The Dark Knight

Thrilling. Scary. Emotional. Nail Biting. Twisted. Exciting. Graphic. Creepy. Psychological. Disturbing. Amazing. Engrossing. Witty. Bone Chilling. Haunting. Sad. Phenomenal. A Must See. Dark. Smart. Edge of your Seat. Visually Stunning. Complex. The Shortest 2 1/2 Hrs of my Life.

Tom is a huge Batman fan, and by default so am I (we weren't among the hundreds of weirdos who dressed up... but we wanted to be!) At 12:05 this morning, our waiting finally paid off as we saw what is probably the best movie...EVER! Worth the money..Worth the wait.. worth the time! I can honestly say that I cannot wait to see it again. Thanks to Kevin and Em for being nerds with us a showing up 3 hrs early to wait in line to see the movie; and thanks so Kilee for staying up for 6 hrs to baby sit our kids.

(This film is definitely not for the kiddies).

The Secret Wish

Last night at bedtime, Kaylee and I shared a tender moment.....

Kaylee- "Mom, do you have a secret wish? Like for something real or something that doesn't exist?"

Mom- "Hmmm, I'd have to think about that. Do you?"

Kaylee- "Yes, What I wish for more than anything in the whole world, is to be with my family forever."

Mom- "That does exist, our family can be together forever, because we were sealed together in the temple."

Kaylee- "So we'll be with each other forever, even after we die?.... (relieved) There's nothing better than having your family there to help you, no matter what. I love you!"

Mom- "I love you too!"

Part of Your World

I have to give credit to Janet for finding this awesome site, I've been looking for proof for years....

After taking the "Which Princess are You?" Quiz, I was not surprised at all to find that I am most like Ariel. I have known that for years. It may sound a bit strange but since my family has always been Disney followers and Princess lovers, my sister and I have often talked about which princess many of our friends and family were. Mom- you are definitely Cinderella!


You Are Ariel!

Headstrong and fiesty. You have a mind of your own that's full of romantic dreams about the world around you. Exploring exotic places is your ultimate dream, and although you can be a little naive you'll realize that there is something to be gained from your family's wisdom.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Stratosphere!

I love having out-of-town visitors!! It's a great reason to go out and do something fun.. or crazy.

We had an awesome time at Roxies' Diner. It's a fun atmosphere and always fun to try something new with the kids. It was good food and good company. One interesting note... Xan spent most of the time under the table or teasing the live DJ. He would only eat onion rings, and au jus dipping sauce?! We always knew that kid was a nut!

Immediately after eating, we rode the elevator for approx. 37 seconds to the top of the 1,149 ft tower. The boys were amazed at how much we could see from up there and Warner tried to figure out the telescopes. Tom found it amusing to put his job site in his hand. Kaylee thought she wanted to ride the rides (crazy), but she was too short. It's probably a good thing anyway because once we were up there, looking down, she realized that she has a great fear of heights. So just Tom, Amie, and Andrew rode Insanity, and the X-scream; and surprisingly, the thought of losing their recently eaten meals, added to the humor and craziness of the rides.

A Spectacular Fourth

The fourth of July is quickly becoming a favorite Holiday for us, especially Tom. I'd say it's right up there with Halloween as far as excitement and preparation goes. Anyone who knows Tom, knows he doesn't do anything half way.... so this night was a night to remember, for a lot of people, for a lot of reasons.

Most of the kids will remember the cotton candy, ice cream, sparklers, fire crackers, and cotton candy. Kaylee, Warner and Xander were certainly buzzed up on the sugar all night, which probably accounts for the fearlessness and silliness...I'm not sure if he even knew exactly what they did but Xander just loved the firecrackers, not to watch, but to hold. Warner took it upon himself to hand out lit sparklers to everyone, even if they weren't ready. Miss thang, got her little attitude on, and became the performer for the night, making kissing dares and tormenting the Shumway boys.

Some (and by some, I mean Tom and Andrew) will remember the genius and planning that went into the firework show, the hours spent building the grand finale, the cool T-shirt that said "WARNING SHOOTS FLAMING BALLS", and the adrenaline rush that comes from doing something illegal without getting caught.

The nice families who came to celebrate with us will remember that their lives were in danger and how crazy a party with the Simpson's can get. The Stepic's will never forget the trip to the E.R. after a slight four wheeler crash in the front yard. The Shumway's will be ever more grateful for their son Luke, after he survived a Flower (a small legal fireworks that spins on the ground) shooting straight at his face, unharmed; or how they almost crashed the previous mentioned four wheeler into the neighbor's house.

This Independence day was truly unforgettable.....And the best part is, we'll do it all again next year. See you all there!

Swimming...Finally

The kids have been dyin to go to the pool. It is so stinkin' hot. But for one reason or another we just haven't been yet (well, actually we did go last month but the pool was too cold to get in.. so that doesn't really count). I keep using excuses like, "it's too expensive to drive across town," or "we don't have a key to a pool, or even a pool in our nieghborhood." But none of that seemed good enough for the kids. So when we got the invitation from the Shumway's... there's no way we were passing it up. Thank you!

Over the Hump in Pahrum

For a really spectacular 4th of July, you have to go to "Over the hump", all the good stuff is in Pahrump. So on July 2nd we set out to get the best fireworks in Nevada, and Tom knew just where to get them. He had a wish list already made up and printed out from an online store, so all he had to do was match the list to the items on the shelf. The kids loved looking at the brightly colored packages, and just like every other year, Tom let them each pick out one special firework. By the time we were checked out, we had spent so much that Tom and Andrew both got free T-shirts---lucky!?!? A few employees at the store advised Tom not to go back to Vegas the way that we came, because of searches done to random vehicles along the highway. "It's real quick" they told us, to go around the other way into Vegas. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into; but after an extra 120 miles we were home again.

Last year we stopped for ice cream in Pahrump before heading back into town, so we decided to make that part of our tradition. But who wants McDonald's, when you can go to "the World's Tallest Ice cream Stand"? I was sitting in a chair relaxing with my sundae, when Tom shouts out "Rae, what is under your chair? Look, look!" I thought for sure it was a scorpion or tarantella, and jumped probably 7 feet. But it was this adorable little chipmunk, mouse, squirrel, thing (If anyone can recognize it please take a guess, it had a long fuzzy tail and loved peanuts, it had a friend with him and lived under an air conditioner). So we spent a few extra minutes visiting with the local wildlife, before setting out on the next 2 hours of driving.

Wall E

We didn't go see Wall E when it first came out; since Amie and Andrew were coming to visit we thought it would be fun to all go together. They brought us all matching Wall E shirts, that they made, aren't they cute?!?! What an awesome movie! We were all so entertained, even Xander stayed quiet and no one asked us to leave the theater (that's new)! As we left the movie and went out to Chili's for dinner, people kept staring at us.... like they've never seen 7 people wearing the same shirt before! We kept telling the gawking passer-byers, "We just saw the Hulk," that really gave them something to think about. What a fun night, Wall E is definitely an instant favorite!