What's so funny/sad?

A year ago, the family reunion...sibling lunch. All nine of us. It was fun. A little too fun.

What's so funny?


The left behind parents, spouses and kids...they don't really get this "sibling lunch" thing we do. And maybe it IS kinda rude not to invite anyone else. Okay, to blatantly exclude everyone else. That's more like it. But when we go, and when I look at our pictures and think back on the hour we all sat around the table, not really talking about anything special or even reminiscing all that much, I'm so glad we did it.

Please ignore all the fillings in my teeth, that I just now pointed out to you and you otherwise may not have noticed.

I'm laughing just looking at the pictures.

And a year later...

Family reunion...sibling lunch.

What's so sad?

This one here, is our third "sibling outing." The first time, we were pretty sure it would never happen again, though we all vowed it would.

Oh, my goodness!

What could have happened?

Maybe we're all thinking how much we'll miss our Ethan as he embarks on his 2 year mission to Croatia. He leaves December 16th!! Our little baby brother...
Well...
Stay tuned for...What's so scary?
or What on earth is that smell?
Haven't decided yet, but it won't be for a couple years since Ethan will be gone and all nine of us won't be together again 'til he's back. We WILL miss you, Ethan...but we're all a bit jealous as well. :)

I love my sibs.

Mom, my neck hurts

The prefered tv watching spot.

My neck hurts just watching him.

Toy Catalog

The Target toy catalog arrived yesterday. It's occupied Garrett and Owen longer than the actual toys pictured in the catalog would if they had them.

They are perusing it, asking me if 14 is a lot, talking about what toy they like best and why one is cool and one is not.

If only I could just get them a bunch of catalogs for Christmas....

Best Halloween Movie

Daniel introduced this one to me when we were dating. It has become our traditional halloween movie.
Don Knotts is one of his heroes.

It's probably his Karate skills.
"That's right, karate...made my whole body a weapon."
(Early Napoleon Dynamite?)

"Atta Boy, Luther!"

One of MY favorite parts is when the Don Juan that Knotts is, says the most romantical thing to the GIRL. After his flustered speech to the beautiful Alma, he wraps up his awkward compliments with this lovely line.
"Average is darn Lucky to be sittin' here with Above Average." Awwwhhh!

And of course he ends up with the girl in a wedding at the end of the movie.

hee hee

This picture just makes me laugh.

Cheeseburger and Chicken Nugget

Aunt Amy (aka Cheeseburger) and Owen (aka Chicken Nugget) having fun together.

Amy: Oh...Is this you when you were a little baby apple?

She did this with various different pictures throughout the magazine, making Chicken Nugget laugh over and over. He loved the attention. (Every picture of every baby is of him...so Amy was expanding on that theme.)

We love Crazy Aunt Amy.

SIR, YES SIR!

He wore this hat for a week!

Rolli Pollies

Rolli Pollies... (how would you spell that?)

...are the best bug in the world!!



My kids get hours of enjoyment out of looking for, catching, and playing with these bugs.

Sometimes the poor little bugs...don't make it.
That can be kinda sad.
But there are always plenty more.

The Air Show

The air show at Hill Air Force Base was just a mile up the street from us.

We had a pretty good view of the air show from our front yard. The really cool parts were when the Thunderbirds flew near the end of the show. Here they are information and doing some tricks. All day there were different kinds of planes flying over the house. But these were most exciting.

Telephoto lens...

The best seats... (short of going on the roof like some of our neighbors did. We Skinners are too whimpy for that. YIKES! Maybe in a couple years at the next show.)

Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Fathers Day to my goof ball!

Like father....






LIKE CHILDREN!!!

We love you, Daniel!

Happy Father's day to my dad too.
Love, ivy

color

I wanted to bring some color into the kitchen.
I'm too scared to paint the walls so far....not to mention indecisive.
It's too open to the rest of the house.
Anyway, I thought I'd add color on the bar stools. But again, couldn't decide what color.
So I did 4 different ones.
Aren't they cute?
They only look good in this order though. :) No, really. I'm particular about the order. For some reason, this is the order in which they look best. Owen's is the red one. It's closest to his favorite color, pink.



Blue couch, anyone?

I love it!!!

The BEST Hamburgers and Fries

My new favorite Hamburger/Fries place...

Five Guys Burgers and Fries
If you don't have one near you, I'm sorry.
Actually, I don't have one that near me. This one's in Sandy.
They are better than In-N-Out Burger.
Kind of funny that In-N-Out is just getting to Utah right when these Guys (five guys) are on the scene.

The fries...
They are the best.

I'm getting fatter just remembering them. And they give you a TON.
Wish I had a picture, but they have all these bags of Potatoes out front in the dining room, the actual potatoes they are using that day, and a sign on the wall that tells you where the potatoes are from.

The Boys' table.

Winner for Cutest Couple:
Daniel and Ivy, of course!