Sunday, December 7, 2008
















After Thanksgiving, we figured that we hadn't gotten enough of "Family Togetherness". So on Saturday, we had our Christmas Family Party, which was great, and we had our "Family Picture" taken. I can't believe that we all fit in one frame! My husband, Ryan, was the only one not in attendance, hence the reason for my mom holding William. I believe that it will take my folks two months to recover from our little "visit". I wish we could do it more often!
We never can get a good picture of how cute Thomas is, so I asked Ty, who was photographing, to follow him around for a few minutes and see if she could catch a smile. She did it! Isn't he adorable?










I was beginning to wonder how long I could really go before someone asks me, "Why haven't you been posting?" I finally actually got onto the computer for a few free minutes with the intention of blogging, and got sidetracked by following all of my friends links to their blogs. I also haven't read anyone's blogs for about a month! To my surprise, I wasn't the only one who hasn't kept up on their blogging the last little while. Now don't I feel better?

The kids and I went to my mom and dad's for Thanksgiving. Ryan had to work, so we went by ourselves and were able to spend more than just a few days there. It was fun. I always enjoy being with my family, but it gets a little crazy, too. My parents have 23 grandkids, and everyone but us lives really close by. So when I come over, they all come over. Anyone want to babysit next time so we can have some big girl time by ourselves?
We had a yum-yum-yummy Thanksgiving feast. My mom is the best cook ever! I LOVE eating her food! She makes the bestest stuffing, her turkeys are always perfect, and she is just fun to be around. My sisters all made fun pies and rolls, and my sweet cousin-should-have-been-a-sister Mandy brought some delicious sweetened condensed milk treats that were so rich. I only had one piece of pecan pie on Thanksgiving Day (I made up for it by eating the candy from the kids candy-turkey-place-settings), and I drank almost no soda pop while I was there, which is quite a feat in and of itself!

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Went Running!

Joy of Joys! I donned my "equipment" and went "running" today! So it was a run/walk, but my toe only hurt a little, and when I got home, I wanted to do it again. It was quite fun, and now I'm tired. Yay!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Tagged

Here are the rules: I have to answer the following questions with one word answers and one word only! Then I must pass it on to seven others.

The questions are as follows:
1. Where is your cell phone? Purse
2. Where is your significant other? same
3. Your hair color? brown
4. Your mother? Marilyn
5. Your father? Dale
6. Your favorite thing? books
7. Your dream last night? depressing
8. Your dream/goal? independant
9. The room you're in? family
10. Your hobby? sewing
11. Your fear? dark
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? marathoning
13. Where were you last night? home
14. What you're not? well-read
15. One of your wish-list items? serger
16. Where you grew up? Orem
17. The last thing you did? nap
18. What are you wearing? undies!
19. Your TV? unconnected
20. Your pet? mutts
21. Your computer? desktop
22.Your mood? laissez-faire
23.Missing someone? mommy
24. Your car? Express
25. Something you're not wearing? clothes!!!!
26. Favorite store? Amazon.com
27. Your summer? HOT
28. Love someone? Ryan
29. Your favorite color? green
30. When is the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? dreaming

I award the following 7 people with the "I love your blog award" and in so doing tag them to complete the above questions:
Tiffany, Tenille, Emma, Margaret, Catherine, Patrick, and anyone else who might actually read my blog and hasn't already done it--I have no idea who you are!

New Picts of William

My friend Mary took these darling pictures of William the other day. He is so cute! In one of the pictures, you can really see his long eyelashes.




Pictures of Rebekah's Butch Job

Here are some "before" pictures of Rebekah's hair job. I told you that I just couldn't believe it! Well, see for yourself!



Saturday, October 11, 2008

Ryan left Thursday afternoon for a thing for work, and I didn't expect him back until this afternoon. I didn't tell the kids anything, and we just went on with our lives. On Friday night as the kids were going to bed, Emma said, "When's papa coming home? He hasn't been home in, like, two days!" Then I went shopping after I put the kids down, and when I got back, Rebekah met me at the door and asked if I had papa. When I told her no, she asked if he was at work, and I told her that he was "camping". It was pretty funny that it took the kids so long to realize that he wasn't here!

Monday, October 6, 2008

Here's Butch!

When my sister was here, she took a few picts because my camera isn't working. I stole these of of her blog.

---Here's Butch--the really short spot is over her left ear.









---Catherine with missing teeth









---William and his chunk-o cousin Ethan

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Rebekah's new name is "Butch"



So this weekend has been a doozey! Rebekah BUTCHED her hair on Friday night as I was getting ready for my sister, Melanie, to come visit. I ran to try and get it fixed, but it really can't be fixed. I wish our camera wasn't broken, so you could all see it. She looks like half of her is girl, and half of her is boy. She cut it so close, that the girl who was helping (Clarissa--the same one who helped when she cut her hair a few months ago), said part of it was a #1 guard on the clippers. So it will just have to grow out and look silly for a while. It made me think of my sister's friend. Her daughter did such a job of her hair, that they buzzed it all so it could grow back. Ryan said we should stick her on a corner to beg. Oh, she looks so bad!


Catherine actually finished loosing her two front teeth. She figured out how to speak by putting her tongue on the roof of her mouth, so she doesn't have a lisp.

William is smiling, and he has two dimples-- in spite of what Ryan thinks, he does have dimples! He is the only one of my kids to have dimples. He smiles and coos and is so cute! He also loves the swing, and will sleep in it for quite a while. That also has never happened with any of my other kids. He is 3 1/2 months old now, and he's getting bored just sitting around, not being able to do anything. We will soon begin the "unpleasant times" until he is mobile.
I thought this picture of Thomas was pretty funny. He climbed up on the washing machine to take a nap! Notice the plumber crack :)


I had such a fun time with my little sister Melanie. She made a whirlwind trip to visit grandma and grandpa, and she stayed Friday night and Saturday morning with us. We got up early with the kids, chatted, and went to DI. I love being with my sisters! And her babies are just so cute. Her "littlest" guy is almost 25 lbs at 5 months. He is such a cute chunk-o, and he just smiles his chunky little smile and is so loveable! I could hardly carry him, he is soooo heavy! Melanie's husband, Merlin, came with her. I guess he was bored and had nothing better to do than play silly games with my kids. They just ate it up! Uncle Merlin is so much fun! Emma asked me why "the wizard and his familiar" were visiting. I got the "wizard" part, but she had to explain the rest. Duh! Melanie's nickname is "Mouse", and a familiar is a wizard's animal companion. Therefore, "the wizard and his familiar" are...


My very dear friend MaryRuth had her first baby! YeeHaw! I wish I could visit her in Texas.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

The Yucks

For those of you that I haven't talked to since Thursday, I was sick as a dog this week! I had my very first case of mastitis. Seven kids and no problems. Then WHAMMO! I was so sick for two days, I hardly got out of bed. I finally went to the doctor and got an antibiotic on Thursday, and I feel so much better! I started feeling sick on Monday, and Tuesday was dreadful. Wednesday was worse. I thought I might have mastitis, but since I'd never experienced it before, I figured, "How bad can it be?" It was bad. Yucky. Very yucky and uncomfortable. I don't think I have ever been that sick. My sweet friend went visiting teaching by herself on Wednesday, and then came and got my kids for most of the day and into the evening. I didn't even notice that they were gone until I got up and realized it was almost their bedtime. Thank goodness for good friends who do things for you even when you tell them "No, I don't need that." Another friend told me that if you think you've got it, you need to immediately go to the doctor, or it'll be horrible, and she would have told me that if I'd have mentioned it. But like I said, I figured, "How bad can it be?" Oh well, another lesson learned. I'm not as tough as I think I am :)

Saturday, September 27, 2008

It's Electric!

I was in the Dollar Tree yesterday, and I heard an old familiar song. I laughed out loud and knew it would be stuck in my head all day, which it was. I went around all day hearing "It's Electric! Boogey-woogey-woogey!" That ole' "Electric Slide". It brought back memories of Stake Dances and School dances when we would get in a line and see who could look the smoothest doing it. I was never very coordinated, but it was sure fun!

I hope you enjoy listenting to it for a few minutes, so that it can get stuck in your head, too.

Boogey-woogey-wooegy!

Monday, September 15, 2008

The correct spelling of Rebekah's name

Okay, so I DID spell Rebekah's name wrong. When I was typing it, I thought, "that doesn't look right", but I was on my way to bed and not exactly all there. That's my excuse. I did, however, remember the "h". It is spelled Rebekah. I have gone back and changed it in the dumb post. Thanks to my dear sister who ALWAYS spells her Rebecca's name wrong :) We have Rebekah Mary-Anne and a cutie cousin named Annie Rebecca. What fun!

And to clarify the Lava issue, I left Margaret and Thomas home with Ryan. That made a HUGE difference, although I did take little William (who I had to pay for whether he was going into the water or not!).

Sunday, September 14, 2008

I know, I know--it's been a really long time! I've been waiting for pictures, because my favorite blogs are the ones with pictures. But our camera is on the fritz, so you'll just have to make due with the written word, complete with a lot of ramblings and no direction.

A few weeks ago, my friend Angie and I took my kids, her little boy, and a few neighbor kids to Lava Hot Springs for about 4 hours. We had a blast! I even enjoyed a few rides down the water slides. One of them gives everyone a wedgie, myself included. I sure hoped no one was looking when I tried to fix it :) I sometimes wish I didn't have responsibilities and could do that stuff by myself, because it was sure fun to just let loose (not lose my suit, though!). The other day, Ryan and I took the kids to the park, and I got to swing. There is something soothing about doing those simple things. Slides and swings--what fun! Oh, but my hips don't fit through the openings in some of the toys at the park near our house. I got stuck following Thomas once!

Back to Lava. Angie and I both got horrible sunburns on our shoulders. Mine lasted over a week before it was no longer tender to the touch. Angie's was worse than mine. I was much nicer to my girls than I was to myself, because on the last few swimming suits I made for them, I put little sleeves on. My suit, however, I made years and years ago (I so rarely wear it...), that it was before I was very comfortable making suits, and pre-sleeves, too. Oh, well. I believe I learned my lesson: I am too old to have fun!

My apricot tree is still dropping apricots. It's been thinning itself, so the apricots we are getting now are a little bit larger, although still small. It's bound to stop soon, because here in Rexburg, we are expecting snow any time now :)

Thomas has started climbing on EVERYTHING! This is a good thing, because we have been working for a long time on it. His physical therapist thinks he is doing spectacular, and we will probably stop that soon. But all of it can be frustrating. I have found him on the top bunk in his room. He has to climb up a ladder and over the railings that go all the way around the top. He has also climbed into the crib with the baby a few times. He uses stools, chairs, and the toilet seat to climb into the kitchen and bathroom sinks, where he likes to fill the sinks with water and play in it. Have I mentioned that he has also figured out how to turn the faucets on? I don't know if he can turn them off because I usually do that for him!

Our family has started a paper route in the beginning of September, and I don't know if it will last. We have to take the van, so I doubt we will be making any money off of it. However, the kids like it for the most part, and fight over who gets to run the papers. That's a little stressful at 5:00 in the morning. Rebekah even gets in on the action. She has been with us a few mornings, because she stands at the front door and cries to come. This is also hard that early in the morning. We also have to run the ads one day a week. The first week, Rebekah begged to come, so I let her. She wasn't content to sit in the car, so I let her run them down the sidewalk and drop them in the driveways while I drove next to her. It was hilarious to see a little 3 year old running down the street dropping papers! She is so cute when she's not being a stinker!

And last but not least, I started my guitar class last week. It is going to be SOOOO much fun! I have been practicing "Down in the Valley" all week long, with two different strum patterns, one of which is an arpeggio. It only has two chords, but it sounds nice so far. I'm supposed to be learning "You Are My Sunshine", too, but it has more chords and is kind of scary for me. I'll be working on that this week, I guess.

Well, that's a lot of junk to read, but I think it covers the last few weeks that I haven't posted. I hope you enjoyed reading it!

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Meet the Robinsons

A few weeks ago, our family watched Disney's Meet the Robinsons, and I wanted to comment about it. I have not been pleased with Disney's movies for many years. Although they are supposed to be for children, they frequently have things that I consider inappropriate. There's my little rant. Because of all of this, I was very pleasantly surprised when we decided to try this movie because I had heard so many good things about it. It was thought provoking and I thought it was touching. I couldn't stop crying at the end. My kids missed out on the reasons that I was crying, but perhaps you can understand.

The poor little boy, Lewis, believes that the only person who ever loved him was his mother, so he goes in search of her. He puts aside everything else in his life except for this quest. He misses out on living because he is focusing on the past. After a series of events, he realizes that he must always look at the now and look to the future, not the past. Therein lies his change. He finally has a chance to meet his mother, but at the last moment decides against it, knowing that he must look to the future. I believe that this shows a selflessness that is the crux of the morality of this film. After this choice, we see Lewis stop to think about the other boy, Goob, and save him from a life of misery. Goob, on the other hand, is the "bad guy" who shows what happens when we are only selfish. He spends his life sitting around thinking about how he was wronged. He does nothing to improve himself and is, therefore, and idiot. Lewis, however, spends his life looking ahead and is full of selflessness and makes something of himself. But he doesn't forget others. He wants Goob to make good choices, and the wacky make-up of his family is indicative of his selflessness and his desire to make others happy, even if it means having them live with him.

This is actually a Disney movie that I would recommend, and I am looking forward to reading the book that it is based on "A Day with Wilbur Robinson".

Vacuum Repair--My way!

Yesterday I managed a feat beyond what most other homemakers could do, and I am so proud of myself! We go through vacuum cleaners at least once a year, because the kids aren't very careful, of course. Last summer, we needed a new hose, but I didn't want to spend almost as much on a hose as we did on the vacuum, so I resigned myself to buying a new one. However, one day when I was out and about, I saw a yard sale that had a vacuum like mine, and I got it for FREE because the motor didn't work. I put the hose on the vacuum, and stored the one with the broken motor "just in case". Well, "just in case" came--The kids have run over the cord so many times that it was no longer safe to use. So just guess what I did! I took the vacuums apart and changed out the cords! I did it all by myself! I just had to crow about it because I was so proud of myself for figuring it out.

Friday, August 29, 2008

GoodReads.com

My friend Claudia has a cool widget on her blog, and I grabbed it! GoodReads is the neatest thing ever! I can see what all of my friends are reading, and I have a chance to let everyone know what I think about some books. I have actually included books that I remember I have read, especially if they were ones I really liked or really hated. I hope you all will get on GoodReads and send me an invitation. I could easily lurk on GoodReads for hours (instead of reading from my "to-read" list!)

Friday, August 22, 2008











William didn't care much about seeing the ducks, but he DID like riding in the stroller!

Miscellaneous Pictures






Here are a bunch of photos you may enjoy.

The ones of Thomas are from his birthday this month, when I mentioned that he kept trying to lick the plate and drink the ice cream, here is proof!

No, it's not The Joker--it's Rebekah! She got into my makeup, and that is mascara. She got it on her upper lashes, and her lower lashes. She also got her face. I'd say she did a pretty good job for someone so young!

Another of Thomas is naptime. I went in to make sure he was asleep, and he was sitting up in the rocking chair. He kept letting his head fall, and then jerk it up, only to have it fall again. It was so funny! I ran to get the camera, but by the time I got back, Rebekah had disturbed him. He was no longer sitting UP in the chair, but he had found another comfortable position, so I took a picture anyway.

Running and Apricots


I haven't blogged for a while for two reason, the first of which is that I have actually been waiting until I got some pictures off of the camera and onto my computer. I hope that you enjoy them. The other reason is that I have been really bummed. I went to the orthopaedist on Tuesday because my toe has been bothering me when I run. Some of you may not know that shortly before I had the baby, I tripped down 3 stairs and fractured my big toe. Dumb, I know, but I did a pretty good number on it. I was lucky that I didn't have to have it pinned together. I had to wear a walking boot for weeks, and I couldn't drive because it was my right foot. Poor Ryan! He had to drive me everywhere--even on little jaunts to Wal-Mart!

Anyway...3 weeks after William was born, the dr. had said it was healing fine, and that I didn't need to see him again. Then at 6 weeks, the OB said I could start running. I was so excited! However, whenever I ran, my toe hurt. So I went back to the orthopaedist. He said it is still healing fine, but not to do any impact sports for "a while", and to try cycling. So I can't run. I only tried out my "equipment" a few times. Bummer. Ryan fixed up my bike and we went cycling the other night, but that created another set of pains, so I don't know what I can do! I am falling apart. So I'm taking the running spot off of my blog until I can run again. I am so sad!

On the *plus* side, the apricot tree in our backyard has been dropping billions of apricots for the last couple of weeks. It is absolutely full, but we can't get to any of it, so we have to wait for it to just fall, which it does! The kids are so sick of picking up apricots! But I have made jam and fruit leather and syrup and dried apricots, and we've had smoothies...If any of you know anything else that I can do with apricots that's not too time consuming or expensive, let me know! I think we have a couple more weeks of apricots. And of course, if anybody wants any, come and get them! I'm posting a picture of the tree, but you really can't see how heavily burdened with fruit it is. Believe me, there are plenty!

Sunday, August 17, 2008

New Equipment

On Saturday, I got my new running bra! Yippee hi-yay-hi-yo! For anyone else who is as blessed as I am, there's a great site called "BreakOut Bras". If you are interested in the particular bra that I got (recommended by one of my "running" friends), contact me personally and I would be happy to share this highly sensitive information with you :)

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Playlist "Malfunction"

I'm so sad! I was just working on my blog with the sound ON, and I heard one of the songs on my playlist. I had forgotten that it had a naughty word in it, because we edited our version! So now I have to go and take it off :( You'll have to go elsewhere to hear naughty stuff.

Running Slow

I went "running" by myself tonight. I went to the Nature Park, and made it twice around. I even helped some people find a campground by--get this--Running in front of their car to show them the way! Can you believe it? Me! I'm recovering for longer than I'm running, but I'm able to sustain 2 minute runs. I'll keep that up until it's easy, then I'll up the run minutes one at a time. That's the plan, at least. I'm going to try to run my first 5K in September, but only if I can get in gear and last more than 2 minutes!

For two days, I have gone into the baby's room to find Thomas sitting in the crib with William. I have got to move that dresser so he can't climb in! He's pretty proud of himself and just smiles. How can you get angry when he smiles so cutely? I just want to squeeze him and give him a big kiss!

William has started smiling occasionally. It makes me so happy to see my kids smile!

I've been able to see many other friend's blogs, and they are all so cute! Where do you all get your stuff from, and please share your secrets!

While reading my cousin's blog, I came across a link to a great mock-blog called seriouslysoblessed.blogspot. If you get a chance, take a look. I thought it was pretty funny.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Thomas had ear tubes reinserted this morning. He is such a good boy and did so well! He is 2 years old now, and had a fun birthday. He kept trying to lick the plate and suck the liquid ice cream off!

Thursday, August 7, 2008

I've decided to add a Running Log for anyone interested in this old lady's running pursuits. I may include my weight loss, but NOT my starting weight, etc. You can ask my kids if you're really interested in how much I weigh. I'm sure they would love to tell you!

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

FlyLady is back off of my bookshelf and in my hands!
I'm trying to get organized again--get back into the swing of a good routine, so I pulled out FlyLady again and will be working on a good routine. We'll see how I do!

I got a new guitar so that I can take my little "gee-tar" class in the Fall. I'm really excited about it, and have already started practicing. I will be so good, that no one will know it's me! I can accompany myself to "Michael Row Your Boat Ashore", "Grandfather's Clock", and "Amazing Grace". They all only require 3 chords.

Thomas is having his ear tubes replaced next week. We are hoping that one of the reasons that he is not talking is that he just can't hear, and that will be solved after the replacement. We'll see. He is going to be 2 on Friday! I can't even believe it! He's such a cutie, and has a major sweet tooth. Two of his absolute favorite things are soda and Swedish Fish. He thinks that whenever someone has a pop, he should be able to sip to his heart's content. He will yell at you if you do not succumb to the pleadings of his darling smile. Needless to say, he usually gets some.

Monday, August 4, 2008

I have to tell everyone that I actually went "running" today, for the first time in so long. I had to do 1 minute runs with recovery walks in between, but I did it! Between my toe and the birth, I was afraid that I would never be able to start again.
It was so nice to get out and Run!

Here is our sweet little William.


This is our cutie Thomas, wandering around at Patrick's soccer game.

When mom and dad were here, Dad got to hold William.
We heard him tell the baby that if there was cable, they would be watching sports.
This is what they did instead!


These photos are from my visit with my family when William was about 3 weeks old.

My sister, Rachel, had just had her 7th baby, too.
This is Rachel, my mom, and me.
William is on the right in both photos, and little Sumner is on the left.

Thomas in the Tub


Thomas loves baths and frequently visits the bathroom during the day. Sometimes he just throws things in the tub and sometimes he climbs in. This particular night, he had already been bathed and was ready for bed when Rebekah was getting her bath. He decided that throwing the ducks in would not be enough, and there was no way that she was taking a bath without him, so he climbed in, jammies, ducks and all!

William's Blessing



William was blessed on Sunday, August 3rd.


My mom and dad were able to come up for the day, which was great!




Monday, July 21, 2008

Here's Rebekah with Little William.

She is always asking to hold him. She kisses him all over, and says, "Look at his teeny [insert baby part here]! It's so cute!"

She told us today that William is her best friend.