Top 10 Things to Blog About Over the Past 2 Weeks
(In no Particular Order)

10. Hannah gave herself a haircut.Everyone else's kids give themselves haircuts at one time or another but I thought my kids and I had an understanding...apparently not. I was tidying up in the bathroom last weekend when I discovered a drawer-ful of hair and a pair of Skissors lying menacingly on the counter. I screamed because a giant wad of hair was the last thing I expected to see next to the toothpaste. I knew from the length and color of the hair that it was Hannah's and that she had to have done a bang-up job. I ran into her room where she was pretending to be asleep and, sure enough! She had given herself a rather modern, asymmetrical cut and some short bangs that we have been growing out for over a year. Luckily, we were able to get a pretty cute A-line bob out of it, courtesy of Supercuts. Because of Hannah's distaste for admission of any wrongdoing, she will proudly announce to everyone that she likes her hair much better now. Stinker.

9. My Children's Place order arrived and my boys cried because I made them wear their new sweater vests to church.To add insult to injury I threatened to take away video games for a whole week if they didn't smile for the camera...don't they look genuine? I do so love a smart sweater vest, even if it is 95 degrees outside and my children want to kill me.

8. We had our first and hopefully last bunny fatalityOn that fateful day, Hannah came running into the house exclaiming happily "Mom, Oreo is okay, mom...she's Oooo-Kaaaay!" which, of course, alerted me to the fact that Oreo was probably NOT okay. Tyler read my mind and ran out to the bunny cage where he discovered Oreo's lifeless body. He brought her into the house, sobbing uncontrollably and much drama ensued...tears, accusations, more tears. We are still unclear about Oreo's cause of death and getting the solid truth out of a three year-old is next to impossible as her story changes with each retelling. Adam asked me later on that day if Hannah could still go to heaven for hurting Oreo. I took that golden opportunity to teach my children a little gospel lesson about love and forgiveness...and accidents. We will miss you, Oreo!

7. We discovered Rachel is definitely a water baby.Okay, so this is really a shameless attempt to show off how adorable my baby is in her stars & stripes swimsuit. She does love the water!

6. The boys discovered that sleeping on the trampoline is fun!...However, I'm still a little freaked out and often find myself sleeping on the couch with the windows open, listening for abductors...not so fun.

5. My sister Suzanne and I became "carnies".We debuted our Pretty Petal merchandise at the Centerville 4th of July carnival. We did very well and had a blast! Our website is now up and running, too! (www.theprettypetal.com)

4. We still managed to enjoy some family time together watching fireworks and chillin' out.Cheese! (Apparently Adam has the "Say Cheese Disease"...poor kid!)

3. Cade showed off his mad snow-cone making skills to the delight of all who partook.You have a gift Cade, don't ever forget it!

2. Hannah and her cousin, Carly were inexplicably overcome with affection towards one another.

I snapped the picture upon realizing that they were ACTUALLY hugging and not hurting...maybe there is hope for those two after all!

1. I headed up to Spokane, Washington with the kids to visit Cade's niece, Jessica, and her family. We had so much fun! Details and photo documentation are forthcoming...just as soon as I finish unpacking!