How Sweet Life Is

Craziness

2010-07-16T17:58:00.000-07:00

It's summer! It's C R A Z Y ! ! !

There are 3 boys (ages 10-12) running around my house...

And 4 girls (ages 4-11) running around my house...

Playing boys against girls.

The boys have locked themselves in the cars.

(I think the girls are winning!)

There are doors slamming...

kids screaming....

horns honking...

water guns spraying...

the dog is barking...

I just texted my husband; I NEED CHOCOLATE!!!

He just called back; "What kind?"

I think I might survive now.

P.S. I love that man!

Always behind

2010-05-06T07:44:00.000-07:00

Why oh why am I always behind? Maybe because my life is insanely crazy? Behind on laundry, behind on paying bills, behind on blogging. Always behind. (Is it because I have more things to do than I actually have time for? Yes, but you know, in all honesty, I wouldn't have it any other way.)

Here is a short update on what has been going on in my world.

The first week of April was Spring break. The kids had a whole week off school, so we took a little trip. We went to Moab, Utah and had a blast! It was so sunny and warm and we all got a little sun-burned.

(The kids posing with a couple of Indian statue/mannequin things)

Loved going into Arches National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park. So many cool arches to look at, rocks to climb and lizards to try to catch.

Doesn't the red rock make the coolest background?

The middle of April brought some more fun:

First, we got a new puppy! She is a border collie/Australian Shepherd mix. She is adorable and the kids love her. She is the perfect farm dog AND kid dog. I am already hating the pooper-scooper-ing.

(Cute Little K.C.)

Then it was onto the birthdays. April is a big birthday month for us. Kassidy's birthday first, followed by Mikaylee's 2 days later. We had a big party for them at Boondocks and had a blast.

Every body loves driving the go carts! Even the little kids.

(Cheyenne, Mikaylee, and cousins Hannah and Hailee getting ready to drive)

Yes boys, that is a gun! Kassidy got a .22 for her birthday! Watch out!!!

Mikaylee got all sorts of gifts but I'm thinking the PIXO's was her favorite. She requested birthday brownies! YUM

Next was a Big Birthday Party for my Grandma! Grandma Smith turned 98 on April 25Th. The kids and I took a road trip to Nyssa, Oregon to celebrate the grand occasion. It was a party put on by her church ward and it was fantastic! The food was great, the friends were great, and the cake was awesome!

Here she is with my brother, Trav. (obviously he didn't know his pic was being taken) She said she felt as famous as a movie star! She was very popular that night. She had so many well wishers come to celebrate with her. She is an amazing lady. I love her so much!!!

The first of May was a great day! Mikaylee was baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She looked so beautiful in her baptism dress. She loved it and felt like a princess, twirling around and around. What a little monkey she is.

She was surrounded by family and friends and loved every minute of it. She thought it was awesome that she received 4 baptism bracelets and a CTR necklace from Grandmas and Aunts.

Now, we are on the count down to summer vacation (14 1/2 days of school left) and that will bring a whole new set of challenges. But I can't wait!

Speaking of summer vacation, I sure would like some Spring, first! It has been so cold and gloomy and rainy and windy lately. I thought spring was supposed to bring sun?

The inevitable...Chuck Norris

2010-03-06T17:04:00.000-08:00

The inevitable has happened. My "almost-teenage" boy has become obsessed with THE one and only Chuck Norris!!!

It happened a few days ago, when he come across this book:

(Written by the actual Chuck Norris! Did you get that?)

Apparently, I didn't know how awesome Chuck Norris is.

Now, this is all I hear:

Hey Mom, did you know Chuck Norris' ROUNDHOUSE KICK can be seen from outer space?

Hey Mom, did you know that Chuck Norris had to register every part of his body as a legal concealed weapon? His spleen is illegal in 3 states!

Hey Mom, did you know that Chuck Norris won the championship poker tournament? He won with 3 jacks of clubs, a get out of jail free Monopoly card and a green #4 Uno card.

Hey Mom, did you know that Chuck Norris was bitten by a King Cobra once? After 5 days of excruciating pain, the king cobra died.

And it goes on and on.

Today he asked me if we can buy a season or two of Walker, Texas Ranger.

Next thing you know, he'll be asking for his very own Total Gym.

Thanks for your awesomeness, Chuck! You Rock!!!

Sharing the L.O.V.E.

2010-02-16T13:34:00.000-08:00

From now on, I want my own box of chocolates on Valentine's day.

Sometimes...sharing is over-rated.

Random Thoughts For Today

2010-02-11T09:50:00.001-08:00

Have I mentioned that my hubby is a "chick" magnet? Well, he is. I think this picture proves that it is true!

Was it wrong for me to leave my crying kindergartner in the school office this morning because she wouldn't go to her class? I feel bad, like maybe I earned the 'Worst Mom Of The Day' award. Is it possible that when she finally went to class (I know she did, I called to check up on her) her classmates didn't notice the red puffy eyes?

Did I say crying? I meant bawling....sobbing, even.

Why oh why don't children come with owners manuals? Or at least warning lights like cars. You know, "ding, ding...major melt down in 5 minutes. Feed chocolate immediately." That would be nice.

How come I've been to the gym twice this week but I haven't felt sore at all? Should I work-out a little harder? I don't like to sweat.

I miss summer. I want it to come back.

Those Three Little Words

2010-01-28T08:27:00.000-08:00

Oh, those three little words.

After all this time, they still get to me.

"Mom, I'm HUNGRY!!!"

Seriously??? Where do these kids put all this food? It doesn't matter what I feed them, it's only a matter of time, (tick, tick, tick,) until I know I will hear it again.

Pizza, yogurt, grilled cheese sandwich, grapes, apples, string cheese, gold fish crackers, carrot sticks, almonds, Cheetos, scrambled eggs, toast, chocolate milk, cookies, banana muffins, whole wheat pancakes, chicken noodle soup, lunchables, macaroni and cheese, left-over lasagna, fruit loops, fruit snacks, clementines, grapefruit, tuna salad, uncrustable, bean burrito, chicken nuggets, corn dog, potato chips, peanuts, bagels, peanut butter and don't forget their favorite snack of all, crackers and cream cheese.

It never ends...

We are looking for some new food ideas for the kids to take in their lunches. Mikaylee is done with sandwiches. If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them. Also, any ideas on some new or different snacks would be great, too!

Blood Type

2010-01-26T10:06:00.000-08:00

In the car on the way home from school yesterday, Cheyenne turns to Mikaylee and asks, "Mikaylee, what type of blood do you have?"

Mikaylee doesn't skip a beat. She replies, "I have the AWESOME type."

What funny little children. They make me happy!!!

With the new year comes...Changes

2010-01-21T08:14:00.000-08:00

My sweet little, almost six year old has a certain style. For the last year she has only worn boot- cut jeans. Light-colored boot-cut jeans, With her PINK cowgirl boots.

Honestly, it's adorable. Really. I love that she has her own sense of style. It makes it very easy to get dressed in the mornings when you wear the same thing every day. (The same boots, the same jeans, the same short sleeved t-shirt, just in different colors.)

We just so happened to be at the shoe store on Tuesday and Chey picked out some new "boots" that she had to have. One look and I said, "No way!" I knew she would never wear them. Like many other shoes that she "just had to have" I knew these too, would end up in the closet never worn for one reason or another.

She wanted these shoes!

She begged.

She pleaded.

She cried huge crocodile tears.

She hyperventilated (from crying). She HAD to have them!!!

Anyone who knows me knows that I got her the shoes. (Anything to stop the crying at that point!) I knew, like so many pairs before them, they would end up in her closet, never to see the light of day again. I almost felt bad for them.

I'm just going to say that the kid surprised me! As soon as we got home she ran to her room, took off the boot-cut jeans and cowgirl boots and emerged as a whole new girl.

She was wearing skinny jeans....and her new "boots"!!!

And...she hasn't taken them off, yet! Looks like we are going to have to buy this girl some more skinny jeans. Wearing the same pair day after day is not going to work for long.

So Chey has a new style for the new year. And she looks fabulous!!!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-22T12:43:00.000-08:00

Every year, we do a count-down to Christmas.

We use Hershey's Kisses.

It is our "Kissmas" count-down.

We are down to only 3 kisses left.

Wow, not so long ago that "kissmas" chain seemed so long.

The shopping is done.

The presents are wrapped.

The class parties are over.

There is only one thing left.

O come all ye faithful,

joyful and triumphant,

O come let us adore him,

Christ the Lord.

Have You Heard Me Sing???

2009-11-21T13:49:00.000-08:00

It is so cold and windy outside today! I have been out side most of the morning cleaning the car out, preparing for our road trip to Camp Verde, Arizona on Wednesday. Then I had Kolt help and we cleaned out the garage, too. I was frozen when I came back inside. I was greeted by the toasty warmth of our pellet stove. My Best Friend All Winter Long. I love you pellet stove!

Anyway, my hands were starting to show signs of frostbite (ok, not really but I was freezing!) and I started singing, "Oh the weather outside is FRIGHTFUL!"

And Kolten joins in with "But your singing is not delightful!"

Isn't he just the funniest, quick witted 11 year old EVER??? I love him so much so I continued the song in my bestest, most loudest, prettiest singing voice I have. He truly appreciated it. I could tell by precious look on his face.

The cutest ELF's ever!

2009-11-19T21:21:00.001-08:00

These Elfing videos have been around for a while, but I still get a kick out of them! I love seeing my kids all ELF'd out! It just makes me smile. ALOT! (Can you believe Kass and Kolt think this is dumb???) Mikayle and Chey LOVE to see themselves dancing in their elf costumes!

Yes, you are on to me. I had nothing better to do for 30 minutes than sit here and and make this, but I know you are going to go ELF YOURSELF right now! Have fun! And send me the finished product!

Send your own
ElfYourself eCards

I'm Just Saying!

2009-11-15T21:15:00.001-08:00

Here in this lovely state of Utah, it has been a STORMY weekend. It has been snowing, freezing, blowing and did I mention snowing?

I know it's still November, but the snow does it to me. Every year! As soon as I see the snow fall from the sky I seem to find my CHRISTMAS SPIRIT!!!

Yep, it's here! Me and the girls have been listening to Christmas music all weekend. And I've even started making my list and checking it twice. So here is your chance. If you want to leave me a hint about what you want for Christmas, I can add you to my list and see what I can do. (You do like home-made presents, right?) No promises though, my list is almost full!

We have been gearing up to do a sub-for Santa this year. The kids seem excited about it. I'm excited about it. It feels good to do something for others who are less fortunate. (Ohhhh, maybe they would like home-made presents, too!) I am glad the kids have something to focus on during the holiday season other than the "give me this, I want that." I'm already tired of all the toy catalogs in the mail! Every item on every page gets circled by 4 or 5 different colored markers!

Anyway...in preparation of Thanksgiving in 10 days, we stopped at Marie Calendars last night and picked up a Pumpkin Pie to share with Mom, Dad, Traci, Trent, Josie and Isaac. Can I just say.....It was HEAVENLY!!!!!!!! I highly recommend them! Everyone needs to go get one, or two. Seriously, I wished I would have risked looking like a pig and had another piece. It was THAT good.

A Pirate, a Phantom and Hannah Montana

2009-11-02T09:40:00.000-08:00

Trick or Treat is over and I must say that we did good! My kids got more candy than they can eat. Seriously! I think it was because we were all so cute. Everyone just kept throwing candy at us. It was awesome! Except for that Scary Phantom. Those glowing red eyes seemed to FREAK everyone out. He even made one Little Bo-Peep cry. He didn't mean to. All he did was look at her and growl. It was sad..in a funny sort of way.

Check out HANNAH MONTANA! This girl knows it's all about ATTITUDE! You go girl! Even with out the blond wig, this girl has it going on!

Arrrghhh Matey! This pirate knows her fashion! Yes, even pirates with big swords wear pink...and furry boots! All the popular kids do it!

Then there was this group of older "kids" who kept following my poor trick r treaters around all night. I think they were after their candy. Seriously. The scary/slutty witch would cackle at them and they would scream. Then she would call for her AMIGO who would yell at them in Spaniel. (What the heck is Spaniel?) Then, this crazy rock star kept hollering, "Wait up, DUDE!" and who knows about that stylish RedNeck with the MULLET! YIKES!!! I told the kids to stay away! FAR, FAR AWAY!!!

Yes, we had a great Halloween!!!

New "do's" for the family!

2009-10-26T10:13:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned that Kassidy wants to go to cosmetology school while she is in high school? Well, this weekend, she got bored so she went into the bathroom with a pair of scissors and gave herself a new "do." She looks great!!!

Mikaylee liked it so much, she begged Kass to give her a new "do" too.

Cheyenne, of course, was next.

But to the surprise of all of us, Jeremy wanted his hair done, too!

He looks F.A.B.U.L.O.U.S.!!!

Boy, does that mullet bring back memories!

Seasonal Must Haves

2009-10-20T08:36:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's cold and flu season. My most un-favorite season of all! These are some of my MUST Haves. I LOVE EmergenC. If you feel a cold coming on, start taking this 2-3 times a day and it always keeps the cold from getting worse. And (in my opinion) reduces the duration of the cold. I take it, I make my kids take it. Sometimes, my husband even takes it. I might be weird but I actually like the taste of some of the flavors. Our families favorite flavors are the Super Orange, Tangerine and Pink Lemonade

Sambucol is new to me, and I am very impressed with it. It is more of a homeopathic cold remedy. It makes you feel better, boosts your immune system and I helps ease cold symptoms. I was introduced to this here. The kind I have is from Walgreens.

Bath and Body Works Wallflowers are my favorites! I heart them and I have 4 or 5 of them plugged in through-out the house most of the time. I am a pumpkin scent junkie and I love the Pumpkin Patch Wallflowers. Definitely a October/November Must Have!!! I wish this was a scratch-n-sniff just so you could smell it. It reminds me of mom's pumkin bars. Mmmmmm...

Boots!! I HEART boots! I love Fall just so I can wear tall, furry-lined boots! These are from Payless. They are American Eagle brand and I just got them for Mikaylee. She loves them. She loves the dangling furry ball decorations on them!

Kassidy picked out these gray ones from Famous Footwear. They were 30% off. Yay! They look adorable on her. But really, doesn't everything?

Chey's boots look just like the ones she got last year. Shiny, black, with a 1/2" heel. She loves them! They are darling! They will be perfect for her Hannah Montana Halloween costume.

(I fought her on this one, I just lost the battle. I wanted her to be a witch...or a cowgirl)

October Already?

2009-10-09T21:28:00.001-07:00

Life is busy. Life is good. It seems like the days just fly by. Where in the heck does it go? I'm sitting here wondering what happened to September, my favorite month. The beginning of Fall. The turning of pumpkins and leaves, and maybe attitudes, too. September is the last chance to get all those "summer" projects done and put away. It's time to start settling down for Winter. Time for hectic schedules to slow down and time to pull out the crock pot. Mmmmmmm...just thinking of those hearty stews and casseroles makes my mouth water. (Sigh) Is it really October already?

The first weekend in October is always blocked out a year in advance. It's opening weekend of the elk hunt. We went down by Salina and camped for 4 days while the Mighty Hunters did a little hunting. Mostly, it's a good excuse to ride horses up in the mountains day after day. It is BEAUTIFUL in the mountains this time of year. The leaves are changing, the animals are moving. It's awesome! But DANG, was it cold!!! The kids and I hibernated in the trailer with the furnace running most of the time. We bundled up with coats and beanies and gloves and ventured out on short nature hikes and explorations when we got restless. Thanks to Grandma (and me!) there were plenty of movies to watch and crafts to do and treats to eat! (Camping is all about the food, right???)

Kassidy and Kolten saddled up and rode with the hunters every day. They were up at 5:00 AM, saddling up and riding into the great unknown in the FREEZING cold...(and dark). I am so proud of them! I know the riding is what kept Kass going. That girl LOVES riding her horse. Anytime, anywhere! For Kolten, it was all about the elk. He was with Jeremy opening morning when Jer got his spike and Kolten loved it! He thought it was pretty neat. He called in a 5-6 point bull elk all by himself, too. I'm pretty sure he's addicted! Like father, like son! : )

(Here are the kids painting ceramic animals and making bead necklaces and bracelets.)

(Mikaylee, Chey and cousin Peyton out exploring)

(The mighty hunters off on an evening ride...hoping to find some elk!)

(And FUTURE hunter, Mikaylee. She looks good in orange!)

We were there with family and good friends. What more could we have asked for? (O.K., warm weather would have been nice!)

The closest thing to flying...

2009-09-25T17:31:00.000-07:00

I love taking pictures of Kass on her horse. She loves this horse. She loves riding this horse. I look over to the round pen and see her loping, around and around...then I notice something.

She's let go of the reins!!!

She's FLYING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Forget Suzanne Sommers Thigh Master... all you need is a horse! Indian leg wrestling, anyone???

She's not the only one I like to snap pictures of on horses. I have a whole house full of cowgirls and a cowboy, too.

Thanks to Kass, all the kids are getting plenty of riding time!

This is why I have cats.

2009-09-17T08:18:00.000-07:00

Can I just say EEEeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've been so grossed out because of this.

I was in the kitchen fixing breakfast. It's about 7 A.M.

I look out the window and what do I see???

A mouse crawling up the wall on my house!!!

I scream for my big tuff man to come rescue me from the sight of this and he "sushes" me because he's on the phone. How rude!!!!

The little mouse crawls down to the hand rail that is by my back door. EEEwwwwwwwwww!!!

He just hangs out for a while. And where, you ask, is the CAT???

Sleeping, of course. She must be tired from playing Cat & Mouse all night.

Finally, the mouse slips and falls off the rail. Fluffy decides the cat nap is over and jumps into action.

Let me just say, THIS mouse won't be on my house again. And I might be getting another cat.

This was yesterday, and I'm still grossed out! And just in case you were wondering, ALL of the photos were taken from INSIDE the house.

I sanitized the hand rail, too.

Party In The USA

2009-09-13T08:48:00.000-07:00

Have you heard Party In The USA? I Heart this song. The first time I heard it I was in the suburban taking a tire over to Big O to get fixed. It came on my XM satellite radio (20 on 20...one of my fav radio stations!) and I wanted to get up and dance. Not realistic while your in a vehicle going 35 mph. I didn't know it was Miley Cyrus singing, I just liked the song. (And can I say that this girl has come a long way since the debut of her Hannah Montana TV show? She really does has a good voice!)

SOoooo... I bought it for my ring tone on my cell (yes, I paid $2.99) and now, I don't even want to answer the phone. I just want to listen to it when it rings.

Kassidy asked me if I was having a mid-life crisis. I said no. She rolled her eyes and said I'm weird.

Kolten asked why I couldn't have a normal ring for my phone like "normal" moms. (What in the heck is a normal mom, anyway?)

Mikaylee said she likes it. She gets the head-bob going when it plays.

Cheyenne dances around the kitchen with me when ever my phone rings. She likes it, too.

This is so SAD!!!

2009-09-09T15:33:00.001-07:00

This is a picture of the house I grew up in. I lived in this house for the first 10 years of my life. I have only happy memories from this house. My bedroom with the red carpet, the green shag carpet in the family room and on the stairs. The picnic table we had in the kitchen. I remember sitting on the kitchen counter cooking hot dogs in our very first microwave when I was 6. I remember the unfinished basement where I had to fold laundry, and my brother and I (don't worry Trent, I wont mention any names!) would play dress up in our parents clothes.

I remember the big wood-burning stove in the basement that was always so warm in the winter.

There was a big sand box in the back yard where my brother and I would try to bury our younger brother. I remember the time my brother and I were swinging so high, we tipped the swing set over, while we were still on it. We had a rectangle shaped trampoline...and chickens...and ducks. A pony named Blondie, a few kittens, I remember a litter of baby pigs...and a big garden. There was a ditch in front of the house and a big yard.

I remember being in my brother Todd's bedroom, jumping on the bed and singing along to Neil Diamond's 'Coming To America." That, and many, many more good memories in this house. This house that my mom and dad built when I was 2. It was painted green. Avocado green.

This house in on the front page of the Argus Observer Newspaper today. Click here to read why.

This is weird. I feel like my memories of this house are now tainted. I don't know if it will ever be the same when I visit Oregon and drive past this house. My parents knew the people in the Newspaper article. Maybe that's why it seems so weird. Maybe it's because when I've thought of this house it has always been happy. I don't know what to think now.

I am sending my condolences for this family. What a sad, sad situation. May you find peace and comfort in the days ahead.

Fruit Fly Traps

2009-09-05T17:37:00.000-07:00

I have a BAD case of fruit flies! Oh my heck... I HATE them so much! They are annoying and they are everywhere! Guess where I got them? Of course from fruit, silly, but guess where the fruit came from??? WALMART!!!! UGH!!!!!! It was two days after all my fruit flies broke out that I ran to Walmart at 9 AM and there, in the produce department, were three Walmart employee's with vacuum cleaners, TRYING to suck up all the fruit flies. Honestly, there were SWARMS of those little, tiny, pesky flies buzzing around and covering a lot of the produce. It was disgusting! I am boycotting Walmart produce!!! I haven't seen one little fruit fly at the OTHER place to buy groceries in my town.

So, what is a girl to do with hundreds of teensy fruit flies (and they are multiplying faster than I could ever imagine!) in her kitchen??? I put my clever 11 year old son in charge! He did a bit of research online and this is what he came up with.

Home made fruit fly traps. And YES, they do work!!! Really good!!! These traps are only about an hour old and already, lots of victims.

Can you see the bodies in the bottoms? (Yes, those little black specks!)

Here is how to make your own fruit fly trap: (just in case you too have been buying produce from my Walmart)

Get a bowl or dish and fill it 1/4" full of apple cider vinegar. Mix some liquid dish soap in with the vinegar. (It makes the fruit flies stick in the bottom.) Add some sweet, fragrant fruit. We have had good results with mushy tomatoes, bananas, mushy pears, water melon, and grapes. Cover tight with plastic wrap. Use a fork and poke some small holes in the plastic wrap. If the holes are too big the flies can get out.

Now, remove all of your fruit and veggies off the counters and put in the fridge. You don't want to leave out anything that will attract the fruit flies more than your trap. Good luck!

And, just so you know that I am justified, my daughters friend happened to mention that they too have fruit flies and her mom thinks they came from none other than, Walmart!

School Notes

2009-09-04T11:16:00.000-07:00

I found this note on the laundry room (where Mikaylee empties her back pack) this morning. This is so stinking cute! I loved it!!!

I have no idea who this is from, but I'm guessing her friend Kylie....or maybe a secret admirer??? I can totally remember writing notes to my friends but I sure don't think I started in 2ND grade!

Oh my heck, I just *love* it! It makes me smile every time I look at it.

Kid Funnies

2009-08-29T17:02:00.000-07:00

We were talking about Canada a couple of days ago and Miss Chey pipes up,

"I would not want to go to Canada! I would hate to talk in Cadillac!"

I would hate to talk in Cadillac, too. Sound like a hard language to learn! hahaha

LOLOLOLLLLL We got a good laugh out of that.

Today, Mikaylee got a phone call from her friend Jasmine. Jasmine moved to Texas last month and they had a lot to catch up on. When the 15 minute phone call ended, Chey said,

"Hey Mikaylee, did you ask Jasmine if she goes to Texas Road House?"

It's cute that she thinks because Jasmine lives in Texas now, she would go to Texas Rhode House. We've been to Texas Road House and NEVER been to Texas. Hmmmm...

One more before I go...

We were in the car driving Kass to her friends house and we were listening to Taylor Swift sing 'Picture to Burn.' In the middle of the song Mikaylee says, " Picture to burn? I thought it was picture of fur!"

You're just another picture of fur. Fur, fur, fur Baby, fur... hahahahaha
Would that be rabbit fur?

Back to School

2009-08-26T08:48:00.000-07:00

It's official! All 4 of the kids are back in school! Honestly, I'm not sure if I want to jump for joy or cry. Kassidy, Kolten and Mikaylee started last Wednesday. Don't they look excited???

9th grade already

This is her "Why are you taking my picture in the car?" look.

All ready for 6Th grade! King of the school!!!

Excited for 2ND grade!!!

I love the look on her face!!!

Today, however, is Cheyenne's FIRST day of Kindergarten.

Sulking on the couch 45 min before the bus comes.

All ready for school. Look at that HAPPY face!

Riding her bike to the bus stop.

Oh man does that bus look BIG!

There she goes! My little baby off to school...

She did Awesome!!! There were only a few tears as she got on the bus, but I was able to get control of myself after a minute or two. After the bus pulled away I hopped in the car and followed it to school. I hid behind an Expedition and watched her get off the bus with Mikaylee and walk thru those great big doors. I waited for a few minutes, then followed her in. I was very sneaky as I made my way down the first long hall, then the next. As I turned the corner to the kindergarten classrooms, I could hear her laughing and talking. One quick peek into the class room, and I saw her sitting at her table coloring and talking to the girl next to her. My baby is going to be just fine in kindergarten. But it might take a while for me to get used to this. The house feels sooooooooooo empty. What do I do now?

Lava Hot Springs 2009

2009-08-25T15:55:00.000-07:00

We have a tradition of going to Lava Hot Springs, Idaho to celebrate the 4Th of July. This year we weren't able to get away in July so we took a "Yahoo-school-started-lets-go-play-one-last-time" trip up to Lava. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!!

This year we took my mom and dad, my sister Traci, and our good friends Kenny, Diane, Brittany, Dustin & Alisha with us. We got there Friday about 3 O'clock and it only took us an hour to get camp set up, tubes rented and we were in the water!!! We tubed down the Portneuf River 3 times Friday and I don't know how many times on Saturday. Probably a dozen!!!

Everyone tubed the river, except for Diane and Alisha. But...given a warm sunny day Sunday, we probably could have got them in! (Yes, it rained, it poured, it cooled down tremendously on Sunday. WAY to cold to be in the river!)

Anyway...here are some pics from our trip!

Grandpa and the kids playing in the river!

Did you check out Grandpa's shirt? I loved it

Kassidy, Brittany and Traci floating down...

Um, Kolten....What happened to your tube???

My dad hugging a cute girl.

LOL....it was the funniest thing!!! She tried to stop his tube and he ran her over, knocked her onto his tube, then she fell into the water and I *think* the tube went over the top of her. They both came out laughing. Britt, You are such a good sport!!!

Oohhhh...who is that HOT guy with the white legs??? (Sorry ladies, he's taken! Legs and all!)

We stayed in a campground right on the river. It was more than a little ghetto but I love staying there. It was close enough for us to walk up to the ice cream parlor twice for square ice cream cones and to shop the cute little stores on Main street.

I'm sad it's over but already looking forward to next year.

And...I did miss being there over the 4TH. There were no fireworks, no duck race, and only half as many crazies as usual.

Ear Piercing

2009-08-13T10:07:00.000-07:00

Cheyenne has been asking to get her ears pierced since she was about 3 years old. I thought maybe it was just a phase, but oh no...two and a half years later she was still asking. I decided if she wanted them done that bad, Why not??? We went to the mall and she didn't falter for a minute. She climbed right up in that chair and when the associate was telling her that it would hurt a little bit she just said, "That's ok. I'm brave."

And YES she was very brave! She didn't flinch, she didn't whimper, she didn't cry, she didn't even grimace. She just sat there and got both of her ears pierced.

After it was all over with Chey said, "Well, it DID hurt for a minute, but don't I look beautiful?"

Yes, she does!

Not Me

2009-08-11T06:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I found an almost empty container of Cool Whip and a spoon on the kitchen counter. I hollered to the kids (who were all sitting on the couch watching Sponge Bob,) "Who ate all the Cool whip?" Every one of them hollered back, "Not Me!" It seems like this kind of stuff is happening at my house a lot lately and when I ask who did it the answer is always "Not Me." I was starting to think that there was someone in the house named Not Me who I had never had the opportunity to meet. I was going to get to the bottom of this, once and for all! I carefully picked up the spoon and put it into a zip lock baggie, just in case it was needed for evidence.

However, I didn't get my chance to play Nancy Drew. After just a short walk to the family room, I discovered that it would not be necessary to get DNA off the spoon or look for further clues. "Not Me" was really, REALLY easy to find. When I confronted her, all she said was, "It was NOT me!"

The Princess...and the FROG

2009-08-04T07:44:00.001-07:00

The other night, dear sweet daughter Kassidy and her BFF were hanging out and they somehow caught a frog. (It was actually a toad, but for the sake of the story, we'll call it a frog)

They came screaming in the house "Mommmmmm!!!!!! Come here!!! We just caught Prince Charming!" Thank goodness I thought to grab the camera on the way out the door. There was my oldest Princess trying to get up the courage to KISS the frog.

Every time she would pick it up it would squeak. It sounded like a little rubber squeaky bathtub toy. The frog would squeak, Kass would scream.

Finally she almost got close enough to actually kiss it...

(Do you see the look on BFF's face??? Priceless!!!)

After Prince Charming peed in her hand, Kass decided it couldn't be Prince Charming after all.

I give her a lot of credit...How many Princesses actually go that far to find their Prince?

And after all...a cowgirl Princess wont find her Prince in a frog...He will come riding up on a white horse. That's how her story will go.

A day to myself...

2009-07-14T09:42:00.000-07:00

Seriously...this NEVER happens.

I have a whole day to myself.

Kolten is staying at Grandma's for a few days. Kassidy is here, but completely occupied by her BFF who is spending the day. Jeremy took Mikaylee and Cheyenne with him to the auction to buy cows. ( I have a feeling that will be quite a story in itself.)

My first thought was WOW!!! I can get so much done today. No one to interrupt me, no one to need anything, no one to whine and argue and cry. I could finish painting the chicken coop. I could wash windows. I could clean out cupboards and closets and drawers. I could sort through the pile of mail that has been sitting on the desk for 3 weeks, growing bigger every day. I could vacuum and wash the car. With no reason to stop what I'm doing to fix lunch, find a lost toy, help someone change clothes (for the 18Th time) or referee any amateur wrestling...I could get SO MUCH done!!!

But then...I had a different thought. I could do nothing at all. I could take a nap.

I could treat myself to a pedicure.

I could sit in a lounge chair out by the pool and read a book.

(we dont actually have a pool, but if we did...that would be awesome)

I could eat ice cream for lunch and not have to hide in the closet to do it.

I could go to the mall and window shop with no one calling asking when I will be home.

THIS is what I want to do with my day off!!!

The housework will still be here tomorrow. So will the chicken coop, the dirty windows, the cluttered cupboards and closets. The mail pile will keep growing and the car will stay dirty. It will all be here waiting for me tomorrow...

Along with the wrestling matches, the shoes to tie, snacks to fix, tears to dry and little souls to love and nurture.

Man oh man...does the house seem quiet!

12,454

2009-07-01T22:16:00.000-07:00

12,454

(twelve thousand four hundred and fifty four)

I bet you are wondering why this number is significant.

It's not how much money is under my mattress.

It's not the number of errands I have done today.

It's definitely not the number of items my honey-do list.

It might be the numbers of weeds growing in my garden, but that is NOT why this particular number bothers me today.

So...why am I sharing this number with you??? Anyone dare to guess???

Anyone???

12,454 is the number of text messages Kassidy sent during the month of June.

HOLY COW!!! How does she find the time to send out 12, 454 text messages? That averages out to 415 texts a day. Not to count the messages she receives. Does this mean she received 12,454 messages?

No wonder Kassidy is so tired all the time. She is exhausted from texting! I am thinking that I need to feed her more protein so her tired thumbs can keep up with this demanding schedule.

Seriously...Am I the only one who sees something wrong with this much texting?

This is MY opinion: There are times when I am glad that Kass has her cell phone. When she is at a friends, when she is at the movies with friends, when she is at the mall with friends. When she is babysitting, when she is downstairs and I am too lazy to go walk down the stairs to ask her a question. When she is at Young Womens and needs a ride home. It is EXTREMELY convenient and it does bring me comfort knowing I can get a hold of her when ever I need or want to. But...when it gets to the point where she is sending 415 text messages a day, it leaves her with very little time to do much else. This is when cell phones become a nuisance instead of a convenience. When the cell phone becomes more important than everything else in life. When the cell phone becomes her first priority...then there is a problem.

I do not know what the solution is. Kassidy pays for her own unlimited texting every month. So do I just leave it alone? Do I intervene? If I do nothing am I letting her down? Will I be letting down myself and my expectations as a mother? Man, this is where it gets complicated. I hate to be the bad guy, but I don't think I can sit here and know that her cell phone is overtaking everything else in her life.

Birthday Boy!

2009-06-25T08:24:00.000-07:00

Happy 11th Birthday to my favorite son, Kolten!

The boy who has been filling us in on interesting facts about things we never knew we wanted to know since he could talk. The kid who loves the history channel and discovery channel.

The boy who will lick just about anything, anytime, for no reason what-so-ever. I think it's his own personal defense system. With three sisters, it definitely sends them screaming and running the other direction.

My own little super-hero, riding around on his Rip-Stik (aka 2 wheeler skateboard) like a bird soaring thru the air. I'm beginning to think there is nothing this kid can't do!

HaPPy BirTHdaY KoLtEn!!!! We love you!!!

A girl and her horse

2009-06-19T17:43:00.000-07:00

I love this picture! It's sweet. It's simple. It's real! It shows the love between a girl and her horse. What it doesn't show is the girl sharing a Popsicle with her horse. Now that's true friendship!

Summer is here...sorta...

2009-06-08T16:51:00.001-07:00

Yes, we are officially into our third week of summer vacation. It has been a little cool and rainy the last couple of week or so, so it doesn't actually feel like summer. But...the kids are running crazy, the house is a mess, and I seem to accomplish a whole lot of nothing. It IS summer! Yay!

I really enjoy having the kids home all day. They are fun to be around. Of course, there are the fights and arguments that seem to accompany siblings. I guess you could call it reinventing the "pecking order". Of course, Kassidy is on top, but I don't know if she realizes that Kolten is catching up....fast! She had better watch out, her time at the top may be limited.

Jeremy had a brilliant idea to hang a rope swing in the barn. The barn is like his baby. He spent two years building it himself, just how he wanted it. It's a nice big barn, too. 25 feet of rope hanging from the rafters for the kids (and sometimes me) to swing on...wow...it's like being a kid again. You feel like your flying... butterflies in your tummy and everything! I hope he doesn't fill the barn up with hay too fast...we are not ready to loose our swinging space. I was going to put a picture to show you but it's not working. Use your imagination...25 ft rope hanging from the rafters, 2x6 board on the end for a seat, lots of duct tape to prevent slivers...fun, fun, fun!

We went to Vegas last weekend. We had such a fun trip. We stayed at a condo that had a nice two bedroom suite, 2 swimming pools and we were only a couple miles from the heart of Las Vegas... aka The Strip! The kids loved seeing all the different themed hotels/casino's. They really loved the MnM store and they were amazed to see the dolphins and white tigers at The Mirage. They thought the big water show at the Bellagio was pretty cool and we all loved the fact Trisha and Brittany came to Vegas and spent Saturday with us. But, more than anything else, they really, really, really just wanted to go the hotel and swim! lol...silly kids!

And one last thing in this post....Today, June 17th, is my Grandpa's birthday. Happy Birthday, Grandpa! Us Gemini's can be stubborn and proud but we love our families fiercely even when we don't show it as we should. I hope to see you soon!

Poems by Kolten

2009-05-20T07:49:00.000-07:00

5Th grade at Taylor Elementary has been doing a month long poetry unit. They have been required to write about 25 poems. Poems about themselves, their family, memoirs, their friends, etc. They have had specific types of poems to write, too. From acrostic to limerick to haiku, Kolten has written his share. And he's pretty good, too. Here are some of my favorites. These really show what Kolten is all about!

I AM FROM

by Kolten H.

I am from

Raw hot dogs and cold pizza

Riding my dirt bike

Climbing trees

Fishing till dark

Trapping raccoons with my dad

I am from

Grandpa's cabin

Roasting starburst over a fire
Climbing the hay in the barn

Riding the seeder

I am from

Tubing the river

Four-wheeler sledding

Taking the back way and

Shooting my bow

Kassidy

by Kolten H.

Kicks horses with her spurs

Always asking for money

Sister to me

Speed texting champion

Impossible to please

Drags herself to school everyday

with 30 seconds to spare

You can't share a bathroom with her

Recipe For Me

by Kolten H.

1 tall body

2 bright blue eyes

2 steady hands

1 head of spiky bleached hair

1 bow with quiver of arrows

1 open heart

1 big mouth

Mix steady hands with bow and quiver. Let rise for 30 minutes. Put spiky bleached hair with big mouth in a pot and let boil for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, put bright blue eyes and open heart in the pot with the hair and mouth. Mix contents together until a dark red slab. Marinate in tall body for 10 hours. Grill until all outside is brown and the middle is pink. Serve with fried onions and A-1 steak sauce.

On a side note, Kolten purchased a Rip-Stik Castor board yesterday. Have you seen these???

They are like skateboards but they have only 2 wheels. I bought him a full set of knee and elbow pads and wrist guards to go with his helmet. I figured that the $15 spent on protective equipment out weighs a broken bone any day! Now we are just waiting to see how long until THIS requires a trip to the ER?

Teenagers and technology

2009-05-13T20:05:00.000-07:00

What's a teenager girl to do when she gets her cell phone taken away for a WHOLE week?

Let me fill you in on a little bit of the horror this girl is going through...

She is completely cut off from all means of communication.

She has no way to talk to her friends.

She has no way of finding out what her chores are.

She has no way of finding out who got voted off of American Idol.

She has no way of finding out when dinner is ready!

She has no way of making plans with her friends. (Even though they ride the bus together everyday!)

I told her to pick up the home phone and call her friend and she just looked at me like I was growing another head and replied,

"Like I know her phone number!"

It's going to be a looooooooooooooong week!

If this girl doesn't make it to school on time for the next two days, it will have to be even longer.

*sigh*

I love this girl! Her self-portraits are the BEST!!!

Our Cinco de Mayo feast

2009-05-06T12:05:00.000-07:00

So, any one who knows us knows that we raise pigs. We get them as cute little piglets and raise them up for pork. We usually have 5 or 6 at a time and we always have family, friends and neighbors who want to buy pork from us. And even sometimes...people we don't know.

Last Sunday, an Hispanic lady and her children (there were 4 or 5 of them) pulled up in a white mini-van and she wanted to buy a pig. My husband told her that we didn't have any ready yet, but she wouldn't take no for an answer. With her children translating and her own broken English, she got her point across that she wasn't leaving with out a pig. She had to have one right then. Jeremy wasn't sure what to do, but eventually they settled on a price for one of our pigs. I'm not going to go into any details here, but lets just say an hour later, she came back with the cash and loaded a dead pig into the back of her mini-van. This lady was very grateful and kept telling us how happy she was to have this pig...and away she went. Frankly, we weren't sure what to think right then. Maybe she was planning a big Cinco de Mayo feast???

Fast forward to Tuesday evening, about 5:30. I turned into our circle and saw a white mini-van in the driveway. What now, I thought to myself. As I got out of the car, this same lady comes over to me and in her broken English says, "Come, I have Mother's Day present for you." We go to the back of her van and it is clear full of food. She starts handing me plates of tamales and burritos.

She grabs a tray of pork flat bread tostada thingys and these delicious scones/rolls.

"Come, come," She says and we go into the house and she loads us up with food. I was in awe! I asked her what all of this was for and she says "It is for you and your husband for being so nice to help me out."

Now, by this time I am in awe of this woman. I couldn't believe that she had brought us all this food. I thanked her and asked her if she had made all this for a cinco de mayo celebration and she says...no, she made it to sell to make some money. Come to find out, her husband passed away two years ago. She cleans houses but with the economy the way it is now, she only has 2 houses to clean now. She can't find work anywhere so she is going around trying sell her tamales, burritos, flat bread tostada's and such.

I tried to find out where she lives, and from what she said it's not too far from here. I would like to find a way to help this woman out. This woman who is doing everything she can, using all her resources to earn money to support her family. This woman who lost her husband and is on her own. I can't believe she brought us so much... I am still in awe.

A day in the life...

2009-05-01T16:16:00.000-07:00

Thursday, April 30, 2009

5:05 A.M. Wake up...wondering why I didn't wait for alarm clock

5:45 Get in the car and head to Walmart

6:30 Make breakfast for Kassidy

6:55 Drive Kassidy to the bus stop

7:15 Make pancakes for Kolten, Mikaylee and Cheyenne

7:45 Clean up breakfast and pack lunches for Mikaylee and Kolten

8:15 Help Kolten finish up his project that was due.

8:30 Stop at neighbors to pick up paper for kolten's recycling project.

8:45 Drop off kids at school. Go in to talk to teachers

9:15 Get home to a messy house

9:15-11:00- clean house, do laundry

11:00 Help Chey get ready for preschool.

11:30 Fix lunch for Chey and myself

11:45 Chase Chey around, catch her and carry her kicking and screaming to the car. Try to
get her buckled with out getting kicked in the face.

12:00 Get to preschool, try to get the buckle undone while she is trying to keep it on. Carry Chey into school...you get the idea

12:20 get home to a quiet house, turn on the radio.
More laundry
Blog

1:45 Leave to pick up Chey from school

2:00 Get Chey, stop for gas and a car wash

2:30 Get home, More Laundry

2:55 Go to bus stop to pick up Kassidy

3:05 Go to school to pick up Mikaylee and Kolten

3:30 Leave home with out any children to go to Sandy to meet friend for shopping and dinner.

3:50 Call from home.... Chey's baby is in the back seat of the car. She is freaking out.She wants
it NOW! I feel guilty...almost turn around to take her the doll...but I resist. I kept heading towards South Towne Mall... Chey gets over it...Phew!

4:00 Call Kassidy, ask her to make dinner. I spaced dinner for the family. I could have let them fend for themselves...but Kassidy rescued me and made spaghetti for dinner.

4:30-7:00 Shopping and catching up with a friend...

7:30 Dinner at Mimi's Cafe. MMmmmmmmmmm...

8:49 Headed home. Decide that it had been a pretty great day!

Hahahahaha... and my husband always wonders what I do all day long.

School projects, sleep deprivation and one proud Momma!

2009-04-30T08:34:00.000-07:00

Isn't it amazing the things we do for our children? I'm not talking about the process of giving birth, or getting stretch marks. I'm not talking about changing those disgusting, "what in the world have you been eating?" diapers or staying up all hours of the night with a teething baby. I'm not even talking about the way a we would protect our child from danger, like a mother bear, willing to attack a predator to protect her cubs. I am talking about the extreme sacrifices we make to help our child succeed. Namely, sleep deprivation.

Let me start off by stating that sleep is important to me. Very important. I need it. I crave it. I have to have it. If I don't get 8 hours a night I am dragging for days. I can't function. My words get slurred...it's not pretty.

I don't know how to make this long story short, so here we go...

My son has been trying to make 5Th grade honor roll. To achieve this, he has had a list of 16 assignments, which he got to choose 11 to complete. Assignments such as participating in the school talent show, and PTA Reflections contest. Visual art projects accepted by the school principal to be hung in his office. Special research projects, book reports from an approved list by the librarian and service projects approved by a teacher or principal. Writing a book, memorizing the Gettysburg Address...ETC. He has had 8 months to do these. Today, April 30Th, was the deadline.

He had a game plan and in all honesty, he did pretty good. He got most of assignments completed in plenty of time. He had 7 of his projects finished up a few weeks ago, and this last week he completed 3 more. That left him with just one to do. He saved it for last because he knew it would be easy for him. It should have been easy for him. My son is a math whiz. Really...he is.

He was trying to complete his math facts. 100 problems, completed in less than 3 minutes. One for addition, one for subtraction, timed by his teacher. He got his subtraction done in 2 minutes and 39 seconds. But addition, he just couldn't do it. He brought home 10 practice sheets yesterday so he could practice. We tried, and tried but he couldn't get it in under 3 minutes. I know he could have done it if he could of practiced for a day or two. But, today was last day to pass them off. He was so stressed and anxious. He doomed himself to failure. At 9:30 last night, we realized that we should have had a plan B.

After working for 8 months and already finishing 10 projects, he couldn't give up! He was left with 2 other choices. Memorize the Gettysburg Address and recite it to the principal by today, or publish a book to be read in front of the class and given to the school library. He chose to write and publish a book. Not just any book, a book of poems. This is not a 2 hour project. It's a 2 day project and he started it 11 hours before it was due.

The first three poems he came up with rather easily. One Cinquian about tigers (they are the Taylor Tigers.) Then two Acrostic poems, one titled "Taylor Tigers" and one titled "Weekends". By now, it is almost midnight and we are both very tired. I'm trying to prod him along and help him find ideas for poems and he can't stop yawning and rubbing his eyes. It was bed time.

I didn't know if a few poems printed out on white paper and stapled together was going to cut it for this project. I was so worried about it that I couldn't sleep. I lay in bed thinking of all the things he could write poems about. I thought about ways he could make his book look a little bit professional. I thought about cute paper that would make his book more appealing to read. After a few of restless hours of sleep, I got up, got dressed and with a Zone bar in hand, made my way to Walmart. 5 o'clock in the morning is THE time to shop at Walmart! There isn't anyone else there. I easily got a parking spot up front and I didn't have to stand in a check-out line. It was great! I ended up finding a semi-cute 8 X 8 scrap book with 10 pages in it for only $5.98. It would have to do.

I was home by 6 and dragging Kolten out of bed by 6:05. He wasn't very charming that early, but after a Zone bar of his own, he got to work and finished up 3 more poems. He found coordinating pictures to print off and got his book put together. After some cutting, gluing, a couple of paper cuts, and one massive headache, the book was done. It actually turned out kinda nice and didn't look as "thrown together" as I thought it would. After one minor melt down from my 1st grader, I got him to school and watched with pride as he handed it in at 8:55 on the dot. Phew! He made it! He made 5Th grade honor roll! Yay!!! I am proud of him. He worked hard to earn this.

As I was driving back home, I realized that I didn't even get a picture of his book...or the awesome eagle picture that he burned into wood for his art project. I'm thinking I might have to show up after school today with my camera in hand for a few pictures. I already know that he will be THRILLED about that! He owes me at least that much!

Kassidy's Quote of the Day

2009-04-22T16:35:00.002-07:00

We made a fast dash to Walmart today and as we were leaving the parking lot to come home, the car starts beeping its annoying little beep notifying me that someone wasn't buckled up. Kassidy was the culprit, once again. I asked her in a super-sweet maple syrup-y voice to pppppppplease put her seat belt on and with her quick wit she replied;

"You mean I have to wear pants AND my seat belt? They're both so constricting."

2009-04-22T16:35:00.001-07:00

Birthday Girls

2009-04-20T09:07:00.000-07:00

This post is dedicated to my two beautiful Aries daughters. We celebrated their birthday's last week in Disneyland but I wanted to take a moment and let them know how special they are.

First, Kassidy Kole, born on April 10th, 1995.

My oldest child, one of my most favorite people. You are such a special girl. You are smart, funny, and kind-hearted. Not to mention beautiful and talented in so many ways. You are every one's friend and you have a way to make people feel happy and loved when they are around you. No wonder your sisters love you so much! I am very proud of who you are and all your accomplishments. I hope you know how grateful I am for all you do to help me out. I wish there were the words to tell you how much I love you... I hope one day you will have a daughter just like you, then maybe you will know.

My sweet Mikaylee Grace... Born on April 12th, 2002

I can't believe you are already 7! It seems like just yesterday that you were born. I will never forget the doctor saying, "It's a girl!" It was a magical moment to find out I had another daughter. You were such a beautiful baby. You still are beautiful, inside and out. I love your silly sense of humor, your curiosity, your willingness to make people happy. You make me happy, every day. Thank you for being a good big sister to Cheyenne. You are her best friend...and mine. I am amazed watching you learn and grow. Never lose sight of your dreams because I know you will reach them some day. I love you forever.

Christmas in April?

2009-04-19T16:17:00.000-07:00

It is April 19th and I am happy to report that the festive, twinkling, outdoor Christmas lights have finally come down! Wahoo!!! It was such a difficult task, too. We had to reach up and unplug the cord, then gently pull and each and every one of the gutter clips came right off and brought the lights with them. It didn't even require the use of a ladder. It took Kolten, Kassidy and I all of 3 minutes to complete, and that includes carrying them downstairs, finding the right tote and putting them away. It would have only taken 2 minutes if I would have labeled the totes before I put them away. Wow...I really feel like I have accomplished something big.

Now, as for the shelf in my entry way, it's going to stay festive for another day or so. Are old-fashioned Santa's, reindeer and poinsettia's that out-of-place in April? Compared to the beautiful warm sunshine, the grass turning green and the little flowers starting to peek through the ground outside... It can be a slight shock to walk through my front door. You are greeted by Christmas. It's on my to-do list. Really it is.

Easter 2009

2009-04-18T08:01:00.001-07:00

We were in Disneyland over Easter this year, and it was really, really fun. But... the kids were not ready to give up some of the traditional Easter activities. So, some of them we did a little early,and some of them we did a little late.

Here we are coloring Easter Eggs...

My favorite egg of the day was done by my hubby... It's nice to know that after all this time he still loves me...Yes, it does say J heart T. Aaahhhhhh, how sweet!

Then of course, we had the Easter Egg hunt. This was the evening we got home from our vacation. After 10.5 hours in the car the last thing I wanted to do was hide plastic Easter eggs, but I did it anyway. It was tradition! lol

Kassidy was too "old" for the Easter egg hunt... But Kolten was a great helper finding the eggs that were too high to reach. What a good big brother he is.

Next year, I want to make pails like this for the kids for Easter. My super-creative neighbor Angie made this one and I love it. I think it is the most adorable idea. She used her Cricut to cut out the words (Happy Easter) and grass... then of course filled it with Easter grass and candy. What a cute idea!!! I am SO going to copy her! lol

Our Dog Dakota

2009-04-17T10:08:00.000-07:00

Our sweet dog, Dakota passed away yesterday. She was 15 and 3/4 years old. She was our first "baby." Jeremy and I got her just 3 months after we were married. She was the cutest puppy, full of energy and mischeif. She was the best dog. She never barked. If she did, you knew something was wrong. She never traveled far from home. If we put her in a kennel, she would find a way out, even if she had to climb out the top. She would curl up in the garage or on the lawn and wait for Jeremy to get home. He was her best friend.

She had grown old and tired. She was in pain from arthritis and old age had taken over. It was hard for her to walk, she had lost her hearing, her eyesight was going. Poor, girl...we love her so but we know its for the best. She is up in doggie heaven running through green meadows, free as can be.

Dakota, we will miss you.

Disneyland...Here we come!

2009-04-07T10:32:00.000-07:00

Yep, we are taking a trip to "The Happiest Place On Earth." Weather is supposed to be cool with a chance of rain. Maybe that will help keep the lines short? I can hope, right? We are super excited and looking forward to meeting Mickey himself. Forget the princesses...my girls want Mickey!

Wish us luck and I'll update you all when we get home!

Sisters

2009-04-02T19:28:00.000-07:00

There is something very special about sisters. Sisters have a connection that time, distance and even absence can't break. I see this in my girls, I see this in my sisters and I. Your sisters are there for you, always. Sisters hold a special place in their hearts for each other through out their lives. I saw a wall plaque that said, "Always My Sister, Always My Friend."

Sisters are your partner in crime, your confidant, your fashion advisor, your shopping buddy, your therapist, your best friend. They are the ones you turn to for advise, to vent your frustrations to and to lean on during the most difficult times. They are there for the best times and the worst times. They are there when you need a shoulder to cry on and when you need someone to goof off with. They fill up your heart.

Cold season

2009-03-31T12:02:00.000-07:00

It was another hard day taking Chey to preschool. Not as many tears, but the heartbreak was still there. She told me that she just feels sad when she is not with me. That kid knows how to tug at her mamma's heart.

On another note, it seems like my family has been passing around a bad cold for the past few weeks. Luckily, we just seem to get it one at a time, but with out fail, as soon as one person starts to get over it another comes down with it. The kids have all had it twice. Chey is on her 3rd round. I have Lysol'd and Clorox'd everything in the house multiple times so I am aiming my blame at a faulty dishwasher. I have two, (lucky me!) and one of them just doesn't seem able to get the dishes very clean. If there is still food and grime on the dishes, couldn't there still be germs? So I have banned the use of it for a while and am begging Handy-Man Jer to look at it and fix it! I am trying to pump myself up for using only 1 dishwasher. On a normal day I run both of them and still have dishes left over. Maybe I should invest in some paper plates, cups and utensils.

A few months ago, maybe a year ago, the FDA came out with new guidelines saying you should NEVER give a child under the age of 4 over-the-counter cold medicine. I found this post about childrens cold medicine on a blog of a student at U of U Pharmacy School named Ben. I really appreciated this opinion from a pharmacist point of view. To read his post, click here.

Kassidy and Kolten were given cold medicine for every runny nose they had when they were little. I was a young mom who took the pediatrician serious when he recommended 1 tsp. of Triaminic. I can't say that I ever remember the cold medicine working that well, but I felt better because I was doing something to help them. That was 10 years ago. Now, with Mikaylee (6) and Cheyenne (5), I will try anything before I think of cold medicine. I don't like giving them medication. I don't like how cold medicine makes me feel, and I don't want my kids to "grow up on Triaminic". Funny how time changes your parenting styles. Even without the FDA telling me, I seemed to figure out that there were other ways to handle children with colds.

For some great home remedies from Mach Momma click here.

Here it comes!

2009-03-30T16:26:00.000-07:00

April Fools day is only 2 days away! I need to think up a few tricks to play on the kiddo's.

I found a good one in the Family Fun magazine that arrived a few days ago. You take a little mini bag of Cheetos, carefully open it along the seam, empty out the Cheetos and fill the bag with carrot sticks and a little April Fools note. Then use double sided tape to close the bag back up. This will be a good one for Kolten and Mikaylee. I will put them in their lunch box. It's a little harder to get Kassidy. I'm thinking maybe something with her hair stuff or make up? Not sure what though. Cheyenne is afraid that some one will take all her toys as a prank. She is not looking forward to April 1st. lol

Jeremy is easy! Give him a Krispy Kremes box full of something besides donuts. Or make cookies and "forget" to add sugar.

My favorite was 2 years ago. After Kassidy and Kolten had gone to bed I got some wrapping paper and wrote a big "April Fools Day" on the white side. (the back) Then I taped it up across their bedroom doorways. When they got up the next morning, they opened their doors to find a big surprise. It only took Kassidy 10 seconds to rip the paper down and go through but Kolten stood there and screamed for help. It was pretty dang funny!

Is it wrong that I LIKE playing tricks on my kids??? I think not.

I do have friends that have played some border-line mean tricks on their parents. Like imitating a policeman and calling your dad at 1 AM and telling him that your son (aka: yourself) has been arrested. It took the poor dad about 15 minutes to figure out it was a joke.

I'm always looking for new fun ideas. Anyone?

Preschool Troubles

2009-03-26T11:52:00.000-07:00

I'm having one of those "mom" moments. You know the ones where you question every thing you do as a mother and wonder what exactly it is that your doing wrong. Cheyenne didn't want to go to preschool today. She has been going through this for the last month.Every preschool day, she tells me she doesn't want to go. She cries a few tears. She tries to barter with promises like, "If I can stay home from school, I will take a nap. or I will clean my room." I want her to take a nap. I want her to clean her room. But I know that if I let her skip school one time, she will think she can always skip school. This is hard...for both of us.

I bargained with her today. She wanted me to stay at school with her. The teacher doesn't like this for obvious reasons. It makes the other kids want their mom's, too. It disturbs the whole school day having a mom stay. So, we bargained. I would stay for 5 minutes, then she would stay and have a fun day at school. (Did I mention that her preschool is only 2 hours long?) When the 5 minutes was up, I told her goodbye. The tears started flowing. (Hers, not mine.) Her wonderful teacher, Miss Amy, took her and hugged her and sat in the rocking chair and rocked her while she cried. I turned the corner and went half way up the stairs and just stood there listening to my baby cry because she wanted her mommy. I wanted to go get her and hug her and rock her and tell her that I would stay. But I don't think that would solve anything.

Cheyenne has loved preschool up to this point. This is her second year at Kreative Kids Preschool. She has loved her teacher, she has loved the kids in her class. She has made some really fun friends. I used to pull up to the curb, help her out of the car and she would tell me goodbye as she ran up to the door, always excited to go. I don't know what changed. I don't know what made her not want to go anymore. All I know is that I am counting down the minutes until I can go pick her up. This is as hard for me as it is for her.

I hope that next week is better. Maybe I will try an earlier bed time for her. How much sleep does a 5 year old need, anyway???

On a side note, Cheyenne has always been Miss Popular at preschool. The other kids fight over who gets to sit by her. Whether it's rug time, story time, play time, snack time, the teacher had to start making them take turns. I wonder if this could be overwhelming to an incredibly cute, wonderfully smart, overly friendly 5 year old?

Juice Plus+

2009-03-23T12:35:00.000-07:00

I was drawn to Juice Plus+ when I heard about it from my neighbor. I was looking for a way to increase my family's health. Juice Plus+ is an easy, convenient way to do just that. I decided to get Juice Plus+ for my family because I wanted them to get the benefits of more fruits and vegetables every day. The more I find out about Juice Plus+, the more I love it! In the last year that I have been taking it I have noticed that my hair and nails grow like crazy! My hair has gotten thicker and my nails are very strong. I feel more energetic and I have had less "sick" days than before. Also, (and this one is a biggie for me) my knees no longer ache like they used to. I can go up and down stairs with out pain! It's awesome.

What is Juice Plus+?

Juice Plus+ is a whole food supplement that provides nutrition from 17 different fruits, vegetables and grains.(For a list of fruits and veggies in Juice Plus+ click here.) How many people do you know who eat 17 servings of fruit and vegetables every day? There is no substitute for eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, but because most people simply can't, don't, or won't, Juice Plus+® helps fill that gap. Taking Juice Plus+ is the next best thing.
Why are fruits and vegetables so important to our health?

"Experts agree: the best way to reduce your risk of disease is to eat healthier. Almost every day, another piece of research or another news story touts the importance of our dietary choices — especially the benefits of eating more fruits and vegetables. Whether it's a new vitamin, an antioxidant, or some other phytonutrients not yet "discovered" by science, fruits and vegetables contain an unparalleled array of nutritional elements that offer numerous health benefits for our bodies. And, the thousands of nutrients found in fruits and vegetables work together in ways that science is just beginning to explore. The message is clear: we need more of the healthful whole food nutrition of fruits and vegetables in our diets, every day. It's the one thing everyone agrees we can do to improve our health and reduce our risk of chronic diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, and cancer."

Clinical studies at major universities throughout the world are proving time and time again that Juice Plus+ Works!

For more information contact me here.

Making Aprons

2009-03-19T12:17:00.000-07:00

Mikaylee and Cheyenne are my little kitchen helpers. There isn't a day that goes by that they don't help make dinner or cookies or something. They wanted an apron to wear when they help out so I decided to make them. I got this idea from a creative lady I used to live by and they were so easy to make! They are made out of a square or rectangle shaped hot pad, a matching dish towel (you cut it in half) and some matching ribbon for the ties. I got everything I needed to make 2 aprons including the thread for $13.00. It took me about 1 hour to make both of them and they turned out adorable! My two little chef's love them and have found another use for them then just cooking...They wear them to play Kangaroo's! The aprons have a pocket on them that makes the perfect kangaroo pouch!

Little Angels Photography

2009-03-13T19:39:00.001-07:00

I found Little Angels in 2002, right after Mikaylee was born. I loved the photos on the website so I booked an appointment. Mikaylee was 4 weeks old, Kassidy was 7 and Kolten was 4. Tanya Hovey (photographer/owner) did a fabulous job! These pictures turned out awesome and she really was able to catch the personalities of the kids in all the pictures. She had beautiful flower gardens around her house and she cut fresh tulips for our photo session. It has been almost 7 years since I went to Little Angels, but I have seen her on Good Things Utah and I also ran across her website a few days ago. She just keeps getting better and better! She does amazing photo's! You have to check out her website. http://www.littleanglesphoto.com/ She does some digital photographs of babies in flowers and on Harley's and all kinds of cool stuff! Almost makes me wish I had another baby to photograph...almost. She has a blog that I recommend checking out, too. You won't regret it! http://littleangelsphotoblog.com/ Here are a few of the photo's from our session.

Cadbury Eggs

2009-03-11T12:42:00.000-07:00

Oh the sweetness of these little Cadbury mini-eggs. I LOVE these. The hard, crunchy outer shell and the smooth, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate center. This is how I know that Easter is upon us and Spring is just around the corner. I was at Walmart yesterday and low and behold...there they were. Cases of them in the candy aisle. I couldn't pass them up. I had to have some. So I limited myself to just one bag. I couldn't wait to open them when I got home and indulge in a few of these oh-so-sweet treats. My mistake was opening them in front of my children. Apparently they love them too. That must stem from years of their mom buying them, bag after bag, every time she sees them during the Easter season. I've trained my children well. After we all had a few, I very diligently put the bag of candy away. But as soon as I left the room, the kids had it back out. It didn't take long for the whole bag to be devoured. I can't blame them. Heck, I can't even be mad at them. I know how they call out your name and just beg to be eaten. I think we are almost out of bread...looks like a trip to the grocery store is on today's agenda. I won't even try to stay out of the candy aisle...at least until after Easter.

Lady Antebellum

2009-03-09T12:45:00.000-07:00

This has been my favorite CD for about 3 months now. It is SO good. I listen to it all the time. These guys have such an amazing sound. I was hooked from the first time I heard their song, "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" on the radio. Kassidy listens to them all the time now, too. I'm not sure who is a bigger fan, me or her. Fact is, it's an awesome CD and Lady Antebellum is a fabulous Country group! Oh man would I love to see them in concert.

Background change

2009-03-09T12:25:00.001-07:00

I'll have to ask you to bear with me while I play around with the back ground on this blog. Although its mostly about "my little honey bee's" the bee's in the back ground were really starting to bug me. (Did you catch my word-play there? ;) I just want something simple but cute and fun all at the same time.... this may take a few tries to find what I want. Any suggestions?

Mother Nature and old socks

2009-03-06T11:33:00.000-08:00

So last night we all piled into the suburban and took a drive to Pleasant Grove. There, we picked up 18 baby chicks. They are cute. They look like little fuzzy balls of fluffy softness. We had a cardboard box with wood shavings in the bottom to bring the chicks home. Of course, they rode in the back of the suburban and all the way home we heard nothing but 18 chicks peeping their little hearts out. A steady chorus of "peep, peep, peep, peep, peep" all the way home. After about 2 minutes of this the kids are at their wits end. "Can't they just be QUIET!" screamed all of the kids. To which Jeremy replied, "Guys, that's Mother Nature talking." This is where I start laughing...Say What????

After we got home and everyone had their share of chick-holding for the night, it was time to get ready for bed. I was helping Cheyenne get ready for her bath and went to pull her socks off. They were sweaty and gross and I told her she had stinky feet. She said, "Well, those socks are old so they probably smell like elderly people." LOLOLOL.... I have no idea where she came up with that. Kids do say the darndest things.

Baby Chey..

2009-02-25T08:56:00.001-08:00

February 24th, 2004 at 8:24 A.M. Cheyenne Victoria entered the world. She was 6 lbs 11 oz. and 19.5" long. In some ways, it seems like it was just yesterday. In other ways, it seems like a life time ago. My girly is growing up...

Chey turns 5!!!

2009-02-25T08:45:00.000-08:00

Chey got so many presents! She loves them all especially her new Purple Princess Bike and her Baby-Go-Bye-Bye. Look at the anticipation on her face as Jer gets that baby our of the box!

2009-02-25T08:39:00.000-08:00

We ended the day with Grandma & Grandpa and Aunt Traci coming down for dinner. Chey requested Carrott Cake with a big #5 candle on it. It took her 5 tries to get the candles out but she did it! It sure was yummy!

Cheyenne's 5th Birthday!!!

2009-02-25T08:23:00.000-08:00

We had a BIG birthday here yesterday. Cheyenne turned 5 and BOY was she excited!!! We started off the day with a birthday candle in her pancakes! This is her covering her ears while we sang her favorite version of "Happy Birthday to You." (You know the one where you live in the zoo and smell like the stinky monkey that you so coincidentally resemble???)

X-Ray Vision

2009-02-19T11:30:00.000-08:00

My sweet Cheyenne has X-ray vision. I don't know how she does it, but she can see inside of things. A couple days ago, I asked Kassidy to go out and get the mail. Cheyenne said, "Mom, the mailbox is empty." "How do you know?" I asked. "I can see inside the mail box from here," she answered matter-of-factly. I sent Kassidy out anyway...there was no mail. Hmmmm.........

The next day, Mikaylee was trying to talk me into giving her 5 bucks so she could buy a Littlest Pet Shop toy. I told her no. I told her I didn't even have any money. Cheyenne promptly spoke up, "Yes you do. I can see some in your wallet." So, of course, I open my purse and pulled out my wallet, and sure enough, there was a 5 dollar bill. Coincidence?

A few days before this, I was helping Chey look for her toy cell phone that was lost. We had looked in every room with no luck. We decided to go look in her room one more time and as we walk in she exclaims "Oh! There it is!" She ran over to her bed, reached into her pillow case and pulled out her cell phone. "Did you finally remember where you left it?" I asked. "No," she replied, "I could just see it in there."

Apparently, super-hero powers are real and my daughter possess the power of X-ray vision. As far as super-hero powers go, I guess this a good one to have. It helps you to find lost toys, it can save you a pointless walk out to the mail box and it could even enable you to see whats in the fridge without having to open the door. I wonder how this will work on her birthday next week? Will she be able to see into her presents before she even opens them? What's a mom to do??? Maybe I could try wrapping her presents with aluminum foil or duct tape. If that doesn't block her X-Ray vision, at least we would have fun watching her try to open them.

I am thankful for...

2009-02-18T19:32:00.000-08:00

Today, I am feeling especially grateful for many things.

First, my family. My wonderful parents who raised me with the gospel in my life. My brothers and sisters, even though we don't see each other often, it always feels like home when we are together. My children, who are the very core of my existence. I love you more than you could ever know. My husband, who makes me want to be a better person. I would be lost without any of you.

Second, my friends. Some of you I lean on more than I should. I know you are always there for me and I hope you know that I am always here for you. I have truly been blessed with amazing friends.

Third, I am so thankful for the knowledge that our Heavenly Father loves us and guides us in all that we do. He does hear and answer our prayers. He wants us to be happy. He has a plan for each and every one of us. This life is a test, and through Heavenly Father, all things are possible. I know that families are forever...and ever and ever and ever.

Happy Birthday Jeremy!

2009-02-13T18:42:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to my awesome husband. He works so very hard to keep this family going and I really do appreciate all he does. To celebrate this grand occasion, the kids and I took him out to dinner at a very small "home town" diner near by and then came home to open presents. He let Mikaylee and Cheyenne help him (as you can see in the photo) and as soon as our dinner digests, we are going to light up a chocolate cake with 34 candles and see if he can blow them all out in one try. Happy Birthday, Jer! I'm glad you are finally as old as I am...lol.

Science Project

2009-02-11T10:13:00.000-08:00

Kassidy had a science project due Monday, and like all true procrastinators, she didn't even start it until 2 days before it was due. Late Friday night, after a few hours of feeling totally overwhelmed and pouting about it, she enlisted the help of her dad. She chose to do the circulatory system, so she made of list of what she needed and Jeremy and Kassidy headed to the store for supplies. They came home with fabric to make some internal organs, fluff to stuff them with, clear plastic tubing, blue and red colored dye, and 2 large folding poster-boards to put everything on. It took her hours of research, a written report and tracing Mikaylee's body on the poster board. Then a couple more hours of attaching the clear tubing with zip-ties and sewing a heart, lungs, kidney's and a liver (which Mikaylee and Cheyenne stuffed). Needless to say, this project took effort from the whole family but she got it done on time. With the help of Mom, she got it all to school for the demonstration. She hooked a pump up to the clear tubing, put it in a bucket of blue water and it pumped de-oxygenated blood through the body. Then, as she was explaining the process of the heart pumping the blood to the lungs where it becomes oxygenated to her class, she added the red dye and low-and-behold....the blue, de-oxygenated blood turned into beautiful, red, oxygenated blood. Her class was amazed and her teacher thought she did a fabulous job. She spent much of the remaining day trying to explain to her friends how she got the blood to go from blue to red. LOL...Oh, I just love science projects!

Letting go of long hair

2009-02-06T13:42:00.000-08:00

So, here are my two little girls with their long pretty hair. They have been asking for weeks to get a hair cut. They don't want long hair anymore. They don't like brushing it, they don't like washing it. It gets in their way. But for me, long hair is a right of passage that my little girls should have. I want to brush it and play with it and put it up in curlers. My girls have never let me put curlers in their hair...obviously my wants are not the same as theirs. So, I have had to let go of what I want. Get over the fact that they dont need to have long hair. We went and got hair cuts yesterday...and they look GORGEOUS! I love their new do's. So do they. And it didn't even hurt.

2009-02-03T12:50:00.001-08:00

Today I'm an adventurer. Exploring the world of blogging. It hasn't been too hard, so far. I may even get brave and try downloading a photo. Or that may have to wait until tomorrow. Thank you for introducing me to this new hobby, Mach Mama.