Catch up Time!

Wow!  I didn't realize that it'd been SO LONG between posts!  Let's see if I can get things all caught up.....

First up... 

My brother Josh & his fiancé, Jessica got married (That still sounds slightly weird, thinking of my brother as a married man now... LOL!) in the Oquirrh Mountain Temple in Salt Lake City Utah this past March.  Don't they look gorgeous?  It was so nice to be able to be there for the wedding and not only welcome an awesome new sister-in-law to the family but we were also able to see extended family members and friends that we hadn't seen in a very long time.  I was almost sad to leave, but Salt Lake City traffic and my darling husband do NOT mix.... that and the family cat would have probably trashed the house if we didn't come back.  LOL!

Let's see.... oh, our son Joe started 1st grade this fall and is really loving having Grandma as his teacher.  There's been ups & downs like anything else in life, but this seems to be the solution that is working the best for us at this time.  :-)

And I think that's pretty much it.  Currently we're trying to wether this shutdown of the Federal Government.  That means a lot of time off and time spent at home for my husband... normally that would be a good thing, but when it's forced upon you by and indecisive, argumentative and completely juvenile sounding bunch of elected officials... well, there's a lot of stress.  I just hope they can figure something out before things get too crazy... well before they get any crazier anyway.  ;-)

They're getting hitched! :-)

Well the holiday season was hectic, but still fun. We even had a visit from my brother, Josh & his .... Wait for it.... Fiancé! Yep, we've got a family wedding to go to in March & I'll then have 2 sisters-in-law named Jessica. Lol! :-). New sister in law is really super sweet and I miss hanging out with her already. She even made me a huge, ceramic (she teaches ceramics at a local high school in Utah) bowl that I totally love. Can't wait for the wedding/ family reunion! :-)

Shelf Reliance: Thriving Nations 2011

Another reason to get your food stores & emergency supplies from Shelf Reliance.

Smiles & Bounce houses! :-)

Had so much fun getting to visit with my sister & her family last Wednesday at Monkey Joe's! Really missed those kiddos and loved getting to meet the newest addition to the family! :-)

5 years old! :-)

Can't believe it.... Our baby boy is now a happy, hyper 5 year old! :-). Where did the time go? Hard to believe he'll be old enough to start kindergarten this fall.

Scary afternoon Tuesday!

We had a pretty scary afternoon Tuesday. While on our way to a McDonald's in south Des Moines, my mom, my son & myself were sideswiped by another car & when I got out to survey the damage to my Mom's van, I'm infinitely grateful that my son emerged totally unscathed. The other car hit us right under his window and had we been in a lower profile vehicle, I'm sure that he would have been pretty badly injured. The van is most likely totaled, but at least nobody was hurt. So very thankful for that. :-).

Almost 5 years old already!

Wow! I can hardly believe my baby boy is almost 5 already! Just have to figure out where to have the party & do a guest list. :-). Going to be a pretty low key party this year though.