All About the Argyles

McKinley is our animal LOVER. Currently she is the steward of 3 hermit crabs, 2 frogs, and 1 very large dog. Add to the mix: 4 bunnies that she is taking care of for a Future Farmers of America project. On Jan 9th she picks the three best bunnies to take to the Collin County Fair to be judged. She is doing such a great job! Every day she feeds them, waters them, exercises them, brushes them, and "handles" them so that they will be socialized for the judges when they are evaluated. It makes it especially nice that so many of her friends from school and church like to come over and help with the care of the bunnies. BTW, anyone interested in adopting a bunny after Jan. 9th, call me. We have homes for two of them already. :O)

How cool was it that New Moon came out around the same time that Jensen was celebrating a birthday? We HAD to have a NEW MOON celebration! We ate snacks ("bloody cupcakes" and type A, O, and B flavored drinks), did crafts (t shirts and necklaces), and played the twilight board game. After that it was off to Studio Movie Grill for the show and some dinner. Good times! :O)

I love talented women. I love to see other women who excel in hobbies and skills. I am rarely jealous (because those of you who know me are aware that I don't have a competitive bone in my body). I love to see friends knitting works of art, decorating beautiful homes, writing eloquent poetry. I love to hear women who can sit down and play ANYTHING on the piano or sing a perfectly-pitched song. I have none of those talents. I just appreciate seeing it in others. This is one of the most talented people I know of. I say "know of" because I don't know her personally. I have just followed her blog for a few years now. She is an amazing photographer and writes the most hillarious posts. She is also a a FABULOUS cook. I have tried several of her recipes and they have all been divine! (Not so healthy or low in fat, mind you, but really yummy.) She finally got talked into doing a cookbook. It is out now. Here it is. She is also coming to Big D for a book tour on Dec. 1st at 7p...

I was truly traumatized at the end of last year when I saw a picture of McKinley's class at the sock hop. She was the ONE AND ONLY GIRL NOT decked out in sock hop attire! I knew they were having a sock hop, they had advertised it heavily. But I thought it was one of those things like "pajama day" or "wear your favorite team jersey day" that was completely optional - take it or leave it. Little did I know that at our elementary school - sock hop is HUGE. Everyone goes all out for it! I felt so bad! (She actually told me that they year before she wasn't even allowed to be in the picture because she wasn't dressed in 50's attire!) Needless to say, I vowed to not let my little girls go another year UNsock-hop like. :O) Knowing that it came amidst a very busy time for me (planning Stake 11 year old campout, Stake Daddy Daughter Dance, hosting book club) I atleast had the forethought to enlist the help of a seamstress friend. We met her on a saturday and s...

Saturday we went to Cooper's Fall Festival. It was a hoot. Reagan and McKinley won most original costume. They went as Miss USA and Miss America. the judge was Tracy from the Biggest Loser. (Tracy works out at my gym) I don't know if you watch that show but she is the one that is on the purple team and everyone hates her because she keeps winning all the challenges. Anyway, here are the two winners and the big loser. She HAS lost alot, BTW. She looks great! Here is a picture of Brady as a cowboy (on his horse) too. He didn't win the costume contest in his age group but I have to admit that the competition was pretty rough! The following day he won the contest at my grandparent's assissted living center. They had a TON of kids in costumes and I thought for sure there was not way he would beat out some of the other kids but he went up to the judge and "shot" her with his "guns" so I think he won by intimidation. :O)

Choose This Day Shared via AddThis

I had an "aha" moment this past week. I was frustrated with Jensen about something that , now, seems REALLY trivial. I heard this song by Cherie Call and I instantly thought of her. She completely embodies the sentiment in this song. Jensen doesn't care about makeup, trendy hairstyles, or "it" clothes. She is the "peacemaker" in our home and is constantly looking for ways to help me around the house. She NEVER complains. I am grateful to Heavenly Father who I believe answered my prayer one day this week by reminding me what a beautiful young lady she is and what truly makes us beautiful. Look at all the signs, Look at all the shows All the glamorous people who claim to know What perfection is and what makes beauty stay But when all the styles go out and the labels fade away It's what you give that makes you beautiful It's how you live that makes your dreams come true Keep your faith in this world, And let the light of the Lord shine thr...

Poor Jensen missed out on all the fun, she was home with the flu for her very first high school homecoming. :O(

Why, you ask? Finally after six months of legal proceedings, mediation, and writing checks to attorneys: Brent is starting his new job tomorrow (and he is counting down the minutes, I think). Don't get me wrong. I think he enjoyed being home. For the first few months. And then it got old. He can't wait to be anxiously engaged in something other than a "honey-do" list. I am going to miss having him around as a constant companion to run errands, help with laundry (have I told you how good he is at laundry?), pick up and drop off from school. Those days are over as of tomorrow. He will be traveling a little too so I am in for a rude awakening, of sorts. On the flip side, I TOTALLY prefer getting a paycheck to watching our savings account dwindle. It is a completely welcome trade for both of us! Also: Brady will be going to school everyday starting tomorrow. Three days he will go to Janette's "art/playschool" and then two days a week to preschool in Pla...

Reagan and McKinley attended the Eagle Cheer clinic this week, hosted by our very own Prosper High School Cheerleaders. They got to cheer at the game Friday night too. It was really fun. Here is a cute pic with Hillary and Lucy who are on the varsity squad but also happen to be members of our ward. They were sweet to take this pic with Reagan and McKinley after the Eagles defeated the Farmers 27 to ZERO!!! GO PROSPER!!!!

Here was my project today. I have been looking for an oversized picture for our entryway for awhile now and found this. What d'ya think?

And.... they're off.....

These are pictures of Jensen and two of her buddies at HIGH SCHOOL ORIENTATION! In exactly 7 days I will have a high schooler! I can't believe how fast time has flown....

This has not been a summer of extravagant vacations. Its been a summer of simple pleasures, probably my favorite thus far. Which is kind of , well, ironic. How many dads get a chance to spend an entire summer home with all the kids??? We have made some great lemonade out of the lemons life handed us over the last five months. I had everyone brainstorm their favorite memories and compiled a list because I wanted to be able to remember it. Sonic "happy hours" - (slushes are 1/2 price) The Frank Buck Zoo the Rough Riders baseball game Purple Vanilla milkshakes at the "Purple Cow" $1 flip flops at Old Navy watching episodes of CAKE BOSS and REBA building bears for $30 fishing in the pond playing "train", "uno", and "Scrabble" on Sundays singing "Boom, Boom, Pow" at the top of our lungs in the car ( a cleaned up version, of course!) seeing UP! (the movie) Family Home Evening with the J. Sallaways and T. Sallaways Pool Ball with th...

Yay! We finally came to a resolution on Friday! Brent is free to go to work and we are happy with the end result. He came home about 1pm on Friday and immediately was on the phone the rest of the day with prospective employers and "head hunters". Things are looking better already.

Well today is the day. I am going into it with ZERO expectations, that way I won't be disappointed if things don't go well. It is such a disconcerting feeling to have your fate and future completely out of your own hands and in the control of a completely neutral third party. Here is what I have learned leading up to this fateful day: 1. Save! Save! Save! We are sooo glad we are savers! We would have never been able to afford to fight this battle (or keep a roof over our heads) if we hadn't been savers. 2. It's never a bad idea to have the business card of a good labor attorney in your rolodex. I'm just sayin'... 3. There is a silver lining to EVERYTHING , you just have to look for it. For instance, Brent was the only dad able to attend ALL the swim meets for the season. 4. Family trials make stronger families . 5. It feels GOOD to "let go and let God". 6. Prayer is even more powerful than I thought. 7. Oh yeah, that whole " turning the other c...

I know this is completely un-interesting for all of you but I really need to document swim team season for my kids so here goes. We had a great year! Tanner gets his events number, heat, and lane assignments from "Coach T", the best swim team coach ever! Tanner and his all-star-placing freestyle and medley relay team. Reagan shows her events at All Stars. (Freestyle relay, individual backstroke, and medley relay) Kiki swam the freestyle relay and the medley relay. Kiki with her biggest fan. Reagan in "the zone" before a race. Jensen and Tanner with Maddison swim team buddies I need to give a little shout out to our swimming friends, the Fergusons. Swim team would not have been the same without them but unfortunately, I must not have had my camera out at the meets they came too. They had to miss a few at the beginning of the season so I don't have any pics with them but we love you Katie and Jenna!