The haircut

I like to pretend a lot. I pretend I know how to raise eight children. I pretend I know how to teach Braille. I pretend my bedroom is clean. I pretend I understand the health issues our family faces.

And I pretend I know how to cut hair.

Graci is the only child that's ever had a REAL haircut, and that was to spoil her before her surgery and Make-a-Wish celebrations. Usually Jer and the kids just have to settle for me.

The other day, I decided that Lexi's hair really needed help. We're trying to grow it out, but in the meantime, it needed some style. So I got out my scissors and, well, pretended.

I think it turned out pretty cute!

If I were rich...

One of my favorite foods in the world is dried apricots. But not the kind you're probably thinking about. Every dried apricot I've purchased at a store just doesn't do the trick. I grew up on my grandpa's farm, which had apricot trees. We dried them ourselves, and the flavor and texture is soooo much better. There is only one brand of dried apricots that come close taste-wise, and those are Archer Farms apricot fruit strips. They are my little splurge if I ever find myself at Target.

Well, Saturday evening found me there. (It may or may not have been following a complete emotional breakdown, causing Jeremy to gently suggest that I needed to go and have a night and day to myself, but I'll never tell.)

I don't shop at Target very often. Not because I don't LOVE it, but because it's more expensive than say, Walmart. Not much, but enough. Anyway... this Target happened to be a Super Target, meaning it also carried groceries. I went to pick out some snacks for myself. I chose:

(And, of course, chocolate.)

Pretty much heaven. These are all soooo yummy. (In fact, I saved a bit of everything and shared it the following day, and my kids won't stop begging me to buy more.) On my way out of the store, I was given a sample of Archer Farms hummus, with a carrot to dip. I'm not so much a hummus fan, but I really loved it. So, I've pretty much decided that Archer Farms is my new favorite brand. If I were rich, I would start shopping at Super Target, and I would always have a bag of those strawberry mango twists in my purse. And at least 50 bags in the pantry. Ahem.


And if I were rich, I would pay for THIS adoption. My sweet friend, Gretchen, is raising money for their new little one, and I can't think of a better cause. So go on over and buy something or just donate a bit, if you feel so inclined. I can promise that this family is just sooooo great and that even $5.00 would be appreciated. After all, giving a child a family is even better than dried apricots.

And that says a lot. (:

More Pics

These were on my phone, so they are other shots from some things we've already blogged about.

Jesi on the night Daddy curled her hair:Xander as "Wee Willie Winkie" for his kindergarten nursery rhyme festival:
More pics from Disneyland:

Lexi loves the New Orleans Jazz Band at Disney:On the shuttle bus back from Disney each night:Taylor in Grandma's BYU apron:)Poor Elli after her dental surgery:Taylor has an EKG:Sophi's love/hate relationship with her nursery class at church:
Sophi goes "fishing":Graci and Jesi at dance class:Xander's 6th birthday breakfast in bed:
With Al Jefferson of the Utah Jazz (he was pretty enamored with Soph!):
???:

-Jer

Pics and other random cute stuff

This weekend our church had a spring get together with food and games and activities for the kids. One thing they had was some amateur face painting. Of course Jesi was dying to have her face painted. Lexi had never had her face painted before, and she wanted to join in. I suggested a butterfly, and she was as excited as could be to have a butterfly on her face. The line was taking quite awhile, and Jesi was standing there holding Lexi's hand. The wheels suddenly turned in her head, and she hollered out to me: "Dad, can't special needs go to the front of the line?" We're not in Disneyland anymore, dear Jess!

As they were waiting, an impending thunderstorm suddenly broke. We were under a pavilion, but we were still getting some rain on us as the wind blew in. It was time to go! With several patient little girls still wanting their faces painted, a sweet mom jumped in to help. It was her first time doing this, and she let everyone know that results were not guaranteed. She painted a cat on Jesi:

Later, Jesi told me, "This was Mrs. Dunn's first time face painting, and she did a pretty good job!" :) The same mom painted Xander's face. He was intent on being Batman. She asked me for advice, and I laughed, given my absolute lack of artistic talent. When she was finished, she said he looked more like Gene Simmons from KISS than like Batman, but Xander was happy, and that's all that matters!

Yesterday, we went on a drive to look at properties and homes we wish we could afford. We invited the kids to come along, and Jesi was the only older kid that wanted to join us. She wasn't wearing shoes, and, as is her usual way, she just slipped somebody else's on. Only this time, she went for Christi's boots. As soon as I had the camera out, she went into pose mode, and, despite my repeated request for a "normal" shot, this is what I got out of her. That girl!!!

Sophi trying to put her own pants on:
Notice how they are on backwards, and she can't get them up much past her knees:)

Two peas in a pod:
Love my kids!!!

Jer

Water, water, everywhere!

As a semi-responsible homeowner, I try to do the things that keep our home and yard in good repair. One such thing is to turn off the outside water in the fall. If the water is not turned off, it can freeze in the sprinkler system pipes and cause them to burst. Last fall I did this. Besides turning the water off, it is advisable to drain any residual water from the system.

The outside water shut off valve is located downstairs in my office. Behind a removable panelin the drywall, I can turn a handle and voila, no more water to the outside faucets or the sprinkler system. Located right next to this handle is a spigot that looks just like one you would find on the outside of your home to hook up a hose. Once the main handle has been turned off, there is no water pressure to the spigot. It is this spigot that allows you to drain water from the system for the winter. You simply hold a bucket under the spigot, open the spigot, and allow the water to flow backwards into the bucket. Easy process. Responsible homeownership. This I did last fall. Pat myself on the back. Another to do list item checked off. I forgot one minor detail. After I drained the water, I forgot to close the spigot....

Sooooo, when I turned the main handle back on this spring, water gushed forth from the spigot directly onto my desk, which was covered with papers. It was basically like someone put a hose in my window and turned it on full force. Way to go, Jer. Maybe I'll put a post-it note above the waterworks in my office..."Note to self: Don't be Stupid!!!"

Jer

Guess Who

This is Thor:
This is my brother:
Can you tell the difference?

Jer

PS: This costume was made by my sister on the spur of the moment at no cost and with various items to be found at my parents home.

To Watch or Not To Watch

Lately, our kids are really into Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Last night they asked if we could watch an episode on Sunday. We usually don't watch any TV on Sunday, so this was a question that required some good family discussion. The boys were convinced that because this show does so much good for people in need, it was perfectly appropriate for the Sabbath. Graci, on the other hand, had a concern. In her cute, accented, innocent way, she said, "I don't know if we should watch it on Sunday cuz lots of times they say, "Oh my...(hesitates)...um...backwards dog!" Way to go, Grace:) Always looking out for us.

BTW, we never did make a final decision. With all of the clean up from dinner and the bedtime rituals we just kind of ran out of time.

Jer