yes--i am still alive. barely. buried beneath a mountain of pink and green ribbon. been working on wedding invitations and a guest book and a whole lot of other stuff. i would post a few pictures but i can't find them on my computer. finally got photoshop on my mac and now do not know what the heck i am doing! i downloaded some pictures last night and i can't find them. i hate relearning things.

i did have a fun time this weekend scrapping with my friends. it was something i needed and it really made a difference. a nice break. so thanks girls. especially a big old shout out to shanna for breaking my eardrums! what's that? did you say something hooker?

anyway, speaking of breaks, david needed one too and took taylor and carson to cali with him. this leads up to my chuckle of the day. so dave calls me this morning to tell me that he is taking the girls swimming. later this afternoon he calls me to tell me that taylor forgot her top (or bottom) to her swimsuit and she was in tears so they went to buy her a new swimsuit. at the mall. they look in a million stores--nothing. so finally they are in this one store and taylor finds one she likes (oh yeah--it's not only that they couldn't find a suit--taylor is extremely picky about her clothes!) taylor tells david that the bathing suit is a little expensive. david thinks that this probably means around $50. david tells me "it was kind of expensive". how much? so i start guessing how much. $130. for a 12 year olds bathing suit. so i ask--what store was it? "some boutique i guess." what swimsuit was it? what brand? um yeah--juicy couture! so i say--have you heard of TARGET? um, hello! i think the best part was that he had to spend the whole day in the mall with 2 tweens shopping. welcome to my world my friend!!

so the moral of this story. don't send a man to do a woman's job. and if you're going to buy juicy couture then please let it be on sale or for your wife...L

so this is the layout i made for the one little word challenge. which was to use the word stop. as i made this layout i was thinking to myself, you know--i do have other children! {ha} time to start spreading the love around. and i have some cute pictures so there is no excuse. of course my excuse is that haley is my baby and so stinkin' cute! but that all might be changing. during primary class sunday haley and her bff amy were chatting up and touching each other and my co-teacher leaned over and told them to keep their hands to theirselves and listen to the speaker--we were in opening exercises. well, it kept going on so i leaned over to haley and gave her a look and touched her arm and told her to knock it off--at which point she looks right at me and says "keep your hands to yourself." smartie pants...L

bloody hell! that is my scrap area. somebody help me!kerry you are needed here! come on--get in the car, get out of the heat and the no ac and get me organized! i know you want to!! hey--i'll even buy you a mickey d's coke! this is what happens every couple of weeks--i mean months! i scrap like a mad woman and walk away. but hey--i forget to put away and clean up until i am no longer able to find a clean area to scrap in. sometimes i have so avoided putting stuff away i have been forced to scrap on the floor--the horror!

anyway--any takers on coming up to cool weather and organizing me? maddy? beth? if kerry poops out? now you know i ain't askin' michelle or shanna--'nuff said! but actually i was able to scrap amidst all that the other night and work on a layout for the OLW challenge and should have it up tomorrow! wish me luck!

in some good news though i have gotten brianne's and jeff's wedding invites done and ordered. so everyone say a little prayer that they come back beautiful--cuz i had some nightmares last night about them and it wasn't pretty. ha ha but don't tell my daughter that cuz then she might have a few nightmares herself!

sending some cooler weather your way...L

the rest of the album...L

baby album i did for a friend...L

what's a post w/o pictures? i love the detail of haley's polished worn fingernails. what are a girl's nails w/o some chipped polish?

well,i have been busy, busy, busy. wedding details, son home, school ending, and the list goes on. i have been working on teacher's gifts, brianne and jeff's wedding invite and guest book and doing lots of other things that i can't remember at the moment. but i got a fun day yesterday. david took me to scottsdale and took me shopping. got me lots of fun things for the wedding. i was on cloud 9. i even got jewelry! so i am set for the wedding. can't wait--i am so excited.

other fun things going on here. dallas cooking. yes--my son that only knew how to nuke some nachos and pour a bowl of cereal is now cooking for us. and cleaning up. my son. so for all you moms of small boys--there is hope! he made us lasagne the other night with homemade bechamel sauce. he. made. bechamel. sauce. from scratch! so yummy! i finished it off for lunch today. it is really neat the italian things he has made for us. just simple ingredients. none of this 12 page recipe with about a bazillion ingredients. just a few fresh and simple recipes that are super yummy.

happy sabbath tomorrow...L

so these are a couple of layouts i did. the one of haley i did a few weeks ago. just took a pic of it today. the other one is one i did for the one little word challenge. fun stuff there!

anyway--a few random things today. one is conversations that have taken place lately at our home. taylor and i were exchanging some sarcastic-ness and she ended it by telling me "to put that in your juice box and suck it!" wow--amazing! i was impressed!! then haley the other day was sitting on the potty doing here bizness and kept on dropping little #2's into the pot. she kept watching after every single deposit. when she was finally done she looked up at me and said "that's a family of poop." well said.

my next conversation was with anna yesterday. she informed me that a girl at school got to watch a pg-13 movie--the pirates of the caribbean. she asked if she could watch it. i said no--she was too young. then she asked why did the other girl get to watch it--i explained that i can't make the rules for other families--only my own and the rule is no seven year old of mine can watch a pg-13 movie. so then later that evening anna tells me that it is going to be pajama day at school. and they are going to get to watch a movie. she then tells me that the movie they are going to watch is pirates of the caribbean--dead man's chest. i tell her that i highly doubt that that is the movie they are going to see. anna says that yes--that is the movie they are going to watch. then she thinks a minute and asks me if i am going to ask her teacher if what she has just told me is true. i tell her that i will ask her teacher. then anna informs me that she was only joking and that they are really watching "1,000 links under the sea!" i love that girl. she makes me smile...L

well as you can see--new banner and template! go me! trust me--i been a wantin' to change this thing forever!!! so i finally plunged in and got it done! just a simple little blog title. my first! plus links are now all at the bottom. all of this done with a severe head cold! look for more changes when i get time (insert laughter here) and feel better.

lisa out...

here is my cute little family! with daddy taking the photo! love the fact that jeff is in there too since really i consider him a part of my family now!

parent teacher conferences today. all went well. all are doing extremely great in school. i love that. one funny thing though. anna's teacher asked me if i knew that carson had done a page of anna's homework. tried to write like anna but you know momma's and teacher's can't be fooled like that. anyway--i guess carson had been helping anna with her homework one night and anna had been frustrated and had finally fallen asleep. so carson did it for her! the true protective sis/mother hen. how sweet is that?

Dallas has been accepted at UVSC and MCC. now to decide if he wants to enroll in summer or fall. the mom in me wants fall!! but i want what's best for him. he is working and dave thinks he should work this summer and save but we will call the school tomorrow and see what he needs to do and when he would have to register, etc. i knew this would happen--he'd get home just to leave again. the sad thing though is david. he finally has a man around to back him up with his fun women jokes and tv watching and eating habits, etc. so fun for him to take dallas to work and get to hang around--he's loving it and doesn't want it to end. when dallas leaves it is back to all estrogen again!

dallas is having such a positive influence around our family and others. so outgoing and personable to everyone. love it! he truly came home a man. tonight we went into the high council meeting so he could give another report and meet everyone. so awesome--so inspiring. i tell you--this parenting thing is hard work. sure there are lots of fun times and perks--but really--lots of hard work goes into trying to raise a child to do what's right. to be a productive, hard working, generous, kind adult. lucky me--i got two so far! only 4 more to go.

i think david and dallas are going to mesa this weekend. so i am going to catch up on my sewing. got some skirts to sew and maybe some scrapping thrown in...L

what a weekend. there are no words for how i have felt the past 3 days. euphoric is a good one. just to recap a little. if i don't write it down i will forget. we were late getting to the airport! his plane got in early and we hit major phoenix traffic including an accident on the freeway. i remained pretty calm though! he was already at the baggage claim and i got to see him before he saw me. he is so skinny!! i thought he would have gained weight but he rode his bike everyday. he looked exactly the same. he said haley was the only one that looked the same to him--everyone else looked different.

then we went to wait for brianne and jeff. they flew in about an hour and a half after him. what a fun time to see brie and her brother!! then we left and stopped at red robin and had a very late dinner and then went home--it was after midnight and my son had now been up at least a good 24 hours.

the next day we just all kind of hung out. at 5 p.m. we went to the stake president's office so dallas could get released as a missionary and waited and waited and waited. i guess there had been a mix up about him being there to release dallas. fortunately his counselor came in and saved the day. we all went in to his office where he had dallas tell a little about his mission and some of the experiences he had. then he had him stand up and asked me to come forward. then he told dallas that he had the authority from the first presidency to release him from an honorable mission. all up until this time i had not cried or been emotional. but the counselor got tears in his eyes when he was saying this and i just lost it. i was crying and an emotional wreck! then he had me take his name tag off and it was official. my son is not a missionary anymore. dallas told me later that when i took the tag off it felt as if his heart fell. i am sure for him that all he has known for the last two years is being a missionary and then that is taken away. but i was so proud of him! my heart was so full of love and pride and joy. then the counselor had him bear his testimony in italian and i lost it again. i wish i could freeze that moment in my head. so joyful and happy.

then mother's day! what a fun treat. best mother's day in history for sure. brianne made me chocolate waffles for breakfast. they let me sleep in and i was a wee late for church!! brianne came in and helped me teach my primary class and jeff scored me a cherry cheesecake dessert from the YW! then we went home and i opened gifts and then took a nap. and then right before lunch jeff took me and the family into the office and played a cd for me. one that he had made using a video and recording each child's reason why they loved me as a mother. at the end there was a picture of all of them with a happy mother's day. it made me cry again!! i wish i knew how to load it on here--i would. so sweet! what a day having all my kids here and future son-in-law! then we ate and rushed jeff and brianne to the airport.

now all i have to do is get ready for a wedding!!! simple! ha ha
i hope all of you had a great mother's day!!! love...L

We went on a spur of the moment picnic last sunday. a place where we go every once in a while. big trees, swings, grassy area, right in front of a big mountain. this time i brought my camera. it was a beautiful day and the girls played tag and the dogs sniffed out every corner. i loved it. a day that makes me thankful for being a mom and having great kids.

the big day is tomorrow. picking up dallas at the airport and then hanging around until brianne and jeff fly in from utah. all my kids together for mother's day. i haven't had that for at least 2 years. so excited. when i think about seeing dallas i start to cry. hopefully i will be cried out before he actually gets in.

i was thinking about being a mom today and what it means. it isn't my whole life--but it is one of the biggest parts of my life. there's the mom part/the wife part/the me part. trying to balance those three is huge. life is huge. sometimes i feel like i am being swallowed whole by it all. but i love it. love the challenges, the rewards, the ups and downs. one of my biggest fears in life is routine. having everything the same all the time. that's why i don't do fly lady, that's why i like to move, that's why i hate making plans--cuz something better might come along. but being a mom--absolutely nothing routine about it. yeah, there's laundry, school, homework and cooking and cleaning. that can certainly get routine. but the kiss on the forehead, the back rubs, the staying up late and talking, the shopping, the drawings, the giggle fests and the knock-knock jokes, ice cream nights, dancing to music, and all the other unexpected little things. those make it all worth it.

happy mother's day, a little early, to all...L

GOOD NEWS! my son gets home friday!! yay! i am so happy! Incredible to me that 2 years have gone by. So looking forward to seeing him and having him around!

i had a friend send me this and it was too funny not to share. especially appropriate with mother's day right around the corner.


FALL CLASSES FOR MEN
REGISTRATION MUST BE COMPLETED BY Monday, October 23, 2007
NOTE: DUE TO THE COMPLEXITY AND DIFFICULTY LEVEL
OF THEIR CONTENTS, CLASS SIZES WILL BE LIMITED TO 8 PARTICIPANTS
MAXIMUM.

Classes begin Monday, October 30, 2007
Class 1
How To Fill Up The Ice Cube Trays --- Step by Step, with Slide
Presentation.
Meets 4 weeks, Monday and Wednesday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM.

Class 2
The Toilet Paper Roll --- Does It Change Itself?
Round Table Discussion.
Meets 2 weeks, Saturday 12:00 for 2 hours.

Class 3
Is It Possible To Urinate Using The Technique Of Lifting The Seat and
Avoiding The Floor, Walls and Nearby Bathtub? --- Group Practice.
Meets 4 weeks, Saturday 10:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 4
Fundamental Differences Between The Laundry Hamper and The Floor ---
Pictures and Explanatory Graphics.
Meets Saturday at 2:00 PM for 3 weeks.

Class 5 May be extended to two semesters.
After Dinner Dishes --- Can They Levitate and Fly Into The Kitchen
Sink?
Examples on Video.
Meets 4 weeks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00

Class 6
Loss Of Identity --- Losing The Remote To Your Significant Other.
Help Line Support and Support Groups.
Meets 4 Weeks, Friday and Sunday 7:00 PM.

Class 7
Learning How To Find Things --- Starting With Looking In The Right
Places
And Not Turning The House Upside Down While Screaming.
Open Forum .
Monday at 8:00 PM, 2 hours.

Class 8
Health Watch --- Bringing Her Flowers Is Not Harmful To Your Health.
Graphics and Audio Tapes.
Three nights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 9
Real Men Ask For Directions When Lost --- Real Life Testimonials.
Tuesday at 6:00 PM Location to be determined.

Class 10
Is It Genetically Impossible To Sit Quietly While She Parallel Parks?
Driving Simulations.
4 weeks, Saturday noon, 2 hours.

Class 11
Learning to Live --- Basic Differences Between Mother and Wife.
Online Classes and role-playing .
Tuesday at 7:00 PM, location to be determined.

Class 12
How to be the Ideal Shopping Companion
Relaxation Exercises, Meditation and Breathing Techniques.
Meets 4 weeks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours ! Beginning at 7:00
PM.

Class 13
How to Fight Cerebral Atrophy --- Remembering Birthdays, Anniversaries
and Other Important Dates
and Calling When You're Going To Be Late. Cerebral Shock Therapy
Sessions and Full Lobotomies Offered.
Three nights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 14
The Stove/Oven --- What It Is and How It Is Used.
Live Demonstration.
Tuesday at 6:00 PM, location to be determined.

Upon completion of any of the above courses, diplomas will be issued
to the survivors!

oh if that didn't cheer you up and make you laugh i don't know what will...L

happy national scrapbook day...L

well, i haven't recorded any conversations from my girls in a while because everyone has been sick, like, forever! and no one wants to hear "my stomach hurts" "no my head hurts" "feel my head--it's hot" and that is just from me!

but time to listen in now to a few funny moments from the Ubnoske household. the other night anna asked david how old you had to be to get married and dave says 18. anna says you mean 81? because 18 is too young! well said anna!

anna and i are in the car driving--anna asks me how old you have to be to be married and i said legally it's 18. then she paused and said "I want to have lots of money when I get big. mom, do waiters make lots of money?" me--"well, some can make good money" A--"well, what makes a lot of money?" me--"doctors, lawyers..." A--in a panic state "liars?" me--"no, not liars, lawyers, like attorneys" A--after a full minute of thought " do waiters make a lot of money?" me--"yeah, tons!"

a most joyful exchange with haley rose--who was running around naked all morning!
me--time to get dressed haley
haley--you help me
me--you can do it by yourself while mom answers this important email from kerry on what color cs she should choose (LOL)
haley--15 minutes later--even more naked than before
me--ok--lets go get dressed. you are such a toad!
haley--I am not a toad--I'm a kid!

other news--taylor got the highest score on her math test last week in school and by doing that got to take another test this week to see if she could qualify for pre-algebra next year--she did! yay--a math genius in this house! maybe she will be able to add up how many people actually live here because according to how many loads of laundry i do i figure we have at least 20 more people living here than we should!

carson--poor baby--she has been the one hit by this sickness the worst--twice! she still is the one to take care of you and help out though when you need it.

scrap pages to come...L

My Utah trip. First of all it was just too much fun. This is probably the last time that I get to hang out with Brianne before she becomes MARRIED! And makes me a grandma! We got to do all sorts of fun wedding preps. We went to the JS building and finalized the reception plans. Brianne asked what type of traditions couples did and my suggestion that the whole wedding party moon Jeff and Brianne didn’t go over well. However it has never been done there before, the planner assured us, and I thought that was cool in itself!

We also went and picked out all the flowers. Three different shades of pink roses. I think there will be some stephanotis and hydrangea in there as well. My little girls will each get their own little bouquet to hold. The cake will sit in the middle of the room (4 layers with 2 different flavors—raspberry/cream cheese and almond amaretto. Yum. There will be fresh flowers on the cake as well. There will be a sweetheart table for Jeff and brie and separate tables for the mother of the bride and the evil ex! Ha Ha hopefully the tables will be close enough for me to throw things!! Just kidding Brianne. Oh I like to kid!

We also went and saw the bridal gown which looks absolutely beautiful on her! Stunning—it brought tears to my eye—when I saw the price!! No—it’s actually not expensive at all—which will save money for the bright pink sequined gown I saw for me! Again—Brianne said no. how unfair!! We saw some cute shoes and this pearl/diamond (cz) necklace and earrings. Wow! I can’t wait for the actual day! Oh—we also saw this tiara that is gorgeous! She will look like a princess

Other fun things—I got to hang out with Jeff a lot and he is wonderful! Perfect for Brianne and I know they are going to be so happy!!! They look so cute together! We also stayed at this cool antique hotel—the peery in SLC and I loved it! I wanted to move in it was so cute. It reminded me a little of “the shining” but not scary!! Ha ha we are the first graduation night at pf changes—brie’s fave and the second night we ate at a place called “the roof” it is on top of the JS building and looks right at the temple. We had the best view—right at the corner looking at the temple all lit up. Beautiful and wonderful food.

That is it for now. My little trip summed up with accompanying pics below. I had a great time and now I am counting down the days NINE until my son comes home…L

last ones i swear...L

and yet more...L

more pics...L

first--a few pictures...L