"MOM!!!! THERE IS A BIG FLY IN OUR POOL!!!"

I came out expecting to find a "big fly" in the pool. But instead I found this...

Wow, the girls weren't exaggerating!

We have since learned that it is called a cicada. It looks like a fly on steroids.

The Bass Pro Shop

Wow, what a store! We had a great time at the Bass Pro shop. It is a HUGE store dedicated to hunting and fishing. We don't hunt or fish but we heard it was a fun place to take kids, and it is! They have a waterfall, aquarium (where they give fishing tips and try out different baits on the fish), stream, target practice, putt-putt course, and tons of "stuffed animals" (including, beavers, bears, lions, wolfs, raccoons, and of course deer , moose, etc.) Hallie loved the aquarium but was horrified by the target practice. She asked us "Did they FIND these animals dead or did they KILL them?" Trevor and I responded "Umm... Uh-huh, Hallie look at this cool fish."

changing authors...All in all, for the price of gas and $1.50 in change we had fun. Afterwards, we went to the parking lot where most everyone had parked a chevy or ford pickup with decals of animals on their shells. We lifted the back door of the minivan and sat to drink pop. Kathryn fed Campbell, I made a bandaid for meg out of electrical tape and kleenex and we called it a day.

The Face of a First-Grader

(Conversation in our van after dropping Hallie off at school for her first day of first grade)

(After a long silence)

Megan: "I wish Hallie was here"

Me: "So do I... I miss her."

Megan: "Me too"

Hallie started school yesterday. She has one girl from our ward in her class- yay! I was so worried about her all day- Will she like her teacher? Who will she sit by? How is she going to get her lunch? Will kids be nice to her? How will she find her bus?.... you get the idea. When she finally came home from her first day (the longest day ever- for me) she walked like she owned the world. As always, I was worrying for nothing. She loves school, loves her teacher, has lot's of new friends, loves school lunch ...etc. The only complaint she had was that recess was too short. We will miss not having her around all day but I'm so glad that she loves school. That's right, take a good look because this is the face of a first-grader!

magnet boards

I've had a few people ask me for pics of my magnet boards. Here they are. If you want to make one and need help just let me know. They were fun to create!

Our Grubbs Family

When Trevor and I heard about the Lake Powell incident we felt so sick inside. The realization of what you went through and what could have happened was too much - we are just so grateful you are okay and that you were protected. We love each one of you... so much.

CO Poisonings Have Officials Concerned
July 12th, 2007 @ 5:20pm
Ed Yeates Reporting

A rash of carbon monoxide poisonings at Lake Powell within the past week has triggered a strong warning from the Park Service.
Thirty-four people aboard a houseboat were overcome on Tuesday. Saturday, a little girl died while swimming near exhaust from a boat's engine. Dr. Lindell Weaver at LDS Hospital was called as a consultant just after midnight early Wednesday. He says boating poisonings are especially dangerous.
The adults aboard the houseboat complained mostly of headaches and some dizziness, but symptoms among the children were much more dramatic.
Dr. Weaver tells KSL, "Some of the children had a very dramatic expression -- eyes rolled back, lethargy, not interacting - but by the time they arrived at Bullfrog, the clinic in Bullfrog, they were interacting much better."
LDS Hospital was prepared to take as many as eight patients when it got the call Wednesday from Lake Powell. Had it been worse than it was, those patients would have been treated inside the hyperbaric chambers there.
Fortunately, they weren't needed, but Dr. Weaver, who's involved in many carbon monoxide studies, says government data already shows CO from boat motors is much more concentrated because catalytic converters are not required.
"Initially, upon shutting off the engines, behind the boat within a closed space where the exhaust was able to collect, was 80,000 parts per million. Well, that's a lot of CO. That could be lethal to a human within seconds," Dr. Weaver said.
It was deadly to a little girl swimming behind a houseboat on Saturday. It's not just houseboats, either. Dr. Weaver also cautions about Teak Surfing. "Where they hold onto the teak or the swim platform on the back of the boat, and exhaust is right there in front of them."
Since a houseboat is a house with engines and generators, sitting on water, some believe carbon monoxide detectors should be required. Dr. Weaver says, "Carbon monoxide alarms inside the boat could have taken care of the problem, potentially. The alarm goes off. Gee, maybe we've got a problem. There's only one motor running. That's probably where the problem is."
The CDC is currently considering making CO poisonings a reportable injury so they can be tracked more efficiently.

Girls in Curls

My Girls in Curls

smart

so silly sometimes

love to hug

curious

giggles and snorts (Hallie loves to snort)

holding hands

"Megan, be careful."

sharing... most of the time

"Hallie, do you want to see my talents?"

Joyful

Best of friends

"Goodnight Megan, I love you."

"I love you Hallie."

Some of my favorite scrapbook pages

These are a few of my favorite scrapbook pages from the last year or so. I love to scrapbook my kids most! They are just so darn cute!! They have learned when mom wants to take pictures for the scrapbook they might as well smile and get it over with. I sure miss my scrapbook friends from Utah- Love you Ramona, Andrea, Adrienne, Angie, and Tiffany!

SQUASH! Yes Kathryn took a picture of it. We were talking about how much we miss dad dropping by in the Suburban with garden spoils. This is a picture of the squash we bought for dinner - we are missing you dad.

"I Love to See the Temple"

Our beautiful little Louisville Temple.

When I first saw the temple here my heart warmed and I somehow felt closer to home.

Our chapel shares the parking lot with the temple

(it's like a miniature of the Bountiful Temple).

The members here are very protective of their temple. They love it dearly and take good care of it. They are just so grateful for the temple!

We are grateful too! We never dreamed that we would live closer to the temple in Kentucky than we did in Utah. It's just down the street,

less than 3 miles away!!

An evening in the rain.

It rains a lot here and we try not to laugh when the locals start talking about the "terrible drought we are having". We've never seen so much rain! It often comes down in sheets, it's amazing! We love to sit on our front porch swing and just watch it pour. This particular evening it wasn't raining too hard and I had just gotten the kids ready for bed when we decided to go watch the rain together. Well "fun dad" Trevor told the girls to go play in the rain (despite my efforts to keep them dry and avoid having to change again etc.). Before we knew it the families on both sides of us were out joining the fun and all of the kids ended up drenched. They, of course, loved it and I was glad "fun dad" got his way :).

P.S. I had to add the picture of Campbell. Our little neighbor Sarah loves to play with him and he loves her but in this picture he is looking at me like -"Help, this kid is driving me crazy" heehee

Having lot's of fun in Kentucky.
Every Wednesday we go with other moms and their kids from the ward to a different park and have a picnic. It has been a great way to meet people! These pictures were taken at a park right next to the Ohio River.
We left so many great people behind in Utah but have met so many good people here. Hallie and Megan have lot's of new friends (an answer to our prayers) and it's starting to feel like home. Hallie says to me almost daily, "People are so friendly here!" We miss Utah so much but if we have to be 1600 miles away we are glad it is here in Kentucky.

Our Kentucky Home

We love our new home and I just wanted to add the story of how we found this house to our blog. It is a reminder to me of the love of a Father in Heaven.

(I wrote this in April right after we found the house.)
We looked at 50 homes! We just prayed and prayed that the Lord would guide us to the right home, schools, neighborhood etc. Trevor and I disagreed for the first 3 days and I wondered if we would ever be able to pick a home. We walked into the very last house (number 50!!!) that we were scheduled to see and we immediately felt the spirit SO STRONG and knew that even though it didn't fit some of our criteria it was "the one". I can't explain how it felt except that there was no question that our prayers were being answered. We felt peace and even though we didn't know anything about the neighborhood, schools, ward etc. we knew that it is where we are supposed to be. Yesterday I recieved and email from a girl who lives in Louisville and has been helping us. I emailed her and told her the address of the home we are buying and this is the email I got back from her.
Kathryn--I am SO excited for you. And doubly excited because, yes, you will be in our ward!!! And, there is a internal med resident and his wife and three kids who live right around the corner from you, another member who lives right in the same court, and one who lives behind your backyard--or maybe to the side of it--I'll have to see which house you bought. And, Amy, the girl who came by that night lives right next to the internal med resident family. So, I guess what I am trying to say, is that you will be surrounded by friends. And, your daughter will be going to the same elementary school as mine--Kenwood Station. I can't wait to see you out here, and let me know if i can help you with anything else.Love, Holly
I couldn't help but get emotional when I read this. I know that the Lord loves me and led us to this home. He knows I'm scared to leave my family and friends (my support system) and so he is taking care of me. I am so grateful!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEGAN!!
Megan turned 4 years-old on July 20th. We celebrated by going to the zoo to see the new baby elephant! So cute!!! Megan is such a great little girl!! She brings such joy to our family. She loves to tease and to be silly and always keeps us on our toes (and sometimes on our knees). When I'm taking pictures of the other kids I always stick Megan behind the camera so she can pull her funny faces and I can get the best smiles (Cambells pictures are proof). Life sure wouldn't be as fun without our little Meg!! Happy Birthday Meg- We Love You!!

"Happy Baby"
giggles
coos
big bright eyes
endless drool
chubby legs
baby brother
toothless grins
sleepless nights
endless love...

Campbell

We had a great time at Nolin Lake. The girls loved playing in the sand at the lake and Campbell looked so cute in his swim trunks with his little chubby tummy hanging over the wasteband :). I just want to eat him up! If you know me, which you obviously do since you are reading this, you know that camping is not on my short list of things I like to do but I actually enjoyed this trip. Wonders never cease.