Mike and Michelle and Clan

2010-11-23T19:34:00.004-07:00

Three big things happened this week.

Ben went on his first date on Saturday, November 20. Her name is Alicia, and she asked him. They went to see Harry Potter and they had chili cheese fries for dinner. They had a good time and she is a cute girl.

The second thing is that Kimi donated her hair to Locks of Love.

Here is the before picture-

They cut off 10 inches.

Here is the after picture-

She's been begging to do it for months so we finally went over and had it done.

The third thing-

Today my therapist and I decided that I'm done with the therapy portion of my treatment. Neither one of us felt like there was a need anymore, but he let me know that if I am ever in need again he would be there to help me. I agreed. I am happier than I have been for years. Literally about three years. I cannot figure out why it took me so long to do anything about it. When I think of how I was living and feeling for that long, and how I feel now just a short time after I first picked up the phone, I am amazed at the difference. It is a totally different life. I feel like I am a better mother and wife, I can deal with things a whole lot better that I was, and I have the motivation and energy to do things that I haven't wanted to do for a very long time.
This whole last month has been such a revelation to me and I've learned so much about myself and the way I need to live to be happy and healthy. I can honestly say that by far the hardest and the best thing I have ever done in my life is to pick up the phone on October 8 and make that call. I'm so glad that I did.

2010-11-11T14:52:00.003-07:00

I found this blog through a friend of mine, a lady I admire. It so describes how I feel sometimes - overwhelmed, sad, not able to control things. I was really impressed with her analogy of the signs. We all have them. We all want others to notice ours so that we don't actually have to say the words that are hard, sometimes impossible for us, to say. I hope you'll read this article and think about your signs and the signs others wear.

http://bravegirlsclub.com/blog/?p=1411

2010-11-09T16:05:00.003-07:00

I just got back from an appointment with my ob/gyn. I went expecting to have a lengthy discussion about anti-depression medication and the side effects and risks of taking them. I had done a lot of research about treatments, and I was not excited about any of the drugs or treatments out there. The side effects of the medications sound horrible, at least as bad as the depression, and the withdrawl from the medication is really bad, but in most cases the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. Of course, not everyone experiences any or all of the side effects or they might experience a slight reaction to the medication instead of a severe one. Either way, I don't like taking medication unless I absolutely have to.
Anyway, it turned into a discussion about polycystic ovarian syndrome. She is convinced that I have it and depression is one of the things that can happen when you have POS. I have all the symptoms. The only way to treat it is with diet and exercise. The symptoms of POS are irregular cycles, obesity, high blood pressure, pre-diabetes or diabetes (I am pre-diabetic), infertility. Guess how many of these categories I fall into? All of them. She was surprised that no one had ever told me before about this. She put me on a diet (the South Beach Diet) where you basically don't eat any sugar or processed food or white flour. No pasta, no bread, no candy or soda, etc. Lots of veggies and lean meats. I need to exercise for at least a half hour a day, too. She didn't put me on any medication. She wants to see if these changes make any difference. She's convinced that they will. So, I guess we'll see. I'd rather change my diet and lifestyle a bit than take drugs with undesirable side effects. I'll keep you posted.

2010-10-28T12:43:00.004-07:00

So here's the thing.

I have now officially been diagnosed with major depression. It's not something I enjoy talking about, or even wanted to acknowledge was a problem. I've been dealing with it on and off for seven or eight years, but it has been a part of my daily life for the past five. It has been pretty bad ever since Andrew was born two and a half years ago. I am at a point where it needs to be dealt with. Now.

Today was the first of many appointments I will have with a mental health professional. A psychologist. I am now a mental health patient.

I wouldn't be writing about this, but my doctor thinks that I need to expand my support group beyond my husband and my parents. I sortof agree with him. Not that I want to be treated or looked at differently, but sometimes it would be nice to have someone know what's going on.

So I figured that those who read this blog are the ones who know me well enough to be in on my team. Within the next few weeks I will be getting a physical checkup, getting hormone levels checked, having some therapy sessions, beginning an exercise program (blech), and probably going on an anti-depression medication.

It's scary, and it's hard to ask for help. But now that that I've taken that first step, the only place I can go is up.

2010-10-13T17:00:00.007-07:00

So, a couple of times a year DATC (Davis Applied Technical College) sends some of the students from their beautician program to the local elementary school to give free haircuts to any kid who wants one. You know, for practice.

I have never let any of my kids get one. Until today.

Emma has been begging to get her hair cut "above my ears" for months.

I usually cut the boys hair and the girls bangs, but I am horrible at the whole head girl haircut, so I signed the paper. I was a little concerned about the wording on the permission slip, though. It stated that I understood the risks and that DATC or their students would not be held responsible for any harm or damage that was inflicted during the hair cut. I signed hoping that Emma would come home with two ears and no scars and looking decent.

Here are the before pics (taken this morning).

And here are the afters (taken this afternoon).

I guess it didn't turn out too bad. Kindof cute even.

2010-06-21T08:02:00.006-07:00

I realize that in the previous post that Emma's sunburn looks like the worse of the two. It's all an illusion. Josh is sunburned on his entire back (including the top two inches or so of his bum) and his entire chest. That's what happens when you are the child of two albinos who burn easily and you are outside in the water for hours without a bit of sunblock.

Josh got sunburned so badly that he has blisters on his shoulders and he has been in major pain since Friday evening. Last night the pain and itch associated with the burn were so bad that he was in tears. Mike had a neighbor come over and they gave Josh a blessing. He didn't get to sleep until well past midnight, but when he woke up this morning, he said the itch was gone and the pain was manageable. He still has a ways to go until he's done with this challenge in his life, but I think he's learned how important it is to follow the rules and listen to your mom when she says to put on sunblock. He's also had his testimony of priesthood blessings strengthened. Sometimes the most important lessons you have to learn in this life come because of major physical or emotional pain. I wish it wasn't that way, but it is. It's hard to see your children in pain or need and not be able to help them.

I imagine that that's what our Heavenly Father goes through every day.

2010-06-20T15:25:00.003-07:00

This is what we're dealing with around here-

Lots of ibuprofen, aloe vera, and whining.

Yay for us.

2010-06-18T12:29:00.004-07:00

Yesterday was our 18th wedding anniversary.

We got this card from our two oldest boys-

They thought it was the most hilarious thing they had ever seen. (It is kindof clever.)

Have a super day!

2010-06-17T09:07:00.008-07:00

Something wonderful happened eighteen years ago today.

Guess what it was?

Do you need a hint?

We started our happily ever after!

I'm not saying that it's all been peaches and roses. We've had some trying times, some frustrating times, some not so happy times along with the blissful, wonderful, and amazing times. But I've got to say, it's been worth it - every single minute of it.

Happy Anniversary to us!

2010-06-14T08:01:00.007-07:00

So.....

Here's how it went down -

Last week, as we were leaving Church, we were stopped by Brother Ward. He's the first counselor in our bishopric. He said, "Mike, I want to give you some blessings." He then asked Mike if he would speak in Church the next Sunday on the Conference talk by Gregory A. Schwitzer - Developing Good Judgment and Not Judging Others. I was wrestling kids and a huge Church bag so I went out to the car and promptly forgot about that conversation.

Fast forward to yesterday.

We walk into the Chapel and I see Brother Ward standing there. I turned to Mike and said, "You're speaking in Sacrament Meeting today." Mike turned white, looked like he was going to throw up and said, "Are you freaking kidding me?" Brother Ward overheard this whole conversation and said, "Really? Are you kidding?" And since I was once again wrestling kids and a huge Church bag I didn't hear what else went on. All I know is that Mike disappeared, came into Sacrament Meeting late with his scriptures and some books, and then gave an awesome talk that many people complimented him on.

I have the coolest husband!

(and may I say, it's about time he was asked to speak. We've lived here for almost 3 1/2 years and I've spoken 3 times. This was Mike's first time to speak in this ward.)

2010-06-09T07:51:00.011-07:00

My kids found this the other day-

That brings the grand total of snakes found by my kids to three in the past few weeks.

I'm not surprised. This is what our backyard currently looks like-

Do you see those weeds? They literally come up to my chest. We are currently in the process of reclaiming our yard by mowing down those weeds. I hope we aren't committing mass snake-icide in the process. That'd be a bummer.

************************

In other news...

Our ward had a scout court of honor last night. Josh earned both his First Class and his Second Class and was awarded them both last night. I would post pictures, but frankly I don't feel like wrestling with blogger any more this morning. It has already deleted my post twice, and I just can't deal with it anymore.

2010-06-02T07:52:00.003-07:00

Welcome to June!

The last post took me almost 2 hours. Sometimes I really do not like blogger. This picture is from that post, but for some reason blogger just deleted it. So here it is-

Emma found a snake in our yard a few weeks ago. She found one last summer that she named Edward, and she thinks that this is the same one. Who knows, maybe it is.

**********************

Yesterday Mike quit his job. He's been waiting (and wanting) to do that for a long time, at least two years. He finally found another job. And we don't have to move, it's more money, and the benefits (insurance) are better and less expensive. The drawback - he'll be working all over the U.S. and maybe even out of the country (they told him that he would need a passport). He may be gone for over a week at a time. We'll see. It will be an adjustment, but he's excited and it will be something that will challenge him and allow for growth, for both of us.

He'll be working for AlphaGraphics helping to open new stores across the country.

I'm sure there will be more to tell when we get more information. Right now about all we know is that he's supposed to start on June 15.

Have a superb day. I plan to.

2010-05-30T16:28:00.012-07:00

Update!!!!! Yay!

I got my haircut the day before Mother's Day. It went from this-

to this-

That first picture is kindof goofy, but you get the idea.

I had to take apart the disposal. Ben was playing with a bb (from a bb gun, don't ask because I have no idea where he got it) and it somehow ended up in the disposal. It didn't ruin the disposal, but it was sure inconvenient at the time.

On May 12, this lovely lady had a birthday. She didn't want a cake, she wanted root beer floats. So that's what we had. She turned 11. Two days later, a boy at school asked her if she would go to a movie with him. I have a feeling that we may be in for some trouble here.

On May 15 (Saturday) Mike said, "Do you want to install the new floor today?" He had brought home some laminate flooring some weeks before and it had been sitting - in the boxes - in our front room since then. I said sure, so we started ripping up the linoleum in the kitchen and dining area. We knew that we would need to install some new subfloor in the front room, but we thought that we could get the kitchen and dining area done before we needed to worry about that.

We got it all ready and put one of the pieces of laminate down on the floor. I really didn't like it, but Mike did and he had spent some money to purchase it. He could tell that I was less than pleased, so he loaded me and the little boys in the car and off the Lowe's we went. After some hours and a few different stores, we found something that wasn't outrageously expensive that we both liked and that matched our cabinets and table. We started to install it around 5pm and got almost all of the dining area done by 11pm. I spent the next few days installing the flooring in the kitchen. (On Monday I wasted most of the morning on the computer looking for a cheap flight to LA so I could attend my brother's wedding, and Tuesday I had a doctor's appointment in Salt Lake that took most of that day. I didn't get back to the floor until Wednesday. I didn't get to go to the wedding, by the way. Sorry Eric and Jill!) I got all the floor done by Friday around 4pm and re-installed the stove. I was about to re-install the dishwasher when I stepped on the floor. To my horror, I noticed that there was about 1/4 inch of water UNDER the new flooring. I un-installed the stove and we took out all the new flooring. Even what was in the dining area because the water had seeped under the cabinet. It took about an hour and a half to rip up what it had taken me about four days to install. We won't even talk about the amount of water added to the floor from my tears.

We had the fan on the floor for almost 48 hours before we decided that it was dry enough to re-install the flooring. All in all, I guess it wasn't too bad. A wasted week, but we only had to throw away four and a half boards. It's all done now (the part that was previously done) and it looks better than before. Yesterday (Saturday, May 29) we spent the day prepping the front room for flooring - ripping out carpet, pad, and tack strips, and installing a new sub-floor. Tomorrow we will be putting in the new flooring in there. Hopefully it will go pretty fast and we can be done by tomorrow evening. It will be so nice to have it done!

Josh had his last band concert on Thursday, May 27. They still sound like a junior high school band, but I must admit that they have improved since the beginning of the year.

This is what Andrew looked like at the concert.

The poor little guy. He had had another seizure on Wednesday and he was still sick and not feeling well at all. He had a fever of between 102 and 103 all afternoon, and that was while he was medicated. I would've stayed home from the concert with him, but Mike was at work and meeting us at the concert so I needed to take Josh over to the school anyway. Andrew was such a little trooper through the whole thing. After the concert, Mike got our neighbor to come over and help give Andrew a blessing. About a half an hour after the blessing, Andrew had no more fever and he slept pretty well all through the night. I am so glad that the priesthood is on the earth and that my husband is worthy to use that power to bless our family when we need it. Our family has been so blessed by the Gospel and I am so grateful that we are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Well, now you are caught up on what's been happing around here. Feel free to drop by and see the new flooring if you're interested. Have a fabulous day!

p.s. Tomorrow while we are installing the new flooring, I will be praying for the families of all those who have lost their lives while protecting the freedoms of others. I am truly grateful for their service. To all those in the military and their families - We love you and you are deeply appreciated for all your sacrifice and service!

2010-04-26T15:00:00.021-07:00

Since I've been such a slacker, I'll sum up. Even so, be ready for a bit of a read.

In January, my hubby had a birthday and turned the big four ohh.

On February 8 Grandpa took all his sons and grandsons (and Keri) to see the Harlem Globetrotters. I saw the pictures. It looks like a good time was had by all.

For Valentine's Day I made pink applesauce pancakes shaped like hearts. Can we all say it together? Ready - aaawwwwww, how special. I don't make shaped pancakes very often because I stink at it. It just so happens that when I flipped these they landed like that. I couldn't resist taking a picture.

On February 19, Mike was the 8,000th facebook fan for a really neat lady - Becky Higgins. I have followed her and admired her and been inspired by her for a long time. She has written articles for Creating Keepsakes Magazine and she has written a few books. She has a blog about her family, scrapbooking ideas, and organizational tips that I have followed for a few years (http://www.beckyhiggins.com/). Anyway, Mike was her 8,000th fan. She had decided that she would call that person and interview them and highlight them on her blog. She called and interviewed me because Mike told her to. She wrote a very lovely article about me and said some really nice things. You can go here to see it if you didn't see it when it was done -

http://www.beckyhiggins.com/blog/2010/03/8000.html

Then on March 3 I had a knock on the door at about 2:20pm. I was getting some paper together to work on a project for my Mom and my aunt. You see, my grandpa was dying - could've been any minute - and I was making some cards for them that we could put a bit of his hair in. I had made them cards like that when my grandma died and they both expressed interest in having one for my grandpa also. Anyway, I had just picked the paper when the doorbell rang. I answered the door, and was shocked to see Becky Higgins standing there on my front porch.

She was on vacation, visiting some friends here and doing some skiing, and decided to come visit me. She brought me one of her kits - Project Life. It's a way to display your life for a year. A picture a day, a few lines of writing telling about what happened that day, slip it in the spot on the page, and there you have it. It was so great to meet her. She is so nice, and personable. I don't know how she has time to do all the things she does. She has three kids, a business she runs, and she is the Relief Society President in her ward. She amazes me.

On February 24 Andrew held a tea party for his bear. So cute!

My Grandpa finally died on March 6. He hung on for a lot longer than anyone thought he would. It was an excruciating time for all of us. We were all very sad at his passing, but we were relieved that he was done with his suffering. I was able to go to Oregon to help clean out his apartment and to attend his funeral.

While in Oregon I had some really good experiences with my family. All my brothers and sisters were able to come, most without spouses and none brought kids. We had so much fun, especially Jolene and I. We spent the most time together because both of us rode up and back with Dad.

When we helped clean out the apartment, we found quite a few of Grandma's things that Grandpa couldn't part with, like Grandma's lipsticks. Of course we had to try them on.

My Granddad was awesome. He could fix anything. He built things and invented things. He had tons of apple trees on his property and he made an apple press so he could make his own apple cider. My mom and my Aunt Julia picked out a casket for my grandpa that looked like he could've made it himself. It was so beautiful. The spray that they had made for the top of his casket had a bird nest and apples. Everything about it made us think about Grandpa and his life. He was a great man and all our lives are a bit empty because he is no longer with us. We all learned a lot from Grandpa and his example.

When I went to Oregon I was a little sad, and not just because I was going there to attend a funeral. I thought that I wouldn't get the chance to visit the Coast. The Oregon Coast is one of my favorite places on the face of this earth. I LOVE IT! I thought that we wouldn't have the time or a way to get there. Well, out of the seven days I was in Oregon I was at the coast on three of them. And two of the days were travel days. So really, it was three out of five. I was so blessed to be able to be there. It is so beautiful. I even got to see the ocean at night, which is something that I've never seen before. It looked like molten silver. So cool! I went out to dinner with all my brothers and sisters at about midnight Utah time. I can't say that I would recommend eating fish and chips that late, but it was a really fun time.

Here's a pretty good picture of my cute parents on the day of the funeral.

Back to normal life.

Josh had a band concert on March 18. He plays the trombone and he has a real talent for it. He would be a superb player if he cared more for practicing.

March 18 was also my baby's second birthday. We didn't really celebrate until the next day. We did go out to dinner at Winger's though.

And here's a picture of Aaron all gussied up for Church. What a handsome boy!

We spent most of the end of March trying to finish the basement. We had carpet installed on March 28, so we spent the week before that painting the living room five times (1 coat of primer, 2 coats of paint in a color that we decided that we couldn't live with, then 2 coats of paint of a color we love), and removing the existing carpet.

We really love the way it turned out. Feel free to come over and check it out. We would love to show it off!

Pictures of the girl's room and the living room.

Of course we had to dye eggs for Easter. Let me tell you, it's no small feat when you have six kids.

On April 5, Mike was in a little fender-bender. No one was hurt except for the Focus. Both air bags deployed and the windshield shattered. The accident happened at less than probably three miles per hour. The other guy got his taillight broken. The insurance company decided to trash the car rather than fix it, so we had to get a new one. Mike decided on a KIA Rio. It's pretty good.

And here are a couple of random photos from the last few days to round out this post.

I hope you have enjoyed this. Now go forth and actually get something done.

Oh, and have a fantastic day!

2010-04-26T13:30:00.003-07:00

Here are some great quotes that I wanted to have, so I put them here so I wouldn't lose them.

"And while it takes courage to achieve greatness, it takes more courage to find fulfillment in being ordinary. For the joys that last have little relationship to achievement, to standing one step higher on the victory platform. What is the adventure in being ordinary? It is daring to love just for the pleasure of giving it away. It is venturing to give new life and to nurture it to maturity. It is working hard for the pure joy of being tired at the end of the day. It is caring and sharing and giving and loving…" - Marilyn Thomsen"

"..but the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of the three on them sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4, and 1. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in a hurry to get on to the next things: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less." - Anna Quindlen

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense." - Emerson

Over on Ali Edwards' blog (aliedwards.typepad.com) she just got done documenting a week in her life. She took over 100 pictures each day of everything she did that day. Cool idea. I will probably be doing this sometime in the future. She included these quotes because they inspired her to pay attention to the details of her life, the little ordinary things. Things that she wished she knew about her grandmother's daily schedule. I like this idea and I like these quotes.

2010-02-21T17:03:00.002-07:00

The other day Andrew learned how to climb into and out of his crib, open doorknobs, and take off his diaper. All in the same day.

But, how can you be mad at this?

2010-02-19T18:59:00.000-07:00

mmmm. Still life in plastic.

Have a great day!

2010-02-03T15:51:00.001-07:00

2010-01-25T13:47:00.000-07:00

2010-01-13T17:13:00.002-07:00

We had a little bit of a scare last night. Kimi was playing at recess yesterday and fell on some ice and smacked her head on the cement. She called me right after it happened. She sounded fine and she said she had a little headache but she thought she would be fine. School was over in about an hour and a half. She said she wanted to go back to class. I told her that if she started feeling bad to call me. I heard nothing and went to pick them up when school was over. Kimi didn't come out. Someone said that she was in the bathroom throwing up. I went to park the car to go in, but she came out. She looked fine, eyes were fine, her coloring was fine, and no bump on the back of her head. We got home and about half an hour later she threw up again. She said she was really tired and just wanted to go to sleep. She was just laying around and had no energy. She continued to throw up about every half hour or so. I did a little looking around on the internet to find out about concussions. The things I saw said that vomiting could be a sign of a serious injury. In total she threw up six times in three hours. The doctor didn't have any appointments so we went to the Instacare. After waiting for an hour the doctor finally came in. He checked her out - felt her head, looked into her eyes with his little light, asked her lots of questions, etc. He said that there was no sign of blood pooling up around her ears or eyes, her pupils were responding normally, there was no pressure on the back of her eyes, she was responding and asking appropriate questions. Her headache was a lot better than it was when we got there. He told me to feed her if she felt like eating, give her Tylenol, and he gave me a list of things to watch for. We got home about an hour and a half after we got to the doctor's office. By then she looked much better, was acting a lot better. She laid on the couch for about half an hour and then ate a piece of toast. I gave her some Tylenol and she went to bed. She slept 11 hours before she woke up. She said she was still tired and she fell asleep while she was eating breakfast. I sent her back to bed and called the school to tell them she wouldn't be there today. She fell asleep immediately and slept for another two and a half hours. After lunch (which she cooked in her solar oven for her science fair), she laid back down and slept for another two and a half hours. She is back to normal now, thank goodness. No headache, no lack of energy, and wanting to eat whatever I give her.

I can't even begin to say how glad I am that she is okay.

2010-01-06T09:02:00.005-07:00

So, I've been a slacker. It's that darn Facebook's fault. Really. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

We started out the month with this-

I'm assuming that it was Andrew. I hope he enjoyed it.

Here's a cute pic of my babies-

Andrew being his cute self-

We got the basement bathroom tiled, grouted, and the vanity installed. All that's needed is to put up the shower surround and install the toilet and that bathroom is ready for use.

We also got the boy's bedroom painted. It is a lovely shade of slate blue. I just need to touch up some flubs on the paint and then we can get the carpet installed and they can move in.

We had a good Christmas. We got all the usuall gifts - we each always get a box of cereal, a box of pop tarts, cocoa, fruit snacks, m&m's, books, and a movie.

This year Santa didn't leave oranges in our stockings like he usually does. Josh got a coconut, Kimi, Mike, and I got avacados, and the others got pears.

Everyone got one big present. Mike got Settlers of Catan, Michelle got a Wii, Ben got a computer game called Spore, Josh got Legos, Kimi got a digital camera, Emma got a computer Solitaire game, Aaron got Gator Golf, and Andrew got Toby - a huge stuffed dog. And since everyone needed new shoes, they each got a gift card for a pair of shoes.

Ben also got this fabulous shirt-

He hasn't worn it yet. I don't know if that means he won't wear it or that he just hasn't yet.

Two days after Christmas, Mike found this on ksl.com-

It's huge (I'm only about one inch taller than the TV), but it works well, and he's always wanted one. It only cost $150 so it was a real deal. I think it's funny that the Wii people are bigger than my kids.

On December 27, about 20 minutes before we were to leave for Church, I heard a thud and Emma yelling "He broke his nose! He broke his nose!". She had Andrew up on her top bunk and he fell off. It turns out that it wasn't broken, just bruised and scraped - Thank goodness! He sure looked horrible for a few days.

A cute pic of me and the thirteen year old-

Here's some pictures of said thirteen year old. I don't have too many pictures of him that are normal. Most have a weird pose or him pulling a face. The picture above is the third one I took and I had to bribe him to have a normal face.

I guess that's all for now. I will try to blog more often. I promise.

Have a great day!

2009-08-19T08:38:00.003-07:00

hello everybody no this is not mike or michelle this is one of the clan to be spasific josh so come over to my blog becuse i'm having a contest called guess the title you can read all about it at www.dudesruleoutloud.blogspot.com see ya on the other side!

2009-07-23T12:24:00.005-07:00

I think I could listen to this all day.

Enjoy!

2009-07-20T09:25:00.005-07:00

It's always interesting to download the pictures from your camera and find some surprises. The following few pictures were taken by Mike.

On Saturday we were eating breakfast talking about the things that needed to happen that day, and suddenly I remembered that I had signed us up to go the the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. We immediately changed the plans for the day, got everyone ready, and went for a drive.

Kim is not happy in this picture, because when we got to the reception area she chose to fill out a comment card first instead of getting a cookie. Then Aaron announced that he needed a bathroom. And everyone knows that when a three year old says he needs a bathroom, he means NOW. We were clear on the other side of the Temple from the bathrooms, so we had to move fast and Kim was forced out of the reception tent before she could grab a cookie.

After we got home from the open house, the big boys and Mike mowed the lawn and did some yard work. Then I convinced Josh to let me cut his hair. Here is the before and after pics.

(Mike and Aaron also got haircuts.)

Not much else happening around here.

Tomorrow Ben turns 15. I'm old.

2009-07-10T13:55:00.008-07:00

Kimi decided that today was the day -

here is the before picture-

getting it measured-

ooh, the anticipation-

the cutting begins-

she got almost 12 inches cut off-

the back view-

and finally (drum roll please)-

the after picture-

She donated it to Locks of Love. She's been wanting to get it cut for quite awhile, but wanted to donate it. She wanted to wait until Christmas, but she was really tired of it. It was a constant struggle to get her to brush it or wash it. I'm really proud of her for wanting to help someone that's not as blessed as she is.

************

In other news -

Yesterday was Emma's 8th birthday. Here are some pics of the event.

This is how she came downstairs first thing in the morning-

Here's the big blow-

She received a new set of scriptures, a custom-made one-of-a-kind scripture
bag, some marking pencils, a new Barbie doll, and a funky night light.

She is sure a cute, special girl and we love having her as part of the family.

*************

This is just a cute picture I thought I would share. This past week has been a bit of a trial with him. He learned how to climb and how to scoot chairs. It's really a tragic combination - for him, but mostly for us. It's really hard to be angry with him when he looks at you with this face-

Have a Fabulous Day!

2009-07-07T08:36:00.004-07:00

I, Michelle, do solemnly swear that what you are

about to read is accurate and truthful.

(it really is!)

2 bulb syringes
2 bottles of hand sanitizer
5 notebooks
3 granola bars
2 packs of peanuts
1 small bag of dark chocolate M&Ms
Altoids
2 1/2 rolls of Necco wafers
1 cherry Jolly Rancher
11 sugar free wint-o-green Life Savers
7 dum-dum suckers
1 green Ace bandage
2 rolls of diaper disposal bags
1 small bottle of rubbing alcohol
baby Tylenol
my wallet
tweezers
nail clippers
3 newborn hats
1 1/2 pair baby booties
2 measuring tapes
1 camera
1 baby spoon
2 AA batteries
1 anniversary card with the check still in it - sorry Mom
2 burp cloths
1 small bottle of lotion
4 tubes of lip ointment
1 large tube of A&D ointment
8 shopping lists
1 vial of prescription eye drops for a newborn
2 old binkies
1 cerulean crayon
9 pens - they all work
1 green marker
1 green highlighter
1 pair of sunglasses
5 packages of tissues
1 straw
1 small package of cotton swabs
16 pass along cards for Sara and Isaac
1 6-page research paper about Raynaud's phenomenon from the Internet
3 immunization records
a copy of the talk "Happiness, Your Heritage" by Pres. Uchtdorf from conference-October 2008
1 report card
1 prescription that can no longer be filled
2 programs from the moving replica of the Vietnam Memorial
3 paint chips
4 patterns
6 small flashlights
2 lists of library books I would like to read someday
30 receipts
3 coupons
17 napkins from various fast food places
11 wadded up tissues
12 SpongeBob stickers
1 package of wipes
4 size four diapers
1 quarter
1 penny
1 nickle
1 pair of scissors
1 green calculator
1 mp3 player
1 "I Voted" sticker
1 letter opener

These are the things that I have been lugging around with me for who knows how long. I cleaned out the diaper bag today.

It feels so good!

2009-06-17T08:18:00.004-07:00

Guess what we were doing 17 years ago?

BEST day of my life! BEST decision I've ever made!

2009-06-15T13:21:00.003-07:00

If you love food, or looking at food, or reading about food,

You MUST go here-

http://conversationswithacupcake.blogspot.com/

(but only if you don't mind being instantly and ravenously hungry.)

2009-06-02T10:03:00.005-07:00

Here are some of the pictures refered to in the post below-

Have a good one!

2009-06-02T09:21:00.003-07:00

I was checking out some blogs this morning. I read Sara and Isaac's blog. She was saying how lucky she is - her great, talented, handsome husband - her perfect (so far) baby - and I had to agree. Then I got thinking, and I decided that she isn't lucky. She is blessed. I don't believe in luck, except in the lottery. I believe you work for what you get, and if you work hard enough or well enough, you are blessed with things you can't work for or things that Heavenly Father thinks you deserve, even if you don't think you need them or deserve them.

I am blessed. I don't know why, but I am. I have a super terrific husband that works hard at a job that he hates, so that we can have the things we need. I get to stay home and try to take care of things here. I totally get that that is a HUGE blessing. Not everyone gets to do that. Very few people get to do that. A lot of women have to go to work everyday, somewhere outside of their homes, and put their kids in daycare. Someone else gets to spend more time with their kids than they do. Most of my kids are in school all day, so others get to spend more time with them than I do, but when they were little, I got to spend all day with them. I am so grateful for a husband that thinks that is a priority and makes that happen.

I am blessed to live in a country where I have the choices that I do. I'm glad that I can choose for myself and live how and where I want. I'm grateful that I was born into a family that already knew about the Gospel and had been sealed together. Out of the billions of people who have lived on this earth, why am I blessed enough to live now, here, with the Gospel already in my life? I don't even have to go find it. It's always been there, and I've always known it is true. What are the odds?

There are lots of things about my life that I wish were different, but I realize that they are my challenges to deal with, and I know that there is something for me to learn in each of them. Not to say that I don't wish that someone could just open up my head and pour in the knowledge without going through the trials, but that's how we learn.

I love my house (although we are changing some things about it for the better), I love my neighborhood, and I love my ward. I have the best calling ever, for me anyway. I am the Primary Secretary. It's all about numbers and files, and ideas and organizing lists. Perfect for me. Those are things I love, and things I'm good at.

I've been doing my project 365 (for a whole year you take at least one picture a day and write a sentence or two about it) faithfully. I just got a bunch of pictures yesterday in the mail (I signed up at Shutterfly and they gave me 25 free prints) and they reminded me of what a great family I have. They also reminded me of some of my talents. I'm grateful for that. Some days I NEED those gentle reminders.

Enough rambling on. I have things to do. Want a list?

wash walls so we can paint, laundry, clean the kitchen, clean both bathrooms, change some diapers, fix lunch, re-hang a towel rack in the kids bathroom, put up insulation in the basement, fold the laundry, put the boys for naps, vacuum the whole house, figure out something for dinner, clean out the spice cabinet, clean the fridge, etc., etc., etc.

Have a great day!

2009-05-13T14:32:00.009-07:00

Here is a quick update of our lives over the past month-

Sorry we couldn't attend the baby shower at Keri's house (due to illness), but here is the outfit that Emma was planning to wear. She spent some serious time picking it out, and I didn't want you to miss the experience.

This is one of Andrew's favorite places to be lately. I have no idea why.

We bought three flats of strawberries for a pretty good deal, so we spent many hours cutting them up and making strawberry jam.

Emma found a new little friend in our backyard and named him (or her maybe) Edward. Hmm, that's Ben's middle name. I wonder if there would be any connection there.

I got to spend a little time at my Mom's house visiting last week. I took down the Mother's Day card I made for her to go with the new oven we all pitched in to get her. The one she has is decent, but only two of the burners were working and they were the ones that are inconvenient to work with.

We've had lots of peek-a-boo. It's Andrew's favorite thing to do.

Mike hired the kids to de-weed the backyard. They all wrote out bids of what they would do the job for then Mike wrote out a contract with each of them. They all worked really hard and were super excited when pay day came. Of course they all had the money spent before they got it.

Mike has been working hard on the basement. This past week he got up the courage to make a hole in our foundation so he could do the plumbing for the bathroom. He whacked away at it for a few days then broke down and did it the man's way. He rented a jackhammer. The whole house shook when he was using it, but the hole is done and he can move on with the plumbing.

On Mother's Day, Mike made a cake and we drove up to his parent's house to give them some of it with a card. We didn't stay because Mike's Dad has bronchitis, but it was good to see them.

Yesterday was Kimi's tenth birthday. I can't believe how grown up she is getting. We are so glad to have her in our family. She is a great helper and a hard worker. I never have to tell her to get on the homework. She is the one that comes home and does it until it's done. She gets good grades and she asks for books for her presents. What more could a parent ask for?

We Love You, Kimi!!!

In the past month, we have also each had a turn being sick. We took Andrew to the doctor because he wasn't eating or drinking anything, and when we did manage to get something into him, he would throw it up. The doctor told me that if he didn't have three wet diapers in the next 24 hours (his diapers had barely been damp for three days, and he had diarrhea) he would have to go into the hospital. Well, he started doing much better and he didn't have to be hospitalized. Thank goodness!

Mike's company got bought by another company. The new company (or maybe I should say - some of the people in the new company, mainly his new supervisor) is not very willing to recognize what a valuable employee Mike is and they have lowered his status (no longer a branch manager, now classified as a salesperson) and cut his pay by thirty percent. They have put him on a probation period and if his branch doesn't prove themselves in that time, they will close the branch. Needless to say, Mike is working twice as hard for less money, and is looking for a new job. Prayers would be appreciated.

So, I guess that this update would kindof explain why I have been having some problems this past month. I didn't realize until just now that so much had happened. I guess that's what happens when you're not paying attention. Life goes on.

2009-05-11T07:17:00.003-07:00

Okay, so here's the deal. I am busy, but not busy enough to blog only once a month. This is a post that you can probably put in the category of "Hmm, that's something that I didn't know about Michelle." Maybe you did know. I think I hide it well, but maybe not. You be the judge.

I struggle with depression. I try to not let it affect my life, or the lives of my family, but sometimes it really does. Some days it is really hard for me to do anything but make sure that my family eats something (we have had pancakes, pizza, and sandwiches a lot in the last month) and everyone (that needs them) has clean diapers. I usually make it worse because I am not a talker. I HATE talking about my problems. Because, you know, if you ignore it it will go away. That works every time - NOT!!! This is a very difficult post for me, because I would rather not talk about it. But, I have realized that if I talk through my problems and feelings, it gets better and I can cope easier and better. There are still some days that I think some Cymbalta would be helpful, but I hate drugs too. I don't even take Tylenol unless I feel like my head will explode.

So, that's what's been going on around here. You know, besides life with six kids. I'll try to do a real post, with pictures and stuff, sometime soon.

2009-05-01T16:50:00.002-07:00

You'll want to scroll down and turn off the music for this one.

This is cute, but I still prefer the one in my last post.

Have a great day!

2009-04-28T15:08:00.011-07:00

Here is proof that there are some awesome people in the world - if you needed some proof. This just makes me smile and be happy every time I see it.

Enjoy!

(you'll want to scroll down and turn off the music to fully enjoy this)

2009-04-15T16:12:00.009-07:00

I read about this on Stacy Jullian's blog - www.stacysbigpicture.com . She is someone I admire. She is smart, creative, has figured out how to be organized, works (she founded Simple Scrapbooks magazine) and moms (a bunch of gorgeous boys), and she was in our stake in Washington. I don't believe I ever met her while we were there. She is very conscious of the environment and how her life affects the world around her. She posted about a company (Tom's Shoes) that is making a difference in the world. They are having a special event tomorrow.

You can go here to find out more.

www.tomsshoes.com/content.asp?tid=284

Their cheapest shoes are $51.51 - including shipping. Not bad for a pair of shoes, considering that you are really buying two pair. A good cause, if you ask me.

2009-04-14T08:18:00.004-07:00

I took 103 pictures on Sunday. Here are a few of my favorites -

This is an egg that Josh did. They had just finished watching "It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown". Can you tell?

This is one of Ben's eggs. He was into the plaid thing this year.

This is one of Aaron's. He kept putting the same egg in every color. I think it turned out really cool.

Here is some of the egg hunt that happened at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

This is the sweet new baby. She fit just right in Jackson's basket.

This one didn't fit quite so well.

(I think he wouldn't mind another one. What do you think?)

I hope you had a great weekend! Have a fantastic day!

2009-04-10T14:49:00.008-07:00

UPDATE:

Yesterday I finished watching the closing ceremonies of the Olympics in Beijing China. It only took me eight months to complete my Olympic experience.

Andrew has four teeth. Two in front on the bottom, the front top left one, the second one in next to that, and he finally got the front top right one. I'm glad. He's had this weird snaggle-tooth thing going.

Mike no longer works for Westaff. His company got bought by Select Staffing a few weeks ago. He just found out this morning that his office has been sold, and they have canceled his trip to California that he was supposed to take next week. He was supposed to go for training. This is not looking good, but I'm going to have faith that everything will work out great. (Have I mentioned that I HATE change. It usually is not good change.)

My kids have been hanging around the house. It's Spring Break. I think it should be called "Let's-See-How-Long-It-Will-Take-To-Break-Mommy" week. I'm probably not remembering correctly (you'll have to ask my Mom), but I don't remember saying every five minutes, "Mom, what can I do? There's nothing to do." I remember playing Barbies at Melissa's house for eight hours in a row. I remember climbing trees in the field. I remember writing stories and reading books. I never once said,"Can I play the computer?" or "When is it going to be my turn for the video game? She's had a longer turn than I got!" (Those things were WAY after my time, but don't tell my kids.) Anyway, I remember entertaining myself most of the time.

We are cruising right along on the finishing of the basement. Yesterday Mike got the electricity (plugs and lights) working in the girls room. We just need to frame out a bookcase that will be built in, and get an inspection then we can put up the drywall. Downstairs we just need to get the plumbing going, the tub/shower installed, toilet, etc. and inspections then we can drywall there. Then flooring and we're done. I'm sure there will be much more to do than what I'm thinking of, but we can kindof see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I'm still the Primary Secretary in our ward, and I still love my calling. The women I'm serving with are awesome, and I hope we will always be friends.

We get to meet our new neice this weekend. Her name is Hazel. We've seen pictures and she is pretty cute. We are so excited for Sara and Isaac! They will be awesome parents!

327 pictures were taken with my camera last month (March). I don't know how many of those were taken by me. My kids have been getting my camera and going nuts with it. So far in April - 148. Maybe 60 taken by me.

I have a mountain of laundry to tackle, so I better go. (Still loving my new washer and dryer, by the way.)

Have A Great Easter Weekend!

2009-04-06T13:38:00.003-07:00

Today I got THE BEST PHONE CALL EVER!!!!!

It was from my father-in-law. Those of you who know my father-in-law are probably saying "What?!?" (He is not known for talking a lot and doesn't talk on the phone unless he absolutely has to.) Anyway, he was calling from St. George. They have been there for a few days with Sara and Isaac (Mike's sister and her hubby). Their birth mom gave birth on April 2 to a 9 pound 12 ounce baby girl. The call today was to say that all the papers have been signed and she is now theirs. It's final and there is very little chance that something will happen to take her away from them. (If you want to know more about their journey to this point, visit here - http://isaacsara.blogspot.com/ ).

I am so happy for them, I don't have the words to express my feelings. I will say,

Welcome! We are SO glad to have you here and to have you be part of our extended family!

2009-03-28T12:28:00.006-07:00

Today there is a record setting blog hop happening. I just stumbled upon it. On every blog they have something creative to give you inspiration and a quote or scripture that inspires them.

The reason it is record setting is because over 215 blogs are participating. I don't plan on getting through them all today. I have filled up four and a half pages in my quote book with quotes on happiness and creativity and love. Here is the first page if you want to follow along and look at and read some happy things.

http://theunitystampco.blogspot.com

Have a fabulous day!

2009-03-20T16:02:00.012-07:00

I was lazy and wanted to waste some time. Posted below is what I came up with.

Have a Fantastic Day!!!!!!!!

Make sure you scroll down and turn off the music before you watch these. It will make the experience more enjoyable. I promise.

Boogie On Down!

2009-03-20T16:01:00.001-07:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Dance, Dance, Dance

2009-03-20T16:00:00.001-07:00

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The awesomest boys!

2009-03-20T14:13:00.001-07:00

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2009-03-18T15:25:00.024-07:00

Today is my baby's First Birthday!

We sure are glad to have him in our family. I must admit though, today has been a little hard for me. I cannot think about that day one year ago without feeling a little upset. The day did not happen as I planned, he came out looking battered and beaten, and I didn't get to hold him or really get to see him until he was a few hours old. I was alone from about 15 minutes after the birth until almost an hour and a half later. No baby, no doctor, no nurses. They took Andrew (and Mike went with him) to the nursery almost immediately because he was having some breathing issues. I didn't know what was happening. Everything turned out okay, as you can see from the pictures. (The pics were all taken within the last week - the balloon pics were taken this afternoon.)

A few days after his birth, he developed jaundice. He had to be hospitalized immediately for a day and a half. After that, he had to have his bilirubin checked everyday for about two weeks.

He had a clogged eye duct and had to be seen by an opthamologist when he was a few days old.

In his first two weeks of life he was in the hospital for six of the fourteen days, he was seen by the doctor on ten of the days, and he had blood taken on twelve of them.

Plus, I had post-partum depression.

It was a rough two weeks. I still get really emotional thinking about it.

Good thing it all turned out okay, or I'd be more of a basket case that I already am.

2009-03-12T16:33:00.003-07:00

This is my 150th post!

I wanted to do something really cool to mark the occasion, but I can't think of anything. Maybe it'll just be a rambling of random thoughts.

Last night my Primary Presidency meeting (I'm the secretary) was only four hours long. We even managed to pretty much stay on the subject of the Primary.

It totally bugs me that all my family blogs are hooked together. Does anyone know how I can separate them? You know, so I can have my own profile on my recipe blog, and a different one on the family blog, etc. I am pretty illiterate when it comes to the computer, and I have tried but I cannot figure it out.

I may run out of recipes soon. I have literally thousands (probably hundreds of thousands - no kidding!) of recipes, but it seems that I only cook about eight or ten different things. What's up with that?

How do you teach your children the importance of honesty? Anyone have any ideas? We seem to be having a HUGE problem with this around here lately. They will stand there and lie right to my face, even when I am holding proof of their lie in my hand. I don't understand what's going through their heads.

My favorite music right now is coming from Coldplay, The Fray, and U2. I can't seem to get enough. I always am a little sad when the song is over, and I always replay the song if I can. I also like Fa Fa by Guster and Kodachrome by Paul Simon. I think I could listen to just those two songs over and over all day and be perfectly happy.

I got an e-mail from Kimi's school teacher with a link to a very interesting clock. Here it is-

http://home.tiscali.nl/annejan/swf/timeline.swf

The top is the seconds, next down is the minutes, next down is the hour, etc. Pretty interesting that someone would figure that out.

I am totally looking forward to tonight. My husband has offered to take us to see the King for dinner (Burger King) because I am so unmotivated today. I got home last night at 11:45pm and Andrew was up with bad dreams or something not long after that. After about an hour I put him back in bed. Maybe half an hour later Emma came in just shaking and crawled in bed with me. She had had a nightmare. It took her probably an hour and a half for her to calm down enough to go back to her bed. By then it was around three and we got up to get the day going around 6:15am. It's been a long day. Plus, all my favorite shows get recorded tonight for me to watch at my leisure. (Survivor, CSI, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, and ER.) Tonight's the night that all the old doctor's come back on ER. No one else will see it though. I think I'm the only one left that watches that show.

I guess I'll go because my sweet man just drove up.

Have a fantastic day!

2009-03-06T09:17:00.006-07:00

Attention!

I have added a new feature to my blog.

I decided that although I am not, by any stretch of anyone's imagination, a great chef, I do have a few things that I make that are wonderful. I am always looking for new things to try to get out of my rut in the cooking department, so I decided to share with you few who read this blog, just in case you are in a rut and wondering what's for dinner tonight.

All you do is click on the link to the right to get to my new site.

This new blog is totally interactive. If there is a recipe that you make that your family loves, e-mail it to me (address is posted on the recipe site) and I will post it.

I will also post links to other recipe sites that I happen to run across.

Happy Cooking!

2009-02-27T17:10:00.003-07:00

My brother and his unit came back today. They have been gone for just about a year serving in Afghanistan.

We weren't able to go to the base to meet the plane because of the sickness going around here, but they showed Scott during their story on Channel Two. You can see the whole story here-

www.kutv.com

I happened to be recording when the story came on, so I paused it and took some pics of Scott and his cute wife.

My mom said that they lined the street that they live on with flags and had lots of flags in their yard and lining their sidewalk. She took pictures. She said she would share.

I Love you, Scott! I wish we could've been there. Thank you so much for your sacrifice and your service. We appreciate you!!!

2009-02-26T10:36:00.005-07:00

So, we've had sickness since Sunday.

This is Ben as we left for Church.

And this is what I saw when I came back after running an errand yesterday.

Mike has not been feeling good since Monday. He's had a temperature between 102 and 103 on and off since Monday afternoon, but he hasn't been able to take any time off work. They are closing their Salt Lake office, and since Mike is in charge, he's had to be there to pack things up. He's been moving desks, filing cabinets, shelves, files, etc. There is no one working in that office (because they're closing it) so Mike has done it all by himself.

When I came home last night, he was wrapped in a blanket shivering, had a temp of 103, and told me that he was in trouble because he had just passed out for a minute. I called my friend who is a nurse and told her the symptoms and asked if I should be worried. She said, "well, yeah." I called Mike's doctor and he said it was either influenza or pneumonia. In either case, he should go to the hospital and have an IV. So, I called Mike's Dad and he agreed to come take Mike to the hospital for me. They left just after 8:00pm and Mike got home around 11:45pm. He said they waited in the waiting room for about an hour and a half before he was even seen. They gave him some saline and some medication in it, checked him out, and declared that he has the Influenza type A. Of course we did not have flue shots this year. It is highly contagious so don't come visit. We love you too much to share.

Josh has had it and is on the down slide. He was supposed to go to a winter camp out on Friday. You know the kind. Dig a trench in the snow, lay out a tarp, put your sleeping bag on top and climb in. Then you cover yourself with another tarp and hopefully you don't freeze to death in the night. He was really excited about going, but we told him that we really don't want to spend a week in the hospital with him having pneumonia. Maybe he'll get to go on the next one.

Emma was sick all day yesterday, but is doing a little better today. Aaron was sick tuesday, but he's good now. Kimi was up all night with a fever and throwing up. I thought that maybe it would pass me up, hoping it would pass me, but I woke up feeling achy and coughing.

The biggest bummer about this is that my brother is arriving home tomorrow morning. We were planning to go out to the base to meet his plane. The kids were excited, I was excited, the whole family was looking forward to being there. Now, we'll have to wait to see him. I really don't want to get anyone else sick.

So, this is what we're doing today.

2009-02-19T16:24:00.017-07:00

I kindof feel like a slacker.

I know it's been just a couple of days since I last posted, but I feel like it's been forever.

First off, I was tagged. Here are six weird facts about me.

1. When I eat a sandwich, or toast, or a slice of bread, I always eat all the side crusts first. Down one side, across the bottom, then down the other side.Then I eat the middle, leaving the top crust for last.

2. I have probably twelve or thirteen (at least) notebooks that I write in. Lists of things, favorite quotes, ideas, etc. It makes me mad when I pull out a notebook and someone has taken the pen that was attached to it.

3. I have the ugliest heels you will ever see.

4. I have a pizza eating thing too. I pull off the crust, eat the pizza from large end to small, then eat the crust until it's just a small sliver of bread, then I eat it.

5. I don't mind cleaning up dirty diapers or throw-up, but I really hate to empty the dishwasher.

6. I generally hate calling people on the phone. I don't mind talking to people on the phone, I just hate making the call.

Now I tag (in alphabetical order)-Barbara, Jolene, Kati, Kelly, Kris, Sara, Suze, and anyone else who wants to play.

*******************

This is what my family did on Monday-

We got on this bus-

and went here-

-the Draper, Utah Temple Open House-

It was such an incredible experience to have my whole family together in the temple.

In the sealing room we were showing the kids how the mirrors reflect back on each other and telling them about the significance of them. I could see my family reflected forever. As we walked out of the room, the sister there asked the kids if they saw their family in the mirrors going on forever. Her husband said to her, "Mom did" because he could see me crying. It was so great. I wish my kids would always remember that.

This is Josh and Emma on the bus back to our parking lot.

*****************

Just an update on my photo-a-day project.
I haven't taken a single picture since Monday!
I've taken 193 so far this month, so I think I probably have enough to choose from.

****************

My brother is in Maine today. I don't know why it's taken so long to get to the states from Afghanistan, but it has. I've heard he has some de-briefing in Washington for a week or so, then home. Yay!!!
I don't know how reliable this info is. I'm just glad he's on his way.
(We're still praying for you, Scott!)

2009-02-15T16:49:00.013-07:00

Do you notice anything missing?

(This is my laundry room, in case you couldn't tell.)

We were thinking of just replacing our dryer with a used one off the internet. It would've done the job. For awhile.

We went to the Home Depot just to look and decided that it would be a better option for us to buy a new one. A big one. A front loader that would use sixty percent less water and forty percent less electricity. (We decided to replace the washing machine also.) We decided that our kids are still pretty young, and there are many years of laundry ahead of us. It would be worth it in the long run (right?). The new machines would pay for themselves in no time just with the savings on energy and water (right?) And they are big enough that I could do one load instead of three. Ya gotta love savings all around!

Here are some pics of the new occupants of my laundry room. Maybe sometime we can finish the room so they will have more comfortable surroundings.

And not a moment too soon. This is what it looks like when a family of eight doesn't do any laundry for one week.

This doesn't include any of the sheets that need washed (every sheet on every bed) or any towels (every towel in the house is dirty). We also realized after I took this photo that the girls hadn't brought down any of their laundry yet.

The new machines were working all day and we are getting close to seeing some light at the end of the tunnel.

*********************************

We also have some of this going on around here-

He is such a helper. He's there everytime we turn around. Getting into whatever it is that we are trying to do. His favorite is unloading the dishwasher faster that we can load it. He usually wins that game, unless we relocate him.

Have a great day!

**************************

I almost forgot the best thing about this past weekend. It wasn't Valentines day. It wasn't a new set of laundry doers. It wasn't even the date I had with my hubby (sorry, Mike). It was hearing the news that my brother will return from serving for a year in Afghanistan. He will arrive back in the states by Thursday. BOOO YAAA!!!!!!!!

2009-02-12T13:01:00.003-07:00

I broke the law today.

(unintentionally and definitely not on purpose.)

I filled up my big van with gas on Saturday night. We drove to church on Sunday, and we haven't been anywhere in the car since. My kids are off track so I haven't needed to go anywhere. I loaded the kids up this morning to go get some groceries and to check out some dryers and when I turned on the car it beeped at me. I looked down to see that the thing said "low fuel" and the light was on and the gas gauge was pointing to the big E. I thought, "That can't be right. I just filled it up to the top on Saturday and I haven't been anywhere since then." I usually have to fill it up every three or four weeks depending on how much driving is going on. I turned the car off and then back on. It beeped at me again. I turned it off then back on. It beeped again. I turned it off, back on, then hit the dashboard thinking that maybe the arrow was stuck or something. Everything remained the same. I turned it off and went back in the house and called Mike. I explained to him what was happening. He said, "Sounds like someone siphoned out the gas. You better call the police and report it. Not that they can do anything, but they should know." So, I called. They had me fill out a police report over the phone. You know, when did you notice the gas was gone? Where did you fill it up and when? How much? Where has the car been since you filled it up? What is your address, birthday, spelling of your name? etc. Then the officer said that he couldn't do much about it but file the claim. Then if it started to happen to others maybe they could catch whoever it was and we might get restitution. But, have a nice day!

I got the kids back into the car and went for the groceries. We stopped at the gas station on the way, because, you know, we were out of gas. I proceeded to put gas in the car, but the pump kept clicking off. I only put in a few dollars, thinking that there was something wrong with the pump. When I started the car again, the gauge said it was full. After getting some groceries, I stopped at Auto Zone because Mike wanted me to buy a locking gas cap for the van. The guy there said they didn't sell them for big ugly red vans and I would have to get one from a dealership probably. He asked why I wanted one and after I explained the situation, he said that it sounded like I needed a check with his little machine. He brought it out to the car and it said that my fuel indicator doohickie thingamabob is broken. They conveniently sell them there for about $180.00, but I would have to find someone to install it. I said that I'm pretty handy, could I do it? "Yes," said the man, "you would have to remove the fuel tank and get under there with a flashlight...". "Nevermind," I said, and I thanked him and went home.

I was totally bummed. Maybe Heavenly Father doesn't want us to finish the basement. Maybe there are some valuable lessons that we need to learn first. Maybe we'll spend all the tax refund on a new fuel thingamabob and a new dryer and I'll keep putting all my change in the jar and eventually someday in the future we can finish the basement and move the baby out of our bedroom. Maybe he'll be a teenager by then.

Anyway, I decided that on the way home I better stop by the police station and tell them that I'm a dork and I didn't really get all the gas in my car stolen. I thought that I should probably let them know. We walked in and told the receptionist that I filed a police report that morning about my gas being stolen. She looked at me and said,"are you Michelle?" I said yes and she told me that she would have to call the chief of police. She sits behind a piece of thick glass and talks to you through an intercom. After she pushed the button to turn the intercom off, she made the call. I could see her laughing as she explained the situation. I don't blame her. I was laughing a little too. She told me that they would just take care of it, it is something that happens occasionally, and I won't be in trouble for filing a false police report. I think they decided that they would "take care of it" because they knew that if they arrested me that I would have to bring all my kids with me to jail, and they didn't want to have to put up with that. Could you imagine me and six kids in an eight by ten cell with maybe three other inmates? What a circus that would be! Ha!

I called Mike again when we got home. He said something that sounded like the angels singing. He said, (are you ready?) "Good thing the car is still under warranty and we won't have to pay a thing to get it fixed!" LA! What a lovely man I have to take care of me! I never would have thought of that! He even called the fix-it place, made an appointment that was convenient for me (well, as convenient as could be), and arranged for their shuttle to take me and by brood to my Mom's house to hang out for a few hours until it's fixed. WhooHoo!

Now if I could just figure out how to convince someone that my dryer is still under warranty.

2009-02-11T09:54:00.003-07:00

Today is a sad day.

Do you remember this (Tuesday, January 20)?

Well, it only prolonged the life of my dryer for a few weeks. There is a short in some wire or something somewhere that causes the dryer to run all the time. Even when it's off and the door is open. In the five minutes it was plugged in yesterday it got so hot that you couldn't even touch the outside of it.

I can't even tell you how bummed I am. I guess the one sunny spot of this tale is that we just got a tax refund so we have some money we could use. I was just hoping that we could use all of it on finishing the basement.

(Or going to Puerto Rico with Isaac and Sara. Or going to Hawaii with Tom and Barbara.)

2009-02-06T14:31:00.009-07:00

Update:

The picture on the left was taken on Monday afternoon, February 2.

The picture on the right was taken this afternoon, Friday, February 6.

Eventually we will get to see what's in there.

******************

On a totally other subject-

My baby had a big "first" yesterday. His first McDonald's hamburger.

I don't know when my first one was. Do you?

Have a great day!

2009-02-04T16:52:00.010-07:00

I've been tagged!

(I love being tagged!)

8 THINGS

8 Shows I Love:

(not necessarily in this order)

1. Grey's Anatomy

2. Survivor

3. ER - apparently I am one of the few to stick with it all these years.

4. The Big Bang Theory - especially the episode entitled "The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis"

5. Heroes

6. Lost

7. The Biggest Loser

8. Private Practice

8 Places I Love To Eat:

1. Red Robin

2. Winger's

3. Mimi's Cafe

4. Javier's

5. Tomato Street - in Spokane and Coeur d'Alene

6. Manuel's El Burrito

7. Macaroni Grill

8. my Mom's house

8 Things I Did Yesterday:

1. Cooked fishsticks for dinner. Because I'm lazy.

2. Checked out all my favorite blogs.

3. Drove around for half an hour hoping that Aaron would fall asleep for a nap only to have him doze off and get a bloody nose and bleed all over the place. He woke up after ten minutes because I couldn't figure out a way to clean him up without waking him.

4. Delivered invites to the Primary activity this weekend. Just to the kids who weren't there on Sunday and to some inactives that I have taken an interest in.

5. Went to parent-teacher conferences, now called SEP conferences. It stands for Student/Educator/Parent if you want to know.

6. Changed diapers.

7. Took a shower.

8. Swept the kitchen floor.

8 Things I Like About This Season

(I'm assuming this means Sprinter, or maybe Wintpring)

1. Sweater weather.

2. Tiny leaves poking out of the ground.

3. Tiny leaves poking out of branches.

4. Not having to shovel the driveway.

5. Seeing my backyard covered with grass.

6. More chartreuse appears in my environment.

7. The sun shining (when there's no inversion) through my windows to heat my house.

8. My skin isn't so painful.

8 Things On My Wish List

1. The basement finished.

2. Andrew out of our bedroom - can only happen after the basement is finished.

3. A bigger kitchen.

4. More peace in my life.

5. A get-away with my husband.

6. A home based business that I could run and be really good at.

7. Dinner to magically appear on the table every night at six o'clock.

8. For my husband to be independently wealthy.

9. More time for me to create.

10. To be more creative. (oops, that's ten. oh well-deal with it!)

8 People's List I Would Like To See

(I don't know if I know 8 people, but here goes.)

1. Kati

2. Sara

3. Barbara

4. Mike

5. Suze

6. Jolene

7. Kelly

8. Angie

Have a fantastic day!

2009-02-04T16:07:00.019-07:00

I know that you are all on pins and needles waiting to hear the final total of how many pictures I ended up taking in January 2009. Remember I'm taking one picture a day for a whole year? Well, I think I made my quota, and then some.

My final number is....

(drumroll, please)

489!

Just for January!

Yeah, I know. I need to get a life.

****************

So, I got some devastating news (only to me) the other day. Our elementary school has decided to go back to the traditional schedule starting in August. No more year-round. So I either grit my teeth and deal with it, or I drive my kids 11 miles each way to the nearest year-round school - which by the way is the school they went to before we moved.

Hmmm, decisions, decisions.

I'll keep you posted.

*************

As kindof a side note that sortof applies to the above dilemma, I saw this thought on a blog that I stalk everyday (www.aliedwards.typepad.com). She saw it on the blog of one of her friends. Here it is-

What I realized is that there is not just one big moment of courage in our lives. There are many. These moments come to us in different ways. At times we are forced into a leap (unexpected pregnancy, when parents or partners pass away, when we lose our job). At times we are called into a leap (when someone invites us for a trip of a lifetime, when our partner wants to move to a new city, when we are offered a chance, when we take the "money maker" role to support our family). Then there are also the daily tiny leaps we take for the sake of adventure (when we try new types of food, music, when we go out on a date, when we talk to a stranger, when we transition from blogger friends to real life friends). No matter how small, silly or hard, tiny, dramatic or forgotten... All leaps are important because little by little, we live through change, we figure out how to cope, we move forward, we learn who we are, and we build our confidence for the bigger leaps, the ones we seek for ourselves.

I hate change, and I hate "leaping".

2009-02-02T14:34:00.009-07:00

I guess it's been awhile since I last posted so here goes-

(I am practicing for the twelve step program that I need to enroll in, so bear with me.)

-okay, deep breath-

I am here to admit that I am lame. I am the lamest. I am so lame at birthdays that one of my sons didn't have a birthday party until he was seven. And that was only because my mom felt so bad for him that she planned one.

Last Thursday was Mike's birthday. I, once again, was a slacker in the planning of any sort of event for this occasion. So, Mike planned for us to go to the Temple and then have his parents take us out for lunch. (Mike also planned to take that day off of work for said plans.) After we got the kids off to school and to the sitter (Thanks, Melissa!) we headed up to Ogden. We went through a session then the parents took us to lunch at the Union Grill in Ogden. We placed our order and then we had a visitor. It was Isaac's mom. She was there with a friend and saw us come in. Back before Christmas she asked this friend to pick up a train hub for the game of domino's next time she went to Mexico. She planned to give this to Mike's parents. She was meeting this friend for lunch because the friend had just gotten back from Mexico and needed to give this train hub to Isaac's mom. She had just done so when we walked in. What a coincidence! So she took it from the friend, walked right over to our table, and gave it to Tom and Barbara. It was great to see her again. I hadn't seen her for awhile and it took me a minute to remember who she was.

I thought it was great that she was giving them a train hub when we were there eating in a train station.

Anyway, back to the lameness of the birthday. Mike and I were so full from lunch that I had no desire to prepare a birthday dinner. This is what we had-

I did let Mike take me out to lunch on Friday for his birthday. We went to Manuel's El Burrito.

He had his usual (the buffet) and I had my usual (three sweet pork enchiladas on flour tortillas). Then when we were done they brought Mike a great big sombrero to wear and an ice cream sundae to eat. He got up and danced with the waitress while they were all singing to him.

Aaron thought that the hat was great and he wanted to wear it, too.

We spent most of the day on Saturday cleaning out the garage. Mike needs everything out of the room that is going to be the girls so he can start on the wiring and things. Therefore, we had to clean out the garage so we could move more things into there. This is a picture AFTER the cleansing.

And this is a picture of my prom dress that will soon be gracing the rack at D.I.

I have no idea why I still have this. I bought it 25 years ago and wore it to all my high school dances that were formal. (What was I thinking?) It cost more than my wedding dress did, in case you were wondering. It cost $88 plus tax and my wedding dress cost $83, plus I only used about half of the material I bought. So I guess my wedding dress really cost somewhere in the neighborhood of forty dollars plus a zipper and some thread.

Anyway, on Sunday Mike made his own birthday cake, which I frosted for him. Yeah, I know. That was big of me, wasn't it.

I was just getting out the candles so we could sing to him and pretend it was his birthday when there was a knock on the door. My cousin Taren, her husband Dan, and three of their kids were on our porch. They came over to invite us to their house to play some games. We explained about the cake and invited them to stay at our house for some games AND cake. Of course, they obliged.

We ate cake, played Apples To Apples, and watched the Super Bowl. It was really fun!

**************************

On another note, here is something I saw on my drive today-

I have no idea what is under all that ice. Maybe they have a fountain in their yard or something. I'll have to go past this house in the summer to check it out. It is on 3000 West just south of the junior high, if you want to check it out. I imagine that it is too long of a drive for most of you. If I remember, I'll keep you posted.

The reason I was on a drive was because there are parent-teacher conferences all week so the kids are out early. All week. Usually they are just out early on Fridays. I usually feed the boys some lunch a little early then go for a short drive so they will fall asleep in the car. Then I just go park over to the school and wait until the kids are out. If this doesn't happen, it's a no-nap day and I live with miserable little monsters all afternoon.

So, I hope to be seeing a lot of this this week-

Have a great one!

(by the way - Shout out to Kenn - I heard you on the radio on my drive. You were great!)

2009-01-25T20:00:00.012-07:00

We were invited to Mike's parents house for dinner today. It almost didn't happen because they live up a mountain, and it has been snowing there all day.

These are some pictures I took when we were getting ready to leave.

Across the street from their house, out the front window, and out the back window.

It was beautiful, but Mike's Dad followed us down the hill to make sure we would be okay.

We made it home safely, in spite of the snowflakes that were as big as my head.

************************

Another important safety tip coming up-

On Friday, January 23, Mike took me to Z'tejas in Salt Lake for dinner. He won a gift card off the radio so we decided to use it (his birthday is this Thursday after all).

First of all, it was so foggy that in places we could hardly see the front of our car. We made it safely to the Gateway. Then we realized that we were in our van and would have to find some place to park the beast. We have only parked in places that said there was an eight foot clearance. We managed to get in a place that was seven foot. We held our breath the whole time until Mike stopped and I got out and looked. We realized that we had a good three inch clearance so we were good.

We got to the restraunt and ordered. I got the Barbacoa enchiladas and Mike got the Gorgonzola Steak. Both excellent choices. Here is my meal.

What you can't see is the pepper I already took off the plate. Here it is-

I nibbled the end to see if it was a hot pepper or what. It tasted like a green pepper so I decided to take a bite. This is me telling how long the pepper used to be.

This picture was taken about twenty minutes after I took the bite. It took me that long to be able to breathe normally and to not be crying anymore. The only way that I can be smiling in this picture is because I had two ice cubes in my mouth. I am usually the one that says "the spicier the food the better". I found out from the waiter that this is a serrano pepper, the next step down from the scotch bonnet (hottest in the world) and the habanjero (next hottest). If I had taken a bigger bite I know that I would have told Mike to dial 911. The fumes from the pepper went up into my sinuses, into my ear canals, and down my throat. I think the only thing that saved me was the fact that as soon as I bit into it I realized how hot it was and I spit it out. For dinner that night I had one bite of a serrano pepper, probably eight or ten chips, a few bites of cornbread, about twenty ice cubes, and five glasses of water. Good times, good times.
I did bring my food home and had it for lunch yesterday. It was very good.

So, if you get a pepper on your plate that is supposed to be just a garnish, ask your waiter what it is before you decide to sample it. If you do decide to partake, please make sure you have some ice or maybe some ice cream handy.

2009-01-23T10:15:00.005-07:00

Here is a fantastic site that I stumbled upon the other day. It was one of those things where I was looking at a blog and they recommended this other person's blog. Then they had a favorite site they followed, so I looked there. Then they recommended another place and before I knew it I was here-

http://boston.com/bigpicture/

You should totally check it out, but only if you have some time to spend. It will be worth it!

*****************

My last post got me thinking.

How many pictures do you take on average in a month?

Here is my list of the last six months-

August 2008 - 245

September 2008 - 176 plus 311 taken on my trip to Oregon between the 25th and the 29th for my Grandma's funeral

October 2008 - 178

November 2008 - 101

December 2008 - 279

January 2009 - 353 so far

Average: 252 per month

If you read this blog, leave a comment with how many pictures you take on average in a month. It would be nice to know that I'm not so strange after all. Maybe I am. It might be nice to know that too.

Have a great day!

2009-01-22T09:12:00.003-07:00

I am doing a project (along with about three-fourths of the country, maybe the world) called Project 365. You take a picture every day and write a sentence or two about what happened in your life, or your families life, or whatever. Then at the end of the year you have a great overview of your year. My thought process was, "I take a picture almost every day anyway, and I don't always have time to write in a journal or blog, so why not?". Well, I think I may be in trouble. It is January 22 and I've taken 341 pictures so far.

What does that say about me?

2009-01-20T16:32:00.013-07:00

ATTENTION!

IMPORTANT SAFETY TIP COMING UP-

This is how I spent my day yesterday-

Why you ask?

Our dryer has been working strangely lately. It gets really hot and stays hot long after the cycle is over. I have fixed our dryer a few times before, and decided to try it out again before we have an unfortunate fire.

I started by taking off the back of the dryer. I knew right away what the problem probably was.

There was (and I'm not even exagerating here) about five inches of lint across the bottom and up the sides of the machine. I don't know how it got there, but there it was. The lint is supposed to go through the holes on the right of the picture below into the lint screen.

Then the lint screen is removed, cleaned and replaced - ready to catch the lint of the next load. Somehow some of the lint has been bypassing the lint screen and going into the innerds of the machine.

This is only about two-thirds of the lint I removed. The rest is in the vacuum.
Apparently, when the dryer was used, the heat built up in the lint and stayed there - kindof what insulation is supposed to do in your attic. Anyway, Mike ran the dryer for about five minutes just to remove wrinkles from a shirt and the dryer was still hot to the touch about an hour and a half later. I walked in there to get something and could smell the heat - that's how I knew we had a big problem.

While I was cleaning out the machine, I noticed that most of the holes for the lint to go out of (in the above picture) were clogged. When the lint goes out and some catches in the holes, then the next load is put in, then the moisture from the load makes the lint moist. Then it gets dried with the clothes and becomes hardened. After awhile, the hole is closed over with hardened lint. I had to clean every hole (there are 130 of them in my dryer) by scraping them out. Good times, good times.

Please Please Please check your dryers to make sure you don't have lint building up where it shouldn't be. It's easy. Just undo the screws and remove the back panel (make sure you unplug the machine first). If you don't know how to work a screwdriver, call me or a neighbor or someone. I would hate for anyone to have a fire because of this problem when it is such an easy fix.

AND - you can also clean out all the assorted stuff that makes it's way into the laundry and into your machine.

This is what I got-

2 rubber bands

1 bandaid

1 receipt - dated April 30, 2008

4 beads

2 seashells

1 button

1 ponytail holder

1 hooks (from hook and eye enclosures)

1 play money nickel

3 paper clips

2 necklaces

56 cents - 5 dimes, six pennies

1 staple

3 nails

1 small screw

1 allen wrench

1 barbie tiera

If you are wondering what I'm doing with the wires in the picture above, I had to fix those because when I opened the top to clean around the drum I didn't support the top properly and it fell. It pulled out some of the wires so I had to figure out how to put them back where they belonged. Luckily, the wires were marked P1 and the slot where it belonged was marked P1, etc. so I lucked out.

Have a great day!

2009-01-14T13:32:00.003-07:00

ATTENTION!

I just found out that for today only (January 14) you can go to

www.suavenomics.com

and they will send you a coupon for a free full sized bottle of a Suave product.

Just thought you should know.

2009-01-08T19:51:00.007-07:00

Guess what I did today?

And guess who "helped"?

He's a pretty cute helper, but not much help.

2009-01-01T12:55:00.007-07:00

Seven random things about me-

1. I like tuna sandwiches - with onions, mustard, dill pickles, and lettuce.

2. My smoke alarm works. How do I know? I manage to "test" it about twice a month.

3. I cry when I turn on the radio to the "all Christmas music, all the time" station and it isn't anymore. Especially if it's only the day after Christmas.

4. I'm a closet lounge singer.

5. I cannot make a good apple pie to save my life. Unless I use canned apple pie filling, and even then it isn't very good.

6. I learned to drive in the same car that I was brought home from the hospital in when I was born.

7. I have a birthmark on the back of my leg. It is the same shape and in the same place as one my cousin has on her leg. We were born exactly two weeks apart.

tag to Sara, Kati, Jolene, Suz, and Eric.

You're it!

Happy New Year to all! We love you!

2008-12-31T15:09:00.003-07:00

So, I was up during the night with Andrew (about 3 a.m.) and Conan O'Brien was on. They replay his show, but it's one from a couple of weeks before, not the one that was on earlier that day. Anyway, I saw this and was amazed. I recorded it so my kids could see it and they LOVED it. These people are so talented. I have seen this about five or six times and see something new everytime.

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZ0Z9LZNS_w

(Sorry, I can't figure out how to just post the video here. You'll have to follow the link.)

2008-12-31T14:21:00.018-07:00

So, here's some of what we've been up to the last three weeks -

he's been doing a lot of this -

we've been lucky enough to do some of this -

(visit and spend time with people we love)

we got to do some of this -

(yes, I give my kids cereal for Christmas - kinds they would never get otherwise)

and this little man learned how to do this -

(I don't think I'm ready to have him standing on his own yet)

Here are some of my favorite images from this Christmas season -

these are the shepherds from the Nativity the cousins acted out on Christmas Eve -

Mat and Kati's kids were by far the closest to authentic in the costume category.

Andrew has decided that everyone needs to share in the joy that is his tongue - ALL THE TIME!

It is always hanging out!

Mike is a big fan of the penguin and Santa found some penguin glasses to put in his stocking this year.

That's a short recap of our Christmas celebrations. We were able to spend time with both sides of the family and have a great time. We even spent time with special people we don't see often because they live too far away. We hope to see you again soon, John & Jackie and Sara & Isaac!

2008-12-30T16:17:00.017-07:00

Okay, so I'm a slacker. I'll admit it.

I've been so busy this last month that blogging has been at the bottom of my to-do list. Sorry.

I'll start by mentioning my last blog (and part of the reason that I haven't written for awhile). Just a few days after my last post, Sara and Isaac had to give Kaitlyn back to her birth family. We are all so sad about the way things turned out. We wish the best life for her that is possible and she will always have a family that she doesn't know but who loves her.

Now, I will move on to other things. Things that make me happy.

Here are some pics of our Christmas decorations this year.

We have eight nativities. I have only posted pictures of two of them.

These are some of my kitchen decorations.

I got these bears the year that Kimi was one and a half. Otherwise there would be more of them.

(That little blue ornament in the bottom right corner is one I made in the second grade. Yes, that's me in 1974.)

Much to my husband's chargrin, we had two trees this year. One in our front entry room and one in the family room downstairs.

The tree on Christmas morning before all the mayhem.

Even though this is a horrible picture, it's one of my favorites of the season.

I hope you all had a very merry Christmas filled with love and happy family togetherness!
We Love You!

2008-12-09T19:55:00.007-07:00

So, I guess it's okay to write about now that Sara and Isaac have put it up on their blog. We have a new member in our family.

I am proud to introduce Kaitlyn.

The process of her becoming an official member of the family has, so far, been following a very rocky road. You can read all about it here -

http://isaacsara.blogspot.com/

PLEASE pray for them! She needs to stay with this family. She belongs there. We all love her and would miss her, even though most of us have never met her. She would leave a gaping hole that would be next to impossible to refill.

2008-12-01T19:50:00.007-07:00

I just happened upon a cool thing on a blog that I stalk daily.

http://www.adventconspiracy.org/

After watching, read this-

http://www.ldsphilanthropies.org/humanitarian-services/funds/clean-water.html

Makes you think, huh?

Happy Holidays! I hope we can all remember why we celebrate.

It's Thanksgiving - Bring out the Pecan Pie

2008-11-27T07:40:00.007-07:00

So here is Thanksgiving and I thought I was going to get to sleep in this morning. Then I realized I am the father of six "sweet" children who don't believe in sleeping in when there is no school. Aaron came in at 6:00am and started beating me on my back. I adopted the Belle principle that if something is bothering you, ignore it and it will go away. Aaron finally went over and got some hugs from his fantastic mother who loves him so much. Andrew was in his crib trying very hard to sit up. I think Andrew is one of those kids who just wants to walk with all of his heart, he just can't figure out the whole getting up on his legs. He has learned how to wave his little hand and I think that is one of my favorite things, along with giving "knuckles" to Aaron. I finally got my lazy carcass out of bed and came downstairs to the smell of cornbread and the sounds of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. My wife has already made breakfast, fed the baby, and made an amazing recipe box for her sister. I am pretty blessed to have her as my best friend. She puts up with my creative binges, my long term building projects, and my fun with the computer. She tolerates my movie collection and she even likes being with me. I firmly believe any other woman would have committed hari-kari by now.
I had the opportunity to have Josh come and throw himself on me in what he describes as a hug. Josh is beyond excited today because it is his 12th birthday. He had his interview with the Bishop on Sunday and will be ordained a Deacon on Sunday. Josh had the Deacon's Quorum president and the Young Men's President come and speak with him and he is on fire about the whole thing. He really wants an electric guitar for his birthday. I told him they are really pricey and we might not be able to make it happen. I was able to trade for a pretty cool guitar and amp so I know he is going to be over the moon.
Kimi came up and gave me a huge squeeze. She is my soft hearted child and is always trying to help her mom and become more like her mom. I could think of a lot worse examples she could be following. Kim is a great student and puts her heart into school. She reminds me a lot of my sister Sara. She is very determined and has an attitude of self that is very positive. Kim tries everything and wants to do everything. She is always asking questions and many are ones I can't answer without using GOOGLE. She always makes me smile.
Ben is always cracking jokes and loves to be involved with things that command his entire attention. It is killing him right now because I have removed the video game and computer from his life because of his missing school work. I know he HATES homework. I use to hate it to. Why should I have to do all this crap because some teachers make me. He is a great kid and has a fantastic ability to make others happy. Ben can charm a baby better than a snake charmer can charm a serpent. He is very helpful taking care of Andrew when his Mom needs a break. Ben was a great help when we were putting the yard together this year. He is taller than his Mom and getting bigger than is Pop.
Emma is our actress girl. She is always putting on the drama over anything that happens. She loves to have fun and play with her friends. Emma still loves her Dad and she is at the door most of the nights when I come home. She is the little blonde girl that loves to dance and party when we have music on in the house.
I am pretty thankful for my motley crew. They are a pack of fun, excitement, and joy. We have been blessed to have a new house and to get the things done on it this year. I never thought having grass would be such a huge thing. I am thankful for all of the people who have helped us this year. Mom & Dad Lalliss for the time they take to come and help us on the house and watching our kids. Mom & Dad Price for dropping everything and helping when Belle needed to go to Oregon. To all the friends and neighbors we have that came and broke their backs to help us with our yard and our house. I feel pretty blessed. So there you have it. Lets score some turkey and bring on the pie!!!!

2008-11-18T08:53:00.004-07:00

So, I am sitting in the living room yesterday with Andrew when the phone rings. Kim brought it to me and said it was Harmon's. I'm thinking, "I don't know anyone named Harmon." I answer the phone and indeed it was Harmon's - the grocery store. A few weeks ago they had a grand opening at the store in Roy. It has been there for awhile, but they did a little remodeling. They had papers that you would put your name, address, and phone number on and drop it in one of their boxes. They were for a drawing they were having for some give-aways. I filled one out and then promptly forgot about it, because I NEVER win anything (except for the heart of my husband). Anyway, guess what I won?

We went over last night to pick it up, and I was shocked at how big this thing is!

It hold eleven cups of stuff! It can make bread, slice, shred, you name it! Mike looked online and found out that you can buy one at Ace Hardware for $199.99 plus shipping. Now I just need to find a place to put it!

2008-11-10T16:32:00.012-07:00

Things I'm Grateful For-

Last year I did five things I'm grateful for every day of November. I'm not going to do that this year. I will, however, post some things a few times throughout the month.

Today I am grateful for-

1. Super creative kids. For Halloween Ben was the scariest thing he could think of - Homework. He got two sheets of poster board and made a sandwich board that he wore around. Then we wrote homework problems on it. Some of them were,

-Make a diorama of an atom.

-If a baby is 8 pounds at birth, and grows at a rate of 1% per day, how big will the person be on it's 20th birthday?

-Divide 276,532.791 by 5983.

-Write a ten million word essay explaining the cotangent of 2436.29873.

-Tonight you need to read chapters 5 through 27 for the quiz tomorrow.

-Write a paper explaining the import and export practices of Ghana. Be specific and comprehensive.

-Write an essay about the complete works of William Shakespear. Compare and contrast the similarities and differences between all the major players, all the secondary characters, and the plots of each play. This essay should be at least 5,000 words long.

2. A new adventure and a new member of the family for Sara and Isaac. We love you guys and are so excited for you. Can't wait to meet her!

3. Online classes. I've never taken one before, but I am excited to learn and expand my horizons!

4. A super wonderful husband who loves me and takes good care of me.

5. A warm home. I realize that on rainy cold days like today not everyone can say that.

6. This beautiful earth to live on.

7. I am so glad that the elections are over! Even though not everyone I voted for won, I am still glad that we live in a country where we can decide who will lead and make decisions for us. I know that Heavenly Father will bless our nation and our communities if we take part in the government and the choosing of our leaders.

*******

That brings me to another thing. Awhile ago, Josh sent a letter to President Bush. He realized that there was a Mother's Day and a Father's Day, but no Kid's Day. (I told him that everyday is Kid's Day.) He wrote to the President to suggest that he create a National Kid's Day. Today he received a reply in the mail. He got a large manilla envelope that had the return address of the White House. Inside was a letter that said -

October 23, 2008

Dear Josh:

Thank you for writing and sharing your views. I always enjoy hearing from young Americans, and I appreciate your thoughtful suggestions. The future success of our Nation will require the creativity, innovation, and energy of you and your peers. You can make the future of America brighter with your confidence and compassion.

Mrs. Bush and I send our best wishes for every success. May God bless you, and may God bless our great country.

There was also this picture -

Josh was so excited, I thought he might have a heart attack.

Have a Super Fabulous Day!

2008-10-29T15:42:00.004-07:00

My sis-inlaw, Kati, has this picture on her blog and it made me laugh. Since most of you who read my blog can't see hers, I decided to figure out how to put it on mine, too.

Enjoy!

2008-10-29T15:15:00.019-07:00

Guess what we did last night?

Probably no big surprise since I talked about it yesterday.

We had a great time, and the kids were very creative this year.

from left to right -

Emma's, Kimi's, Josh's (the spider), Aaron's (carved by Daddy), Ben's, and Andrew's (carved by Mom)

Happy Halloween!

by the way, No Cavities! Yay!

2008-10-28T12:18:00.003-07:00

So now it's Tuesday and I went back to the doctor's office today.

They really just wanted to check my blood pressure because the medication can make your blood pressure drop, and she was worried that would happen. My blood pressure is great and the pain is gone. Well, almost. I traded the sharp stabbing pain for a very small dull ache right behind my eyes. Most of the time I hardly notice it. I would gladly make that trade any day. It has been so wonderful to not have to take Tylenol just to nurse Andrew and then sleep with the heating pad. My research time was well worth it!

Today is the family dentist trip. I do not like this day. I'm not really against seeing the dentist and having my teeth cleaned. What I am against is having all my kids in the waiting room by themselves for the half hour it takes to get my teeth done. I am also not a fan of the hygenist talking to me like a young child about how to floss and how often I should do it. I know all that. Doesn't she remember that she told me all the same things six months ago? I have to explain to her everytime that I floss as often as I can. I realize that it isn't everyday like she wants, but I do it probably four times a week. Most days I can't even find the time to eat breakfast. How am I going to find the time to floss? Maybe she'll go easy on me this time.

We may be carving our pumpkins tonight. We scraped out the goo on Saturday, but we ran out of time before we could carve the faces on them. If we do, I will post pictures tomorrow.

Have a super day!

2008-10-24T13:16:00.007-07:00

Today I am having a FANTASTIC day!!!!!!!!

The only bummer about the day so far is the fact that I went to vote and realized that I didn't have my driver's license with me, so therefore I couldn't vote today. That makes three times that I've been there and haven't voted yet. Oh well. Another day.

What has made this day fantastic is the fact that I paid $2.85 a gallon for gas (isn't it sad that I'm excited to pay $2.85?). But wait, that's not all.

I have had horrible pain everyday since the middle of June. Sometimes all day, sometimes just when I feed Andrew. Four very long months. I had mastitis once for a few days, but that cleared up with medicine, but the pain did not stop. I have continued to feed Andrew anyway, and I must admit, sometimes I have not been very happy about it. I knew that if I just gave it up I would be more unhappy though, so I stuck it out. I talked to a nurse yesterday, and she said it sounded like Raynaud's Syndrome. I had no idea what that was, so I did a little research. It turns out that I probably have had Raynaud's Syndrome for a long time - like twenty years or more. It is a disease that makes your body act all wonky when you get cold. The capillaries shut down and your blood flow is restricted, so you have pain. It usually manifests itself in your hands and feet, but can be other places too. I have always, at least since high school, had problems with cold hands and feet. In the winter I have to put on gloves before I go outside because if the cold hits my hands they instantly hurt. Sharp, knife stabbing, kind of pain. I found out through my research that sometimes you can get it when you breastfeed and it affects the blood vessels and so there is the same sharp, stabbing pain. While I was reading about this study, I just was crying and crying. It was such a relief to know that it is a thing, and that something can be done about it. I immediately picked up the phone and called my doctor for an appointment. I went this morning. I told her what was going on, and showed her the articles I printed off of the internet about this study. She had never heard of such a thing and wanted to talk to some of the other doctors in the practice. She did so and they all agreed that it was something wonderful that many of their other patients would benefit from too. It said in the article that you can take a very low dose of a medicine that is a calcium channel blocker and it doesn't pass through the milk and the relief of the pain is almost immediate. She gave me a prescription and wants me to come back on Tuesday to see how it's working. I SO HOPE THIS WILL WORK! The study included 12 women and it worked for all of them. I will be so wonderful to not have pain all the time, and it is extra great to know that maybe my research can help other women too. I'll let you know how it goes.

Plus, I have a no kids date with my husband tonight. We are going out to dinner with my parents and all my brothers and sisters and their spouses. My brother, Scott, is home for a couple of weeks from Afghanistan, so we are having a night without kids so we can visit and have a good time without all the noise and disruptions. Should be fun!

2008-10-18T10:16:00.026-07:00

Okay, Kati, quit bugging me. I've been super busy.

So, I went to Oregon. We (My dad, sister Jolene, Andrew, and I) left on Thursday morning around 10:30 am (Sept. 25). We pulled into the driveway of my grandparents house - now my cousin Lisa and her family live there - at 11:50 pm (Utah time). My siblings - Monique, Rick, and Brian arrived about 5 am (Oregon time). Jannette and her kids arrived that morning too, but I don't remember when. My Mom and Eric flew up on Thursday, so they were already there. (Scott was in Afghanistan still, although he is home now on a two week leave - YAY!) My grandparents have 19 grandkids and all but five were able to make it. Some of my cousins I haven't seen for 17 or 18 years. It was nice to catch up.

One of my favorite things about my grandparents house is all the hydrangeas. They have walls of them growing around the yard. It is past the time of year when they are in bloom - usually around early September is the peak of color - but there were still a few blooms around that still were vibrant. This blue one is my favorite kind they have.

The funeral was on Saturday, September 27, 2008. It was very nice. My grandma is buried in a beautiful place on a hill with lots of trees that looks out over the valley. The one drawback is all the squirrels that live in the trees. Grandma HATED squirrels!

This is a picture of my Grandpa, my Uncle Val, my mom, and my Aunt Julia (standing) at the family viewing on Friday afternoon. (I wish I always took fabulous pictures, but alas it isn't so.)

This picture, however, is one of the best I've ever taken. It is looking north from the Devil's Punch Bowl just north of Newport, Oregon.

Here are some more pics of the coast. The one on the left is my baby's first time seeing the ocean. (Devil's Punch Bowl) It was cold, foggy, and very windy. We didn't spend too much time actually on the beach. Dad and Jolene took Andrew back to the car after a few minutes, and my brother Eric and I wandered and gathered shells and rescued starfish that had been stranded by the tide for probably fifteen more minutes before we were too cold to stay out.

We decided to leave to come home on Monday (Sept. 29) after we got back from the coast. We left Corvallis about 9:30 pm (Utah time) and drove through the night. We got home at about 11:00am. It was a long trip, but worth it to me to go. (Thanks Tom and Barbara for making it possible!)

My Grandmother was an amazing person. I treasure the quilts that she has made for me, and it breaks my heart that there will be no more. They warm my body and my soul. She taught me how to make baked apples and yummy chunky applesauce. She tried to turn me into a lady by telling my to not chew my ice, and never put more on my fork than I could put in my mouth. I loved being with her and playing cards with her and being in the garden with her. I loved the smell of her house (which is gone now by the way). I just loved being in her presence. I loved her. I will miss her.

*******************

This is what I found when I poked my head outside at 7 am on October 12, 2008. It was so quiet in our neighborhood that I could actually hear the snow falling.

This is a cute picture of a couple of my favorite people.

2008-09-24T09:40:00.020-07:00

It's been a busy couple of weeks.

Here is an overview of what's been going on around here
(I only have a few minutes).

We've been doing some of this-

A week and a half ago (Sept. 13) we put sod in our backyard.

Thanks go to the twelve or so "extras" that appeared to help us.

I've been doing A LOT of this-

Seventy quarts of golden deliciousness, plus enough peaches in the freezer for about 50 or so pints of peach jam. Yum-O!

We've been doing some of this-

Aaron turned three years old on September 21.
(Happy Birthday to Aunt Sara on that day, too!)

That was the last day of doing peaches so of course the birthday dessert was a peach cobbler.

Josh has been doing a book report. He read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

His book report had to be a diorama so he made a Quidditch Game.

I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but he made little guys on brooms flying around. They were all made from those little twist ties you get with garbage bags sometimes. He twisted them into little people shapes and painted the heads and arms and legs then made them little robes to wear. It was very clever. (If you click on the picture you can see a larger image to see the guys better.)

The reason I only have a few minutes to post today is because my Grandma Ballard died last night. She was born October 9, 1915. She would have been 93 years old in a couple of weeks.

She hasn't been doing well for a long time. She fell the first week in April and broke her hip. She has been in a nursing home ever since. My Grandpa has been living in an assisted living center and going back and forth to be with Grandma everyday. The situation has been hard for them both. Grandma had a hard time remembering things and was in a lot of pain. It is a good thing that she died, but we will all miss her very much. I wish I could have visited them more often over the years, but it just wasn't possible. I am probably leaving tomorrow (Thursday) to go up to Oregon for her funeral on Saturday and will return on Monday. I need to go and make arrangements for the trip and to figure out what to do with my kids while Mike has to work. I hope it all works out. I'll try to post again around the middle of next week.

2008-09-09T08:54:00.019-07:00

On Saturday, September 6, we had the opportunity to attend the baptisms of Mike's nephews, David and Nathan.

Here's their family. I'm pretty sure that left to right it's

David, Keri, Cameron, Shane, then Nathan.

(I'm sure about who they all are, but I may have switched David and Nathan, but I don't think so.)

Anyway, it was the neatest baptismal service I have ever been to. It was their ward baptism, but they were the only ones, so it was just friends and family. Nathan was first. He went right down. The water came to about the middle of his thighs, so it wasn't very deep. His feet came up so he had to be rebaptized. After he was done it was David's turn. David is very afraid of the water. For the past year, at least, they have been talking about baptism and what will happen when you get baptized. When it was David's turn, he had a really hard time overcoming his fear. He cried and cried. He really wanted to be baptized, but he was almost paralyzed with fear over going under water. Finally, he went down on the first step, holding to the railing the whole time. Then the next step. Then the next step. Finally he was standing there next to his Dad. Shane said the prayer, but David couldn't make his legs bend. After a few minutes, Shane said that they would have to try again another time. David said "no" that he wanted to be baptized and could they try again. They finally got some swimming goggles for him to wear and he overcame his fear. I know he will be blessed for giving up his fear and trusting in God so that he could be a member of the Church. Unfortunately, his head didn't go all the way under before his feet came up so he needed to be baptized again. He said he could do it, and he did. It was so neat, and the Spirit was so strong as these boys became members of the Church. We almost decided to not go because we have a lot to do in the yard (we are getting sod for the backyard on Saturday), but we went anyway. I am so glad we did.

Here is a photo of all the grandkids on this side of the family, except Emma. She had just left with Grandma and Grandpa to ride with them to Keri and Shane's house.

Here's a cute picture of my oldest and youngest boys.

While we were down in Utah County, we decided that we needed to stop and see Grandma Kathryn. She just turned 91 a few weeks ago. It has been a couple of years since we have been able to see her, and I'm sure that our chances of spending time with her are few from now on. She enjoyed having us there and meeting Andrew.

Here's a picture of Emma with her namesake.

Mike with his Grandma

She has been such an example to us! I often think of her on days when I would like to sell my kids and wonder how she did it with ten kids. I know that times were different then. She didn't have to battle the video game or the television and things like that, but I'm sure there were things then to tempt her kids and take them away from the things that they were supposed to be doing and learning. We will always love her, and we miss being able to see her and Carolyn more often.

Moving on to other subjects-

Here are some cute pictures of my little guys. Aaron likes to lay on his tummy next to Aaron and play with him and have a talk. I think it's pretty cute!

Kimi was assigned to do a "shapely book report". It is due tomorrow. She was supposed to pick a book on her reading level and make a book report that was in the shape of a major element in the book. She chose to read "The Bridge to Terabithia" by Katherine Paterson. When she was trying to think of how to do the shape, she said,"too bad I can't make it 3-D." I said, "why can't you?" and she said, "yeah, why can't I?" so she did. This is a picture of her finished bridge.

She came up with the idea, and I only helped with figuring out how to make it work. I also punched out the flowers with one of my punches. She did the rest. She also has to attach a summary of the book and a few pictures that she has drawn of some of the things that happen in the book. She has worked really hard on this project for about month, and I am proud of her for her determination to make it a really cool book report.

2008-09-09T08:19:00.009-07:00

I took 247 pictures in the month of August, not counting the ones I deleted.

Here are a few of my favorites-

I guess I didn't really take this one. I can't remember who did.

My cute baby!

Little Miss Emma, the fashion model

Sara and Isaac

Angel Baby

Spence and Emma

Emma at the Family Reunion

(Grandma thought kazoos were a good idea. Maybe if they were presented toward the end of the weekend, but they were handed out the first day. Let me tell you, you haven't lived until you've heard the theme song from Indiana Jones played on the kazoo by six young boys one million times in two days. It was fantastic. I'll never hear that song the same way again in my life.)

2008-08-31T18:33:00.004-07:00

You'll never guess what happened!

Go to http://www.freezerjam.blogspot.com/ to find out what it is.

So Cool!!!!

(We love you and miss you and pray for you everyday, Scott!)

2008-08-21T15:30:00.001-07:00

I think this guy has Olympic Fever. What do you think?

2008-08-21T14:47:00.009-07:00

Three posts in one day-

(it was the easiest way I could think of to do it)

Today is a sad day for me. I am kindof in mourning. I know it is a silly thing to be sad about, but everytime I think of it I want to cry. As I sit typing this, my Mom is packing up all the stuff in my Grandma and Grandpa's house in Corvallis, Oregon. They haven't lived there for quite awhile. My brother, Eric, has been living there and taking care of the house and yard, but it has still been their house. After today it won't be anymore. My cousin Lisa and her family are moving in tomorrow. It will still be in Grandma and Grandpa's name, but none of their stuff will be there. They have lived there for a very long time. I think they moved into that house when Mom was in junior high school.

Grandma and Grandpa's house is the place where I have always gone to visit them. It is a wonderful place. A place that used to grow Christmas trees. All the trees are giants now and totally unsuitable to be a Christmas tree, but when I was small it was a magical place where I knew Santa could come and feel welcome. Their house is a place where we could tiptoe out into the backyard and see deer eating the apples off the trees. It is a place that has daring squirrels that will throw nuts at you and try to scare you out of their tree. It is a place that has walls of hydrangeas that are taller than I am. It is a place that we took baths in a big metal washtub in the backyard. It is a place that Grandpa built me the greatest swing ever. It is a place where you could find frozen cherries and frozen blueberries in the freezer to snitch. It is the place that I lost my pocketknife when I was about eleven or so. It is the place where I spent most of my birthdays when I was young. It is a place where blackberries grow wild, and if I would go pick a bucket full off the bushes across the street Grandma would make me a blackberry pie. Their kitchen is a place that always had wonderful smells coming from it and if you sit at the kitchen table you could watch the hummingbirds in the garden outside of the window and play a game of panjandrum with Grandma. Of course, I haven't actually had the chance to do any of those things for a very long time, but in my mind I guess I felt like I could . After this weekend I won't be able to anymore. It will be someone else's house, with their furniture and their dishes, and their things. I am sad.

2008-08-21T13:27:00.029-07:00

Finally, the post about the family reunion!

When we arrived on Thursday (Aug. 7) we found that Jackson and Ryan were already there. They came up with Sara and Isaac. Mat and Kati were home with a sick Haleigh. The boys immediately wanted to hold Andrew. Ryan was especially enamored with the baby. All weekend he was right there "helping"me with the baby. He would even run in from the other room just to tell Andrew how much he loved him. When I fed Andrew we had some interesting conversations about what he was doing under that blanket. Ryan also confided in me that he wanted his mommy to have another baby. Jackson told him that it wasn't going to happen, that his mommy would never have another one. Ryan said he knew that, but he wished she could.

David in the yellow shirt and Nathan in the blue. (I'm pretty sure I got that right.)

Samurai Sara and cute Uncle Spence

Keri and Spence with Emma

Emma Loved Grandma's hat!

Everyone loved the glow in the dark parade and games.

(sorry, my camera doesn't take very good pictures without the flash)

There were lots of crafts to keep the kids and their mommies busy, and everyone had a good time just being together.

Everyone had a good time at the talent show. Sara and Isaac performed "Sweet Little Buttercup" from Three Amigos. It was great! If you want the experience of seeing them perform this, look it up on youtube but imagine Sara and Isaac instead of Martin Short and Steve Martin (two martins, how about that?). They did the dance step for step, exactly the same as the movie. Fantastic! One of the other highlights of the program was Grandma and Grandpa singing a cowboy song about being reincarnated as poop. I never knew they were so talented!

There was also a trip to Toad's Family Fun Center. They have mini golf, race cars, an arcade, laser tag, etc. We were there for about, hmm I'd say eight minutes, before I had a total breakdown and became "that mom". You know, the one you see in the store or somewhere screaming at her kids. The one that makes you wonder why she ever had kids in the first place because obviously she doesn't deserve to have them. The one who is so out of control that it almost makes you want to call DCFS. Needless to say, I don't know if anyone had a good time there because I sure didn't. I left and took Andrew and Aaron back to the house and we missed all the fun. I definitely wouldn't recommend taking a three year old and a five month old there. I'm sure it's a great place for about age five and up. I couldn't even put the boys in the stroller and walk around, because it isn't very handicapped accessible. I can't imagine needing to get around there in a wheelchair.

Anyway, the rest of the time was great, and it was so good to spend time together. We really missed you Mat, Kati, and Haleigh!

2008-08-21T13:14:00.003-07:00

Josh got stung by a hornet yesterday (August 20). On the neck. I think it's because we are hosting the best hornet condo on the block.

I don't know how well you can see this. I took this picture while I was standing on the lawn. I wasn't about to get out the ladder and get closer, so I just zoomed in with the camera. There are six nests. They are each about the size of a half of a small cantalope. We also have a nest in the crawlspace above our garage. We have a vent there that is supposed to have a screen inside it so they can't get in. I have already sprayed this nest. I used about half a can of spray to make sure they were taken care of, but there are still tons of them out there. I don't think there is a screen and the nest is up in there out of reach of the spray. Mike made arrangements with a guy he knows (an exterminator) to come have a look and see what needs to be done. I've kindof had the thought that unless they are a problem we would leave them alone, but now there are so many of them that something must be done.

2008-08-15T15:30:00.006-07:00

Emma begged me to cut her hair. I took some scissors and hacked at it for awhile. This is what happened-

I guess it doesn't look too bad.

2008-08-05T15:58:00.021-07:00

Here's how it went-

These are the kids who came.

Everyone making their pizzas.

After the pizzas and opening presents everyone went to their own corners. This is a picture of the boys getting ready for the night, and Mom trying to get the little boys to sleep. Bedtime is 8:00pm and this pic was taken about 10:30pm. Can you say a miraculous transformation by Aaron into a little monster the next day?

Making crepes for breakfast. The hungry hoardes await.

That evening Mike got us a sitter and we hit the town (Salt Lake). We went to the Gateway and ate at Z'Tejas. It was yummy! After we ate we decided to walk to the bookstore and the kitchen store. Z'Tejas is at the very south end and the other stores are at the very north end. When I was in the kitchen store I overheard the cashier asking a customer if she wanted a validation. That reminded me that we forgot to get one at the restraunt. We went back to the restraunt for a little validation. While we were walking down the street we heard a guy say, "Excuse me. I think you dropped something." We turned around and who do you think we saw?

Our favorite Philadelphians! What are the odds?

Boy, were we suprised! It was so great to see them. They got to meet Andrew and we got to visit with them for a minute before they had to go meet up with Isaac's family. It made us really excited to be together with the whole family this weekend!

P.S. Mike's arm is feeling much better.

2008-08-01T13:49:00.005-07:00

So, Mike's arm started to hurt him around Monday. In the muscle on the top of his left arm. On Wednesday it really hurt. So much so that he called me from work and asked for his doctors phone number. I didn't even suggest going to the doctor, so I knew that it hurt pretty badly. Mike called the doctor, but they couldn't see him until next Tuesday. Wednesday night Mike couldn't even move his arm, and it hurt so bad that he didn't sleep at all the entire night. I told him on Thursday morning to call the doctor again and see if they had any cancellations for that day or maybe they could just squeeze him in. He got in about 10 a.m. He has severe tendonitis in the muscle that runs under his armpit. They gave him two shots, one a steroid and one a pain killer. He fainted during the first shot. He also has to go back for more steroids next week and he has a prescription for Lortab to help with the pain. Fun stuff.

All my children are having sleepover birthday parties tonight. Josh invited three almost teen boys, Ben invited four teen boys, and Kim and Emma each invited two of their friend. Out of the twelve invited, probably only two of the boys will sleep over and all of the girls. Three of the other boys will come, but they can't sleep over. The kids all decided to have a build-your-own-pizza dinner and crepes for breakfast. I'll let you know how it goes.

2008-07-28T13:09:00.015-07:00

Here are a few random pics for your viewing pleasure-

This is Ben and me this morning.

This is us standing next to each other so you can see how tall he is.
Ben was ordained to the office of Teacher yesterday. I was okay until the Bishop got up in Sacrament Meeting and stood there arranging his papers for a minute trying to not get teary eyed. Then he called Ben up and said that he had just turned 14 and was worthy to be a Teacher. Of course then I started to blub too. It was a really nice day besides that.

This is my latest food experiment. It happened on Saturday (July 26). It is Indian food. I have heard a lot of people lately say how much they like Indian food, so I decided to try it. This is Chicken Curry and Naan (Indian flat bread). Everyone liked the naan, but not so much on the chicken. It was okay, but a different flavor.

This is Aaron thinking he needed to get himself a bowl of cereal.

Aaron being silly this morning. His usual self.

This next set of pics is what happens when Kim decides to use my camera.

Have a great day!

2008-07-25T14:33:00.020-07:00

This has been kindof a tough week for me-

(I'm feeling very old)

My oldest baby turned (gasp) fourteen!

I was so unprepared that Mike picked up his presents on the way home from work that very day. I didn't even get them wrapped. Mike put them in pillowcases. I didn't have time to even make his birthday dessert until three days later. (He wanted lemon meringue pie.) His birthday party is next weekend, and it is a combined party celebrating his birthday, Josh's half-birthday (he never gets a birthday party because his birthday is always at Thanksgiving), Emma's birthday, and Kimi's birthday. How's that for a mom that can't get her act together?

And my youngest baby started doing this-

And this-

(eating solid food)

And he is now too big for the zero to three month old clothes (he just turned 4 months on the 18th) so I need to find the box of the 3 - 6 month size clothes.

And I need to lower the mattress in his crib tomorrow.

I don't expect my babies to stay small forever, but it would be nice.

2008-07-21T10:56:00.010-07:00

First Day of School!

Josh - 6th grade

Kimi - 4th grade

Emma - 2nd grade

Where does the time go?

2008-07-16T08:26:00.003-07:00

Here's the picture Angie was talking about in the comments on my "memories" post-

Good Times, Good Times!

(picture taken at the Excaliber Hotel in Las Vegas - May 25, 1991)

2008-07-15T14:17:00.006-07:00

Attention to all who read this blog-

Could you please send me your e-mail address, even if you think I already have it? If you don't want it posted in my comments you can call me and get it to me that way. I am finding that I don't have as many e-mail addresses as I thought. Thanks!

2008-07-14T12:19:00.001-07:00

New Game-

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Have a great day!

2008-07-09T12:50:00.003-07:00

Happy Birthday!

(Emma and her 1st grade teacher)

Today is my sweet baby's birthday. She will be seven years old at 3:47pm.

So glad she's part of our family!

We love you, Emmy!

2008-07-09T10:24:00.004-07:00

Sorry it's been awhile since anything of worth was added to this blog. I have been in pain, in a bad mood, and not very good for anything. There have been some very good spots and some not so good spots in the past few weeks. We have attended the baptisms of two of my nephews - Rick and Kim's son, Gavin, and Kenn and Jolene's son, Jake, were baptized on the same day in Rick and Kim's ward. It was a blessing that we were able to attend. I needed the example of these two boys and I really needed the influence of the Spirit I felt there.

We also went to Rick and Kim's house on the Fourth of July to swim, barbeque, visit, have fun, and watch people blow things up. I ate all the wrong foods, too much of them, got too much heat, and we all stayed up way too late. Not one of us woke up the next morning until almost 8:00 am. Most of us are usually up by about 6:15am on a normal day.

The day after (the 5th of July) I spent mostly outside. I pulled more than 1,000 weeds (I counted), dug up one dead tree (Mike dug up the other one), and planted two trees. Even though it's a lot of work, I'm glad we have the opportunity to have a home. Not everyone gets that chance. I'm glad to be able to work and get exercise, and accomplish things that need to be done. It makes me feel good emotionally and physically, and believe me, that's exactly what I need right now.

I have been sick for a few weeks. I started feeling bad on Sunday,June 8. I had an appointment with my doctor on June 10 and asked her about how I was feeling. She said it was a temporary thing and the discomfort wouldn't last long. I foolishly believed her. I kept ignoring it, because you know, if you ignore a problem long enough it will eventually go away. Zoom forward to Sunday, July 6 (four long weeks later). We went to church, came home, and I fed Andrew. It was very painful (it has been for a long time) and I ached all over when we were done. I went and laid down for awhile. I fell asleep and woke up around 5pm. I had a fever of 99.2. An hour later it was 100.2. Mike called my friend who is a nurse and she said I needed a doctor. When Mike called the doctor, my temperature was 101. She called in a prescription for antibiotics for me. By this time it was 9:30 pm and my kids (who were supposed to be in bed asleep) were crying and worried that I was going to die. We got them settled down and Mike went and got the meds. I have a pretty good case of mastitis. (If you don't know what that is I guess you can google it.) I was hoping that by now I would be feeling better, but I guess I waited too long so it is going to take awhile. At least I don't have a fever anymore. There are still moments where the pain is so intense that it brings tears to my eyes. I hope I feel better soon. This experience has reminded me of how grateful I am for good health. I make a horrible sick person.

Thought for the day:

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.

-William Arthur Ward

2008-07-03T15:01:00.003-07:00

I just stumbled upon a site about a guy named Matt Harding. I want to know how I can get a gig like his, paid for by Stride Gum.