Tagged!

Finally, something to post about! Thanks Em!

1. Where were you 10 years ago?

Ten years ago I was a stay at home mommy (some things never change!), but I only had ONE two year old daughter (Wow, that changed! Now there are 4 and she is 12!)

2.What is on your to do list today?

Well, as it is almost 10 pm, my to do list is pretty much done! It consisted of errands, helping in Bug's class, grocery shopping, laundry and dishes. Errands-check, Bug's class-check, groceries-check, laundry-check, dishes-well, they will still be dirty tomorrow!

3.What if I was a billionaire?

I think I would make sure my kids each had a college fund/nest egg, travel a bit, prepare for my comfortable retirement, and then I could always find a fun way to spend the rest!

4. Places I have lived?

Richmond

Ephraim

Logan

Richmond

I tag Leslie, Loopy, and Valerie.

I haven't blogged for awhile...

...and it isn't because I have been too busy! It is just because we are very boring lately. I am serious, NOTHING noteworthy has happened! David left again on Thursday, not too noteworthy. I helped out with the school eye exam, WOW! The kids have spent a lot of time outside playing, OK-good for me but again, no big news! Pyper has even been a letdown and hasn't said anything that just HAS to be blogged right now! See what I mean, we are boring. But I guess that I would rather be boring than have something bad happen!

"The Dark Night"

OK, so I am probably REALLY behind the times because I just barely saw this movie and it has been out for months! I was waiting to see it with my hubby, and you have to be in the same state to go on a date! We were going to go see it a while back, then David found out how much of a deprived child/adulthood I have had. I have never seen any of the Batman movies. None of the older ones with Micheal Keaton, or Batman Begins. So, on the day we had decided to go see the Dark Knight, we sat in the camper and watched Batman Begins instead. Finally, Thursday night we went on a date and saw this movie. The Joker was freaky, the inventions-amazing, and the action-awesome! I can't believe what I missed out on--Batman is great!

We also tried out the Indian Oven. I have only had curry a few times, and am still trying to decide if I like it. But, I got a $25 gift certificate, so we went. It was really good, a fun atmosphere, reasonably priced, and excellent service. I am excited to take Hannah next time since she loves to try new foods!

Another Crafty Project

While perusing some blogs the other day, I came across this cute bird mobile. I decided that Luann needed it to brighten up her room at her new place. I sewed up some little birdies (I used my machine--no hand sewing here!), gathered some branches, and set to work with my hot glue gun! The hardest part was getting the whole thing to balance properly. But thank heavens that my ever-so-patient and supportive husband happened to still be home, he helped out immensely! It was a fun little project, and all the people at the assisted living center just loved it!

Now my kids think that they each want one!

Lyra's new obsession...

...is wearing a flower in her hair.

I guess it is a good thing we made so many! She has worn a different flower every day for the past week and a half!

Hannah's birthday party

On Friday night we had the fam over for cake and ice cream, and of course, Hannah's favorite part--PRESENTS! David even made it home for her birthday! (After missing his first flight, spending $50 to reschedule and me driving to Salt Lake to pick him up! We made it home about 30 minutes before everyone came!) Luckily, Grandma Charlene stopped and grabbed her cake, and Aunt Loopy brought some ice cream, thanks guys. There wouldn't have been much cake and ice cream at this party without you!!

The cake was yummy. White cake with strawberry filling!

Since we told Hannah that we would take her and 2 friends to the mall on Saturday, most everyone just gave her money. As you can tell, one of the best gifts you can give this girl is cold hard cash! She made off with $45 and a $20 gift card! (And she wouldn't even give me a loan!) She also got $45 in iTunes cards, which we HAD to download after everyone left!

Here are some more pics from the night:

Thanks everyone for coming and making her day happy. I know it means a lot to her! She also spent her birthday money well, a new outfit and 2 new pairs of shoes!!

FYI-That cheesy photo of me and all my chins is only there so that people know that my kids actually DO have a mom! Oh well, I guess that is what happens when you are the one that takes all the photos!

Happy 12th Birthday Hannah!

12 Years ago today, I got one of the best gifts I have ever been given. I became the mom of a beautiful baby girl.

I was so excited to watch her grow and to teach her all sorts of things. I wanted to see who she would become, and how she would change. She has grown into one of the most beautiful people I have ever seen. Sometimes when I look at her, she just takes my breath away. Sure she is tall and gorgeous, but the part that many don't see is how beautiful she is on the inside as well. She is very caring. I love her hugs and kisses that she just randomly comes and surprises me with. She likes everyone to be happy and is very receptive to peoples feelings and the way they treat one another. She makes friends rather easily, maybe because she is so bubbly! She always keeps us laughing! It is so fun to do things with her, we always have many laughs and much silliness!

Hannah, I am so glad that I got the chance to be your mom. I love you. I love the beautiful, vivacious, exciting, young woman you are becoming. Please don't ever change a thing, you are perfect just the way you are! Thank you for showing me what true beauty is. I am so glad that Heavenly Father chose to send you to our family!

OK, enough sappiness...

A few interesting things about Hannah:

*She has been on a cruise to the Bahamas. She went with her dad when she was 3. They left me home, I was SUPER pregnant! This is her picture from their "Formal Night." She wanted a Cinderella Dress.

*I think the only foods that she doesn't care for are tater tots and peanut butter. She will try almost anything and likes most of it. A few of her favorites are--snails, lobster, crab, salmon, pasta, shrimp, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and avocados.

*Her spleen gets injured quite frequently now. She will just randomly fall off her chair and yell, "Oh, my spleen!" It still elicits the same laughter as the first time!

*She is almost as tall as I am. She only has about an inch and a half to go!

*She got to dance on a cruise ship last year. We are starting her young, she LOVES to go on cruises! She was really upset that they didn't serve caviar, she wanted to try it!

Hypocritical Situation

On the way back from Salt Lake today, I got behind a car that had a bumper sticker that said "Hang Up and Drive." It was going slow. I passed it, and had to do a double take! Yep, the driver was talking on his phone. Hence the title of this post. Enough said...

Lulu

I have a neighbor who has become very dear to me over the last few years. Her name is LuAnn, but we just call her Lulu.

My friend Leslie has been living with her and taking care of her for about 3 years now since her husband passed away. Over this time, my family has gotten to know her quite well. We just think that she is one of the greatest people we know. She has MS and can no longer walk, so she has a scooter that gets her from place to place. Pyper thinks that it is the best thing to "ride" Lulu. She hops on the back of the chair, and off they go. Lulu is always such a good sport about it. A couple of weeks ago, we walked to church with her, and Pyper rode the whole way there and back! My kids love to go visit her and play pool in the basement.

She has been so much fun to get to know, and she has taught me some fun things. I have learned how to play Dominoes and the fine art of Rummycube and Triominoes. Last fall when David was gone, we had rousing game nights after I would put my kids to bed at night. I don't know if she will ever know how much it meant to me. I get extremely lonely when David is gone, and this was time that I could be a grownup and just laugh and have fun--believe me, do we ever laugh!

One year, my garden puked tomatoes. They were everywhere! I had so many tomatoes! LuAnn let Leslie and I invade her house and can salsa. The only catch was that we had to make her some chili sauce as well. It actually turned out to be tasty. We all had fun canning away. We had so much fun that we made her some mustard pickles after that!

I also would clean her house once a week. It was 3 hours (that usually turned into 5 because we goofed off so much) that were filled with laughing, stories, discussions about politics, and old show tunes.

I have helped her to put up her Christmas decorations for the past 2 years. We even got her to shake things up a bit and move her Christmas tree to a different spot! She would tell us stories about the decorations and what she did when her kids were young as we decorated. She even knows Santa Clause! He called and made sure that the kids were all being good so that he could come!

Well, recently, she has decided that she is tired of worrying about her house. She has found a very nice assisted living center to move to. I am very excited for her, it will be a good change. There will be fun things for her to do, new friends to make, and exciting adventures to be had. But I have sat here with tears streaming down as I wrote this. (Those who know me will attest that this is a very rare occurrence!) Even though her new place is only a few miles away in Logan, I am really going to miss her being just a couple houses away. It has been a real blessing to be able to get to know her. I can only hope that maybe I have been able to bring a bit of the sunshine into her life that she has brought to mine! I also want her to know that I care for her very much, and am glad that I have the chance to be her friend. Thanks for everything Lulu, you will definitely be missed!

She will probably kill me when she sees this, she HATES that first picture of herself! I smuggled it! But I think that it just shows how much fun and full of life she is!!!

Camping fun!

The kids and I went camping this weekend with a bunch of family. Grandma and Grandpa Great, Grandma Charlene and Grandpa Brent, Aunt Jackie and Uncle John, and Brandon, Maryann, Braven, Madison, and Braxton all were there. Uncle Buzz and Aunt Ree were just a few campsites away with her mom and dad. We had a great time playing Phase 10, roasting Starbursts (only Hannah says they aren't as good if Emily isn't there to help her roast them right), and eating LOTS of food! We had some yummy sourdough pancakes, John's yummy ribs, Grandpa Brent's dutch oven potatoes, and corn on the cob, just to name a few. Braxton and Pyper even got in on the Starburst roasting, I think Braxton roasted at least one for everyone there.

The kids, except Pyper and Braxton, all hiked up to the spring with Buzz and Ree. The little kids stayed and kept us bigger ones entertained with a rousing game of tennis/baseball/football/la crosse. I'm not really sure of the rules, but while catching/hitting the football with tennis rackets, they would occasionally score a "home run" and have to take off running. I think at one point Braxton even scored a "touchdown"!

Jason, Bryli, and Mason came up for a short visit one night so we got to play with them as well. Bryli has a small infatuation with rocks her dad says, so she had fun joining Pyper in throwing them in the river. Mason was just as cute and squishy as ever! He even smiled for me!

The kids also played in the water a lot. I am pretty sure now that children have little or no sense of feeling--that water was COLD!! Pyper and Braxton spent a bunch of time wading and throwing rocks in the water, while the older kids fearlessly killed wasps (which were aplenty) and gave them proper burials at sea- on tree bark wrapped in grass blankets. My kids were all sad when Braven, Punky, and Braxton had to leave! I didn't take many pictures, but here are a few shots of the fun!

We all had a good time, but the kids and I decided that we missed Aunt Lynette's family (the pancake recipe called for baking soda and no one had any. We really needed Lynette there, she has EVERYTHING!!), and our California cousins! Maybe next time...