Lightening -- the true purpose

I have geniuses living in my house. Our conversations revolve around such deep subjects as the reason those "air men" that are outside car dealerships have to have the air blown into them all the time so they won't deflate, why it would be better to have a snake instead of a turtle, the mechanics of a mechanical pencil and the logic behind it being better than the ones that need to be sharpened, and other mind blowing subjects like how the booger got on the door.

Yet, it never ceases to amaze me how these little minds work and the logic that is used to explain phenomenons that don't seem to serve any purpose. The other day I was driving with McCade and there was a plume of smoke from a fire in front of us. We were discussing how the fire got started. McCade, with all the wisdom of a 4 year old, said, "It was caused by lightening."

"Really," I replied.

"Yes. And did you know why we have lightening? It is because Heavenly Father is cleaning up."

And, there you have it. A true mark of brilliance.

Shirly Temple has nothing on my princess!!!

Drum roll please . . . .



Isn't she the cutest thing you've ever seen?


I won't even begin to tell you how long this took.

Check out those curls!!


Work it girl!!!




Now for the throne . . . .



Check out the toilet paper . . .


Don't miss the torn jeans . . . .


This is definitely high class!!!

Now enters the prince . . . .


Sweet, sweet, sweet!!!


And they lived happily ever after.

School supplies

Back in the day . . . you know which ones I'm talking about. Walk up hill both ways, wind blowing in our faces, snow ten feet deep, bare foot, etc., etc. Life was much simpler. A couple of pencils, notebook, maybe a box of crayons, glue that you were told not to eat -- or sniff, those great erasers you could stick on the end of your pencils, and if you were older and more "mature" you could sneak in a pen. Your one electronic device in the "later years" was a basic calculator and it was pretty cool if it had a memory on it.

Remember the "trapper keeper"??? That was high tech and you were a nerd if you didn't have one. Glue sticks!!! That was an amazing invention and everyone scrambled to be the first to have one in their school paraphernalia. Not to mention the deluxe box of crayons with its own sharpener in the back.

Got the list from the school for the kids' supplies. What happened to the neat little box of crayola crayons? Now you have to have the ones that don't crumble, stain, can be erased, only mark on specially designed paper, have a computer chip in them that won't work if you take your neighbor's, sharpen by themselves, digitally tell you what colors you are creating when you mix them, have voice commands to tell you when you are running out, and downloads to a million Internet sites or nearest store for the cheapest price to purchase new ones.

A flash drive with a lanyard? What in the world is that? I realize I am a dinosaur in the space age, but what's next? Individual laptops with wireless connections to the Internet and teleport stations? What happened to simplicity?

I am sooo old school. I believe in a little elbow grease and "wrinkle" brow research. Got a subject to study? Good!!! Pull out the encyclopedias, reference books, trip to the Library, and good ole' communication. After, back it up with the Internet. Math problem? Take it to the pencil and paper. Work it out, scratch it out, go through a ream of paper, whatever it takes. Figure out the answer and why, then take it to the calculator.

My kids are so deprived. What they wouldn't give for a "new" age mom!! Stuck in the dark ages. They should be thanking their lucky stars -- I just allowed them to have electricity. What am I going to have to give them next?

I'm a Princess!!!!

Which Disney Princess Are You?

You Are Ariel!

Headstrong and fiesty. You have a mind of your own that's full of romantic dreams about the world around you. Exploring exotic places is your ultimate dream, and although you can be a little naive you'll realize that there is something to be gained from your family's wisdom.

Following the prophet -- at all costs . . . .

Some people say they have a green thumb. Others say theirs is a slight shade of purple. And others will confess their thumb is closer to the color black. If a black thumb means your gardening is less than par, what possible colors can be left for those of us that can't even grow dirt???


I tried to do as I was told. I planted at the right time. There were tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, peppers, and carrots. I even planted things that technically shouldn't grow in our hot climate. Our lettuce deteriorated on the spot -- no surprise there. My peas thrived for about a month and then succumbed to the harsh realities of nature.


Yet, as often happens to me, not only did I not get a single tomato and as you can see my cucumber plants have definitely seen better days, the only "harvest" I was able to squeeze out of my pathetic garden was four winter peas.


Yes, you read correctly. In a climate where vegetables like peppers, beans, and cucumbers thrive on heat -- I have failed. And vegetables that shouldn't even break the surface in the glaring heat of the sun brought forth their best and gave me a couple of winter peas to enjoy.



Mother nature is cruel. If it isn't my lack of gardening thumbs, it is the jack rabbits. But, I planted. My family will starve if we ever need to rely on my "skills", but I will prevail and try again . . . . . . later!!!

AAAAHHHH -- Who let that in the house????

Can you believe this? You turn your back for just a minute and the riff-raff thinks it can move in!!!! Honestly, do I really have to clean up behind all the appliances? I thought if you ignores it, then it wasn't there.



Visions of Portugal, sewers in the streets, torrential rains, and many other creepy crawlers haunt my dreams!! Who needs exotic destinations, rainforests, humid jungles? Just come and visit our house. But beware -- I don't divulge what is in the soup!!!