The Sweetest Thing Ever!

For months now I've been trying to teach Kennedy the importance of giving to those less fortunate than us. We have been very blessed in life and I want her to learn to share with those in need. One night we tried going through her old toys and separated out some that we could give away to others in need. Well, the pile of toys started off good but every few items or so that ended up in the give-away pile kept ending up back in her toy boxes. She just didn't want to part with her things saying "Now I don't get any toys!". I felt like a failure because I hadn't been able to teach her that very important lesson... until now. We picked up Kennedy and Rowan in Sheridan this afternoon and as we got off the exit to our house we saw a man with a sign asking for any little bit of help to get him some gas to get him home. Kennedy saw this and said "Mom, we need to stop and help that man... he needs our money, he needs our help".

If you have ever spent very much time in Billings you will notice that we have a regular group of beggars that are out everyday in the same spots with the same signs. I used to want to help them until I realized that no matter what you could do for them they would just continue in their ways.

This man on the side of the road seemed different. I'd never seen him before and I felt like he truly did need some help. I asked Lucas if I should turn around and go help him and he didn't think it was necessary, but Kennedy and I could not get him out of our minds. When we got home she went up to her piggy bank and got out all the "silver" coins, a $1 bill she had and then Lucas and I tossed in another $5. She begged me to drive back to the exit as fast as I could and hoped that he would still be there so she could help him. He was still on the side of the the road and Kennedy walked up to him with a little ziploc bag full of dimes, nickels, quarters and a few dollars and told him that he could have what she had to spare. Turns out he was driving into Billings to turn in some scrap metal but the business was closed due to Memorial day. He said he would be able to use the money to take care of himself until the next day when the scrap yard would be open. He also went to his truck and got Kennedy a small little porcelin tray that looks like open childrens hands. It wasn't much but it was nice that he wanted to do a little something back for her. We got back in the car and were driving home and she told me how happy she was that she could help that man out and that we needed to give to those who need things more than we do. I cried the whole way home and still do as I keep thinking about how generous she was. It was only a couple of dollars of coins from her piggy bank but I think she finally understood the meaning of charity. I am so proud of her and hope she remembers this lesson throughout life. I hope it also inspires others to do what they can to help those around them in need.

VOTE FOR DAVID COOK!!!!!!!!!!!

1-866-43657-01

1-866-43657-03

1-866-43657-05

I know I'm from Utah and should be voting for that David Archuleta teenybopper but I won't. He can sing but other than that he has no talent. Vote for DAVID COOK cause he rocks!

And I'm done.

Happy 3rd Anniversary!

Just a little something I pulled together for your anniversary. I didn't have many pictures of you kids so this is what you end up with.... oh and I know how much Miles loves Hall and Oates so he should love this and just want to watch it over and over again! I have to say that it's full of laughter, tears, drama and suspense, oh and the occasional car chase scene.

I really hope you guys like this and find it funny cause it worked on it for like 3 hours. If you don't then prepare to meet my little friend.... his name is Rowan and his shit stinks. I swear it's like something died in his butt and then he let it out for all the world to smell.

This one's for Lucas... the yard.

Here's how the lawn is looking. Like I said... sporadic patches of grass. It's getting better but I know we need to lay down more seed and if I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna lay it down thick. No matter how much we use it will still cost less than sod.





Here's our lovely tree in the front yard. I can't even remember what kind it is but it's pretty.




WAYNE WAS RIGHT!!! Those trees weren't dead.... at least one of them for now. For those of you who don't know, we bought three aspen trees last fall when they were all on clearance. They looked very healthy at the time and so we left them in their containers and watered them daily... or at least when we remembered. Well, we never got around to planting them because I was indecisive and didn't know where I wanted them. They basically sat in front of the garage and we kept forgetting more and more to water them. When winter hit we eventually thought that they were goners. Well, the nice man named Wayne that came to level out our yard a few weeks ago told Lucas that the trees weren't dead and that we just needed to plant them. So we took them in the back yard and loaded them up with healthy soil and have been watering them on a regular basis to try and bring them back to life. Well what do you know... I looked outside this morning and one of the trees came back to life. The other two still don't look great but they only cost us $10 a piece so I won't cry myself to sleep if we only rescue one.

Some fun new pictures

Rowan tried putting Kennedys snow hat on his head the other day. Once I fixed it he just looked too cute not to put on film.



Yesterday afternoon we went over to our neighbors, the Morris', and had a barbeque and played on their new waterslide. This is Kennedy and all her friends. They had a great time. Note to Shasta and Sicily... most of the pictures I took inside of the girls didn't turn out because I didn't have the flash on. Sorry.... we'll try it again.





We had a great time and were glad to visit with our friends. It can get a bit lonely when Lucas is gone.

Happy Mothers Day Grandma Rena!!!!

A little photo tribute to our Mom, Grandma Rena!

Look at this fine bunch of kids you raised. Can you believe we are all standing next to each other and not beating each other up or flipping off the camera? It was a monumental day!



Mom, we love you because you think your funny.



See, she tried it again... still not funny.



Kennedy and Grandma.... she was always napping on the job. I would've demanded my money back... if I'd actually paid.



Look Grandma... I can ride a bike if you hold me up and push me!



You even passed on your loves (obsessions) to our kids.



I'm not sure how many child experts would recommend giving a 4 year old Diet Coke...? And sitting on that counter looks like a safety hazard.



With good supervision you can be trusted with a baby... Rowan wasn't crying or anything!



Oh wait... maybe you can't. I'm sure Kennedy has recovered physically from this incident... but it may take years of therapy to help her mentally. I hope you sleep well at night....



Aside from all of that... we love you. I only know what it was like to raise one child on my own and how difficult that was. You did it with the three of us and though there were difficult times we all know you did the best you could. I am so happy that I was chosen to be your child and I can't thank you enough for the life you've given me. You are kind and generous and have sacrificed so much for all of us. I only wish there was a way to thank you enough for being my Mom. Just know that if I ever find Elvis alive, I will kidnap him on the spot, take him to the basement of Casa de Sugarhouse and you can keep him forever... or at least until he dies for real. I love you, Steph.

P.S. Please remember that when you want to make me my favorite desert for my birthday it's chocolate cake... not that pineapple crap cake. That's Angs favorite!

The Montana Skinners have a new number

For those of you who haven't read this on the Skinner blog:

We finally broke down and got a new line added to our cell phone plan with a Montana number. The number is 406.670.1140. I still have my Utah line for business reasons so you can still reach me on that for a bit. I will slowly update all contacts with my new number and then leave my old line available for my clients only so please start using the new number.
Thanks!

My little curls

Rowan here... my Mom was being silly today and put some gel in my hair and all these curls showed up. I can't tell if I look goofy or not but I guess it's not really up to me since Mommy does what she wants with me.

This is a picture of me outside helping Daddy in the garage. As you can see, I'm not much help... but I'm make up for it because I'm so cute.

Our new fence!!!!!

One year and $7,000 later... we finally got our fence put in. We were very lucky that 1/2 of our fence was already up because our neighbors had done theirs... otherwise this never would've happened. We probably would have duct taped together some cardboard boxes and called it good. Here's a few pics and one of our "lone" tree. It was the only thing we managed to plant last year and we were really scared that we probably planted it wrong and then we would have had a $100 fire log. We were excited to find this morning that it had started to bloom. There's a picture here of Rowan hanging out with Mom and Dad while we were working in the yard. He's got Mom's skintone (which means it will burn in no time flat) so we put Mom's hat on him to keep him protected. That's why he looks a bit dorky!

Funny side note...

Yankee Candles makes air fresheners for cars now and I bought some that were "flavored" Sun & Sand, which I think does smell a bit like being at the beach. Well, I hung one up in the car and a few hours later when Kennedy got in she said "Eeewwww... it smells like sunscreen in here!". I keep trying to explain to her that that's how part of the "beach" smells. Guess we'll have to take her there one day and let her experience it for herself.

Kennedy's Day at the Carnival

Kennedy got a 100% in her Learning Lab Language Arts test last week and so we promised to take her to the carnival as a special treat. I also brought along her friend Addee so I wouldn't have to go on any of the rides. They ate cotton candy, rode dozens of rides and had a great time.

Some Random Pictures

This was taken at Aunt Ang and Uncle Miles house. All the playing must have worn him out...

This is a cute picture we caught with Dad's hat on Rowan.

Rowan has been waking up in the middle of the night and we, as lazy parents, just pull him into bed with us. I had woken up and got Kennedy off to school for the day and when I came back upstairs this is what I saw. It was too cute not to capture on film.

Rowan will pretty much sleep anywhere. This was during his afternoon nap. He just crashed out on the floor.

Laundry baskets can be fun to play in... what we didn't capture was all the crying when he fell over 5 seconds later.

This is Dad's fault! He didn't seem to realize what would happen when he handed a 10 month old a piece of licorice. I will say that Rowan loves the stuff. He was pretty upset when I took it away. Then I made Dad go hose him down in the shower so I could have my precious little boy back.

This was taken in Kennedy's classroom after the Spring Sing. Rowan loved seeing all the kids.

This was also taken right after the Spring Sing. A good time was had by all!

Kennedy's Spring Sing Recital

Kennedy performed with her class this week in their Spring Sing Recital. She is the "animated" girl in the upper right hand corner on the top step. I was only able to record 60 second clips on my camera so you don't get the whole song but it's still pretty cute. Enjoy!