I'm person saying: WTH?

I know I haven't posted in a week but things have been busy around here! I didn't have a Happiness post not because I didn't take pictures, but because I haven't had a chance to go through them all. Next week for sure. 

I just came across this article on the Yahoo News! website. It seriously goes in the WTH? category.

Job listings say the unemployed need not apply

Seriously!? They only want applicants that either currently have a job or have recently been laid off? How the HELL is that possible? Our economy is bad and the number of open positions out there are scarce. How do employers think we are going to lower the unemployment numbers in this country if they don't accept applications from workers that have been unemployed for longer than a few months? If there is a job opening, let ALL qualified applicants apply. It is a start to getting our economy back on track.

WTH people? WTH!

I'm a Mom starting to do new things with my family too...

...things most of you wouldn't think I would do.

First off- I'm a kind of a girly girl. I don't really enjoy being outdoors  unless it includes me sitting on the back deck with bottle glass of wine and a good book or my laptop. That means a shower and a bathroom aren't very far away. If we go camping (which we haven't done since way before the kids were born) it is at an established campground or KOA. We car camp.

SO you would assume I don't like to fish. Well, you are right...I'm kind of squirmy when it comes to baiting the hook with a live night crawler (or part of a live night crawler) and I will never, ever gut a fish, EVER. But I'm pretty good at casting, OK at waiting patiently for a fish and sitting at a fish pond or lake side isn't too bad.

We got gear together for us to go fishing while we were at Bear Lake. Due to a couple of severe sunburns, only Seth and Colin were able to go out on the raft and fish. So before our fishing licenses expired, we decided to take the kids out to a local fishing pond and teach them how to fish.

We didn't catch anything, and we learned a few lessons- don't fish at a place that has a playground or Lilly will complain that she doesn't get to play, make note of the wind so the line doesn't drift as you are casting, and make sure you bring a pair of sunglasses for Colin or he will complain too.

We will go again and maybe try a new spot (one without a playground) and hopefully I'll have some fish to try new recipes on!

I'm the Mom of a kid that finds Happiness in the funniest ways.

My oldest  has a non-typical way of playing most days. He likes to do what we call "Projects". My Dad gives him plumbing parts that don't work anymore (and are not fixable) and he gets to take them apart and see how they work. Sometimes he puts them back together, sometimes he doesn't but these "projects" keep him busy for hours. And I don't mean just 1 or 2 I mean 8 or more. That translates into Happiness for the kid and Happiness for the rest of the house (meaning, we don't have to entertain him).

Colin and his own set of tools

 

 

Studying a circuit board

I'm linking to Leigh vs. Laundry and her 52 weeks of Happiness. Trying to find Happiness in my week. Sometimes it is hard and sometimes it is pretty easy.

I'm a Mom that found happiness this weekend- so did my family!

We spent the weekend at a cabin near Bear Lake, Utah. The kids had a blast playing with their cousins, fishing and riding in the boat. We had a blast doing the same thing. Here are three pics that depict the Happiness we all found while out on the boat on Friday. 

 Colin on the boat for the 1st time

Daredevil Lilly on the tube for the 1st time

Seth just chillin'

We all found some Happiness this weekend, mine was found behind the camera. I'm linking to Leigh vs. Laundry's Happiness Project this week. I'm going to try to get behind the camera more often and force myself to find the happy things in my life. 

I'm a slacker blogger that keeps adding to the post in her head.

No really, I do. I have been writing a post in my head for months now and since I never get around to actually typing it out, I just keep adding events to it. SO- I think this post is going to be a bullet point post and it will be pretty long since I'm going to cover pretty much the whole year until now.

This is what our year has been like so far:

February

• Colin lost a few teeth. 2 I think. He lost 2 last year and it was slow going for the Tooth Fairy.

• Colin turned 8! We had a great birthday with my family going to the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum in Provo, Utah and then having pizza at Grandpa and Grandma's. It was exactly what he wanted to do! 

• For Valentine's Day my sweet husband bought me a copy of The Pioneer Woman's book Black Heels to Tractor Wheels AND conspired a bit with my friend Katie to get me a ticket to see her (again!) and get my book signed! It was a fun night with Katie, Holly and Michelle. 

March

• Colin had his 2nd grade program: The Dinosaur Fair. It was awesomely filled with songs about dinosaurs, facts about dinosaurs and the always cool dinosaur dioramas. He had a small part which he memorized quickly and said with great enthusiasm. 

• At this point in the year, Lilly is just being Lilly, learning new things each week and growing up way too fast! (I couldn't leave her out!)

• Colin lost 2 more teeth! The Tooth Fairy was a little busy around here the first few months of 2011. 

April

• Colin started Cub Scouts and loves it! He participated in his first Pinewood Derby AND won 4th place overall (out of 17 cars) AND his first run was the fastest run of the night! He named the car Meteor Speeder and boy was it fitting!

• Lilly's Kindergarten Orientation was at the end of April. I will have both kids in school 5 days a week for a few hours each day. We are BOTH so excited for her to start school in September. 

May

• I became Colin's Cub Scout assistant Den Leader. It has been so much fun helping the boys learn more about the world around them, doing crafts and making gifts for parents. 

• Colin's class (and I) went on a field trip to the Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur museum. It was a lot of work for the chaperones but so much fun for the kids! 

• For Mother's Day I got a new laptop! I needed one really bad and it was totally time to upgrade. I love it and can't wait to get a "skin" for the top. 

• We helped with a yard sale to benefit the Ride For Javin Tour deCure team. It was at my parent's house and we earned quite a bit of money between the items that were donated and the goodies I made! 

• Lilly turned 5! We had a BBQ/Strawberry Shortcake Birthday party at my parents after the yard sale and had a lot of fun. 

• Lilly graduated from preschool. Her program was so cute (she is an adorable little Hula Girl) and the end of the year video made me cry. She has grown up SO MUCH this last year and learned  a lot of things to help her in Kindergarten. 

June

• We had a birthday party for Lilly- a little late I know- but it was the only time we could do it.

• Colin had his last day of 2nd grade! Despite some social issues and a change in meds in March he made it through! His grades and behavior improved over the previous term and we are so proud. His teacher was so good with him all year long and I am going to miss volunteering in the classroom every week. 

• Seth rode his first benefit bike ride the Tour deCure! 25 miles with the Ride For Javin Team and they raised over $2000 to help find a cure for diabetes. It was a fun day and a great accomplishment for Seth, he now wants to do a few other rides around the state. 

• I had a birthday. I am now one year older and I have quite a few more grey hairs on my head. We went to the Clark Planetarium and saw a 3-D movie about the Hubble Telescope and had 5 Guys for lunch. My friends had a birthday LL for me the following Tuesday and overall it was a great birthday. Now if only the grey hair would go away. 

July (so far)

• We had a fun 4th of July weekend. Lots of time as a family. Neighborhood/Scout breakfast and an impromptu pancake breakfast with neighbors. Fireworks with the same neighbors and lots of fun. It was nice to spend time at home and just relax.

• We spend a weekend at Bear Lake using a cabin that is owned by a friend of my Dad's. That is totally my idea of camping- cabin with running water and electricity, mattresses to sleep on and a shower! We had a lot of fun going out on the boat and my kids LOVED riding on the tube. Colin went the fastest without falling off and Lilly was a little daredevil. I took hundreds of pics of them on the boat, and if I get a chance I will share a few of them!

 
That is our year so far! We've done so many fun things and have many fun things ahead for our family! I'm going to try to start sharing a new recipe each week and at least one WTH? post a week too. Try is the key word (as usual) since we are busy, busy, busy this summer.