Spirit Week

This week was Spirit Week at the Elementary School. On Monday, they were able to wear their pajamas to school. They were so excited: On Tuesday, the kids learned all about staying away from Drugs. The theme was: "Don't Monkey around with Drugs" . All of the kids had to wear a shirt with a monkey on it:On Wednesday, they had to wear red. This day was a half day of school and it was Parent Teacher Conferences. I didn't get a picture. I was able to go to PTC however, and all 3 kids are getting straight A's! Woo Hoo! They are also doing great in Behavior.

Today (Thursday) was the Halloween Parties and Costume Parade. The kids all had a great time getting in their costumes, playing games, and eating! I took a picture of each of them as they walked around in the parade:

We don't have any school tomorrow due to Nevada Day. Hooray!

Mmmm.....Frosting!

This past weekend the kids and I made Halloween Sugar cookies. They each got to choose a frosting color and put different kinds of sprinkles on their cookies. They had a great time. Mason didn't get to frost any cookies, but he did get to frost something else...

Himself!

Unfortunately I had cleaned up everything before thinking to take pictures of the kids actually decorating the cookies. They all had a good time. Kaylee said the best part was eating them.

Tagged

I've been tagged by my sister-in-law Heather to play the following game:

Here are the rules: I have to answer the following questions with one word answers and one word only! Then I must pass it on to seven others. Here are the questions:

1. Where is your cell phone? pocket
2. Where is your significant other? work
3. Your hair color? brown
4. Your mother? stressed
5. Your father? pain
6. Your favorite thing? scrapbooking
7. Your dream last night? dunno
8. Your dream/goal? skinny
9. The room you're in? bedroom
10. Your hobby? scrapbooking
11. Your fear? debt
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? anywhere
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. What you're not? sad
15. One of your wish-list items? grass
16. Where you grew up? Riverton
17. The last thing you did? Chauffeur
18. What are you wearing? clothes
19. Your TV? off
20. Your pet? hamster
21. Your computer? busy
22. Your mood? relaxed
23. Missing someone? always
24. Your car? Honda
25. Something you're not wearing? Shoes
26. Favorite store? Sees
27. Your summer? Extreme
28. Love someone? Lots
29. Your favorite color? Blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Forgot

The seven others will be

Marilee
Mom
Katie
Kathryn
Kym
Andi
Cheryl

You can still take the challenge even if you didn't get tagged. I have actually done this game before, but it was in an e-mail.

Mom & Dad

My Mom & Dad came to visit us for a whole week. They left this morning and I already miss them. I don't think I was the best hostess this visit. They visit us at least once a year and I have run out of things to show them. I'll have to start making a list of fun things to do for the next time we have visitors.

Highlights from our visit:

1. Since Monday was a holiday the kids did not have school. We ended up driving to Las Vegas and going to a fun park that my friend told me about. It is a really cool park. I took some pics...
   
2. We watched "The Ultimate Gift". This DVD has been out for a long time, but this was the first time that we have seen it. It is really cute. I highly recommend this DVD if you haven't seen it before.
3. Playing Games. My family is into games big time. I remember each Christmas we would get 3 or 4 games. We would open them up Christmas morning and play all day while we ate our Christmas candy. So every day while my parents were here, we stayed up past 11:00 PM playing "Hand and Foot". For those of you who don't know, this is a really fun card game.
4. Cookies, Ice Cream, Brownies, and so on. My Mom loves to bake cookies. She has never visited my house without buying chocolate chips and baking cookies. She bakes cookies when she is nervous, bored, happy, scared, anxious, excited, and so on. I love her baking, but this week she was a nervous wreck over my sister moving to MN and so she baked all week long. She baked 2 different kinds of cookies, a sheet of brownies, and made root beer floats twice. Now those who are an avid blog follower of mine know that I am trying to lose weight. I only exercised twice this week on top of eating too much junk. I had lost 11 pounds in the past month and I'm hoping to have not gained any of that weight back. I'm scared to even check. Upon parting, we both vowed to lose 5 pounds in the near future.
5. The kids played the "Pillow Game" with Grandpa. When I was a kid my Dad would pretend I was his pillow and I would laugh. He would say, "Pillows don't laugh...Pillows don't move...pillows can't talk, etc". Well he has continued this tradition with my kids and they think it is hilarious. It gets them all riled up and Grandpa is the best. My girls told me they were getting all "fluffed up" for when Grandpa gets here. The down side....apparently Jordan jumped off of the couch onto Grandpa and he was in pain all week long. So...I need to monitor this game if they play it in the future. Sorry Grandpa!
6. Hair Cuts! My Mom has a talent for cutting hair. I wonder sometimes if she regrets having this talent because with 8 kids, their spouses, and 30 grandchildren this turns out to be a part-time job. Four of us got hair cuts this week. :)
7. Visiting. Although we didn't do much of anything it was fun to just spend time with my Mom and Dad!

Thanks Mom and Dad for coming to visit us. (And a special thanks to my Mom for doing all of my laundry for me this week...woo hoo!)

Short but Sweet

Last weekend we had Doug's Brother Darren, his wife Crystal, and their adorable 1 year old, Judson, visit. It was fun to see them. Judson and Mason are only 5 months apart and they had a great time. I was afraid that Mason would bully him, but he didn't....hooray. (Mason has been known to push kids in Nursery before). They arrived on Friday, we visited for a while and then went to the High School Homecoming football game. Unfortunately, our team lost, but we did get to see the Marching Band perform their show. So that was fun. Sorry...these pictures aren't the best. The only down side was that it was COLD. There was a cold front that came in for a few days and the wind was pretty cold. We left after the half time show. That was about all Mason could handle.

The next day the kids played and later that night the adults were able to play games. We pulled out a game that I haven't played for ages...."Inklings". This is a really fun game and I enjoyed spending time with Darren & Crystal. Although, I learned that I don't know comic book characters or much about the wars in this country. Sad, but true.

We were sad that it was such a short trip, but we were very happy that we were able to see them. Thanks for coming to see us!

Family Night with the Band

The Marching Band held its annual "Family Night with the Band" this past week. Each year they perform their Marching Band show for friends and families in the community. You don't have to go to a High School Football game to see the band. The performance was short and sweet and it gave the choir an opportunity for a fundraiser. They sold Hot Dogs, Chips, and a drink for $2. My kids love it and I couldn't pass up dinner & entertainment for my entire family for less than $10.

Another favorite...the kids sat on the highest seat in the bleachers. I am thankful for the new bleachers at the High School...they don't have big gaping holes that kids can fall through...yeah!

Fall Fest Parade

Every year, near the beginning of October, our town has "Fall Fest". This includes a parade, carnival, entertainment, etc. This year was no exception. Doug's Marching Band marched in the parade. Jordan tagged along with them. Unfortunately, I got there a little bit late and missed the Marching Band...they were within the first 10 entries. BUMMER! I did however catch the girl scout float that both Kaylee & Lexi were riding on. Here are some pics...


With Doug, Jordan, Kaylee, & Lexi in the parade...that left Mason & I to watch the parade:
Mason had a great time, but mostly wanted to run in the street. Due to this fact, I left right after the girls went by on their float. Truthfully, I don't find the Pahrump Parade all that exciting. They don't have very many good floats and it's mostly politicians handing out brochures. I'll probably still end up going every year as long as my kids are still enjoying it though.


We didn't end up going to the carnival. It is soooo expensive. If you don't pre-pay for the tickets it is $35/person (pre-pay is $18/person). Also, the best night to go was on Thursday and I worked that night. The carnival does look fun, but I think I'll save a few more bucks and go to Disneyland. Doug's choir did sing a few numbers at the carnival and Doug also sang a few songs with the community choir.

Family Update

We have been really busy lately and I thought I would give a quick update on each of our family members.

Doug has been busy with Marching Band. His students are working hard practicing, performing in the Fall Fest Parade, playing at all the home football games, and getting ready for competition. We all know that Doug is hardly ever home during Marching Band season. On top of Marching Band, Doug is teaching private music lessons 4 days a week, He's in the Young Mens Presidency at Church, the Scoutmaster, the Stake Music Leader, and is trying to finish up his Masters Degree. If he can make it through this last semester of school he'll graduate in December...WOO HOO. Since he is soooo busy he'll have to pull a few all nighters. I won't hesitate to say that I can't wait to get my husband back.

Jordan has been busy with school, piano and cub scouts. He recently wrote an essay at school about himself...he cracked me up. He said he loves to exercise and that he's "peculiar because of his unknown imagination". Jordan loves Math and he is in an accelerated math class this year.

Kaylee has been losing all of her teeth. She is 7 and I wondered when she was going to start losing those teeth...but once they started falling out, they just kept coming. She is in ballet, girl scouts and piano this year and so far has been loving it.

Lexi has loved going to Kindergarten. She loves her teacher. She has a friend named Alexa that I watch 3 days a week that goes to school with her and it is so fun to listen to them play. It's been really nice to have Alexa here because Lexi gets sooo bored on the 2 days that I don't watch her. Lexi is also taking tap dance and girl scouts this year.

Mason is at such a fun age. He, of course, is still into anything he can get his hands on, but he is so adorable I just have to hug and kiss him all day long. This week Mason decided that he is too big to be in his high chair. He can now climb onto the chair and sit at the table. He insists to eat there. I still try to put him in the High Chair as much as possible due to how messy and destructive he can be with his food.

I'm just busy being a Mom, working here and there with my business, and loving my calling in the Primary Presidency. I'm also trying to focus on losing weight. I've been able to work out 5 times a week for the past couple of weeks. I really enjoy working out. My struggle has always been with food...I love food (especially sweet food). I have been able to successfully switch my family to 100 percent whole wheat bread....hooray! I'm trying to gradually eat healthy and make better decisions for me and my family.

I hope everyone else is enjoying their family as much as I'm enjoying mine!

The Biggest Loser

There are a few shows that I love watching each season. One of them is The Biggest Loser. I love this show for many reasons. This is a reality show that you actually get to see people changing their lives for the better. It's inspiring. I lost 15 pounds last season and couldn't wait for Tuesday nights to see who had to leave. Don't miss the SEASON PREMIERE, tonight, Sept. 16th, 8/7c. on NBC. To kick off the new season I have already started back on my exercise schedule and healthy eating. I'm hoping to lose a lot of weight this season. Wish me luck!

On a side note... yesterday as I was vacuuming, Mason kept getting in my way (which is normal...he loves the vacuum). Lexi really is afraid that I can vacuum people up. So she says:

LEXI: "Mom, don't vacuum Mason up....

MY THOUGHTS: How sweet, she cares so much for her little brother.

LEXI: "....he's holding my teddy bear"

So there you have it....she cares more for her teddy bear than she does for her little brother. Still...I couldn't help laughing.

The Dad Song

Many of you may remember a youtube video that I posted called The Mom Song. My Aunt Jeani pointed out that there is a Dad Song to go along with it. Take a look. Click here to see The Dad Song.

Car Wash

The girls begged me to let them wash the van today. Who am I to deny my children this opportunity?

Now if only the inside of the van was as clean as the outside.

Out with the old, and in with the new.

I don't know about anybody else, but there are times in my life when I just say, "I can't stand it anymore", and I HAVE to do something about it. This happened to me this past weekend. In the spring of 1996 we bought a blue sectional couch. It has gone through 4 moves and 4 children. And after these 12 1/2 years there are stains, legs missing, and part of the cushion sticking out. I chose this last weekend to say...I CANT STAND IT ANYMORE! So, we went out and bought a sofa and a love seat. I love them. We are planning on buying a recliner or two to match, but couldn't find one we liked at the few stores here in town.

These are not real leather, only a leather blend. Hopefully I will be able to maintain them better. I love buying new furniture!

Pictures at the Winery

Tomorrow is Picture Day at the kids' school and I decided that I am not buying them. They are getting way too expensive and the pictures always come out mediocre. So, instead, I took the kids to the Winery and took some pictures of them. Mason was uncooperative to say the least, but I did get a few of him that turned out okay. I would have liked a better one with all 4 kids, but that seemed like an impossible task. Here is a slideshow of the pictures I took. Just a warning...it is kinda long.

Labor Day Fun!

Today we spent a few hours out in the pool. With school and our busy schedules starting up, this may very well be our last swim for the season. Our pool is not heated, so even though it was in the 90's today, the water was only 75 degrees. COLD! COLD! COLD! Truthfully, I only went in about half way. Mason didn't join us because he was snoozing away in a delightful afternoon nap.

Visit with BFF Melanie

Last night we were able to briefly visit with Melanie, my best friend from High School, and her family. She was passing through Las Vegas on her way to Disneyland. We drove in to Las Vegas and spent a few hours on the Las Vegas Strip. Take a look:

Although we talk on the phone a few times a year, we haven't seen each other for 5 years. She has 4 adorable kids. I can't believe how time has flown. I was also able to visit with her sister Becky and her family. I miss them all. I had a great time and wished we could have spent an entire week together. Maybe we'll have to arrange something like that in the future.

First Week of School

We all survived the first week of school. Jordan and Kaylee started on Monday and Lexi started on Thursday. (They always start the Kindergarteners a few days after the rest of the school grades.)

Jordan-4th Grade

Kaylee 2nd Grade

Lexi-First Day of Kindergarten

My camera battery died after my first shot of Lexi and so this is not the best picture of her. I will have to take a better one of her next week.

The Mom Song

I came across this youtube video and found it hilarious. EVERY mom can relate to this video. Take a look:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPP0LK4S0KY

Doesn't it say it all?!

Happy Retirement Dad!

The day has finally come for my dad to retire. A day that we all look forward to for one reason or another. Since my mom retired last month, they both have the time to do what they want to do. He retired last friday and it only took 3 days before they were up in the mountains camping....a favorite for both of them. I have to say that I am extremely jealous. A few memories of my dad are:

• He has always had a good work ethic. He works hard and follows the rules without complaint...going the extra mile.
• He would do backflips to help someone in need.
• He gives good logical advice. He often uses his own life experiences as examples in sharing his advice.
• He has a heart of gold.
• He is a spiritual giant.
• He loves basketball, and more basketball, and more basketball, and then maybe some more basketball.
• He loves camping, fishing, and riding his ATV.
• He gives wonderful priesthood blessings.
• He hates pets (but won't deny that he liked Pudge(a past dog we owned))
• There's nothing like a good movie with a Hot Dog, Chips, and a glass of Milk.
• Games Games Games...with competition as good as me (tee hee hee). "Drawing the line" is a good luck charm that only worked in the good ol' days....luck like Yahtzee.
• "Hi, My name is Joe" I don't think I ever really understood this.
• He loves to read mystery Suspense novels and the newspaper.
• Poems at the pulpit are priceless.

I love you dad and I hope that your retirement years are as enjoyable as you hope them to be.

Summer Fun

We have tried to squeeze in as much fun as possible during these last two weeks of summer. Here are some fun photos with the Stones.

Yesterday, the kids and I went to China Ranch Date Farm with some friends. It was HOT. We would walk from one shady spot to the next stopping to drink water and rest. Take a look at some pics I took while we were there:

Overall, we've had a great summer. It's gone by too quickly. Starting on Monday it's back to our busy schedules of School, Tap Dance, Ballet, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, Piano lessons, and HOMEWORK!

A Sanity Getaway

Last weekend I was able to go to St. George, UT for a "Sanity Getaway". My sister called me on Thursday and asked me what I was doing for the weekend. This is a weird question to ask because she lives in another state. The next day I was headed to St. George for a scrapbooking weekend. Stacie (my sister) was planning on going to Las Vegas with a friend when her plans fell through. Her husband had already taken Friday off of work and she had set everything up to be gone for the weekend...so she was extremely disappointed when her friend was unexpectedly unable to go. I had to make some arrangements, but I was able to pull it off. We missed having my mom come (she was visiting Marilee in Colorado). And last time we scrapbooked Heather came and we missed her too. We normally try to have these sanity weekends about twice a year. I was able to scrapbook 23 pages beating out my sister by 1 page. (This is always a big deal). She might argue that she came down with a cold while we were there and had to take cold medicine, thus giving her a handicap...but I don't take this into consideration. The reason I don't take this into consideration is because the last two times we have gone scrapbooking I was sick or in pain and those "handicaps" were not taken into consideration at that time. I have a wonderful husband, who despite his full weekend of a band performance and a final paper for his current Masters Degree class, took charge upon him my responsibilities as well as his. All I have to say is, "A happy mom is a happy home"..and after my sanity getaway...I am a happy mom. I took my camera, but I was so busy scrapbooking that I didn't take any pictures. Maybe next time.

Next Stage of Independence

I am normally very excited when my kids reach the next stage of independence. I love to see them smile, then laugh, crawl, then walk, etc. The more independent they become, the less dependent they are on me. They start sleeping through the night and feeding themselves...its' great. HOWEVER, I realized this week that I wasn't ready for Masons next stage of independence. He recently learned how to open doors (including the pantry), reach items near the edge of the table, climb onto the couch, and open top drawers in the kitchen. Last week he chased Doug down with the pizza cutter...scary!

The above pitcher of generic brand sugar free strawberry flavored crystal light was and is very delicious. I buy it on a regular basis as a treat for the kids. This week I learned that if a child leaves their cup of this yummy drink near the edge of the table, Mason gets a drink too. Not only does he get to drink in in the kitchen, but also in the family room on the carpet. Maybe after one more carpet scrubbing, it will come all of the way out.

This plant is one of my absolute favorites. The reason? This plant has gone without water for weeks on end, has been tipped over SEVERAL times, and has been through every kind of abuse you can think of........AND IT IS STILL ALIVE! This is my kind of plant. This plant sits on a ledge that separates our kitchen from our family room. As I stated above, Mason can now climb onto the couch, thus reaching anything on this "shelf". Yesterday he managed to pull this plant onto the couch with him. It was a day I was very thankful for my powerful vacuum.

This is an ink pad...black. I didn't even know that we owned it. I bought a similar ink pad for my scrapbooking supplies about a month ago. Apparently it was in the top drawer of a dresser (that we currently use for desk supplies). Are you curious why I am showing you a picture of this ink pad?

Yep, you guessed it. Don't let that smile fool you....he's evil. :) Just a note...black ink does not come off of the skin very easily! Maybe after a few baths he'll be back to normal again.

So, this week I will be safe proofing our house, because I, apparently, was not ready for Mason's next stage of independence.

Jordan's Braces

It all started about 2:30 AM. I noticed the bathroom light on and got up to inspect. Upon further inspection I found both Kaylee and Lexi in their bed reading books. They were so excited to go to the babysitters house that they both woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. I made them go back to bed informing them that we didn't leave for the babysitters for over 5 more hours. Luckily they obeyed. (I guess we don't get out much). We woke up about 6:15 AM to assure that all of us were ready to go by 7:45 AM. After dropping the youngest 3 children off and getting them settled at the babysitters house it was 8:15 AM. Jordan and I were on our way to his orthodontist appointment. His appointment was scheduled for 9:30 AM and it takes about 1 hour to get there. We were on schedule to arrive 15 minutes early to his appointment. This is very important because Jordan receives incentive tokens from the orthodontist to redeem at a later date...he gets 1 token if he arrives at his appointment on time. We drove about half way to Las Vegas when dread struck! Apparently they are doing construction on the Highway at the top of the mountain for today and tomorrow only. We ended up in a "parking lot" for exactly 1 hour...from 8:43-9:43. With gas expenses so high...I turned off the engine to conserve gas and read a book. Jordan watched "The Bee Movie" (One luxury in our van that I am thankful for). There were people getting out of their vehicles to stretch. I still had cell phone connection and called the orthodontist to let them know I was going to be late.



Can I just vent for a minute....I just don't understand why they couldn't let all the cars through every 15 minutes or so. I know that they are just trying to improve our roads, but why couldn't they do one side today leaving through traffic, and one side tomorrow. All they were doing is paving the little bumps on the side of the hwy that makes you wake up if you start to drift off of the road. In their brilliance, they decide to block both sides of the road, and apparently, let cars through every hour. I just love smart people. Okay...I think I'm done ranting.


So after arriving at the orthodontist at 10:15 (45 minutes late), Jordan finally had his braces put on. He is very excited. Here are some pictures of Jordan in his braces:

He is very happy with his braces and now home playing Guitar Hero III. What else could a kid want?