FOUR months ALREADY!

Ms. Lauren is four months today!

We went to her doctor's appointment and I have a long skinny kid. She weighs 13lbs 8oz and is 26" long. The doctor seemed a little concerned but she says Lauren must be doing OK. They will definitely be interested in her weight the next time. She is in the 99th percentile for height but is in the 49th percentile for her weight compared to babies in her age range. For her length though, she is in about the 5th percentile. She also got three shots and an oral vaccination. Other than that she is completely healthy!

In honor of her turning four months I will now commence with the bragging session. Lauren is a dream baby. She sleeps through the night. She talks and squeals with glee. She just started rolling over from back to tummy. She scootches all over the place. This little girl is so sweet I love her very much. She is the perfect calm after the storm I call the twinados! Lucky for the cuties that came before her are so darn cute with equally wonderful personalities...well...keep in mind their ages!

WHY ME!!!!

This real life story is dedicated to Hayley and Brittany, my spider killing friends, where were you when I needed you!!!

So I started the day similar to that of the last few weeks. I got up showered, read...I got Lauren up and she spit up a very pathetic little bit so I went to get the wipes to wipe her up. As I reached for them my arm went through a spider web. Ewww. So I turned on the hood light above the stove so I could see better. There was a spider web from my hood fan down to my purse. As I looked inside there was a huge web, like there was no chance I was reaching in there. By the looks of it you would think that I hadn't moved my purse in a long time, but I just put it there around 8:30 last night and this was about 7:00 this morning. So I got our cob web catcher and cleaned up as best I could without touching my purse. I am so glad the Lord gave me at least one boy.

So bravely I asked Logan to look in my purse and pull everything out slowly. He did it with no problems. Finally I hear him say "There is a big Spider in here" I was not about to place my face over a spider that could spin a major web so quickly. (On a side thought, now I understand how Charlotte could do those fancy webs over night. Spiders are talented! I should have checked for a message.) So I reached over and took a picture to make sure Logan wasn't teasing me (I know he is 4 how would he know how to tease me at my weakest moment). It looks fake but let me tell you it is REAL. So I picked up my purse and threw it outside. The contents spilled out but no spider. So I picked it up and through it again. (This, ladies, is why you should never spend too much money on a purse!) Finally it came out. Here is the kicker...are you ready...it was already dead. I didn't want to chance it so I grabbed Hannah's Flip Flip (or sip-slop as she says) and smooshed it again. So my guess is that I killed a dead mommy spider who just hatched millions of baby spiders. Thank you Charlotte's Web for educating me on this matter.

And to add to this lovely post this is what was happening on the wall right in front of me:

This picture is for Logan who gets a nickle for saving my life!

Some of the pictures are hard to see, if you double click on them it will show you a big preview!

Take 5

I was tagged by Rebecca. Thanks, I've never been tagged before!

5 Things I Was Doing 10 Years Ago
1. Working at IHOP.
2. Waiting for my boyfriend to get home from boot camp.
3. Taking classes at DVC.
4. Writing letters to mt future hubby while on his mission.
5. Driving my first new car, a Saturn Sports Coupe, the year before the three door.

5 Things on my to-do list today
1. Find sitter for Sat.
2. Pull more weeds.
3. Finish Saturdays Laundry.
4. Go to friends house for dinner (...Thanks!)
5. Go to movies and see Becoming Jane...finally!

5 Snacks I enjoy
1. Ice Cream
2. Sour Cream and Cheddar Chips
3. Popcorn
4. Cheese and Crackers
5. Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

5 Songs I know the lyrics to
1. Greatest Love of All-Whitney Houston
2. The Right Stuff-New Kids on the Block (or NKOTB for you youngin's ha-ha)
3. Just Another Day in Paradise-Phil Vassar (My Theme Song!)
4. Viktor Vito & Freddie Vasco - Laurie Berkner
5. I could Not Ask for More - Sara Evans

5 Things I would do if I were a millionaire
1. Go to Hawaii.
2. Build my Dream Home.
3. Invest in BYU to make sure my kids get accepted!!!!
4. Buy a vacation home in the mountains.
5. Buy my hubby the action figures he is missing.

5 Bad Habits
1. Staying too long...on the computer, at someone's house...
2. Yelling.
3. Procrastinating.
4. Baking when I want to loose weight.
5. Over planning.

5 Things I'd never wear again
1. Hammer Pants.
2. 80's Bangs.
3. My wedding Dress...besides it would never fit again!
4. A bikini, O.K. I only wore one twice!
5. Keds. (I looked for a picture and they actually have cute ones now!)

5 Favorite toys
1. Computer
2. My Stampin' Stuff
3. My Scrapbook Stuff
4. Camera
5. My new favorite is the weed puller!

Now for Tagging:
1. Hayley
2. Brittany
3. Teri
4. Hunter's Mom (or Dad)
5. April P.
Just copy and paste into a new post.

Dentist anyone?

While Hannah was sleeping we were playing dentist. At school today Miranda lost her second tooth this week! Her third was barely hanging on. Here is a video of her 3rd tooth being pulled. WARNING: This clip contains blood, preview before showing the youngsters!

Hannah is too...tired!

We got home from a fun day at the park. I didn't think they played too hard but apperantly Hannah was exhausted!

The SUITE life of Lauren

OK I am sure the McKissick family was a little dissappointed to waste a Luxury sweet I mean Suite ticket on me and Lauren, but once in a lifetime, it was great! The McKissick Family gets a Luxury Suite once or twice a year and had two extra tickets. So my friend Brittany and her hubby were offered two tickets to the A's game on Saturday. She thought I needed a break from my kiddos and invited me to go with her. Lauren tagged along. I am not the biggest baseball fan by anymeans but I do enjoy going to the games, and this is totally the way to go. Lauren is definitely finding out what the finer things in life really are and the A's just didn't cut it this game, but the company was great. We didn't bring the A's any luck they lost 6-1 to the Detroit Tigers. Lauren enjoyed her chum Sophie but missed her other good chum Alexandra. Here are a few pictures. Stay til the end to watch Jeff dance...or not!

Logan Swimming at Contra Loma

This is Logan showing us how he swims. If you ask him he will tell you he was swimming like a frog. It was way cute, I hope the video does it justice!

It's a kid kill bug world!

Yesterday I decided it was HIGH time to pull some weeds. I decided since some were taller than our fence we must do something about it. Unless you can recommend a weed fairy?! I took a few pictures, but the fun part was watching all the ticked off bugs. Since I ruined their home they were out in droves. The first bug they came across was a grasshopper, this was pre-camera. I am sorry to say it will never see its family again. I am not exactly sure how it got contorted in such-a way. There were lots of spiders, to many of you this may come as a surprise, I didn't scream. Only once did I jump and tell the spider "you I can't handle" and kicked him back into the dirt. (He may have been another casualty of gardening!) It was fun watching the kids enjoy the bugs. I got a few pictures of Logan and Hannah holding them. They found this green caterpillar. They finally let it go back to its family that is what the three are looking at.As I was pulling weeds and sweating I mean glistening, I realized the benefits of gardening. It is therapeutic cause you get to beat the tar out of something, it is exercise, because of all the bending, pulling and standing up, my legs are feeling it today, and I can see why so many gospel messages are tied to gardening. As annoying and unsightly as weeds are, they teach alot of gospel principals! It definitely made me realize the longer you don't weed the worse things get. We all have weaknesses but we have to work on them when they are small or they will get huge and it takes more work and sweat to get rid of them!

Faster than the speed of Blogging

Life is cruisin' so fast my blog can't keep up. I have lots of pictures, slide shows I want to create but I don't have time and quotes I want to share. I just have other non-computer things to take care of. Anyways the real post is about Miranda. We are loosing her one piece at a time. Actually just one tooth at a time. Yesterday while family was here we pulled her front tooth out. The second will come any day. Here is a picture of her awkward smile and a photo of the most recent tooth being pulled out!

I'm BAAACK!

Well now that school is back in I am a little more...or less focused and can blog about the funnier things in life. Summer is fun but it is busy and draining!

This funny is about Logan. We were talking and I was admiring his BYU hat. I asked what it was and he answered. Jeremy and I have decided to plant the seed early that all our kids WILL go to BYU (did you feel the Jedi Force behind that?). So I asked him if he was going to go to BYU his response was "I think I might run out of gas!" The way these kids' minds work is fascinating.

Miranda is so PROPER!

Miranda has survived her first week of 1st grade. Her teacher is a dream come true, she is a perfect mix of strict but fun. We are two for two as far as great teachers are concerned. Miranda has already had a memorable moment. At school for behavior they get cards. Everyone starts on green, if they get a warning it goes to yellow, blue they get a "time-out" or benched as she put it, then red which means they are getting a note home, I think there is another color...well Miranda came home on Monday very excited that "half the class got flipped to yellow" and she was still green. Then Wednesday rolled around. The schedule is a little different and I packed her a regular lunch. Turns out my slow eater ran out of time. She was not in line when lunch was over so her card got flipped to yellow. When she told me, she seemed OK with it, I was surprised. She later told me there is no crying when your card gets flipped, but she stopped it in her throat, all you girls know what that feels like. I asked what we could do about it, was she talking too much or is there a bell, etc. So Thursday was open house. The freakishly concerned parent with my serious "behavior" problem asked the teacher about the schedule difference to make sure it doesn't happen again. Miranda explained that she was still eating. So her kind (and I REALLY like her so I mean it) teacher said well you will have to shove your food in your mouth. Miranda responded dignified "I don't shove food in my mouth." So Ms. Teacher said well place it quickly in your mouth. When we asked her about it later that night she admitted how she responded. It was a fun moment. This is one of those times you are grateful to be a parent and have a great story to tell.

New Slogan?

I found this website through a blog of a blog of a blog...you get the picture, I'll do anything on the computer to avoid doing something like the dishes. This shirt was made with me in mind I think!

I had to make it small but it says "Procrastinators of the world unite" with a picture of the world and then below its says "...tomorrow." As always I am looking for recruits to make me feel better!

Parenting books

I am at the stage where I am willing to admit I don't know what I am doing and I am not feeling confident that winging it will produce, confident, independent children. When I went to education week last year I went to a class by Randall A. Wright. It was great. I didn't buy his book 25 Mistakes LDS Parents make and How to Avoid Them but J bought it for "us" for Christmas last year. I read it loved it...and HATED it. It brought me to the realization I will have to be a parent to a teenager with teenage problems. I am so not ready for Teenage hood. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is worried about these years and how to make it easier for them to stand up for what they have been taught that is right.

The second book J got for my was by a wonderful down to earth speaker Merrilee Boyack. She is fantastic. I actually listened to her talk about being a better wife. I know it sounds offensive but it was great, it definitely helped me to respect the differences between husbands and wives. Anyways The Parenting BreakThrough is a great book about raising independent hard working children. I am only on Chapter 3 but it is fantastic. It is like sitting down and talking with her. I would recommend to anyone if you get a chance to see her go for it. Just a plug if you are looking for a great date in the Sacramento, CA areaTOF Couples will be here and she is speaking. She has another book called Strangling Your Husband is Not An Option

So this is what I am reading and learning about. Parenting is lots of hard work but it is OK to make your children work and do chores. One thing I loved from this book is she points out it is not our job to make them happy, that is their choice. Our job as parents is to shape them into great adults who can function well in society!

Contra Loma

Here are the pictures from our day. We went with the Mildenstein Family, Doll Family, Cook Family (plus a Moore ;-)) Rossi Family, and Porter Family, plus us. It was alot of fun and safe and most importantly clean. All my kids had a blast and I think my nieces and nephew had a good time too.

To top off the day we watched High School Musical 2. It was great. One article it is labeled as the movie that rocked the nation.

Boys! Boys! Boys!

In our household it is not too often we get to see how boys behave. We went to Contra Loma to swim and have a fun day in the sun. I will post pictures of our day. This post is how Logan and his friends for at least an hour got out ran and jumped back in, I couldn't believe how long this kept them busy. Here are a couple of pictures of Logan and his chums! Please note: It looks as thought the boys are on a collision course. No children were harmed during this photograph.

Grandma Visits

Here is a picture of Grandma with 6 of her seven soon to be eight grandchildren. They had a great visit. It was fun to have a few relaxing days where we could wing it. This is the better picture of the two but one of my "sticky fingers" mucked up the lens. Although you can't see her too well Alani is the top left cutie. We are sad that she and Katie are now living in Ohio but it was meant to be. We wish them luck. Mom, it was a great visit, I am glad you came. Love you!

My little Baby Doll!

Lauren has survived her first three months in the Jacobs' Zoo, the place we call home. She loves to sit and watch the world move very quickly around her. I don't know how much I can brag about what a great baby she is. She has been such a wonderful addition to our family. She has the dark hair like me so people say she looks like me...finally one who looks like me from birth.(Miranda only looked like me after Logan looked so much like Jeremy.) Then I look at baby pictures and she looks like Logan but with lots of dark hair. She is super precious and I love her so much!

Daddy Daughter Date

Jeremy's work had some extra tickets to an A's game on Friday night so Jeremy took Miranda. It was an awesome game. They had a great time. Here are some photos.

Create a Free Slideshow

Western CUNA Management School honors new grads
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. (8/9/07)--Eight students graduated with high honors and were inducted into the Academic Hall of Fame, while an additional six students graduated with honors during the 46th session of the Western CUNA Management School (WCMS), held July 15-27 at Pomona College in Claremont, Calif.

John C. Dill, president/CEO of the Credit Union Associations of Colorado and Wyoming, delivered this year's Western CUNA Management School commencement address at Pomona College on July 26. (Photo provided by the California Credit Union League)
Out of the 411 students attending this year, 172 were first-year students, 142 were second-year students, and 97 were third-year students.

Over a three-year period, students have five opportunities to earn academic honors. Honors and high honors are awarded to the highest achievers on the examinations taken by all students at the end of the school year. Students also can earn honors and high honors for the analysis of each of their two projects. To be inducted into the Academic Hall of Fame, students must have received honors in all five opportunities.

Students earning high honors included:

• Jeremy Calva, Wescorp, San Dimas, Calif.;
  
• Jeremy Jacobs, CD FCU, Concord, Calif.;
  
• Shannon Jennings, Seattle Metropolitan CU;
  
• Lesley Makekau, Hawaiian Credit Union League;
  
• Charlotte McKernan, American First CU, La Habra, Calif.;
  
• Hemlata Patel, Pacific Service CU, Walnut Creek, Calif.;
  
• Sharon Lynne Phillips, San Diego County CU, San Diego; and
  
• Shonna Shearson, Kern Schools FCU, Bakersfield, Calif.
  

Students earning honors included:
Tricey Kruger, TwinStar CU, Olympia, Wash.;
Justin Martin, Verity CU, Seattle;
Helen Mickel, Tongass FCU, Ketchikan, Alaska;
James Newstrom, Seattle Metropolitan CU;
Alan Shank, Great American Community CU, Grand Junction, Colo.; and
Jacqueline So, Inland Empire CU, Pomona, Calif.
Edward Vollenweider from Greater New Orleans FCU in Metairie, La., received the Charles M.

Clark Memorial Award. Vollenweider was nominated based on high moral character, leadership, credit union dedication and academic achievement.

Ava Milosevich, former CEO of SELCO CU in Eugene, Ore., and a WCMS graduate, was named as the 17th recipient of the James D. Likens Alumni Recognition Award, founded by the Alumni Association of WCMS.

WCMS' curriculum includes classes on management, economics, legal and ethical standards, money and financial institutions, communications and leadership. Students take classes six hours a day, five days a week, with three two-week terms over consecutive summers. Students also have organized activities outside of the classroom.

If you are curious about CUNA school click here. I am still beaming because my hubby is the bomb!

Catching up!

It hasn't been that long but there has been a lot going on the biggest and best news is that Jeremy graduated CUNA school with HIGH HONORS!
We drove down to LA last Sunday (July 22nd) and stayed with Jeremy's sister, Jami. It was fabulous. I think I will call it Hotel Murphy! Taylor, my much too grown up niece, loved playing with the twins. I think Hannah found a new best friend. These kids are growing up too fast. We went to Disneyland on Tuesday with out Jeremy. We were a group of 11, of which 6 were 6 or under. It was wonderful, I am so proud of the kids, most people wouldn't venture to Disneyland being so outnumbered by kids but they did a great job and made it a wonderful time. Then Thursday we went to the mall next to her house, I would move there just for the mall! We got home and got ready for Jeremy's graduation. It was great to be there when he found out he graduated with high honors. For the entire program he had three tests and 2 projects which took about 8 months to complete. For each you get a grade of passing, honors, high honors or highest honors. He got honors on one test and one project and high honors on the other three. He worked very hard and I am still beaming with pride. So in honor of his great accomplishment we went to Disneyland again on Friday and Saturday. We got to ride the Nemo ride which is super cool. Jer's mom and sister waited in line while we went and took the rest of the kids, minus Miranda who wanted to wait in the 2 hour line, on a few rides. It was an all around great time. As always there were some funny stories.

Logan didn't want to go on Space Mountain, so with his fascination with money, I offered him a quarter. His response was a firm negative. Jeremy then upped it to a dollar, still NEGATIVE! Then I offered him THREE quarters, because three is more than one! Sure enough he smiled really big and said he would ride it for three quarters.

Logan got to ride Soaring over California for the first time. It was cool I tried to explain the ride and what would happen, I told him it was magic. So the ride starts and he really thinks we left Disneyland. We got off the ride and he said it was super cool. He agreed that it was magic. I wish I had a video of his response. It is what taking a child to Disneyland is all about.

They have this Jedi Training Academy. Miranda was chosen to participate along with about 20 other kids. She was trained by a Jedi and his three padiwans. Then Darth Vader, Darth Maul and two storm Troopers came and attacked. Miranda got in line to fight Darth Vader. As soon as she walked up to him are camera memory ran out, we missed the whole thing! We do have a few pictures though. She activated her light saber and threw it across the stage. The Jedi used the force and said "you did not just see that" as he waved his hand. So she fought him then the Storm Troopers. She used one hand at a time and pushed the troopers using the force than two at a time. After she was done, we think she was supposed to sit down, but she got in the other line to fight Darth Maul too. She was amazing to get up there at all much less fight Darth Maul he was very scary looking. She was the star of the show. Anyways the Jedi's in training scared The Darths and Troopers away. They all received a certificate of graduation. Afterwards she was training her siblings and cousins in the Jedi ways.

This is all I can think of at the moment. I will put together a slide show which I will call the summer of cousins. We got to see the Murphy family a ton and also our cousins who live in Arizona, Ethan and Caleb, who are returning home today.