More on Mike

Last night at about 2:30 am right after Mike goes to bed after homework.....

Mike: "What is that sound?"

Me: (Half asleep) "I don't hear anything"

Mike: "It's something in the attic! I'm tired of having an old, run-down house! It's something in the attic! Something is broken in the attic and it's going to catch on fire and burn down the house.

Me: (Half asleep, questioning, once again, my husband's sanity) "I'm sure it's nothing.....I really don't hear anything.

About twenty minutes later, after I've just fallen back asleep.....

Mike: "There it is again!" (getting out of bed, and heading toward the offending noise) I know it's something in the attic that's broken. I can't sleep! I can't believe you can't hear that! We need to fix it now or it could catch on fire..... (now at the window) .....oh, it's just the rain on the window, nevermind....

Me: (Long pause) ..... (cue hysterical laughter)

When I try to explain Mike to people I know who haven't met him or really don't know him, I usually have to use stories. He is so unique and quirky. I think this story sums him up pretty good. If there is something on his mind, it has to get done! We love our Daddy around here.

Sick? Sick!!

Seeing Erin in Seattle.....great. Finally, witnessing Wicked.....priceless. Eating at Claim Jumpers.....heavenly. Going to the furniture store to see Erin's soon-to-be couches.....comical. Afraid of seriously losing my guts (whatever "guts" actually is) while having diarrhea and puking in the furniture store bathroom.....could have done without it. Seeing Josh and Erin's faces when they saw my blotchy skin, blood shot eyes, swelling ankles, pale face and detatched expression....hilarious (too bad I wasn't in any mood to laugh). Convulsing with uncontrollable shaking for two hours.....painful. Paying a lot of money to go to an emergency room out-of-state....could have done without that one too. Benedryl through an IV.....again, heavenly. Having an 8 month pregnant sister following ME into the emergency room.....now you may all start cracking up.
Thanks to Erin for taking care of me when I was supposed to be taking care of her. Thanks to Josh who very chivorously drove me where I needed to go and stayed at the hospital when I knew he wanted to just go and get those dang couches already!! I love family. I would say that I owe Erin one, but here's the great thing about this family.....we don't keep score. I will help any of them whenever they need it and they will help me when I need it. Thanks so much Erin and Josh! For taking care of me and being bright lights in our family. Congratulations on little Justin!

Cruisin'

Our best cruisin' buddies! Jeremy (Mike's brother) and his lovely wife (and my vacation Saver!) Robyn.

Istanbul, Turkey, in front of Hagia Sophia. Whoo hoo!

What a great pic......can't see anything. In the cistern. Read on for our other destinations!

Ephesus

Robyn and Jer were always trying to get us in the pictures. Robyn convinced me that you might as well get a postcard if your not going to be in the pics. Okay Robyn! From now on I'll be better.

A sidewalk mosaic. Throughout the whole trip I would ask myself, "How looooong did that take them?" Our tour guide told us that some of the full bodied sculptures were the only carving a sculptor would do in his whole career. Um.....no thank you, I'll take care of my crazy brood instead.

Potty break? Ancient bathrooms. There was a running stream underneath. I can only imagine the SMELL!

Jer and Mike in front of the library facade. Amazing!

Aweosme staium.....I don't know what else to say! They still hold events there.

And last, but surely not least, Mike paying a whopping $2 to sit on a camel they wouldn't let stand up......HILARIOUS.

Greece

That's right! Donkey's! We were certainly haulin' some ass! How could we pass up the chance to ride up the cliff on these beauties? That mean man was not very nice to those animals! This is Jeremy (Mike's bro) negotiating the turn.

Uh....yeah, I guess that's pretty.

I led the way with my ever faithful steed.

Goodbye Greece! You were exactly what I wanted you to be!

Pompei

Pompeii!! I studied about this place in College. It was amazing. So here is a little bit about our time there (and some history too, sorry!) This is a cast of a body preserved by the ash lava spewed (great word) by Mt. Visuvius. These are slaves. We know this because they all have belts, which categorized them as property. It is fascinating! They are shielding their faces from the oncoming waves of ash!

Fountain in a bath house with propaganda about the upcoming elections of the day. They had cold or warm water! Genius!
Another cast. You can see the teeth!
This is the original pier. The water is now about 3 miles away.

Grand entrance gates into Pompeii.


An ancient two-way road for chariots! They still had the wheel marks! This was a crosswalk for pedestrians. The streets were not only for travel, but also for sewage drains....yuk!
Some mosaics. I restrained from taking pictures in the brothel, where the mosaics above each "room" illustrated what exactly you should or could do in the room. Honestly people, will we ever be free from our hormones? These are some harmless ones.
A bakery! Those are some huge grain mills! Also an oven in the back. I have tons of pics of "pubs", houses, fountains and lead pipes running throughout the city. They were well advanced for their time. The lead pipes might have something to do with the low-age deaths!

I loved Pomeii! Thank you, you crazy, egotistical, power-craving ancient Romans!

I'm back

Here I am in Greece, one of the stops on our Meditteranean cruise, more to come on another post!




Family pics. A terrible headache afterward but worth every rub of the temples.
Beautiful Utah. Here are just some pics for you entertainment. What I really want to say is that macaroni and cheese from the box and TV babysitting are not beneath me, and........
IM BACK IN THE BLOGGING GAME!

Indecisive.....who ME?!

Many of you know now about my crazy obsession.....dogs. So scratch that last blog because we aren't getting an aussiedoodle anymore.....actually, we sold Bree and made a $250 profit (I know, I'm awsome!) Okay, here's the deal. I have been doing tons of research and talking to many, many breeders. I have picked out my favorite pure bred dogs and have decided to breed them instead of breeding for mixed breeds, ie goldendoodle, labradoodle, aussiedoodle. So here are the greatest two breeds of dogs, in my opinion. Without further ado, I give you (drumroll, please)......The Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier! Never heard of it? Neither had I. Here is the rundown...non-shedding coat, medium build (17-19 in at shoulder, 30-40 lbs)

As puppies they look like this little guy above. When they are full grown they have a lighter coat color like this gorgeous girl below. You have to clip them, but only have to comb them every other day.
I am really drawn to the medium size and also love the poodle, except for the fact that I think they are ugly. Well, after much thought and research I am getting a Klein Poodle. They are in between the standard and miniature in height and weight. Here is the sire (dad) of my soon to be pup.
Yes, ugly, but I have seen some okay looking poodles, it's all in how you cut them. I definitely will not give my dog a "top notch" or pom-poms for feet. Just one length all over for me, thank you. That style of cut is good looking and easier to maintain. Also the Klein has the temperament of a standard poodle, said to be the best pet, and most trainable breed (because it is only surpassed in intelligence by the boarder collie). Our Wheaten is coming July 22nd and our Klein is coming sometime in February. Here we goooooooo!!!!!!!

Patience....

I have a problem. I tend to get obsessed easily over certain things. I had two topics especially on my mind the last couple weeks. First, dogs....I can't get over that one. We are eagerly anticipating the arrival of our second dog, Lexi. She is an aussidoodle (Australian Shepherd/Standard Poodle).Cool, huh? Bree has been doing so well, that I thought we could try another. We'll see!

The other thing I have been obsessing over is where my family and I are going to end up. I am so excited to find a place we are going to be in for the rest of our lives. I want my kids to remember one place when they are growing up. I know it's a lot to ask, but still, I want it. So, I took to the internet looking at land. I found the greatest piece of property in Alpine (for those of you who don't know Utah, this is pretty desirable land). It was two acres for 80,000 (that is an excellent price here). I showed Mike the land and was so excited about it. I don't think I've mentioned that we just found out Mike is accepted to University of Utah's MBA program. There is a lot on our plate....anywho, we had stake conference on Saturday night and were reminded that the most loving caring words are "We can't afford it"and "We can afford it, but we don't need it"........darn!! I really felt humbled. I know that if we do what has been requested of us, we will not be sorry! So I have made a new and improved budget, new savings plan, and new frame of mind. Look out future land! My new obsession - SAVING MONEY!!
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Summer

Could there be a cuter boy?

The pool is open and Taycie's b-day bash has come and gone...

My kids are still resembling stairs....I wonder how long that will last?

Safety first in the Hammond house.

I took Taycie on a short ride in our other car (the one without carseats) and came home to find her like this.  Sheesh.

BREE!!!

Golden Retriever/Standard Poodle cross.  Non-Shedding.  Easy to train.  Excellent with kids.  

Inside dog.  House trained in 1-2 weeks.  Cute.

MY KIND OF DOG!!

We can't wait to have you home on Sunday, Bree!!  

A Blog For Mothers

I had an "aha" moment on mothers' day.  I was a little dissapointed that nothing really special happened on mothers' day.  Sure, I got flowers and a nice card from Mike and the kids, but nothing out of the ordinary happened......darn.  Then it hit me.  What did happen?  Well, I guess we could start on Saturday when Mike cleaned all of the bathrooms, washed and vacuumed every floor surface, cleaned the whole kitchen, and was in a good mood the whole time.  "Wow, what a nice thing for him to do for mothers' day", you might be thinking.  Here's the kicker......that is what happens EVERYDAY!!  I have Mother's Day EVERYDAY!!  I usually don't pay much attention to what my cards say for special days like this but I thought I would share my card with all of you.  It was like he searched the globe for the card exactly right for us....

"Days like this remind me how much I love you.  I know that they say that things sort of even out when you're married- that you're not supposed to feel so overwhelmingly 'in love' anymore.  We've been together for a while now, and I know things aren't always perfect.  But I want you to know that there are times when it just hits me and I'm just so sure about how much I love you.. about how right we are together.  And I don't think those moments will ever stop happening.  Happy Mother's Day" 

I love the honesty, or cheesiness, take your pick.  And here is what Cason had to say about mommy.  It was a fill-in-the-blank.

My mom is 14 years old.

My mom is the prettiest when she puts her church dress on.

My mom likes to make her favorite kind of food like spaghetti!

My mom always says, "No, Taycie" and "I love you".  

My mom is funny when she makes a funny face.  

Here's the bottom line.  I love being a mom, and I love being a wife.   

Evan, Evan, Evan.....

Evan has saved my life by moving in with us.  I don't think I have laughed this much since high school!!  We are definitely BFF's.  Here is a movie of Ev.  And yes, he is sunburned.

LPBW

I read other people's blogs and wonder why mine can't be mind-blowing or thought-provoking and I've come to the conclusion that it is because I don't have time to think so I choose to spend my free time watching shows like this....Little People, Big World.  I love this family.  I love where they live and all the activities they do.  I know (eye roll), it is a waste of time.  Mike really can't understand why I like this show so much.  My reply is "I, uh, just do".  The smartingness just keeps on going right on out of my brainpower.  The conclusion is I like wasting time every once in awhile! 

My yard!

Trying to get the house and yard in selling condition.  We aren't moving, it would just be nice to get the house the way we want it BEFORE we actually move (which isn't for a long time).  Hope you like it mom!

Themes of the last few weeks...

Robb is gone!  We are so sad that he left but Evan has moved right in to the bigger room and we will see him in June....miss you already, Uncle Robb!  (This pic is for some ID he had to get, sorry about that Robb!) 

Play dates! There were quite a few freezing cold spring days so we have been having play dates to pass the time, here is my kids with the Larson's.  We love playing with Calder, Meridian, and Ammon. 
Blue eyes!  Let's just take a break and thank our Heavenly Father for the tender mercy of giving our children traits we don't have......such as beautiful blue eyes.
Nakedness!  Honestly, lately I am just glad when I can get her to keep her underwear on.  
Strangulation!  What do you get when you tie the sled to the top of the slide with a nylon rope and slide down?   This.....
(For my benefit:  the rope has been thrown away, and Brock has completely healed and it was not my idea)
Sick!  What sick looks like at our house-



Broken Trees!  Late heavy snow results in broken blossomed trees, it is actually worse in real life.
Spring!  Do I dare say it is here to stay awhile?????
Little TV!  My kids would rather watch this little guy than the big tv.  They love to huddle together and watch their movies.  So cute.