She's A Smartie!

Yesterday the kids brought home report cards.  Kenna has earned a 3.86 GPA!  This is what she received later that day.

An ice cream sundae flower arrangement with a card that read:

What a fun surprise for her!  Kenna works very diligently on her school work, and is quite clever with her projects and reports.  Dan and I are very proud of her!  Good work, Kenna-Girl!

P.S. Dan also sent a little something-something to me

Just because he thought I deserved it.  = )

Dan's Hidden Talent

Those of you who know Dan, know he's very talented with one of those talents being accents and impersonations. Last night we discovered he could add to his list of talents. After eating macadamia nuts, Dan can do an uncanny impersonation of this scene from the movie Hitch.



It was about 9:30 last night. Dan and I were hanging out in bed watching TV eating macadamia nuts when Dan started to notice his face feeling hot. He got up to check it out in the mirror and called me over to take a look.  His face had started to swell and he had broken out in hives all over. While I'm rummaging through the medicine cabinet looking for Benadryl, he's scratching like crazy. I realize there's no Benadryl and look up to see Dan's face swollen three times over.

Ummmmm......Dan can you breath okay?  (Visions of anaphylactic shock running through my head.)  Since he wasn't having any problems with breathing, I gave Drake instructions to stay with Dan while I run to the drugstore to grab Benadryl, and call immediately if he starts to have trouble breathing.  As I'm rushing to the store, I called my brother-in-law, Aaron, to see how you're suppose to treat a severe allergy reaction.  Aaron was good to remain his calm doctor self.  He let me know the correct dosage of Benadryl to take, what to do if Dan starts having problems breathing, and listened patiently while I repeated it all back to him to make sure I had it right. (Thanks Aaron!)

When I got back home, Dan had perfected his Hitch impersonation. We immediately had him down all the Benadryl and put cold compresses on his hives. Once the medicine kicked in, (about 20 minutes later) he started feeling better and the swelling started to go down. After about an hour he was back to normal - well, except for the track lines on his arms and legs from scratching. This morning he looked like his same old self as if nothing happened.

So if you're ever looking for a great Hitch impersonation for a party or FHE, just invite Dan and give him some macadamia nuts!

Drake Turns 17

On April 2, Draker turned 17! Can you believe it?!


We surprised him with a party at a Bully's, a local sports grill. Here he is with some of his friends that showed up. (The man has a lot of friends! Probably because he's so social......)


They were all great sports to yell surprise and sing Happy Birthday to him. I'm not sure Drake appreciated that, but his mom did. Here's Drake with his best friend James listening to the crowd sing Happy Birthday to him.


I think he had a good time. I hope so - he deserves it!


Happy Birthday D-man. You're a great kid, and your family loves you very much!

Not Quite Resuscitated - But Close

I know some of you are wondering, "What in the heck is going on with Jen and not blogging anymore?!"

I know, I know.

I lost my blogging mojo, but it is slowly coming back. Hang in there......

This Is What's Going On

This is what's happening in the lives of the Martins.......nothing.....

I guess I should be happy.  We could have crazy things happen like, I don't know, setting fire to gas cans, but things are going along like normal.  Nothing to blog about.

Closets, Cupboards, and Cubbies.....Oh My!!!

This week all the closets, cupboards, and cubbies in my house are going to be organized, purged, and perfected.  

I'm posting this for two reasons:

1.  Now that I've gone public, I'll have to follow through with it.  

2.  If you don't hear from me in a week send help!!!!

Merry Christmas

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful for this guy!

Most people know him as Owen Roundy, Brother Roundy, Doctor Roundy, or Elder Roundy. I'm one of the five lucky people in this world who get to know him as Dad, and today is his birthday.  (Actually, according to where he's living, it was yesterday.)  

If you don't know Dad, you'd think he looks like an unassuming kind of guy, but get to know him and you'll realize he has incredible qualities and talents that make him one in a million.  

He comes from a humble background and has managed to put himself through school earning a PhD all on his own.  He's instilled in his kids that value of doing things right and getting an education.

I can count on one hand how many times in my life I've heard him raise his voice - and I wouldn't even use all five fingers.  Dad's taught by example the value of keeping an even temper and a level head.  Believe me, over the years, us kids have tried to get him riled up.  (This commonly involved one of his daughters and one of his cars...)  It just doesn't happen.

He has the answer to absolutely any question you can possibly think of, and he'll usually be right.  If you don't believe me, send me your questions and I'll forward them to Dad - his answers will be much better than Dear Abby's or Dr. Phil's guaranteed.  

Dad has a lot of quotes and sayings.  We call them Roundy-isms.  Here's a few of my favorites:

*You can't hear with your mouth open*

*Keep smiling.  It makes people wonder what you've been up to*

*Do good because of the goodness in you, not because of the goodness in others*

The more I experience the world, the more I realize just how lucky I am to have him as my dad and the benefits of his guidance.  So Dad, thanks for being an all around great guy and the perfect father.  I hope you have a fabulous birthday.  (Are you wearing a red tie?)

LOVE YOU!!!!

You Gotta Love Him!

The other night Drake had his end-of-the-year football banquet. This is what he came home with...


He lettered in football, setting himself up for a great senior year next fall!  Here's a close-up for you.

This is no small feat. In order to earn a letter, you have to have so many hours of play time and be a on the starting line-up so many times. Of course Dan is ecstatic about all of this! We're all very proud of the D-man for sticking out some tough practices and games over the years.

The thing that makes me most proud is his coach said Drake was the nicest kid you'll ever find. He went on to say that all year long he's been trying to make Drake more aggressive in his attitude. During one particular practice, Coach was zeroing in on Drake trying to rile him up. He was constantly riding him - Drake this!  Drake that!  Drake!  Drake!  Do it again, Drake! 

Finally Drake yelled back at Coach, "What do you want from me?!" Coach was thinking, "Yes, finally he's fired up." Then Coach went on to say that after practice, in typical Drake fashion, Drake went up to Coach and apologized for back talking. : ) Makes a mother proud!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Look what we woke up to this morning.......

This kind of weather is suppose to stick around for the next couple of days. Just long enough to set the holiday mood. Drake has discovered the wonderful world of scrapping windows.

There's an entire mountain range that's suppose to be out there. I wonder where it went.

Here's a couple of video clips showing how Drake, Kenna, and Allie enjoy the snow.





Did we really wonder how that was going to turn out?