Down by the banks!

On Monday KayLynn and I packed up a picnic and headed down to the river. The girls had a blast and I think it was some of the best free entertainment ever!Syd's gift to me (thanks Brooke for the photo idea)!

Too funny! Joslynn wanted to make sure her skirt didn't get wet...I think she's safe!

{TOP 5} Tuesday...Am, Am Not

{TOP 5} I Am not...

1. I am not good at going to bed early (that's why you see 12:30am posts/comments from me).

2. I am not good at sitting up straight (began back in 4th grade when I needed my first bra :).

3. I am not good at keeping in touch (please call me).

4. I am not good at planning ahead (I am Albertsons most frequent customer).

5. I am not good at dancing (I think I'm the only one I know who wasn't on a drill team at some point in their lives).

And as a bonus we get nicely photoshopped pictures of me because my cute sis is at my house!

{TOP 5} Am...

1. I am good at flossing, every single night without fail!

2. I am good at making my bed everyday, not always first thing in the morning, but eventually it gets done.

3. I am good at keeping up on my laundry (most of the time) thanks to the 1 load- washed, folded and put away tip from Amy.

4. I am good at letting my hubby cause me stress...lots of it!

5. I am good at paying my bills on time. A couple of months ago I paid Dan's Visa off 2 days late...and believe me I will never do that again!

Hurry to my house and KayLynn will take your picture too!

Happy Father's Day!

We Love You! We are the luckiest family in the world to have such a wonderful father & husband!

I admit...we broke out guitar hero a little early, we couldn't wait! Dan really got into it and found the rock star inside himself! YOU ROCK!

Dave was rockin' out too! Here he is trying out "expert" where he made it a few seconds at 6% correct :) Dan did about the same at his expert run.

Kallie & Syd filled out a paper in Primary yesterday about what they know about their dad.

Kallie said his name was Danyel Norris, he is 50 years old, he is 91 pounds, he is 41 feet tall, and his favorite food is stack (steak).

Sydney said he is 31 years old, 100 pounds, 30 feet tall and his favorite food is steak and salmon.

And they are right...here is Dan cooking his own steak for Father's Day dinner! (and grilling garlic bread)

And a HUGE "WE LOVE YOU" to Grandpa Charlie! Kallie & Syd love grandpa because he always tries to tickle them and scare them in their beds and he finds the best hiding places during hide-and-seek! (Also, thanks Dad, for putting up with my hubby and supporting him and talking him through all of his business adventures! With your advice maybe we won't go bankrupt!)

And to Grandpa Lanny (who will never read this in a million years) We LOVE you! Kallie and Syd say that "You're a pig!" (He tells them regularly that they are cute little piggies :)

Thanks for everything you do! We love you!!!

Happy Birthday Ellie!

I love it when people come over for a party! I'm so glad Ellie (my niece's) birthday happened to be while they were at our house visiting. Any excuse for cake is ok with me!

The cake instructions I was given were: chocolate with pink frosting and rainbows...and vwa-lah! It's a good thing it doesn't take much to make a 6 year old happy!

No boys allowed (just kidding, Dave is hiding underneath Sadie)!

Make a wish!

Could her face hold a bigger smile???

Kallie & Syd gave me specific instructions that they wanted Ellie to get a Littlest Pet Shop present, so (once again) vwa-lah!Who's birthday is next? Please come to my house!

Weekly Photo Assignment

This weeks photography assignment was "EYES", and some of the girls gave tips on how to make "twinkly eyes".

Here is my beautiful Kallie showing a little (ok a lot) of attitude because she doesn't want me to take any more pictures of her "eyes". I'm posting the before and after so you can see the difference:

before
after
See...blue eyes aren't the only ones that look pretty in pictures!

{TOP 5} Tuesday..Costco Run!

(i think by now it is technically Wednesday...but who's counting!)

So I decided to make a Costco run today so we have something besides tomato sauce and canned peaches to feed my sister KayLynn and her family when they come visit us this weekend. Please tell me what it is about that place that makes it so you can't walk out of there without spending so much money that you feel like you need to sell the shirt off your back and your first born to cover the bill. But when you leave do you find yourself thinking..."What in the heck did I just buy for (insert number here) hundred dollars?" I mean really, if I'm going to spend hundreds (and I mean hundreds) of dollars I think it would be way more fun to do it at the mall!

So my {TOP 5} list for today are the 5 most expensive things I bought at Costco today. (Excluding a few boring items like c-fold towels and post-its that I bought for Dan's office...those don't count!)

5th most expensive thing: $12.49 a bottle of extra virgin olive oil...here's to hoping that the extra expense keeps us from getting high cholesterol!4th most expensive thing: garbage bags $13.49 that's a lot of money for something that you're buying for the sole purpose of throwing it away...go figure!

3rd most expensive thing: paper plates $14.79 I suppose I should stop being such a lazy bum and start using my dishwasher more...nah, totally worth the money when you would rather hang with friends or family rather than washing dishes :)

2nd most expensive thing: TP $17.99 I know what you're thinking..."buy a cheaper brand if you don't want to pay that much!" But I must tell you that last time I bought the Kirkland brand just to save a dollar or so, and we ended up donating it to the office because we hated it so bad. So, if you ever use the potty at Dan's office...you're welcome for the scratchy TP!

1st most expensive thing: TOP SECRET father's day Guitar Hero game for the Wii (I think I'll leave the exact price off this one for obvious reasons...yikes!!!) I feel pretty safe posting this because my hubby never checks my blog...but the girls and I are pretty excited about this one. Not as fun as 'Rock Band' but it will give us good practice when we go to the Hill's house!

Well, there you have it...the {TOP 5} things that sucked up all my money today. But I must say a huge THANK YOU to Amy for keeping my girls so I could spend my money in peace all by myself! And after Sunday...please feel free to come play Guitar Hero with us!

(and for next weeks list, I was thinking about answering 5 questions that people have always wanted to ask me. Send me your questions or I'll just make some up...

The Weekend

We had some friends from Meridian come stay with us last night. Trish had just finished an 11 hour bike race from Boise to Sun Valley (I know she's crazy :) but it was so fun to see them! We even had a little b-day celebration for Jeremy.On Thursday I was telling the girls that the Deim family was coming, trying to see if they remembered these friends (we weren't in Boise very long if you recall). Here's how the conversation went:

Me: Kallie do you remember the Deims that used to live down the street from us?

Kallie: No...

Me: Yes you do, remember Taylor is your age and she has two brothers, one named Hunter and one named Porter...

Kallie: You mean Porter...like porter-potty?

Me: (hysterical laughing to the point of tears, poor cute little Porter. Now we can't even say his name without thinking of a stinky outdoor facility :)

Our indoor yurt, I must admit we were pretty proud of this one. It could sleep 3, no kidding!

Our walk through the cemetery, love the smell of lilacs. I really tried to get my girls not to pick them, but a few managed to find their way to our house.

Tagged long, long ago...

My sis tagged me on her blog long ago (like April) and I keep saying, yeah I know I haven't done that yet, but I will I promise! So...here it is finally!

1. What book have you read recently?
So sad, I admit I'm not much of a reader. But I do my best to read the scriptures :) and the girls and I just finished listening to 'The Incredible Journey', '5x7=Trouble' and now we're on 'Farmer Boy' from the Little House on the Prairie series. My sister (Andrea) just lent me the book 'The Wedding' by the same author as 'The Notebook', so I will start that soon (yeah right!).

2. Given the chance, what special ability/power would you like to have?
Where to begin...I would love to sing, dance, do the splits, speak Spanish, be up on my current events, have the ability to save $millions, run a marathon, travel the world, sew (like Amanda), tile & re-finish cabinets (like Diane), cut hair (like Shalece & Jeni), always be happy (like Amy), cook (like Holly), make plans (like KayLynn :), be a friend to everyone (like Brooke), raise brilliant children (like Darlene), be on time (like Kara), be beautiful (like Kristin & Jamey J.), have goals (like Jelina), be organized (like my mom & dad), be kind (like Julie), read novels (like Maren), make everyone laugh (like Kamie), be a good listener (like Jamey N.)...are you bored yet? Pretty much, I want to be like all of you!

3. List two things you have eaten today:
Thank goodness for our 'hundred mile a month club' and our healthy snack break afterwards...I have eaten Amanda's spinach slime drink and a plum!

4. What's your favorite color? Why?
This is a really boring answer I know, but right now I'm into cream. Antique cream furniture, kitchen cabinets, moldings etc... I love a really classy 'cozy cottage' look and cream is a perfect background for any pop of color I want to add.

5. Where is the place you want to go the most?
Dan and I have been researching Costa Rica a lot on the internet, I'm pretty sure that will be our next big family vacation. Pretty much I'd go anywhere warm and tropical without a care in the world, since it is still freezing here (are 60's considered freezing in June?).

7. Do you believe in seeing a rainbow after the rain? (don't ask me where question 6 went?)
Who doesn't believe in rainbows? Last summer my girls and Sammi & Maci were out in our backyard looking at a rainbow and singing "I am a child of God", so sweet!!!

8. What would you do if you were a billionaire?
Pay off any and all debt (including business) and then help others!!!

9. Which type of person do you hate the most?
Ones that don't dig in and do their fair share, or worse leave things purposely knowing that someone else will have to follow behind them and do it for them. Ughh...just do it!

10. What are two things on your to do list right now?
Bathrooms and....bathrooms (you all know I hate cleaning them).

11. If you have a fault, would you rather the people around you point it out to you or would you rather they keep quiet?
Hmm, thats a tough one...can ya tell me in a nice way that won't make me feel down on myself?

12. List two jobs you have had:
When I was 16 I worked as a server at a retirement home and when I moved on from there I did telephone surveys (those were the days)!

13. What do you think is the most important thing in your life?
Being the best person I can be so that I can be with my family forever!

14. Is there anything that you have done which you regret?
Dating 2 guys up until the day I got engaged, I'm a jerk!

15. Name two of your bad habits:
*getting frustrated too easily, especially with me kids.
*not getting things accomplished, I'm sort of a wanderer.

16. What are your feelings about the person who tagged you?
Sisters are funny things, when you're young you can't stand each other, and when you're big you can't live without each other...
17. Who do you Tag? Why?
Really, I don't think anyone who takes 2 months to answer a tag deserves to tag anyone else. That is a privilege I lost about 6 weeks ago...but, do it if ya want!

Rain or Shine!!!

Yesterday we started our "one hundred mile a month" group. We had big plans of running/walking for miles and stopping at 'stations' along the way to get a complete interval training workout. Instead what we got was... RAIN and lots of it! But we were troopers and got in about half a workout before we gave up and finished exercising inside (Thanks Amanda for letting all the drown rats inside your house)!

Push-up station at my house (Amanda, Maren & Jeni)

Jeni & I LOVE being wet and cold...it's so fun!

Ok...this is how we really felt! (Kallie said that I looked like a grandma, and Jeni looked like a monster :)

Even the kids were out riding bikes and scooters, they really did think it was great fun!

Just in case you can't tell, this is Lucy, Jeni's very wet doggie!

See you all Friday...pray for sun!

Compose Assignment- Emotion

The "Compose" assignment for this week was "Emotion- tell a story in a single photograph". This may seem like an odd photo for this task, but let me tell you...this little dog is the most emotional member of our family (as most of you know). He is very passionate about playing fetch and would love to do it all day everyday...

Tuesday {TOP 5}...addictions

Come on, don't pretend you don't have them too! Those little things that you do a little too frequently, or think about a little too often! You know what I'm talking about, I'm just the brave one who willingly exposes my horrible habits for all to see. And as always, if you're my true friend, and you want to make me feel better, please feel free to leave me a comment with your addictions that you secretly try to hide! Look on the bright side, I'm not addicted to drugs :)

#5 Addiction: Truthfully I couldn't think of 5 so I asked my sweet little girlies what I do too much of...their answer was talking on the phone! Really??? I don't feel like that's true, but the truth hurts sometimes right?!?

#4 Addiction: I love to watch anything gross, disgusting, or nauseating on the Discover Health channel. But most of all I like to watch any show they have about babies (I like to torture myself that way...go figure) whether it's 1 baby, 2 babies or 6 babies, they all fascinate me! Poor, poor Dan has watched more shows about IVF multiples than he would even admit to. And I just saw on their web page that the Duggars just announced that baby #18 is on the way. I should just go to their house and borrow a baby or two, they would never know it was gone :)

#3 Addiction: I know you are all surprised by this one...shocked really! But my hubby is as addicted as I am, if not more, so that make it alright...right?!? Even though I must say, at certain points during the competition he certainly looked a lot like Mr. Collins don't you think?

#2 Addiction: OK, so my life is an open book really! It is no surprise to anyone that I have a sugar addiction. I feel like I do alright with portion control until is comes to anything filled with sweet, yummy goodness...it is then that I loose all self control. Even to the point of canker sores...totally worth it! And yes, I made caramel popcorn just for this post, don't you wish you were one of my neighbors who received a plate full of my addiction!

#1 Addiction: Blogging...ya think! I truly feel it is all justifiable and for a good cause because I am doing this for the sole purpose of printing these posts into a book that my posterity will cherish for generations. Have any of you fellow addicted bloggers already printed a book? If so, what company did you use and were you happy with the finished product?

There you have it...I admit my life is boring and predictable, but I would love for you to come eat popcorn with me and we can blog together while we watch 'John and Kate plus 8'!!!

So you think you've got talent...

Both of the Norris girls were in talent shows at their schools recently...ok not so recently for Kallie but hey, a late post is better than no post!

Kallie on stage at Hailey Elementary on May 21st singing 'This Land is Your Land'. Kallie was SOOOOOO happy that her friends came to see her big debut performance.
Maci, Jeni and Sam

Sydney blew bubbles with her bubble gum in her talent show on Friday, May 30th at All About Kids.

That really is a talent Syd! (It helps if you squint one eye!)

Here are videos of them practicing at home...ENJOY! (make sure and notice Don Ho singing 'tiny bubbles' as Syd's background music.)

I asked Kallie if she was nervous on stage and she said, "At first I was but then it was fun! Just like a mini American Idol!"