Catching Up

Alright, I've been a slacker long enough. There's been a lot going on and I have these perfect blogs worked up in my mind. I just have a problem getting them from my physical hard drive to the blog. Wouldn't it be nice if we could just hook a USB cord up to our brains and download to our computers. All the scrapbook pages I've created would just download already made. My Christmas cards would be made and sent out already...Etc. It would sure be nice. Until I can find a programer to help me with that I'll have to settle for just being a slacker.

Well, here are some of the fun things we've been up to!

For Halloween we went with the Mario Family theme. We had Princess Peach (yes that is the dress her grandma made for her when she was 3...it was big then...not so big at 12), one of the brown blog guys that kill you, Mario and Luigi. They were all pretty cute.









We also went to the movies.We went to go see HSM 3 as a family. It was sooooo awesome!! My children humored me. They weren't too embarrassed when I yelled, "I love Troy". What good sports they are!









We spent some time bowling...



Then we also went to the woods and cut down our Christmas tree...

Time out for Holli

I was able to get away for a few days. The premise was so I could go to my brother's graduation in Rhode Island. I did go to that. It was awesome. Congratulation Barrett. I also spent a few days in NYC and the surrounding areas as well. It was a fun trip! To make it more interesting I had a brush with fame! Does anyone know who these two guys are?

Soccer

I'm just a little late. I was looking at my blog and realized I need to change it. I haven't put my halloween photos on my computer yet...I'll put some soccer ones up! My two oldest both played soccer this fall. I made it very crazy but that's what we do for our kids, right! Here are a few photos!

Unfinished business!

Ok for those who know me (which I assume is all of you)...you know how I am about crafting. I like crafts. I think they can be really fun and cute. I just have a problem with finishing them! I tend to have a problem. I go to super saturdays thinking that craft looks easy enough that even I can do it. Then realize at the end of 3+ hours that I didn't get very far. (I thought super saturday was for visiting.) So the next super saturday I repeat the same process.

Well, I'm happy to report that over the past few years I have recognized that personality trait(flaw) and no longer sign up for projects. I just take my unfinished ones to finish...or let others finish them for me. I even have stooped to the level of having my friend scrapbook for me. She did an amazing job might I add. Because of her my three oldest children actually have pictures in a book to look at.

Why am I telling this story. Well, back about 4+ years ago I saw a cool clock at a friends house. I asked her to make me one but no, she just invited to me make one with her! (Thanks Kirsten) I painted it, cracked it, even spent hours drawing the roman numeral on with a stensil. Wiser women use this cool stuff called Vinyl!!! I had it done...mostly. I just needed to attach the hands by drilling a hole. I even had the hands! Even though I didn't have the hands on I still hung it on my wall. As you can imagine over the years it has become quite the topic of conversation.

OK, so the reason for this post...I finished my clock last week. My version of Tim the Toolman had his drill out to fix something and I took about 5 minutes and finished my clock. Pretty anticlimatic huh? Here's the finished product.

What have I learned through all this...just be friends with Crafty Afty's and they will take care of you! Also, vinyl is an easy way to do crafts!

Farmer Jane

This weekend was the big fair. And big is an overstatement. My oldest did a market lamb again. The last 3 days we've been living at the fair. It's been a lot work but it's over soon. We've been working on pictures for her record book so I thought I'd add them to the blog.

My second oldest also did 4h this year. He did woodworking. He built a pair of stilts and a bird house for his projects. I took pictures of that too!

To add to the excitement we were in charge of decorating! This is what we did. The theme was "Fun for the whole Herd" What's more fun than a beach party? We won a commisioner's ribbon.

Rise and Shout!

We had a fun weekend. On Friday Thomas and I went to Seattle for the BYU-UW game. We met up with our friends Blake and Maren. We went to the fireside on Friday night that the football team does. It was fun to see the throngs of people there. That stake center was packed. The whole chapel and the gym clear up to the stage...and overflow in the primary room. It was comedic to see the people lining up for pictures and autographs. You would have thought it was a Donny and Marie concert or something!

We got up Saturday morning and played a little downtown then rode the bus out to the stadium. The game was awesome. I think Blake got an ulcer. It was an unbelievable game. I'm sure glad we were there!

Fashion Shows and Tea Parties!

Tonight my oldest had a 4-H Style review. Basically it was a fashion show. She decided to do sewing this summer as well as market lamb. Tonight was the end of sewing! She made pajama bottoms. They turned out cute. As part of the project they all get together and do a little fashion show. I recorded her doing it. We were also suppose to write a commentary about what was being modeled. You can't really hear the sound so I'll write what we came up with. Now mind you I found out about this show this afternoon.


"Our next model, Sheila Weaver is ready to party in her dreams tonight in her stylish new hot pink pajamas. She is new to sewing this year but has managed to whip up these cozy pajama bottoms. Sheila has done a market lamb project for the past two years and is looking forward to counting sheep while wearing her new pajamas.
Sheila chose a comfy cotton knit fabric which allows for all her tossing and turning. It will move and groove with her as her dreams take her to endless horizons. The fabric is patterned with happy hippos promenading through palm trees setting the tone for many delightful dreams. The waist is made of a stretchy elastic that will allow for all her midnight snacking. No need to fight the bulge! For her top she chose a simple white cotton t-shirt that takes no attention away from those amazing bottoms. Sheila also accessorizes with her favorite Lamb, Lamb Chop and her cozy bedtime slippers.
Sheila enjoys lounging around the house in her pajamas. One special days you might be able to find her in them all day. Sheila has really enjoyed learning how to sew and looks forward to spending more time with the needle and thread."



Pretty funny stuff!

Back in the Swing of things!

Last week the kids all started back to school. It was a relief but still kind of crazy. I've always kind of wondered why start school in the middle of the week. I've realized that there is some logic behind it. My Benjamin didn't want to go to school on Thursday. He was fine on Wed. but I literally had to carry him in once, then after threatening him with his life walk him in a second time. After school that day (of course he was fine) I promised him if he went to school on Friday he I wouldn't make him go on Monday (Labor day)!!! It is kind of nice to ease the little ones back into.
The other two...no problems. Sheila started jr. high this year. Ouch for me! She seems to love it. It's nice because a good friend of ours is a teacher there so she keeps good tabs on her for me!
Isaac is in forth grade. He seems quite content so far. Of course he hasn't had homework yet either!
Well, here we go again. Let's see what happens!

Amazing!

I'm not really a big fan of dancing, drill team or cheer type stuff. However tonight I was watching the synchronized swimming teams...Wow. I am pretty impressed. They are pretty amazing. They don't touch the bottom of the pool and yet are able to lift each other up and do these amazing throws. Anyway, it was fun to watch.

http://www.nbcolympics.com/photos/galleryid=249009.html

If the link works you can see some still photos.

Spokane to Sandpoint

We had a crazy weekend! It's taken me half the week to recover. Here are some pictures to prove it happened. It all seems like a fog in my mind. The race started at 7 am Friday morning. The finished 29 hr. 28 minutes, and 190 miles later in Sandpoint, ID. Me and my oldest were volunteers at exchange 30 in Old Town, ID (I'd never heard of it before). Our shift was from 4 am to 11 am. My two oldest wanted to run with their dad at some point. We decided to head up to Silverwood and meet them, ride the rollercoaster and then run with Thomas. We got on the coaster about 2 am. It was pretty fun. The kids wanted to go back again. Thomas' leg was one after the coaster so we waited and the kids took turns riding their bike along with Thomas on his 7 mile run. It was about 3 am when he started that leg. They didn't get to ride too long because we had to get to our exchange by 4 am. The kids slept the rest of the morning. I sat out in the cold (54 degrees, it had been 100 only12 hours earlier). As the teams came through we checked them off. It was an insane thing to do but we sure had fun.

Spirit of the Olympics!

In the spirit of the Olympics Thomas decided to compete in an Olympic Triathlon. It is the Couer D'Alene triathlon. It's a mile swim, 26 mile bike ride, and a 6 mile run. Of course I could be way off on those but...He's still my hero!

Hope you don't mind watching this sideways!

Survival!

We did it. We made it back from girls camp. It was LaLa's first year and boy did we show her a good time! I tried to be good!!!

We had a great time!

The Twerp turns 9!

It was a party today. Of course it was Sunday so we kept it in the spirit of birthdays! I usually make special cakes for my kids bdays. This one's request was for an ice cream cake. I think he had in mind Dairy Queen. I tried my hand at it. I think it turned out good. It got gobbled up!

In honor of the birthday boy here are 9 things we love about him:

He's a great athlete.

He's a great pianist (though he doesn't appreciate practicing).

He's pretty smart.

He a good big brother and sometimes a good little brother (Sheila would add).

He's a good helper.

He can be pretty darn funny at times.

He likes to play and play hard.

He is sweet. Today he let me hold him like a baby!

He is super cute!

Has it really been 9 years?

For his birthday he got Rock Band. This his how he spent his birthday.

He did get a turn eventually!

The "Whole" Family Vacation

We did it. We actually went on vacation as a family. It always seems that we go to visit and Thomas isn't able to go with us. Not this time. Of course the fact that we went to Lake Powell might have something to so with it. We had a great time. The kids had a blast. They all jumped off the top of the houseboat! Even Benjamin and Eli. I didn't even want to do it!

We spent 4 days at Powell then had to rush home. We did make a couple pit stops on the way. On our way back through Provo we stopped so our kids could make the pilgrimage. It's only right. We all treked up to the Y! It was a lot of fun. It's a good thing I have four kids...it took all of them to pull me to the top. Oh to be young again.

We also were able to stop in at the Twin Falls Id temple open house. It is a pretty temple. The mural that was painted is amazing. We went with Thomas' parents.

These are a few photos. I want to do a little collage but again my computer is dead. Can I tell you I don't think I'll buy another Dell. We've had a lot of problems with this one. We think it's the motherboard. EEK. I could go on but that's for another blog site!

It's About Time

I figured it out. I can actually blog on my own computer now. Thanks for all the advice. What it actually took was to intall a new virus protection software. We had Mcaffee but I wasn't impressed. So I downloaded and installed (all by myself mind you) the new pc-cillan. According to consumer reports is the best. After all was said and done...I can now blog!



Summer is finally here. We've been enjoying the heat. It's gotten pretty hot...but I've said I will be the last to complain. After the winter we had!



We spent the last few weeks finishing baseball. Twerp was playing little league. His team took second place in the finals. Of course he sat on the bench during the last two games. He had a game on Friday and then two on Saturday. He played Friday then woke up Saturday feeling sick. (Sidebar: he had strep throat about 3 weeks earlier...medicated him...all was well.) He sounded horrible, I knew it was strep again. I convinced him to go to the game and cheer on his team anyway. Needless to say, the second game, after a trip to Quickcare, he still wasn't feeling good. He went and cheered them on all the same. He's a trooper. They sure missed him on 2nd!

I was looking for pictures to post and realized I don't take enough pictures. Hopefully I will do that. We've had some fun but I don't have anything to show for it...oops! That's my goal!