FIRST DAYS OF SCHOOL!!!!

What? How on earth has it happened that All of my kids are in school now?? Jack only goes a little over 2 hours, but still! It's so crazy how time has flown by once again! Here's a couple shots of the kids getting ready to GO! The first couple of Jack on him going to the "meet & greet", but he swears he was going to school, so we counted it... :)

The traditional door pose

Jack's version of the traditional door pose. :) It's his new thing. Expect to see ALOT of those in the upcoming DISNEYWORLD RETREAT!!

THIS face could melt hearts. I am telling you. He can be SO stinkin CUTE!!!:) This little castle is in the waiting room at his preschool, and he LOVES IT!!!

Here are Riley and Harris trying to look all "Too cool for school" this morning. Remember the butterflies you'd get on that first day or two!?!? :) So much fun!!

Of course little peeker has to sneak his head in on the shot. (Note the head to the side thing...)

Here's the Big Man on his first official day!!!

Jack and his sibs getting to go to school together for the first time!! :) YEAH!!!

Jack picking out his cubby, he chose the Elephant.

Hanging up his little bag. And below, having fun with the bugs... What an awesome day!!!

I know, I know, it's been a while...

And it HAS been a while. I am not going to go into a bunch of details surrounding this whole medical crisis, but I had found a lump while doing the home exam that all WE WOMEN should be doing. It freaked me out, but I patiently waited for a mammogram. They couldn't see anything either. On a routine visit Dr Bair asked Karin how I was doing and bless my sister for telling him! He told me to not stop until I got an MRI. So we did that, and we found the lump. When you have cancer running along strongly enough that every female in on your Mom's side all the way back to Great-grandma, you kinda in the back of your mind are bracing yourself for it. They had to send me in for a Breast MRI guided biopsy. These are not easily done. Not fun. But TA-DA! We got great news back that it was negative. They were able to do the lumpectomy without further complications. But. Those of you who know me, know that there is no such thing as "without further complications". This last weekend our friends the Maags TOTALLY balied us out as I ended up going into the ER because of pain, fever, swelling, EXCRUICIATING pain, did I mention the pain? We were there for almost 6 hours, and lots of testing. I have a bad bacterial infection that isn't responding to antibiotics. Blek. It's getting a bit better now, so hopefully those who think I have been ignoring you or just blowing people off, it's just cause life has been SO stressful. Today we see the DR again, and hopefully see if the new drugs are working. I know, this isn't my normal blog posting, but I guess I was wanting to make sure you ladies out there militantly check yourselves. BUT, I do have one thing that will make you giggle... After all it wouldn't be a Jennie Post if I didn't give you at least ONE giggle. The Surgeon that I saw is in a large practice with 6 or 7 other doctors. So I was looking at the wall where it states all the DOCs name, and I pointed to one in particular. DOCTOR REBECCA TITTENSORE . Yep! You read that right. I said, to David, MAN! Maybe I should be seeing her instead!!"

So enought of the medical drama. I just knew that most of you had heard bits and pieces from people already, and wanted to make sure people know I am in the clear now! Onto the more fun post.... First days of school!!

Happy Birthday Dagen!!

So it's here. David is officially as close to 50 as he is 20. He turned 35 today, and it was a nice lazy Sunday. (No, not a homage to SNL's Andy Samberg's Chronicles of Narnia rap, but that was awesome...) Anyway, Jack and Riley are sick, so one of us had to stay home from church. David stayed and got to stay in his jammies all day. And, he got to sneak in a mini nap while watching "Monster Quest". How much better can a b-day be? Anyway, being that we have sick kids, it was just us this year, but it was great. David's choice for his birthday cake was of course, not cake, but the raspberry-lemon pie that I make for him.

Anyway, I already got gooey on Father's Day, so I won't do it again, but he deserves his own blog post for his birthday. Happy Birthday Dagen, we LOVE you!

Make sure you note that while David is getting his birthday spankings from the kids, that Broozer is being REALLY protective of David. He's BITTER at Harris for making David "sad". Hehehe, what a spaz dog.

We're home!!!

Wow. That was seriously one long trip. We were gone for a full 2 weeks! It was awesome though. Some of the highlights, Meeting Olivia, staying with Charles and Sara, of course the Molalla parade, seeing my Uncle John and Aunt Toni, oh, the list goes on. and so do the pics... I am only highlighting a few, but here we go...

First off, Meet Olivia!! :) Here in an outfit from Aunt Jennie... she is so tiny none of the outfits we bought fit her! Thank-goodness for upto 7 lbs size Gymboree!! Isn't she cute???

Here are the kids and a few of their cousins on the favorite hammock at Grandma and Grandpa's. With Harris and Jack are (L) Hailey (Corrin's), and (R) Hannah (Kristin's).

Here are Daddy and Jack asleep at the hotel. One of the hotels anyway. We stayed at 3 different ones! This was my favorite though, as Grandma and Grandpa Carter kept the older two and we actually got some sleep! Obviously... :) Jack really fell asleep that way, no manipulating the photo!!

Ahhh, the Molalla carnival. Honestly, some of my favorite memories of all time have been here. This was Riley, Harris and myself on the scrambler/sizzler/whatever they call it now. We all loved it and rode it twice!!!

Here the kids are (still at the Carnival) with their winnings. David was thrilled. More stuffed animals.

Here we are at Charles's house and Riley, Harris Bailey and Caddie are in the middle of a performance. The first of many. :) Bailey is closest to the camera, Caddie is more in the background.

Last, but certainly not least is Kenzie. She might be grouchy at me for posting this, but I LOVE THIS PIC! It's so her! We are all decompressing back at G & G Carter's house after the 4th. Note in the background Hannah and Bailey are tormenting Baby Charles (Corrin's). Oh, the love of cousins. (Kristin's husband Aaron is on the left of the pic)

Stranger than fiction...

So this blog is one that I need opinions on. Here's the back story. Yesterday I went to get the mail. I grab it and start walking back to the house looking through it. Almost every day I (and most of you too probably) get those card stock type flyers that are usually advertising a chiropractor, or dentist, and this day was no different. I usually throw them away without really even looking at them, but for whatever reason, I looked at this one. I flipped it over to look at the back, BOOM! There is a picture of my Dad. I swear! I thought I was losing it, possibly due to heat... but I went in the house and really started to study it. IT REALLY REALLY looks like him! But, he doesn't live in Utah, has never been to that clinic and just isn't the "sure take my picture to put on your random flyer" type of guy. I scanned it, sent it to my family members, and waited for the ridicule to roll in. Nope! They are swear it's him too!!! WHAT???? SO. Here's where I need your help. I am posting two pictures. One of my Dad taken a few years ago, and one of the "mystery possible identical twin" guy. I need to you to tell me if you think it's him! This is especially geared to those of you who know my Dad, (Diane, Kenon, Charity, Cami, etc.) but absolutely open to anyone!! :) When I finally talked to my Dad, he said he's never even tried one of these type of sleep apnea masks on, BUT. He has a mask, he refuses to wear! His is supposedly different. But what if while he was doing his sleep study they took a freaky pic of him and are now using it? WEIRD. Anyway, let me know what you guys think...

Totally him, right???? :)

Olivia Update

Here's a cute shot of Olivia from last night... She really is gorgeous, right? :) What a great first night at the hospital shot!! And one more of the new big sibs and mom and baby...Hope everyone has a good weekend!!

Welcome Baby Olivia!!

Most of you know my sister Karin. And I would guess most of you know that she found out she was pregnant late last year. She wasn't so overly excited... :) She was a newlywed of about a year and thought she was done with the whole diaper experience. Wrong... And it's a good thing!! I'm glad that we aren't always in charge of our lives... otherwise we might not have some of the surprises that end up being some of the best things in our lives! Olivia Paige was born this evening after a long labor, and Mom and baby are doing well. I'm not sure of her stats yet, but here are her first few pics. They are taken with a cell phone so that I could get a glimpse within the first few minutes. (I am a little bitter that I can't be there, so this is the next best thing...) I will post better ones once they come along. Congrats guys!!

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Father's Day

With Father's day coming up rapidly, I have to stop a second and recognize My husband. Most of you know David, and know that he is truly one in a TRILLION. That isn't describing him well enough. I have no doubts that he is a better father than I am mother, and nothing could make me happier than that thought. Here are 13 reasons that I am happy to have spent my last 13 Father's Days with him.

1. He is a kind person and an even kinder husband. Who not just lets, but encourages their wife to take girl's trips, sister strips, New York trips, etc.

2. He understands that sometimes at the end of the day, the children you love and do anything for, make you want to slit your wrists. He gets it, and takes them momentarily so you can have a "mommy time-out".

3. He can't watch "Father of the bride" or go to weddings without tearing up about Riley's nuptials. (Keep in mind, she's 9.)

4. He is an AWESOME cub scout Dad, who loved building the ill-fated pine-wood derby car, who loves working with Harris to get his Wolf, and who loves scouting in general.

5. He thinks Jack is the funniest child on the planet. (He just might be, but MAN he can be frustrating)

6. He loves me.

7. He still tells me I am "smokin' hot" and has taught Jack to say it when he is asked "why he's so cute."

8. He works really, REALLY hard to provide for us, and does it well.

9. He understands the quirks of myself, my family, my friends, and embraces them all.

10. He takes my kids on picnics up the canyon for no reason other than to spend time with them.

11. He let me have another mini-pinscher when the first one didn't work out all that well. :)

12. He will play me in DR Mario, full well knowing he will lose, just to make me happy.

13. We understand each other, and are literally the yin to each other's yang.

Thanks for 13 great Father's Days Dagen! (Sorry this was kinda mushy, but he needs the acknowledgement sometimes of how amazing I think he is...)
Happy Father's Day everyone!!!

I've been tagged!

Hi everyone! I was tagged by "show me the sale" and so I figured I better tag back! This was one I hadn't seen before... so here are some things you might not know about me....

What was I doing ten years ago? Let’s see. Ten years ago I was very pregnant with my Riley and going to Karin’s everyday because of our daycare. It was good practice for the next few years!
What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today? Ummm…. 1. Clean my house, that should be like all five things because it’s such a mess! 2. Lament that I can’t be in Oregon for my niece’s graduation. L 3. Take my kids to go see their cousins. 4. Go get some new sheet music (we just got a piano! FINALLY!) 5. Watch my tiVoed “So you think you can dance” shows! Yeah!!
5 Snacks I enjoy: Oh man. I enjoy too many snacks. I seem to go on weird snack obsessions though. Right now they are Jolly Ranchers & Charleston chews (weird I know). I love baked Lays and love fruit… so at least there are a couple things that aren’t NASTY for me. I guess the last one would be those blasted caramel apples from Rocky Mountain Candy Factory. SO addictive!
Things I would do if I were a billionaire: Oh lots of things. I would love to have enough money to be able to help people when they need it. That would be so cool. To be able to give money to kids going to college, going on missions, trying to buy their first homes, etc. Of course the fun things like getting a new home, cars, etc.
Places I have lived: Molalla OR, Tigard OR, Beaverton OR, Meridian ID, and Cedar Hills UT. Not too many...
Jobs I have had: I worked at a Pizza place, a Bakery, and a deli in High School. There wasn’t much else to do in Molalla but work with food… I worked as a nanny for 4 years after I graduated and then opened my own daycare with my sister. After I had kids I worked at baby Gap for a while and the Post Office at Bales. That’s about it…
5 People I am tagging... Kenon, Kristi, Whitney, Ashlee, Diane - Get moving ladies.. :)

Summer is upon us

Let's see. How about a summer update? My kids are done with school tomorrow. I know I should be excited, but wow... it makes for long days. I'm looking forward to this summer though... we aren't moving this year, so that makes it better than the last two summers. :) Uh, what else. We are going to Oregon for the 4th, and that makes me HAPPY!! I am sad that I am missing Rose Festival, because there just isn't a more beautiful time in Oregon. The air smells like roses, the waterfront smells like elephant ears (if you don't know what these are, PLEASE find out, they are delectable.) and usually it's nice weather. Although sometimes it's crummy weather and it makes the waterfront smell like an elephant cage instead of ear... but mostly it's nice weather... (hehehe)

Let's see. My sister is having her baby, and we'll be there for the blessing... that is SO exciting. And last but not least WE ARE GOING TO DISNEYWORLD!! NICE! Not until August, but since this IS about summer... I thought I could mention it. I can't wait. It's all about the Expedition Everest for me...

Animal Kingdom has a new ride, and I can't wait! Check it out on youtube...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=kRhrg5rx2-8

My niece Kasey (who's living with me for the summer! Check the earlier birthday post for how I feel about this... I AM SO STOKED!) is going with us to be our nanny/hang out buddy... so this trip should really be awesome... .

Anyway, have a good weekend... we are off to a graduation celebration, (CONGRATS NATALIE!!!) so, watch another of my favorite youtube videos on your way out... it's a classic...

Jennie's SERIOUS pop culture addiction

Ok. I don't usually post only a "Pop-Culture" only post, but there has been a bit too much going on to ignore it. First off...

All is right with the world. David Cook has won, as WELL HE SHOULD. Let's be real for one minute. David Archuleta was amazing, but he forgot the words, his voice was stellar, but COME ON. David C is the MASTER!!! WHAT UP!!????!?!?!?!

I was screaming like a little girl when he won. It was a very exciting moment. :)

The next day I realized that Idol's baby sister was on... So you think you can dance. This is like American Idol for your eyes. It's HILARIOUS, and amazing. Case in Point. Watch this guy. I promise it's worth it. It freaked me OUT, but I was so riveted to it, that I couldn't look away! He must be a non-human. WATCH Mia Michael's face, she is astounded. I am quite sure that is what my face looked like too. Have I built it up enough? Watch and see.

SO SO SO cool, right??? :) Have a good weekend!!!

PS - Yes, I am thinking of starting a 12 step program for anyone else out there who has a "problem".

Happy Birthday Karin!!

Before I get too far into this post, I have to apologize to everyone back home in PDX that I didn't get to see. It was a short trip, and I never even made it to Hwy 26, much less all the way to Bethany. I did get to spend alot of time with Karin, and being that it was for her b-day that I was there, I guess it worked the way it needed to! Still it was hard to be that close and not say hi...

ANYWAY. It was an awesome trip with the weather in Lincoln City better than I have ever seen it! Karin had a birthday on Sunday, and I really wanted to surprise her, and it worked! We made a little story up about Courtney taking Karin to a movie, and guess who was there to surprise her in the theater? :) We watched the movie and in the morning headed to the beach. It was 85-90 degrees, with a GORGEOUS breeze. Honestly, it was the prettiest day there ever. That night we went to my favorite restaurant, Kyllos on the water. (Remember it Kristi,Whit & Kenon?) We had dinner, dessert and then headed back the hotel to hang out and chat. Perfect! We headed back to town the next day and had dinner with My parents, got Courtney off to Prom, and was back on my way home shortly after. It was a short trip, but was so nice. Next time, I wanna see the old neighborhood and buddies! Hope everyone has a great memorial day!

These pics are taken with my cell phone, so they aren't the greatest quality, but I guess they'll do... :)

Real Salt Lake Game

Last night we went to the Real Salt Lake game with friends of David's for work. I was a bit stressed about it if I'm being honest... First off, they don't have kids, and thought it would be "so fun" to bring all three of ours. Second off, me not knowing ANYTHING about professional soccer didn't know it was outside. In the Ute's stadium to be exact. I know, I am RETARDED. Third 2 1/2 hours of hanging out with people I don't know while trying to wrangle Jack and NOT look like a maniac while doing it. BUT! I loved it! Who knew? I thought that the NBA was the only professional sport for me, but this was AWESOME! It would have been better if we were playing Beckham's LA GALAXY, but I'm not going to complain. David's friend's wife, Brooke works for Real, so she hooked us up with tickets on the practically sidelines AND, hooked me up at half-time!!

RSL to hold 'Mother's Day Dash'
One hundred moms to race for gifts during halftime

Yep! I got to go on the field and run (100 yards! That is FAR!!!) to the end of the field to grab a random envelope. NICE! Mine had a $50 Target card in it. I was stoked! We forgot our camera, so you will have to imagine, but David said he got a little video of it on his phone. I will let you know if worked... :) I just have to say, these Moms were HILARIOUS. Remember, 100 of us were guaranteed an envelope, and all 100 envelopes were sealed, so getting there first made no difference, but some of these women were SPRINTING. I took it as a nice jog, so I didn't trip! The lady in front of me... less lucky. She looked like she was sliding into home base! HAHAHAH....
Anyway, Happy Mother's Day to all of you out there. And thanks again Tom and Brooke!

Muffins For Moms

Today was Harris's little Mother's Day program. Most have you have been to one of these, and honestly, I was kinda bummed about it. You see, today was ALSO David Archuletta's "home visit" and he was going to be singing live at the mall about 30 miles from my house. A.R.G.H. It really would have been fun to watch, and just see the whole American Idol thing from the other side. BUT. I knew Harris was so excited. And so I went. I am so glad I did. Every once in a while, I think you need a reminder of how much your children love you. This was a good one. To hear their sweet little voices, and watch my little boy with the most earnest face, singing to me. I mean literally. He watched me the whole time. It was so cute. I took a coule pictures, but unfortunatly, they look like the children were bussed in from the underworld. Check out what I mean...

I mean, HONESTLY!!! WHY are all their eyes so red?? These pics are after I used the red-eye reduction! DANGIT! Anyway, David Archuletta will always be around. My little boy will only be 8 and singing about how much he loves me once. Best concert of my life. :)

Pinewood Derby

Wow. Just.... WOW. I don't even know how to start. As stated in a previous Blog entry, I am new at the whole Scouting thing. I vaguely remember going to one of my brother's pinewood derbies as a kid. When David was asked to run it, he asked for my help. Knowing I would be there anyway to watch Harris compete, of course I will! So I signed in all the cars/kids and kept the scoring. You would think that the kids being TOTALLY hyped up about watching their own car creations hurl down the track would have been the worst part. Nope. The parents that were involved were AMAZINGLY difficult. I am really trying to use my "nice words" here. When I say difficult, I mean, first... I don't think 75% of those boys had ever even seen their cars before. The boys are supposed to make their own cars, from the whittling down of the wood, to the paint, etc. Some of these cars looked as if they could have been on "Pimp My Ride". We had people FULL on cheating, from using NON-regulated car parts, to adding extra weight to the car, and more. AND, while keeping score, I had people (mostly Dads, but a few Mom's as well) insinuating that I wasn't keeping score correctly. Like I would cheat. Look, my son took 2nd to last, if I was gonna cheat, I WOULD MAKE HIM WIN, PEOPLE!!!

Anyway, this was insanity at it's best. I honestly have never seen anything like it. I hope I don't again. Poor Harris was devastated about the fact that the car that won had less than standard parts. He didn't think it was fair. And, it wasn't... but Harris learned a good lesson, that it's about spending time with his Dad making the car, spending time with friends racing them, and being fair. I told him I thought he was definitely the winner.

Bring on August!!

I will start this post off as, yes. I know I am a spaz, but I can't help it! I'm SO excited for this book to come out!! Ok, not QUITE as excited as I was for Harry Potter's final book, but come on, we watched that boy grow up! Anyway, August can't come fast enough, but in the meantime...


I'm honestly on the fence about this one... I'm not much of a sci-fi fan. BUT. I like her, so maybe with the below coupon it's worth it... :)

(right click on the coupon, save it and then print it! It's like printing money!) :)

OUCH!!!

I know, I haven't been around lately. It's been a slow week or so at our house. Which is actually really nice. I mean, I could have blogged about Brooke's complete blank out on American Idol last week, or her subsequent vote-off last night. I could have blogged about LOST and how AMAZING it is and asked for your opinions on WHAT IN THE WORLD is going on, or finishing the Other Boylen girl book. That was almost blog worthy in itself. If you haven't read it, you should. It's awesome. BUT, since basically all I have been doing is watching the above mentioned shows or reading the above mentioned book, I decided to refrain. Until today's trip to the "Urgent Care" clinic.

Jack was yet again rooting through the juice cup drawer, hoping I'd change the other 15-20 answers and decide to give him a 3rd juice cup for the day (this is at about 12:30), when I tell him to get out of the drawer. Now being in the completely out of control 3 year old fit throw phase, he SLAMMED the juice cup drawer closed. I'm not sure how he did this, but I hear a SLAM and a SCREAAAAAMMMM. I've never heard such a sound. He was totally inconsolable. I look at his toe and the nail is instantly purple. I mean, INSTANTLY.

I snuggle him, kiss it better, everything that is on my Mom-arsenal. But, nothing was working. I gave him tylenol, wrapped him in a blankie, and watched Cars. Nothing. I finally gave up and decided the toe must be broken, and took him to the Urgent Care. By the time we get there, he's happily playing with his toys, and so excited to play with the busy beads toy in the waiting room. WHAT? This kid was screaming like I was cooking him over a fire, and then totally fine. I looked like the biggest weirdo, like I'd take him for a paper cut or something. It was weird. Anyway, good to report, "probably not broken, just watch it, and we'll see." Oh good. Glad I spent an hour and who knows how much $ to hear that. Whew. I can sleep soundly now.

Anyway, as you can see, he has recovered, and I'm pretty sure it's not broken. Whew... now YOU can sleep soundly too! :) Hope you have a good weekend!

Love?

I have been having a lot of discussions lately with someone who would prefer to remain nameless about love. Why we fall in love, how it happens, and the big one, how do you stay in love? To these questions, I say, I DON'T KNOW! David and I met and I knew we were getting married by the end of the second day. Wow. It was bizzare. I didn't want to get married, I was just starting to really like dating. But I met him and it was over. And he says the same for him. So how do you explain this to someone? You can't. You just can't until you've been there. It's a weird feeling to have your heart so far out of it's comfort range, but once you've been there, it's a feeling you don't want to lose. Ever. This past week was 13 years fromthe time I met David. I can't imagine my life without him. He makes me laugh everyday, and thankfully he still sees me as the little girl he married. :) Thank heavens for "love blinders" ! Here we are in various stages of falling in love...

Here with Courtney shortly after we met... (Although note: I am already wearing my ring... this might be the 4th of July before the wedding)

The day he proposed... This might be may favorite picture EVER of us. I love it.

Our official engagement photo...

Exactly a week before the wedding!!

THE big day! I like to try to remember what he's saying here... :)

Anyway, it's been an awesome 13 years, and here's to 50 more.

***COOLEST WEBSITE EVER!!!***

Most of you know I am OBSESSED with TV. It's a problem. I now cannot live without tivo, I think of it as a time saver! I mean, come on, who has time to watch the STUPID silences between idol info? I think the obsession came from bedrest. I had nothing else to do... :) Anyway, you absolutely MUST go to http://www.hulu.com/ RIGHT NOW. It's the coolest thing I've ever seen, if you like tv anyway... It's TV shows (and even some movies) from both recently (think Arrested Development, The Office) and in the past (think Hill St Blues, etc), and it's FREE!!! Man, this is worse than Youtube. I am going to be holed up in my house giggling at Saturday Night Live. What's your favorite TV show? Check and see if it's on there!!! :)

http://www.hulu.com/

REALLY?????

Ok. I feel like a liar. I promised no more weather posts, but Utah is SO not co-operating. It's A NIGHTMARE here. The forecast is like a boggle game... uhhhh, snow. No, sorry, it's sunny. No, oops again, it's rain. Last night I snuggled into my bed with the pitter-patter of raindrops coming down and comforting me, reminding me of Portland. Sigh. I miss the rain. I know. I'm weird. Anyway. We were playing at the park yesterday and enjoying the sunshine, and then OUT OF NOWHERE. Snow. Again. Seriously. I know. Anyway, it was SO ridiculous that I had to take a snap shot of weatherbug today for you to believe me. Make sure you look at everyday, until next Tuesday. It's UNBELIEVABLE. Remember, this hasn't been altered. It's really going to go from snowing today to UPPER 70's in 4 days. Again, I miss the rain. At least you could count on it!!!!