Aging? I don't think so!

I know that I get older every year, but I don't feel older and I don't think that I look much older. I have been blessed with a youthful appearance for which I am grateful. However, twice in the last month or so I have been accused of being old enough to have a 20+ year old child. Here are the stories.

The first setting is in Target where my sister Paige works. We went in to kill some time while waiting for a prescription to be filled next door. While looking at clothes Paige starts talking to a co-worker and I pay little attention. As we leave the section Paige tells me that her friend asked if I was Paige's mother. What?! I am only four years older than Paige. That would have been a miraculous birth by anyone's standard. I do not look that old!

This next story was told to me by Doug. He was out with the missionaries this last week and one of them asked him a question. The elder asked Doug about the two younger girls that sometimes sit by us in church. (These would be two of my sister: Brin and Erin. They are 23 and 18 years old respectfully.) The elder asked Doug if they were our older daughters! Again, What?! Doug slapped the elder on the knee and asked just how old he thought Doug was. Forget Doug. How old do they think I am? I am old enough to have had Erin if I was 13 when I gave birth which can happen, but I would only have been 8 when Brin was born.

I don't know if I can take being taken for an old woman. I'm not ready yet and while I do feel old after a day in the garden it passes and doesn't last for too long.

It must be our mature bearing and soberness in apperance. Not! We love playing around so I don't know where this is coming from, but it better stop or I may get a complex. :)

Little things

It is so good to be reminded of the little things. Moms are busy people with tons on their list to do and to take a break is hard. Today I took a break. With a half finished project on the counter I went into Alexis' room and played with her. She would hand me stuffed animals to play with or cups of "juice" to drink. She would start a music toy and it became dance time. Every once in awhile she would come over to give me a kiss. How simple. How sweet. The little things.

Weight loss and eight year olds

I have been trying to lose some weight to get back into a healthy range. My kids know this and my eight year old is big on weighing himself. (He has nothing to worry about.) Saturday morning we were cleaning the house and Benjamin comes out of my room very excited. "I lost weight! I lost weight!" He cries. "I use to be 60 pounds and now I am 53." I tell him it is time for him to eat some more food and he runs back in to my bathroom to weigh himself again because that is where the scale is. As he is ecstaticly crying that he has lost weight, I remember that I was in the middle of cleaning my bathroom and had moved the scale from the hard floor to the carpet in my bedroom. I yell to him that he needs to move the scale back in the bathroom to get a true ready and then I hear "Thanks alot mom!" I just ruined his day. His true weight was close to 70 pounds not the 53 he had previously thought. So, instead of loosing weight he gained some just as he should.

Hamburger fun

Benjamin was responsible for choosing treats for tonight. He chose hamburgers made out of cookies. I had to improvise a little because these were suppose to be made with store bought ready made cookie dough and I didn't have any. I used the peanut butter cookie recipe that I posted earlier and then add cocoa to a regular sugar cookie recipe to make the hamburgers. The ketchup, mustard, and lettuce are frosting. How fun.

Memorial Day

We had a lot of fun on Memorial Day. This was the first time the weather has been nice in about 4 years and we took advantage of it. For starters we all gathered at my parent's place and had some competitions. There was an obsticle/relay race for the adults and then everyone got to go on a scavenger hunt. Let's just say it was fun watching others try to run through tires or cast a line into a bucket or run around trying to gather things on the scavenger list. After lunch it was sun time. There was a slip and slide that all the kids loved and a couple of the adults. Yes I will admit I was one adult on the slip and slide and I'm not as young as I use to be. I woke up Tuesday in pain from the experience. Here are some shots of the kids on the slip and slide.

Slip and Slide fun

Alexis getting ready to take a trip. Daddy is going to "throw" her down the slide.

Christopher loves sliding

Benjamin tries to get up, but is still sliding.

Finger painting fun

It was rainy and cold today so we did some finger painting. Instead of paint though we used chocolate pudding. Evan and Alexis were more into eating the paint than painting with it. Oh well, at least they had fun for a time and a yummy snack to boot.

Since Evan is getting bigger he was able to be drop cloth free. So far so good.

Alexis needed some prepping. We have these children paint covers that she got to wear. Thank goodness or it would be bath time. I think she enjoyed eating. What do you think?

Future makeup artist? I hope not. At least not with her current skill level. I just love her smiling face.

Camping fun

This last weekend Doug and the boys went on a father and son campout. They had lots of fun. They enjoyed the great outdoors except the bathroom facilities and now want to go camping with me. Don't get me wrong I would love to go camping except for the sleeping on the ground part. I'm not as young as I once was and I must admit I do love my creature comforts. Anyway, this isn't about me, but about them so enjoy their camping pictures.

This is Evan with his tent. Does he hope it will set up itself?

The Miller tent village. Everyone had their own tent to sleep in, but did Doug get to sleep by himself? Nope. Evan decided to join him.

Benjamin warming by the fire.

Benjamin eating the camping food. Hot dogs and S'mores - what could be better?

The woes of camping. Evan sat in his camping chair and leaped up pulling at/swiping his bum. What he found was this huge splinter that was in his chair and poked his bottom.