skiing

We woke up to this... which would normally be good

and these boys were up at 7:30 ready to go... and I stayed up late to make these to eat on the way...

up to the mountain to go skiing. but... with the snow and the way others drive around this town and the fact that we are picking parents up at the airport in a few hours we decided it was safer to wait... at least we can still eat ... yum

Thankyou Santa

For Christmas Santa brought me a camera. I have been without one since October when mine became water logged. I am so excited!

My Louie

Louie

a best friend, protector, cuddly 70 pound puppy, loving no matter what i do wrong, lovable no matter what he did wrong, sweet boy, my first child, athletic buff boxer, full of hugs and licks, long runs and hikes, lap dog, loyal trampoline jumper with the boys, ready to play keep away from Rozzie with her ball, follower, garden helper, ride with dad to work, loved to sit shot gun, camping buddy, "bird dog" that is if you consider catching them in mid air or instead of flushing them he'd just catch them , rock lover (didn't hardly have teeth because of rocks), front door greeter, door bell, loved to play hide and seek, sneak up on the bed,
I love this dog! Love, love, love and miss miss miss him. I never realized how much he followed me around until now, he isn't there. It feels so empty here in this home without him. My heart just aches. He left us very suddenly today. I think that is why I am so sad, I wasn't prepared. We are all sad. He was happy active and healthy yesterday and even at breakfast this morning... and now he is gone...
We miss you Lou!

Political Stuff

I am glad I found this quote on a friends blog. It has always bothered me how some could be anti abortion in their personal lives but then pro choice in public policy, this was an a-ha quote to me so I thought I'd share. The entire article is great too if you want to look it up.

"If we say we are anti-abortion in our personal life but pro-choice in public policy, we are saying that we will not use our influence to establish public policies that encourage righteous choices on matters God's servants have defined as serious sins. I urge Latter-Day Saints who have taken that position to ask themselves which other grievous sins should be decriminalized or smiled on by the law due to this theory that persons should not be hampered in their choices. Should we decriminalize or lighten the legal consequences of child abuse? of cruelty to animals? of pollution? of fraud? of fathers who choose to abandon their families for greater freedom or convenience?
Similarly, some reach the pro-choice position by saying we should not legislate morality. Those who take this position should realize that the law of crimes legislates nothing but morality. Should we repeal all laws with a moral basis so that our government will not punish any choices some persons consider immoral? Such an action would wipe out virtually all of the laws against crimes. "
Dalin H. Oaks
Ensign, January 2001

Can she really be two

Yes it's true Carli is 2! I am amazed at how quickly the last two years have gone.

Yeah I know it's blurry but you get the idea right? This little girl has blessed and continues to bless our lives so much. She has this way about her where you can't help but smile when you are around her.

If Ave can't wake up in the morning the perfect cure is to put Carli up there, he is instantly up and happy! She loves her family especially those brothers. She gets so excited when they come home from school and gives them big hugs and says her version of their names

(i can't begin to spell it)
Every time I look at her I am reminded of my many blessings, and that is something I am continually thankful for.

body boarding

C and the Life guard, not the best picture but let me tell you she loved it.

Our superstar

When we stayed in Kellogg we got passes to the water park so we decided to bring the kiddos along, well... A and B went to the fair with Gma and Gpa but C came with us and she wasn't about to let just Daddy try this one. J man was in line for the body boarding and he was about to do it and C threw a huge fit and started sobbing and crying because she wanted to do it. The Lifeguard said he would take her out and boy did she love it. She got to do it twice! And for the water slides ... well I'll just say we had a very hard time leaving.

weekend anniversary fun

What a wonderful man he is! He swept me away for a quick afternoon and evening to celebrate our 10th anniversary. We went and biked the Hiawatha (and stayed in Kellogg afterwords) Starting from the bottom we rode up 4 1/2 miles then took the easy ride back down 4 1/2 miles. It was perfect cool weather and it had just rained so the smell of the sweet wet woods around us was absolutely wonderful! This is Jeremy on one of the bridges you cross, I think it was 760 feet high.

What a wonderful 10 years it has been and here is to many many more! And many thanks to grandma and grandpa for taking the wee ones! thank you, thank you, thank you!

another for mom

Flies seem to be its favorite. I say it because we don't have a clue if it is female or male. Even though its name ( Santianna ) sounds like a girls name to me I still call it a he and so does everyone else in this home except carli she just says bug and gets all excited and points at him, i mean it.

Bo First day with friend A and Teacher B in the back! he loves preschool!

some of the garden

for mom
the garden

The new PET?

2nd week of school

Yippie, we made it through the 1st week of school and are onto the 2nd. Football is going, piano is starting, this weeks homework is half way done, peaches and pears are canned for this year, one chair has been recoverd and 3 left to go, getting ready to do driveway and septic system (double yippie), preschool starts tomorrow, and on top of it all it feels like fall! My favorite time of the year FALL yes FALL is just around the corner. I love this weather and all the colors and smells.

This picture is from last year and I am so excited for this years trip to the Finch!

first day for A

Can it really be? Where did summmer go? Where did the warm weather go? And how can it be that my boy is in grade 3 already?

what is there something wrong?

Carli loves to do things like her big brothers! This is B's dress up outfit, Looks like she wants to go bug hunting too! Man I just love this guy. He brings such joy and fun into our home! He reminds me of the boys sometimes. I love it when he gets down on the floor with the kids and becomes one of them. I've never been very good at becoming and acting like a kid. Someone has to be the adult! Just after this pict was taken he was teasing me and trying to convince me that he put a bigger lift on my Jeep. I kept asking if he really did and he would reply with some silly justification of why it had to be done. The boys thought it was so funny! Did he? you ask... nope... such a tease! Even with the way he dresses! I did convince him that he should change his boots cause I thought it looked silly to wear boots and shorts. Perfectly ok for a little boy but a big boy? hmm ... you tell me

bugs... and beans

This is my latest picking from my garden. They are Royal Burgundy beans. When boiled in water they turn green which is kinda sad because they are so beautiful in this rich purple color. And this is Avery's new hobby. Nana got him a bug vaccume! This is his first bug, it is a Ten-lined June beetle or Watermelon Beetle. He started a bug journal to keep track of all the bugs he catches. Fun times in my home!

Just a quick note to all who are wondering, yes I'm feeling much better. It willl take a while to get my strength back and what not but thus far all is well. Thanks for all the prayers!

Something I never thought my boys would have...

I never thought my boys would have mohawks. Well the day has come... Daddy gave the hair cuts tonight as I put C to bed. Ave didn't get one just B. ( try to look past the the smore pie that is still all over his face)

mmmmmmmmmm chocolate crinkles!

One of my all time favorite cookies is the chocolate crinkle. I remember Mom making these after all of us kids were in bed. It's no wonder why she had to do that, they are delish. I made some today and the "boys" finished off a tray (10) of them (with a little help from me).

I also remember sneeking out of my bed at night and taking some of the warm cookies off the cooling racks when she wasn't watching.

So here's to chocolate crinkles and Mom (for trying to make them without us finishing them before they could be used for lunches the next day)

soo very good

Just finishing it off.

water, mud and what more mud...

Saturday we had a family day. It was long overdue. We headed to Idaho, spent some time down by the water, which is always a favorite of the boys. So many rocks and sticks to throw in we could have stayed for hours!



After our time at the lake we headed down the road ...
for some ...
fun in the mud?
OK so we started pretty clean, all was well

till we had to cross this stream.
Jer was wearing somewhat water resistant boots and I was just in shoes (nothing fit for walking through water). J decided that he would carry us all across. So up first were Carli and I. We got half way across the stream and I slipped off his back and got terribly wet anyway! Feet, bum and all.

Here he is bringing the boys across the stream.



After the stream crossing ...
the rest of the trail was full of mud puddles which of course you need to sit down in.
as shown here by Bo.
I have to say, after I was muddy and wet it was a lot more fun.
Just letting loose and playing in the puddles with the boys.

What a blast!

Carli was the only one who stayed clean.

This is a picture of the first stream we crossed.
As you can see it had some rocks to step on.
That made crossing a little easier.

These were my jeans after the ordeal.
That was not fun, driving home for an hour in wet pants.

Ah, sleeping boys after a long day of play!

I'd do it all again (mud and all) next weekend!

Easter, Bo's Birthday and such

So this is a little out of order but we'll start with Easter. What fun, to have General Conf. and Easter in the same weekend. Such a treat. We had a nice quite day and then had all the grandparents over for an Easter dinner. This is what jer and the dogs did durning the egg hunt...

Sweet girl, finding eggs!

Carli got out of the hospital on B's birthday and he knew it was his birthday and we didn't want to make him feel bad so we put together a wonderful party, suprised him with a house full of decorations, and an Indiana Jones cake. Here he is cutting his cake with a play knife he got in an army guy dress up kit. He did a pretty good job too!

J and B-

Nana got a wonderful card for B. You open it and it plays the indiana jones theme... yeah that was his favorite gift. A CARD! so simple

and you ask... do we still hear that card every day, um yeah. Funny thing is that Carli will clap every time she hears it now too.

What happens when Nana takes the boys...

So Nana took the boys so I could get a nap in today. With all that Carli has going on I haven't slept much. And guess what happened just as Nana was driving away with the boys... yes, that's right my bright eyed girl woke up from her nap. Time to eat!

More of the Pinewood winner!

Yup, our little first timer got first place and is on his way to districts. Good job Ave!

Yeah For the Pinewood Derby

An assortment of photos showing Ave working on his car for the pinewood derby. (not in any order what so ever)

Ave took part in the Pinewood Derby tonight. What a blast! This was my first time attending this type of event. All of the kids worked so hard on their cars and they had so much fun. I was so very proud of all the boys in my den. It was neat to see them cheering each other on too. Kids are great.

Carli, our almost walker!

Here is Carli with her walker.

just for fun

The kids in Avery's grade did a Presidents Wax Museum at school. They were all assigned different Presidents and they had to write and memorize 6 or so sentences about their President . Then on the day of the event they dressed like the president and sat very still in a chair till some one came up and pushed a "button"(round sticker) on the back of their hand then they would come to life and tell you about "themselves" (like they were the actual president). Avery had Theodore Rosevelt. All of the kids did so well and it was so cool to hear what the kids thought of the presidents. This is Averys speech. Ignore the kid in the background.

Goals

OK, for the longest time (the last 10 years) I've wanted to make amazing, yummy cinnamon rolls and I had a list of qualities that these cinnamon rolls would have. For example: tons of gooey caramel filling (my problem was it kept falling out the bottom or would soak into the dough), the dough has to be a little doughy like cinnabon but a hint of bready texture like my mom's (so hard to do), light brown color on top with a yummy cream cheese frosting and lastly they still have to taste good the next day. For the last 10 years I have tried and tried to get them just right but they would always flop in one way or another. It usually was that the dough wouldn't be just right. Well tonight, after 10 years, I have mastered the cinnamon roll. I am just soooooooo excited. I think half of it was getting the baking time correct. So now I am left with two cookie sheets of cinnamon rolls, any one up for breakfast? yeah - so good I ate two.

home again

Ah! to be home after a quick overnight trip, it feels so gooooood!
Thank you to mom for feeding the pets that couldn't come.
Poor lou and roz.
The boys had fun swiming with Jer (too cold for me & Carli came down with a runny nose). They had some kids activities where we were staying and the boys painted some small canvas bags. A- did a star wars scene and B- did a camo monster truck. Most of our time was spent on the basketball court with all types of balls of all sizes. Even Carli crawled all over that court.
such a fun quick trip

Today is much better than yesterday!

So I made sugar cookies with frosting (like the lofthouse kind) today! Do you think they are better for you if make them with fresh ground whole wheat flour and organic sugar? hum... i bet with the frosting they are just as bad. Oh well, they are still yummy, and I had that craving and after dealing with sick kiddos for two weekends and counting, I SO DESERVE THEM!

And I just have to brag that I have such a rockin' visiting teacher (and great friend). I think she had an inspiration to call me yesterday to chat and I totally opened up and was way too emotional but she had some great words of wisdom and it really helped and I needed to hear what she had to say. Then today she brought over a lovely flowers and a sweet note!

Just evidence of the Lords tender mercies.

Valentines?

Poor, Poor Avery, worked so hard on his valentines and early this valentines morning got sick and now he can't to to school. What a bummer! Cute idea though. He found it on the computer and we worked together to make them. The body of the ipod is a pack of gum. He was so excited about handing them out.

-dessert tonight-

Just made "Chocolate Mint Brownie Cookies" from The Prepared Pantry (www.preparedpantry.com). My mom gave them to me a while ago and they have been sitting on my pantry shelf, tempting me. So tonight as I was waiting for dinner to finish baking, I pulled them out and whipped them up. YUM and Oh so easy.

Our Sunbeam

Bo is a sunbeam!

Holy crow, how did that happen