Ava's first ballet

 

 

 

Ava loved her first ballet care of Granma Jan. We were so close to the action we actually saw sweat whip around. Also sweaty crack. We had so much fun. The ballerinas were so beautiful. There was one show where there was more male dancers, and I began to get a weee bit uncomfortable, AVa was bored by that one and kept saying, "where's the girls?" I was thinking the same thing.

Hatin car rides

 

 

 

We went to drop the older 2 kids off in MN for their Spring Break and found out that Clara hates the long 5 hour car ride. Go figure. These are shots I captured from behind me while we were driving. She was amused by the camera flash, but that got old too.

Best big brother in the world

 

 

Spring flowers

 

 

 

Ava loves flowers. She loves picking them even more. My flowers in my yard do not have a chance, when she is around. Hence my neighbor gives them to her. She makes me put them in a vase and then we Oh and Ah over them for atleast 2 days.

OMG I'm LDS!

I have to share this one important life experience with you. I think you will appreciate the humor in it. I'm a bit embarrassed, but if you can't laugh at yourself in your time of need/ desperation, than you're bound to go crazy.
Let me set up the scenario for ya:
Setting: Joe has been gone for 4 months, and 2 long more months are tos still to pass, and the longer he is gone the harder it is getting. Not so much physically, but mentally. I missed him. He was my friend and the other adult in the house to talk to and commune with during the evening. When he was gone, I had a smarty pants 9 year old and a 4 year old to talk to after a long day of speaking to 6th graders.
I felt desperate, out of tune with myself and just plain lonely. And for some odd reason, Jersey Shore and Orange County House wives didn't quite meet my needs to fill in that loneliness gap. Go figure.
In this time of great need, I tried my hardest to depend on GOD and allow him to meet my needs. I failed at times, trying my own formula for this, but other than that, He taught me a lot about my selfish nature and my stubborn human nature to try and quick fix my dilemmas.
I digress...
In this new age of high tech classrooms, parents communicate and plan e-via mails and I saw at the bottom of one e-mail a quote that I really could identify with and it seemed to have encouraged me. I thought about it for a week and then went back to the e-mail and wrote the quote down.

“Trials and tribulations tend to squeeze the artificiality out of us, leaving the essence of what we really are and clarifying what we really yearn for.

- Neal A. Maxwell

I felt encouraged reading this and thinking on it. However, all week something in my spirit kept pressing to identify the quote or to dig deeper into it's truth. Hence, I googled it (this was before I knew about BING Jason)
Lo and behold my first click onto the first web site enlightened me!
EMBARRASSING REVELATION!
Here is what I found:

Neal A. Maxwell
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Neal A. Maxwell

Full name
Neal Ash Maxwell

Born
July 6, 1926(1926-07-06)

Place of birth
Salt Lake City, Utah
Died
July 21, 2004 (aged 78)

Place of death
Salt Lake City, Utah

LDS Church Apostle
Called by
Spencer W. Kimball

Ordained
July 23, 1981 (aged 55)

Ordination reason
Gordon B. Hinckley added to First Presidency

End of term
July 21, 2004 (aged 78)

End reason
Death

LDS Church General Authority

Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Neal Ash Maxwell (July 6, 1926 – July 21, 2004) was an apostle and a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1981 until his death.


Okay, I am so brought down to my real size, and to make a learning moment out of this, when desperate people seek guidance,unfortunately there are more CREEPY creeps out there providing it over REAL Christians, established in their faith, to help a person out.
SHAME ON US CHRISTIANS!

Any who, Jesus and I had a good laugh over this situation, and I happily call myself LDS, because I feel like I have to be one now, solely out of loyalty to the cause and my location.
If you want to figure out how LDS saturated my area is, BING Liberty or Independence, MO or Liberty, MO for it's LDS history.
Their prophet was jailed in Liberty, exactly 1 mile from my house. Call me and we'll schedule a tour through the jail sometime, it's now a LDS national monument. And then we'll drive to the stair way to heaven, where Jesus will walk down, it's 20 miles from my house.




LOL, and one small tear

there is no button for the stupid people

People, I need your help. I would like to send a message to corporate McDonald's. Yes, I have a new mission in life. I am livid for the 2nd time. I normally don't take on the big establishments, but much has changed in my life as of late. I normally don't even eat McDonald's nor do I subject my offspring to it, but since Joe has been gone for 5 months much has changed due to necessity.
Now, I will warn you, that my predicament may be a local MO thang. So be it. Than I will take on the man here in the Midwest.
I'll lay out the scenario for you.
It's a cold winters day. The schools are closed, I'm bringing the kids out to a movie to avoid cabin fever. Instead of warm home-made comfort food again, we take a vote for a 20 minute meal, and McDonald's wins (skip to the bottom if you want the short version) .
I pull up to the screen and talk to the speaker with every bit of cheeriness, cuz I'm just like that. "yeah, I'll have the 2 crispy chicken wraps (an order for those who like to fool themselves about eating healthy at a fast food restaurant)& 2 kids meals. 1 with the chicken nuggets,and fries. for a girl. (Gender specifies the toy for those of you empty nesters or offspring less folks out there) and the second I'll have a burger, plain, with fries, for a boy.
The mysterious voice through the speaker says, "what to drink with that?"
I'll just have water please."
I've been through this before, so I watch the screen dreading what I'm about to see. I promised myself since the first encounter with this exact event that I would take a stand if it were to happen again. So here it goes.
My price jumps 2 dollars. 1$ for the first cup of water and 1$ for the second cup of water.
"listen, you need to take off that 2 dollar charge for the free water."
"well there is no button for that."
I should be shocked but quite frankly, I'm not. I know we're raising a bunch of non thinkers, so it's time to school them with logic and see if the stupid people budge.
"then don't push any button and hand me an empty cup."
LONG PAUSE the price goes down 2 dollars Another LONG PAUSE.
"Ah you can pull around to the front then. Ah"
oh great I confused the button pusher. I've started a war. Now 2 ladies are standing at the register and the one I was not speaking to tells me it is 11.97, back up the 2$.
"You are charging me for the empty cups?"
"yeah, that's right/"
"For free water?"
"Yeah."
"can I speak to your manager?"
"I am the manager."
"yeah, you want to charge me 2$ for an empty cup that I will fill with water?"
"Well the meal is already discounted with the beverages."
Yeah I'm confused. If the meal is already discounted with the soda, then why did the price go up when I am taing now even less than what is being offered. I'm just wanting the empty cup, I'm not even asking them to fill the cup of water. I just may fill it with water, or maybe even air, depending how crazy I want to get. The manager will not budge, so I told her keep her food. I drove off and went to Burger King.
I ordered the same meals for the kids but asked them first, are you going to charge me extra for the ordering water with these meals?"
"Ah I don't think so, but let me check? Nope we sure don't."
I placed my order and then I was given bottled water in place of the cup which was suppose to be filled with soda. On top of all that goodness, they asked which sould I prefer, bottled water or a cup full of water. Well, everyone loves the idea of closing a bottle again, especially if you have kids. So without being charged a cent more I got bottled water with my kids meal.
I may be Math challenged, and I feel like I know the food industry well enough that there must be some sort of reasoning for 2 separate locations to now start charging 1$ for water; perhaps inventory reasoning of stocks are down...
If I were to physically walk in and order the same thing, they don't charge you a 1$ more for water, they just hand you a cup and you fill it with whatever you like. Water perhaps, how about iced tea, or even better, how about kidney killing soda!
Here are my 2 principles of my McDonald's boycott. Principle # 1- I have always ordered water before and now that times are tough on every ones' wallet they choose to charge drive through peeps extra for driving off with cup of water instead of soda, which is discounted somehow from free water. This probably is the case due to no one looking at their receipts, not really because there isn't a button for a water cup!
Principle #2- Water is better for a child's body and its free. I'm already paying for the cup via the happy meal, the water is FREE! We could argue that water isn't free and that nothing in life is free, but my only retort is, there are too many fat kids in this nation and we all could use a bit of discounted water in our happy meals.
Now, if you have any explanation to McDonald's Stupidity on charging 2 extra dollars for an empty cup or for free water to replace the soda please enlighten me and the audience so I can end my boycott and my new mission to get this system changed!
I'm going corporate on this fight and I would love some team work. Join me on getting our free water back at the drive through, or at least have a button installed on the McDonald's computers so we don't have to teach anyone to think!

It's the final count down

People the end is near. I know that song is ringing in your ear... "It's the final count down" na na na... For those who had no clue, let me give you one. Joe has been gone since August. I didn't put him out, nor did he opt out. He's been in Brunswick GA training for his new job. HE WILL NOW RETURN IN 30 DAYS. If this is news to you, you're probably saying to yourself, "but didn't you just have a baby 7 months ago?" Yes, yes I did.
"Oh well good thing you stay home than."
I do not, I work. I still teach 6th graders all day, ones that don't speak English. And I hired a nanny, Nanny dawn to fill the morning voids! So now that you're all caught up...
The kids and I made a daddy count down calendar and we flip the new page each morning. It keeps us going.

I know that military wives do this all the time for much longer than I have or will have to, but nonetheless, I have been stretched beyond what I like. God's teaching me a few lessons through this. And I have kindly reminded HIM that I'm a bit to frazzled to reflect on any of it right now, but I bet the lesson is going to be really good when it sinks through my abnormally hard head! I'll be honest, the last half of Joe being gone is so much harder than the first.

It's just so dang lonely. I find myself chit chatting in the drive thru lines at McDonald's until we awkwardly sit in silence and I'm ask to drive off. I start random arguments with check out clerks just to have an adult conversation. And I find myself smiling needily at Walmart at other obviously single moms.
30 more days folks, and tomorrow it will be 29, and then the day after that it will be 28 and then the day after the next it will be 27 and then th......

Easy Bakin

She waits for her 100 watt bulb to heat up

Her apron is pressed and her cake mix is stirred

12 looooong minutes later... chocolatey perfection

Going, going

CAKE is GONE

53 nose hairs

 

 

gabe wanted to see how far we could zoom up his nose. Answer: pretty far!

My CHristmas Joy

 

 

 

Christmas staretd early for us, actually as soon as AVa started learning her Christmas concert music it began! She still belts out her songs when ever her little heart hears silence. Her latest concert took place in the emergency room while we waited for her head staples. She sang for 2 hours straight. She told me that the momma shows, I love Raymond, was borin her. The nurses checke to see where the sweet songs were coming from. I let her keep singing.
Gabe and Clara enjoyed the concert, but not half as much as Cym did. SHe joined us for teh show and made sure that little Clara was dressed to uimpress adn ready to smile for the camera.

Singing sunshine

 

 

 

 

this is the girl that went with thr dress, that had matching tights, that went wih the gold shoes, that drove to the church with her mom singing all the way there, that sat anxiously for her turn to sing, only to lip sync along with the music!


P.S. you'd think my little singing diva would love her fluffy princess hair, but YOU would be wrong, and so was I. She cried her little blue eyes out and begged me with a pouty lip to undo it. We compromised and put it back in clips. She loves Barbies hair on Barbie, but not on the Ava

The Christmas Clara

This is the baby that wore the pretty purple dress

 

which had matching purple shiney shoes

 

who listened to her sister sing at a Christmas pagent

 

only to look like Uncle Fester!

a scrumdiliumptious Lasha-kinda Christmas

The photos really say it all, but knowing me, you'll all expect a few words. So be it. It was a grand day. The roads were hazardous with some Minnesota snow and ice, yet the room was pleasantly warm when we arrived first at Tom and Carol's home for the Hanson festivities.
My family did not make an appearance, so I had to be the sole representative, and represent I did. Being the first to arrive at the house, I greeted everyone at the door.

There's a whole lot of me to love in these photos. Probably because I was the center of every one's attention. Without demanding it of course.

This is me demonstrating what it would be like to look really good after being fat. The natural result of lap band surgery of course.


Greg and Sandy are enamored with my quick wit and articulate nature.


The children, of all ages, were fascinated with my story time and storytellers charm. They were asleep before dark!


I don't know how this picture of Seena got on here, but she tried to steal my light with the coveted drinking helmet. I threatened her and she stopped stealing my sole-representative-of-the-Dennis-clan-lime-light.

Of course Joe had successfully tried to get into my pants on this trip. Please pardon the double entendre it was necessary for maximum laughage!

The Stewart children are the DELIGHT of the Hanson Christmas!

Once again my children are the delight of the crowd. I dare say that if they didn't show up, perhaps joy would have not shown up also! Gabe laughed and played in the snow. Ava bossed the big girls around and conjured up some adorable sassy sayings. And Clara cooed and wowed the crowd with her very advanced babyness. JOe and I just sat back in awe of our products.