well.

Anyway, then it was getting to be pitch black outside so everyone went inside..we however went out back and roasted smores on the bbq..and then thought, F, maybe we should go get some ice so our meat won't spoil. Since Idaho Power had no clue when the power was coming back on, or why it had even gone out to begin with. Of course they didn't. Just as we were telling the kids to get in the car, the power came back on! Woohoo! So, it was 2 hours without power. Fun! We promptly went the hell to bed and passed out. It was a great day, power outages and all.

OK so, in the theme of backwardness..I guess that would take us to Sunday. Soooo...crap. What did we do Sunday..uhhh..(tick tock, tick tock)..OH that was the shooting day. You already know about that. Woohoo! See, this is going quickly!

So, Saturday, we went to Chase & Courtney's 4th bday party! Remember, these are Don and Corinne's twins. I work with Corinne and the kids. Don is Terry & Lana's son (well, really Lana's)..Terry & Lana are who we camp with every year and go to their house on Christmas to see Santa..Anyway, it was so much fun! Those kids are adorable, I just love them to pieces.

Friday night, Barbara came over for dinner, it was yummy!! Chris made up some teriyaki salmon, some rice, texas rolls and salad. He made a boca burger for me. Delish! Then we had yogurt pie for dessert..an old fave of ours. Then we went and sat outside and watched the kiddos ride their bikes for awhile..went inside and chatted some more and then she left cuz she was so sleepy! We found out we were tired too, and went to bed not long after :)

So, you now are up to date on all of our vacation info so far! We are loving our vacation. Haven't answered the phone hardly at all..it's been nice n quiet. Not too much bickering. The kids are having a great time and wishing we could be on vacation forever. It's nice to be able to do things with them. It seems like since we moved back from Houston, our family time has gone out the window. Not only b/c there isn't much to do here (I know, that's our opinion), but money has been tight since coming back and I've had to go back to work (was a stay at home mommy in TX)..but, oh well, life is life! We're glad to have the times we do, and glad to find things to do with our family that cost little to no money. People sometimes think you have to spend tons of money to have "family time/vacations", but really, you don't. Your kids just want your time and attention..

Well, I love ya! Have a great rest of your week. I'll be back to update at some point.

Take care of you! And, someone else :)