Company

This past weekend, Doug's mom and dad were able to come visit us. We had a fun time visiting and it went by way too fast. On Friday, Doug and I went on a date while the kids had some one on one time with Grandma and Grandpa. We went out to dinner and to see the Star Trek movie. We both had a great time.

The next day, due to the heat, we decided to go swimming for the first time this season. Some of us only dangled our feet, but it was very refreshing.

(We put Doug's mom to work skimming)

On Sunday,(along with going to church of course) we celebrated Doug's birthday. Doug's birthday is not until Wednesday, but we thought it would be fun to celebrate it while Doug's parents could join in on the action. We threw some meat on the grill, opened presents and ate some cake and ice cream. Yummy!

Homemade German Chocolate Cake...mmmmm.

The kids made some coupons to give to Doug. They each had their own colored cards and included items like....free massage, 2 hours of peace & quiet, help in the garden, a hug & kiss, etc.

Overall we had a fabulous weekend. Unfortunately, Lexi came down with the stomach flu on Sunday morning. She missed out on all of the birthday celebration. :( I saved her a big slice of chocolate cake for when she gets better.

Random Thoughts

First of all...."The Biggest Loser". I was extremely disappointed in the winner of The Biggest Loser. Early in the show Helen encouraged everyone to vote her daughter off and let her stay. Who does this? Who throws their own child under the table? She's not 60 and at higher risk...she's in her 40's (although she looks a ton older). Her daughter has an entire future to look forward to. I'm not saying she doesn't look great. I am amazed at all of the Biggest Loser contestants and think highly of their dedication and accomplishments. Helen won fair and square as far as the game is played and how much weight she lost. I just think that if she would have let her daughter stay...maybe her daughter could have lost a ton more weight. What did you think?

Next...I want to say Congratulations to Jordan. He earned 100 percent on his Math CRT's (State Test). His name went into a drawing and he won $50 to Walmart! He bought a Sonic Wii game with his winnings. Congratulations Jordan!
Today was a great day for the girls. Kaylee had a field trip to Lieds Children Museum with all of the 2nd graders. She had a fun time. After school, Lexi and Kaylee headed to girl scouts where they were treated to a manicure and pedicure at a professional nail salon. Afterwards they went to an ice cream store for a treat. I was pretty jealous. Their nails look great.

No more braces

Last Friday, Jordan was able to get his braces and spacer off....Woo Hoo. He only had to have them on for about a year. His front teeth are very straight now and he has more room in his mouth to allow his other teeth to come in. I'm hoping that we won't have to have any more orthodontics on him. I'll keep my fingers crossed. The first thing he ate was a big pretzel (not allowed with braces) and the last two days he's been eating granola (that wasn't allowed either). So he is enjoying eating some of the foods that weren't allowed over the past year. Tomorrow he gets a retainer that he has to wear.

Dance Recital

Last weekend we enjoyed watching the girls perform in their dance recital.

Alexis is in Beginning Tap and she performed to a western song called "Firecracker".

Lexi's Dance Recital 2009 from Kristi Farr on Vimeo.

Kaylee is in Beginning Ballet and she performed to "A Dream is a Wish" from Cinderella.

Kaylee's Dance Recital 2009 from Kristi Farr on Vimeo.

On your mark, get set, GO!

Jordan had a good time at the Pinewood Derby. Jordan received a trophy for the "Most Unique Car". His car didn't race as well as his car last year. Last year he won first place out of all of the wolves in 4 wards. But he was extremely happy to get a trophy this year. All of the cub scouts really enjoy this event every year. Jordan has already started planning on what he wants to do for next year.

Pinewood Derby

So, it's that time of year again. The Pinewood Derby. This year Jordan decided to make his car look like spongebob. Here's a pic:

Jordan painted all of the main colors and I just helped do a little of the detailing (eyes and tie). He did a great job. Masking tape helped him paint straight. Doug helped sand the wheels, drill the holes, and all of the stuff behind making the car go fast (hopefully!). We still have to put the weights in, but tomorrow night is the race. Wish him luck!

Bedtime Stories

We recently rented Bedtime Stories from Redbox. We really liked it and laughed all the way through. (If you don't like Adam Sandler, you might not like this movie) One of the things that we laughed at was Adam Sandler's ring tone on his cell phone. Mason noticed that we were laughing and for the past few days he has imitated the ring tone. I decided to catch it on video. If you haven't seen the movie, you might want to watch this short clip from Bedtime Stories first.

Zion's National Park

During Spring Break we decided to go to Zion's National Park for a few days. One of my work clients called and asked that I clean their account another day due to a function. This allowed us to have an extra free night in our schedules.....yeah! We had 2 free nights at a Holiday Inn hotel...so we packed up some food and headed out. We had a great time. We definitely could've stayed another day and it makes me antsy to go on another fun adventure since we had such a good time. Summer is just around the corner.

During our time at Zions the kids picked up the Junior Ranger program for $1 each. They completed their books and were able to earn a Ranger Badge. The books taught them how to keep the Park Clean and to look for wildlife. They learned a lot and we were glad that we bought them.

Things I learned on this trip:

• The water jug leaks when it tips over. (After a trip to Wal-mart for a pitcher and towels to bail out the water from the trunk...we were good)
• It would be a great investment to buy each of the kids their own hiking backpacks to carry their own water and granola bars.
• Mason does NOT sleep in hotel rollaway cribs. Lucky Mom and Dad!
• Roasting hot dogs and smores with the family was sooo fun!
• A free hotel with swimming and a continental breakfast...need I say more?
• Leaving the toiletry bag packed at the house does not do us any good on the road. We now all have a travel size deoderant, shampoo, toothpaste and toothbrushes.
• Being surrounded by these beautiful huge mountains can be such a humbling experience.
• I like family vacations more than material things. But I have to take pictures so I can remember the experience. Here are some pictures we took:

Easter Highlights

We had a great Easter weekend. On Saturday, the kids decorated Easter eggs:

Mason ate an egg while we decorated:On Sunday, we dressed up fancy for church: After church we were all very excited to get a visit from my brother Scott and his family of 6. They went to California for the week and stopped in on their way home for a short visit and to spend the night. We had a yummy Easter Dinner and played games. They left this morning. It was very fun to see them. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures.

Another note. Kaylee and I had this conversation on Saturday:

Me: We are going to have a special family meeting to remind us all about the real meaning of Easter. You know...Jesus being resurrected...NOT about the Easter Bunny.
Kaylee: Well, Jesus made the Easter Bunny. And he made him to give us candy.

Overall, we had a great Easter!

Spring Concerts!

Concerts! Concerts! Concerts! Concerts! Last week Jordan, Kaylee, Lexi, and Doug all had spring concerts. It was fun to see all of the kids sing and it made for an extremely eventful week. I was glad that my parents were in town to see them perform and help out with the kids during their performances. I owe a big THANK YOU to them! I recorded all of their concerts, but to save you from having to watch all of my kids perform their entire concert, I am only posting one song for
each child. For those who are interested, enjoy: (Don't forget to scroll down and pause the music player)

Lexi's Kindergarten Spring Concert from Kristi Farr on Vimeo.
Kaylee's 2nd Grade Spring Concert from Kristi Farr on Vimeo.
Jordan's 4th Grade Spring Concert from Kristi Farr on Vimeo.

Doug's students had their choir and band concerts and Doug sang in the Community Choir as well. I was only able to make it to the band concert due to our busy schedules, but it was very enjoyable.

Doug even jumped on the drums for one song that the Jazz band played. The Jazz Band received an Encore from the audience and I could tell that the students were really enjoying themselves. Very entertaining!

Mason's Birthday

Yesterday was Mason's birthday. He turned 2 years old. My parents have been in town and it was fun to have them here to join in on the celebration. It's amazing how much he has changed in the last few months. He talks and understands so much now. It's fun to see him learn and grow. Here is a video of Mason blowing out his candles. He actually blew the candles out himself.

Mason's 2nd Birthday from Kristi Farr on Vimeo.

Package from Grandma and Grandpa Farr:
Mason's favorites: Books, Cars, Trucks, Trains, Elmo, Blues Clues, The Wiggles, playing outside, and eating.
Favorite Sayings:
"Mom, watch" (And then he does something silly)
"Mom, Car. Mom, truck. Mom, car. Mom truck." (He says this while we are driving in the car because he is tall enough to see the passing cars and trucks. It does get a little repititious.)

Mason loves his siblings and gets very excited when they walk in from school every day. He calls Jordan "Jo Jo", Kaylee "Kaywee", and Lexi "Kaywee" (It sounds slightly different, but I'm sure it sounds like Lexi in his head).

Happy Birthday Mason!

Dance

This year Kaylee has been taking Ballet and Lexi has been taking Tap. Their performances are coming up at the beginning of May, but they recently had pictures taken so I snapped a shot outside of the Dance Studio since they were all dolled up. (Kaylee is performing Cinderella, and Lexi is performing a western show)

I'll post the professional picture once they come in...and the recital in May.

Crystal Reservoir

My parents have been in town this past week. We've had a great time. Last Wednesday we decided to go to Ash Meadows Wildlife Refuge and throw rocks into Crystal Reservoir. Doug and the older 2 kids were in school and were unfortunately unable to join in on the fun. It was really windy so we didn't stay for very long, but we all had a great time. The Refuge also has a boardwalk that was about a mile and a half away from the reservoir, so we walked along that too. Pictured below: Lexi, Alexa (Lexi's friend), my Mom, Mason, and my Dad. My Dad....he looks like he was going to jump right in. (They do allow swimming, but it was waaaay too cold)

Crystal Reservoir from Kristi Farr on Vimeo.

The Little Blue Man

The following video is of Doug's sisters Heather and Tiffany singing "The Little Blue Man". If you listen to the words....it is a little creepy, but my kids loved it anyways! Both of his sisters were in Madrigals during High School and have beautiful voices. Take a look:

Klutzy me!

The other day my vegetable lasagna came to life and jumped right out of my hands. After doing a little dance, it flipped upside down on the inside of my oven door. Okay, Okay...so I may have contributed a little bit to it's little dance. After scooping off the top of the lasagna back into the pan and cleaning the inside of the oven door at a temperature of 375 degrees, I decided an oven cleaning was in order. In my earlier married years I was intimidated by cleaning an oven. It looked so difficult and I just didn't want to deal with it. I remember my Mom cleaning my oven when I moved out of my house in Roy, UT. Now, however, after owning a cleaning business and cleaning SEVERAL ovens, I learned that ovens are very easy...as long as you know all the tricks.

I thought I would share a few tips on oven cleaning. I know that most ovens these days are self cleaning ovens, but I hate using them. Every time I do...it doesn't come out as clean and shiny as using oven cleaner. I like using fume free Easy off oven cleaner...safe for self cleaning ovens. Here are a few easy steps:

• Spray Oven and racks. Close Oven and let sit. (I like to let it sit for a few hours)
• Take racks out and wash with SOS pads. Rinse, Dry.
• Take a tile and glass scraper (This is a razor blade...found in paint section at department stores) and scrape the entire bottom of oven and the oven door. (Make sure it is a new razor blade) THIS STEP IS A LIFE SAVER!
• Wash sides of oven with SOS pad
• Wipe out with old rag or paper towels.
• Shine oven with glass cleaner and paper towels

Another tip: You can put your racks in a large heavy garbage sack and pour ammonia in the bag. Close the bag up tight and let sit several hours. Take the racks out and rinse. All the black stuff will just fall right off. CAUTION: The ammonia is very strong. So be careful when taking the racks out.

The Before Picture:

25 Minutes later:
I hope this helps anyone who feels intimidated to clean their oven!

Eventful school days

Yesterday, Jordan turned in his Science Project and presented an oral report. He had the choice of making a spaceship, the solar system, or a future city. He was set on building a future city. Here is a picture of what he created:

A few features "Robotica"provides are neighborhoods built up above powered by a windmill, hovercrafts that can float on or fly above the "water roads" (powered by hydrogen), and buildings only made up of recycled materials. Oh...and people can purchase robots for $500 that will do chores and tasks at home (like pull weeds, cook dinner, fix your car, clean up after pets, etc.). There are some days that I wouldn't mind having something like that around. He hasn't received his grade on this yet, but he said that he did well when he presented his project.

Today was career day at school. The kids were asked to dress as if they were going to a job interview. I took a picture of each of them before school.

Kaylee

Jordan

Lexi

I hope this will teach them how to act during an interview so they can get a well paying job that they enjoy.

Dress up

Yesterday Mason let Lexi and her friend Alexa (a girl I watch 3 days a week) dress him up. I was really surprised that he let them because it is a fight every day to get him dressed.

Mrs. Speedy, Fishy, and Sparkle

A few weeks ago we "caved" and let the kids buy their own fish. We are not really pet people, so this was a big deal for our family. Now we have a hamster and 3 fish. I am actually enjoying having fish. My only regret is having to find someone to take care of them if we go out of town (and cleaning the tank, of course).

Meet Lexi's goldfish "Sparkle" (on left), and Kaylee's goldfish "Fishy" (on Right). I know you are just so impressed with the names they came up with.

Jordan chose a female guppy and named her "Mrs. Speedy". She is really speedy.

I won! I won! I won!

Hooray! I won the Tiny Talks vol. 9 book. If you read my blog article from Saturday, you'll know that it was a simple drawing. All I had to do was post an article linking to Anne Bradshaw's blog. This week she is giving a different book away, so she is definitely someone to keep on your list of blogs to visit.

I have a few people to thank. First of all, my brilliant cousin Heather. If it wasn't for her I would have never found out about the drawing in the first place. Secondly, Anne Bradshaw, for hosting the drawing. And Thirdly, Lee Ann Setzer, the author of the book who is giving it away. I'll stop there since it's starting to sound like I won the Emmy's or something. :) (But I am really excited that I won something)

Green Stuff!

Happy St. Patricks Day! I like St. Patricks Day because it is one of the easiest holidays to please my children....and it only takes a few drops of green food coloring. Here's what was on the breakfast menu today:

Green scrambled eggs, a green drink, and green buttered toast. I had to convince the girls that it tasted exactly the same as it does when it is not colored. I joined in on the fun too:

I often make a fruit smoothie for breakfast and today I just added a drop or two of food coloring. Next to the smoothie you'll notice green butter, green mayonnaise, and army green peanut butter. I thought I would extend the food fun to the kids' lunches today. Happy St. Patricks Day!

Have you done anything fun to celebrate the holiday?

Happy Birthday!

I am the youngest of 8 and Doug is the oldest of 5. We have a total of 31 nieces and nephews. With such a large family I decided to list monthly birthdays on the side of my blog this year. Today, however, I felt that I needed to do a special post for the Birthday Girl. Today is my mother-in-laws birthday (I would get sick of wearing green on my birthday and at some point rebel...and maybe even hate the holiday. I'm not sure how she feels.) I've told several people over the past years how lucky I am to have the in-laws that I have. They are perfect! I'm not trying to make anyone jealous, but if I am...too bad. My in-laws have always made me feel like I am part of their family...not like some outsider who barged into their lives 14 years ago. My mother-in-law would do anything for me...and not just for me, but for anyone who she knows. I feel privileged to be her daughter-in-law. Happy Birthday Mom!

Tiny Talks by Lee Ann Setzer

This week Lee Ann Setzer is giving away a free copy of her book "Tiny Talks" (Vol 9). I think any LDS mother who has primary age children has probably heard of her before. Having 4 children and being in the Primary Presidency...this sure would come in handy. If you haven't heard of this book before,they are primary talks already prepared. You can use the talk straight out of the book, or just get the idea to start a talk for your child. They're great. If you would like to enter her contest, just click on her name above (although I'm secretly hoping not very many people do so I have a better chance of winning...mwaaa haa haa).

Lexi's 6th Birthday

On Thursday, Lexi turned 6 years old. She said she felt taller and bigger. She was able to take cupcakes to her Kindergarten class and be the line leader for the day. Her teacher gave her a special hat and she felt like a Queen all day long. The next day (Friday), she had a princess party. She said that she only wanted to invite girls to her party this year (I guess this is part of getting older). I made her a Castle Cake and decorated the house with princess decorations. When her guests arrived, they painted sun catchers. I was tired of doing the standard party games and suggested painting at her party instead. They all had a great time painting and loved taking their projects home. The kids were stuffed after eating pizza, cake and ice cream. Lexi opened her birthday presents and was very happy with getting so many fun and exciting gifts. She handed out goodie bags before the kids left and overall Lexi had a great 6th Birthday Party! Happy Birthday Lexi! Here is a slide show of some of the pictures I took for her birthday:

Breaking the habit

As you can see...Mason is in love with his binkies. He turns 2 in April and I know that is when I'm going to be breaking his heart.

Thank you alcohol!

Today I am very thankful for potent products that remove stains.

• Jordan decided to color both pant legs with red pen yesterday at school. Not just a line...both thighs were completely red. At first I thought it was paint. I am very thankful that hairspray took it off. He's almost 10 years old....the little creep.
• Mason decided to write on our fairly new couch with black pen. When hairspray didn't take it out, I tried nail polish remover and that did the trick. Yeah! I never even saw him do this, nor did I find a black pen anywhere. I just happened to notice the artwork.
• Lexi had a shirt that had a sticker on it and I missed it when it went through the wash. It came out with a goo stain that wouldn't come off. Luckily, I had some goof off. That did the trick. Hooray.

I hope I don't have to remove any more stains today. I hate removing stains and the never ending loads of laundry.