Eastern Blog Country

Black out bullying

2012-01-25T08:44:00.002-05:00

The governor of the state of Massachusetts declared today "No Name Calling Day" to help students understand that bullying will not be tolerated. The schools asked the kids to wear black today to show that they are committed to "Black Out Bullying"

My kids all came home from school yesterday very excited and looked through their closets to make sure they had black clothes ready for the big day. As I was helping Abigail get dressed this morning I pulled out her black pants and black shirt. She was a little confused because to Abigail wearing black means you are a "bad guy". I reminded her that it was "Black Out Bullying Day" She got all excited and didn't ask any more questions so I assumed they had talked about it in her classroom. As she was finishing getting dressed she turned to me and asked, "Do we really get to go bowling?"

Now I was really confused. Where did she come up with the idea that we were going bowling? Then I realized that when we were talking about bullying she thought we were saying "bowling". Poor girl was so excited because she thought we were going bowling when all she gets is wearing black to school and looking like a bad guy. She was a good sport about the confusion and went happily to school in her black clothes. Guess we will have to plan a bowling trip soon so Abigail can go bowling for real!

Love language

2012-01-24T22:07:00.002-05:00

Whose is this?

Do-bee-do-bee-do-ba-do-bee-do-bee-do-ba

2012-01-23T10:14:00.001-05:00

I wonder if my kids would be impressed if they saw who was hiding behind some seldom used icons on the desktop of my work computer?

This is what Christmas means

2011-12-08T12:36:00.001-05:00

Now I feel bad. I'll take a better picture and post it later, but what you don't see very well here is that Natalie, when I gave her some paper and some crayons, drew a picture of the Holy Birth and titled it "This is what Christmas means" and added the caption "Jesus Christ is born." That makes me feel good. I still have a long way to go to be the parent I want to be, but I must be doing something right.

Freedom Trail

2011-12-01T13:55:00.000-05:00

After living in Massachusetts for ten years we figured it was time for us to experience the Freedom Trail. Since the kids had the day off Jeremiah decided to take it off and we planned for an all day outing. It was a beautiful day so we stopped at Boston Commons and played at the park.

I think the kids would have been completely happy to just spend the day at the park but we really wanted to see the sights.

Our first stop was the State House and we even got a tour of the inside. Very impressive!

The kids were fascinated with the cemetery. We found tombstones for several famous people. Natalie really wanted to make sure we found where Paul Revere was buried. She was well informed of his part in history and Natalie wanted to make sure we saw the church where the candles were lit (we got to go inside that church as well) and the house where Paul Revere lived.

Because of Trevor's accident yesterday we had a bandaid on his lip. It really made him look like he had a mustache so Jeremiah added the final touch of special effects. We had several complete strangers stop us on the streets of Boston to tell Trevor that they liked his mustache. Trevor thought it was so cool. He wasn't excited about wearing a bandaid but that all changed when the bandaid became a mustache.

We did a lot of walking but somehow the kids still had energy to run around at the Boston Children's Museum. It was a great day!

Another Year Older...

2011-12-01T13:53:00.000-05:00

....and wiser too! Happy Birthday Michaela.

Yesterday was Michaela's birthday. Between early morning seminary, school, and the youth temple trip we decided to celebrate Michaela's birthday on Monday. Everyone was home from school since it was Columbus day so we had all day to party.

These two are so good at pushing each others buttons so I always look for any chance I can get to capture the tender moments.

For the last three years Michaela has decorated her own birthday cake. It is something she looks forward to and it has been fun to see her improving her decorating skills.

I found these flowers for Michaela and as soon as I saw these bright and colorful flowers it made me think of her. Michaela brings so much brightness and color to our house and my life is so much better because she is in it!

Yesterday Michaela got to spend lots of time with mommy and daddy. Jeremiah taught her seminary class in the morning and because of our good friend offering to sit with the other kids that night both Jeremiah and I were able to go to the temple with Michaela. Michaela thought it was a great way to end her birthday.

Our aspiring young artist

2011-11-21T18:40:00.001-05:00

Natalie has really taken a liking to the Percy Jackson series. Here is some fan art that she generated.

A Book of Mormon Story

2011-11-20T12:01:00.001-05:00

Just watched this with my kids and Ethan and Evan from our ward. Great animation. Even better story.

Crazy Halloween

2011-11-01T14:31:00.004-04:00

The unexpected sure did catch us by surprise this year. The last day of October found all my kiddies home from school because of a snow storm that dumped 14 plus inches of snow over the weekend. The kids were a little disappointed when they realized being home meant no class Halloween parties and no Halloween parade to the nursing home. They were really disappointed when we learned that Trick-or-Treating in our city had been canceled for that night and rescheduled for Thursday night. What?!? I had never heard of such a thing. But it did make sense when you understand that most of our city is without power. It's just not safe for little witches and goblins to be out in the dark streets especially when trees and power lines are down all over.

I was glad that I had planned a somewhat fun Halloween dinner since the kids had a bummer day. Everything was a big hit except for the "brains". Everyone did try them at least.

Mummy dogs, Potato ghosts, and Brains (spaghetti squash)

Instead of waiting until Thursday to go Trick-or-Treating we decided to join our friends in the neighboring city for some fun. The kids had a great time even if they had to traipse through the snow to get to the various houses. Felt more like we should have been out caroling instead of Trick-or-Treating but I think we made the best of it all and the kids thought it was great fun!

My favorite picture of the whole evening. Michaela the pirate with a giant snowman on Halloween. Crazy!

A Few days after the attack

2011-10-10T12:19:00.000-04:00

Trevor has been a good sport with his fat lip. Just a few days after the event it is amazing how much better it looks.

Ouch!

2011-10-07T11:06:00.001-04:00

Abigail clobbered Trevor yesterday. They were outside playing with their swim noodle light sabers. They have a PVC pipe handle and of course Trevor got hit with the PVC pipe end. Poor guy. He knew it was an accident and he tried so hard to be brave but it is hard to be brave when you are bleeding a lot. He also thought his tooth had fallen out and we were relieved when we discovered it was just his gum. After several hours in the ER he was put back together with six stitches. They are the magical dissolving kind so we don't have to worry about going back in to get them taken out. Trevor is in good spirits even with his extremely fat lip, very sore mouth, and the fact that he has a restricted diet. Stay tuned for a "after" picture. I'm sure in a couple of days it will look lots better.

Birthday Girl!

2011-09-21T08:04:00.003-04:00

Emersynne had a birthday last week. She knew it was coming and was so excited when the day finally arrived. We even heard her around the house singing "happy birthday to me"

Emersynne is very much into Dora and told me awhile ago that she wanted a Dora birthday cake. Jeremiah and Natalie took that task on and they had a great time creating. Along with a Dora birthday cake Emersynne also got a Dora umbrella, Dora legos, Dora sleeping bag, and Dora watch. When I asked her what she wanted for her special birthday dinner she said, "Dora cake with pink frosting and ice cream." We settled for something easy and all enjoyed grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.

Emersynne was very excited with this card she got from Grandma Vicki and Grandpa Wally

Emersynne has been using her new sleeping bag on her bed and is excited to soon have a sleepover in Natalie's room.

Pink and purple legos that definitely won't get confused with the boys legos.

Can't believe she is already three. Where did the time go? Emersynne seems to be adjusting to all the kids being gone at school but she is really excited when they walk in the door. She is trying to fit in with the big kids by telling me that she has to do her homework or that it is time for her to practice her songs. She is a little busy body and keeps us all laughing!

School Days

2011-09-10T10:13:00.003-04:00

School is now back in session. Michaela, Anthony, Natalie, and Trevor all started on August 31st but Abigail had a bit longer to wait. It was only a few days but to her it felt so long until her turn came. When the kids would leave to walk to the bus stop she would grab her backpack and walk with us saying that she was practicing. Finally, on September 6th Abigail joined the school kids. Kindergarten out here is full day so it has been a bit of an adjustment. It is a long day for her (leaving the house at 7:20am and returning home at 2:50) but so far she is doing great.

This year Michaela started High School. She was a bit nervous and it took her a few days to learn how to get to her classes but now she is a pro. Another adjustment coming up is early morning seminary. Yikes!

The three musketeers were excited for the new school year. Anthony is a 6th grader, Natalie is in 4th grade, and Trevor is in 2nd grade.

Finally Abigail got to join the kids on the bus. Here she is dancing a little jig with her umbrella on her first day of school.

So now it's just Emersynne and mommy at home. Emersynne anxiously waits for her kids to come home but has managed to keep me on my toes with just her. On our first shopping trip with all the kids in school she grabbed a 5 lb bag of gummi bears when I wasn't looking and opened it. Not what I wanted to buy that day but we now have a nice big bag of gummi bears in our pantry. Guess I will have to keep my eye on that one!

End of Summer Outing

2011-09-03T21:05:00.004-04:00

Michaela didn't have to work today so we planned an all day outing as a way of saying goodbye to summer. We packed a picnic lunch and headed to Roger Williams Park in Providence. Our first stop was checking out the swam boats. It ended up being the highlight of the whole day and everyone had a great time on the water. Abigail said she wanted to come back when she was bigger so she could reach the pedals. Sounds like a good plan. It is actually harder than it looks and my legs were burning before we finished.

All over the park you could hear the sound of chain saws as workers were trying to clear the many trees that were down from the hurricane the week before. Thank goodness the favorite climbing tree was still in one piece. The kids had a blast climbing in the tree.

Swan boats, tree climbing, playground, carousel rides, and exploring! I think we wore everybody out with all the fun filled activities.

Tower Hill Botanic Garden

2011-08-27T20:51:00.003-04:00

Michaela has a job helping out at a deli for a few hours Saturdays so we've tried to find areas close to her work so we can have some family outings before dropping her off.

It was a hot humid morning but the gardens were amazing. So many trails to explore and we didn't every get to all of them. I think the favorite spots were the vegetable garden and the secret garden.

We spent a lot of time looking at the pond with the lily pads. Lots of little frogs hiding in there!

Forty Caves

2011-08-20T20:33:00.004-04:00

We found another great hiking spot while looking for letter boxes in the area. We headed out this morning to get a family adventure in before Michaela had to go to work.

More colorful mushrooms!

It was so humid it felt like we were in the rain forest. Even our map got soggy. We found lots of cool trees, rocks, and other wildlife and it was interesting to hike through an area that doesn't get much sun because of the trees.

I think the most exciting part for all of the kids was the fact that the trail crossed over some train tracks. Anthony took this picture of all of us standing on the tracks. It was his comment that made me laugh. As we were walking on the tracks Anthony started balancing on the side of the track saying, "I've always wanted to do this!" Guess we can all cross walking on the train tracks off our bucket list!

Higgins Museum

2011-08-10T20:21:00.003-04:00

Today we took advantage of the library passes and visited a cool museum just down the hill from us. Michaela is at girls camp this week and the kids were wanting to go do something fun. It was a great activity for a hot summer afternoon and I think the kids would have stayed longer but the museum closes early.

The kids enjoyed walking around the museum and even sat through a live presentation on weapons and armor. We spent the most time in the kids room which was their favorite spot. Lots of hands on stuff!

Emersynne couldn't get enough of this horse. Anytime it was free she would want to climb back on.

Trevor thought this was pretty cool although I don't think he would have wanted to be locked in there for long.

Each of the kids got to try on armor and see how heavy it was.

Emersynne's favorite part was wearing the helmets

It was a fun activity and the kids are asking when they can go again. With the library passes we almost get in free so we will definitely have to go again soon.

Fifteen Years

2011-08-10T09:02:00.003-04:00

Yesterday Jeremiah and I celebrated our 15th anniversary. I still can't believe it has been 15 years. That sounds like a very long time but it doesn't feel that way.

It was a crazy day with Michaela leaving for girls camp, watching my friends three kids so her husband could go to work since she is at girls camp, and Anthony going to scouts in the evening. Even with all that was going on it was a great day and I think we did a good job of celebrating.

Before leaving for work Jeremiah gave me a present which was a beautiful frame with a recent photo of us that my sister took while we were in Utah. After opening his present for me which was so fancy I felt silly knowing what I had selected for his present. I wanted to give him something to represent 15 years of our marriage and didn't think he would be very excited with crystal candle sticks (15 years is the crystal anniversary) so instead I got him 15 boxes of good & plenty, one box for each year of our marriage. Jeremiah LOVES good & plenty and he got a good laugh when he opened the box. Now he has something yummy to put in a candy jar on his desk at work.

Amid the craziness of eight children running around Jeremiah stopped at home on his lunch break with flowers that he carefully arranged in the vase for me. To top off the day we enjoyed a chinese take-out dinner for just the two of us after the kids were in bed. Plenty of leftovers for dinner tonight so the kids are very excited!

Saturday family outing

2011-08-08T19:50:00.000-04:00

Saturday morning we ate a quick breakfast and quickly headed out to take the kids to a place that Jeremiah and I had discovered the night before. Prepared with bug spray we found some trails inside Broad Meadow Brook Wildlife Sanctuary and explored. Emersynne's little legs still have a hard time keeping up and before long I heard, "Mommy I too busy to walk." With some more coaxing she trudged along before getting a piggy back ride from daddy.

The trails looped through wooded areas with lots of

impressive rocks,

twisty trees,

colored mushrooms,

and tons of frogs.

The kids had a great time counting the frogs that were trying to hide in the marshy areas, climbing huge boulders, and trying to catch frogs. I think only daddy was successful in that area. We all had a great adventure and I'm glad it only took us ten years to discover this place. Wonder what other hidden secrets this city holds!

Lake

2011-08-02T19:42:00.002-04:00

The kids have worked hard with unpacking, getting reorganized, and getting caught up on yard work. It was past time for a fun outing so this morning we headed out to Rutland State Park with our picnic lunch, sand towels, and lots of sunblock. Our friends the Deskins met us there and all the kids had a great time playing in the water and sand. As usual nobody was ready to go home when it was time so hopefully we can squeeze in a few more lake trips before summer is over.

Emersynne was so content to just sit on the shore and fill her bucket with sand and water

Utah Vacation

2011-08-01T19:13:00.008-04:00

I'm not really sure how to do a post for our 3 1/2 week vacation to Utah. I probably should to a post for each day so I can showcase all the photos we took. But instead I think I will just do one post with some special photos. Here it goes!

Hanging out with Nannie and Papa, eating ice cream, and playing in their yard.

Fun in the water

Park Days

Steel Days Carnival

Nannie and Papa came to watch the fun at the carnival and then took us all out to Wendy's for lunch.

Stay tuned for Utah Vacation part 2

7 days - 7 pounds

2011-07-12T08:51:00.000-04:00

I think I'm beginning to understand how Mark Haub, a professor of human nutrition at Kansas State University, lost 27 pounds in two months. His "Twinkie diet" consisted of eating nothing but snack cakes during the day and a can of vegetables at the dinner table in front of his kids. Why did he choose Twinkies? Prepackaged foods, especially those that do not vary in weight or nutritional make-up from one package to the next, are very easy to log if you are keeping a food journal as your dieting strategy.

I decided that the week with the kids away in Utah would be the perfect time for me to try out the Twinkie diet. I'd already lost a lot of weight on my calorie logging diet -- 10 pounds over 3 months, yea! -- so I wasn't expecting any huge acceleration in weight loss from switching from "normal" food to Twinkies.

But that's where I was wrong.

I have lost 7 pounds over the past 7 days, and I did it by eating fruit pies, Pop Tarts, and Twinkies. Okay, I drank a protein shake in the morning, and had some fruits and veggies (all weighed out to the fraction of an ounce), but it was mostly "junk" food. I don't think those 7 pounds are just water weight because I have made a point to drink plenty of liquids--mostly water. There were a few days when my caloric intake was lower than the 1800 calories that signify my daily budget, but that was because I wasn't hungry!

I'm curious now to see what happens to my weight loss trend as I start eating "normal" foods again now that the kids will be at my meals with me.

Cookie Bar

2011-07-02T19:27:00.002-04:00

My friend Jill and I put together a baby shower for two of our friends. We wanted to do something simple and different. Jill found the idea of doing a cookie bar and we started collecting different looking jars, asked people to bring different cookies, made labels for the jars, and this was the end result. Served along with cold chocolate, strawberry, and regular milk it was a fun looking table and tasty as well.

Lifesavers

2011-06-24T20:42:00.003-04:00

A few days ago the little girls and I stopped at Jeremiah's work to drop something off. Jeremiah met us in the parking lot and had a little treat for each of the girls. He handed each of them an individually wrapped lifesaver and carefully explained that they were to suck on and not chew. The girls were so excited and quickly popped them into their mouths.

Jeremiah and I were carrying on a conversation when all of a sudden we heard Emersynne say to Abigail, "You suck" to which Abigail responded with a "no, you suck" and then Emersynne again saying, "you suck too Abigail."

Good to know they were watching out for each other and making sure they were sucking on their lifesavers. Sure hope we didn't shock anybody that may have been walking by our car at just the right moment.

The last day of school

2011-06-23T19:16:00.002-04:00

Finally! I think we felt like this day would never come. The month has dragged on and on and on. We've blazed our way through homework, projects, and field trips and now summer vacation is here. The weather sure isn't very summer like though. We met the kids at the bus stop this afternoon with our jackets and umbrellas. We've had rain and cool temperatures for the last two days. Looks like our strawberry picking activity for tomorrow might have to be put on hold.

Graduation

2011-06-23T19:15:00.004-04:00

We have a graduate in our house and now the next step is High School. Wow! That sounds scary! Because of all the snow days we've had this school year Michaela was forced to decide between missing her first youth conference at Palmyra, New York, or missing her Junior High School Graduation. For a few weeks she went back and forth and then an opportunity came up for her to attend her graduation and go out to New York later in the day.

We attended Michaela's graduation and were all surprised when the Principal got up and started to describe the student the faculty and staff and picked to receive the Principal's award. Suddenly I realized that everything they were saying matched with Michaela. Michaela was completely shocked when her name was called and she went up to receive her award. We are really proud of Michaela and I'm so glad she was able to work things out so she could be at her graduation AND go to Youth Conference.

Mystery Solved

2011-06-22T12:30:00.002-04:00

I found the clothes Emersynne "put" away last night. After looking all over the house, I found them when I wasn't even looking for them. Isn't that always the way it is? Instead of putting them in her drawer she had put them under her pillow. Silly girl. Now I will know where to look next time.

The missing clothes

2011-06-22T07:26:00.004-04:00

Yesterday after folding laundry I gave Emersynne a little pile of her clothes to go put away. She has done this before and is always excited to be treated like a big girl. She loves to help!

Last night when it was time to put her jammies on they were nowhere to be found. I then realized that her jammies got washed and were in the pile I had her put away. I have looked all over the house for that pile of clothes and they seem to have disappeared. Of course when I ask Emersynne where she put them I just get a blank stare. I've checked her drawer, her closet, the laundry basket, and in the other laundry baskets. Jeremiah suggested I look in the trash. Not a happy thought but I guess it is worth looking into.

Next time I give her clothes to put away I think I will follow her to make sure they get put in her drawer!

If Emersynne keeps this up she may have to start dressing like this. Anthony thought it was funny to dress her in his hat, sweatshirt, and shoes.

Field trip

2011-06-21T20:59:00.003-04:00

Last week I got to go with Natalie's third grade class to visit the Higgins Armory. Natalie had been excited about her field trip for weeks and was really excited that I got chosen to go as a chaperon. We had a great time learning about armor, family crests, and battles.

Natalie was so excited to play "giant chess" with her friends in the museum play room

Natalie and her third grade class

If I Were A Rich Man

2011-06-13T20:56:00.000-04:00

Jeremiah and I surprised Michaela with tickets to Fiddler On The Roof for her graduation present. It was nice to do something with just the three of us. The theater was pretty amazing and the play was awesome. It was a late night but it was worth it!

Strawberries galore!

2011-06-10T07:51:00.002-04:00

Yesterdays project was taking care of the piles of really ripe and sweet strawberries. We now have four batches of freezer jam and bags of strawberries in the freezer. Abigail and Eme had so much fun picking strawberries and now they want to take the other kids when school is out. Looks like we have our first day of summer vacation all planned.

The big 5!

2011-06-08T21:00:00.000-04:00

We now have a five year old at our house and she can't wait to start kindergarten in the fall. We had a fun filled day that started with strawberry picking and ended with a party. It was a very hot day so we made sure to hit the strawberry fields as early as possible. As soon as the other kids got on the bus we were on our way and were picking strawberries at 8:15. I was surprised at how fast it went and in just 45 minutes the girls and I had picked 17 pounds of strawberries. Yummy!

Can you tell that Eme enjoyed eating the strawberries while picking. I was glad I picked out a pink shirt for her to wear. It hid the strawberry juice stains!

The birthday girl!

A trip to the farm wouldn't be complete without a fresh strawberry donut and some playtime at the playground.

The girls had such a great time playing on the slides and swings but by 10am it was really hot so we headed home to play in the water and have a picnic lunch.

Later that evening our friends the Deskins joined us for dinner, presents, cake and ice cream. Abigail kept saying it was the best day even.

Really should be more bipartisan...

2011-04-25T22:31:00.007-04:00

Happy Birthday Trevor

2011-04-19T16:25:00.003-04:00

Today was a big day at our house. Trevor had been counting down the days until "his" day. Since it is our spring break this week he got to enjoy a day with everybody home.

Trevor had a hard time deciding on what to pick for his birthday dinner but finally decided on dino nuggets, tator tots, and fruit. I love it when my kids pick easy meals! Trevor's favorite yogurt is yoplait Boston Cream Pie so he decided he wanted to try the real thing for his cake. He was not disappointed and said the cake tasted even better than the yogurt!

Happy Birthday Trevor! Glad you had a good day!

Bible? I have a Bible...

2011-04-18T13:53:00.002-04:00

Jeremiah knows the Bible 93%!

A true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! Fantastic!

Ultimate Bible Quiz
Take More Quizzes

[Sound of proverbial slap across the face with a glove]

These boots aren't made for runnin'

2011-04-18T10:22:00.001-04:00

Tamara's been taking some walks around the neighborhood.

Here's today's:

ClarkBeverlyNorth01 and more walks in Worcester, MA on MapMyWALK. Find walk

House pictures

2011-04-15T18:13:00.006-04:00

Things are looking better now that the grass is turning green.

Our sun room or "sunspot" as Trevor calls it. So far this room has been used as a homework room, (Natalie's favorite spot to do homework) reading room, craft room, and we love having a good place for kids to put shoes on and take them off.

Other end of the sun room

Kitchen with our new table that seats eight so we can now all fit around the table!

Computer room looking into the family room

Boys room--Their bunk beds are waiting to be remade into single twin beds since it will fit their room space better.

Little girls room

Upstairs bathroom

Master bedroom

The basement is a disaster but at least we have a place to keep stuff where we don't have to trip over it until we get the rest of things organized. The big girls room is not set up since we are waiting to get their bed finished painted. Once their bunk bed is put together they will have lots more space to move around. Their room is the smallest room but they are so excited to only have the two of them in a room instead of sharing it with the two little girls.

Spring surprises

2011-04-14T21:59:00.002-04:00

Moving into a new house brings lots of unexpected surprises. Some are good and some are scary! We were pleasantly surprised and excited to find flowers blooming in our yard.

Spring has sprung!

Cup cake fun

2011-04-14T21:53:00.003-04:00

Trevor's birthday always falls during spring break so this year he wanted to take a birthday treat into his class before vacation week. After seeing some of my sisters fancy cupcakes I decided to give it a try. Mine aren't nearly as fancy as hers but I think I did a pretty good job for my first attempt. I'm excited for my sister to come visit next month so I can see the master at work and learn some of her tricks!

Trevor really wanted me to order cupcakes from Sam's Club so they would come with a ring on top of each one but he was so excited when he saw what I had made. Now we just have to figure out how to get them to school in one piece.

Big Changes!

2011-04-13T20:43:00.003-04:00

More than nine years ago we moved our little family across the country to what felt like a whole new world for us. We were very blessed to find a nice complex that was kid friendly with a roomy 3-bedroom townhouse just for us. Over the years our family has doubled and our roomy townhouse didn’t seem very roomy anymore.

March 2010 we decided to look at the possibility of buying a house and so the journey began. We did research, asked questions, looked at houses online, signed up for “first time home buyers classes”, and did lots of praying. We knew we wanted to stay in the ward and we didn’t want to switch schools. It sounded easy enough but we were having a hard time finding a house big enough but still in our price range.

In October we finally found something and felt really good about putting in an offer. One big drawback, the kids would have to change schools but we felt like we gave it our best shot. Our offer was accepted and we moved forward with the home inspection. Mentally I had already moved in. I would go to sleep at night thinking of all the extra space and we were all really excited. In early December the house went into foreclosure and our agreement was off. I was devastated. I cried. We now went back to our house list and set up appointments with our realtor to start the looking process again. As we did some searching online we thought that maybe we should expand our search area and now had homes to look at in the “other” ward. We kept praying to know we were doing the right thing.

December 17^th we met with our realtor to look at six houses. We crossed some off our list after looking at them and had one good possibility except for the fact that it was in the other ward. (Not that there is anything wrong with the other ward but our ward really feels like family and is a small struggling ward while the second ward seems to be bursting at the seams.) We continued onto the next house on our list and as soon as we walked in the front door I knew. It was what we needed size wise, had a big fenced yard, had been nicely kept up, was still in our ward, AND the kids wouldn’t have to switch schools. We sat down right there and made an offer. We call it divine intervention and it has been amazing to see how all the little things and the not so little things have fallen into place throughout the whole process.

One year after we started looking into buying a house we bought a house. We have now been in our house for one month and I’m starting to wonder how we ever made it work in our little place. I guess when it is all you have ever known it works out. We have enough rooms to have two people to a room (all four girls were sharing a room previously) and all but one of the bedrooms is large. I finally have my very own washer and dryer, a kitchen with real workable counter space, lots of space to run around outside and play, and the list goes on. We’ve gotten a lot accomplished in the last month and it now feels like home instead of somebody else’s house.

The kids have all been awesome helpers and it has been fun to see their excitement. Emersynne still walks into a room and says, “I lub my new house.”

Here are a few photos and I will work on taking some more when we get some sunshine.

Not colors I would have picked but we decided to save the painting for a later project since nothing needed to be painted. This is the formal dining room which we are using as our computer room since the kitchen is big enough for the table and chairs.

Nice wide entry way

Piano/TV room painted a very bright yellow. I do have to say that the walls don't look quite so bright with the furniture in there.

Stay tuned for more pictures. We are loving all our space and are excited to be in a house!

One year older......

2011-03-09T11:22:00.003-05:00

Birthdays are always so exciting. This year Anthony got to celebrate two different days. Once while Grandma and Grandpa were still here and once on his actual birthday. (March 3rd)

With the chaos of us getting ready to move I told Anthony he could pick out a cake from Sam's Club. This turned out to be a great idea. The cake was big enough that we enjoyed some with Grandma and Grandpa and then ate some more on his birthday.

Some excited kids before the party. Not sure what Natalie was winking at!

Abigail could hardly wait to give Anthony his present. She bought it with her own money and was so excited!

Grandma and Grandpa put together a little scavenger hunt for Anthony with $$ at the end!

Anthony was really excited with his new scout stuff and has been proud to wear his uniform every week. He was particularly excited to learn that the neckerchief we gave him his dad had used and it had belonged to his great grandfather. Now we just have to get busy working on all those merit badges!

Can't believe my little man is growing up. Eleven years old sounds so much older than ten. Good luck with the new year ahead of you Anthony!

A fun visit

2011-03-09T09:58:00.000-05:00

During our not so fun February vacation Jeremiah's parents were brave enough to come for a visit. We had snow, rain, sunshine, cold temperatures, and even a few days with temperatures in the fifties. I guess they got a little bit of our crazy weather all crammed into the two week period they were here.

Since we didn't have a car we could all fit into we found lots to do at home and even used the bus a few times for some outings.

Abigail got to go on the bus with Grandma and Grandpa one afternoon while the kids were at school. I'm not sure if she was more excited about the bus ride or the donut.

We had lots of shopping trips that always had a way of turning into a fun adventure.

Grandma Vicki was patient to help the three older kids make cute owls.

We had lots of game time,

and tickle time,

and even some outside time.

We had a great visit and Abigail is still telling me how much she really really misses Grandma and Grandpa.

Thanks Mom and Dad for braving our winter New England weather to come for a visit. Just think, next time you come we will have lots more room! Yippee!

Youtube Power?

2011-03-06T22:17:00.002-05:00

I made a video with the children in our Primary a few years ago. It was really cute, and the kids loved it. I posted it on youtube.com so that all the children and their families could access it. It has almost 11,000 hits at the time of this blog post, and has a lot of comments from people that really seem to enjoy the video. I'll have to see if I can get a better version up at some point.

The brave ones

2011-01-28T16:25:00.004-05:00

A few of the kids were brave enough to play outside yesterday afternoon. We have so much snow that it is actually kind of hard to play in. It didn't stop Trevor, Natalie, and Abigail from climbing the mountains of snow and trying to dig a fort.

Here is Abigail standing on our wall of snow that is almost three feet high.

All this snow makes our bird house look really short.

Auntie to the rescue!

2011-01-27T13:11:00.006-05:00

I was chatting with my sister this morning and trying to figure out how to keep all of us from going crazy with our fifth snow day in three weeks. She had seen a cute Valentine craft idea and sent me the link. Since we don't have any Valentine decorations I figured this was a perfect idea. After the kids got their chores done we got ready for some craft time.

Poor Emersynne always gets shoved in her chair with some token craft like stickers or playdough

Everyone got right to work shaving crayons onto wax paper and it was fun to see the color combination everyone picked. I think the part everyone enjoyed most of all was getting to use the iron. Silly kids. Maybe I will have to put them to work so they can use the iron more often!

The finished project hanging in our dining room windows where the sun catches them. Even though Emersynne was not happy to be stuck in her chair during the project, she was impressed with the pretty hearts.

http://www.marthastewart.com/good-things/crayon-hearts

More snow!

2011-01-27T07:50:00.002-05:00

What a winter we have had so far. It is unbelievable! When we made it through most of December before having our first snow storm the talk was all about a mild winter this year. No such luck. We have more than made up for the snow we didn't get in December and it just keeps coming. I don't even know where it is all going to go.

For the third week in a row I have children home from school for a snow day. Maybe we will work on valentines to keep us all out of trouble.

It's amazing!

2011-01-24T13:13:00.004-05:00

About a week ago I took the plunge and pulled Emersynne out of diapers. This is the stage that I most dread but I thought that if I started now maybe, just maybe she would be potty trained by the time we moved into the new house in two months.

That first day was rough. I followed Emersynne around all day cleaning up accidents and the only way to get her to sit on the potty for any length of time was to give her my chap stick or "yips" as she calls them. I figured having my chap stick ruined was probably a small price to pay especially if it meant I didn't have to buy diapers anymore. At the end of the day I was frustrated and wondered if she was really ready for this. I certainly didn't think so.

The next day was sunday and since most of our day is spend at church I tried to have regular times of putting her on the potty but she spent most of the day in diapers.

Monday came and since I was planning to stay at home cleaning and doing laundry I decided to give Emersynne another try. She had a few accidents but by the end of the day Emersynne was telling me when she needed to go and Tuesday morning she found the princess panties in the drawer and didn't want anything to do with the training panties. There was no looking back now and things just got better. No more accidents and I didn't even have to watch the clock to make sure I put her on every few hours because Emersynne would come tell me when she needed to go. I went to bed so excited Tuesday night and still not really believing how easy it had been. What I thought would take me two months or more was accomplished in four days. Way to go Emersynne!

Crazy weather!

2011-01-24T11:17:00.002-05:00

My kids have had so many days off in the last two weeks that we have forgotten what a normal school week is. I was hoping that we could start off this week going in the right direction but instead woke up to find that we had a two hour delay because of extreme cold. It is now 11:30 in the morning and we have finally reached zero degrees! It was -8 degrees Fahrenheit this morning with the wind chill factor making it feel like it was -25 degrees. Not the kind of winter weather I enjoy. So, in two weeks my kids have had 4 days and 4 hours off due to weather and another bad storm is coming in Wednesday night. So much for getting out of school in early June.

A good talk

2011-01-20T22:14:00.002-05:00

...so I hear.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T15:49:00.003-05:00

The presents are wrapped and under the tree, the goodies and waiting to be eaten, and the kids are trying to be patient in waiting for Santa to appear. I even heard Anthony who is ten years old say he just wanted to go to bed so tomorrow would come quicker.

The excitement is contagious and I'm glad we've had lots of time this month to teach our children why we celebrate Christmas and what is really important. Emersynne doesn't know who Santa is but she sure knows who baby Jesus is.

Several years ago I started collecting nativity sets and now have about ten different ones that we put up each year for Christmas. This year I added one to our collection and it is one that I have wanted for a long time. Now I have one that little chubby fingers can play with. Even though we have only had our new one for two days it has gotten lots of attention and I can tell this will become one of the favorites.

Merry Christmas!

Cookie fun

2010-12-23T21:36:00.004-05:00

Saturday afternoon Jeremiah was out with the two older kids so the rest of us settled in for some cookie decorating. After giving it a good try Abigail decided it was easiest if she let me put the frosting on and then she would put the sprinkles on. She giggled and told me that we made a good team. I do have to agree. We came up with some really yummy looking cookies!

Natalie was so excited to take pictures of the cookies but they all ended up really fuzzy

He did it!

2010-12-23T21:22:00.004-05:00

Last week we got to go to an Arrow of Light ceremony for three boys in our ward one of which was Anthony. He has worked hard in cub scouts and I've had a great time learning how the program works. Of course now that I understand it all I have to start all over again and learn about the scouting program. Guess I will be prepared when Trevor starts cub scouts in a little more than a year.

Way to go Anthony! Keep up the good work!

Tigers!

2010-12-07T12:47:00.003-05:00

Natalie did an awesome job doing her animal research project. She chose to do hers on tigers and had to write a paper and prepare a presentation. When the projects were all done the kids got to display them in the cafeteria for the parents and other school kids to come in and see. Natalie's project looked awesome and she put a lot of hard work into it. We now have lots of new knowledge about Tigers!

Happy Birthday Natalie

2010-11-28T11:27:00.002-05:00

Natalie is such a lucky girl to have her birthday sandwiched between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Makes for lots of excitement at our house and Natalie was very excited for her special day. Another year older and another year wiser and now I have a nine year old!

Her delicious birthday cake that Jeemiah designed and decorated. I think we make a pretty good team. I baked it and he decorated it!

Her very own Nativity set from Grandma Cindy and Grandpa Roy

She was very excited to get the slippers she had picked out but then forgot all about!

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATALIE! You are such a joy to me and I love our time together.

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-27T11:57:00.002-05:00

Well, our day didn't exactly go as planned but we managed to make the best of it. Our friends the Green's invited us over for Thanksgiving dinner along with some other families that were going to be there. We had our food preparations all set and the house smelled delicious. Our food was packed up and the kids were putting on coats when Trevor (who hadn't been feeling good) threw up. Fortunately I managed to get him over to the sink so there was really no cleanup. Poor guy. No fun being sick and especially no fun on holidays. We put our coats away and I put Trevor to bed. The fact that he slept all afternoon is saying something. That kid does not take naps so I knew he was sick.

We sat down to our own little dinner and although the food tasted wonderful it was rather sad to not have Trevor or Emersynne sitting with us for our Thanksgiving feast. Emersynne had decided she had had enough "fun" and went down for her nap before we sat down to eat.

Trevor was sad to miss out on the feast but we assured him there was plenty of food and we would do it all again the next day. Friday we had our Thanksgiving dinner take two and I think we all enjoyed it much more since we could all be together.

Abigail didn't have any trouble cleaning up her plate. Yummy food!

Anthony and Natalie got to take care of the turkey when we were done and they did a good job getting all the meat off for us to eat later. They then got to do the wishbone and Natalie was sad she didn't win because her wish was for Trevor to feel better. So sweet!

For my Mommy

2010-11-21T20:26:00.006-05:00

Anthony's alien foot syndrome manifested recently

Michaela and me at Plaza Azteca for her birthday date

Princess Emersynne Victoria

What a babe!

Thanks for the cupcakes, Diane!

Parts is parts

Hermione's new look

2010-11-20T20:59:00.000-05:00

Sometime at the beginning of the year, Natalie decided she wanted to be Hermione for Halloween. The biggest prep for her costume was letting her hair grow all year long. Once Halloween was over, Natalie was ready for a haircut. For her birthday she got a gift certificate for Hair Cuttery from Grandma Cindy and Grandpa Roy and she was so excited to go and pick out a new hair style.

Here's Natalie as Hermione Granger

Natalie's new hair style

More Halloween

This year we had a cowboy (complete with a dirty face), a leopard, a princess ballerina
AND
a LGM

More haircuts

Emersynne had her first haircut. I really just trimmed up the back to make it more even with the sides but it made a huge difference and looks so much better!

And Abigail had her first haircut at the salon. She was so excited and even got to go back a second time because they didn't get it right the first time! Ever since Abigail saw the photo of her cousin Bridgett she wanted to get a haircut just like Bridgett's. So cute!

It's still funny

2010-11-15T07:50:00.001-05:00

...and I don't even follow football.

Yikes!

2010-10-15T19:38:00.005-04:00

I knew it was coming but it is still strange to have to admit that I have a teenager in my house. Monday was Michaela's 13th birthday. The kids were off of school so Jeremiah took the day off as well. We celebrated all day long and started off by driving out to the Boston Temple to work on the temple grounds. We played in the dirt, pulled weeds, dug for worms, swept the walkways, and planted tulip bulbs.

Abigail was fascinated with the worms

I know it looks like Emersynne has been eating dirt but it's just a oreo cookie face!

Towards the end Trevor was getting tired of working so started taking photos instead

Of course we finished up the day with pizza for dinner and a birthday party. We crammed a lot into our day and it was fun to have everybody home all day long!

The kids all had fun shopping for Michaela's present and even more fun watching her open them!

Happy Birthday Michaela!

Time away for two

2010-10-15T14:06:00.004-04:00

Last weekend Jeremiah and I were able to get away for two days without children. It was our first Cape Cod experience and we had a great time. We took our bikes and found a great trail. Our 7 mile bike ride turned into an 18 mile bike ride when I suggested we continue on and ride out to see the cranberry bogs. It was a flat easy ride but my legs were not happy with me at all by the time we were done!

It was really fun to be riding beside the ocean but it was really windy

Nobska Light House

Saturday morning we woke up early even though we didn't have kids getting us up and walked a mile or so to the beach.

Our last adventure before driving back was heading out to Provincetown and visiting Pilgrim Monument. It was such a windy day that we almost felt like we were going to be blown off the top of the tower but the view was amazing up there!

We had a great time, missed our kids, were missed by our kids, and are so thankful for our brave friends for taking on six more children for two days.

Blast from the Russian Past

2010-10-13T21:49:00.002-04:00

Here are some photos from my mission in Russia.

My first area right was located right on the Volga River in Saratov.

My first experience cooking a turkey.

This is Oleg and Elder Simon in Togliatti.

This handful is Mifa. (Really, Misha, but he couldn't say "sh.") I think he's actually on or just back from a mission now.

Fill your home with music

2010-10-02T15:42:00.002-04:00

Tamara is currently accepting motivated student and parent teams for piano instruction. She has seventeen years of piano teaching experience and a college degree in music that she uses to propel her students into the world of music. If you want to help your child progress in their piano experience, please read Tamara's policy below and sign your student up today!

Making music requires a lot of work, but there is a great thrill when a student performs, inspires, and uplifts others.

Success for your child will depend largely upon your involvement as a parent. Help your child daily with their practice at home by doing the following:

1. Remind students to practice
2. Work out a daily practice schedule that blends with the routine at home.
3. Help students work out an alternate schedule for practice when conflicts arise.
4. Create a quiet atmosphere conductive to practicing.
5. Cheer the students’ effort and praise their accomplishments.

In order to complete assignments and continue improving, students need to practice daily and record their practice time on their practice chart.

Lessons:
Lessons are 45 minutes each week. Please attend on time and bring all of your books. It is important to let me know ahead of time if you will be missing a lesson so arrangements can be made for a make-up lesson. You will be charged for all “no shows.”

Master Class:
Master Class is a group lesson with all my students and allows an opportunity for students to perform for each other in an informal setting as well as developing music skills through games. Please encourage your student(s) to attend. Master Class will be once a month during the summer and once every other month during the school year. If you are unable to attend the upcoming class or future classes, please let me know ahead of time!

Tuition:
$25 each week for 45 minute lessons. Tuition is due the first lesson of the month.

Materials Needed:
Spiral notebook: to keep track of assignments
Flashcards
Books: In addition to lesson books, I encourage students to pick out songs they would like to play to be worked on at lessons and on their own.

If you have any questions or concerns, please comment on this post.

Tamara W. Jones

Our first plant

2010-09-25T22:12:00.004-04:00

Not that kind of plant. Aaand not that kind either.

We're planning on planting our first letterbox, and we needed to come up with some kind of stamp. Most of the stamps we've found on our letterboxing adventures thus far have been hand-carved, which seems to be a matter that serious letterboxers take some pride in.

I decided to try my hand at it.

Now we just need to come up with the spot in which to plant the box...

Not Again!?!

2010-09-21T11:31:00.004-04:00

So last week Trevor got a honorary post because of his incident of swallowing his CTR ring. I'm still trying to figure out if he is trying to get mentioned most in our family journal or if he just has some uncontrollable urges to discover cause and effect.

Yesterday Trevor and Abigail were fighting (screaming at the top of their lungs) over a game. The game got taken away and they were each sent to their beds for a time out. I was quite proud of myself and how calmly I handled the situation. Trevor kept screaming at me when I took the game away but I quietly walked out of his room and shut the door. I went back downstairs to start making dinner and a few minutes later Trevor opened his door and asked if he could blow his nose. I told him yes and went back to cutting my peppers for fajitas. Pretty soon Trevor was sobbing and coming downstairs. He was trying to tell me something but I had no idea what he was saying. He wrapped his arms around me and I noticed that it wasn't the angry cry from earlier but it was a scared cry. And then I finally understood what he was saying. Mixed in with his sobs I was able to pick out the words "LEGO" and "NOSE". That was all I needed to piece it all together and then I was furious, extremely furious. This was the same child that a week ago put his CTR ring in his mouth and "accidentally" swallowed it and now he stuck a lego up his nose? I quickly sent Trevor back up to sit on his bed because I didn't trust myself to be around him (that's how angry I was) and called Jeremiah to have him come home. I could see the lego up inside Trevor's nose but I was afraid of pushing it further in while trying to get it out. Jeremiah came home with some forceps and the lego was easily removed.

But now I'm left to wonder why my 6 year old is doing this. Should I tape something over his ears to keep him from trying to put something in there next week?

Time Out!

2010-09-20T21:04:00.002-04:00

I spent this past weekend in time out and had a great time!

Friday afternoon I drove out to Connecticut with some friends and attended Time Out For Women put on by Deseret Book. I heard some inspiring talks, amazing music, ate delicious food (my first time at Cheesecake Factory!), and slept very little. I think those things are a great combination for a fabulous time! It was a great get away and even though I was gone a little over 24 hours I was greatly missed and had kids climbing all over me as soon as I walked in the door Saturday evening. Emersynne was quick to run into my arms yelling, "Hi! Hi! Hi! Ewie!" as she pointed to her diaper. What a great way to be welcomed back!

Video chat sewing lessons

2010-09-15T14:15:00.003-04:00

When I was a little girl my grandmother taught me to sew. I remember very clearly doing sewing projects with my cousin and my grandmother very patiently coaching us along. Those are fond memories but any other sewing projects are not looked upon with fond memories. I've come to realize that I don't like sewing and I don't have the patience for sewing. Lately I've felt some regret at my lack of patience and skill when I've seen the cute things my cousin Jennifer and my sister Julia have made. Then I quickly talk myself out of trying because I couldn't possibly fit anything into my very full schedule. So why torture myself right?

Well, a few months ago my sister made Abigail a really cute skirt and then went on to tell me how easy it was to make and that I could do it no problem. She even went out and bought me some material and mailed it to me so I couldn't come up with any excuses. The material has sat on my desk the last month while I've finished up some projects but monday night I tackled the skirt. Since my sister and I live VERY far away from each other we relied on video chat for the project. She made one along with me and coached me through each step giving me the confidence I needed to attempt sewing after so many years of staying as far away from the sewing machine as possible. In a few hours I had made a skirt for Natalie and I didn't have to rip out any stitches or my hair for that matter. I'm sure it would have been more fun if I could have physically been at my sisters house but I do have to admit that I had fun learning from my sister and stepping out of my comfort zone.

Before I went to bed I laid the skirt at the end of Natalie's bed feeling like a kid at Christmas with the excitement of my accomplishment. I do have to say that I was very proud of myself for giving sewing another try. I still don't really like sewing but I do have plans to make a few more skirts for my other girls and who knows what else that will lead to.

Natalie was very excited with her new skirt and wore it to school the next day.

Look who's two!

2010-09-14T08:44:00.006-04:00

My how time flies. Emersynne turned two on Saturday and even though she really had no idea what the day was her older brothers and sisters sure were excited.

We took advantage of the nice weather and everybody being home and went apple picking. Emersynne wasn't too sure of the hay ride out to the orchard but she really loved walking among the rows and rows of apple trees and munching on apples.

This was an exciting day for Michaela because she was able to bite into an apple now that she has her braces off. We all had a great time tasting the different apples as we filled up our bags. We now have a really large supply of apples and have already enjoyed apple crisp, apple bread, and just plain apples.

We completed our day with a little b-day party and Emersynne loved the attention. She has started talking a lot and sometimes catches us by surprise with her little phrases. She was quick to say "again" after she blew out the candles and we humored her with one more turn. After serving her some cake and ice cream she gave us a big smile and one word that said it all. "Yum!"

He did what?

2010-09-13T19:38:00.003-04:00

Those were my exact words to Michaela when she called me Friday night and told me to "brace for impact". Not exactly what you want to hear from your daughter that you left babysitting.

Jeremiah and I left Friday night to go run a few errands and then I would drop him off at school and I would get the grocery shopping done. With only one car we've learned how to divide and conquer so we can still get everything done. School is on the other side of town but there is a nice grocery store just down the street so we often take advantage of our at home babysitter to get things done. Before we left the house we had gotten the little kids into bed and Michaela was working on homework and Anthony was reading. Knowing this would help prevent conflicts between the kids I was surprised when my phone rang just a few minutes after we had left the house.

Before I had gotten off the phone with Michaela we had turned around and were heading back home. Trevor had swallowed his CTR ring. I'm still trying to figure out what my six year old son was doing with his CTR ring in his mouth!

So now the process begins of waiting for the CTR ring reappear.

First day of school

2010-09-02T11:39:00.003-04:00

The day finally arrived. I had some children excited and some children anxious and almost scared. I really wish we could find out teachers BEFORE the first day of school. I think it would make a huge difference in the anxiety but then I guess it really wouldn't have mattered either way for Trevor since his teacher this year is new to the school. I went with the kids to school and helped them find their names on the class list and got them situated in their class lines.

Since Trevor's teacher was new Trevor was still really nervous and really didn't want me to leave but he put on a brave face and waved and walked into the school. Anthony was excited with his teacher and excited that some of his good friends are in his class this year. We were not excited to find out that the school bully that constantly picks on my sweet Anthony is in his class AGAIN and sits right next to him in class. We have already written a letter to the teacher expressing our concerns at the situation so hopefully it won't be an issue this year. Natalie found her friends and was excited to be back at school. Michaela was actually excited to back to school and being in 8th grade this year she did not have any anxiety of starting at a new school. Guess we will get to do that next year.

The kids all came home with good reports of their first day and hopefully the year will continue to be a good one for everyone.

The house was extremely quiet with only two home and I don't think Abigail really understands what it all means. Yesterday she picked up on the kids excitement of the first day of school but this morning as they were getting ready again her comment was, "you're going to school again!?!" It will be interesting to see how she adjusts to have the older kids gone all day.

Here is the crew on the first day of school. Michaela's bus left at 6:50 so I didn't get a picture of her but will try tomorrow. She is excited for a picture since she got her braces off the day before school started.

The summer business

2010-09-01T11:01:00.003-04:00

At the end of the school year Natalie's 2nd grade class sold freeze pops at recess to help earn money for their field trip to the zoo. Natalie then came home with the idea of selling freeze pops during the summer. The kids had a good time and it was good for them to keep track of the money, count the money, and figure out how much was to be paid in tithing. I think the grand total of earnings was $18.00. Not bad. Next summer they want to move it up a notch and sell ice cream sandwiches, fudge pops, and drumsticks.

Natalie designed and made the sign that was put up in our window. The kids were quick to tell their friends that they wouldn't be selling freeze pops on Sunday's or during nap time.

Family outing

2010-08-29T10:30:00.002-04:00

Last Saturday (August 21st) Michaela and Anthony came home from their extended stay in California. They had a great time and I'm glad they were able to stay but I was very glad to have them home again. When Saturday rolled around we decided it was time for a family outing so we were off to the lake. Jeremiah decided to take his fishing poles and the kids took turns fishing, swimming in the lake, and playing in the sand. It was a very quiet morning and for the first two hours we had the beach to ourselves.

Emersynne loved the freedom, the sand, and the water. For some reason she didn't like her swim suit on her shoulder and kept pulling it down.

Anthony caught two fish and he was very excited about it until he was told he had to take it off the hook himself and throw it back in the lake. We now have a blackmail video of him trying to touch his fish!

Natalie spent a lot of time trying to catch a fish and came close a few times. The joke of the day was that she caught her hat on one of her casts.

When Abigail saw me getting ready to take this picture of Jeremiah and the kids fishing she quickly scooted her chair over so she would be included too.

Abigail and her first fish. She actually caught two fish and was excited but wanted nothing else to do with them. It was my kind of fishing adventure. No fish to bring home and deal with since we just put them all back.

Post wedding adventures

2010-08-20T16:46:00.013-04:00

With the wedding over we had to find excitement in other places. I think we did a pretty good job of finding things to do.

We had a tour of the newly remodeled Walnut Creek library,

Went to the Oakland Zoo

Visited the Jelly Belly factory

Played at a water park in Danville

Went letterboxing

The kids got to see where mommy and daddy went to elementary school, middle school, and high school.

Climbed rocks in Rock City

Emersynne found a perfect spot for her little bum!

Visited Roy, Dean, Harrison, Spencer, and Chandler

It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed being outside and the kids had a blast being with their cousins.

Abigail really liked her Uncle Roy and managed to squeeze in between Auntie Dean and Uncle Roy on the couch so she could give her prince a kiss.

And then of course we had to have one last round of family photos before we left for home.

Look what happens when you don't actually have a photographer but use the timer on the camera.

Notice that it is my child on the front row with her legs up showing her underwear to the world. Silly girl. Thankfully we got some other possibilities because I'm not sure I want that hanging on my wall.

We tried to get some cute photos of all the grandkids but Emersynne was done!

After two weeks of nonstop excitement it was time to leave it all and go home. We also left two of our children in the care of Grandma and Grandpa for an extended stay and they have been having a blast. They got to stay several days with Uncle Roy, Auntie Dean, and the boys and have had all kinds of adventures. I don't think they are missing us at all but the kids here sure are missing them.

Wedding Day

2010-08-20T16:22:00.004-04:00

Saturday August 31st was the big event. I was a little nervous about leaving my six children outside the temple but there was lots of help from older cousins. The kids were all dressed in their new clothes and we joked at the state we would find them in. All was well when we came out and I only had to fix a hair bow.

The nieces and nephews of the Bride and brother and sisters of the Groom

The Jones family

Emersynne loved the dancing at the end of the reception. It was fun music and helped keep us warm!

Vacation adventures

2010-08-20T15:44:00.008-04:00

Now than I'm home and looking over our photos I'm realizing why we came home so exhausted. We crammed a lot into the two weeks we were there. Before the wedding we had little adventures like

swimming,

setting up for the reception,
Jeremiah spent most of the day up at the church helping get the outside area beautiful for the reception. The older kids took turns going up and "helping".

and attending a dinner honoring the bride to be.

Michaela and Natalie were so excited to be included in this event that was for girls only. We had a great time visiting, laughing, and eating yummy food. It was all so fancy and elegant. Check out the dessert table!

Cape Cod

2010-08-20T10:15:00.003-04:00

It was a lot of driving in one day but now I can say I've been to Cape Cod and the kids got their beach trip in this summer. Having connections helps too. A friend in the ward has a house in Cape Cod so we drove the two hours out there, parked at her house, and walked four houses down to get to the beach. The waves were gentle and the kids had a great time collecting shells and digging for sand crabs. When I asked the kids if they thought it was worth it to drive 4 hours in one day to spend a few hours at the beach they all answered with a quick yes! They had a fun day but we were sad that Michaela and Anthony missed out. They did get a beach trip while they were in California so looks like we are good for this summer!

Checking out our new surroundings

2010-08-18T21:12:00.006-04:00

August 28th

With the three hour time change, traveling from coast to coast is always really interesting with kids. It was nice to take it easy a bit the first day and get everyone settled and the kids had a great time exploring all the areas of Grandma and Grandpa's house and playing with Cousin Drew.

Grandma has great toys and it wasn't long before the kids had then all out!

Michaela and Natalie enjoyed helping out in the garden

And we even had a few meltdowns. Poor Abigail still wasn't feeling well.

That evening Jeremiah and I were able to go to the temple with Benjamin, Samantha, Dan, and Amy. We even enjoyed some ice cream afterwards. Yummy!

The Journey Begins

2010-08-18T20:45:00.003-04:00

On July 27th we had six very excited children bouncing around our house. We carefully packed up the car and headed to Connecticut to catch our flight to CA. The kids had been waiting all summer for this adventure and the long day ahead of us didn't seem to dull their excitement. By the time we got to the airport Abigail seemed a little less excited and I just figured she was tired. When she declined the offer of chicken nuggets from McDonald's I was starting to panic. As we stood in line to board our plane I looked back and saw Abigail leaning against Jeremiah and was shocked to see that she had absolutely no color to her already rather pale face. Then came the complaints of her stomach hurting. We got settled in our seats on the plane and hoped for the best.

Here is the crew passing time at the airport with a game of "Go Fish"

Let's just say that "best" isn't what we got. It seemed that poor Abigail had picked up some stomach bug and I was suddenly glad that she hadn't wanted to eat lunch. On previous airplane rides the only thing we have used the little white bags for was puppets. Not so with this flight. Natalie was even kind enough to bring some more to us on one of her trips to the bathroom. Our plane ride was a little bumpy and the passengers around us all assumed that was what her problem was. I didn't give them any more information than necessary but did know that Abigail was running a fever. The less other people know the better right? Poor thing was miserable and was so certain the plane was making her sick. She cried and just wanted to go home. But we made it. Lots of little white bags and a change of clothes later we landed in Oakland, CA.

Poor Abigail actually looked "green" several times during our flight.

Now my fear was that we had come with sick children and were going to spread it to the rest of the family right before the wedding. Luckily Abigail was the only one who got sick and within two days she was back to her happy little self. She did say that she didn't want to go home on the airplane because the airplane made her "frow up" It took our entire vacation for us to convince her that the airplane didn't make her sick.

Little boys are so cute in bowties!

2010-08-03T20:58:00.002-04:00

Anthony and Trevor, on either end of the back row here, looked so good all dressed up for Auntie Sammie's wedding. They posed with the other boys in the wedding party, (from left to right) Wyatt, Drew, James, and Owen, for this adorable snapshot.

4th of July

2010-07-14T13:09:00.004-04:00

I'm a little late in getting these up but Jeremiah took some really cool photos on our 4th of July trip to GreenHill park. We visited the Vietnam War Memorial and when we stopped to rest by the flag pole the kids wanted to say the Pledge of Allegiance.

We had a butterfly following us as we enjoyed the beautiful flowers in the garden

And we saw several frogs hopping around in the pond. We stopped to look because we heard a strange sound coming from the water followed by a splash. The frog stood still long enough for the kids to see him hidden in the grass.

Summer discoveries

2010-07-14T12:56:00.004-04:00

We've discovered some new things this summer.

We've had a blast with letterboxing and have discovered lots of new trails to hike with rocks to climb.

We've discovered that Emersynne loves freeze pops!

And I discovered that if I cut the freeze pop in half it is the perfect size for her little hands.

Virtual Hula Hoop

2010-07-12T22:27:00.001-04:00

Abigail is still trying to get the hang of some of the games for the Wii. The rest of us sure enjoy her efforts. Here's a video of her doing the hula hoop.

Free friday disaster

2010-07-10T10:29:00.006-04:00

Yesterday the Franklin Park Zoo was free so we decided to go on an adventure and visit the zoo. We've never been to any zoos out here and several of my children haven't ever been to the zoo at all. Our last weeks free friday adventure to Plymouth went so well so we were excited for more fun.

We got a later start than originally planned but Michaela was a great helper in reading me our mapquest directions and we got there without any incidents. It soon became very clean that everybody in the state of MA wanted to go to the zoo for free and there was no parking to be found anywhere! After driving through the different parking lots and seeing the masses of people walking up to the zoo we realized it was not going to work. I drove out of the park and thought I was going the way I came but soon realized I had no idea where I was or even what direction I was going in. One of the big reasons I don't go to Boston! It is a very confusing city and almost impossible to navigate.

I called Jeremiah and he was able to talk us through while looking at maps online. We found a much needed bathroom, had a snack, and started in the direction of Jessica's house. I was so ready to turn around and go home but felt that was not fair to the kids who were disappointed in not getting to go to the zoo. Our cousin Jessica who lives in the Boston area called before we left our house and invited us to play at a water park near her home if the zoo was too crowded.

With Jessica's patience she was able to help me navigate the streets around the Charles River and after a few missed attempts we found the park, changed into swimsuits, ate our lunch, and were ready for some fun in the water.

Our day started out rough and was rather stressful but it was nice to end it with some fun. Thanks to Jessica who saved the day! We had a great time playing with Jessica, Thomas, and Lydia. Hopefully the kids will remember the fun we had at the water park and forget about their mom freaking out because she was lost in Boston!

Too much excitement

2010-07-09T09:38:00.000-04:00

It was the end of the day and things seemed to be settling down. The pork chops that had been cooking all afternoon in the crock pot were done and smelled delicious and I had just put some potatoes in the microwave. The kids were enjoying the cool air and were sitting by the air conditioner reading the new books we had gotten from our library visit earlier in the day. Then the power went out. My potatoes were no longer cooking and we no longer had air conditioning. I tried not to grumble reminding myself that if we could survive without power for two days and two nights during an ice storm we could survive the inconvenience of uncooked potatoes and no air conditioning. I started opening windows hoping to get some air from the breeze outside when I noticed that I could still hear my neighbors fans running. After checking with neighbors on either side of us (who still had power) I was very perplexed. Of course this all happened after the office was closed so it takes longer to get maintenance to respond. I left my message and then waited to hear back.

In the meantime some of the kids decided to go sit on the back porch since they couldn't sit in front of the fans anymore. Next thing I knew Natalie shouted, "Mom, there's a racoon!" I thought she was joking and questioned her but all the kids were telling me there was a racoon behind our rose bush. If the kids had reached out their hands they could have touched it and I quickly told them to run to the other side of the grass to get them away from the raccoon. I called Jeremiah and his reaction was the same as mine when the kids first told me about the raccoon. The kids were still outside and I couldn't get them in the back door since the scary creature was right on our porch! I was still on the phone with Jeremiah and the kids were giving me a play by play update of the raccoon.

"Mom! It's right under the back door!" "Mom, it's going in the garden!" "Mom! it's climbing up the bricks outside the door." "Mom, it's climbing on the door!"

Sure enough the raccoon had climbed up the screen door and was looking me in the eyes. I was so stunned that I just stood there staring at it instead of grabbing the camera and Jeremiah had to tell me to have the kids run around to the front door so I could get them in the house. DUH!!!!!! I felt pretty stupid for not thinking of that one. I was basically in a bit of a panic because there was a rabid raccoon outside my door, my kids were outside, and I couldn't get them back inside!

Animal control had left for the day and by the time the police responded to our call the animal was nowhere to be seen. Hope they catch that nasty creature before it attacks somebody!

After getting the kids back inside I talked with them about the importance of staying away from wild animals especially ones that are nocturnal and out in broad daylight. Trevor took it all in and I thought I was doing a good job of explaining about sick animals biting and making us sick when Trevor turned to me and said, "So if a raccoon bites me I could turn into a sick raccoon?" I tried not to laugh and made a mental note that maybe he was too young to be listening to me read Harry Potter to Natalie and was quick to assure him that he would not turn into a sick raccoon but would need shots to make him better.

So within an hours time our power outage was resolved and our nasty visitor had left. I did get a picture of it but you will have to click on it to see it better. I didn't dare get very close it definitely looked very sick!

Free Friday

2010-07-08T13:11:00.004-04:00

Every Friday this summer a museum is free. Last friday we were adventurous and drove out to Plymouth to visit the Mayflower (replica) and Plymouth Plantation. We went with some friends, saw cousins Jessica, Thomas, and Lydia, saw more friends, and had a great time. We came home hot, tired, and dirty which I think is a indication of a very good day!

On board the Mayflower

Plymouth Rock
Not all that exciting but now we can say we've seen it

The kids had a great time visiting each little home at Plymouth Plantation and seeing how the pilgrims lived.

The view was amazing!

The only thing that would have made the day better is if Jeremiah could have gone with us. Oh, and it would also have been nice if Emersynne hadn't thrown up in the car on our drive there. Oh well, we still had a great day. Tomorrow we are off to the zoo.

Please please pah-leeeease!

2010-07-06T22:19:00.000-04:00

Can I have a skunk on a stick?

The lake adventure

2010-06-28T21:31:00.004-04:00

Friday our adventure took us to the lake at Rutland State Park. This is something we usually do several times over the summer and the kids were very excited to go. Natalie even said, "I can't believe it's only the third day of summer vacation and we are already going to the lake!"

To make it even more fun we met some friends there and the kids all had a blast.

It took Emersynne awhile to know what to do with the sand but she really liked the water.

Anthony spent a lot of time trying to catch a fish in his little net but didn't have any luck.

Trevor loves sand! I think he spent more time digging in the sand than he did in the water.

Once again I thought we would only stay a few hours but five hours after we left our house we arrived back home and thankfully, I think we left most of the sand at the lake. Natalie gets the award for the quote of the day. I heard her saying to the kids, "That was really fun and daddy didn't even go." OUCH! That comment hurt but it's true. Daddy is more fun than mommy but I'm glad I was able to show my kids that Mommy can be fun too.

Adventures

2010-06-28T21:14:00.004-04:00

It seemed like it would never come but summer vacation is finally here. The summer schedule is hanging on the fridge, everybody has books to read for their summer reading, and the ideas for adventures seems endless to the kids. I think we did a pretty good job of getting in some cool adventures the first few days of vacation but the kids are also excited about the at home adventures and swim lessons adventures.

Day two of summer vacation (June 24th) we checked out a park we had never been to before. It was a hot and humid morning so I didn't think the kids would want to stay long but the park was so awesome that we were there for awhile. By the time we left we all the kids had very red faces.

First ride of the season

2010-06-28T20:41:00.000-04:00

The bikes are finally out of storage and Saturday (June 19th) we were adventurous enough to take our first family ride. With the incentive of breakfast on the trail we got an early start and managed to beat the heat (mostly)!

At the trail head listening to safety instructions from daddy.

Emersynne's favorite part was the honey bun!

Trevor is not confident enough on his own bike to ride so this setup works really well. He does need to get better at pulling his load or he is going to finish me off! When we get to a hill it feels like a dead weight trying to pull me backwards. By the end of our ride I think he was starting to get it but maybe that was because I was yelling "PEDAL TREVOR, PEDAL!" so we could make it up the hill.

Not quite the Fourth of July

2010-06-27T21:34:00.004-04:00

Every year the country club across the street puts on a fireworks display. Last night, after all the kiddies were in bed and most were already asleep, loud booms started to shake the windows. Michaela raced downstairs and told me to come upstairs.

Emersynne was particularly impressed. She would clap her hands and point or cover her mouth and gasp as each firework exploded.

We all sat in the boys room, enjoying air conditioning and fireworks at the same time. Best of all, now we've seen the fireworks and we don't have to stay up late next weekend!

Summer's Endless Photo Ops

2010-06-26T22:57:00.007-04:00

Today we ate breakfast at the park, rummaged through Wally-World, dodged muggles while letterboxing, and scoped out properties while on a scenic drive around Wachusett Reservoir (not Quabbin). If nothing else, and there was, we got some great pix!

Clever Trevor

2010-06-15T21:15:00.000-04:00

Trevor was sent upstairs to get ready for bed. It wasn't until he took his clothes off that he realized that his pajamas were not in his drawer. It was laundry day and the laundry had not been folded yet and was still piled downstairs. Rather than put his clothes back on to come find his pajamas Trevor came up with a easier solution. I don't think he was expecting daddy to have the camera handy.

A fun visit

2010-06-14T19:48:00.010-04:00

We were so busy during my mom's visit that I never had a chance to document our activities. While a lot of our time was spent shopping for the right shade of pink for all of us to wear to the wedding this summer we did manage to squeeze in some fun activities.

We took a walk on the Rail Trail

Shopped for pink ties and pink outfits while the kids were at school.

Michaela, Mom, and I enjoyed a girls night out (dinner and a "chick flick")

Made strawberry jam

More shopping for wedding clothes.
(I never thought it would be so difficult to find white shirts for my boys!)

Read books with Grandma

Went for walks

Introduced Grandma to the Wii

More shopping for pink dresses, black skirts, and pink tops

Decorated cupcakes during our "party" on Grandma's last night

Went to breakfast before we had to take Grandma to the airport

All the shopping trips paid off and we were successful with a new suit for Jeremiah and Anthony, new white shirts for all the boys, matching pink dresses for the little girls, black skirts for the older girls, new fancy shoes for me, and pink tops for myself and the older girls. We even made it back out to six different stores to return the items we thought would work but didn't. Of course we did all of this while four of the kids were at school so we were only dragging two along with us. That could be why we ended up with six returns but that's way easier than shopping with all six kids!

It was a great visit with my mom and we were all sad to have her leave. Just today Abigail said, "I miss my grandma." When we ask Emersynne where Grandma is she throws her hands up in the air, shrugs her shoulders, and looks around. It seems that Grandma just disappeared while Emersynne was having her nap one afternoon.

Thanks for coming mom and thanks for all your help. I never could have done all the shopping without you!

Guess who's 4!

2010-06-08T18:56:00.006-04:00

Abigail has spent the last few months knowing that her birthday was the next one. Almost daily we heard that her new number was going to be four and that she wanted a bike with four wheels. The day before her birthday the kids wrapped her presents and set them out. Abigail was so excited but then told me I needed to go to the store because we forgot to get her bike. It was very fun to see her come downstairs in the morning and find her "new" bike.

The bike was another successful dumpster rescue. We cleaned it up, added some touch-up paint, training wheels, and handle bar grips. The finishing touches were the princess basket, bell, and tassels. She couldn't wait to get outside and try it out!

The best birthday present of all was the fact that Grandma Cindy was here for Abigail's birthday. Of course Abigail thought Grandma planned her visit to be here on this special day. The other kids are still in school but my mom and I made sure Abigail had a great day and of course the school kids were jealous of our adventurous.

We picked strawberries at Tougas Farm,

Visited the petting zoo,
(Emersynne was not so sure about the goats. She didn't want them to get too close to her!)

Ate a birthday strawberry donut from the farm kitchen,

And spent lots of time playing at the playground.

Abigail really didn't want to go home but after our picnic lunch the clouds rolled in and the sun disappeared. We made it home just as the first rain drops started to fall and with enough time to get the girls down for their naps. After such a busy morning Abigail needed a nap so she could stay up for her "Dora party!"

With a little help from mom and grandma, Abigail decided on taco salad for her birthday dinner. I think she just really wanted the chips. She enjoyed being in the spotlight and is very excited with her new presents, especially her new ballet clothes from Grandma Cindy and Grandpa Roy. The funniest part of the whole evening was when Abigail turned to me with chocolate all over her mouth and hands and said, "We forgot my friends!" I guess Abigail thought she was having a birthday party with friends. Then she asked if she could take cookies to her school class. The wonderful things she learns from her older siblings. She has more than a year before starting school and is already counting down the days when she can take treats in on her birthday. That's going to be a long wait!

Games I'd let my kids play #5

2010-05-31T07:31:00.005-04:00

What level can you get to?

Anthony and Trevor both got to level 6 before they really even started to think about it.

The Mother's Day Cake

2010-05-09T20:10:00.002-04:00

It was a rainy morning and rather quiet for a Saturday. Trevor was at a birthday party, Michaela was at camp certification, and Jeremiah was at school. We really needed something to do so I suggested to Anthony and Natalie that they make a cake for Mother's Day. They jumped at the idea and with me monitoring and supervising they soon had the "saucy apple swirl cake" in the oven. It cooled and came out of the pan perfectly so the next step was to mix up the glaze to go on top. After the cake cooled some more Anthony and Natalie each took turns drizzling powdered sugar glaze on their masterpiece. The cake looked so beautiful and delicious and Anthony and Natalie were quite proud of themselves.

Anthony, Natalie, Abigail, and Emersynne each got a taste of the leftover glaze and we talked about how yummy this special cake was going to taste when we enjoyed it tomorrow. I then hurried upstairs to change Emersynne's stinky diaper and get her down for her nap, leaving Abigail to finish her lunch. Halfway though the diaper change I realized that it was really quiet downstairs and started having visions of Abigail choking on her apple. Feeling like a terrible mother for leaving her downstairs alone to finish eating, I quickly got Emersynne in her crib and headed downstairs to find Abigail.

Why do children always have that look? That look that means they have been doing something they knew they shouldn't have been doing. Abigail had that look on her face and had her hands tucked behind her back.

"Are you ready for your nap?," I asked

"First I have to wash my hands." she said.

Abigail then pulled her hands around to the front and they were covered in a sticky mess. When I asked her what it was from she paused and then said, "it from the cake."

The masterpiece that Anthony and Natalie had worked so long on was ruined!

I guess Abigail couldn't resist the yummy taste of the glaze and when we had all gone upstairs and left the cake unguarded she climbed up on a chair and using her fingers, licked off all the glaze and even went as far to sample a bit of cake. There was a big chunk missing!

There was no way to salvage the cake. Abigail's germs were all over it! Gross! This is the child that has just gotten over diarrhea and four days of fever. The cake was dumped in the trash as we explained to Abigail that she had ruined the cake and now nobody could eat it.

Abigail was sent to bed crying. She knew she was in trouble. She knew mommy was upset with her. She knew Anthony and Natalie were mad at her for ruining the cake they "spent hours working on" (as they will point out).

It makes me wonder what was going through her little head. Did she think nobody would notice that the icing was all gone? Did she think nobody would notice that there was a big chunk of cake missing? It reminded me of the time my mom bought a flat of strawberries to make jam with. I really wanted to eat some but my mom said "No!" I remember standing in front of the flat of strawberries and thinking with my three year old brain that if I took a strawberry to eat my mom would know one was missing. So I came up with the brilliant plan to take a bite out of each strawberry and nobody would ever know. That was when I realized that my mom was really smart. Somehow she knew what I had done and I got in BIG trouble! Don't really remember what my punishment was though.

Poor Abigail wouldn't get any cake if another one was made. Harsh punishment, but seemed like a good way to follow through.

This afternoon while Abigail, Emersynne, and I were napping Jeremiah and the kids made a scrumptious chocolate cake from scratch with tasty chocolate frosting. They topped it off by serving it with cherry pie filling. Abigail was talking about how yummy it looked so I reminded her that she didn't get any. I was expecting a big screaming fit but she handled it quite well. She chose to sit up at the table with us while we had cake and just when I thought she was taking it all so well she quietly said, "my tummy really hurts, so.....I guess I need some cake to help it feel better." We all laughed but she didn't get any cake.

Abigail survived the ordeal and doesn't seem scarred for life by her punishment of not getting any cake, Anthony and Natalie now laugh at the story of their sister ruining their cake, and I was reminded that my own mother is really really smart. Maybe some day my own children will think that of me!

Happy Mother's Day!

Birthdays, birthdays, and more birthdays!

2010-04-21T09:48:00.003-04:00

We've just been partying around here and loving every minute of it! Monday was Trevor's birthday and yesterday was my birthday. What a fun way to start off our spring break.

Yesterday was a great day and the best birthday present of all was the fact that Jeremiah took the day off and was home with the kids and I.

I started off my birthday by going to the gym to workout and then came home and played a few games of tennis with the kids. We are really loving our new wii!

Jeremiah and I then went out to breakfast without kids! I love having an at home babysitter. After breakfast we decided to pack a little picnic lunch and go for a walk on the Rail Trail. Emersynne loved riding in the wagon and we all loved enjoying the beautiful spring day.

I even got a nap while the little ones were napping and then Jeremiah got out the BBQ for the first time this season and we had delicious hamburgers for an early dinner before Michaela had to head out to mutual for the youth temple trip.

The evening was a little hectic with Michaela needing to be up at the church so early to get her ride to the temple and then Natalie and Anthony needing to go up later in the evening for Activity Days and Cub scouts. Jeremiah took the kids up and after I got the little ones into bed I played with wii fitness that I got for my birthday. We've already had lots of fun trying it out and now the kids are excited to get set up so they can try to beat daddy and mommy's best scores on the games.

I almost forgot to mention my triple chocolate-chocolate cake that we ate last night. The last of the cake is still sitting in the fridge tempting me.

It was a wonderful day!

Happy Birthday Trevor!

2010-04-19T09:16:00.004-04:00

It's hard to believe that my little guy is not so little anymore. Today Trevor is six years old and after coming so close to losing him to the river when he was seventeen months old makes me really stop and realize how blessed we are to have Trevor in our family.

Here is a look at Trevor through the years!

Trevor had a great birthday and I think the highlight of his day was knowing he didn't have to do his chores!

Arrrrr matey!

2010-04-17T17:31:00.003-04:00

Today was the day Trevor had been waiting for. His first "friend" birthday party.

We decided on a pirate theme and had a great time decorating, making the cake, and planning games. The party was a big success even with our wet weather that forced us to have an indoor treasure hunt.

Here's the group of pirates in front of our Jolly Roger flag.

The kids had a great time trying to pin the eye patch on the pirate. Michaela spent a lot of time putting this pirate together and I had to laugh when one of the boys at the party said, "Hey, that looks like a leprechaun pirate!"

Jeremiah did a great job converting our buried treasure game into an indoor scavenger hunt. The kids had clues that lead them to different areas of the house and pieces to add to their treasure map. When the treasure map was full it would lead them to the treasure. At one point I had 8 little kids in my tiny downstairs bathroom looking for the clue. I never would have guessed they would all fit in there at the same time!

Trevor officially invited Abigail to his party and she was so excited to be included with the big kids! She really had a great time.

Yummy! Yummy!

It was a great morning but also a relief to have it done. We've spend the last few months shopping around for ideas and supplies. I have to say that the biggest hit of all were the pirate sticker books my sister saw when we were at the dollar store. I grabbed a stack to use for party favors and handed them out at the end of the party. Several of the boys sat down right where they were and started working in their books. Thanks Julia for noticing those!

Utah trip

2010-04-06T10:24:00.008-04:00

So I'm a little late in getting this post up but I still wanted to write about my trip to Utah last month. Better late than never right?

When my sister's baby died the end of January it was very hard being so far away from my family. I really wanted to be there but knew I couldn’t leave my own family. Jeremiah encouraged me to go out for a visit and rearranged his work schedule and took vacation days so he would be home when the kids got home from school during the week I was gone. I know it was a long hard week for Jeremiah and the kids but it was really great to spend time with Julia. Since Emersynne still flies for free she came along with me. We spend a lot of time with my sister and Bridgett and Aaron but also got to see Grandma and Grandpa Christensen, Grandma Vicki, Nannie and Papa, Grandma Wendel, and my parents.

Grandma Vicki coaxed Emersynne onto her lap with the big bucket of animal crackers. When nothing else works food will usually get Emersynne away from mommy.

Emersynne was a trooper during our trip. She didn't really like being around all the people and was extra clingy but as long as mommy was around she did great.

Our visit with Grandma Wendel

Towards the end of our trip Emersynne was starting to get used to being around Nannie and Papa and even sat briefly so I could take these pictures. I had to be quick though because she wasn't going to stay there long. I think she was afraid I would walk out of the room!

When we first arrived in Utah my mom was out of town but Emersynne quickly warmed up to her Grandpa when she saw Aaron and Bridgett playing with him. These next few pictures of my dad and Emersynne are definitely keepers!

Emersynne never really had a chance to warm up to Grandma Cindy because we left two days after my mom got home but she sure did like being with Aaron and Bridgett!

While my sister and I spend a lot of time doing the normal mommy things that come along with taking care of kids we were able to have some great talks, cries, and bonding time during nap time and when the kids were in bed for the night.

Emersynne was happiest when she was with her cousins Aaron and Bridgett.

We had a cleaning day and all three of the kids were great helpers.

We took flowers to Colette’s grave, picked out silk flowers to make an arrangement for her grave, and looked over Colette’s memorabilia. It has only been two months since Colette’s birth and death and I know my sister still has many hard times ahead of her but it has been amazing for me to see her strength as she has fought for the peace and comfort in dealing with this loss. What an amazing blessing it is to have the gospel in our lives and know that we can be families forever!

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2010-04-04T15:56:00.000-04:00

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