Bryn's First Word

Here's Bryn last night fresh from the tub and in her jammies and completely edible. Not only is she cute but she's smart too. She is 24 weeks old now. For your viewing enjoyment:

Not only does this little genius say "mama" but she also says "dada" when she's in the mood. But I'm thrilled to report that "mama" was her first word. All the other kids said "dada" first. Did you see the glint of her gold earrings? She got her ears pierced almost 2 months ago. She also got her first haircut 2 weeks ago. She has had the craziest hair since birth but now it is normal and looks like a little a-line bob. It is hilarious. Bryn also has two little sharp teeth on the bottom that made an appearance last week. She is growing up so fast!!

She also can sit up for awhile by herself and is doing her darndest to sit up on her own from a lying down position. She is delicious.

Book Reviews #61 and #62

Have you noticed that so many great new books have just come out? I seriously have a reading list a mile long of fantastic books I have been waiting forever to come out. But before I get to all those great new books I have had a few that I have needed to finish. Here are two:

Book Review #61 The Ladies Auxilary by Tova Mirvis



This was the pick for September for my church book club. It sounded interesting and I was excited to read it. This book is an enigma to me in many ways. Just when I think I have formed an opinion about it...wham...my opinion changes.

From Publishers Weekly:

The world of this confident, insightful debut novel is the tightly knit Orthodox Jewish community of Memphis, Tenn., a social structure that unravels when an unconventional New York convert settles there with her five-year-old daughter. Newly widowed Batsheva Jacobs is both shockingly modern and fervently spiritual. She lovingly raises her daughter, Ayala, in the Orthodox tradition, but she sings loudly and enthusiastically at shul (perhaps a sign of unseemly ego), visits the mikvah to cleanse herself (an act that raises eyebrows, since she has no husband), and she wears flowing clothes that show her figure. All of which is noted suspiciously by the local women whose common goal is to preserve tradition...Taking a job as art teacher at the girls' school, blonde, green-eyed Batsheva is soon a beloved confidante of the community's female teenagers, but when she allows them to wear makeup and miniskirts on a ski trip, and becomes close to the Rabbi's beloved 22-year-old son, she's the subject of cruel gossip. Caught in the middle are Ayala and the respected and goodhearted Mimi Rubin, the rabbi's wife, who begins to believe rumors about her son's attachment to Batsheva, and panics. Generous with humor and compassion, Mirvis paints tenderly nuanced portraits of strong female characters while scrutinizing an entrenched religious subculture whose traditions are threatened by modern temptations. Guilt, passion, prejudice, loneliness and independence are common themes in Jewish literature and are explored with sensitivity in a gentle story that captures its milieu with tolerant understanding, and plucks the heartstrings.

When I first started this book I had a really hard time getting into it. There are about 20 main characters and none of them are the narrator exactly. The story is told in first-person plural which took a bit to get into plus the pace of the book is very slow. For the first third of the book I really didn't care for it and was very tempted to put it down and pick up something else. But I persevered since it was for a book club. By half way through I liked it. The book describes in detail the beliefs, holidays, rituals, spiritual practices, morals and values of Orthodox Judaism. I found this fascinating...truly. Mirvis does an exceptional job of describing these to the non-Jewish and non-informed reader.

By the end of the book I really liked it. As a religious person who has lived in a religious community I found that I could relate to the book and the women of the Ladies Auxilary. How easily comparisons can be drawn to people of my own faith in ways both good and bad. Mirvis does a great job of looking objectively at this community (one she was raised in) and not just viewing it through rose-colored glasses. There are characters who are self-righteous; characters who are religious purely out of habit and tradition; characters who just go through the motions and are afraid to ask themselves what they truly believe; and characters who are unaccepting of outsiders and those who deviate from the "norm". But there are also characters who are warm, loving, supportive who truly live their religion and exude that warm sense of "community".

I also found myself feeling a rejuvenation for my own religion. Last week in Family Home Evening Tyler and I were talking to our kids about how they needed to start preparing for Sunday on Saturday night so that Sunday would be a much more peaceful day. I grabbed my book and read the section on how the women prepare for Shabbos (the Sabbath) and how they set it apart from other days and make it holy. For instance... they light their candles, park their cars, shut off TV, don't answer the phone, dress nicely, have dishes they only use on the Sabbath, special foods they eat etc.

"We reserve the day for God and for family...and spend it in a peaceful pattern of prayers, meals and relaxation. The outside world vanishes, even if only for one day" (pgs. 18-19)

Our kids really got inspired and came up with some great ideas for things we could implement in our own family to make the Sabbath day holy.

In our book club we had a great discussion about the questions this book raises. The one that struck me the most is...how does one raise a religious child to become a religious adult? Most parents want their children to be religious in the same way they are...I am no exception. But there really isn't any way to ensure that your children will be religious in the same way that their parents are...no matter how much we wish there was. Our children are individuals who learn and grow at their own pace and take their own path to spirituality...just like we did.

The ideas of this book have stayed with me for over a week now. Having had more time to digest the concepts and ideas I am finding this book to be even more meaningful. While not a quick read or a page-turner I found this book to be a gentle contemplative reminder of how we ...the collective we...are more alike than we are different and I am left feeling a deeper connection to my own spirituality.

My rating: Good...meaningful.

Book Review #62 The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale



Oh Shannon Hale...I try to like you...I really do. I give you chance after chance and guess what? I just don't. I know I am in the minority especially in my little subculture of the world but you're just not my...as you would annoyingly say..."cup of herbal tea". I found this book to be so "gosh darn" full of sugary cliched Happy Valley Mormonism that my teeth hurt and I wanted to vomit.

From Amazon.com:

What if you were to meet the number-one person on your laminated list—you know, that list you joke about with your significant other about which five celebrities you’d be allowed to run off with if ever given the chance? And of course since it’ll never happen it doesn’t matter… Mormon housewife Becky Jack is seven months pregnant with her fourth child when she meets celebrity hearththrob Felix Callahan. Twelve hours, one elevator ride, and one alcohol-free dinner later, something has happened…though nothing has happened. It isn’t sexual. It isn’t even quite love. But a month later Felix shows up in Salt Lake City to visit and before they know what’s hit them, Felix and Becky are best friends. Really. Becky’s husband is pretty cool about it. Her children roll their eyes. Her neighbors gossip endlessly. But Felix and Becky have something special…something unusual, something completely impossible to sustain. Or is it? A magical story, The Actor and the Housewife explores what could happen when your not-so-secret celebrity crush walks right into real life and changes everything.

OK...I'm having to stifle a gag just reading that. I thought this book would be the "delightful romp" that it claimed to be but it wasn't. The main character, Becky Jack, truly is the MOST annoying of characters. She's just knocked Bella from Twilight down a few notches. She is such a Utah LDS stereotype. You disappoint me Shannon Hale.

First...the plot. The book is basically about Becky and her crush British actor, Felix (who in my book looks just like Hugh Grant) and their emotional affair. I wanted to scream as Becky was titillated every time Felix called, how her little pudgy heart just skipped a beat whenever she heard his voice but she would then go on and on about how much she "loved" her good old dependable husband Mike. Me thinks the lady doth protest too much. Shannon Hale tells us over and over again...ad naseaum...about how much Becky loves Mike and how her marriage is her number one priority yet Becky's actions tell a far different story. Each time Hale would have Becky say how much she loved Mike in the next breath she would then have Becky go off on how she and Felix were "soulmates". Ugh. I found myself asking throughout the whole book "Couldn't Felix do better than you? You are a bore...and a stereotype." And...not a very flattering stereotype, Ms. Hale, of LDS women.

Second, the characters are so uninteresting, except for Felix, and completely unrealistic. The husband Mike after putting up with so much from his wife and her infatuation/relationship with Felix he finally reaches the end of his rope and tells her...that he "just doesn't understand." What!?! That's it? Call her out Mike!!" I wanted to yell. Grow some balls and a spine while you're at it!! I don't know what most of the readers husbands are like but mine would put up with behavior like that for exactly two seconds and vice versa. I kept wanting Mike to find a nice sexy blond big boobed co-worker and claim her to be his "soulmate" and see how frumpy old zucchini bread baking Becky liked it. Probably not so much.

Third, was this book written for the masses or did I miss the LDS lit label? Because Ms. Hale assumes that your average reader is in on all the LDS/Utah insight and most are not. I couldn' t stand her description of how the city of Layton is pronounced...inside joke to Utah readers only. When Becky goes in to talk to her Bishop and she says that she has read a bunch of "Conference Talks" I'm sure the non-LDS reader has no clue what she is talking about...and these are just a few examples.

Now that said there were some parts of this book where the dialogue between Becky and Felix was humorous...but then it never let up...every single time they spoke to one another it was in this obnoxious banter that I felt was contrived. Most of us have a friend or two were we riff off one another but then we can stop...it isn't endlessly ongoing. It got really old.

The ending was pure torture. After all of the jerking around of the reader and the manipulating of our emotions (not to mention the offing of a main character) the ending blows. Really. Did we just go on that nausea inducing roller coaster ride for this. As I stared in disbelief at the last few pages what did Becky do? She giggled and guffawed and chortled and chuckled. How funny that after 11 years for them and a grueling 350 pages for me we find ourselves here. Lame.

I know I am in the minority here and that lots of people who I respect liked this book but I didn't. Truth be told I despised it. I liked the premise but was disappointed with the product. Can men and women be friends...perhaps...just not "soul mates" if they are married to other people. But that's just my opinion. So here's where the rubber meets the road. Good-bye Shannon Hale.

My rating: Too cheesy; too contrived; and too "Happy Valley" for me. I hated it.

"God Has Given Me a Gift"



Our family has been enjoying a bounty of delicious corn lately and Kameron is by far our most enthusiastic corn-on-the-cob eater. The other night he ate 6 pieces of corn-on-the-cob...SIX...in addition to his dinner. He has lost a bunch of teeth lately so I thought eating the corn off the cob might be difficult for him. Apparently not because he killed us by saying in all seriousness "God has given me a gift...these buck teeth...to help me eat corn!!" We were all on the floor laughing. Make lemonade baby!!

Speaking of gifts...after reading my book review below. Guess what arrived on my doorstep the other day? Both of these books...hard-bound addition. What a great surprise. I have the BEST husband!!

I'm In Love

OK...so I'm skipping some of the books I've read that I'm behind on the book reviews to do a review on two books that I just finished. Holy Cow! They are SO GOOD!! I'm shocked I liked them so much. First, they are Young Adult Literature and second, they take place in a postapocalyptic dystopia...and...I still liked them. No scratch that. I LOVED them.

Book Review #59

#60



Here's the synopsis from barnesandnoble.com:

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games.

Ok...think The Giver meets The Most Dangerous Game meets The Lottery meets Ray Bradbury meets the TV show Survivor. Are you intrigued? Because you really should be!! I cannot recommend this series enough. Hunger Games is the first in the trilogy, and Catching Fire just came out.

I really can't say much more because I don't want to give away too much of the plot but the second book in the series Catching Fire is even better than the first. Hard to believe.

My Rating: EXCELLENT!!

Now go get these books and start reading!! I'm serious...RUN!! I hope you don't have anything important to do for the next day or two because you will not be able to put them down.

September 11th


I woke up this morning to a beautiful sunny September day and it reminded me of another beautiful sunny September day...eight years ago. I remember it so clearly. Kameron was a baby and had been up quite a bit the night before with a cold. I was still asleep when Tyler was getting ready for work. He had the Today show on and had been listening to it while getting ready. Suddenly Tyler burst into our bedroom and said "The Pentagon has been bombed!!" I remember being groggy and not fully comprehending what he was saying. I remember asking "Who did what?" and he said it again and hurried back into the living room. I stumbled out of bed and into the living room and stared at the TV in horror and then the first plane hit the World Trade Center. I remember not comprehending what was going on. I remember the confusion of Matt Lauer and Katie Couric as they were trying to explain to viewers the breaking news in New York City. Then we watched the second plane hit. Tyler and I just stared in complete disbelief at what we were witnessing. We were confused and trying to process what was going on as we watched the towers smoking and emergency crews rushing in. I remember thinking "It will be ok. Those people will get out."

Work was forgotten, breakfast was forgotten, at some point Kameron began to cry and we picked him up brought him out to the living room, Reilly woke up and joined us. I remember her as a little 4 year old asking us what was happening and not being able to articulate to her what was going on. We just huddled together...our little family of four...and stared at the TV. I remember the flames and suddenly people were jumping out of windows and I couldn't believe I was seeing people falling to their deaths and then the Today show stopped broadcasting those images and it seems like only seconds later that the buildings collapsed. I remember looking at Tyler and asking him "Could anyone survive that?" and he just sadly shook his head.

What sadness followed...images that will haunt me for the rest of my life. People running for their lives away from the towers, people injured and staggering around New York, family members with pictures asking anyone and everyone if they had seen their loved ones, walls covered in pictures of the missing, a field in Pennsylvania, the Pentagon with a gaping hole, rescue workers at Ground Zero, and American flags flying.

September 11, 2001 was the day my life changed. My priorities, political viewpoint, patriotism, and my spirituality. They all changed and took on new significance in the course of one terrible morning. I have never been the same since. I wake up on this beautiful September morning filled with gratitude for my God, my family, my country, my beliefs, and my freedom.

Labor Day Weekend 2009

This Labor Day weekend we packed up the kids and headed to Seattle for a weekend of fun as a last hurrah before fall. We really had a great time. All our kids are great travelers...including Bryn...so that made it really nice.

We headed out in the wee hours of the morning on Saturday. We arrived in North Bend in time for some breakfast and the opening of the outlets there.

We ate breakfast at the restaurant where they filmed the old TV show Twin Peaks.

The weather was gloomy and wet but that didn't stop our fun or our shopping!!

We found a bunch of great clothes for everyone. I even found quite a bit to put away for Christmas. I love getting my Christmas Shopping done early!! It just might happen this year.

Oh Seattle how we love you!!

I always forget what a big city Seattle is and how small the town we live in is in comparison. It was so fun to go downtown and roam around. There is always so much to see and do.

There are so many great stores...restaurants...sites to see. The people watching alone is amazing. I forget how very vanilla it is where we live. I love seeing and hearing the variety of cultures and languages.

One of my first stops was the downtown Goodwill. I love thrift stores and we had been told that this was one of the best. We were not lead astray. I found so much great stuff. All for the price of around $30. Yay!!

After that we hit the pavement. We walked all over the place. Bryn rode in the back pack and pretty much slept the entire time.

Our first stop was Pike Place Market.

Just as we got down there the sun came out...perfect!!

We watched the flying fish

We went to our favorite Specialty cheese store for some amazing cheese and curds.

There was a big music festival going on so there were even more people downtown. It was incredibly fun. Downtown Seattle has such a great vibe. Street performers who are actually talented! I was THRILLED to see that punk is not dead!! There was fantastic music from every street corner and every kind of ethnic food you can imagine. Colors, Music, Smells galore. We were loving it. We just soaked it up.

The girls had fun spending money at Daiso a Japanese Dollar store. They found clear umbrellas, cute stationary, notebooks, miniature manicure sets and so much more. :)

That night we decided on Greek food for our cuisine of choice and basically collapsed at our hotel. It amazes me how much fun our kids can have at a hotel...ice machines, vending machines, HBO and the waffle/omlet breakfast bar the next morning was just icing on the cake.

The next day we drove to Bellingham to visit some of our favorite people. Justin, Hannah, Grace, Haylee and Gavin. They are so much fun to hang out with and we loved every minute we spent with them. We were blown away by how absolutely BEAUTIFUL it is there. Gorgeous. Justin and Hannah were wonderful to play tour guides and they showed around their lovely town.

The beach was a hit with the whole family. The kids had a great time beach combing. They could've spent hours turning over rocks. They had a ball collecting shells, finding sand crabs, and seeing an enormous red jellyfish. On our ride home we asked the kids what their favorite part of the trip was and they all said that playing on the beach with the Ellersicks was the very best part.

Gavin, Justin and Hannah

Kameron, Reilly, Ailey, Grace and Haylee

Grace and Kameron

So much fun was had that a trip to the Oregon Coast is a MUST this next year. After we could drag the kids away from the beach we drove into Fairhaven (I think that is what it is called). That was also a lot of fun. The little downtown area is charming with lots of fun stores. There was a fabulous toy store, great book store, cupcake shop, candy store, specialty cheese store, and a vintage clothing store...we hit all of them. I found a darling green necklace from the 50's. After that we headed back to Justin and Hannah's for an amazing BBQ dinner. It was so good. Hannah--Reilly wants me to get your BBQ Beans recipe. :)

Eventually the kids did fall asleep. :)

The next morning Hannah made us a delicious strawberry waffle breakfast and we left. Time flies by when you are having fun. Thanks again for such a fun time!! We love you guys.

The whole crew

After that we headed back towards Seattle. We stopped at another set of great outlets in the Linwood area I think. Banana Republic, Restoration Hardware, Gap, The Children's Place, Gymboree...just to name a few. We stopped at a few other places we wanted to see as well. Oh why oh why Trader Joe's and Whole Foods are you not in our area??

Even though we didn't time our trip properly to catch a Mariners Game Kameron had to make the pilgrimage.

Kameron and his FAVORITE player.

We made another attempt to score some Seattle Fudge and were denied. Bummer. Twice this trip!! We did however eat an amazing Teriyaki Lunch before leaving town. We also stopped to admire the beauty of the Seattle Temple and to walk around the grounds.

Then we headed home. It was a fun weekend getaway trip. We had great time, saw beautiful sites, ate great food, and got to visit one of our favorite families. It doesn't get better than that.

Now back to reality...school...fall...after-school activities. Ballet for two girls, piano, and swimming are all starting and things are starting to get CRAZY around here!!

Good-bye Summer. I will miss you!!

Book Reviews Catch Up (Part I)

Some how I have gotten extremely behind on book reviews and yet still feel compelled to write reviews. I have read quite a bit of Young Adult Fiction lately and several books about dystopian societies...not my usual genre. Here are a few to start with:


Book Review #56


I enjoyed the first book The Uglies. Reilly and I read it together and I thought it was definitely thought-provoking and conversation-inspiring. We had a lot to discuss. Book 2...much less so. In fact, I told Reilly I would rather her not read the rest of this series.

Pretties is mildly entertaining. I was curious to find out what happened to Tally. But after a chapter or two I was SEVERELY annoyed. I could only take so much "bubbly" talk and then I wanted to vomit. The characters just didn't hold my interest this time. The character of Shay was absolutely irritating. The addition of Zane...only mildly interesting. The character of Tally...uninteresting. As far as plot development...once Tally found herself "on the Res" (the reservation for primitive people) the plot was laughable.

I lost all respect for Scott Westerfeld as he had characters "cutting" themselves as a way to think clearly and be enlightened. I was so ticked off I wanted to write him a scathing letter. I still might. Really Scott Westerfeld? Did you think portraying girls who cut themselves as a way of cutting through the "pretty haze" was a good idea? Millions of teenage girls read these books and the idea of portraying "cutting" in any way but a negative light is irresponsible.

My rating: Hated it.

Book Review #57



What, you might ask, possessed me to read this book given my frame of mind after reading Pretties. I blame it on pregnancy brain. I was hugely pregnant and nearing the end of my pregnancy and needed a quick brainless read. Guess what? I got it.

Tally's a Special. Big deal. I could care less. I hated all the Specials and the"pinging" and their "powers". I found this book irritating with all the "specialness" and the poor brain-damaged boyfriend to boot. My curiosity was mildly peaked when Tally arrived in the New Smoke but it didn't last.

I know people love these books. I just don't know why. I think Westerfeld had a great concept and idea but I feel like he dropped the ball.

My rating: Hated it.


Book Review #58


This was a book club selection for my church book club. I had been wanting to read this book after seeing Randy Pausch on Good Morning America and Oprah but I didn't know if I could handle the "sadness." I was wrong about this book. It isn't about "sadness" it is about "joy". I enjoyed this book. I found Randy Pausch entertaining, insightful, witty and thoughtful. It wasn't until the end that I found myself remembering "Oh yeah...this guy doesn't make it". I enjoyed this book thoroughly and feel that my life is better for reading it.

My rating: Good.

Stay tuned for more...the next genre I started reading was celebrity autobiographies...don't judge. :) I had just had Bryn, was sleep deprived, and these books required very little brain power on my part. In fact, I read them while breastfeeding Bryn in the middle of the night with my headlamp on. Are you intrigued?

Summer's Lease Hath All Too Short A Date

School started yesterday. It happened much too quickly for me. Summer just barely got under way and now it already over. When school gets out in mid-June and starts again in August you don't get much of a summer. Not cool. We didn't even get to the "I'm bored" phase. But what can you do? The kids were excited to go back to school regardless of my feelings. It's an exciting year for all of them. Reilly is now a 7th grader in Middle School, Kameron is in 3rd grade, and Ailey started Kindergarten.

The 7th Grader

Reilly was pretty nervous all summer waiting for 7th grade to begin. Luckily there was an open house for the 7th graders the day before school started where they could come and get their schedules, find their classes, go on tours, and meet new kids etc. This really helped her and by the first day of school she was pretty much just very excited to start this new chapter of her life.

The 3rd Grader

Kameron was feeling pretty to cool to be the oldest in our family at the elementary school. He doesn't have any of his best buds in his class this year but he doesn't seem too concerned by it. He is a pretty mellow kid and gets along with everyone. He really likes his teacher and they do a lot of fun projects so he's excited.

The Kindergartner

Ailey is in afternoon Kindergarten this year. She was SO EXCITED to start school!! She has the same teacher that Kameron had for Kindergarten so she already knew who she was and Kameron had filled her in on what to expect. Ailey also had an open house and that pretty much got rid of any nervousness on her part.

Ailey is such a prissy little girl. She makes us laugh. She has taken to calling me "mother" lately. So about a week before the open house she said to me "Mother...I am feeling very frightened about Kindergarten." I about died laughing. Where did this kid come from?

Ailey and "little" Ailey. (They had to make paper dolls to take on the first day that they get to share with the class and talk about themselves.)

It has been fun to note the different reactions of Reilly, Kameron and Ailey as I was telling them good-bye on the first day of Kindergarten. Reilly bellowed at me "Why are you still here?" Kameron looked at me pleadingly like "Can't you stay for just a little bit longer?" When I told Ailey that I was leaving she just said "Ok...bye! I love you!"

Ailey should have a really fun class. Four other friends of mine have children in this class as well. It will be fun to volunteer in there this year. When I left Ailey she was doing great and coloring away. Bryn and I headed out for a delicious lunch with friends.

After school it was so much fun to hear all about the kids' day. Everyone had a fantastic first day of school. Reilly LOVED middle school. Should I be happy or afraid? There are several people that she knows in each of her classes. She was able to open her locker and was helping others. She had people to eat lunch with...the kids from her elementary sat together and watched out for each other. I LOVE that!!

She was pretty intrigued by all the different "cliques" of people. All different kinds of people with all different kinds of styles. She was appalled by the short shorts and tank tops some of the girls were wearing...SO NOT IN ELEMENTARY any more. She was mainly delighted that she can wear flip-flops to school and by all the selections of food in the cafeteria. It was funny listening to her. She is very excited about her creative writing class and her drama class.

Kameron had a great day and was the most excited about getting a planner instead of a communication folder this year. Because "Communication folders are for babies!!" He even had some homework on the first day and was THRILLED.

Ailey had a wonderful first day!! She loved everything about Kindergarten except that the day was so short. She said "It felt we just got there and then it was time to go home." Her favorite part of the day was Storytime.

We went out to dinner as family to celebrate the new school year. I'm glad that the kids had such a good first day. I hope it lasts!! I am especially thrilled that all after-school activities don't begin for another two weeks. Yay!

Time Capsule #2

Me at 14

I got some more of my ancient film back. This is seriously so fun. I have no idea what is going to show up. This time the pictures were from when I was about 14 1/2. We were on a family vacation to Minnesota. Surprisingly more pictures turned out from this roll than from the one 4 years later. Weird.

Kelley, Kirk, and Stacey

Stacey

There were lots of wildlife pictures and scenic locations. Boring. While we were in Minnesota a beloved great-great-aunt died so we ended up going from Minnesota to the lake where we met up with all of my aunts, uncles and cousins for her funeral.

Some cousins: Kellen (who looks a lot like Bryn to me), Jaymon, Maeris, Brienn and Tania

It makes me laugh that this guy is now a father of 3 with another one on the way!!

Tania

I also finished off this roll with pictures of my bedroom. Oddly enough those pictures are some of the most interesting. My kids were laughing at all the things I had on my walls and on my bed. Hello stuffed animals!! (Which I have pretty much banned from my house...I'm not a fan of stuffed animals...except Build-a-Bear...the rest just sit around collecting dust.)

Stay tuned for the next exciting installment of...TIME CAPSULE. (If you can handle the suspense!!)