Monday, December 28, 2009

Christmas 2009

Christmas has come and gone. Oh how time passes quickly when you are having so much fun. It really is a fun time of year. It is a time for traditions old and new, a time for family, a time for fun and imagination, and of course it is a time to reflect on the most precious gift of all, our Savior. It has been a most wonderful year full of exciting adventures and much celebration and how we love to end it with the fun activities of Christmas. Most years, I really don't stress about the happenings of Christmas, but this year I was definitely much more busy in preparations, whether it was from substituting daily, family, or church. With all that going on though, we made it through, and I do believe the kids had a blast, and of course, can't wait for next year's festivities to begin. Every year on Christmas Eve, we make cookies for Santa. When I first started doing this with the kids years before, it always was a huge mess and I would end up doing most of it. Now my kids are older and they get along quite well. I only have to make the dough and they do the rest. They always pick out two of their favorites for Santa, which is a total of six cookies for him and then the rest are for us to eat. I think that might be their favorite part.
Christmas day!! I really thought I might be able to sleep in longer, but no why would I even think that. 6 AM comes and the kids jump on us and tell us all about Santa and how much he left us. Now I remember trying this on my parents, but somehow they seemed to make us wait 'til about 9 or 10 while they slept. That doesn't seem to work for our family. The kids definitely have rule on Christmas Day.

This year Megan had asked a lot of questions about Santa. You know, at age 9, she hears a lot at school. I told her, it is up to her if she is ready to grow up, or if she still wants to believe in magic. She said, " I'm not ready to grow up." I have to say, that is OK by me. We just left it at that. I do believe, she had a very magical day.
Emilee is my child that every year lately, it seems she wants Santa to bring her the most expensive toys he might have. I always try and tell her that Santa can't bring everything, and he knows what parents can handle in their homes. She finally settled on one of the newer webkinz that is out. She opened the box and screamed a loud scream and showed us that Santa brought her the caterpillar webkinz that she desired. That Santa, how does he always know?

Hunter is a smart fellow. We have been trying to get him to stop sucking his thumb. I have tried to bribe him with this Bumblebee Transformer helmet and do you know what he said? "Mommy, I don't need to stop sucking my thumb, Santa will get me the helmet". That Santa couldn't resist and gave him the helmet. I guess I can bribe him with the Optimus Prime helmet instead.
It was a great Christmas, with lots of fun. The most important part was teaching my children about their Savior, and how they need to remember him always, and be very thankful for the gift that he gave us. How grateful I am for that and that I know he knows me and my family very well.




Saturday, December 19, 2009

A Visit to Santa


Today we went to go visit Santa. Usually we go sooner, but things have been crazy this year. The kids have been waiting and waiting to tell Santa what they want. Megan wants a Bat Cave made from Imaginex (I know a nine year old girl, who would have guessed) Emilee wants a DS, but I think I convinced her that Santa ran out and so she asked for a Webbkin.(Like she doesn't have enough already) Hunter asked for a Bumblebee Transformer electronic helmet. This was the first time in awhile that Hunter didn't cry. You know, he is a big boy now. Nice and brave, though I think he was a little nervous sitting on his lap, but he did great. Now I guess we have to wait and see what Santa brings. Merry Christmas all! We hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

It's the little things....

When we lived in Virginia and had moved into our house, everything was almost perfect except for the fact that on our kitchen sink, we didn't have a water sprayer to help clean the dishes. Now some of you might be thinking, big deal. Well, when you don't have it, let me tell you, you miss it. Of course I survived without, but I sure did miss having it. When we got our house here in Alabama, funny I know, but that is one of the things I looked at in the kitchen. Sure enough, it was there, but as we moved in, no garbage disposal. Again, what's the big deal, just scrape the food in the garbage, which you are suppose to do anyway even if you have a garbage disposal. Well, we have been scraping food into the garbage as clean as we can for the past 2 years and let me tell you....It's the little things that you miss. My dad is visiting for Christmas and we insisted on his help, not only to help install the garbage disposal, but find the electricity line, plumbing line, and fixing the right side of the sink, which has been broken since September. Today is a historic day for the Lamps family. After four years we now have both the water sprayer on the sink and the garbage disposal. Life is good. The new garbage disposal, ready to be installed in the sink. Woo-Hoo!, Say it with me, Woo-Hoo!
This was just the beginning of the messy counter for two days. As long as the garbage disposal got in.
Jeremy is now making sure that everything fits OK as he gets it all in.
Isn't it beautiful. A real work of art.


I wasn't there at the end, but I hear the kids gladly helped in cleaning up. I am not sure if I believe that and if they really did, it must be because Santa is on his way.


Sunday, December 13, 2009

Daughtry Concert

12 years ago on Dec. 20, Jeremy and I were married. Can you believe it? It really doesn't seem like that long, but it is true. Well, Daughtry was coming to Birmingham, I felt like going to a concert, so we decided to celebrate early. (I mean we tried to get Daughtry to reschedule his performance, but for some reason it couldn't be done, hahaha) Since the concert was an hour in a half away and the concert would get out late, we decided to stay the night down in Birmingham. Well, of course I also made Jeremy take me to Cheesecake Factory. It was a very awesome concert. It had been so long since I have been to a concert. He definitely put on a great show, and I will have to say there were people of all ages that came. Now I might be hooked. I am ready for another great concert, O.A.R., Train, Cold Play, and the list can go on and on. It was a very fun night and most needed.

Thanksgiving Day

So, I know this is late, but I thought I would share some pictures from our Thanksgiving. Because we are so far from home, usually it is just us. Also, since it is just us, sometimes it seems pointless to make a big dinner, especially since our kids are not the greatest eaters. Last year we went up to Nashville, took the kids to play at some big park, and ate at Golden Corral. This year Megan was against that idea. She wanted me to make Thanksgiving dinner and so I decided to go ahead and make it for her. I tried to keep preparations small, but with all the favorite Thanksgiving foods, we still had plenty of Leftovers (which I guess is very normal for the day of the feast). I have to admit, it was nice to sit and rest after dinner. I think on a whole, Megan had a great idea.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Halloween Night

Another year has gone by, and we find ourselves dressing up for Halloween again. I think this celebration holiday is probably the kids favorite. They start planning for it while trick or treating the previous year. My kids talk about it all year long and change their minds about 100 times of what they will be. What great fun it is to be a kid. Megan is always changing her mind and is probably my most indecisive child. This year she finally made the decision to be a vampiress. The fangs were the most important part of the whole costume. Do you know that they really don't make good looking fangs for someone her size. Her little mouth was just too small. We finally decided on the cheap ones and of course, she chose purple. I don't think I have ever seen a vampire with purple fangs. Of course, I guess I have never seen a vampire at all. All I have to say is, watch out Cullen Family, Megan is coming to get you.
This is the third year that Emilee is wearing a wig. They all seem to be blond of some sort. This year, she decided she wanted to be Rapunzel. I thought for sure she was going to stick with her choice from last year. She talked about it most of the year which was Velma from Scooby Doo, but after watching some Rapunzel movie she quickly changed her mind. I must say, she makes a most beautiful Rapunzel.
Hunter was convinced he was going to be Buzz Light year again. He doesn't like that the old costume has gotten a bit small and wanted a new one. Well, one Saturday a few weeks ago, we were at the store and he looked at the Buzz costumes until he saw Bumblebee. Well he quickly changed his mind and for sure that is what he was going to be. As we were getting ready to check out, he saw Optimise Prime and decided he was going to be the leader of the Transformers.
The kids definitely got their use out of their costumes. It started last week with the Fall Festival at school, Trunk or Treat a few nights ago, and then of course Halloween Night. I must say, I am all Halloweened out and we have candy everywhere. The kids have had fun though and can you believe it, of course they are already talking about what they will be for Halloween next year.

Happy Halloween !!

Choo, Choo


We are always trying to find fun and different things to do with the kids. Last year, we learned about this train that you can go on at different times of the year. It changes it themes according to the holidays. Easter, Mother's Day, Fall Colors, Halloween, and Christmas. We seem to always think about it, after the fact. Today, we remembered. It was the Goblin Express for us. The kids were excited to ride on a real train. Well, I have to say that sometimes when you look forward to something, it is not always what you hoped for. It was definitely not the experience I thought it would be. Jeremy and I were a little disappointed in it. The kids on the other hand, seemed OK with it. I guess that is whats important. As long as they were happy, then I am happy. They liked the train, they liked the experience, and of course, they liked the goodie bag they got, when they got off the train.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Ahh! The Invention of the Telephone


So, we all have probably heard the saying, "Diamonds are a girl's best friend". I think I might have to disagree with that and say that it is probably the telephone. Through the many years since the telephone was invented, girls have chosen this object to be the desire of their heart, the connection, and the addition to their ear. And so it starts with our family. Yes, my girls have discovered, THE TELEPHONE. It rings constantly around here and I wish I could say it was for me, but no, it is usually for Megan and sometimes Emilee. Some days the girl's get home from school, they rush in the door, and it is not uncommon for me to hear the question from Emilee, "Mom, can I call Lilly". I then say,"Didn't you just see here all day at school." Emilee then might say, "But I didn't get to talk to her." Later, the phone rings, "Is Megan there"....hold on please. 10 min later, the phone rings, "Is Megan there...and this might go on a few more times through out the day. Sometimes I might even hear Megan and Emilee get upset with one another, because the other has been on the phone long enough. Now I fully expected this to happen, but I thought I had a few more years. So, now it starts, my girls are growing up and I can't seem to stop it. I am not sure I like it. I am just grateful they still think boys are yucky.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

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Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Happy Halloween

Enjoy the cute song and :

Wishing everyone a very Happy Halloween! :)

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Madison Street Festival

Yesterday we were thinking of something to do together as a family and what do you know, there was a Madison Street Festival. Now we actually live in Madison which is just right outside of Huntsville. (they pretty much are like one city) The festival was in downtown Madison. There was lots to look at. Many cute and things to see. (I think I might even got a few ideas for the next Super Saturday) Every booth we went to the kids were like, I want that, I like that, Can you buy that?.....Oh to be a kid again with no worries of where the cash really comes from. Somehow they seem to think that I can just put my magic card in the machine and poof, the item is theirs. Well, we actually made it with only spending $3.00 for the bounce houses. I think that is pretty good. It was a beautiful day and fun to be out in the sun on a fantastic fall day.

The kids saw a Star Wars Storm trooper out and had to take their picture with him. Hunter was a little scared of him, but with Dad in the picture with him, we was able to brave the big bad storm trooper. We were hoping to dunk Hunter's teacher and the kid's PE teacher in the dunk tank, but we were too late. They had already finished earlier that day. Too bad for us, but the kids got there faces panted instead.

We had a good time. That is one thing fun about living out this way, lots of different festivals. Most are fun to go to. Every once in awhile we hit one that was not worth it, but for the most part, we really do enjoy them.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Megan shares her talent

Today in church, our ward had their primary program. It was so fun to see all the kids talk about the things that they have learned through the year. Megan, Emilee, and Hunter did a wonderful job. One of the things that they do each year is have some of the children play the songs on the piano that the primary kids sing in the program. Megan had done this last year and this year they asked her again and she said yes. Her song that she played for the program was "Did Jesus Really Live again?" She worked very hard on it and today she did a fantastic job. I had my MP3 player, so I recorded her. You can listen to it below.


Meganprimary.WAV

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Third Trailer




Well, I might as well be consistent. Since I have posted the other two trailers, I might as well post the third. It looks better and better each trailer I see. Enjoy!

Monday, August 24, 2009

Star Wars Camp Out !!

So, Jeremy has been up in Maryland this past month. His Central office in DC asked him to be a counselor up at the Academy for a month. So, last week end the kids and I decided to have a camp out up in the playroom. We built a fort, they got their sleeping bags out, ate popcorn, and watched Star Wars, Return of the Jedi. They didn't go to sleep until about 11:00 or 11:30.

Many times, when Jeremy is gone out of town for work, the kids usually beg and beg me to let them sleep in my bed. Well, I can be a little selfish about that, since I love to take up the whole bed when Jeremy is gone. Most of the time I let the kids once, have a turn sleeping with me. Since the camp out, I haven't had one request from them to sleep in my bed. They must have had sooo much fun, the idea of sleeping in my bed has gone from their brain. Lucky Me!

Monday, August 17, 2009

New Trailer for New Moon



OK, so since I posted the first New Moon Trailer, I might as well post the second one. I have to say, I am pretty excited. I think it is going to be good. I know I shouldn't get my hopes up, but the trailers and sneak peeks I do see, I am impressed. So if you haven't had a chance to see it, turn off my music, and click on the screen to play. Enjoy!!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

First Day of School

So, yesterday was the first day of school. The different emotions were very evident in each of my kids. It was a busy week getting ready for school. I had Super Saturday to get ready for and school to get ready for. I survived and so did my kids. On the first day of school, it was exciting. Not only for the kids, but also for me, as all three kids are now in school. Megan is going into the fourth grade this year. She is one of the big kids now. The school has two levels, and she is now on the second level. (That is where 4, 5, and 6 grade are) Megan has not been excited for school. She wonders why school is almost a year long and you only have a couple of months for summer. She doesn't think that is very fair. When we met her teacher the other day, she started to get excited. I think she is going to like her teacher. She is a very hands on teacher and enjoys science. Megan loves science. She gets to join clubs now and wants to join the Lego Robotics club. I know that she will have a great year.
Emilee is going into second grade. She has been very excited. Though the night before, she got a little nervous. The next morning, she was dressed and ready before I got out of the shower. She had two good friends in her class last year. One named Jacob and the other John. Both have moved away. We knew Jacob was moving for some time, but we just found out John had moved. He lived right behind us and we had no idea. Emilee has many other friends though and enjoyed the first day of school very much.
Well, that leaves Hunter. My baby. I don't think he is big enough to go to kindergarten, but yet he is. I have been worried about him, but he had a terrific first day. He has been excited for days, though he would never tell you that. Whenever I got a new supply for him, shoes, or anything else for school, he would get very excited and hide it in his room. Kindergarten here is all day, so they need rest mats. They rest for about 30 min. in the middle of the day. I made one for him, with the help from a friend. He was so excited and tried it out right away. He is holding it in the picture. He came home on the bus and looked like such a big boy coming up the steps to our house.
It was a quiet day. I actually got a lot of things done. It is amazing what you can get done when kids aren't fighting, asking questions all of the time, whining, crying, and making messes. I am working on my Alabama teaching certificate( should have it in the next month). In the meantime I am still doing some subbing. This will keep me busy while the kids are at school. Until then, I think I will enjoy the silence.





Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Destin, Florida

This past week, Jeremy and I were able to get away and spend some time with each other. The last time that we went on a trip together was when Hunter was about 7 months old. He is five now. (besides going to LV, and that doesn't count, Jeremy was in a conference for work all week) Our destination was Destin, Florida. This is at the border of Alabama and Florida. (the pan handle) We were in the Gulf of Mexico waters. Jeremy says sometimes this is known as the "Redneck Rivera".
The beaches are very pretty in Destin. There is beautiful white sand everywhere and it is very soft. The water was nice. Not to cold and not to warm. The one thing I didn't like was the humidity. It is very very humid. Thank goodness for the breeze from the waters, otherwise it would be awful.
We got to do a few activities. Most activities seemed very expensive, but as we were conservative, we chose a couple that we thought we would enjoy. One was a Sunset Cruise. For 2 hours while the sun set, we were able to ride on a boat, look for dolphins, and enjoy other people, while watching the sun set on the waters. We had a nice relaxing time. One of the pics above is my glasses that fell onto the front slant of the boat and were out of reach. It was a little funny 'cause I thought they were gone for sure, especially while going over the waves of the ocean. Most were concerned that saw them and I assured them I wasn't too worried 'cause I always get my sunglasses at the $1 store since I lose them all the time. They never fell off and I was able to retrieve them at the end. Someone mentioned that if they were $300 glasses, they would have been in the water for sure. I probably would agree with that.
We also had the opportunity to go Deep Sea fishing. Jeremy loves to fish, so this was an exciting time for him as he has never fished in the ocean. ( only lakes) It started out great. The weather was perfect. It took about 1 1/2 hours to boat out there. I caught about 5 fish, all Red Snappers. Three were thrown back into the waters for not being big enough, though I thought they were pretty big. Jeremy caught a few as well. It was hard work reeling those fish in. With the weight of the pole, the weight attached to the line, and the fish, I have to say was hard work. I had enough and left Jeremy to his fun. Well, I guess with the motion of the boat while it was not going, the smell of the fish around me, the guts, and the squid bait, I was feeling very nauseated and sea sick. Not fun for me. I was looking forward to when it was time to go back. When the boat started up again, it took about 45 min. and I was feeling much better. The whole excursion took about 6 1/2 hours. It was an experience, but I think next time, I will just hang on the beach.
One of the restaurants that we went to was called "Fuddpuckers". It was kind of an interesting place. It was right in the middle of what was called "Gator Beach". This is where you could feed the alligators and hold them if you want. (for a price). I decided to look at them from a far. Jeremy wanted to hold them, but it cost $10 to do that and we just didn't think it was worth it. We had a good time looking at them while they basked themselves in the sun instead.
All in all, we had a very nice time together. It was good to spend some time with one another and to leave the kids at home for a few days. Sometimes you need that. The beaches were beautiful and we definitely had some fun experience.



Monday, July 13, 2009

The Ultimate Twilight Experience

I know, you are not going to believe it. I hardly believe it myself. I never thought I would participate in anything so hilariously funny. This last weekend, me and some friends here in Huntsville, had the crazy idea to go to Atlanta Georgia for the weekend and attend a Twilight convention. At the beginning, I was like, NO WAY!, but as I thought about it, I thought weekend with the girls and no kids. That sounds like fun. So, that is what we did. We all got Gold status and enjoyed each other at the Twilight convention in Atlanta Georgia. I have to say, I have not laughed so hard and so much in my life. They had five guests at the convention. Billy Burke who played Charlie Swan, Peter Facinelli who played Carlisle Cullen, Kellan Lutz who played Emmet Cullen, Ashley Greene who played Alice Cullen, and Catherine Hardwick, the director of Twilight. They all had question and answer sessions. They were all very entertaining, extremely nice, and very informative. With our Gold Status, we were able to get their autographs (which I bought a T-shirt for them to sign because I forgot my DVD), and even attend a Twilight Ball. I know, you are jealous, right?
I personally did not want to go to the Twilight ball, but the friends said we were all going and I had no choice in the matter. Actually, it was kind of fun. Kellan Lutz and Ashley Greene attended, went around and talked to everyone. Ashley Greene sat down at our table and chatted. Kellan Lutz even gave me a big hug. Kind of cool. They were both very nice. My camera was not working very well so my pictures are not very good, but good enough I suppose. My family back in Vegas will appreciate this.....Kellan Lutz loves games. He loves to have some sort of game with him whether it is cards or dice to play on his down time. I had brought with me the card game Monopoly, which I learned in Vegas from the family. My sister-in-law Patty bought me the game and it has been in my purse ever since. We played it a couple of times and I decided I was going to buy the card game and give it to Kellan when I got his autograph. He was stoked, so he seemed. Even gave me a hi-five and couldn't wait to play it with Ashely on the plane. So, if you ever see an interview with him and if he ever talks about the Monopoly card game, just remember, it was me who gave it to him.
Also, when we talked to Catherine Hardwick we mentioned a good book series that she might like that would make a great movie. The Poison Study series. She seemed very interested and wrote it down and made sure she knew who the author was. You never know, it just might get made. She was very nice and I enjoyed her more then I thought I would, since some of her interviews she seems a little wacky. It was a fun weekend with friends. I don't think I would go to another Twilight convention again. There were definitely some crazy Twilight fans there. Talk about die hard fans, some interesting, some wildly crazy and annoying, and some who were just like me, who wanted to have a good time with friends. I am glad I went.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Photoshop Test


I got this new photoshop program that makes these fun layouts for pictures. I just wanted to see how it works tonight, so I thought I would use my cute boy as a test. Not too bad. I will have to experiment more later. What do you think?

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Along comes Mr. Alligator....SNAP!

When Joanna got here to good old Alabama, Jeremy decided her first day out, she needed some good Cajun food. He had been here before, but wanted us to go as well. We left the kids at home and went to lunch. So, Jeremy decided to be adventuresome and ordered Fried Alligator. (I think he was just showing off) Now the meat is taken from the tail. Now, can you believe it? I tried it. Me, little Ms. Picky. I don't think I liked it very much. It tasted a little too fishy for me. Jeremy and Joanna both thought it tasted like pork from the swamp. They both decided that they liked it. I think next time, I will just stick with the chicken.


Joanna and I drove down to Florence, AL and visited the birthplace and home of Helen Keller. I learned some things I didn't know before. She accomplished a lot with the disability she had. She learned how to overcome her weaknesses and made them strengths. I also found the lady that was her teacher. She started teaching Helen at age 2o and stayed with her for 49 years until she died.

Here Joanna at the water pump where Helen learned that letters made up words and meant something. The first word she learned was water. It clicked for her that day and she learned 30 more words that day and 300 more words that week.

These falls were in a park that was down the street from the Keller House. We thought they were very pretty and stopped to take a picture. Here I am with Joanna.




Happy Birthday America!


Well, the fourth of July is a day to reflect upon our freedoms and the sacrifices that went into having them. I know that I am grateful to be born in the Land of the Free. Times are hard these days, but keep in mind of the end goal and be grateful for what you have today. Happy Birthday America! For the Fourth, we went and saw the fireworks off and Bridge Street. This is kind of an upscale outdoor mall. It was fun to see all the people and listen to the music as the fireworks went off.

I know it is a little dark, but doesn't it look like the kids are "sitt'n on the Dock of the Bay"







Sweet Home Alabama

We are finally home. We loved spending time with family and friends, but it is good to be home. We were so lucky when we were coming home because my cousin Joanna was able to fly home with us and spend a week with us. We have been showing her all the hot spots. ( I guess you can call them that) One of the places we were able to go is the Space and Rocket Center. Huntsville is one of the locations of NASA. It is also where the only NASA space camp is located, which is at the Space and Rocket Center. Now our family has been to the center before, but for some reason, I must not have had a camera on me. I took a few photos. You can enjoy them below on the slide show.

Liberty Park, SLC

While me and the kids were in Las Vegas, we had the opportunity to go up to Utah and visit some friends and family. One day, me and the kids went up to Salt Lake. I had planned for us to hang around Temple Square, but with all the construction around, it was quite difficult to find a place to park. Also, since things had changed so much since the last time I visited ( 2 years ago), we just lost our patience and decided to go get some lunch at the Spaghetti Factory and played at Liberty Park. I think the kids enjoyed that. Below are some pictures that we took.
Megan loves the swing rides.
The fountains. Great fun to splash in when you are hot from playing.

Look at that water. Looks pretty dirty. Next to Hunter was a small boy who found a big gulp cup and continued filling it and drinking it. Now where was the mother. Oooo, Yuck!

Megan has always loved splashing in the water!

Now, the girls were so excited to go on the Ferris wheel, but when Emilee was at the top, she decided she didn't like it anymore. After the second time going around, she had enough and was adamant about getting off. Poor Emilee.

Now this airplane ride was much more pleasing to Emilee.

Now Hunter is ready for his driving test....Do you think he will pass?