My Name

I've always loved my name. I like being unique. It has come with it's set of obstacles, though. When I answer the phone at work or when I meet someone new, they never get it correct. Joan? Jan? Jim? I always end up spelling it out and most of the time people compliment me on it. For those of you who don't know, Jem is my actual middle name. Yes, it is on my birth certificate and, no, it's not short for anything. It is my dad's initials. Jon Eyre Marchant. In kindergarten, I remember trying to go by Kimberly, and I don't quite remember if it was my mom or if it was my choice to try and change but it only lasted a couple of weeks. I am just not a Kimberly. I've seen and heard my name wrong numerous times and in many different ways, but, yesterday, when we ordered a pizza, I saw a new one. Just thought I'd share. It made me laugh.

My Man

Robb's softball team took first place tonight. He thinks he's old and fat. I think he's still got it going on! Love ya, babe! (That's Kyle Leithead in the front row with the cap on backwards for those of you from Lovell)

Memorial Day

Bumper Boats
After Bumper Boats. We got Jazz good!
Go-Carts. That's Jasmine's friend Jessica. She's been at our house 3 days straight. (Remember those days, Colett?
Mini-Golf
Slow-Carts

Because Robb is in New York this weekend and I am not the outdoorsy type, I took the kids to Fiesta Fun today. We rode go-carts, did bumper boats, played video games and miniature golfed for SEVEN HOURS. I think I deserve mom of the year for that one. It was fun. I rewarded myself with P.S. I Love You. I think I'll make the kids watch it 3 times. That'll make us about even.

Busy Week

Last day of school.

Just a couple of pics from last week. It was the last day of school. (Not sure how I feel about that yet.) And, Jazz had her first gymnastics competition. She did well for her first time. She is doing very basic moves. She is the second oldest in her class. They start them young down here in Utar. She received a perfect 10 on the vault and bars, a 9.8 on the floor and a 9.9 on the beams for a 39.7 overall. (The other girl in the photo is Jasmine's friend Tori.)

Another Year

Yes, yesterday was my birthday. It was a perfect day. Nothing glamorous or flashy, which is not me anyway. First of all, I got the day off from work. (That would have made it perfect in and of itself, but it got better.) The kids are still in school, so I was able to sleep in and then get up and get ready all by myself. I then went and got a massage, courtesy of my fantastic husband, went shopping at Bed, Bath and Beyond, (again alone) thanks to my mom and sisters back in Lovell, and then went to Panda Express, which is one of my favorite eating establishments. The rest of the day, I just relaxed at home with my family. Check out the flames off my cake. Sheeeesh.

My Artiste

Hope is my artiste. She is so talented. She can sing and play the guitar, take photographs and draw just to name a few. As you can tell by my playlist, I love 60s music and The Doors are by far my favorite band of that era. My kids know this. Even Bobby knows who Jim Morrison is. Hope brought home this artwork today from school. I wish I had a better quality picture. She didn't draw it, though. The page is black with the silver underneath. She scratched off the black to get to the silver. Pretty amazing, if you ask me. I truly am so blessed to have such wonderfully talented children.

My Sportster

Jazz is my little sportster. She's pretty passionate about any sport and she usually dominates even the boys in her grade. She is contantly bringing home certificates explaining how she broke the school sit-up record or ran the fastest mile. Last week she was in a badmitten tournament at school. After a week of intense playing, she ended up champion of the girls for the fifth grade. She came home with this bagfull of games. There is badmitten, volleyball, jai-alai, horseshoes, etc. I hope that she can continue to want to excell at what she does and am excited for her future. My favorite part of being a mom is watching my kids participate in any sort of activity. I often wonder how people spend their time when they don't have the wonderful blessing known as kids. We are proud of you Jazz!

Pride and Joy

Between our many moves, for one reason or another, we got rid of Robb's favorite chair. One of his favorite things to do is to come home after a long day of dealing with people's grief and pain and zone out watching baseball or Seinfeld. I've been getting upset, though, because lately, he comes home and lays on the couch, which has been the only piece of "sitting" furniture in the living room. So, inadvertantly, I end up sitting on the very edge of the couch trying to join him in his nightly ritual. Friday, when I came home from work, I walk in and see his "new" chair. He had went to DI and bought it for 20.00. It is pink, but he doesn't seem to care. Many hours of tv watching are going to spent in this new chair. It will be very loved. All there is left to say is: Welcome home, Robb's recliner, welcome home.