Snippets of life...

You know when you grew up in the cutest, nicest, quaintest, small town in the world when the USPS mail workers call you and hand deliver LDS mission calls to your door. And then months later, when your dad goes in early to check to see if Jeff's letter from U of L medical school has arrived, they ask how Kurt (the missionary) is doing and comments that he must be good because he's writes Lizzie (his girlfriend) many, many letters. Such sweet and kind people! I love Salem.

You know you currently live in a wonderful and safe place when you don't have to fork over the $30.00 you had planned on spending by taking the boys to the Lexington Explorium today since school is out, but instead can let them run around outside enjoying the cooler fall weather playing 4 square, football and army men with 6 other little boys from the cul-de-sac.

You know when you are not setting a great example to your little ones when you 18 month old girls find Q-tips and try to stick them straight into their ears. (No one tell Todd- ENT resident!)

You know you will have a problem with fashion issues down the road when Brynn first gives you a pair of flip flops to wear (now she loves the black ones with colorful ribbon) when you step out of the shower and when you finally get dressed, she stops pushing her stroller, gives you a once over, stares at your BROWN flip flops and heads to the closet to find her original choice. I wore the colored ones for a minute and put the brown back on. While I was putting on my makeup, Brynn came back into the room, got on her knees, lifted up my pants and saw the brown pair. She was not pleased and went once again in search of her favorite shoes.

You know your kids have weird eating habits when they eat corn, brownies, bean and cheese burritos, pink cookies and hot dogs for breakfast. I'm not helping the matter when I eat it along with them!

You know the power of the mind when you check on your boys warts and they really have been shrinking. This was a VERY pleasant surprise because I can't get into a dermatologist for ages and really don't want to go through the ordeal of the appointment either. Anytime I even say the word wart, Josh starts crying and tells me his stomach hurts. Matt's prayer last night (he is known to have a very original style of praying) was all about warts and how he was "so glad that cutting them off was not an option because it would totally hurt and they are disappearing on their own." Amen to that, I hope!

You know when you have kids when your van's rear windshield wiper was broken by an inquisitive child (Josh) and now hangs limp, pointing straight to the ground. The guy at the oil change asked what was wrong with it because he didn't think they designed them like that. A, no, that was not in the van's original design. Rich finally used packing tape to make it look normal. Too bad the rain made it fall off, but it does make it easy to find your van in the Wal-mart parking lot.

You know when you live in Kentucky when you are awaken my thunder, lighting, rain and hail at 2:30 AM. I did a quick check on the TV and went right back to sleep when I saw it was only a severe thunderstorm warning with no signs of tornadoes.

You are are surprised to hear the word drought used to describe Lexington this summer when everyone's lawns, trees, and flowers are still doing fine without the help of a sprinkler system. Yes, it hasn't rained hardly at all, but can't compare to the dry desert of Utah and where the word "drought" and "water rations" just mean July and August.

You know when you have a child with a one track mind (much like myself at times) when he is dying to get a new comic book from the book order and when you finally say no, he makes a list how he's going to earn the money which includes having a yard sale to make the $8.00. Trey will never let it die, though we are NOT having a yard sale no matter what!

You know you have budding artists when the girls found a blue marker in the basement and both came up looking like Violet Beauregarde in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

You know you might have a possible flood in your future when your baby girls can climb on the toilet seat and turn on the bathroom faucet. It makes for good entertainment, but this one scares me a bit.

You know your boys are in love with Webkins when they rush inside the store Limited Too at the mall when they see a sign displayed in the window. It was the most girly store around, complete with pink flooring and glitter. They were the only males in the place, but got great ideas for Santa.

What will I learn next?