cars and other things that go beep

yes, all the cars beep.
When you reverse.
beep. beep. beep.

Our church is off base, so we have to drive around a bit to get familiar. It takes us about 30 min to get there, because the speed limit is 30 kliks (Km) which is equivalent to 18 mph. We are split up into 2 branches.
It's been fun learning to do everything the opposite way. The gear shift, wipers and turn signal are all on the other side. You can imagine the confusion at first.
I like looking at all the cars, there are so many different kinds. My favorite are the cute mini ones. I'll have to post more pictures of those in the future. Sometimes I don't get my camera out in time. Toenail tells me to stop looking like a tourist, but I don't care. I always take pictures of random things no matter where I am. I like the Toyota "NOAH" there are several variations of this van, the "TownAce" and the "LiteAce" are the more common. There is also the Honda "Thats" and the "Mira". Every one's FAVORITE the Nissan Skyline, I KNOW they are cool and sporty, but EVERYONE has one. So unless it's pimped out, it's really not that special anymore. Toenail wants to get a tricked out Honda Prelude. Maybe when he returns home, there's no point in getting a car and having it sit around while he's gone...AGAIN! We were hoping to have him home for a little while longer, at least six months, but NO! We're not used to him being home yet. He leaves in about a week. When we told this to the kids, dondan's response was, "Nuh-Uh, stop tricking me." When we said we where serious, he about had a conniption.
It takes a major toll on everyone, but I think Dondan has a harder time with it. He jumps in and out of "ticks" constantly and they change so much, I don't know which way is up sometimes.
We are getting a FLAT DADDY in hopes to ease the stress some, for everyone.
Nona has "tea" with Daddy everyday, perhaps she'll take to the 2-D Daddy as a replacement. For a long time she thought he was a computer monitor, that was confusing for her when he returned. Now they are inseparable, leading him here and there. She cries when she sees him leave, he has to sneak out and disappear like a ninja.
Enjoy the pics of around the town...

Pizza nite

a new favorite in our household.
Everyone lurvs them some pizza! We do the pizza kit in a box and it works great for us. Just buy some cheese and your favorite toppings and go nuts.
Dondan and Nona usually stay with the basic cheese. Mike likes to mix it up with a concoction of everything including the kitchen sink. Toenail likes it heavy on the meat, especially bacon and pepperoni. I do it up with spinach, feta and artichoke hearts yummers.
We mix the dough let it rise and split it up into five personal pan dishes. It's alot of fun and we all get to do the cooking!
We decided every other Friday night is Pizza NITE!!

How can you NOT have fun

with a Buzz AND a Woody??
In most cases having both can be a dangerous combination.
Just ask Al... you know from Al's Toy Barn? Toy Story? Come on people.
Nona the yodeling cowgirl likes hangin' with Buzz and Woody!
You can't stop this terrific trio as they embark on adventures great and small.
Stay tuned, cause you don't want to miss favorite episodes like "Redecorating the couch", "These crackers are made for stompin'", "Tea party typhoon" and every one's favorite "You say pricey make-up, I say finger paints!"
It's NEVER a dull moment!

Little Big Planet...

is Big Big FUN! We have so much fun with this game on the PS3. We each have a custom character, Nona likes to watch mostly, but she jumps in from time to time with her own controller.
You start off as a plain "sack doll" and as you progress through the levels you gain costumes, clothing, acessories, stickers and other items. You can even get a little sack doll that your sack doll can carry around, haha.
You can build your own levels or "worlds" the possibilities are endless.
There are puzzles to solve and multiplayer levels to get different stuff, play online with other people and play levels they've created.
I know this sounds like a commercial or something, too bad we aren't getting paid for it.
We <3 this game :D

weight watchers...

but NOT how you would think.
Dondan has always been on the slim side, but I still worry about his weight.
He is just so dang boney, it scares me and Toenail.
We've been buying nutritional supplements and pediasure for a while, for the times he fells finicky about eating. Some days he has an insatiable appetite and other days we have to force him to eat.
I just want him to put on some weight, even if it's just fat so he's not just skin and bones. I know it may sound awful but i'm okay with him getting fat.
He weighs 48 lbs. only cause he's gained one since we've been here.
Nonaz weighs 28lbs and she's 2.
I'm hoping he'll "grow out of it" but I won't hold my breath.
We've been buying weight gainer and spiking his food. We've put it in milkshakes, smoothies, cookies and my latest concoction in brownies.
Everyone knows how much of a chocolate aficionado Dondan is so the brownies went over very well.
He gets to eat them for breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner. Anytime he wants he can have them. The only catch is he HAS to clean his plate at mealtime, which we DO monitor portions.
For a 7 year old he's very conscious about getting fat. He always makes comments about "not wanting to be fat" or "if i eat that will i get fat?" Honestly I don't know where he gets it, I'm not big on diets or dieting, if i want to eat something i eat it. The only time he doesn't worry about "fatty" food is when it comes to chocolate, he will eat any and all chocolate without hesitation.
At mealtimes he has to make sure he has all the food groups and names them out so we know nothing is missing, weirdo.
So, we are weighing him and monitoring him regularly, even his teacher at school updates us when he doesn't eat lunch. Which he has done only once so far.
Toenail is planning to make random visits during lunchtime, to keep him on track.
Nonaz eats more than he does. It's just bothering me, i'm scared something will happen to him. I can put my thumb and pointer finger together around his bicep, yeah, that small. Too small for a 7 yr old. People can't tell when he's dressed, but at home he likes to lounge in his boxers. Mike always has to say something, most of the time it's comments like, "put a shirt on, I can see your bones, it's gross."
I'm sure his meds are a major contributing factor in his appetite loss, but he's doing so well at school. Where do you draw the line? which do you sacrifice?
I'm going to be more proactive about fattening him up and see how far that gets us.

Dondan's dental diary

Last night Dondan was eating some chewy candy, hi-chews to be exact and his cap came out. He wasn't in any pain but it was still urgent enough to be seen right away.
We were weighing the options of recapping or pulling it all together. Dondan asked the Dentist if he could have a gold cap, needless to say we had a nice laugh about that one. Gangstah! LOL
After the dentist examined it and several x-rays later, it was decided that the tooth must go.
He has another one on the way right below it. It's not a big deal to lose it at this point. He's not looking forward to that appointment in two weeks. I for one am dreading it.
We shall see what happens.

After 2 years of waiting....

It's finally here!!
The laser tv!!! It's on sale if you can afford the $7000 they are asking for it, cause so far it only comes in a 65" and there is talk of a 73" version in the make.
We've been waiting on this for 2 years hoping to get our hands on one. Maybe this year or the next they might have smaller versions.
We are excited and disappointed at the same time. We put off buying a flat panel in hopes to get a laser tv, but when they never hit the stores we were bummed. When the AQOUS sale fell in our laps, well how could we refuse.
Now the laser decides to come out!! Better late then never, but it won't be for a little while till we can get one.

check it out... LASER TV

Cute Poem

Not sure who the author is, but I like the message.

I was shocked, confused, bewildered,
As I entered Heaven's door,
Not by the beauty of it all,
Nor the lights or its decor.
But it was the folks in Heaven
Who made me sputter and gasp
The thieves, the liars, the sinners,
The alcoholics and the trash.
There stood the kid from seventh grade,
Who swiped my lunch money! twice.
Next to him was my old neighbor,
Who never said anything nice.
Herb, who I always thought,
Was rotting away in hell,
Was sitting pretty on cloud nine,
Looking incredibly well.
I nudged Jesus, 'What's the deal?
I would love to hear Your take.
How'd all these sinners get up here?
God must've made a mistake.
'And why's everyone so quiet,
So somber - give me a clue.'
'Hush, child,' He said, 'they're all in shock.
No one thought they'd be seeing you.'
JUDGE NOT

Remember...Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian
any more than standing in your garage makes you a car .

Every saint has a PAST...
Every sinner has a FUTURE!

A tasty Christmas salad

I've been having some trouble with the video uploads sorry so late.

It was Toenail's birthday (December) and we thought that would be a great time to spring the delectable Candlestick salad. We told him he was making dinner with the help of my brother-in-law, Josh and a favorite classic recipe, found in none other than, "The Friend" children's magazine. It went a little like this....

I can't seem to load the first part so here is the link

PART 1

And here is part 2

Dear Dyson

i'm sad to say your usefulness has diminished. Though not completely useless, you just can't hang with the carpetless environment, even on bare floor mode. I try to use you when i can, but sadly you must now play second string to Broom Vac.
Broom vac may not be as powerful as you, but is mighty handy and convienient on my hard floors.
Let's just say you don't have to work as hard.