DeGraffenried Family

Basketball

2012-02-05T22:17:00.000-07:00

Ryan played his first season of basketball at the YMCA. He loved it! We really were a bit concerned about how it was all going to go down for him. It ended up being a good experience for him overall. It helped that he had lots of friends on his team. He learned a lot and enjoyed it enough to play again in a few weeks. I liked it beacause his coach and his kids are Ryan's super friends and they took him to and from practice each week. I really can't thank them enough for that!

He really does have athletic shorts, he just refused to wear them. I guess I will go and buy a pair (again) maybe he will wear that pair :)

GG's House

2012-02-05T22:13:00.000-07:00

When we go to GG's, the boys LOVE to pull out the Tinker Toys. They hate to break down their creations when it is time to go home. Ryan built this one of the last times we went over. . .

He was a little put out when he had to demolish it. I love the creativity that Tinker Toys provide!

Chickens

2012-01-27T17:57:00.000-07:00

As this is for posterity, and not just for entertainment, those who might be offended by some "good old fashioned" farm life, might want to just skip this entire post. If you choose to keep reading, please don't comment on the "cruelty" of what we did -- the fact of the matter is, we have or will use these chickens for meat. The chickens were bred specifically for meat, and if you think less of us, don't tell me here -- k? Thanks.

Can you tell, we have had opinions given? Good.

So, back in November, we got 50 meat chickens. Some died, but only maybe 5. We took the corn that we grew in our back quarter acre, and dekerneled the cobs, ground the kernels, mixed the ground corn with a supplement (don't know what that was), and fed these 50 chicks, plus our 14 laying chicks for the past few months. It has been a lot of work for Jake and some work for the boys. Not so much for the boys. The effort for them was put in and we did have some luck. So, here we are now. The baby chicks are about 8 pounds now. So, it is now time for them to go to our freezer.

Last Saturday, Jake started killing them. He killed about 14. It took a long time. We had some "helpers" come over. They were grossed out, but fascinated. They/I learned about how much work it is to defeather chickens, and that it is nice Jake can degut them. I'm not too impressed with that -- glad Jake is around.

The boys worked hard. Some harder than others. Something about a fire, that will distract any boy, but I think the ones that came learned a thing or two. Hopefully, it was a good experience.

I didn't take pictures the next time we had boys over, but we had twelve Deacons/boy scouts over on Wednesday. The thing that was impressive about Wednesday was Jacob wasn't afraid of the chickens.

I'm looking forward to not having all of those stinky chickens in my back quarter acre, but I hope my boys have learned something in the meantime.

The 6 pound chickens we have been roasting and eating have been pretty nice too. Not quite sure what I will do with 30 more! Aaaagh!

Planting Potatoes

2012-01-15T12:09:00.000-07:00

We have some really great friends that live two streets south of us, and we love javing them over. This past weekend, they were over hot tubbing and Jake decided "Today is the day to plant the potatoes". So, he got to work, and they helped us plant. We got done in record time, the three older boys against me, and the three younger kids. Amazingly, we finished in a tie. After we were done, Lilly, and Spencer decided to plant some of the extra seeds right next to the ones we just planted -- hopefully, we will have some plants grow and some yummy potatoes to share!

Friday night in January

2012-01-15T12:05:00.000-07:00

What do you do in January on a Friday night when you want to have a few friends over? Have everyone wear their swim trunks, or find them for the ones that didn't know, and go hot tubbing! And, for the brave, or a little crazy, go jump in the cold pool! Wish I had taken pictures of that! It was one for the records! The nine boys that were over this weekend sure had fun!

Hurricane Booth

2012-01-15T12:02:00.000-07:00

For Ryan's birthday, he wanted to go to "the mall". Why?! "Because all of the kids like to go to the mall." Which mall? "To the one that is inside. Not the outside one." So, off we went to the mall. We looked around, he found "several things" that we could buy for him, but we didn't buy any of them. I settled for letting them "experience" hurricane force wind in the simulator. It cost $2.00 and they were happy. Hopefully, "the mall" wasn't a real highlight and we don't have to go more often! :)

Happy Birthday Ryan!

2012-01-11T14:38:00.000-07:00

Ryan is two handfuls TODAY!!!! I can't believe it! It seems like it was just yesterday he was born, and in other ways it amazes me that he is only TEN! I can't get over it is ten. . .

A few things about Ryan. He is either hot or cold. Never is he just warm, always one or the other. He is either crazy or very quiet. He is noisy or quiet. He is almost always a peacemaker -- except when he isn't. . .see a trend?

Here are ten facts about Ryan --
Ryan is a reader, but hates to AR test. He is always reading something, he will read anything that Jacob has read, and has read many of the classic children's stories that are around our house. He enjoys them more if he doesn't have to test.

He is Spencer's best friend, he is Jacob's best friend. He almost always tries hard to make everyone happy and has a natural draw for younger kids.
Ryan still isn't a morning kid -- every teacher he has had notices that.

Ryan loves to play baseball. he loves it almost as much as reading (his parents are nerds, they taught him the joy of reading)
Ryan is a friend kid. Almost everyone that meets Ryan loves him and wants to spend time with him.
Ryan has a testimony, and really tries to do what is right.

Ryan figures out how to make things happen. If he wants something he figures out how to get what he wants.
Ryan is a hardworker.
Ryan loves his mom. Still. He has always loved his mom. I am glad he still loves me.

Ryan has the best imagination. He really should be a writer.

We love our Ry-Ry and we are so glad that he is a member of our family!

My Crazy Kids

2012-01-10T10:07:00.003-07:00

I am experiencing a learning curve on our Mac, but my kids are making themselves at home in photo booth. Here are some of the fun pictures I have found on our new computer!

The camera is amazing -- when you define an effect, it really zeros in on the thing that you want --if the top of your head isn't visible, no birds would be seen flying overhead, if no cheeks, no chubby cheeks. It truly amazes me!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-08T17:30:00.000-07:00

Christmas was crazy this year -- church, company and gifts! We loved it, but unfortunately, didn't get very many pictures of the day.

I got these before the boys got started opening gifts, stockings are a big deal at our house, and it seems like we could just have Santa bring stocking gifts and the boys would be happy. They do like the other things though. Spencer was thrilled with his remote control truck. Ryan was disappointed but not surprised that he didn't get the laptop that he asked for -- somehow there was a "family" laptop that he seems to like, though. And Jacob. He is in HEAVEN -- the LOVES the GPS unit that he got, he has been marking things on the unit and seems to be enjoying. We gave these things as well as a few other things and went to church with the boys happy. At church they were being a bit unruly, and I told theme they had better be careful or they wouldn't get their last gift. They were so surprised and excited to get bikes!! We have been working ever since on Spencer learning to ride -- sink or swim hill has become a swimming hill for him! Jake's jawhorse has come in handy and the boys have taught themselves how to change bike tires themselves.

Christmas Card

2011-12-23T11:52:00.003-07:00

So, here is our Christmas card for this year, I think the actual card turned out ok, the picture is cute -- sure it is all cheese, but my kids know they have to perform -- unfortunately, if I had what I wanted it would have been a real life picture of them acting like normal, half doing what I wanted, and half doing what I didn't. Oh well, I guess I should be grateful Ryan didn't cut his hair before -- I would have really had a hard time not fixing his hair cut before we sent it out to our friends and family! Hopefully, I didn't forget anyone and if you are reading this and don't get a card or by next week, then let me know. . .Merry Christmas

Calendars

2011-12-23T11:47:00.003-07:00

Every year I undertake a HUGE ordeal. This year was no different, I did the calendar for Jake's family and mine. They turned out pretty well, I am glad they are done, just wish that I had a million hours to do everything I would like to! Here are the first two pages -- I still have two to throw in the mail, but it isn't the first YET!

Christmas Party

2011-12-23T11:45:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, our ward had our annual Christmas party, the boys and I went to it. Santa made an appearance at the party and two of the boys made a point to talk to him. Spencer asked for a remote control truck, and Ryan asked for a computer (a kid can dream, right?). Oh yeah, and Ryan's hair, it looks better now, and I didn't get a picture straight on, he gave himself a haircut. Yeah, nice, he thought he would get even with me when I made him mad. I guess he learned, if he is going to redesign his hair and make himself look ridiculous, I am not going to fix it. I am glad hair will grow back -- now on to deal with Ryan, I hope this isn't a precursor of what I have to look forward to!

Chickens

2011-12-23T11:36:00.000-07:00

Right after we got home from Spain, we got 64 chickens. It is crazy busy. Fifty of our chickens are meat chickens, they eat a ton. We have to de-kernal the corn and grind the corn and mix it with soybean meal -- I am ready for the fifty chickens to be gone. We only have about three more weeks to go. Happy day!

Kanosh

2011-12-23T11:31:00.000-07:00

Two weeks after we had Thanksgiving, we took a quick trip to Utah for a good-bye/Christmas party for Jake's parents. We had all but Jake's brother Sam and his family there -- it was crazy busy -- there are tons of people when they all get together.

While we were there, Jake took the opportunity to feed the cattle. He decided that we needed to help feed the animals. It was crazy. I had to drive the tractor, I don't like to drive big things -- but I made it! The boys were in HEAVEN.

Amazingly, the cattle will adjust to the tractor and I didn't need to try to dodge them. When we were driving out to where we feed, Spencer was on the hay throwing Spencer sized handfuls at the cows as fast as he could, the cows just tried to eat off of the tractor, it was entertaining!

Tyler's Weddomg

2011-12-23T10:59:00.000-07:00

This is why, we had everyone come to Gilbert in November. . .Tyler got married! He married, Courtney Reading in the Mesa Temple, two days after Thanksgiving. It was really nice to have every one of my siblings in the temple at the same time.

Here is a picture of all of my brothers, Jake and Marlene's husband Jon.

And here is a picture of my siblings and parents.

Thanksgiving

2011-12-23T10:55:00.000-07:00

Two weeks after I got home from Spain was Thanksgiving. It was crazy, crazy, busy for me!! My parents came home for a week, and we had our entire family over to our house for Thanksgiving dinner. Wild! I didn't get a single picture of the meal, but I did get some pictures of the cousins. They had SO. MUCH. Fun!!!!! The cousins don't see each other very often as most of my family lives our of state, so it was fun to see who clicked with who.

Gilbert Temple

2011-12-23T10:51:00.000-07:00

Our Stake Presidency challenged us to go to the new temple site prior to our Stake Conference. We made it, in November. It was really exciting to see the temple and the progress they are making. I can't wait for it to be completed!

Spencer's SEVEN

2011-11-20T08:43:00.000-07:00

When I planned my trip, I had to be sure I would be back this past week, because my we had a BIRTHDAY!!! And around here, birthdays are a REALLY BIG DEAL. For this kid, they are an especially, big deal. I told him the day before his birthday that I wouldn't let him get older than six, so he could turn five or he could stay six. He cried. I'm mean, I know. When we went to get his doughnuts for his class, the lady asked him how old he was, and he hesitantly told her seven as he looked at me, wondering what I would say or do. I just smiled. He was relieved.

Spencer had many things that he wanted to do for his birthday. (As the youngest, he takes pretty good notes). We kind of had a week long celebration, I couldn't handle the thought of one day busier than busy. So, on Monday, we went to Red Robin. For some reason, my boys all love eating here on their birthdays. Good thing we don't show them the finer things in life, or we would have to cancel the family dinner :).

On Thursday, his actual birthday, we had to hit Krispy Kreme for doughnuts for his entire class. We also had to have some for home, because we roll like that. Joe's BBQ was on the list of can't miss, lunch with mom is always good. One of his brothers had a HUGE root beer float from here and he couldn't miss out on it!!! His cake had to be an ICE CREAM cake with Mint chip, and for dinner he wanted Chili, but settled for a Taco Soup. He is still waiting for his birthday gift. . .

Seven things we love about Spencer:
He is ENTHUSIASTIC!!!
He is ENERGETIC!!

He is SINCERE.
He wants to make everyone feel COMFORTABLE and at home. He is so thoughtful to all guests at our house, whether it is one of my friends or a stranger, he will do all he can to make them feel at home.

He is HAPPY!!!
He has a GREAT imagination!

He is a great traveler!!! I miss him being out of school so we could sneak in trips just the two of us. If I have to fly with any of my boys, even now, he is pretty good, I guess it comes from his life of travel.

We love our Spencer D and we are so glad that he is in our family!!!!

And Finally my last day in Spain

2011-11-20T07:52:00.001-07:00

My last day in Spain was kind of fun. We met up with this American kid that was doing an internship in Barcelona, who had explored the city extensively, he also spoke very good Spanish. So, he was able to show us the older part of the city, and was able to communicate with this expert on Barcelona antiquities -- I guess he was an expert, he showed us several things that were really interesting that Kyle didn't know and he had gone to the museums around the cathedral and in the castle. . .anyway.
He took us to this beautiful plaza that was just intimate -- we even had our picture taken here, at Plaza Royale. :)

This was the church where Columbus reported to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. It was also where the Indians were presented to them. Interesting fact, the people of this area call their region Catalonya, they don't really like being a part of Spain. They have their own language and write a lot of their documents n Catalonian. . ., but they believe that Columbus was really Catalonian, they just can't prove it. Needless to say, there is a lot about Columbus in Barcelona, including a HUGE statue that I didnt post looking toward the new world.

There are some Roman ruins in Barcelona. This is an old temple ruin that they have in a quiet building near an old castle in downtown Barcelona. . .this is where we met the expert. . .

Who took us outside and showed us many inscriptions on the sides of the cathedral and castle. He showed us where the markings for tradesmen were on the cathedral and how each trade had a window of sorts that when their leader, of the trade, would die they would be buried (kind of open the window and put the body in then close it again). He showed us where the Castle and the Cathedral had once a place where the Royalty was able to go undetected across to the temple. He also showed us where Napoleon's army sharpened their swords (see below) on the cathedral wall. We also saw on the castle walls where the Jewish settlement that was destroyed by the Christians, was recycled and put in the walls of the castle (there are Jewish markings on the castle walls). It was really fascinating, and my parents and Kyle both had no idea about any of that information.

Park Guell

2011-11-19T13:09:00.000-07:00

To continue with Gaudi, we went to Park Guell after La Pedrera. It was amazing. I was so impressed by the terraces that he had created that were supported by beams. I also thought it was quite impressive the way he mixed nature into his project. . .the beams are not straight, trees aren't straight, so the beams he used weren't straight (even though they look straight in my pictures). The colored glass and materials are all recycled. The view was amazing.

La Pedrera

2011-11-19T08:02:00.001-07:00

On Thursday we went touring some more of Gaudi's work. The first stop was La Pedrera. It was built in the early 1900's, and was an apartment complex. After researching it on the internet, aparently Gaudi wanted neighbors to know one another, so he designed the elevators stops on every other floor. On the roof the most common picture on tour books of Barcelona, is found.

The picture above and below are from the roof line. It was a bit random, there are stairs all over the roof line -- leading to these strange structures.

In the attic there was a display of different things that Gaudi had done. I think his ceilings and arches are so fascinating!

They also had a floor set with an apartment set up for the time period. I thought the details on the ceiling were amazing! I was also quite impressed how spacious the rooms were. Although, I wasn't crazy about the outside of his house, the interior is beautiful and the way that he uses light is amazing. He designed the building with two courtyards in the middle, and each apartment was set to include light in each room. The laundry and kitchen were set to include the interior portion (they would look into the courtyard) and the bedrooms would look out onto thestreet. The ceilings were exquisite in design as well -- I loved the flower on this ceiling!

Montserrat

2011-11-19T04:51:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, my dad and I took the train an hour out of town to a famous basilica, Montserrat. Apparently, it is a monastary, that was started in 880 when some children heard some angels and music. They told their parents and they also witnessed it, they found a likeness of the virgin Mary. Later they built a monastary near the location, and have the only black Virgin Mary housed their. Apparently, she will bring you luck if you touch her, and maybe something else, can't remember. I looked and took a picture -- maybe I should have touched her for luck :).

The view was spectacular, it was a bit foggy, but I couldn't imagine hauling the necessary tools UP the mountain to build the monastary!! They did have a cogstooth railroad and fundicular to take things up and down now, probably the cogstooth railroad has been there for a while. . .but in the medevial times. . .wow! Truly amazing!

Mt. Juic Castle

2011-11-15T20:53:00.001-07:00

Jake left on Tuesday morning REALLY early. After I got up for the day we went touring. We went down to see Mt. Juic. The fortress or Castle was AMAZING. You could just feel the history oozing from the walls and gunner stations. The view of the city was incredible.

I saw the Olympic stadium, and the diving and swimming pool that they used for the Olympics. The views were amazing. (see below) I couldn't believe how many stands they had for the competition -- I can imagine -- but seeing it in person, it was stunning!

La Famillia Sagrada

2011-11-14T19:34:00.000-07:00

I have always heard the term "gaudy" -- I tend to be a bit too simple for "guadiness". On Monday, after visiting the consulate; -- too bad I couldn't have a camera, I LOVED visiting with all of the people I met while waiting for my passport. They were all so friendly and such a treat to have people to speak English too. We met up with my dad who had gone down to save us a place in line at La Famillia Sagrada. It was buildt by Gaudi -- yep, the man who "gaudy" is named after. It was "gaudy" on the outside -- a little too much in the name of exterior decor. But, the interior -- AHHMAZING. LOVED the interior. Loved it.

Gaudi was focused on the light and incorporating nature into his designs. I loved his exercise in light. I wish I could have truly captured the stained glass reflections -- so beautiful.

The interior of the baslilica is done. The exterior is still being built. it is spectacular.

I think I like "gaudy" at least inside. Beautiful.

The Mediteranean Sea

2011-11-14T19:24:00.000-07:00

Now, I already blogged that I don't have any pictures of my trip to Italy -- jerk Spaniard -- Jake and I got to spend a couple of days in Spain with my parents. Barcelona, is amazing. I really thought the weather was pretty good. Sunday was kind of cold. In fact, except of Saturday's rain, and Sunday's rain it was perfect. We took advantage of the rainy weather and kind of cooler temps, to see the vacant Mediterranean sea (I guess nudist like to frequent the beach at times). Seeing the Med was amazing, Sunday it wasn't as blue as I had heard, but I saw the blue the days after.

I loved having Jake vacation with me. We both agreed that we need to go away by ourselves more often.

I think we need to go to beaches more often, they are so relaxing. Loved it.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-14T19:07:00.000-07:00

We had a great Halloween this year -- I was kind of sad that we had to not hold our traditional Halloween party this year -- I was so glad too. Too many things going on and one crazy mom was all I didn't need. Our old renters moved out and we spent the day cleaning and getting ready for the new renters. Ugggh. Halloween happened though. We had a blast -- we went to our friends and had soup and then went trick or treating with our friends the Cowarts -- my boys are getting too old. They didn't want to stop. We went for almost two hours.

This year, Ryan didn't like the options I gave him for Halloween. So he came up with his own costume. I was kind of bummed that he didn't do one that he designed a few weeks earlier but he was cute -- I think it ended up being a hobo.

Spencer LOVED his costume this year. Loved, loved, loved. He really enjoyed being an FBI agent. I was quite surprised that he went with this choice, it was my favorite but not what I thought he would go with.

We had some pictures taken for our Chirstmas card, and I had my friend take pics of the boys in their costumes (at least Jacob and Spencer) and Jacob went into character of ninja and climbed the shed.

State Capitol Tour

2011-11-14T18:59:00.000-07:00

Our Fall break was occupied with finding renters for our old home, and our ability to go somewhere based on this was not permited. So, we did some fun things in Arizona. One of the things that we did that I had never done was to meet Jacob's scout merit badge requirement -- go to the state capitol. I really found it interesting. They have the silver service for the USS Arizona -- who knew that there is a silver service for the battleships? It was AMAZING -- loved getting to see it -- they custom made the service to symbolize Arizona and some of the unique things of Arizona. They also had some things from Pearl Harbor as well as interesting things about the creation of the state of Arizona. My boys seemed to really find it inetersting.

Our Adventure in Rome

2011-11-06T12:58:00.002-07:00

Jake and I left on Thursday for Rome, Italy and Spain. We got to Rome on Friday, and got lost from the train station to the hotel. The hotel, was advertised as two minutes from the terminal. It was only two minutes, if you have a map and know where you are going. Those are TWO big IFS. We asked for directions, and every person we asked gave us different directions. I wanted to throw my arms around the person who told me the hotel was down the street.

We enjoyed seeing many of the sites and really enjoyed our time in Rome. I took some Fabulous pictures -- really, AMAZING, really. The sad part, we don't have them. No camera, no passport. Happy day. More on that another day, hopefully we will download some of the pictures of the places, maybe even we will be in there. . .

Life

2011-10-22T22:19:00.001-07:00

Somedays, you realize, you haven't posted anything for a VERY long time. Really, there isn't a good reason. Well, not one that anyone would buy. But, I have been busy. Really busy, mostly enjoying my boys. Wishing we weren't so busy -- but here is a report. For those who care, Ryan felt like his cornstalk business was a sucess. He sold most of them, donated a few and had some very generous people that he loves and probably still prays prayers of gratitude for their generosity -- I am glad they are mostly gone.

Jake got put in as the Assistant Scout Master for church. I am kissing good-bye one weekend a month for him to camp. At least he isn't in a Bishopric, right? We are busy. We will have something, or he will have something every weekend until Christmas. Did you know Christmas is still a long time away?

I have been quilting. I was looking for pics to include on this post, and guess what, most everyone that looks at my blog has seen my quilts. But, I loved seeing some that I loved that got finished in the last year. It is CRAZY to me that I have only been really enjoying quilting for ONLY ONE year. My Halloween quilt just got finished -- except for the binding that is still waiting to be put on. . .

My boys had two half days of school. I got to learn what wonderful children I have and the positive things about my kids. Did you know, Ryan's teacher says "Good Morning, Sunshine" EVERY day? In fact, if she is gone, she will write in her sub notes that the sub is to say that to Ryan -- one of the subs, (an aide who stepped in for a few hours) -- who knows us personally, still calls him that -- he is ANYTHING but a Sunshine in the morning. Must be an Ashton thing. I like Ryan's teacher.

Jacob's teachers think it would be wonderful if they could clone him. He is a kind, well behaved, and respectful child. They just WISH they could HEAR him. Being able to READ his handwriting would be another plus -- we will do what we can. He is learning to type, and voice lessons are sounding better and better.

Spencer, well, he is the youngest. Is there anything more to say? He is obedient and does follow the rules, though.

After hearing about my wonderful children, I needed ice cream. It does help the medicine go down.

We did have a pretty nice fall break. We had grand plans on WHAT to do for fall break, but guess what, our old renters are moving out -- so, we did find renters for our old home. We will have a family of NINE moving in. They are in our ward. Yes, I am spoiled. I like them though. Glad to have them moving in. I have a picture or two from fall break. Maybe I will get this blog updated before we leave on our GRAND vacation. Maybe, but it has been a while.

Ryan's dog ate three chickens in the last few weeks. Anyone want to adopt a cute dog? I wish. She is now chained up. She should be happy to be alive.

Jake ordered 64 chicks that will arrive after I get home from my trip. I guess he doesn't have much faith in our dog -- jk -- he thinks we are going to raise meat chickens -- we'll see how it all goes. . . anyone want some free meat chickens? I guess I could give them away as love gifts at Valentine's? Any takers?

The boys found a dove that was covered with ants in our yard -- it was still alive, they did what they could to help it. It lived for two days in our garage. It now lives in heaven. Many a tear was shed, and one child wishes he could have done more to help the dove.

Ryan played his first touch football game. I got a half sunburn while I watched. Maybe next week, I will balance it out -- who am I kidding? What is with the weather? The next ten -- now nine weeks, are not my own. . .happy day. If you made it through this post. You deserve a medal. The end.

Cornstalks for Sale

2011-09-24T08:58:00.000-07:00

After having two or three people stop to ask about corn stalks. . .Ryan decided to try his hand at trying to sale them. He made a poster -- small, but what do you do? And convinced me to put it on facebook with his picture. He sold a few, and . . .I am hoping he will try again. . .

But, for his memory, here it is on our blog too. . .If you need cornstalks, and live around here, we do still have them for sale!

Summer Fun

2011-09-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, we had our friends over that swam most every day during the summer to swim. All summer long, I thought about taking pictures when they were here, but never did. So, I only have a portion of our summer friends in the pictures. . .but wanted to throw them on the blog.

Every time we swam, we would swim for about an hour or two and then break for snowcones and then finish up swimming. We loved our summer, and now that we're in school, look longingly back at the summer freedom!

Arizona Grand Resort

2011-09-12T21:35:00.000-07:00

I have heard for years, that Arizona Grand Resort is AWESOME -- I have always thought, we should try that. . .Well, this was the year. We bought back in February a Living Social special for the Arizona Grand Hotel -- and we had too much fun this summer to break to go -- so, the last weekend it was good -- we went. It just happened to be Labor Day, and everyone else went too. Funny story, Spencer's BFF was there -- I hadn't talked to his mom at all, so we were all surprised!

The lazy river was a favorite. We all loved it!

They had two water slide styles, the curvy fun and the insane.

I went down the insane once -- Spencer was going to go first on the insane and he couldn't do it. I had jazzed it up for a bit -- Ryan was way scared -- so, I HAD to do it -- I went once and had my fill.

Jake went the most, and Jacob went once, like me, and he was good. The other two never got up the nerve -- can't say I blame them!

We had a ton of fun and loved out "staycation"!!!

A New School Year. . . .

2011-08-21T06:19:00.004-07:00

The first day of school take two. . .hate it when I fight with my computer/blog and it/they win :). . .

So we have been in school about ten days so far. . .

This year I sent Jacob off to the JUNIOR HIGH!!! I remember so clearly dropping him off at kindegarten or even better yet, his first day of PRESCHOOL!! Where does the time go? I was nervous sending Jacob to the Junior High as there are classes and Jacob time, had to end. . . I really worried about whether he would be able to get from one place to another. . .He did fine the first day and so far, he has been very happy! I am relieved and very grateful. He really seems to enjoy his classes, and is finding them interesting but not as challenging as Neely. I am grateful for that. He enjoys some new found freedoms of going to the library and using their computer in the early morning and at lunch time -- we allow very little computer time at our house. . .so I am glad he has figured out a system that works for him.

Ryan started FOURTH grade this year!!! He had a rough year last year, so he was DREADING going back to school, and to be honest, so was I. But, he went and he seems to enjoy his teacher and school isn't nearly as bad as he thought it would be. He was proud of his reading comprehension level, and so far is doing the things he hates (he loves to read, but testing on AR? He HATES it) so I am pleased about that. I did tell Ryan that if he complained about this year, I was pulling him out and sending him to the neighborhood school. He has not said one negative word this year. Happy day!

Spencer was SOOOO excited about going to first grade at NEEELY! His whole life he has been hearing about his brothers' school and going to activities, and then last year, I sent him to a different school, so this is a HUGE treat for him. He seems to be very happy even after the first full week of school. I had some trepidation as rumor is his teacher is a tough teacher, but he and she seem to get along fine. I am a happy mom. Last night, he went to a play date to a friend of mine who has a son in Spence's class. On the way, he told me the key to a successful year was Play dates -- who knew???

Spencer demanded pictures of he and Ryan in fact I had a hard time getting one of just Ryan as Spencer was just so thrilled to be going with his brother to school. I wish that I could have had the three brothers pictures taken, but alas, they go to school at different times and they weren't all ready.

Spencer got a little nervous waiting to go into the classroom. But, I was happy to pick him up with the BIGGEST smile on his face!! I love that boy!

Now, that they are all in school. . .what to do with all of my free time?! I wish -- the free time just gets eaten up with the list of things that "need to be done!"

Lily's new quilt. . .

2011-08-12T11:33:00.000-07:00

I have a new neice. . .

She is adorable. . .I like the she part. . .but she got a new quilt. . .

I think it is soooo cute. I made it. Don't look at it too close!

Harvesting the Corn

2011-08-09T09:20:00.000-07:00

The day before school starts, some families do fun things, we get to harvest corn. I know, you are jealous. . .

Jake decided that we needed to start harvesting on Monday, so I have had to enjoy the heat and dirt. I told Ryan that we needed to take some pictures for posterity, he said that he can't wait to show his kids and tell them that he filled at least a fourth of the crib. . .

The work is hot, and dirty, but it is satisfying to see the crib filling up. Fun times, and I guess it is good to see the boys working.

Take me out to the Ball game

2011-08-09T09:00:00.001-07:00

On Friday, Jake called and wanted to know if we were going to continue our new tradition of going to a D-backs game (we went last year for a special price for tickets) -- so, I figured we better continue our tradition, so we went Friday to a Dodger game. It was really fun, too bad the D-backs didn't know we were there so they would win -- don't we wish? but the boys enjoyed the game and Jake always enjoys a good ball game, especially when I can't ask him to come help me do something "important" during it. :)

We rode the Light rail into the ball game, next year I think we will drive, but it was an enjoyable game enjoyed by all!

Family Reunion

2011-08-09T08:56:00.003-07:00

For the 24th of July weekend, we made our annual trek to Kanosh for Jake's family's family reunion. Emmy, Jake's sister and her family were in charge, and boy did they plan a fun filled reunion. We had a lot of learning and playing "pioneer games" -- the life size Lincoln Logs were a huge hit -- one really big cabin was built by some hard working kids. . .ropes, and candles and rag dolls were also made.

Roller skating after lunch was quite an event. Some were old pros, and well others, got help to keep them upright. Some, by the end of the afternoon, were quite good on their feet. . .others, were old and their joints were feeling it. :)

Kanosh, Jake's hometown, has a fantastic 24th of July celebration. Jake's dad requested that he drive all of his grandchildren ride in his wagon with him and Jake's mom. So, all did as Grandpa requested and overcame the fact they couldn't collect the candy thrown -- fortunately, many of the people in the parade knew that when the adults called for some candy, it was really for some sad kids on a float. . .we were quite the sight though, collecting the candy .

The parade goes up one side of the street and then turns and goes back the other side, so these "poor" kids were able to catch the fire trucks at the end of the parade, and got sufficiently wet. Fun times were had by all.

TULSA

2011-07-17T17:50:00.000-07:00

My brother that lives in Tulsa is a Dentist. He is a very kind brother -- and his wife is amazingly patient. . .so, I have had a dead tooth since I was about eight -- it's a long story about what happened -- think trauma -- so, it has never bothered me much, but my Dentist has always offered to fix it. . .the cost was more than I wanted to spend. . .so my dear, wonderful brother offered to fix it for the family discount. . . ummm sold! So I went out finally, last March to have him start the procedure. . .we had tried bleaching. . . and I had to go back for the fitting. . .he is starting his own practice in Oklahoma City at the beginning of next month. . .so, I had to go out to have it seeded. . .so this weekend we made a QUICK trip!! Drew's kids and Spencer are all close in age so, he loves to go and usually they love to have him. This time was no different!!!

Lauren, is so kind and picked us up at the airport and the kids got ready to swim. . .about the time we were ready to leave, she got the text saying someone wanted to look at her house (umm yeah, she is 32 weeks along pregnant and trying to sell her house) I did say patient, right? . . so, we had the kids play in the sprinkler in the backyard while she cleaned, and I got to vacuum. . .

Once we were done, we took the kids to the Kiddie Park about an hour from their house. We had a good time there, the rides and park are from the 1950's and all cost between 25 and 50 cents. It was so fun to watch the kids and even ride a few of the rides!

Lauren and I went shopping one night after the kids went to bed and found matching shirts for the boys, they wanted to document, and Georgia was disappointed she didn't have a matching shirt.

The kids all got along well, and we were all sad to leave but anxious to get to come visit next time!

Ryan and his friend earning Arrow Points

2011-07-17T17:27:00.000-07:00

For Cub Scouts, I am Ryan's den mom, so he already has his Bear badge -- he turned nine in January and earned it by May. . .so, I have decided that he needs to get arrow points, so a couple of weeks ago, Ryan's friend Avery, was over and they earned TWO arrow points apiece! They had fun, here are some of the pictures they took for Photography, unfortunately, one of them turned on the video camera so the shots aren't as good in still life but they had fun :)

4th of July Fun

2011-07-17T16:11:00.000-07:00

So, we were pretty busy on the 4th of July, we had two different BBQ swim parties and had tons of fun and food and friends at them. . .but I forgot to get the camera out to document the day. . .On the night of the 4th, we went from our house to another family's home for fireworks. . .again, no camera. . .so, when the "grand finale" firework the friends got ended up a dud and they offered a new one for free, we came again. . .after the haboob, to try again. This time WITH a camera. . .

We brought sparklers that night, and except for worrying about little kids getting burned, they were enjoyed by all.

I took careful notes on the fun fireworks from the night before and purchased a few of them on sale the next day. They were fun and our 5th of July celebration was a blast!

Thanks Cowarts for a fun night!

Summer in the HEAT

2011-07-03T09:24:00.002-07:00

I don't have a single picture, and no reason not to have any pictures of pretty much the last month. But, we have been BUSY!! Our corn (sweet) was harvested and distributed to several friends everyone that we have talked to loved it. . .We put up a handful of bags -- our back patio is awesome for working outside in the shade -- we all could work hard and the garden hose made for a quick clean up.

Ryan just finished swim team -- he refused to race in the meets but I think it was pretty good for him to do anyway. I finished binding one of my quilts -- I still have a couple of things to do with it but it is up and I am enjoying it. I despise binding quilts, but I have learned that if I do it while I am stuck (lifequarding in our pool or waiting at swim lessons or swim team) I can see the efforts rewarded -- it only took a couple of days!

We have had several swim parties -- We have tons of great kids that I love to have come over. It is is simple though -- we have the pool and we got this fantastic snowcone maker that is delicious and bam we have the makings of a fun party! We probably have swim parties two to three times a week. We have from four to seven exta friends in the pool -- the boys seem to get along better with others there :).

We have been inundated with tomatoes and zucchini -- I have loved them all , but I think they are about gome for the season -- sorry to see them wind down, but there is always next year.

We have been working on learning too work -- it has been somewhat successful, but the summer is still here. . .

I am kind of bummed that June is gone, we only have five weeks left until the boys go back to school and we are BUSY in July!!! I can't wait! Maybe I will get some pics of all these fun parties, but then maybe we are having way too much fun at them!!

Cub Scout Day Camp

2011-06-11T15:52:00.002-07:00

Last week we had cub scout day camp. We went to a camp that the scouts put on at South Mountain -- the view and property they have is AMAZING!!!!!!! The boys get to do about everything a boy would want to do -- water balloons, swimming, a few arts and crafts, BB GUNS, and ARCHERY!!!!! Ryan LOVED being there and I loved being there with him. He got to learn lots of new things and bond with the boys in our ward. I was waiting to post until I got the picture from the other leader of me shooting the BB gun. Ryan thought that was way cool! I thought it was pretty fun too.

Quilts

2011-06-11T15:38:00.003-07:00

So, I have been quilting. I love it. I just got two back from the quilter in the past week. And I am in LOVE!! I have a kind of strange tradition with my boys. When I make a quilt, I let them speak up for putting "dibs" on quilts after I die. I know, really strange, but it is kind of a strange thing we do at our house. If you saw how long it takes to make a quilt, you would understand. The boys each can tell you which quilts are theirs.
So, today, when I got my spring colored quilt back, I was showing my family and Spencer, who knows that he gets dibs on the next quilt I do, looks at the quilt and studies it and says, I think I'll take this one. He was a bit disappointed this one is on the list to be given away. But I loved that he liked it well enough :).

I amazed by the quilter each time. I think I love my quilt when I drop my quilt off, but then I see what she does and WOW!!! I love it even more. Oh, happy day, I wish I had more time to quilt :).

Corn!

2011-05-26T21:47:00.002-07:00

Jake had a definite opinion on how our pictures were to be taken and what to take pictures of . . .so, here we are. . . Back in early March, we planted our back quarter acre in field corn and sweet corn. We weren't sure how it all was going to go. . .

We were delighted that there was green that appeared for a variety of reasons. . .

Then our corn and sunflowers started to grow really quickly! I had my cub scouts to my house in April at Easter time, and they were able to run through the rows easily, mid May they came back. . .we played hide and go seek! It was crazy how tall the corn got in just two to three weeks!

Fast forward to today. . .The corn has started to tassel, and silk is forming. . .we are all glad the great experiment seems to be working! Most of the field corn is eight to nine feet tall! The tallest sunflowers are nine feet tall!

My Newest Quilt

2011-05-24T14:51:00.002-07:00

The boys have only two more days left of school! My days won't be my own. . .so, I had to quick finish this quilt. It was a super easy patterrn, I had plans to give it away. . .not so sure if that will happen now, but I am loving the colors of this quilt!

Lest I Forget

2011-05-22T15:29:00.002-07:00

We are winding down our school year. In fact, one of the boys has a count down on my white board, and there is only four dots until "fun dai" - you can guess who is doing the count down :). . . This year, I have had a few traditions each afternoon, some that I love, and some, I loathe. . .the feelings change.

Tradition one. Spencer has gone to a different school than his brothers this year. We have LOVED his teacher, but it has necessitated that I take him to and from each day. Mornings when my older two miss the bus are tricky, but otherwise, it has worked.

Afternoon pickups, have been different story, I wait for Spence for about thirty minutes so I don't have to deal with the line of cars. I have loved watching him come running out of the school, with the news of the day. Many times he will blow up the school, or talk about killing the "emeny". I wish that he wasn't destroying, but it is all Spencer.

Our next stop is picking up the "brothers" -- we usually have time to stop at home for a couple of minutes, and then it is off to pick them up. It is fun to have Spence in the car -- he has been doing that with me since he was born -- and trying to guess from which direction they will be coming and how many cars we can count going by before they get there. I am always amused at how they get off the bus -- Ry is either bouncing off the wall -- having had one of his more "famous" days, or moping kind of like Eyeore -- when queried about those days, the response is "I don't want to talk about it"

Jacob usually is one of the last off the bus, with his nose buried deep in a book, totally unaware of the comings and goings around him. I am going to miss this, or maybe I won't -- next year, it will be Jacob coming home first and maybe he will come with me to pick up the brothers. . . Here is to a great school year!

Baseball

2011-05-17T14:48:00.000-07:00

While Spencer was playing Tball, Ryan was playing coack pitch with the Gilbert Parks and Rec. He LOVED it! Really LOVED it! I am glad.

He has always been a pretty good hitter, catching the ball there were some struggles. It was fun to see him improve this year, and instigate him going outside with his dad to play catch.

His coach did a great jov working with him, helping him learn and develop his talents. He ended up playing first base most of the time. He had some errors, but he also had several outs and successes. I got a bit nervous watching his games, but it was fun watching him work hard. He was sad to see the season end, and already wants to play baseball, real baseball next year!

The last game of the year, Ryan hit a home run. He says he got it out of the park, my friend said it was inpark -- doesn't really matter what it was, I feel bad I made the wrong choice, (tball) that nigh! Way to go Ryan! Way to go blue devils!

T-ball

2011-05-13T11:07:00.000-07:00

My last year of t-ball is over. It is a bitter sweet. I don't necessarily love TBALL, but I love that there is no stress for me or my kids in the way they are playing. . .does that make sense? I don't have to worry about whether they are going to hit the ball that is pitched to them, and if they just make error after error, hey it's Tball.

Spence played on the Rockets this year. We played with our old neighborhood school as we have lot's of friends that play. It was so fun! Spence would play, and well, I caught up on friends from my old wards. . .

This picture is actually from Jacob's birthday with his dozen of doughnuts. I just thought it fits Jacob to a T with his love affair of Krispy Kreme's :)

Jacob's TWELVE!!

2011-05-01T14:49:00.002-07:00

A couple of weeks agao, Jacob turned TWELVE!!! Crazy to think that we have a twelve year old in our house!!! But he (or I) made it! Jacob is an amazingly friendly child, he will have a longer than a hi, bye conversation with an adult even when he doesn't know them and they aren't asking all of the questions.

Jacob also loves to read. . .ALL of the TIME. Sometimes it is to my chagrin that he is reading AGAIN. But I am glad that he likes to read!
Jacob loves younger kids, he is particularly sensitive to those that are special needs. . .his cousin Mahrin is one of his favorite people and he is one of hers -- she is legally blind and can't run like others, but he will sit with her and talk with her and prays that she will be able to see.
Jacob loves to build with LEGOS. He love it. He will disappear downstairs for the entire day and not eat for the day if we let him.

Jacob wants to do whats right always. He is very sensitive to the kinds of books he reads and the shows he watches. I love that.
Jacob is kind. He is kind to everyone.
Jacob has a great sense of humor. He just says funny things, he is quiet so you have to listen and he has a fun with too.
Jacob has a testimony, he tries hard to make good choices.
Jacob ia a figurer, he tries to figure out how to do things or how to do things easier or how not to do things. He is always figuring.
Jacob is inventive. I can't say how many times I have found inventions in his room that he made out of random things.
Jacob likes to dream.

Jacob was ordained to the Priesthood last Sunday by his dad, his Uncle Sam and cousin Joseph happened to be in town visiting and it was special to have Joseph attend Deacon's quorum his first time and Uncle Sam was able to assist in ordaining him. Jacob decided the week before his birthday that he was indeed going to get his Faith in God award and by hook or crook he got it!

For Jacob's birthday they had a half day on his actual birthday so he was so agreeable with his brother's trying to do all of the things they loved. We went to Joe's BBQ for lunch, he took Krispy Keme's to his classmates and had his OWN doen custard filled doughnuts. For his dinner we ordered pizza, and had per his request a Baskin Robbin's ice cream cake (I love them from when I was a kid). We also went and saw Rio. I will say it was a fun, exhausting day!

Happy Birthday Jaoob and I am so proud of you!

My "Free" Week. . .

2011-04-23T17:35:00.004-07:00

Ok, I use the word free very loosely. . .I am never really free, right? But Jake took two of my three boys to Utah for an annual horse ride this week. They left on Tuesday, and will be back late tonight. . .

So, Spencer and I lived it up! I had visions of all of the things I would accomplish. Have I accomplished a one of them? Umm, no. But we have had a blast! I told Spence maybe next year he would get to go on the ride, and he said he would rather wait for maybe the year after. . .I love that kid!

We really enjoyed our down time together. When Jake is gone, I have a few rules. Number one, I am not going to cook any more than I have to! We went out almost every night. Spence got to choose mostly, but I jumped in now and then. We hit McDonald's, Chick Fil A, Golden Corral and Sweet Tomatoes, Chick Fil A was my choice btw. Spence loves the all you can eat places. . .ice cream and pizza, what more could a kid want, well Spence mashed potatoes and gravy are way up there :). . .

Unfortunately, we had tons of extra things going this week, but we were able to borrow Spence's good buddy and cousin COOPER to come and play one day and go the show with us one night and then lunch too!!

When we were bored at home. . .this is how we spent our time. . .

I just went out to grab a picture of him, he was in his very Spenceresque uniform--- backpack loaded and ready for action -- unfortunately, he was using his artistic creativity and decorating our trampoline mat. . .I guess it is ok. . .at least they aren't my walls.

We also decorated Easter eggs. I missed having my other boys home for that. But Spencer loved putting the stickers on. . .

We also had a few rough things that happened this week. . . Today, I had to irrigate. I, by no means, enjoy that assignment. It is a little stressful. Jake has his cornfield that he really enjoys. He spelled it all out for me before he left on what to do. Well, I got the cornfield done, hopefully it will work ok for Jake. . .but the pasture has my "little orchard" at the very front of it. At the end of the turn, Spence was out playing in the water, the dogs were out and I was worrying because my trees weren't wet in the slightest. Spence was wearing some of Ryan's old pants and I told him he should go and change. I was distracted and the dogs ran off. Less than fifteen minutes later, we had Roxie back but no Sunny. I jumped in the car just in time to see her get hit by a car. I was grateful for the nice bystander who carried her back to our car and I rushed her to Jake's office. I was able to talk to Jake and he told me how much could be wrong before I had to have her put down. I was really nervous. . .Fortunately, and unfortunately, she has a fractured pelvis and doesn't require surgery. She is at the office in a kennel and will have to be there for about three weeks. I am just grateful that I didn't have to have her put down. Poor Roxie is out there just missing her partner in crime and I miss my good protector and buddy -- she loves to play fetch and she will let me know if something or someone isn't where they should be. Roxie will bark for various reasons. . .I am glad to have Jake coming home tonight. Maybe before he gets home I will get one or two of my list of things done. But maybe not. . .

Summer Quilt

2011-04-15T09:52:00.004-07:00

Something about the title of this post seems like an oxy-moron. . .I don't know, nothing screams quilt like a 150 degrees (I know I exaggerate -- but not by a lot). . But, the moment I saw this quilt I knew, I NEEEDED it hanging on MY wall. . .

I am in LOVE. It is my first quilt all by my little lonesome. . .It was fun. . .but not as fun as a class. . . Now, to finish the back and have it quilted. . .is it weird to leave it on my wall while it waits?

Unexpected Company

2011-04-11T11:13:00.001-07:00

This morning, Jacob had gone down to the basement to get his school books, and came up with a funny smile and said, mom and dad we have a new pet? What?! I told Jake to go down, as I don't like pets in my house and an "unexpected" pet. . .well, I was glad Jake was home! He went down and there was a BIRD in our basement! It took some doing to get it out the door. . . Jacob thinks it came in through the chimney. . .nothing was open downstairs, so it must have. . .but good ridance to the unexpected company!

Catching Summer Snowflakes

2011-04-09T09:21:00.002-07:00

Spencer just came in and announced that he just caught some summer snowflakes. . .silly mom, that is raindrops!

What a nut! Loving all of the rain! Just wish I had made my run to Costco yesterday! I would love to stay home ALL day!

Ryan's Field Trip to the Science Center!

2011-04-02T16:44:00.002-07:00

The week before Spring Break, Ryan was sick almost all week. . .he felt well enough on Thursday, however to go to church to go to the Science Center. . .

I volunteered to be a parent volunteer, but apparently, I am not the volunteer material for field trips :) -- it's all good. The parent that went with Ryan took some pictures and sent a disc with them for us. . .she is certainly a kind parent -- probably another reason I didn't get to go -- I would never have thought of it . . .anyway, he said he had a good time. . .

He actually looks pretty good in this picture, considering he had a raging fever most of the week.

Hopefully, these pictures will post. . .last pictures didn't work so well!

Spencer's Report on SNAKES!

2011-03-30T10:55:00.001-07:00

For Kindergarten, Spencer had to choose any animal, research it, and write three sentences about it, and make a diorama. The day before he got the assignment, Jake had read a book to him about snakes. So, he decided there were lots of interesting facts about them. I don't like snakes, so I tried to talk him out of it. Snakes it was going to be. . .So, I helped him with his diorama. . .

When we brought it to school, lot's of kids thought the snakes were real. . .creepy, I thought. . .but he was happy, it was done. . .

While we waited to start the program, I started the mamarazi and took some pictures of him and his classmates. Half of the moms came up and joined the fun. Spencer was excited, so he wasn't sitting still. It took me telling him that I would show his kids pictures of him not cooperating when they were in kindergarten for him to cooperate :).

I forgot to take a picture of his report, but he wrote. . .Snakes are cold bluded. Snakes have hrt it looks like strawberries. Snakes can tuch a orgin with the tunge and snakes wil know what it is. Way to go Spencer!

They made some cute decorations and had some writing projects on display.

Spencer and his most kind and wonderful teacher! We love Mrs. Watts!

Tulsa

2011-03-30T10:52:00.000-07:00

I brought my camera, but hardly used it. . .Spencer and I went to Tulsa last week for a few days. Drew and Lauren were gracious hosts, we had a blast! Spencer and Cooper loved the lego, hero toys we brought. . . it is what Spencer is wearing like a mustache. . .

Georgia and Spencer played well together while Cooper was at school. I am glad Spencer is learning to get along with girls, it has been a while coming. . .

Do you think Spencer and Georgia could be siblings?

How we spent out Spring Break. . .

2011-03-30T10:48:00.000-07:00

Yep, yard work. I was determined. . .Jacob was sucessful, our trails in the pasture are gone. . . We did hit the movies too. . .but I did have some success. . .

Jake's Corn Field

2011-03-30T10:38:00.001-07:00

For the past month, Jake has been working on his corn field. . .

It took quite a bit of time to get it all put together, and a kind just wonderful wife. . .jk, kind of :) -- but really, we did celebrate our anniversary, and I got a deal on his seeder -- the nursery had one that they had never sold but didn't have all of the pieces, I can negotiate whatever from there :)

We irrigated for the first time on Sunday, and some of the plants were up, and Jake thinks it is going to work.

If you look closely, you can see some green. Really, I promise :)

March Madness!

2011-03-14T11:42:00.003-07:00

Jacob came home last Monday with a creative assignement. His classmates and he each chose a school to do an informational sheet on for all of the teams that made the NCAA championship race. . .I guess they randomly chose the numbers out of a box and chose who they would research. I wasn't totally surprised Jacob didn't get BYU, I mean really, this is Gilbert. . .but, I was SURPRISED when he told me WHO he had chosen . . .

I asked him if U of A had been taken, no. I need to raise him better. . .He now knows that BYU and U of A are two good teams that we like in OUR family (my parents are die hard U of A fans, or at least they were) . . .I did find A&M a great school, and even told Jake I would consider sending my kids to A&M. . .if it were closer, that is! :)
In case you were wondering, Jake went on his mission to Texas, thus the Texas choice! Go Aggies, I guess!

Working out in the field

2011-03-05T08:27:00.001-07:00

When we bought our house, one of Jake's main purposes of liking this house was the empty back lot. He loved the idea of having somewhere to teach our boys "hard work". . .that and he loves to do farming kind of things. . .So, yesterday, he got off work about the time the boys did and they went to work. . .

Near quitting time, I went out to see. . .

Jake said that Ryan worked like he was killing snakes. I held my breath when I saw Spencer using the pick . . . I guess that is why I pray for safety for my boys all of the time :). Jake said Jacob worked hard and Spencer too. . .they were able to hoe all of the weeds and the ground, I guess is ready to plant.

Jake is excited and they even cleaned up their mess. I was happy.

Pinewood Derby

2011-03-05T08:24:00.000-07:00

Aaaah, it is done! Ryan won lots and lost less than he won. He had fun, and he was a good sport about the entire time. It was fun, and it is good to be DONE!

And Finally

2011-02-28T18:23:00.000-07:00

I just looked back to when I posted about this silly quilt, that would have been September of 2009. . .Lot's of things came up and I have done tons of fun things since. . .but I had an unfinished project. I picked it up after dropping it off around Christmas time, in January, but couldn't get her done. UNTIL now!

I took this weekend to accomplish lot's of those "hard things" or the things I didn't want to finish. . .catching up my blog was last on my list. . . and guess what?! Other than filling out my tax information -- it is all gathered it just needs to be written down and sent to the accountant. . .I did it!

I am glad that I FINALLY finished my quilt, I like it better than I thought I would. Jake will now let me start a new quilt. . .where to start, where to start!

We have a NINE year old!

2011-02-28T18:12:00.000-07:00

Ok, so Ryan turned NINE over a MONTH ago! I have been busy, and big plans for pictures for Ryan. . .but it hasn't happened, and well. . .let's just say you know how the road to heck is paved. . .

Ryan, Tig, Eyeore, Lion, Ry turned NINE on January 11th! His Grandma and Grandpa DeGraffenried were down to visit for a few days at the same time. . .so he got to enjoy them too! He had his day mapped out. Krispy Kreme doughnuts for breakfast, doughnuts to share with his class, mom to take him to lunch at Joe's BBQ, and out to Red Robin for dinner! Besides lot's of running for me, it was my kind of day! He did decide to not go to Red Robin for dinner and wanted me to BBQ, I informed him that 5:30 was not the time to change his mind with he Grandparents there :) -- but he had a good birthday that carried on for almost a week!

Nine things about Ryan that I love --
1. Ryan is his mama's boy. His two other brothers love me, but Ryan really loves me. He is almost always kind to me.
2. Ryan really wants to do what is right. He tries hard to do the things we have tried to teach him.
3. Ryan is a goal setter and tries to accomplish his goals, he is very much a self starter!

4. Ryan doesn't like to put himself out there, but will do the "hard things" without being forced.
5. Ryan is very kind to others, he is the peacemaker in our home, almost always letting the "other brother" get their way without a fight. . .ALMOST always!
6. Ryan is a hard worker. He just likes to work and will figure out work to do if we don't give him things to do!
7. Ryan will eat tomatoes and zuchini. . none of other boys like either of those. . .

8. Ryan is a dreamer and likes to plan things just like his mama!
9. Ryan is a good friend to everyone.

Pinewood Derby Car!

2011-02-28T17:56:00.000-07:00

I HATE pinewood derby car stuff! This is the third car we have had to do, and it always goes down the same way. . .last minute :) -- Jake always has way too many things he wants to do. . .so here is our last minute project. . .

I think it is called The Flying Phoenix

Last year Ryan came in second overall. I hope he has fun even if we don't place this year! Ahhh the stress! I do appreciate this ward requires the cars be done the week before though ! :)

Swimming Pool Drained!

2011-02-28T17:52:00.000-07:00

Our new house has lot's of "exciting" things for us to do! One of the high on the list of things that had to be done this winter was draining the swimming pool! I figured we would do like all of our friends and hire someone to drain the pool and acid wash the pool. But, I figured wrong. . .My dear husband is a handy, handy man. He found on the internet the kind of pump we would need to drain the pool, drained the pool and did a light acid wash on the pool and fixed the broken light. Our only problem was the unprecedented rain that dropped several inches during "our" project :)

While Jake worked the boys delighted in playing in the pool! There is quite a slope and it is hard to walk on, so the boys being monkeys just climbed!

When it was time to refill the pool, the boys took some painters plastic and slid down the slope and froze -- fortunately, they could go from pool to spa!!

They had a blast and the pool is clean and full!

Our Orchard

2011-02-28T17:44:00.000-07:00

When we moved into our new house, one of the first things I wanted to do was plant citrus and fruit trees in our pasture. We moved in August so timing for weather being kind to our fruit trees wasn't ideal. In January, Jake suggested we go to the citrus nursery so we can at least identify what kind of trees we wanted. We went on a Monday, and the lady at the nursery assured us that it was the "PERFECT" time to plant trees. . .Owen, Jake's younger brother was coming for the weekend, and we needed help with planing. . .so, we ended up with sixteen trees. It was a project to get all of the tree holes dug, this was right after the flood, and the new dishwasher and such. . .but we got it done.

The following week we had an unprecedented freeze. A really unprecedented freeze. We covered our trees as best we could, but it was windy, really windy on Tuesday night and all day Wednesday. On Thursday morning, we were scheduled to get irrigation water at 4:30 in the morning. Jake is good about irrigation and early mornings (he doesn't like to get up early) but 4:00 he got up to a frosty calm morning. . .Some of or sheets were not covered, and the hose was frozen, but somehow we had water when we weren't supposed to, Jake had to go "hunting for our water" but we had water in the front part of our pasture -- I got up to go to the gym at 4:30 and was confused. I called Jake who was trying to keep pool pipes from freezing and some pipes that aren't well insulated from freezing.

We were able to weather a realitively bad freeze with super young trees, hopefully all making it (think water coming at the coldest times of the night) and an early morning irrigation turn that alerted Jake to getting things going. . .Some of our friends and neighbors weren't quite as blessed, fortunately, for them it wasn't terrible, pipes froze, but didn't break and a tree or two died. . .but we are so very grateful for the tender mercy of the missed water turn by someone in the neighborhood and the new water when we needed it. I am still hopeful that our young grapefruit tree will make it, but the others look like they will be fine!

Valentines Day

2011-02-14T16:53:00.000-07:00

I LOVE Valentines day. . .No, it's not because Jake is a hopeless romantic, and really, I'm not either. . .I think it is because I have an excuse to decorate in red and pink, and we get to MAKE things. . .This year, we made valentine's for all three boys. . .I almost got tired of making them. . . but then. . .well, I love Valentine's! This year, Spencer insisted on Bubbles. We did them for Preschool, he wouldn't change his mind. . . Jacob too, gum. I did get to change the look of the valentine, and I knew sooner than the night before that we would be doing them. Ryan, though. He was my hero! He let me decide his Valentine's, and when he came home from school, he said he had pretty much the best Valentine. . .We did candy heart I-pods. The idea came from Familyfun.com, but it was fun to improve on a good idea! Happy Valentine's day!

Washington DC

2011-02-05T14:35:00.000-07:00

It seems fitting that the first picture in my montage of pictures is Ryan and his snowman! Being an Arizona kid, he doesn't get much snow in his life, and being in Washington, there were a couple of inches, he and my kind, sweet, patient mom went out and built a snowman with him. I watched from the balcony or launched major snowballs at Ryan while they did it. . .as a mom of boys, I have learned to strategically place myself when I do things like that ;)

Ryan and I took the opportunity over MLK day to go to Washington DC to visit my parents who are serving in the Washington DC temple until there Visas come in to go and serve in Spain. . .We LOVED it!!! Ryan is never the child who gets to decide what he wants to do for entire days. . .he got to here, and with almost everything free to see, who cared what we did?!
On Saturday, he decided he wanted to see the National Zoo. They have a few pandas on loan from China, so we got to see some!

On Sunday night, after church and dinner, we went down to DC and saw the mall all lit up, I particulaly loved the Lincoln monument and the Jefferson Monument... So amazing! Thank goodness for a TomTom in the car, we could get pretty much anywhere we wanted. . .only once did we wonder if the tomtom was on drugs ;)

On Monday, we went and saw the Smithsonian American History museum and Ryan and my dad went to the Natural History Museum. My mom and I went and saw the First Lady section with all of the beautiful inaugural gowns and learned about the life in the white house. We came to a display America at War and called my dad and Ryan over from the Natural History museum. . .Ryan thought it was so interesting to learn about the different wars. . . he spent probably an hour in the area just reading different things. . . so VERY interesting! Theres was a lot more to see in the America History museum. . .but alas, we ran out of time!

That afternoon, we went and saw the Washington monument. Amazing! I can't believe how tall those monuments are. . .so awe inspiring too!

This was our first sight when we got off the subway! On Friday we were so excited to be in DC and see these amazing sites that we only see on tv!

We went and toured the Capital and also saw the air and space museum. Ryan got a little irritated that some things weren't what he thought they should be and was surprised to learn that this model of the man on the moon was one of the I think 12 ships that were identical to the Apollo orbiter -- he just thought it was fake. The thing he remembers about the space museum? He tells everyone that the astronauts where diapers and it takes three hours to put on their space suits!

Grandpa and Ryan at the National Zoo. . .

Thanks mom and dad for letting us come visit! I loved getting to go into the Washington DC temple, I wish I had had more time there. . .but it was so fun to see everything there and I can't wait to go back!

Normal Days

2011-01-30T14:56:00.000-07:00

Somedays are just "normal" nothing exciting happens, life is just as we know it. Somedays are exciting, there is something that we have anticiapated happening or something we love goes on.
And then there are THOSE days.

The normal days I get a little bored of. I mean, cleaning, errands, mundane is so overrated.

The last almost three weeks I have found are so non-normal. Exciting, some of the days and some of THOSE days? You bet! The THOSE days were a little more than I wanted to endure. I will post os some of the exciting enthralling days soon, but today, lets just, hopeully get over the those days.

We lost our dog the first day she came to live in our new house, that would be New Years day. She ran away. It took LOTS of WORK to get her home. We got her home, but we acquired a new dog before she came home. Sunny got "rescued" one more time on her own. We thought we had the problem solved, a dog tag and an electric fence. Roxie, our new dog, and Sunny are great playmates. This past Friday, we took Sunny to the park with us, Roxie stayed at home as she is a much younger dog and harder to get to mind. We played a long time. Ryan chaied Sunny up and one of the other boys brought Roxie out and unchained Sunny. When it was time to feed Sunny and Roxie the boys went out and found no dogs. We looked and couldn't find them. We just hoped and prayed that we would find them. . . Saturday, the call came they had been picked up by a policeman and taken to the pound. Now, Roxie is a younger dog, and we weren't sure if we were going to keep her. . .So, we didn't spay her and take care of her. . .So, we went to spring the two dogs. Almost three HOURS laterwe left less one dog. . .You see Roxie couldn't leave without having to pay two HUNDRED and fifty dollars for her not being spayed. . .or their vets could spay her for free. . .she will hopefully come home on Monday.

In the midst of the dog craziness, I came home after being gone about forty-five minutes to find about an inch of water on the main floor of my house in my FRONT room -- the connection to the toilet in my boys bathroom had failed and we had a flood of epic proportions. LOVELY. The carpet is still pulled up awaiting Jake's assistance in relaying the carpet We just hope and pray that we didn't miss the water and are so grateful I was ONLY gone forty five minutes :).

I used almost all of my towels in the flood and my washing machine decided to have a pump go out. I have been without a washing machine all week. I ordered the wrong pump online. We had company twice. We got new trees, sixteen holes needed to be dug.

My renters called and said the dishwasher in that house was under recall and they had had problems with it leaking. A new dishwasher will be delivered and installed on Tuesday.

Yep, the past several weeks has been tough. Here is to the normal mundane days. I look forward to them. I am grateful for them. But even more, I am grateful that each of my challenges has made me more grateful for so many things, as my pile of laundry is being whittled away and my new trees are now in the ground with the promise of many delicious fruits. I have to remember that the normal days are blessings that I need to remember to be grateful for. The dry ground in my house and no floods when I come home from errands. . . Challenges come, and they truly try me at times, but I think I need to be grateful for each day.

it's DONE!!!

2011-01-19T11:59:00.000-07:00

Do you remember this? I started it October 2. . .

Well, on a VERY LONG flight to and from Washington DC, it moved to this. . .

to hung and COMPLETE!!!

I think I am in LOVE. . .

2011-01-17T06:03:00.000-07:00

I am visiting my parents, and I found old pictures. . .so, I thought I would post some on my blog to show my kids. . .

Christmas Eve

2011-01-17T05:50:00.000-07:00

All right, we are going back in time to Christmas. . .yep, I've been slacking. . .but I have a big project just about done. . .so, while I have access to the pictures. . .I will blog :)

On Christmas Eve day, we celebrated with my brother Drew and his family as they had other commitments in the evening. Tyler came too and brought along a friend along with Grandma and Grandpa and GG coming to watch!

We started out at Grandma's house and had, a Easter Egg hunt -- random, I know, but my mom thought that it would be fun. The kids found some eggs and they were happy. We then went over to the Riparian Preserve and had lunch and then a fun soccer game. It was really fun. The kids loved exploring at the Preserve and with my brother Drew, and all of the girls, we were able to keep the game to a tie :). It was a fun memory to make. . .

Year in Review

2010-12-31T09:05:00.000-07:00

I sometimes find myself trying to remember different things about the year, and in doing our family calendar this year, remembered a trip we went on that I had forgotten! With today being he last day of the month, and I am waiting for the time to be "appropriate" to drop something off at the ladies I Visit Teach -- yep it has been a month :)--- I looked back at my blog to see the fun things I did each month. . . so I can just review it here -- here is the DeGraffenried recap for 2010!

January -- Ryan turned EIGHT!!
February -- Ryan is baptized! Jake and I go for a few days to Vegas for a convention, and Jake and my dad take the boys to a monster truck event (don't know what they call that :))
March -- We have a fun St. Patricks day party, we get chicks, and we go to San Diego!
April -- Jacob turns ELEVEN!! Jake and Jacob go on their annual horse ride to Utah.
May -- I go with my mom and sil to New York City. Jake, Spence and I go to Utah, and we go to a D-back game.
June -- We go to Utah for a wedding, I get to fly back to get my boys on Monday -- we leave on Saturday :)! We go to the Wildlife Zoo.
July -- We go yet again to Utah for another wedding and our family reunion. I take the boys to the circus.
August -- The boys all go to school and we MOVE!!
September -- We had a party.
October -- We have more paries and cancel our trip back East because we have too much to do on our new house.
November -- Spencer turned SIX!! Fun Thanksgiving and black Friday with my mom and sister. Spencer does a performance at school.
December - Christmas! FUN, FUN, FUN Christmas Eve that needs to be blogged! Christmas mornin we sent my parents off on their latest mission!
Just recapping my year makes me TIRED!!!! 2010 was a wonderful year, but we are excited about 2011 and I am sure we will have some new adventures that we are sure to ENJOY! Happy New Year!

Christmas Card 2010

2010-12-22T19:55:00.000-07:00

Ok, I have a ton of things that I want and need to blog about. . .somehow I have been crazy and haven't updated my family's day to day happenings. . .I guess those will go unpublished. . .but, I wanted to post more for my posterity our Christmas card and my first choice on Christmas cards -- Jake nixed it :) -- he thought we all should be in the picture. . . I ended running out of cards. . .maybe next year I will do better :). . .and I used the same card with a little improvement. . .

But my favorite part of this Christmas card, is the letter and Spencer's name. . .He was the first to sign, and wanted to be sure to have enough room to sign . . .I love this, someday he will probably be mad that I sent this out to so many friends and family. . .but, it is Spencer right now.

To those who I inadvertently missed, I am sorry, leave me a note and I PROMISE you won't be forgotten next year! We wish you all a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Snowman Quilt

2010-12-08T15:00:00.000-07:00

It's DONE and on the WALL!

I have spent a long time working on my snowman quilt, and had a goal. . . to have him hanging BEFORE Christmas. . . the clips came today, and I love having him up! I have a huge sense of satisfaction seeing it all done. . . a fun project and I LOVE the outcome!

Happy Birthday Spencer Boy!

2010-11-17T12:54:00.000-07:00

My Baby is SIX today! I can't believe it! It seems like just yesterday, well maybe a couple of years have gone by and he was born! I have been on a quest the last couple of days for a picture. . . I finally found the one I wanted. . .but in the meantime, I was able to find several fun pictures of Spence through the years. . .Blogspot likes to change things around so it is what is timewise. . .but I will give you six things that I love about Spencer!

1. He is almost ALWAYS Happy! He just has a zeal for life and living life that is fun. As far as the almost part he is only not happy for a few minutes when someone is mean. . .

2. He loves to pretend. . .he is easily entertained.

3. He is friendly and likes other people.

4. I love his smile and his eye lashes.

5. He is a good helper.

6. He loves his family. When he was in preschool, I would say Spencer you need to quit growing, and he would say he would quit growing. . .one day I teasingly said, Spence you said you would quit growing, and he started crying and said I am trying to quit but I can't!

Even when he is a stinker, I feel so blessed that he is my baby boy! Happy birthday Spency-B!

Halloween Party

2010-10-26T18:53:00.000-07:00

Now that some of our traditional activities are over. . .I need to break and blog some of the FUN things that we have been doing. . .when my kids get older. . .they need to be reminded of some of the fun things they did. . .
We are pretty casual with what we let the kids do in our front yard. . .the other day, I came home from the store to find this adorable sign Ryan made. . .I LOVE it!

I found this Vampire shirt for Spencer and thought that given his lack of front teeth it was almost mirroring him!

We had a couples party a few days ago and some of the husbands didn't dress up . . .but we had so much FUN!

And finally, our Halloween party was last night! My kids look forward to this party every year (I think we have done it for four or five years in conjunction with our HOA. This year, we were on our own. . .It was a blast, whirlwind, exhausting event! Every year it gets bigger and better. . .this year didn't fail on either end. . .Hopefully, Jake will let us do it again next year. . .we will talk about it later. . but we only got the camera out at almost the end. We had a cupcake walk, a pinata, bobbing for apples, crafts --we ran out of time for those, and a bounce house!

Thanks everyone for coming and for ALL of your HELP!

Halloween!

2010-10-21T16:39:00.001-07:00

We decided kind of at the last minute to do our traditional party. . .if you are in the area and want to come. . .

We'd love to have you!

Fabric

2010-10-02T11:00:00.000-07:00

I went to an amazing fabric store yesterday. . .I am going to try my hand at another quilt. . .It is a Valentine's quilt. I might need a few more pieces. . . but here is the basis

FHE Dad's Way. . .

2010-09-21T10:21:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Jake told me he wanted to incorporate bows and arrows into a FHE lesson. Really? Have fun was the help he got from me. . .So, last night, was the bow and arrow FHE. We went out into our little pasture and the boys show arrows at a target he had made. When they got enough points they got the reward, we had taken scriptures about shooting Samuel the Lamanite -- so they got to go find their prize. . .wrapped so nicely . . . a bunch of rotten food! We then went out to the pasture and he changed the target. . .a rabbit. The kids shot at that until they got enough points again, and then they read the scripture of Nephi's bow. They went and got the good prize. . .The boys LOVED it! I loved that there was enough space in the yard that we didn't need to worry about it going over a fence. . .Great job Jake!

Halloween Project

2010-09-19T20:29:00.000-07:00

Ok, I think I am happy with my projects. . .I took the basic idea from thehouseofsmiths blog, but the price tag for the subwar art was a bit steep for me. . .So, I ran with the idea, and here I am. I will print it on Monday or Tuesday. . .can't wait to see if it turns out half as cute as I think it will! If you want one for your house, I will share ;)

Jack-o-Lantern

2010-09-19T13:11:00.000-07:00

Yep, he lost another tooth -- if I could only figure out how to put a candle in his mouth. . .I would have the perfect Jack-o-Lantern!

It has been a busy week,our house finally is rented, we are getting more settled in our new house, and I taught Relief Society today -- shew it is over! I also made a cute (at least it should be cute) decoration on Photoshop -- I'll post it if it turns out!

I had to teach on faith, and I figured out how to download on youtube. . .and onto a dvd. . .and used this clip -- I love this message!
Good-Things-to-Come

Priorities, Priorities. . .

2010-09-12T11:38:00.000-07:00

This has been a super fun week! We had a few friends over on Monday to enjoy a little labor day picnic. For the party, I made ice cream balls prior to them coming for the kids to make ice cream sundaes with. . .they told me I needed a picture. . .obviously, it didn't turn out very well, but it was a fun way to have our ice cream.

The past week, I have come home from my workout to find Jake and Jacob UP and SWIMMING! Jake has decided that they both could use some of that. . .I am impressed, my husband is the one who didn't ever get up without an alarm, and NEVER before 7:00 am. . .I am impressed, because it is kind of chilly in that water, and I wouldn't get in!

Now for the priorities, or lack of priorities. . .
On Thursday, I was in my weight training class, and it is a pretty large class. The instructor took a class with me back in May. We started a snowman quilt.

I got quite a ways, in fact my top of my quilt and all but the last little bit were done before July. But then, I got hung up on my signature block. I know, should be easy. . .SHOULD be easy, but I have opinions on fonts and how things look on computer things. . .and then, well, we moved, and then well. . .I never got back to my quilt. Well, fastforward to last Thursday, I am in my class, getting ready to do the triceps, when the teacher hollars out to a fairly full class, "Hey Deana! Did you get your quilt done?!" "No." "What, did you get your quilt done?!" (I am in the back of a full class) -- "Uh, no, I moved, remember?!" Guess when my priorities went from unpacking, and maybe putting a picture up in my house. . .there is only one up in the whole house, and it is in the room only the "chosen" will see :). To finding my quilt top, making my signature block. . .

and finishing this bad boy! Oh yeah, and I had to field inquiries on our other house that we are renting -- only six or seven showings, and a hundred phone calls! I think we have that bad boy rented. . .we will see on that.

Oh yeah, and I finally broke down and read Mockingjay -- has anyone finished it? I am dying to discuss it. . .you know, when you throw the priorities out the window, you really throw them out the window. . .Maybe this week, I will get my house put together!

Gilbert Temple Site

2010-09-05T21:07:00.000-07:00

We are excited to think that sometime in the very near future the church will be breaking ground on the new temple in GILBERT! Our Stake Presidency challenged us several months ago to take pictures at the temple to mark ourselves preparing for our new temple. We finally got our act together and even though we aren't wearing white shirts and it is extremely hot . . .we made it!

I hope that my boys will be able to remember the importance of the temple and prepare themselves individually to go into the house of the Lord. I hope that they will sense and hold with reverance these pictures. . .yeah, they might show dirty faces and not everyone on the same cue. . .but they also I hope will remind them that they are brothers forever and we are sealed together forever and the temples are what provides these truths!

All I want for Christmas. . .

2010-09-02T17:25:00.000-07:00

I guess it is a little early to be singing this isn't it? Spencer has lost his two front teeth!!! What is up with a five year old loosing his two top teeth?!
On Monday, he was snaggle tooth boy. . .It was all I could do to not pull it. . .

On Tuesday right before he left for school, it came out with a little help from his dad. . .

The tooth fairy came,brought ten quarters. . .He had a hard time finding his money and tooth, once he foud it, he wa like, mom doesn't know that I found my money, maybe I should leave the tooth under my pillow so I can get more money. . .I think we will have to have a lesson in honesty next. Ryan told him that it wouldn't work 'cuz mom has a direct e-mail to the tooth fairy. . .well, I do, but how did he come up with that one?!

Some Days. . .

2010-08-30T09:38:00.000-07:00

I have had a couple of things happen that. . .well, I just have to decide I can laugh or I can cry about. . .some of them I have had to do both about. . .but because I have to keep life "real". . .I have to share some of these laugh or cry about things. . .

I should change the names to protect the guilty, but hopefully, in thirty years, if I did that, I wouldn't remember which of my darlings did that and I need them to remember what they did to mom :). So, no names will be changed. . .but then no proof of the crime is available either. . .

Incident One.
A couple of weeks before we moved, Jake needed to use my laptop in our room, to get ready for a talk he had to give and an audit at church. I went to get a few things done, I had to teach the next day at church, so when I got home, I went to my computer to find several of the keys removed from where they went! What is going on?! I started asking my darling children what had happened, and the two older boys looked at me like I was on drugs. . . and then Spencer, darling Spencer says, I used dad's drill on it to get the keys off!! Say what?! I will probably have to replace that portion of my laptop.

Incident Two.
Last Saturday, while we were moving, Jake gave Jacob the assignment of bringing my laptop to me at the new house. We had several things going on at the same time, and I got busy and didn't ask to find out where my laptop was until the next day. By then, Jacob had forgotten where he put it. I agonized a bit all week, and worried about where he could have put it. Saturday afternoon, this past week, Jacob with his brother and cousin in tow, come bounding into the house, saying we found your laptop, it was out in the park bench! Relieved to know where it was, I took it and then it dawned on me, that it had rained and that park bench had been pressure washed by the painter!! Panic set in, and my favorite computer guy had a laptop on his kitchen table and his wife trying really hard not to laugh at my children's misdeeds. . .the laptop, is fine.

Incident Three.

Amazingly, this one is all me, and it doesn't include a computer :). This morning, I went to a good workout at the gym and when I was almost home, Jake called me and asked if I wanted to come get him. Our OLD corolla's battery was DEAD. He was stuck at Checker Auto. No problem, I went and picked him up and he went back at 7:30. He called me at 8:00, with a report that the alarm, that was already installed when I purchased the car used some 13 years ago, was going off. He needed a ride to work. He patiently, allowed me to run the boys to their respective places and then I dropped him off. Back to Checker to see if I can fix the car. I tried to sneek being able to make it work like I can with my truck. No luck. I called Toyota, and they tried to walk me through the steps. I was on the passenger side of the car, I shut the door, as they said I needed to go to the Driver side, and locked myself, and all keys I had in the corolla. So, I got to walk to my house not too far away fortunately. . .I was grateful that the extra key was where it belonged and walked back, and fortunately, Toyota was able to help me get the alarm to go to valet and we were able to move on. Glad Mondays like this only come around once in a while!

Home

2010-08-22T18:44:00.000-07:00

This week, I have been pondering, when does a house become a home, and a home become a house?
We have been packing and moving from our first house to our next house. It has been a time of reflection for me. . .We bought our house new. We put in the yard, we took the walls from white to tan, we installed the tile, we put in new carpet, we installed the new faces on the cabinets and granite countertops. . .

It has been my home, probably no one will appreciate where it was to begin with to where it is now, but me. I still go in and look at things and it still has more than a boatload of memories, but I don't know if I can call it home.

We have kind of moved to our new house, and I think of the people who buildt it, and those that have lived here and wonder if they realize the impact of their actions on our family. I am anxious to get moved in and settled and wonder at what point this beautiful new to us house will begin to feel like home.
Farewell, sort of to our Princeton home and I look forward to our Barbarita home. . .

First Day of School

2010-08-12T16:19:00.000-07:00

Wednesday was the first day in eleven years that I was able to go to the store alone, with no one needing to watch my kids and all of them being in town. . .Yep, they are ALL in school!
Ryan started THIRD grade -- he was about as excited as he looks (not so excited)

Spencer is in ALL day Kindegarten at a neighborhood school -- he doesn't go with his brothers this year -- the story is, my mom's friend from when I was young, started teaching kindegarten this year, and she really is fabulous, and since she didn't have a long line wantin to be in her class yet. . .we got Spencer in!

Jacob started SIXTH grade this year -- really now, where has the time gone?! This picture cracks me up, because this could easily be Jake when he was the same age! I know why there are no "nice" smile pictures of Jake now -- thank goodness for Digital!

The one day that we were ready and waiing for the bus at Carol Rae was probably yesterday, so the kids made silly faces for the documentation of the year!

Here's to a good year! I know I will enjoy the "break" and the shopping time while they are away -- but I do miss having the constant chatter of Spencer and the companionship of the other two! Next week, I SHOULD have super AWESOME wonderful stuff to show you. . .cross your fingers for me!

Something's Different

2010-08-05T10:16:00.000-07:00

Something's different with his smile. . .Yep, he lost ANOTHER tooth! He is so pleased and tend to have his tongue in the way to talk . . .he is loving it, I am hating it. . .kindegarten next week was bad enough!

It's Official!

2010-08-04T07:20:00.000-07:00

For years, I have dreamed of moving, looked for houses, watched the market, drooled (in a happy way) when my friends got to move. . .well, it is official, we are MOVING! Hopefully we will be the proud owners of a different house NEXT week!!!

Anybody know of anyone who wants to rent a nice house in a nice neighborhood?

24th of July Kanosh style

2010-07-29T08:09:00.000-07:00

Jake's parents and some of his siblings live in a VERY small town. For the 24th of July they get "out of towners" that more than double their town and might even triple the size. . .this year our Family Reunion was the 24th. The boys loved it. . .

Jake's dad always is driving a wagon with his team of horses. . .

Apparently, Jacob wanted to be on a float. . .they let you ride a float, if you are so inclined, and if you get bored, just jump off.

The floats go up one side of the main street and then turn around and go down the other side. . .

You are sure to get all of the candy you want. . .

After the parade, Grandpa will take everyone who wants to go, on a horse wagon ride, you might have to wait in line, but you will get your chance. . .

After a delicious dutch oven dinner, that is paid for by donation, there are games and contests.

And plenty of time for visiting in the shade. . .

And a huge tug-of-war one side of town against the other. Too bad the kids didn't realize, they were on the wrong side of town and the "right" side of the tracks beat them soundly this year. They also had a chicken chase contest and a greased pig contest, fortunately we aren't big chicken or greased pig catchers. . .Fun times

Preston & Lucy

2010-07-25T20:26:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, we went to Utah, Lucy was taking out her endowments. . .All of Jake's siblings and their spouses were going to be there. . .we were going to be tight on time. . .We made it to the temple a little bit later than the session, but did sealings in the same temple that we were sealed. Loved remembering back to the "good old days". After we finished we went and greeted all of Jake's siblings as they entered the Celestial room. What a grand reunion.

The next day was wedding day! Lucy and Preston got married! I didn't bring Spence and I was too busy talking and enjoying the day to take pictures. . .We did get pictures of all of Jake's siblings and thier spouses with his parents. . .Can you guess who is related (the genes are strong)

The order is b, b, g, b, b, g, g, b, g

Here is the newly wedded cople. . . Fun times! Good luck Preston and Lucy and congratulations!

Fun times this summer!

2010-07-11T15:09:00.000-07:00

We are crazy busy. . .I am hoping I will have some fun things to share in the next couple of weeks. . .but for now. We have been trying to stay cool!
A couple of weeks ago, we went to the circus. . .

It was amazing in lots of ways. Jacob came prepared, he was certainly afraid of being too bored. . .

The elephants were amazing! All of the animals were so well trained. . .

After the circus we went to the science of fear at the Science Center, we loved it! The things that they monitored was so cool. The kids got belted onto a board and they video taped your reaction. Spencer had NO fear of falling!

When I went to download my pictures on the computer, I found this beautiful picture...random, looks like someone wants to do photojournalism. :)

Redneck Swimming

2010-07-07T16:31:00.000-07:00

We don't have a swimming pool. I am working on changing that. But we don't have a pool. It gets hot in Arizona. Really hot. So, on Monday, my parents called and said that the kids could play in the irragation in their yard if they wanted to come over. . .

The boys were delighted to go to Grandma and Grandpa's to play in the water. They were thrilled to find quite a bit of water, and a empty plastic pool floating in the pool. Jacob decided this was his private domain, and used it as a boat.

He also used it to stash is load of old fruit to throw at his brothers. Even Ryan who was moping decided to have fun and play in the water. . .

After a good shower. . .they were as clean as they were to begin with. Thanks for the wet afternoon Grandma and Grandpa!

Spencer the Photographer

2010-06-22T13:16:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, Jake's older brother's oldest daughter got married. We got to take the boys with us to Utah. They were pretty good, at a not so kid friendly setting. Spencer was pretty bored, and acting out how bored he was. . .so, out of desperation, and also with the knowledge it is under warranty, I let him use my point and shoot camera. . .I think he did fairly well.

Jacob was enamoured with playing with the black umbrella. . .He made me think of Mary Poppins. . .

Spencer loved being in Kanosh, and had a blast pulling his two cousins around in the little red wagon. . .

Fun times, but glad to be home!

World Wildlife Zoo

2010-06-21T09:29:00.000-07:00

Each summer, I ask the boys what they really want to do and they get to name two or three things that are top on their list for outings or just "fun" things that they don't want to miss. One of the things Ryan really wanted to do was go to the zoo. . .but not any zoo, he wanted to go to the World Wildlife Zoo in Peoria, so, on June 14th when the temperature was only going to be in the 90's decided today was THE day to go. . .

The animals were loving the not so hot temperatures, it was raining just a little bit when we got there and the monkeys, especially, were in fine form. . .The Wildlife zoo is a privately funded zoo, so it is a little bit more than the Phoenix zoo, but the animals are right there. . .The picture of Ryan and Spencer with the kangaroo shows how close, most of the time we were there . . .if they weren't wild, we could have reached out and pet them!!! The spider monkeys (I think) were in a cage and they just bounded around their cage playing tag with one another and just "monkeying around"! It was fun to watch the boys watch the different animals.

At this zoo, you can feed the giraffes, and the boys LOVED getting to feed them -- their tongues feel like sandpaper and they are so tall! It made my neck hurt just watching them!

They have an aquarium connected with the zoo, and the kids loved watching them feed the penguins and petting the sting ray. They were a little nervous about the star fish though. There was a petting zoo too. They had all of these things that we cold feed the animals food, for fifty cents. . .well at the petting zoo, we didn't buy food, so Jake handed the boys some grass to feed the deer and goats, at first, I was a bit concerned, but then thought, wait a minute he should know if this is ok . . . so I guess go ahead boys! We laughed when the zoo keeper was scolding the kids about feeding the animals grass -- Jake reminded me that is WHAT they EAT! Fun time and lovely weather! Glad we went!

Glazed BBQ Ribs

2010-06-15T08:35:00.001-07:00

So, since I have been having the kids helping me a little more with cooking. They have had to help pick what we eat. This is an adventure and has helpe me stretch how I make or what I make with different food. Jacob has chosen some pretty amazing food. The BBQ is something that I like but use for steak and hamburgers and hotdogs and a few other things. . .when Jacob showed me what he wanted to make, I thought let's just have baby back ribs and make them the way that I know, but he insisted. . . so we tried this recipe, and it is AMAZING. They are super easy, and yesterday when Safeway and Bashas didn't have the boneless pork ribs when I was in there at 6 in the morning, I just used country style ribs -- but I think any pork would be awesome with this recipe. . .so, if you need a yummy BBQ rib recipe, here is a SUPER easy one, I fed 12 people and with store bought rolls, and ice cream sandwiches for dessert, I only was cooking for about 35 minutes last evening!

Glazed BBQ Ribs
Ingredients
3 pounds boneless country-style pork ribs
3/4 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
Directions
Place ribs in a large shallow glass container. Pierce several times with a fork.
In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; set aside 1/2 cup for basting. Pour the remaining marinade over ribs. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight, turning once.
Drain and discard marinade. Grill ribs, covered, over indirect medium heat for 10 minutes on each side. Baste with some of the reserved marinade. Grill 20-25 minutes longer or until juices run clear and meat is tender, turning and basting occasionally. Yield: 6 servings.

Water Balloons!

2010-06-08T09:42:00.000-07:00

Last week, our amazing scout leaders at church had a FANTASTIC scout camp -- hopefully, they will share their pics -- but one of the things that we had to do was bring water balloons -- Jacob got invited to come as well, because they were nice like that. . .but, the balloons, wow it takes a LONG time to fill!!!! Especially when you have to fill them two days in a row! So, I being the mom, got to fill most of the balloons, because we had to hurry. . .so, I was cranky, especially when I had "help". Imagine my surprise on Friday evening when. . .
I came outside to find this:

I think all of the boys are now official water balloon fillers and can TIE them THEMSELVES! Hallelujah!! I have to say Ryan just learned on Thursday how to tie the balloons!!

This summer we are busy listening to and reading books! I love it! I am always on the hunt to find a good book for me, and then books for my boys. I haven't gotten to read mom books lately, but I did read/listen to a FANTASTIC mom book -- The Help -- loved it! I also read The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet -- it is good, but not as good as The Help -- so, if you have any good mom books, will you pass on the book?

All of my boys like books -- wonder where they got that :) but I can't keep on all of the books they read and I want them to read books that are appropriate but will keep them entertained, so, I have some books to pass on if you are looking for fun books for your kids -- The Red Pyramid book, I have gotten just a little way in, but so far, I think my kids are going to LOVE it -- all of the books are totally boy/girl friendly -- the books we are liking, or series we have just finished are:

Summer Vacation

2010-06-02T13:43:00.000-07:00

With summer is full swing, I have had to be creative to keep my boys busy. I have some goals for them and one of the top goals is keeping them from camping in front of the TV, the computer and away from video games. Oh yeah, and I decided to keep life easy so not so many outside activities. . .
So. . .I have each of them come up with things either they want to cook (can not include things they already make), science experiments, and craft projects. . . Then, I gave them the assignment of throughout the summer taking pictures of letters in nature. . .
So, we introduced the concept of the letters yesterday, Jacob had fun just in our backyard looking for letters.

Well ok, some aren't without help -- but it is kind of fun. . .
For those who don't know Jacob well, he is NOT a morning kid. He hates getting up, and would rather sleep until noon (I loathe his teenage years). . .
But, he chose to make a recipe that is an overnight pancake batter and strawberry syrup. . .so, this morning, when I told him if he wanted to make breakfast for his dad he had to get up -- he got up willingly and made the YUMMIEST pancakes. We are using the recipes from Quick Cooking, (www.tasteofhome.com will give you their recipes too) and they are easy enough for beginner cookers yet still yummy!

The pancakes nd syrup were delicious, and will definitely be made again, and we were able to have success on two other points!

Guess what I did?!

2010-05-23T19:59:00.000-07:00

Tee Hee! Except for one minor post, I am all caught up with posts for this month! Yippee! But. . .I just thought I would show off my accomplishment for the weekend. . .
On Thursday night, this mom who really likes to go to bed in the evening, was up until 12:30!!! Putting this quilt block together. I am taking a quilting class and the pattern is a little different. . .( I can't believe I am posting this on my blog) but. . .

It took me quite a while that night, (obviously) to get it put together, but I had to do TWO more in addition to some other assignments. . .so, I had to try my hand at another one. . and guess what?!

It worked -- I CAN do HARD things!
Now, if I can just get on emy other quilt and oh year, I can make a list five mile long of things taht need to be done. . .but hey, I AM doing HARD things!