I guess we're not the only ones!

This is just way too funny! I JUST get done posting about our crappy day and realize that everyone is entitled to a crappy day. Poor Ben Rebman comes over to sell a Pirate Card (a discount card for food, movies, etc. that the football players have to sell to people in the valley), and, of course, I already have one, so off he goes to leave and, next thing you know, he's stuck in our soft sand in the driveway. Do you know how many people have done this? A LOT!! I just thought it was funny. Thank goodness we live on a street where ward members live too!
Good boys... they didn't even call their mom or dad to come bail them out. They just asked me for some wood and a shovel. Then the help showed up.
Yay! We did it!! (Wave to the camera guys) They probably thought I was a camera kook for taking pictures. (Notice our newly covered water line trench?!)

NOT a very good 1st day of school!

The 1st day of school being not-so-good didn't have anything to do with the kids. That went off without a hitch. They looked pretty good, and even better, they were ready on time with time to spare. Tibi started Seminary yesterday, and by the time we picked up the other 3 people in our carpool and got to the church, they were about the 2nd ones there! (We left a little later from the house today) Landon was looking mighty fine himself. Here is a head shot, and of course, the all-body mandatory shot. (it's mostly for Lexie!)
He's definitely growing up and turning into an 8th grader, don't you think?!
No...our REAL day started after I dropped the kids off at school. I came home, did some chores, got in the shower, started enjoying my day when Kevin went out to the car to go run some errands. Needless to say, the car wouldn't start. The SAME car that I had just driven. It had a dead battery. That was the start of our problems.

After Tibi called me to come get her from school, we drove into the driveway and noticed that there was a puddle of water on our lawn that didn't go there. (It's over 100 degrees!) I knew that something was up, actually it was our water leak that we were certain we had but didn't know where it was for about 2 months. In the meantime, our water bill had gone up from about $80 a month to $170 a month, for two months straight. I (mom) was just glad that we knew where the water leak was now....dad, on the other hand, wasn't so glad. Because HE was the one that was going to have to fix it. So out he goes, in the heat, already showered, and starts looking for the water line. Let me just say here that he had just been to the chiropractor the morning before and found that his back was out in 7 places. Now he gets to dig with a shovel and TRY to find a leaky water line. Oh boy! He IS the ultimate fix-it guy though, so I had total faith that he would find it. (Sometimes he's not so glad that he is such a great fix-it guy.)

After digging for what seemed to be an eternity to him, (his back will tell you THAT), he called "good friend with a backhoe" Ned Solomon and asked if he would come over and hoe the rest of the trench for him. Ned graciously accepted the challenge and came down the street in his trusty backhoe. (Only in Logandale!) They found that the water line was right under the big mulberry tree and that the tree ended up winning the war. Tree roots don't like anyone, including water lines. So the guys had to trench around the tree and hook back into the line. (I really think they were having a good time.....they were laughing out there every once in a while).

Then the next thing happened. They got done digging and backhoeing just in time to realize that they had snapped a buried phone line that went right down through there too. Okay, so we don't have our water on, our car has a dead battery, the car that WORKS does not have AC, and now that phone is dead too. Well.....at least our power is on! So the guys sit down and start putting the phone wires back together (temporarilly, of course.) Off I go into the house to call the phone company to make an appointment for them to come out to the house tomorrow morning!

Kevin heads to the hardware store to get the parts he needs before they close so that he can get it put back together before dark. School has started and WE NEED SHOWERS!!! He worked hard and fast, taught Landon some fix-it skills along the way, and VOILA! we are back in business.

Today, the 2nd day of school, was much better. We only had ONE catastophe. The OTHER car, the one without the AC, lost IT'S battery this morning. We both thought that either something GREAT is going to happen pretty soon (because we have endured), or that we are just not learning to handle pressure yet, and we need to work on it some more. Please be #1!

NO MORE LAZY DAYS & LATE NIGHTS

Our summer vacation is officially over as of this Monday morning at around 4:30. That is when Tibi will be getting up to get ready for Seminary that starts at 6 a.m. Landon will be getting up a little after that awful time.....at 5:30. Lucky him! He gets to sleep an extra hour. That means that mom will most likely be up somewhere between those times in order to get kids in the showers, hot breakfast made, and kick them out the door when it's not her turn to drive. It also means that mom is back to working out, which she is actually looking forward to. Our days of sleeping in, lounging around the house, watching whatever is on TV, and even watching the rest of the Olympics at night will be over and done with. Bedtime around here will be strictly at 9:30 p.m. No questions asked! We ALL need our beauty sleep.....even dad.
Both of them on a computer doing what they love to do. (Check the scores, talk with friends, read the blogs, etc.)
Watching late night Olympics.
Chatting with bed-ridden Lisa, Tibi's good friend who just had knee surgery. (A real bummer at age 14!)

ANOTHER ARIZONA WEEKEND

This last weekend we had the chance to head to Arizona to take Eden back to her mommy, daddy, and brothers and to witness Phoenix's blessing on Sunday. We got there on Friday night, met Connie between her house and Lexie's where we could get Eden to her and have her take Tibi too to stay at their house. Then we headed to Lex and Sharrid's to sleep. The next morning we got up and all met up at the city pool for the sun and swimming. It was a hot, perfect day, which we were glad about, because they have been having monsoon weather lately, which brings the lightening and rain. We had a great hour and a half there, just long enough for the kids to have fun and get tired. First we had to get them all sunscreened up!


After the pool, we headed straight to the mall to eat before heading back to Connie and Peter's house to play games and have fun.

We had plenty of time before church to make sure the boys were ready and lookin' good! Lexie had bought Marcelus this cute suit through Amazon and boy, did he look smashing! He is ready to be the next bishop of their ward!

Grandpa getting him all ready and straightened out. Only Grandpa Willard can do this!
Like grandfather, like grandson.

It was Phoenix's day. He was blessed by his father, with grandpa Willard, adopted Grandpa Shirley, and Uncle Peter helping out. He is a sweet little boy who is loved by a lot of people.

The table spread was NOT condusive to my trying to eat well. (M&Ms, cookies, cake, candies,etc.) Lexie DID buy some trailmix for me. (I didn't have any!)

After church we headed over to Lexie and Sharrid's for lunch and changing clothes. The kids were having a great time chasing each other and screaming. It gave the moms and dads some time to eat first. It was a great weekend to see everyone and catch up.

LANDON'S BIRTHDAY PRESENT

For Landon's birthday this year, dad asked him if he would want to attend UNLV's basketball camp. It would run for 3 days, from 1-4 p.m. He decided that that would be beneficial and fun too. So mom's took turns driving down to Vegas to carpool boys and get some shopping done while they were there. He had a great time meeting all the players, spending time with Coach Kruger, and getting some great skills in the meantime. Here he is on the first day registering for the camp.

Landon and good friend Connor with UNLV player, Wink Adams. He's short, but good.

Landon with all the boys from our valley that went to the camp. Here they are with UNLV Men's Basketball coach, Lon Kruger.

Landon's getting autographs of the players.

EDEN'S FUNNY MORNING

This morning Eden woke up first. Just like every morning, she came over to our bed and wanted to get up on it. She usually grabs the pillows and starts beating us to a pulp with them, but today I told her no and just kept laying there with my eyes closed. It WAS before 8 o'clock! She starts babbling as soon as she gets up, and laughs just as much. Morning is grandma's favorite time with her because she is so funny. This morning she kept telling me to "wake up." I was awake, just had my eyes closed. She kept telling me "wake up," I told her I was awake, and because I wasn't opening my eyes, she finally said in her big manly caveman voice, "WAKE UP!!" It was so funny. Then she laughed, of course. Her hair was all over the place, mostly in her face. Her caveman call made grandpa turn over in bed to face her. She looked at him for a second and said, "Who's that?" in her cute little 2 year old voice. That made me laugh again. I told her that was grandpa and asked her if he didn't looked the same. She figured I was telling the truth and called him grandpa. Then I decided I'd better get up, but when I do, I usually stretch first. My stretches can be a little loud and as soon as I did that Eden asked, "You okay?" I laughed again while she asked me about 10 times. Needless to say, when it's time to finally get out of bed, we are DEFINITELY awake with her around!