Rollin With It!

The rain FINALLY stopped for a few minutes this afternoon and the sun came out. The girls were in the roller skates and out the door to soak it up. I thought Jenna looked like the perfect roller derby queen! I think we may have a back up career...

Well, that is according to my neighbors, not my husband.

Last weekend I had a crazy idea to make another retaining wall in our front yard and thereby creating 3 flat areas for grass--instead of one long slanting front lawn. Let's just say it was a MUCH bigger job than I envisioned and Brent was not interested in even pretending to want to be a part of this. It was one solid week of digging dirt, moving dirt, cursing Brent--I mean dirt.
I moved a foot of dirt off the bottom level and heaved it up to the top level--with a shovel and a wheelbarrow. I am sure there was lot's of grunting and I think I was as red as a beat from heat exhaustion. All my neighbors were outside working in their own yards that same afternoon. I'm pretty sure that's when the '68 cow wife' nickname was born. Brent got so much crap at church the next day--from EVERYBODY...I was secretly thrilled by that. He is going to make it all up to me when he paints this house--any color suggestions?

Level 2 is my mane garden plot: string beans, big tomatoes, pear tomatoes, peas, red & yellow peppers and watermelons!
Level 3 is cumbers and pickling cucumbers--I want to make Grandma's sweet pickles this fall!
Last years tomato spot is now a bigger herb garden: cilantro, basil, oregano, rosemary and spearmint. The top level is giant sunflowers and half size sunflowers--I'm hoping they turn out beautiful this fall.I think we will sod the entire 3 levels this fall after all the dirt settles and I have harvested my garden. I'm thinking next years garden will be grown...on the roof!! Seriously, why not?

Last year Brent and I ran the "Fun Run" with the kids because we didn't know what it was: 2 MILES of hell. This year we cheered from the side lines with the other slightly overweight parents. The kids did great! Gavin came in 141 and Kesley was...360th?

I ran the last200 meter sprint with Gavin--maybe that is our new tradition!
Brent was in charge of taking the pictures this time. I found several of this lady...seriously, how would she put that outfit together? Has she really not purchased any new workout clothes since 1970???

Kesley's self portraits

Kesley is about to graduate from 1st grade. Their end of the year program was all about families. Each kid had a part to say and there were lot's of songs all about families and loosing teeth--really cute. The only line I can remember is, "Spend time with me now because I won't be little for long." I think I bawled through that song.

Here is her class. She is on the top left-sitting next to a kid named Nicoli that she does NOT like. She asked me to please take pictures of her that did not include Nicoli!--oops!

Hard to update lately. I need this for my posterity--sorry posterity, but there is no chance of me keeping a daily journal. :)

Pinewood Derby: Gavin and Brent threw this beauty together in just 2 nights. We did the stripe with marker and we could have used a coat of clear paint to keep it from rubbing off everywhere...but who cares.Everyone in the ward expected Gavin's car to win because Brent is the resident carpenter. The pressure was on! We didn't bring home the Gold, but we should have. Don't ask Brent about the stupid track, or the guy there fixing everyone's cars for them before they raced, or how they bent the rules and let the winning car race even though they did not use the specified kit...still too sore of a subject!

I got a kick out of watching Brent. He was just as nervous and Gavin! I tried to take a picture of him sitting there CHEWING HIS NAILS DOWN TO NUBS, but my video thing was on--so just enjoy this .02 seconds of him chewing away!