History will be made in 2009!

I love America! I cannot tell you how I feel right now, but I can tell you it is incredibly patriotic! John McCain just announced his running mate, a woman!(a mother of five! you go girl! although, I feel a bit like an under achiever now!) come January 2009, our country will either have it's first African American as president, or it's first Woman as Vice President...how wonderful is the time that we are living in!? I do not know who is getting my vote yet, but I am so proud of my country for the choices that we have before us this year! I am so proud of my country for the great progress that it is making! I am so proud to be an American!

Evolution

I know some people believe in the theory of evolution...I believe in human evolution on some levels, obviously after watching the Olympics, we can see that athletes are evolving and getting better and better, people are getting taller, Dale's Grandfather, at 6'4'' was one of the tallest men at BYU in the 1930's, what would those classmates of his think at seeing his grandchildren all lined up in a row?!? I believe we evolve intellectually and spiritually as well...now, I could continue on with my observations about how we as humans have evolved in different ways (no, I do not believe we were ever monkeys!) , but I am going to give you scientific evidence that proves we are not the only mammal that has evolved, oh no we are not!

You see, I went to the grocery store to purchase "mouse traps" ...yes, the mouse traps that your parents used, the good ole fashion wood ones that you snap your own finger on everytime you set it up...I bought an arsenal of these for my on going war with the mice ...starting in January, I began setting one here or there with peanut butter as the bait (mice LOVE peanut butter)this is how I successfully ridded my home of mice 12 years ago, so it should work again, right?? ...every morning I would check, and every morning the peanut butter would be gone, but the trap not set...huh?? well, must be a fluke, so I decide to set 2 traps up in each spot...one as the bait trap and one to actually trap the mouse...10 traps + 5 days = 1 mouse...(with the rest of the mice getting fat from all the peanut butter they are managing to lick off the traps without setting them off!) Ok, so clearly mice have learned over the years how to teach their offspring about these handy types of traps...so I go back to the store, purchase glue traps for mice...got ten of these suckers...can't have to many, right?? wrong...I would find evidence that the mice had been there, but no trapped mice! I go back again, get the glue traps for bigger mice and put out 5 traps...it is clear by the evidence that the mice have been on the traps once again, but they are treating my traps like their own personal fast food resturant! I am creating glutonous mice that are going to expect food to be brought to them if I don't figure this out!! I am either the least evolved human on the planet, or these mice have gotten smarter! so my conclusion: the mice are smarter than ever, how will I handle these smarter mice.....

I am buying rat traps and chalking this whole thing up to evolution...scientific proof that mice have evolved therefore we have to!

Split Personalities

Ok ladies, (I know there are no men reading blogs, and if they do, they won't admit it!) here is my "Oprah" moment, were I get a little revealing, something I had decided I wouldn't do on my blog, but who cares?!?!

So I have decided that I have split personalities, (no, not like that chick from that movie a long time ago that I forgot her name!) but truely different sides of me that come out...and I am talking about this hoping that someone will relate! (If not then I will know to go ahead and make my appointment for the psychiatrist, crazy does run in my family you know, (Hi MOM!)(she doesn't read this for those of you who think that was mean!)) So sometimes I feel like I am on clould nine, so in love with my wonderful, can't do anything wrong husband, so happy with all my decisions in life, so excited to get my house spotless, so ready to be a great friend to those in need, the perfect fun mom, everything so perfect, (yes, songs even running through my head and even skipping and bouncing around!)....then, all of a sudden, I lose it all!(you can tell by my last post that I had a great weekend!)but when I feel this way, I could care less if my house is clean, I could care less if I shower or shave , I have no appetite, and even tend to lose weight a bit, ( no worries because I put it back on when I feel good) I could care less about myself or anyone else in the world for that matter., I am depressed, for who knows why ..I am in that mood right now as I write this..completely narcissitic, and unproductive,..I was so tired yesterday,I drank two diet cokes in the afternoon to stay awake then came home and I slept from 3-8 and then woke up for a few hours and then went back to bed! (I made fun of Karen for doing that in college, big apology to Karen, I do it once a month, minus the snoring, I still get to make fun of Karen for the snoring!that was snoring of historic proportions!)

I know that we are supposed to get PMS or whatever, but I never seem to have a cycle that comes with this, it always comes a week or two later, but it does seem to happen in a pattern, any thoughts..?? (all thoughts are welcome, except "you are crazy!" or "you are turning into your mother!") I am actually laughing about this, so maybe just blogging about it does help!!

Another Mini Vacation

We rented a cabin in Luray Virginia for the weekend, here are some of our adventures...

Here are the kids going to bed, can't you tell by how tired they all look?

The kids got the bright idea(with dad's help) to play chicken on a thin ledge...

Yet another game of chicken....poor Melissa, playing in our family always involves different shows of strength...I can still beat all the kids, but I have a feeling that I do not have much longer!

We went horse back riding...the kid's horses were really nice and good..my horse, Diego, not so much...he was cute, but I could tell he was young and spunky...he didn't like staying in line or going slow, so he took a bit of effort to control, my mothering experience came in handy in making mine and Diego's relationship successful...

Shawn and Mystic, (Mystic was older and didn't appreciate Diego much, he even gave diego a nice kick, while I was riding him)

Alex, happy as a clam

Melissa and her perfectly behaved angel of a horse...doesn't she look like a natural on the horse, boots and all!

Greg and David stayed and enjoyed the "cowpokes" program

Luray Caverns....a cave with stalactite and stalagmite structures...it is an amazing place to see, my pictures do not do it justice so I only posted a few...

In Luray Caverns

In Luray Caverns...(note Melissa...always posing)

The Stalacpipe organ...soft mallets hit against stalactite and stalagmite formations that are spread over three and a half acres of the cave....it is truely amazing to hear this perfect sound...

After the caverns, we did a hedge maze...we split into three teams, Dale and the little boys, Melissa and I, and Shawn and Alex...we all had to find the four clues and then get out of the maze first...it was a blast...with Alex and Shawn in first and Melissa and I in second (I won't mention the losers, that isn't nice!)

Taking this picture cost Melissa and I first place in our family maze race, but it was worth it! she is a cutie!

We went to the zoo in Luray...it is a wonderful suprise for a zoo in such a small town...this lady was talking to us as she was feeding the alligator...I thought she was crazy, but the animals loved her!

They have a couple HUGE constrictor snakes that you can get right up close to...Greg did not like his head being right next to this enormous snake, even with the glass between them...

Shawn getting a kiss from the camel...

Melissa and a friendly deer

David with Mr. Goat

Greg with another goat

We went rafting on the Shenandoah, I did not bring my camera, so this is not us...we were actually mostly alone and it was beautiful and very peaceful, I loved it!

I can't say no....

So my princess, my only girl, is such a sweetheart, ESPECIALLY when you take her shopping! she really turns on the charm when she sees something that she wants. I rarely can say no to her sweetness, and tonight that caused a real dilema! She spotted some pink cowboy boots, yes, I did say PINK COWBOY BOOTS, she just HAD to have them. She started telling me about all the outfits she would wear them with, all the places she would go, etc etc! She was so excited by them, PINK COWBOY BOOTS!! I did NOT want her to have them! But how do you tell a child that someything is completely HIDEOUS when they love it soooooooooooo much! She even said "mom, I won't make you regret buying them, I will wear them ALL the time!!" So, I couldn't say no...She put them on in the car, and when we got home she tried them on with different outfits until she went to bed....I actually think she is kinda cute in them, but it does leave me scratching my head and wondering where she came from!!


Outfit #1.....

outfit #2, which she has decided will be what she wears on the first day of school, "because she wants to make a good first impression" ....I love my little lady! Boots and all....

Visitors

this past week we have gotten to see many friends and family members, I am not very good at remembering to take pictures, so here is my summary without many photos!

Wednesday: We went to the movies with Alison, Tracey and all their kids, and then had cousins Justin and Trey spend the night

Thursday: Aunt Tracey came over and the kids played while Tracey and I worked on some stuff, Greg and David went to spend the night at her house and Justin stayed with us

Friday:we did some errands and much needed grocery shopping; Patrick, Karena, Dayle and Eli came up for the weekend

Friday night Melissa went to a birthday party and Grandma Holder came to stay with the kids while Dale and I went out with Karena and Patrick for dinner (it was their 14th anniversary and Dale and I will celebrate ours on Wednesday)

Saturday we took the kids to see model rockets being launched with Dale's brother Steve and his wife Wendy then Karena and I went shopping for a few hours ..We picked up my "other children" Thomas and Anabel, Melissa and Alex's best friends, so they could stay with us for several days; Dale and Patrick went out Saturday night with their friend Shawn and Karena and I hung around the house with all the kids and Dale's brothers entertained the boys by playing video games all night with them...Karena and I watched a chic flick and of course, ate yummy food leftover from the incredible resturant that we ate at the night before!! (6 layer chocolate cake tastes much better when you are not already full!)

Sunday we went to church and came back and Karena and I sat by the pool lifeguarding and just enjoying some time while the kids were distracted..

Today has been pretty calm..Thomas and Anabel will be here for a few more days ..I took the kids swimming and Dale and I took them all for a walk tonight...I call them my other children because they are so good and so close to our family (except for the fact that they are from the Bronx and are HUGE giants fans and love to tease me by wearing all of their giants gear! They promised to be respectful while in my house, but they just couldn't make it!) I am really looking forward to our family's last weekend before school and soccer start!

On saturday we go into a boxing match, Karena heard all the noise and came in to see what was going on, she grabbed my camera and snapped the only pictures I have of this past weekend ..so a big thank you to Karena for grabbing my camera!

Dale and David during their boxing match

Dale's right hook

In Kelley boxing we allow the short person to use their legs to "punch"... Dale's arms are as long as my legs so i still can't win, but I am so stubborn that it doesn't stop me from trying!!

ending the match with a kiss!

Dale and Shawn on our walk

BFFs!! (Anabel and Melissa)

'boyzzzzz!!" (Thomas and Alex)

Dale look alike?

Saturday night, Dale's friend Patrick(best buds since they were 5) called and asked if I was watching the Oriole's game, I said yes, then he asked if I saw Dale...I said "yes, he is sitting right here", Patrick was dumbfounded because he swore to me that he just saw Dale sitting in the stands at the Oriole's game..he took a picture of the guy that he thought was Dale and emailed it to me. I have to say, I had to look at it carefully to make sure it wasn't Dale! Dale doesn't have a grey Oriole's jersey, He only has white and Orange so I knew it wasn't him, but everything else looks just like Dale! The guy's expression, the way he wears his hat, is the same as Dale! I couldn't find a photo that acurrately shows Dale's expression, but anyone that knows him well knows that his expression is exactly like this guy...it fooled Patrick, and it would have fooled me!
Here are some pictures, you be the judge! My opinion is that Cindy has some 'splainin to do!

The Dale imposter at the Oriole's game

Kelley Olympics!

David loves sports and has been watching the Olympics with Dale and I, today he talked his siblings into a game of Water Polo. They had no clue what he was talking about so he explained the game and off they went! I am not sure what the teams were or who won, but they had a great time!




Referee Shawn


Melissa swimming towards the goal with the ball...

Melissa with the ball again!

Greg exiting the competition early, He was in the "losers" bracket.

Melissa and David racing for the ball...Melissa announced that she got the silver metal, I think that was an unofficial announcement, but she was dancing around anyway!

Cunnigham Falls

We took the kid's to a waterfall in Cunnigham Falls State Park on Saturday. It is a beautiful area and the falls are very steep and fun to climb on.

Rock climbing really brings out individual personality traits, and it was fun to see how each of my children tackled the rocks in a different way.

Greg stuck close to Dale or I, but was willing to go where we told him, David was cautious but after a few words of encouragement would give it a try, Melissa was amazing, and climbed with no fear, no instruction and no problem! Alex, unwilling to let his little sister be the best rock climber, followed close behind her to show that he could do it and wasn't nervous, Shawn had serious trepidation and at one point started turning back, but with some encouraging words, and some caution, he slowly got to the top, I was was sure I would have no problem, I started climbing and half way up I got nervous about what my children would do if I fell, after putting those thoughts behind me, I kept going and got to the the top with the kids, Dale, ever cautious and mindful of danger, took Greg's hand and went the safest way, always keeping close to the rest of us to help us get across any areas that we needed help...

Another reason I love rock climbing with the kids is that they have to watch out for each other's safety, and they have to trust Dale and I to help them get across tricky areas. We had a great day and spent the rest of the evening with our Davis cousins!

Perpetual motion!!

Before we had a pool, the kids would get hyper and I would have to come up with creative ways to get their energy out... I would have them do "laps" around the house to burn some energy, or I would take them outside for "races" , or go to the park, or on a walk,..during the summer, I throw them in the pool and let them go!!! and they go and go and go and go....