Memory Tag!

Tag! Here's the drill (This one's kind of interesting...)
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

My 5-year-old is a teen

I want you all to read my sister's story blog - at least the one titled "The fight." It is about me and my children! Well, we were at least her inspiration. And then you will know why I've not liked myself too much these days. It seems I have no control in my home. I'm bossed, yelled at, hit, ignored. You name it, it's happening. And that would be a given if I was allowing it to happen. But I don't! My day consists of constantly stopping all of the above and punishing for it. I'm doing a lot of praying for help these days. If I had to describe Benjamin in one word it would be "defiant". I know that my help will come, I just hope I don't kill him in the meantime! (That's meant to be funny - not really true -I love him too much to harm him THAT much, although the occasional spanking does happen.)

Alphabet Tag!

A. ATTACHED OR SINGLE? attached - but still appreciate my free time
B. BEST FRIEND? Not just one - Kannon, Julie, Janet.....
C. CAKE OR PIE? a cream pie, anyday!
D. DAY OF CHOICE? Any day my kids are obedient and my husband helps out.
E. ESSENTIAL ITEMS? a shower and a clean kitchen - Basil, too
F. FAVORITE COLORS? Pastels, I really like pink, blue, yellow, green - in pastels. Red's good too, oh yeah, and black.....
G. GUMMY BEARS OR WORMS? If I had to choose it would be bears, but I don't like the way they stick
H. HOMETOWN? Fallon, Nevada
I. INDULGENCE? Ice cream.
J. JANUARY OR JULY? January - Happy Birthday to me!
K. KIDS? Sometimes I claim three - Ben, 5 and Sarah, 2.
L. LIFE ISN’T COMPLETE WITHOUT? The gospel of Jesus Christ www.mormon.org or www.lds.org
M. MARRIAGE DATE? June 15, 2001
N. NUMBER OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS? 3 sisters and 2 brothers, I Have the best family! Plus I have 6 sisters-in-law and 8 brothers-in-law
O. ORANGES OR APPLES? Apples - I really do love them!
P. PHOBIAS OR FEARS? Suffocating - Male drivers
Q. QUOTE? "I'm right!"
R. REASON TO SMILE? my living room is almost done!
S. SUPERMAN OR WONDER WOMAN? I guess I don't really care about either - but I know more about Superman.
T. TAG 5 PEOPLE… Susan - you need a reason to blog, Corinne- I'd love to know more about you, Nathan and Jackie - both of you!, and anyone else that wants to (Leave a note here so I know where to look!)
U. UNKNOWN FACT ABOUT ME: I'm a copy-cat. I don't have any of my own creative juices. I copy from books, magazines, inernet, tv shows, peoples homes - you name it, I've done it~!
V. VEGETABLES? Love them! I've been eating a lot more of them lately. Part of my new weight loss deal.
W. WORST HABIT? wasting my time or arguing - who really wants to tell the truth on this one?
X. X-RAY OR ULTRASOUND? X-ray -Ultrasounds have always been too uncomfortable for me - though they are probably more fun to look at.
Y. YOUR FAVORITE FOOD? Pasta with cream sauce and veggies.
Z. ZODIAC SIGN? Capricorn

Living Room Remodel

Okay, so we are super brave. We are almost finished remodeling our living room. On June 28th we (Ben, Kannon, and I) knocked all the plaster off the walls and ceiling. It took only 2 hours. We had to wait until Monday (30) to do any more. We pulled all the lathe off and I hammered all the nails down so that we can use the wood this winter. (Kannon ended up having that whole week off - work was slow and they asked him to take it off. That worked out for us, we were able to get so much more done.) My sister Janet and her husband Levi also helped. Levi pounded nails with me and then they helped Kannon hang all the sheetrock on the ceiling. Tuesday, Kannon did all the electrical - ran new wires and we had that inspected on Wednesday morning. Then we hung the rest of the sheetrock. I even tried to use the drill to get one screw in. I failed miserably. I always thought I was fairly tough, but I wasn't strong enough to get one screw in! Thursday Kannon taped the walls and ceiling with Levi's help. I went to visit my sister and her family on the 4th (for the weekend). So Kannon played with Ben and did the 2nd taping of the walls and ceiling. On Saturday he textured the walls.

Before we started.
See the pile of plaster and dust on the floor? Everything in our house is dusty right now - that will definitely change this week with the end of the project.
This is Levi - He was such a big help! Thank you tons!
This is Ben and Sarah - they were helping me paint. Benjamin had painted I (heart) U MOM under the window. There were no windows in the living room for about a week and a half. That made for some hot days. And no we weren't scared. We had a screen on one window, and the other one, that you can see in this picture, goes to the screened porch. Besides we'd hear anything weird going on out there - we hear weird goings-on all the time!

So I'm going to switch to my weekend at my sisters'. Sarah and I left with my dad at 10 on the 4th. Ben and his Dad were at the parade. We ended up meeting up with Janet and my mom at the ER - my grandma had fallen and they wanted to make sure she was okay. That visit took about 3 hours. We got on our way and picked up Nathan and Jackie in Reno. It was a nice drive, I enjoyed visiting. We had a relaxing evening and watched the kids swim in the pool taking turns holding the newbie! On Saturday I went with mom, dad, Nathan, and Janet to the Denio flea market. This is one of our favorite places to visit when we go to Sac. I just enjoyed being with everyone and looking around. Next time I'll save up to have some spending money. We did some Wii bowling and golf (although I didn't join in for that one). Nancy put together some great Nacho's for dinner and we stayed up late playing Mario (Party?) It was really fun. On Sunday we had a special baby blessing for Colby- it was great. I love to feel the strong spirit around these precious babes. They have to come strong or they won't make it here. After a great dinner and a few naps we came home. While I was gone Ben and Dad ate fun food, went to the carnival, watched fireworks and just played together. I'm glad that they had some good one-on-one time.

So, I've painted the ceiling and room, the windows are in and I'm almost done painting the trim so it can be added and we can replace our things in the living room - thus, getting back the rest of the house. We've got the tv in our room, the couch on the back porch, the love seat in the kids room, and a bookshelf in the kitchen. It's great! I'll have new pictures of the finished product, SOON!!!

Here are the kids playing on the lawn that is mostly all "grown-up" now.
Sarah had her #2 birthday on the 26th. She enjoyed being a princess all day. We had to kind of squash her birthday in. Kannon gets home around 4:30 and I had to leave at 6:00. She really liked her tea set from Grammy and Papa. And often wears her pink play shoes. She likes to try and wear them to the store, too, but I don't let her get very far. She also got some princess story books and her own markers and crayons. Benjamin is always more excited than anyone about opening presents. We had to reign him in. He asked me "what time was Sarah born" and got really excited when it was that time - "Now she's really two!"