Hallie Oh So Cute; Oh So Devilish

I've been meaning to post this for a little while now.

I drove to Target with my family one evening and I decided to check the clearance racks (as all good Target shoppers do). I found the jackpot of back to school items for Caitlyn and Austin and became quite enthralled with checking sizes and prices. Caitlyn and Austin were extremely helpful pulling the clothes they liked down and putting them close to my face so I could get a better look. ("Mom, can I have this?" "I like this one." "Mom, I need this one.")

Meanwhile our cute little Hallie sat quietly by in the cart. She didn't make the smallest noise and I had been smart enough not to park the cart where she could easily reach any racks or shelves. (I must admit that I pride myself on my cart parking ability. It's a gift.)

Finally our decisions were made. Then I noticed Hallie. There sat Hallie covered in makeup. (The new coverup stick that I had planned to buy to be specific.) There was a little on her hands, a little on her leg and a little on her shirt, but mostly it as on her mouth. She had been eating it! 3/4 of the stick was gone. She hadn't even taken the time to decide if she liked the taste of coverup. She just ate it as quickly as possible. This is the same kid who thinks grapes and watermelon are gross. Heck she won't eat bread!And that is the story of how I paid $6 for an almost empty, well used coverup stick. What a rip off Target is!

Picture Update

Primary Missionary activity
7-23-08

What better way to prepare for a mission is there than having a big wheel race? Hey we can't all ride bikes.






Ice cream? Do all missionaries get dessert?
If so sign me up!

Letters are very important to Missionaries. That's why our primary made their letters to the missionaries in our ward extra large.










"I want to be a missionary now! I don't want to wait until I'm grow. I want to share the gospel while I'm young, for a have a testimony of my very own. I have a testimony of my own"







Pioneer Day was a lot of fun and very hot.


We enjoyed talking to the Hunts and meeting so many of the families that hosted Mark while we were apart.




He was robbed. The kid in the hat won the costume contest, because his dad was the judge. Colin looked great. He decided to wear this on his own.








Sometimes our children's love can be painful.












Austin lost her first tooth. She was very brave and even let mom help her with the wiggling.








Austin and Reagan were rewarded after a hard days work to the movie in the park, with mom. We saw "Evan Almighty."





Let's take a tour of our new home.



This is the Living room









Here is the living room after a hard day of unpacking.








This is one of the kids rooms. We have three children in this room. Can you find two of them? The third has been buried.









This is the lovely master bedroom. Can you see the bed? It's that thing between all the boxes.






Here is my tired husband. He is all wet after helping me throw most of our belongings into our garage, during a rain storm.












Caitlyn celebrated her 8th birthday and cornered our new bishop and asked for a baptismal interview. She will be baptized August 9th. We are excited for her and excited to see those of you who are coming.

The Dark Knight

This movie blew us away. Mark and I are not big movie goers and we have a hard time recommending anything, but this is a must see for anyone that enjoys a good action flick. We just got home and can't stop talking about. The acting was amazing (with the exception of Maggie Gyllenhall as Rachel) and the story had us on the edge of our chairs. Heath Ledger was so good in the role of the Joker that at one point I found myself cheering for him. (Don't worry I'm not completely crazy. I came to my senses and clapped for Batman shortly afterwards.) In all it was a hit. Definitely worth seeing. Tara

There are almost no movies that are worth paying full price to see in the theatre, but I think The Dark Knight fits the bill. The stunt with the Joker's semi truck was simply amazing! I also loved the moral dilemmas that filled the movie, and you saw people honestly wrestling with them and I'm not sure what I thought the right thing to do was. Is it wrong for Batman to keep his secret identity if people die because of it? Is it wrong for Batman to have too much power, the ability to invade people's lives and thoughts, if he uses that power for good? Does the full, complete truth always need to come out, or are there times when letting people believe a lie is better? (Before you answer that last question too quickly, think about what you told your kids about where their Christmas presents come from.) Anyway, spectacular film that was greatly enhanced by watching it in the theatre. Spiderman has always been my favorite superhero, but The Dark Knight is making me consider voting again. Mark

Austinism

Austin: "Mom am I the best at sweeping the floor?"
Mom: "Austin, you are the best at a lot of things, including sweeping the floor."
Austin: "But I'm not the best at cooking."
Mom: "That's because you haven't learned. We will have to work on teaching you. If you had the chance I bet you would be a great cook."

small pause

Austin: "Mom, I'm not the best at buying a horse either."

Is my house still there?

I’m ready to go home. Texas is fine for all those OTHER people, but Colorado is the home for me. There are Texas size cockroaches that come out of your bathtub and spiders that bite (Colin and I could tell you some stories). The sugar ants that aren’t so sweet had already moved in before us, without paying rent. Our 1100 sq ft. duplex, turned out to be 800 sq ft, with a mildew infested one car garage. The back yard in shaded by large trees, that are the home to tree roaches longer than my middle finger. If your dog gets out they put her in “doggie jail,” yes, that is its’ real name, and it costs $500 to get her back. They have police that are assigned to drive around your neighborhood and check that your grass isn’t too long and that your trash can isn’t put out to early (they will fine you $50 if you put it out the night before). I send the kids out to play and they come back 5 minutes later covered in sweat. It’s too hot to workout and my pants aren’t fitting anymore. Can I come home? Maybe there is a reason that my house is not selling. I’m thinking of loading the kids in the van and driving home. Do you think Mark will notice, when he gets home tonight? He may just think we’re lost under all the mess. It could take him weeks to dig through all the boxes, paper and stuff that I have no where to put in order to discover our absence. Shoot posting this blog may have been a mistake. I guess I’ll just have to stay for now.