Holy Motorcycle Mama!!

This is for all you "City Slickers" out there! Can you drive 2 miles from your house and do this?!

This is the first time I have ever even been on a dirt bike. I refused to get on without my Hubby. I insisted that if I was going to get hurt, he would too. He, of course, was game for the beating! After several attempts at trying to start the dang thing, I finally got us off and running. As you can tell, we are moving pretty slow, (never even got out of first gear).

After driving around and making several turn-arounds, faithful Hubby decides to bail off. Says that I can do it all by myself! Are you kidding me?!? I'm pretty sure the girl-i-ness came out of me as I was screaming quite loudly!

But....I did it! No crashes, and I was able to start and stop a few times all by my little ole self. Girl Power!!

By the way.............my kids thought I was pretty cool! I mean seriously what 29 year old mom jumps on a CR-80 for the first time and doesn't even crash?

Who is your personal HERO?

Today I thought I would pose a question to anyone who reads this. I want to know..... Who is your "Personal" HERO?

Me, I have several personal heroes and I want to tell you about them here today. So here goes!

In no certain order:

I am the youngest daughter in my family and that means that I have six older sisters. They are all beautiful, smart, talented, individuals! They are all strong willed and not afraid of anything! They are all self-motivated, independent women! They are huge examples to me, and they are all my Personal Heroins.

My Mother: Wow! Where do I start? Mom was always there for all of us (all 10 of us). She is the best cook I have ever met! She has a never ending supply of really great talents! The best of which are, singing, playing piano, crocheting, sewing, cooking, and the ability to make a house a home. She can teach anyone, anything. She has a deep well of love, patience, and understanding. She is non-judgemental, and very forgiving. Thanks mom for everything, you are my Personal Hero. Love ya. You too, Dad!

Everyone knows that I have 5 beautiful children, (I am only a little biased). But I think it's important for you all to know how I feel about them. I want to thank them for being mine. For making me smile when needed, for taking naps when needed, for finally cleaning their rooms after the eighteenth time of asking, for kisses just cuz, for not embarrassing me at the local Wal-Mart anymore, and for the never-ending love that they show to me. Love you all! You are all my Personal Heroes.

And last but not least, my Hubby. Because of him I get to stay home and raise our wonderful family. I want to thank him for that and also for putting up with me and all my many facets of life. For helping me cook, clean, take care of kids, and everything else. For being able to fix anything, and I do mean anything. For helping me find my dreams and sticking around while I achieve them. For having dreams of his own, and working towards them. For not stealing the covers at night, and for the humor he brings to my life. But most of all, for finally bringing the love and happiness into my life that had always been missing. I was searching my whole life to find you, and now you're mine! You are my Personal Hero! Love ya tons!

So who is your Personal HERO?

Nothin' like startin' 'em out early

Ever wonder where kids learn to eat right? Well obviously they teach themselves. I often have an old milk crate full of fresh vegetables from my huge garden sitting on the floor so we can use them up. My youngest is just learning to crawl, and she always heads straight to the milk crate. Just last night, she got a tomato and actually took a big bite out of it!

Hey mom, can I pick the tomato for dinner tonight?

Wow! Which one do I want?

Ah ha! Here it is the perfect one!

Mmm, rum, rum, tastes good too!

Oh yeah, don't forget the corn on the cob.

I have a garden space that is 20' X 70'. It's huge. We had tomatoes, potatoes, green peppers, jalapenos, Anaheim peppers, peas, beans, onions, cucumbers, and zucchini. We actually planted corn but it never came up. So we ate a lot of my mom's corn. Thanks mom.

Back to School DaZe

Is it just me, or is every parent as proud as me?!?!

I am always so excited when my kids go back to school! (For obvious reasons of course.) But I love all the excitement and rushing around to get everything ready. I love the clothes and supply shopping and everything that goes with it. My kids are very involved in the after school programs and sports, and there is always a way for the whole family to be involved. We have a lot of fun doing all the many busy things that we do.

These are my two angels that started school in August. Ian is in Elementary school and Blayke is in Middle school. They both love their teachers and are making many new friends and enjoying all the old ones too!

Blayke loves to sing and dance and is finding that she really enjoys sports too! Last year she won the school's version of American Idol! We were all so proud of her. Because of that we have put her into an outside performing group, where she is learning to sing and dance. And soon she will start having one-on-one voice lessons. She is currently playing Volleyball (which I am the head coach of), and just finished her first season of girls Softball. They took 3rd place in the tournament!

Ian is finding that he has natural knack for computers. He is going to be my computer engineer. (mom's can dream big too, right!?) He is also really enjoying his after school programs. He is playing flag football for the first time and is doing great! His favorite position is Center. He likes to say "Down, Set, HIKE!". He thinks it sounds "cool", even though that is the quarterback's job.

The Brady Bunch huh....you should meet our bunch!

Hey all, and welcome to Yours Mine and Ours! Just wanted to give you an idea of who we are and what we are like. Notice that there is not a picture of all of us together. In all the time that we have been together we have never all been together to take a family picture. Drawbacks to having yours mine and ours I guess.

This is me and my hubby, Rany, with the newest addition to our family. Darikka is 7 months old, and she is definitely a daddy's girl. Rany works in the oilfield and I am an at home mommy.

This is a photo of our 3 oldest children on the 24th of July, 2008. The oldest is our daughter, Blayke. She is 11 years old going on 18, and is just as feisty as her mother was at that age. (Or so I am told.) Ian is 8 years old, and is exactly the opposite of his older sister. He is quiet, cuddly, and has a soft spot for his mother. Rylie is our 6 year old. And she is the quirkiest child I have ever met. She can make you smile whenever and no matter the circumstances.

And last but not least is Bailey. (The one in the blue suit.) She is our 3 year old. She is a bright and sunny child and brings joy to all around! And look at all that curly hair!

Thanks for visiting and please come back soon!