Bloom Where You are Planted

Rachel, the teenager

2011-06-11T15:20:00.000-06:00

Rachel had a fabulous time at girls camp (where she got to celebrate her birthday). So, as a family, we didn't get to celebrate her birthday until she got home. Here she is eyeing the beautiful cake that her Dad picked out for her.

All smiles!

Rachel is a budding artist, and only really wanted some art supplies so that she could draw and practice at home.

She is thumbing through the pencil drawing book that I got her.

She also got a couple of sketchbooks to give her lots of room to practice.

She is also without glasses and enjoying her new contacts! She is a beautiful, smart, talented girl and we couldn't be more proud of her.

David's Arrow of Light

2011-05-26T15:15:00.000-06:00

One of the reasons David was so excited to turn 11 was that he would be completing Cub Scouts, receiving his Arrow of Light, and moving on to Boy Scouts. Here he is with his Webelos leader.

When Cub Scouts complete the requirements and move on to Boy Scouts they "cross over the bridge"

Here's our new Scout Master imparting some words of Wisdom.

He is so excited for Scouts! He used some of his birthday money to buy a scout pocket knife. He is excited for camp outs and for what is to come!

Emma, the Kindergarten Graduate

2011-05-19T15:11:00.000-06:00

Emma graduated from Kindergarten in May! They put on a cute program in the gym. I was sitting near the back, and the pictures weren't great, but they sure were cute!

Here is Emma and her friend Morgan.

Congratulations Emma! I can hardly believe that my youngest is done with Kindergarten and will be in full day school next fall. They sure grow up fast.

David turns 11!

2011-05-11T15:05:00.000-06:00

David was very excited for his birthday this year. He was turning 11 on May 11, in the year 2011! He is a fun, creative boy!

He makes the best happy faces when opening presents!

He got money from grandparents and a new video game from us. We tried our hand at making cupcakes again and they were a hit!

Happy Birthday David! We sure are lucky to have you in our family.

Bathroom remodel

2011-05-05T14:37:00.000-06:00

There are a lot of things that I love about my house. My master bathroom finishes - not one of them. It's big, and had the layout that we liked, but the tile was dated and starting to crack.

I thought that we could just live with it for a while, but we started to discover that water was leaking through the tile/grout and causing problems.
Here it is partway through the demo process. You can see all the mold and icky stuff that was growing on the wall under the tile. Ewwwww!

Here's a closeup of some of the worst of it:

We decided to hire a friend of ours to redo everything (Aaron did the demo). Here it is all framed!

Progress is being made.

Almost there

The finished product:

There's still some work to be done - I need to replace the forest green shades with something more neutral and I would love to replace the carpet with tile. That will come someday. In the meantime, we are enjoying our new bathroom!

Here's a slideshow with more pictures:

Young Women's Camp Auction

2011-04-29T15:02:00.000-06:00

This year for girls camp, our church had an auction where the girls auctioned off services and desserts. Rachel volunteered to make cupcakes. We are kind of new at this (and very sorry that Grandma Margie was not here to help - she's the expert!) but here is what we came up with.

They looked very yummy and I almost bought them myself! Someone else beat me to it. Rachel also auctioned off a babysitting job. It was a fun evening and they all raised enough money to go to camp.

Emma had a birthday, shout Hooray!

2011-04-26T14:53:00.000-06:00

Emma turned 6 on April 26. She is our sweet little girl who loves to talk and read stories. All she wanted for her birthday was a bicycle, but we got her a few more presents to open.

I think she's happy with it...

Here's a cute dress up outfit (for our little fairy) from Grandma & Grandpa Madsen.

She also got a cute sign from Grandma to hang in her room.

Hmmm, a water bottle and helmet, I wonder what she'll need that for.

Closing her eyes for the reveal (there was no way I was going to wrap a bicycle in wrapping paper).

She's easy to please!

Earlier in the day Emma was shopping with me and we saw this beautiful fruit tart. It looked so yummy and refreshing that we decided to get it for her birthday cake.

Getting ready to blow out the candles!

We love our Emma and are so glad that she is in our family!

Spring Break

2011-03-21T14:27:00.000-06:00

For Spring break we made a quick trip to Utah. My niece, Clara, was getting blessed and it was a perfect excuse to make a trip to see family. One afternoon, Rachel, David, Sarah, Clara, & I made a trip to temple square.

Here's the cute, precious Clara

David at the top floor of the Joseph Smith Building

Here's Rachel with the beautiful Salt Lake Temple in the back ground.

Rachel & David

I didn't really take very many pictures, but we had a fun week!

Bubba Gump Shrimp

2011-03-18T14:19:00.000-06:00

In March we had the fun treat of Aaron's sister Amy, her husband Brian, and their two kids come visit us in Colorado. Brian has a favorite restaurant that he likes to visit when he travels. Since we rarely go up to Denver, we hadn't been there (or even heard of it). It's called Bubba Gump Shrimp and it's a theme restaurant about the movie Forrest Gump. This happens to be one of my favorite movies so it was fun to be there and see all the movie stuff all around.

Here's Emma enjoying coloring the menu.

Josh is having fun as well!

If you needed any thing, you just flipped the sign over to say "Stop Forrest Stop" and the servers would stop and help you.

The famous bench with the box of chocolates.

It was a fun outing!

Community Leader Day

2011-03-16T14:15:00.000-06:00

At school Josh had the opportunity to learn about a famous person from history. He had to write a report, do an oral presentation, and dress up like this person. He had a lot of fun learning about Thomas Edison. He did a great job reading his report in front of all the parents.

He's always the joker!

Dr. Seuss Day!

2011-03-02T14:10:00.000-07:00

In March Emma's Kindergarten class celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday by having everyone dress up as a character from his books. I usually have zero imagination when it comes to these things and I had no idea how I could dress Emma up with stuff that we had laying around the house. I thought this would be easy and cute. Emma was Thing 1 from the Cat in the Hat books. She had a lot of fun dressing up.

Snow, 100th day of School and Valentines

2011-02-15T09:19:00.003-07:00

So, we got some snow here! We had several days of bone chilling temps (like -20 with windchills in the -40 range). The kids were out of school for 2 days just for that. There was some snow, but not much. Then, the next week, we got a lot of snow. This picture was before the final snow, and it doesn't look like a whole lot, but we probably got at least a foot with 2 subsequent storms.

I ventured out on Monday (we were in between storms) and got totally stuck in our neighborhood. After we got 8 inches on Sunday, I guess they didn't see the need to send plows to the residential streets. Thanks to a nice neighbor I got home.

You know you are in Colorado when you have -20 degree weather, followed by a foot of snow, and then it's 50 degrees a few days later (the next day, it was mid 60s). It was perfect snow man building weather. We still had all the snow in our front yard, but it was warm enough to be outside without a coat.

So, because of the weather, Emma's 100th day of school party kept getting postponed. She finally had it on Feb. 9th and was very proud of the hat she made.

She brought in 100 chocolate chips to add to a trail mix and 100 pennies to count.

Valentines day was a little hard for the kids giving up sweets, but they survived. They are saving their candy for later.
I remember making these as a kid, so we made some for the kids' teachers. It's cocoa Rice Krispie treats that you press into a funnel to get the shape.

And then you wrap them in tin foil to make a giant "Hershey's Kiss".

It's a fun way to make a treat!

And here's Emma who just wanted to get in the picture.

Hope you had a fun valentines day too!

The great "no desserts" challenge

2011-02-05T21:38:00.003-07:00

For the past few weeks I've been participating in a health challenge with my sisters and some of their friends to make getting healthy a little more fun (and to motivate me with a little competition!). Anyway, there are weekly challenges which you get points for participating in. This week the challenge was to not eat any desserts or sweets. My kids were asking me about it and I was telling Rachel about this family I knew that gave their kids $100 if they didn't eat candy for a whole year (but things like cookies, cakes, etc. were okay - just no candy). Rachel said that she could do it and wanted to know if I would pay her $100 dollars if she gave up candy for a year. I started thinking about it and realized that my kids don't really eat candy that often - mostly for holidays. I asked her what she would feel like not getting any candy in her Easter basket and she suggested that I just make cookies or something instead of giving them candy for Easter, Valentines, etc. I started thinking that wasn't really a big sacrifice and I suggested that she give up all desserts, like I was doing. She didn't think she could do it for a whole year. There was a little negotiating, but this is what we settled on - no desserts (candy, soda, cookies, ice cream, cake, etc.) for 2 months and I would pay her $25. Surprisingly, the boys wanted in as well. Rachel wrote up a contract and everything and made me sign it. We are going to have to go with the honor system on this one, because I don't always know what goes on at school, but so far, so good. So, 3 of my kids (except Emma - she wanted no part in this) are giving up all treats for 2 months. This is coming from kids who think they deserve a treat after eating every meal. First week went great! David even said that he didn't even really feel like eating treats. He got a piece of candy at school for doing well on a test and he brought it home for his little sister. Josh didn't pick up chocolate milk at lunch time because he figured it was a treat. I think the first major test will be Valentines Day - I'm sure they'll have parties at school with treats galore. We'll see how they stick with it, but I'm quite proud of all of them.

I was looking for some recipes that would make good "non treat" snacks and this is what I found:

Chewy Granola Bars (from allrecipes, modified slightly by me)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup applesauce
3/4 cup honey
4 cups rolled oats
1 cup total cereal crushed
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup craisins

Mix all together well and press into a greased 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 325 for 18-22 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, cut into bars, wait until completely cooled to remove from pan. Makes about 20.

You could probably add any other ingredients that would sound good - coconut, raisins, nuts, sunflower seeds, etc. Hopefully they'll like them!

Baby, it's cold outside!

2011-01-31T18:19:00.002-07:00

What a cruel trick of mother nature! This past weekend were were tempted with 60 degree weather (that my kids called "hot"). It made it seem like Spring was just around the corner and that winter was almost done. Not so in Colorado. Out of all the places I've ever lived, the weather changes here with the greatest extremes. Today the day started out in the 20s - it quickly got colder and colder as it started snowing. Tomorrow the high is supposed to be negative. I'm really hoping for a snow day because I really don't want to go out in that weather at all! It did make the trees really pretty in our neighborhood, though.

Spring is looking really far away at this point... hopefully we can hold on!

Winterspree 2011

2011-01-31T18:03:00.002-07:00

There was a fun cubscout activity at the Air Force Academy this past weekend. I was able to go with David (Josh went later in the day with the younger scouts) and we were blessed with very pleasant weather. They got to play games and learn stuff from the cadets all morning long. Here is David lining up for his first activity.

After that, my camera battery died, but I took a few shots with my phone.

They got to practice different ways to carry someone that is injured.

Do athletic drills on the field

Here's David after playing soccer.

It was fun to see the field up close without thousands of people being there.

I wish that I had been able to take some more pictures. They did tug of war, spoon races, played ultimate frisbee, did an obstacle course, and much more. At the end they did some demonstrations with the dogs that they train for narcotics and explosives detection. It was a fun and interesting day!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-25T15:38:00.012-07:00

It was a crazy Christmas this year! We moved into our new house on December 18th. The days leading up to Christmas were filled with packing, moving, and unpacking. I tried to tell our kids that our present this year was our new house! But they still got a few presents under the tree.

They got new pajamas on Christmas Eve.

Here are some of my favorite shots from Christmas morning:

Here are the rest!

Fun with hair

2010-11-15T15:13:00.001-07:00

Recently, I've discovered the world of "hair blogging". People do fun, cute hairstyles on their girls, and then post step by step instructions on how to do them. I've got two cute girls with fairly long hair (and I love to do hair!). Here are some of the cute styles that I've done.

The spider web. Emma was supposed to wear black to school (they wear different colors when they learn about them). It was near Halloween and I thought it was the perfect time to try out this style. It took a while, but she liked all the comments she got.

Hearts! I can't wait to try something like this for Valentines day. So cute (and really easy).

A fun updo - it turned out so pretty and elegant.

Here's something simple I did on Rachel. She prefers the very simple and more grown up styles. Right now she catches the bus at 6:59, so if I get a chance to do her hair, it's usually Sunday.

Here's Emma in some Curlformers. I love these curlers! So easy and it forms a really nice spiral curl. Here's the after.

Some of the blogs that I get ideas from are:

www.cutegirlshairstyles.com
www.princesshairstyles.com
www.babesinhairland.com
www.girlydohairstyles.com
Have fun!

New House

2010-11-05T15:04:00.000-06:00

I'm sure that most you know by now that we have moved into a new house. Here are some of our favorite pictures of it (when we walked through it). I'll have to post some more when we are fully moved in!

Here's the front. We really fell in love with this neighborhood and the location of the house - lots of trees, lots of privacy, and it's at the back of a cul-de-sac.

Here's the view from the back.

Here is more of the back yard.

Kitchen

Dining

Windows in great room.
We can't wait to get all settled and put our stamp on it!

Caramel Apples

2010-10-31T15:27:00.001-06:00

We love the fun apples from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. When we were invited to a Halloween party and asked to bring a treat, we thought we would try our hand at making some. Let's just say I appreciate the beautiful apples in store window a lot more now. It's harder than it looks! We melted the little caramel squares, but next time I think we will try and make our own caramel. I think the store bought caramels are too soft - a lot of the caramel and toppings slid down the apples. We actually sanded all the apples to begin with so the caramel would stick better. Aaron was the mastermind behind most of them and he did a great job! They were pretty yummy as well.

Even though some of them didn't turn out exactly liked we planned, I think they were a hit!

Halloween pictures

2010-10-31T14:57:00.001-06:00

We had a fun Halloween this year. Because it was on a Sunday, we got to participate in a fun Church party and do a "trunk or treat" around the parking lot. We had a little Alice in Wonderland (classic style).

A policeman

A medieval "lady" (not a princess...)

And a Satyr (half goat/half man) - specifically Grover from the Percy Jackson series

The kids had a lot of fun playing games and getting some candy. It was a fun celebration!

Josh's Birthday and Baptism

2010-10-11T19:54:00.000-06:00

Our sweet little Josh turned 8 this year. He has been wanting a skateboard since Christmas eve (when he told me that's what he wanted for Christmas). He was very excited when he found out that was what was in the big box.

He's gotten pretty good at it! I'll have to take some pictures of him cruising around the back patio. Even though he wants to ride it to school, I'm not ready for that yet :)

He wanted a Spongebob cake - which was pretty easy because he went and found one of his toys to put on top.

A couple of weeks later he got to get baptized by his Father. I did bring the camera but when I started to take pictures I realized that the battery was still at home in the charger. The cell phone had to do....

Josh and Aaron

The kids

Josh and his Grandparents

The whole family

We are so proud of Josh for making the choice to be baptized!

First Day of School

2010-09-01T19:44:00.000-06:00

The first day of school comes around early here! David and Josh started on August 4, Emma on August 5th (kindergarten always starts one day later), and Rachel started a few weeks later. She is going to a Charter school and they have a slightly different schedule. The kids were all ready and excited to start school.

Josh was excited to start 2nd grade and have his same teacher that he had in 1st grade.

David is ready for 5th grade.

I had to embarrass them by taking their pictures at school.

I can't believe Emma is really 5 and starting kindergarten! She still seems like my baby.

Here's Emma and her second cousin who are both starting school this year.

Here is Emma and her new teacher, Mrs. Pharris. I don't know what that look on her face is - she really is excited and happy to be starting!

We decided to try out a charter school this year for the 7th grade. Rachel gets to wear uniforms this year, which we are both excited about. No more trying to figure out what to put on each morning! Some of the kids don't like it, but I'm glad that Rachel does.

The kids are all doing well and loving school.

Summer Fun

2010-07-24T19:32:00.000-06:00

We had a great summer this year. We started out the summer with Amanda and the kids taking a trip to Utah to see Amanda's family. We had a lot of fun visiting with family and going to Lagoon for some amusement park excitement. I think I must have forgotten my camera because sadly, I have no pictures.

Later on that month, we went down to New Mexico for the annual 24th of July celebration. The kids had fun at the parade.

And made sure to gather up lots of candy.

Ran in the foot races and played lots of games.

We sure had a nice time being with family this summer!

Blog Word Cloud

2010-07-02T13:37:00.007-06:00

I've seen these a few places and thought I would see what our blog would come up with.

I like that "kids" is probably the biggest word. I guess that's what I blog about the most. Go to worditout.com to make your own!

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

2010-06-27T11:26:00.002-06:00

So, after living here for over a year, I finally took my kids to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

I would say that the coolest thing about this zoo is the giraffes. You can buy crackers to feed them and get very up close and personal.

This one was a baby giraffe that could barely reach the bottom of the platform.

They have such long, black tongues! This one was slobbering all over the railing.

It is a beautiful zoo - up on the side of a mountain, but that is one of the downfalls - it is very steep! To get anywhere you are walking up steep hills (and I was pushing Emma in a stroller). So, we didn't get to the whole zoo, but I'm sure that we'll be back many times.

Here is Josh in the monkey house.

Smiling Emma

David, sporting his turtle hat.

David and Josh playing on the gigantic hose.

Rachel - checking out the chickens.

Petting the goat.

The view is really pretty.

I'm sure we'll be making it back to the zoo many times!

Oldies but goodies

2010-06-13T21:55:00.009-06:00

Recently my Dad went through all his old slides and digitized them. He made CDs for all the kids in the family so that we could have some of the pictures from when we were kids. Here are some of my favorites.

Me and my brother by a covered bridge in Oregon.

The ginormous garden that we grew.

Me and my sister on Easter morning.

Me and my brother.

Me and my brother dressed up like Raggedy Ann & Andy

This is my absolute favorite!

My dad sent me well over 1000 photos. I picked out some of my favorites and put them in a slideshow.

It's so fun to look at old photos. I'm so glad that I have them now.

Rachel's Birthday

2010-06-09T20:55:00.000-06:00

Rachel turned 12 on June 9th! I don't know what it is about that number, but it all of a sudden makes me feel very old. But, I couldn't be prouder of my sweet, pretty, smart, oldest girl. She is so responsible and is such a good helper at home. I've gotten quite used to a wonderful live-in babysitter - I don't know what I'm going to do when she starts getting tons of jobs.
Here she is opening the first present.

She got a new wallet and she is just discovering that it's already loaded with cash (that's what I do instead of parties).

What a cute smile.

She also got some fun jewelry.

She also wanted to decorate her own cake - picture is really blurry but you get the idea:)

Happy Birthday Rachel!

Trip to Utah

2010-06-06T18:09:00.000-06:00

We left on the last day of school to make a quick trip to Utah. Aaron needed to help his sister move to Colorado and I got a chance to see my sister and her family that were visiting from Maryland.

We were able to play with cousins

blow bubbles

fly kites

picnic in the canyon

Go to a Bees Game

Ride the Frontrunner Train to Salt Lake

Visit the Planetarium

and walk around the Gateway

It was so nice to spend time with family and just relax.

Little Smarty Pants

2010-05-27T17:59:00.000-06:00

Rachel has done really well for her first year of middle school. In addition to making the National Junior Honor Society, she got a special award. Our whole family was invited to a banquet where she received a FINO award (failure is not an option). Only 14 kids from the entire middle school received this recognition.

Here she is receiving her award.

Here she is afterward with her little plaque. We are so proud of her!

Then on the last day of school they had awards for everyone. Rachel got the Presidential Gold Award for having straight As all year and academic excellence in Language Arts, Science, and Ancient Civ. They also handed out awards for every single student and Rachel got "Most Responsible".

We are so proud of her!

David's Birthday

2010-05-11T17:38:00.001-06:00

David turned 10 on May 11! He's been looking forward to being double digits for a while. David is so fun on his birthday because he genuinely gets so excited when he opens his presents.

He really wanted a Robin Webkinz

He loves learning how to draw.

Here is one of his drawings:

He also got a bunch of different specimens to look at under his microscope.

He also requested to decorate his own cake - hey, works for me!

He is a great kid and we are so lucky to have him in our family.

Piano Recital

2010-05-08T11:17:00.002-06:00

Rachel and David have been taking piano lessons here in Colorado since school started in the fall. Rachel has stopped and started a few times because of our moves - but they are both doing great. Here is the video of David performing his song:

And here is Rachel:

They both did a great job! We are so proud that they are learning how to play the piano.

David also tried out for the talent show at his elementary school. Over 40 kids tried out for 20 spots and David got selected. He played one of his piano pieces and he was fantastic! He was so proud that he made the talent show.

Family History Idea

2010-05-01T11:09:00.000-06:00

My sisters had a great idea for a mother's day gift for our mom. It's a family group sheet made with silhouettes of each family member. First, I took a profile shot of each member of our family (and each individual family did the same). Like this:

Then my sister Sarah did her magic in Photoshop to turn it into a silhouette and this is the final project:

My mom loved it and it is a beautiful addition to a family history wall.

Emma's Birthday

2010-04-26T10:58:00.000-06:00

My sweet little Emma turned 5 this year. She's still all about babies and stuffed animals. We had a fun family party to celebrate.

She finally got a Webkinz like her older siblings.
Emma drinks everything with a straw (she doesn't like getting her face wet). We go through straws like crazy and thought she would like her very own mug with a washable straw.

Opening another gift.

Emma with her baby and cow (even though she got a brand new baby she still prefers her old, hand-me-down, tattered one).

The princess barbie cake

Happy Birthday Emma!

Pinewood Derby

2010-04-22T10:51:00.000-06:00

David loves participating in Cub Scouts - especially the pinewood derby. This year David designed his car. Dad helped by making the major cuts with the saw, but David carved, sanded, and painted most of it by himself. He ended up winning one of his races and had a great time. He also made a display for his car.

David at the Pack meeting

David's car

The display

I was pleased that all the boys seemed to have a great time whether they won or not. They all had so much fun racing their cars.

Science Fair

2010-04-17T10:43:00.000-06:00

This year was David's first opportunity to participate in the Science fair. Big projects like these always require quite a bit of parental involvement so I felt like I had a big project to do as well. David loves science and wanted to do an experiment where he could also use his microscope. We decided to do a project on growing mold on different types of bread. I was so glad when it was over - all of that moldy bread had started to smell! Here is one of the most moldy specimens:

Here is David at the parent preview night:

David did a great job explaining his projects to the judges. He ended up getting 2nd place.

Way to go David!

Easter 2010

2010-04-11T10:31:00.002-06:00

We had a nice Easter this year. Even though we didn't have snow (yay!), we opted to have an indoor egg hunt on Saturday. Here's a couple pictures of the kids finding their baskets and eggs.

Emma - she is proudly wearing her princess crown that she found in her basket.

Josh with his basket.

Rachel is counting her eggs.

David is hoping to find some more in the couch.

Church this year was our semi-annual conference where we watch talks on TV. So, the following Sunday I had the kids dress up in their new Easter clothes. Who wants to dress up when you get to stay home?

Rachel

Josh

David

Emma

My pretty girls

My handsome boys

The whole crew!

I'm so thankful for this time of year. We remember the Savior's Resurrection and it's the beginning of my favorite season - Spring! I love it when it starts to get warm again, the flowers come out, and everything comes to life again. Spring takes a while in Colorado - and we tend to get a lot of snow - but when it comes around, it's beautiful!

Temple Square

2010-04-03T21:31:00.003-06:00

While in Utah we also made a visit to Temple Square. We visited the Temple grounds and visitor's center, the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, the Church Office Building (and we went up on the observation deck on the 26th floor), the Conference Center, and the Church History Museum. I didn't take a ton of pictures but it was fun showing the kids around.

In the Church History Museum they had a new exhibit on the Tabernacle. Here is a representation of the trusses:

They had some of the actual benches. I remember going there as a kid and how uncomfortable they were to sit on.

Here's David at the podium. Future general authority?

Looks like Josh has something important to say.

Another new exhibit was called "I am a Child of God". It is a place for kids to play and explore. The kids were excited they finally had something fun to do.

Rachel playing dress up:

David building a stain glass window:

Emma rocking a baby:

Here are the kids by a representation of the Angel Moroni - it tops temples around the world.

It was fun to see some Church History.

BYU Campus

2010-03-20T21:30:00.000-06:00

For Spring Break this year, we decided to make a trip to Utah. We get to see Amanda's family and also Aaron's sisters. We made a trip down to BYU - a little walk down memory lane for Mom & Dad.

We stopped in the Art Museum and the kids posed by this LOVE sculpture.

Emma is always my willing photo subject.

Having been away for so long we totally forgot that campus pretty much shuts down at 11:00 am on Tuesdays. That was right when we got to the book store, so we had a little bit of time to kill. I made Josh pose by this statue of kids playing with a frog. Kind of sounds like something Josh would do :)

The kids by the "Tree of Life" or is it the "Tree of Knowledge", I can't remember...

The Eyring Science Center.

It's kind of funny - the buildings that have looked the same forever are the science and the computer science buildings (where we met). The big, brand new one is the Smith Family Living Center. I guess that's BYU for you. We did walk around the old Talmadge Building (Computer Science) and it looks exactly the same. They have updated the computers though...

Anyway, it was fun to go back and visit. I will always cherish my days at BYU.

Congratulations are in Order

2010-03-15T21:15:00.000-06:00

I have such great kids - I just have to brag a little bit here. In March, David got his Bear Badge in Cub Scouting along with several belt loops, a gold arrow, and 3 silver arrows. I am now an assistant Den Leader and we get to do the Scouts thing together. It's fun to see him so excited about the things that he is learning and doing.

Rachel was inducted in the National Junior Honor Society. She has earned straight As so far in 6th grade and was so excited to make it into the NJHS. Funny story about the ceremony: All the new inductees were sitting in alphabetical order ready to walk up, receive a candle, and shake all the officer's hands. The student officers were taking turns reading the names of the new members. Right when it was Rachel's turn, they switched the person that was reading names. He skipped over the rest of the Bs and went straight to the Cs. I wasn't sitting by Rachel, and I was sure she was thinking that for some reason she didn't make it in. After they got done with entire alphabet, they went back and read the names of those that had been skipped. I'm glad they finally got it right in the end! I only had my cell phone camera, so the pictures aren't that great.

Here's Rachel with her candle.

I'm so proud of her!

Air Force Academy

2010-02-13T21:14:00.000-07:00

While Amanda's Dad was here we also made a trip to the Air Force Academy. The visitor's center was a little lacking (is there a museum here or something that we missed?) Here are a couple pictures from the visitor's center.

We took the short hike to the Cadet Chapel. It's probably one of the most interesting buildings I've ever seen.

Here's a shot from the inside that my Dad took. I don't really know how to change the setting on my camera and all of my pictures came out really dark.

Emma in the chapel:

It was really interesting - and probably would have been better if the kids weren't all cold and tired :) But I'm glad that we were able to see it.

Garden of the Gods

2010-02-12T21:14:00.002-07:00

Amanda's Dad surprised us with an impromptu visit to Colorado Springs in February. His original flight to Maryland got delayed because of a snowstorm. Since he already had the time off - and really wanted to see some grandkids, he got his flight changed to Colorado. It was fun to have him for a few days. We actually visited some of the places here that we had never been to. Our first stop was to the Garden of the Gods.

Here's Emma and Grandpa with the beautiful rocks in the background.

Rachel at the visitor's center

You can't really see the rocks but I couldn't resist this cute one of Emma

The huge rock formations are really impressive up close and in person.

The kids all had to get in this crevice.

And Grandpa had to get in on the fun as well.

Here's Rachel and Grandpa with the "kissing camels" in the background.

And here's why they call it that.

Here are the rest of the photos:

We had a nice time - despite it being a little bit cold. We'll have to go back in the summer and walk around a bit more.

Family Update January 2010

2010-02-09T14:30:00.003-07:00

I need to be far better updating our blog on a regular basis! I will forget the fun things that happen and also the boring day to day stuff if I don't write it down. So, here's a little January update. January started off with every one getting back into the swing of things - the kids in school, Dad with new responsibilities at work and Church, and me focusing on getting back to the gym and getting the house organized.

The kids have been doing great at school. Rachel has managed to get straight As so far in middle school and is adjusting really well. When the weather has been nice, the kids have been enjoying jumping on a trampoline that we got for Christmas. I enjoy them getting a little bit of outdoor time! I'm looking forward to the Spring and Summer when they can use it a little bit more. I finally organized all the toys in the house (they've just been in boxes since we moved here) and the kids are having fun rediscovering old things that they had forgotten about. I also moved a bunch of furniture around and now the kids all feel like they have a new room.

David and Josh had crazy hair day at school. They had fun creating their hairstyles but I think they ended up taking them out at school. Something about looking like girls...

Both of them actually really need haircuts so there was a lot to work with.

David went with the "pony hawk".

Josh added these little clips - I think he ended up regretting it :)

I almost gave them a real mohawk - and then I was going to give them a haircut the next day, but decided against it. I didn't want to mess it up too badly!

Anyway, those are some of the things we did this month. I promise more blogging in the future :)

Christmas 2009

2010-02-09T14:20:00.003-07:00

Despite the fact that it's taken me over a month to post our Christmas pictures, we had a nice Christmas. We spent Christmas at home and then spent the week after in New Mexico (we didn't really take any pictures there - it was just a nice time visiting with family). We had a wonderful Christmas Eve and morning and the kids were happy with their gifts. It all started the night before with some new Christmas pajamas.

The kids were all happy to get "footie" pajamas that I found in all the sizes.

Here's David going through his stocking while waiting for presents.

Josh, looking at his lifesaver book.

Emma found a lot of treasures in her stocking.

Emma loves pigs and was happy to add one to her collection.

Another webkinz for Josh.

David found his most sought after present first - the long awaited microscope.

Rachel was more than thrilled to get the next Leven Thumps book.

Be sure to check out the rest of the photos in the slide show!

Gardner Village October 2009

2010-02-09T14:05:00.002-07:00

When we took our fall break trip to Utah, Grandma, Aunt Sarah, and I took the kids out to Gardner Village. They had some fall activities there and a fun restaurant to eat lunch at.

Here are the kids waiting for the pony rides.

Josh, with his Jack-o-lantern smile.

Rachel, David, & Josh

All 4 of them enjoying a candy stick from the sweet shop.

Emma

Rachel, riding her pony around the donkey wheel. I don't know how exciting it was for them, but them seemed to have fun.

Josh

David

Emma

Next was the petting zoo where Emma firmly rejected petting any animals. We all know she likes to keep her hands clean :)

David

The girls

"Mom, it's getting close to me!"

Josh wasn't afraid.

He was pretty happy.

There were a lot of cute photo ops there.

Emma enjoying her candy stick.

Enjoy the rest of the photos in this slide show.

Thanks so much to Sarah for taking all of the pictures!

Fishing Trip June 2009

2010-02-09T13:52:00.005-07:00

So, this fishing excursion took place many months ago, when we were on a trip to Utah. It took me a while to get the pictures and then even longer to post them, but they were too cute not to put on the blog. So, even though it is way over due - the fishing trip.

Grandpa Brent always likes to take the kids to do fun things while we are there. David needed to go fishing for a cub scout requirement and there was this nice trout farm nearby. The kids had a lot of fun catching their first ever fish(es).

Here's Josh with his first catch.

David, wrestling a fish to the ground

Rachel, pulling up her first one.

You can tell she is pretty proud of it.

A cute one of David and Josh

David was really excited to be passing off his fishing beltloop for cub scouts.

He had a lot of fun.

"I got one!"

Thanks to Grandpa Brent (and Uncle Sam) for taking them and to Aunt Sarah for taking all the pictures.

We Wish you a Merry Christmas

2009-12-22T20:21:00.002-07:00

We hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas!

Card designed by Sugarhouse Ink.

Graham Cracker Houses

2009-12-22T17:42:00.003-07:00

Making "gingerbread" houses is a fun tradition that my kids look forward to. With some help from Grandma & Grandpa (they sent some of the supplies), we had a fun evening decorating houses.

Before the kids began, I constructed the houses and glued the crackers together with hot glue. I highly recommend this step - often it can be frustrating when they are trying to build the walls and the roof and their house keeps falling down.

Here's Josh all ready to get decorating.

And David...

And Rachel and Emma

Emma was quite proud of her finished house

The big hit this year were the Gingerbread men cookies I bought on a whim. Rachel has a whole family outside her house.

Here's David's house

And the whole village

Up close of Josh's

David's

Rachel's

and Emma's

They sure had fun and were all very creative!

Preschool trip to the Firestation

2009-12-22T17:34:00.002-07:00

We had our first official field trip with our home preschool group. Recently the kids learned about fire safety so we made a trip to the fire house. One of the first things they showed us was the room they use for "down time". It had a bunch of big recliners and they let the kids each sit in one while they taught them about fire safety.

Then it was on to the exciting stuff - the fire engines.

This nice firefighter showed us all of the equipment they use when they go to emergencies.

Then he showed us what he would look like if he came into your house in a fire. They kind of end up looking like something out of a sci-fi movie (and they sound like Darth Vader). It's good for the kids to know what they will look like so that they wouldn't be scared in an emergency.

Here's Emma waiting for her turn inside the fire truck.

The fireman was very patient and let all the kids have more than one turn sitting in the truck.

It was fun for them to see it up close.

Here's the whole gang!

I'm glad that Emma has a good group of kids to go to preschool with.

Halloween

2009-11-08T21:00:00.004-07:00

This year we had a great time at Halloween. October had some crazy weather - freezing rain and snow (2 1/2 days off of school!) but we somehow managed to have perfect Halloween weather. The kids didn't even need coats (other than their cloaks!). We had a cute Little Red Riding Hood.

A pirate (putting on his best "mad" face).

Ginny Weasly (no, I'm not Hermione!)

And the famous Harry Potter.

I thought this was a cute one of Rachel and David together.

Here's everyone ready to go trick or treating.

Dad got out the glowsticks so the kids would be safe.

And he also made yummy homemade corn dogs for dinner.

We met up with the Kelsch's for Trick or Treating.

All the kids had a great time. We ended the evening with a Halloween movie at our house (with 1 extra hour to stay up!). We also had tons of candy left over - I sent it to work with Daddy to make the temptation go away :)

Happy Halloween!

A little bit of Snow - and lots of no school

2009-10-30T16:00:00.000-06:00

Finally, it was time for the kids to get back to school after a 2 week fall break. I was looking forward to getting back into a routine and had a lot of things going on on Monday. It had snowed some on Sunday night, but it wasn't very bad. Monday morning Rachel and I woke up very early (she has to catch the bus at 7:14 am) to find out that there was a 2 hour delay - I'm glad that I actually checked because there was no reason to have a delay. They had school on Tuesday but that night, there was a forecast that a lot of snow was coming. For our area, it was supposed to be 1-4 inches (which to me is still not that bad). I wake up in the morning - it still hadn't snowed at all, but I decide to check the school website - there is a 2 hour delay which later turned into a cancellation. Still, no snow whatsoever - just a forecast that it was coming. Some areas around us had snow (it was the worst north and west of us), but we still didn't really have anything. Finally, by Wednesday night it started to snow and blow really hard. School was cancelled again on Thursday. By this point, my kids are tired of being home and want to get back to school. I'm beginning to think they are going to be home a lot this winter - they seem to cancel school for a bad forecast! The kids got to go to school on Friday - just in time for Halloween parties. The snow was mostly gone by Friday afternoon. Hopefully we're not in for a tough winter!

Fall Break

2009-10-20T15:36:00.000-06:00

In the school district that we live in, we start school pretty early (August 5th) but the kids get some nice breaks during the course of the year. The first one was fall break - two weeks off in the middle of October. We decided to spend one week in Utah. Aaron had a business trip during that first week, so I drove to Utah by myself with the kids. I have usually been fortunate to have pretty good driving conditions, and I didn't think this trip would be any different. We left at 8:30 am - hoping to arrive around 4:30 or 5:00 pm. We started out in a very nasty ice storm in Colorado Springs. It was 20 degrees outside and there was a freezing mist that kept coating the windshield. Before I got too far, I stopped at a gas station and stocked up on windshield washer fluid. My heater/defroster was not working and I had to spray the windshield every couple of minutes. It wasn't too bad - just slow going. Then, I-25 was closed because of an accident. There wasn't any real detour - they just made us get off the freeway. I was on dirt roads for several miles until I got to highway 83 and made it towards Denver. We were all freezing in the car and already an hour behind schedule. I was finally able to get back on to I-25 and then my car started overheating - badly. Luckily I was in the middle of Denver and was able to get the car looked at and fixed. So, we finally pulled out of Denver at 1:30 pm (heater was working - obviously it was part of the problem). But, we still had Wyoming ahead of us. It was cold, windy, and was either snowing or the wind was just blowing snow around. It seemed to take forever, but we finally made it to my parents house at 9:30 pm. It was a trip I'll never forget and I hope to never have to do something like that again!

I was very blessed - my car broke down right in the exact place where I was able to get help. I even think getting detoured by the accident was part of the plan - maybe my van wouldn't have overheated until we got to the plains of Wyoming (nothing for miles, 12 degrees, and a mean blowing wind!) And then I would have had to wait with 4 kids (with no heat) for a tow truck. Anyway, enough complaining! We had a fun time in Utah. I didn't have my camera - but we went to Gardner Village and the kids went on a Pony ride and visited a petting zoo. They saw Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (which was slightly disturbing by the way), had a shopping spree at Deseret Industries (a fun thrift store), went miniature golfing, and swimming every day. Aaron joined us later in the week and we saw lots of Bloomfields at a Halloween Party. It was a fun break! Aaron drove home with us and we had no issues with the car or the weather. I'm glad that we were able to spend the break visiting with family

Josh's Birthday

2009-09-23T15:32:00.000-06:00

On September 23 Josh turned 7. Here are some pics from the family party. He did have a friend party this year, but I was pretty busy chasing 8 kids around to take any pictures :) He LOVES stuffed animals so we got him a big stuffed penguin that is also a puppet. It was a big hit!

He also likes Legos and was happy to get this Bionicle.

Happy Birthday Josh!

Emma's first day of Preschool

2009-09-15T15:27:00.000-06:00

This year I am doing a neighborhood preschool for Emma. All of the kids are from church and she was very excited when the first day finally came. She loves going and is always asking me when she gets to go back to preschool.

She is learning a lot and I can't believe this one will be in Kindergarten next fall!

American Discovery Trail Half Marathon

2009-09-12T08:19:00.005-06:00

I ran a half marathon on labor day with my sister Sarah. It wasn't really something I had ever thought about doing until earlier in the year when Sarah wanted to know if I wanted to sign up for the Moab half-marathon. It's lottery style and after we didn't get picked, I still had the "bug" in me. When we moved to Colorado Springs, I started searching for a race, and found that there was one on my birthday - which also happened to be labor day this year. I took it as a sign and started training. If anything, it would help me get in better shape and give me a goal to work towards. Here are my stats from about 4 months of training:

total miles: 180.87
elevation gain : 15,885 ft
calories burned : 24,624

I had a lot of fun running around the different trails in Colorado Springs. My favorite was the Pikes Peak greenway. It looked like the race was going to be on or around this trail so it was good preparation as well. It turns out the race was on this trail (an out and back) and I had already run on most of it. My longest training run was 13 miles and I completed that in 2:40. Some of my shorter runs had a better per mile pace so that was what I was shooting for. But, I didn't really care about my time. I just didn't want to come in last for my age group and I wanted to beat the first marathoner. Last year the best marathon time was around 2:52 so I figured I could easily do that.

So, race day arrives. Sarah and I were pretty anxious and nervous but things went really well. The weather was perfect.

Here we are waiting in the very long bathroom line! We just barely made it.

The first shot Aaron got of me coming towards the finish.

Sarah finished before me, but she re-ran the last little bit with me.

I think I'm trying to give a thumbs up? Running pictures always turn out weird.

Almost there!

My official time was 2:31:50. They didn't have chip timers for this race, so I started my watch when I crossed the start line and I stopped it when I hit 13.1 miles (according to my GPS, this race was a little bit longer than 13.1 miles) So, my Garmin time was 2:30:47. I cut 10 minutes off my practice run and I ran at the pace I was hoping for (about 11:30 per mile). I beat the first marathoner by a few minutes (he cut 20 minutes off the course record!)

We're done! I think I burst into tears when I finished, but they were tears of joy. I was absolutely wiped out for the next couple of days. But, I'm really glad that I did it and I might even do it again.

A couple of interesting facts about the race. The guy who won the marathon had lost 60 pounds and (like I said before) cut over 20 minutes off the course record. His half-marathon split time would have beat the guy who won the half-marathon. That is so amazing! I can't even imagine running that fast. Also, a 9 year old boy ran the half marathon - and he finished in 1:49. That is so fast for such a young kid! Very inspiring.

The kids were able to participate in a fun run. It happened while I was still running the race. They each got a ribbon and a little goody bag.

Waiting to start.

David came in first

Followed by Rachel.

Then Josh.

They all had a lot of fun running!

Coupon magic

2009-09-04T19:17:00.002-06:00

I used to think it was so corny when someone would take a picture of all the food they bought with coupons. I didn't really get it. Well, don't knock it 'till you've tried it! I've been couponing for a few weeks now and I'm amazed at the kind of deals you can find. It is so exciting to score a great deal. Here is one of my best scores at Albertsons - My total for the whole shopping trip was around 35.00. What I saved was around 130.00. I just took a picture of the best deals. The total for these items was around 10.00 - and lots of the items were free.

And, I didn't just get snack food. I also got 2 whole chickens, 5 pounds of pork chops, milk, bread, and produce. Of course now I'm totally jaded - I can't pay more than 1.00 for a box of cereal (and .50 is my average). But, it's kind of a fun way to help keep your grocery budget under control - and build up your food storage.

I'm still just a beginner. There are tons of blogs and web pages out there to help you get started. Just don't try to do too much at once and know that you can't get every deal. Just start small and you'll be amazed at what you can find.

Round 2 Dinners

2009-09-04T18:42:00.002-06:00

I love it when I can take a meal or some ingredients and stretch it into 2 or even 3 different meals. Tonight's meal was such a collaboration of leftovers that I just had to share. A couple years ago, I learned how to take a whole chicken and use it for several meals. When whole chickens were on sale a couple of weeks ago I was really excited, because at .57 cents a pound - using it for more than one meal really stretches your dollar.

So, a few days ago, I roasted a whole chicken. It is so easy and there are lots of different ways to change the flavor. This time I put some quartered lemons in the center and the last 20 minutes, I basted with BBQ sauce. Slice it up, cut off the drumsticks, add some potatoes and veggies, and you've got a great meal. So, don't be afraid of those whole chickens that are way cheaper than buying boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

Tonight I made chicken broth with the leftover bones. The chicken still had lots of meat on it (sometimes I will take off the meat and use it for another meal), so the broth was really flavorful. After the broth was done (and I removed the bones :)), I added carrots, celery, onions, and all the chicken meat. I was looking in the fridge and found some leftover green beans and rice (from a different meal - this probably would have gone to waste if I hadn't used it tonight). I threw that in, along with some egg noodles. It made for a really hearty soup. Then I took some hamburger buns (left over from yet another meal - those would have just gone stale or moldy), spread them with softened butter and sprinkled them with Parmesan cheese. I put them under the broiler for a few minutes and we had some yummy "Parmesan bread".

I pulled things from 3 separate meals to make a different meal that didn't feel like leftovers. I love it when that happens - especially when we can top it off with some free ice cream...

First Day of School

2009-08-31T10:10:00.003-06:00

I am so behind in blogging I thought I better just jump in on what is going on right now. The kids had their first day of school at the beginning of August. Rachel started on August 4th (6th graders started one day early) and David and Josh started on August 5th. They were all very excited to go back to school. Rachel was especially looking forward to lockers, changing classes, and more lunch choices. She also gets to ride the bus - which I enjoy more than she does! I am so glad that all of my kids enjoy school so much and that they are such good students.

Here is Rachel on her first day of 6th grade.

Holding her all important schedule:

The next day David and Josh got to go to school.
David is in 4th grade:

Here is Josh all ready for 1st grade:

David and Josh in front of their school:

Emma starts her preschool co-op in September. Some days she is excited about it and other days she says she just wants to stay home with me. I'm pretty sure that she will enjoy it.

I hope all the kids have a happy, productive healthy school year!

Helen Hunt Falls

2009-07-04T09:54:00.001-06:00

For the fourth of July this year we wanted to go somewhere fun and do something together as a family. We found out about a waterfall hike nearby and decided to check it out. We packed a lunch and some snacks and headed to the mountains.

Here are the kids at the bottom of the hike.

Some pictures of the falls.

Finishing up the hike.

The beautiful view.

Rachel by the falls.

We had a great time on the hike and hope to explore more of beautiful Colorado!

Bees vs Sky Sox game

2009-07-01T21:01:00.003-06:00

Thanks to my sister Sarah and her husband Spencer, we were able to go to a Bees minor league baseball game. They were playing none other than the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. The Sky Sox stadium is minutes from our house in Colorado Springs.

We had fun watching the game and just being together. Thanks Sarah & Spencer!

Cute cousins and Lagoon

2009-07-01T20:54:00.002-06:00

While we were at my parents house, my sister Mollie and her family was able to be there as well. Here are all the cute cousins lined up all ready to go to Lagoon.

Emma liked to ride in the wagon as opposed to going on rides. We were able to talk her into going on a few.

Here are the boy cousins riding the airplanes.

We bribed Emma to go on the carousel with aunt Sarah. I think she ended up enjoying herself.

Here's Rachel having fun riding her horse!

I didn't end up taking a lot of pictures there - it's kind of hard to get a picture of someone on a ride. Everyone had a lot of fun! Thanks Grandma & Grandpa

Slip 'n Slide

2009-07-01T20:51:00.003-06:00

The kids had fun getting wet at Grandma & Grandpa's house. Emma never really got the hang of sliding but still had fun running through the water.

Thank goodness for wet summer fun!

Rachel is 11!

2009-07-01T20:35:00.005-06:00

We had a fun time celebrating Rachel's birthday. Her birthday was on June 9th and we celebrated a couple of days early. She wanted to go out to dinner as a family to Red Robin. I didn't bring the camera - but she was way excited when they sang to her and brought her a dish of ice cream. Later at home she opened her present - the much requested camera.

You can check out Rachel's blog for more fun pictures. Please let me know if you would like an invitation to her blog.

Here is her cake - these were the only 2 requirements she gave me - it had to be chocolate and she wanted to decorate it herself. Sounded good to me!

While we were in Utah, we also had a celebration for her birthday. We made a fun "rainbow" cake. It was Rachel's idea to decorate it with roses from my parent's yard. It turned out beautiful!

Here is the inside of the cake - a rainbow cake!

I can't believe my oldest is 11! She will be going to middle school in a few short weeks. Can anyone help me figure out how to stop my kids from growing?

Summer Haircuts

2009-07-01T20:24:00.002-06:00

With the busyness of moving and getting settled and unpacked, I had neglected to give the boys a haircut for a while. You can tell from the pictures that they were both pretty shaggy. I think boys look so sharp with a nice short haircut. Here are the before and after pics:

David Before:

David After:

Josh Before:

Josh After:

Much better!

Good Old Fashioned Water Fight

2009-07-01T10:41:00.000-06:00

The other day, the kids were riding bikes and getting pretty hot. I was telling David that when I'm running and I get really hot, I like to pour some water on top of my head and it cools me down. Well, one thing let to another and soon everyone was pouring water on everyone else. I told the kids if they all got in their swimming suits, they could go out back and have a water fight. I filled up a camping water dispenser (you know, with the spout at the bottom) and armed them each with a water bottle. They had so much fun filling up their bottles and getting each other wet. It was a nice way to cool down on a hot summer day. The weather here changes so frequently that they actually had to come in when it started raining. They had a lot of fun while it lasted!

Swimming Lessons

2009-07-01T10:28:00.000-06:00

The first thing that we did to start out the summer was swimming lessons. Last summer we didn't do any because we had just moved to Las Cruces and I was still trying to figure out what was what. We joined the YMCA a couple months ago - one reason was for the great swimming lessons. I really liked the program. All the kids got 8 45 minute lessons and they all learned a lot.

Here's David

Josh always likes to make a fun pose

This was Emma's first time ever having swimming lessons and she did great!

Josh getting some one on one with his teacher.

Here's Rachel doing her favorite stroke (I think it was the back stroke)

The kids all did very well and learned a lot!

Half Marathon Training

2009-06-06T20:17:00.002-06:00

So, I haven't officially signed up or anything, but I'm planning on running a half marathon here in the Springs on Labor Day. I started a blog that will detail my training program and workouts. It's mainly for me - just so I can keep track of everything, but in case you are curious, here it is:

My First Half

I am most definitely not a "runner". I just want to finish the race and improve my endurance. Wish me luck!

Finally, some house pictures

2009-06-03T15:32:00.000-06:00

So, it took me a while to unpack and even longer to take some pictures. I still need to take some of the outside and the basement. Here is the living room.

Here is another angle.

This is a semi-formal dining area that is next to the living room.

And the kitchen is right next to the dining area. It's kind of an open space with the living space, dining space, and kitchen all in the same room.

This is the front entry/hall way.

This is looking into the office/study, which is off of the main hallway, and has french doors. It could be a formal dining room, but we thought the room would be much better utilized as an office.

other side of office...

This is our bedroom - which is off of the living room.

another angle...

We really like the layout of this house. It is one level with a finished basement. Upstairs are two bedrooms (ours and Emma's) and the basement has a TV room, 2 big bedrooms for the other kids, a storage room, and a full bath. Next to Emma's room upstairs is another full bath. It seems to work well for our family right now. I'll take some pictures of the basement in a couple of days.

Congratulations!

2009-06-02T08:53:00.003-06:00

David recently earned his wolf badge in Cub Scouts. We are so proud of all the work and requirements he completed to earn this badge. Way to go David!!

On the last day of school, they had a Pride assembly where some kids got awards. Josh got the science award, and Rachel got a reading award and a library award. I'm so proud of my awesome kids!

Home Depot Kids Workshop

2009-05-31T15:09:00.002-06:00

One of the last things that David need to do to earn his Wolf Badge in Cub scouts was to build something useful out of wood, using a tool like a hammer or a screwdriver. Every month Home Depot has free projects for kids to do this exact kind of project. They each get an orange apron, a certificate, and a pin (to put on the apron). I took David and Josh and they had a blast building a little wheelbarrow planter. I think we will try and make it there each month!

David turns 9

2009-05-11T14:59:00.001-06:00

Spring brings a bunch of birthdays in our family! David turned 9 on May 11th and had a fun birthday. We went as a family to Chuck E. Cheeses and all had fun playing the games. Then we came home to enjoy yummy ice cream pie and had David open his present. All he wanted for his birthday was an Mp3 player. We surprised him with one that can take videos and pictures, play videos, and of course play music.

He was very excited when he opened it. Here is David with his "cake".

Blowing out the candles...

We are so glad to have David in our family. He is very creative, loves to play with his webkinz, and has a sweet and tender heart. I think his new favorite animal is the platypus, although he still really likes turtles. Happy Birthday David!

E-Mealz

2009-05-11T09:38:00.002-06:00

For me, one of the hardest parts of grocery shopping and making dinner is just coming up with what to make. I usually end up making the same thing over and over again. I finally tried E-Mealz because I had heard it advertised on Dave Ramsey's radio program so often. It is a meal planning service that gives you weekly shopping lists and menus. They have different lists that go with different stores and they have some different options (low-fat, low carb, and even a weight watchers point based menu). I have actually tried a similar service before, and ended up not liking most of the recipes. Our family has tried this now for a few weeks and it's a big hit. Aaron told me that he likes most of the new recipes. Even the kids have cleared their plates most of the time. Other than the main dish, it also gives side dish suggestions. That is something that I've always had a hard time coming up with. The program is only $5 a month (definitely worth the time that it usually takes me to come up with a plan and a shopping list). You pay for 3 months at a time. If you enter the word DAVE into the box at checkout, you will get 2.50 off your total. They have some sample menus on the website if you want to try some first. Here are a few of the meals that I am making this week.

Poppy Seed Chicken
White Rice
Steamed Broccoli
Sliced Cantaloupe

Enchilada Pie
Yellow Rice
Pineapple Kiwi Toss

Fish Filet Parmesan w/
Almonds
Sautéed Asparagus
Scalloped Potatoes

Foot long BLT
Sliced Oranges

The meals have all been easy to make. Having my meals planned out for me really takes some stress off of me - and I am saving money at the grocery store. I thought I would pass along something that I have found very useful. Please check it out!

My baby is now 4

2009-05-01T08:52:00.000-06:00

We had a fun time celebrating Emma's birthday. She turned 4 on April 26th. I can't believe how old she is getting! She wanted a flower cake for her birthday so this is what I came up with.

Here she is blowing out the candles.

She got this cute monkey from Rachel. Rachel had "points" she earned from reading books and she was able to get this from the store at school. Emma loved it! It was actually her favorite present.

Here she it opening a present from us. She loves letters, numbers, and animals, so we got her a bunch of fun refrigerator magnets. She spells out her name on the fridge, puts a number 4 beside it, and a pig (her favorite animal).

Emma is a very sweet girl. If you call her anything else - like a sweetie or something, she says "no, I am a princess!". She's very quiet, but after you get to know her - she warms up quite a bit. During the day, when it's just Emma and me at home, she talks non stop. She also loves High School Musical and likes to pretend that she is Sharpay. She loves music. I gave her an old mp3 player and she loves to listen and sing to music. She is a joy and we love having her in our family!

Easter 2009

2009-04-21T09:01:00.000-06:00

We had a nice Easter this year - despite the weather being very crazy - we had snow. We had baskets and eggs on Saturday and a nice dinner on Sunday. I was still trying to get all moved in and consequently I didn't take very many pictures. I did manage to take pictures of the kids in their new Easter clothes.

The final leg

2009-04-19T18:16:00.005-06:00

{I did a lot of posts at once, please scroll all the way down to read them in order.}

Our plan was to leave for Colorado Springs on April 1. Utah/Wyoming/Colorado had been going through a series of storms. It was supposed to snow on April 1st, but we decided to watch and wait to see what the weather would do. We didn't want to delay leaving, and then get stuck behind a storm. It did snow that morning, but cleared up and we left around 10:00am. The freeways were all open and the weather didn't really seem all that bad. There was a little bit of snow here and there between Utah and Wyoming, but nothing that slowed us down. We ate lunch in Little America, and Dinner in Cheyenne. Sarah took over driving and the roads from Cheyenne to Denver were great. I had wanted to pull over and take a picture of a Welcome to Colorado sign (we did that when we entered New Mexico) but we never saw one. Here is a picture of Josh at a rest stop just over the border by a Colorado Map.

That's when I jinxed us - I said I was officially glad that we had decided to leave that day.
Soon after, we started to have issues. I don't want to embarrass anyone, but we some issues with bodily functions. Then the roads got very, very bad. They were snow packed, slushy, and very slick. One funny moment was when we opened the windows to get some fresh air, and a snow plow zoomed past us showering the interior of the car with wet, slushy, dirty snow. I am very grateful for a lot of things. I'm glad that Sarah was with me, and that she was driving when I needed to help the kids (doing something only a mother could do). I really feel that I was inspired to bring round, plastic tubs (old food containers) to pack some of the food in. They even had lids! That was a lifesaver. The last 40 miles took over 2 hours. We didn't pull in until after 10pm. Driving time - about 12 hours (25 for the whole trip!) I'm also very grateful that we made it there safely and that the car didn't give us any trouble (well, except for a dead battery at the very beginning, but then the battery was fine the rest of the trip).

I am very glad that we are a family again. I'm excited about living here. I'm thankful that Aaron found a nice house for us to rent. I'm looking forward to this next chapter in our lives.

Our trip - part two.

2009-04-19T18:00:00.002-06:00

The next leg of our journey was up to Fruit Heights, Utah to visit with my parents and sisters. The trip went pretty well. We just had a little bit of snow over Soldiers Summit, but it wasn't really that bad. We made the trip in 7 hours (hours of driving so far... 13) and had a very nice week with Grandparents. My parents had recently put in an endless pool, so that kept the kids entertained quite a bit.

We also had fun visiting my sister Sarah, going out to eat, and just relaxing. Rachel was very lucky and got to go to a David Archuleta concert with her grandpa. Sarah was very generous and offered to make the drive from Utah to Colorado Springs with me. Our plan was to leave on April 1. More to come...

Our trip - part one.

2009-04-19T17:44:00.004-06:00

Here is our journey as we traveled from Las Cruces, New Mexico to Colorado Springs. Aaron was already there, so I made the trip with the 4 kiddos alone.

March 19th & 20th the packers and movers came to pack up and load all of our stuff. We slept in a packed up house on Thursday night and I had to deal with a vomiting 3 year old. I actually had to open up some boxes to find another blanket and some towels (which she also threw up on). I had some really great friends that fed us dinners and helped me clean (and washed all the yucky bedding!) On the 21st we started the first leg of our very round about way to get to Colorado and went to Farmington, New Mexico. The kids had 2 weeks of Spring break and we wanted to take advantage of the time to visit some family.

We spent a few days there and had fun with grandparents and cousins. We had one really fun day of flying kites.

Emma particularly enjoyed it and was very sad when her kite ended up in a tree later on.

David had a really hard time - his kite kept breaking. After a couple of trips to the dollar store, we finally found one that worked.

Rachel had fun flying her kite as well, but for some reason, I don't have any pictures. I think I was pretty distracted trying to help untangle and fix kites.

We had a great time with all the Bloomfields in Farmington. Stay tuned for part II

Snow day - in April

2009-04-15T09:14:00.000-06:00

We've been told a lot of things about the weather in Colorado Springs. The most true statement is that it changes all the time. In between Easter and this snow storm - we had warm sunny days in the 60s and 70s. The kids had school canceled and they were pretty excited. Here are Rachel and David celebrating - I think the light from the yard made my flash not go off, so they are really dark, but you get the idea.

David is staring at the snow.

Here's a photo of our backyard.

and the view from the front porch...

It really did snow quite a bit - but it kept melting as it was accumulating, and then a couple of days later it was all gone. If it's going to snow a lot, at least it doesn't stick around very long.

We're Here

2009-04-07T11:18:00.003-06:00

This will be a very short and pictureless post but since I haven't blogged in a long time I figured I would give a quick update. The kids and I finally arrived in Colorado Springs on April 1. The drive was very long and not without some unexpected difficulties. My sister Sarah drove down with me - this turned out to be a lifesaver! There was some snow along the way (and with kids, there is always some excitement). I'm just glad that we are here and getting settled in. The house will take forever to unpack and I will take some pictures when a few more things are put away. So far I like the house and the neighborhood. We even have some family (Aaron's cousin's family, the Kelschs) to help us get settled. The kids started school today and I hope that everything goes well for them. Their teachers seemed very nice. We weren't even the only new students there today.

I'm hoping Spring will arrive very soon - we're not used to the cold weather! The mountains are beautiful and it seems like any kind of shopping I could want is around the corner. I am excited for our new adventure in Colorado Springs!

Wax Museum

2009-03-19T18:43:00.000-06:00

David's final school project here in New Mexico was called the Wax Museum. He had to pick a character from history, dress up like him, and perform an oral report - pretending he was this person from history. David chose to do Abraham Lincoln. I thought he looked great in his costume and he learned a lot of interesting stuff. Did you know that Abraham lincoln was the tallest president at 6 feet 4 inches? All the kids got to dress up in their costumes and stand in the hall way. You could go up to them, press a "button" and they would tell you facts about that person. They did it during the day for the students and that night for the parents. He did a great job!

Carlsbad Caverns

2009-02-16T20:39:00.001-07:00

We were told that before we moved away, we had to see the Carlsbad Caverns. This past weekend was Aaron's last weekend here in Las Cruces with us, so we decided that Saturday was the day to go. It was a 3 hour drive. We went all the way to Carlsbad (a little past the actual caverns) due to some missing signage, but that was okay, we needed somewhere to eat lunch. We ended up at the Caverns at 2:00pm. There are two ways to enter the big main cave - take an elevator that descends the height of a 75 story building or go through the natural entrance. That way was a 1.25 mile hike down a very steep path. We figured if we did that with all the kids, they would be done at that point and wouldn't want to see the big room, which has the most famous and interesting features. After we took the elevator down - which went down 750 feet in less than one minute - I got out my nice big camera only to realize that the batteries were dead. I had brought along extra batteries, but they were in the car. Rachel had our old camera with her, so that's what I had to take pictures with. Some of the pictures turned out great, and others you can't see very much. They had lighting down in the cave, but it was still pretty dim. It was very interesting to see all of the formations.

Can you tell how thrilled they are about getting their picture taken?

Here's the slideshow. A lot of the pictures are dark and everything looked really amazing in person - the pictures don't really do it justice.

I'm still trying to decide if it was worth the long drive, but I'm glad that we went. Hmmmm, what else do we need to see before we leave?

Pinewood Derby

2009-02-15T19:57:00.003-07:00

A few weeks ago, David was able to participate in the Pinewood Derby. It was fun for him to spend a few weeks planning and making his car. I had planned on taking pictures of the progress but I forgot! David wanted to make his car look like Speed Racer and they did a really great job. He painted it in Cub scout colors - blue & gold. Here is David before the racing began.

He's waiting in line to get his car registered and weighed.

When they put David's car up on the track for his first race, there was some discussion about his car. The front of the car had a v shape carved out of it. That was right where the pin rested that holds the cars at the top of the track. So, the tip of David's car was about 1/4 of an inch ahead of the other cars. We honestly weren't trying to cheat or anything - it was just how the car was designed. They decided to make things fair, David's car should be raced backwards - because the back of his car was a flat edge.

David ended up winning his first race!

Here is David's car - up on the track.

Each car got to race 3 times. In David's 2nd race, it jumped off the track and didn't finish (Dad says it was probably going too fast :))
David got first place in his 3rd race! Now he had to wait for the semi-final races. Here is his car on the table with some of the others (David's is on the far right).

In the semi-finals David's car got 2nd place. He had a lot of fun and got an award for the most futuristic looking car.

Maybe next year we will figure out the secret to having the fastest car!

Being Replanted

2009-02-06T07:52:00.003-07:00

We've come to accept that the only thing that is really constant in life is change! As many of you know, we are moving to Colorado Springs. We recently moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico so I thought I would explain the circumstances surrounding our move. We really do like it here in Las Cruces, and expected to live here for a long time. We have met a lot of great people here and we love the weather (although we haven't lived here during the Spring - which is supposed to be pretty windy). We moved to Las Cruces when Aaron accepted a new job with Honeywell. They have a contract with NASA. He was told when he accepted the job that the contract renews every 5 years and that was coming up in October. Honeywell expected to get the contract again and told Aaron that even if they didn't, the new company usually hires all the people that are currently working on the contract. Well, when NASA announced the contracts in October, they awarded it to a new company. Honeywell protested the bid - so all of that has been up in the air for several months. In the meantime, an opportunity came up for a job in Colorado Springs with Honeywell. Right now the contract here with NASA is still up in the air. It will probably go to the new company, but Aaron has no guarantee of a job with them. We thought maybe the job in Colorado Springs would have to wait until the contract negotiations were finished but they really want Aaron now. It's a good opportunity, closer to my family (about the same distance as we are now from Aaron's family), and right now, it's the most sure thing in terms of a job. We've just been renting a house here, and with only a couple months left on our lease, we don't have much to lose. We will miss the friends that we have made here. It has never been our plan to move so much and we hope that we will stay put in Colorado for a while. So, hopefully that explains everything! Aaron is leaving right away! He has to start on March 2 and will be going up a little before that to find us a house. The kids and I will follow during Spring break (around March 23). We are excited and ready for our new adventure!

Emma's tooth

2009-01-23T18:13:00.003-07:00

A while ago Emma fell on the edge of the bathtub and banged her two front teeth pretty hard. Since then, I had asked a couple of dentists if we needed to do anything about it, because the tooth had changed color. She had never been seen by a dentist, I just asked when I had brought my other kids in. He said it should be fine, unless the tooth seemed to be bothering her. When I brought her in for her first dental visit, they examined the tooth, took an x-ray, and determined that not only was the tooth dead, it was abscessed. The dentist decided it would be in her best interest to pull the tooth so the infection wouldn't get any worse and possibly affect the permanent tooth waiting to come in. My dentist, who is a family dentist, not a pediatric one, was nervous about doing an extraction on a three year old, but decided to go ahead because Emma was so well behaved. I am so blessed to have such cooperative kids! She just sat there and let them do everything. When they were finished, she let out a couple of tears, but was trying to hold back. It was so cute. They pampered her by letting her pick out several toys. She is very excited about leaving the tooth for the tooth fairy tonight. I am so proud of her for being so brave. I snapped this picture with my cell phone right before they did the extraction.

I took her to get a shake from Sonic afterward and she was as happy as can be. She didn't even complain about her lip being numb. Here is her cute new smile!

New Years Eve

2009-01-01T09:06:00.000-07:00

We were able to spend some time in Kirtland, New Mexico after Christmas. We had fun celebrating New Years with cousins Broc, Sam, Ezra, and Daniel. We had a chocolate fountain.

The kids enjoyed dipping their fruit, cream puffs, and cookies.

The kids made noisemakers.

And we had a pinata.

It was a fun New Years Eve!

Christmas morning

2008-12-26T08:45:00.000-07:00

We had a great Christmas this year! Our best Christmas present was having our house (which had been on the market since June) close on December 22. It was supposed to close on the 19th and we were never really told why (paperwork??) it didn't happen. So, I had to worry all weekend long if it was really going to happen or not. We were so relieved when it was all final - just three days before Christmas. That would have been enough for me, but the kids would have been a little disappointed on Christmas morning :).

Emma loves learning her ABCs and when ever you asked her what she wanted, she always said ABCs!

Josh got a trunk of Star Wars dress up clothes complete with light sabers!

David still loves turtles and was thrilled to get a turtle Webkinz

Rachel just wanted a pretty watch ("a NICE one Mom, nothing plastic or Hannah Montana")

Enjoy the rest of the pictures in this slideshow.

We had a great Christmas and I am looking forward to the year to come.

Christmas pajamas

2008-12-24T08:41:00.000-07:00

Here are the kids in their traditional Christmas eve pajamas. Since they always know they get pajamas on Christmas eve, I added a surprise by getting them all slippers. I was a little stressed this year and didn't do any sewing, but the kids enjoyed them just the same!
Rachel really wanted a nightgown this year

Emma loved her flower pjs

I found the cute slippers first and was happy to find some matching pajama pants for the boys.

All four of them - ready for bed!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-22T09:28:00.004-07:00

We hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas!

Christmas concert

2008-12-22T08:56:00.003-07:00

Josh's kindergarten class put on a really cute musical concert. I guess it was really a winter program. All the songs were about cold and snow and not about Christmas. I thought it was pretty funny because it's still pretty warm here - it will get up to about 65 in the afternoon. We are probably never going to have a snow day from school (something they sang about) or get even 7 inches of snow - let alone 7 feet! I guess it's all in the spirit of being politically correct.

Edible Snowflakes

2008-12-22T08:31:00.004-07:00

The kids and I made a yummy recipe the other day from The Friend magazine. It was a fun activity and very tasty as well.

You take a tortilla, warm it up in the microwave to make it flexible, and fold it in half several times (like you are making a paper snowflake). Cut out shapes along the sides and unfold. Fry in a small amount of oil until lightly browned and crispy.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy!

I promise he really is enjoying it! Josh was in a bad mood because he wore his pajamas to school on the wrong day. All the kids really enjoyed making and eating their snowflakes.

A Time to Give Thanks

2008-12-03T08:34:00.002-07:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year at the with the Bloomfields. 5 of the 7 Bloomfield children were able to make it this year (with spouses and kids in tow!). It made for a large feast with 23 people. We all enjoyed good food, good company, and a chance to reflect on why we celebrate this holiday. We all have a lot to be thankful for.

Fun with Rock Band

2008-12-03T08:07:00.004-07:00

While in New Mexico for we had a lot of fun playing with Amy & Brian's Rock Band game. David and Josh rocked out on the guitars (they also really liked the drums)

I love the intent, slightly bewildered look on Josh's face in this one.

Rachel loved using the microphone and Dad did great on the drums.

In the video you can see how much David got into playing the guitar.

We all got a chance to try the different instruments. It really is a fun game!

Veteran's Day Parade

2008-11-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Las Cruces had a Veteran's day parade. David's boy scout troup was able to participate by riding a float, waving flags, and throwing candy. David was very excited to be in his first parade.

We anxiously awaited the arrival of his "float".

It humbled me to see these old men marching in the parade. They were so proud to have served our country.

Here's David with his pack. They threw us lots of candy.

It wasn't as flashy as most parades - but inspiring to see all the military groups and equipment.

The weather was beautiful and it was a great day for a parade - even though it's November!

Tagged - 8 things

2008-11-11T07:34:00.003-07:00

Ok Ive been tagged by Amy & Elizabeth. They were slightly different lists - so I combined the two.

8 TV shows I watch

1. The Biggest Loser
2. The Office
3. CSI
4. American Idol
5. Get it Sold
6. Design to Sell
7. Mythbusters (awesome show on the Discovery channel - it's one of our kid's favorites too)
8. ummmm, I don't really watch TV that much, maybe Oprah?

8 things I did yesterday

1. Made cookies for Josh's speech class at school.
2. Got Emma's hair cut
3. Visited someone from Church for their birthday
4. Did some laundry (after my marathon session on Saturday, I'm trying to do - and put away - one load a day)
5. Played around on facebook, read my blogs, updated my Quicken, blogged
6. Played dolls and blocks with Emma.
7. Helped 3 kids with homework.
8. Made dinner.

8 Favorite Restaurants
This is a tough one - we don't really go out to eat that much...

1. Applebees - it's always nice to have a familiar restaurant like this when you are in a strange town. It's family friendly and we've been there more than once with our family because our kids would get free kid meal coupons from our Doctor when they got shots.
2. The Cheesecake Factory - just been there once for a girls night out. The food and the cheesecake was amazing. But, the wait to get in isn't really worth it.
3. P.F. Changs - I love chinese food - still, I've only been there once (I guess I need to get out more)
4. Papa Murphys - I know, not technically a restaurant, but I really like their take and bake pizza and it's a lot cheaper than getting a cooked pizza delivered.
5. Red Robin - another fun family place that has good burgers and bottomless steak fries.
6. TGI Fridays - fun for the family and for GNO - they also have a bunch of entrees that are 500 calories or under (and that's pretty good for restaurant food).
7. Huhot Mongolian Grill - we went there once with friends in Omaha. You get to build your own stirfry and then watch a bunch of guys cook it on this huge round grill. It was really good.
8. Biaggis - an Italian restaurant in Omaha that I have fond memories of - we went there with some of our good friends.

8 Things I Love About Fall

1. That it starts to cool down.
2. The kids are back in school.
3. The beautiful fall colors.
4. low electric bill
5. Thanksgiving
6. Carving pumpkins
7. earlier bedtime
8. Having a big pot of warm soup or chili for dinner.

8 Things on my Wish List

1. That someone will buy our house.
2. A house that would clean itself.
3. Instantaneous travel - like "beam me up, Scotty" That way we could always visit those that lived far away and distance wouldn't be a problem.
4. To go on a dream vacation with my family - like Disneyland or something.
5. To go on a dream vacation with my husband - like Hawaii or a cruise.
6. For all my kids to be happy and successful in life - you know - missions, temple marriages, good college educations, successful careers.
7. A personal chef
8. A gym membership with a personal trainer.

And, there you have it. A bunch of random lists of 8 things. I tag Jessica Hutchings, Trinity Moore, and Ginger Bloomfield (and anyone else that feels so inclined...)

Emma's haircut

2008-11-10T20:35:00.004-07:00

Emma has the kind of hair I've always wanted - very fine and extremely straight. You can let it air dry and it is straight as a pin. The fact that it is very fine also means that it gets tangled very easily. I've spent lots of time (with lots of conditioner and a comb) combing out the tangles that get in her hair. She's never had very long hair - it would just make the tangling so much worse. So, it was time to chop a few inches off her hair. I forgot to take a before picture so I snapped this one in the car with my cell phone before we went in.

She was so cooperative with the hair stylist! I just know she wouldn't have held as still or put her head down for me - like she did at the salon.

Here is her cute new 'do. She went around all day telling everyone she had pretty hair.

I'm hoping it will lead to less tangles and less tears!

Mom to the rescue

2008-11-10T08:19:00.004-07:00

My kids come home with lots of notes in their backpacks. They need to bring something or have some special day at school, etc. With three kids in school it's hard to keep track of everything. I know I should write everything down on a big calendar or something, but we get by. Last week Josh brought something home from speech saying that he earned a "free day" (he has only been going to speech for less than a week - guess it doesn't take much to earn such a day) and that he had to bring cookies for the group of 4 kids. It was a note with blanks for the date, what to bring, and how many kids. It was written in Josh's cute handwriting - but still legible. So, last week, I glanced at it and it said Mon, Nov 13th was the day to bring cookies. All I noticed was that it said "Nov 13" which I knew was far in the future and I didn't have to worry about it yet. Fast forward to this morning - Josh is insisting that he has to bring cookies TODAY and that I forgot. So, I called his teacher, explained the discrepancy on the note, and said I could probably bring cookies to the school. I did have some errands to run today, starting with a Relief Society visit at 10:00 and I could probably pick up some cookies and drop them off at the school. She called me back at 8:00 am and said that he was supposed to bring cookies today and that his group meets at 9:00 am. Hmmm, didn't exactly fit into my schedule. I was still sitting here in my bathrobe and it wasn't going to work out to hurry and get dressed (and get Emma dressed) run to the store, run to the school, then do my errands - which involved going BACK to the store. The teacher said not to worry about it. But all I could think about was how Josh told me he needed cookies and how he would feel bad when he didn't have them. So, I quickly threw together a homemade batch of chocolate chip cookies and had them in the oven at 8:15. Now I'm just hoping they won't balk at homemade cookies - these days everything brought to school is supposed to be store-bought. I'll just say what I say to my kids when they get something and they would rather get something else - "you get what you get and you don't throw a fit".

Well, the cookies are out of the oven - time to run them over to the school. Hopefully they will appreciate it!

In Loving Memory

2008-11-05T11:38:00.007-07:00

Late Sunday night, just a few weeks past his 90th birthday, my Grandpa Glen passed away. He had been declining for the past few years, so in many ways, this is a blessing. We will miss him, and are all a little sad, but also happy to know that he is in a better place now. The kids don't really have a lot of memories of their great grandpa, but I was touched when Rachel and David both shed a few tears when they learned of his passing. This picture is my grandpa as a young father - the cute little boy in the picture is my dad. My sister told a fun story about him on her blog, so I thought I would share a different one about him that I remember being told. He was born in 1918 and was a twin. I'm sure times were quite different back then, but I can still imagine a mother's worry when a child goes missing. I'm not sure how old he was (I think he was a baby) but one morning he was placed on a bed and then later, when his mom went to check on him, he was gone! Everybody searched high and low for several hours and it was determined that he was probably kidnapped by gypsies. I can't imagine the grief this young mother must have been feeling. Then, someone noticed some sounds coming from under the bed. Turns out he rolled off the bed and under it, where he slept peacefully for several hours. He has always been a teaser and a joker and I guess he started very young!

We will miss you Grandpa!

Halloween costumes

2008-11-02T08:44:00.003-07:00

I finally finished all the costumes (the final one being finished the day before Halloween) and the kids all had a great time.

Emma was a fairy

Josh was a doctor

Rachel was a fairy

David was a doctor as well.
The original plan was that Rachel was going to be a nurse, but then we couldn't find a pattern and Rachel fell in love with the fairy one. It didn't turn out exactly like we had hoped, but she still looked beautiful.

Happy Halloween!

Carving Pumpkins

2008-11-02T08:37:00.003-07:00

We had our traditional Family Night before Halloween pumpkin carving activity. This year it was great because I bought 3 little pumpkin carving kits and the kids were all able to do almost everything themselves. We had a lot of fun. The only problem (if you can call it a problem) is that the weather here is so warm that all the pumpkins were pretty much spent by the time Halloween came around. But that's okay - the fun comes with the carving.

Still trying to get it sold

2008-11-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

Well, unfortunately, our buyer backed out, and we are still trying to sell our house. We are very disappointed, but life goes on and hopefully the next offer will be just around the corner. Maybe it's just waiting for a special family who will love the house as much as we did.

Get it Sold, part 2

2008-10-26T13:13:00.004-06:00

We finally got an offer on our house!! We are so excited and relieved. After 5 long months, I found myself thinking that it was NEVER going to sell. They want to close very quickly and we are hoping and praying that everything will go along smoothly. I won't be totally relieved until after we close - but we are well on our way. Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes.