Caleb learns to ride a bike!

Here is Caleb on one of his first bike rides:



And here is Micah the expert now:





And here is Jewelia trying to figure out the big girl bike:


Oh, and I promise I actually edged and trimmed the grass after this video. Our weed wacker blew up but I just bought a new one yesterday.

Oh, and listen to my voice--I have been hoarse for a week now!

I'm a ksl.com Junky!

Sooo, I have this new obsession that I get on ksl.com everyday and look at what's for sale. Yeah, I used to occasionally look at Craigslist to see what people would give away for free just to laugh, but ksl.com has like tons of stuff people will sell for cheap and it's all really great!

Now, I know, I'm not going to go out there and buy someone else's nasty something or whatever, but there are a lot of things that are just better used--especially if my kids are going to be banging it up!

So, I got a really neat sandbox/pool that is a Little Tykes tugboat



(Well, I don't actually have the lid, but you can get the idea from the picture.)

AND,

Caleb's been bugging me that he wants a big boy bike, but I didn't want to buy him one since Micah's is a smaller one and he could just use it soon enough,

BUT

Micah is just getting good on his bike and not quite ready for a bigger one, and why buy Caleb a brand new little bike when he would only be using it for this summer/fall?

SO--

I started looking online for any used little 2 wheelers, and I got a great deal on actually 2 bikes! One for Jewelia too!



They even came with helmets, both together for only $15!

I say, WHAT A DEAL!!!

This way, I don't feel as bad when Caleb beats it to death as he learns to ride a bike.

So, I say, how thrifty am I?

Funny Troy.........

So........I like to torment Troy and the kids all the time with all the pictures I take just hoping someday for a really good one......but I think Troy is just so funny.

I swear, I can take like 30 pictures in a row and Troy has got his eyes closed in every single one. It is like this picture curse that his eyes will not stay open.

Eventually he starts to close his eyes until I say when, but then this happens:

He's like, "How do you keep your eyes open!!!???"
"It's impossible!!!!!"
But then in the end we manage at least one eye opening event:



Poor dear. I love you, and I think you are pretty funny. Maybe one day I'll make your millions of pictures with your eyes closed into a slideshow.

Thank goodness for digital photography or I would have a whole lot wasted on film by now!

Happy Father's Day!

Today is Father's Day and I hope all you dads had a good one! Troy celebrated today with breakfast in bed and some cards from everyone, 2 new shirts, and a snazzy fancy tie that the kids designed for him to wear to church. Isn't he styling?

(Oh, and Macey was sleeping during this picture so she didn't get to be in it.)

Micah loves to DANCE

Cute Micah came to me a while ago and said he wanted to take dance lessons. He had been going to see the Nutcracker and other ballets with his class for the last 2 years, and he really liked it. So, being that we have tried the sports thing, and then the piano thing, and yet he still hasn't found something he's enjoyed, we decided to let him try this next adventure in dance.

So, here he is in his first debut:

And look at the poor little gal next to him that broke her arm the week of the recital! I think he has done pretty well considering he started the class only 2 months ago and the rest of the kids started back in August.

He's the best boy dancer in the whole studio! (And it's not just because he's the only boy.)

What My Husband Does for Me

So, this is kind of a funny picture I made with the cartoon function, but I just wanted to tell everyone what my good husband Troy does for me.

Yeah, I'm sure most of you can say your husband goes out there and works or goes to school, or whatever to help support you and your family, but my good husband has done it all.

Right now, in particular, he has 2 jobs to help support this family, and he did it all for me.

When I was getting ready to go on maternity leave this past year, I wasn't going to get any benefits, and so we were going to be losing a lot of money and our savings was going to deplete. But my dear husband decided to step up and take on another part time job on top of his full time job so that he could help pay the bills while I was on leave.

He actually went to work at my job. Then to take a step further, he decided to get trained to be one of the managers, and even further, to train to do my job, so in a sense, now going back to work, I didn't have to work so much, and even if I did, if I was sick or there was a problem, he could work FOR me.

Now, most husbands wouldn't do this I suppose. Or maybe they would, but I just wanted everyone to know that my husband is a really good guy. We're at the point now that he doesn't have to work so much at my job really. The pay isn't great, and he could just work more at his main job, but he continues to do so. He gave them his word when they trained him that he would give them a year, and so he continues on.

Oh, he is so tired, and I feel so bad for him that he made this decision and is stuck there still and it is because of me. But at the same time I am proud of him for his efforts and his honor to keep his promise, and I know that he loves me. I just hope he isn't too upset with me for getting him into this commitment---so tiring, and for so long.

But I really do love you Troy (and not just because you'll give me feet rubs), and again, I'm sorry for getting you into this mess!