Why you shouldn't grocery shop when you are hungry...

Wednesday, July 23rd - 2008

This is why you shouldn't grocery shop when you are hungry....

So, Joe and I went grocery shopping today.  As usual, I was very prepared.  I had my list of exactly everything I needed.  Why do I always buy more when Joe shops with me?  Also, why do I shop when I am hungry?  Well, today it was kind of a necessity.  It got to be lunch time and the cupboards were bare, so I pretty much had to go shopping.  So, we are in the cereal aisle...It is ridiculous how many different cereals and choices there are.  I go through cereal phases.  I will like it A LOT for a while and eat it every day, and then I get sick of it and don't want to eat it for a month.  Usually, I go for the semi-healthy stuff.  Honey bunches of Oats, or something like that.  I also like grapenuts and wheat chex (those come from living with my dad).  So, I was going for the usual, when the Apple Jacks caught my eye.  

When we were younger, we were only allowed "sugar" cereal on Sunday's.  Weekday cereal contained wheat or bran, or something equally brown in color.  But on the weekends it was the good stuff.  However, with 5 kids, we were not each allowed to pick out our own box.  We all had to agree on what we got.  Sometimes we took turns picking, and sometimes we voted.  I was always outvoted.  My favorite was Apple Jacks.  For some reason we almost always ended up with Lucky Charms.  I was bitter about that for a long time.  When I saw the Apple Jacks in the cereal aisle today, I had a flashback to my childhood.  I wanted that box.  Look at it.  It's so bright and fun.  There was no one there to out vote me, or tell me I couldn't have it.   It didn't help that I was hungry.   Oh well.  We ended up leaving the store with much more than was on my list.  

The Twilight Zone

Tuesday July 22nd - 2008

I am officially in the Twilight Zone again.  In preparation for "Breaking Dawn", coming out soon, I decided to read the Twilight series, yet again.  I gave myself 3 weeks figuring I'd read one a week until the release date.  Of course I've cruised through them and I still have over a week to go.  So, obsessed as I am, I am on line reading every article, checking out my space pages and looking up other peoples guesses as to what is going to happen.  I have quite a few theories of my own.  I can't wait for August 2nd.  I feel like a kid at Christmas.  Why is it so hard to wait?  

Brian is home!

Monday, July 21st - 2008


Brian made it home tonight! He's been gone since Friday night. He went on a guys weekend to San Diego with Jason and Ian. Even though he got pretty sunburned and he stepped on a stingray, I still think he had a pretty good time.


This is the best picture of him I could get. He was embarrassed by his red face. I guess you could say he was "red faced". That was a total Lambson joke there (actually, it might be a Maxwell joke. My mom is the one that likes to tell the really bad jokes - sorry mom, but you know it's true). Ha Ha! Now he will be embarrassed by my poor attempt at humor. I really am funnier than that, it's just that sometimes you have to go for the totally stupid obvious joke. It makes it funny that you would actually say something so bad out loud.
Here is a picture of his stingrayed foot. It actually looks better in this picture than it does in real life. Poor guy, it's totally red and swollen. Am I mean that when he walked in the door tonight I laughed? It's just that he has had so many medical problems, surgeries, illnesses this year that I was thinking: "If it was going to happen to any one of them, of course it would be Brian." I should have been the good wife and poor bunnied him instead.

Joe's Corner

Sunday, July 20th - 2008

This is Joe's corner.  Over the years, I've somehow allowed Joseph to create this bad habit.  When he was younger I'd ask him to pick up his things in the family room and put them away.  Most of the time he'd be pretty good about it.  Every once in a while, when there was A LOT of things to pick up, he'd get tired of it halfway through and ask me if he could put the rest of the things in this corner and he'd put them away later.  This corner is pretty much right across the hall from his room.  It would take him 3 extra steps to get it to his room.  I must have compromised with him a few times until "pick up" time meant taking the things off the middle of the floor and piling them in this corner.  Now I have to hound him to clean his corner.  Guess how many times I've asked him to pick up his corner today?

The Sheraton

Saturday, July 19th - 2008

Last night, Joseph, Dallin and I went and stayed at the Sheraton at Wild Horse Pass.  We had a $100.00 credit from Hot Wire, or one of those other similar companies that we had to use before the end of July.  Since we had no plans for vacation, Brian decided to book a room locally.  He was in San Diego with the guys, so I took Joe and Dallin over there for the night.

They stayed up late and went swimming, drank ginger ale and played cards and watched t.v.  While it wasn't The Embassy Suites (Joe's favorite hotel - for more on that, see his blog), they still had a good time.  Joe was really impressed with the bathroom.  He especially liked the make up mirror that magnified your features.  I loved this picture of his face up close in the mirror.

Here is Dallin, just chillin'.
Thankfully, the pool opened at 7:00 a.m. and check out wasn't until noon, so the boys got in a few hours of swimming and water sliding before we had to leave.  They made a couple of friends that they hung out with for a while.  It was a fun way to break up the monotony of summer.

I heart ABBA

Friday, July 18th - 2008

Today I went to see Mamma Mia with my mom and Laura.  I loved this movie.  It was so much fun.  How could you not love a movie that is filled with ABBA songs? My love of ABBA came from one of my favorite 80's bands: Erasure.  They covered a number of ABBA songs.  That was my first exposure to it.  So, when I found out they were ABBA covers, I had to start listening to the originals.  I love music and musical theater.  This movie was so much fun.  The only problem was that I wanted to bust out singing.  I had to restrain myself.  I don't think the other movie-goers would appreciate it.  Afterwards my mom and I went to Target and bought the soundtrack.  Now, when I listen in my car, I can sing along as loud as I want.  Poor Joe.  He is not the ABBA fan that I am.  He will just have to deal with it.  

Joseph - aka Robert Smith

Thursday, July 17th - 2008

Ok, there are a couple of things you should know about Joseph.  The first is that he has always liked to dress up in costumes and put on plays, act things out, or just be in character for a while.  He's been doing this probably since he was 2.  I have countless pictures of him in different costumes.  Some have been halloween costumes, some he's come up with on his own.   He's done all of the super hero's - spiderman, batman, wolverine, superman - you name it, he's done it.  My favorite stage was when he was 4 or 5.  That was when he was Clark Kent for a good long time.  He had to wear his superman jammie shirt everywhere we went.  Of course he had a zip up jacket over it to hide the superman logo until he was ready to reveal it.  He also had the fake Clark Kent glasses, which he also wore everywhere.  He actually reminded me a little of Rivers Cuomo from Weezer, in his short hair, glasses wearing phase.  He also went through a star wars phase (of course).  He also did various Disney characters (usually the bad guys).  He did the evil octopus from the Little Mermaid and King Triton, also from the little mermaid.   He has also been Clayton from Tarzan.  My favorite Disney character was when he was Jafar from Aladdin.  I spent over an hour making him a hat out of construction paper that looked like Jafar's.  Over the years he has come up with his own characters and costumes.  I love it that he is so creative.  

The second thing you should know is that he also has a BIT of an obsessive personality.  When he finds something he is interested in, then that is all he can focus on.  When he was little, if he liked a movie, we would literally watch it over and over again.  I think I've seen The Iron Giant over 50 times.  I'm not kidding.  He goes through phases.  He'll like something, be obsessed with it for a while, and then move on to something else.  Sometimes he'll go back to it later on.  We've re-visited "The Nightmare Before Christmas" phase quite a few times.  The Green Goblin phase lasted a long time.  He just got out of the Indiana Jones phase.  I know some of you have seen him wearing his hat around.  This brings me to one of his newest obsessions and to our picture of the day:

Recently Joseph asked me:  "Mom, can you guess what my favorite band is?"  Well, he goes through music in phases too.  His first favorite band was Oingo Boing.  He went through a Coldplay phase and more recently it's been Death Cab for Cutie and Linkin Park.  So I guessed "Deathcab"?  "Nope," he said:  "It's  The Cure".  Well, let me say, I was pretty surprised by that (but pleasantly so).  The Cure is one of my all time favorite bands ever.  At least top 5 on my list, probably #1 if I think about it.  Now, Joseph has heard The Cure a lot over the years.  He's liked it, but it's never been one of his OBSESSIONS.  That all changed when he went on my blog and heard the song "Lovecats".  I don't think that's one I've ever played for him before, but once he heard it, he was hooked.  He now goes on YouTube every day to watch videos.  His favorites are:  Lovecats, Just Like Heaven, Lovesong, Friday I'm in Love and, Lullaby.  He even did a Cure post on his blog with some videos if you want to check it out.

Of course, with obsessive phases, comes the dressing up.  Here he is with his Robert Smith hair and black eyes.  Thankfully, he passed on the red lipstick.
This is a picture of Robert Smith from the video "Lovecats" - the catalyst for his new obsession.

I can't really blame him.  I went through a VERY long Cure phase in high school.  I had a giant picture of Robert Smith over my bed, several cure posters on my walls, I wore the color black almost every day, and I listened to the albumn "Disintegration" every night when I went to sleep.  I guess I have an Obsessive personality too. 

Scouts

Wednesday, July 16th - 2008

Joe had scouts tonight.  He had been given homework to do, and of course, we saved it for the last minute.  So, we spent a lot of the day working on scouts.  We didn't get all of it done, but we did get most of it.  Next time we won't save it until the last minute (oh who am I kidding?  of course we will).  

My best friend today

Tuesday, July 15th - 2008

This was my best friend today.  

Another wedding

Monday, July 14th - 2008

I was sooo sick today!  I didn't get out of bed until 2:00 p.m. and then it was only because I had to get ready for a photo shoot tonight.  I wasn't sure if I have permission to post their pictures  on the web, so I thought I'd play it safe for my photo of the day.  

Her ring and bouquet were so pretty.
I thought the cake was really funky and fun.

I did think it was odd to get married on a Monday, and to have an OUTDOOR wedding in JULY in ARIZONA???

On the plus side, even though I was sick, I had a better experience shooting this wedding.  Being outside made for better lighting.  Plus, we had a little time to take pictures before hand.  And, hanging with Tricia is ALWAYS fun!

By the way - Tricia, I will bring you a photo cd tomorrow.  I am waiting for Brian to get back into town to show me how to make it.  I know, I'm completely computer illiterate.  I need to learn this stuff! I knew how to make them on my old computer, but with the new one, I am still learning.  

Ammon's party

Sunday, July 13th - 2008

Jared Ammon's birthday was on the 8th.  We all went to my mom's tonight to wish him Happy Birthday and have cake and ice cream.  It was also fun because we all sat around and talked about our favorite memories of when he was little.  I remember playing with him, Adam, Jillie and Carly in my mom's back yard.  I would push them on the big swing while they ate popcicles and pretended they were dinosaurs.  I also remember having to hold him up so he could peek over the fence and see the dog in the neighbors yard.  

I loved this picture of my dad with the little ones.  I have a very similar picture of him holding 3 little boys, only it's Joseph, Michael and Alex.  All the boys love their Grandpa.  
Whenever the family gets together, these two are joined at the hip.  I love James' hat.
I just love this picture.  It is so typical - Darrel trying to avoid the camera, and Sheri hamming it up.  I love my family!

Game night

Saturday, July 12th - 2008

Tonight we went over to Darrel and Trina's house for game night.  

We played buzzword.  The girls were on one team, the guys on the other.  Guess who won.  That's right - girls rule, boys drool!  I think I love to play Buzzword because I dominate at it.  Although, I did take some flak for knowing the term "horsefeathers".  I know I'm old, but I can't be the only one who has ever heard that term before.  The game took a funny turn when Ian used the phrase "beat feet".  We all ridiculed him, but it turns out it is an "urban" term, meaning to leave somewhere.  That lead to looking up what our names meant in "urban" terms.  Ian's was the funniest.  It had something to do with a frolicking little boy who licks wood?  Joe was happy with his name.  It said Joe - a man's man.  An awesome guy.  I don't know what web site Ian was on to look these up, but he had us laughing all night.  

We also played  Balderdash.  I don't remember who won, but I know it was NOT me.  I am pretty lame at that game.  It was still fun though.  Thanks Darrel and Trina for letting us hang out.  
Rowan is such a cutie.  This was my favorite photo of the night.  Actually I do have a pretty great photo of Sheri that made us all laugh, but I didn't want her to be mad at me for posting it

Joe's Home

Friday, July 11th - 2008

Joseph is home.  For the past 2 days Joseph has been at the cabin with my mom, dad and Dallin.  They have been working some and playing some (a lot).  They painted, swept, picked up trash, varnished wood, rode on the ranger, saw about 50 turkeys, some elk, and some slow elk (cows).  He had a good time, but I'm glad he's home.  I missed that cute face!

Is this disturbing to anyone else?

Thursday, July 10th - 2008

Is it disturbing to anyone else that this sign is posted on a DRIVE UP  ATM machine?

Reading on the bed

Wednesday, July 9th - 2008

One of my favorite things to do with Joe is read stories on the bed.  This ritual started when he was like 2 or 3.  He couldn't read yet, but he liked to hear stories, so he would grab a bunch of his story books and grab my hand so we could read stories on my bed.  He'd climb up and get cozy, and we'd spend a lot of time just reading together.  At first it was Winnie the Pooh and the Sheep Made a Leap.  He went through a Dr. Seuss phase.  The Foot Book was one of his favorites.  He could say the whole book along with me.  As he got a little older and started to read for himself, we would take turns reading lines from the Magic Treehouse books and Junie B. Jones (my personal favorite).  Now, the ritual still continues, although he is reading his own book, and I am reading mine.  We still get cozy on my bed and read together.  He is usually reading a book that I have already read and we'll talk about what he read for the day, what he liked, and what he thinks is going to happen.  I love to read so much, and I am glad that Joe has a love for reading too.  I'm glad that it is still something we can share together.  

Skits

Tuesday, July 8th - 2008

It's summertime, and it's hot.  You can only swim so many days in a row before you get sick of it.  By July the water is too hot to be refreshing anyway.  How do you keep a bunch of boys busy in the summertime, when it is too hot to go outside?  Thankfully, these boys have active imaginations.  They put on a bunch of skits for me today.  They'd spend a lot of time practicing together, and then they put on a show for me.  I like that these boys have great imaginations.  And, I'm glad that they'd rather use their imaginations than sit in front of the t.v. or video games all day.  

CVS

Monday, July 7th - 2008

I had to go pick up my thyroid medicine at CVS today.  Joe likes to go with me so he can sit in this chair while we wait.  It is one of those back massaging chairs.  He would sit in it all day if I let him.  Every time we go, he asks me if I'll buy it.  Sadly, the answer is always no.  By the way Joe, what's with the long sleeves and the cozy hat?  You do realize that it's 110 degrees outside, right?

My Tricia Bracelet

Sunday, July 6th - 2008

So, I'm not exactly a jewelry wearing kind of gal.  Other than my wedding ring, and my watch, I pretty much do not wear any jewelry ever.  It's kind of strange that my husband is in the jewelry business but I don't wear any jewelry.  I do have some nice pearls that Brian got for me that I wear every once in a while, but it is not often.  The one exception to this rule is my Tricia Bracelet.  I call it my Tricia bracelet because my wonderful sister in law, Tricia, bought it for me.  It was a few years ago.  Brian, Joe and I had gone to Salt Lake City for conference.  My mom and dad, and Jared and Tricia's family also went that year.  My mom, Tricia and I were out doing some shopping at this cute little place.  I can't remember the name of it, but it was the coolest place.  We were in one of the shops, and I was looking at this bracelet.  I really liked it.  The picture really doesn't do it justice.  Anyway, that was one of the first shops we went in.  After a couple hours of shopping, we were ready to go.  I got into my car and there was the bracelet.  Tricia had gone back some time during the day, and bought it for me and left it in my car.  Isn't she such a sweetie?  I now wear it every Sunday.  And every time I look at it, it reminds me of Tricia and what a nice thing she did for me.  Thanks Tricia! 

Bedtime Ritual

Saturday, July 5th -2008

We have a nightly ritual that we follow to get Joe into bed at night.   I find that it helps to follow a pattern.  He knows what to expect and he knows when it's time to wind down and get ready for bed.  If he gets everything done in a timely manner then it leaves time for a show before bed.  This, of course, is his favorite part of the nightly ritual.  If he is too slow, then no show.  I see it as an incentive to get him to move faster.  Most of the time it works.  Sometimes he is just too distracted.  Tonight (and most nights) it's Arthur.  This is the one show from his childhood (his way younger childhood), that he will still watch.  I think he picks it as his bedtime show because there is nothing too scary in it - nothing nightmare inducing.   He has such an active imagination.  

The 4th in pictures

Friday, July 4th - 2008

We spent the 4th with the Gonzo and Trezise Families.

The men did all of the grilling.

The boys played video games while waiting for the food.

We ate - yum!

The boys did some swimming.

This one wanted to go skinny dipping.

Some of us had ice cream.

It was watermelon for others.

Joshua and Evan became good friends.

They hung out together, a lot.

We sat outside and waited for fireworks, and waited, and waited....

Max played with Holly to pass the time.

Finally, the show started.  I'm no sure it was worth the wait.  It was a slow show.  Pretty much everyone lost interest after 5 minutes.  Finally, after about 20 min. they had the "finale" where they actually shot off more than one firework at a time.  For the most part, it was a really fun night.  It wiped my boys out.  Brian was asleep within 10 minutes of being home.  He fell asleep on the couch.  I took a picture, but he refused to let me post it.

The Host

Thursday, July 3rd - 2008

So, this is pretty much what I did all day.  I read this book.  Although I did not love it as much as the Twilight series, I did love it.  I'm sure I will read it again.  It took about 50 pages to really get into it.  I think I cried more reading this book, than I did reading Twilight.  My favorite character in the book was Ian.  Jamie was a close second.  Has anyone else read this (Sheri, I know you have)?  I'm curious what you think and who your favorite character was.  

Joe & Ro

Wednesday, July 2nd - 2008

Everyone seems to gravitate to my mom's house.  So, when Joe is bored and has no one to play with, we go to grandma's.  The odds are there will be someone to hang out with.  Today Joseph and Rowan hung out for a while.  Despite their age differences, these two are actually pretty good friends.  Joseph is really good with Rowan.  I have quite a few pictures of the two of them together.  Maybe I'll have to do a Joe & Ro post on the family blog.  

Happy Birthday Max

Tuesday, July 1st - 2008

I know that Max already had his birthday party, but today was his actual birthday.  Sheri took him to Hamilton Pool, and Joe and I tagged along.  Tricia, James, Anna and Emmy were there too.  

Evan was so cute.  Sheri put him in his stroller and gave him a snack.  Notice the chocolate all over his face?  He fell asleep while eating his cookies.  The eyes were closed, but he kept trying to get the cookies into his mouth.  He missed a lot.  It was funny watching him fall asleep.  

Joe had lots of fun hanging out with Alex.  I let Alex stay with us after his family packed up and left.  He and Joe swam for another hour. 

Cold Stone

Monday, June 30th - 2008

Ok, so I sort of cheated today (technically, I don't see where it says that the "photo of the day" has to be taken by you, I think it is just implied).  I didn't actually take this photo.  I took it off of the internet.  I didn't take any photo's today, but Brian did bring me Cold Stone tonight.  It was the highlight of my day.  

Family Home Evening

Sunday, June 29th - 2008

Once a month my family (My parents, my brothers and sisters and their families) meet together for an extended family - family home evening.  We usually do it on the first Sunday of the month.  But, since we missed the one the first weekend in June, due to family being out of town, and since June has 5 Sundays, we did it this week instead.  Mom invited us all to come an hour early, and she made her famous chili that everybody loves.  She's awesome.  Cooking for 27 can't be easy.  My mom taught a lesson about David and Goliath and gave all the kids their own bag of stones.  I was worried that some of the boys (who shall remain nameless) would try to act out the story with their stones, but luckily, everyone behaved.  It gets loud and crazy, but I think everyone has a good time.  I think it's a fun tradition that Joseph will always remember.  He totally looks forward to it.