annie's antics

As promised

2011-12-16T09:09:00.003-07:00

So I bought a new camera cord and the next day found the old one. As promised here are pictures from out bath remodel:

Hello again

2011-12-05T08:26:00.004-07:00

So it has been a looong time since I posted anything and life is busy. Day to day doesn't seem like it, but as I look back it does. We keep very busy with work and school and church callings. The kids are involved in various things like band and orchestra and playing with friends. We have been redoing our bathroom, as in completely gutting down to the studs and redoing plumbing, electrical etc, etc. that has taken most of our time. Joseph worked feverishly for about a month. We got the plumbing almost completely done(have to move one more drain). That involved replacing ALL the pipes both fresh water and waste. He moved several things around, like moving the toilet drain which was sitting in the middle of a floor joist, and made a clean out that is accessible on the side of the house. In order to do some of it he had to dig out the pipes and then replace them. It has been quite the experience. I am kind encouraging a break right now because I want my husband back for a little while. He literally spent every free moment on the bathroom. We will pick up again after Christmas. At least most of the work now will be noticeable. I have taken pictures, but have lost my camera cord, so once I get a new one I will post pictures.

More cakes 2

2011-05-16T08:07:00.002-06:00

These are some birthday cakes : Andrews and obviously mine and Alex's. Next time with Andrews I would just use green sugar instead of the jelly beans. The cake inside had Kool-Aid in the batter so it was a bright pink and had little choc chips in it too. I wish I had a picture of it sliced!

These are cakes I made for my friends. The two above match their individual personalities. The one below I made for a friend who had recently lost a loved one and needed some cheering up.

I've decided I need to make cakes more often. I was quite out of practice!

We have been busy with scouts and school and now activity days and mutual. The older two boys have also been in a Robotics club after school. They had their Physics day this past weekend. BJ did really well placing in the top three of his school. He did sumo-bots (where the robots "fight" each other. Andrew did a maze and though he didn't place his robot did make it all the way through the maze, which is an accomplishment in and of itself!

Alex is thrilled to be 8 and in activity days. She is looking forward to her baptism the first Saturday in June.

Parker is more than ready to be in first grade and go to school all day. I confess I can't wait for that either. He is progressing in reading quite well even though he tells me he can "only read at school."

William is finally potty training! Yay! We have had a kid in diapers for the last 12 years! I am excited for this to end.

I can't believe how fast my kids are growing up! Its especially hard realizing I have a 12 year old!

I need your ideas

2010-12-30T23:11:00.003-07:00

So, I have been asked to teach a cake decorating class in the evening RS mtg in Jan. I have NO idea what to teach/talk about. I have up to 30 minutes. Anything you would like to know or things others would might like to know?

For your viewing pleasure

2010-12-07T15:29:00.004-07:00

I enjoy making cakes. Here is what I have done through October.

William's Birthday cakes.

Joseph's Dad's birthday cake

Parker's birthday cake.

not my best work, plus it melted on the ride home.

A going away present for one of Joseph's buddies at work.

A cake from class.

A birthday cake for one of Joseph's friends at work

I have followed in the footsteps of my mother

2010-11-08T12:46:00.002-07:00

I have not posted as of late even though I have thought of several things I could post. I have even written part of them in my head, but then I remember I don't have any pictures and move on to something else. It's not that I didn't take pictures it's just that I lost the cord to my camera yet again. After I lost and then found it the last time I put it in a safe place and now have no idea where it is. If you know my mom at all you know she is notorious for her safe places. It looks like I will be following in her footsteps.

Cute Story

2010-09-07T10:30:00.001-06:00

When we got to church on Sun, Joseph pulled out his phone to put it on vibrate and Parker asked,"Are you calling Jesus?"

More Cakes

2010-06-10T18:41:00.001-06:00

These cakes were for Alex's Birthday and Parker's preschool graduation party.

These last two were done for my 2nd cake class, which they no longer teach. These were a lot of fun. I really like making the fondant roses. All of those roses took me about 6 hours to make. In all the tiered cake took about 12 hours with baking time.

my latest investment

2010-05-20T12:13:00.000-06:00

I thought I would share a few pictures of what has occupied most of my time in the last month or so. I have thouroughly enjoyed it and plan to continue. Here are a few pictures from my first month of class

Joseph's blog about the space program

2010-04-12T20:38:00.000-06:00

Check out Joseph's letter to the president at www.rocketpolitics.com
Send letters to your Congressmen and Senators that we need to save Constellation - our manned space program!

Balance

2010-03-17T11:36:00.000-06:00

Balance is something I struggle with. I have not been able to find a balance in much of anything as of late. How do I balance the need to work and bring in income and having the time I need with my family? We've balanced it in terms of one of us always being with the kids, but that doesn't balance family life or time to do things together as a family. How do I balance keeping a neat home with not creating contention and a bad spirit by 1)yelling at the kids 2) being frustrated and angry with them and 3)both not yelling and not being frustrated and angry when any little progress I make is destroyed five minutes later. How do I balance the need to fulfill myself so I have something to give with the constant needs of five little ones and a husband, not to mention sisters I visit teach, people in the ward who need help and the many other demands on my time that stem from the afore mentioned? How do I balance the budget with the ever increasing demands on it, including a house that is in need of repairs, not cosmetic upgrades but structural, functional repairs?
How do I fit in time for scripture study and prayer and the basics? I can't fit in time to use the bathroom without something or someone being hurt or needing my attention.
So like I said balance is something I'm really struggling with. I am sorry to be such a downer right now. Hopefully I will find a little more balance and be able to post more often, and share some happy and fun things!

Hopelessly Behind

2009-11-11T10:06:00.000-07:00

That is how I feel in about every aspect of my life. My blog shows it the most however. Maybe someday I 'll catch up on the past 7 or 8 months, but until then I'll just start with this week. We are currently trying to refinance our house.
we were hoping they'd be able to do an electronic appraisal, but that fell through when the difference between high and low was somewhere in the range of $150,00. So, we made an appointment to have the appraiser come on Thursday evening. As many of you are aware, I am not a neat person. Housekeeping and organizing is NOT one of my talents. So on Monday we made a list and were planning on prioritizing it after the kids were in bed and then spending every spare moment the next few days tidying and cleaning and organizing. Then the phone rang. It was the appraiser wanting to come the next day mid morning. He lives in the Salt Lake area (by the way - is it really that hard to get and appraiser who is from the area? There is a HUGE difference between Brigham and Salt Lake. When we first got the house appraised when we were moving here, the guy did comparisons of our house with houses all over Brigham. I know its a small town but that's ridiculous. One of the houses was a few hundred feet from the train tracks!) and would be up in this area and wanted to make it all in one stop. PANIC! We rushed around and cleaned and tidied and organized as best we could in the short time we had. We went to bed about 1 am. and said that's as good as it's going to get. I spent the entire morning yelling at the little boys to not play with toys and keep the house clean. I was suddenly reminded why my house is never clean.

I believe I was tagged...

2009-07-06T22:54:00.000-06:00

It's been a really long time since I've posted, and I don't really have much time right now, so you'll have to wait for news. I believe someone tagged me with the 6th photo from my 6th folder so here it is:

A visitor

2009-03-28T09:26:00.000-06:00

Andrew went to let the dog out this morning and suddenly comes running back into our room asking if he can take a picture of the creature that is outside. Joseph and I hop out of bed and this is what we found:

We have a found evidence of deer in our backyard before, but never a deer. They have to jump fences to get in. I'm not sure what makes our yard so attractive. We are not even that close to the mountains. It has been a couple of hours since we first saw the deer. He did get up and eat some our ivy/grass, but then laid right back down. I wonder how long he'll stay?

Space Derby!

2009-03-26T12:45:00.000-06:00

Our pack meeting was a few days ago and this year we tried something new - a space derby. Everyone had a lot of fun. I think the dads were way more into this than they were the pinewood derby last year. There were some very creative rockets. I wish I had gotten a picture with all the scout and their creations, but alas I did not. It was a big hit and will probably be repeated again next year. Trying to fit renting the track for the pinewood derby is just not in our cub scout budget! Th rockets just ran on fishing lines, and were powered by rubber bands. It was a lot of fun for all!

Our New Webelos

2009-03-26T12:41:00.000-06:00

Well with becoming ten, a new rank in scouts begins. We will have to try and figure this webelos thing out. Our ward actually does not have a webelos den as yet. They had been going to another ward's den, but that was only supposed to be until the end of March. Hopefully they will call someone soon, because until then another mom and I will be running webelos as well as the wolfs and bears!

Double Digits

2009-03-26T12:32:00.001-06:00

BJ's birthday was, well several weeks ago now. I am a bit behind. He had a good day, and even had the day off of school! He turned 10 years old this year. He can't really be that big can he? We tried to make him the cake he wanted, but our oven is not working properly and after two underdone and overdone at the same time, we gave up and took him to the store to pick out a ready made one. I honestly don't remember much about the day anymore, except that it was rather busy. We had scouts that day and so it was a scramble to finish that up and then get the birthday dinner on. He chose Barbecue chicken with mashed potatoes, lemon jello and watergate salad. I think that was it. He ended up with a chocolate cookies and cream cake.

Not a Fan

2009-03-09T10:19:00.000-06:00

I am not a fan of Mondays. This arises mostly because I work Sat nights. It's easy to get behind with all of the regular daily chores (such as dishes and keeping rooms picked up) on Saturdays anyway, but then I head off to work at 5 pm. I get back home Sunday mornings about 8-8:30. With church being at 1, I'm able to catch a quick nap at about 10 and then it's time to get ready for church. When we get home from church it's a scramble to get the kids changed and settled and dinner on the table. Then we eat, and then I crash - hard. Mondays I'm exhausted and usually have a headache. On top of that there is usually tons of catch up to do from the weekend, and I don't feel like doing any of it. This morning was even worse because we woke up to several inches of snow. I put BJ in charge of making sure everyone got out the door with a coat and in the car while I went to clear off the car. I could not find the snow brush in the car. So I sent BJ back in to get the broom. Needless to say it was not a fun morning. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

A New Look

2009-01-29T08:29:00.000-07:00

BJ has been caught squinting to see at farther distances for a while now. We finally made an appointment with the eye doctor. His vision is not bad. One eye is worse that the other. Bad enough that he would need glasses to drive. (He has the same correction in that eye that I have in my glasses). BJ never complained about having difficulty seeing the board at school, even when asked. He always sat really close to the TV though and if he was sitting across the room from it would squint. He really likes his glasses and wears them all the time. Hopefully he will only ever need minor correction!

clarification

2009-01-29T08:26:00.001-07:00

A quick note. The blood work for Will was done to verify results done a the doc's office, and to verify that it was indeed allergic in nature. (Angioedema can be hereditary, with no allergic beginnings). It was done to make sure his blood count was normal due to the bruising. All his blood work was normal. They did not do any allergy tests. He has been fine since.

All Hivey

2009-01-27T09:34:00.000-07:00

Will developed hives the other day. He woke up with them on Tuesday morning, that night he looked like this. Weds night he looked even worse and started swelling in different places. His left hand was about 3 times its normal size and Benadryl wasn't doing anything. I started to get worried at that point and after consulting doc mom, I called our doctors office. We were able to get right in at the night clinic. We were first seen by a NP student, then the NP over him and then they had they other NP there come in. After quite a bit of discussion they decided it was something and said all they could do was treat symptoms and gave us a scrip for a steroid. They also said to watch him carefully in case he started having trouble breathing or became lethargic and to come back and see our regular doc the next morning. The next morning he didn't look any better. We went to see our doc and he said he's got angioedema. (Basically it's hives but instead of just being in the upper layer of the skin it's in the deeper layers as well.) He sent us to the hospital to get a bunch of blood drawn, told me to give him Benadryl as well as the steroid and come back tomorrow if he wasn't better. Thankfully he was better even by that evening. His face was clearing up and the swelling was going down. The next morning all the angry red bumps were gone and you could just see the bruising on his legs where the hives used to be. Long story short he had a bad reaction to some allergen that we have no idea what it could have been!

From the mouth of babes

2009-01-10T13:17:00.000-07:00

Parker yesterday had complained a couple of times about his head hurting. This morning when he got up and crawled into bed with us, Joseph asked him how his head was. Parker replied "Jesus kissed my head and now its all better."

Snowy Fun

2008-12-30T11:04:00.000-07:00

As with most of Utah we have had quite a bit of snow as of late. The kids put it to use today and with the help of dad built a snowman.

Christmas at our house

2008-12-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

Thought I should post since it's been awhile. I ended up not having to work on Christmas Eve, which was great! The kids enjoyed their Christmas, it was after 7 before they all got up. I think I was up before any of the kids! Joseph always laughs at me because I don't ever sleep well, and tend to be a little kid myself.

doctor visit

2008-12-10T08:27:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I had an appointment with the neuro-opthamologist again. My vision and nerves are stable. It still shocks me at how different their office is than when I first remember it. It is also really neat to be able to see the 3D stuff too. Up until about two visits ago it was all just flat. I'm still having a few headaches, but can control them pretty well, so we are just leaving my regimen for now and keep an eye on any signs of increasing pressure. She says she is always amazed that I can see as well as I do when my nerves look so bad. I don't need to go back for a year - the longest span yet.

"I've never felt so clean"

2008-12-09T08:28:00.000-07:00

Andrew's baptism was this past Saturday. Everything went well. Andrew asked his Gma B and BJ to give the talks, and he asked me to sing a musical number. I made Alex sing with me. I'm not sure how well we did, but Andrew said he liked it so I guess that's all that really matters. Andrew was really excited and very anxious for the baptism. We kept him pretty busy up until it was time to go, so he didn't have too much time to think about it. He told his Aunt as we were leaving that he never felt so clean before - hence the title. I seem to remember that same feeling. Thanks to everyone who helped with the program, it is greatly appreciated!

Joseph

2008-12-01T08:35:00.001-07:00

1. Where did you meet? I was roommates with his sister and he came to the apartment to get a hat before a football game.

2. How long did you date before you got married? he started hanging around our apartment a lot after we first met, a month later my date for preference fell through so I asked him, 2 months later we were engaged and 6 months later we were married. I don't recommend the long engagement.

3. How long have you been married? 10 1/2 years

4. What is your favorite feature of his? His chest - it feels like the safest place in the world to me.

5. What is your favorite quality of his? Love - his absolute ability to love others and be able to show it.

6. Does he have a nickname for you? honey, hon

7. What is his favorite color?Blue

8. What is his favorite food? roast beef and m&m's

9. What is his favorite sport? to play - basketball/ to watch -football

10. When and where was your first kiss? it was Dec 1996 in the kitchen of my BYU apartment

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? We don't have much couple time but I really miss taking long walks with him like we did when we were dating/newlyweds

12. Do you have any kids? 5

13. Does he have a hidden talent? He can cook, I always knew he could a little, but a few months ago I found out that he had considered becoming a chef, he says he doesn't cook though because he likes how I cook.

14. How old is he? 35

15. Who said "I love you" first? I believe he did, though I don't remember much about it now.

16. What is his favorite type of music? I guess I'd say rock, in most of it variations, old, 70's, alternative etc. He's not a fan of hard rock though. He also has a thing for reggae, at least he used to.

17. What do you admire most about him? This is a really hard question for me as it's hard to pin point. I guess I'd say his ability to prioritize. He puts what matters most first. His family, the gospel, etc. He's not afraid to stand up for what's right and for what he believes in. I NEVER doubt that he will ALWAYS be there for me and our kids.

Bobcat

2008-11-26T15:31:00.000-07:00

Andrew received his bobcat award at pack meeting last night. He earned it in about a day - the product of having den leaders for parents for the last two years. The exciting thing to me was that all of our newly acquired cub scouts received their bobcat awards yesterday. What a difference to have active supporting parents! It was a really fun pack meeting, the cubmaster made marshmallow shooter kits for all the boys to put together and then had a turkey shoot. BJ placed 2nd and Andrew placed 4th after a shoot-off.

It's great to be eight

2008-11-24T11:01:00.000-07:00

Andrew's birthday was Friday. He really enjoyed being the center of attention. He got a lot of things he really liked and was excited about his cake. It was fun decorating it and he enjoyed watching me do it. He decided to have breakfast burritos for his special dinner. He will be having a friend party this Saturday. On December 6th he will get baptized. It's makes for lots of busy weeks for mom, but he really does appreciate it all which make it all worth it!

Grateful quiz

2008-11-15T11:45:00.000-07:00

Rules for this game. You will be given two choices of things you may or may not be grateful for. Choose the one which you are more grateful. You must choose one, no neither or both answers acceptable. If needed or desired, you may explain your choice.
Enjoy.Which are you more grateful for?

Ghirardelli or Guittard? Guittard. I don't really like either one, I'm more a Hershey's person.
Morning or Evening? Evening. I'm definitely a night person after 4 1/2 years of graveyards!
Bagels or muffins? Muffins - tough one, but I tend to eat muffins more nowadays.
Computers or Cell Phones? Computers. They do so much more.
Cotton or Polyester? Cotton. Nothing beats a t-shirt and jeans!
Tennis or Bowling? Bowling. I've always wanted to learn tennis, but with my vision losses I don't know that it's possible anymore.
TV or Radio? I think I'd have to say radio, I'm addicted to music and can't get much done without it.
Military or Police Force? Military, where would we be without those guys?
Electricity or Plumbing? Plumbing for sure.
Spiders or Snakes? Snakes, I hate spiders.
Elementary teachers or high school teachers? Elementary teachers. I was definitely more attached to my elementary teachers.
Books or Magazines? Definitely books, so much more to learn and be entertained with.
Money or Time? I'd have to say money. I don't have a lot of either right now that isn't spoken for and money seems to be more of an issue.
Pumpkin or Pecan pie? Pecan, although I could leave the nuts and crust and just eat the filling!
Summer or Winter? Summer for sure as long as there is a pool!
Sewing machine or Washing machine? sewing machine, I think it'd be much more tedious to handsew clothes than to handwash them!
Board games or card games? card games I have very fond memories of card games, also it's easier to do card games with large amounts of people.
Mountain or Beach? Beach sun and water, whats not to love?
Spring or Fall? Fall, I think this one is tough, but I do love the fall leaves, and all the harvest goodness!
Christmas or Thanksgiving? Christmas, the lights the music, the decorations.
Blogging or Facebook? Since I don't use facebook, blogging.
Chili's or Applebees? Chili's - don't usually get to go to either but I seem to like more at chili's
Carpet or Hardwood? Hardwood, It's lasting beauty that's easy to clean.
Dishwasher or Microwave? microwave - it's really hard to imagine life without a microwave and I've lived without a dishwasher many times.
Boston or Las Vegas? Boston - I've never been a fan of Las Vegas, and I wouldn't have to worry about what my kids were reading or seeing on billboards or signs in Boston! I'm also fond of history and Boston would be a great place for history.
Ballet or Baseball? Ballet - I've never been to one, but if given the option to go to one or the other I'd pick the ballet.
Mashed potatoes or Candied yams? Mashed Potatoes for sure.
Milk or Juice? Milk
Lincoln or Washington? Washington. This was a really tough one, and I don't know that I could really choose, but I agree with A Barbara, we might not have even had the chance for Lincoln without Washington.
Homemade or Store bought? Homemade, growing up we always wanted store bought, we didn't realize how lucky we were! I think most homemade things are become lost works of art.

for Fun

2008-11-10T08:53:00.000-07:00

I'm with you Sandy, I love these things. I'm not such a fan of filling them out, but definitely love reading them, you get to know a lot about people!

You can only type ONE Word! Not as easy as you might think. Change the answers to suit you and pass it on. It's really hard to only use one word answers.
1. Where is your cell phone? pocket
2. Where is your significant other? Florida
3. Your hair? messy
4. Your mother? creative
5. Your father? wise
6. Your favorite thing? music
7. Your dream last night? unknown
8. Your favorite drink? milk
9. Your dream/goal? bakery
10. The room you're in? kitchen
11. Your hobby? crafting
12. Your fear? spiders
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? stable
14. Where were you last night? in-laws
15. What you're not? neat
16. Muffins? yum
17. One of your wish list items? camera
18. Where you grew up? Texas
19. The last thing you did? childcare
20. What are you wearing? pink
21. Your TV? old
22. Your pets? two
23. Your computer? Dell
24. Your life? busy
25. Your mood? overwhelmed
26. Missing someone? definitely
27. Your car? big
28. Something you're not wearing? shoes
29. Favorite store? Wal-Mart
30. Your summer? fast
31. Like someone? Joseph
32. Your favorite color? green
33. When is the last time you laughed? yesterday
34. Who will retake this? debatable

Last but not Least

2008-11-03T11:16:00.000-07:00

I apparently maxed my picture space so here's Will on Halloween and his escapades since. That's a W on his forehead in the picture with Alex. And in case you aren't able to tell BJ designed the pumpkin on the left - it's a light saber and Harry Potter's wand.

Trick or Treat

2008-11-03T11:08:00.000-07:00

The kids had a fun time for Halloween. They got way too much candy and we had way too much left over!

50 Odd Things

2008-10-21T08:21:00.001-06:00

I was sent this by my sister-in-law and thought maybe more would like to see, it's just kind of fun. Feel free to copy and paste adding your own answers, I look forward to seeing some!

ODD Things about you! FILL IT OUT!Learn things about your friends, and let them learn about you!Make sure you send it back to the person who sent it to you!
1) Do you like blue cheese? yes
2) Have you ever smoked marijuana? No
3) Do you own a gun? No
4) What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? always get a cherry slush
5) Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? a little-I'm always a little worried about if I should really be there.
6) What do you think of hot dogs? only if they're grilled on a fire and then not very often
7) Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night, I remember some guy singing it in church as a kid and loved it, haven't heard a rendition yet that could match up.
8) What do you prefer to drink in the morning? usually milk
9) Can you do push ups? barely
10) Can you do a chin up? never have been able to
11) What's your favorite piece of jewelry? my wedding ring
12) Favorite hobby? What's a hobby? Does that require time?
14) Do you have A.D.D.? nope
15) What's one trait that you hate about yourself? I'm a mild hoarder
16) Middle name? none
17) Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? Need to find costumes for the kids, trying to figure out dinner and wondering what all the kids are doing
18) Name 3 things you bought yesterday: cheese, bananas, diapers
19) Current worry? money
20) Current hate right now? kids not putting things back where they belong or worse, moving things so I don't know where they are!
21) How did you ring in the New Year? At home
22) Where would you like to go back to visit? San Antonio, San Diego, New York to see my sis!23) Name three people who will complete this?
24) Do you own slippers? Yes, pink ones my baby loves to chew on
25) What shirt are you wearing? t-shirt with pink/yellow/orange/white stripes
26) Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Never tried it, but I would think it would be too cold
27) Can you whistle? Yes
28) Favorite color? green
29) Would you be a pirate? nope
30) What songs do you sing in the shower? The shower is my quiet time
31) Favorite girl's name? Madeline
32) Favorite boy's name? Kelley, but Joseph would never go for it
33) What's in your pocket? zilch
34) Last thing that made you laugh? Joseph saying something funny, can't remember what
35) Best bed sheets as a child? couldn't tell ya!
36) Worst injury you've ever had? my most memorable is kneeling on a piece of aluminum as a kid and having to get stitches
37) Do you love where you live? yes and no, I wish I could put all my remodeling plans into action, but alas, no funds
38) How many TVs do you have in your house? 2
39) Who is your loudest friend? Probably Lori :)
40) How many dogs do you have? 1
41) How many cats do you have? 0
42) Does someone have a crush on you? My husband better!
43) What is your favorite book? I'd have to say Breaking Dawn, I've read it numerous times now 44) What is your favorite candy? chocolate covered cherries
45) Favorite Sports Team? don't have one
46) What song do you want played at your funeral? I know that my Redeemer Lives, and I Need Thee Every Hour
47) What were you doing at midnight last night? sleeping
48) First thing you thought about when you woke up? What time is it?
49) Favorite Bath and Body fragrance? It's been a really long time, I don't know
50) Favorite childhood memory? playing card games around the big dining room table

For my Brother and Son

2008-10-20T10:03:00.000-06:00

I was talking to Jared on the phone last night, and he got after me for not posting in a while. So here you go Jared. We haven't been doing much lately. School and work that's about it. That would be why I haven't posted in a while. I have been working on getting our house in order. Anyone have suggestions for decluttering for a hoarder? I just can't seem to get rid of most things, I am a very sentimental person.

On a happier note, Andrew the other day used some flavored tootsie rolls and made a little creation out of them. He was really excited about it and wanted me to take a picture and blog about it. So here is the picture of Andrew with his little creation. He had just as much fun eating it as he did making it. The best kind of project!

Tag

2008-10-16T12:41:00.000-06:00

I don't have an 8th picture in my 10th folder, and you can see my tenth folder below where Will is just starting to walk. So - here is my 8th picture in my 11th folder. It is just after Will got his first haircut. And as for who I'm tagging, if you're reading this and haven't done it consider yourself tagged! (rules are to post the 8th picture in your 10th folder)

Growing Up Too Fast

2008-10-06T08:33:00.000-06:00

Saturday was William's first birthday. I have a hard time believing he is one already! He didn't quite get opening presents, but sure loved what was in them. The older kids loved them too, it's amazing how fascinated they are with "baby" toys! I went a bit overboard on the cake - don't know that we can finish it even if we eat it every night for a week! I was yummy though. I don't know what possessed me to make it so big, but it was a good experience and has only fueled my desire to take cake decorating classes. I don't like the idea of my baby growing up! In many ways I wish he would just stay a baby! As president Monson said the one constant is change and I've vowed to enjoy the now more, so I will enjoy his discoveries with him and his triumphs when he walks the whole room without falling, and treasure them and store them up in my memories. Now I'm just getting sappy and teary so I'll stop. Enjoy the pictures!

On the Move

2008-09-25T18:00:00.000-06:00

William has started walking! He practices a lot and all the older kids get really excited anytime he walks. He doesn't last long yet, and still prefers to crawl but he is getting there! Sorry I couldn't figure out how to flip it. Also here is a fun pix of Will and his latest escapade.

I Did It

2008-09-19T10:11:00.000-06:00

I've been wanting to attempt canning for many years now. Then we moved to Brigham, right next to a bunch of farms and all the fresh produce. This year I finally did it. We went to Perry (the rinky dink town next to our small one. I'll get into that some other time.) and bought a bushel of peaches. That's about 48 pounds to give you a better idea. They sat in the kitchen for the next few days, as Will got sick one of those days. Weds I made freezer jam, and then Thurs I buckled down and with Joseph's help canned the rest. They all appear to be sealed, although it looks like I didn't pack the peaches in quite enough. Not too bad for a first try though! I made 11 pints of freezer jam and 21 quarts of canned peaches. We also enjoyed eating quite a few of the fresh peaches. We only lost approx 10 peaches out of the whole bushel. Not bad. In the future I hope to plant a few peach trees in our backyard, making this process even cheaper! Next year we will also plant lots more tomatoes and make some tomato sauce to can. If you wnat a good website see www.pickyourown.org. They have instructions for canning just about anything you could ever think of and more.

The onion fields should be ready to be gleaned soon, so we should get a bunch of free onions soon. Our contact for cheap potatoes (50 lbs for $10) just got sent to Florida so we'll see if we can time it right to go up the canyon towards Logan and get those. This guy just fills a semi with 50 lb bags and does an honor system thing, you leave your $10 and take your bag. It is nice living in a small town where honor systems still work!

Peach Days

2008-09-12T09:24:00.001-06:00

This was our second year here in Brigham where we got to attend at least a portion of peach days. Last year I was so sick and hugely pregnant that I didn't go. This year we had to be in Salt Lake early Sat afternoon so we missed out on everything but half of Saturdays big parade. I have yet to travel down "fruit way" to get a bunch of peaches. Maybe tonight. This year BJ got to participate in both the JR parade Fri night and the big parade Sat morning. He was with the local cub scouts. They carry all 50 state flags in addition to the US, and troop flag. He was carrying New York both times. Andrew got to ride with the elementary school Fri night and Alex with the Future Rockettes. After the parade Friday we went downtown to all the activities. We ate downtown and then just walked around. Next year we'll know how to do some things differently and be able to enjoy more of the activities.

The kids are kind of hard to see. BJ is in the far side of the picture with the white shoes. Andrew is in the middle of the picture with the red helmet. He was having to focus really hard to not hit anyone with his bike because they were moving so slowly.

Dancing

2008-09-04T10:10:00.000-06:00

We signed Alex up to be a future Rockette (the Rockettes are the dance team at the high school). We figured it would be a good way to let her try something new without too much expense on our part. She loved it. She was a little nervous about performing, but when it came down to it didn't even think about it and had fun. It was kind of funny to watch as it was a group of 3-5 year olds, so they didn't exactly know what they were doing, but they all had fun. Maybe we'll think about putting her in some sort of dance lessons. Who knows.

My Big Three Year Old

2008-09-02T08:39:00.000-06:00

So Fri was Parker's 3rd birthday he had a blast. He wanted a blue cake with white frosting. I can't believe how big he is getting and at the same time I can.

First day of School

2008-08-28T09:14:00.000-06:00

I realize I am quite far behind in posting so there will be a couple today. the kids all started school on Monday this week. They were all very excited. Alex is in afternoon kindergarten and asked repeatedly all morning if it was time to go yet. The next day she only asked twice and yesterday she only asked once. The first day, she about leaped out of the car as soon as we got there. She is enjoying school, as I knew she would. The boys are enjoying school as well, BJ has made the transition smoothly, but Andrew is having a more difficult time. He always seems to take awhile to get into things no matter how much he wants to do them. We've already gotten into the same old ruts with trying to hurry the boys in the morning to get ready and out the door on time and convincing them to get lunches. Any great suggestions for getting kids more excited about bringing their own lunch?

The end of Summer

2008-08-28T08:29:00.001-06:00

As I get ready to write this I realize I am not a good picture taker. We had a little "vacation" where we stayed home and ignored everything and just went out and had fun. We let each of the kids pick a place to go out to eat and then did little things around town or in Ogden. We started off with family movie night at home. Over the next few days we walked main street, went on the driving historical tour here in town, went to a playground, went to the BC pool with Autumn, met Grandma and Grandpa Bruner and Emily for lunch and played on the playground, did some needed school shopping for the boys, and a few other things I can't think of right now. The kids really enjoyed themselves. The next week was spent getting ready for school, we all had dentist appointments on Wed, and did Alex's shopping on Thurs. That was our exciting end to the summer.

Memory Tag

2008-08-01T14:25:00.000-06:00

Here are the rules:
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a lot or a little, just any memory you have.
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave memories for you.
If you leave a memory for me I'll assume you are playing and I'll leave a memory for you. If you don't have a blog I will email you.

Busy Times

2008-08-01T13:11:00.000-06:00

July seemed to fly by. The older three got to go down to Salt Lake and spend time with their grandparents down there. The little boys and I joined them for one day and visited the state capital. It is a beautiful building. We were also privileged to have a visit with Grammy, Grandpa Lawrence and Janet. They stayed with us a few days and we had fun going to the Zoo and the Brigham City Museum and then the Brigham City Pool. I think that has been one of the kids favorites this summer. Too bad I didn't think to take pictures! Amongst all of this I decided to apply for a job as a school nurse, had an interview and a job offer and decided to decline it. It was a full time position and had many positives, but I just couldn't justify being away from Parker and William that long everyday. I had to work the 24th of July and on our way down (Joseph and the kids were going to play in Salt Lake), our car started overheating. We pulled over and it turns out our serpentine belt broke. Joseph's mom came and picked up me and the kids and then his dad came to help him. They put a new belt on, and figured out the air conditioning compressor was broken when the belt slipped off again. they had a nice construction worker help them put the belt on both times. Since then Joseph has replaced the thermostat and the water pump. We still need to get the air conditioner fixed, but aren't sure where to do that here in our little town without paying a fortune at the dealer.

Joseph and I celebrated our 11th anniversary this past week. We took the whole family and went to a little Mexican restaurant here in town after trying to go to two others that were closed. One out of business and one closed for the day. We then went to Wal-Mart and bought High School Musical 2 and some snacks and went home and enjoyed a quiet evening.

Lagoon

2008-07-09T10:52:00.000-06:00

We were able to go to Lagoon with discounts from Joseph's work a few weeks ago. We had a fun time. The kids enjoyed themselves and Joseph and I figured out a few tricks for upcoming years. We lost our camera during the excursion, but thanks to some honest people it was at lost and found. We didn't lose any kids though so we feel we did ok. One of the favorites was the dancing fountain at the front of the park.

Summertime

2008-06-20T12:24:00.001-06:00

It has finally warmed up here in Utah. Oddly enough it has taken an effort to convince Andrew to wear shorts- he thought they were "girly". I think I have finally convinced him that boys wear shorts. I'm trying to get the kids outside to play, BJ still has somewhat of a fear of bees. They tend to play outside for maybe an hour and then come in and say the infamous "I'm Bored." I've got to get them to use their imaginations more. We try to go for a walk everyday, more for my benefit than anyone else's. We have Lagoon day next week, so hopefully we'll get some great shots for that. I'm debating right now on whether or not to work an extra shift or two so I can buy a digital SLR camera. I would LOVE that, but don't know that I want to sacrifice the time away from my family. Joseph has spent a good deal of time this week installing our new front door. I'm no longer worried that someone could just shoulder their way in. The old door was wood, and falling apart. We also bought a storm door and need to get that installed. Hopefully that will keep Parker in better as he has a tendency to just walk out the front door whenever he pleases. The other day he walked out and walked away. After a few horrifying moments I found him an street over and a street down from where we live. The funniest part was that he was wearing two different shoes, both of them mine. Sorry didn't think to get a picture.

We have FINALLY evolved

2008-06-13T09:07:00.000-06:00

We finally broke down and got broadband internet this week. Joseph is happy. I'll have to make special time to play Free Cell now. I always used to do it while things were downloading. Joseph now has one less excuse for holding off grad school. Maybe this fall?

Doctor's Report

2008-06-11T11:19:00.000-06:00

I'd thought I'd update you on my visit to the neuro-opthamologist yesterday. Things went pretty well. She is still amazed that I have 20/20 vision (with corrective lenses that I had before the whole incident). There was concern over the headaches that I have been having, and she increased my Diamox dose significantly for the next 10 days or so to quickly reduce the pressure in my head and then I will go down to twice a day dosing that I was on for most of last year. The beginning of this year we had tried to taper down my dose to once a day, but obviously that trial failed. My optic nerves still looked OK (for me anyway). No mention of a repeat MRI or anything was made. she did encourage weight loss again (like I haven't tried), as people who are overweight have mildly elevated intracranial pressures anyway. she did not attribute this (my Increased intracranial presure) to my weight at all, as we know it was caused by the blood clot. Well that's my news for now!

2008-06-05T13:11:00.000-06:00

A few funny stories:

Parker was mad at Alex for something the other day and in a stern voice said, "Alex James!" Guess you can tell how he gets in trouble most of the time!

This story has to do with Parker as well. Joseph has a "cowboy" hat of sorts and the other day Parker put it on and said,"look mom I'm Boondiana Jones!"

The Last Few Days

2008-05-30T08:58:00.000-06:00

The last few days have been interesting. Weds I had a pressure headache worse than I've had since the whole craziness started a little over a year ago. Only this time the narcotics didn't seem to touch it. Thankfully it finally went away late that night. I did some research on the Internet and found out more about my condition by searching pseudotumor cerebri (now called intercranial hypertension or IH), than I've ever found out before. it was interesting to read articles and finally get why I'm so tired all the time and why some days I feel normal and others I just drag and can't do anything all day. I'll add a link or two for anyone that would like more information.

The boys are at their last day of school today. It is only a half day. They were more than excited this morning. They haven't gotten ready that fast for school since the first day of school. I spent Wed evening and most of Thurs binding quilts for BJ's class. I didn't really know what I was doing. They looked fairly nice when they were done, and as long as they don't fall apart I'd say I did a pretty good job.

Joseph got a call from the appliance shop and they are just going to replace out tiller and we can pick it up today. Hopefully we'll be able to start some plants tomorrow. I can't believe how much work there is to do. We knew there would be a lot of work when we bought this house, but I'm not sure we understood quite how much. Of course losing a year to blood clots/pregnancy etc didn't ease things at all. We did get to go to Lowe's without the kids on Monday (thanks Mom!) and were able to plan out most of the bathroom remodel. Although Joseph says the tub we want might not fit. Maybe it's back to the drawing board on that.

We are still dragging our feet over buying a smaller sedan. We just don't want to spend our money that way. We don't want/can't take on one more payment, so it has to be inexpensive, but we don't want a car that we can't trust or have to dump money into.

One of Joseph's friends is trying to get us to buy his motor home. It is rather old, but it good repair/shape and he's only asking 3,000. It would probably be really nice especially on the long road trips to visit family. Just not sure that it's appropriate use of funds.

Well I've probably babbled on long enough today, I do need to get to some never ending chores like dishes and laundry.

a few pictures

2008-05-27T10:20:00.000-06:00

here are a few pictures I do have access to. They are about 6 months old, close enough for everyone but Will.

getting started

2008-05-27T09:16:00.000-06:00

Well here goes. After seeing several of my extended families blogs and thoroughly enjoying the ability to keep up with things (and realizing how much I've missed), I thought it would be a good idea to start one for myself. Will have to add pictures at a later time since I am not set up to do so at this point. It may be awhile just to warn you.

So an update of the goings on in our lives:

We are still working on the never ending task of renovating our 1915 house. We haven't gone far, but we keep plugging away. It is hard to find time in our busy schedules.

Joseph has been working hard on trying to get the garden ready to plant. We purchased a tiller and were in the process of going over it a second time when it broke. The store we bought it from was closed for memorial day weekend, so hopefully today we can get things worked out.

Joanna tries to stay afloat keeping the house to a low level of chaos, taking care of kids, and planning for cub scouts.

BJ is looking forward to the end of school. He is enjoying reading the Harry Potter series and is currently on book 4.

Andrew is anxious for the warm weather(we haven't had much so far this year). He is also reading Harry Potter and is currently on book 2.

Alex is pretty happy doing anything. She loves to play outside as weather permits and has gotten very good on her bike. She is looking forward to starting kindergarten in the fall.

Parker is precocious as always. He is stubborn to a fault, yet too cute to be mad at for long. He can melt anyone's heart whenever he chooses. He is an amazing talker and thanks to PBS already knows most of his letters.

William is a cute little guy. He loves to play and get into things he's not supposed to. He is very persistent. He is still hanging out at about he 10th percentile on his weight, and spitting up too often. Maybe one day we'll be able to get his reflux under better control. We've thought of taking him to a chiropractor to see if that would help.

Well I think that's about it for now. Will try to get pix up ASAP, as I know that is what is really interesting anyway. May have to get my brothers up here to help out!