This is...

Please put a stop sign HERE!

2011-09-28T12:00:00.000-06:00

Please put a stop sign so cars coming down the hill near this park will stop. The rock wall is high, and creates a blind corner. I have seen several kids nearly hit by cars at this location. Even when a parent is standing vigilantly trying to get bike riders/ball chasers/small children from running past the stairs/rock wall into the street, someone always manages to run into the street. Bikers will often dart into the intersection speeding down the little hill riding either in circles around the park sidewalk, or across driftwood view and into the culdesac.
I am placing the pictures I took here so they can come with a description. You can also download them by clicking on them and saving them (if you need to).

You can hardly see the mom's head. She is watching her children, but there is no possible way for a car to see her, or any other children standing near her ready to ride down the hill.

Nearly at the corner, you can see the children running down the stairs, but you can still hardly see the top of the van, not to mention you can't see if other children are around, and you can barely see the top of the mom's head.

from above, can you see anyone behind the rock wall?

here is a 21" bike, in the road. it is well shorter than the rock wall. from this vantage point, i can see the road above, but the rider would NOT, nor would a driver coming DOWN the hill.

placement of the bike

cant see the bike - even though it is in the middle of the road.

notice you can see the corner of the rocks, and the road is completely out of view until the OTHER side of the park. Cars often speed down this hill because there are no houses until AFTER the park. Kids, like to ride their bikes in a circle around the park sidewalk - often when they are turning at the bottom of the rock wall, they make their left turn WIDE, and end up in the street. Sometimes, they even continue down the hill into the culdesac on the opposite side of the road from the park.

barely at this point can you START to see the bike in the middle of the road, and that is only IF you are turning your head and NOT looking at the road in front of you while coming down the hill.

videos of charity

2011-04-16T20:58:00.003-06:00

hey mom, you wanted videos of charity?

here is her and me playing our duet!!! ;)

here is her bar routine (she got 4th place)

and her beam routine... if you can handle me yelling at nate cause he keeps pulling my arm down and tugging on the camera...

love ya!

Friday Cleaning!

2010-09-10T16:34:00.001-06:00

Well, toady was Friday CLEANING day!
I just have to say how amazed I am at my children. The entire day was AWESOME!
We had to wake up early to finish Aaron's school project, and were consequently rushed/almost late to school, so I thought the whole day would be as frantic.

It wasn't

I got a great deal done while the kids were at school - bathrooms, laundry, dusting, sheets, my bedroom and closet...
then I took a break to go to feed Nate lunch and do a reading lesson with him and go to a PTA meeting.

Then, the kids came home.
That is when the magic happened.

Charity was upset because she didn't get a stuffed animal (Aaron got one because he sold 2 entertainment books for the school). I was in the kitchen cleaning, and all of a sudden, I heard Aaron say "Hey, why dont you just have the frog - I don't really need it and I see you want it".

I hadn't even said a word to him. I was just about to go ask Charity why she was crying... then I heard him say that...

SERIOUSLY?

That started it all. The kids were so cheerful doing their chores. I didn't raise my voice and was so pleased with how awesome they did! Charity cleaned out under her bed and the boys didn't complain about cleaning their room. We finished all our chores and it was only 4:15!
Just wanted to say how happy I am to have the most wonderful children in the world. I am so glad they are such awesome helpers and so sweet to eachother!

Texas!!!

2010-07-16T23:36:00.002-06:00

We left Monday from our "camping" trip in Beaver. Joe drove Mom Robinson up to her parent's house in Salt Lake. I cleaned out the car (it REALLY needed it after all that dust!) and packed for our trip to TEXAS!! Charity really enjoyed the visit with Joe's Grandma and Grandpa Harris.

I had everything ready to go so the kids and I left the following morning when we woke up! I had absolutely no expectations of how far I could drive that day, but I just decided to get as far as I could until I was tired. The kids were AWESOME! They took turns choosing movies, and then when I got bored or tired, we sang (loudly) to all our favorite songs. I decided to stop at 9pm, but I felt like I could have driven forever! The next morning, we had a quick 7 hour drive to KELLER!

Driving past Texas Motor Speedway Aaron said "Mom, this just FEELS like home!". Ya son, I know.
We were so excited to make it to my mom's house! Dawn's kids were there for the summer while she was doing an internship in IRELAND... so we were so excited to hang with the Howey kids!

Time sure flew while we were there! We went to the bounce house one day... Seriously, we stayed for 4 hours. Hey, it kept the kids entertained! Yay for cousins!

We also enjoyed doing a MILLION crafts, going to movies, McDonald's and SWIMMING... I also enjoyed spending time at CarieAnn's Pool! So glad she has one in her backyard (I know she has been waiting patiently for that).

It was great getting to hang out with cousins! Aaron went to the TCU baseball camp while we were there. I think he had a good time. It is such a great camp! He kindof missed out on some cousin time, but I think it all worked out.
The 10 days I spent there went by way too fast! It was great for the kids to all be together! So glad we were able to have the Driscolls, Howeys, Robinsons and Liddles in the same place at the same time! Sorry Steph, Kennedy is too little to enjoy it - maybe next year?

We also had a little birthday party for Brae. Those boys are so stinkin cute!

It was also great to see my friends! I saw Nancy Jetton in Frisco. Then, we had a girls ice cream night with Jen Sorenson (long lost friend), Valerie Nankervis, Ruth Brann and Carieann. Play days with Courtney Flynn and Cheryl King. Then, another girl night with Becky, Maleah, Amy (Maleah's S-I-L), Cherry, and Carieann.
I wish I could have spent more time with all of them. I wish I could have seen the ones I missed!

4th of July!

2010-07-13T09:32:00.003-06:00

This year, we decided to join up with the Atkins for a camping/4wheeling trip! Big change from the rest of the weekends this summer I know! ;)
This trip was spectacular! Perry's family camps every year in the mountains above Beaver (where he is from). We joined up with their little reunion and camped with them on Big Flat - which is simply breathtaking! Beautiful grassy meadows tucked away in the mountains - up about 10000 feet. There are lots of ATV trails to enjoy too! The camping is so neat there because there are so many trees and different areas to camp that it is quite secluded and peaceful.

This is what it looked like. AMAZING!!!

When I say camping, I mean, all the Atkins brought RVs and we stayed in a suite in a hotel there in Beaver (30 minute ride down the mountain) every night. After 4wheeling every day, it was just too tempting and comforting to have a shower and a bed to sleep in every night. It was also very nice because Joe's mom came! I hope she had fun. She just hung out with Perry's parents while we went on our rides. I don't think she minded though because we always came back so dirty!

We enjoyed all the fun of camping though - fabulous camping meals - foil dinners, cobbler, marshmallows and hot dogs cooked over the fire. We enjoyed lots of sitting around and finding wood. We also enjoyed long walks to the bathroom ;)

It was great to spend time with Joe's mom and also the Atkins! It was great to get to know more of his family! Yay for another weekend enjoying the mountains!

Aaron was promoted/demoted to driving my ride because we returned his crappy one. A promotion because it is a huge machine and he gets to drive it. A demotion because he has to chauffer me around as I do not yet trust him to NOT go too fast and fall down ravines (because he actually almost kills me at least once every ride).

Joe and his mom!

Maleah loves to pose for pictures. So does Hoyt. Although, he is the cutest little thing you have ever seen!!!

BOYS!

Big John's Flat - we couldn't go any further due to "spring" runoff...

Nate decided to try to pierce his ear on a log. He thought he could balance and/or do log rolling like a lumber jack... I don't think he accomplished what he wanted. For DAYS this ear was black and blue and swollen - goose egg even behind the ear too... should I have taken him in for a CT scan?

The Atkins and the fire - yes, it was cold and we all very much appreciated our jackets and the fire.

A lake up there... think it was cold?

Do you see Joe? Some of the trails were pretty intense. So intense that I kicked Aaron to the back seat to drive myself. Thought I was going to fall off a cliff...

Our Family picture... We were all smiling I promise! ;)

Surprise! Nate fell asleep!

This was our camping spot. How beautiful was this?

The Atkins... and Joe waiting patiently for breakfast. Maleah, check out your legs. Seriously.

Weekend!

2010-06-29T10:57:00.007-06:00

Saturday, Charity had her little gymnastics recital. She was ADORABLE! She was so excited about it! Her little team did a dance to a Lion King song. I think my daughter was the cutest one out there! I wasn't overly impressed with the whole show, but I guess I am just hard to impress when it comes to dance performances? There were a few cute numbers, but that was about it. Supposedly, Charity is at the best (most winning) gym in Utah... Kindof makes me miss Texas and real sports there...
It was still cute, and all the girls had their new leotards on. Charity was so excited about hers... so I guess it was everything we dreamed it could be!
All of my pictures were blurry... but I did at least get video!

Charity is one of those little blurs... Just waiting for her turn to dance...

Luckily, her recital was at 10 am... and we were out of there by 10:45 (we left right after her dance was done)... so we headed down to MANTI with the Atkins and our 4wheelers for a day in the mountains!!! We went up in the Manti-LaSal trails (over by Ephriam) and it was so picturesque. The spring run-off had a bunch of the trails closed, so we mostly spent the day driving on the mountain dirt roads... Can't say it was the funnest day of RIDING, but it was really beautiful.

Spring run-off? This was on one of the trails we TRIED to take. A little further ahead, the trail was completely washed away and under some quick moving water, so we had to turn back and go back on the awesome mountain dirt road.

JOE'S!!

Dirty Sanchez?

Maleah and ME! So glad to have a friend!

Boys planning... with maps in hand. Hopeful to find a good trail...

Cutie Patooties!! These kids are AWESOME!

It is beyond me how Nate could sleep like this...

We went up and over the mountains to a lake, where had a late lunch/snack at the marina there.
We put on about 60 miles that day... and, after riding on the dirt all day, we were REALLY FILTHY!
We loaded the machines back in the trailer and headed to the Manti (Mormon Miracle) pageant. I was grateful for the change of clothes that we brought! I was also grateful for the wipes I keep stored in the back of my car! And also, the blankets cause it sure got cold!
The pageant was not what I envisioned, but I think the kids really enjoyed it.
We had a great time, and made it back SOOO late. I was NOT looking forward to church (and being early for choir to sing and to play the organ and do primary) the next day...
BUT, I cant help but be thrilled that we can go out and do fun days in the mountains, and still make it back for church! Can't say that happens in TX! (I'm really working hard to be grateful for being here!)

Buddies!!!

Free Fun!

2010-06-23T10:44:00.000-06:00

We have enjoyed the free splash pad in Highland. It is pretty close and there is a Little Caesars across the street, so it makes for a cheap and easy day of fun in the sun!

Summer and Alyssa Bradshaw came with us the other day! Those girls are so adorable! I don't know how Kysha does it, but she homeschools, and teaches those girls their string instruments! I love Kysha, and those girls and Charity have so much fun together!

After the splash pad, the girls spent the day (and well into the night) making up dances and songs and just plain being little girls. I hope to steal those girls again!

As you can see, the boys had just as much fun!? I don't know how Nate falls asleep like this... He's CRAZY! Guess he was tired?

Fathers Day weekend!

2010-06-21T09:48:00.002-06:00

Friday and Saturday, I ran in the RAGNAR. I left my kids in the afternoon, and drove with the Atkins, Harwards, and new friend Natasha up to EDEN Utah for our first van to hand off to us.

Here was our awesome VAN #2! The Atkins, Harwards, Natasha and Me!!

The RAGNAR is a 188 mile relay race. Our team of 12 people divided in to 2 vans. The first van started at 11:30 Friday morning. Each of them ran different length legs. They started in Logan, and met up with us for the first van exchange in Eden.

Here are the Chickas from VAN 2 as we were waiting for our first exchange. We were so excited and ready to start RUNNING!!! One of these things is not like the other... who is it? oh, its ME! I am the one with no boobs who cant help bu look like WT...

They arrived at 6:30, and our legs were all different lengths (averaging about 4 miles each). I was runner 12, so I was the last person to run in our van. My particular leg was uphill the entire time at a pretty killer incline... but I came in before my estimated time! ;) That was my only goal. My leg ended towards 11pm, so we handed off to the other van, ate subway, then parked the car to take a quick nap. Nobody slept well because the parking lot was all a bustle the entire time - with headlights shining into our faces... but by 5am we were ready for another van exchange.
Our van ROCKED! Our team name was TEA BAGS AND TATAs... but last minute, some girls in van 1 were offended, so the name was changed to something else... but I don't know what it was - our numbers still had the original name, so that was what I went with.
Maleah and Perry are ROCKSTARS and came in averaging 8 minute miles - on legs of about 10 miles!!! Katie and Natasha were AWESOME too! They are super fast and super awesome! Nate was not really a runner before a month ago but he did great too! We had a LOT of fun! My second leg was 6.8 miles. It was supposed to be a gradual incline, but mostly flat. It was NOT SUPPOSED to be all completely uphill... but it was. I was running mid-morning, so I was really hot and quite discouraged when I kept seeing massive inclines ahead. BUT, at least I came in faster than the estimated time, so I was still pleased... After my first run, I thought I should have pushed myself faster. But after this run, I felt like I left it all on the table. My lips were SO chapped! It felt like I was frothing at the mouth. I swear my whole face and mouth had the white salt residue all over! It was AWESOME!!!

I was the last runner in our van, so after I handed it off to van 1, we headed to Maleah's parent's condo in Midway (close to where our next van exchange would be) and took a shower and a nap! We were all so exhausted from running and not sleeping. It felt good to shower. We also slept for about an hour! It was SO nice!
We made it to the next van exchange. It was our last one, and we were all still VERY tired, and being that it was Saturday late afternoon, we were all getting pretty discouraged knowing that we would not be done till later that night. Our last legs were all KILLER! Katie ended up having to add on another mile and a half to hers for some detour... She handed off to me for the VERY LAST LEG!!

Katie is handing off to me after running 7 miles - she looks great. I look like I'm in pain and I haven't even started running yet... Is there something wrong here?

My last leg was 5.1 miles. I was so tired. I was really just wanting to be home. I did great on the first couple miles, but again, it was uphill!!! My last 2.5 miles were completely uphill and it was hot and late and I wanted to cry. BUT, it was awesome to run in at the end into the Canyons and have people cheering for me. Then the team joined in on the last few meters. We finished at about 7:15pm.

Here is our team right at the end. I look like I'm gonna die. But everyone else looks great! At least I got to keep the slap bracelet (the team baton)!!!

We went to Wendys for some FOOD!!! I mean, it was great eating only beef jerky, bananas, energy shots and pretzels, but I wanted a HAMBURGER!!!

I probably annoyed everyone there, but it was really fun, and I look forward to doing it again next year!
I came home and was delirious with fatigue. It was really hard, but I am motivated to become a better runner and improve my times for the next one!

We got home Saturday night, and although I would RATHER have slept in and spent Sunday in bed, I was a good wife...
I made Joe breakfast in bed (although he snuck out and went running). At least he got a nice breakfast! Then, we went to church (where I was on organ duty, and did primary music)...
THEN
Choir was canceled for Fathers day, so Joe and I loaded up and headed to Strawberry to ride the trails out there! It was absolutely beautiful!
We rode to this really pretty reservoir. Joe has this gps device that records where we go, and he was having fun with it! I would really like to go out there again! The kids had a great time!
These little family excursions on the weekends are really help convince me that Utah might not be so bad. I have never before had so much fun with just my little family! It is awesome to just pack up and do things like this in the mountains!

I wish I was a better photog!!! The view was SO amazing from up there!

Yes, my 9 yr old is driving the 350. I am on the back. The seats are actually pretty comfortable. Aaron is such a trooper cause his 4wheeler broke and pretty much SUCKS... so I let him drive. He's actually getting a LOT better! (excepting that one incident where he was going too fast around a corner and we slid off and almost went down a ravine)

Here is my awesome husband. With Aaron's 4wheeler out of commission, Nate has to ride up front on Joe's. I hate it when Nate is in front of me cause our helmets always bonk. But Joe is sweet to endure. Also notice Charity's mirror-tinted visor. She is such a princess! I just wonder why he didn't order another one for his WIFE???? (hint hint)

My kids are awesome!

HIJACKED!

2010-06-13T21:23:00.001-06:00

My sister hijacked my blog.
I am NOT pregnant.

Sunday in the Canyon

2010-06-06T18:09:00.004-06:00

Today, we went to lunch in American Fork Canyon with the Atkin family. It was absolutely beautiful! The weather was perfect. The scenery was so amazing!
We walked around on the trails for a little bit. I could have stayed up there for hours, but apparently, Joe got bored and maybe the kids got tired, so we turned around and headed back to the car. The run-off was making the river/stream run so quickly. It made for nervous parents as the little ones kept getting nearer the edge throwing rocks in to the rapids. It was running so fast that you could hear the rocks under the water getting pushed downstream.
I guess in Texas we couldn't have spent the day outside in the mountains eating lunch and hiking around... maybe I will start to like it here a bit better?

Dirty FACE!!!

I promise, this is no blue screen... how pretty is this???

Memorial Day!

2010-06-01T15:44:00.014-06:00

We just got back from a REALLY fun trip!
Friday, after the kids' last day of school, we packed up our four wheelers and headed south! Joe and Perry had been planning this little excursion for months, so the boys were really excited.
We met up with the Atkins down in Beaver, and headed further on towards Escalante. We got there after dark, so we set up a little camp site just off the road.
That first night was amazing. Since we were so secluded, we didn't put up the privacy/rain flap over our tent. We were able to just look up at the stars in the sky all night. Our tent (without the rain flap) is essentially just a screen, so it was like sleeping on a tarp outside - we had almost an entire 360 degree view! It was a bit chilly, but the kids were in heaven! Joe and I forgot how uncomfortable it is to sleep on the hard ground, but beyond that, we had a great night! Amy and Matt and family pulled in and set up camp later that night.
We woke up, packed up our crap, ate poptarts for breakfast, then headed to Escalante to meet up with the rest of the group.
Amy and Matt rented a Jeep, and Joe's dad came too with his new Jeep! Perry's brother Trent also came along.

Here we are just before we set out on our LONNNNNGGGG ride.

That first day, we did the Hole in the Rock trail. All in all, we drove those 4wheelers about 70 miles that day. The first 30 miles was to Hole in the Rock... We stopped by Dance Hall Rock and Carcass Wash.

Dance Hall rock was pretty cool... I couldn't help but want to dance a bit and maybe do a few handstands...

The last 8 miles or so of the trail was actually fun to ride (cant say the same about the first part). There were actually some parts that I didn't think the Jeeps could get up - but they did!
We hiked to the top of the cliff by Hole in the Rock, ate lunch and took pictures.

It was neat to be up there NOT sweaty... and NOT having to have climbed up the whole way from the boat!

It was fun to be there when it was not boiling hot. The weather was actually pleasant. But, I did not venture down to the lake to jump in as I had thought I would...
On our way back, we took the trail up 50 mile bench. That was actually a really fun ride. we went up some really steep and rocky switch backs. Then, up at the top it was full of trees and little hills and it was quite beautiful and made for a very fun ride. We had ditched Aaron's little 4 wheeler, so it was nice to have Grandpa's Jeep to throw an extra kid into... Nate even got a nap!

Here is the Jeep... a really neat part of the trail.
At the top, Nate kept saying "I can see the whole Earf from here... but I cant see our house" He was so funny. Charity got a bit nervous of the cliffs. It was really fun to hear their different comments.
Here are the girls in the jeep... a bit more comfortable, and a LOT less dusty!

That night, we camped in town at a little campsite. The Atkins gave up trying to camp, and headed to Perry's brother's house for the night. We ate some tin foil dinners, and some cobbler... and slept. We were all VERY tired. We were all also VERY glad to get a wash down at the camp's showers!
Sunday, we woke up and very leisurely took down camp, loaded up, ate breakfast, and headed towards Bryce Canyon. We stopped along the way to hike up towards Mossy cave and this neat waterfall.

Maybe Nate was having a little breakdown here...

We unhitched the trailers at the entrance to Bryce, and spent the day enjoying the beautiful views the canyon offers. Amy and Matt decided to head back to Idaho...

That afternoon, after Bryce Canyon, we decided to sleep in a hotel... We checked in, and then headed up to hit a few ATV trails behind Tropic. Trish decided to stay in the hotel and nap. Grandpa rode my 4 wheeler, and enjoyed sitting in the trailer reading. It was very relaxing for me! The kids had fun (grandpa might be a funner driver than mom?). Then Aaron's 4 wheeler broke :(.

We grilled hamburgers (of course the Atkins had TURKEY burgers and pita bread because they watch their figures).
Then, we headed back to the hotel, bathed the kids and put them to bed. Grandpa had already fallen asleep, so Perry, Maleah, Joe and I headed to the restaurant at the front of the hotel and grabbed dessert, then played games in their "deluxe" lobby area.
We took our time getting up on Monday morning, ate our free pancake breakfast, and headed towards Red Canyon.

Trish captured this pic of the Atkins leading us towards Red Canyon. The scenery was so spectacular.

We rode the Casto Canyon trail and it was really fun. Again, because Aaron's piece of crap broke, we put an extra kid in the Jeep with Grandma and Grandpa. Riley got in there with Charity. I think the girls actually enjoyed that ride a bit better... I'm sure Dad and Trish enjoyed hearing them sing the WHOLE time... ;)

Near the top, Maleah and I decided to go on a little jog... it didn't last long.
We joined back up with the rest of the group at this beautiful lookout point. The whole trail was actually fun - with little streams and TONS of different kind of rock. Portions of the trail were full of pines and dark rock... then there were portions with that green color and white limestone... then there were portions with the red rock and sand. It was quite breathtaking.

Can you see Me and Joe? This trail was really neat!

What a good looking family!!! SO glad we are friends with these guys!!! Glad we are surviving Utah together!

Here I am. I am feeling so fat right now. I have eaten like garbage and have not worked out at all... Trish took this pic. Maleah suggested I put this as my Facebook profile pic. Should I?

Then, the jeep went back the way we came while we continued down the loop through a red rock/river bed.

At the end of that ride, our trip had to come to an end.
We were FILTHY. We were all sunburned (despite using sunblock). But we had a WONDERFUL time!
We loaded our trailers and parted ways.
We made it home - Monday night. We were so dirty that EVERYTHING had to be washed before it was brought into the house/garage. I was actually proud of myself for washing/cleaning out the car and doing the laundry THAT night.
But, I guess that is just an indication of how extremely dirty everything and everyone was!

My feelings as a Mom...

2010-05-27T11:50:00.004-06:00

I sat here this morning with Nate's arm around me. He nuzzled right next to me and tried to get his little arm all the way around my back. He was giggly and looking at all the pictures on the blogs I was reading. At the same time he was not fighting for attention. He was quiet and calm. He was cuddly and warm. He had asked to watch cartoons, but I was postponing plugging him in to steal a few minutes just like that.

It seems like all the blogs have everyone in every picture looking totally put together. They all have great huge smiles and designer clothes. Their houses are all clean. Their kids' faces are clean and their hair is DONE. They all decorate their house like professionals and take the most amazing pictures.

Then, I went through my pictures.
My house is often messy. It is plain and not decorated. Our hair is never done perfectly and we don't all look cute or put together. Our clothes aren't fancy or even in style. My pictures are always blurry.

But, where the art and the dazzle is lacking, I can't help but feel like I am not missing a thing. I want nothing but another year just like this.

In so many of the pictures, my kids have their arms around each other. They are smiling. They are happy. They love each other. We have such great times together. This is the best season of life.

I was talking to my mom, and she told me about one of her favorite pictures. When we were all around my kids' ages, she got a picture taken of us all lined up on a couch. She calls the picture "The end of innocence". We were all happy and young. It was just before we moved to N.J. and she had 5 crazy teenage daughters. The picture was taken when she would think to herself "My kids will NEVER do that...".

She was wrong, and I am sure I will face some pretty tough things in the very near future.

But for just this moment, I am overcome with happiness. I am overcome with gratitude for the comfort in which we live and the sweetness of my children. I am overcome with the feeling that I just want to pause here for a minute. I want to keep my kids at this phase for a while. I just want to enjoy this season of life.
I did enjoy the baby/toddler phase, but I was always looking towards the next milestone. I was always thinking "Oh how nice will it be when we're out of diapers!" or "how nice will it be when they are mobile" or "how nice will it be when they are in school..." etc. Then I blinked, and all three of my kids were independent beings with independent thoughts and ideas about how life should be.

I love how my oldest boy will just hug me in the mornings and tell me he really loves me. He is so sweet and tender. My daughter is the funnest little girl in the world - completely girly - filling her time doing cartwheels, dancing, singing, and changing out her earrings. My baby is in preschool, and growing too quickly. He is hilarious.

Already I feel like they don't really NEED me, but they WANT me to be with them and I know they really do LOVE me. I feel like I have the best kids in the world.
I dont want that to end.

I'm going to blink and they will be teenagers.

The Sun will come out Tomorrow...

2010-05-24T23:37:00.011-06:00

On days like today, I have to remind myself that Utah is really not that bad.

I might have woken up, hoping for sunshine. Maybe I imagined that since it is the last week of school, it would be warm and my kids would be able to wear shorts. I dreamt of spending the afternoon in the park.

I woke up and saw this:

Yes, it is May 24th. This is the last week of MAY.

In Arizona, everyone is hot.
In Texas, everyone is hot.
They have been enjoying days using their pools. They are all getting tan.

I keep hearing that Utah is beautiful in the spring and summer.
I am still waiting for said "beauty".
I am still pasty white.
I am still cold.
I am still waiting for the sun to motivate me to work off my "winter pounds".

I got to walk out this morning and scrape several inches of snow off my car.

Out my kitchen window, I normally have this view:
(these photos were taken a few weeks ago)

Beautiful - right? I fell in LOVE with this view. I fell in love with having no back door neighbors so I can see the mountains and valley and lake...

When I was younger, I used to LOVE the mountains. All of my religious beliefs were encompassed in lessons and analogies involving mountains... Don't get me started or else I'll go into some dissertation involving not only things I felt from spending time in mountains, but also from "mountain" analogies using calculus, physics, chemistry, philosophy, scriptures... you name it all the way to books like "Miracle of Forgiveness".

Why did I wake up this morning with the feeling like I am being strangled and cut off by these mountains - rather than enjoying their {previous favorite phrase describing them} ineffable majesty?

Right now, to quote from "BIG RIVER"... "I've been waiting for the light to shine, oh yes I'm waiting for the light to shine. I have lived in the darkness for so long I am waiting for the light to shine!!!"

In all fairness, the sun came out this afternoon. It warmed to nearly 50 degrees. Aaron's baseball game was cancelled, so we went to the batting cages. I had a wonderful afternoon/evening with my sweet children. We are all healthy and happy. There is plenty to be grateful for. Even though there was a blizzard this morning, we were safe and warm in our house/school. The kids have warm jackets. I got my butt out the door and to the gym. All was not completely lost.

Birthday Season Begins!

2010-04-09T09:03:00.000-06:00

My baby is 4!He is the sweetest, cutest little dude in the WORLD! He brightens my day! I love how he talks. I love how he runs. I love to watch him play with his siblings. I think he is so funny when he thinks he is sneaky. He is so easygoing. I love his eyes and his smile. I love his little voice. I love how he cuddles with me. I love how amazing he is! I am so lucky this kid is in my life! I LOVE being his mother!

All of our birthdays (besides Joe's) are essentially within a month of each other... so Spring is quite busy at our house!
Nate's birthday (since it is first) ushers in what our family considers the birthday season.
He woke up to BIRTHDAY PANCAKES!!! I was really proud of myself for getting an actual breakfast (besides cereal) made before the kids had to catch the bus.
His pancakes are an N and a 4 (just in case you couldn't tell). I love that in this picture, you can see how Aaron and Charity are trying to show him how to blow!!!
For lunch, I grabbed the kids from school and we met Joe at ChuckyCheese's! We all (of course) had a wonderful time! Is this my last ChuckyCheese's birthday? probably... it kindof makes me sad... I can't believe my kids are all so big now!

You will notice this stupid little truck ride was the hit. Yes, that is my 9 year old still thinking he's cool on it.
Nate's birthday was Thursday... So Friday night, we had our little birthday party for him. He wanted a Transformers cake. In my ghetto cake style, this kid got what he wanted - complete with Bumblebee and an autobot and decepticon battling it out on a mountain... Lydia suggested brown sugar as a dirt road... AWESOME!!! Totally ghetto... but at least the kids thought it was cool!
We were glad to have the Atkins, the Harwards (where Nate now goes to preschool), Emily Cardon's family, Jen & Ted's family, Lydia's family, Owen & Alyssa, and Steve's family and Sam come to his party. Quite a turnout for only being here a month! Thank goodness for family right?

Of course, what is a party without a pinata?

The kids had a great time. It was a very simple party.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATE!

Goodbye Big Truck!

2010-03-11T09:48:00.000-07:00

Or Denali was needing repairs. It made awful sounds when it drove. It had 200000 miles on it.
So, it was decision time: put more money into it? or get a new car?
We searched for used cars...
But, I fell in love with this shiny new car.
So we bought it.
What's funny is we bought it at the same dealership as we bought our Maxima... just ten years later.
I hope it lasts 200000+ miles like that great car of ours! They now sit next to eachother in our driveway.

CRUISE!!!!

2010-03-07T21:20:00.007-07:00

Joe and I went on a CRUISE!!! It was so awesome! We went with our great friends, the Walls, the Eastmans, the Atkins, and our new friends the Harwards. We scheduled it before we even thought about moving to Utah. So, the week after we moved in, we ditched our kids on Sam, Kat, Owen, and Alyssa and took off for a week in the Caribbean!

The festivities began Saturday night. We flew in to Houston, where the Walls picked us up and we all went up to Joe's dad's place for an evening of pre-cruise luxury. We sat in the hot tub...

and in the morning, the boys thought they would join the Conroe Crew team.
Then, we headed towards Galveston to board our ship - the Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas. The best part of the boarding process was the cookies we ate while waiting and waiting and waiting....

We got to our rooms, ate dinner, explored the ship, and went to bed... pretty un-eventful. Then, we had a day at sea - where we just worked out and relaxed. It was very windy, but we still enjoyed ourselves. Joe, Me, Perry, and Nate signed up for a scuba excursion, so because we had to get up early, we went to bed early...

Then, we got to Cozumel. Our scuba excursion was to meet at the pier at 7:45am. At that time, we found out they cancelled our dive!!! We were pretty bummed, but decided to make the best of it. We met up with everyone else and rented scooters for the day! It was so much fun riding around the island exploring. We found a resort and laid out on the beach there... then, they wanted us to purchase more drinks, pay for a chair, or leave. Needless to say, we decided to leave. Randomly, while riding behind Joe (my personal windshield), I got stung by a crazy hornet right on my hand... Kindof a bummer, but all I could do was hope I wouldn't get some crazy Mexican hornet disease...We then found the most georgous beach and Katie, Nate and I went body surfing. The water was so nice, and it was so good to swim in the ocean!! It made me want to go to Hawaii again... but maybe another trip? ;)

While I was swimming, Joe, Becky and Greg went exploring and found an awesome blow hole...

We then jumped back on the scooters, drove back towards town where we did a bit of shopping before getting back on the ship. The scuba divers in our group signed up for the next dive in Grand Cayman hopefully to take place the next afternoon...

The next morning, we woke up leisurely and made our way to meet the scuba group. The dive was still going to happen! We were thrilled because there were HUGE waves on the other side of the island, and our ship had to actually dock in a different place. Most of the excursions were canceled due to the huge waves crashing into the buildings along 7 mile beach and downtown. Maleah and Katie accompanied us on the tender boat to the pier - they were going to lay out on a beach.

Joe, me, Perry and Nate then rode a bus about 2 miles, got on another tender boat (with our cruise ship still in sight) and then onto the scuba boat. The dive was AMAZING! I was a bit nervous because I hadn't gone since I certified way back 13 years before... Joe and Perry had just certified before the trip (so they were a bit more confident)... I had a hard time equalizing the first few minutes on the first dive, but after that, it was AWESOME! The second dive, I went down early with one of the dive masters to give me some extra time to equalize, and that was all I needed. There were some AMAZING swim through tunnels in the reef. We saw some amazing fish and the coral was SO neat! I accidentally bumped into some coral and got some of it stuck in my fingers, but I guess that was my souvenir! Our dives were over too quickly, and we had to change back to a little boat back to the dock, jump on a bus, then onto the tender boat back to the ship. Part of me wishes we could have just taken our scuba boat straight to the ship, but oh well!

Our Scuba boat...

Do you see our ship in the background?

I had such a great time! It got pretty cold on the way back... but it was worth it! I am ready to plan another scuba adventure!!! AWESOME day!

Here we are in our room playing games. After this, we found a game room and didnt have to squish in our little room for our activities.

The next day, we docked in Jamaica. Our group split up again and The Walls, Eastmans and us went on an excursion to Ochos Rios and rode the lift up the mountain to ride the bobsled. It was pretty fun.

Then, we ate lunch and headed over to Dunns Falls. Joe and Brent stayed on the shore and captured the rest of us in the water as we climbed up the 900 foot falls. It was so AWESOME! Unfortunately, it was VERY windy, which made me VERY COLD!!! Not too cold to enjoy the falls though... It really was spectacular. I cut up my shins (my souvenir from Jamaica) on some rocks in the falls, but not too bad. Nobody else seemed to trip and scrape themselves - so I think it just means I am a klutz!!! Joe videoed the whole thing, so I don't have any pictures...

We had 2 days in a row at sea on the way back. I LOVED simply relaxing and enjoying being an adult on a ship of fun! We ATE, mini-golfed, rock climbed, ATE, worked out, took naps, ATE, watched shows, ATE, laid out, ATE, played games, roller bladed, ATE, played more games, watched the sunset, and ATE some more.

These boys were posing for us...

Nothing beats the rock-climbing gear!

Formal night w/our waiters Razvan and Hasan. We loved them!

Watching shows...

Here we are across the promenade shops from the Atkins' room... It was so fun to go with friends! It was a wonderful trip! We had such a great time!

Absolute Favorites:

Scooter ride
Scuba diving
Games - some of them had me nearly peeing my pants from laughter!
Dodge ball - Greg roll tackled the cruise director...
Long enjoyable dinners with friends.
Lots of inside jokes that will bring chuckles for years to come!

It was kindof weird to come "home" to UTAH... I was very excited to see my kids, but not quite ready to call this place "home" yet. It just doesnt feel real yet.

Single Mom style...

2010-01-11T16:52:00.000-07:00

Living with Grandma Allen has been a lot of fun... but it would be nice to have a husband!!! Joe is not planning on coming home again until the move... which is right now looking like Feb 6th...
We have been killin time at the gym (trying to get Mom in shape before the CRUISE!!!!)
The kids enjoy climbing the rock wall. Having nothing pressing to get home to makes it easy to say YES for once!

Check out this girl!!! She makes it up those things like they're NOTHIN!

Nate thinks he's pretty cool!!! Maybe he'll get to the top?

I "attempted" to homeschool the kids. January 4th, I woke up, fed the kids, and immediately went into an attempted lesson for the day. It was complete with worksheets and everything.
Ten minutes later, I gave up.
By 10 am, I was at the local elementary school signing my kids up for a temporary stint at Florence Elementary. They would ride the bus! They would meet new friends! They would not whine and complain to me when I asked them to do a stupid little assignment!

I decided they need some more activities to occupy their time... SO... The kids are taking gymnastics for a few weeks here... just for something to do in the afternoons.
It is really fun to get to hang out with Cherry's kids all the time now! Nate adores his time with Max, Cherry and Sarah are the cutest little friends, and Aaron and Luke of course are the studliest little buddies!
Having family around will at least make the next six husband-less weeks go by more pleasantly!

Do you think he was tired? What kind of mom lets her kid fall asleep in the middle of the floor? (me)

Best buds.

Trip to Houston!

2009-12-31T16:13:00.002-07:00

Christmas afternoon, Joe and I packed up and headed to Houston... for what would probably be our last trip there for who knows how long... :(
We first went to Dad Robinson's new house. He had heated his pool... it was LOVELY and warm. Outside was very cold. All the little cousins were in heaven! The Davies even graced us with their presence! It was great to see mostly all of Joe's family.

The kids sleeping so soundly in the bunk house... I LOVE how cute and cuddly they are!
Nate has become quite the little fish! He loves to swim! He actually swims quite far by himself for a little 3 year old! Yay for swim lessons!
Joe and Nate on their inaugural ride down the slide

Joe had to work during the week, so when he was in Utah, I just chilled with the sister in laws... spent the night at the ranch, bounced between Jeff's house, the Ranch, and the Lake House.
I also took that opportunity to hang out with Kysha! It was so good to see her and her DARLING little girls. They (at 4 and 7) are already better than I could ever hope to be at stringed instruments. I just think they are amazing!
Kysha's adorable family!!
LOVE these girls!

Joe flew back to Houston Wed night for the New Years festivities.
All five brothers were around, so there were lots of "Boy" activities... go karts, motorcycles, basketball...
I just enjoyed relaxing and watching everyone else have fun. The kids enjoyed swimming, playing, eating donuts, go karts, 4wheeling at the ranch... the list goes on...
It was sad to think we might not make it back for a while.
The five brothers on five bikes.
Aaron and Joe are such buddies. They are two peas in a pod. He wants to be able to do all the things his daddy gets to do! I can't believe how fast he is growing up!

My little Nate waiting so patiently, looking so cute in his boots...
Just hangin out - watching the "kids" on their karting adventure.

Notice Joe by his lonesome. He was riding in the lead right there with Jeff and Sam... but somehow he got spun out in the grass...

Jeff explaining some crazy maneuvers to his captive audience.

Aaron's king of the world!!!
Kids all piling in the hot tub... maybe cause even though the pool might be at around 90 degrees... it doesnt keep you warm on a night around 30 degrees outside!

New Years Mom Robinson was there for the party... there was the essential settlers game, puzzle, and we had a kareoke sing a long at Jeff's house. Next day, we made our way back over to Dad Robinson's house for another swim...

But, then, we had to go home. Joe had to get back to his new job...

Christmas!

2009-12-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas!

Our Christmas loot this year looked SOOO big!!!
My mom - the cooking fairy... ;)
The kids were so excited about every gift they opened! Charity was thrilled with all her new crafts - she was even excited about the socks and underwear she opened. I love how my children are so easily pleased! My parents (of course) spoiled my kids with a million more gifts than they normally would have gotten... but who's complaining!?!???
We had a wonderful day playing with all the new toys! Later in the afternoon, we packed up and headed down to Houston to see Joe's family...

Christmas Eve!

2009-12-24T23:00:00.001-07:00

We were finally settled in to Grandma Allen's house. We no longer own a home! I am 30 and living with my mother!
At least my piano has a lovely home. It is actually quite fun to have 2 LARGE pianos in 1 room! So many fun duets!!! We have been having a LOT of fun with music! Christmas is the BEST time to have 2 pianos! ;)
Anyways, Christmas Eve was AWESOME!It SNOWED... HERE IN TEXAS!!! We had a WHITE CHRISTMAS!!!!
Believe you me - the kids were so pumped about it!
Cherry & Scott and family came over for Christmas Eve dinner... well, they had to park in the neighborhood behind Grandma's house because the snow made it so hard to get up the hill to her neighborhood!!! We had a WONDERFUL meal - all seafood! Shrimp, salmon, halibut, crab legs... everything down to the salad was made with fish! Luckily Grandpa Allen and Scott are excellent chefs! IT WAS DELICIOUS! It was such a lovely evening!

Then, the kids put on a show/nativity, and then the Driscolls went home. Here are my kids putting on a second show(singing/dancing) before we let them open their traditional 1 present for Christmas Eve...
I must admit it is quite nice living with my parents. They are the greatest grandparents EVER! My mom is always doing fun things with the kids - crafts, reading, puzzles, music... not to mention the fact that my parents love to cook for us! Oh ya, the cleaning/laundry fairy resides here too!!! We are SO lucky!

I LOVE MY PARENTS!

Moving Sucks...

2009-12-18T09:06:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Joe helped move the big furniture down to the 2 front rooms - to make it easier to load the truck on Saturday. However, seeing as he is gone all week, that left me to bring everything else down to the "staging area" so it is ready to go Saturday morning. Aaron has been a great help - carrying down boxes and dressers... What a cute/sweet hard worker we have in our 8 year old! Anyways, this is 85% of all my belongings.

This is the staging area:

This is the left over bit. I HATE this part. All the kitchen cabinets are cleaned out and empty. All the upstairs rooms have been cleaned out, wiped down, vacuumed, carpet clean, bathrooms clean etc. But this is where all that leaves me. Everything has been shoveled into the kitchen. All the annoying miscellaneous items are looking for a box. I am tired. I am burnt out. Joe is coming home tonight and will see this:

Yuck. Moving sucks.

Cowboy Christmas Party!

2009-12-11T08:21:00.000-07:00

So, my "calling" is activities chair for the ward (on top of being in the organ rotation and choir pianist).
The Halloween party was cake - just have people show up in costumes in a parking lot with candy... No biggie that I was the only person on activities duty.

The Christmas party was another story. Luckily, they called a helper - heck, I WAS TRYING TO MOVE!!
The Romneys seriously were the AWESOMEST! Kimball was my assistant, and we kind of talked about a few ideas... We both wanted to keep it REALLY simple. Then he said - "hey, you have a lot of stuff going on - my wife and I will take care of it!" PHEW!!! OK!
He and his wife Angela (who is AWESOME) came up with the entire plan, handed out assignments to all the auxiliaries, and I seriously just sat back and watched it all come together! The Romneys and I went early to set up and "decorate", I brought a few awards, and of course I brought some chilli for the cookoff... but beyond that, it was really no sweat off my back.
It was a Cowboy Christmas party! To us, it meant no need to bring in tons of Christmas decorations - low key - chilli, simple tables (simple like red or green plastic table cloths with a boot or hat on top), country music and call it good! For everyone else, it meant dress up like a cowboy, go to the rooms we assigned out to the different auxilleries, and then join up in the gym for a sing-a-long and dinner. The Relief Society brought Santa, the Primary did reindeer games, the YM did letters to santa and the troops, and the YW did cookie decorating.
The kids had a BLAST!! Joe, was still out of town and missed it :(

Just give me my candy cane Santa! ;)

Um... I want....

The train the RS brought was a HIT with this guy... he would have been happy to watch that thing all night!

A night on the town

2009-12-10T06:44:00.000-07:00

Joe's first week at his new job was training here in Dallas.

But now he is gone - hangin' out bachelor style in Utah.
I decided the kids and I needed a fun night out to celebrate - oops I mean commiserate ;).

We went to Coldstone and then to the Frisco Town Square Christmas lights. I think we will be driving through many more times this season. The lights were so fun! They are all synchronized to music and I must say it is pretty neat!

I need chocolate!! I ditched the kiddos earlier in the week for an 18 hr trip up to UT for the design center... so I just wanted to spoil the kids for a night... maybe ice cream was motivated a little from guilt.

I don't know why I can't seem to take a picture right!

What will soon be

2009-12-08T06:56:00.000-07:00

We are lucky to be under contract to sell our house.
It also means we will soon be homeless.
We decided we would buy that one house we loved in Lehi... which means we get to pick everything out!... which means the house wont be completed until FOREVER AWAY!!!
I made a quick trip up to meet Joe at the design center (so we could choose the stuff for them to finish the house). Funny story - there was a blizzard there, and Lydia couldn't pick me up at the airport (she was snowed in). So, I called Maleah Atkin last minute and she did - THANKS MALEAH! She and I went to lunch really quick and then she dropped me off at the design center. Joe came a bit later (because he was working).
The design center was TORTURE! Well, it wasn't so bad, but after about 4 hours I felt like a child with ADHD. Here are our selections...

This is what will soon be kitchen, bath, floor, carpet, shower, railing,etc...

We were done at about 9pm, and quickly stopped at the store for some flashlights. Then, we went by the house.

Here is Joe in our future kitchen!

I am excited to find out how it will look. I am excited to have a nice new house! Hopefully it won't take too long!

My disaster

2009-12-06T07:23:00.001-07:00

This is the state of my desk. I am a disaster. My desk is a disaster. My house is a disaster.I am moving in a few weeks. From the time the offer came in, they gave us slightly more than 3 weeks to get out of the house and close on the sale. They want us out by the 21st! That means we have to move out by the 19th - the day after school gets out for Christmas!
Joe is gone during the week days... so it looks like I am going to be packing by myself.

I keep thinking I'll get around to project A or B. I keep thinking I'll have time to tie up loose ends... I'm starting to think my poor kids are not going to have a very good Christmas.

Christmas music... Things from the inspection report that I have to fix... giving over my PTA job onto someone else... packing... getting stuff ready to sell house... getting stuff ready to BUY new house...

Feed My Starving Children

2009-12-05T07:41:00.000-07:00

Aaron's football team volunteered together at a charity event for Feed My Starving Children. It is a Christian based ministry where they fill and send nutrition packets (rice with protein and soy and veggie powder) to sustain life for children and adults suffering from severe malnutrition in impoverished countries.

These are the bags we labeled, filled and shipped...

The event started out with an instructional video. It showed people filling the bags and then packing the boxes and sending the boxes... then it showed people receiving the boxes and actually eating. It interviewed people and children who are lucky to get 1 meal a day... in places where the RICH are lucky to get 2 meals a day. It showed how some children suck on dirt and rocks to stave off their hunger. Aaron and Charity were deeply touched - I could see it in their faces, and in the things they said afterward. I (of course) was so touched, that I bawled through the video. It really was a special opportunity. Not many times do little kids kids actually get to go do service and see the fruits of their efforts.

We picked the labeling part of the assembly line and put all the labels on the bags.

This is essentially what our little process looked like (I stole all these pictures from their website).

Other people put the ingredients in, while yet other people filled the boxes and took them to the shipping area. We filled so many! We all had a great time! I want to go and do it again! I think our new Christmas tradition will be a service opportunity like this!

Decorating for Christmas!

2009-12-04T21:05:00.000-07:00

Another year, another move during the Christmas Break... also means that it is another year we don't get to decorate our home for Christmas! :(
Luckily, we were going to be living with Grandma Allen by Christmas! I had the kids ditch school and we headed down to her house so the kids could get a chance to decorate (they were pretty busted up about not being able to last year).
It was a great day. The kids sure felt special! We ate junk food and listened to Christmas music and went through all of my mom's decorations and even hung some ornaments!
See kids - I at least tried to keep up with Christmas traditions even though for the 2nd year in a row our family situation has been a little skeewampus over the holidays.

Random action shot...

These are the retro place-mats we used even when I was a kid. I love Christmas memories!

Grandma Allen is the BEST!!! We love her so much and are THRILLED we get to stay with her until we move to UTAH!

Snow!

2009-12-02T16:33:00.000-07:00

It snowed in Frisco!
The kids were thrilled! Unfortunately, school was NOT cancelled.

The snow melted before they came home :(

Drool

2009-11-29T16:29:00.001-07:00

This kid was so worn out!! The ranch just gets these kids SOOO tired - Aaron especially!
On the way home, I glanced back and noticed him drooling...
WOW!

Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T16:13:00.001-07:00

We flew back to Houston for Thanksgiving! We landed Wed. afternoon
The rejects of the Robinson clan (those who didnt go to Aruba, Idaho, Utah or wherever for the feast) hung out at the Ranch.
Dan & Richelle & family
Mary & Bradberry family
Christine & Woodrome family
Joe & us...

Nobody really wanted to mess with cooking, or leftovers, or dishes, or all that... so we went to Golden Corral for the Thanksgiving feast! It worked out perfect! They had the whole Thanksgiving spread, with pizza and french fries available for the kiddos. I didn't even get food poisoning!

Better news was that our house sold! We got the call that morning from our realtor... YAY!!! We just have to sign and then hopefully everything will work out! They want us out before Christmas... so it will be another year that I don't decorate... Oh well... looks like I'm moving in with my parents!

Funny... our anniversary fell on Thanksgiving this year! We both kindof forgot... well, Joe remembered. We both had a good time talking about our favorite memories... 10 years together!!! WOW! PLUS, our house sold! PLUS we didn't have to do any dishes! It was a Thanksgiving MIRACLE!

House Hunting!

2009-11-22T15:57:00.001-07:00

So, before Joe starts his new job in Utah, we had to go on a house hunting trip! Christine was kind enough to watch our kiddos. It was a fun trip! Jeff so happened to be there visiting Michelle's family for Thanksgiving, so we hung out with him and Sam and Stephen in our non-realtor time. Of course, we had to raid the breadsticks at Pizza Factory in Provo. It was COLD! But I think I could grow to love the mountains!!!

I think we found the house though!! Seeing as our house has been on the market 2 whole weeks, I'm kindof getting nervous! I hope our house sells! I hope we can buy a house in UT! I think we'll have time to wait for this one though...

New Moon!

2009-11-20T15:50:00.000-07:00

Of course, I had to go to the midnight showing!
Carieanne, Ruth and I met up and went to the double feature (Rerun of Twilight, and then the premiere showing at midnight of New Moon).
It was so fun! I am cheesy and LOVED the movie!
I already had tickets for the next day, so I went with my neighbor (Nancy Jetton) and some other fun ladies for the 10am show. I would see it again too! ;)

This is Carieanne and I looking our midnight best! I love her!

again...

2009-11-12T13:41:00.013-07:00

I was looking through our Christmas card poems from the last couple years. One constant is Joe and his ever changing job...
Last year, our Christmas card poem was a joke - making fun of certain things about ourselves. Rather than saying what we have been up to, it just listed off things we hope to be able to say "next year" (this year)...

One of those things was having Joe stay at the same occupation.

Well.
Joe gave his 2 weeks notice at Dr Pepper last Friday. He will be starting A NEW JOB in UTAH the day after Thanksgiving.
WHAT????
ya.

Seriously, we just bought this house (11 months ago). I just spent the last 3 months painting it and making it feel like "home". I had just gotten my family history wall up (complete with pictures of parents, grand parents, great grandparents and even great great grandparents).

Anyways, 2 weeks ago, Joe came home saying he thought Utah was beautiful, and there was a job opportunity there. In my head, I thought "whatever! enjoy your free trip to UT" (blowing it off as an impossibility)... but apparently, he was serious. We are now relocating!

So, last week, I kicked it into high gear to finish up all my projects (the ones Joe was calling disastrous). I finished painting the trim in the kids' bedrooms. I painted Charity's walls. I made drapes for the kids rooms. I cleaned out and staged all the closets. I finished painting the bathroom cabinets. I made "artwork". We built a "headboard". We cleaned out the flowerbeds and planted flowers. Thanks to my mom and dad and Cherry who came over Saturday to hang a million pictures and help clean and organize and help!!! 2 hours of their time saved me a week of stress and labor!!! THANKS!!!

Now, I must say I am pretty proud of the way the house turned out. I only hope someone comes and sees it and then wants to buy it!!!
This was the house when we bought it... built-in appliances were ripped out. Lighting was ripped out. The colors were ALL WRONG!!! Now, in a lot of homes, this color scheme (tan trim/white walls) works... but not here - notice orange tile. Also notice the brown carpet throughout the home. The trim gave off a pink reflection - it was really WRONG. Would have been nice if I knew I was going to move though... I would have left the bad color scheme for someone else to deal with.
I never got the landscaping I wanted... good thing. I was this close to laying stone around and getting more bushes and trees... oh well. At least it looks presentable.
This is my pretty entry. I hired some people to paint the walls and trim of the whole house. They got the unreachable parts (some required 3 levels of scaffolding) but then, unfortunately, I had to fire them (4 days of them only working 4 hrs a day... dripping paint everywhere... ruining my wood floor). I was left to paint all the rest of the walls and trim... 2 staircases... all the baseboards. 29 doors... nightmare.
I DO love the 13' ceilings in my piano room. We had to put in the lighting (that was ripped out), and I painted the walls and trim.
This is my music picture - a collage of all my favorite songs. It broke a while ago... now it doesn't have glass. But it still works!!! Cost? 0$. The frame was inherited from some other ugly picture. I printed out my favorite songs on regular printer paper, crumpled them up, put leftover wood stain on it (from the home made kitchen bench) then glued them all together. I had this in my old house. But, I still love it!
My kitchen... the color is a slate... trying to tone down the ORANGE tile/brown carpet combo. Does it work? ;) It looks so much better than the pink khaki trim in that mix...
Before and after of the family room.
Oh, here's another free art project. Leftover plywood from the headboard. I printed out a photoshop brush and then essentially copied it in larger form with white acrylic paint (all paint I had lying around). Then, I stapled an old bed skirt to cover the ugly plywood edge. Free. Ugly, but it fills the niche, and did I mention I spent all of 20 mins on it and it was free?
Upstairs bathroom - notice nice brown cabinets... fun story... I'll post it sometime.

Office. We painted it BYU blue. Then they lost. Still, it is a nice man cave (where I am welcome to park my laptop so long as I don't leave too much of a mess). I am already breaking rules - notice cups, papers, and my daughter's art project cluttering up the desk?
Here is the 37$ king size headboard. 11$ on plywood. 6$ on 1x2s. 20$ batting. The quilt we used came with the bed in a bag (sunk cost when we bought the bed last year)... my kids got some crazy stain on the bottom of it... so, it was the perfect thing to use! ;)
The room really is big... and it looks so much better with out the pink khaki trim clashing with the brown carpet. It also looks great with a light in the ceiling rather than a gaping hole where someone lovingly ripped the old fixture out.
I never got around to painting these cabinets or walls. I dont think I will.

Guest room. Simple. Our office used to be down here, but it is nicer to see a nice bed rather than a dirty office when you walk into my house.
This is the bathroom off the kitchen/guest room BEFORE and AFTER. Dark cabinets make all the difference.

This WAS my family history wall. I had pictures of all of my grandparents and great grandparents. I also had Joe's side represented - even with a photos dating to 1897. I LOVED this wall. I got it done only 3 weeks before Joe came home and told me we were moving. The realtor told me to take it down. I just printed off pictures of flowers and beaches (on my home black and white printer on regular cheap copy paper). That works right? ;) Again - free project. I couldn't print an 11x14, so I just printed out strips on velum and put those together on top of scrapbook paper. I couldn't think of a better quote to put in it. I dont think it matters. I'm just sad I had to hide the great pictures of my family.
Before and after... Home made valences. Home made table and bench. I painted the stairs and the walls. Joe put the lights in.
Charity wanted her room painted green. Glad I never got around to doing that! I did paint her walls the house color and her trim... The previous owner left lots of nice fingernail polish marks all over...
Her window treatment cost 5$ for the rod from walmart, and $3.75 in fabric (3 yards of toole). The material behind it is leftover scrap of bed skirt (very useful that old bedskirt!!!) and the ribbons were left over from a project in my old house. Total cost? 8.75$
This room was even easier than Charity's room. I didn't paint their walls, but I painted their trim. The fabric was on sale at Joann's and I spent 6$ total on 2 yards. (I could have bought less, but I have enough to make throw pillows now). They had a broken curtain rod already installed in their room (courtesy of the previous owner). I took the 1 remaining finial off and pushed the fabric all the way to the wall... 6$ window... perfect! ;)
Yummy chocolate bathroom cabinets... Charity's bathroom looks the same...

Halloween!

2009-10-31T15:07:00.000-06:00

This year, for Halloween, we went to Cherry's house! It was so much fun to trick-or-treat with cousins!
We even made sure to swing by and visit some old friends from our Keller days!
I took Aaron to a haunted house... it was pretty scary! Chain saw guy got me to trip over myself! Aaron thought it was a hoot!
What a great Halloween!

3 musketeers...

2009-10-28T14:54:00.003-06:00

Charity recently got the Barbie and the 3 Musketeers movie. Ever since, her, Aaron and Nate have been "training" really hard. She already has a balance beam taped off in her room, so they practice leaping on it and sparring with their Nerf swords. They practice the different sword moves they see in the movie. They throw the swords at home-made targets on the wall... It is quite cute!

Well, Aaron decided he wanted to be a Ninja and NOT a Musketeer.

The next day, I found these taped from the toyroom, to the hall, and leading to Charity's door:

I love her spelling... I love how she is trying to exclude Aaron.
I love how she has directions poYnting to where her bedroom door is located.

It was complete with a sign-in sheet.
Joe and I signed in. She gave us a tour of all the stations she had set up. OH MY GOSH my kids are sooooo adorable!

Painting Disaster

2009-10-26T12:53:00.001-06:00

Here's and update on the progress of my painting project.

Oh MY GOSH my house is too big. I hate it. I needed help! So, I went and found some workers painting a house still getting built in my neighborhood. I asked them to come look and tell me what it would cost for them to come do the things I couldn't reach (like the 2 story walls, and the moulding that is 25 feet high etc.)
They came and started. The 2 guys came for a few hours, painted a little bit, then left. They got one room (walls and trim) done the first day, then it took 2 days for them to paint the walls and trim of my 2 story entry way (they actually used 3 scaffolding levels, so i guess it was pretty intense)... but they dripped paint all over my wood floors. They used lacquer remover to get it off. My beautiful wood floors were all spotted. I was LIVID! They came back again and again and worked maybe 3 hours a day and went SOOOO unbelievably slowly. One guy painted doors (got about 5 done) and the other guy did the walls. After 5 days of them being lazy and pathetic, and ruining my wood floors, I fired them. The high stuff was done, and I couldn't stomach paying those guys any more money. I paid them half of what we agreed (although they might not have even finished half of what we agreed to having them accomplish). Then, I started doing the project by myself. I painted all day every day. 4300 sq feet of walls. and trim, a MILLION doors and 2 staircases... I found a guy at the gym who was willing to help for 10 bucks an hour. He helped me do the walls and trim of 3 rooms - made things go SO much more quickly!
I FINALLY finished. It was the biggest pain. I never wanted to pick up a paint brush again. I didn't even do my laundry room or media room (although I did paint the doors to those rooms).
After about a month of solid work, my trim was FINALLY an ivory color (matching my ceilings) and my walls were a sand color... 26 gallons of paint...

The next week, I woke up, and suddenly couldn't stand my bathroom cabinets anymore. They were that same ugly khaki color, and it just didn't look right.
So, feeling like I knew the paint staff at Home Depot to be competent, (heck, I had been in there almost every day for a month buying more paint!) I took off a cabinet door and brought it to them. I asked all the right questions, like, what kind of paint is on this? What kind of paint do I need to use to paint over it?
New guy: "oh that's interesting, your cabinets are already painted with a latex - you can just paint over that with any latex paint color you choose".

Day 1: paint guest bath upstairs with the chocolate brown latex paint. Feel so good about myself. That was QUICK! Those cabinets look AMAZING! What an improvement! Begin painting the boys' side of the jack-and-jill bathroom.

Day 2: paint starts falling off cabinets. RRRRGGHHH. Maybe I should have primed them? Sand cabinets. prime cabinets. decide to prime Charity's side of the jack-and-jill and also prime guest bath downstairs... feel pretty confident - finish painting all those cabinets the chocolate brown latex. Looks pretty good... feeling good too.

Day 3: let paint dry

Day 4: paint peels off the primer. WHAT???? It wont even stick to the primer????? ARRRGGHHHHH!! Tears. Go to Home Depot. Complain and demand to talk to someone competent. They were baffled that the paint didn't stick to the primer. They replaced my paint with an oil based paint. They replaced brushes and gave me more sandpaper. Start sanding

Day 5: still sanding/scraping off paint from cabinets. Tears. Frustration. Joe tells me it is a disaster. He is right.

Day 6: Go out of town.

Day 9: Come home. Finish sanding/scraping. prime cabinets. (a MILLION doors, drawers and facings!!!) Oil based coat 1.

Day 10: Oil based coat 2... for some reason, 3 cabinet faces have paint that bubbles. OH MY GOSH. I AM GOING TO KILL MYSELF! I HATE THIS STUPID PROJECT! Walk away. let paint dry.

Day 11: Decide perfection is not an option. Leave bubbles. re-hang cabinets and put in drawers. Start and finish master bath room cabinets.

Day 12: Sand down bubbles. prime/paint and it is ok.

Day 13: I vow to not pick up another painting project for a LONG time.

Yes, it looks SOOOO much better now. Unfortunately, it was also disaster. I think if I ever want to change cabinet color again, I will pay someone to do it.

A trip to UTAH!

2009-10-24T13:45:00.001-06:00

Well, Joe and I needed some R&R, so we joined our old friends (the Votaws) and took a trip to UTAH! They live in Arizona, and we met up in Kelly's family condo in Sandy. We've had lots of fun memories with them! We hung out a lot while dating/engaged... Then, they got married a week after we did. Dave was Joe's roommate in college. We LOVE those guys! We had so much fun just hanging out together so many years later. We walked around our old BYU stompin' grounds... even went to the spot Joe and I fell in love (the Eyring Science Center). This was where our single's ward met. This was where we met for the first time, and he invited himself over for Sunday dinner (pop tarts). This was where it all began in the early months of 1999.

The campus has changed quite a bit! It was fun to walk around the Talmage (where both Joe and I spent the majority of our time in CS classes and math and statistics). We even walked around to the testing center (which hasn't changed so much). We could smell it - the fear - the stink hasn't changed!

The highlight of the trip was the BYU vs TCU game. ESPN College GameDay was hosting there, so it was pretty hyped up. Joe, being the awesome Dr. Pepper employee worked his contacts with the marketing department and got us (the Votaws and Dan Liddle - the biggest BYU fan ever) back stage passes to be able to see the Dr. Pepper hosted BCS National Championship trophy. It was pretty neat. We got to watch behind the scenes of the broadcast. We got to go into the bus and see where the "talent" hangs out. We got to take pictures with the trophy and with Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, and Kirk Herbstriet.

Me, Joe, and the Dr. Pepper trophy...

Kelly, Dave, Chris Fowler, Me, Lee Corso, Joe, Dan Liddle & Kirk Herbstriet.

Unfortunately, the GameDay activities became the highlight of the day. At the actual game, we and the Votaws sat next to Owen and Alyssa so that was fun. However, BYU was stomped on pretty hard by TCU. It was ugly. We had to even leave early because it was so ugly. Another year, another matchup... another time BYU fans leave the stadium with heads hung low and tails between their legs. :(
At least hanging out with the Votaws was FUN!!! Hope to see them a LOT more often!

Family History

2009-10-22T10:58:00.000-06:00

Well, I was right. Charity is 100% from Joe's genes.
We were given a family history book from Joe's mother... While flipping through it, Joe suddenly stopped. He showed me this picture. We were both FLOORED. Joe's mom's grandma is Ada Holmes. Is my daughter just an exact duplicate of her great grandmothers' sister (Annie?).

Who's child is this?

2009-10-20T23:01:00.001-06:00

Joe thinks Charity Looks like me.

I disagree.
She is 100% Joe.

She is 100% his genes.

No matter what, she is 100% adorable. I am so glad she is my daughter!

More Patriots Football

2009-10-17T12:21:00.000-06:00

I LOVE football. I LOVE watching my KID play! Their team is actually pretty good! Aaron does a great job. I am very proud of him! Looks like we're going to go on to the playoffs!

Broken Trampoline

2009-10-15T11:22:00.001-06:00

After 5 years and 3 moves, our trampoline finally died. It's been a slow process... the last straw however, was when I tried to get on to help Charity with back handsprings. My weight was making the springs pop off and fly EVERYWHERE! I was worried a window would be taken out by high velocity flying springs. Charity was appalled and started yelling "MOM!!! YOU'RE TOO HEAVY! GET OFF!!!!" It made me feel so good about myself.
So, for safety, we gathered all the springs and took off the mat. When she saw the empty bar, Charity's eyes widened. She begged me to keep it up so she could practice gymnastics on her new bars! So, in true WT fashion, I'm leaving the broken trampoline just as it is in this picture. The kids have so much fun swinging on that thing! I swear - give my kids an empty box and a broken trampoline and they could not possibly be ANY happier!

Haircut!

2009-10-12T22:33:00.000-06:00

Time for a haircut boys! I guess their hair is really long and scraggly.

I was nervous how Nate would do at the hair cutting place (last time he screamed the WHOLE time).

But I gave the kid a sucker, and he did GREAT!

Aaron, is always pretty chill there in the chair.

The boys look so handsome now!

They look like 2 totally different kids! Amazing what a haircut can do!

Track Day!

2009-10-10T12:02:00.000-06:00

Jeff has lots of motorcycles. Joe (of course) loves to ride them - just like old times when he had his own. Anyways, Jeff got Joe to go to one of his Track Days for some instruction. He brought up an extra bike for Joe. These track days are actually pretty cool - they get ride around these professional tracks and learn from instructors how to find racing lines and turn like the professional motorcycle racers. Pretty great opportunity to "open it up" and safely ride the motorcycle as fast as it will go and turn like crazy people at about 10 degrees from the ground.
I think they had a pretty good time! Michelle and I just sat in the car and froze during their classes, and then I did a terrible job trying to film them riding without a tripod (lesson learned). It was a fun day (until it started raining in sheets). We gave up on the track day and went out to eat. Great times! Thanks Jeff & Michelle!
sexy man!!! lookin' good in that suit!
just chillin' between class sessions...

Patriots Football

2009-10-10T11:09:00.001-06:00

Our life pretty much revolves around football right now. Aaron has practice Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights. Then, his games are on Saturdays. It is a pretty big commitment. Texas football is a pretty serious thing - especially around here! His team is great though, and we are all having a lot of fun! It is like a little family. Aaron is learning his position better - all around improvements in his attitude and behavior and discipline. I have so much fun watching him! Joe and I are really hard on him, but I hope it is for the best! He is such a little stud!
As a tight end, he is a pretty good blocker. He always knows his assignments. I will sometimes catch myself yelling at him to pick up a block, but he will say that so-and-so running back was supposed to get that guy, and he was on the correct man... he was always right too... He gets it. I love it.

Patriots team 2009. Aaron (Tight End) #82

Nate is a pretty good sport - he enjoys all the time he gets to run around at the fields!

Are you ready?

2009-10-05T22:24:00.003-06:00

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?????

It is fantasy draft time! Of course, we take it pretty seriously...
SO...
Here is our setup for this year.
Joe and his brothers on video conference.
college football game on Picture in Picture
Seperate computer stations so Joe and I can use our own seperate uber-competitive and top-secret drafting strategies.

I'm ready for a fun season! GO COWBOYS! FYI: I am a Cowboys fan first, I always have to have at least one Cowboy on all my teams - and every week (except bye weeks) I have at LEAST one of my Cowboys STARTING... but don't use that information against me if you ever join a league with me! ;)

All Grown Up!

2009-10-01T22:18:00.001-06:00

Nate started Preschool!
He was so thrilled! I can't believe my baby is in preschool already! Ms. Angela is a lady in our ward who does preschool from her home. His buddies from nursery go with him. They are so adorable!
It is 2 days a week from 9 - noon. What am I going to do with myself while Nate is gone? I have NO kids at home! Well, for now, I will paint ;)

He is just so cute! He is growing up way too fast!

Painting Project!

2009-10-01T21:48:00.000-06:00

The kids are in school, so I have time for a project! Yes, the PTA keeps me busy, but not that busy!
I realized why I dont have pics of the 1st day of school - I was putting on the Tears and Cheers breakfast for the entering Kindergarten parents that morning. I also had to do the APPLES FOR THE TEACHERS... I felt a little overwhelmed. I did at least take the time to walk the kids to their classes, but I think I asked a friend to borrow her camera so I could take a picture... but I don't remember who I asked!

Anyways, now that the back to school rush is over, and my PTA obligations calmed down a bit...
I finally had time to tackle a BIG project...

I can't stand the Khaki trim that puts off a pink glow throughout my brown and orange floored house.
The house is large and intimidating. But, I am determined! I will paint the trim! I think after that, it will start to feel like MY home. Once the ugly pink khaki is gone, it will feel so much better in here! I started in Charity's bedroom and the Jack and Jill bathroom.

I think I know why painters wear pants.

This stuff is hard to get off.

September 11

2009-09-11T22:43:00.000-06:00

I remember September 11th 2001 so vividly. Aaron was just a baby. I remember standing in my towel (just out of the shower) for almost and hour watching the news in complete SHOCK. I remember the fear as I knew my sister Cherry rode the PATH train to the WTC on her way to work. I remember calling my dad (who was in London). I remember being overcome with sadness and grief and worry. I remember the relief when we heard that Cherry was out and OK. I also remember as the days followed - the pride I felt for my country, and the respect and admiration I had for firemen, policemen, and our other servicemen. As it has now been several years since, I read Cherry's account of her experience - her description of the man holding the door open for others to get out. Her recollection of the fear in the people as they ran away, and the glimpses of the others who ran towards the chaos to save complete strangers. It simply reminds me that we live in a nation of heroes. I want my kids to know heroes aren't the people in comic books - they are real human beings who sacrifice so much for other people.

Well, a few years ago, my girlfriend Ruth back in Keller started a tradition to go visit the firemen on September 11th. We take that day to talk to our kids about being a hero. We take the firemen goodies, and cards. It is always a quick and easy way to talk about and remember the lessons our nation learned that day.

This year, a few friends from school joined us! We made cards, and brought cookies and visited our local firemen. The kids had a blast in the fire station. It was quick and fun! Yay for our local heroes!

They turned on their sirens... It was pretty LOUD!

My Kids - the photographers...

2009-09-03T21:15:00.003-06:00

My kids LOVE to take pictures. They take pictures of forts they build. They take pictures of their favorite toys. They take pictures of themselves. They take pictures of each other. I so often find that my camera has been commandeered and loaded with various pictures taken by sticky little fingers. I don't mind. Some of their pictures are priceless. Some of their pictures are actually quite good. If my 3 year old is capable of taking good pictures, why oh why cant I?

Ranch!

2009-08-30T21:36:00.002-06:00

The kids started school... did I forget to take a first day of school picture? YES! :(

We celebrated the start of school by heading to the ranch for an end of summer celebration. Jeff and family met us there. I think it was pretty hot!! The kids (of course) had a great time. They got dirty and sweaty. They usually get to wait the entire 3.5 hour car ride home before they get a bath. I justify that because we have to clean the ranch bathrooms and "check-out" of the ranch house. I could very-well bathe them... but by the time I clean up the bathroom and wash the towels after them, they would be dirty again. So, we just dump them in the bath when we get home... Looking at these pictures, it looks rather disgusting though.

The kids (of course) get so tired and cranky when its time to finally get in the car and leave... but they typically fall asleep before we even get on the freeway. Seriously, I love my kids! I love being able to go to the ranch and let them run around all day outside. I love that they get to grow up driving 4 wheelers and smelling cows and petting horses. I love that the kids run away from and/or play with those dirty ranch dogs. I love all the time they get to spend with their cousins. They are so lucky! I love just going and sitting at the kitchen table and watching my kids just be kids. I love that Jessie has them all in Kids Club. the list goes on...

ps: how does Nate sleep with his eyes open? Is that odd? He was seriously OUT! Kids are amazing.

10 years ago...

2009-08-25T10:29:00.001-06:00

10 years ago, Joe proposed. He picked me up on his little crotch-rocket (Honda CBR) motorcycle and took me for a ride up around Sundance... I had a feeling he was planning something - why else would he come home from work already having a helmet for me? He wasn't the type to think ahead. Usually if we went on motorcycle rides in our spontaneous nature, we would just ride back to his house to grab a helmet for me to wear. Tip off #1 - he was a bit nervous and acting a little funny. #2 - Why would he come for a casual lunch date already prepared with a helmet for me? #3 - he already had a plan - he didn't just turn and say "now, where do you want to go?"

Anyways, we drove up the canyon. He parked on a little bridge and we got out to walk around. He started throwing rocks into the stream. I noticed a ring of dirt around a large rock - like it had been recently unearthed and placed back... I picked that one up and found a ring laying on some rose petals in the ground. I started to giggle. I couldn't believe THIS was the moment. I was actually a grown up now... I was actually getting proposed to RIGHT NOW. I was not ready to get married. I was not at all expecting a proposal from him (yet)... well, I knew we were going to get married, but not for several months (or so I believed). We hadn't been dating that long... But both in my heart and in my head I just KNEW I had to say YES. He got on his knee and of course, the rest is history. A dozen roses and some sparkling cider was waiting nearby for us to celebrate. He definately surprised me.

Whats funny, is as I was driving the other night, right next to me at a stop light was a flashback to the past... The guy was so similar to Joe back in 1999. This was how I remember the man I fell in love with. A little geeky - not the skater/football dude I was used to dating. He wore mission shoes and white socks. His pants were not baggy - they were even a bit tighter around the ankle (fashion circa 1992). He wore a belt and had nice legs making the pants have to stretch around his quads. He rode a motorcycle. He was not at all what I thought I would marry. Had this man been on a yellow Honda CBR, it would have been an exact re-incarnation of my husband 10 years ago.

Shortly before we were married, he sold his bike. I was happy. It was dangerous...
Here, we were driving 100mph+ on our way to Vegas...

Hoping he doesnt want another bike anytime soon...

Owen's Wedding!

2009-08-20T21:27:00.002-06:00

So, the real reason we went to Arizona was to go to Owen and Alyssa's wedding.
It was so fun!
Alyssa was so cute and made so many things! Everything was simply beautiful! They had a candy table - all in their peacock colors. Alyssa made everyone flowers for our hair, and even some bracelets for us to wear too! She didn't stop there either! She made all the table cloths, and even aprons for the girls who were serving food. I should have taken more pictures of the decorations...
The little girls were the flower girls - look at Charity's face. She loved every second of it! The little girls felt like princesses. Alyssa was beautiful. It was such a nice wedding! I wish all the best to this new cute couple!

We, of course, came home exhausted. It was a great day! To be honest, I was stressing about a wedding in Arizona in AUGUST! I was thinking they were NUTSO for wanting the reception to be outside. However, it all worked out. It was a pleasant evening. Nobody melted. ;)
Charity, Nate and I headed home back to Texas the next day - homesick for the boys back home... and ready to start school!!!

Charity's Tooth!

2009-08-19T21:01:00.000-06:00

Charity was so concerned that she was the only one she knew who hadn't lost a tooth yet. EVERYONE else in her kindergarten class had lost a tooth... all of her cousins... etc... she was feeling pretty left out.
Needless to say, teeth eventually come out.
Hers just so happened to come out the day before Owen's wedding. She was a little nervous about the blood, but she was SO thrilled!

Grandpa Sanders was a dentist... and Ashlyn and Sarah both had loose teeth as well. Somehow, magically, Grandpa convinced them all to let him "just wiggle" their teeth... All three girls lost a tooth that day! It was fun! The toothfairy was VERY busy at that house that night!

Triple Party!

2009-08-19T14:04:00.000-06:00

In true Allen fashion, we can't let a family gathering go to waste.

So, #1 priority for the wedding week was to have a family bridal shower for Alyssa. She is adorable, and it was fun to have a little "welcome to the family" night. We did make Owen join her to open one gift though... My mom, dad and I came up with the coolest gift for 2 skater lovebirds. Yay for vinyl lettering! The little OWA thing is something my grandpa used to use; I just grunge-d it up a bit. pretty cool huh?

After the bridal shower was over, we surprised little Steph with a baby shower. She was TOTALLY surprised! It was fun to prove to her that all tradition doesn't stop with her! I think the night got a bit emotional... but I blame her pregnancy. ;)

That wrapped up, and all of a sudden, the boys (uncles, grandpa etc) came home and we had a surprise graduation party! Nate and Steph had both just graduated, but left Utah and didn't do the whole commencement/walking thing up at BYU in Provo. So we just had our own family commencement in Arizona - complete with homestyle pomp and circumstance hummed during the processional. Steph gave a speech, and my dad (the professor) directed the commencement. Truly Allen style...

Our family is kindof quirky, but what else were we supposed to do? Getting the whole family together is so hard to do, and we couldn't waste the opportunity to celebrate all the special occasions/events! It was a great night! All special events got their 15 minutes of fame. Welcome to the family Alyssa! ;)

Arizona!!!

2009-08-18T13:40:00.000-06:00

I was planning on driving, but Aaron had mandatory football practice, and Joe couldn't get out of work... so I left the big boys home while Charity, Nate and I flew to Arizona for Owen's wedding.
This being the 6th wedding in the family, we FINALLY figured out how to make it a fun trip for everyone. Rather than splitting up into different houses, or messing with a hotel (and different hotel rooms) we rented a big house with a pool! It was so nice to have common areas and a kitchen and then separate bedrooms when we needed them. It worked out perfectly for babysitting, and killing the down time between activities (it was dead of summer in ARIZONA). The pool was the perfect and essential touch.
p.s. This year, my baby Nate turned into a little fish. He absolutely LOVES swimming. At barely 3 he is swimming so well! He loves jumping off the edge and swimming the length of the pool. He holds his breath so long sometimes it gives me a heart attack... but I'm so thrilled to have all my kids independent swimmers now! HUGE relief!

Of course, we did the essential pre-wedding temple session with Owen and Alyssa. FYI: I LOVE my family!!!

My little Nate

2009-08-06T22:00:00.000-06:00

This little boy is so cute. I can hardly stand it. He is simply the best little kid EVER! When he is bored, he sits himself down on the computer and watches his Thomas the Train movies. There are so many times I come upstairs to find him having fallen asleep on this chair - neck kinked, Thomas engine in hand, andThomas video on screen. He is so independent. He is so content. I hope he stays this sweet forever! I mean, look at those eyes!

Friends Visit

2009-08-05T21:53:00.001-06:00

Our friends, the Kings came from Idaho to visit! We had a lot of fun for a few days! The kids played well together. The adults played well together too! ;)

We went to the lake with Dan, Richelle and family. They drove the jetskis back from Lake Powell, and hadn't yet taken them down to Joe's dad... so we reaped the benefits! We all met and had a great time!

I was still suffering headaches and vertigo from a little too much craziness at Lake Powell, so my time on the jetskis lasted about 5 minutes. A little depressing because I don't want to get old. It feels so weird to transition from the one who has all the fun to the one who watches others have fun.

Anyways, it was a quick visit with the Cheryl, Koby, Preston and Addi King, but delightful!

August

2009-08-01T07:39:00.000-06:00

August was a great month! I am going to just pretend I wrote all the August posts actually in August. I basically remember what I was thinking when I took these pictures though...

I can't believe how much Aaron has grown! This is a Halloween costume I made for him a few years ago. He was totally obsessed with the Blue Angels and fighter pilots. He was very specific that he wanted a Blue Angels uniform (not the simple pilots uniform I could order online). He wanted it to be blue. He wanted the 2 yellow stripes. He wanted patches on it. Who would have thought years later he would still squeeze himself into that old costume! It doesn't look the least bit comfortable! I'm just glad my home-made costume has gotten so much mileage!

July

2009-07-31T16:30:00.000-06:00

What happened to my camera? I don't know... but I don't have many pics from July.

4th of July weekend was really fun. We slept over at my mom's house. Once the kids were asleep on the 3rd, Lydia, Dan, Dawn, Chad, Cher & Scott went bowling. I got a TURKEY for the 1st time (and prob ONLY time) in my LIFE! I was pretty pumped about beating Dan! ;)

When we woke up in the morning on the 4th, Joe was sure to give us all a little patriotic presentation and talk about the soldiers at Valley Forge.

Then, Joe took the boys to Dave & Busters, while I went and did some shopping.
I picked the boys up from Dave & Busters and took them to Grapevine Lake for Dan's work BBQ. We had some great food and swam in the lake (it was quite dirty). Then, we headed to my mom's ward swimming party to watch the fireworks.
Then, we put the tired little kids to bed.

After the 3 and under-s were asleep, the real fun started. Dan and Lydia came over (their work party finished). The kids did their little pop rocks and lame fireworks... THEN, we brought out the big ones. In the field behind my mom's house, Dan & some buddies from work lit off an INCREDIBLE amount of fireworks. They had roman candle wars. My kids LOVED the roman candles (they felt like Harry Potter). Some of the artillery shells were SO big I was shocked and a bit scared we would get in trouble. The night climaxed when we had just completed our last firework and we saw some "berry" lights... We all had to run away, and made it to the safety of my mom's house - FUN OVER, but I DIDN'T GET CAUGHT for once! ;)

Aaron, Brae & Loch were so pumped as they "ran from the cops" for the 1st time in their life. I hope it doesn't become a habit! Some great parent i am huh...

ps - fireworks are MESSY! Thanks Dan & Lyd for providing such an AWESOME display!

Alas, Dawn & Chad had to return to AZ. We were sad to see them go. I had such a fun MONTH with my sister and her kids!

July 5th I woke up and on my way to church, got a call from my good friend Kysha Bradshaw. I was so excited to hear from her! Her sister is the pianist for David Arculetta (some American Idol guy) and they were IN TOWN for the show! I dropped my kids off with my mom, and headed to the show. To be honest, I am not at all into American Idol. He was also there with some Disney Starlet - Demi Lovato... Never heard of her either.

It was fun though to hang out with Kysha and her sister Kendra. We went to their sound check. We hung out in the tour bus while she was getting ready. We hung out backstage. Then, we sat through the show for a little bit, then ducked out early and went to Thai food. We had so much fun together! I miss my friend Kysha!
Then, my sister-in-law Christine, called and wanted an adult driver to go with her to POWELL. My answer? HECK YA!!!!

I left Nate with my mom (figured he'd have more fun with Max & Kaitlyn than trapped inside a houseboat made for bigger kids). Aaron and Charity were READY for some fun w/mom!

Christine picked us up on Thursday, and we met up with Joe's Dad and took the kids to Carlsbad caverns. It was a fun day! We took a tour and experienced COMPLETE darkness. It was such an interesting feeling. I guess I should have been quite uncomfortable... but I wasn't. I felt so completely comforted because Charity was on my lap, and Aaron was clutched tightly to my side. It was such a sweet experience to be completely dark but so completely at ease because I knew my children were safe and with me.

After the caverns we headed to POWELL!! It only took us 3 days to get there, but our detour was sure fun!

Powell was more of the same - jetskiing, kneeboarding, tubing, wakeboarding... Joe decided last minute to join us, so he came on Thurs to join the fun. The other exciting thing this time was that Joe's dad bought a wake surfer... which was fun to experiment with. I sure had fun doing that - too bad I came home with a concussion. :( I was so sick - vertigo set in and was there even days after we were HOME... I hate getting old!

I found a couple photos on facebook...

I don't remember what we did with the rest of the month... Probably just hung out with Lydia, swam, and enjoyed the summer!

And that was JULY!

Fun With Cousins!

2009-06-27T13:42:00.000-06:00

Twilight Camp was lots of fun!
One of the nights during that week, Paul and Kody slept over. Of course, I wanted to make it a big party, so Ashlyn and Lochlin came and joined Braeden in sleeping over too!

It was so much fun!

The kids put on a show. They had tickets, bouncers, security, an MC, and OF COURSE - the performers. They practiced for a long time to make sure the show would be perfect. I think most of the fun was had in getting ready for their big show. They were so stinkin cute! I love how these kids play together. They did their dances/cartwheels/handstands/frolicking on the floor to songs by Michael Jackson, ABBA and Billy Idol. All classics. Their entrances were well timed, and did I say they were adorable?I also love how I have a room for them to do things like this. I mean, seriously - who needs furniture? I love having an empty room. One day, we will get furniture, and the room wont be as fun anymore. It will be a sad sad day for my kids.

Then, we all went swimming. Dawn was there too. These kids just played so well together! We were all in HEAVEN!

The "BIG" boys

Kody & Nate

Ok, how cute are these girls? So glad they are such good friends!

Lake Powell #1

2009-06-21T22:03:00.000-06:00

The week after baseball camp, we went to Lake Powell! I seriously love that place! We drove Joe's dad's Hummer towing the jet-ski's. It was nice to drive a vehicle that wasn't our own car.

It was surprising that even in mid-June in the desert, it was still COLD! The water was freezing, and there were several days that the temperature didn't even get above 85. Global warming is CRAP.

We still had fun. I froze a bit when it was my turn to stay in the water to help the little kids ski/kneeboard or whatever. At least nobody got a bad sunburn!

Botanical Gardens

2009-06-13T13:14:00.000-06:00

So, I signed Aaron up for TCU baseball camp. I LOVE the camp. I LOVE the way they teach the kids so much. I love the facilities there. I LOVE that Aaron improves so much while he is there. I just think it is a very well-run camp!

Too bad his baseball team this year SUCKED (maybe it had to do with the fact that his coach was a no-show 75% of the games and held no practices EVER...)

Too bad also - he had camp WHILE the HOWEYS were in town! :(

I didn't get any pictures of the baseball camp.

It is all the way down in Fort Worth, so it is quite a drive from up here in Frisco. I did, however, try to make it a party. Aaron at least got to hang out when we slept over at Grandma Allen's with Dawn & her kids. One of the days, we took the kids (minus Aaron) to the Fort Worth botanical gardens. It was fun to walk around there with the kids! Maybe, if it wasn't so hot, we would have enjoyed it a bit more?!

Twilight Camp

2009-06-10T13:29:00.001-06:00

Aaron was signed up for the cub scout TWILIGHT CAMP. I can't believe he is a cub scout. This was his first real thing to do with the den. His cousins (Paul & Kody) signed up to come with us in our den (because theirs wasn't going). We were so excited to spend the week having them be ALL BOY together. Nate was signed up to come along and be in the papoose section. I figured Charity would love to spend the week with Grandma and Sarah... (and Ashlyn who was visiting!)

HOWEVER... Dawn was in town. SO we got Braeden signed up to go too! Poor Lochlin was too old :( so he was excluded. It was even more fun with Brae there with us too! He just spent the week up at my house, so we had lots of fun sleepovers!

The boys had a blast together!

June 6th

2009-06-06T20:59:00.000-06:00

June has begun, and it is a very BUSY month!
Fun began when Dawn and her kids came out to spend the summer here in the DFW!! We are so glad to have them so we can play!

Friday night, Joe's mom came into town and stayed with us!
Then, there was Saturday, June 6th which in and of itself made my head spin!!!

Beginning at 9am, Aaron had a baseball game.
He played the first 45 mins of it, then rushed over to the church - for his baptism! (why he couldn't skip the game was beyond me, but Joe was committed to having Aaron not let his team down - it all worked out, so no complaints, but a bit stressful...)

The chapel was full - lots of kids were baptized that day. The nicest thing was that our ward got to go get baptized 1st (they were just 2 of 20 slated to be baptized that day). As we were walking out after confirmations, children were still not done with their baptisms. I knew this would be the case when I found out how many kids were getting baptized. I lost sleep, I shed tears. I was so stressed for so many reasons. Seriously, prayers were answered because everything worked out wonderfully. I totally begged to go first, but I had a good reason! So many things had to work out perfectly for the day to not fall apart and be a disaster. Piece #1 that needed to work perfectly was that we needed to be done with the baptism and confirmation quickly. (oops, I forgot my camera, so pictures were taken, I just haven't gotten them onto my computer yet...)
ANYWAYS... Joe baptized him. Jacob Woodrome (cousin who lives in Houston) got baptized that same day by his dad at the same service! It was a very special day. We were thrilled to be able to get baptized at the same time/place to make it easier for all the families to be together! Being baptized with a cousin made it honestly SO INCREDIBLE! So many people came to show love and support! Our family was there, then of course the Woodrome family (Christine, Lehi, Jacob and Emma) along with Lehi's mom and sister and sons. Grandma Robinson was there. Grandpa & Trish & Jessica came too! Patrice (+Zach, Tyler & Jillian) was sweet to come for the event as well!

Grandma Allen came, along with Cherry (+Sarah, Luke & Max) Dawn (+Lochlin, Braeden, Ashlyn & Irelyn) Lydia (+Kaitlyn & Mckinsie). During the confirmation servie, my mom played piano, while my sisters and I (and our kids) represented the Allen side of the family with the traditional singing of "The First Step". Of course, I cried through it. I can't believe my son is baptized. I couldn't even get past the words: "You were born into a family that loves you..." I had sung those words so many times before, but was now facing MY son - I was singing those words to HIM!! He really was born into a family that loves him. As a child/teenager, I didn't really understand that love... but as a mother, I couldn't help but be overcome. I love him so much, and I am so proud him.

PS I am also proud/thrilled and totally IN LOVE with Joe for being willing to be the baptize-r.

Brent & the Wall boys (Jacob, Ethan, Justin & Owen) came and so did the our wonderful neighbors: the Jettons. I was glad they came because Terry and Brent were the witnesses for the baptism and helped in the confirmation!

Grandma Robinson gave the closing prayer from the confirmation and gave both boys a white blanket with their names and their baptism date embroidered on it so they could always remember their special day. It was such a wonderful event! PS, Aaron's primary teacher (Sister McKendrick) also came! So nice of her!

One might ask why I was so stressed about getting in and out quickly. Getting home by 11:30 gave us a whole hour to feed lunch to about 40 people!

Why just an hour? Charity's 1st ballet recital was at 12:30 pm. Seriously - who makes a dance recital at 12:30??? Shouldn't they be at 5 or 6pm? Apparently, she was in only 1 of about 5 shows, and unfortunately, her show was the 12:30. ARRRGHHHH. WHY on the baptism day???? I fretted and stressed because I knew so many people were going to be in town, and how were we going to entertain them after the baptism, and how were we going to be able to sneak out to her recital etc....

12:30pm: We went to Charity's dance recital. I only had 6 tickets, so I left most of the people at my house with Joe. That way, my mom Ashlyn, Joe's mom, Joe's dad & Trish and Jessica came to the recital to watch Charity do her 1st ever ballet dance! She was absolutely wonderful - the cutest one out there! She knew her dance perfectly! My favorite part was when she was the only one on stage who knew what was going on. She literally took things into her own hands when she actually gracefully/knowingly/sweetly reminded the 2 little girls on either side of her to take her hands during this one part. SO STINKIN CUTE!!!

ANYWAYS, We were totally blessed because while it started at 12:30. I didn't know what time she would perform until Friday night at the dress rehearsal. I gained a few minutes inbetween the baptism and the recital because she wasnt until 2nd to last on the program! That way, I didn't mind that we got there a few minutes late! PHEW because we were of COURSE a few minutes late!

These things sound so silly, but what would you do if you had 5 families from out of town come INTO town for a baptism, and need a place to go after that baptism... but instead of being available to feed them and entertain at your home (because most were staying in a hotel) you weren't available because your daughter also had her 1st ever recital that same time!!????

Anyways, while we were at the recital, Jeff and Jessie flew in and arrived at my house and joined the party. We got home from the recital by 2 and everyone just hung out and relaxed for a while. Then... Joe picked up my babysitter and the whole bunch of us went to the indy car race at Texas Motor Speedway!

The pieces had fallen into place, and I was so much more relaxed after the children had made it to their big events that morning.

It was quite serendipitous that the race was that evening - it brought more family to the baptism (at least I think so). Our race attending group included Lehi (and his nephews and Jacob) Aaron, Joe, Me, Patrice, Zach, Tyler, Jeff, Jessie, Dan, Paul, Jamie, Kody, Joe's Dad, Trish & Jessica.

We were able to talk the race up to Dan & Lydia, so he bought tickets for his office - and luckily had enough so Dawn, Loch & Brae were able to come too! It was a GREAT evening! The race was under the lights and we even went down to the garages and pit row after the race! I am Texas WT and PROUD!!! It was so fun to go with family and I really TRULY enjoyed every minute of it!

What a day!

And More...

2009-06-04T07:52:00.008-06:00

Memorial Weekend was WONDERFUL! Of course, we headed down to the ranch. This time was exciting though - we got to work the cows!

All day Saturday, we worked the cows - herding them into the corral, sending them down the chutes, immunizing, deworming, tagging and branding them. We all had so much manure flung on us... It was gross, and REALY hard work but SO MUCH fun at the same time. Then, after all the big cows were done, we had to chase the baby calves down and tackle them to the ground (rodeo style) to tag them and castrate the males. It was quite an experience. We got SOOO tired and DIRTY! The rest of the weekend, we just relaxed and hung out.

Nate was so mad that we wouldn't let him in the pen while we were wrestling the calves. He sat there with this face just festering mad for at least a minute or two... Then, I walked over to him, and he finally broke down and let out his cry. It was so sad it was kindof funny.
There was this moment though, during the day, that really impacted me. Before we got to the calves, some of the mommy cows came back up to the corral and were just standing as close as they could to their calves the gate/fence was seperating them. It was like they knew what was going to happen to their children - like they knew the pain their children were about to face. ANYWAYS, that night, I had this nightmare that we had to hold Aaron down and just cut off his hands (for his own good). I kissed him. I helped hold him down. We all kept commenting on what a good "patient" he was (the same way we were talking of the cows). He just looked at me - with sweet pleading eyes. I kept thinking in my head - "now, how will not having any hands be for his own good?" Well, I woke up feeling quite disturbed. I couldn't sleep after that. I know we weren't cruel to the cows - we give our own children shots for their own good. It wasn't the whole rodeo day that impacted me. I would do it again (and probably will). I think the disturbing image was seeing the moms come back to their babies... (Yes, now you all have proof that I am a little NUTS).

Scary! While riding the 4 wheelers, the BIG boys came upon this water moccasin. They pinned it with their machine, then cut off its head with hedge clippers... Still... made me want to keep my kids out of the tall grass for a while.

ANYWAYS... Cherry and Scott came out for a bit (but unfortunately, decided to leave and not sleep over). We did have a lot of fun with them though - the kids fished, and played on the slip-n-slide and we of course cooked dinner on the bbq.I think that covers it.

We eventually (and unfortunately) had to come home.

My kids have GOT to be the cutest sweetest things in the world. So often, I will find that one or more of them have moved to a sibling's bed to cuddle. It warms my heart to see my kids take such great care of each other. Whenever one is afraid, another one will welcome them into their beds to comfort them and cuddle them to sleep. I went up to take Nate potty before I went to bed, but he wasn't in his bed. He was in Charity's. This is what I saw:
They were both so sweaty, but they were still cuddling! I am lucky to have such tender children!

Finally, today (June 4th) is the LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!! The kids and I are SO READY FOR SUMMER! I miss them and I just can't wait to spend some quality day time with them! This is the last time they have to ride off early in the morning (well, at least until August).

This is the last time I will watch them ride off like this - hearing them say "BYE! I love you!" over and over to me and Nate all the way down the alley.

May #2

2009-05-28T21:16:00.011-06:00

Thursday May 7: Today was Charity's Birthday. That girl is the cutest, sweetest, most tender, adorable, kind, patient, loving little thing in the whole wide world. She is always writing cards and drawing pictures to tell everyone how much she loves them. She has filled her doors and walls with her artwork. She LOVES dance and gymnastics, and she is getting so good!! She loves to sing and dance and be active. I just LOVE that girl! My favorite thing about that day was hearing her say - "Mom, I still feel 5 - I don't feel 6 yet." Ya, Charity - I still feel 21... ;)

The day was filled with fun. She woke up VERY early, so I got the kids ready, packed them in the car and took them to the donut store before school. At lunchtime, I checked her out of school for a date to McDonalds. On the way back to school, we swung by the store and she picked out a cake for herself (a cookie cake) and also some treats to take to her class. When she came home from school, we headed to gymnastics (where she took some leftover treats to her gym class). She had run out of treats by the time she got to ballet class, but I think she had given/partaken of enough treats by then. She came home from school wearing this big hat saying it was her birthday. She didn't take it off ALL DAY (well, she did for gymnastics, but it went right back on for ballet). She got a hoolahoop and a bike and a few new clothes for her birthday. Grandma and Lydia (& Kaitlyn & Mckinsie) came over for her little birthday party. Her cake was quite interesting. It was a cookie cake that had originally had "Happy Mother's day" and hearts all over it. She saw it at the store and LOVED it and just HAD TO HAVE IT! To oblige the birthday girl, I scraped off the Mother's day stuff and wrote her name on it. I just hope she had a wonderful day! I am so glad she was born!

The kids help put in the candles - see - very classy.

The biggest hit was the hoolahoop!! PS: I LOVE having an empty room!

Her face was so cute when she got that bike!!! FINALLY she had a girl bike and not a hand-me-down boy bike from Aaron!

Saturday May 9: We had the big birthday extravaganza!! We convinced Jeff & Michelle & family to come up for the fun! We had a bounce house, and made the party like a carnival - kids had tickets, and we had various activites. I think it was fun. It would have been nice to have maybe 2 more adults there to help me... but overall, the party was successful. The kids were in heaven. They had friends from their classes there, and also their cousins (Dan & Richelle & family and Cherry & Scott & family). It was great! I was so happy the Walls came all the way out as well! Yay for friends, and Yay for having just 1 crazy party a year!

How many kids came? I don't even know...

All you have to do is have a bounce house, and that makes a party - right?!

I wish I would have taken pictures of the ZOO of children in front of our house playing games... Couldn't even catch a breath until only the cousins were left at the house.

Poor Paul - he had to just sit and watch everyone on that bounce house because of his broken collar bone... at least, when the parents didn't have their backs turned... He might just have added an extra couple weeks of healing by doing that though. :( I feel so bad cause that kid is one of the most athletic little boys I know. Somehow, Nate got a hold of my camera, and I just had to jot down how cute he is! My little 3 yr old decided to take pictures of his most favorite toy... Of course, it is a train. He loves pictures. He loves taking them, posing for them and ESPECIALLY looking at them. I had to laugh! This is my favorite from the collection of train photos: I love his little fingers!
Sunday May 10: Mother's Day was very chill. Jeff & Michelle and family packed up and left mid-day. So, I just took Charity and Nate down to my Mom's house to wish her a Happy Mother's Day. I think it was the first time in a VERY long time that I was the only one there, and my kids were the only grandkids there. Mom and I had a chance to play music (duets, violin, singing). We ate dinner and we just had a good time being together with not a lot of chaos surrounding us. I really love my mom. She is seriously my best friend! I had a wonderful evening over there! Happy Mother's Day Mom! You are the best!

OOOOH SO SAD!!!

I was going to go out with a girlfriend.
Alas, before I could go, Joe said - check out the piano room.
This is what I saw.
My home-made music collage crashed to the floor and shattered. I was so sad. Now, my music room is COMPLETELY bare. :(

Monday the 18th: I turned 30. I didn't know how I would take this day, so I just wanted it to be low-key. Joe brought me a bowl of cereal for "breakfast in bed". I went out to lunch with my friend Nancy and new friend Andrea and Lydia (and Joe ended up coming and meeting us there too). FYI: My new favorite place to eat is Corner Bakery! Then, we went to the mall (mini shopping spree), and then Nancy, Lydia and I took the kids to the pool. It was a very low-key day. Joe came home and I got a babysitter and went to dinner. The kids had fallen asleep by the time we got home, so we didn't do birthday cake till the next night. The kids and Joe got me a card, and it was sweet. Very low-key and relaxing - it passed by and was no big deal. It was just the way I wanted it to be.

May #1

2009-05-28T21:11:00.002-06:00

May is pretty busy, so we'll break it down...

May 3rd: Today was Aaron's Birthday! We woke up, and Aaron chose to have waffles for breakfast. We made his cake, then, we went to church. He got bbq for lunch. He had VERY specific instructions for his birthday cake. He helped me decorate it. Charity helped as well. I had to laugh at how cute he was in describing (and implementing) exactly how he wanted the cake. Then, we had choir at our house. After choir, the Jettons (from across the street) and Dan & Richelle & Jamie, Paul & Kody came over for his blowing out the candles party. He got some cool leggo sets and some rollerblades for his birthday. I hope he felt special that day. I really love that kid. He is so sweet and smart and funny. He is growing up so fast. I can't believe he is already 8 years old! I remember when he was a little baby, and it was just him and me. He has always been my little buddy. I am glad he will still occasionally crawl into my bed in the morning to give me hugs and cuddle with me as I wake up. I am so glad he loves to protect his little brother and sister. He has always been such an easygoing stud. I am so glad he is in my family!!!

ok, here's the funny story - Aaron would NOT stop talking about how he wanted to get a cake in the face. He kept asking if he could smash his face into his birthday cake. I said - "um, NO". Because nobody would be able to eat it afterwards. So, the compromise was a cupcake with frosting on the SIDE that he could smash in his face... That way, his hard work on his "landscape" cake wouldn't go to waste (and I could eat some chocolate cake too). Well, he got what he wanted. He is so silly.

He is SOOO excited because now he is in CUB SCOUTS!!! He loves it!

SPECIAL DAY!!!!

We went to the zoo with Lydia on the kids' random day off school. They had a lot of fun. I am really going to enjoy having Lydia around this summer! I haven't gotten to live by her since I was a newlywed and she was a little freshman at BYU!
I am always so amazed at how Aaron instinctively protects other children. He really is a sweetheart. Just going through my pictures, trying to pick which one to post, I came across these... He is so tender. Seriously, what a stud.

Nate STILL has issues with the birds. He loves all animals - except birds for some reason. It is so funny... One day though - just wait - he WILL feed the birds...

April

2009-05-28T21:03:00.002-06:00

Holy Moly! Is May almost over already? Spring is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE!!!

April 8: This was Nate’s birthday! I can’t believe my baby is 3 years old! He is so cute. He is my little buddy. He is such a cute kid. He is so funny and sassy! I love his cuddles. I love this little guy so much. He is so tough and easy going. He loves trains. He loves to just hang out with me. He is actually really fun to have by my side all day doing errands. I love to hear him sing. He is growing up way too fast! He is such a light in my life!

For his birthday, I made him a cake. He LOVES trains, so, of course, we had to make his cake with Thomas the Train on it. He was so excited about the cake. He was so excited about the Thomas toys on top! His day was pretty low-key. He pretty much gets spoiled every day, so making him extra spoiled that day was not very difficult. We cuddled and watched his favorite shows. His dinner was his favorite – MacNCheese. When Joe got home, we had our little family birthday party, where he got his presents and spit out his candles - literally, the classic spit wad on the cake. I laughed pretty hard. He is so funny.

We waited a few days (or weeks) before we had his party. We wanted to wait until Grandma got back in town and Lydia and Dan & Kaitlyn & Mckenzie came out for the summer!!! (so Dan could do summer sales in DFW) We are so thrilled that they are here for the summer! Anyways, once they got here (on the 19th) we had a little birthday for him at Chucky Cheese (the perfect location for a 3yr old’s birthday party). Although, his 2nd birthday cake was pretty pathetic (in the form of cupcakes and a lame triple used candle). The kids (and even the adults) had a great time. Nate had a great time, so it was a successful 2nd birthday for him!

We were also blessed to have Owen and his FIANCE Alyssa come to his party! They were en route to their summer sales/internship location in Atlanta. It was great to see them. I am getting excited for their wedding (set for August).
Birthday Boy!!!!!! He was in HEAVEN!
His oh so classy cake.
Yay for the Liddles being here!
2 very NON COMPETITIVE people...

Because I am an American

2009-04-15T13:48:00.009-06:00

I went to a tea party today. It was a peaceful rally held in Southlake TX - for taxpayers who feel like they have been Taxed Enough Already. Because today is "tax day", hundreds of rallies are occurring throughout the United States. It is a grassroots attempt by people just like me to get their ever expansive government to pay attention to them.

I carried a sign. My father came with me. My 3 yr old son was by my side.

I must say, I left feeling even more proud to be an American. I was moved to tears as a prayer was said at the opening. The pastor prayed for our leaders. He prayed that they would have soft hearts and be receptive. He prayed for them to be guided and directed in good. He prayed for our military.

This prayer was said in a PUBLIC square, in front of SEVERAL HUNDRED people - I am not of the same faith of the pastor. I am not of the same faith of the person standing next to me. However, I was filled with such pride and hope and patriotism at that moment. The tears streamed down. I wiped them away. They continued to flow as we said the Pledge of Allegiance and sang "God Bless America". I love my country.

It brought to mind this scripture:

Alma 10: 22-24
Yea, and I say unto you that if it were not for the
prayers of the righteous, who are now in the land, that ye would even now be
visited with utter destruction; yet it would not be by flood, as were the people
in the days of Noah, but it would be by famine, and by pestilence, and the
sword.
But it is by the prayers of the righteous that ye
are spared; now therefore, if ye will cast out the righteous from among you then
will not the Lord stay his hand; but in his fierce anger he will come out
against you; ... and the time is soon at hand except ye repent.
And now it came to pass that the people were more
angry with Amulek, and they cried out, saying: This man doth revile against our
laws which are just, and our wise lawyers whom we have selected.

I went to a TEA party because I feel passionately that OUR government has gotten too big. I see similarities with the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. I see similarities of the collapse of Russia (a SUPER POWER) after the Cold War. I see similarities with the French Revolution. I don't know what the future holds. I don't want to be condemned to repeat the past.

I want my children to have the same freedoms I was blessed to have.

I feel strongly that hardships BUILD character. Entitlements enslave the recipient. The biggest government handout I have ever received was in the form of a low interest federal student loan while my husband finished grad school. He has a job. I am a mother to our 3 children. When money is tight, we cut frivolous spending, and if it is still tight, I find ways to bring in some extra income. We have never gotten WIC, or been recipients of any government programs. We own our cars - they aren't flashy, but they are PAID for! We live in a house we can afford. We don't spend money we don't have to uphold an image we can't afford.

We are taxpayers, and I believe we are the forgotten man.

This is Me & Nate with Mark Davis - local talk show host. (see my poster?)

Snowboarding...

2009-04-03T21:12:00.005-06:00

March

2009-04-01T11:18:00.005-06:00

Wow... has another month come and gone?
We had a lot of fun this month. We started by going to the ranch. The excuse this time? Jeff's birthday. It was really cold outside, so we all pretty much just stayed inside playing games. The boys braved the gale force winds and even made a fire. Fun times.

Then, we went back and I found out I get to be behind the piano for ward choir. Practices to be back at the Robinson casa as well. Certain things just seem to follow me, but I don't mind. I don't think Joe will mind either (at least till football season starts back up again). YAY ward choir!!! ;)

I painted my walls... Joe actually helped!!! It was a tough day, but having color in the house REALLY warms up the place, and at least helps it feel like it is STARTING to become our home...

We went back to the ranch for spring break. This time, Dan and Richelle also came. The weekend weather was cold and rainy, so we pretty much stayed inside. The boys built a fire IN THE RAIN... the kids got to roast marshmellows... Sunday night, Joe and Jeff's family had to return to their obligations, so me and the kids stayed behind (along with Dan's family) at the ranch. The weather was beautiful on Monday and Tuesday. The kids rode 4-wheelers, and we all had a blast splashing in the mud puddles left behind from the weekend rain.
We went to the prison museum there in Huntsville... about 10 minutes of entertainment... then I took Jamie and Paul along with me and my kids to the Sam Houston monument for another 10 minutes of entertainment.
We woke up Tues morning and rode horses. I don't quite trust the horses yet... but nobody got injured or bucked off this time... Then, we went on 1 more 4 wheeler ride, and headed home to make it back JUST IN TIME for Aaron's baseball practice.

I woke up the next morning, and decided rather than unpacking, I wanted to spend the rest of the week down in Keller, so I just put the bags we took to the ranch back in the car and headed out to my mom's house.
Jill and Sean (Scott's brother and his wife) were out visiting. They were my old friends from back in the day when we lived in NJ so it was fun to see them. We went to 6 flags on Thursday. Joe took a half day at work to come meet up with us there. It was tons of fun. The kids had a blast. UNTILL... 10 minutes before the park closed, Joe and I decided to go on the TITAN. I used to absolutely LOVE rollercoasters. Officially, I am too old. I got off the rollercoaster and for the next 2 days, had a terrible headache and vertigo and decided that misery is NOT worth it!
Friday, Joe called asking if I was ever going to come home. So I did...
Saturday morning, I looked at my front yard and was competely MORTIFIED! I had weeds bigger than the pathetic bushes... Landscaping is DEFINATELY on the agenda... I spent all day Saturday filling 2 leaf bags of just WEEDS from the garden!!! FUN TIMES!!!
Only 3 people came to choir on Sunday. :( (besides Joe, me and the choir director)
I made valences for my family room and eating area! Very simple, but they TOTALLY help warm up the place... My mom was awesome and came up and spent the day shopping for fabric with me, and then helping me with the project - making dinner for my family while I tried to hurry and finish up... I am so lucky to have my mother!!!
Finally, we are to Friday. Joe and I checked the kids out of school at noon, and dumped them at my mom's house. Then, we went to UT - just the 2 of us!!! I was SOOOOO unbelievably excited. Friday night, we stayed at Lydia's house. Sam, Kat, Steve and Sarra, and Steph joined us there for dinner and games. It was so awesome to have Joe's brothers able to hang out with me and my sisters. Saturday, Joe, me, Sam and Steve headed to Snowbird. It was absolutely beautiful because the sun was out, it was warm, and there was good snow (because it snowed Thurs). A little bump in the day came when Sam lost a ski... then my binding broke, so I had to ride a broken board all over creation to find a screw... But, still the day was a LOT of fun. I am making a video because Joe got some great footage - I wonder why I have a headache.
Sunday was just a relaxing day. Steve, Sam, and Steph came over to Lyd's again, and we played games... Thanks for allowing the chaos Lyd. Then, Joe and I headed up to the Sheraton in SLC. He upgraded us to a suite, and Sam and Kat spent the night up there with us so we could continue playing games. Monday, Joe and I woke up and headed to Park City for another day of fun. It was a bit windy and cold, but still a WONDERFUL day (because it snowed Sunday). I ended up hurting my shoulder on a nasty spill... I keep forgetting I am almost 30... but, it was really nice to just spend the day on the mountain with my hubby. He humors me and does the runs I like just cause he loves me. I wanted to video him, but he preferred to stay behind the camera... although, he did do a couple jumps, and even some box rails... STUD!!! That night, we went to Cafe Rio and met up with Owen and Jen & Ted, and Lyd & fam and Steph & Nate. It was great to see Jen!!! I really wish she would have skiid with us - she used to be my skiing buddy... but I guess it is hard with 3 kids... I will excuse it this time Jen, but next time I am there, I FULLY expect you on that mountain with me!! Then, we went to Lydia's for another round of games... Alyssa finally graced us with her presence... I really think she is cute, and really hope she someday OFFICIALLY joins our family ;)
We got back to the hotel at about 1am, and slept in, went to a movie, bought some chocolate, ate some sushi, went to temple square, then got on a plane to return to our kiddos. It was a WONDERFUL trip. I am so glad I got to go with Joe. We don't do much with just the 2 of us, so it was nice to reconnect with him. I had a few anxiety attacks about the kids because I missed them terribly, but I got over it... They ended up ditching school Monday and Tuesday, but I think they will catch up... Oh gosh I hope they don't develop the same truency issues I had in highschool!!! ANYWAYS... Thanks mom for watching them!!! Thanks kids for being so good for grandma! I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful family that is willing/able to help with my kids. I am also so lucky that my children are so good. I really do have the sweetest and best children anyone could ever wish for.
Plane tickets: $0 (frequent flyer)
Sleeping accomodations: $0 (family and hotel points)
Babysitter for kids: $0 (grandma)
having the most wonderful family: priceless.
Thanks again Mom and Cherry for watching the kids.
Thanks again to Lydia and Dan for letting us not only stay with you and eat your food, but also for letting us bring MORE crazy Robinsons into your house!
Thanks Steve and Sarra for gracing us with your presence. And also for Sam and Kat! (Sorry you ended up buying 1 ski).
Thanks for Steph and Nate (hope you finished your assignment)... and Owen and Alyssa for the use of your snowboard (although, I would gladly have traded that for your actual presence on the moutain with us!) and also for FINALLY coming home and spending a bit of time with us... and also Jen and Ted for hauling out to Cafe Rio for a crazy dinner with a huge group of crazies.
FUN TIMES!!!

Charity's Art

2009-02-24T20:01:00.004-07:00

Tonight, we got to go to an ART SHOW! After gymnastics, dinner and baseball practice, we ran over to the career institute in Frisco and it was a ZOO. All the local schools sent over artwork to be displayed. It was kindof cool to see the different kid artwork - some of it (by the middle schoolers) was quite good. The best, however was over in the Tadlock Elementary section. Apparently, they selected about 5 student's art from each grade to display... Charity was one of them! She was so proud. I asked the teacher how they selected them (It had to be random for the Kindergarteners - right?) but the teacher said they actually "chose" them... Joe thinks it is because Charity is just so gosh darn cute that everything she does is "art show" worthy. ;)
Anyways, way to go Charity! Way to draw mountains with chalk!

interesting piece of information about me: When I was in college, I really REALLY wanted a tatoo. However, I knew if I was going to have something painted on me FOREVER, I really wanted it to be symbolic of me and my philosophies on life (not just some generic tribal or random pic). I wanted to get the tatoo of mountains. I drew and drew and looked and searched, but the only picture that would do justice to how I felt about mountains would seriously take up my whole back (not just the tiny 1" area I wanted it)... Needless to say, I never got the tatoo. I just thought it was interesting looking at my daughter's rendition of mountains. If I had a 5 yr old back then, something like this might have ended up painted on me!

Its another long one...

2009-02-17T13:49:00.004-07:00

Let's begin with the Super Bowl... We had a few new friends over that evening, and it was pretty fun. Nobody was too involved with the game (until the last few minutes), so it was just fun to visit and eat junk food. The kids had a blast. We played games, and Joe found a friend to remind him of people he knew in high school in Virginia. I mostly appreciate Kimball reminding him of that one girl who was incredibly beautiful...
ANYWAYS, Nate must have been very tired. After people left, I began my walk-through to begin putting things away and children in bed. I got to the media room and happened upon this - evidence of how much of a "SUPER MOMMY" I am:
Did I forget that I still had a 2 yr old? He was so tired that he fell asleep playing (well, thinking he was playing) rock band, in a LOUD media room, FULL of children with CHOCOLATE all over his face!
Moving on...
I helped decorate the stage (new school... somehow the same job finds me?) for the 2nd grade program. My friend knocked on my door with gloves in hand asking me to dumpster dive with her. HECK YA! I'm always up for fun like that! It was recycling day, so we were able to find TONS of milk jugs - all in an effort to build this awesome igloo. The performance was just how I like them - short and sweet and over and done within 20 mins. It was about a "Tacky Penguin". It was a really cute show. Good Job Aaron!

Who remembers playing these in elementary school?

Wow, what a cute stage! Notice the igloo made from milk jugs...

Charity had her last soccer game. It was an indoor league. She apparently scored a goal the 1st game. The reason I signed her up for this particular team was because it was just a repeat team, and they weren't going to practice at all through the season. However, their team never practiced. So rather than getting better, they just got a little worse as the season progressed. Oh well, she still had a lot of fun.

Aaron's basketball season is winding down as well. I really enjoy watching my kids try so hard and RUN so hard. I sat next to a lady who was having a conniption fit because we were losing so bad in one game. Yes, I am competitive, and inside, it would just be awesome if Aaron's team was the BEST... However, at the same time, I am just happy to seem him play and learn. Really, does it matter how well they do in 2nd grade basketball? PS I saw Michael Irvin at Aaron's basketball game... I think his kid was on the team that was playing before us... kindof cool if you are a Cowboy's fan...

Oh, I meant to do a whole post dedicated to Friday cleaning. I love cleaning my whole house top to bottom on Fridays. It really is relaxing - it is my meditation. Each week, I do sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, sanitizing bathrooms, laundry, changing sheets, laundry, dusting, and laundry - all day Friday. Also, on top of the regular cleaning, I add something special - like the baseboards, or getting scuff marks off walls. This week, was polishing and dusting banisters and my absolute FAVORITE: cleaning ot the vacuum. Just kidding. I was dreading this, because the last time I did this was before our apartment. So, it was full of strange apartment hairs, and also strange new home junk. However, I must admit, I am always so much happier when I feel like my vacuum brushes are clean and can pick up more junk. (Am I weird?). Anyways, here is a word of advice: when cleaning the brushes to a vacuum - don't chew gum, or simply put - keep your mouth CLOSED!

Usually, on Friday nights, I keep my house virtuous and clean and go out to eat (my reward to myself and my kids for helping). This last weekend, the kids were not very good at cleaning, and we did not get their toys and rooms picked up and their laundry away without me having to raise my voice. Needless to say, we were all punished, and I had to make dinner :(. Maybe this Friday will be better.

Saturday, (Valentine's Day) Joe took Aaron to his basketball game (of course they won because I wasn't there). I went to Richelle's house to pick up Emma. Christine had come into town, and Charity was SO excited to have her cousin here! Well, Emma expanded into Emma, Jacob, Jamie, Paul and Kody. I took them all to my house, and they just had a blast. The Branns ended up stopping by, and we did an ever so classy "manicure" for the little girls - of course, the nails lasted 5 minutes or less, but they had a fun time, so I guess that is all that matters.

Emma, Marissa, and Charity! (of course, Nate wanted in on the action)

Christine came later in the afternoon, and we played games, and she took all the kids home, but I kept Emma so she could sleep over. The girls were in HEAVEN. She came to church with us, and we really had fun with her. They did not fight or whine or anything... I LOVE it when cousins get along so well! We were sad to see them leave, but I at least had fun with Christine and kids.

As you can see, our Valentine's was full of romance and excitement. The weekend was topped off with Charity feeling beautiful with her green makeup. I love the chunk on the side of her face - she has about as much makeup-putting-on skills as her mom.

Its another long one...

2009-01-28T07:54:00.008-07:00

What have I been up to? Wow - not much.
We are just getting settled, and trying to get into the groove in this new place. It feels so weird to not be involved in anything, or totally stressed out about random unimportant things. But, I guess in time I will have something to get me out of bed in the mornings. As for now, it is kindof nice to walk the kids to school and then jump back into bed and cuddle with my babe - who BTW is growing up WAY too quickly.

So, chronologically, from my last post...
Aaron got a hold of my camera, and took a few (several) pictures. He really makes me laugh. You could see the thought he put into quite a few of the shots he took. He took a picture of his shelf - holding his favorite things like his trophies, and autographed WT evidence. He took pictures of his Lego car all posed on the ramp he built. He really must be Joe's son. ;)

Then, on the 10th, we had a little birthday party for Joe. It was nice to have a shindig at our house. Cherry and kids, Dan and Family and the Brann family came over for the festivities. We ate Joe's family favorite from when he was growing up - beans on bread. Trust me, it was a HIT! ;) we also ate some ghetto style cake made by yours truly. Actually, when I asked the birthday boy what kind of cake and frosting he wanted, Joe told Charity to choose. So she became my little assistant and even helped me frost and decorate it. Poor Richelle just sat miserably on my lazyboy (she had a horse accident at the ranch over New Years) but, I think she still had fun! ;)

YUM!!! I didn't get home-made whole wheat bread made (like Joe's mom would have done) but he did get whole green chilies on top...

He turned 35 - which is 3 (4+1)

The best part of Joe's birthday was a song written by his brother Sam. Then, another song was written by his brother Jeff... and so on and so forth.

Starting that Wednesday, I decided to take advantage of my completely BLANK schedule and potty train my 2 1/2 yr old. I knew he was ready, in fact, he was ready several months ago, but because of the move, I just couldn't do it. He did AWESOME. By Friday, we never looked back. The kids didn't have school that day, so Charity (and a new little friend Morgan), Aaron (and our across the street buddy Johnny), Nate (in his new Thomas UNDERWARE) and I headed out to Amazing Jakes. We had so much fun. The kids just ran around and had a blast. Nate never had an accident, and I couldn't have been happier. The innagurial pottytraining excursion was a SUCCESS!

Saturday morning, we took the kids to their EARLY games, and then headed out to the ranch to enjoy the long weekend. Jeff and his family came, and we brought our friends the Walls and the Branns too! Joe's dad wasn't there, so it was just us all weekend. We learned a new game, and really just had fun out there. I didn't get a single picture. I was still just thrilled to have my baby potty trained. He didn't have a single accident... until the drive home. He kept telling us he needed to go potty on the grass (as he had done several times already throughout the 3+ hr drive). But Joe refused to stop. The little guy was kicking his legs and kept telling us he needed to go... but we were SO close to home. ALAS, he peed his carseat as we were a mile from our house. Oh well... that wasnt his fault.

Fast forward to today. After threatening for a whole day, Dallas FINALLY iced over - which meant NO SCHOOL!!! The kids bundled up, and headed straight outside to jump on the icy trampoline. Notice Nate's bloody lip - I can't imagine it being fun to jump with ICE (not to be confused with fluffy soft snow) but they have been outside for more than an hour, and are LOVING it. Now, our super cute neighbor Johnny has come over to join the fun. Ah Kids!

Notice the awesome homemade/knitted hats I made the kids last time we went skiing...

Dear Sam, these pictures are for you:
My house. in desperate need of your famous landscaping skills
Across the street and FYI, if you google maps it, you can push on a little button called STREET VIEW... kindof a nifty tool. You should try it sometime.

new school new house

2009-01-06T11:17:00.003-07:00

My kids had their first day of school!
Charity's new teacher is Mrs. Samples
Aaron's new teacher is Mrs. Eggleston
As I took them into the school yesterday, Charity was visibly nervous - looking around and not saying a word. Aaron could have cared less. After school, they seemed very confident and excited. They both had a wonderful 1st day at their new school!
Now, here is a slideshow tour of my new house.
The walls are bare and WHITE. I could use some help coming up with a color to warm the place up a bit. Decorating ideas anyone?

Long Update

2008-12-18T05:53:00.013-07:00

We FINALLY closed on our new house!!!
Seriously, this was a fun adventure. Joe was finally sick of the apartment, and wanted to get into the house fast. SO, of course, he made sure the deal closed a LOT quicker than expected... well, there was one slight hiccup... but it was still fast.

We threw all of our stuff into our new house, (thanks to Dan and Steve for working SOOOO hard Thursday night - seriously, I OWE YOU BIG TIME). Then, we headed down to the ranch for the Robinson Christmas party. The kids of course enjoyed themselves immensely. There was a 2 mile jingle bell fun run. (Thanks to Jessie, all the kids got a blue ribbon for participating). We went on a hay ride. We had a wonderful dinner. It really was fun to see everyone. I drove the tractor (it makes me feel like a real woman!) - we had to move the boar trap to a more strategic location. Santa even made the trip all the way to High Kailbur Ranch!

I couldn't resist this picture. This is Charity waiting patiently for Santa to arrive. Notice she is still proudly wearing her ribbon for finishing the fun run SEVERAL hours ago.

Nate was thrilled to see him! ;)

Charity at least likes Santa now.

Aaron was just excited to get the little toy!

VERY classy family picture here!!! ;)

We didn't stay long because Christmas was 3 days away (we hadn't even STARTED shopping), and our new CHAOTIC house was beckoning.

Monday night we went to my mom's house for the Christmas festivities there. It was fun to see Sue (and fam) and Ronda (and fam). We went caroling to the neighbor's house. We had our own little program. Sue continued the tradition of the candy pass to "THE Night before Christmas". That night, we raided Cherry's house for all the stuff they were storing for us. There was a slight miscalculation when it came to the table and the trailer, so we left that behind. (oh no, we didnt even get into an argument about that...) ha

Tuesday, we got a babysitter and did ALL of our shopping in about an hour and a half. We have never really been in the habit of getting much for our kids. We don't spend much on our kids either. I think I am the world's meanest mother, but at least they got SOMETHING...
Joe and I were busy stressing about the fact that for Christmas we were getting a home.
AND, that home, because it was a foreclosure came with lots and lots of fun things to fix/buy as well!
1. The lighting was ripped out of the cieling.
2. The built-in microwave was stolen
3. The plumbing was messed up (no hot water in any of the showers)...
4. The garage door was broken...
5. We needed a new bed (somehow Emily gave our bed away when we moved from our old house - because it was OLD and she wanted a new one thinking they fell from the sky)
6. We had to buy a new fridge
7. A few days before we closed, someone stole the dishwasher and busted the back fence... tore up the plumbing in the sink... that was fun to discover WHEN THE INSTALLER WAS ALREADY AT THE HOUSE! rrrrrrrrgghhhrrrr (that is my mean/angry sound)

SO that was our Christmas.
Joe has been busy setting things up, installing cieling fans, setting up all the equipment that makes him feel at home (media/network/various computers).
I have been busy organizing and putting things away.

Christmas Eve, we made it back out to Keller to get the MASSIVE homemade table from Cherry's house. (Thanks Dan for lending us your truck). FYI: if you ever decide to build yourself a table, listen to your husband when he says it is retarded to dowel and screw the table legs to the table top. he probably knows what he is talking about.

I managed to set out the Christmas tree. We put the train around it (that is the most important thing to Aaron). Christmas Eve, I threw net lights on it. I also had everyone write down things they were grateful for on peices of paper tied to string for our ornaments. It was a pretty pathetic looking tree, but hey, we JUST moved in!

This is how awesome our Christmas was. Don't let that big box by the closet door fool you - that was a big Craftsman tool box for Joe - I have since returned it...

They were so thrilled!!! Mom and Dad were thrilled because they actually let us sleep in till 8:30!

Notice his head has been shaven. Someone confused him for a girl, and I gave in. I guess his hair had gotten a bit too long. :(

Christmas night, Cherry and Scott came and slept over. We played games and ate a ton of food. Then some people got in a fight...

Joe and Aaron took off the next morning for the Ranch again. Things were getting pretty exciting. Grandpa had already had his Christmas miracle! He caught/killed 2 boar!!

Nate, Charity and I stayed at home and cleaned and organized. I also cleaned out the apartment so we could sign off on that as well.
I was SO ready to settle in, make new friends and start a life here. I felt like we had been in limbo for SO long I was going crazy.
I had the Walls over to play rock band on Saturday night. It was really fun to see them, and remember that I actually have a friend somewhere (that isn't my family and thus required to be my friend).

Overall, this has been a wonderful vacation. I sleep in. My house is no longer chaotic (it is mostly organized except a few things in random closets...)

Let me list off some of the things I LOVE about my home now:
1. MY PIANO IS FINALLY HOME! yes, after 5 months of living without music in my house, I am thrilled to say I have it back. Thank you Ruth for storing it for me. Thank you also for giving it back ;).
*** ok, now, someone help me! The lighting was ripped out of this ceiling, and Joe and I can't decide what to put here. It is a 13' ceiling. It will just be the piano room. maybe we will put a few chairs in there, and DEFINATELY a bigger rug. BUT the big question is WHAT KIND OF LIGHTS? a chandelier would be pretty, but we really liked how in our old house we had track lighting focusing on the piano and the art work around the piano. HOWEVER, 13 feet is high, and track lighting might look stupid? what about a downward facing light chandelier? AGHHH what to do what to do!!! suggestions???(and yes, i will eventually paint the room when i figure out what color would work with that color trim)***
2. A bigger hot water heater. Our apartment had a 5 gallon water heater- 1 person could shower every hour. The dishwasher/washing machine had to be off well before anyone showered. Hot water ran out SO fast.
3. A bigger sink. My sink now can hide 2 days worth of dishes before creeping above the counter line.
4. A play room - my kids have somewhere to play and run around and they aren't RIGHT ON TOP OF ME!
5. Space!!! I have space! perhaps it is too much space, but still, I HAVE SPACE! I have a craft station for Charity. I have a cabinet for my cleaning supplies. I even have room in my kitchen to store the rice cooker/griddle/crockpot in a CABINET! WOW. How spoiled am I???

Really, I am grateful for so many things. That is why, when I opened up the fence hinge (to repair our broken fence) and old pair of gloves Joe so kindly wrapped for me to open on Christmas morning, I giggled. I didn't want/need a single thing more. PLUS, I knew that we just bought a laptop computer for me a month ago that counted as Christmas too ;)

I am also glad that our kids don't have super high expectations for Christmas as well. I am so lucky to have the most wonderful children. Aaron got only 1 thing from his Christmas wish list. Charity as well... (and a couple fillers). They were just thrilled to get something. They are so easy to please and so loving and understanding.

Ok, here is the updated score:
Robinsons: 5
Boar: 0

Aaron was so excited he got to watch them shoot one. He said it immediately fell flat to the ground- dead. For all of you animal lovers who cringe at this report, I could just show you the damage those stupid boars are doing to the property, and show you the reports that the boar population here is OUT OF CONTROL, and you would maybe not be so upset.

PS. Candles don't store well in a NON air-conditioned unit over the summer.

Charity and I took pictures of ourselves. I also dyed my hair dark (to go with my pasty skin).
OK, FINALLY, this forever long post is over

2008-12-04T18:30:00.003-07:00

It has been a busy month!

Let us rewind:
We FINALLY found a home!!! It is in a nice neighborhood, it has all the rooms we require, and my kids can walk to school. I am so excited. We will close before Christmas! I am so ready to get my piano back and FINALLY feel settled - to make friends and to make a home for my kids. Our time here has really been tough on the kids - Aaron especially. I am looking forward to living in a neighborhood again, having my kids able to ride their bikes, and make friends, and have a backyard! Ok, enough about that - suffice it to say I am looking forward to having a home again. Living in this 2 bedroom apartment with 3 kids has been a learning experience. It hasn't been COMPLETELY miserable - just the limbo part has been tough. BUT GOOD BYE LIMBO! I KNOW WHERE WE WILL BE NEXT MONTH!! FYI, it is a forclosure, so we are getting a good deal... but we have a bit of work ahead - like replacing the built in microwave they ripped out, fixing carpet they pooped on, and replacing light fixtures they ripped out of the ceiling in places... but beyond that, the house is in good shape. ;)

Here are 2 pictures of why I am so excited about this house - 1. it is beautiful, and 2. it has a really nice kitchen.

ANYWAYS... Living in limbo has offered us an excuse to escape to the ranch every weekend. We sure enjoy that place. The boar has eluded us STILL... reason #1: The Robinsons are crazy. I think any creature would be scared off knowing they were around. #2: There is always an excuse - some of the excuses are that the 4wheelers tip and there are accidents... but other excuses include "I was barefoot" and "I didnt have a gun when I saw the boar" and "It took too long to jump off the 4 wheeler, make sure no other crazy nighttime 4wheeler driver was anywhere near before I took the shot - by then, the boar had run 400 yards..." ya.... Here is my excuse: ROBINSON MALES ARE A BUNCH OF CRAZIES... to catch the boar, they would just have to sit out there and be quiet - but they would rather chase them down on their loud machines... so far?

ROBINSONS 0
BOARS 30.

Enough of the boar... bore...

Thanksgiving was exciting. All 6 Allen kids were in town. We saw Twilight (it was quite an experience sitting next to Dawn - we had our own personal Mystery Science Theatre)...
We went on a ride on the Polar Express - that was sure fun. The kids sent off rockets. We went to the park. We played games. We ate. We saw Ronda, and Koya. We ate. I showed my sisters my new house! We ate. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It was full of good food and fun times. The kids put on a cute little program (my mom of course had to help them put on the production). It really was just fun to be with my family. It was great to meet Owen's girlfriend. We took family pictures. The boys played in the Turkey Bowl. I for some reason got no pictures... but maybe I will add some in when I find some. We really had a lot of fun playing games together. The kids had a great time together too.
I stopped by the turkey bowl to take pics. I saw Dan make a tackle (grab a flag). Joe QB. Lochlin catch an interception... I think they had fun... you cant beat football on Thanksgiving (oh ya, the REAL Cowboys won too).

Throughout the week, we were pretty concerned about Joe's mom in the hospital.

Friday, after the Polar Express experience (which was really a delight - the kids LOVED it!), I said goodbye to the Allen clan and headed to the ranch. The reason I ditched my family? The Davies! We hadn't seen them for more than a year. My kids had been praying for their cousin Jillian (she has leukemia), but I was afraid they didn't really remember her. Anyways, we had a lot of fun. It is always fun to see family... Except, Joe decided to demolish the RAZOR... so we will just add that to our Christmas list: 1. A house. 2. A fridge 3. A bed 4. A microwave 5. lights for the house 6. A totalled RAZOR... sorry kids, you might not be getting much this year...
actually, to be honest, I am just glad they were ok. Steve had managed to get his arm pinned by that machine a couple weeks ago, and from what I hear, the Joe's wreck was pretty scary - it apparently looked like a nascar wreck with somersaults etc. Luckily, Joe and Tyler (my nephew) had seatbelts on, and the net up, so their limbs stayed in the vehicle, and while their helmets were dingged up, at least their faces stayed in tact.

Sunday, we left the ranch early and headed to Houston to see Joe's mom. She was surprisingly chipper for just having been released from the hospital. She looks great and it was fun to see her. She gave us a scare, but we are relived that she is ok.

On Thursday, Charity got to meet Carly Patterson and Nastia Lupkin at the gym where she takes gymnastics!!! Those two girls actually trained at that gym, so it is VERY cool. They were doing a toy drive autographing thing (quite serendipitous that it was during the same time as Charity's class). SO, rather than sitting and watching Charity, I sat in line. It was so crowded - LOTS of people were there for the event. The timing worked out perfectly - she came out of her class and it was her turn! Aaron was all excited to be on tv (the local news was there)... Nate was just happy to play with the trains. Yes, I love that gym because they have a train table and a tv that plays movies to entertain the tots while mom watches the gymnasts...

2008-11-09T21:41:00.006-07:00

My kids are now done with sports!!! (at least for the fall)

Aaron's team lost 1st round in the playoffs (fitting for the COWBOYS huh?) :(

Charity also had her last game that weekend. She was so unbelievably thrilled to get a trophy! She had to have been the cutest little girl on the team - and I promise, I am not partial ;).

Charity was so thrilled to FINALLY get a trophy! She sleeps with it near her bed.
Now that we are free from sports, Joe has vowed to spend the rest of the fall weekends at the ranch. I don't mind. I absolutely LOVE that place. The weather was perfect. We all did the usual activities (frisbee golf, 4-wheeling, bike riding, game playing, SITTING AND WATCHING, getting dirty, eating, exploring, gabbing - use your imagination to assign the five of us to our own particular preferred amusements) but this time we had some extra fun:

1. Emily learned to drive a tractor (kindof like driving a standard, but with only a clutch and a brake - no gas pedal - and of course the hydrolic lifting thing...) - The ranch hand (Arturo) usually does the work, but this time, Dad Robinson let us in on some action... The task? Moving/reorganizing hay bales (kindof like moving cedars I am told). I moved several bales... although I must admit the chore was quite monotonous, so Steve took over (or kicked me off) and I was sortof glad to move on to something else (A.D.D. maybe?)... I did walk back and offer to relieve him, but he was content to finish alone.

And this is the nice line of hay...

2. The night was filled with excitement because there was a wild boar. Aaron was obsessed with hunting it down. He drew maps, and had a big plan for the hunt. It is tearing up the property. Unfortunately, the boar eluded the Robinsons this weekend, but I have a feeling it will meet its end next weekend when we are more prepared. (when i say WE i mean the boys - i would not go out driving around on 4 wheelers in the freezing cold night pointing guns at who knows what...)

3. I traveled the hilly and beautiful path from the house to the front gate (2 miles round trip) more times than ever: 1 time jogging by myself, 1 time biking (WOAH HILLS ARE HARD!), and 1 time walking with the sis-in-laws. Joe was in charge of Nate the whole time (it is so fun now that Nate is getting more independant), and I thoroughly enjoyed being outside in the beautiful weather and beautiful scenery.

Stephanie was so cute. This is how dirty a kid gets at the ranch. CLASSIC. She really wanted me to take her picture. I was glad to oblige.

Nate is FINALLY getting to be more fun and independant. Although I still feel required to check on him more often than the bigger kids, he is getting to be big enough to chill with the big boys. Nate loves it.

Syd and her funny face...
I honestly didn't see Aaron all weekend. He was too busy driving in figure 8s on this... (and making a plan to hunt the boar)
Classic shots - notice Nate - he thinks he is big enough to ride Charity's bike!!

I am sure they were talking about something very important.

Jeff.... lookin tough
We had to leave late Saturday night to make it back for the primary program EARLY Sunday morning. SO GLAD that starting next week, church is moved to 1pm. ;) ps, my kids were of course ADORABLE and ARTICULATE, and made their mom VERY PROUD.