Love You Always

My Long Absence

2009-04-06T16:13:00.002-07:00

I know it has been a long time since I posted. Too long. I am sad to report my camera is broken and I cannot take pictures at this time, but I have some from others. However, here is an update on what is going on with us.

We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. Friends came over and made it a blast. Rhett and Kaylee are doing wonderfully in school, and Breyonna just can't wait to go! Ethen is my very own little pill who likes to keep me on my toes, but is a wonderful cuddler!!! Justin is still in school and working so hard to support our family. He is a wonderful blessing to me. And finally, I am working as a respite worker for a foster agency. That is about it for now, and hopefully I will be able to post some pictures soon.

Rhett's 5th Tooth

2008-11-10T14:19:00.003-07:00

I felt Rhett's tooth one day and it was really loose, so I decided to pull it out. He was freaking out, and screaming when I touched it--even though it didn't hurt that badly--and after TWO whole pulls, the tooth was out! Easiest tooth pulled so far!!!

Kaylee, Ethen, and My Birthday

2008-11-10T13:34:00.004-07:00

Gramma and Grampa came over a couple of weeks ago to give us all our birthday presents for October.

Ethen got this monkey folder with Color Wonder finger paints and a coloring book

And a Twister game with a beach towel

Then...

A train set!!!

And Kaylee got this princess set

And this Barbie,

And a Disney Fairies coloring set!

And I got this really cool counter top popcorn machine!!!!!

I was so excited I could not believe it, and we use it at least once a week!!!

THANK YOU GRAMMA AND GRAMPA!!!!!

Cake Time!!!

2008-11-10T13:16:00.003-07:00

And now time for cake!!!

Ethen goes to blow out the candle, but when he inhales again,

The candle catches him on the lip!

Then finally he got it, with a little help from Mama

Then he enjoyed the cake

Caty and Ethen's Presents

2008-11-10T12:51:00.004-07:00

Here's the kids waiting to open the presents

Caty got this cool bag
And Justin agreed

After a few more of Caty's presents, it was Ethens turn

He got a monkey rolling suitcase from Grammy with jammies and a blankie

Then Grammy got Ethen this huge lion. He loved it!!!

My Boys

2008-11-10T12:44:00.002-07:00

Ethen loves his big brother so much, he likes to fall asleep on him

So here he is before,

And just a few minutes later.

Owls

2008-11-10T12:06:00.002-07:00

My friend Kirsten got a cupcake book and she made these owl cupcakes, so she brought a family of owls over to us to eat. It took us about 5 days to actually eat them. They were too cute! But the eyeballs from the big owls got eaten after a day.

Rhett's Field Trip

2008-11-10T08:55:00.008-07:00

About a week ago Rhett had his first second grade field trip to CAC to learn all about corn. It was a lot of fun, and Rhett definitely wants to go back again someday.

Here we are waiting to leave the school

When we got there, everyone got some popcorn and watched a cartoon
Then everyone got to sing some songs

Here is the teacher teaching how to make plastic out of corn products. It was really cool, and we got the recipe:

1. Place 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in a cup

2. Add 4 drops of corn oil

3. Add 2 tablespoons of water
4. Stir

5. Add 4 drops of food color and stir again

6. Microwave for 50 seconds on high-you can pour into a mold dusted with cornstarch if you like

7. Cool slightly and push out of cup or mold

8. It should look like a muffin or the shape of the mold

Here is the next teacher teaching how corn used to be ground with rocks, how many kernels are typically on a corn cob-800 and how many rows they have-I don't remember, 20? Anyway, after she was done telling the history of corn, everyone got to grind their own corn-enough for one Cheeto

My hard little worker grinding away

Here's the corn Rhett ground all by himself

The next class was a cooking class on how to use corn products. She made Johnnycakes--soooo good!!!!

Then we took a lunch break and the moms visited

Here's my group waiting patiently to go through the maze

Entering the corn maze

Throughout the maze there were random facts about corn that all of the kids got to take turns reading to each other

When we got through the maze, the kids all got to pick 5 ears of corn to take home for decoration, or to turn into bird feed. The kids had so much fun!!!

Silence Really Is Golden

2008-10-08T16:28:00.002-07:00

So we have a leak from the shower upstairs to the kitchen, and the guy-Paul-came out to treat the wood for "prolonged water damage". When he left, he had this green box, another green machine and a grey machine running in this room since last Friday. It has been non-stop noise for 5 days!!! But today, Paul came back and finally took that machine away. And now the kids are at Mom's and all I am listening to is the TV quietly. Ahhh...silence really is golden.

Grateful

2008-10-08T16:25:00.002-07:00

This week I am grateful for:

1. The thing being turned off and my house once again quiet
2. Mom and Dad coming home and taking the kids for a little while
3. My camera to capture the moments I don't ever want to forget
4. Teachers that are perfect for my children
5. Fall break next week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

More Jam!!!

2008-10-08T16:19:00.003-07:00

I spent Monday night canning some more peach jam.

Grateful

2008-10-03T10:03:00.002-07:00

It has been a very long time since I have done my gratefuls, so here they are:

1. Rhett finally learning to ride his bike
2. Ethen talking more and more every day, thanks to Ian
3. My husband helping me with the house--that one never gets old
4. Cooking for my family--I love it!
5. Learning how to can my own food--so much fun!!!

Learning To Ride

2008-10-03T09:52:00.002-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I took Rhett out and gave him a little push. That was all that he needed to ride his bike on his own. Then we rode over to Grammy's house to show her. We were all so happy he learned how to ride his bike! He is doing much better--he can start without any pushing. Now all he has to do is master using his handle bars. He will head towards the curb and won't turn away--he just keeps on going until he runs right into it. It is kind of funny, actually.

I Love Canning!!!!

2008-10-03T09:34:00.002-07:00

So I bought a case of Peaches and Michelle bought a case of tomatoes and we spent a couple of days canning. It was a couple of crazy days! Well, actually, only one. The other was so easy. While I was cutting the cilantro(gag me) for the salsa, I was using Michelle's brand new knife and cut a part of my finger off. So Michelle had to do most of the work!!! I felt so bad for that. We made salsa, crushed tomatoes, canned peaches and peach jam. It was all so good!!! And now, I am hooked on canning. I told Justin I want a pressure canner for my birthday that is just around the corner. He loves me, and I am sure he will get it for me--he always gives in eventually(wink, wink). If you want to learn more about canning, go to Canning USA.
Our first batch of peach jam was a little chuncky, but so pretty!

I Will Not Let This Go!!!

2008-10-03T09:30:00.002-07:00

Ethen loves Breyonna's piano so much, he decided to sleep with it!!! When he was done playing, he pulled it closer onto him and promptly fell asleep. So cute!!!

Three Little Ducks In A Row

2008-10-03T09:27:00.002-07:00

Peek A Boo!

2008-10-03T09:17:00.002-07:00

We have a leak from our shower, so the plumber came a cut a hole in our ceiling. Justin wants to take this opportunity to run some wiring for surround sound. While Justin was trying to take a picture in our ceiling, Ethen was playing peek a boo with him from under the table. It was so cute! He would slide himself back and forth under the table.

Michigan Pop Tart

2008-10-03T09:10:00.002-07:00

So right now they have Pop Tarts that have all of the college logos on them. I bought them with the hopes of getting Justin's all time favorite, and what do you know? We got them. Go Wolverines!!!!! Oh. Then Rhett ate it.

The Grape Hoarder

2008-10-03T09:02:00.002-07:00

I let the kids eat a some grapes and before I knew it, Ethen had stolen my cup and filled it with as many grapes as possible. They were his, and no one was going to take them from him! What a little stinker!!!

Transformers Again

2008-10-03T08:38:00.002-07:00

So here the kids are with Justin watching Transformers again, but this time a couple of kids are added on--Ian and Abby.

Purple Rose or Ben the Toad

2008-09-09T19:18:00.003-07:00

Okay, okay, okay. I know it has been a very long time since I have blogged. Well, our old computer died on us, and we just got a new one. So now I think you are all caught up on what has been going on here. But now for the "Toad Saga" are you ready?

So here's what happened. Justin went to Mexico for the weekend and I painted the girls room. On Saturday night, I was finished with the purple so I went outside to wash off the paint brush. When I moved over to the light on the porch, I saw something move on the rocks. At first, I thought it was a mouse, then said to myself "No way!!! Is that a toad?" . When I got closer, I realized it was actually a toad!!! And it was HUGE!!! The size of a softball. So then I first ran in to get my camera to take a picture without getting too close. My solution to get rid of the ugly thing was to spray it with the hose, but it just jumped down the side of my house. I didn't want the thing to get into my backyard with Lucie, so I called my dad to come and get the thing at 9:45 at night.

So then my dad came and captured the darn thing. It did put up quite a fight, though. The kids wanted to go with my dad to let the poor thing go around the corner, so I let them. They came back about a minute later. The dang thing had jumped out of the bucket in the back of the truck and jumped into a small hole that led him between the bed liner and the truck itself. I couldn't believe it. Didn't he want to be free? So my mom and dad spent the next half hour trying to get the thing out. The only thing to do was to grab it, but the kids were too scared to grab the thing. So we decided to leave it until the next morning to see if it left on its own. But it hadn't, so we had to wait until after church. That night we thought of a name for it. If it was a boy, it was Ben the Toad. If it was a girl, Purple Rose.

So after church we went over to see if it was still there, and it was. So we kept trying to get Rhett to stick his hand in there with a glove on to grab the dang thing. But he just couldn't do it. As we were trying to figure something else to do, Rhett started to tell his friend who lived a couple of houses down from my parents all about the toad. So I went over to see if her kids would be willing to touch a toad, and it turned out all of them would. So a couple of her kids were taking turns trying to get the toad. She took a turn, but when the toad moved, she realized she couldn't do it. Her husband even tried, but the way the toad was positioned, you couldn't make a fist and pull the thing out. You know, the whole monkey with the nut in the jar thing? So after an agonizing hour in the heat, my friend stepped up to the plate and reached in, grabbed a leg and gave it to my mom, while she reached in again to grab the other leg. And voila!!! The toad was free!!! You think that would be the end, wouldn't you?

Well, then my friend took the toad over to her house to show her daughter and husband the illusive toad. When she got into her garage, the toad jumped out of the bucket and jumped under her car. So then the kids had to get the toad to come out from underneath the car. That took another few minutes or so. Then it got loose on her lawn where her husband took pictures and video of the toad that just didn't want to be free. After that, we put the toad in a bin with a lid on it so it couldn't get away again to save it for Justin to see. After Justin got home he saw it and my dad took the kids to go take it back to the wild. So farewell, Purple Rose or Ben the Toad whichever is the appropriate name for you. May you never come back to my yard again. My crickets aren't that good.

You are my...blue eyed girl?????

2008-09-09T19:15:00.002-07:00

My mom got some blue contacts when she went to her last appointment, so she put them on Kaylee. Doesn't she look beautiful? So this is what she would have looked like with blue eyes, except they wouldn't say "demo" like these do.

Tag

2008-09-09T19:05:00.003-07:00

So I guess when you get tagged, you have to answer a few of these questions.

JOYS:
1. My children
2. Crafting
3. Helping people

FEARS:
1. Something bad happening to my family or someone close to me
2. The world running out of chocolate
3. Gaining back all of the weight I have lost, so maybe it would be a good thing for the chocolate to disappear. ;)

GOALS:
1. Always be a mother first
2. Start my business
3. Go back to school

OBSESSIONS:
1. I like things to be organized
2. Owls
3. Making my own stamps

SURPRISING FACTS:
1. I hate cilantro--so gross!!!
2. I love dinner for breakfast and breakfast for dinner
3. I love to weld and want to learn to do it better

So now the rules go:
TAG!!! YOU'RE IT TO ALL WHO HAVE READ THIS AND HAVE A BLOG. So do the same thing I did and tag more people!!!

Broccoli Monster

2008-09-09T18:57:00.002-07:00

Ethen LOVES broccoli! He also loves cookie dough. I was making some cookies one night after dinner, and I placed the tray on top of the broccoli --that is just out of sight of the camera--that hadn't been eaten. The next thing I know, Ethen is right up there. So I promptly told him no and to get down before he gets a spankin. Then as I got closer, I noticed that the cookie dough was untouched. He had moved the sheet with the cookie dough over a little bit to get into the broccoli!!! I still can't believe it!!!

Pure Joy

2008-09-09T18:53:00.002-07:00

Justin bought Transformers in high def, so he watched it with the kids. What is better than this?

Chip Flower

2008-09-09T18:46:00.001-07:00

One day Brey was eating her sandwich with chips and she made this beautiful chip flower, and I had to share it with all of you.

Mia

2008-09-09T18:44:00.001-07:00

Here is cute little Mia taking a ride on Ethen's car

Going For a Ride

2008-09-09T18:40:00.001-07:00

Uncle James came over and had a little bit of fun with Ethen.

Here's Justin

2008-09-09T18:35:00.000-07:00

Back to School Cupcakes

2008-09-09T18:19:00.002-07:00

Grammy came over one night after school and brought some yummy cupcakes for all of the kids to enjoy. Here are some of the best pictures.

Water Balloon Fight!!!

2008-09-09T17:22:00.004-07:00

On the second day of school Michelle and I thought it would be a good surprise for the kids to have a water balloon fight on such a hot day. So we slaved over the balloons. I think we made around 400? We filled two big plastic containers for them. They were so excited!!! Here they are going out the door to see what the surprise actually was
And here they are loading up
Kaylee and Rhett having fun throwing balloons at each other
Here is Ian throwing a balloon. He never really let go. Does that count as throwing?
The kids all going back for a refill
Kaylee and Abby throwing their balloons at each other. I don't think they even got to the other side. They bounced off of each other.
I liked this one just because Rhett doesn't see this one coming.

Michelle getting in on the action and Kaylee catching some air
I really like this one, because if you look real close you can see the pink balloon popped on Abby's shoulder. I caught a shot of the balloon popping!!!
And I had to put me in, I guess. Of course I had to take the opportunity to throw some balloons at my kids. What mother wouldn't?
And at the end of it all, here are all of the kids squeezing into one of the containers we used to hold the balloons.

First day of School

2008-09-09T16:58:00.005-07:00

So here we are on the first day of school. I can't believe the time has come!!! I was so excited, and so were the kids. Well, Kaylee more than Rhett. So here are a few pictures from that day.

Here is Rhett putting his socks on while getting ready

Here is Kaylee already ready patiently waiting to leave. She can't wait!
Rhett and Kaylee walking to school together for the first time!!!
And here is Kaylee sitting in her chair at her table on her first day of Kindergarten. I am so happy that she is finally in school! But it is bitter sweet. I loved having her at home, but I think I love it more now that she's gone!!!
And here is Rhett in his class through the window. I was so caught up on taking Kaylee to make sure she was okay in her class, I totally missed Rhett! So this is the only picture I could get.

Back to School!!!

2008-07-16T13:15:00.002-07:00

I am so ready to send them to school!!! Only three more weeks today!!! They are all ready to go. We don't need a thing. I packed up their stuff yesterday after we went shopping for the rest of the school supplies. I don't need a thing! I don't think I have never been prepared this early before!!! Usually I get it done the week before. What does that tell you? Good bye summer vacation!!!
I love to shop for school supplies!!! I love to go to Walmart and browse their isles and get the supplies we need. I want to buy it all!!! And I would if I could. I did however buy 40 spiral notepads for .5 each. So many good deals!!!

My Super Great Find!!!

2008-07-16T13:08:00.002-07:00

I was at Target yesterday getting the last of Rhett and Kaylee's school supplies. As I was making my way back up to the front of the store I decided to skim through the clearance, and I found this monkey pot holder! If you know me at all, you know Ethen is my little monkey. I also needed more pot holders or oven mitts(my other ones are burned through). However, there was no price on it so I went and found someone to look up the price. And to my surprise, it was only .74!!!

My Little Man

2008-07-16T13:04:00.002-07:00

Last night I went to the grocery store, and got back a little late. When I went upstairs, I found my kids all watching t.v., so I promptly had them brush their teeth and get ready for bed. Well, when I was helping the kids swish their mouthwash, I looked over at Ethen, and he was trying to put Kaylee's shirt on. He was so cute, I had to take a picture to share with all of you!!!

Grateful

2008-07-16T12:35:00.003-07:00

Rhett brushing up on his writing before school starts

My girls writing to their cousin Emily, who they miss so much!
Bountiful baskets--getting so much produce for such a low price--to learn more, click here.
My new phone that now only drops 1/3 of my phone calls, instead of 1/2 ;)
My baking and cooking canisters just waiting for me on the counter to use them

Starting Fresh

2008-07-16T12:21:00.003-07:00

There's something about a fresh notebook and a brand new pen. What to write; a story? A plan? Or just another shopping list. I don't know. It seems like the options are endless and I am up for the challenge!

Grateful

2008-07-09T10:26:00.002-07:00

I know it has been a couple of weeks, but our computer is dead. I mean dead. There is no coming back from this. I finally have access to a computer to upload pictures and make new posts. So here are my gratefuls for the week.

I am grateful for:

My husband getting a job where he is home before it gets dark
Getting a phone that works anywhere in the house
Going to the temple with my husband
Being able to cook for my family
Watching my kids act all crazy--kids just being kids

Rhett's 3rd tooth is out!!!

2008-07-09T10:22:00.003-07:00

We finally pulled out Rhett's front tooth! It only took about a week of working on it, but we got it. Now all we have to do is put the tooth under Rhett's pillow so the tooth fairy can bring him his money!

Happy 4th Birthday Breyonna!!!

2008-07-09T09:51:00.005-07:00

Happy Birthday baby girl!!! I can't believe you are four years old!!! The time keeps passing by too quickly. We love you so much and are so blessed that you are ours.

For Breyonna's birthday this year Gramma and Grampa sent us to Sunsplash in Mesa. Breyonna had so much fun!!! We started out on the slides with the tubes. Brey liked them a lot. Then we went down the other slides, but Brey didn't want to go down those. So I took the girls to the kid section and played for a while. After that we went to the wave pool and it was real crazy in there! Justin and I kept on dropping the kids during the first set of waves. But by the second set of waves we got it down. Then we went back to the tube rides and finished off the day with going around the lazy river. That was chaotic all on its own!!! I couldn't keep all of us together. Justin had to sit out because he was burned pretty badly so I was all on my own. That was our day at the water park. We all had so much fun, and Breyonna had so much fun!!!

Rhett got Brey these wings

Grammy got her this doll from Enchanted

Kaylee got her this bride doll that also came with a groom and flower girl

Grammy got Brey this cradle, and Ethen got right in. Then he was so desperate for a passie, he tried to suck on the pony's!!!

Brey got presents from her aunties and uncles too, but this year was kind of unorganized, so there was no official party. She loves and appreciates all of her presents.

4th of July

2008-07-09T09:16:00.004-07:00

Falling Asleep

2008-07-09T09:13:00.003-07:00

We ended up eating dinner pretty late this night, and Ethen wasn't too hungry so he just sat there. When I went to try to feed him again, he was asleep! My precious, precious boy how I love you so much!!!

Happy Fathers Day

2008-07-09T09:04:00.003-07:00

For Father's Day we went to Home Depot to make the craft for the month. It was fun! The kids each made a boat for Justin.

Swimming

2008-06-18T09:36:00.003-07:00

This last weekend the kids were invited to go to their friend's house for a swimming birthday party. Breyonna only stayed in for a few minutes though. One of the girls that was holding her let her mouth go under water, so you know she had to freak out! She spent the rest of the time eating Cheetos. The kids had so much fun!!!

Grateful

2008-06-18T09:28:00.002-07:00

I am grateful for:

The kids being able to go over to Grammy and Grampy's to give me a break!!!

Going out to see family for Father's Day

The kids helping to keep the house clean

Friends for them to go play with

More and more stores opening around me so I don't have to drive into town

Two Little Girls

2008-06-13T10:46:00.002-07:00

Working Hard

2008-06-13T10:42:00.002-07:00

For Rhett's birthday we got him a Webkinz stuffed animal. On the stuffed animal there is a code where you go online to register your pet and start an account. You get to play games online for Kinzcash and buy furniture for your house, food, clothes, a whole bunch of stuff. Well, I was playing last week and Ethen was sitting on my lap helping me. I looked down, and he had fallen asleep!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNTIE LIZ!!!

2008-06-13T10:35:00.003-07:00

Yesterday was Liz's 25th birthday. So the kids and I went and got some pizza to take for lunch and visit for a little while. And how is she going to celebrate it? Mexico, baby!!! Sadly, Justin and I could not make it down there this weekend, but I hope you all have so much fun, and take a lot of pictures!!!

Grateful

2008-06-13T10:29:00.003-07:00

This week I am grateful for:

Summer vacation!!! I don't have to wrestle the kids into bed early for another 2 months!!!

Naps--I have been really tired lately because of Justin's schedule

Being able to make dinner for my family--I know, a small thing but still...

The good weather we have still been having to be able to go walking in the morning without sweating in the first 5 minutes

Going walking and seeing the wild life. And by that, I mean the jack rabbits and quail. But every once in a while, I get to see a hawk and even a little owl.

Honor Roll

2008-06-07T09:09:00.003-07:00

Rhett made the honor roll!!! I was just told he would be accepting an award, and I didn't know what it was. So I went and it was the honor roll!!! We were so happy. We love you Rhett and we are so happy for all of the accomplishments that you make.

Grateful

2008-06-07T08:49:00.003-07:00

Justin baking brownies for a change

My goofy girl
Friends getting along playing Webkinz
My kids just enjoying each other
Ethen willing to take a nap anywhere!

Rhett's Birthday Party

2008-06-07T08:26:00.005-07:00

A couple of weeks ago the whole family got together and we celebrated Rhett's birthday. We had so much fun!!! Gramma made a delicious ice cream cake; Rhett was so happy. Then he opened all of his presents and was so excited. But I think his favorite present was from Gramma and Grampa--a remote control monster truck. It is so cool. It drives over almost everything. I think Justin was actually more excited than Rhett.

Ooh! So scary!!!

2008-05-21T22:39:00.004-07:00

During Family Home Evening, Ethen decided to disrupt the lesson and try to scare us. He is so cute! He would hide behind the couch and run out and yell, "Rar!!!" We even got a little bit of it on tape. He was mostly scaring Breyonna and she would giggle, which of course egged him on even more. So scary!!!

Grateful

2008-05-21T22:29:00.002-07:00

I am grateful for:

Rhett making the honor roll!!!

My son still too young to worry about whether or not pink is a boy or girl color
My son trying to steal a scone while I was taking pictures. Well, not so grateful but entertaining
Rhett helping his teacher to take things down for her for the end of the year clean up
Nature taking its course. Blurry, I know but the bird flew away before I could take another picture

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RHETT!!!

2008-05-21T21:52:00.003-07:00

I know I am a few days late, but I wanted to take the time to say happy birthday to Rhett. He is now seven years old! I can't believe it. He was just as little as Ethen a little bit ago, right? Well, here we are having his birthday cake.

Rhett and the kids are all waiting anxiously around a mint ice cream cake that Grampy bought for Rhett--and I suspect for himself as well :)--

After singing happy birthday to him, he blew out his trick candles
And here he is waiting for the candle to come back to life to finally blow the candle out. He blew them out about four times
After blowing out the candle, Ethen was more than willing to lick all of them clean
Rhett was trying to let Ethen lick this candle off, but it was so little he thought the whole thing was edible! He quickly realized it was not just frosting and spit it back out for Grampy to take it

Grateful

2008-05-16T12:03:00.002-07:00

I know I am a day late, but... I am grateful for:

The kids helping to clean the house without complaint
All of the stores that are finally within a 1o mile radius of my home
Ethen's silly looks that always make me smile
Making dinner for my family
Patience

Grateful

2008-05-07T19:05:00.002-07:00

This week I am grateful for

Having the opportunity to volunteer in Rhett's class

Lucie and Hannah playing nicely-Lucie is the small one
Ethen and Ian finally playing nicely together
Going with Rhett on his first grade field trip
The girls making me a Mother's Day present at Home Depot--For anyone who doesn't know, Home Depot has a craft on the first Saturday of every month where your kids can do a free wood craft. It is so much fun! They get a little apron to work in, and a certificate and pin when they are done. I think it goes from 9:00 in the morning until noon? I am not sure

Rhett's first grate field trip

2008-05-04T13:53:00.004-07:00

This past Friday I went on a field trip with Rhett to the Phoenix Science Center, and this is how the day went for us.

Here is the class patiently waiting to leave to the bus to drive the hour out to the center.

And here we are on the bus "patiently" waiting for 45 minutes to leave, because the bus behind us had broken flashers, so someone came out to fix them. When they couldn't fix them, they had to send out another bus. It took forever!!!

These are the kids I was in charge of. There was Eric, Alexis, Martha, and Rhett. They are just ecstatic that we are finally there! But starving.

We started out at the dinosaur exhibit. Here is Rhett with his favorite animal. The T-Rex!!!

After looking at some dinosaurs, the kids decided to brush off dinosaur bones for a while.

After lunch and going to the "Forces of Nature" center and the building center, we went to the area where it is all about the human body. This is a huge nose that you throw the foam balls a.k.a. "dust" into the nose until it "sneezes" them back out. The kids loved it!
This is at the end of the field trip with the kids just goofing around on a tree just outside the center.
And just moments from leaving the center the kids lined up and jumped down the big steps together.
And down they go. Just after these pictures were taken, my battery died so I couldn't take any more pictures of the ride home. Needless to say, the ride home was much more quiet than the drive there. One of the girls in my group fell asleep on my lap, and the boy in front of me fell asleep sitting up. But we finally got back to the school and it was all over.

Together

2008-05-04T13:49:00.001-07:00

My kids love to watch movies, especially on the computer. So here is a rare picture of all my kids laying down to watch a movie together without getting up, or bothering each other. Except for Ethen. He has no attention span!

Popcorn popping

2008-05-04T13:39:00.003-07:00

One of Ethen's favorite snacks is popcorn. He goes up to the pantry, and when I ask if he wants popcorn, and he gets all excited and does a little dance. So I go to the microwave to put it in, and he puts his arms up to watch. He loves to watch the popcorn bag rise and the kernels pop. He will stand there and watch with much anticipation until the microwave beeps, signaling it is finished. Then he gets down and goes to the cupboard with the popcorn bowl in it, opens it, gets the bowl out, and hands it to me. Then, we go to the carpet, where he sits down and waits for the bowl to hit the ground. And within a flash, he is eating popcorn like no one's business!!!

Butterfly

2008-05-04T13:19:00.002-07:00

Rhett's class just recently learned about the life cycle of the butterfly. So I went to his class to take pictures of all the stages.

Here is when it is still a caterpillar, although this caterpillar did not make it. It looked like it was missing the back pincher thingies to help make the chrysalis.

These are the chrysalises after Mrs. Johnson transferred them from the cup to the net basket thing. They are so cool! They are gold and shiny. You can kind of tell from the picture, but they are much more brilliant in person.
And finally, the butterflies. I tried to take many pictures of them, and this was the best one I could take. It was kind of hard with the net to take the picture, but there were eight butterflies that made it. Luckily I came in on this day, because later they released them!

Grateful

2008-04-30T10:28:00.003-07:00

I am grateful for:

Ethen climbing up to sleep on his brother

Two sweet cousins sleeping together
Ethen climbing onto the couch and falling asleep
Ethen pouring all of the goldfish out and putting it all back into the bag
And for me, more ink pads!!!

Grateful

2008-04-23T12:17:00.002-07:00

I am grateful for:

My husband taking care of me even though he has been sick too

My kids taking care of me for a change!

Getting over having strep throat, and I think the flu too

Taking baths to chase the chills away

Finally being able to eat food!

2008-04-16T20:49:00.002-07:00

I am grateful for

Arizona sunset while walking in the morning

The best low fat ice cream out there. And if you are on Weight Watchers, 2 points!!!
Bath and Body Works Sandalwood Rose aromatherapy pillow mist. It is so relaxing! Sadly, they do not make this scent anymore
Taking a shower for longer than 10 minutes
My car that gets me where I need to go

My Chocoholic

2008-04-09T12:38:00.014-07:00

So my mom went and bought Ethen his own box of chocolates to see how he would react and to see if he would eat the whole thing. So here are the pictures of what happened.

What's this? Chocolate?

It's mine? Really? Are you sure?

Mmm...How does yours taste Ian? Mine's good!

Hey! Why did you take my chocolate away from me? Give it back!

I said give it back! Give it back!

Thank you! Now... where was I?

Oh, that's right. stuffing my face with chocolate.

And did he finish the whole box? Well, no. He shared with Ian and Breyonna, and left a couple of pieces in the end of it all. But he sure enjoyed himself for the brief moment of bliss!

Lucie gets a haircut

2008-04-09T12:27:00.002-07:00

Today I took Lucie in to get a haircut, and boy, did she need it! Here is a before picture of her from awhile back. She actually had a little bit longer hair, she was filthy dirty and crusty from all of the Hannah spit on her, poor thing. So Justin told me to get her in to "get all that nasty hair off of her. She's disgusting." So I did.And here she is after. Naked, happier and lot more slim! She was good while she got her hair cut, and she came out so happy! When she went back outside, I don't think Hannah recognized her for a few moments. But now they are back there playing and fighting as usual.

Grateful

2008-04-09T10:50:00.003-07:00

I forgot to do my last week's gratefuls! So now that I am back on track, here are this week's gratefuls:

My husband for being such a good sport early on Easter morning, even after he stayed up playing the wii with the boys

Ethen getting up on the top bunk, getting stuck, and with no other options fell asleep
Justin vacuuming and Ethen showing him just what he thought of all his constant cleaning
I found this picture of Breyonna from a couple of years ago. And yes, there is water in the bath
Baking cookies for a good cause

Our Spring Break

2008-03-27T17:46:00.012-07:00

This past week was a lot of fun. My sister Lisa came down to visit for the week, and we did a lot of fun stuff! It was nice to have all of the kids here too, although they did have to stay inside for a few days. The boys were laying the pipes for our-some day in the future-yard and they weren't all covered, so the kids were forced to stay inside. And to tell the truth, it wasn't at all that bad to have them all running around. Here are a few things we did that week.

Justin and Adam working on the yard

Lisa brought stuff to teach me how to draw and carve my own stamps

We decided to go to the zoo and everyone was there, so it was a little hectic

Then Rocky taught me and Lisa how to weld.

I made pancakes from scratch

This is us gathering together to let everyone know the rules of the egg hunt

This is Justin playing bowl-quet
And we found this cart on our way from the park, so of course the boys had to go down the hill which made the kids want to go too
On our last day together, we made bouncy balls ourselves
So that was our week in a nut shell, although I swear we did a lot more than that! But it was nice to relax for a few of the days to enjoy each other.

Grateful

2008-03-26T22:24:00.006-07:00

All of the grand kids together for the first time in over 2 years

Two little peas in a pod-Rhett and his cousin, Catalina
Ethen taking pictures at the zoo too
Rocky teaching me and Lisa how to weld-it is so therapeutic! That is Lisa in the picture first making contact with the metal
Ethen's first Easter egg hunt-you can tell that they were not hidden that well

Grateful

2008-03-19T21:34:00.002-07:00

Lisa finally came!
Justin made a really good dinner tonight
Learning to carve a rubber stamp by hand-picture to be included later
Making Dad and Adam's birthday present on time
And finally...All of the grandkids together for the first time in two years and getting a picture of it this time

Stuck

2008-03-13T08:17:00.002-07:00

Right now I am trying to get out the door for dance practice. And when I was getting Ethen dressed, I put his pants on, and thought his legs were in each side. WRONG!!! I sat him down to put his socks and shoes on, and would you believe it? He put both of his legs in one of the pant leg holes. He thought it was funny, until I got the camera out. Then he started to get angry at me, perhaps for the fact I was capturing this somewhat embarrassing moment for him in the years to come. I think cute, but whatever. And sure enough, when I put the camera down, he was fine. Go figure.

Kaylee's second tooth

2008-03-13T08:10:00.002-07:00

On Monday this week I felt Kaylee's other bottom front tooth to check on it. It was even more loose than the last time! So I convinced Kaylee to let me pull it out. So there we sat for the next half hour to an hour wiggling, twisting, pulling, and a lot of screaming from both parties involved. It creeps me out to pull a tooth out of my children's mouths but it had to be done. And just when we thought it was over, a tiny piece of her mouth wouldn't let the darn tooth go! So I decided to sit there and wiggle it slowly. Then after about 20 minutes of that, it came out. I couldn't believe it! What a stubborn tooth. I told Kaylee that it just didn't want to budge. It liked it there in her mouth, but she didn't find much comedy in that while I was causing her pain. But afterward, she thought it was a little bit silly. So here it is. Kaylee's second lost tooth.

Grateful

2008-03-12T21:13:00.004-07:00

This last Monday was mine and Justin's 7th anniversary. Justin suprised me with these beautiful flowers and dinner out. How sweet!!!

My cell phone--without it, I think I would go crazy!
Gelato--so good!

~SRING BREAK IN TWO DAYS!!!

~LISA COMING OUT TO VISIT ON SATURDAY!!! YAY!!!

Grateful

2008-03-05T11:50:00.003-07:00

My husband baking banana nut bread for a change. So good!

My stash of Reese's Whips with "40% less fat"
~ Exercising to get into shape, even though my body is so sore!

~Taking the time to read a book-finally

~I am grateful for 1 1/2 more weeks until Lisa gets here, and Spring Break! No more getting up early to take Rhett to school

Dancing Hula

2008-02-27T22:25:00.002-07:00

I am in a group that dances Polynesian dances. A few weeks ago we danced at a friend's party that she had for her son, who just got baptized and her husband, who had just got home from serving a year in Afghanistan. It was a lot of fun! Her son was so honored that we were there to dance for him that he sat there during every song watching us. He would go play while we were changing, but once we started to dance, he would be back in his chair in the front to watch us. If only I could have taken a picture while dancing. His face was priceless. I can still picture it.

Grateful

2008-02-26T17:51:00.006-07:00

My most adorable kids after a fun time wrestling with eachother

My baby boy putting HIMSELF to sleep this time
Cute monkey fabric I was looking for for three months
Watermelon sorbet from Coldstone
My camera that Justin gave me for Christmas last year as a total suprise too!

Grateful

2008-02-18T20:31:00.002-07:00

Baby Mia

Rhett being a good big brother to Ethen and sharing his candy
My brother and sister having a good sense of humor
Breyonna putting HERSELF to bed
My droopy Valentine's Day flowers from my husband and my son

Grateful

2008-02-12T20:15:00.003-07:00

A picture that Rhett drew of the rain forest. The multi-colored thing is a Tucan

Breyonna drawing me a beautiful picture
Finishing Rhett's Valentine's goodies. I also made enough for two other friends
Chocolate!!!
Water--I drink so much of it. Yum!

Happy Birthday Justin!!!

2008-02-06T22:41:00.000-07:00

HAPPY 26TH BIRTHDAY JUSTIN!!!

Now, I know it is a day late, but it was a bad day yesterday. I had too much to do. But I wanted to take a moment to say I love you so much. Happy Birthday baby!

Love, Amy

Our Weekend in Pinetop

2008-02-06T20:32:00.000-07:00

This last weekend we had the opportunity to go up to Pinetop for Justin's birthday. We had a lot of fun! It was nice to get away from every day life and take a moment to spend time with family.

This was the morning after we got to the cabin. The kids
begged me all morning to go and play in the snow. So after
breakfast I took them outside to go play. Here they are
standing next to the pond just outside the cabin.

Here the kids are collecting sticks so that we could
roast marshmallows to make s'mores for dessert.

Here is Brandon being a good uncle pulling the girls on the
pond in a sled, and Justin being a good daddy pulling Rhett
on the saucer. It was a lot of fun. Rhett flew off the saucer a
couple of times, but other than that, no one was harmed. Except
when Justin slipped and fell that one time.

Justin and Brandon had a lot of fun playing outside.
They spent a good portion of the morning having a
snowball fight. I think Brandon won though. He hit
Justin more than Justin hit him. Luckily, I was there
to take a lot of pictures. I got some good shots. Here are a few of them.

We went for a drive on the second day to look for a hill
to slide down. However, we didn't find one anywhere. So
Justin had the bright idea to drive down a snowy hill. He
decided half way down that he wanted to go back. Yeah.
Well, we couldn't drive uphill backwards in the snow, so we
had no choice but to go forward. So we got lost in a little
neighborhood. Here is a picture of this neighborhood.

This is Ethen's first step in the snow.
He was a little hesitant at first, but
eventually got enough courage to go
out and walk all around.

Ethen then got more excited over rocks than
the snow itself. So he just threw the rocks over and over again.

Brandon started a fire, and he put a newspaper in
the fire that had color print on it. The flames
turned the color of the paper.

Just hangin out with family.

Here are the kids making their snow angels.
Well, Rhett and Kaylee made theirs, but Brey
just moved her arms.

On our last day we took a walk in the neighborhood with the kids.

Of course, on the day we leave, it starts to snow. It really started to come down. It was so pretty!

I had promised the kids that before we left, we would make a snowman. So when everyone was watching the Super Bowl, I took the kids out to make the snowman. It was windy and so cold! Breyonna only lasted about five minutes. Then she went back and Rhett and Kaylee "helped" me by bringing me the snow. They would walk about fifteen feet away from me to get it, and bring back one handful. But eventually, Uncle Brandon came and helped by bringing a whole bunch of snow on a saucer to help the process. The snowman turned out to be a snowwoman. Rhett named her Auntie Liz.

Here is our car just as we were leaving. We had actually got some snow on our car!

On our way back home, it was really coming down. Here is the only decent picture I could get of the storm. All of the blurs are snow, except for the headlights of the oncoming car.

All in all, we had a good weekend. And although it was way cold, I can't wait to go to the snow with my family again!!!

Grateful

2008-02-06T20:13:00.000-07:00

I don't have any pictures this week, so here is my list anyway.

1. Bed Time!!!
2. Cooking for my family and every once in a while, my friends
3. A dog that "sweeps" the floor for me after Ethen has eaten
4. Going on a quick vacation with my family
5. Not getting stuck up North for two more days

My Butter Lover

2008-01-30T15:02:00.001-07:00

So a couple of weeks ago, I made butter noodles for dinner and I left out a 1/4 cup of refrigerated butter. I was talking to Lisa, and when I went back into the kitchen to clean up, there was a bit taken out of it!!! I couldn't believe it!!! I was so grossed out. She stopped eating dinner to sneak a bite out of the butter! And she eats it all the time when we go out to eat, when there is butter at the table. She asks for us to open it, then she licks it out. Ahh...my butter lover.

Grateful

2008-01-30T14:43:00.000-07:00

My hula teacher, Tia--the one in the middle

The kids getting along just long enough to eat popcorn
The girls and their cousin
Ethen, and the boy taking the picture, Rhett
Michelle for coming over at 9:00 in the morning to defrost my freezer in the 50 degree weather

Grateful

2008-01-23T18:40:00.001-07:00

My new niece Mia Jaye Zamora

My sister for making my blog spots look pretty

Very rare beauty-ghost orchid

A beautiful rose

Beautiful lilies

Kaylee's First Tooth

2008-01-22T18:25:00.000-07:00

So a couple of days ago I noticed that Kaylee had two front loose teeth on the bottom. I told her that we needed to pull that tooth as soon as possible, so that the Tooth Fairy could come to give her money. So today we finally sat down to pull it. I was wiggling and wiggling, and she was crying and crying, so we took a break. Then I started to wiggle it again, and would you know it? It popped right out! So now tonight she gets to put her tooth under her pillow and see what the Tooth Fairy brings! The only problem is that now we need to get out tooth number two!

The Best Thing Ever Invented

2008-01-18T16:25:00.000-07:00

I found the best thing ever invented. I love it!!! It is called a Zote bar. It can be found at Walmart in the laundry section. It takes EVERYTHING out!!! It even took out blood from clothes that were washed a couple of times! As well as well as a cheese stain that was there for a week. And the best part? It only costs 76 cents!!!

Grateful

2008-01-16T19:46:00.000-07:00

What am I grateful for?
1. Justin, Justin, Justin
2. Rhett
3. Kaylee
4. Breyonna
5. Ethen

Happy New Year!!!

2008-01-09T16:00:00.000-07:00

So this past couple of months have been kind of hard. Someone was always sick!!! So we were well enough to get together with some friends on New Year's Eve to wait for the ball to drop. The kids played, we watched a movie, and ate until we burst! At the end of the night, we topped it off with the banging of the pots and pans. The kids loved it!!! Happy New Year to all those who were not able to be with us. We hope your celebrations were filled with fun and excitement.

Grateful

2008-01-09T15:40:00.000-07:00

For remembering I love my children, even though they will not be obedient for a family picture

It actually being cold in Arizona
For longer than just one day
Much longer. Do you see the steam?
Finally catching the illusive Hurricane Ian. We have been trying for some time now, and nothing has worked. So we tried the stroller, and bingo! The basket did the trick. Now we can all live in harmony.

Grateful

2008-01-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. I'm late. I'm still sick!!!

I never took this before...where have you been my whole life?

For my constant headaches
To help me...I don't know. Justin told me to take it. It did help me sleep, though.
For all my coughing. So good!!! There was honey-berry too. Both so good!
At night I cough more, so I drink something warm to keep me from coughing up a lung. --Although I swear I already have--

Christmas

2007-12-27T14:37:00.000-07:00

Ahh, Christmas! There is nothing like it. All of the joys of shopping (the only time it is okay to excessively shop) and the time and care into making a few as well. It was going well, until it was the weekend before Christmas, and I realized that I hadn't finished making three of my presents, the kids stockings, and Ethen's blanket. I stayed up Sunday night and Christmas Eve night to finish the presents and Ethen's blanket. I never got around to finishing the stockings, so Santa left piles of stuff for our kids this year. On Christmas Eve, I realized I hadn't bought my brother's and my dad's presents!!! I finished two presents after our Christmas with the kids while they were watching a new movie.

We got together with my family on Christmas Eve, and It was so nice to have the whole family (in Arizona) together again; to enjoy each other's company, eat, exchange presents, and at the end of the day to play a game. The boys were playing the X Box, of course and needless to say, it was a very loud 25 minutes. On Christmas day we had our "stockings" and then Justin made the best french toast. We then opened all our presents, and left for Justin's side later in the afternoon. We spent that time first waiting for Brandon to get off work then to eat, and eat, and eat. The kids were very patient when it came to opening the presents, but eventually we got around to it. Later on we watched a couple of movies, then headed home. It was a crazy but wonderful two days.

Thank you all for your gifts and love. We appreciate and love every single one of you. We hope you all have a wonderful new year to enjoy the present while getting ready for the future.

Grateful

2007-12-27T14:17:00.001-07:00

I know it is late, but yesterday I was painting all day!!! So make this six things I am grateful for. Finishing the painting is definately on my list!!!

My children patiently waiting to open the gifts by spinning on Gramma's chair.

Beauty in my sister's back yard--or front.

My son trying to eat a whole roll in about two bites. Not grateful, but too funny!

Uncle Brandon enjoying his little niece.

The girls taking their strollers out for a test drive.

My Beauties

2007-12-20T10:58:00.000-07:00

I have to take a moment to say something about my two little beauties. They are the sweetest girls in the whole world!!! They are always helping me in little and big projects. They were the "quality supervisors" for all of the Christmas baking on Tuesday, and they are always helping me with Ethen when Rhett is in school. They are two of the greatest blessings in my life, and I am so entirely grateful that I get to have them.

Grateful

2007-12-19T16:14:00.000-07:00

I am grateful for:

The book that would NEVER end!!!

The best uncle and babysitter in the world.

Clementines the we eat by the bundle.
The best cousin in the world!
The beginning of Christmas baking.

My Ham

2007-12-19T16:09:00.000-07:00

So I noticed the night we got our tree that Ethen is the biggest ham in the world! Whenever he sees the camera pointing at him, he smiles the biggest, cheesiest smile in the world. I had to put it up for you all to see.

Flyin' High

2007-12-17T23:02:00.000-07:00

On the night we got our Christmas tree, it was raining and the tree was wet. So we left it in the garage to dry. While it was drying we were getting bored, so Justin took each of the kids on a wild ride. There really are no words for what happened next. They say a picture speaks a thousand words; well...

Grateful

2007-12-12T17:18:00.001-07:00

Here is what I am grateful for this week:

Going out to get a Christmas tree in the rain. Smelled so good!

Decorating the tree with my children.

Flowers.

A wonderful new friendship.

Ice cream.

Family Pictures

2007-12-09T18:20:00.000-07:00

This last Saturday the Maurer family got together to take family photos. The room was so small we were in, I am amazed we actually fit for the picture! At first the process was going well. Then Trecia wouldn't look up. Then Ethen. Then Gramma and Grandpa. Then Breyonna. There was always something! But finally, we did take one good one. Well, Ethen has his hand in his mouth, but...I loved it! Then we split off into families. Mark and Debbie went first, then us. Uh...Yeah. Ethen saw Auntie Liz and that was the end of it. She is what he wanted. So the photographer had to work a little bit for Ethen to be happy. But we got it on the third shot! Did I mentioin that I don't have glasses anymore, so I had to go by my dear husband's judgement. He saw how cute Breyonna looked in the picure and was sure that was the one. Except for one problem...he didn't look at me! Then it was Liz and Brandon's turn. Trecia's hair was so high, it almost went to Brandon's chin. She is so cute! Finally, it was just Trecia's turn. She did not like it at all! She kept crying and crying. Then somehow, she stopped. But she took a good picture. We took pictures for about 45 minutes to an hour. Then we had to pick the ones we wanted. That took another 1/2 hour to 45 minutes on it's own. But alas, it was over. Time to go eat! We were so hungry, that when the food came to the table, we looked like vultures eating our prey. It had to have looked funny. There we all are, in our dress clothes, eating like heathens! Oh. One more thing. Did I mention it was Bar-B-Que?

Ethen's First Haircut

2007-12-05T17:53:00.000-07:00

So we finally decided to give Ethen his first haircut. First we started out using the scissors, and quickly found that scissors and a squirmy baby do not mix. Then we decided to use the clippers. #4 sounded like the right one to use. He didn't mind at first. The vibration of the clippers kept him quiet for the first 30 seconds or so. The rest of the time was spent holding his head still and letting him brush his teeth. Still, each attempt to avert his attention lasted only a few moments. But finally, he was finished. My little bald boy. Daddy did a great job. He still needs some trimming around his ears, but his first haircut was a success!

Thanksgiving

2007-12-05T17:46:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving was great. We had family...food...what is more important than that? My brothers came out with thier wives as well as my sister with her girls. It was nice to have the whole family there to enjoy ourselves and just eat, and talk, eat and talk. The only ones missing were Lisa and her family. It's okay. They were there with us in our hearts and thoughts. Maybe next time, huh Lisa?