Just another day on the lake?

We finally found the time a month ago to try and take advantage of the boat that the practice owns and it turned into a really hot and miserable day. We were so excited to go to the lake and enjoy the boat but after we go it into the water and got out past the no wake zone Alan pushed down the drive and it would not go at all. We ended up drifting over to the marina to see if they had an idea of what was wrong. It took about 45 minutes to get over there and then another 45 minutes to get back to the dock. It turns out that this had been a problem the last time it was taken out and so they took it to the shop but I guess they decided to not fix it. We ended up spending about 4 very hot hours (over 110 degrees outside) just to take the boat back to the shop.

Well a month later we tried again. Full of hopes of good times we once again put the boat into the water but it wouldn't start due to a dead battery. We pulled it out of the water and found that there was also no plug in the boat and that it had filled with quite a bit of water. We could have sunk had we stayed out there for long. We once again went to the marina to see if they could help. Alan purchased three new plugs and a new battery and we were on our way. We had a great day waterskiing and tubing. The kids' favorite thing was just jumping in the lake and swimming around between skiing and tubing. They loved how fast the boat was and we all had a great time.

Right before we were going to go in Alan said I should learn to drive the boat so I followed his instructions carefully and drove Luke around in the tube. I turned it off and we floated around for a while. When he went to start the boat again the drive gear that you push to go just went around in circles and the boat wouldn't start. Of course it had to happen right after I attempted to drive. He messed with it for quite a while and finally got it started and we headed home. The kids were starting to think we were going to have to sleep in the boat. We got the boat loaded up and then headed home. On the way home we had trouble with a latch that had broken and the lid to the engine compartment kept flying up so Alan had to go rig a rope contraption to keep it down. Next we had a flat tire on the boat trailer. Of course there was no star wrench to get the lug nuts off the tire so I got to go find a Checker Auto and bring it back. Then someone tightened the lug nuts way too tight and Alan had to take off another tire on the same side in order to get the other one off. We finally were able to go drop off the boat thinking all the while that we never want to see it again.

Now we understand that people say the two happiest days of your life are the day you buy a boat and the day you sell the boat. Also that BOAT stands for Bust Out Another Thousand$.

I am just so grateful for a husband that can figure out just about anything. He was able to fix the latch and the drive problem the next morning in just an hour. Maybe this boat thing isn't such a perk after all. Boats are so awesome when everything works but a nightmare when they don't.

Luke's Questions

We were at pinewood derby and Luke told me again that he had eggs in his pocket. I was distracted and thought he was talking about the plastic Easter eggs that he and Eleanor play with almost daily. Instead they were real chicken eggs from the neighbors chickens that like to come and visit Grandma's house. He found them in the grass and of course put them in his pocket. He had been carrying them around for about five hours. After one broke in his pocket I realized he had told me about eight times throughout the day that he had these in his pocket.

Eleanor convinced Luke to sit still for long enough to decorate him with her hair things.

Luke is my adorable three year old that has been in the question phase for a very long time. He seems to be more inquisitive than my other three older children or maybe I just don't remember. He leaves me confounded on a daily basis. Right now he is stuck on growing and death because of some recent occurances with some friends and family. Here are some recent examples:

When will I grow up?
When will I be a Dad?
How do you make a tree, grass, table, arm, toes, bees, the sun, piano, window, swimming pool.... (basically anything he sees he wants to know how it is made)
Does Dad love you? (this was followed by no he doesn't, sometimes he doesn't)
How do you drown?
When will I die?
Do you only die when you grow up?
Will I drown today when we go swimming?
How do arms grow back? (Aunt Angela's car accident has brought on much concern and interesting questions)
When will I be in a car crash?
Is this police man going to shoot me? (The one that had us pulled over for speeding. I only got a warning. Thank goodness for a really cute baby that charmed the nice officer.)
When will I be big?
When will I be superman?
Of course all of the body part questions. I will spare you those.
Can I go? Can I go? Can I go? (He will go with anyone, anywhere, anytime.)
And on and on and on.

This could all be asked in the space of about a ten minute car ride. He seems to think a lot in the car because he really hits me hard there. It is not easy to answer most of these with out quite a bit of explanation and caution so yelling an answer over the other four children and all the way to the back seat of the van is not easy.

What is one to think?

A couple of days ago the kids and I were sitting at the table eating lunch together when Mark very seriously says, "Mom, if one of our parents had to die or we just had to choose which one to live with I would choose Dad because he makes all the money." He looked very pensive and like he had given this a lot of thought. The other kids listened and then put in their own opinion which sadly most agreed with Mark. Mark then added that it would be okay because when it was his turn to cook he can make some things for dinner. What is a mother to think about that. I guess I am nothing more than a cook to my nine and a half year old son at the moment. I just chalked it up to an interesting observation and boys really do not have a clue so much of the time. I sure do love him but WOW!

Future Wrestling Champs?

Mark and Bradley participated in a week long wrestling camp through a local highschool. They took it very seriously and loved every minute. I was totally amazed at how much technique they learned in just a few days. The last day they grouped all the boys into groups of four according to their weight class and had a little tournament. They each wrestled three times so each boy wrestled all the others in their group. It was super fun to watch. Alan happened to be off work so he was able to be there as well. That was really great because between matches the boys would run over to dad and he would give them pointers and advice. We just may get into wrestling. We have been told their are more camps to attend and even a club to join.




Mark was an animal on the mat. He was really intense and loved having Dad there to cheer him on. He won all three of his matches quite handedly. Notice he is the shortest one out of the group. This could be a good sport for him since he will only compete against boys his same weight so his size will not be an issue. It could be a great self esteem builder for him as well.

Bradley did awesome as well. He won two out of the three matches. He only lost the one because he forgot that you shouldn't let the guy up once you take him down or else he will score points. He was adorable. He kept stopping and smiling at Alan and I when he was doing well. He loved the competition and loved learning the correct technique. Darren wanted in on the action the entire time we were there so Bradley finally obliged him.

Pictures of the outside

The home is on 2/3rds of an acre and it is well used. We have a huge grassy area, sand area, sport court, rv parking area, and the pool area.
Believe it or not it is no longer green like that. It only took two weeks, a new filter, gallons and gallons of chemicals and 16 -40lb bags of salt.

This is the side yard.
The waterfall and slide to the pool.

Our New Home

Here are some pictures of our new home. For some reason we haven't taken a picture from the front. We bought this home on a short sale so the previous owners were very bitter about losing the home. They stopped taking care of it a long time ago. The pool was very very green and there were weeds everywhere. These are all the before pictures. I will post some after pictures later. Alan the boys and I have worked so hard to clean this up. We have big plans for the inside but we haven't worked on that yet. We have been pulling weeds and removing cactus for hours everyday. Alan has fixed most of the 60 plus sprinkler heads and has spent hours and hours trying to figure out and fix the pool. It is going to be fabulous when it is all done but I'm sure that won't be for quite some time. All of the work will be well worth it especially since we got the house for such a deal. I feel really sad for the family that lost this home because it will be quite a gem someday. I have happened upon a great way to lose several pounds and I wasn't even trying to. It is work outside pulling really big weeds for a week and a half in over 110 degree heat and don't eat much of anything because you are so hot all you want to do is drink water.
We are planning on tearing out the soffet (spelling?), replacing the cabinets and counter tops and all appliances and also reflooring the entire house.
This is the entryway. The living room is at the bottom of the picture and the dining room is up the flight of three stairs where I am standing.

As you can see we have a ton of painting to do on the home. We will most likely repaint the entire home. This is Luke and Darren's room.

And the fun begins......

After much viewing of many friends' blogs I am finally going to join the throng. I thought it may be a great way to relieve a lot of the guilt I have for not keeping a family journal or scrapbooking. This just may be the only record I will keep of our family. I have millions of pictures in albums but nothing written by them or anything cute to make them more interesting. So here goes....

A very brief family history: Alan and I were married in 1997 and we were both going to school at the time. He was doing his undergrad to get into dental school at ASU and I was studying midwifery through the Utah College of Midwifery. We had Mark after a short 16 months of being married. Bradley came along 20 months later. I finally got my midwifery license and completed one client when we took off for dental school at the University of the Pacific in San Francisco. It was very difficult to leave home and our beloved Arizona but we knew we were always going to come back. I decided life in San Francisco would be too difficult for me and the kids so we lived in a beautiful suburb called Walnut Creek. Eleanor was born just two months later. We lived in a tiny apartment above what became a great friend Jill Hoopes. She truly helped to save my sanity. She even moved us to a slightly larger apartment when we were out of town one week. Luke was born four months before dental school ended. Dental school was quite the challenge but of course Alan did wonderfully and so we got to go on to Orthodontic school. St. Louis here we come. We met more wonderful people and loved so many things about St. Louis. We will always miss the beauty of the area, the amazing list of free and wonderful things to do there and most of all our friends but not the weather. Darren was born seven months before we finished Ortho school. Alan finally graduated from school in December of 2007 and we were able to go home. We moved in with my parents so we could save for a down payment on a house and so we could find a home to buy. This proved to be much more difficult than we originally thought. Now seven months later we are getting settled in our new home and we love it.

I hope to post often so stay tuned....