One Man's Trash...

... is another man's treasure???

My dad is quirky. Ask anyone who's met him. You might even ask him.

Having a garage sale with my dad will supply me with countless funny stories, and this last weekend, I stocked up.

1. My dad informed me that his prospector friends wanted him to go "to the desert" this weekend, but he said no. He was having a garage sale with his daughter. ps - his friends vaguely resemble ZZ Top.

2. He tried to sell these:

Ok, to be fair, the water bottles did have a "FREE - take one" sign on them. He was also giving away free sun visors, but he got ticked off if anyone took more than one - especially if they didn't buy anything. "The sign says, 'take ONE!' " he said.

3. When asked if his Jeep canvas chair was for sale, he said, "Yes, but it's broken," and proceeded to turn it over for them to see. Alas, this is where I got it, people. I tend to be much too honest for my own good.

4. Oh, the signs. Ask me later about the signs.

5. Another "older" gentleman in the neighborhood came over to see the goods and they had a whole "old man conversation" which included retirement homes, the various aches, pains and diseases that they suffer from, and a trip to my dad's shed.

6. To go along with the ghetto theme of the weekend, this one made an appearance:

pps - He sold the paper cups. The empty cans are still up for grabs.

Bittersweet

It's a bittersweet moment when your oldest child finally catches the stomach bug that has already claimed the younger child, BUT manages to make it to the toilet every single time thereby ensuring that I didn't have to change 5 sets of sheets that night. Hallelujah!

**Just for the record, I'm a tardy poster and this happened on Wednesday, so if you see us around, we're all better and won't leak germs on you.

Pole Position

Well, I guess Kate's made her decision...

Tune in next week for her thoughts on premillenial dispensationalism.

To Catch You Up

Hold on to your hats and glasses (reference anyone?)...

We'll start with Finding Nemo On Ice. Jen and Madison went on a double date with us and even though our seats were on the other side of the arena, we had a fun time together. Kate also held in all of her loose gas, so that was a bonus.

Next, we'll take a trip to Aspire, Kate's new gym.

This is Kate "sticking" her landing. If you know her at all, you realize that this is a valuable skill for her to learn.

Coach Maryn (another Maryn, weird) is teaching them the beginnings of a back handspring, but what cracks me up is the "florish" at the end. It's actually something she had Kate come back and redo a couple of times.

Handstands - the funny part is the end where they have to stand in line in a certain way - you can see them all stand really still with their hands back. There seems to be quite the element of drama in gymnastics - she fits right in. Actually, I'm digging out my leotard right now...

Lance needed pictures of our LifeGroup for the new church website, so when everyone (except Kelley and her family, who were sick) came over for dinner on Saturday, Josh took a few.

The kiddos - Kate, Hannah, Zack, Miles, and Carter. The rest of them were running rampant somewhere else...

Hannah Banana

Me and Kate

Miles' new party trick...

To wrap up, I included a few quotes heard 'round the house...

When I picked Miles up after his nap:

"I'm so glad you're here."

A couple of days after Nemo and a discussion on the Zamboni:

"Mom, are there any Dam Bonis on this street?"

Just because he's strange:

"Mom, you like my elbow?" and "Katie likes my face."

I Was The Only One Who Bought Lingerie

My cousin Michael is getting married next week to Sarah. My other cousin, Tina (who has the triplets and is now pregnant with another little girl) hired her as her nanny when her trio was tiny and my Aunt Yosh came to help out with the babies sometimes and Michael would drop her off and he met Sarah and now they love each other and that's the short version of the story. Whew.

I believe Sarah's bridesmaids are all in Iowa, so Tina and I threw her a little shower...

Me, Sarah and Tina

Brittany and my mom

It was very sweet and a lot of fun. I hope you noticed the title...

Congrats, Sarah and Michael - T minus one week!

It's A Pity Tag, But I'll Take It

What was I doing 10 years ago? Finishing up my last semester of classes for my Elementary Education degree (I did my student teaching and graduated in the fall) at Arizona State and was living in an apartment in Tempe with my friend, Jen. I probably need to consult my diary to figure out what else I was up to. 5 things on tomorrow's to do list: 1. Buy Polar Express tickets 2. Laundry 3. Clean my bathroom (it was on today's list, but...) 4. Make a grocery list 5. Do some catch up on my Bible in a Year 5 snacks I enjoy: 1. Ghiradelli Citrus Sunset dark chocolate 2. Smart Puffs 3. Thin Mints 4. Jen's white chocolate/craisin/popcorn concoction 5. chips and salsa 5 things I would do if I became a billionaire: 1. New cars (ah, the third seat model, please. with dvd players.) 2. New house 3. Give Josh a break with work by sending him to cooking school 4. Travel more 5. Invest 5 bad habits: 1. Biting my nails 2. Talking before thinking 3. Procrastinating 4. Interrupting 5. Oh, my gosh, I'm biting my nails while trying to think of one more! 5 places I've lived: I'm so diverse... 1. Glendale, AZ 2. Tempe, AZ 3. Phoenix, AZ 4. Chandler, AZ 5. Shoot. That's it. No, wait! I briefly lived with Kristin in Scottsdale right before I got married while waiting for our house to be finished.

5 jobs I've had:

1. Souper Salad waitress (I use the word waitress very lightly)

2. Various jobs with The Boys and Girls Club

3. Summer camp counselor at Camp Wamatochick (or I Want A Chick, if you prefer)

4. Summer rec leader for the City of Scottsdale

5. 4th grade teacher

Tag to Astraea, Jesse, Rachel, Heather and Jenny.

Flutter, Flutter, Fly

Last week we took a family trip to the Desert Botanical Gardens to see the Butterfly Pavilion.

This was the cutest one that I saw.

We also found lots of interesting deserty items and Kate learned what a prickly pear cactus was (this is not a prickly pear, just in case you non-desert people were wondering) and that we say "cacti" instead of "cactuses." I learned that a gummy gecko will melt if you leave in your car for the afternoon. It was a very educational day.

Why did I spend money on a double stroller?

I guess he needed help with the smiling.

Oh, and by the way - that's a prickly pear beside me. I know you were about to Google it.

Kate Cuts The Cheese

My sweet friend, Kerie, got married last Sunday and I decided to bring Kate as my date. Kerie and I met in high school English (where cheating on an Oedipus test never happened) and we also ended up doing a lot of theatre together as well. Our friendship hit it's peak, however, when she fell out of the back of a van that I was driving. If you can remain friends after that, then anything's possible.

Kate and I got our toes done with Holly earlier that day and then I took Kate to Glitter Box to get her hair done. It's a week later and there is still glitter stuck to her skull, and yes, I bathed her.

Kerie and Derek

The wedding took place at the Arizona Center Grotto and it was just about time for exchanging rings, when a loud noise came from Kate's general direction. This particular toot echoed off of the plastic chair and was quite long in nature. She then smiled at me and whispered, "I just tooted!" As if.

Oh, and Jen! I bought the cutest red shoes to go with this dress and I didn't even get a picture with them on. I took them off because every time I would take a step, my foot came out. Cute, but annoying.

Ginger and I were best friends in high school and college. She was the official photographer for the wedding, so maybe she'll slip me some goodies...

Carter (Tim and Ginger's son) and Kate. They were born 3 weeks apart.

Me, Kerie and Kate

Kerie, the chocolate favors were a huge hit. Thumbs up from the four year old.

Even princesses have gas, sometimes.

It Truly Astonishes Me That We Didn't Name Him Peter

"Hi! Welcome to Peter Piper Pizza, where the food is the fun! My name's Miles and I'm gonna be your captain on this ride of cheesy deliciousness."

"Now, how many of you are what we call 'P Cubed Virgins?' Don't be shy, we've all been there. Of course, I don't remember my first time since my dad blended up a slice for me and put it in my bottle when I was six months old."

"Oh, hi Bob! I'm just bringin' in some newbies to look around. Don't worry, I won't give away the secret to your amazing tomato sauce. Ha ha ha!

"Yeah, folks. You been around as long as I have, they let you see the recipe vault once or twice."

"Oh, stop! Yes, Madison, thanks for the nice comment about my hair. I like it long too. You don't have to flatter me, Girl! I'll get you in sometime!"

"Am I blushing?

Anyways, let's move on to the taste testing."

"Ok, we're gonna start with your basic pepperoni pie."

"I like to start off by picking one pepperoni to sample. It's an art - much like wine tasting, I'm told."

"Ah, yes. Nice long cheese string attached to the pepperoni. That will tell you that this is one fine example of mozzarella to meat ratio."

"Hey, Madison, you should try that one. Look how the robust sauce blends into the golden brown crust like the sea meets the shore. It's really a picture of God's beautiful creation.

"And the taste? What can I say? What words could I possibly give to perfection?"

"Let's try a whole slice now. A true pizza connoisseur uses his thumbs, like this. I hope all of you are taking notes..."

"See the texture? The glossy shine? It just doesn't get better than this folks."

"Hey, wait! Stop her! She just took off with my cup of tokens!"