Where The Wild Things Are

Christmas Through Her Eyes ...

2011-11-20T00:57:00.002-05:00

Halloween

2011-11-09T11:30:00.004-05:00

We had a GREAT Halloween weekend this year. It all started with our ward Chili Dinner and Trunk or Treat on Friday. On Saturday, Eagle Mountain City sponsored a "Trick or Treat Village" at the park, so most of the kids stocked up on some candy there.

Sunday was a day of rest before the mad dash for candy on Monday.

Halloween was crazy! Mondays are "Early Out Day" which means the kids all get out of school about an hour earlier than normal. So, after all the school/class parties were over and L and J1 were home on the bus at 1:45, I picked up the rest of the kids and we headed to inContact for Trick or Treating at Don's office. From there, we headed down to Provo to Trick or Treat at Great Grandma's house ... and the kids went around her neighborhood a bit. Finally, we returned home in time to hand out the last of our candy to the kids in our neighborhood ... and the boys headed out trick or treating again in our neighborhood!!

This is how we all felt at the end of the evening ...

"Yummy-licious"

2011-10-17T15:34:00.003-04:00

I love how Lil Miss doesn't just eat food, she experiences it!!

First Date Masquerade

2011-10-07T00:37:00.012-04:00

L went on her first date to the Homecoming Masquerade Dance at Westlake High School on September 24.

We did a French twist and put curlers in her hair the night before to get her ready for the big dance.

Her hair turned out beautiful and she wore my dress from my senior prom.

I left to go to SLC for the General Relief Society Meeting while Don, J1 and the boys served dinner to L and her date and three other couples prior to being their chauffeur to the dance.

Where were you ...

2011-09-12T00:46:00.005-04:00

I remember very clearly where I was the day terror shook the world. My good friend Catherine Giambattista had asked me to babysit her daughter while she went to the doctor. I had just turned on the TV to find something for the kids to watch and I was distracted by a news update about a plane that had crashed into one of the twin towers in NYC. As I watched the news update, all cameras glued to the burning building, I saw another plane enter the frame and crash into the other tower. Horrified, I ran to my computer and sent an IM to Don at work. "Two planes have crashed into the World Trade Center towers!!"

I couldn't believe what I had seen! It was incredible. But it didn't end there. Soon there were reports of other planes that had lost contact with control towers. Then a plane smashed into the Pentagon. And another into a field in Pennsylvania. My hands shook. My heart pounded. I hugged my children close, prayed and kept watching the news as the events of the day unfolded.

Don was a volunteer firefighter at the time. He volunteered with many others in his department to travel to NYC to help with the rescue/recovery efforts. I was scared to let him go, but proud of him for volunteering. None of the guys from his department ended up going.

It was strange to look up into the sky and NOT see any planes for several days after 9/11. The world seemed strangely quiet. The candles on front porches at night and the flags flying everywhere united friends and neighbors together.

Today, 10 years later, we sang "America The Beautiful" as our closing song in Sacrament Meeting. As we were singing, my eyes filled with tears just as they did on the Sunday following that fateful day when we stood in our sacrament meeting and sang the same song. I thought of those who lost their lives on 9/11 as well as the many soldiers who serve our country and those who have given their lives trying to restore some security to this crazy world. Saying "Thank You" doesn't seem to be enough, yet I lack to words to properly express my gratitude to those brave men and women who have done so much to protect my freedom. I will never forget.

The Power of Suggestion

2011-08-25T23:48:00.007-04:00

While at the family reunion last month, Sandy told Tami about how her washing machine quit on her. After we got home from the reunion, Tami did a few loads of wash, and then our dryer suddenly quit on us. (See previous post). We spent $75 to get a replacement dryer, and it quit two days later! Another $100 later and we've got another second-hand dryer - I hope it stays working!

The back side of the dead dryer

Shortly after the reunion, Julie wrote in her blog about how her minivan broke down coming home from the reunion. (see this post). Well it wasn't long after that that a nice sized buck with a full rack did this to my car...

Click to enlarge so you can see the bits of deer hide stuck in the busted headlight and the blood splattered up the windshield... Yummy!

Yes, the insurance totalled it, so we've spent a thousand bucks and got an old beater Kia to replace it.

I know that these things often come in threes, so Maryle, if you've got anything to announce, DON'T TELL US ABOUT IT!

Montana Day Trips - Sherwood Family Reunion

2011-08-09T18:57:00.011-04:00

While we were in Montana, we took a couple day trips.

We were so close to Yellowstone, we decided it was worth the drive to take the kids to see Old Faithful and the other sites. It had been 8 years since we had been there.

The thermal pools were beautiful.

The bubbling paint pots (or bubbling mud pots as I used to call them) made the little kids laugh.

The geysers were definitely everyone's favorite attraction.

Spasm Geyser

Fountain Geyser

Of course, Old Faithful is always a big hit.

The rest of our group walked the loop around Old Faithful to see the other geysers and thermal pools while Don and I waited in the shade with Baby M.

On the way out of the park, we stopped to see the lower falls on the Yellowstone River.

The next day, we headed into Bozeman to visit the Museum of the Rockies at MSU. There was a fantastic dinosaur display and we saw hundreds of frogs.

There was also a really cool room for the kids with interactive displays about Yellowstone and other activities.

We wrapped up the day at Hyalite Reservoir. Some of the group went hiking to see the falls.

Great company, fantastic activities, wonderful location! Thanks Sandy and Kurt for putting together a great reunion!

Brackett Creek Inn - Sherwood Family Reunion

2011-08-08T11:41:00.012-04:00

This year's Paul and Susan Sherwood Family Reunion was held in Montana. Kurt and Sandy found this great place outside Bozeman.

It felt like a mountain hideaway with all the amenities of home - minus the distractions of technology.

There was a creek to play in ...

trees to climb and swing in ...

and plenty of space for all kinds of other activities, like "Cornhole".

The owners live on the property in an adjacent house with their horses. Annette is a wonderful hostess and even saddled up one of the horses for the kids to ride.

Laundry Gremlins

2011-08-05T02:30:00.005-04:00

We went to the Sherwood Family Reunion last week in Montana. Sandy, my sister-in-law, spent a good portion of our last day there doing laundry because her washing machine quit just prior to leaving for the reunion.

One week later ...

The laundry gremlins struck at our house - killing my dryer (or at least the motor).

Don came home at noon and investigated the possibilities of buying a new motor and fixing the dryer ($120 + shipping) or buying a new dryer (for $400 or less).

But wait, another solution presented itself. KSL Classifieds!! We could get that same brand name dryer slightly used and save a bundle!

$75 and 6 hours later, we had dismantled 2 dryers, reassembled one dryer in excellent working condition using all of the good parts from both dryers, and had a lot of fun in the process!

Who knew that the inside of a Kenmore dryer and a Whirlpool dryer are exactly the same!?!

Z enjoyed swapping parts.

He even found some time to play.

My Hero!

Miscellaneous Moments

2011-05-25T15:03:00.007-04:00

A2 and Baby M

J2 in "Taming of the Shrew"

An Easter discovery!

Easter egg hunt teamwork.

Success!

J1 as Alma Hicks in "The Music Man Jr."

5th grade performance of "Hope of America". A1 is in the red stripe on the bottom right ... can't you see him?

Pinewood Derby Day

Spring Piano Recital

I love these happy moments!

I lost a tooth ... or two!!

Edible flowers for FHE with Great Grandma and Aunt Karen.

A2's new violin!

Sweet 16

2011-05-16T14:52:00.005-04:00

Has it really been 16 years since my baby was born?

L celebrated her birthday with a group of her closest friends. She planned a "Winnie the Pooh" birthday party that included bagel pizzas, a tug of war, pin the tail on the donkey,

a pinata,

cupcake decorating,

and making and delivering get well cards to a girl who couldn't attend due to illness.

Of course, there was present time

as well as blowing out the candles.

Spiderman!

2011-05-11T11:37:00.003-04:00

Any idea how Don got his new nickname?

Family Home Evening Fun

2011-04-21T14:16:00.009-04:00

Our neighbors, the Wilsons, came over for FHE a couple weeks ago and Sister Wilson taught us how to decorate cupcakes with spring flowers. It was super easy and tons of fun.

You need: frosting, mini marshmallows, sugar, food coloring, scissors, crushed oreo cookies, gum drops, tooth picks and gummy life savers.

Use the food coloring - just a drop or two - with a little bit of sugar to make colored sugar.

Spread some frosting onto your cupcake. Use the scissors to cut the marshmallows in half diagonally.

Dip the marshmallow into the colored sugar.

Place the marshmallow on the cupcake, making a ring around the outer edge of the cupcake first, and then making a second smaller ring of marshmallows in the middle.

Finish the flower with a sprinkle of sugar in the middle to make the center of the flower.

To make gum drop flowers, spread some frosting on the cupcake. Dip the top of the cupcake into the oreo cookie crumbs so it looks like a flower pot with dirt. Stretch a gummy life saver over a gum drop. Use a toothpick to hold the life saver and gum drop together - it also serves as the stem. Then with the scissors make slits about half way through the life saver (3 on each side) to form the petals. Plant it in your cupcake.

Gardening has never tasted so sweet!

Reminders of Spring

2011-04-06T22:00:00.008-04:00

Watching A2 fly her kite reminded me of this song my mom used to sing to us every spring:

"The March wind whistled all day long,

a happy 'spring is coming' song.

He whistled as he worked all day

To blow the winter dust away.

Well, now what do you think of that!

The March wind just blew off my hat!"

Reason #7 Why You Should NOT Marry Your Cousin

2011-04-02T22:04:00.003-04:00

Blessing Day

2011-03-20T22:09:00.003-04:00

Baby M looked so handsome in his little suit.

Baby M has 2 modes of operation: Contentment and Nuclear Meltdown!

"What have I gotten myself into?!"

Sunday Afternoon at the Sherwoods

2011-03-19T18:58:00.001-04:00

Catchin' 40 winks.

Lil Miss and Baby M

2011-03-04T15:22:00.003-05:00

Lil Miss loves her baby brother!

Good Things DO come to those who wait!

2011-02-22T13:30:00.002-05:00

He's here ... Finally!!

Little boy Baby M joined us on Monday, Feb. 21 at 9:34 pm after about 3 hours of labor.

He weighed in at 8 lbs 8 oz and stretches an amazing 22.5 inches.

Still Waiting ...

2011-02-18T13:43:00.004-05:00

I thought I'd post a quick update for those that are anxiously awaiting baby news. As the title says, we're still waiting for the arrival of this little bundle of joy. I was due last week, Feb. 11, but due dates really don't mean much for me. That's why it is really called an "expected delivery date" - it's just an estimate. I've always gone past the due date except for the 2 times the doctor induced me early (two days early or on my due date) due to medical concerns. We just always look at the due date and plan on 2 more weeks. Kinda depressing, I know.

Holiday Highlights

2011-01-25T13:44:00.006-05:00

The Family

Thanksgiving weekend with the Freestones for Steven's mission farewell and to see him dance in The Nutcracker.

Favorite gift! (Ready for sparring in Tae Kwon Do)

Hanging out with cousins.

Family Home Evening at Temple Square with JoDee, Alex and family

and Maryle and Jared and family.

First sips of hot cocoa. Yummy!

Happiness is ...

2010-12-16T23:51:00.003-05:00

Tubby Time!!

Adult Supervision Required

2010-11-17T12:54:00.003-05:00

Mr. Jeppson at Hidden Hollow Elementary School has an interesting way of teaching his students about ancient Egyptian culture. He invites parents to his class to make mummies out of his students. I spent 2 hours at school wrapping J2 with packing tape - 3 layers for each part of his body. The trick is to keep the tape loose AND to wrap the first layer of tape with the sticky side out.

We finished his arms and legs at school. We finished his torso, head and taped it all together at home. It was kind of weird to wrap his head.

Even though his mouth wasn't covered, he looked like he had a plastic bag over his head!

Cutting it off wasn't as easy as it looks, either.

Halloween Hauntings

2010-11-01T11:35:00.008-04:00

It seems like we celebrated Halloween the entire month of October. The official parties started Tuesday, October 19, when the young men and young women in our ward went around doing service for several families in costumes.

We had our annual ward Chili Cook-off and Trunk -or-Treat on Friday, October 22.

This year, several of the kids made their own costumes: L came up with an Alice costume. J1 made herself into Strawberry Shortcake. J2 decided to wear a cape with his Sunday clothes and be a vampire. A1 said he was a geek ... and he found the most mismatched clothes possible to make himself into a geek. Z and A2 found costumes in our costume trunk ... Z was a pirate and A2 was a witch.

Lil' Miss wore my favorite toddler costume. She was a ghost.

The kids enjoyed Halloween parties at school on Friday, October 29. Then we hurried to Don's office to go Trick or Treating there. Don's group dressed as hill billies and decorated appropriately ... including homemade moonshine and an outhouse where the kids reached into a toilet for their candy.

All the kids in the area did their Trick-or-Treating on Saturday, October 30. Alice and Strawberry Shortcake handed out the candy while the younger kids went out candy collecting.

Lil' Miss just enjoyed the candy.

What's Halloween without carving pumpkins?!

Yes! I'm a GEEK!!

2010-10-14T22:37:00.001-04:00

I dare you to call me "4 eyes"!

Fall Harvest

2010-10-11T15:59:00.004-04:00

L, J1 and I planted a garden last spring as a Young Women Personal Progress Value Project. It has been quite a learning adventure for us. We discovered that seeds that are at least 10 years old aren't any good - and some seeds that were only a year old didn't grow either. We learned tomatoes don't need a lot of water, pumpkins need a lot of space, one zucchini plant really is enough and many more little tidbits of information that will help make future gardens even more successful than this year's.

We have 4 large pumpkins to make into jack-o-lanterns.

We've enjoyed lots of cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, zucchini and yellow squash. We've had a few red, yellow, orange and green peppers and some carrots.

If you didn't already know ...

2010-09-09T00:36:00.003-04:00

this lil' Miss is going to be a Big Sis in February!

I haven't had an ultrasound, and hope not to, so we won't know if it is a boy or girl until February. The kids think the baby needs to have a name that starts with a Z, since we have 2 L names, 2 J names, 2 A names and only 1 Z name. (I'm not as excited about it.)

First Day of School

2010-09-04T00:07:00.004-04:00

I love the first day of school. I think it is one of the absolute best days of the entire year. It is MY day. After I send these two off to catch their buses ...

and walk these guys to school ...

I dance a little jig, play the "Hallelujah Chorus" on the stereo nice and loud and then the day is all mine. It is the one day during the entire year that the "to do" list is set aside. I take a nap if I want to ... I take a bubble bath if I want to ... I do both if I want to. For me, the first day of school is an escape from everything for 6 1/2 hours!!

Please don't misunderstand - I love my kids. I enjoy playing games with them, spending time with them, just hanging out and talking to them. I worry about them when they are away from home - especially about what they might be learning in the big bad world. However, I am also so excited for all that awaits them - the opportunities they have to learn things, to accomplish goals and to try new activities that they didn't know they could do. I can't provide all of these opportunities for them, but people who have been trained to teach children can.

School as been in session here for a week and a half now. I'm back to my regular daily routine with our school routine piled on top. As nice as it is each day to send the kids off to school, I look forward to their return, to hear about each of their days, to help them with homework, to hear about their worries and concerns and to just be with them. They are great kids and I'm glad I am their mom.

Summer of Freebies: Week 11 and 12

2010-08-24T17:03:00.006-04:00

Week 11: inContact day at Lagoon!! Don's company spent the day at Lagoon celebrating some recent successes. (Employees in Utah had to go to Lagoon or take PTO. Don thought it was great to be paid to play at Lagoon with the family for free.)

This little monkey couldn't ride on most of the rides, but she was a really good sport! She enjoyed Lagoon-a-beach, though.

Week 12: Art, Julie and family came to town to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa Sherwood before their mission, and us. The kids had lots of fun playing games, splashing in the pool and just kicking back.

Summer of Freebies: Week 5 - Week 10

2010-08-23T00:43:00.006-04:00

Week 5: Getting ready for pageant and driving to NY.

Week 6: The Hill Cumorah Pageant rehearsals, heat, humidity, rain ... and opening night.

Week 7: The Hill Cumorah Pageant

Week 8: We drove like mad - leaving after Sacrament Meeting on July 18 - to arrive home on Monday, July 19. L left at 3 am July 20 to go to Wyoming on Trek at Martin's Cove. Don and I left the rest of the kids with Grandma and Grandpa Sherwood for the weekend and we went to Colorado Springs on Friday - Sunday for his 20th high school reunion.

Week 9: Recovered from all of our traveling in July!!

Week 10: Classic Skating Bounce House.

Pageant Family 2010

2010-07-22T17:05:00.007-04:00

Preaching Lehi in Jerusalem
Alma convert at the Waters of Mormon

Harvest Worker and Nephite Campfire Dancer

Destruction Survivor

Destruction Victim

One of King Noah's citizens

New World Child #3 - in scene with the Descending Christ

New World Child

Alma convert at the Waters of Mormon w/ Mom

Sunday Afternoon at the Hill Cumorah

2010-07-21T16:10:00.003-04:00

Celebrating Lianne's birthday at Pageant - July 3

2010-07-21T15:59:00.005-04:00

Making Lehi

2010-07-06T15:04:00.004-04:00

Coloring the beard white.

Trimming it to match the other 2 Lehi beards.
The finished product.

For Everything Else, There's Mastercard

2010-07-04T22:58:00.007-04:00

Learners Permit: $15

Towing Service: $275

Windshield Replacement: $250

Making it to the Hill Cumorah without killing anyone: Priceless!

Summer of Freebies: Week 3 and 4

2010-06-28T11:35:00.004-04:00

Week 3: We ended up loaning our van to the young women leaders in our ward to go to girls camp. We'll save our coupons for another week.

Week 4: J2, A1, Z and A2 earned free passes to Seven Peaks Waterpark as part of a reading program at school. I found an adult admission pass in some coupons that came in the mail, so the five of us spent the afternoon at Seven Peaks. The kids had tons of fun in the water and sun! Unfortunately, I forgot the camera, again.

Look Who's ...

2010-06-22T12:53:00.004-04:00

Walking!!

Lil L has been cruising along the furniture for months. She started taking a few steps alone about a month ago. Now she walks everywhere.

She is so stinkin' cute!

Summer of Freebies: Week 1 and 2

2010-06-11T12:45:00.022-04:00

Summer vacations can be lots of fun ... or just the same old thing. With piano lesson day and library day planned into the weekly schedule, we decided to spice up our summer vacation by using some "freebie" coupons/discount tickets or going to free events once a week.

Week 1: Mini golf at Trafalga. Unfortunately I forgot my camera and missed several awesome "Hole in One" shots.

Week 2: Bowling. Everyone had a blast.

It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's a ...

2010-06-05T17:29:00.008-04:00

PIG?!?

Imagine waking up and seeing this in the field across from your house!

Lil L, A2 and I went to the Eagle Mountain Pony Express Days Parade today.

A2 enjoyed collecting candy all all of the other loot that people were handing out.
Lil L bounced along to the music ... until she fell asleep.

J1 marched in her first parade as a member of Westlake High School's Marching Band. Go Thunder!!!

L walked with a group from the Stake that are preparing to go on Trek this summer.
"Pioneer children sang as they walked and walked and walked ..."

I love a parade!! Here's some of my favorite floats.

Memorial Day Tradition

2010-06-01T00:46:00.007-04:00

Some people go camping or on a picnic, others have a BBQ with friends and family. Our family? No matter what the temperature is outside, we throw our kids into the pool to "stir the salt" and begin the summer swimming season. We have to. It's tradition! The kids were good sports - considering that on Monday it was about 75 degrees and the water temperature was only 60!

Global Warming?!

2010-05-24T11:38:00.004-04:00

Can someone please explain this crazy weather to me?? Here we are ... May 24 ... 4 days until school is out for the summer and we wake up to this:

We're supposed to get about 6 inches before this storm is done.

Spring Break - A Recipe for Fun!

2010-04-15T00:48:00.014-04:00

Ingredients:
1 week off from school
6 active children
1 very patient baby girl
1 brave mom
1 working dad

Step 1: (Monday)
Spend the day cleaning the house to prepare for the arrival of a good friend from NY.

Step 2: (Tuesday)
After watching the rain/snow fall all morning, have a Pirates of the Caribbean movie-a-thon complete with popcorn and hot cocoa to chase away the cold, rainy day blues.

Step 3: (Wednesday)
While Dad is working from home, drive to Salt Lake City to give Dad a few hours of peace and quiet. Visit Temple Square and the "I am a Child of God" interactive exhibit at the Church History Art Museum across from Temple Square.

Step 4: (Thursday)
Take the animals to visit their friends in the zoo. (Oops ... I meant take the kids to Hogle Zoo.) Stop by Heritage Park across the street and see the famous "This Is The Place" Monument. Don't forget to be home by 3:30 for piano lessons!

Step 5: (Friday)
Clean the house, again, and pack the car for a weekend trip to Colorado Springs.

Step 6: (Saturday and Sunday)
Enjoy time with family.

Optional Recovery Plan for Mom after Spring Break is over:
Sit back and relax ... maybe watch a good movie while enjoying a nice quiet soak!

Chocolate Cherry Glazed Cookie Bites

2010-04-06T11:14:00.002-04:00

I love chocolate and cherries ... put them together and you've found my weakness. So, when I stumbled across a recipe for these little tasty treats, I knew I had to find a reason to make some. We had these for dessert on Easter Sunday.

Easter "Egg-citement"

2010-04-05T18:17:00.005-04:00

Parent Appreciation Day 2010

2010-04-02T15:38:00.007-04:00

Ever heard of Parent Appreciation Day? J1 decided we needed to have one, so we did. J1 and L planned the day (it was on Saturday, February 13) and then recruited the other kids to help carry out the plan.

It was amazing! They planned all our meals and activities for the entire day, made their shopping list, bought all the groceries for the day with their own money, did the cooking, served all our meals to us and did the clean-up after each meal.

They even rearranged the furniture so that Don and I could have a quite candlelit dinner for two with dancing included. I think we should definitely celebrate Parent Appreciation Day every year!

It's Not Easy Being Big - or should I say small?!

2010-03-31T23:22:00.005-04:00

This is one of my all time favorite books. I have enjoyed reading it to all the kids. Plus, it is such a wonderful beginning book for the kids as they are learning to read.

I also like it because I can relate to Elmo. (No, I'm not a small red furry monster, although some days my kids might tell you otherwise.) While being small can be great - sometimes it's not so easy. For example: Check out these next couple pictures.

I always knew this day would come. In fact, I hoped it would. But did it have to happen so soon? J1 wins the prize for being the first one to grow taller than me.

General Young Women's Meeting

2010-03-31T01:55:00.002-04:00

Instead of attending a satelite broadcast of the General Young Women's Meeting last Saturday, L, J1 and I decided to get tickets to attend at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City. It was an amazing meeting.

So many things to post ... so little time.

2010-03-31T01:50:00.002-04:00

I am so far behind on our blog. I have been trying to change the look of the blog and just make it look a little more exciting, but I just keep coming back to the same template and look. Maybe this change just wasn't meant to be.

Anyway, I'm going to try to catch things up a bit.

Sweet Little One

2009-12-03T10:27:00.005-05:00

I know "Where the Wild Things Are" ... and I just love this sweet little wild thing.

Lights at Temple Square

2009-11-29T00:40:00.004-05:00

We went to Temple Square on Saturday night to see the Chrsitmas lights with my sister and her family. At times like this, I wish I was a better photographer and had a better camera!

I'm thankful for ...

2009-11-19T16:09:00.002-05:00

a sleeping baby!

Family Night in a Tipi!!

2009-11-18T11:40:00.008-05:00

Brother and Sister Smith invited us to their tipi for family night on Monday. (Not everyone as a real Indian tipi in their back yard!) Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the Smith's or their tipi, but we enjoyed a fun evening with them, roasting marshmallows over a fire in the tipi and getting to know them. Sister Smith used to be a gymnast prior to an accident that broke her neck and put her in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. She is such a wonderful example of humility and enduring to the end. I'm not sure what Brother Smith does, but he used to be a clown and has won multiple awards for his balloon creations. He shared some of them with us.

Check these out:

A poodle ...

A flower ...A butterfly ...A flying mouse ... (you hold the mouse in your hand and pull the tail to make it fly)A rhinoceros ...A horse ...
And my personal favorite, a teddy bear riding a unicycle ...

Halloween

2009-11-02T11:46:00.002-05:00

American Cuties!

2009-10-15T17:08:00.000-04:00

This was definitely a Kodak Moment!

Beautiful Clouds

2009-10-08T01:56:00.008-04:00

I took these pictures from our balcony the other day. These clouds were so bright against the hills behind them and the dark storm clouds moving in above.

Cute as a Button!

2009-09-25T01:23:00.003-04:00

What more can I say?

Timp Time

2009-08-17T12:00:00.008-04:00

Our afternoon climbing Mt. Timpanogos in pictures.

At the bottom before starting up the trail.

View up the canyon to the east.

Check out this cool tree and its roots!

View down the canyon to the west.

1/4 of the way up the trail.

1/2 the way up the trail.

Arrow of Light

2009-08-14T11:48:00.002-04:00

J2 earned his Arrow of Light at Pack Meeting this month. He loves Cub Scouts! I have the feeling the next 4 months are going to be full of working on as many belt loops and remaining activity pins as possible!

Runs in the family

2009-08-12T16:11:00.003-04:00

What do you think?

Toasted ... Starbursts?!

2009-08-11T10:16:00.004-04:00

L and J1 introduced us to this delicacy at Family Home Evening last night. Move over marshmallows, it's starburst time!!

They toasted (or totally burned) a lot of marshmallows, too.

Idaho Family Reunion Vacation in Pictures

2009-07-30T13:52:00.005-04:00

We just spent a week in Idaho at a Sherwood Family Reunion with this great bunch.

We stayed at this great location called the May Family Ranch on the Salmon River.

It seems like I spent all of my time taking care of Little L, so I didn't take as many pictures to capture all of the memories of this vacation, but I did get a few.

Sit back and enjoy the memories!

Random photos ...

2009-07-29T18:25:00.008-04:00

Ask A1 - enough said!

First Haircut - 7/4/2009

inContact Lunch Break?!

Introducing Little L

2009-07-04T17:13:00.008-04:00

Born: July 3, 2009

Weight: 7 lbs. 12 oz.

Height: 19.5 inches

When things go right...

2009-05-13T19:54:00.011-04:00

We took a leap of faith this year.

I quit my very well-paying job in August of last year to attempt a new business (ad)venture. Despite the looming threat of a recession, we felt (for a number of reasons) that it was the right time to leave Healthcare One. Unfortunately, my business prospects all began to fall away, and by December we had depleted all our emergency savings. We were completely broke, and couldn't even pay our mortgage.

We decided to sell the house and look for a cheap rent situation. We talked about our options as a family, and together we decided that since we had no business prospects of any significance tying us to Fairport any more, that the time had come to move away from New York.

All of our extended family lives in the western states. From New York, it takes either 2 days of non-stop driving, or expensive airplane tickets to visit them, and so for these 11 years we have been largely unable to go to graduations, birthdays, holidays, weddings, baptisms or other family events.

We decided to move west.

So I started looking for job opportunities in Colorado and Utah. I submitted dozens of job applications for positions advertised on jobs.com, careerbuilder.com, monster.com and others. I also submitted several applications for LDS church and BYU listed positions. After Christmas, I had still not gotten any positive response from any of my job applications. Things looked bleak.

But we didn't get discouraged. We had prayed individually and as a family to know what we should do to make it through the tough times we were facing, and every one of us received the same answer - move west to be closer to family, and things will work out.

So we took a leap of faith. I bought a plane ticket to Utah. My objective was to find a job, and then find a place to rent to move my family into. I arrived on January 2nd, had an interview on January 3rd at BYU, and began working a part-time job there on January 9th.

I also submitted my resume to local job placement agencies. In early February I was placed into a full-time position at a software company which had a temporary need for additional programmers. I was making $40/hour, and putting in about 50 hours per week.

After about 5 weeks of that, I was contacted by a company in Salt Lake that I had submitted my resume to via careerbuilder.com a couple of months previously. They interviewed me, and then offered me an $85,000 salary and great benefits to be a Mid-level software engineer for them. I accepted at the end of March and started work on the 6th of April - a very significant day.

That's 3 jobs in 3 months in an economic recession. I attribute that to the Lord's blessings in response to our leap of faith and trusting the answer that He had given to our prayers.

But the blessings did not stop there. The housing market was affected differently in different parts of the country. For example, in Fairport, NY there was little change in the housing market. Home values, which had been appreciating steadily over the years, fell back only slightly, making them about what they were the previous year. In Utah, however, the housing market fell substantially, making it so that almost every house on the market is a short-sale, or a foreclosed, bank-owned sale, Homes that last year cost $400,ooo are now selling for $250,000 or less.

What this means for us is that we are able to get a fair equity return on our 4 bedroom home in Fairport, and with the low interest rates and low prices in Utah, we are able to turn right around and buy a larger 5 bedroom home in Utah without really affecting our budget. We will, in fact, close on a 5-year-old 5 bedroom home in Eagle Mountain later this month. And in mid June we close on the sale of our Fairport house.

We had planned to rent a small apartment, but for the same amount of monthly expense we will be in a nearly-new comfortable and spacious home with a large yard. Everything has been falling into place for us. Better job, better pay, better benefits, larger home, larger yard, and best of all, we are close enough to participate in special family occasions. Many people are struggling in this economy. Still many others are managing to maintain their lives somewhat unaffected by it. But how many are being upgraded?

Now I'm not so naive as to believe that prayer and faith will always result in financial increase, nor am I suggesting that the answers to your prayers will always be to your liking. But I do believe that when we place our trust in God and go forward with faith following the answers that we receive to our prayers, things will eventually work out for our benefit despite the hardships we will endure. In the end, I believe we will see, if we look honestly, that we are better when we accept with faith and gratitude whatever plan the Lord has for our lives.

Thank you, Heavenly Father.

Weekend Visitor

2009-05-11T11:31:00.005-04:00

Don, L and J1 made friends with this poor turtle over the weekend. They found him in the middle of the road after having been hit by a passing car. "Tony Turtle the Tortoise" spent Saturday night in the basement until after church on Sunday, when Don and L took him to Lollypop Farm (the local humane society) for care.

Runaway!

2009-05-06T08:11:00.004-04:00

This is The Cuteness. He has been part of our family for 3 years. He was the cutest little ball of fur when we first got him. Then he turned into an excape artist. He'd run as far and as fast as he could anytime the door was opened. Then we got an Invisible Fence. For the past 2 years, life has been great for The Cuteness and all of us. All we needed to do was change the battery in his collar and pick up the land mines he leaves for us outside.

Until yesterday! The battery in his collar is dead. He decided to explore the neighborhood after chasing after a car. (Yes he really chases cars.) Since he hasn't actually left the yard in quite a while, we looked around our yard and the neighbor's yards for about 30 minutes. When the boys were ready to go out and wait for the bus, (1 hour missing) I asked Zachary to look around a little bit more. He opened the door and there sat The Cuteness - ready for breakfast and a drink and all wet from his morning exercise.

30 Days until Moving Day

2009-04-24T19:43:00.004-04:00

After all the talk and planning, it is finally time to prepare to make the move to Utah. We are excited to move and to be closer to family; however, it is going to be harder on all of us than we thought. While there are several of things about the state of New York that we don't particularly like, we've lived here for 11 years and this is the only place the kids really know as "home". We have made some wonderful friends in the community and in the Fairport Ward that we will miss terribly.

Time is ticking. Better take advantage of the time we have left.

Our Life

2009-03-31T13:52:00.005-04:00

Lately, our adventure that we call life has been a little crazy. Here is a brief update.

Since January 1, Don has been working and living here:

(Luckily, he has been back in NY once a month for a weekend since then.)

Meanwhile, some friends and I have been busy doing a lot of this:

Now, we are dealing with this:

Not to mention this:

We have had a lot of showings in the 2 weeks the house as been on the market. We hope it sells soon. The wild things are glad spring has arrived since just about all of their toys are either packed or gone. They spend a lot of time outside - helps keep the house clean! We're looking forward to being reunited as a family.

Need A Name!

2009-01-23T15:00:00.006-05:00

Earlier this month, we said goodbye to a family friend ... the red suburban. Indeed this car has been through over 250,000 miles of family fun and memories. The suburban, otherwise known as Big Red or The Beast, will be missed - at least it's 4-wheel drive abilities and "more power" feeling will be missed.

Now, we need help with a name for our new vehicle. Introducing: The blue 15 passenger Ford F350 van!

When J1 first saw it, all she could say was, "WOW! It's big and it's BLUE!" J2's reactions was, "Holy smokes, it's a whale!" Any good nickname suggestions?

Sshh!! I'm on the phone!!

2009-01-09T15:12:00.003-05:00

Real phone or not, I guess I was disturbing her while she was talking to her friend.

Counting the Days

2009-01-05T22:55:00.003-05:00

Yeah, yeah ... I know. I said I was done after #6. And I was. I gave away all my maternity clothes and most all of the baby bottles, toys, clothes, etc. I only kept a few things that were given to us for each child. I felt complete and I was really happy with the way our family was.

Then about a year ago, I started getting this feeling that we were not done - another child was waiting to come to our family. I was hoping that it was just the feelings that come with moving into another stage of life - after all A2 was turning 4 in July and wasn't a baby anymore. I ignored it until March when I just couldn't get the thought out of my mind and I shared my feelings with Don. After much prayer and pondering, we decided to follow the prompting.

We are looking forward to welcoming our new baby in June!!

Toot Toot Chugga Chugga Big Red Car

2008-12-11T13:42:00.005-05:00

We love our big red car. We have fondly nicknamed it "The Beast" and we have had so many fun adventures in this car. It has all sorts of interesting quirks that come with a car that is 14 years old and has over 250,000 miles on it. One of these quirks happens to be the gas gauge. When The Beast is full of gas, the needle on the gauge stays past the full mark for a very long time. Then, it suddenly begins to drop. Once it hits the half tank mark, it bounces between half and empty depending on your speed and terrain. You never know for sure how much gas there really is in the tank and there is no warning when you are close to being out of gas, it just dies ... Then you pray you can stop safely somewhere without crashing due to the lack of power steering! Needless to say, we've learned to watch it carefully and when the bouncing stays closer to the empty side of the gauge, we know it's time to fill it up.

We don't actually drive The Beast much. It mostly just sits in the driveway or garage waiting for Sunday or a family outting. With the price of gas being so high, driving it as little as possible was a necessity. $150 for a tank of gas is just too much.

Last Saturday, we had to fill The Beast. The needle had been bouncing around the gas gauge for several days and we didn't want to run out of gas going to or from church. Gas prices have gone down, but I wasn't expecting this:

$74.82 to fill The Beast!?! I know gas prices are even lower in other parts of the country, but this is the first time we have paid less than $100 to fill this car with gas in a couple of years!

We're Moving! (and some other stuff)

2008-11-03T14:07:00.015-05:00

We pondered. We prayed. We discussed the pros and cons. We prayed some more. In the end, we decided it is time for us to move west - most likely somewhere in Colorado. We haven't really decided where yet ... Don grew up in Colorado Springs and has siblings there. I grew up in Loveland and I have a sister there and a brother in Pueblo. We lived in Ft. Collins prior to moving to New York 10 1/2 years ago and we have some good friends there that we think of often. So, we'll see where we end up. We're planning to put our house on the market in March. Hopefully, it will sell by the time school ends in June.

The kids had tons of fun on Halloween - although you really can't tell from this photo taken the day after. L and J1 went to Halloween parties that included trick or treating and a sleepover. J2 went trick or treating with around the neighborhood with one of his friends. That left Don at home passing out candy and me with A1, Z and A2. They made it up and down our street and half way around the block and then announced they were tired and done!! Strange kids - warm weather, free candy and they wanted to go home and play gamecube!

I went with L and several of the YM/YW in our ward to the Amazing Maize Maze at Long Acre Farm on Saturday. It was cold, but fun. I warned my partner when we went into the maze that we would probably be the last ones to make it out ... and we were. The bishop and all the other youth cheered when we finally made it out after about 45 minutes!

The Calm Before the Storm

2008-10-26T18:38:00.016-04:00

You know something big is coming when life with 6 kids is quiet and calm.

The kids decided to help rake the leaves. I think they had more fun playing, but hey ... what are leaves for?

L received her patriarchal blessing last Sunday. That was a very special moment for her and us, as parents. She also participated in her last 2 cross country meets - both in pouring rain and one in freezing temperatures.

J2 tried out for a part in his school play, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

A2 has been enjoying Storytime at the Library. She absolutely loves books!

It was a very quiet week here. The calm before the storm. Big changes are just around the corner for our family.

Cool Halloween Balloons

2008-10-17T11:40:00.007-04:00

Yesterday, I was walking around Greece Ridge Mall with A2 and we found this wonderful carousel made of balloons. We also found a haunted house that they were assembling entirely out of balloons. It was amazing!

New York

2008-10-15T10:55:00.020-04:00

There are a lot of things about New York that I really don't like. The taxes, the crazy liberal political views, the never ending winters and grey skies, Hillary Clinton ... just to name a few. However, at this time of year, I cannot complain about the scenery.

When the leaves begin to change colors, I am awed by the beauty of God's creations!

Constant Competition

2008-10-14T17:40:00.011-04:00

I think a good description of my boys would be constant competition. They are always competing against each other ... ALWAYS. Two years ago, A1 learned to ride his bike without the training wheels. J1 was disappointed that he wasn't first, but he was better on the scooter, so it didn't really bother him too much. However things changed this summer when Z decided he was done with training wheels.

Once Z set his mind on riding a "2-wheeler", he never stopped trying. He was very determined to ride around the block before summer was over.

J1 started feeling a little left out and decided to put some effort into learning to ride a bike. He couldn't let both of his little brothers be better than him! It didn't take too long before he was cruising the neighborhood as well.

A2 decided she wanted in on the action as well, not wanting to be left behind when everyone else took off on their bikes. So, we put the training wheels on a bike for her and away she went.

Now, everyone is ready to ride. I took the kids (except for A2) for a ride on the Erie Canal between the Saturday Conference Sessions. We had a blast even though we only made it half way to the village. Next time, we hope to make it all the way into Fairport and enjoy some ice cream at Lickety-Splits!

Just Another Saturday

2008-10-11T21:54:00.014-04:00

It was supposed to be a simple cross-country meet. It was being held in Rochester at Seneca Park by the zoo. I decided to take the kids to watch L run in her race, and then we would go to the zoo for a couple hours. Then, we had planned to go into the village and see the Scarecrow Festival and visit the Open House at the Fire Hall, where Don was helping out with the other fire fighters.

We made it to Seneca Park just in time to see L's race start. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. The parking lot at the park was full, so I decided to park on the side of the road. That turned out not to be such a great idea. It was muddy on the side of the road - very muddy. So muddy the car immediately got stuck. In fact it sunk up to the top of the front wheel well.

Needless to say, we didn't make it to the zoo or the Scarecrow Festival or the Open House at the Fire Hall. We did see L's race and the kids enjoyed playing around the park, but the only animals we saw looked something like this:

Don came to our rescue and pulled us out of the mud. We returned home and the kids and I enjoyed a quiet afternoon around the house while Don helped a friend redo his roof. While our previously planned day probably would have been a lot of fun, getting stuck in the mud was really a blessing in disguise. Our lives on Saturdays are always so busy - overbooked. It was nice to just throw all the plans out and just hang out together around the house.

Wind in Your Hair

2008-10-10T20:36:00.007-04:00

Don't you just love feeling the wind in your hair? Growing up I always liked to ride in the front of the boat because I loved feeling the wind in my hair. I think that's why I like to ski and run and do anything that allows me to experience that feeling.

Evidently I'm not alone. I've been driving Don to work every day for the past month or so. One day, Don took pity on our dog, The Cuteness, and let him come along. At first we left the windows closed and The Cuteness would whine and bark the entire time. So, we opened a window for him and he was in heaven! Now anytime we open a car door The Cuteness is the first one in the car!

Don snapped a few pictures of The Cuteness on the way to work today. A2 thinks he looks like a rat when the wind is blowing his hair back.
(He really needs to visit the groomer!)

Dreaming of School Days

2008-10-05T09:52:00.010-04:00

When school started for us on September 4, A2 was delighted! She had uninterrupted access to everyone's toys ... as long as she was careful and put them away when she was done playing with them. This was a great relief to me. I thought she would be following me around all day begging me to play with her since all of her "playmates" were gone to school.

Unfortunately, the novelty has begun to wear off. She still entertains herself most of the time, but now she has started asking the question that signals to me that she is growing up, "When do I get to go to school?"

A2 found J1's old lunch box the other day and adopted it as her own. She does everything with it, even sleep. She says she getting ready for school!

A Lazy Summer Evening

2008-10-03T14:18:00.008-04:00

In August, we were invited with several other families to spend Family Home Evening with an elderly sister in our ward. We enjoyed sitting out in her garden by the creek, relaxing and chatting while the kids played around the garden and in the creek.

Everyone had fun!