So The Story Goes

Alyson turns 5

2011-09-11T18:29:00.000-07:00

Today is this little girls 5th birthday. I am a little sad about it. She is growing up and while I love that she is, I also hate it! She is such a joy in our lives. She is so full of life! When she says her prayers, she always says "bless that we will have fun". That is all she wants in life. FUN!! She loves doing headstands. She does them all day. She twirls and dances and sings. It is so fun to watch her. Her favorites right now:

Friends and Cousins

Rapunzel

Justin Beiber

the song "Baby" by Justin Beiber

Angelina Ballerina

Dress up clothes

Hot Dogs

Mac and Cheese

She loves to pretend she is Bethany from Soul Surfer. She pretends she is surfing on our kitchen bench and you will often find her arm inside her shirt. I love that little girl!!

Happy Birthday Aly! I am so glad I am your mom!!

Kylas First Date

2011-05-24T09:16:00.000-07:00

Kyla is now 16 and went on her first date to "Church Prom". She went with a friend of hers and they had a really fun time. I can't believe she is old enough to date! It is an exciting and scary thing as a parent to watch your kids grow up.

Sweet Treat

2011-01-28T17:02:00.001-08:00

Today I took these three kiddo’s to Baskin Robbins for their afterschool special. They were surprised when I showed up to get them from school. I sure love these kids and are so proud of all the hard work they put into school.

(Rachel and Aly didn’t get to join in the fun today because I took them yesterday.)

Art

2011-01-28T10:03:00.001-08:00

So I have been intrigued by the book Wreck this Journal. It looks fun and interesting. I went to Barnes and Noble yesterday and got the book. There is a warning though in the book. It says “…You may grieve for the perfect state that you found the book in…” I think this might be true. Although I can’t wait to start wrecking my journal, I am a little apprehensive about doing it. I like the book all neat and tidy. But I have been longing to do something creative and different, so here I go. I am going to order a couple for my girls. They want to participate. I plan on taking lots of pictures of us doing these activities.

While I was at the book store, I found a book called Scribble Doodles Halloween on clearance for $2. It has some fun pages to create and draw. Last night I printed some copies of one of the pages and we had some fun creating some wonderful drawings.

The above picture are our instructions. Here is what we all came up with.

We are all amazing artists, no? We had lots of fun and we can’t wait to do more and get our creative juices flowing!!!

Jake the Paper Knight

2011-01-19T14:22:00.000-08:00

Jake's class had to make these knight costumes. I am not really sure what they were studying, but he had to use only paper plates and staples. He could make cuts to the plates, but couldn't cut anything completely off. Parents were encouraged to help and work together with their child. We had a good time putting this thing together. Curt helped him with the helmut and I helped with the armor. He did the sword and sheild by himself. He and Matt are still playing with it. I didn't think it would last that long.

Happy Birthday to You!!!

2011-01-18T15:05:00.000-08:00

My middle child hit the double digits! Rachel is now 10! Wow! Her party had been on her mind since her last birthday. Last year we decided to only have friend parties on the even birthdays. It was a really hard decision to make since I really enjoy throwing parties. She was really sad last year about not having a party so she has been thinking about it for a long time. She decided to have a game night with the highlight of course being the chocolate fountain! This was by far the highlight of the night. She really wanted to start her party afterschool, so we brought some of the kids home and the rest came over as soon as they could. And we partied and played until 1opm. Whew, that was exhausting, but she had the time of her life. So here are 10 things that Rachel either loves or that we love about her!

1. She loves all things sparkly and blingy! Bring on those hair accessories!

2. I love that she loves to do her own hair. She is very good at it. I love that she likes to play with my hair too.

3. She is super smart! She has gotten almost all A's since kindergarten. When she does get a B she does not like that. She has beautiful handwriting and does really well in all her classes.

4. She loves the gospel. She loves her primary teachers and loves going to activity days.

5. I love her sass! She loves to tease with her aunts and uncles. She has lots of sarcasm in that little body!

6. She loves sleep overs with her grandmas! These are probably the hightlights of her life!

7. She loves the color purple.

8. She loves fettucine alfredo.

9. She loves the tv show "Psych".

10. She loves her family and loves to do things as a family. We love her tons and are so thankful she is a part of our family.

More Updates

2010-11-23T07:21:00.000-08:00

I completely forgot to add one of the most exciting happennings in our home! KYLA GOT HER PERMIT!!!! It is exciting and scary at the same time. I have had a really hard time letting her drive. I don't know why. She drives pretty good. Curt is amazing teaching her. He has so much patience! He let her drive in the rain on the freeway the other night. I wasn't really ready for that. But he is right that she needs the practice and to gain confidence. Like I said, she really does drive good. She just needs practice and I need to suck it up and let her!

Alyson had her first dental cleaning! She did so good. She went in 6 months ago and jus sat in the chair and they counted her teeth, but this time they did all but xrays and she didn't cry or anything. It helps that we have an AMAZING hygenist that she knows.

What we have been up to....

2010-11-18T12:13:00.001-08:00

Kyla made her JV Volleyball team. They had an amazing season (16-2) and an amazing coach and team. Their coach inspired them to be better and they in turn helped each other and played like a great team. I am so proud of Kyla and all the hard work she put into being her best. She also managed in keeping up with her school work. So we were extra proud!

Halloween came and went. This year was a pain! Halloween is NOT my favorite holiday. This was Jake's last year of trick or treating since he is now 12, and went as a ninja. Rachel couldn't decide on a costume until like 2 days before and she went as a lady bug. Matt wanted to be Indiana Jones (again) but we couldn't find a cheap enough costume. We tried this costume a couple of years ago and tried to do it the homemade way, and lets just say when he got all dressed he cried and said he didn't look like Indiana Jones, he looked like a missionary. It was very sad. So after many stores and online searches (I am NOT spending $40 on a costume), he opted to be a pumpkin. This picture doesn't show his actual costume. By the time we got to my parent's house he was hot and didn't want to wear it anymore. Aly went as....Alice in Wonderland! Shocker right? If I had a video camera I would get a video of her dancing in that thing!

Jake turned 12 on the 7th of November! I can't be more proud of that kid. He is such a sweet child and I am so glad to be his mom. Here he is on the day he became a deacon!! Which happened to be his birthday. Those that came were, Grandma & Grandpa Francis, Grandma & Grandpa Lindblom, Steve, Susan, Jed, Grant, Diane, Elias, Ephraim, and baby Irene! I am so thankful for our families and the way we support each other.

Matt finally lost his first tooth! He lost it at school and they put it in this little treasure chest. He was so excited. It was a close call with the toothfairy though. I went to work and didn't think about reminding Curt about it. When Matt woke up he looked under his pillow and his tooth was still there. He cried that the toothfairy wasn't real cause his tooth was still there. So I went in and told Curt who said to hurry and run some money in. So I grabbed 50 cents and told Matt to calm down and said maybe the he knocked the money off in his sleep so I started looking under his bed and low and behold there was the money!! I told him that the toothfairy sometimes leaves the tooth if it is the childs first for the mom to keep in a scrapbook. I am such a liar!! Anyway, he believed me and all was well in the world.

And here is the other thing that has taken over our lives. Football. Jake is playing for his 3rd year. He loves it. I love the self confidence he has gained and for the skills he has learned. His team is playing in the championship game (his team is 10-0) on Saturday (Nov. 20) for anyone interested! It should be a good one.

Aly's 4!

2010-09-16T09:29:00.001-07:00

Aly's birthday was Saturday. She is now 4. She has been looking forward to her birthday for a while now and was so excited about it Friday night she couldn't wait to go to sleep. You would have thought it was Christmas. We had a "tea party" for her and invited some of her favorite friends and family.

Here are some highlights from Aly's life right now:

Favorite movie: Alice in Wonderland (new one), any princess or barbie movie

Favorite food: "girl" cheese sandwiches

Favorite song: almost anything that a girl sings, but the #1 requested song right now is "Alice" by Avril Levigne. This song must be listened to as loud as possible. And you will still be able to hear her singing it.

Favorite activity: singing and dancing. I think if she could she would twirl her way through life. She also loves writing her name and drawing. Paper is really not needed either.

Her favorite way to say good-bye or good night is to give you a zerbert on your cheek like Bill Cosby.

We all love Aly and are so glad she is in our family. Happy Birthday Miss Aly!!

Eggs!

2010-07-31T07:45:00.000-07:00

Our hens are finally laying!!! Well two of them are anyway. The kids have loved checking for eggs everyday. The white ones are from our leghorn, Sarafina. She started first. The brown one is from our white rock, Pacco. It is her first egg. Sarafina is getting to be a pro. We haven't tasted them yet. We are wanting to build up a collection. But we can't wait!!

School Days begin....

2010-07-29T16:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Kyla's first day of TENTH GRADE!! I know I say this all the time, but where the heck has time gone? If I could freeze my family at any time period of time it would be now. I love everyone's age right now. Anyway, back to Kyla. Her assessment of the first day is this: Tenth grade is like you are invisible. Nothing special about it. It was an okay day. I didn't have anyone to sit with at lunch. (most of her friends have a different lunch than her)

I hope that as the year progresses, she will enjoy it more and more. Which I think she will. Vball tryouts are soon, so she is looking forward to that.

Summer will officially be over in 2 weeks. I will be sort of sad, but mostly glad. Does anyone want to do lunch on the 11th??

Curling Hair

2010-07-15T12:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Aly and her friend Bryte were playing. He loves to comb her hair. It is too cute. Well he was trying to "curl" her hair with a comb and it ended up getting sooo tangled. I couldn't get it out. I was able to get a little of it out, but I think I was doing more harm than good. Well thankfully his mom does hair and when she got here she was nice enough to cut it out. Curt and I had been talking about cutting her hair anyway, so she gave her a little bob. She looks adorable and shakes her hair back and forth to feel it sway. Thanks for saving her hair Brandi!!

Left

2010-07-12T12:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we were running late for church. Sometimes sleeping in isn't a good thing. Or procrastinating. So we were running late and we couldn't find shoes for Aly. I know flip flops are not the ideal church shoe, but she is 3 and if that is the only shoe that can be found then that is what she will wear. Which is what she usually wears because for some reason we can only find one church sandal every week. Anyway, yesterday we could only find left shoes for her. We found 3 different flip flops and one church sandal. None of them matched and they were only for her left foot. What the heck?? It took us 20 min to find a matching shoe. She almost wore her tennis shoes or went bare foot. Which would have been better?? She takes off her shoes in class anyway. I really almost left without any shoes. We must get this house organized. And train Aly to only take her shoes off in one place. We still haven't found any of the matches to the other shoes and now I can't find the one matching pair we had. UGHH!!

2010-07-03T09:49:00.000-07:00

We took the kids to see Toy Story 3 yesterday. I loved it! It was so funny. Just thinking about Mr. Potato Head as a tortilla makes me giggle.

So just before the movie starts this lady walks in with 2 girls probably around 10. The theater is nearly full and she finds two spots for the kids. She proceeds to tell the girls to wait before they sat down and then she unfolds two towels and covers the chairs with them. So these girls are now sitting on towels and she goes to find a seat. Kyla and I are watching this thinking it strange. So we waited to see if she had another towel for her chair. Cause if you are bothering to put a towel down for your girls, wouldn't you do the same for youself? She found a seat and sat down with out a towel. We are still pondering why she bothered at all with the girls. It was very bizarre.

A vacation update is coming soon. I know you can't wait.

2010-06-04T22:33:00.000-07:00

Here are some of our chicks at 12 weeks old. In about another 8 weeks, they should begin to lay eggs. Yeah! We can't wait.

We are also doing a small garden again this year. It consists of tomatoes and hopefully some zuchinni. Very exciting times here!

Kindergarten Grad

2010-06-01T15:34:00.000-07:00

Matt did it! He graduated from Kindergarten. It was a tough year. I have to admit, I was a little worried about him not passing. But he did it! He had a rough beginning. Earlier in the school year he said he didn't need to go to school. He was just going to be a hobo. (Thanks iCarly for introducing my kids to hobos.) But after Christmas break, it started clicking that learning phonograms was helpful in reading. He still doesn't love it, but he does it. Math has been a struggle also. Those dang double digits are tough to remember.

I love this kid and all the crazy things he does and says. Congrats Matt!!

15 years

2010-05-06T14:00:00.000-07:00

I started a post last Saturday, but got too bored to finish it and post it. It was a birthday shout out to Kyla. I just wasn't in the mood. So I will try and write again.

Kyla turned 15 on Saturday. The count down is on to some exciting times in her life. Driving and Dating. Curt gets a sickened/panicked look on his face at the mention of either of these events. In 6 months she will be able to get her permit. I am actually looking forward a bit to the whole driving thing. Sometimes I really get tired of driving all over every 30 min. To be able to send her to pick up her siblings while I fix dinner....awwww, just the thought is bliss.

She is turning into such a wonderful, beautiful young woman. I am really proud of her and the way she tries to make good choices. Being a teen is hard, and there are lots of lessons to be learned. I pray she will always remember she is a daughter of God and that He will help guide her on her path.

Happy Birthday Sweet Daughter!!

2010-04-09T12:44:00.000-07:00

Growing up (and even now), my dad was always playing his guitar. I have wonderful memories of watching my dad practice with his various bands in the garage, going to county fairs to listen to them play and even going to a "bar" to listen to him. He was ALWAYS playing his guitar while we tried to watch tv (which by the way was and still is SUPER annoying). While growing up we also were introduced and forced to listen to artists like Waylon Jennings, Crystal Gale, and Bobby Bare. Bobby Bare was probably one of my favorites. He sang cool songs like Marie Lavaux, (search it, it really is cool) and Daddy What If. My dad used to play Daddy What If all the time and we would sing along. It is a very special to song to me and probably to my siblings. Anyway, I found this little lost video on the computer and thought I would share. It is of Kyla singing the song with my dad at his ward talent show a few years back.

The Mansion

2010-04-01T14:50:00.001-07:00

So here are the chicks at 4 weeks! They are getting big and are starting to get ugly. We love them still though.

Here is their new home. The kids are a little jealous and now want a house of their own to play in. Curt completed this Tues night. I am really proud of him and the effort he made in making this coop something to be proud of. All we need to do now is make their run, which is a space for them to run around outside in. We will connect it to the coop and will also put chicken wire around the bottom so they will be able to have lots of shade in the summer. The kids are still loving them and Matt is SLOWLY warming up to them. Cross your fingers he will get comfy with them.

The nesting boxes. There is a lid so all we have to do is lift the lid and grab the egg. We still need a small piece of linoleum for the nesting area. Anyone????

New Arrivals

2010-03-16T10:10:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the newest members of our family!
Curt is holding Bubbles, Bubbles, Tausha, Chicken and Nugget. We did some research, talk to a friend that has some and decided we would take the plunge into the world of chickens! So we took the kids out of school early on Friday and took them to the feed store to pick them out. We got 7 of them and so each kid has one as their own. We got two White Rocks, 2 Buff Orpingtons, 1 Barred Rock, 1 White Leghorn, and 1 Auricana (I am sure I spelled that wrong). Hopefully they will all turn out to be hens, and not have any turn out to be roosters! We really tried to get Matt excited about this whole thing since he doesn't really like animals, and so far he is doing okay with it. He held his once and doesn't mind being around them. He choose the Auricana and named her Tausha. She is actually all the kids favorite because she doesn't mind being held and she is very calm. The all really don't mind being held though. The kids have loved having them so far. When we got them they were 2 days old and Sarafina (the leghorn) was a week older.

This one is Kyla's. She couldn't decide on a name so all of us call it Marti. It is a Barred Rock and when it is bigger it will look black and white.

This is Rachel with either Chicken or Nugget. We need to decide who is who and then paint her toes or something.

Here is Aly with Tausha. She loves holding them all and playing with them. I think Jake and Rachel might be their main caretakers. They love them and play with them all the time.

Happy Birthday Matt!!!

2010-03-09T10:12:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that this little guy....

is now this little guy.

Matt is now six years old. His birthday was yesterday and he was soooo excited. I took him out of school early for a fantastic, fun filled day. We took Jake to the orthodontist, had lunch, then went to the dentist for our twice yearly cleanings. It was probably the best day he ever had. After homework was completed, we took the family to Matt's choice

of Peter Piper Pizza. Some family met us there and the kids ran around. Matt kept putting his tokens into games he didn't know how to play. They had a blast. It was a really fun night. Thanks Matt for making our lives so much fun. You always make us laugh. We love you!

Aly

2010-02-17T07:40:00.000-08:00

Aly gave her first Family Home Evening lesson on Monday night. She was so cute. In her Sunbeam class they were learning about the Holy Ghost and her amazing teachers made this cute handout that she used. The best part though was when it was time to choose who got to say the prayer, she picked herself. She loves saying the prayer. And it is so stinkin cute!

Fieldtrip

2010-02-09T09:52:00.000-08:00

I love going on fieldtrips. I loved them when I was young and I still do. I sign up to go everytime with my kids and most of the time I am picked. The 5th graders got to go to the science center this year. It was fun! I have never been there and had no idea what it was like. I was in charge of 5 boys and they were actually really good. I was surprised (that was the only part I wasn't so thrilled about).

We watched this lady disect a pigs brain. A boy standing with us left cause he got sick. But the rest of us were captivated by what she was showing and telling us. But I think the highlight for the boys was standing in this exhibit that showed weather. They were able to experience wind, thunder, earthquake, fire and rain. It was pretty cool.

Too bad I didn't get picked to go on Rachel's today :(

2010-01-27T07:27:00.001-08:00

Friday, Matt came home with a note saying he was going to be the star student this week. I told him to put the paper up and we would work on it over the weekend. Yesterday he came home from school with a paper filled with 100 stickers (for the 100th Day of school) and it dawned on me: He is star student this week and was supposed to bring a poster board with pictures on Monday!!

Speaking of school. I am a little sad about a decision that was made at my kids school. They are not doing Valentines. They blame it on the economy. Really? When I really think about it, it doesn't really seem like a big deal. But I love that holiday and it makes me sad. Jake doesn't think it is a big deal. Rachel hasn't really said and Matt has know idea what he is missing. I'll just have to make it a grander day than years past!! And send a Valentines to the the teachers and Principal!

Brace Face: Round 2

2010-01-11T20:48:00.000-08:00

Today I got braces. Yes that is right. For the second time in 2 years. And my mouth really, really hurts. Thankfully it will only be a few months. My teeth started moving again, we think because of the retainers I had. Anyway, the ortho was going to just do the top, but decided to do the bottom again also. Maybe it will be a great way to start a diet, since I can't hardly chew anything and it takes me like an hour to eat.

2010-01-06T11:44:00.000-08:00

I was looking at the pictures on our computer the other day. It is amazing to me how much my kids have grown. Where is the time going? Seriously. Anyway, as I was looking back at pictures Matt and Aly wanted to see their baby pictures. Which they think is so much fun. It hit me though this time, I don't have ANY pictures of me or Curt holding Aly in the hospital. I am so sad about that. I know I had a hard delivery with her, and was sort of emotionally out of it, but I know I held her. Why didn't my husband take her picture? The only picture I have of her in the hospital is with my sister Maren and her new baby. Weird. So Aly of the future I want you to know that I really did love you and were so happy to have you finally join our family. I just don't have any pictures to prove it.

Happy Birthday Rachel!!

2010-01-04T10:43:00.000-08:00

Nine years ago today, our family was blessed with this little girl. And our lives have never been the same. She is such fun. Sweet and sassy. Loves to joke around with her aunts and uncles. She ADORES having sleepovers. I am so proud of Rachel. She is growing into such a beautiful young lady. I am so thankful that she was born into our family. I couldn't imagine life with out her. Happy Birthday sweet girl. I love you!!!

Christmas Concerts

2009-12-17T06:57:00.000-08:00

Last week was filled with Christmas concerts and a dance recital. It was crazy busy fun!

First up was Matt's kindergarten concert. It was super cute and super short! I almost missed it! He was so excited to sing his songs. He is such a cute kid.

The rest of the kids school had their concert on Friday night. We almost missed this one too. Parking was crazy and we were running late because Aly had a dance recital the same night. Anyway, Rachels grade was lining up when she got there. So we made it just in the nick of time. I love how their school sings actual Christmas songs. It was a neat night and when all the kids sang Silent Night at the end, it almost brought a tear to my eye.

Even though there were two programs to go to last week and it was sort of crazy I enjoyed them both and was very proud of my kids.

2009-12-10T08:23:00.000-08:00

So Jake turned 11 on Nov. 7th. I can't believe that boy is getting so big! And in true Cathy fashion, finished his requirements for his webelos badge the night before his birthday! Way to go Jake!! He has started 11 year old scouts and is loving it. I am sooo thankful I don't have to go to another pack meeting for 2 years!!!

Doesn't he look sooo thrilled to be at pack meeting?? That is how I have felt the last few years. And notice that he is getting an award and isn't even wearing his scout shirt. Well it is way, way too small and we haven't gotten him a boy scout shirt yet. Oh well.

The theme for the night was something about serving our country or something and we had this nice sheriff's deputy come and talk for a bit. He even brought a sheriff's car for the kids to play with at the end. I think that was the real highlight of the night. Each kid got to turn on the siren. He had some amazing leaders during cub scouts and probably wouldn't have earned anything if it weren't for them!!

After he was handed his award they painted his face. I know that each color represented something with scouting, but I don't remember and he really couldn't wait to take it off. I really am proud of him and all that he was able to accomplish. He is a great kid and we love him dearly.

2009-11-28T08:47:00.003-08:00

The other night our kids were supposed to be going to bed, when the crying began. It was Matt. He came down the stairs and we asked what happened. In his crying he says "Rachel hit me...sob...sob...call 911." As I am trying not to laugh and telling him that we don't call 911 if our sister hits us, he says: "They need to come and take her away." What the heck? I think we need a new lesson on what 911 is and the need for being kind to each other and the importance of staying in ones own room at bedtime.

2009-10-25T08:42:00.000-07:00

Recent happenings I haven't blogged: My sis Diane got married about a week ago! Yeah Diane and congratulations! My older sister and two of her girls came down and it was lots of fun! Otherwise we have just been busy with football and volleyball. Kyla has her last game on Wed. It is really fun to see them get better and learn to work together. Jake starts playoffs on the 7th. I have loved watching him gain more confidence in himself. Here a a few pics from Saturdays awesome game.

Last night was our ward trunk or treat. The kids were so excited to get into their costumes. Aly decided early on that she was going to be Minnie Mouse and we got this cool SWAT costume for Matt. Jake and Rachel didn't decide until a couple of days ago what they wanted to be. It is fun to see the kids all dressed up, but honestly Halloween is probably my least favorite holiday. It costs a lot of money. I could have gone to the U2 concert for what we spent on Halloween. Stupid Halloween.

Jake is a vampire, Rachel is a trendy witch, Matt as a SWAT team member, and Aly as Minnie. Here is Kyla and her friend Maren.

They scared the kids by randomly screaming. Kids just stood there staring at them. It was amazing how cool this trunk looked. Maren's mom is my hero for being creative and the girls won best decorated trunk. We had a fun night and the kids have been eating candy ever since. Who doesn't love candy for breakfast??

Brace Face and Other Exciting Things

2009-09-29T12:25:00.000-07:00

Jake is now a brace face! (which by the way he DOES NOT like to be called.) He got them put on Monday and we have heard the whinning ever since. It is fantastic. I think he looks cute in them and even a little older. The ortho gave him paper that had instructions on how to brush and keep them clean and also what would happen if he didn't do it and he read through it all and told me he is going to take really good care of his teeth, because he didn't want to have anything bad to happen to them. I think it freaked him out a little.

Matt and his hair. This kid just wants his hair to go forward. NO spiking. He usually lets me do his hair and it looks alright. But the other day, he INSISTED on doing his hair himself. He was so proud and he thought he looked soo good. I laugh just thinking about how silly his hair looked. I actually let him go to school like this.

His hair sort of reminds me of Mr. Collins hair in Pride and Prejudice (BBC version). I should win mother of the year for letting him out like that.

In other exciting news around here:
Kyla got randomly picked to be tested for drugs at school. Hope she passes! Just kidding.

I took Rachel to the doctor for her insanely loud breathing. They said it is probably just allergies. Hmmm, allergies ALL the time? I mean it. ALL the time. We are going to try some allergy stuff for a month and see if it helps. I hope it does.

All the kids went to get their teeth cleaned and no cavities!! Which is good, cause now we are paying for braces and can't afford cavities.

2009-09-21T18:38:00.000-07:00

Today was Matt's parent teacher conference. It was at 10:30 this morning. I got there at 10:32. Someone was already there so I looked at the paper with the list of names and times, and he wasn't on there. "That is weird" I thought, "I am positive the note said Monday at 10:30." I was already down there so I waited under a tree. I was sure it was today. Even though his name wasn't on the paper. So I waited for 20 min. In the meantime, I watched another lady come and go into the other classroom. Then finally the door to room 16 opens and out comes....the other kindergarten teacher. What??? OHHHH YEAH! He is room 15! Luckily his teacher was able to see me still before her next appointment. And he is doing really good.

PG-13

2009-09-17T12:14:00.000-07:00

On Friday, Curt was wanting some gourmet pancakes, so we went to the finest of pancake places, Denny's. They had these TV's around the place that was playing different things like videos and entertainment and sports news. Well this video played.
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoID=2011282188

Now call me a prude, but I was a little disturbed that they would show this video in what I consider a family friendly restaurant. Thankfully we only had Aly with us. Plus I was trying to eat. Come on now! And it isn't even a good song.

Yippee! She's Three!

2009-09-14T17:53:00.000-07:00

Aly turned three on Sept. 11th. I can't believe our little baby is now a"preschooler". Aly is a blast. Every one of us has fun with her. She loves to laugh and play. She loves to sing and dance. She loves to cry and throw fits. She loves the color pink and loves her friends. But most of all I think she loves me the best!! She is my little buddy. Especially now that Matt has started school. I now know why my baby sister was so spoiled. I used to blame it on my mom and dad. But I know that we probably had a lot to do with it also!

I was babysitting a couple of her friends on fri afternoon, so we got out the little pool and sprinkler, and had a little pool party. The kids had a blast. It was the easiest bday party ever! I love you Miss Aly!

Sunday Naps

2009-09-06T18:32:00.000-07:00

Sunday naps are the best! Except they are traditionally taken at home. (Thanks Traci for the pic)

Sharing is Caring

2009-09-03T13:54:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered if you've done a good job raising your kids? Have you taught them to be kind? To share? To love others? Today, I realized I have done an amazing job! Matt is home sick today. He keeps bugging Aly, touching her and such when she doesn't want him to. Well he turned to me as I was getting Aly dressed, and said, "Do you know why I keep touching Aly?" I said, "No, why?" He looked at me with a sweet smile, and said, "Cause I want her to get sick." Then he walked away. Now isn't that love and sharing? I always tell them to share. I am so glad they are listening!

Volleyball

2009-09-02T22:06:00.000-07:00

Things have been busy at our house lately and one of the reasons why is Kyla made the freshman volleyball team at her school!! Yeah Kyla! She was so excited. She had her first game on Tues. They lost which was a bummer.

I am looking forward to the rest of the season. It is so fun to see how a team improves as they learn to work together. Keep up the hard work Kyla!!

The weirdest thing happened at her game tues. The coach for the other team was a good friend from high school! (I went to hs in Nevada.) I haven't seen her in like 8 years, so it was super fun to see her.

Jake is playing football again this year, so we have lots of practices and games to go to. It is a busy and fun time of year for our family. I'll post more about Jake after I get some pictures.

Kyla needs a new pair of jeans

2009-08-22T12:24:00.001-07:00

http://amyfraughtonphotography.blogspot.com/2009/08/free-designer-jeans.html

Jam

2009-08-14T15:45:00.000-07:00

The other day I saw a good deal on strawberries. So I bought some and decided I would make some freezer jam. My family loves it, but I have never made it. They have only had it when people are generous and share with us. I was VERY nervous about. So my mom came over to give me support. I ended up with 19 pints of yummy, yummy jam! I totally want to do it again.

Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite.

2009-08-12T12:47:00.000-07:00

Last night I was sleeping peacefully when I was woken up by a crying child coming into my room. It was 3am. It was Rachel and she was crying and saying that she could hear something in her ear. She kept crying and repeating, "I hear it! I hear it! Get it out!" It took me a minute to wake up and realize that she thought something was in her ear. She was sort of freaking out. She kept banging her head, like she was trying to get water out of her ear. And she kept saying she could hear it. So I turn the light on and wake up dear husband, who somehow hadn't realized there was an emergency here. I send her to Curt's side of the bed so he can assist and see if he sees anything.(and quite frankly, if anything were to come out I don't know what I would do.) So he is pretty unsympathetic and says he can't see anything and he doesn't know what to do. Meanwhile she is still crying and banging her head and saying she could hear it. I don't think I'll EVER forget her saying that and crying.

Because we were not clearly thinking, we thought we would try and dig it out with some qtips. I questioned this, "Aren't we just going to push it further in?" "Probably" was his reply, but we couldn't think of anything else. So I tried a few times and nothing came out. I was sort of freaking out at this point. I was really afraid of what might come out. So I went to throw away the qtips and contemplated calling my handy dandy nurse Heather, when Rachel really started freaking out, "It's crawling out!!!!" I run over and this little black bug crawls out of her ear! I slapped it off of her and she ran to me and I hugged that little girl. She crawled into my bed and just cried and I held her. I don't know if she'll sleep in her bed tonight or not. I am pretty sure I wouldn't.

Curt and I were talking about it today and he said, "I can't imagine if it was you. You would have probably ran through the wall." I probably would have.

First Day

2009-08-12T08:25:00.001-07:00

The kids started school on Monday! Yeah!!! We were all soooo ready for them to go back. They were excited to see their friends and get back to learning. Matt claimed that the sun was in his eyes and couldn't look at me. Too bad the sun was behind them and we were in the shade.

Here is Rachel in her carefully planned 1st day outfit. And new hairdo.

Jake ready for the 5th grade.

Matt all ready for kindergarten!! He said he was excited and nervous. It was sort of weird sending him off. I got a little teary. Who knew.

Here is the sad little sister. She was actually sad because I didn't let her in the picture with the other kids. But we'll pretend it was because all her siblings were going to school. We took Matt to his class and she was a little sad when we left him there. She kept asking where he was. Don't worry Aly, your partner in crime will be home soon.

Meet the Teacher

2009-08-08T08:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to "Meet the Teacher". Every year, my kids get the teachers that are new to the school. Some have been better than others. This year was almost no different. Jake was the only one that got a teacher that has been at the school for a couple of years. I was a little nervous about the teacher Matt got. I think the kindergarten experience is an important one. It is their first experience with real school. Anyway, after meeting their teachers, I am really excited about this school year. I liked their teachers alot and am especially excited for Matt. His teacher seems like a really neat lady. She had a little get to know you activity for the kids to do. One of the questions was what is your favorite place. So Matt drew a picture of a building. Then asked us how to write Petco. He said it is his favorite place. What??? The kid won't even walk up to my brothers house without a ton of assurance that the dog is put away. What a silly kid. Anway, I can't wait for Monday!!!!

2009-08-04T00:48:00.000-07:00

Tonight at work we were tagging the clearance items and me and a couple of other gals were in the "Intimates". So we were just chatting away and scanning the bras and panties, when my friend Jenni calls attention to a bra she almost scanned. It was someone's old, dirty nursing bra! Apparently they needed a new one and left us their old one! Sick. I hope to get a picture tomorrow of it.

I found it!

2009-07-31T09:12:00.000-07:00

I found the diamond to my ring!! I am so glad.

Although the rings I was looking at to replace my old one were bigger and much more modern, I love my ring. It reminds me of how we started our lives together. We were young and poor and happy. And we still are. Although maybe not so young. And if we didn't have kids we wouldn't be poor. But I wouldn't trade them either.

Speaking of kids, (doesn't that always happen?), Kyla's first day was a good one for her. Yesterday she was late to one of her classes, so she had to go get a pass from her Weights teacher, but all in all it has been good. I am so glad.

1 Down, 3 To Go

2009-07-29T09:27:00.000-07:00

She is off to high school. She is excited and scared and worried that she will get lost or not make it to her classes on time. She was excited about her first scientific calculator. She can't wait for her Design & Merchandise class. She is excited about wearing shorts and flip flops.

I am excited and scared and worried for her. I am worried that she won't make it to class on time. I am scared about the things she'll see and hear, but know that she's got good friends and they will help each other. Now is the time to watch her bloom and grow into a beautiful young lady. I hope she will always remember that she is a daughter of our Heavenly Father and He will guide her and comfort her. I am excited that she has what seem like some wonderful teachers and interesting classes. It made me smile last night as she excitedly put her backpack together. I am excited that she gets to wear shorts and flip flops. I love you Kyla and am excited to be a part of this journey with you.

I only cried last night and a teeny bit this morning. Ohh, and thanks for the sympathy everyone about yesterday. My sister helped me see the bright side. A new ring possibly? Or maybe a bigger diamond? But lets be real, I'll consider myself lucky if I can just get the old one replaced for a cheap price. Cubic Zirconia is alright, right?

2009-07-28T12:05:00.000-07:00

I have been a little emotional the last 2 days. My sweet little baby that is now a full blown teenager is going into high school. I passed the school last night on my way to work and I actually cried. Where did all the time go? I can't even believe it!

Then, this morning I noticed the diamond fell out of my wedding ring. In the past I thought it would be fun to get a new ring, but now that the diamond fell out, it makes me very sad.

I think I need a treat. (i am not an emotional eater or anything.)

Relief???

2009-07-16T14:59:00.000-07:00

I went to the doctor today. I went to get my neck adjusted. I love that my doctor can do that. Anway, he gave me the best prescription EVER! He prescribed massage therapy!!! I sure hope my insurance covers part of it.

Aly

2009-07-12T11:38:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when Aly is being quiet and no one goes to check on her. There used to be a big container of sugar in that mess, but Kyla removed it before I got the camera. Matt told us of this disaster, but only by insisting we come and see that it was like Christmas in the front room. Why couldn't he just say Aly had gotten into the sugar??? I sort of suspect he may have been in on this but I can't prove it.

Here is the little angel after we found her and put her in time out. Notice the sugar around the mouth and in the hair. She was having such a good time. And why she has a bandaid on her forehead is beyond me. But isn't she a pretty little princess?? UGHHHHH

East High

2009-06-11T12:51:00.000-07:00

This might have been one of my favorite things EVER!! Yah, we went to EAST HIGH! It was fun and exciting and sort of embarrassing. School was still in, so we were able to go on a self guided tour. And drop some money on souveniers at the books store. Students were still there and probably laughing at us behind our backs. But the kids had fun trying to find all the places on the map where they filmed stuff. The only bummer was that the doors were locked to the gym and the auditorium. Otherwise, it was a perfectly enjoyable time!

Here is our gang in front of the school.

Can't you just SEE Troy calling Gabriella to come up to the roof.

These planters lined the walkway up to the entrance of the school.

The real mascot of this school is a leopard. It pretended to be a wildcat for the movie.

This was Troy Bolton's locker!!!! Zac touched this locker and we were all very excited.

Obviously this is Sharpay's locker. It was fun to see that they kept it pink.

Here we are in the cafeteria where so many dance scenes took place. Very cool.

We pretended to do some singing and dancing here. It was a blast! If you are ever in SLC, and have the time, check this place out. It is in a beautiful area of the city. I found several houses I would love to buy.

We ended our week by going to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house on Saturday after I picked up the kids from EFY. It is a beautiful temple and was neat to be able to walk through it with the kids. I would post a picture, but I am tired of trying to get pictures on here. So that was our fun trip to Utah.

Hogle Zoo

2009-06-11T08:56:00.000-07:00

Friday night Vicky was able to get extra tickets to Dream Night at the Hogle Zoo. Dream Night is an international event that zoo's all over the world do. They open their doors to children with medical issues and their families and let them have a privite evening of fun. I think it is really cool that they do this.

Anyway, we had such a fun time. Thanks Vicky for letting us come along!

At the elephant show, they had some workers helping the kids play music. They were cute.

Kangaroo Zoo

2009-06-10T08:59:00.000-07:00

Here is the gang at Kangaroo Zoo. Kangaroo Zoo is a place that has lots of bouncys. And a black light mini golf area. The kids had a ton of fun running from bouncy to bouncy. They could have stayed there all day. I know we have a Bounce U here and it is a little different than that. There is no time limit. I hear we have a place in Mesa that is similar, so I think I might check it out.

The goofy golfing that they had was fun for most of the kids. It was unlimited play. They would finish and go and get another ball. Aly, just wanted to play with the ball and put it in the hole. I realized I do not want to take Matt or Aly to Golfland.

Friday's activities are coming next. It was probably my favorite day. So stayed tune!

Utah!

2009-06-09T08:34:00.000-07:00

I am back from Zion!! We had a blast with my sister and are extremely exhausted. I can't believe I drove the whole trip! I was really nervous about it. Ususally my mom is with me and will drive when I get sleepy. This time it was just me and the kids. I stopped a couple of times to close my eyes, but I did it! Yeah!

First off, the weather in Utah was gorgeous! Sure it rained a little almost everyday, but I loved it!

Monday I took Kyla, her friend Maren, and my nephew Alec to EFY at BYU. Here are Maren and Kyla in front of their room when I dropped them off. This also happens to be the only picture Kyla took the whole time. Actually I took it.

Tuesday we went to Sweets Candy Factory and did a tour of the factory.

They had a chocolate room that smelled like heaven. At least that is what heaven will smell like to me. It was lots of fun. Then we went to a park to let the kids play in the water. That lasted about 5 min then they were all cold. And they went to play on the slides and stuff.

Natalie and Rachel.

Matt, Josh, Jake, Rachel, Katie, Aly

The kids eating a treat before the ride home.

Tues night we went to a local TV Station to listen to the news anchors speak and find out how a news show works. We had a ton of fun. We went courtesy of a group called Hope Kids. It is a really fantastic program for kids that have or have had cancer and their families.

Natalie and Rachel. They are 6 months apart and Nat towers over Rach. I don't know where Rach gets her shortness from.

We only took the kids that were 8 and older to the news station. We got a sitter for the other four. While we were on this tour, there was a really bad storm coming and they had to do a live shot for the weather. It was sort of exciting.

Next up: Kangaroo Zoo

DISNEYLAND

2009-05-28T09:27:00.000-07:00

(Our group of girls. We had 13 girls and 5 chaperones.)

Disneyland. I love that place. This was one of the quickest trips I have ever been on. We left Kyla's school about 12:30am on Wed morning. We had a boy bus and a girl bus. That girl bus was pretty loud on the way there. Sometime between 2 and 3 they turned out the lights on the bus to encourage the girls to get some rest. The bus was super uncomfortable and many of us ended up on the floor trying to catch a few moments of rest.

We got to L.A. about 7:30 and stopped and ate breakfast. We then headed to Disneyland. I haven't been there in 13 years. It was so exciting to go there and remember back to the times I had been there before. Those are wonderful memories and I was glad to be there to make some more. Being with Kyla and her friends was really fun. It was interesting to see how these girls interacted with each other and with the boys. They are growing up. It was fun to be a chaperone with some of the funnest ladies I have met. We laughed and giggled like we were teenagers. We left the park when it closed and headed home. This time, the bus was silent. Everyone crashed. It was exhausting. On the way home we had a little bus trouble, but after about an hour stop, we were headed home. The bus was my least favorite part of the trip. I have heard that this trip is like childbirth, in that you forget the bad and only remember the good. That is until you are ready to do it again. Then when you are in that moment of getting on the bus, you remember, but it is too late to turn back. Hopefully that is true because I think I would like to go with Jake. But right now, maybe I'll leave that trip to Curt.

The fearless leaders.

Some of the girls with Goofy.

Some of the girls with their "ears". I didn't know they had sooo many different kinds of ears.

The kids loved this ride. They went on it at least twice. And were soaked and cold.

Sometimes I really hate blogger. I keep trying to make the layout different, but it doesn't seem to want to save it the way I want it saved. It has a mind of it's own.

Post 2-Graduation Day(s)

2009-05-27T09:16:00.000-07:00

Matt graduatated from preschool on Thurs the 21st. He had such a wonderful year with Miss Jill and he is SOOOO very excited to go to Kindergarten. For the program, Matt recited the rhyme Hickory Dickory Dock. Here he is with his props.

Matt with his friends Kylee, Ty, and Tylee.

Matt with Miss Jill. This lady is a saint. I don't know how she did it! We loved her.

Both Matt and Grant were graduatating that day. So Grandma L was able to come to Matt's and brought a little something for the boys. I forgot to grab a picture with Granny Franny. I am so glad that we have our grandma's close by.

Promotion Day for Kyla was an interesting one! Sunday, Kyla started not feeling good. I thought she was just getting a cold. I was sick a few weeks before, so I thought maybe she was coming down with that. She didn't have a fever, so on Monday I sent her to school. By Monday night she had a fever and was feeling miserable. So I took her in to the after hours clinic, where we were told it was the flu. We started on an anti-viral that night. She had the last day of school on Tues, and graduation that night, then on to Disneyland. The doctor told me that she wouldn't be allowed to go to school Tues, but the rest was up to us. After talking to a few parents and teachers on Tues, we decided if she felt okay, then we would still go to graduation and Disneyland. So when Kyla woke up on Tues morning she was fever free and stayed that way!! I made her rest all day, then we got ready for 8th Grade Graduation!! I can't believe I have a child going into High School! I am so proud of her. We had a long year and I am glad it is over! I love you Kyla!

Kyla with her friends Sydney and Maren.

This was classic. Kyla and a girl named Aston wore the same dress! And because of last names, stood right by each other!! It was hilarious!

Tori, Kyla and Jessica.

Kyla with the parents.

And finally, Kyla with her really excited and proud brothers and sisters. It was so choatic. I think they had ants in their pants. I was standing in the back with chatty Aly and they kept getting up to come and ask me questions. Why did I think it was important for them all to be there?? I am crazy sometimes. Next post.....DISNEYLAND!!

Post 1 - May

2009-05-23T15:06:00.000-07:00

We have had an adventurous month! Lots of fun things have been happening in our family! We have gone on field trips, have had 2 graduations, been to a first dance, and the highlight: a trip to Disneyland!!!

The most exciting thing for Jake and Rachel is that school is now over!! Welcome Summer! They both had great years! Jake almost reached his goal of getting straight A's this last quarter. He worked really hard and we are so proud of him. Rachel finished the second grade with straight A's all year! We are really proud of her also.

Matt is now done with preschool and is looking forward to Kindergarten next year. We went on 2 field trips this month with his class. The first one was Basha's (a grocery store). The kids enjoyed seeing the back rooms and they were most impressed with the freezer that had the ice cream.

The second field trip was to Superstion Farms. It was really fun and the kids got to touch and feed farm animals and learn about where they get their milk. I learned a lot that day!

Here are Matt and Aly on the hay ride around the farm. We got to see the cows eating. Way fun.

This is the closest Matt got to any animal. He is so afraid of animals. It is ridiculous.

This is "Phyllis Diller". Isn't she great!

Blogger is making me nuts, so I'll continue this post later.

Happy Birthday Kyla!!

2009-05-01T22:58:00.000-07:00

Today was Kyla's birthday. She is now 14 years old. It is really weird to think I have a 14 year old. We also got her all registered for high school. Yikes!! That scares me! We had a fun party. I'll blog it tomorrow. I am pooped! Happy Birthday Kyla! I love you!

Easter

2009-04-14T00:19:00.000-07:00

Here are the kids in their Easter best. The pics were taken after church so forgive any candy on the clothes or faces.

2009-04-02T09:24:00.000-07:00

I have posted previously about Aly's eczema. Her skin is always bad looking. It makes me want to cry for her. Lately we have been trying out different things. We have a prescription moisturizer, eurcerin, steriod cream, and vaseline. The vaseline has been working ok, so that is what we have been using most recently. Sunday after church, I was getting dinner ready and the family was busy with their own things. Aly disappeared. Matt came downstairs and said, "Mom, Aly is in trouble. She has the vaseline everywhere!" So Kyla went upstairs and brought Aly down, completely naked and COVERED in vaseline. It was even in her hair. It was disgusting. So Kyla gave her a shower while I cleaned up my bed (that is where she caused the mess). After her shower, her hair was still sick. So Monday morning I washed her hair 3 more times. Still yuck. So after a google search, I went to the store to get some cornstarch, baking soda, and some Nutrugena clarifying shampoo. I ended up just using dishwashing soap. I washed her hair 3 more times, and then used the Nutrugena. I looks and feels so much better. So everyday I have been using the Nutrugena. It still has a bet of a greasy feel, but her hair is much better than it was. What a crazy thing!! I highly don't recommend using vaseline in the hair. When we asked her what she was doing with the vaseline, she said she was itchy. She was just trying to relieve her pain! Poor girl.

2009-03-29T15:41:00.000-07:00

Dear Siblings:
The other day mom came with me to run some errands. (I LOVE that she willing comes along!) On our way home, she was talking on the phone with who I assumed was a sibling. As she was talking, I thought, "Man is this the sort of conversation I get to look forward to when I get older? That stinks!" Then I silently chuckled to myself at how funny her end of the conversation sounded. This is obviously not word for word, but it went a little like this:

Mom: "So is she going to get her knee replaced?"

Mom: "How is your knee feeling? Are you glad you did it?"

Mom: Some more knee replacement conversation.

Then it was the sibling run down.

Mom: "Have you heard from so and so? I haven't talked to so and so for awhile."

I finally figured out it was one of her brothers. So sisters and brother, this is our conversation of the future!! Which sibling will you be?? I call Maggie! And Maren, you are automatically Mom!

Fablehaven

2009-03-26T23:33:00.000-07:00

This evening the author of Fablehaven, Brandon Mull, was doing a book signing in Mesa. Jake and I really like the series, so I called my bro and asked him if he and his son would like to go with us. They were in and so we headed down to the store. We got there a little after 4 and received the letter Q ticket. Apparently to get a letter A you had to be there in the morning. I wish I would have known. So we were resigned to our fate of being toward the end of the alphabet and went to eat dinner. GUESS WHO WAS THERE????!!! Brandon Mull chowing down! Jake kept staring at him. But we kept our cool and let the man eat in peace. After wasting some time, we headed back to wait in the bookstore. With about 200 other people. I then ran into a lady I worked with at the kids school. We got to talking and she had gotten there in the morning and scored some B tickets. I was jealous and shared my envy with her. She said, "Well I have 2 extra tickets because I thought my daughter was going to come. Do you want them?" Heck ya I wanted them!! So the signing started at 6 and we were driving away by 6:30! Yeah for acquaintances!

Someday my prince will come

2009-03-26T14:02:00.000-07:00

Alyson. She loves princesses. LOVES them. Disney, Barbie, songs that say princess. Anything. Every dress is a princess dress. And she changes about 5+ times a day into different dresses. She twirls and twirls and hums. It is pretty precious. Somehow, someway, High School Musical 3 is also on her favorites. We are lucky enough to get that movie interspersed between the real princess movies.

Yesterday afternoon she requested HSM3. Of course I was all to eager to oblige. During a scene with "Troy", she says in her 2 year old language, "He's cute." What does she know about that? Who is she listening to? Obviously she has older siblings. It was the cutest, weirdest thing to hear. So "Troy" is cute to every girl in this house from the ages of 36-2. Next thing I know, she'll be wanting a poster of him hanging over her bed!

Springbreak

2009-03-18T15:57:00.000-07:00

We are on springbreak this week! Yeah! My kids have been sleeping in and it has been lovely. We went to the park on Monday with some friends. It was nice to get out of the house. Then a friend from work called and said she was going to be in the area for a park day and so we went again on Tuesday. All of our kids are about the same age (except for Kyla), and we have been wanting to get them together. My kids weren't very socialable at the park, but we went to lunch after and they all clicked! It was lots of fun.

So for a change, I thought that because it is like 1000 degrees outside already, we could wash the car! Who wouldn't think playing in the water and getting suddsy wouldn't be anything but fun right?! I'll tell you who. The dad in this family. He can be such a killjoy in our simple lives. He told me we needed to wait for him so it can be done correctly. Maybe he's afraid we will have too much fun without him! We might ruin the finish he says. I wasn't planning on using rocks! I guess our wash clothes and dish soap aren't quite good enough. I guess that is what happens when your father owns a carwash, but really. So instead, we have put away laundry and watched movies. Not the fun I was hoping for, and same with the kids, but maybe that was really his reason behind the no!

Teamwork

2009-03-10T11:39:00.000-07:00

My last two fortune cookie sayings have disappeared into the black hole, otherwise known as my purse. I remember one of them was about teamwork. This weekend, teamwork has played a HUGE role in our lives. If it wasn't for everyone pitching in and doing their share (and then some), this weekend would not have been as successful as it was. As most of you know I am involved with Relay for Life. Friday night we had a Mother/Daughter night fundraiser. It was lots of fun and we raised more than we thought we would. It was a TON of work though and I really appreciate my family for letting me go and do this and picking up the slack.

Saturday morning was Jake's Pinewood Derby. He and Curt worked together and Grandpa F. helped a bit. It is his last year to race and I think he had a lot of fun.

After Matt's party we did some yard work. We replanted some of the garden and added a ficus tree to our backyard landscape of grass. When we moved into our house I just wanted to be done with the dirt so we planted grass. The whole yard was grass. Which really, what more do you need to play on? But it is really boring to look at. I for one am not into growing flowers or growing anything that flowers and would attract bees into my yard. I HATE bees. But I am really trying to be better about them, and so we started with our garden. We really wanted a tree for the yard, but I definitely did not want a fruit tree. So we settled on the ficus. I hope I don't regret it.

Look at all the carrots we grew! We couldn't even eat them all.

Matt's Birthday

2009-03-10T08:59:00.000-07:00

Okay. I am a lame mom. I didn't do a blog about Matt. His 5th birthday was on Sunday. We had a busy and fun weekend. He had a party on Saturday. I am a theme party type of girl, so when I asked Matt what he wanted to do for his birthday he said he just wanted to play games. So I was kind of thinking like carnival type theme, but I got busy doing other things and his party just took a backseat to everything else and we ended up just playing a few games and then the kids played. Anyway, he had fun and was just glad it was finally his birthday and that he is the same age now as some of his cousins.

For preschool he is the star this week and his teacher gave me a paper to fill out about him. This is what Matt said:

Favorite food: Cinnamon Toast Crunch

Fave book: Indiana Jones

Fave movie: Star Wars

Fave toy: Indiana Jones hat

Fave things to do: play with things and play with Jake's legos

Pet: none, only like pretend dogs

Friends: Grant, Sophie, Josh, Katie, Brooke, Sara, Tylee, Ty, Zack, Layton, Brigham, Emily, and Rhett.

He is still into all things cowboy. Which I think is still stinkin' cute. Matt is also his dad's shadow. If Curt is doing something, Matt is right there. He'll eat almost anything if his dad is eating it. If Curt is doing yard work, then Matt is helping. It's pretty fun to watch. He's a lot of fun and keeps us on our toes! I love that kid! Happy Birthday Matt!!

Sweet memories are the paradise of the mind.

2009-03-06T07:46:00.000-08:00

The other day I had to go to the dentist to get a cavity filled. The dentist is NOT my most favorite person/place to be. I actually liked the dentist up until my twenty's when I got my first cavity. Then I understood why people avoided that place. How cruel is it to stick in needle in ones mouth?? It is pure torture.

A couple of years back I went in to get a procedure done and nearly had a melt down. I am super serious too. I was laying there minding my own business when they placed the tray of needles right next to me!! It went down hill from there. I started panicking and tears were flowing. I was embarrassed and the dentist wasn't very kind about it. I understand he thought I was completely ridiculous, but it was a really horrible moment for me.

So I started having a toothache about 6 months ago. I kept telling myself that it would go away if I didn't think about it. And sometimes it did!! But I finally decided to find a dentist closer to home and get it taken care of. I adore this dentist and his office!! They are super nice. I talked to them about my fear and they were super kind about it.

Monday when I went in, I really just had to force myself to go. "Suck it up!!" is the pep talk I gave myself. As I lay in the chair, tissue in hand, waiting for the sharp needle to pierce my mouth, I was trying to take my mind someplace else. A nice vacation somewhere. Remembering all the things that needed to be done that day. The doctor was humming to a horrible 80's song and the hygienist was softly rubbing my shoulder. She made me feel like when I was little and my mom would comfort me when I was ill or hurt. Moms are good like that. I still feel nervous just thinking about it, but it wasn't nearly as bad as my mind had made it out to be. That mind is a tricky thing.

You will be hungry again in one hour.

2009-03-04T15:13:00.000-08:00

I was running errands with my mom and kiddos today and we stopped by our favorite Chinese place (House of Eggroll). The fortune cookies had the best sayings, so they will be the topics of my next four posts. (that is all the cookies they gave us)

Yesterday was Matt's preschool field trip to Krispy Kreme. The kids were so excited. It was sort of wild and crazy, trying to make sure the kids stayed in a line. They were not allowed to touch or come too close to the machines or actual food they were going to sell. Obviously. As the kids were standing there next to "the curb" (this is where the donuts cool and are picked up) this kid totally starts coughing!! Us parents just all looked at each other, like, what do we do?? Pretty awkward moment.

Oh the fun times! Now I look forward to Jake's field trip on Friday!!

I'm going to Disneyland

2009-03-04T00:11:00.000-08:00

I am so excited!! I get to go to Disneyland with Kyla's school!! Yeah!! She on the other hand, not so thrilled. This is the conversation afterschool:

Me: "Kyla I talked to Ms. Teacher today."

Kyla: "UGGGHHH!!!"

Pause in convo

Kyla: "About what?"

Me: "I get to go to Disneyland with you!!!"

Kyla: "No, I didn't put your name down."

Me: "I know! I called the school yesterday and your teacher called me back and said she asked kids like 6 months ago who's parents wanted to come! But I got lucky and someone called this morning and cancelled, so I get to go now!!!"

Kyla: "Nooo..."

I LOVE being a mom!!

Earrings

2009-02-23T16:18:00.000-08:00

My blog is boring. So here is a story to share:

Back in October we pierced Rachel's ears. She was so excited. She was bound and determined to take care of them. She promised. Life was great. She was on cloud nine.

Now it is Dec/Jan and she wouldn't let us touch her ears. She would cry and run from us like we were going to give her a shot or something. She had a well child doctor appointment scheduled in Jan, so I decided to ask the doctor about it. So we are at the appointment and I bring it up. The Good Doc asks Rachel if he could take them out and she shakes her head. She won't hardly let him even look with his eyes, let alone touch them. So he said, "We should really take those out if she won't let us touch them." I agreed. Rachel did not. Dear Doc said, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, what do you think?" Rachel just stared at the ground. "So I guess it is the hard way. Mom, hold her arms down." I did as instructed. Wonderful Doc leans in to remove the pretty little hearts, and Rachel summoned some super human strength that is not common to an average 8 year old. We couldn't hold her down. Tears were flowing. It was bad. So the Amazing Doc did what any other person would do and said, "Well it looks like we are going to have to get the tape" and left to get the tape. Yes TAPE!!! Now I love my kids doc and am thankful for his no nonsense approach to doctoring and parenting, so I was totally in. This needed to be done and we were going to get it done for goodness sakes. Wonder Doc comes back with the tape and a nurse. GAME ON!!!

He puts Rach on the bed and puts her hands behind her back. She is facing me with the SADDEST face I have ever seen. TEARS and SCREAMING. "NOOOOOO, MOOOMMMYY" It was horrible and then I started crying. Fabulouso Doc looked at me, saw my tears and said, "Mom, you still want to do this?" I nod. I wasn't going to get her this far and then stop. So he layed her on her tummy with her hands behind her back and I held down her legs. 5 seconds later the pretty little hearts are in a jar and Rach had her hands free and was hugging me.

We made it!! She lived through the ordeal. I lived through the ordeal. All was happy and good again. The pretty little hearts were corrided and yucky. Before we left the room, I asked her if she was okay and if she was glad we did it. She answered, "Yes. I am glad they are out. Can we get a treat?" Of course, after that we ALL needed a treat! She then stated that she didn't want to put new earrings in and she wanted to just let them close. She also said she felt like a bear that was about to be killed. That is our journey with earrings.

2009-02-23T08:02:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Curt!!!

Skin

2009-02-16T18:35:00.000-08:00

Around here we are having some skin issues. First off we have Alyson who has horrible eczema. I hate it. I can't seem to get it under control. It is my enemy.

Next up is Matt. Thursday night, he crashed on Jake's scooter and this is now how he looks.

Poor kid apparently cried for quite awhile. I was at work, so I missed out on this one. Then there is Jake.

Some how, he caught chicken pox. He had the vaccine and everything. I guess that will help him not get it as bad, but it is a pain in the rear (literally for him). Thankfully he is older and can stay home alone for a bit of time. I don't know what I will do if the younger kids get it! Yikes I might have to stay home or something!!

Stuff

2009-02-10T08:02:00.000-08:00

I have not been in the mood to blog. I don't know why. Just haven't. But lots has been happening, so here goes. Last weekend we had a yard sale fundraiser for our Relay For Life team. We had a ton of stuff and it ended up being a very successful day. If you are interested, we are doing a car wash this Saturday at the M&I bank on the corner of Ocotillo and Ironwood. Come and wash your sweethearts car!!!

The weekend before, was London's Run. Kyla and Jake ran in that. They had a blast and they can't wait to do it again next year.

Last week my niece Natalie fell off her bike and suffered a skull fracture. Thankfully after a few days in the hospital she went home and will be alright. She gave us all quite a scare. So that is about all that is up, besides the usual. Oh, what the heck was this chick thinking at the Grammy's?

I know she was due that day and yeah for her for getting out their and shaking her stuff about, but really?? I KNOW they make better outfits than those.

Rachel's Baptism

2009-01-25T20:22:00.000-08:00

Alright. Rachel was baptized a week ago Saturday (the 17th). She was the only one from our ward so we were able to plan the whole thing. It was a really nice time. I am so proud of Rachel and her decision to be baptized. I only took one picture of the day though. So I think we need to recreate some moments. But here are Curt and her before her baptism.

I was going to take pictures afterward, but we didn't have time at the church and when we got home, Rachel was in tears about what we were eating for lunch and cried the whole time. I am not even exaggerating. The whole time. So I apologize to my family who had to listen to her. Sheri was nice enough to take her to get something from Jack in the Box. She is totally spoiled.

Birthday Lunch

2009-01-19T13:17:00.000-08:00

It is my sister in law, Heather's birthday this week so we went out to lunch today. My brother did a great job in marrying this girl. We love her and she brings tons of fun into our otherwise boring family! JK. My dad always says she is the best daughter in law and I have to agree!

Well we couldn't leave out the other January birthdays, so we took my sis Vicky and her daughter Chelsea to lunch too. Here are the birthday girls all together:

We went to Cravings which is a yummy local Mexican food restaurant. (Vicky's favorite kind of restaurant.)

"Mom this food looks amazing! What should we have?"

This is my amazing sister Vicky. She was totally loving the chips and salsa there!

This is Chelsea even though she has her mouth full, she kept on chowing down. Those are some amazing chips they have.

Obviously they got a little thirsty and needed something to drink.

And here are two very satisfied customers! Happy Birthday!!!

2009-01-06T18:53:00.000-08:00

I usually take a nap during the day. It is the only way I can survive my job. I am so used to taking them, that even when I don't work I need one. So I thought I could sneak a little one in today. While I was snoozing away, Matt became a photographer. When I woke up he said, "I took a picture of Spirit (the movie)." My response, "Matt that makes me sad that you would play with the camera." He then replied, "Oh, I was just kidding." Yeah right he was just kidding. So I picked up the camera and found over 100 pictures like this:

Then there were a few body shots:

I guess that is what happens when you leave a 4 year old to entertain himself.

Happy Birthday Rachel!

2009-01-04T00:38:00.001-08:00

So today is Rachel's 8th Birthday! So here is a shout out to my fun and sassy girl. She is so looking forward to getting baptized and I am so proud of her for making that choice. So happy birthday my sweet girl!

Tis The Season

2009-01-02T09:40:00.000-08:00

This holiday season has been a busy one. So I'll catch up here a bit. A few days before school let out, Jake and Rachel had a school concert. This is the concert that I don't really mind attending. It is cute and the kids seem to have fun all dressed up singing Christmas songs. Here they are before the concert.

Then on the Friday before Christmas, we took the kids so they could get their cousin gifts. That is always lots of fun. No really it is. We were running a little short on time, but we were able to get it done. Then we headed over to Grandma L's house to make some gingerbread houses. The kids really had a good time and we took one over to Curt's grandparents.

One of the houses before the decorating began.

Everyone working hard. The girls did one and the boys did the other.

Here they are (plus a cousin) with their finished houses. They had lots of fun and I am thankful for fun grandmas!! After our fun decorating, we went to dinner with my family to celebrate my dad and sister Diane's birthday. We went to the family favorite, Waldo's.

Aly and Curt.

Some of the kids at Waldo's. It was a really fun day and night, but a little jammed packed. Now on to Christmas Eve....

Christmas

2009-01-02T09:10:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning started a few of hours after we went to sleep. The kids came in at 5:30 asking if it was time. We were able to send them back to their rooms and put it off till 6:30. Aly was the only one that needed to be woken up and she wasn't very thrilled about it at first.

Here are Jake and Matt discovering their loot that Santa left.

I think Jake might be happy.

Aly loves "Monkey" aka Curious George. She was so happy to get one to play with.

Rachel with some of her goods.

Matt with his favorite thing of the moment: ANYTHING Indiana Jones

And here is Kyla. This was a classic Christmas morning moment. She had opened all her gifts and really had gotten only one thing she wanted. A jacket. The rest was stuff for her room that we are going to redo. Not too thrilling. So when she opened her last present and found a Yahtzee box, I thought tears were going to start falling. She had the look of "I just got batteries for a gift" that I knew all to well.

Jake was only one beside Curt and I that knew what it really was and was trying to get her to open it. She just kept staring at it, kind of upset like. And again, I could feel her pain (yes mom I am kicking that dead horse again)

And here is the moment when she dicovered what it really was:

She got a phone. Curt and I have discussed this for a while and with lots of strings attached we finally agreed to do it. The biggest hit this Christmas was probably the Webkinz that everyone (including Curt) got. Everyone (mostly Curt) has been playing on the website for a week. They really are fun. We went to Curt's parents house for the rest of the day and had a fun time visiting with family and enjoying the rain. As always, I am sad to see the festivities end so fast. Now it is time to get ready for my most favorite of holidays....Valentines day!!

Christmas Eve

2009-01-02T08:51:00.000-08:00

We had our annual Christmas Eve dinner and program at our house this year. The food was delish, the program cute and the company AMAZING!! I love getting together with my family and as always, we had a good time. The kids acted out the Nativity. This year we decided to get a little fancy and my parents and nephews made a stable and a star.

Here is our crazy cast! The AZ Cousins: Alec, Kyla, Rhett, Jace, Jake, Eli, Rachel, Ephraim, Aly, Sophie, Matt, and Melia. We sure miss the Utah cousins.

2008-12-15T06:34:00.000-08:00

Alyson didn't get a nap yesterday. While we were eating dinner last night she kept asking for more mashed potatoes. (Vicky, can you guess what else we were having for dinner?) I think we gave her 3 helpings of mashed potatoes. Our table is a very noisy table, and Kyla and I were trying to hurry so we could go to a fireside, so I wasn't really paying much attention to Aly. Well I looked over at her and she is spooning her food into her mouth with her eyes closed and her sweet little head was nodding back and forth. It was so cute. Then she just laid her head down and was still trying to eat her mashed potatoes. She was our dinner entertainment. We just sat and watched her. And laughed.

Random Sayings, Stories

2008-12-12T06:57:00.000-08:00

This morning Rachel informed me she had horse hair and needed it cut. She is so strange. She usually begs me NOT to cut her hair.

Matt also had a news flash for me. As we were getting in the car to go to school, he said, "Mom, I don't need a car seat. I am getting big. I am growing hair on my feet." So apparently growing hair on ones feet means you are all grown up.

Aly found these flips one day and she loves them and thinks they are hers. One Sunday she threw her sandals away and insisted on wearing the flips to church. We let her wear them in the car, but changed them when we got out. It has been a few weeks since she last wore them. Tues night we were going someplace and Kyla ended up wearing them. Aly cried and cried. They were "her" shoes after all. Life is sad for a 2 year old.

Besides working, that is all we have been up to. Thanksgiving was nice. We had great food and had a fun time visiting with all of our family. Now we are just getting ready for Christmas. I can't believe how fast it is coming. Yikes!

GNO

2008-12-07T23:04:00.000-08:00

Friday night some of my sisters and my mom and I went out for a girls night. My sis Sheri won a night at the Carefree Resort and Villas, and was awesome enough to share it with us girls! It was soooo stinkin far, I think we drove 1/2 way to Utah. No, but it was far. We got a little lost and turned around also, but we made it there about 2 hours after we left my house. That did include a stop at the Walmart though. So we had a yummy dinner and went back to the room and changed into our new jammies. We get new ones every year. Usually they are way fun looking and Curt HATES them. This year, I really wanted some with a long sleeve top, so my aren't fun. Then we busted out a new game for us. We played Imaginiff. It is a really fun game. I had to leave by 9 the next morning, so I didn't get to really sleep in like I wanted to, but it was fun to hang out with my mom and sisters. I love them to pieces and wished my other sisters & sis-in-law could have come. Thanks again Sheri.

The Kindness of Strangers

2008-12-04T15:42:00.000-08:00

Today I ran into the store with Rachel to get something. As we were walking to our car, the car next to us was putting their things away and the daughter of the driver was eating a cookie. In the back of the car they had like 6 huge bags from Paradise Bakery. Taking after my dad a bit, I joked, "Hey Rachel, we should trade them cars!" The girl started laughing and offered Rachel a cookie. I said no and that I was just kidding. Well the mom came back from putting the car away, and was insisting that we take a BAG of cookies. She said she gets them free and usually she donates them to the food bank, but one of her kids got sick so she missed the drop off time. So she was just going to hand them out to her neighbors. I feel a little guilty, but I took a bag. So now I have a bag of cookies, muffins and a huge loaf of bread. So now, I think I'll make up some plates for my neighbors. Don't you wish you lived close by??

Tires

2008-11-24T22:20:00.000-08:00

So my friends husband told me I should post more often, I am not sure about that, but he might enjoy this post:

We have needed new tires on our Armada. We were really hoping to wait until after the holidays. Well tonight for FHE, we went to see Twilight, only it was 3 out of 7 of us, but whatev. So when we got home there was a hissing sound coming from one of the rear tires. It was going flat. Thankfully we were home and not driving down Ironwood or something. So Curt says to me, "I want you to change the tire." I am totally up for that challenge. I haven't changed a tire in like 17 years. I need a little brush up. Curt sets up the light and I try and figure out how to get the jack out of the car. Curt ended up getting it out. Now I decide to read the manual and figure out what I am to do. I read OUT LOUD: Step 1 - Change tire on flat surface. BLAH BLAH BLAH. Step whatever - Put on parking brake. BLAH BLAH BLAH. Now I assume Curt knows these things, and since he doesn't reply to what I just said, I figured we were a go! Now we are parked in the driveway. It is a slope. We have already broken rule #1. Yet I begin. I spent what seemed like FOREVER raising the car. Then all of the sudden....it starts rolling and falls back down to the earth!! The jack is now at the front of the car. It was so scary! So I said, "Did you forget the parking brake?"
Curt, "Oh yeah!" I swear he was trying to kill me! So I told him it was his turn to jack the car up. Then I was pretty much bored with the whole idea, so he did the rest. Now I know why there is AAA. Or Curt.

Radishes

2008-11-20T09:06:00.000-08:00

Our radishes are ready to harvest!! It is really exciting to see that something actually grew and if anyone actually liked radishes, we could enjoy them!! What do people even make with radishes? All I can think of is putting them in a salad or as a garnish. But I don't really garnish my kids plates for dinner. I can't wait for the rest of our garden to finish growing.

Jake the Snake

2008-11-17T11:36:00.000-08:00

Thursday Jake received his bear badge in cub scouts. He finished just in the nick of time. So now I have two badges to sew on, as it has been over a year since he received his wolf badge and it is somewhere waiting to be sewn on. I should probably just forget about doing it, since he'll get a new shirt next year and I'll just have to take the other ones off the shirt for Matt to use.

I was going to write about Jake and what a nice and kind kid he is. How he is really becoming a wonderful tween. He works hard at school, and helps a ton at home. He really tries to make good choices, and I am so proud of him for that. And while those things are all true, something has happened to that boy in the last two weeks. I think he lost his mind somewhere. First, he thought it would be a good idea to take his DS to school and play it. The kid felt sooo much guilt. He got some money and a gift card for his bday and while we were at the store he was searching for the perfect thing to spend his new found fortune on. After about 15 minutes of looking up and down the toy aisle, I suggested maybe looking at a new DS game. He said no, and kept looking at nerf guns (because we don't have enough of those). So a nerf gun was chosen and later that night he confessed his wrong doing. I asked if that was why he didn't want a game and he said yes. So he tried to punish himself. Then Friday I was picking up kids from school and I couldn't find him. So Kyla went looking and next thing I see are the kids walking towards the car with the principal. Jake's head was low and I knew something was wrong. He apparently got bored waiting for his ride, so he threw a rock at a kid and wrote "Jake the Snake" on the school building. Both big offenses at his school. In talking to the principal, he said that for some reason in 4th grade boys lose all common sense. Hopefully he had to clean the bathroom at school today.

Halloween, Natalie's Baptism, Jake's football

2008-11-05T13:41:00.000-08:00

So apparently I got stuck at our trunk or treat! I feel so far behind in blogging that all the fun stuff I have been doing is old news! But here is a little catch up.

My niece Natalie was baptized a couple of weeks ago in Utah. I took my mom, Rachel, Matt, and Aly up for the weekend. About 8 hours into our trip, we noticed Rachel wasn't looking so good. She had a fever. This fever lasted for 4 more glorious days! I thought maybe she was just getting croup again, she had it at the beginning of Oct. So we just kept giving her motrin. We stopped by the doc on the way home and she had 2 ear infections, asthma and pink eye! AWESOME! This is the great gift we left for my sister and her family to remember us by:

My poor niece Katie!

The trip was really fun though. It was wonderful to visit with my sister and her family. Natalie's baptism was really special. She is such a cute and sweet girl. My sister is raising some amazing kids.

We did Halloween there, and yes I made Rachel trick or treat. It was fun though to have some cold weather. Here is the gang before we headed out.

The costumes for my kids were pretty much lame. Rachel wore her cheer uniform (very creative), Aly wore a dog's costume, and Matt well he was really wanting to be Indiana Jones. Well he looked more like a missionary with a piece of rope. This is what happens when the dad gets involved in the costume decision. Curt didn't see any need in purchasing anything for Matt's costume. He took Matt out to the garage one morning to look for the perfect whip. Matt was soooo thrilled with that piece of rope. He had a cowboy hat that Curt talked Matt into wearing and that was it. Well we forgot the hat at home. So as I was getting Matt dressed he said with tears in his eyes, "I don't look like Indiana Jones at all!" I probably said something kind about it being his dad's fault that he didn't look like Indiana Jones. Next year I am starting early and not asking Curt's advice. Oh and I would post a picture of Jake trick or treating, except Curt didn't take him. They went out to dinner instead. Which means I have this big bowl of candy at my house still, because Curt didn't hand any out. Too bad/Good thing it is the lame candy that no one wants to eat except Alyson.

Jake's football season has now come to an end and it was such an exciting game. They played the #1 team and were winning for most of the game. We ended up losing by 5 points. We had such a good experience with this football team and Jake can't wait to play next year!

Jake also celebrated his 10th birthday!!! I didn't even take one picture of his big day! What an amazing mom I have been! I didn't even give him a shout out on the blog! Shameful! I'll do a Jake post later. This post is already too long.

Trunk or Treat

2008-10-27T16:06:00.001-07:00

Our ward trunk or treat was on Saturday night. The kids were so excited. I was stressed out. Jake and Rachel were way easy, they just wanted to wear their football and cheer stuff. Matt wants to be Indiana Jones and I had no idea what to dress Aly as. So Sat after football (I'll post about that later) I went to the store. I hate spending lots of money on stuff they wear once. So I was passing by an end aisle at Target and found this cute jail shirt. Unfortunately it was a doggy costume, but they were on clearance. I thought, hmmm, this shirt would work for Aly. Matt ended up having a fever so I didn't have to figure anything out for him yet, and Kyla dressed up as a twin with her friend Sami. So here is your Halloween preview.

2008-10-25T21:20:00.000-07:00

Alright. Here is my review of HSM3: LOVED IT!! I ended up going twice yesterday. I pulled Jake and Rachel out early and went and saw it. I loved all the dancing and singing. I think it was my favorite one! The kids liked it also. Then last night Kyla and her friends were trying to think of something to do, so I suggested this and took them and Rachel again. They too, loved it. Seriously if you like musicals and fun check it out! I can't wait to hear what others think!

How does your garden grow?

2008-10-25T11:37:00.000-07:00

The garden before.

It happened. Someone dug up part of the garden. I have a feeling it was Aly. Matt insists it was, and why wouldn't he. The poor child can't defend herself. She says yes and no randomly. We'll have to see if she really ruined anything. Things have been sprouting, so if nothing turns out, we'll just blame our lame garden on Alyson!! She doesn't care.

**Thanks to everyone who came out to the carnival! It was lots of fun and I think we'll do another one in Feb or Mar! Go Team Shurtleff!!

Relay For Life

2008-10-23T07:41:00.000-07:00

Relay For Life

Fundraising Carnival

Friday, Oct 24th

4:30pm - 6:30pm

Greenbelt across from Simonton Elementary School

Queen Creek, AZ

Carnival Games ** Bouncies ** Pony Rides ** Food

Wristbands $4.00

Food .25 - $1.00

Money to go to the American Cancer Society

If anyone is interested in helping, let me know. We could always use volunteers!!

Lessons Learned

2008-10-21T17:50:00.000-07:00

I have learned lots of lessons being a mother. The number 1 lesson though has got to be: Don't say or even think that some sort of bad behavior or trial won't happen to you. Or in other words, Don't Judge.

It always comes back to haunt you. Always. (Yet I still do it.)

My sister asked me for some ideas last year on how to make her daughter keep her diapers on at nap time. I smuggly said, I didn't know because none of my kids had had that problem. Well I spoke too soon. Aly is making me insane. I have tried everything short of using duct tape. I think that actually might be my next step. Tell me if this sounds like it might work: Get a onesie and tape the snaps at the bottom, maybe make it long ways, then tape around and around the middle of the stomach to hold both the ends. It would sort of look like a thong or a sumo wrestler's get up. Then maybe put her pajama bottoms on and tape those to the onesie. What do you think? Do they even make onesies for 2 year olds?

October Break

2008-10-20T08:23:00.000-07:00

October Break is over. The house has grown quieter. Now there is only one child to make Aly scream. Sweet.

To start our break off, on Mon night we had my sis and her kids and my mom come over to break in our new little fire pit. The kids had fun roasting marshmallows, but I don't think anyone but Curt and Matt actually ate a smore. It was way more fun burning the marshmallows and watching them expand in the fire.

(This pic is horrible, but it is all I've got.)

On Wed morning we got an early start and took a day trip to Portland, Oregon. Yeah, that's right we went for 1 day. It was crazy and fun. My sis Diane works for an airline and had some passes she needed to use so she was awesome enough to take me and my kids with her. It was the first time flying for the boys and the girls don't remember when they've flown, so it was rather exciting. I think that was the best part. Watching their faces as we started moving and taking off, then as we were landing. It was completely priceless. I'll post some pictures later, when I get them from my sister.

We had our ward campout on Fri and Sat. Curt took Kyla and Matt. Jake had a game and practice and Rachel DID NOT want to go. They said it was lots of fun and Matt was loving hanging out with the Wilkins boys.

Fri night the A/C unit went out. It is the middle of October and we are still running our air. What is up with that? So that brings me to today. I am sitting here waiting for the repair man. Let the good times roll.

Update

2008-10-12T19:17:00.000-07:00

I've been absent for a bit, so I'll take some time to update. Kyla had her first Choir concert on Tues. She did pretty good. It sort of looked like she was just mouthing the words and not really singing though. I hope she learns to look like she is having more fun. Here she is before the concert. She had to wear a black skirt and white collared shirt and black flats. She hated going to buy these clothes. She hates shirts with collars. I don't think she has worn one in like 4 years. I thought she looked really pretty, but I know she'll never wear those clothes outside of choir performances. It's too bad too.

Friday we finally planted a garden. I finally got Curt to try doing one using the square foot gardening method. Here is what it looks like. We are all excited and Matt is especially excited to grow carrots. He can't wait for them to grow. I am a little nervous about the whole gardening thing. I hate bugs and especially bees. I think I might need to invest in a bee suit. I wonder how much those are?

Hopefully we'll be able to keep the kids out of the dirt. I am not even going to try and guess who'll be the first to dig in it. Hopefully we'll be successfull and 1/2 of what we've planted grows with no harm from the younger set. Wish us luck.

We've been way busy with football. Jake is having a blast. We have two games left and then hopefully the playoffs. So four more weeks of football. And then Kyla will start school volleyball. Oh good times!!

We are gearing up for a fundraiser for our Relay for Life team. I'll post some info later. Hope everyone will be able to join us in the fun we are planning!!

2008-10-02T09:56:00.000-07:00

Because I have nothing better to do today, I was looking up videos of some of my favorite songs from my youth on youtube. What a good time! Here are a few:

Tarzan Boy by Baltimora
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r0n9Dv6XnY
I loved this song. I am not really sure why, but it was just cool at the time. Watching the video now, what the heck??

These next two songs were some of my favorite. I first heard them after visiting my big sis in L.A. while she was living there. I came home and thought I was the coolest thing ever because I had heard these songs down there and they weren't playing them yet in Northeren Cali. The north was soooo behind the times. I was like in 5th grade I think.

Love & Pride by King
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56kV2qFxgNs

Take on Me by A-ha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMWXyEHoN88

Wake Me up Before You Go-Go by Wham!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hksil-KkebQ
Wham! was the duo!! They remind me of when we lived in Utah w/ my Grandma and we would make up dances outside. Ahhh, good times.

Wild Boys by Duran Duran
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSEQI_O98qA&feature=related
They were also the coolest band ever, and I recall Roger Taylor (the drummer) was my favorite. John Taylor was my next favorite.

Karma Chameleon by Culture Club
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqeTpbV9nt0
I loved this group and even though my mom hated them, she was awesome enough to get me their cassette for my birthday one year.

Sunglasses at Night by Corey Hart
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLEuWEvH5GI
I was in LOVE with the man. I wrote him a letter and everything. When I got a letter back from him, I remember inspecting that thing to death trying to figure out if he really signed his name or not. I think I still have the letter somewhere.

We Close Our Eyes by Oingo Boingo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11jY0v5t1WM&feature=related
This was the first concert I ever went to. I was 12 and my big sister was cool enough to take her little sis. It is a favorite memory!!

I could go on and on, and really I do have things to do. Enjoy and share some of your favorites!

2008-09-24T07:43:00.000-07:00

The thought of having my washer or dryer break was always a happy thought to me. I really, really want one of these:

So if the only way I will get a pair of that beautiful machine is to have my current ones die, then so be it. I just dream of all the clothes that can be washed in that bad boy. I could maybe even have ALL of my laundry done. Now that would be a dream come true. So a couple of weeks ago, Kyla came and brought me the news I have been waiting years to hear. "Mom the dryer is making a crazy noise." What?? It can't be. Elation was my first feeling. Sorrow soon followed. We don't have the money right now for that! Noooo!!! Couldn't it wait til after the new year? That timing works so much better for me. My washer has been having some issues also, but heck, I could have lived with those issues for a bit longer (i think). So the last two weeks I have been taking my laundry to my mom's. It has been fun to visit with her and Diane, but it sure is a pain. Since Diane has now moved into my parents house, she brought her yummy washer and dryer over and my parents were kind enough to give us thiers. The price was right, but I still covet the one above. Do you think if I write Santa a nice enough letter, I'll find them under my tree???

By the way, did you know that Sears sold coin operated washers? I had no idea anyone could just go and buy those. If only I could think of some way to make money off of that.

2008-09-23T12:26:00.000-07:00

Saturday was Jake's first game. Their team lost and Jake didn't play until the 5th quarter (or instuctional quarter) , but he said he had so much fun. I love his positive attitude! Rachel is on the cheer squad that is made up of sisters cheering for their brothers. It is so cute. I didn't get pictures this last week, but will take some on Saturday.

Yesterday afternoon, I didn't have enough planned so I thought I would take Aly to the ER. What a pain!! I was hanging out doing some laundry at my mom's (another story for another day), and Aly got into my sisters purse. Well my sister had some prescription pills and some clariton in a little pill case that is not child proof and Alyson was playing with them and tried to eat one. So I called poison control and they kept asking how many she may have eaten and I didn't know, because Diane couldn't remember how many she had put in there, so they said that I should take her to the ER. So off we went. I left my mom's at 2pm and didn't get home until 9pm. They wanted to watch her for 6 hours. 6 hours in the ER with a happy, energetic 2 year is not a good time. We stayed for almost 4 hours in the large waiting room and then 2 hours in a tiny room of our own. I tried so hard to get that girl to nap. Anyway, all was fine, I just wasted half my day and $50. Oh well I feel better about taking her.

The House

2008-09-17T08:04:00.000-07:00

Whenever my Mom would lay on her side on the couch, we little children would climb up and sit behind her slightly bent legs. If there were more than one of us wanting to "cuddle", we would either cry or have the sibling sit in behind our legs. We sort of made a train.

Fast forward 30 years (yikes, did I just say that ridiculous number???), and this is a daily ritual I have with my kids. Matt in particular. And I have nicknamed (thanks to my older sister) that little space behind me as "the house". I nap almost everyday because of my job, and he'll sit in "the house" and watch tv. It is our version of cuddling I guess, and I love it!!

You Say It's Your Birthday!!

2008-09-11T11:02:00.000-07:00

Today is Alyson's birthday! I can't believe she is now 2. Please forgive me for getting a bit sappy, but she is our last and I want to savor all of her toddlerness (i know, that is not a word). Alyson is such a blessing to our family. I love that little girl and all of her silliness. She is sort of the family puppet/pet. All the kids are trying to teach her new things and then have her perform. We all just love to hear her laugh!

She loves to make animal noises. If you ask her where the puppy is, she will bark and sometimes she will even crawl around. She loves to do somersaults. She loves strollers. She loves singing, and there is nothing I love more than to hear her sweet little voice. She loves holding a wipe or wet paper towel. It brings many minutes of happiness to her. She loves to pretend to be a baby, you'll have to ask her sometime. It is pretty cute. Cheese is probably her favorite food. And milk. Although that is not a food. Anyway, happy happy birthday Aly!

Matt

2008-09-09T07:46:00.000-07:00

Matt started preschool yesterday. On the way there I asked him if he was nervous. He had a silly grin on his face and said no. As we pulled into the driveway he said he was "getting embarrassed". It was so cute. So here he is on his first day of school. He was not in a very cooperative mood to get his picture taken, so this is it.

Obviously the sun was bright. When I picked him up he was so excited! He said he had so much fun. He was excited to do his homework and he put it in a very special place in his room so it wouldn't get lost. What a fun experience he is going to have!!!