Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!

Today is my Mom and Dad's wedding anniversary!

We honored them by making a memory/photo book for them. Family and friends wrote sweet messages to them. And we dug up old pictures that we (Rob and Blair) scanned in to make a great book.

I love you mom and dad!

Here are a few of my favorite pics!

A new and creative video from my brother's company.

Very relevant. I think that is what the hipsters would say.

And I always thought "hipsters" was just the name of the undergarments I prefer.

Back to the video. . .

Great job as usual Rob and your team!

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!

Here is a snapshot of our Thanksgiving this year!

That is 53 people. 28 kids. 24 of those kids are 7 and under.

We are a serious group.

Thanks Mom for hosting all of us again. We love to see all of our cousins and their families. Jake and Amy came from Kansas with 3 kids. Andy and Amy came from Georgia with 4 kids--including one 2 1/2 week old baby girl!

On a different note, I actually went out on Black Friday to shop a little. I don't think I have ever done that before! I didn't go at 3 am or anything. But I got a chunk of shopping for Christmas done in a short amount of time.

However, the most interesting part of the morning was at Old Navy. The lady standing next to me in line said she didn't feel well and that she might faint. Well, she did. She fainted and fell backwards and I caught her.

My first thoughts were, "I am so glad I caught her before she hit the cement ground." and "I am so glad that this is a small woman so that I was able to catch her before she hit the cement ground."

Evidently, she is pregnant and hadn't eaten enough before she went shopping. She is fine now. No thanks to any of the teenage employees at Old Navy. They didn't see the urgency in the lady laying on the store floor that I saw. But she is fine now.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Sweet Lainey

I just took some pics of the kids the other day. They grow so fast. But I was especially struck by how old Lainey looks now. She is 7 years old now. In second grade.

We have real conversations. She has hard questions. She is growing up.

She loves Hank so much. She loves all babies. She wishes he didn't weigh so much!

But Lainey is still a normal kid with normal moments of whining, fit throwing and selfishness. We had an interesting trip to the mall the other day. I took all 4 kids on a beautiful Sunday afternoon--assuming everyone would be outside. Evidently it was the last day of Partners Card--everyone was at the mall.

And on the short drive to the mall, I think all the kids had some sort of meltdown. Except for the actual baby of the family. He was fine. Lainey's meltdown came when all three boys were out of the van, the baby in the stroller and ready to go in. She sat on the floor of the (newly cleaned) van and said with tears in her eyes, " I want to go home."

I asked her who she was thinking about right then. (right answer--herself) She said, "But mom, I brought paper and colors for all of us! (meaning--she was thinking about others). I affirmed her and thanked her. Paused for a minute. Then asked again. "But who are you thinking about right now?"

She paused with a tear still running down her face and said, "I don't get me!"

So true Lainey. I don't get me either sometimes. Or you for that matter. But I really love you.

Here is little Lainey. She was two years old. It goes too fast!

I'm No Politician

Evidently, there is a big election today.

Guess how I know that? The Today Show. Matt Lauer said there was a big election. So it must be true.

I need to admit that I am possibly the least politically interested person I know. I am not proud of it. It's just how I feel. But I do vote. I will tomorrow--unless the lines are too long. But I do plan to vote.

I just can't stand all the political fighting.

One side blames the other for the mess our country is in. The other side returns the blame for not being able to get us out of the mess we are in. And back and forth. The mudslinging, the name-calling, the arrogance--I just can't get into it.

And it seems to me that people vote candidates in and out of office--not unlike they handle their shampoo choice. (I know--it sounds deep, doesn't it?)

You know when your hair starts to get limp and lifeless? Unmanageable? Or just plain boring? So you start looking around for a fix. A new product. A new shampoo. It promises root-lifting volume, long lasting shine and improved hair texture. So you switch.

It works! Gee, your hair sure looks terrific!

And then months, maybe even years later, your hair starts to slump back into it's volume-less mess. You start to complain about your once beloved shampoo. And start itching to find something new. Something with more promises. Something different.

It seems that voters think about politicians like shampoo. Ready to switch with any perception of failure. Always looking for a promise of hair success.

I know--your brain is swimming right now in the deep ocean of this political analysis.

Happy Halloween!

It's that time of year again! Time to dress up and get candy for free!

The weather was perfect here. Great to walk through our neighborhood and see all the adorable kids. And the scary kids. And the creepy parents dressed in questionable costumes.

Here are our kiddos. Rhody was Wolverine. Bo was Ironman. Lainey was SuperGirl. Hank was the Incredible Hulk. Or Incredible Hank as we called him!

I love all the different expressions and poses you get in 5 seconds of picture taking with 4 kids!

Here we all are! Yes, that is me in an authentic mu mu. I totally win most comfortable costume award. Kyle was not Elvis or Elton John. Kyle was "It is 5:15 pm and what am I going to wear for Halloween tonight?" He was Paul Lind and I was Jo anne Worley--for those of you old enough to even know what I'm talking about!

Incredible Hank. Or our future place kicker for the Cowboys.

Just cute of Hank.

Our regular Trick or Treating buddies--the Bindra girls! We were all Super Heros!

Taking a break from all the walking and getting candy.

Luckily we ran into our cousins. Best buds: Sam and Rhody

The cutest kitty ever! Clara and Hank

Wolverine Twins: Rhody and Jack plus Bo

It was a great year. When we got home from Trick or Treating, Bo sat on the front porch handing out candy to all our visitors. He loves that kind of stuff. Bo for Mayor!!

Not Back to the Future

So it's been 25 years since the release of Back to the Future.

OMG. Seriously?

I know this because The Today Show told me. As Lainey said recently, the Today Show IS the news.

I loved that movie when it came out. It was so cool. Who didn't want their own time machine in a Delorean?

But I sort of had a flashback when I saw the whole cast on the Today Show. (just a side note: I saw Mary Steenburgen on the show and could not for the life of me remember her in Back to the Future. Then Kyle reminded me she was in the 3rd one. Not the same. Doesn't count)

The movie came out in the summer of 1985. I had just finished the 7th grade. For some reason I remember a lot of details of my life based on that movie release.

Here is a snap shot of my 12 year old (but almost 13) self that went to Northpark I & II to see the movie.

I woke up one morning in the summer of 1985 and could not get out of bed. My knee was so swollen that I literally fell when I tried to get out of bed. I ended up going to the doctor and getting the fluid drained out. (I eventually had surgery at 15 yrs old on that knee--but that's another post).

But I had to wear a leg brace that was from hip to ankle. And use crutches.

And then like any normal child of the '80s, I got a perm. I went to the J. Michaels Salon on Skillman and sat there for hours as they rolled my super thick hair into tiny plastic rollers. Then they covered it with ammonia and other stinky stuff. I did this the day before we went to see the movie. Remember you can't wash your hair for a couple of days after getting a perm?

So I tried to help with day 2 of the perm by using hot rollers. Not a great idea.

Yeah. So I went to see Back to the Future with huge, bushy, stinky hair--and braces--and wearing a large, white, Velcro leg brace. Using crutches.

I was praying I wouldn't see anyone I knew. Especially Mike Edwards.

I don't remember seeing anyone. But I do remember loving the movie.

Long live Marty McFly.