I have some excuses you know.  First of all, Dallas, the novelty of a digital camera has worn off.  Second, SV~ doesn’t change everyday like O does.  Third, I have been very busy doing stuff.  And most importantly, the last batch of pictures was taken on film and I just picked them up last night. 

There really isn’t all that much exciting stuff going on, just everyday stuff.  Yesterday I watched the 3 older Arnell kids while Liesl is in Ceder City.  We went swimming.  Those kids are little water bugs.  I was really good and got sunscreen on all the kids but forgot about myself.  I am sporting a nice burn.  It took us a while to actually get into the pool.  When we finally mobilized and got to the gate, I remembered I wanted to take some pictures, so we went back to the  house to get the camera, then just as we were back to the gate again, Jacob informs me that he has some food that needs to come out ( his words ).  So Jacob and I went back to the house to he could make room for the lunch he had just eaten as Joseph bemoaned that he takes forever.  Finally we made it in the water and had a blast. 

Today Mo is visiting Dr. Huckleberry.  I will go pick him up shortly and expect him to be half the boy he was.  SV and I are cleaning and doing laundry today.  I am in one of those moods where everything gets cleaned.  Rugs washed, blankets washed, desks organized.  I must take advantage when I feel inspired becuase I don’t often get the feeling. 

Updating Xanga was obviously on the list as welll.  Enjoy the pictures.  They are from May to Davids graduation. 

By the way, that’s a football.  Brian is training her now just in case he never gets a boy.

Well, Brian’s weekend turned out to not be as long as we anticipated and was home before dark on Saturday.  After our meetings on Sunday we did nothing the rest of the day but relax.  We are glad that class is done and Brian only has to juggle the meetings for one class now.  It still takes up 3 nights a week plus studying the rest of the week. 

Things Liesl knows well and Julie has to look forward to section:

A few minutes ago Serra pulled her diaper off.  She does this now when there is something unpleasant in there that cramps her style.  I told her to go finish her business  in the proper place and call me when she was done.  What I didn’t  notice was that the majority of the item in the diaper had fallen into her pants when she took off the diaper.  As she walked into the bathroom she not only squished it into her pants really well but got it all over her foot and left  a little trail.  It’s really hard to find too because it is on the brown carpet.  I think I got it all though because Mo isn’t excited anymore.  Motherhood.  The most precious years of my life.

Living with a 2 year old can be treacherous.  I was in the shower this morning and Serra~V~ decided I deserved some bubbles for being such a good mommy and getting her a puppy.  I heard her say “Mommy, bobble.”  Before I could stop her she parted the shower curtain and dumped the remainder of her bubble bath into the bathtub, making the tub floor dangerously slippery.  This all happened, of course, as I was shampooing my hair and soap kept getting in my eyes as I tried not to fall while letting the bubble soap go down the drain.  A few minutes later Serra asked, “Bobble done?”

I think we have the puppy house trained.  He went outside on his own all yesterday afternoon and this morning.  I hope it is so.  Serra enjoyed chasing the poor little guy with her doll stroller, popper, and anything that gets him running.  She also loves to play tug-o-war with his toys.  I think with a little careful training on both parts they will be good pals.  Right now I think she is 50% annoyance and 50% buddy. 

After work today Brian heads straight to a weekend class at the Encino campus.  We will get out after 10 tonight, crash at Mom and Dads, and go back for all of Saturday.  I expect him back here sometime in the wee hours of Sunday morning.  It will be nice to have this credit behind him.  He has spent a lot of time preparing for this weekend as it is the culminating class/project for his first year. 

I think I mentioned before I have spent a good part of this week canning, thanks to mom and her pressure canner.  12 pints + 4 quarts of salsa, 8 quarts of chicken broth, and 5 quarts of beef, and I’m calling it done until the bug bites me again or something I want to can goes on sale.  It sure takes a lot of time, I don’t know how Mom did it all those years.  I remember the kitchen being incredibly hot and steamy, and trying my hardest to avoid the area even though I knew I should be helping.  It is nice to see those bottles lined up on the counter and hearing the pop as they seal, and know that if we are a little more prepared for taking care of ourselves in the event that food is unavailable elsewhere.  I finally got our water drums filled a few weeks ago.  So, food and other stuff, I think we would be ok for anywhere up to 6 months.  And water, at least 2-3 weeks.  It sure is nice to have a place to put it all too.  I am so grateful to have found this place.  It has everything we need and is in such a nice area.  As housing prices continue to rise I see more and more people selling around here.  Our size place is already selling for 50K above what we bought at.  And that was a month ago.