How to get a turtle out of it's shell

So a few years back, like about 6, all of the kids were out jumping on the tramp when they found a turtle underneath it. It was a good sized turtle but it wouldn't come out of it's shell. Hmmmmm could it be because the kids are so freakin' LOUD????!!!! Possibly. This really frustrated Gabe though. He REALLY wanted to see the turtle body not just the shell. He came into the house with this long, sad face. "Mom, I can't get the turtle to come out of it's shell" I explained that turtles hide when they think there is danger and if all of the kids would leave it alone and be quiet it would come out. Can you believe that they sat quietly for about 30 minutes???? I can't! Keep in mind they were ALL under the age of 10. Can I tell you how disappointed they all were when the turtle never came out of it's shell? Gabe was doubly disappointed.
That is until he came up with a BRILLIANT idea. He said "I know!" ran downstairs into his room and came flying out of the house with his alarm clock in hand. He had us set it for 1 minute then set it next to the turtle. Of course! The turtle HAD to be asleep since it wasn't out of it's shell, right. Oh how I LOVE the way kids minds work.
Anticipation covered his face as he stared at the turtle shell for almost I minute. As the alarm sounded I watched his face fall when the turtle didn't wake up. Momma bear took over me as I reached for him and hugged him close. "It was a great idea Gabe" I whispered into his ear. He just stood there dejected and broken hearted that this freakin; turtle would not wake up. Tears welled up in my emotional eyes as the alarm stopped ringing. It's moments like this that just tears out a Mom's heart, rips it to shreds and does a jig on the broken pieces that fell. Suddenly I felt my emotions changed as through my tears the turtle emerged out of it's shell.
He did it! He got the turtle to come out of it's shell. It was amazing. He was SO happy. He was the youngest of the kids and HE was the one who got the turtle to come out of it's shell. It worked, it worked, it worked. Never again have I doubted the way childrens minds work.

Isaac...oh so snuggly

All of our kids are HUGE snugglers but Isaac takes the cake. He LOVES to be held and snuggles right into your shoulder. It doesn't stop there though. He ends up in bed with us each night after about 4AM...if not earlier. He usually wakes up to nurse a bit and when he is done he rolls over, rubs Mathews back or arm, depending on how Mathew is sleeping, and snuggles right in. As uch as I hate having him sleep in bed with us I hope this stage never passes and he keeps snuggling with us.

Mathew & Isaac snuggle in for a good night sleep...or not!

U2~The Early Years

...to be exact, their first few alblums. "Boy" U2's debut alblum in 1980. Talk about some great tracks. This was what originally attracted me to the band back in the day. Their raw grating sound just did it for me musically. I love that as their music has evolved over almost 30 years (((gasp))) you can still hear the raw grate. Gotta love The Edge! How he can play that guitar and get that sound of it is just amazing. Honestly when I listen to new music I can usually tell who's music it is when I hear the vocals but I can tell U2 by his steely guitar licks. Granted Bono DOES have an amazing voice. It's strong, clear, true to tone but gravely at the same time, an AMAZING tenor when he hits those high notes...lets face it...he has a sexy voice. I love how you can hear his Irish accent more in their earlier work than now. "October" came out in September of 81...had it been now some PR rep would have played up the whole "October" thing and it would have been released in October...gotta love progress (yes I AM rolling my eyes). Yet another great alblum from the boys from Dublin. Now I admit that as much as I loved the first 2 alblums, the next 3 that followed just ROCKED! I loved how political they became with the release of "War" 1983 (Feb). "Under A Blood Red Sky" 1983 (Sept) followed suit with a few of the same tracks, as well as the sound and politics. "The Unforgetable Fire" 1984 is where we will end our blog on U2~the early years. They rode out this alblum until 1987 when they hit mega-star status thus ending an era of beginning. What followed I don't think even THEY thought was possible. Now I personally feel that U2 is the BEST rock band ever. I feel their music deep down in my bones. Their lyrics speak to me and motivate me. I also admire their devotion to helping the world become a better place. It's just an all around great package when you think about it. If I included ALL of the music I love from these alblums the music on this blog would last for a few hours so I limited myself to the ones most people know. ENJOY THE MUSIC...

New Posting Policy

SO I have been thinking about how we can have more posts and honestly I have about a MILLION ideas running through my head. So far we have decided on:

Monday Music: Each week we will feature a new musician/group and have just their music playing for that week, as well as a post on why we chose them.

Tuesday Laneyisims & Issacisims: A post of the crazy things these little ones say or does each week that make us giggle! Because honestly they are hilarious.

Wednesday Reminders: Since we post about this funny things the little ones do I will pull out the archives of the other ones when they were little to "remind" us they aren't just big kids with attitudes!

Thursday blurbs: Random thoughts, opinions, feelings...

Friday week in review: Just a basic update of the things that are going on in our lives.

So join us as we bark upon this new adventure in blogging & forgive us if we "forget" a day here and there. Hope you enjoy! Until later...

What happened to Summer?!

I feel like it is almost over! Ok I know it is just a little over half way over but I am already getting things in the mail for school registration. So I am wondering where did summer go? Stores are putting out their school supplies, fall clothing, backpacks, sniff, sniff, sniff... Other than the heat I LOVE summer.

I LOVE...

...having the kids home from school

...not having a bedtime for everyone

...not having to worry about homework

...going to the pool~which we have yet to do this year

...to BBQ~I know with our covered porch we do it all through the year but it is MUCH better in the summer for some reason

...having sunlight into the evening

...the color green and seeing it every day

...parades

...fireworks

...camping

...campfires

...fireflies

...flip flops~I know, I know, I wear them year round

...flowers

...vegetable garden

...crickets, unless they get inside

...moisture from the swamp cooler~feels like home ;)

...summer salads

...family reunions

...DCI~Drum Corps International

...night games

...hanging out outside in the evenings when it is comfortable

Quite the list eh? What I AM looking forward to is the new season of TV shows. Really they shouldn't have had summer vacation after the writers strike! Here's to the rest of the summer. Enjoy it while it is here...

DRUMS IN THE ROCKIES

Ahhhhh...it's our favorite thing to do in summer...OK, one of them! We are headed up to Weber for DCI. To those of you out of the DCI loop, it's Drum Corps International...think marching bands field shows with only the horns, percussion & the color guard. Mathew grew up in Drum Corps with Minnesota Brass (he was in the bass drum line) and MJ got introduced to it all in 1990. Since then we have been to MANY shows in MN, UT and even finals in Colorado at Mile High Stadium! We have seen Nick (Mathew's brother) march with Santa Clara Vanguard~snare line, and Heather (Nicks wife) march with The Carolina Crown~Color Guard. This year we don't know anyone personally but will be giving a shout out to a good friend of Nick's who is with Santa Clara.
Tonights show line up consits of:Santa Clara Vanguard, Concord Blue Devils, Phantom Regiment (Mathew fav. since like forever), Blue Nights, Velvet Nights, Troopers & a few more that we can't think of right now. WE CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Hello" or "Hi"...it's not what you think!

First let me start up with an old family joke...THANKS AUNT ESTHER...
Aunt Esther:"Do you have a halo statue at your house?"
Kids:"A what?"
Aunt Esther:"A halo statue"
Kids:"What's that?"
Aunt Esther:"A halo statue, you know, it rings and you say 'Halostatue'"
Kids:Much giggling

This joke being said I will continue with this post. Our kids are OBSESSED with the phone, not just the teenager, she's more of an IM person...unless it is about getting her OWN cell phone ;) So Isaac picked up a remote, put it to his ear and said "Hi" It really was really TOO cute. Mike decided to see if he would do it with just about anything: old phone, calculator, and each remote...he did! Laney did the same thing at that age but she said "Hello". It is things like this that make staying up all night while they puke & continually spike temps.(yes that actually happened last night...BOTH of them) easier to cope with. Ahhh, the joys of being Mom:)