Kirk Family Adventures

Holiday Fun

2012-01-08T23:53:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Christmas, how could we not with four excited children. I really try to enjoy the moment with them. People often remind me how quickly time will fly. They are so cute and excited about everything.

I feel guilty that I have not been a very fun mom for the past few months so I tried to plan at least a few fun things to celebrate the holidays. We went to the Pickleville Theater Christmas Show, and it was amazing. I would really like to make it a tradition. The kids got to see Santa before the show. We left Ali with my sister Connie. Andy was SO SAD that he didn't get to stay with Connie. He enjoyed the show, but I wish I would have saved myself the price of his ticket and let him hang out with his dear Connie. On the way to the show Josh asked him in an excited voice, "do you want to see Santa?" With tears he said, "no, I just want Connie." Josh and I both love live theater so much. It is exciting to me to instill that love of theater in our children. (I wish we had a picture of Ali with Santa.)

We also went to the city nativity. It was a beautiful night. I love helping the kids to remember the true meaning of Christmas. Ali didn't participate in the nativity, but she did dress up as a cute little angel.

While I am on the topic of Ali, she is a hand full!!
I overheard Cara tell Caleb, "We should sell Ali. She is such a naughty maker."
Caleb said, "No, I think we should keep her. I think she will learn to be good when she is bigger."
Ali can someday think Caleb for convincing Cara that she is worth keeping.

Cara was also an angel (blowing her horn) and Caleb was a shepherd (front and center in the striped robe).

Andy was a perfect wise man. I am grateful to have friends that are willing to go to the effort to provide children with good experiences such as this.

Andy is so sweet. One of the best complements I can give him is to rave about how "big" he is getting. At age 3 being big is awesome. The other day I did something nice for him and he said, "mom, you are so big. You are getting bigger and bigger." I smiled and thanked him knowing where his heart was. Not exactly a complement at my age.

The kids each got what they asked Santa for for Christmas. Caleb was thrilled with his Lego Ninjago Spinners.

Cara asked for a real magic wand. She got one, and she was very sad that it didn't really do magic. She tried so hard to be a good sport.

Andy got a "Cars" car track.

Ali (and everyone) got a mini kitchen. They really like it.

The pillow pets were also a huge hit. Why didn't I come up with the idea of pillow pets?! So simple, yet the kids think they are the best. They all sleep with them. Took them on vacation, and love them!

Christmas morning was great. You can see that even putting the toys together was fun.

Of course we had a wonderful time at my parents on Christmas Adam and Eve. They kids love it there. It is just sad when my sister Cathie's family doesn't come, cousin's are always missed. We spent Christmas day with the Kirk's. We were all totally spoiled especially by Josh's sister Christina and her hubby Ross. They sure know how to shop and shower the family with gifts. The kids love to be with their cousin Ethen. Family is such an important part of live. We feel thankful to live so close to our families!

I had one day that I felt good after Christmas. (Like I only threw up once or twice and didn't want to die which is incomparably better than what I had been doing.) It made me feel cabin fever so I planned a last minute trip for New Years. The only time we could go was directly after Ali had her ear tubes replaced and her adenoids out. She was a trouper on the trip. I was very merciful with the Tylenol with Codeine and she did great. Here she is with my mom after surgery. She was not a happy patient.

I shouldn't admit that we went from surgery to meet up with the rest of the family at Chuck E. Cheese. Luckily they had already been there for a while so Ali and I didn't have to stay long. Chuck E. Cheese was the unanimous best part of our little vacation. We spent a couple nights at a hotel in Salt Lake. The kids loved the pool. We went out to dinner at one of my favorites, The Spaghetti Factory with our friends the Campbell's. (I even kept it down!) The kids thought Santa's sleigh was cool.

The second day we got a SLC Connect Pass. We spent the morning at the Discovery Gateway Children's Musiem. The kids love it there! I am done after a few hours, but I think they could spend all day.

We went to an I Max show that even Caleb dared to wear his 3D glasses. It was about monkeys and elephants. Just his pace. Not too scary. Ali and I spent the afternoon napping while the rest of the crew went to the new Leonardo Museum and the Natural History Museum. I have to put a plug in for the Natural History Museum at the U. The kids LOVE IT and it is good for adults too! We finished the day with dinner at the Lion House and Temple Square Lights. I'm sure there was a plunge in the pool somewhere before bed too.

I even put on my suit to go to the pool once.
Cara said to me, "you are getting a fat tummy."
My reply was, "let's call it a baby tummy, not a fat tummy."
She looked at me and said, "I know there is a baby, but other people are going to think that you eat bad food."
On the bright side, at least she didn't call me lazy.

The trip ended with a morning of swimming and a movie. Andy was so exhausted when we got home on New Years Eve that he barley made it into the house. I was tired too. I brought in the new year by going to bed at 8:00. Good thing Josh is happy going to friends without me. We both did just what we wanted.

Christmas Excitement

2011-12-18T21:21:00.000-07:00

The excitement around here is so thick you could cut it. My little ones couldn't be more excited for Christmas. They sing, they dance, they run around, they chant "Santa Clause" over and over. They are enjoying every second of the anticipation. Caleb dreams about what he is getting and constantly asks for clues. Yesterday I started telling him that it is small, it is black, it burns easily, and it starts with the letter C. He doesn't like that clue. Cara is obsessed with making and giving gifts to her friends. Andy is just so excited he doesn't know what to do except jump up and down and yell Santa. Ali may not know what is going on, but she knows it is exciting. Unfortunately I am still spending most of my time in bed trying to keep my food down. I choose to stay in my room rather than on the couch so I don't have to see the messy kitchen. Josh did take time to make gingerbread cookies with the kids so they could use the Christmas cookie cutters that they were dying to use. I am glad for Sunday afternoons and that Josh enjoys cooking to make things like this possible.

Cara had her Kindergarden Christmas program and of course she was adorable. I was totally amazed at the amount of material the children performed. They did a great job! Cara is in the red and black dress in the middle.

Andy had his Joy School Program too. He is so cute. I can't believe how he is growing. He lives for Joy School Days so even though he will have three years of preschool I am so glad I included him this year. He has so much fun with the kids. He is pictured here as a shepherd.

We have continued the tradition of letting the kids sleep under the Christmas tree on Friday nights in December. I like it because it is easy and free. The kids love it. Of course Caleb has a hard time sleeping, but he has a hard time sleeping anywhere this time of year. Is he Josh's boy or what.

The USU Aggies made it to their first Bowl Football game in 15 years. Josh used that as "once in a lifetime" ammunition to convince me that he and Caleb needed to make the trip to Boise to see the game. It would have been a dream trip with the Low boys except that the Aggie's lost by 1 point in the last 17 seconds.

Caleb loved his 2nd basketball season. He is turning into a pretty good little player. Josh told him that we could go to the dollar store if he made two baskets durning his last game. He made three of the four total and played an awesome game. It is amazing what a little dollar store bribery can do for his game. If course being a head taller than all of the other children doesn't hurt.

Each year Josh and I go to a beautiful, formal Christmas party. It is one of our favorite traditions. We are lucky to have friends that go to such effort to create wonderful memories for all of us. I even kept my dinner down. It was a wonderful night.

I did get Christmas Cards out this year. I was quite impressed with myself. I actually had one printed rather than doing the newsletter type that I usually do. I did include the following update:

Top 10 of 2011

10. Josh and Carrie kicked off the year with their firstcruise. They loved it!

9. We had a couple of awesome family trips including LakePowell and St. George.
8. We spent spring brake in Disneyland. A place we would like to spend a lot more time! [We might have ugly furniture, but we have great vacations. Obviously travel is important to us.]

7. Josh is now working full-time doing Graphic Design when he isn't with the 11 year old scouts.

6. Carrie hasfound a new passion for essential oils and learning more about alternativemedicine.

5. Andy started Joy School. He lives for preschool days and serves as Ali’sinterpreter. He is alwaysconcerned about making sure her needs are met.

4. Caleb is in 2^nd Grade. He is a great reader and loves to playany sport. We spend a lot of timeat soccer and basketball games.

3. Cara started Kindergarten. She loves it, mostly because it gives her lots of socialtime. She played what was probably her first and last soccer season. She is a great dancer.

2. Ali learned to walk and talk. She is turning into “one of the kids” rather than our baby.
1. We will welcome baby number five to our family in June of2011.

Just in case you were wondering . . .

2011-12-06T21:29:00.001-07:00

We did celebrate Thanksgiving, even though I have been in bed for about a month. The kids all have awesome teachers and did some great Thanksgiving projects at school. I am so grateful for their amazing teachers!

The week before Thanksgiving I was especially sick, but I pulled myself together to leave the house and go to my parents to celebrate the holiday. Of course it was a really fun day. Cara spent her day with my cousin Emily's daughter, Kedzie.

Yes, my parents had chicks in their bedroom. Connie rescued them and promptly gave them to my parents to deal with. The kids loved it!

The horse riding is always a hit, even in the cold. My poor dad walks miles and miles in front of the horses so that the kids can have a good ride.

Connie followed Kate and Ali around and took nearly 50 pictures just trying to get a good shot of them in their matching Christmas dresses. This was as good as it got.

We all love Grandma Iva's cookies and her wonderful Thanksgiving meals!

Someone must of had mercy on Ali and gave her one or two or five. Life is good!

What a Girl

2011-12-06T20:49:00.001-07:00

Ali has a spunky personality and sometimes it shows up in the funny things she does. (Other times it isn't as funny, like her obsession with Vaseline that seems to be lasting forever.) I decided to take pictures of her little adventures and got these in just two days a month or two ago.

It is no wonder that one of her clearest words is "stuck." She finds herself stuck quite often.

This girl loves books! Really, it is nothing like I have experienced before. Her bed time/nap time cue is I put her in her bed with a book. She is "reading" it when I leave the room and "reading" it when I go to get her hours later. Of course she sleeps somewhere in there too. She would like me to read to her all the time. If she isn't holding a doll, she is holding a book.

Whoops! She got a little too excited about getting in the tub and jumped right in with her cloths on. Yes, she is wearing a miss matched skirt over her pants. She, like Cara, would like to add a skirt to every outfit and she is very anxious about dressing herself. One year olds aren't supposed to have opinions about what they wear! She also wants to be potty trained. I am confident she would catch right on. With no training or even encouragement she sometimes tells me when she needs to go. I just don't have it in me to train her right now.

Somewhere I lost a picture of her sleeping on the changing table with two dolls that she had also brought over from her bed. She hasn't quite mastered climbing all the way out of her crib. She can get from the crib to the changing table though so she has started many naps and nights by falling asleep on the changing table. Don't worry I have learned to check on her regularly. If I don't know where she is or what she is doing it probably isn't a good thing. She has been doing better about staying in bed since I discovered handing her a book. She is quite the girl! I never know what to expect - except the unexpected.

Something to Celebrate!

2011-12-02T16:00:00.001-07:00

You may have noticed that I haven't posted on my blog for the past month. In fact, that is not the only thing I haven't been doing. I heaven't been getting out of bed. I haven't been leaving my house. I haven't been cooking or cleaning. That is just the tip of the iceberg. It is all because we have something to celebrate . . . we are having baby number five in June.

We are really excited to be expecting again. I have to remind myself everyday. If you know me at all you know that my pregnancies are brutal, and this one is no exception. (Ironically I just took a puke brake.) Yes, I have joined the world of making food choices based on how it tastes coming back up once again. Having four previous pregnancies gives me a lot of experience and does help matters. I know that I have a 10 minute window after throwing up in which to get something down that will settle my stomach. I know that veggies take hours to digest and are a bad idea. I know that I will have a healthy baby even though I can't keep vitamins down and making the effort to take them is entirely not worth it. I know that if I take it easy and say "no" to a few more things I will keep a few more meals down. I know that this feeling won't last forever, just 8 months, and then I will get the eternal reward.

My week 9 was especially difficult. I wasn't able to keep down my medication so it didn't matter that I was on the "big guns." I was throwing up constantly! I mention this because it was durning that difficult week that I had two inspired friends and my mom come and take my kids. It is amazing that the Lord will take one right to their capacity and then send some relief. I was so grateful for the help! I was also grateful for suppositories to help me get things under control, something I never thought I would be grateful for!

When Josh and I got married we were committed to having five kids. We both come from families of five kids so that seemed complete to us. After having Andy I was enjoying parenting so much I changed my mind and decided that I wanted six. I still do want six kids, and I know that this isn't my most difficult pregnancy, but I don't think I can do it again! Even though I am only throwing up 1-3 times a day, now that I am keeping my meds down (with other pregnancies it has been much more) I think just being older and having a house full of kids makes it all a little harder.

So there it is, our good news with a few of the yucky details. I will be counting down to JUNE! I am 10.5 weeks and officially due June 25. Time can't go fast enough right now!

Christmas Pictures

2011-12-01T21:39:00.001-07:00

I have intentions of doing a Christmas card this year, which may or may not happen, but it did motivate me to get the kids pictures. I was hoping for a good group shot, which was a total bust. (Ali refused to cooperate. She loved her individual pictures though. Maybe she should have been an only child.)

We did get some great individual shots of each of them. Enjoy!

Halloween - Check

2011-10-31T22:27:00.000-06:00

The good witch. (It was hard to choose a picture from all of her great poses.)

The not quite as good witch that finally decided to smile once she realized I was taking pictures.

You see my point with the good witch thing. : )

The just happy to be alive lion.

The Aggie Football Player, need I say more.

The whole gang enjoying the fruits of their labors.

Connie took them trick-or-treating and earned (and took) her share in the loot.

Josh enjoyed answering the door with a "ho-ho-ho" and a "I'll be back in a couple of months."

Caleb enjoying his first experience with power tools of course supervised by Grandma Iva.

Cara busied herself using every kind of Grandmas sparkles on the fall cookies.

Just for the record the kids carved pumpkins too. They did a couple with the Kirks and one with Connie. Luckily I avoided it all together this year.

No Time to Come Up for Air . . . Let Alone Blog

2011-10-16T22:38:00.000-06:00

I can't believe that it has been almost a month since I last posted. I feel like I have been moving at a neck braking speed. We are getting in a great back to school routine, but it seems like everyday presents some kind of exception that keeps me up late or get's me up early. I like to be busy so I am happy with the pace.

The end of September brought with it a ton of canning. We have kind neighbors that hooked us up with tomatoes that I canned diced and canned pasta sauce using the herbs from my garden. I used my birthday money to buy peaches and canned 7 half bushel of peaches. I also got a great deal on pears so I canned them as well. It was a lot of work, but I am sure we will enjoy the end results. Ali couldn't wait to enjoy! She loves all fruits and vegetables. She could eat fruit all day long. She is not even partial, she like them all! Maybe it is her love for healthy food that is keeping her in the 20th percentile for weight at her 18 month check up. She is in the 90th percentile for height so she is tall and skinny! She does have little chicken legs.

Andy turned 3 on September 23rd. I love that kid!! I really enjoy everything about Andy! He was a cute little birthday boy! He is so happy and healthy! Although sometimes I think he must be living on nuclear energy. He only eats about five different things. He eats peanut butter sandwiches, hotdogs (when they are available which isn't often), green beans, and some desserts . . . Josh and I are trying to think of other things and cant. He lives on milk alone. Luckily he is in the healthy 85th percentile for both weight and height. I'm hoping at some point he will get hungry and start eating.

He got a new trike. (Well, a $3 garage sale bike, but new to him.) His old one was a hand-me-down from neighbors and had gone through four boys prior to Andy. It brought white-trash trike to a whole new level. Andy loves his bike. He doesn't use the peddles but he can really move those little legs.

Grandma Iva is always great at making birthdays special for each of her grandkids.

We didn't let football season go by without our trip to a USU game. We went to the Student Leadership Reunion and enjoyed the beautiful fall weather. I was a proud mama of my cute crew sporting their Aggie t-shirts. It was a beautiful day and a fun game even though the Aggies lost in double over time.

The highlight of the reunion was the raffle. Caleb won a t-shirt and shortly after Gabe won Caleb's dream football gear. It included a child's size helmet, pants, and a jersey. Gabe traded with Caleb and Caleb's whole year was made. He is going to wear it for Halloween. It has been almost a month and he still plays with the helmet almost every day. He even slept with it for a few weeks!

I jumped on an opportunity to go to Alaska and visit my sister Cathie and her family at the end of September. I was there for four full days with a travel night on each end. I have never left Josh and the kids and gone on vacation by myself. I was really lonely in the car on the way to the airport, but I quickly got over that and hardly found time to call while I was there. I loved being with the Coombs family. Cathie is such a good mom, and it was nice for me to get to know her kids on a different level, without my kids around. They are all wonderful! I was COLD, but Alaska was beautiful.

I've been told that I can't really count it is leaving Josh "alone" with the kids. We have Josh's brother, Gabe's girlfriend, Alexa, living with us. She approached us last spring about living here in exchange for helping with the kids. She is awesome! She is on a full ride scholarship majoring in Special Ed and Elementary Ed at USU. My friend says that we have a nannie (Alexa) and a "mannie" (Gabe) since he's often here to be with her. Everyone did great at home so I think that means I can leave again!

The way that I rationalized the trip was to share DoTerra the essential oil brand that I have been using and sharing. I almost feel like a missionary again. Of course I am not teaching people about something that will save them eternally, but I believe that I am sharing tools that are changing peoples earthly lives for the good. My eyes have been opened over the past couple of months to the power of essential oils, especially DoTerra's oils. The company was founded by people from the essential oil industry who didn't like what they were seeing, which was inconsistency. They raised the bar on testing and make sure that the essential oils that they distribute have every single compound that it should. I get regular emails from people who are using the oils that I have shared with them, thanking me for the difference the oils are making. It is so fun and rewarding to share! I feel like it is one of those things I would try to share even if I were not making money, but I am bridging a gap in our income which is motivating too.

Last week I also started crocheting beards again for Beard Beanie like I did last year. I like to make money without taking away too much from my "mom job" and I am excited about crocheting again, but I am having a harder time finding time to get the work done this year than I did last year. I am busy with DoTerra and of course with the kids. I am trying to keep up on my calling, although we did get the primary program over with in September, and it was a great success. (As a side note, Caleb sang the first verse of Praise to the Man with his best friend Isaac and did a great job. It was one of the most powerful parts of the program.) Of course there all the little things like cooking and keeping the house clean that fill my day. It seems like by the time I get all that done it is 9-10 PM and then I start crocheting. Besides, Ali doesn't like me to crochet. She is quick to start pulling yarn. I don't think I will last long burning the candle at both ends, but of course I am going to try.

This little bug is growing up! (For some reason my nickname for her has been "bug" since she was born.) She is walking and talking and has become the stressed out mother of a hand full of dolls. She must say the word "baby" at least 100 times a day.

She is always wanting to take care of her baby's and have them close by. She wants them in her bed which disturbs her sleep and she gets them dirty and sticky when she eats. She loves her baby's. She is all girl!

Speaking of all girl, miss Cara has been begging to have aunt Chris come and do a make-up class with her. This week they got together and did make up. Cara was so happy about it! I thought it would satisfy her for a while, but no, now she just wants to know when she gets to do it again!

She's FINALLY walking

2011-09-17T21:45:00.000-06:00

There are a few things that I would like to blog about, but first and most important Ali is WALKING. I thought the day may never come. Every outfit she wore all summer is totally destroyed. She did her first "long walk" the day before she turned 18 months so she narrowly escaped being officially delayed. Today, at 18 months and one week she began walking as her main form of transportation. For the past few weeks she has been doing a lot of walking pushing doll strollers. It seems that all of a sudden she was interested. I am so excited and ready to throw out her cloths that look filthy right after they are washed because they are so wore out. She has also turned into an echo. It is adorable! I think she is going to escape the speech delay as well! Her ears drain on a regular basis so I am thankful for the tubes. She has generally become a much happier baby over the past few months.

In other news, Cara took her first trip to the ER for stitches this week. She decided that she would cut herself an apple with a very sharp knife. That knife did a fine job of cutting right between her thumb and pointer. She got five stitches and they probably could have fit five more. She is very proud of her "broken arm" and her "cast". She has been telling people that Josh cut her. I think she is embarrassed she did it to herself. Ironically he wasn't even home. He got home right after and ended up taking her to the ER because I was gone to a class. Oh the adventures of childhood.

Caleb and Cara are both playing fall soccer. I really enjoy getting out to games and at this stage practices aren't overwhelming so it is quite pleasant for me. Andy, Ali and Josh all really enjoy it too. We are in a good place with only two kids playing recreational (as apposed to competitive) soccer.

Cara is playing on the team with Korinne (her BFF), and Korinne's dad Adam is the coach. He is so kind and patient. Cara and Korinne are the only two girls. They like to hold Adam's hand.

Cara is fast and strong, but she still plays like a girl. At the first game she collided with my sister Connie's nephew, Brenton from the other team. She jumped up and started playing again after the crash, but Brenton was hurt and went off the field crying. After the game Cara said with a little attitude, "That boy tackled me! Then he cried but I didn't."

Once again Caleb is surprising me with his skill. Soccer isn't really his thing except that it involves a ball so it is. He really likes to play goalie, but this year he is proving to be a decent offense player as well. His coach is really into ball control and passing so it will be good for him. I was so proud of him at the first game (after he had scored twice) he did a perfect pass and allowed another teammate to score.

Andy is a little board with Caleb and Cara gone to school. My friend, Erica, said that I need to play with him. Torture! I love my kids. I love to teach them, be with them, go on outings with them, and read to them, but creative play kills me. I am SO GLAD Andy is in Joy School (our neighborhood coop preschool) five hours a week so that I am guilt free about him watching (or wanting to watch) Cars or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for those five hours.

I took these pictures so that someday I could trick myself into thinking that my kids were obedient and sweet and always willing to pitch in to help. I would like to remember that I never had to yell, threaten, and all together freak out to get them to do things or even just to be obedient. Wouldn't it be wonderful to live in such a fantasy land!

It's that WONDERFUL time of year

2011-09-02T12:40:00.000-06:00

It's that time of year when the kids go back to school, the weather cools, and we get to enjoy a life of routine. I do love summer, but it can't be called summer vacation for a mom. This has been a fantastic summer, but I am ready for Fall. I hope it continues to be warm for a while, but I like knowing that Caleb is safely learning without me, the person he loves to rebel against.

Cara was so excited to start Kindergarden. She was especially excited to ride the school bus. I think she is going to have a wonderful year.

Andy even got to start school this year. He will have three years of preschool because of his September birthday, but I think he will really enjoy getting out so I decided to do Joy School with him this year. This is his cute Joy School group. (He is in the yellow.) He will just be going two days a week for 2.5 hours.

Yesterday we took the annual Joy School Field trip to my parents house. It is such a fun tradition! The kids love the garden, collecting eggs, riding horses, and four wheelers. It is a great way to start the school year and reminds me that it really is fall.

I try lots of management/parenting ideas that don't work, but we are currently doing an idea that I got from a friend early in the summer and it has been working for a while so it might be worth sharing. We call it "The Big Five." (If I were to reintroduce it I would call it "The Super Six.") Each morning the kids have to do The Big Five before school. (In the summer they had to do The Big Five before they could play.) I really drilled the list into their heads and then I don't have to remind them of every little thing they need to do in the morning. I can just say, "Is the big five done?" I think it is working for building good habits and routine. The big five are: 1) Make Bed, 2) Say Prayers, 3) Get Dressed and Fix Hair (that is where number six comes in) 4) Eat Breakfast, 5) Brush Teeth. Maybe your kids do those things without having a checklist, but this system has even helped me to be more consistent with saying my prayers and getting organized first thing in the morning.

DoTerra

2011-08-22T20:43:00.005-06:00

Update 8/24: I have been pondering why I am willing to share this company when I am so anti sales. Today I had an aha moment. This is the conclusion that came to me: I genuinely care about people and I think that I can help and bless them with better health, less pain, and many more things by sharing these great products. My conclusion is that I see this more as a helping opportunity than a sales opportunity. I just feel so good about it.

Original Post: For about six weeks I have been obsessing over this company, DoTerra. It is becoming so much a part of my thoughts that I needed to take a minute to blog about it. I am loosing sleep because I think the company is so well positioned and set up. I have learned from past experience that just because something is good for me doesn't mean it is good for everyone, but I still can't resist sharing. Something about my personality makes me want to share when I think I am onto something. This is my story:

Mid-July a friend of mine sent me to an email inviting me to an Essential Oils Class. Normally I avoid direct sales like the plague, but this invitation was different. I am very interested in alternative/homeopathic medicine. I believe that our culture has become too dependent on man made drugs and western medicine, although I am extremely grateful for it, I just want to arm myself with other alternatives. I made great effort to go to my friends class even though I was fully expecting sales. (Totally unlike me.) I really just wanted to learn what they were teaching.

The class was extremely informative. I felt like it was really a class, not a sales pitch. I had no idea essential oils were so diverse. I was excited about all of the possibilities. The class introduced me to the DoTerra brand of oils, and I learned how DoTerra has raised the standard for essential oils and provides an extremely high quality product. I was not surprised that I left the class wanting to buy everything they sale so I went home to do my usual research. This was the week that Josh, Caleb and Cara were in Montana so I spent four days while they were gone researching everything I could find about DoTerra and Essential oils. I was incredibly impressed with what I found. For example check out this web site: http://www.everythingessential.me/HealthConcerns/_HealthConcernIndex.html. Click on any ailment or disease and you will find recommended essential oils, research that has been done, and other interesting info by clicking the tabs.

I was impressed to find how much essential oils have been researched. I was also impressed by the historical uses. I had never really thought about the frankincense and muir that the Wise Men gave to the Savior. I just figured they were minerals like the gold, but no, they were healing oils. I have often wondered how people through time treated their every day ailments without the modern medicine we have, and I think essential oils is one way.

I ordered a few of the many oils I wanted and I have been having a good time for the past month using them. I have been defusing them and they seem to have a calming effect on our home. I have been using them to help us sleep, and to lift our moods. They work amazing on misquito bites, and I have really enjoyed taking baths with a few drops of peppermint, lavender or others. I know I am just at the tip of the ice burg of possibilities. Before I made my order I emailed a few of my friends who already use DoTerra and other oils and their testimonies of the healing affect of oils were awesome.

I have hosted a few classes at my house, and I plan to have more. I love that people can come to a class and the only sales pressure is the pressure we put on ourselves because we want the product. I like inviting people who already use oils so that they can be reminded of the ways they can be used. I have no problem inviting people because I think the oils could really bless their lives in a lot of ways. The skeptic may say, "I don't know if it really helps" or "it's probably placebo" but my thought is so what if it is placebo if it works. Here is a link to some basic essential oils information if they are new to you like they were to me: http://www.mydoterra.com/carriekirk/essentialDefinition.html

If you have more time and want more in depth info here is a webanar that I felt had good info on essential oils. If you want to skip the intro it gets meaty at about 24 minutes. http://www.fasttrackplanner.com/product-videos.htm.

I guess you can tell that I am really excited about DoTerra's essential oils (and their other products too, but I will leave that out for now.) The thing that has me loosing sleep though is their business model. They incentivize everything. I guess I had better stop or this will sound like a sales pitch which is not what I intended. I am just excited, and the more I learn the better it gets.

Rodeo Weekend

2011-08-07T22:12:00.001-06:00

It has become a tradition for my family to get together over Rodeo weekend in Preston. The Coombs were here this year which is so fun for all of us. The kids love their cousins!! Cara is willing to follow Emi in any devious plan including chasing my moms chickens to pull out their feathers, "thinning" the carrots in the garden, and splatter painting in the dining room. (I'm sure none of those things were Cara's ideas. :)

They were very cute in the matching skirts that Connie made them.

My dad goes to great lengths to get pony's for the kids to ride. Caleb thinks he is a cowboy. He wears all of his cowboy cloths and he spends hours begging to ride horses. He was crying and begging to get off about 30 seconds after he got on.

Caleb and Cara look forward to going to the rodeo all year.

Of course my mom spoils the kids too. She had "bug catching" kits for each of them. She even embroidered their names on the pockets of their vests. They loved them.

Ali was pretty sure her net was a hat.

We hiked up to Willow Flat Spring. Andy did the whole hike on his own. Pretty darn good for a two year old.

It was beautiful! Hiking is such a great family activity.

The 24th of July

2011-08-01T21:47:00.006-06:00

The 24th of July landed on Sunday this year so it created 3 days of celebrations. Luckely I bought four boxes of glow sticks to get us through Saturday, Sunday, and Monday nights. With an awesome new camera Josh got some fun pictures. There are none of Andy since he cries to go to bed as soon as there are any signs of fireworks.

Every year since Josh and I got married (so the past 9 years) we have spent the Saturday of the 24th at the Mendon Celebration with his family. His mom does a Navajo Taco stand and uses us as slave labor. I used to hate it, but I have come to the conclusion that it is just part of being a Kirk. This year we had the stomach flu on Friday night and Saturday morning so we were not able to attend. When the alternitive is a house of sick people I REALLY wish we could have been there with the Kirks. We did make it out in time for the fireworks and in time to use up a box of glow sticks.

Up and Down

2011-07-22T16:06:00.006-06:00

I have had my sister Christie's baby Kate for about three days this week. She is just three months younger than Ali. Having two busy one year olds keeps me going, but they are so cute. They have spent hours practicing going up and down the stairs.

Ali still isn't walking or talking at almost 17 months. She is at least showing some interest in walking by pulling herself to her feet. And occasional walking along furniture. I would be surprised if she takes off any time soon. All of this crawling has made for a very dirty summer. She will have no cloths to hand-me-down to a future sister or cousin because she has ruined everything she has. She does do a bumb scoot as well so her cloths are really tattered. It is sad. She loves to crawl into small spaces and and climb things, but no walking!

She does love her nightly bath and it is a good thing because she never gets to miss it.

Speaking of ups and downs - the major down of the summer has been getting Caleb to play piano or do any chore for that matter. You would think that I am trying to kill him by asking him to practice 3 songs 5 times each on the piano. There are days that he chooses to be grounded from friends, computer and video games rather than practice the piano which literally takes him less than 15 minutes. He has told me a million times, "I don't like to do anything hard. I just want to play." This is becoming a battle of wills and we are both very strong willed. It isn't that he just doesn't like piano. He doesn't like anything that requires effort. What is a mom to do??!!

Cara has her last day of preschool speech next week. She has been in speech therapy since she was 20 months old. (At the rate Ali is going she is on about the same track. Ali has said oh-oh a few times and da or dad in context, and she does a lot more babbling than I remember Cara doing. Cara didn't get her tubes until she was 19 months and Ali got hers at 12 so hopefully Ali will catch up faster. The ENT said that the most critical time to hear for speech development is 9-18 months.) Cara has been going to speech with Miss Wendy Cardon at the school district 3 times a week since she turned 3, 2.5 years ago. We will both miss Wendy. Cara really loves her! Cara is saying all of the age appropriate sounds but she will continue to have speech once a week after school through Kindergarden as long as she is "actionable" for the older sounds.

Andy is officially potty trained. After about six weeks of pooping in his under-ware 100% of the time and only going potty when he was taken there I decided to go to extreme measures. Of course there was positive reinforcement all of the time, but he didn't really care about the treats or the presents. So I needed a negative consequence. He didn't care one bit about wearing wet or poppy cloths, but I cared. It may sound like abuse (at least I wasn't hitting him, yelling at him or calling him names) I gave him cold showers. He "needed to get clean." I would only put him in for a few seconds and he would scream "this isn't funny" over and over. It would make him so mad! After just a few days he started telling me every time he needed to go potty without me even asking and after a few more days he started going poop in the potty too. It is great to have that done.

Now that Andy is potty trained he is practically perfect again. He loves to play outside and is very content with whatever we are doing. We got a kit and hatched a "fish" a few weeks ago. It is growing like crazy and it has been fun for all of the neighborhood kids to watch. (The gunk on the tank was part of the kit. That is what the eggs came in.) I know, this is very much like a pet. I hope that nature takes its course and it dies soon. I am avoiding becoming attached.

Swimming Lessons

2011-07-22T16:03:00.004-06:00

Caleb and Cara just finished a week of swimming lessons at a neighbors pool. Their teacher was Liz Hadfield. She has been teaching swimming forever and is SO GOOD at it. Six or so inches of Cara's hair is VERY green. She thinks it is cool to have green hair. The kids loved swimming and made an amazing amount of progress for just a week!

Just another day in July

2011-07-19T19:45:00.008-06:00

The kids have just been hanging out in the cul-de-sac today. I took the camera out to document "just another day in July." The older kids weren't too excited about getting their picture. Caleb is the youngest of the older boys (and London). They "have nothing to do." They are often found playing a game of soccer or basket ball, but tonight they were hanging on the Benson's porch.

The girls were just hanging out too. They love to do art and pretend. They spend a lot of time in garages where it is shady. Just being together can be fun too. Today they ate over 100 cream and fruit pops from our outside freezer. I am not a fan of the sticky mess so I figure the sooner they are gone the better off we are.

It was an exciting moment when the bigger kids saw that there was something to do - jump in the girls picture. This was all followed by a water fight and begging to have a "camp fire" in the fire pit we built in the empty lot next to our house.

Andy was racing trikes with two little boys his age. (There are 4 boys in 6 houses closest to us that will all be in Andy's grade in school.) They were so darn cute! I took this little photo story.

On just another evening in July the neighborhood kids caught three large snakes within just a few minutes. To say the kids were excited is a huge understatement. Here are the girls showing off one of the snakes.

$20 well spent

2011-07-14T12:04:00.003-06:00

If you know Caleb you know that he is obsessed with sports! He is particularly fond of football. He has been looking forward to being old enough to play tackle football this fall. I am the type of parent that wants my children to try the things that they are interested in even if it is something that I am not personally thrilled about. That is where I stand with football. It really isn't my thing, but I am willing to let him give it a try. In the spring I learned that it costs $200+ to play, that there is practice every night, and that games are not just in Cache Valley. Despite the time and financial commitment I was willing to let him play.

At the beginning of the summer I set him up on a hefty allowance schedule so that he could earn $50 to contribute to football. I wanted him to sacrifice a little in order to play. This week he received his first $22 installment of allowance. For a moment he was excited about using it for football, but when the reality set in that he could spend the money on anything he wanted all of a sudden football didn't seem as attractive. Within a few minutes he decided that he would rather have some battle blades (a popular toy) than play football. I was very clear with him that if he spent his money he wouldn't be able to play football. He told me "it's just a game." My jaw hit the floor.

We took the trip to the store on Tuesday and he spent his money. Last spring he didn't want to play soccer because all he could think about was football. I told him that since he isn't going to be playing football this fall he can play soccer and I will pay for it since it costs less. He said, "yah, I'll play soccer. It's a lot safer." A reply I though I would never hear from Caleb. He is loving his toy, and I am SO GLAD we learned his commitment level before the first week of football.

Lots of FUN with NO Pictures to Prove It

2011-07-07T15:12:00.004-06:00

We are having a crazy fun, busy month, but ironically I have no pictures to document it. The crazy thing is that we have a new really nice camera. Since it is so nice I don't want to throw it in my purse and carry it around and it no longer occupies a place on my desk like our old camera. It is safely tucked away in a camera bag. Without the camera right in front of me I don't think of taking pictures, and taking pictures isn't something that comes naturally to me anyway. (We did take the camera to St. George and to take pictures on campus so if you scroll down you can see some awesome pictures we have taken with it.) I guess I had better get the old one out and start carrying it with me or at least put it in it's old home on the desk so that I take an occasional picture.

I have to tell you about our new camera. If you believe in the law of attraction this is a great story. If you don't believe in the law of attraction then we are just lucky and it is still a good story. When we went to Disneyland in the spring we stayed with a friend of mine, Angela, in Vegas. Angela and I have never known each other well, but I follow her blog and admire her immensely. I knew she would welcome my family in her home because she is just that kind of person. We were trying to do the trip as economically as possible which is what gave me the courage to intrude and ask her. Angela and her husband Mike were extremely hospitable and we enjoyed our time with them. At one point in the evening Josh noticed a camera. He picked it up and began admiring it. Josh loves cameras! He told Ang that was the camera he had been wanting and asked how she liked it. She told him that it was dropped a year earlier and had been sitting there because she couldn't bare to throw it out. She had considered getting it fixed but was quoted 100's of dollars so she decided to get a new one. SHE GAVE THE CAMERA TO JOSH. She gave him the receipt, the box, the warranty, everything! Josh was obsessed with getting it fixed while we were at Disneyland. One morning he took a trip to Fri's Electronics and got a few things and was ready to take it apart and fix it himself. I am not sure of the details but he started working on it, and it ended up being rather simple to fix. He has been so excited about this camera. He obsessed for a couple of months and got a portrait lens for it rationalizing that he NEEDED it to take my sister Connie's engagement pictures. Thanks Ang and Mike! It has been fun to have a great camera. I just worry about braking it myself.

I don't think my kids have been to bed before 10PM this month. We kicked of the month by having all four Low boys at our house for three full days. Dave and Erica were being session directors at an EFY session so I had the boys from about 8:30 AM to about 10:00 PM each day. It was a nonstop party around here with 8 kids 7 and younger. The kids had a great time and I did good too. I didn't expect to get anything done except caring for the kids, and that is exactly what I did. We even ventured out a few times. We spent four hours one day at the splash pad at the park. It was play group and I didn't want to miss. We also went to the city aquatic center. That was a little crazy, but I put the six non swimmers in life jackets and parked myself in the wading pool with the majority. Josh, Connie and Colby were also there to help. The hardest part was getting them all showered and in dry cloths. I will admit that was mass chaos. The great thing is that the Lows took my kids this Friday and Saturday while Josh and went to Park City for a little retreat to celebrate our 9th anniversary. Tending is also easier when I know I am going to get my turn. Of course I love the Lows as if they were my nephews.

Friday, after having the extra kids for three days, we went to the Red Neck Water Slide in Wellsville. Imagine a hard core slip and slide going down a steep mountain with 100+ yards of flat landing at the bottom. We also enjoyed fantastic friends while we were there. We are so bless to be around such inspiring people. Friday night was the fireworks at USU. We got to see them from a special spot on top of a building. It was AWESOME!

The partying didn't stop on Saturday with Dawson's (one of the Low boys) birthday party and a huge bounce house/water park. It was great fun for the kids. Sunday we had a few friends over for homemade doughnuts. I was introduced to homemade maple bars on the 4th of July last year so I thought doughnuts might be a good 4th tradition. There were fireworks going off all over the neighborhood which kept us up late on Sunday. Then Monday was Independence Day. The weather has been beautiful this week and wasn't too hot of the parade on Monday. If you measure how good a parade is by the amount of candy a kid gets then the Hyrum 4th of July Parade is as good as it gets. The kids never sat down! We had an amazing barbecue at the Lows on Monday night and watched all of the neighbors fireworks. When Caleb asked Josh if he would buy some fire works Josh said, "I would get more excited about watching money burn." Josh is usually a party animal, but obviously he doesn't get into spending money on fireworks, but our neighbors do so we benefitted.

One highlight so far this summer is the fire pit that Josh and the neighborhood boys put in the empty lot next to our house. We are friends with the lot owner and they are really cool about letting us use the property while they are working in China. The only problem with the fire pit is that the kids would like to roast marshmallows every night. Josh has big plans for that lot. He would like to move the dirt a little and make a bike track around it. (Actually that was my idea. He would like to scrape the lot and put turf down or fill it with sand for volleyball.) We did get a basket ball hoop from my parents house and there have been some good evening basketball games in our driveway. Life is good!

Josh and I enjoyed our anniversary trip to Park City. The highlight was dinner. We had some of the best food I have ever tasted at a Italian restaurant in Deer Valley. Dinner was part of the hotel/dining package I got through travel zoo. We stayed at the Chateaux at Silver Lake and ate at the resort restaurant, Cena Ristorante. My mouth waters just thinking about it. The bad part of the trip is that Josh's back is acting up again. I can't stand it when he is crippled with back pain. It makes me mad at him, as if it is his fault. Thank goodness going to the chiropractor seems to help. After a weekend of hardly being able to move he seems to be doing better today after an adjustment. Oh the adventures of life!

Connie's Wedding

2011-06-21T16:16:00.005-06:00

My baby sister Connie and Colby Law were married on June 18th in the Logan Temple. It was a perfect day, with a beautiful and happy bride and a handsome groom.

Potty Training and Other Daily Events

2011-06-21T14:39:00.006-06:00

While it was raining outside, the last week of May, I suddenly decided it was time to potty train Andy. At that time we had nothing planned for June (except Connie's wedding) and it seemed like perfect timing. Andy will be three in September and I have decided to do Joy School with him. I am a huge fan of the neighborhood coop preschool. First, is is the right price. Second, I don't have to drive far, and third, I enjoy being involved with my children's preschool education. Since he will be in preschool in the fall he has to be potty trained. Sadly it is NOT GOING WELL.

I would like to use the excuse that he was in under-ware for four days and then we took a brake for five days while we were in St. George. We went right back to under-ware for eleven days and then another four day brake while were were in Powell. Unfortunately I don't think it is the vacations that is the problem. In the combined total of 18 days of training he has not pooped in the potty even once, and he has only ever told me he needed to go twice. If I set an alarm and take him every 1.5-2 hours he does fine, but he will not initiate going on his own. He doesn't seem motivated by rewards, and I haven't tried punishments because I don't really believe in that. I have tried the natural consequence of hanging out in wet cloths and he doesn't seem to care a bit!

I think every child is different when it comes to potty training. The way I remember it Cara trained in a day with an occasional accident at age 20 months. Caleb didn't train until he was 3.5. It was not easy, but he got it. Andy has been my golden child in every other way, but I think this might throw me over the edge. You might say he is too young, but I need to have him trained by September so I can't use that excuse. He does understand what he is supposed to do. Any ideas? Andy has been so easy that I guess I was due for him to throw something hard at me.

Here is a picture of the little potty boy after he got a marker. He had it all over, even on his tung.

Cara is loving being in dance and tumbling. I know that I am prejudice, but she seems so natural. She is really strong and has great balance. We are getting a killer deal on her lessons. She goes to two dance lessons a week for 30 minutes and a tumbling lesson for 1 hour 15 minutes for only $30/mo. I know! There is only one other little girl that goes to dance so she is taking semi-private lessons. There are no costumes and no performances, but I think it is a wonderful way to introduce her to these arts and see if she is interested.

One of the gals in the neighborhood had a dance class to raise money for Youth Conference. I like this picture of Cara even though she is facing back. They were doing some freestyle ballet. You can see that Cara has really good form for a five year old.

Here she is with the group of little girls from the neighborhood.

Cara is always busy. Sometimes I wonder if I am training her to be on the go. She has summer camp twice a week this summer with many of her friends, and she also has speech twice a week. She also has a demanding social schedule with Korrinne and Taylor. She was almost ready for bed the night I took this picture. Korrinne was learning to ride her bike without training wheels and Cara had to get right out there and learn too even in her PJ's and flip-flops.

I have to take advantage of every minute I am with her. I have been working on the piano with her in the morning and teaching her to read so that she feels smart when she starts school.

Ali is 15.5 months and still showing NO INTEREST in walking. It is killing me. I have never had a baby that crawled in the summer. Is is so filthy! I am pushing walking as much as I can. I guess she has made some progress. She pulls herself to her feet every once in a while and she will occasionally walk (not just scream) when I am holding her hands encouraging her. She is not cruising at all!

She does find trouble. This was Caleb's sunflower he had planted in a cup. She was more than happy to dump it out for him. I love it when she smiles and laughs. She is a serous gal, and we don't see enough smiles from her. It takes a real pro to get her laughing.

I think her tubes are helping her, and I hope we got them early enough that she will start talking soon! She was really sick early this month. She had a 103 fever for 5+ days. Her ears drained (she had an infection) and she was so sick with a cold in her eyes that it turned to infection in them. Poor Ali has a rough time, and she loves to give people a run for their money. She knows what she wants and she is going to get it.

Caleb is having a fun summer. He thinks he has the worlds meanest mom because I make him play the piano, read, and practice math before he can play with friends. He can make 10 minutes of piano, a little reading and five minutes of math last all day long! He is a master staler. Today was the first day he got up and did his jobs without too much complaining. I won't hold my breath, but maybe he is catching on that the staling and fits aren't doing much good. In fact, last week he told me that he would find a new family by the time he turns 8 because in our family the kids all have to learn the piano. Being the mean mom I am I told him to go ahead.

Caleb almost always has a ball in his hands. We got a hoop in our driveway this month and he loves to shoot hoops and he has been spending a lot of time with the tennis ball and racket. He plays soccer with the kids in the cul-de-sac, and for about a month this spring he was totally obsessed over baseball. He would continually beg Josh to go to the park and pitch for him. His main sports obsession continues to be "tackle" football. He CAN'T WAIT to play in the fall. He isn't even complaining that he has to save $50 to contribute to the expense of being on a team. After a few months of lessons he is over marshal arts so I guess we can check that off the list.

I was really worried about having him "full-time" this summer. He is totally exhausting. He is mostly good, he just never stops talking and begging. I am convinced that if I gave him the moon he would ask for the sun. I have realized that I don't really have him full-time because he is also obsessed with playing with his BFF Isaac. I understand that he is really good for Isaac's mom, Erica, he wouldn't dare be bad or he would have to go home. Oh no, not that!

What a week!

2011-06-21T11:45:00.006-06:00

We have been having a really fun summer, and this past week will certainly be a highlight. When my sister Cathie and her four kids come to town we always have so much fun with them. The cousins love to be together. Saturday was the annual Romer Reunion, and it was awesome. I love my cousins and aunts so much! I am so proud of them and love it when we get together. I hope that reunion continues forever!

At the reunion Cathie mentioned that she wished we could go to Lake Powell with her and her mother and father in law Sunday-Wednesday since none of the Coombs' cousins were going to make it. I said that we would be willing to drop everything and go if her in laws, Craig and Rita, were up for it. (They were providing the beautiful house boat, the top of the line ski boat, and the food.) She didn't dare ask them so when she got to their home on Sunday afternoon to leave my nephew Colter asked. Apparently they were looking for another family to join them. Cathie called and said we could go around 5:00 Sunday evening and we were on the road by 6:00. It was awesome!

This was a get away that we would have never been able to afford on our own right now. We are so grateful to the Coombs' for their generosity. We keep the ski boat running all of the time. Of course the tube was a huge hit. Josh and I love tubing, and the kids did too. Craig is the most awesome and experienced boat driver I have ever known and he made tubing a great experience.

There was also a toy called a ski trainer. It is basically a tube that the kids ride and they can stand up and hold a rope as if they were skiing. Cara was almost never out without her thumb up begging for speed. She loved every moment, even the two times that the tube filled with water while she was on it. She even tried skiing. She didn't get up her first try and we weren't pushing it so she didn't try again.

Caleb took his water sports very seriously. He had to warm up to the idea of each thing, but once he did it, he loved it.

Josh and I both loved surfing on the wake of the boat.

One of the highlights of the trip was going to the "canyons" and seeing the beauty of lake Powell. Craig spends one week a month at Powell so he know just where to go. We swam in the beautiful water. Josh, Cathie, Colter, and Cara did a little cliff jumping. (Of course Cara only jumped from a couple of feet, but she loves a thrill.) Riding on the boat was great. Andy was just happy to be there.

He would sit at the back of the boat and watch everyone take their turns. He is so easy going. I kept his life jacket on ALL of the time except when he was in his pack-and-play sleeping. He isn't a big water guy.

He was happy to just stick his toes in the water on occasion, and he loved feeding the ducks and carp.

Six kids, five adults, wonderful toys, what an opportunity! Luckily for us Josh's brother Gabe's girlfriend took Ali making the trip even more enjoyable.

We got back from Powell in time to get ready for Connie's wedding, which I will save for another post when we get pictures back from the photographer. It was an awesome week!

Spontaneous

2011-06-01T22:41:00.008-06:00

One of the hallmark traits of Josh and I is that we can be extremely spontaneous. I love to plan, and I do plan a lot. But when the opportunity to be spontaneous presents itself I can often leave my plans and jump on board. Memorial weekend was no different. Wednesday evening a client of Josh's in St. George mentioned that he would like to meet sometime soon. Josh emailed him and said, "how about Friday?" Giving us an excuse to get out of the cold weather for the long weekend. Thursday morning I was super busy at about 2:00 Josh emailed me and said, "it's a go." We were in the car headed to St. George within two hours. We stayed for four nights and enjoyed the beautiful weather and sunshine. It was even better because we were missing snow and miserable weather in Cache Valley.

Our hotel had two pools (one indoor and one outdoor) and two hot tubs. It had a park and a soft play with a ball pit as well. It was heaven for the kids. We spent a lot of time at the pool. It was crazy for me to have the four kids at the pool alone while Josh worked, but it was fun!

Ali is a little water baby. She loves swimming! She did take a dive in by herself once. I have to include that it was while Josh was watching her. Caleb is quite independent in the pool and made friends with anyone who would play pass with him.

Cara loves the water too, but she is very careful about wearing her life jacket. She wanted me to help her "learn to swim" but she wouldn't swim more than a few inches from the edge of the pool without her jacket.

Andy made it easier by spending his time in the 2 foot wading pool. He has no interest in really swimming.

We did spend time at the awesome St. George parks where my girls especially loved the water.

The highlight for me was Sunday. The we had a peaceful morning at church and the temple. We captured a few sweet moments.

We also went to Snow Canyon. We love it there! We went to one of the very small lava flow caves. These pictures tell a great story. The kids were very excited about going in. (We met a young man who had done it and was willing to show them the tricks.)

They all headed in.

Caleb promptly hit his head and came right back out - he wasn't really even in. I think the hit head gave him an excuse not to do it.

Cara emerged from the other end all smiles.

Another hike we did was to see the pioneer names. The kids love climbing the steep rocks. Andy really got into it this time too. You can see where Caleb stopped. That was high enough for him. Andy and Cara have no fear of rock climbing.

We had a great time being together.

We weren't even 30 minutes into the trip when Cara declared how she was already missing her friends. Sometimes it is good for the kids to get away and just be together. With six of us in a hotel room how could we not bond!

Aggie Kids

2011-06-01T22:12:00.005-06:00

Last month my brother, Cody, graduated from USU and we took the kids up to watch him walk. We are so proud of him, and we wish him the best as he looks for a job as a high school history teacher. It was fun to dress the kids up in their matching Aggie shirts and enjoy the spring weather. (There was at least one day this spring that it didn't rain.)

While we were on campus we took Connie and Colby's engagement pictures. Yes, my baby sister Connie is getting married in June! We took this bonus picture of Josh and I with the temple behind us.

4 for 4

2011-05-18T10:33:00.004-06:00

This spring Ali and Andy made it 4 out of 4 of my kid having had tubes in their ears. Poor little Cara never had a well child visit that her ears were not infected. I figure she must have had ear infections all of the time, but she was so good that one would have never known. She got tubes at 18 months old and started speech therapy right after that. Caleb got his tubes at the same time. When I took them to the ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat Doctor) he told me that Caleb had fluid in his ears that needed to be removed and that he would need tubes even though he was 3.5. I didn't really understand at the time. I just trusted the ENT. Through my experience this spring I learned with fluid on the ear can really do.

Last winter Ali was terrible. She had one ear infection after another so this spring I took her to a different ENT. She needed tubes to relieve her from the infections, but as much as that to remove the thick fluid that had accumulated in her ear drums. She isn't speaking yet, and I am paranoid. I hope that speech comes soon. When I took her in for her post-op follow up visit I also took Caleb and Cara for the ENT to check their ears. Cara's tubes had fallen out and her ears don't have too much fluid so she was good, but Caleb's tubes were still in. At this point they really needed to be removed so that the hole can heal.

At the end of the appointment I was bragging how Andy was my child who had escaped the curse of bad ears. How he had never had an ear infection. The ENT listened and asked if he could take a look. He looked and asked if we could have his hearing tested. They did a test that showed the vibrations in the inner ear. It came out looking like this:

I know that something was wrong. The audiologist took the test four times using different tools and ear buds. The ENT wasn't at all surprised to see the results. He said that Andy's ears were full of fluid that needed to be removed. So there we have it, my child that never had any ear infections needed tubes so that he could hear normally. I believe in early intervention so I am grateful that the problem was caught even though it took my breath away that there was such an obvious problem. The most confusing part is that Andy's speech is normal. He has lots of words and can repeat almost any word. The ENT explained that the most critical age for hearing and speech development is 9-18 months. (The time that Cara probably couldn't hear much.) Andy's fluid may not have developed until after that.

Yesterday was the post-op visit for Caleb's tube removal and Andy's tubes. They tested Caleb's inner ear vibrations to be sure that everything had healed properly. This is what his chart looked like:

Caleb's ears are healing well so you can see the huge contrast in a "normal" graph compared to the vibrations in Andy's ears. So all of my kids have had tubes!

Save the Family

2011-05-09T11:18:00.002-06:00

I have been plagued with the thought of my dear friends who are getting divorced. They have been married for 20 years and have six kids. They are extremely active in the church. They are one of the last couples I would ever think would be splitting up! He has decided that married life is too hard and he doesn’t want to work at it any more. Pride has gotten in his way and Satin has made him believe that he is better than she is and that his life would be better without his family. WHAT?! This sickening feeling has made me ponder extensively over the past few weeks on how I can protect my family. I have come to a few conclusions.

First, build your marriage. Nature makes me want to focus on raising exceptional kids and supporting them, but I must never loose sight of the core of the family, husband and wife. One of our stake goals this year is for couples to have a weekly date night. I know the Stake President has been questioned about the practicality for young families who have to get a baby sitter, but as the Area Director for LDS Family Services he sees the value and will not compromise the goal of weekly date nights. He is in good company as it has also been preached from the pulpit by general authorities. I think there is a lesson to be learned on building the marriage and taking time away to talk and be together.

I think there is danger in having time consuming hobbies that take a husband or wife out of the home and away from each other. Satin is using every tactic to attack couples so even something like spending time at the gym without each other or hanging out with “the guys” or "the girls" can lead to unfaithful thoughts.

A thought is where it all begins. In the case of my friends the husband repetitively declares that he is “worthy.” So maybe he doesn’t have a girlfriend or do pornography, but he must have romanced the idea that marriage to someone else would be better. He may no be committing a sinful act, but the power of his mind and thoughts has taken over reality. Without the fantasy of a better life he wouldn’t be leaving his family and forsaking eternal blessings. Be careful where your thoughts are taking you!!

Finally, avoid extremes. Doing too much of anything, even reading scriptures or saying prayers to an extreme, is just too much. There are fake “gods” out there. People worship their extra curricular activities, their money, their bodies and many other things. If we take what is good and true to an extreme it can cause one to loose perspective and their testimonies.

Last weekend I went to the American Mothers National Convention. It was held in Salt Lake City. I was inspired by the women of all faiths who are doing everything they can to preserve family values. I ran into an old friend, the friend who introduced me to American Mothers when Caleb was born. She now lives in Texas and is blogging for the San Antonio news paper on behalf of American Mothers about good old family values. I recommend her blog: http://blog.mysanantonio.com/americanmotherssa/. She has blogged about some of the neat things at the conference as well as some of the mothers who were honored. Her blog entries are way better than sharing my notes.

I just finished reading The Parenting Breakthrough by Marrilee Boyack. It was a great book that gave me some new ideas and a good perspective. It was good enough that I read it and then I went back and took four typed pages of notes. Following are just a few of my notes.

Have a plan for teaching kids about money. They need to learn how to manage money and that it doesn’t grow on trees. Our plan:
• Begin allowance at age 5. Pay about $5 monthly. Monthly rather than weekly allows children to buy better things. It makes teaching tithing and saving easer. It teaches them to pace their spending.
• We won’t tie allowance to chores. Chores must be done with or without allowance. Partly this eliminates the tedious work of calculating how much they earn and partly it teaches them that you don’t get paid for everything you do.
• We will prove extra chores that can be done for extra money.
• The kids will be able to choose how and when they spend their money except 10% will be put in long-term savings and 10% will be paid for tithing. If they choose to save additionally for missions or college (long-term savings) the amount that they save, including the initial 10%, will be matched 1:1.
• Around age 12, they can earn money baby sitting or doing “jobs” so allowance will be discontinued, but a clothing budget will be given each year. They will have to manage their clothing budget in order to meet their needs. Budgets will vary based on need.

Avoid creating walls. This is critical with the church. You don’t want a wall to be parent=church. When your children try to rebel against Church things, PULL OUT!. Say, “Well, that is between you and your Heavenly Father, not me. Go pray and talk to him about your decision." We need to not make withdrawing from parents synonymous with withdrawing from the gospel. Create one wall that isn’t huge like hair cut that gives them something to rebel against that isn’t critical, but make it a big deal so they get their felling of getting away with something. Be very careful about other walls you create.

Putting the Gospel in their lives:
• Go beyond the obvious – ask yourself, what will help my child to feel the Spirit? Each child is different. Is it nature, service, music ect.
• Tell them OFTEN of the Saviors love for them.
• Help them create regular spiritual habits.
• Do a lot of service.
• Help them identify when they receive answers to their prayers and to identify their feelings when they fast or pray.
• BEAR TESTIMONY – Add our testimony to whatever we are teaching informally as well as formally.
• Family Home Evening – it deserves our best effort! Focus on the feeling of the FHE not just the content. Consistency is the most important thing.
Idea: (for older children) Each Monday choose a topic for the following week and EVERYONE contributes to the lesson. They could bring a story, personal experience, scripture or something else. The key is that they contribute and that they do something different than they did the previous week.
• Create a Safe Haven – Send the message that in your home your children and their friends are morally and spiritually safe. Be especially careful about what media you allow into your home.

Easter Fun

2011-04-25T15:18:00.008-06:00

We celebrated Easter for two weeks this year. It wasn't as spiritual as I feel it should have been, but it was fun! Josh's sister Christina and her husband Ross brought the kids Easter baskets when they came to visit mid month. It kicked off the holiday and made the kids very excited!

The Sunday before Easter we colored eggs with Josh's brother Gabe and his girlfriend Alexa. We stocked up on 7.5 dozen "Pea Wea" eggs for only $3 at the egg farm. I must admit that they looked pretty darn good!

Saturday we crashed the Easter Egg Hunt at the nearby town of Millville. The kids were quite successful!

Easter morning Caleb and Cara got a fun outdoor game kit. Caleb was so grateful. He thanked me and said that it was the best Easter ever! He said, "my gift to you is a great big hug!" And he gave the longest, tightest hug ever. A little bit of gratitude goes a long way.

Andy and Ali got hooded bath towels. Ali is a flower and Andy is a puppy.

They needed the bath after a fun Easter Day at Grandma Iva's and Grandpa Neil's complete with Grandmas annual, awesome Easter Egg hunt!

Celebrating Spring

2011-04-20T11:46:00.007-06:00

There is nothing quite like going out in the rain to pet, hold, and see baby animals to celebrate spring. The American West Heritage Center extended baby animal days this year so I took Caleb, Cara, and Andy out in the rain on Saturday. The weather kept the huge crowd away, and the kids seemed to have a great time.

The calves were so calm letting the kids pet them.

The pony rides are always a hit.

I was amazed at how brave Andy was.

Caleb insisted on wearing shorts. When I told him he would be cold he replied, "I don't care." He wares shorts any time that I don't MAKE him wear long pants.

Andy was mad at this point because he wasn't holding a bunny. He did get to hold one, but I couldn't take a picture of him holding any thing because I needed to help him.

The kids also loved holding the little chicks and ducks. They could have stayed and played with them all day. Poor little chicks!

Andy loved the lambs. I must admit they were really cute and soft.

Easy Ali is Back!

2011-04-20T09:59:00.004-06:00

I think we have turned the corner! I hope that I am not going to cause myself bad luck by creating this post, but Ali has been a delight all week. She happily plays, emptying drawers and army crawling around the kitchen and house. She was a perfect baby until she started having ear infections last fall. Then she turned into a disaster! She got tubes in her ears at the end of March. After the surgery the ENT told us that the necessity of the surgery was confirmed when he discovered the fluid in her ear was what they used to call "glue ear." It was so thick it was extremely difficult to remove. I think that may have been the solution to a new Ali!

I have wondered a few times if she is really my baby. I have never experienced a grumpy baby. She also army crawls to get around. My other babies crawled with perfect form. It is amazing what she can get into crawling on her elbows. For example:

She is VERY "Kirky." For one she has the Kirk kid look. People have asked me if she looks like Cara, and I have said that she doesn't. I was wrong. I was looking at old pictures of Cara this week and they look allot alike. Ali also has the fear of standing that cursed Caleb and Andy. She is HATES standing. I would like her to be walking for the summer (as apposed to crawling through the dirt outside.) I make her stand a few times every day, and it brings her to tears. I think it is really fear. This is the happiest she has ever looked standing. It is probably because I gave her my phone, but it may be because she is with her cousin Kate.

She is a determined and stubborn. As my mom said, "there is no negotiating with her." She knows what she wants and she is going to get it. I am just glad to report that she is a happy baby again. I sure hope it sticks. Having a loving brother just 17 months older than her serves her well. For example he likes to share yummy food with her. I would have never given her this licorice or the cookies, let alone at the same time on the floor. Andy is always looking after his sister!

I Love Disneyland!

2011-04-11T15:55:00.002-06:00

I think Josh and I may have been more excited for our spring brake trip to Disneyland than the kids were. We learned, even before Caleb started school, that our neighborhood vacates during spring brake and unless you have something planned you will quite litterly be left in the cold which is terribly depressing. This year I planned a trip to Disneyland. Our van has 240,000 miles and when it dawned on us that it would not be a good idea to take it we decided to leave Ali at home too. It was a blessing to us that she spent the week with Grandma Iva. They had a great time together! And we had a great time at Disneyland.

We left early Saturday morning and we were able to listen to General Conference as we drove. The best conference tradition I have ever started is having the kids listen for specific words and each time they hear that word they get a treat. We have been doing this for three years now, and the kids really look forward to conference. They change the words every few speakers and they choose the words, usually three at a time. They can listen forever if every time they hear the word Christ, Temple or Love they get a peanut M&M or Sweetish Fish. It made the drive down go fast. We got to Vegas to my friend Angela Davidson's house before priesthood session. We took the kids to the park while the guys went to priesthood and then we went to Firehouse Sandwiches where we enjoyed some great food. The Davidson's were so kind and generous. We loved being with them!

Sunday we did the rest of the drive to Anaheim. I found a hotel for $44 a night on Priceline. It wasn't as bad as I was expecting and it served a great hot breakfast. It was right by the shuttle stop to Disneyland, and we were ready to go before the park opened on Monday morning.

Without doing any correlating we ran into our friends, the Lows, before the park even opened, and Caleb and Andy got to be with their best friends for the first few hours of Disney fun!

Caleb and Isaac

Our big splurge of the trip was doing Character Dinning at Goofy's Kitchen. It gave us a nice brake at lunch time on Monday. It was so convenient to have the characters come right to our table. We loved the buffet. Caleb wasn't really into getting pictures with the characters, but he did get all of their autographs. Cara loved everything about it. Andy was a little scarred. I think he was overwhelmed with the whole Disneyland experience. I think 2.5 is a little young for Disneyland - or maybe it was just Andy and the fact that we were playing around the clock.

I also took the kids swim suits on Monday, which was the hottest day of our trip, and they played in the water at Bugs Land in California Adventure. We played all day and all night. We really enjoyed the World of Color show and had a great spot!

Even though we didn't get to bed until 11PM we were at the park again by 7AM Tuesday morning with our friends, the Campbell's. Cara got to be with her best friend for the next few days of Disney. It is fun for us to do the short, quick Fantasy Land rides early in the morning. Cara still loves the the Tea Cups and Dumbo although she went on Space Mountain with me many times and seemed to enjoy all of the rides. (She didn't love Tower of Terror, but she did it which is better than Caleb.) She is the perfect age and personality for Disneyland.

Cara and her other mother, Hilary and her BFF Korinne.

Caleb's favorite rides were Thunder Mountain and Grizzly River Rapids. He couldn't get enough of them. I was proud of him for going on Space Mountain and the Matterhorn at least once.

Andy was expressionless most of the trip. I couldn't really tell what he liked, but I know he didn't like Pirates or the "It's Tough to be a Bug" show. Too scary. He was a great sport most of the time!

Tuesday we took a brake from Disney in the afternoon and went to the beach. We were so tired around noon when we were leaving the park, and I had a hard time finding bus tickets we needed to purchase. Consequently we ended up waiting for about 45 minutes for the bus. We were so excited when it arrived that we all just jumped on, everyone except Andy. We had left the bus terminal and gone half way down the block when Cara questioned, "where's Andy." WE HAD LEFT OUR TWO YEAR OLD AT THE BUS STOP AT DISNEYLAND. The bus driver pulled off very quickly and Josh sprinted Iike I had never seen him sprint before to go save our baby. Andy was happily sitting on someone's lap. He seemed to not have even noticed we were gone. What a blessing! The beach was great fun for the kids and a nice brake for me.

Tuesday night we had a magical moment. We timed riding the Story Book boat ride just right so that we would be on the ride for the fire works. We just entered Story Book Land when the first firework went off. They stopped the boat and we got to sit and watch the fireworks from the ride. It was awesome. It did lead to another late night though.

Wednesday Josh had a ton of work to do so he stayed back in the morning and worked while Andy rested. Caleb, Cara and I hit the park hard again. We spent the morning at California Adventure waiting to get on Toy Story and doing some of the other popular rides that Andy is too little to go on.

Wednesday's lunch brake consisted of swimming at the pool. We got the kids goggles, and Andy looked great in his. The kids love swimming, but it is hard to keep Josh and I away from Disneyland. We all went back for a while on Wednesday evening, and then I took Andy back to bed while Josh kept Caleb out until midnight. Luckily our friend Hilary brought Cara back after the fire works.

Getting up on Thursday morning was painful. We had seen everything and enjoyed the parks so much, but we were exhausted. At 7:00 AM when I asked who wanted to go to Disneyland with me Caleb sleepily said, "I do" and promptly went back to sleep. Needless to say we didn't get there until just after 8 AM. Caleb, Cara and I went and hit all of the rides that we wanted to repeat one or two more times. Caleb and Cara also got called up for Jedi training.

They both had the opportunity to help defeat Darth Vador. They loved it! We left the park around 2:00 for our drive home. It was a great time! The crowds were huge, but we navigated them great and had a super experience.

We spent Thursday night in Vegas and had dinner at Caesars Palace at the Cheese Cake Factory. Andy loved the fish tank. In fact watching the fish in the giant aquarium was the most excited I saw him the entire vacation. Friday we got some much needed sleep and drove to our friends, Todd and Jenny's new beautiful home in Cedar City. They treated us to a night out at a Brian Reagan show. The show was so funny! We laughed until we cried, and we always enjoy our time with Todd and Jenny!

Some Fantastic Ideas

2011-03-20T23:11:00.005-06:00

A bunch of my friends got together this weekend and shared our “favorites” at a Favorites Party. There were some AWESOME ideas shared. Many of them were new to me, but I totally trust the women who shared them so I am going to post them for you as well as a “to do” list for me. I know this blog entry is SO long, but I think you'll be glad you read it. I sifted through and picked my favorites of all of the favorites. I've categorized them as well. It's good stuff!

Handy Hints:

Sugar Cookies – When making sugar cookies turn your cookie sheet upside down and roll your dough on the bottom of the pan. Cut out the shapes and remove excess cookie dough. Then put the pan in the fridge for ten minutes before cooking. Your shapes will not get distorted from transferring them to the pan and they will not expand in the oven. Perfect shaped cookies every time.

Increase your kids piano practice by making them earn TV/Video game time 1 minute of TV for each minute of practice time.

Save money shopping online by googling the website’s name with “coupon codes” before checking out. More often than not you will find some sort of a discount.

Instead of having kids order paperback books out of the Scholastic Book orders have them take the order into the library as a book list.

If you get something stuck on your iron or simply need to clean it turn the iron on a medium setting and wipe it off with dryer sheet. It will come right off!

Family History – Take family history classes at home at www.familysearch.org research helps tab, then select online classes. Also BYU independent study has free online family history classes go to ce.byu.edu.

Melatonin is a natural herb that helps you sleep. It is found in super markets. (There are also drops in health stores that I use on “special occasions” for my children.)

Chicken – When you buy bulk chicken, when it is on sale, grill a whole bunch of it and cube it before freezing. Then when you want to make something that has chicken you just have to grab the bag and the worst part of the job is already done. You can also can chicken at the Cannery in Preston.

AMAZON – Buy your dippers on Amazon (and everything else) joining Amazon Mom gives you 15% off, choosing “subscribe and save” saves you another 15% so a box of 228 (size 2) Pampers is around $30. They are delivered monthly to your door AND you get free 2–day shipping on ALL Amazon Orders. If you don't need dippers you can become an Amazon Prime Member and get free 2-day shipping.

True Stories – Tell your children about your life (or theirs) at bedtime. It is one time that they are still and want to listen to whatever I tell them. This is often the best part of the day and when I teach them about the person I am and want to be, and tell them what kind of people I believe they are and will become. It is a great time to teach them the gospel.

Shave your legs with conditioner. It’s a great way to use up cheap conditioner and your legs will love it.

Knock back some serious fruits and veggies by making a smoothie from nothing but fruit, veggies (if you’re up to it), crushed ice and a little vanilla yogurt. Mmmmm.

Blog – Print your blog using blurb.com. Monitor who views your blog using statecounter.com and follow others’ blogs by setting up Google Reader. Find stock photos at www.photosupport.com/resources/stock-photos.html

Red Box Online – Before you go (or send your husband) reserve your movie online and you will know what box has the movie you want to see. You can get the most popular movies without leaving it to chance.

USU Students are awesome inexpensive resources. You can post off-campus jobs for just about anything you don’t want to (or can’t) do. Go here. That place is dripping with talented people desperate for money!

Salt Lake City Connect Pass – This pass is AWESOME for a family adventure go here. For a one-day adult pass it is $24 and includes 13 venues in the SLC aria. Our family favorites are Hogle Zoo, This Is the Place Haritage Park, Lunch at The Lion House Pantry, Discovery Gateway, Clark Planetarium, Thanksgiving Point, Utah Museum of Natural History, and The Snowbird Tram. For $24 dollars you can do a whole lot in one day!

Glasses – Get your next pair of glasses for $10 or less at zennioptical.com. There is a huge variety. You put in your prescription and they are so inexpensive.

Get in Shape - Rip 60 – It is a great new work out video/system! The Master Swim Class at Sports Academy – It is for adults of all swimming levels. You don’t have to be a member and it is well worth the fee!

Bountiful Baskets - This is a favorite of a lot of people! If it is available in your city give it a try. Each Monday you sign up for a basket full of fruits and vegetables that you pick up the following Saturday. It can be a blessing to families on so many levels.

Favorite Products:

Li’Lash. Eyelash Stimulator. It make eyelashes grow like crazy (or not fall out) Put it on nightly like a clear eyeliner. It costs allot, but your licensed beauticians can get it for about $85. It makes for awesome lashes.

Econoheat – They are ceramic heaters that heat a room. You can put on a thermostat and they cost a fraction of other electric heaters to run. They look nice and are not hot to the touch.

Ceramic Curling Irons – They are much hotter than normal ones and a they suck the moisture out of your hair so the curl stays in. Chi makes them, but Brazilian Heat ones are much cheaper and work just as well.

Hiking in Cache Valley – Get the little blue book entitled “Cache Trails” at Al’s Sporting Goods for planning.

Pampered chef batter bowl – It measures 8 cups, and is just the perfect mixing bowl, for anything. Pop on the lid and store whatever you need to in the fridge. It is also the perfect container to cook a Barbie Cake Dress in!

Calmoseptine is the best diaper rash cream. (In Cache Valley you can get it at Shopko in the pharmacy section.)

Upholstery twist pins. Hate making bunk beds? Twist these little things in through all the layers of bedding into on the bottom side and the wall side edge of the bed. They keep all the bedding in place and makes the bed making process quick and easy for the kids, and it looks great every day.

Vitamin D3 Supplements – are AWESOME for helping you to stay HEALTHY and HAPPY in the winter. Go get some today!

Hamburger Press – Check out the one from Taylor Gifts (online). Not only does it press them, but it stacks them for storing or freezing.

Nasal Spray – Where have you been all of my life? Why am I 33 and just learning about this stuff? I can actually breath when I have a cold. It isn’t a glamorous process, but it is worth it.

Great Game - Wacky Six

Holiday Traditions:

Valentines – Fancy Dance. Get dressed up really fancy. Do the girls hair and make up. Have a candlelight dinner and Martinelli’s. After dinner clear the front room floor for some dancing with your family.

Valentines – Cut out hearts and write specific things you love about each child and spread them on the floor.

Easter – The week before Easter have an activity each night that can relate to Christ’s ministry and mission. For Example – learn to make bread and read about the bread of life: light an oil lamp and learn about the 10 virgins: have your husband be the donkey and act out the Triumphal entry, etc. The Easter Bunny comes on Saturday and on Sunday have a special egg hunt where each egg tells part of the Easter story.

Anniversary – Celebrate your anniversary as a family. Make it, for example, Kirk Day. You can check out my friend’s blog to see how she does it: Badgett Day.

Christmas – Every Christmas morning before opening presents her dad would give the children all a letter that he wrote as his gift. She has kept them all.

Christmas – Let the kids sleep under the tree or if your up to it even the whole family can join it.

Christmas – Limit gifts to:
1. Something they need
2. Something they want
3. Something they will cherish
4. A book

Websites and Blogs:

Mint.com – I agree that this is an AWESOME resource for tracking family expences. I have used many and this one is best and free. You can get apps for it too.

Commonsensemedia.org or Dove.org – Before going to any movie, purchasing books or video games check out the content.

Allrecipes.com – Go for the four and five stars and read some of the comments for ways to improve them.

Goodreads.com – Find out what friends are reading and get ideas.

Mormonyouth.org – Can help with FHE for teenagers.

SFherbs.com – bulk, inexpensive herbs

Sistersatthewell.org – A way to enjoy and get more out of scripture study by doing it with a group.

KSL.com classifieds – Split Disneyland park hopper tickets, finish your basement, buy a timeshare. You can find it all!

Pandora.com or Pandoraradio.com – Listen to the music you like and let Pandora DJ.

Audible.com – purchase audio books.

PinchingYourPennies.com - This sites five star system will help you know what deals at the grocery store are really good deals. The site is confusing to get started, but once you are in the right spot it is awesome. Go to "State Forms". Scroll down to select your state. Scroll down to go to the store where you shop and then click the link to view the current list or ad.

Freebies2deals – A blog that can help you save.

Ourbestbites.com – When you try a new recipe from this blog you will feel like you have cooked it before because they give you lots of helps and hints.

MyFitnessPal.com is a great resource for calorie counting and tracking exercising.

Princesshairstyles.com will give you some fresh ideas for doing hair.

LDS.org – You can listen to conference and listen to Ensign articles. Your kids can even listen to some of the Friend articles. The stake and ward directories are awesome. Plus all of the great stuff that has always been there.

Sugardoodle.net – a billion LDS ideas

Must Read:
The Anatomy of Peace (The Arbinger Institute)
Change your Questions, Change your Life
Accountable Kids
The Parenting Breakthrough
The Power of Positive Parenting
The 5 Love Languages
Rich Dad, Poor Dad
The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands
Financial Peace
The Total Money Makeover
The Secret
The History of Joseph Smith by his Mother
Raising Up a Family Unto the Lord
Man’s Search for Meaning
Christlike Parenting
Bonds that Make Us Free

The Big Five

2011-03-15T22:05:00.006-06:00

Cara had the milestone birthday of 5 years old today. It is at age five that my kids get their first friend birthday party. Somehow the cake (not my greatest talent) has become a big part of the party preparation. We had lots of help with Cara's My Little Pony Cake at the pre-party.

Her party was on Saturday. We had a spaghetti lunch and a few simple games.

She most looked forward to the pinata. Andy was not the big hitter of the group. He refused to hold the correct end of the bat.

The girls were adorable.

Cara blew out the first three candles without a problem. Caleb couldn't resist helping her with the others that she was having a hard time getting out.

She received some great gifts. This morning she was excited to get a few barbies to add to the ones she got on Saturday. She also got her own easel. Caleb made her the beautiful crown she is wearing. She also got a jump rope and hula hoop, which are skills she is going to need to work on, from the Kirks. Grandma Iva and Grandpa Neil got her a nice jewelry box and some jewelry to go in it. She was a very happy birthday girl.

Birthday Pictures

2011-03-13T22:01:00.007-06:00

Part of birthday season is getting everyones individual shots. It is always fun for me to share pictures of my cute kids.

It took a lot of work from everyone to get a few good pictures of Andy. I wish his pictures could capture what a joy he is. His 1/2 birthday is in March when everyone else celebrates their birthdays. He is 2.5.

Cara's pictures are always so sweet. Age 5 on Tuesday. By here rules she will be 5.5 on Wednesday.

Isn't Caleb growing, 7 already!? Next year he will get baptized!

1 Year Pictures

2011-03-09T21:46:00.003-07:00

Today I took Ali in to get her birthday pictures. Isn't she beautiful!

If you think you see tears it is because you do.

In classic Ali style she didn't make this process easy. I took Andy as well and we didn't even get one single shot of him! Thank goodness for a patient photographer. At one point they were both crying and I was ready to cry myself.

Where did that year go?

2011-03-08T15:38:00.006-07:00

My baby Ali is 1 year old today. It has been a fun and crazy year. She was a perfect for her first 6 months and not so good for the last 6. If something is bothering her, usually her ears or her teeth, the whole world just as well stop. But when she is good - she is so good. She loves to be held so she is usually good if she is in arms. She has been my high maintenance baby.

We have been having fun celebrating her birthday. Saturday Grandma Iva brought a great present as well as a small cake just for her and a larger cake for the rest of us.

She was really happy about her new set of wheels except when Caleb turned a little too quick. She is very slow to become mobil. She just started army crawling this week. Her main form of transportation is rolling and pivoting. She has no interest in walking or even crawling for that matter.

She had no problem making a mess and enjoying every bit of cake that she could get into her mouth.

In fact she got to have cake twice on Saturday because the Kirks came over for a barbecue and we got to celebrate with them.

Today she woke up talking and happy (not her usual). I think she must have known it was her birthday. She gets lots of attention from her brothers and sister and after an early nap we even went out to Firehouse for lunch.

She got a bouquet of helium balloons and new cloths from us. What more could a 1 year old want and need.

Caleb also made her a hat that read "Happy Birthday Ali." I guess he likes to celebrate everyones birthdays not just his own.

This is what happens when I take a shower and leave Andy to tend his sister. Yes, those are Cheerios all over the floor!

Caleb can Party!

2011-03-03T21:37:00.005-07:00

Caleb turned 7 last week. Somehow he talks me into celebrating his birthday over and over. He picked karate for his party theme sometime before Christmas. It may have even been before Halloween. He thinks about his birthday all year! He has also been asking to go bowling for his birthday for nearly a year. I was hoping I could get away with one party or the other, but not with Caleb!

The Karate party with his friends was held on Friday after school. It actually ended up being quite simple. We had 7 boys and they were perfectly happy playing. They all got karate belts when they came and then we had Skyler, a friend of our friend's come and teach the boys a karate lesson. Skyler was great, but the boys were off the wall hyper. The idea of having a karate lesson was enough for them. With presents, pizza, pop, cake and ice cream the party was a success.

In true Caleb fashion as soon as the party was over he was asking when we could go bowling with the Low Boys, Isaac and Dawson. I consented to go cosmic bowling on Saturday afternoon. My parents and Connie met us and Caleb got a great present of Night Vision Goggles and Walkie Talkies from my mom and dad. What more could a 7 year old ever want?!

Sunday we celebrated his birthday with the Kirks, and then Monday was the official big day. He received attention from his teacher and class and I took Rice Crispy Treats in to the school. One week before his birthday I officially decided what to get him. I have asked him several times if he is interested in playing Soccer or Base Ball in the spring. He always replies, "I just want to play Tackle Football and take Karate." Once again the Monday before his birthday I asked one final time and he very firmly gave me his typical reply. These contact sports are not my sports of choice! I talked around and found a gym only about 7 minutes from our house that offers a full Youth Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) training course. It includes Boxing, Wrestling, Gymnastics, Karate for MMA, Thai Boxing, and Jiu Jitsu. Caleb can go to as many as two one hour classes a day for just $30 a month. (Of course the gear was expensive to get him started.) On the morning of his birthday I had put into gift bags the names of each of the classes he can take as well as the gear he would be getting. He was so cute with all of the gift bags and let Cara and Andy open as many as he did. He was beyond excited to get started.

I am hoping this is just a phase, but I rationalize by telling myself that he just as well practice Martial Arts in an organized fashion rather than in the basement. The coaches seem to be good, and the gym is new and very nice. In fact the owner is Rulon Gardner an Olympic Gold Metal Wrester. He will be helping with the coaching when he returns from being on the reality TV show Biggest Looser. It is good for Caleb to burn off some of his energy and there is research showing that joint movement helps with impulse control. I hope that he will also learn some discipline. In the mean time he loves his boxing gloves. He has slept with them every night since he got them and he likes to give them to Cara and have her punch him. It gets a little out of control. On our way to his first class he was all smiles as he said, "I'm probably going to get beet-up tonight."

He loved all of the attention. Here he is receiving words of praise from his class mates who had a lot of very nice things to say about how friendly and nice he is.

Happy Year of the Rabbit

2011-02-28T13:48:00.004-07:00

Last Saturday we went to the USU Chinese New Year celebration. For some reason Caleb has been obsessed with the Chinese culture lately so I thought it would be a fun cultural experience. We have a couple in our neighborhood that imigrated from China and they have a girl Caleb's age. They have hosted a chess club and helped some of the children learn chess. They invited us to the celebration where they were performing.

Caleb was very paitent in learning to use chop sticks.

Andy even gave chop sticks a try and then decided to go with his fingers.

Cara loved the pot stickers.

It was excited when Caleb's name was drawn for the raffle. He had to play a game of musical chairs with 8 other adults (all Chinese) and one other child. He won the game! It was fun for him.

Caleb even wants to learn to speak Chinese. He is going through a phase that he is very interested in languages. Last week his library books were "The first 1000 words in Italian" and "Speaking Japanese". I told him that I would look for a language learning program that he could work on this summer. I said "why don't you learn Spanish. It would be a little easier." He doesn't care. He is dead set on learning Chinese. I may still talk him into Spanish, but for now we will take his obsession with China one day at a time.

Crusin'

2011-02-09T11:27:00.011-07:00

Over a year ago we started planning the cruise we went on with some of our friends this month. We have never cruised before and it is something that we have really wanted to do. It was awesome! We went on Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas out of Miami. The ship itself was amazing! It holds over 4000 passengers and is really a destination its self. The ship was larger than life. Josh just kept saying, "we are on a ship!!" It was like a dream. We spent our first and last day at sea and had plenty to do on board.

Cruising was unlike any tropical vacation we have ever taken before with all of the reasons to dress up. Josh and I loved the dining, especially the dinners which we had with our group each night. The food was out of this world! (Notice the beautiful desserts.) I don't think we ever got a full group picture, but these are the couples from our ward.

We also loved the shows. They were a little to "artsy" for some of the members of the group, but because we love theater and can look past men in tights we loved it! My favorites were the Ice Show, the Vegas type modern dance show, and the broadway type show. Our ship had 18 million dollars in upgrades the week before we came on board and had teamed up with Dream Works to provide a wider variety of experiences. The kid pool upgrades were amazing. We didn't really spend any time in the pools, but we hit the hot tub almost every night. One of my favorite moments on board was laying out on the helicopter pad one night watching the stars.

I couldn't wait to give the FlowRider a try! Josh and I were both quite good at the boogie boarding. I did try the stand up surfing too, but I need more time to practice it.

Josh and I really enjoy being busy with activities so we tried everything. Josh was a comocozi ice skater on the ships ice rink. I was grateful that he only hurt himself and not other people.

The rock climbing wall was a little more nerve wracking than I thought it would be, but we both made it to the top. Unfortunatly when I got up there I forgot to check out the view.

Our first port was Belize. Our excursion was a favorite! We went through a zipline course that was out of this world. The cables were over 100 feet long and about 70 feet about the rainforest canopy. We loved it! (Unfortunatly noone dared to take a real camera off the ship into Belize and the water cameras worked terribly, but it was really unbelievable. I real camera would not have been able to capture the beauty anyway.

Then we went tubing down a river that ran though a cave. On the hike to the river for tubing some members of our group had a little snack of turmites. I didn't taste them, but I guess they tasted like minty sprouts. The river was a little low so it was slow but the cave was very cool. We took our time and enjoyed jumping off rocks and the beautiful blue water. The temperture was about 75 degrees and very humid so it felt great! The water cameras were terrible, but it was AMAZING!

We got headed back to the ship a little late. We were all worried about catching the last of the tender's back to the ship. With no speed limit our native guides weren't too worried. As we left one member of the group said, "this is when you really hope that nothing goes wrong." We were all quietly resting on the bus/van when we heard a pop and banging. We blew a tire. We were already late to catch the tender. Apparently in Belize they wear tires until they pop. They don't "prevent" problems by changing out their tires. It was crazy getting the tire changed. They had two jack and neither of them worked. The guys all lifted the half bus to get the spare tire on. They called ahead to the ship and the tender waited for us, but it was good enough to get our hearts racing.

Our second port was Costa Maya which is a city essential owned by the cruise line. There weren't a lot of excursion options, but we enjoyed taking a catamaran ride out to a coral reef for snorkeling. I loved riding in the front of the catamaran and bouncing with the waves and being splashed by the sea water. I always enjoy a good snorkeling trip. Unfortunately the water cameras didn't capture any good pictures.

Our third port was Cozumel. We caught the first water taxi to Playa Del Carmen where we were supposed to meet a guide to take us on a tour of Tulum and help us understand Mayan History as it relates to the Book of Mormon. Somehow we miscommunicated with the guide and he didn't show up until the next water taxi which was two hours later so after waiting for 1.5 hours we got our own van and headed to Tulum. Luckily when we got there we found a Mormon guide who provided a wonderful experience for us. It was fascinating to better understand Mayan history and the verses the read to us from the Book of Mormon are so much clearer now. I was captivated by the ruins and the history.

Tulum is right on the ocean.

The temple of Tulum was built after Book of Mormon times when the truth was not among the Lamanites and the practices were evil, but many of the traditions and the ways of building were similar to Book of Mormon times.

You can see how vegetation could ruin the walls of the city over time, but some of these walls still stand. I really liked the walls, even though they weren't beautiful like some of the buildings, because they reminded me of the Book of Mormon.

After returning to port in Miami we had some time before our flight so we went on an Air Boat Gator Tour in the Everglades.

The ride was fun, and we saw lots of Alligators. We even held one.

And Josh waded in the Everglades. (Bucket list number #764.)

It was a wonderful trip! Thank you to my sister Christie and my mom and Connie for taking the girls and to Erica for taking my boys. They had a great time. It was a nice vacation for them from the routine of our lives too.

Now all I can think about is - what's next. It's time to plan another trip. I think I have a serious case of the travel bug! Spring brake . . . Disney Land . . . Park City . . . I think it will be a while before we go on another vacation without the kids, but it was sure great!

Something worth celebrating

2011-02-09T11:02:00.003-07:00

This week we received Caleb's report card from school and it was AWESOME! His proficiency grade for ever academic skill was a 4 which means he is scoring in the 90-100th percentile (basically straight A's). The best part for me was his work and social skill grades which were all excellent. This is a big contrast to the many NI (needs improvement) marks he got last year and the satisfactory reports we got last term. A perfect report card wouldn't be a big deal for most parents, but I have worked so hard with Caleb that I wanted to celebrate by sharing. Caleb is going to be an exceptional adult although getting him there may take every skill I have.

Caleb is making great progress on the piano and just finished his second set of books. His reading is coming right along. Math concepts are really hard for him, but with persistence he eventually gets it. He would really like to start karate lessons this year. I am not sure how I feel about that. Is it worth the time and money? He can't wait to start tackle football in the fall. He never talks about it without putting the word "tackle" on. He wants to make sure that he is getting the real deal. I'm not really sure how I feel about that either, but we have to to focus his energy somewhere. Of course his favorite day at school is Wednesday because it is PE. He rarely talks to me about what is happening at school. The most I can get him to tell me is what they had for lunch except on Wednesday's when he tells me all about PE.

Good Habits and Bad Habits

2011-01-25T16:01:00.003-07:00

I always try to be a good example of healthy living for my children. I really dislike formal exercise. I don't like the effort or the time that it requires, but occasional I fell like I need to "get stronger" so I take on an exercise program. I have been exercising three days a week this month, and my kids love it. It does get a little tight when we are all trying to kick-box at the same time.

On the not so healthy side, my kids number one stall technique before bed is "I'm hungry." It drives me crazy, but what kind of mom puts her kids to bed hungry! This is a classic pre-bed scene at our house. Andy eating a hotdog, which is 95% of his diet (disgusting and not healthy, I know). Caleb eating a Peanut Butter sandwich (he doesn't like jam, and adding honey is too much work so just peanut butter on whole wheat bread.) Cara eating a cheese quesadilla. All staples at bed time.

It may be interesting to note that as I type the kids are out riding their bikes. Caleb is in shorts. Yes, it is January in northern Utah, and it snowed today. I think they are ready for spring. I am eating oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough and enjoying every bite. I just noticed Ali is asleep in her high chair with her hands full of pretzels which is strange since she wont sleep in her bed.

Grandma Alice

2011-01-25T08:59:00.004-07:00

Grandma Alice turned 95 this month! She is such a sweet woman. She has been living with Josh's parents for almost a year and we have really enjoyed having her so close. I think that it is wonderful for us and the kids to have regular contact with her.

Of course we needed a picture with her name sake . . .

And andy wanted one too. I think he is about as big as she is.

2010 Favorites

2011-01-17T11:46:00.003-07:00

I want to start the now tradition of wrapping up the blog for the year by recording everyone’s favorites.

Ali answered by Carrie:
• Food – I only like meat baby food and sometimes sweet potatoes. I still sometimes choke on other solids, but I like to try them.
What are some of your wishes for this new-year? To learn to crawl, walk, feed myself and talk. It’s going to be a big year.

Andy answered by Carrie:
• Cereal – whatever someone else is having
• Food – Hot dogs, in fact this is the only meat I will eat. I really just like drinks, hot dogs and cheese.
• Drink – juice or milk I would really like to be on a liquid diet.
• TV Show – Playhouse Disney (I stand by the computer and say “mouse, mouse”)
• Game – running around with Caleb
• Book – I like to carry around a football book, but I’m not that interested in reading it.
• Restaurant – anywhere with French-fries since I don’t really like eating most things.
• Holiday – All
• Animal – anything I can hug
What do you love about each person in our family? 
Ali – I love everything about Ali.
Cara – I like to color with Cara and to throw her crayons.
Caleb – I love to wrestle with Caleb and he takes care of me.
Mom – She gets me milk and starts Mickey Mouse for me.
Dad – He is so fun to play with.
Where would you like to go on vacation this year? Disney Land and meet Mickey Mouse
What are some of your wishes for this new-year? I want to have fun.

Cara:
• Cereal – Lucky Charms
• Food – Corn Dogs
• Drink – Water with Ice and Root Beer
• TV Show – Ariel
• Game – Barbies and Hide and Go Seek
• Restaurant – McDonanlds it’s so much fun!
• Holiday – Christmas
• Animal – Elephant
What do you love about each person in our family? 
Ali – Her can eat different kind of thing, not baby food.
Andy – Give me hugs.
Caleb – Be kind.
Mom – You buy corn dogs.
Dad – Him go shopping to buy chips.
Where would you like to go on vacation this year? To Mexico
What are some of your wishes for this new-year? In the turkey I found the wish bone. I can’t tell. It is a secret. It’s a secret, you can’t tell nobody, (whisper) ton’s of butterflies.

Caleb:
• Cereal – Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Lucky Charms
• Food – Macaroni and Cheese, Cereal and a Ham Sandwich and Mexican food. (Side note: he has a peanut butter sandwich almost every day when he gets home from school.)
• Drink – Milk and Chocolate Milk
• TV Show – Power Rangers
• Game – Lego Star Wars and Wrestling
• Book – Power Rangers
• Restaurant – McDonalds
• Holiday – Christmas
• Animal – Zebra
What do you love about each person in our family? 
Ali – She’s cute.
Andy – He’s cool.
Cara – She’s nice.
Mom – You’re nice too.
Dad – He plays with me a lot.
Where would you like to go on vacation this year? Disney Land, Hawaii, and Mexico
What are some of your wishes for this new-year? I want to learn how to do karate.

Carrie:
• Cereal – I wish I could grow out of it, but I really like sugar cereals like Lucky Charms and Cinnamon Toast Crunch
• Food – All Italian
• Drink – Water, but I have always been a Root Beer fan when soda is offered
• TV Show – The only show I watch is Biggest Looser
• Book – I don’t make much time to read anything but the Book of Mormon
• Restaurant – I LOVE to eat out! I’m not sure I have a favorite I just like to go out.
• Holiday – I like them all.
What do you love about each person in our family? 
Ali – I love to hold and squeeze her and the way that she bonks heads to show affection. I also like the way she flaps her arms like she is a little bird about to take off.
Andy – I love the way his cheeks bounce when he runs and his happy easy-going personality. I love to make him laugh he laughs so easily.
Cara – I love to watch her take care of her brothers and sister. She is a great helper.
Caleb – I love to help him learn new things and to watch him figure things out.
Josh – I feel so lucky to have found Josh. He is an amazing hard worker and extremely talented. He is so good at making people happy, and he helps me in so many ways. He is working more from home lately and I really miss him when he is gone.
Where would you like to go on vacation this year? We are going on a Cruise in a couple of weeks. I have never cruised, and I am way excited! Cara has been BEGGING me to go to the beach and to Mexico. I don’t dare tell her that we are going and leaving her in Utah.
What are some of your wishes for this new-year? I hope to be a happy mom that doesn’t just tend my kids, but a mom that teaches them. I want to make the most of every day.

Josh:
• Cereal – Cracklin Oat Bran
• Food – It is hard to narrow it down, but I really like Nutella.
• Drink – Pina Colada
• TV Show – Lost, Seinfeld, and Office
• Book – The Magazine Fast Company or Mac World
• Restaurant – Macaroni Grill
• Holiday – Christmas
What do you love about each person in our family? 
Ali – I love her smile and giggle and that she bonks foreheads.
Andy – He is so funny and happy! I love his facial expressions.
Cara – She has a great sense of humor.
Caleb – He is a good negotiator and a good competitor when playing sports.
Carrie – She is a great, loving, smart wife. She has many talents even hidden talents.
Where would you like to go on vacation this year? Disney World
What are some of your wishes for this new-year? Loose 30 lbs and be a better person.

Christmas Highlights

2011-01-03T14:51:00.005-07:00

I love the Holiday season. It just goes so fast! I am trying to enjoy every moment with my little ones as I am often told that the time with small children is gone so quickly. I do fall short in taking pictures, but I wanted to take a moment to record a few of the fun things we did to celebrate the holidays this year.

We kicked off Christmas the day after Thanksgiving with a trip to Salt Lake (after shopping of course) to see my cousins who were in town from as far as Japan. I love my extended family and have a closeness to them that many people don't enjoy with their cousins. We spent the evening at Temple Square. I think taking the kids to Temple Square is a wonderful tradition.

Our ward did a "Polar Express" Christmas party. It was a breakfast and the 150 kids in the ward were invited to come in their pajamas. Josh was asked to narrate the "Polar Express" book. After breakfast Josh got on the stage in his robe and sweats and started yelling "all aboard." I was choked up as the children darted through the room. They were rushing to their tables to get their tickets to get on the Polar Express. The excitement in the room was awesome, and I felt the spirit of Christmas. Josh also read stories at the elementary school. I am grateful to have a husband that is willing to be actively involved in the lives of his children. At the school he read The Night Before Christmas in his many many voices. I understand he was a real hit although Caleb says he was a little embarrassed.

One of the highlights of each December is the formal Christmas Gala that our friends host. It is a wonderful party. We feel fortunate to be surrounded by so many fantastic friends that influence our lives for good in so many ways. We also went caroling with neighbors and enjoyed other parties and get-togethers with friends. Somehow I thought that friends wouldn't be such a part of my life as an adult. Now I realize, how would I ever survive without my wonderful friends.

On the 23rd we took the kids to Salt Lake to see Christina and Ross who couldn't come home for Christmas. We love seeing them. Sara came all the way from Plentywood Montana and we met up with her in SLC too. It is nice to be with family. Each year we express gratitude that we don't have to spend all of our vacation time and money to go to family at Christmas. It is a blessing that we live near both sets of parents and that our siblings usually come to us. While we were in SLC we took the kids to Zoo Lights at Hogal Zoo. I didn't know what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised. The lights were great, and we got to see many of the indoor animals.

Christmas Eve is always spent with my family. It was fantastic as always! What more can I say. I love to be with my family. This was the first time that Cathie and her kids haven't come home for Christmas and we REALLY missed them.

Christmas morning was awesome. The kids were so excited. Fortunatly they slept in until about 6:45 and we were able to hold them off while Andy and Ali slept a little longer, but by 7:30 we were opening presents. Caleb had the great idea to take turns. (Yes, we will just give him all of the credit so that the tradition can continue.) The kids were excited, but they took their time and took turns. They were very interested in each others gifts.

Caleb got a remote control helicopter, which he loves, and a giant nerf gun.

Cara got an American Girl Doll look-alike and matching cloths for her and her doll.

Andy got a remote control truck, which everyone enjoyed playing with. He got two packs of 10 match box cars and he was so excited when he opened them. He was yelling, "open them! open them!"

Ali got a Stand and Sit Giraffe Ball thing. Andy really likes it. Ali was just happy to be a part of the excitement.

Between Christmas and New Years we spent a few nights with the Lows at their Condo in Bear Lake. It was nice to get snowed in with friends to whom we are so close that they are practically family. We were literally stuck at the condo with our two wheel drive but luckily the Lows suburban could take us skiing at Beaver during a big snow storm. Caleb and Cara both seem to be getting the hang of skiing. It has been a long time coming with Caleb. He was finally starting to catch on when he had a bad fall and twisted his knee. He has been quite gimpy this week.

We celebrated New Years with our dear friends and neighbors - the Campbells. We played games and ate way to much junk food. Life is good!!!

One final journal item before I "close the book" on 2010. Caleb played his first season of Basket Ball this November and December. I can see how having kids involved in sports can fill up the lives of parents. It was fun to watch the first graders as they are learning to dribble, pass and shoot. I wouldn’t say that Caleb was awesome by any means, but it was fun for him. I enjoy having an excuse to get out too.

The Same Old Thing . . .

2010-12-12T22:51:00.006-07:00

Every morning one of the first things Caleb says is, “what are we going to do today.” He hates when I answer, “were are just going to have a regular day.” It seems like we have been doing a lot of that lately. I am grateful that there is no drama. I am happy with our routine. In fact, I decided that I am not going to mail formal Christmas cards this year for the first time since I was a teenager. With the blog and facebook I feel like I am connected to so many people that Christmas cards every other year would be sufficient.

We are enjoying a simple Christmas season. The kids are so excited! Christmas is magical with little ones.

It has been a long couple of months with Ali. She is currently on her third round of antibiotics for a ruptured eardrum that will not heal. She doesn’t suffer quietly, and she refuses to nap. She sleeps 12-13 hours at night, but then only takes about a 45-minute nap in the day. Having a fussy baby that wont nap is driving me crazy. She can be really cute though. Most people think she is a great baby because when I am out I am holding her and she is perfectly happy when she is being held.

Imagine Ali and Andy next to each other in their baskets. I didn't get a decent picture of them together. Either one was looking or the other.

The other day Andy was suffering from what I call “post nap depression.” He was crying on the floor and Caleb was trying to cheer him up by naming all of his favorite things Caleb was saying, “Let’s find Mia. (Connie’s Dog) Where’s Ali? Do you want Grandma? Let’s have ice cream. Do you want candy?” He repeated those and similar phrases over and over. It is so fun to watch the kids together. They all love each other so much and want to take care of each other. Andy tries to echo everything that is said. He is so adorable I can hardly stand it.

Last month I overheard Caleb telling Cara that we were going to have 9 kids in our family. I corrected him and said we would have five or six. I asked them how many they wanted and they cheered six. Just to test it out I asked if they wanted 7 kids and they did. I came to the conclusion they love having siblings and want as many as they can have. It is true that my hands are full, but in a good way. Here they are playing in the $1.50 after Halloween solider costumes. Andy wears the hat around all of the time. I love it.

Cara has begun calling preschool “Art School.” She asks me, “Do I have art school today?” What do I do with all of this art?? She doesn’t get her artistic drive from me. When she isn’t at school she is at the kitchen table painting and coloring. Every once in a while she even comes up with something really quite great.

Caleb needs his two front teeth for Christmas, but he would never waste a Christmas wish on something he would get anyway. In fact he has made it clear he doesn't want any cloths. He just wants toys. Of course a puppy would be nice too. He always acts so tough after a tooth falls out, but loosing it terrifies him right up until it happens. He lost two of his first three teeth at church. The third was the best though. Right as sacrament meeting was starting Josh grabbed Caleb's arm and used it to flick Caleb who was being bad. Caleb's tooth started bleeding and he was screaming. Yes, church had started. Even though he hit it with his own hand he told everyone that his dad punched his tooth out.

For me this Christmas may be remembered as the Christmas of the Beards. I have been crocheting beards on hats for a friend. I am making good money doing it so I try to crochet every spare moment I can find and multitask as much as possible. I was looking for a hobby, but this is much better than a hobby because it pays and it is relaxing and off my feet.

The Sunday before Thanksgiving I gave a talk in sacrament meeting. The assigned topic was “The Windows of Heaven.” If you are interested you can find the talk here. I am a changed person from having given it. The talk reminded me to recognize how the Lord blesses me and my family and all faithful tithe payers. If you ever think you are not receiving blessings you just need to take a step back and recognize all that you have. I am so grateful for all of the miracles in my life.

No Boys Allowed

2010-11-03T22:33:00.005-06:00

Tonight I opened the front door to our house and found a "No Boys Allowed" sign. Cara wanted to make sure that the neighbor boys (who happen to be 10 and 11) know that she thinks they are mean and that they are not welcome at our house.

Today in a matter of minutes she sketched this artwork on our wall in pen. Gurrrrrrr.

As of last night when I started this entry and wrote the previous entry:

1. I found a hobby that is going to make me money rather than cost. I am going to be crocheting beard beanies for this company: Beard Beanie. I am going to meet with the gal today. I took 8 or so years of crocheting 4H growing up. Who know that it was a skill that would ever pay off?

2. Ali's ear drum burst so she isn't a bad baby after all. I had no idea that she was in pain from an ear infection, but it was literally dripping out of her ear this morning. Poor thing! This isn't a good sign to start her first winter with a ruptured ear drum. Both Caleb and Cara have tubes. That may be Ali's destiny as well.

3. Caleb has gone from peeing the bed four times a night to once a night for a full week. This is a major step in the right direction. (See "Mom, I've Got Great News")

4. My mom is having her third shoulder surgery in a year today. (She had a knee replacement and pins and a plate put in a broken wrist this year too.) This is the last option to avoid a full replacement. We are sure hoping for the best for her today.

Ali and Andy

2010-11-03T21:10:00.005-06:00

I have been trying to think of a fun but free project to work on. We are in the grove of school and have a good routine that has left me with open time every day. (I know it is sick to have four kids six and younger and feel, I hate to say it, board.) I can only check my bank accounts hoping money has come in so many times in a day. I love multitasking and despise wasting time. I don't watch TV, in-fact we don't even have one. I used to sweep after every meal and vacuum at bed time every night, but I am trying to not "waist" so much time doing housework. I spend one on one time teaching my kids reading a piano every day. I could really use a hobby and it has to be free. I can't have reading as a hobby because it is addictive and when I am into a book I ignore my kids. So tonight it dawned on me that I have a new baby this year and that I needed to work on a Christmas stocking for her.

I am not crafty!!! There is not one single homemade thing in my house (except our window treatments which doesn't really count because it was more out of desperation than a desire to make something.) The one exception to this "no crafts" rule is our Christmas stockings. I started the first Christmas we were married. There was a stocking making project at "Super Saturday" and I made one for Josh and I. The next winter I was preggo with Caleb and added one for him to the collection. It was a vicious cycle because I now feel like I need to keep up the tradition. As a child I had a special stocking with my name on it so I thought that would be fun for my children as well. The stockings aren't that awesome, but they are a lot of work.

Andy was a Fall baby so I made his stocking shortly after he was born. Tonight as I went to get started on Ali's stocking I remember how special she is to our family. (This is great timing for such a reminder because some kind of crying, whining monster has taken over the body of my sweet baby. She is only happy being held. I am hoping it is her teeth and not a general personality problem. Currently I affectionately call her my "cry baby.")

Warning: the following story is personal, but I would tell any of you in person. I want to always remember this special experience. When Andy was born I felt the presence of another spirit. It was something like I have never experienced before. I remember being alone with Andy in the hospital room and looking over my shoulder knowing that there was someone else in the room. (I get teary thinking about this.) I knew that whoever was with us did not want to leave Andy. I felt like this spirit was lingering with him. Like it wanted to be with him as long as it could. It even scared me a little, I hoped that he wasn't going to die or something. I kept this experience quiet for a few days, but I kept feeling the presence of this spirit off and on even within the first weeks of being home. It was so real that at one point in my hospital stay I said out loud, "why couldn't you have just come together." I remember very distinctly telling Josh, "there is a girl lingering here in our home with Andy. She can't stand to leave him. We have got to get pregnant again right way." Josh recalls his response of totally agreeing. It wasn't until that moment that I had put a gender with the spiritual experience. I didn't really "know" that it was a girl and I didn't "know" that the spirit that was with Andy would be our next child, but that is what came out of my mouth. From that point on I felt an extreme urgency to have another baby. Andy and Ali were born 17 months apart.

So what does Ali's Christmas Stocking have to do with this? I was so certain that I would be having a girl soon and that we would name her Alice and call her Ali. I was so sure that I started her stocking at the same time as I did Andy's. When I got it out tonight the appliqué is all done. I even had her name ironed on. So here is Ali's stocking ready to be stitched and embellished, but made a year before she was even conceived.

I can't leave this entry without mentioning that Andy and Ali do have a very special friendship. Just this week I asked my friend her thoughts on Andy's special love for Ali. I wanted to see if it was just in my head, but she agreed that it isn't. He is so attentive to her. Who knows, as they get older, they may forget the special love that they had for each other in the preexistence, but they remember right now, and it is so sweet. I remember the first time Andy saw Ali at the hospital I know that it was a special reuniting. Many times a day I find Andy sitting behind Ali with his legs wrapped around her. It is nice to sit back and take a minute to remember how I love these special little babies and how I have so much to learn from them.

We made it

2010-11-01T15:10:00.005-06:00

We made it through yet another Halloween. I'm not totally sure why I don't like Halloween. Maybe it is because I lack self control with all of the candy. Maybe it is because I threw-up in the school hall on Halloween in the 2nd Grade. Maybe because there is pressure to buy or make awesome costumes for my kids. Maybe it is because carving pumpkins is such a mess and I end up scraping all of them and then carving them too. Maybe it is because . . . I will stop.

The kids do love the holiday and I do my best to oblige. Caleb has been shopping online for his costume for months. He saved money in September and bought it as soon as he had the $13 required. He was excited about being a red power ranger although there were no masks allowed at school so he dressed as Jack Sparrow on Friday for school.

Cara had a harder time deciding what to be. She finally settled on Tinkerbell. Whenever I called her "Tinkerbell" she would say, "I'm not Tinkerbell, she doesn't wear a shirt under her dress." I am trying to teach her young that just because it is Halloween does not mean you get to dress immodest.

Andy was an adorable duck! Caleb and Cara also wore this costume when they were two. I love it. It gives them a big waddle bum and fat thighs. Andy caught right on that people would give him candy when he was dressed up so he had no problem wearing the costume.

Ali was a cute little ballerina. She loved to touch and eat her tutu.

There are a couple of other fall memories for which I just got pictures off of the phone that I would like to post.

One of the highlights of the fall was watching USU win BYU in football for the first time since the early 90s. We joined the USU fans in rushing the field. Caleb loved being on the field. You can see the event staff behind Josh and Caleb. They were guarding the goal post which the fans took down last time USU won BYU. We also went to many of the USU homecoming activities, but the game was rained out. It was crazy!

I love this picture. I took Ali and went to an evening primary meeting. Josh was tired and half jokingly told the kids to put themselves to bed and he went to lay down. When I came home Josh was asleep and Andy, Cara, and Caleb were on the floor next to our bed. They had put their PJ's on and put themselves to sleep. They are so cute.

Finally, I had to post this picture. Caleb hasn't seemed to notice that most of his dress-ups are getting too small. He has grown so fast. I have started putting away size 8 pants and he is still 6. He is bigger than most of the 8 year olds in our neighborhood. He isn't a big eater right now (unless it's candy) but I am scared for when he starts eating! Right now keeping him in pants is a big enough problem.

“Mom I‘ve got great news”

2010-10-28T22:08:00.001-06:00

A few nights ago Caleb got up at 8:30 PM (he had been in bed since about 8:00). He came into the living room and said, “Mom, I’ve got great news. I haven’t even wet the bed yet.” I told him that was great news and sent him back to bed.

A major part of my life right now is trying to get Caleb to sleep dry. I wouldn’t care so much, but he is such a big kid and big drinker that he wets through his pull-ups. (And every other brand of night dippers for kids.) I can’t stand the wet bed any more!!! (He will be 7 in February.) We are at our last resort – a bed wetting alarm. The alarm goes off every time it gets wet. The idea is that there is an instant consequence and awareness when he wets. We have been working on it for three weeks. I get up with him four times almost every night. It is like clock work. He did have two nights that he only wet once and I thought we were almost there, but it must have been a fluke because we are back to four times every night.

It feels like it has been a long journey. He has had five to ten dry nights in his entire life. For years I waited for a dry night to reinforce and to build upon, but that didn’t ever happen. We have met with his pediatrician multiple times and his doc thinks that it is based on the fact that he sleeps extremely deeply. He does crazy things in the night when his alarm goings off which confirm how deeply he sleeps. First of all he doesn’t even hear the alarm which sounds like a fire alarm. When I say, “get your alarm off” he questions “what alarm?” Can’t he her the screaming that is pinned to the shoulder of his shirt? He is totally confused in the night. When I tell him to finish going potty he climbs in the tub. He pulls his dry underwear over his wet ones and a million other things. Part of the learning is making the child get on dry cloths, sheets, etc. Caleb is so out of it Josh can’t help him. It makes Josh crazy!! Currently Caleb has the incentive of a new basketball if he sleeps dry. Every morning he says, “MOM, I get my new basketball!” He can’t even remember the experiences of the night. (He is going to be NO HELP when he has children.)

We have tried avoiding fluids in the evening as much as possible although nothing makes a child thirstier than being deprived of a drink. Of course, we have tried waking him many times in the night to go. We did that for months with out even a sign of success, which ruled out a capacity issue. He has had his tonsils out which helps some children. We have also tried two medications DDAVP, which had no apparent influence on him, as well as another medication, which gave him unbelievable hallucinations. It was very scary. We have also tried a great children’s hypnotherapy book “Dry All Night.” It was actually that book that got Cara to stop wetting in the night just a few months ago. (I made the mistake of not allowing her to get out of the crib in the night when I potty trained her or else she would have slept dry from the beginning. It was hard to back peddle.) We had been reading that book every night as part of our bed time ritual and Cara began to consistently have a dry pull-up and then on her own began to wear underwear at night. I asked her how she stopped wetting the bed and she said, “I thinked about it.”

So here we are . . . at our last resort. It is painful, but it will be worth it when he sleeps dry. Bedwetting is hard on the child, and it is hard on the parents. I sure hope this will take care of it forever for him. A few nights ago as I kissed him good night (for the third time) and told him that I loved him I thought of the girl he will someday marry. All I can say to her is that “we are doing the best we can.”

Not only is Caleb keeping me up in the night, but Ali has turned into a little night crier. I am not talking about a little fuss here and there. She does not sleep well!! I keep thinking it is teeth, but nothing has broke through. She wakes up several times during each nap, and she is easily disrupted during the nights. I haven’t had the heart to let her cry it out so she had been getting nighttime bottles up until this week. Now she has got a “new room” in the basement storage room. I have a lamp in there, and it is plenty warm. It is perfect because I can hear her when I am in the kitchen and at my desk, but I can’t hear her when I am in my bedroom. She hasn’t been awake when I have been up with Caleb so as far as I know she is sleeping through the night now! I think she does better without Caleb’s alarm going off every few hours.

I hate to admit it, but she isn’t the perfect baby. She has become extremely high maintenance. She is harder than any other baby I have had. She wants to be held! What is up with that? I am supposed to have perfect content babies.

Speaking of perfect babies – Andy. He is such a joy! He is in the best, most adorable and wonderful stage. He is talking like crazy and the things that he says are so cute. He repeats everything he hears. The other day Cara was trying to teach him how to play Duck, Duck, Goose. She said, “You’re the Goose.”
He said, “You’re the Goose.”
She said, “NO, you’re the Goose.”
He said, “NO, you’re the Goose.”
She said . . . you get the idea. They bantered back and forth for a while and then she gave up on teaching him the game. Today they had a similar banter with the words, “come here.” Another thing that I love about Andy is the way that his cheeks bounce when he runs. He is so dang cute!! He loves to get his hair done, and to go out and play with the kids. He hurries to the car when it is time to go in order to sit in Caleb’s booster. He hopes that if he is all set up he can sit in the back with Caleb and Cara rather than in his car seat next to Ali. He generalizes many words. He knows how to say drink, milk, and juice, but when he wants a drink he usually says “water”. He NEVER wants water! Caleb’s best friend is Isaac. Isaac has two brothers Henry and G. Jessie that Andy LOVES to play with. He has generalized the whole family to be “Isaac’s.” They are all “Isaac’s.” I have had Caleb begging me to play at Isaac’s for five years, now I get to hear it from Andy. There is nothing that I don’t absolutely adore about Andy right now!

9:53 Caleb just hit his first sleep cycle so I guess I can go to bed until he hits the next one! Besides if anyone has read this much you must really love me.

The Terrific Twos

2010-10-08T09:59:00.004-06:00

Andy has hit the terrific twos. He is a complete joy. If every two year old were like him they really would be called the terrific twos. He is such a teaser, but in a really sweet way. He loves to kiss. He often puts his cheek, forhead, hand or even lips up to my mouth for me to kiss. He rarely gets into trouble. He isn't a big explorer or mess maker, and he hardly ever even throws tantrums. (I hope I'm not jinxing myself by writing this.) He is becoming a great talker. He is a little echo and shadow for Caleb and Cara.

His birthday was really low key. Thanks to Grandma Iva and Connie for creating a little bit of a party.

Like I've mentioned before, he is really shy with the camera, and he was totally clueless about what to do with the candles. He had his mouth full of pizza when Josh brought him the cake so he just chewed and looked at it.

I had to add this picture because he just loves his cup. He would love to drink all of his calories in the form of milk. I sure love this boy!

The Kids

2010-10-04T15:28:00.010-06:00

We took the opportunity to take individual pictures of the kids so I will also take this moment to give a little update on each of them.

Ali . . . is now seven months. She is growing so fast. She has become an independent sitter and gets so much attention. She is at that wonderful stage where napping is how she spends most of her day. She used to sleep through the night, but she has recently decided that she would like a bottle at 3AM. I will be putting a stop to that soon, but she is generally a good baby. She has been chomping on her thumb for a few weeks and drooling like crazy. I hope she is teething and not just cranky. She looks down all the time when she is sitting so 95% of the pictures of her were of the top of her head, but I sure think she is cute when she is looking up.

Andy is a total joy! He is talking like crazy and really wants to be one of the big kids. He wants to play soccer with Caleb and loves it when his brother will play any ball with him. He doesn't even mind when Caleb plays tackle football with him. He loves to get his hair done. He says, "hair, cute" and points to the bathroom counter. He is so happy and go-lucky, but he hates getting his picture taken. He freezes right up and refuses to smile. The only pictures in which he is smiling is if we asked him "where's Ali?"

Cara is not quite as sweet as she used to be. She is discovering her independence and really wants to be the boss of herself. She can throw a tantrum with the best of them. She sleeps on the top bunk, and when she is mad she lays on her bed and kicks the wall. She loves being busy and wants to be with her friends all of the time. She has abandoned the boys that she used to play with and only wants to hang out with the girls unless of course the boys will play house with her. She calls it "the mom and dad game". Today I asked her to tend Ali and Andy while I went for a walk. (Josh was home too.) Her reply was "how much scoops." She was wondering how to make the formula for Ali. She is already looking forward to being a baby sitter, and she was extremely pleased that I asked her.

Caleb is really enjoying 1st Grade. He wonders why he doesn't have any time to play, but he doesn't complain too much. He is in one of the top reading groups. Unfortunately he is struggling with math. (I can relate.) Numbers are very abstract for him. We were trying to add units of 12 for his homework last week and he couldn't do it because he didn't have that many fingers. He needs manipulatives for almost all of his math. (In talking to his teacher today I guess his skills for math are on grade level so far.) I am taking suggestions on how to help him. He is really enjoying soccer, but he CAN'T WAIT to start basket ball. He dribbles his ball everywhere. After pictures we went out to Arctic Circle for 60 cent hamburgers. Caleb ate two hamburgers and a corn dog! Oh boy, how am I going to keep my boys fed as they grow.

Josh continues to work day in and day out. There have FINALLY been a few real estate deals close this summer. I feel like he has three years of working without pay to make up for, and we have the debt to match it. We are really looking forward to improvements in commercial real estate so that we can get out of the hole. His name is all over town. (It's almost like he is a celebrity.) He should be very well positioned for when things improve. He is enjoying doing graphic design. He hasn't taken on too many clients, and I am so grateful for the way he has been able to bridge the gap in our income by freelancing. He is so talented! He was released from Young Mens this summer after about six years. (I was very happy about it, but he was sad.) He is now teaching the 10-11 year olds in primary. He has a huge, crazy, giggly class, but he is enjoying it. He thinks anything is better than going to Elders Quorum.

I am sincerely enjoying staying home. Having four kids is not been nearly as difficult as I had anticipated. Caleb is my highest energy child and with him gone to school seven hours a day I can get a lot done. Car pooling has also worked out awesome with Cara so that has helped as well. My life is my kids and my calling. I am the first counselor in a primary with over 150 children and a staff of over 50. It is almost like a ward within the ward. I really enjoy it!! The kids are adorable, and I am really grateful for work that primary teachers do. My life is really good, and I count my blessings every day.

Family Pictures

2010-10-04T13:53:00.005-06:00

I believed family pictures were SO HARD when we had two children. I had no idea!! My standards have changed dramatically. I am happy with a picture in which everyones head is in the same general direction. Looking is a bonus, and smiles are optional. I prefer no tears, but can sometimes even look past the tears. After two photo shoots and more than 400 pictures, following are my top picks. (While we are taking them Josh always says, "oh, I can photoshop that." Yah, right. He is too busy doing other peoples work so what we took is what we get.)

This group picture is a perfect example of when some photo shop skills would do me some good. Two kids looking in one picture, and the other two looking in the next picture.

I Really Love My Husband: A Night with Search and Rescue

2010-09-19T21:14:00.003-06:00

I really love my husband which is why I agreed to hike the Wellsville mountains with him yesterday. Josh grew up just below these mountains touted as the "steepest mountains in the world." (They are steepest because of the narrow base. I know it doesn't make sense, but you can google it.) I AM NOT A HIKER, but I have been dieting and thought it would be a great work out so with a lot of persuasion I decided to go with him. We had talked to many sources that told us it would take "all day" to hike to the top of Wellsville peak. When we would pry for more information they would say that it takes about four hours if you are hiking without to many breaks to get to the peak and and that it is much quicker to get down.

Mistake number one: we are not hikers nor are we in great shape. Hiking the Wellsvilles is not a small undertaking. We probably should not have spontaneously picked such a vigorous hike.

Mistake number two: we left later than we should have. We left our house at about 2:00 and we were on the mountain by 3:00PM with the commitment that we would turn back by 6:00PM no matter where we were. We know we were racing the sun so we hiked as hard as we could and made it to the summit by about 5:40. IT WAS NOT EASY. The views at the summit were breath taking. We could see all the way to the Great Salt Lake on the south west side, and by just turning our heads we could see all of Cache Valley.

Mistake number three: at the summit we decided to continue up and go to Wellsville Peak. We had already come so far and we had been told that hiking along the ridge from the summit to the peak was not nearly as hard and that it would only take about an hour. I make many decisions in my life based on the desire to avoid regret. I never wanted to hike to the summit again so I figured I had better "finish" what I had started and hike the rest of the way to the peak so that I wouldn't regret it later. We wanted to make good time so we were pushing ourselves. The views were really unbelievable. (I will post some pictures soon.)

When we got to the peak I was shivering and not feeling well. I had been "working out" for just over four solid hours, it was compared to doing 13,000 steps. I was shivering even though I didn't feel really cold, and I even told Josh that I felt like I was experiencing shock symptoms. In hind site at that point he felt a little panicky, which he didn't let on to me until today. It was now 7:00PM and we had intended to head back to the car by 6:00. The sun was beginning to set and we were tired.

Mistake number four: we decided that it would be easier to hike along the ridge and go down a different way than we had hiked up. Instead of doing the steep trail we had just taken up we were hopeful that this other way would get us to a car a little faster. As we came down from Wellsville Cone we saw a trail that went down instead of staying on the ridge and heading back up to the next peak, Box Elder Peak, the two highest peaks on the Wellsvilles. (Later in the night we learned that trail was a hunting trail so it had no real destination, just a place to camp.)

Mistake number five: it made perfect sense to us to just head down. We figured that any trail would lead to the base. We could see Mendon, and it didn't seem very far. We just wanted the quickest way down. We head down some very steep terrain and at some point we lost the trail. We were sure that we would run into another trail. What we didn't know is that we were headed into nearly unpassable ridges, ravines, cliffs and brush so thick that even a horse would not be able to pass though it.

A little after 8:00PM we called Josh's parents who were tending our kids. We told them that we were in trouble, that we had lost the trail and that it might take us a couple more hours to get home than we had anticipated. I was concerned because I wanted the kids to get a good night sleep because it was the primary program in the morning and we have early church. We asked his parents to take the kids home. We also got on the phone with Gabe and April, Josh's brother and sister and had them searching the internet for any trail that came down from Wellsville and Box Elder peaks.

Josh and I got along amazingly well. I knew that he was really sorry that we were in such a mess so I didn't need to yell at him or make him feel worse about the situation. (Possibly I didn't have the energy to be angry either.) He was very kind to me and just kept encouraging me. He was trying to keep our spirits up. Later I learned that he was as scared as I was, but he put on a great game face. As we were wondering trying to avoid cliffs and major ravines I just kept thinking, "I have covenanted to follow him so I am just going to follow. I don't have any ideas that will get us out of this mess." Working together was a great blessing.

At about 9:00PM Josh's dad called Search and Rescue. By then it was totally dark except for the moon lights, but even the moon set at some point in the night. We would not have called that early, but now we are so grateful he did. We were really miserable but we didn't feel like we were in a life threatening situation as long as we could keep our feet planted on the steep mountain. At 9:22 I received the return call from Dispatch. We were still inching our way down the mountain. The woman was so nice. She took information and tried to comfort us. I told her I had to get back for the Primary Program!

At 9:51 we received our first call from Jake the Chief Police over Search and Rescue. He told us that we needed to turn around and go back up to the peak and take Rattle Snake Trail into Sardine Canyon and Search and Rescue would meet us there. Josh told him that there was no physical way we could hike back up. At that point we didn't realize what our bodys can handle, but we had been hiking down for almost three hours. He told us to get to a clearing where we could see Wellsville and to turn on our head lamp. (Josh had packed some very smart things. First he packed a ton of water bottles. In order to protect his back from the water bottles he packed a full size towel which came in very handy to help to keep us warm. Finally the spirit prompted him to pack a head lamp which is what made it possible for Search and Rescue to locate us.)

The Search and Rescue team was amazing. Cache County has 35 guys on the all volunteer team. It happened to be their Demolition Derby Fund Raiser that night and so they were all together. They average 40 calls a year, but they happened to be out saving a mountain biker in Logan Canyon and they were returning to town when they got our call. Because they were all together originally for the Derby, Chief Jake was able to pick the dream team of hikers to rescue the mountain biker who had to be carried out from an accident, and then us. These men were so skilled and so kind. My perspective of Search and Rescue has forever been altered. Next time I read, "Cache County Search and Rescue was dispatched" I will have a little bit better understanding of what these men sacrifice to SAVE PEOPLE, and how much time and effort goes into that one simple sentence.

Lance was the first on the rescue team to get to us at about 1:00 AM. At that point we were literally trying to scale down a cliff. He saw us from across a ravine and yelled "stay right there I am coming to you." We could not believe how he scailed down and back up that ravine. His talent was unbelievable. I told him that I had never wished to be a mountain goat, but it would have been handy. He made us laugh when he radioed in and between giving our location he bahed like a mountain goat. He was so kind. I thought that Search and Rescue might point out the stupid decisions that we had made along the way, but during our initial visit he said "I hope that one of the last feelings you are feeling right now is embarrassment." He explained that he was happy to spend his night out helping us. I owe my ability to get down the mountain to Lance. He offered me his shoulder, his arm or his hand for the next 4.5 hours as we hiked to the bottom. He cleared brush for me and when we would pass though stinging nettle or super thick brush he would have me hold on to his pack and duck behind him and he would blaze though it for me. I hardly had the energy to hold out my arms to protect myself from the brush. I was very proud of myself for continuing to walk though and tried to keep a respectable pace.

Josh's spirits were great especially once we got with Search and Rescue. He was very tired and grateful that Lance was helping me so much. He did feel like we were all lost together, but he kept telling himself, these guys would get as down they are professionals, even though most of them were younger than us. They had the right tools to get us down. He was relieved but so exhausted. They kept reminding us that we needed to put safety first and that we could take a break whenever we needed. At this point my muscles, feet and really every part of my body hurt so bad that taking a break provided no relief so the best thing was just to keep moving which is what we did hour after hour. Lance kept saying to me, "one thing I know for sure is that we are getting closer."

We had an unusually long time to get to know our rescue team, and we had great conversations getting to know them. Jason's wife is a veterinarian in the Army and she had been gone for three months and she had just returned that day. He still took the call to come rescue us on what would have been their first night back together as a family. I think Ron was part deer. He is an older gentleman who does 100 mile trail races. Josh really trusted him. Finally there was Vic who did a lot of the trail blazing and scouting. He had night vision goggles that helped him to find a route that was passable, and did stop us from getting sprayed by a skunk.

When I would talk about how grateful I was and also how embarrassed, Lance would tell me that it is all about how I present the story. He said that I should tell people that we had four escorts to experience a portion of the Wellsvilles that very few humans have ever experienced, and that I am very possibly the only woman to have ever hiked down the most challenging ridges of the Wellsvilles.

We reached the forest line a little after 5:00AM and radioed for Jake and Darien who were part of the base camp crew to come and pick us up in some grass field. We took a few minutes to lay on our backs while we waited for them. We turned off our headlamps and to looked at the stars. It was really great to count our blessings.

We returned to our home at 6:30AM. At 4:30AM Erica, or dear friend, had taken over staying with the kids for Josh's dad who need to get to work. We looked so bad when we walked in Erica couldn't help but laughing. She even pulled out her phone video camera to show how dirty we were and how we were limping. She and I visited for a while and then it was time to get ready for church. I was so glad to make it to the Primary Program. By the time I got to bed at about noon I had been awake for more than 28 hours, 14 of which were hiking. I am grateful to be surrounded by people who are willing to help and allowed us to sleep this afternoon. I may never walk normally again. My knees currently are the worst. They wont bend, and they are terribly swollen. Poor Josh hiked through all of that brush in shorts. His legs are stripped raw. We need a little recovery time, but as with all hard things in life there were lots of lessons to be learned.

I have to mention a few lessons even though I need to get some sleep. I am sure there are more, but here is a start.

Lesson number one: our bodies can do more that we could ever imagine. If you would have told me at 7:00 when I was on the peak feeling like I was in shock that I would be hiking for ten more hours I would have told you that there was no human way possible, the key is to continue putting one foot in front of the other.

Lesson number two: the world has great men who are will to put themselves in questionable positions in order to save the lives of others. They provide their own supplies and donate their time to do good.

Lesson number three: how do you thank your savior? We don't know how to express adequate gratitude to these men who we feel really saved us and returned us home safely.

Lesson number four: things are not always as they seem. It might be logical to move down the mountain, and just because we could see Wellsville does not mean it was close.

Lesson number five: when hiking ALWAYS pack lots of water, a lighter, and a flashlight. Follow the spirt!

Lesson number four: stay on the trail!

Cara's an Aggie

2010-09-15T13:45:00.004-06:00

Cara is in the USU lab preschool this year. I wanted to do Joy School again, but I couldn't get enough people who were interested. Luckily I signed Cara up for the lab preschool when she was a baby so I wasn't terribly concerned about her getting in. One of my main concerns with doing a preschool that isn't Joy School (or a neighborhood coop) is spending hours on the road, but my back up plan has worked out AWESOME. There are two other kids from Providence in Cara's class and they both happen to live in our neighborhood. One of the mom's has to be at the University at pickup time anyway so she is picking up every day so I just have to drop the three of them off twice a week. I feel so blessed that it has worked out so well. Also, it is an amazing deal. She goes 2.5 hours four days a week and it is only $210 a semester. I would be paying more than that for almost any other two day a week preschool in the valley. There are five "teachers" and 20 kids in her class. I think it will be a wonderful experience for her.

She is going to be a very busy four year old. Not only does she have preschool four days a week (which is really more than I would like) but she also has speech three mornings a week. The reality is that she will have more school this year than she will next year in kindergarden. She does love to get out, and she seems to be settling into her new routine quite well.

It only took the first three days of preschool for me to realize that our house may be too small for the amount of art Cara brings home. The lab school is extremely self directed with a open curriculum. In fact, the first 1.5 hours the children can choose what station they would like to be at. I get the feeling that Cara spends most of her time at the art station. On the first day of school she brought home this giant painting and hung it on the fridge. It covered both sides so that the fridge couldn't be opened.

Two days later she brought home all four of these art projects. She painted and stuffed a cloud, she made a beaded necklace, she painted tin foil and she made a mask. There must be a monster that eats art projects in our house because one by one they disappear. I don't know how much she will study her alphabet or learn her numbers at school, but she is LOVING the art!

I created this post while she was at school. I had to add one more picture of the projects she did on the day of the post. So . . . I guess the garage is the new "art room."

Something Special about Cousins

2010-09-07T14:26:00.006-06:00

My parents have 10 grandchildren, and my kids are lucky enough to have cousins very close to their age. My sister Christie (who is just 14 months younger than me) had her first, Kate, on June 8 three months after Ali was born, March 8. (Cathie's baby Dax is a September birthday so he will also be in the same grade as the girls.)

Here Kate and Ali are snuggled up playing in the bouncy chair . . .

Just before they fell asleep.

At one point while we were together the girls were laying on the floor mat together. Kate was fussing until Ali stuck her arm in Kate's mouth for her to pacify. They will be great friends.

Andy's special cousin friend is Danny, my only brother Cody's boy. They are almost four months apart in age. They are just getting to the point that they can play together. Danny likes to bully Andy, which is the story of Andy's life so Andy just thinks that it is a sign of love.

Cara and Emi, Cathie's little girl, are also great friends. They were the only girls until Ali was born. They are a little further apart in age, 15 months, but they are all girl. They have a great time together.

I don't have a picture from this last trip (Cathie and her family were here in August which naturally leads to a family reunion) but Cara also gets along very well with Corbin who is just younger than Cara and smart as a whip.

Caleb's best cousin friend is Colter. Colter is 11 months older than Caleb, although Caleb is way bigger, a fact that Colter has gotten used to. Their personalities are VERY different. It doesn't matter though, there is just something special about cousins because they love their time together.

On a side note, one of my dear friends, Hilary, has started calling Andy J.J. for Josh Junior. Andy's personality comes out more and more all the time. He is such a little teaser. He prentends to bite or teases in other ways just to get a rise out of people. He laughs and loves to play. He is also talking more and more. It doesn't take much to impress me, but I am totally impressed. I think he is well above the 50 word bench mark for a baby turning 2. I love to watch his cheeks bounce when he runs, and he loves to be with Caleb and Cara.

Stitches, Dance Camp, and My 33rd Birthday

2010-09-02T21:53:00.003-06:00

We know that stitches were inevitable with four active children. In fact, July 1st we signed up for an AFLAC accident insurance policy. It wasn’t a surprise that Caleb was the first have an unquestionable need for stitches. If you think that I am an irresponsible parent please stop reading here, but if you promise not to pass judgment you may continue. Here is the quick story: We were at a family reunion at my parents and my cousin brought some awesome miniature four wheelers. Caleb went for a ride with a few people including Josh, who was riding right next to him. Apparently Caleb was doing a great job driving, and he was in heaven. He couldn’t have been happier when he took off. At one point he turned to see Josh and he turned the wheels as well, right into a barbed wire fence. We were REALLY lucky that he walked away with only a few scratches, and that he didn’t crash at some other point in the road. It could have been so much worse.

It wasn’t a pretty sight, and he very obviously needed stitches so my sister Connie and I took him into the Preston ER. He received great care and six total stitches.

On a happier note, Cara participated in a Dance Camp with the high school Caprielles a few weeks ago. She loved it and was with her best friend Korinne. She and Korinne and another girl who live in the Cal-de-sac, Taylor, have been inseparable this summer. Now that it has cooled off a little, Cara has a very tight social agenda from about 9 AM to about 6 PM when I make her come in for dinner. The girls can be found hanging out in any of the three garages. (Going in each other’s houses has been off limits although they are sneaking that in a little more often.) This week they have used almost all of the supplies in our first aid kit bandaging themselves and their dolls. They are so darn cute it is hard to get mad at them, and whenever they know they have done something bad they clean up the mess making it hard for me to come up with a consequence.

So I turned 33 on August 28th. My best friend, Erica, keeps reminding me how old that is. I guess I am officially in my mid thirties. For some reason I have no problem with getting older. I feel very content with the things that I have accomplished and with age I feel like I have a few more things under my belt, like I am more credible.

Erica’s husband, Dave, planned an awesome date weekend that happened to fall over my birthday. He sure got Josh off the hook. We spent Friday night and Saturday in Bear Lake with NO KIDS! I haven’t been childless since before Andy was born. It was really nice! We took in two shows at the Pickelville Playhouse. I love live theater although I was expecting these shows to be really small town. I was blown away with how entertaining they were. I can be really critical, but I give them a 10 out of 10 for entertainment. I haven’t laughed that hard for a LONG time. Saturday we had a great time jet skiing, four wheeling, and visiting. It was a fantastic birthday weekend.

Okay, so I admit that there are some disadvantages of getting older. My body isn’t what it used to be. I have had terrible Plantar Fasciitis (foot pain) this summer. I have even resorted to icing my feet multiple times a day and wearing tennis shoes most of the time. I hate it. I also have really blotchy skin on my face. I got it REALLY bad when I was preggo with Andy, and it has never fully gone away. The sun makes it way worse. In fact, I am having a hard time being willing to post a birthday picture because my skin looks bad. Finally, my weight has always been consistent within five pounds, even through my pregnancies, but currently I am chubbier than I have ever been by 15 pounds. Today I wrote the following letter:

Dear Baby Weight,

I am writing to inform you that I have finished breast-feeding, you have served your purpose, and now it is time for you to go. You represent a pregnancy in which Zofran did its job. I appreciate that you have not joined me with my other pregnancies although I would choose you over constantly throwing-up which is why you have never been around before. I would invite you to stick around due to my love for food, but I have come to the conclusion that I like fitting into my pants more than I like food. I don’t think the “muffin top” is a good look for me. You will have to leave - the sooner the better!!! I have joined www.myfitnesspal.com and I look forward saying good by to you – until next time. If you try to blame a slow departure on my age or metabolism I am not against going to extreme measures, but I would appreciate your cooperation.

Sincerely,
Your Desperate Victim

Strangely Quiet

2010-08-31T10:08:00.002-06:00

The start of a new school year brings with it all kinds of excitement and emotions. Although Caleb has been away for many hours at a time many times the start of first grade has left our home feeling strangely quiet. Caleb is so spirited. He will be missed. I am not often sentimental, but I sure love him. I didn’t think I would be sad saying good-by this morning, but I was. I asked him if he wanted me to walk him to the bus and he said, “why?” I told him that I needed to get my shoes and he said, “maybe you could just walk me to the bus some other day.” My little boy is growing up.

He has no idea what is about to hit him. This summer his “chores” have been reading, doing two pages of “homework”, and practicing the piano. Yesterday he asked if he can not do chores any more since he is starting first grade. I asked what he had in mind, I was thinking that he meant emptying the dishwasher or making his bed, but he wanted to give up reading and homework and just do it all at school. Oh boy, I guess he will learn soon enough how full his new life is going to be.

He is really excited about his new teacher, Mrs. Geddes, and about the friends he already has in his class. Mrs. Geddes is going to have her hands full! In his morning prayer today he prayed that he would be able to make good decisions and that he would be good at school. I hope that he keeps that desire. A couple of weeks ago while we were putting the kids to bed I was telling each of them how good they are. Caleb said, “No, I’m not good! I try to be, but sometimes I just make bad decisions.” I am excited to watch him grow up and learn to make better decisions, which I am confident he will.

We have had a really great week with our final days of summer celebrations. We spent Tuesday at the Redneck Waterslide in Wellsville and yesterday we took a group up to my parent’s garden and farm. The highlight for Caleb though was having his first fall soccer practice and going on a date with his mom. As we drove around getting new shoes and a new soccer uniform for our “date” he kept telling me, “I’m such a lucky boy!” I am grateful that he recognizes his blessings. I love that he is so is so vocal about expressing his gratitude when we do nice things for him. I really believe Caleb has a wonderful life ahead.

Favorite Party

2010-08-12T13:06:00.006-06:00

Last winter I went to a "Favorite" party. I have been wanting to blog about it for about eight months now. I want to share some of the ideas from the party.

First, a little background, each person who was invited was instructed to bring a handout with some of their favorite things. The handout could include anything! (We also brought our favorite recipe and the dish to share, but that is a whole other blog entry for another time.) For most of the party we spent time going around the circle sharing our tips with each other. It was AWESOME! Following are some of the tips that I have used (or hope to use) in no particular order:

Favorite parenting resource: Family Information and Resource Center in Logan (www.loganfamilycenter.org) They offer free checking out of books, games, and other family and children's resources (and there are no due dates).

Favorite online family management system: onlinefamly.norton This is a Free online security. It allows you to manage where your children go online, how long they're on and show you what they're doing.

Favorite Pie Crust Dough: You can get it at Anderson's Seed in frozen balls. Ask for it at the seed counter.

Favorite Vacationing: You can rent houses at www.vrbo.com which stands for Vacation Rentals by Owner. It is a great way to travel with a family especially if you are going to be staying in one spot.

Favorite Sleep Aid: Homeopathic Melatonin the drops or spray work great for kids too.

Favorite Helpful Idea: When on a vacation in large crouds, put a lanyard around small children's neck with your cell phone numbers and names in case you get separated.

Favorite Time Saver: Buy precooked bacon at Macey's. Keep it in the freezer in a heavy duty freezer plastic baggie, and the next time a recipe calls for cooked/crumbled bacon - wa la - you don't have to cook it.

Favorite Lotion: Working Hands (at Kitchen Kneeds) in a green container.

Favorite Spiritual Tip: Listen to a general conference talk on CD while you get ready in the morning.

Favorite Hair Blog: www.shedoeshair.blogspot.com is a great resource to get ideas for doing little girls hair.

Favorite Cleaning Tip: Don Aslett's Wood Floor Restorer It takes some work to apply this stuff, but is well worth the time. It is amazing. My story is very similar to the gal who gave the tip. After being in our home four years our wood floor was starting to look worn in spots, but they weren't ready to refinish. This Wood Floor Restorer was like a miracle. It is awesome stuff!

Favorite Parenting Tip: (I haven't bught this yet, but this is what the gal said. I want to get it.) It is Children's Miracle Music "This CD was the answer for me to quit nagging. It lovingly explains each task that a child should do in order to get ready ON TIME in the morning and into bed at night. It truly has been a miracle in our home."

THOSE ARE SOME OF THE TIPS I REALLY LIKED FROM THE PARTY. I HAVEN'T TRIED ALL OF THEM, BUT I WANT TO. FOLLOWING ARE THE TIPS I SHARED. I DECIDED TO GO WITH THE "ONLINE THEME."

Carrie's Favorite Things . . . Online . . .

Saving Money on Groceries:
I am not a coupon clipper, but I check the site PinchingYourPennies.com before I go to the grocery store to see what groceries from that weeks ad are really a good deal. They have a five star system to show the best deals. If there is anything that has four or five stars, that my family uses, I stock up on it. To get to the Utah Grocery Stores use the following link: http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=62. Scroll down and select the grocery store you are going to. It is awesome to know what sale items are really worth buying.

Bountiful Baskets came to Cache Valley last winter. To get involved sign up online at bountifulbaskets.org. It costs $16.50 each time you participate and I figure it is about half of what I would pay at the grocery store for a big basket full of fresh produce. It is so fun to pick up my basket on Saturday morning and enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables all week. The trick with this group is that there are a limited number of baskets available each week at each site so you have to sign up on Monday night or Tuesday to get a basket for the next Saturday. Also, everyone is asked to take a turn volunteering about once for every 10 baskets they order.

Blogging:
I use blurb.com to turn our family blog into a book. I have created a book for each year I have blogged. Blurb has a program that downloads all of the photos and text into a book template to give you a great start. It requires some work from you to make things fit just right, but it is a rewarding project. The blog finally feels like the journal it is intended to be now that it is in print.

Vacation Planning:
If you are planning a trip to Disney Land go on KSL.com and go to the classifieds. (If you haven’t shopped on KSL Classifieds before they are awesome.) Search for “Disneyland Tickets.” You can share a six-day park hopper pass with another family. You have to use them within 14 days of each other, I believe, but our family did it last summer and it cost us about $20 per person per day for three days at Disney.

I always knew that Priceline.com was a cool place to get flights, but I didn’t realize the great deals you could get on hotels. The best deals come when you “make an offer.” Choose the number of stars that is the “best value.” Last summer we stayed at a four star Hyatt down town San Diego for $69 a night. Normally, that hotel starts at $200 per night. When you are making an offer start lower than you think will be accepted. You can get awesome deals near Disney Land too.

I really like the Travelocity.com fare watcher program for flights. You can create an account and then pick up to ten destinations that you would like Travelocity to watch for you. Go to the “my Travelocity” tab on the top of the site and select the “your fare watcher” program. I have gotten some awesome deals this way.

Teaching Preschoolers:
When I first heard of Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried Engelmann I thought it was hokey, but it really is a great program. It is scripted and the book isn’t very pretty, but it really does work. You can get it on Amazon.com for $15.

I don’t really believe in parents teaching their own children piano, but with a college minor in music education I thought I would get my kids started. I am a big fan of My First Piano Adventure by Faber. You can learn about the Faber’s programs at pianoadventures.com. Their program isn’t at all like the way I learned piano. It is so fun and intuitive.

Preschool and Early Elementary Kids Web Sites:
(We don’t have a TV, but my kids keep up on the latest with these great sites. These sites were the best thing that ever happened to me while I was pregnant with number four.)

Nickjr.com
Click on “kids” at the top of the page. You will find hundreds of games and episodes. My four year old can navigate this part of the site with no problems and with very little help she can play almost all of the games. If your child is new to using the web and the computer I would start with this site.

Playhousedisney.com
My kids could spend countless hours on this site. This section of the site is designed for preschoolers with Playhouse Disney episodes, games and interactive stories.

PBSKids.com
I really like this site because the episodes and games are more educational, but it requires an early elementary child to navigate it independently.

Summer Sanity

2010-08-12T12:37:00.005-06:00

One main thing that helps me to be sane in the summer is our summer group coop which is why I am blogging right now. (Caleb and Cara are currently gone.) Caleb and Cara go to "summer group" for three hours every Monday. I take my turn to host one week a month. The brake is good for all of us. Last week Cody (my brother) came and did what has become our annual rocket launch. It is so fun for the kids and for Cody.

First, Cody talked to them about the rockets and taught them how to get them ready to launch.

The kids helped prep the rockets.

They counted down and took turns launching them.

This one the parachute didn't come out and it came down like a missile head first into the park.

What a fun tradition.

Sisters

2010-08-12T12:23:00.002-06:00

The other day I walked into the nursery where I had left Ali in her little chair and this is what I found.

Cara was "fixing" Ali's hair. Ironically Ali is almost completely balled except for a little patch of hair in the back. Cara loves her little sister and Ali is such a good sport about all of the attention she receives.

I love it when siblings where matching cloths but having boy, girl, boy, girl gender order puts a damper on that. I did find these cute little summer dresses that match for Cara and Ali.

Ali also started solids this month. She looks at me like I am trying to poison her when I feed her, but she doesn't cry. She just hates it. I hope that will end soon. This picture is a cute little girl in our ward, Malory, who loves babies and is always willing to help with Ali.

It may not look like it in this picture, but it took me to my forth to figure out that gravity really helps when feeding a baby solids. I have always used a high chair making it much easier for them to spit out their food. If I lay them on the floor it just slips back and they have very little choice other than to swallow.

Mutton Bustin

2010-08-12T11:41:00.004-06:00

This summer Caleb and Cara have done a little mutton bustin. Caleb was too big to sign up to do it at That Famous Preston Night Rodeo and he was sad about that so he took his turn riding a sheep at the 24th of July Celebration in Mendon. He was really scared and went very last. By that point they weren't even letting go of the sheep and they were letting the kids ride backwards. They said that they could hold on better and didn't have as far to fall. So here is Caleb riding a sheep backwards being held onto, just like he wanted. He was still scared!

Cara rode hers at the rodeo. Here she is pre ride.

Unfortunately the picture of her coming out of the shoot turned out like this.

She is a brave little soul, but she wasn't very happy about coming off. Grandpa Neil was right out there to help her. I think it is just as fun for him as it is for the kids. I am pretty sure that he gets more nervous about it than they do. I wondered if I am a bad parent putting my child on a wild sheep, but heck you only live once.

Gather Joy

2010-08-06T15:02:00.003-06:00

Gather Joy was the theme of an Academy for Girls Reunion/Retreat I went to last weekend. Going to this overnighter in Midway with 40 of the most outstanding women I have ever known was just what I needed. It was so "Academy", I mean, there is a special magic about the details and the spirit that I felt as I worked three summers before my mission at Academy for Girls. The magic was at the reunion and the spirit was so thick. There are a few things about this reunion that I would like to remember and that might bless you as well.

First, it seems that many people are struggling to find JOY. I highly recommend you take a look at this talk by "Finding Joy in Life" Elder Richard G. Scott, Ensign, May 1996, 24. I hope that it will help you on your quest to Gather JOY.

I want to share some of the ideas that struck me as I sat in the workshops at the retreat. If I can remember them and implement them consistently they will make me a better mom, wife, and person.

"Teaching Our Children from the Scriptures", Cheryl C. Lant, Ensign, August 2010
Pattern for teaching children from the scriptures:
1. Clearly identify the doctrine.
2. Help the children understand the doctrine.
3. Help them apply the doctrine to their lives.
4. Encourage them to pray for a witness of the Spirit that what they are learning is true.

Josh and I are fairly diligent in having regular family scripture reading and prayer, but I really want to do better at studying the scriptures with the kids, not just reading them. Someone said, "Reading the scriptures is boring, studying the scriptures is exciting." Some other ideas for family scripture study are singing "Scripture Power" every day before reading, reading while the kids are eating breakfast so they are quiet still and listening, and reading until you find something that will inspire you for the day.

I would also like to put my gospel art kit into a binder with page protectors. (The old one that has the stories on the back of the pictures. They don't sale it any more, but it can be printed online.) Someone said that their parents would let them pick a picture each night and they would read the back for the bedtime story. What a great way to teach children the scripture stories.

I am coming to the conclusion that Sunday is a VERY important time to teach children and that part of keeping the Sabbath Holy is to have gospel centered discussion. One idea was to have children each share something they are learning in their personal scripture study on Sunday afternoons. There seems to be a big emphasis on teaching children PERSONAL scripture study and prayer habits not just doing it as a family. My kids are still little, but I believe it is possible to create those habits. I just need to become more dedicated to making that happen. Josh and I have tried a few times to have a formal testimony meeting on Sunday afternoons. I would like to do that more consistently and I believe that I also need to make time every Sunday to have one on one "interviews" with my kids. Of course I talk to them all the time, but I don't often have one on one time with them. I think that tend to stand back as women and hope that our husbands will have interviews with the kids. I went to a fireside given by my stake president recently and he said that we as women have every right, and we should be conducting personal "interviews" with our children just as regularly as our husbands do.

The following quote puts things into perspective for me. "Parents must bring light and truth into their homes by one family prayer, one scripture study session, one family home evening, one book read aloud, one song, and one family meal at a time. They know that the influence of righteous, conscientious, persistent, daily parenting is among the most powerful and sustaining forces for good in the world. The health of any society, the happiness of its people, their prosperity, and their peace all find common roots in the teaching of children in the home." "mothers Teaching Children in the Home", L. Tom Perry, Ensign, May 2010

I am so grateful to be a member of the true Church of Jesus Christ and for the awesome support it provides for the family. There is a seemingly bottomless supply of quotes, thoughts and resources to help the family. I hope that we can all Gather JOY.

Best wishes to my dear Academy friends. Thank you for being an inspiration in my life. I love you!

Six Kids

2010-07-12T17:43:00.007-06:00

Last week I took two of our friends boys for six days and six nights. Our house was kid heaven with six kids six and younger. I focused on having lots of fun with them. We had at least one major "fun" event every day. It is great to focus on creating good memories for my kids and others. I really look forward to having all of my kids out of dippers and to being in the stage of life that I can leave home without getting a baby sitter, but I am try so hard to enjoy the craziness of this wonderful stage too.

The kids loved their spontaneous play of supper heros,

and house. (Yes, Cara has a baby in her over sized dress-up dance outfit. I guess playing house has to include being preggo.)

Caleb and Isaac would have rather been playing Lego Star Wars or Lego Bat Man on the X-Box or Wii than going on any outing, but I tried to create some balance. I am a big park goer. I love the fresh air and like the kids to have variety.

Ali turned four months last week too. She continues to be a very pleasant baby. She is so balled, but there is lots of peach fuzz with promise of a full head of hair soon.

We all love her so much. I found Cara in Ali's bed snuggling and watching her mobil with her.

Ali loves the mobil! You can see from this picture how intently she watches it. A new mobil is the only new thing I have bought for her and I am so grateful it is battery operated unlike our old one that I had to hand crank.

Isn't it great to just be a kid.

And of course the warm water from the facet in the garage makes the back yard swimming pool much more appilling than it was when I was a kid!

Caleb and Cara are involved in a couple of summer camps. We have a little neighborhood coop with four moms and eight kids (seven boys and Cara). They go to "summer group" on Mondays from 11-2 and have some structured craft or activity and lunch. I am a huge fan of coops. They are also involved in a "summer camp" called Fun in the Sun sponsored by Providence City on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:30-1:30. This camp has lots of field trips and awesome activites. The kids love it! This week for summer group it was at my house and we water colored "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" books. The kids LOVE painting. Even Caleb stuck with it until his book was done.

Last week Josh and I also celebrated eight years of marriage. It is hard to believe that we have been married for that long. Does that make us old? I love, admire, and trust Josh more than ever. He is a harder worker than I expected and he is as great of a dad and husband as I could have ever dreamed of. Our life isn't perfect, but I am grateful that I found an eternal companion that is perfectly suited for me.

I have come to the conclusion that I want six kids. Josh and I had always agreed on five, but the more I think about it the more I want six. We will see if I can get Josh to come around. Three in dippers is too many, but six is great! It looks insane when I see other people with five or six little kids, but it doesn't feel insane (usually) when it is me. I even took my little clan to the store a couple of times to see if it was doable. I love to have a plan so of course I am already thinking about when I want to have my next one. I see huge advantages of having my family close together, and I dream about having all of my kids here and being able to do things as a family. Of course I dream about never being preggo again too. We will see how it all comes together, but for now I will try to focus on enjoying my four rather than getting my six here!

$20 and 100,000 Sky Miles

2010-07-02T14:01:00.011-06:00

$20 and 100,000 Sky Miles got our family of six to Anchorage Alaska to visit my sister Cathie and her family last week. It was an amazing and beautiful adventure. I will let the pictures do most of the talking. We arrived on the night of summer solstice so the daylight was endless and kept us playing around the clock.

The first morning of the trip we spent at the Eagle River Nature Center. It was so beautiful. None of the pictures will give Alaska justice. There is one of the almost 20 moose we saw on our first day just over Caleb's shoulder.

There were lots of cool trees. Cathie and I have eight kids seven and younger between the two of us. The kids didn't slow us down much - in fact, they kept us quite busy.

The Cara Tree.

Caleb and Colter in a twisty tree.

A little after 10 PM Josh, Keith and I went biking from Flat Top to Hill Top. This was one of the highlights for Josh because we just biked down hill. This picture was taken around mid night and our faces say it all. I have never mountain biked so I was wide eyed and nervous and Josh was in heaven.

One afternoon we went rafting down Campbell Creek which runs through Cathie's back yard.

We went to Beluga Point in the Cook Inlet to whale watch, we didn't see any, but we had fun. Josh has made a tradition of rock balancing when we go on vacation.

It was hard enough to get the kids in the picture at the temple, to ask them to be reverent would have been way too much.

Most of the beaches around Anchorage have quick sand, but we did learn about one beach we could hike to. Emi and Cara thought they were going to Mexico and enjoyed the water and sand in their swim suits. I don't think the temperature ever even hit 70 while we were there, but it was nice in the 60's with a jacket.

Andy spent day after day throwing rocks into the ocean, the lakes, the rivers, and the streams. He was so content.

We went to a real working gold mine, the Historic Crow Creek Gold Mine. Luckily Emi hit the guy up for money when she turned in her panning equipment. Between the kids there were eight tiny gold flakes and the guy was willing to trade them for a candy bar each. I thought that was a heck of a lot better than loosing them.

We did the Hand Tram Hike near Girdwood. There is a hand tram that hikers use to get to the other side of Glacier Creek canyon. Here Cathie is crossing with a bunch of the kids.

It was a beautiful canyon. I have no idea how deep it was, but here is an attempt to show. I had no idea that I would be hiking though rain forest in Alaska.

On the other side of the canyon was another river with a beautiful waterfall.

We spent our final three days and two nights at the Upper Ohmer Cabin in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. About a quarter of a mile from the road was the small Upper Ohmer lake and cabin. We stayed in the only cabin on the lake which was 3-5 yards from the waters edge. It was the Alaskan dream complete with a row boat. (I sure wish I would have taken a picture of the cabin.) Even though we had a cabin it was CAMPING. The cabin had plyboard bunk beads and no running water or electricity.

The kids had a great time and got really dirty. The bummer of the trip was the mosquitoes. I have never seen as many mosquitoes as I did on this trip. They were terrible. We came home covered in bits even though we used a lot of repellent. Andy's souvenir from the trip is going to be a scar above his eyebrow. We aren't really sure what happened, but he hit it against something at Cathie's house.

Caleb got to shoot the bb gun.

Josh is always available to entertain.

Ali was the perfect baby on the trip. She is almost four months and slept 10+ hour nights. She was flexible and rolled with the punches. Really I can't think of one single thing that was hard about her on the trip, just the extra 15 pounds she added to my already out of shape body as I packed her on the hikes.

Unfortunatly while we were there the salmon were not running like they were supposed to be. Josh spent a couple of hours fishing the Kenai River and we looked for salmon at the Russian River and didn't see anything. BUT Caleb, Colter and Cathie did see two black bear. We also had to hit our brakes for a black bear crossing the road near the cabin.

Caleb's favorite part of the trip was fishing, even though there were no salmon. Josh caught a few trout in the lake.

One of the highlights of the trip for me was seeing the salmon jump up the river at Russian River Falls. It was almost a five mile round trip hike which was like a walk around the block for the Coombs family but was totally exhausting for my family. Luckily the little ones got to take turns riding and even napping. Keith and Cathie are so strong I think they could have carried all eight kids all by themselves.

It was incredible to see the strength of the salmon jumping up the falls.

Our final hike was Bear Mountain. It provided an incredible view of the many lakes in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.

It was really the trip of a lifetime. Thanks so much to the Coombs Family for making it so great! We love you and miss you! Now that we have come to visit you can move back to Utah!