Midnight Project...

Mom and I stayed up late last Friday working on a project.

Before...

After...

They don't all have pictures in them yet, but I figured they would get filled faster if we had to look at empty frames on the wall rather than them sitting stacked in a pile in the office. 

My favorite part of the whole process? Sitting with mom until 1:30am going through old pictures. Boy do we have some funny ones! The early morning hours may have made them a bit more funny than normal, but we definitely shared some great laughs. 

Article Analysis...

Watching TV Can Lower Children's Self Esteem, Study Finds

I read this article and I like where they think they were going with it. However, I found it to be written very poorly. So naturally I decided to tell them how I felt in a comment after the article. This is what I said...

I find this article weak in its analysis of the study. Had I been willing to purchase the full text of the study I may have found the actual source more credible, but next time I'd like to see mention of how the study came to the a fore mentioned conclusions, rather than just the opinion of the author if this article.

This article makes it seem as though they are claiming that there is a causal relationship between television viewing and self-esteem, without regard to other possible confounding variables. Did they take into account the length of time the children spent watching television and how this may correlate with neglectful parenting - which probably affects self esteem more than television. Did they have historical controls in their observation to show past and present television effects? What about a control group to compare the findings to? How is it that no focus can be given to the type of programming viewed but then a statement like "Parents can help counter these negative effects by choosing programming that reflects positive values and refrains from promoting stereotypes" be made? 

Next time let's introduce some statistical back up to the conclusions stated and it will probably make this article more credible and worth considering.

Legacy Trail...

Went on a Sunday evening bike ride with this boy :-)

I love long summer days!

It was a beautiful ride on the Legacy Trail as the sun was setting.

20 miles in and hour and a half. Not bad, but if we want to even be descent in a century ride we're going to have to pick things up a bit...

A toast to my dad...

 A toast to my dad on Father's Day:
 Thanks for always being there for me with words of advice, good laughs, the constant teasing (in moderation), and for teaching me everything I need to know about anything; school, boys, religion, politics. You're my go to guy whenever I need advice. Whenever I've really needed you, you've been willing to listen and share. 

Thank you for teaching me hard work and to not only go after my dreams, but be passionate about them - just like you are passionate about flying. Thank you for sharing with me your life and experiences so that I can become the best that I can be. I am where I am today because of your love and guidance. Thanks Dad! Happy Father's Day.

Motherhood...

Best Job | P&G London 2012 Olympic Games Film - Canada (EN)

This is awesome. I think it encapsulates how many of us kids feel towards our mom but don't express very well. You should probably grab a tissue first, then watch it. I couldn't believe it even made me a little teary. Wish I would have found this for mother's day, but none-the-less, I felt it was worth posting and worth a shout out to my own mom.

Mom - The part that got me a little teary was when you see the mom in the bathroom wrapping her sons foot after an injury. Reminded me of the many late nights that you sat on the floor in my bedroom rubbing my leg after my leg injury because I couldn't sleep. You're the best. I love you!

Do you see what I see...

Himba tribe colour experiment

www.youtube.com

Even since I was a little girl I have always wondered if we all see color the same. What if what I see as red is actually what you see as green but society has taught us both to call it red? I still don't have an answer to this question, but this video is super interesting.

Tropical Paradise...

We just got back from our family cruise this last week :-) Boy was it an adventure! Here are just a few lovely pictures...

 Our first night in Florida my mom and I went on a walk through a manatee sanctuary. We didn't seen any manatees but we enjoyed the view together. 

The night before we got on the cruise ship, Jeremy, my mom, and I enjoyed the beautiful warm night sitting around a fire-pit. 

 The Carnival Dream

 Every room on the ship was equip with a couple of white bathrobes. Jeremy and I thought we would try them out. They were not very comfortable.

 Me and the boys in the Bahamas :-)

 We rented scooters while in the Bahamas. Best idea ever (good job mom). This allowed us to get away from the congestion of tourists and explore more of the island. It was also fun learning the hard way that they drive on the left side of the road!

Beautiful!   

 Sitting in the library on the ship waiting for dinner. Everyone looked so classy for formal night :-)

 Our exciting taxi ride in St. Thomas! hahaha boy was that an adventure!

 Jeremy and I "posing" for mom to take a picture. Regardless of our faces, the view was breathtaking!

 I love this shot of the boys sitting by the beach...

 St. John is absolutely gorgeous! So is Jeremy ;-) No wonder he just got a job at Abercrombie.

 Went on a hike with mom - the view was incredible (when we could see it. Most of the time it was forest). Boy was it humid! We were soaking wet by the time we finished. The trail was a one-hour hike downhill. We did it in 25 minutes all uphill. Booya!

 St. Maarten!

 Another gorgeous beach!

 Crossing the boarder from the Dutch side of St. Maartin to the French side. Jeremy and I wanted to ditch the family and go across since we're the only one's with passports but it turns out you don't have to have a passport to cross the boarder here.

 We ended up at Waikiki beach on the French side. Yikes! What's the first thing that you think of when I say "French beach"? If that's not a good enough clue, I'm covering my eyes in this picture. 

 Getting ready to snorkel!

 Playing chess with my dad on the ship.

 Frog legs. Yep. I tasted them.

Mom's fun hat :-) It was actually my dad's. We tried to convince him all week to buy a hat or at least put on some sunscreen on his head. He finally bought a hat. The last day.

Thanks for planning such an incredible family trip mom! It was a blast :-) I know the planning was rough, but you did awesome and I'm so grateful for you taking the time to make memories with us. Love you!