Great Movie: The Story of Ben Carson

Or... maybe its the life of Ben Carson. I am always on the lookout for a good inspiring movie. I especially love the ones based on a true story. This one was both inspiring and true. It is about a brain surgeon who was able to operate on twin boys who were connected at the head at birth. So if you get a little queasy at the sight of blood, you might have to close your eyes a few times. I love how Ben's mom was always so encouraging & reminded him of his potential. After watching the movie I thought maybe I should have majored in Microbiology. I actually considered it but my Child Development teacher was phenomenal so that swung me over to the Family Science major. I still love learning about the medical field. So if you like this movie... you'll probably like a book a recently read - The Courage of Joseph Lister. If you have any other inspiring movie or book recommendations please leave a comment.

Family Reunion

We had an amazing family reunion this past weekend. To see some pics visit my sister Kara's blog @ wesandkara.blogspot.com. My boys favorite part was riding the go-carts at Boondocks and dressing up in the Knight armour. Thanks mom, for all the time you put into this. It was well worth it.

Happy Father's Day

Being a dad can be a lot of fun...
A lot of hard work...

Very rewarding...


Sometimes you don't appreciate how good you've got until you're a bit older
Some dad's will do anything for their kids...including trying a new hairstyle!

Sometimes it takes being a parent to begin to appreciate what your parents did for you. I am so thankful for my dad, Jared's dad and for the dad that Jared is to our kids.

Strings Camp Concert

Today Rebecca had her concert for her summer strings camp. As I watched her start to play her violin in her first real orchestra, I had to try and hold back the tears. (Thanks mom, for passing on the tear genes to me.) It seems like I choke up at the drop of a hat these days. I guess that's paybacks for when I always asked my mom why she was crying in church again.
Anyway, seeing her play (and seeing my good friend from high school, Ang up there with them) just brought back a flood of memories for me of playing in the orchestra in school. I think Rebecca's favorite part though was when she got to be a part of the "prancers and dancers" act and had fun making crazy poses in time with the music. Sometimes I think it would be nice to go back to the "good old days" where my responsibilities consisted of doing homework and practicing my instruments. That sounds like a lot more fun than housework and disciplining! But then I hear a song on the radio about somebody who's lonely because they just broke up, and I think I am so glad to be past the roller coaster "dating" stages. I love being married to my amazing husband.

A 2 year olds idea of "Matching"

Emily is really big on getting herself dressed. She came into my room wearing this a few days ago. When I suggested she change so she would match, she said, "It matches, see there are stripes and stripes!"
The shirt, shorts and tank top all have a bit of blue. I decided to let her wear it because I thought back to my college classes about Eriksen's stages - Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt. But when we were heading to the store I reminded her that it was a little cool outside so she might want to change into some pants.:) I made sure I came to her room this time to provide a few "choices" for her. Sorry you have to strain your neck to see the picture properly. After waiting for it to upload I decided to just leave it this way.

First Fishing Trip/Football Game

The boys just back from their first fishing trip. I guess today was free fishing day for kids where they"plant" so many fish in a little pond that everyone has success. They had a great time with their dad catching some fish. Jacob caught the most, but Dan caught the biggest.

Jacob also had his first football game this week. It is amusing to watch as some kids run the wrong way and aren't quite sure of what the game is all about. Jacob is all about offense. He scored the winning touchdown at the end of the game and it was fun to see him run so quickly past all of his potential tacklers. It surprised me after seeing his assertiveness in wrestling that the defensive part of the game is not his "thing" yet. I wish I could post a video.

Happy Birthday Jacob!

Jacob turned 7 yesterday and was excited to get up and eat his requested breakfast - waffles with strawberry syrup and cream (thanks for the recipe Kara, it was delicious - karascookingcreations.blogspot.com) Jared took the day off and we got Jacob some pegs for his bike. That was a lot more affordable then getting the "bike with pegs" he's been asking for the last couple of weeks. That reminds me of a little incident that happened a few days ago.
Jacob and Dan decided they were going to "trick" Santa. They wrote a letter to Santa a couple of days ago that said, "Santa, we forgot to ask for a bike with pegs. Jacob & Daniel." Daniel was pretty excited to announce to his dad that they were going to trick Santa into believing that they just "forgot" to add the pegs to last year's list. I think they thought Santa delivers anytime of year and that he might seriously believe them, even though they didn't even know what pegs were last Christmas time. We of course had Jared take the letter to mail it from work...because that mail has a faster delivery time then putting in our mail dropbox:). We also had a little talk about honesty and deceit - even if you trick Santa, Heavenly Father always knows the truth.

Jacob also had fun making the volcano that his grandparents gave him. His love for science was spurred a couple of years ago when he did his first science fair project with baking soda and vinegar.