Family pictures from my dad's side of the family

My friend Jenn took these for us about a month ago. Her link is to the side under Photography by Jenn if you are interested in hiring her yourselves. These pictures are from my dad's side of the family which consisted of my dad, his wife (Kay), her grown children Jessie and Jason, one of my Aunt's and her boyfriend and my brother, Theresa and Everett..oh and us of course :)).

Cruisin' Corbin

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

5 Point Harness vs. Booster Seats

http://www.celebrity-babies.com/2008/05/car-seats-for-o.html#more

I don't want to sound preachy, but many of you know I am a serious advocate for having children 5 point harnessed and in a car seat for as long as possible. This is important for me to blog about because I want to educate as many people as I can about it. I can't tell you how many times I've seen kids unrestrained in cars that should obviously still be in a car seat (I have a phone number that I can call now to report them). We'll be watching a movie and Tatum will ask why that 5 or 6 year old isn't in a car seat and I'll have to explain to her with an answer that she will understand. I remember earlier in Tatum's school year, I was talking with one of the moms' from Tatum's class and her daughter (who had barely turned 3 and is maybe 25 lbs if that) was in a basic booster seat with no back (although I'm not for sure she was even sitting on one, but I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt). I wanted so badly to say something without coming off preachy or rude, so I just kept my mouth shut and tried to ignore it.
On the link above, scroll down and view Kyle Miller David's You Tube story. I remember viewing that on You Tube back when Tatum was a baby and had decided from that moment on that we would never use boosters and always 5 point harness our kids. I mean why not, they make car seats that go up high enough that there really is no need for a booster. Plus, she can get herself in and out pretty easy now and I still keep the straps pretty tight. You can also click on this link It's easy to see what the safer choice is and it's about 4 secs, but a good watch as well. Tatum rides in a Britax Regent (which holds up to 80 lbs) and Corbin rides in a Britax Marathon (which holds up to 65 lbs) and they both will ride in one until they eventually outgrow them, although I may eventually move him up to a Regent, which is like a version of a car seat/booster (it's really wide and big), but with the 5 point harness straps. It made Tatum feel really good about having one and not having a booster, because I said it was like a special kind of booster and she accepted that..although she does still call it her car seat lol.

So please take a moment and click on the link up top. It's a short read, but really good information on the subject and hopefully you can help pass this bit of info on to anyone who is about to have children or already has some.

Corbin's new trick

Corbin can now escape his pack-n-play and can get out of his crib with the help of Tatum. And it's all thanks to one day at The Little Gym lol. That will probably be his only day in that particular non-mommy and me program until he's 3. The other little boys were 3-4 and he's not quite 2 1/2 yet. The instructor said that physically he's there, but emotionally..he's not. Which was true. He wanted to run around and not take turns when they brought out the sports gear. But it was fun to watch and I'll probably look into something else with a "sports" theme in it since that is what he loves.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Just some cousins pictures :))

Getting out of town..

Flagstaff

Cottonwood this past weekend

Ghost Town in Jerome..so much fun!

For the past few weekends we've been heading up North just to get out of town (plus traveling is much easier to do now). Although with the colder weather lately, we haven't really needed to get out of town to escape the heat, but it's still always nice to just go. We've been up to Flagstaff once and then to Cottonwood (and Jerome) twice this past 2 1/2 wks . One weekend the kids are swimming in Flagstaff and the following weekend we are all bundled up because of how cold and rainy it was here and then in Cottonwood. This weather is insane! Love it though!!

Another round of 'Out of the Mouth of Tatum'

This afternoon I'm cleaning up the van getting ready for a weekend trip to Flagstaff tomorrow and as I come inside, the kids are already getting into the "trip snacks". So I ask Tatum nicely to either keep her brother happy or she can help me clean up the kitchen and family room. She looks at me and says, "Just hire someone to do it". Can you believe she said that?! It's not like I have a maid that comes to the house every day or a personal chef..yeah, we have landscapers, but that's it. We do it all ourselves. So I had to explain to her that that's not how the "real world" works. It wasn't like she was being smug. She was being completely honest and sweet in the way she said it...I just couldn't believe she said it lol.

There's a Giggle in her Wiggle

On Thurs they had Mother's Day Tea at Tatum's school. They sang songs for us in the chapel and then we went back to the classroom for juice, cookies, fruit and some homemade Mother's Day presents from the kids. Watch the video as Tatum keeps getting louder and louder and louder...

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

My "Surprise" 29th Party

Dan celebrated with me as well since he turned 27 a few days before me :).

I am officially getting "old" as some have already told me. This will be my last and final year in my twenties and so far I feel I've accomplished a lot. Some might disagree with me because I don't have a fancy degree or career, but for me, this is all I could have ever asked for. I have a wonderful husband who I love and loves me back and would do anything for each other. My two beautiful children whom I get to stay at home and raise (or go out and raise lol). A beautiful home and now my new van. I have wonderful family and friends whom are such a blessing in my life. Yes, life is good...couldn't get any better than this.

Anyone wanting to buy a new or used vehicle??

That's my sales pitch title. Basically to make a long story short, our salesman at Avondale Toyota (http://www.avondaletoyota.com/) offered me a job. I get to work from home and he just has me contact people who are interested (via e-mail) and if those people come in, I get paid and then if they buy, I get paid again. It's all under the table and it isn't much per vehicle. But if I work hard, it will hopefully pay off every two weeks for payday. I'm really excited about this and have been wanting something like this for sometime (I just didn't know what). I'll get to list new and used vehicles for them at places like craigslist and do whatever I can to learn more and have more responsibilities (slowly but surely I'm sure lol). It basically just gives me something to do with a way to make a little extra cash on the side.
We did our research after he initially offered what he considered a bottom line price on our Sienna and in fact it was. We just didn't know that yet until we did our research later on. He was awesome to work with and very straightforward with us and that's why in the end we bought from him (we went to a few other dealers and they couldn't beat his price, plus they were giving us too much bull).

So like I said before, if anyone is wanting to buy a new/used vehicle or even test drive one, please ask for Darren Lee and tell him Xandi Atkinson referred you.
Thanks everyone!!