My new Venture

So if any of you have seen me the last couple of months - you may have noticed my toes.....

I put these on my toes 10 weeks ago!! And they are still holding on! They have a little out growth - but they still don't look too shabby - and like I said - it's been 10 weeks! I bought these on the internet - after I did, the company contacted me and said that they would be switching over from just selling online to launching a consultant program to sell them. I put my name on the list to be notified when it actually launched and I'd think about it. Well in the mean time I was wearing my Jamberry Nails on my toes - and I swear - at least once a day someone would complement them and ask me where I got them. This happened enough times that I started getting really anxious for the consultant program to launch - so the next time someone asked me where to get them - I could just hand them my card and make a little money off of it. They finally contacted me and said I could sign up - so I did - that day!

I actually have never been a fan of the whole "sales party" thing -- but this one sounds so fun, so it's not so bad. Plus I think it is a great product and the price is great too. You get a sheet - which gets at least 2-3 full sets for either your toenails or fingernails - for only $15. If you think about it - going in once a month for a pedicure would cost way more - plus nail polish chips. This stuff doesn't. I've had these on for 10 weeks - and have no problems with them -- I even trained for and ran a half marathon with them on - still in great shape.

I just did my fingernails and I did the girls toenails last week. Here's some pics.....


jackson wanted in on the pictures too.... :)

So I'm excited!! If you live close and want to host a party -- let me know!! I already have 2 people that have said they want to host - so that's great. Or if you just would like to go to my site and buy straight from there (doesn't matter where you live) - you can do that by going towww.april.jamberrynails.net. There is even a special sale going on right now -- Buy 3, get 1 Free!!

And last - if you would like to be a consultant yourself - then I'd love for you to sign up under me and be your sponsor. Again - you would just go to my website and click on the Join Us button.

Let me know what you think!!! :)

**Uhh - don't know why it posted all the pics twice -- sorry about that. Deja-vu?!?!? :)

Happy Camper

This tent is where we stayed the entire time we were camping - because it was raining down on the outside and everything was soaking wet - including all our shoes. But the kids still loved just being in the tent.

For me it was like my own little personal hell. I already am not a huge fan of camping - but I do it for my kids. I do usually end up enjoying it somewhat because the kids love it so much, it makes it fun. This trip however was pure misery. We set up in the rain - thinking - it wont last. Our camp was primitive - meaning no running water and no electricity. So - how do we blow up our big ol' mattress?? We drive down the road to the next campground and use there electricity - tie the mattress to the roof and drive it back. We thought since the mattress is plastic it wouldn't get that wet. But turns out that blue felt stuff on the top - holds A TON of water. As the night went on I started to not feel very good. So I went to bed with a stomach ache around 9pm. I had a hard time sleeping because my stomach just wouldn't stop hurting. Then around 1:30am I threw up for the first time. Then continued to throw up 5 more times thru out the night. Plus I had to go to the nasty, dark, vault toilet, bathroom twice in the middle of the night -- which I hate doing - even when there is electricity. I was scared to death - but too sick to let it stop me. Morning finally came and it was STILL raining. And it wasn't a soothing sound like you would think it'd be. Since we were under trees - it would drip from the trees - so there was no consistency with the sounds. We still tried to stick it out a bit just hoping (well Sam was hoping) that it would stop raining and we could stay. But Jackson's bed was soaked, everyones shoes were soaked and everything else was damp. So around noon we finally called it and packed up camp -- which was another challenge - everything was wet and muddy and I was completely exhausted from being so sick. But we did it and we made it home. I took a bath and went to bed. Sam unloaded the car and set everything out in our garage to dry.

Then he busted out our bbq and made s'mores with the kids to make up for what we couldn't do while we were camping.

Glad that trip is over. We have another camping trip planned next month - so we'll see if the weather will cooperate that time. If there is ANY chance of rain - we are not going!! :)

Here's good old Jim Gaffigan - wrapping up how I feel about camping.....

swimming lessons

We changed things up a little this year. In the past we have gone out to some friends from chrurch house. They have a great backyard and a pool and a teacher comes and teaches classes there, along with their daughter. It's a great atmosphere and the kids loved it and loved the teachers. However, this year, it is scheduled the same time we will be on a stupid camping trip. (by stupid - I mean my husband booked us at a "primitive" camp site for 4 days!! That means no running water :P)

Anyways.... while chatting with some friends about swim lessons a couple of them suggested that I try the Tennis Club. They had great things to say about it and after looking them up I found a schedule that would fit mine and the price was about the same as what we usually pay.

We just finished up our two weeks yesterday (to the kids dismay) - and it was great. I felt the kids got a ton out of it. It was nice because they all had class at the same time. 3 teachers in the pool in different parts of the pool - so it was quick and easy. Another bonus was the class sizes are kept very small, which I like. A bummer that actually turned out not so bad was the weather. The stinkin weather. Our second week of lessons, it was rainy. But this made the class sizes even smaller - both Jax and Gwen had only one other kids show up in their class. And they cranked the heat in the pool - so the kids really didn't even mind at all - just sucked to be me sitting out in the rain. :)

Addie loving the pool!!

Gwenny loved her teacher!! (they all did actually - they were all great)
Addie swimming in the deep end all by herself. She technically could do this before - but I'd always be too nervous to let her do it much. But she has a lot more confidence now and so do I. AND she now knows how to tread water!!
Learning techniques....
look at that form ;)
Jackson put all his heart into it - very cute to watch....
And they all have no fear of jumping in...........

Before - notice the teacher below...
After - those poor teachers..... :)

Happy 4th!!

My brother and his wife - Keith and Alicia - had us all over for a fun bbq. The kids played outside....
And Misty and Paul brought their pool and slip n' slide - and they all loved that!! Here's Jax and Alyvia.....
For fireworks we went out to Independence for a great show. It was a lot of fun and I believe it may have just become our "spot" for 4th of July.

Here are the kids making their silly faces, but I like the faces in the background - Jess trying to squeeze into the pic (notice the "leg warmers" on her legs - the covers of their camping chairs) And I love Tim's face -- Alicia must be telling a shocking story!! :)

park day with the family

A week or so ago a friend from church told me that she had gone to the nicest park she'd ever been to. It's in a town about 45 min away - but she said she thought it was worth the drive --- so on Sat. we gave it a whirl and invited all my family. Here's some pics...

Me holding my niece Tori and sitting next to my sister Misty.....

Me with two nieces - Elizabeth and Tori -- don't they look like they LOVE the water?!? :)
Addie loving the water...
And then there was Jackson. Jackson LOVED to punch and kick the crap out of the water. It was finally something he could hit without getting in trouble. So he had the time of his life! :) (click to enlarge the pics to get the full effect - his face is pretty intense)

and yes, we were the white trash family letting our kid go around in his underwear...

Nieces Maci and Mercedes playing on one of the many cool toys ....
Nephew Dallin so happy he made it to the top of the sand volcano.....
The park even had a sno-cone stand - which were really good. Guess what color Jackson had..
Handsome fellas.....
Look at those skills Gwenny had climbing that rock wall...
It was a really fun day and a very cool park. I'd say it was worth the drive too. :)