May the Good Times Roll

See ya'll Monday!

Joan of Arc

Ben and I started talking about Joan of Arc last night. He said that when he studied her years ago he wondered about the chain of events that lead to the American Revolution. (Stay with me here)

• If Joan of Arc had never been born then would England have taken over France or would the Dauphin have conquered regardless and been crowned eventually on his own? Even though Joan was burned she was the one who rallied the troops and crowned the prince. He kept trying to make deals with the Burgundians which kept falling through.

• Now, let's say that she had never been born and in the course of events England had conquered France. Now, France is gone but English history remains the same.

• Fast forward to the American Revolution. We are losing our fight for liberty and there is no France to come to our aid. Would we have won? Would someone else have stepped up?

Now (for those of my friends who are Mormon) look at it from a Mormon perspective.
Was Joan of Arc’s mission then to save France in order to some three centuries later gain independence for the United States, thereby making possible Joseph Smith’s restoration of the Gospel?
I would love some comments and opinions! Also, as my girls are studying this right now I would love some reviews on any books or movies for an elementary age group.

Tiger Trainer

Little was known about her life before dishes, laundry, babies, and carpools. And yet there was always something there. A mysterious twinkle in her eye that hinted at danger and intrigue....

Yesterday Sadie brought a harmonica to church. She put it in her little purse so we wouldn't see. She situated herself between Eliora and Audrey so she was not sitting next to a parent. She brought it out during the sacrament hymn and started to play. When questioned she said she wanted to sound pretty because Eliora and Audrey can read the words and sing. (Audrey can't but I guess Sadie thinks she can). I thought the bungee cord last week was bad.

On Thursday my awesome brother Ryan called and asked if we wanted tickets to the sold out Nickelback concert in The Woodlands. No brainer. Around 5pm we dropped our four kids off at Paul and Tiffany's home so they could mix with their six kids. Tiffany was a little sick (okay, a lot sick) and they both love Nickelback...and they had tried to win tickets but couldn't. They love us. In return we sent them texts and pictures of the concert all the way through so they could see what was going on. Yeah....they really love us.

8pm

I have always been a fan of Nickelback but have to admit that I don't know all of their songs. Mostly the ballads and 'softer' stuff. Their performance exceeded all expectations though. The amount of interaction they have with the crowd is insane. They seriously try to make it seem like you are hanging out at a party together instead of sitting at a concert. There was a lot of comedy, a lot of talking to people, and a lot of passing out drinks to the crowd (Sorry, Ben they are not passing out grape juice, they are passing out Grey Goose). Toward the end they started cannonballing T-shirts and drinks (yes, drinks). Ben thought the science behind it was interesting. When the drinks shot up the alcohol at the bottom would balance it out and if you caught it at the right time you would still end up with half a cup. That's what you get for going to a concert with a geologist.We did find out later that the drinks they shoot are nonalcoholic (shhhh, don't tell those people who went home 'wasted') The pyrotechnics were amazing and I grew up with pyrotechnics. The end was like a fireworks grand finale. When all was said and done we had a good time. I got in touch with my high school self and we were 20 minutes late for church the next day.

Nickelback

I have no idea why but these posts are not coming up in the order that I want them to. Anna, I need help. Oh well, you can all get the general idea.

6-8pm
Papa Roach comes on. The lead singer is very cool. He walked out among the crowd and I have to turn around to get a picture of him. (Yes, we were close). I even recognize a song. Hinder is up next. Never heard of the band but it's a concert. I'm dancing and cheering. Ben is playing chess on his cell. I love Ben ;)

Never Forget
Patriot Day
9/11/2009

A month ago we got DirecTV because of a deal they were offering. WOW, BAD IDEA. We have had nothing but problems and broken promises from the beginning. Today I found out they dropped the Versus channel because of bad negotiations. Let me say that again. They dropped Versus, which is the only channel that carries the University of Texas / Wyoming game, less than two weeks before the game. When we checked a month ago we had the channel. We invited friends from Ben's work over. We were going to smoke a brisket. We are NOT happy. If they do not get the channel back then we can't watch the Tour de France. NOT happy. Anyone know of any alternatives for watching football? I think right now I would be willing to hit a bar that carries the game ;)

The list is stacking up......

Things I Have Meaning to Blog About

BYU wasted OU(okay, not wasted but with the celebrations you might have thought they did) - We bleed orange and it was sweet.

We have been confiscating things that our kids bring to church lately. The latest was a bungee cord. They were planning on attaching it to the pew in front and in back and then hanging their webkinz on it. I might have let them just to keep them occupied except for the looks I was getting....sigh.

The kids have also been 'building' with bricks in the backyard. Ben had a large pile on the driveway and one day they carried all 100 of them out the the backyard and onto the wood patio. They then built little shelters and pathways that connected them for their webkinz. They said that doing it on the computer was boring. I was not going to argue despite the fact that I might have to move the bricks back.

Went to Brazos Bend on Labor Day. Saw a couple little alligators. Grilled hamburgers. Got very sweaty.

My Dad came to visit and it was awesome.