Yikers

So this is what I woke up to today....



That combined with the bullet proof sunglasses he also got, has made for a bit of a sad day. I'll get over it, but today it seems real.
Jim is going to Iraq first week in Jan. It's just part of life, and it's o.k. but today I'm feeling sad about it.

Who needs fancy toys?

Tonight we have cousins Brad and Jack over for a sleepover. The kids have been playing for hours having so much fun together. No one has been screaming, so I figured all was well. (A+ babysitter right here!) Then I was alerted to what was really going on in the basement. Let me just say this: If you have only been using your treadmill as a laundry hanger, you are sorely lacking in the creativity department.... Here is what they were doing with the trusty treadmill... can you guess?




That's right! Playing baggage claim! I can't stop laughing!

Mallory's choir

Mallory had a choir concert on Veterans Day. It was really sweet to hear all the kids voices singing patriotic songs. They invited all Active duty military to wear their uniforms, and Jim was relieved that Mallory forgot to remind him. When they asked for all active duty military to stand, I had to shove him out of his chair and make him stand up. I don't care that he doesn't like attention, I am proud of him! Back to Mallory, she has been going to school early on Tuesdays for choir practice, and she has taken it very seriously. She is also practicing for the 3rd grade Christmas program, that happens to be the Nutcracker. It has been really fun listening to Mallory sing all around the house. I think she has a beautiful voice, and I really hope that she keeps participating in things like this. Mallory is a talented girl, and I love that she is interested in so many things.
The concert itself was wonderful, and it included the 4th and 5th grade handbell choir, that was exciting for me because I absolutely love handbells, and would love, love, love to be in a handbell choir. Perhaps I could pass as a 5th grader? Yah, maybe not. I hope that I can live through Mallory next year and force her to be in it. I don't think that will be too hard.

Halloween

This year Halloween costumes were easy. Kimrie wanted to be Hermione again so that the awesome cape my mom made last year wouldn't go to waste. Mallory wanted to be a queen, and we already had that costume, and Abbey wanted to be a fairy. I made her skirt, but that was the only crafty thing made this year.
We had fun spending the evening with our friends, and I believe this year was the biggest haul of candy yet. Now to just stay out of it!

First Snowstorm!

Last week we had very snow weather! We had a 2 hour delay, 2 snow days, and then another 2 hour delay. We enjoyed it very much! We had hot chocolate, watched movies, read books,etc. The girls got along great all cooped up, and I enjoyed just being with the girls

Fall 2009

Fall, my favorite season! Nothing makes me happier than a sweatshirt and jeans! We've been busy this past month or two, with the pumpkin patch, pumpkin carving, class parties, etc!

Abbey's first lost tooth

Last night was a very exciting night for Abbey!! After 2 weeks of barely hanging on for dear life, her tooth finally gave up the fight. It was so funny, Abbey would let Mallory try to pull it, which Malzy liked because she wants to be a dentist so naturally she is the best one in the family to pull it. Jim tried, Mallory tried, and finally mom pulled it! It was like finding the last puzzle piece on the floor and putting it in the puzzle that others have spent days slaving over. Anyway, she was so excited! And a very good sport as well. The tooth fairy around here has a bad reputation for forgetting to do it's job. That can become rather costly, because of inflation. So luckily the tooth fairy remembered 10 minutes after getting all snuggled in bed. Of coarse Abbey was so excited this morning!
It is such a joy watching the kids grow up. I am constantly wondering how tall they'll be, what they'll look like, etc. Since we are on the subject of Abigail, the last month she has decided that she wants to be a kindergarten teacher. I think that suits her to a T. She'll be wonderful. So now all the kids have their careers lined up. Kimrie wants to be an officer in the Air Force, more specifically a Colonel. Mallory wants to be a dentist, and says she won't give me free braces because she has to make money. And now Abigail wants to be a kindergarten teacher. It's all just too cute.

Jim's weekend

This weekend Jim had the football trip to Minnesota. He has had the best time. They arrived Fri a.m, after they got situated in the hotel, he and some other guys were able to tour the brand new Minnesota football stadium, which he said is amazing. Then they managed to get free tickets to a Twins game. The next morning, he went out to breakfast with the medical crew which included his Academy roomate Dain. Then they had to figure out how to get everyone to the game while downtown was in lockdown for a presidential visit! He has had a great time! The only thing missing was the world famous "juicy lucy" hamburger featured on our favorite show, man vs food.

Just a bit

So, I made the mistake of "blog surfing", or "stalking", whatever you prefer to call it, and it really turned me off blogging for awhile. After reading strangers blogs, I felt old, fat, poor, lame, boring, hideous, etc. Pretty much anything bad to describe myself. I've learned that I'm not alone in this. I was talking to my friend Kristen about this and she had me laughing hysterically when she told me she was reading other blogs, and felt guilty that she didn't make her kids a welcome home from school treat of pencils made out of cheese! It's just too funny, so I had to remember why I started this blog. Why you ask? First, so my parents could see pictures of the kids because I never, ever send any. Second, journaling... I haven't written in a journal since I was 12 and all I wrote was "I love Justin". I should burn those because frankly, who cares who I had a crush on when I was 12?! And yes, that is all she wrote. Just ask Kacie. And third, I want my kids to know how I loved life raising my girls!! The girls and Jim are everything to me. There is nothing I love more than just being with them. But, to add to that list, I want my blog to be real too. I know it's shocking, but I am quite sarcastic. I know you'd never guess that about me, because I'm so meek and humble... So I think a bit of sarcastic humor is ok in here, because that's me. I'm not super cool, I don't wear fancy clothes, we don't go on lot's of vacations, we do get on each other's nerves, some days I stay home, and clean and do laundry. That is real! What else is real is that sometimes I AM old, fat, poor, lame, boring, hideous etc. And that's OK, no it's great! It's real. This blog isn't to impress anyone, it's to remember it all. I also remember that I love my husband, I love my girls, and all that comes with it.
So now I've missed an entire summer of blogging important things, Kimrie and Mallory's birthday, Mallory's baptism. Bjorn family reunion, school starting, etc. The list goes on. I think I will have to do flashback posts to get them all in, because I do want them documented.
Now, in an effort for personal growth now that I'm spilling my guts... This week, I've been putting photo albums together. Nothing cool, just transferring pictures from a box to a plain old book. Just how I like it. While doing so, there were many, many less than flattering pictures of me. Some of them made me want to cry. I wished I could get rid of them, but it got me thinking about my picture phobia. I have a phobia of posting bad pictures of myself. I always want my pictures to be so perfect. I don't want anyone to see if I've gained 10lbs, or my crooked teeth or my hair looking like 1970's man hair. (Thank you Tanya for inventing that term), but again it's real, it's life, so my new goal is to stop freaking out over a bad picture and just post it. Because again... who cares? So, these are my thoughts on the matter, and hopefully this gut spilling will clear the way for more benign posts about the Binns family. Although, I may have to start another blog for all the essays I constantly compose in my head. (another confession, and most of them are sarcastic in nature..)
To make a long story longer... Last week we had an awesome time at the Air Force football game. We sat by our wonderful friends, the Allred's and the Christs, and at half-time we got to see Uncle Ned! We are big time Air Force fans, and I love going to the football games. Kimrie is a super fan, especially because she wants to be a cadet!
So there is my journaling update... Hopefully this isn't too depressing!

cuz I'm 36..36 years old!

Dang! Not me! JIM!!

So tomorrow (June 13th) is Jim's 36 th birthday, AND our 12th anniversary!! A very exciting day indeed. Although usually I hate it because Jim always outdoes me with an anniversary gift that makes my birthday present to him look like I got it from the dollar store. Come to think of it... I might as well. So, in honor of our special day, I'll just have a basic cheesefest for Jim.
We met in April 1996. We immediately started dating other people. (Although I always kept my eye out for him). I thought his name was Tim. He thought my name was "Helga, or something". He scared the crap out of me. My friend told me I had no chance with him. But later told me he was the one. We were always together. I thought I would get arrested or something if I went to his dorm. We were engaged on Dec 11 1996. We were married on June 13th 1997. We went on two honeymoons... Seattle, and Mexico. Jim had a lovely time in Mexico with dislocating his shoulder, getting burned to a crisp while snorkeling, losing his watch, and picking up a wonderful thing called Montezuma's revenge. Oh well, at least I got to lay out more. We were stationed in Virginia right away, and had our first baby right away. Kimrie was born 13 months later. Then off to Japan where we welcomed Mallory. Colorado Springs,(blessed with Abbey) Greeley, (Jim made me get rid of the cat, but gained a PhD)then Colorado Springs. Jim is a wonderful father, very loving, very strict, very involved. He teases the girls mercilessly, luckily it takes some the heat off of me! (Only a small fraction though) He loves to harrass and tease our friends as well. You know Jim likes you if he makes fun of you.
Jim and I are opposites in many, many ways. But one thing in common, we love to be together.I am so lucky to have Jim, we laugh so hard together, and I wouldn't want to spend my life with anyone else!

Here is a picture of us "working together"..

Graduation video and pictures

The moment! The announcer was harrassing Jim while announcing his name!

A really wonderful weekend

This past weekend was Jim's graduation! We had the most wonderful time with all the family who came to visit and celebrate with us.
On Monday, my mom came, and the poor thing immediately started painting with Jim and I. We had to paint the entire house for the renters.. I cannot understand why anyone would use flat paint. We had to cover everything with 2 coats of primer then 2 coats of satin. It was hard work! On Tuesday, we had a little recital at the piano teacher's house. They did so well. Actually it was only Abbey and Kimrie, Mallory stopped piano because of her broken arm. I think she may have done it on purpose! I don't know if the girls realize what a wonderful teacher they have had! On Thursday, family started arriving, and boy was it rowdy around here! We went bowling, shopping, played outside. etc. Also in this week we had a fence put up. It is so depressing to have it now just before we move! Oh well, we will just enjoy it while we can.
Friday was a big day for many reasons.. It was graduation day, but it was also a fun shopping day for me and my parents. We went and found Jim a graduation present together, we got him a cool watch. That was alot of fun. And it was also D Day for Jim in 2 ways. Obviously it was graduation, but the scariest part of the day was in the morning....
A little background, we have good friends who the husband is a cow breeder. Jim has been so fascinated with his job and is always pestering him with questions. For months now, Jeremy has patiently offered to take Jim to work and let him see a typical day. Jim has always chickened out until now! I think it took taking his brothers to get the courage! Anyway, they all had a great time breeding cows... And yes Jim and David did participate. Paul said no way!
Friday night was graduation. I was so proud and choked up to see Jim walk in in his "Harry Potter" robes! I am so happy that it is over, and so proud of him for all his hard work!
The next day, just hung around the house, and prepared for the party later on. Shirley had a quick trip to the ER, she is a tough cookie! The party was at our neighborhood park that night, and it was such fun! We loved seeing our friends, and were so happy they all came! And I was happy that I had enough food, and that everyone ate it all!
My mom and dad were so amazing helping me get ready, and my sister in laws, Amy and Jeanette kept the food ready at the party. I was so happy, usually my parties are so lame. (ask anyone in the book club)
So I will attempt to post some pictures, I have tons more that I have to figure out how to get off my phone!

Just stuff

I needed inspiration to post because I couldn't think of anything, so I looked at my recent pictures and realized that we have had some fun things happen around here! So here we go:

Here are Mallory and Abbey on St. Patricks Day wearing all the green we could find. I thought they looked so much alike on that day.



Kimrie was invited to a cupcake tea party with her friends. It was a chance for them to dress up, it was so fun for her! And me too, because it gave me a chance to give her an updo.

Finally motivated to post

So it's been forever, I think I've been allergic to posting. I forgot that I was using this blog as a journal for the kids, and then once I remembered that, I was too overwhelmed with all the stuff I missed. So here is a quick review of the past few weeks.
Kimrie was an MC for the school talent show. In addition she also did a skit about swimming that she made up herself. She did awesome! She was such a ham, and got a ton of compliments about her comedic timing. She wrote her own jokes to MC, and I must say she did great! (much to Our huge relief.. I know that's terrible, but let's be honest!)


After the show, I told Kimrie what a fabulous job she did, and that we should find more plays for her to audition for. She said "No I don't think so" Oh, why not? I said.. She says "Because plays are cheesy!" Had to laugh at that one!! And no I did not remind her of the previous 1.5 hours of her life.
She really is a funny girl, full of one liners. I need to be writing those down more. Well, here's one... Kimrie really wants to go to the Air Force Academy, and every time she says that it gives Jim a mild stroke. Anyway, I said to her one day "you know, your first year will be terrible and so hard.. They will be yelling at you all the time!" She said " How is that different from my life now?!" Jim and I were hysterically laughing!!

On to our next adventure... Mallory. This last week she fell off her bike and broke her arm. Of coarse we didn't actually take her in until the next day. But she seemed so much more upset about her skinned knees. So the next morning when it hurt to push herself out of bed, we took her to the ER. She was such a tough chick, and actually she was pretty excited to be getting a cast. I'm sure that will wear off soon. But she has been taking great care of her cast, and being such a good sport. We bedazzled her cast, and made it fancy.. She seemed to enjoy that. Jim will be happy that her cast will slow down the art projects.. She has an endless supply of creative energy. She thinks of an art project for all aspects of her day. And speaking of Jim and mild strokes, every time he sees a scrap of paper on the floor, that's what happens. Followed by a very loud MALLORY!!!!!. We just had parent teacher conference and her teacher had great things to say about her, and we are so proud of Malzy! AKA Larry the dinosaur


And now miss Abbers.. She swam in her first swim meet! It was so cute, and she took it so seriously. And to our great surprise, she didn't get disqualified! For being 5 years old, and first meet, that is awesome! She swam the 25 back and 25 free. Jim told her whatever you do, do not touch the lane lines, and float on your back if you get tired! She didn't even need to do that. It was so cute. Abbey is a superstar at school, and has improved so much it is crazy. We love having her home for this last year. She fills our days with constant chatter.... Abbey always shares, and always is such a helper, one of her papers at school was about what she wanted to be when she grew up. Her paper was all about being a mom. She talked about putting the baby in the stroller, giving it it's bottle, putting the baby down for a nap, and playing toys with it. It was so sweet, and so her, she'll probably end up with 7!

cute kid stuff

I've got to write this down before I forget... Last week Abbey and I were driving in the car when we passed a big tractor on the side of the road. Abbey said" Look at the tractor, boys like tractors. Yah boys like tractors, and girls like hearts, stars, rainbows and waterfalls." So so cute..

Today, Mallory got her first phone call. It happened to be from her best buddy Ben. Yesterday he asked for her number, so she made a lovely envelope to put the paper with her number on it. So, at school today, Ben gave Mallory his number. As I was waiting in the car to pick the girls up about halfway home, I saw Mallory and Ben walking together. Just like every other day. Mallory rushes into the car and says" MOM! I have to hurry and wait by the phone, because Ben is going to call me as soon as he gets home, and he lives close so we have to hurry!!"
I just couldn't help but think that was so cute, although let's not start waiting by the phone for boys so soon.... Okay let's never do that...

Announcement

Dear Everybody,
On July 24th, in Salt Lake City, UT the Bjorn's are running the Deseret News marathon. ( or half, 10k or 5k).... I should just say the Bjorn's are running...That includes, two Binns', a Merrill, a Price etc.. So, I am inviting any and all to come join us, it will be a great fitness goal... Come run, or in my case shuffle and drag over the finish line with us and it will be such fun. (I'm not delusional yet, wait till mile 22) I'm tempted to blog the run, but I'm afraid it will have too many swear words.

oh ok

So now I think I should put a pic of the girls just to compare. I'm a nerd

just for fun

I found these pictures when going through stuff... I love figuring out who our kids look like! It's obvious who Mallory looks like, but Abbey and Kimrie are more of a mix, I think.. Kimrie has Jim's face shape with my eyes, Abbey is a Hillam, so I'm not sure about her, she definitely has my teeth, poor thing. And not one of them has my coloring, oh actually Kims has Price skin.
So this is me in 1st grade, about 1980 I'm guessing, I believe Jim's is first grade too, although his would be 77 or 78 I think.
Jim's pictures are fancy, his parents sprung for the profile pic too! So I challenge all of you to post your kid pics, just for laughs, you know!

So here's what happened

Ok, so here's what happened, you'll probably think it's not that big of a deal, but in my mind it was. I'll admit, I am proud of her. Here's the story... This girl on the swim team is so nasty, scratching, pulling legs, cheating etc. Even all the mom's hate her. She's had it for Kimrie for months, but I haven't done anything because Kimrie doesn't really care that much. Well last week as soon as Kims walked in, the girl (Rebecca) sent someone over to tell Kimrie that she's a spoiled brat. So it started from there, and ended with Rebecca calling Kimrie a bitch! I was surprised at that! Anyway, Kimrie really held her own and seriously told her off. In my mind that was laying a "smackdown" because usually I try to hold it in and regret it later. So the whole practice, I saw Kimrie exchanging words with her and it got pretty heated obviously. I just told Kimrie that I was proud of her for sticking up for herself and others without calling names or being nasty. I said you can do that all day long as long as you don't stoop to her level. I also told Kimrie not to waste the coaches time with such nonsense, and the best thing to do is completely ignore her, because that will make her crazy. Or kill her with kindness, all the girls thought that was funny.
Anyway, I probably made it sound worse, but I think Kimrie layed the "smackdown" by telling her off, sticking up for the other kids, and BEATING THE SOCKS OFF OF HER.. This girl races Kimrie on every single length of the pool. Yes, for that moment, I was "that mom" I just didn't show it outwardly.
So, that's the story... I'm sure there will be more to the saga, How long do I let it go before informing the coach? At this point it's not just Kimrie that she's doing this to.

Is it wrong?

Is it wrong that I'm proud of Kimrie for laying the smackdown on the team bully?!

My new years goals that I will be resolute in accomplishing

res⋅o⋅lute
   ˈrɛz əˌlutShow Spelled Pronunciation [rez-uh-loot] Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective
1. firmly resolved or determined; set in purpose or opinion.
2. characterized by firmness and determination, as the temper, spirit, actions, etc.

Firm or determined; unwavering.

After gaining at least 7 lbs over the holidays, my will and resolve are at a low point. I must add though, that I do not regret one morsel of food that I ate. That being said, while driving in the car with the waistline of my jeans literally causing pain, I got to thinking about my past resolutions, and how they were never achieved. I wondered about the definition of resolutions, and I thought the definition of resolute meant unbending, no question it will be done. So I came home and looked it up. I was right. So how do I get into that mindset with my resolutions? Just the definition alone gives me a little buzz in the right direction. Therefore, If resolute means: firmly resolved or determined; set in purpose or opinion.
2. characterized by firmness and determination, as the temper, spirit, actions, etc.
Then by-golly it is going to happen. So, I will publicly list my self-improvement list: obviously this is the abridged version, the full version could take all day to write. Take into account that I am setting myself up for sucess, we'll keep it down to a dull roar.
Dear Self,
These are the things you will fix this year...

1. Fix my posture. Whenever I see my profile in a window or mirror, I realize that I closely resemble Quasimodo. I am tall. Get over it. Embrace it.. Spare your poor back from the suffering.

2. Lose weight.. yes I know a repeat every year from the year after Kimrie was born. I will lose 15 lbs, and add muscle. I am old enough now, that I do fear osteoperosis. I may have some serious crow's feet, but this could be a great year for my butt.

3. This will be hard to type... Stop the diet coke. There is no need to start embalming yourself now, wait until you are dead. The formaldahyde in the sweet nectar called diet coke is not doing you any favors.

4. Study the scriptures with confidence, I do not have a mind like a steel trap, it's more like a fisherman's net with quite a few holes for information to slip through. So I will read scriptures with the intent of remembering what I've learned.

5. Keep a positive attitude, I do have the potential, I do have Price blood in my veins.

So here are my goals for the year, and I do display them publicly so that I can be held accountable. Please ask me how I'm doing so I can be shamed into continuing.

Best of luck to all of you on your goals, HAPPY NEW YEAR!