Where am I??? What is this place?!?!?!?!

Oh yeahhhhhhh!! Now I remember ... this is our blog!! I almost thought I was lost for a minute there!

I know, I know, it's been a loooooong, long time since I've posted anything. We've had such a horrid monsoon season this year it's been all we can do just to work and take care of the daily essential duties around here. Now that it's finally cooling down and the humidity has subsided hopefully I won't be in the heat induced coma I've been in for most of the summer.

We had a new addition to the family this summer. Her name is Tiny and she adopted us close to two months ago.

We aren't really sure but we're guessing someone abandoned her with all the foreclosures in our neighborhood right now. She was running the streets for about a day and a half before she sniffed Moose out and decided our house was her new home.

She was very vigilant in convincing me that she had adopted us and had no plans on leaving anytime soon. I'm really glad she finally convinced me though because she gets Moose to get up off his lazy hind end and run around a lot more than he ever did before she came along.

The kids were getting quite bored with summer vacation so she was helpful in keeping them a little more entertained too. Josalyn had such a lazy streak going at the first of the summer, I finally had to inform her she was grounded from her bed at 9:00 a.m. every day for the rest of the summer. Man, that girl can sleep!

Dylan was glad he finally got to play his game boy without having to prove his homework was done first. He had fun sleeping over at his friends' houses and having them come spend the night here.

Scott and I didn't do anything too exciting, just work and try to survive the nasty monsoon season. We did get to take a week's vacation and go to Utah for my nephew and Scott's niece's weddings though. They both got married within one week of each other so it only made sense to just spend the week and go to both weddings.

I found me a new boyfriend at Makenna's wedding. Shhhhh, don't tell Scott!!

Lil' Mr. Boston Bellows is my latest and greatest heart throb!!! He is such a lovable little guy! He is so full of life and just so adventurous.

I told him he should tell his mom and dad to bring him to Las Vegas to visit us one of these days. He informed me he didn't need his dad to bring him to my house because he could just ride his bike!

I told him it was a loooooong, long way to my house and he might not want to ride his bike because his legs would get tired from pedaling all that way. To this he replied, "Uh uhhhh, I won't get tired because I have a big boy bike!"

Sooooooooooo, knowing the child is related to Josh, I wouldn't be too surprised to hear that he took off on his bike one day and told them he was going to come to Las Vegas and visit us.

I was glad I got to see my nephew, Wesley, while we were there. He left to go into the Marines just a few days after we came back from Utah. Wesley was my morning pepsi & jerky buddy when I was pregnant with Josalyn and I've always felt especially close to him since he was just a tiny little guy. I am so proud of him but
can't help worrying about him joining the Marines right now.

Only about one or two more weeks to go and he can start writing letters to his family and friends. I'm sure my sister will be glad when that day finally comes. She had two out of three kids leave home within about two weeks of each other.

As nice as it was to go home and see all the family and friends we haven't seen in a long time, it's always nice to come home.

Poor Tiny almost froze to death with the air conditioning going all the way home, so she finally had to wrap up in her blanket and lay on Moose's back to stay warm. It's a good thing he loves her as much as he does cuz she can be a real pain in the behind some days.

Well, hopefully everyone is at least a little bit caught up on what's been going on with the Barkers and I promise to try not to neglect you blog addicts so much anymore.

Whoops, I guess I forgot the blog for a few days ...

I guess with Josalyn getting hurt, I kind of forgot we had a blog. We went to watch their second to last game of the season on April 30th and Josalyn was catching when we got there. Well, the runner on third came barreling in to home plate (and didn't slide even though she should have because Josalyn was there to make the play) and more or less body slammed into Josalyn. It may not sound too bad but this girl was about 6 to 8 inches taller than Josalyn and was probably 2 to 3 times her size weight-wise.

Needless to say, I was off the bleachers and running to home plate as soon as she was hit because I knew it was going to be bad. They had the paramedics come and check her out to make sure nothing was broken and that it was okay for us to move her. Thank goodness, she didn't break anything but her knee had doubled in size within a matter of minutes.

It was kind of nice for Josalyn when it came time to go to the ER though ... a very good looking paramedic carried her to our car so we could take her to the hospital. He had her laughing after he told her, "Lucky for you, I only drop people on Wednesdays." Josalyn looked at him and said, "It is Wednesday!" Then she realized it was a joke and started to laugh. He told her, "Well, then just pray I don't trip!"

After an exam by the ER doctors and 4 or 5 X-rays, they told us there were no fractures but they weren't sure if there was any torn ligaments, tendons, etc. They had her wear a knee immobilizer brace and gave her a pair of crutches. They told us if she wasn't better by Monday, she needed to see an orthopedic doctor. So, after going through all the insurance hoops of getting the referral from her regular doctor, we went to the orthopedist yesterday to make sure nothing was ripped or torn. He worked her knee over good, looked at her x-rays, and had her walk without her crutches and knee brace. He told us that she didn't have any signs of damage to any of the really important stuff and it was most likely deep bruising of her soft tissue.

He really broke her heart when he told her she couldn't participate in PE for the rest of the year and that she would need to do physical therapy with the trainer instead. Really though, I think she's just happy she doesn't have to have surgery and especially happy she doesn't have to give up playing softball.

Who knew?!

Who knew buying a soda could lead to a new job? I went to the Chevron gas station Scott and I always go to and when I walked in, the manager asked me if I wanted a job. I was kind of blown away and asked her what she was talking about.

Evidentally, they have had a hard time finding good, dependable employees lately, so she told me she decided to try something different and she was offering jobs to people she knew rather than just hiring off the street.

I told her I've already applied for a job as a Court Clerk with the City of North Las Vegas and that if it worked out, I would probably only be there about six to eight weeks. She decided to go ahead and hire me anyway. So I've been working part-time since the 17th and it's actually been kind of nice getting out of the house for a while every few days. Although I haven't worked standing on my feet for eight hours straight since I was 15 years old. That part is kind of tough.

Thankfully, I received an email telling me I am scheduled to take the test for the Court Clerk position at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. Hopefully, I will get at least 70% or higher so I can move on to the next stage of their looooooooong, drawn out hiring process. Wish me luck!!

I didn't say the police!!!

Okay, I'm updating and reposting this one because when I went to show Scott the video there was a message that the video was no longer available on You Tube because of an NBC copyright or something.

Anyway, it was a clip of the Jay Leno show and he was showing the transcript and playing the audio for a hilarious 911 call. Here is the gist of the call:

911 Operator: 911, what's your emergency?
Little boy: Hi, I need help.
911 Operator: Okay, what do you need help with?
Little boy: I need help with my math.
911 Operator: Your mouth?
Little boy: No, my math. I have to do it. Will you please help me?
(By this next line, I'm guessing 911 operators weren't very busy at the time.)
911 Operator: Sure, what kind of math do you have?
Little boy: Take aways.
911 Operator: Okay, what's your first problem?
Little boy: Sixteen take away eight.
911 Operator: Okay.
Little boy: So what is it?
911 Operator: I don't know, you tell me what you think it is.
Little boy: I don't know, one?
911 Operator: How old are you?
Little boy: I'm only four.
Surprised Mom: {walks into room} Johnny, what are you doing on the phone?
Little boy: The Policeman's helping me with my math homework.
Angry Mom: What have I told you about playing on the telephone?!?!?!?!
Little boy: Wellllll, you said if I needed help to call someone!
Flabbergasted Mom: I didn't mean the POLICE!!
(end of call)

I think any mother out there can appreciate this little experience and has probably had an experience just as mind blowing and embarrassing as this one. My cheeks hurt for a long time after listening to this one!

Wow! Really??

Okay, so I'm no softball official, but I am still trying to figure out why they had to end the game on a tie Tuesday instead of playing one more inning to break the tie. The umpires we had were probably the worst I've ever seen. Even one of the other parents, who just so happens to also be an umpire, saw several bad calls.

Despite all the bad calls that were made, the girls played an excellent game. They are really starting to come together as a team. It was a great game to watch ... full of fun and excitement. Had there been good umpires at the game we would have won 10 - 8. Great game ladies!!

Is this an April Fool's joke?

Okay, so imagine what went through my mind when Josalyn comes home last Friday and tells me, "Mom, the 9th graders don't have school next Tuesday." Right! I was thinking, "sure you don't have school on April Fool's day." But she was telling the truth!

I guess they're doing some kind of testing and only the 10th through 12th grades are tested. I asked her why they weren't testing the 9th graders and she told me, "I don't know, I guess we're not smart enough yet!" I really don't understand why they would give tests to the entire school other than one grade, but hey, I'm not a teacher so I guess I'll just hush.

Dylan tried to get in on the action and got up, got ready for school, and then came to me and said, "Oh Mom, I forgot to tell you we don't have school today!" Imagine his dismay when I told him nice try, but I know you have school today. He told me, "Oh man! I was trying to April Fool's you!" That comment instituted a good chuckle on my part.

A great way to start the week!

Today was the day Josalyn has been waiting for. She got to start as catcher instead of pitcher in their game today. We usually miss the first part of the game because we pick Dylan up at school (he get out at 3:20) and Josalyn's games start at 3:30. So by the time we got there it was the bottom of the second inning and we were already ahead 9 to 0 and by the time they ended the inning it was 10 to 0 and her coach was having them all leave their base before the pitch so they would get called out and Desert Pines go get back up to bat.

The entire game went on like this until they ran out of time and even with her coach making them get out, they still ended up winning 19 to 2. It's always nice when they win but even they don't like winning by such a big margin.

Josalyn did a great job catching and looked like she was right at home again. We are so proud of her and are always anxious for her next game. NICE STOP, JOSALYN!

Dylan spent the entire time running around the ballpark and climbing up and down the back of the bleachers. I'm just glad there are kids there for him to play with while we watch the game. It's much nicer than listening to them whine that they're bored and there's nothing to do. Thanks for keeping him entertained Kendall.