sim 'n' me

there are never any pictures of me with any of the kids. i am always behind the camera. i think i am the only one who cares. (well besides the kids, but you can't always trust their pictures.) so i made a special effort to include this one on the blog. actually genesis took this one--not too bad for a 9 year old. i think i am going to take pics of me and each kid just for fun. gotta do it at least once right?!

help

i need input on my blog. if you have any opinions or comments about anything like the placement of elements or if something is annoying or great, please let me know. i want it to be user friendly. :0) thanks.

labor day fun

We went hiking, then to a BBQ a friend was having. The dirt pile was a big hit with all the kids.






On the trail at Tiger Summit.

Matt Smith with the girls on a fallen log.

I guess this is the age of bunny ears. (Click on the picture for a larger image to see the 3 pairs of bunny ears.)

we went with Colleen and Matt Smith

This was Glory's and Simeon's first experience of hiking. Simeon loved it. When we turned around to head back home, he kept trying to run back up the trail. He was mad at me when I finally picked him up and carried him the rest of the way to the car. Glory had a little bit different experience. The whole time she just wanted to have our picnic. When we first arrived and got out of the car, we stopped at the bathrooms so everyone could go potty before we started hiking. She asked if that was where we were eating. She was hungry. Then all the way up the trail she would ask the same things, "When are we going to eat? Are we almost to the eating spot?" I told her she could eat the snacks I packed in her backpack, and that gave us a rest from the questions for a while. (Simeon loved the eating part too. Especially the M&Ms in the trail mix.) On the way back down the trail Glory said she liked it. It was fun, except for the boring parts. I asked her what the boring parts were. She responded with, "all the walking". So, curious as to what else there was to hiking that she could have enjoyed, I asked what the fun part was. Her reply was so typical of Glory. "The eating." That's our Glory!

After the hike we went straight to the BBQ. There was a large pile of dirt that Simeon totally loved. He divided his time between the dirt pile and the picnic table. I should have taken a picture of him when we left. He was covered in dirt, chocolate, juice, cheese from the chips, frosting, cookie crumbs, and who knows what else. He had a blast. The girls also had fun. Brooklyn and Genesis were bathing in the dirt. They had an empty water bottle filled with dirt and were tossing it on themselves like they were washing. Needless to say everyone had baths when we got home.

glimpses of summer

Now that school has started, I thought we would take a look back to the fun we had during the summer. It wasn't too exciting, because I babysat friends' kids 3x a week. But we did have some fun.

It really is not a great idea to look at all your friends and families blogs when you are grumpy. Everyone else's blogs are way cooler than yours and their lives seem so much better. I don't even know why I am grumpy. Maybe I need to get away from this house and my people for just a little while. I cannot wait for school to start. For some reason I think life will be a little more calm. Maybe I can sit at the table when wanted instead of having to get the pressure washer to clean the funk from it first. Maybe I will be able to walk across the floor without losing my shoes in all the sticky goo. Maybe I will be able to sit on the couch without hearing a crunching sound from all the cracker crumbs ( oh wait Simeon's not going to school. shoot!) Maybe I can use the restroom a few times without people banging on the door. Maybe I can watch something besides Barbie movies. Maybe, just maybe.....! A girl can dream can't she? Oh who am I kidding? That will never happen. Well, until next time....hopefully I am much happier.

new look

Here is my new haircut. I really wanted a change and my friend gave me a gift card to a hair salon. So I figured(after some encouragement from a few good friends) why not chop it all off? Easier to style, easier to wash, etc. And, what is the point of long hair if it is always in a ponytail or bun? So I looked up some different styles online and picked one out. Genesis said she did not like it and she would not be able to look at me. She is full of tact, that one. Luckily, it did not turn out much like the picture(probably because I'm not a cute model). So Genesis is comfortable looking at me, in fact she even said she likes it. How lucky I will be when she is actually a teenager(instead of just acting like one) and she can keep me "cool"-assuming I once was.

You know it is trickier than you think trying to take your own picture and remembering to smile. :0)

is there anything more adorable than a baby at bedtime?

Simeon loves soft things. He is my only child that had an attachment to blankies. It isn't even a specific one. He just loves to hold them and put them up to his nose. There is one we keep in the car for those miserable times when we are away at naptime. He gets so excited to see it when we go out to the car and he has to hold it even before he gets buckled.

Just look at that face!!