California Baby!

Dallas n' me chillin' at Dland
Aiden riding a narly wave Dude!

Underneath the pier

Yup, the water was a little cold.

Ash the Master Builder

Amanda and Steve Rushton

touching star fish in the aquarium

Manhattan Beach

Aspen catchin' some waves

Beach Beauty

Splash Mountain

I think this pic could be in a teen magazine or something

Daddy Daughter
The whole gang
Chicks dig me!

Muscle Man

Alexis opening Disneyland!!

Dallas and I took the kids to California last weekend for a much needed family vacation. It was more incredible than words can express! We played together, we made good memories, we grew to love each other more, the whole nine yards.

We arrived at our hotel at around 3:00pm, checked in and promptly changed into our swimsuits and hit the pool. After a couple hours in the water we took a stoll down the street to find a place to eat. Afterwards we just hung out in the hotel room and played games. (Isn't the hotel room one of the most exciting places on vacation according to a child anyway?)

Day two began with Disneyland. It was Alexis' birthday so she got a fun pin to wear all day that said it was her birthday. As we were waiting to get in, an employee came up to Alexis and said, "Hey birthday girl! You wanna open up Disneyland today?" She agreed and then she got to push the button to open the gates, start the music and the announcements. How exciting! (fairly anticlamatic in reality but awesome bragging rights!)

We were able to hit all the rides we wanted to and repeat the ones we liked. At the end of the day there was a good concert by Steve Rushton from the Disney Channel. Even if I have been 21 for a few years and I am not as hip as I once was, he sounded very good. The older kids had fun watching him and interacting with him. Ash fell asleep right in front of the huge speakers during the concert and when it came time to leave the park he slept walked the entire way to the car.

Day three was spent sleeping in, enjoying a slow breakfast and then a miraculous day at Manhattan beach. The weather could not have been better if I had custom ordered it! At one point I fell asleep on the beach under our umbrella with a cool breeze blowing. The only thing missing was a coconut cup with a little umbrella and straw. The boys played in the water and sand all day while the girls collected sea shells for their new beach themed bathroom and then they played in the water. We also walked through a small aquarium on the pier. It was very very small but something interesting to do. Couldn't beat the price- free!

By 5:00pm the kids were all wiped out. We went back to the hotel and they all wanted to take a shower. That in of itself was unusual. Then they all got in their pajamas without being asked (at 6:00pm!!!) and crashed on the beds. Aiden asked me, "Mom, do we have to go out to dinner tonight? Can we just have it delivered here?" Dallas and I found a McDonalds, dropped it off to them then he and I went out for a date to Olive Garden. Yum!! By the time we returned, all five children were sound asleep. Sounds cheezy, but it was a perfect ending to a perfect day.

I can't wait to go back!

Funny Mess

This morning Alexis was chopping onions from our garden so we could dehydrate them. All of a sudden the spring inside of the chopper popped and the chopper shot out of her hand. The blade portion flew across the kitchen counter and punctured an unopened can of Diet Coke sitting on the counter. The can exploded and started spinning on the counter. When I went to grab it, it shot off the counter and landed on the floor. That agitated the can even more and it began spinning in circles again. By the time I ran around the counter to get it there was pop on EVERYTHING in my kitchen- the walls, the cupboards, the appliances, pictures, ME AND MY KIDS, the onions we were chopping, the floor, EVERYTHING! As I was mopping I even found drops of pop in front of my back door- about twenty feet away. It was a huge mess but we were all laughing. The kids were really good about helping me clean it all up and it will be something to remember for a long time.

Catching Up

Aiden and Cassidy playing Wilbur and Charlotte
Ash and his kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Okonowski (yeah, try saying that as a kindergartener with a lisp and a missing tooth)

Ash and me at Amazing Jake's for his 6th bday


Well, it has been a wild few weeks. I never knew May was so hectic until I had five children in school. Between graduations, end of the year concerts, award ceremonies, parties, field trips, orientations for next year and the ever present baseball games, violin lessons and YW, we have had something almost every night for three weeks now. That isn't a complaint- I am glad my children are active and succeeding at the various events they are involved in. I will just be glad when we can breathe again too.

Let's see... first, Aiden's play is over. He did an AMAZING job! I don't just say this because he is my kid, but the audience was cracking up at him. The entire row behind me had tears in their eyes because they were laughing so hard. I can't nail down exactly what he did that was so great, just his little mannerisms and various ad libs, I guess. Anyway, it was a blast watching him and I am very very proud of all of his hard work and the end results.


Next, Ash is graduating from kindergarten. My baby. I can't say I am sad, but it does feel like part of our lives is ending. I am glad we are starting so many new things this next year because it takes the sting out of losing the last little bit of "little kidness" (is that a word?).


Thirdly, Amanda is graduating junior high and is off to high school. She made the principal's list this last quarter and we couldn't be happier for her. She has come so far and continues to impress us with her determination to get everything right- both in school and at church. Her Personal Progress is coming along quickly and I expect she will finish within the next year or 18 months (for those of you not of our faith, the Personal Progress program is a goal setting program, similar to the Boy Scouts. The culmination is a Young Womanhood Recognition Award that would be the equivilant of earning an Eagle Scout award. It requires many many hours of hard work, planning, volunteering and personal growth).


While I am talking about Amanda, I have one funny story. Next year she is taking guitar and she told me that she doesn't really need lessons because she already knows how to play it. She said she can strum it, she just needs to learn the notes. Yup. You already know it all girl! Yes, she is a typical teenager-know-it-all.

I took my biology final yesterday and am relieved to be finished with it. I still have microbiology going on and will continue with that until the end of July. My work and school position is kind of up in the air right now. I am losing most of my daycare in the fall due to them entering kindergarten, either full or part time. Then today I received notice that the two children I was planning on watching full time next year will not be here because their mom just got laid off from work. That leaves me watching four children part time and no children full time. I am hesitant to take on any others because I just don't know when I am going to be called up for nursing school- it could be three months, it could be a year. I am just going to take things a day at a time for a while.

I think that just about covers it. I am so glad life is busy! Heavenly Father has blessed me with a wonderful family and a great life. I couldn't ask for more.

Couples Dinner Tutorial

I am excited to be hosting a class at my house on June 27th and am curious who would want to come. It is just for fun and to learn some new cooking skills. If you are interested in the following, please let me know.

My chef friend, Stephanie Peterson, is going to be coming to give a private lesson on 30 minute dinners. These aren't just your average dinners- she was the head chef at the Phoenician! The menu hasn't been finalized, but check out some of the possibilities (the last one is my favorite!):

http://cheftessbakeresse.blogspot.com/2009/03/french-onion-orange-chicken.html

http://chefstephanie.multiply.com/journal/item/94/Toasted_Pepper_Pecan_Brie_with_Garlic_Croutons

http://cheftessbakeresse.blogspot.com/2009/01/sundried-tomato-blush-sauce-and-pasta.html

The class will be for 4-8 couples and you will eat a 3 course meal throughout the evening, plus learn how to make it for your family another day. My friend is a riot and I guarantee you will have plenty of laughs and good company throughout the evening. The cost is $40 per couple, about the same as what you would pay if you were to go out to a decent restaurant on date night. You will also leave with the recipes, tips, and any leftovers that we may have. She will not be selling anything, just coming as our own private cooking tutor. WAY better than anything Food Network can put out!

So far Holly and Paul Stetka, Kade and Heidi Miller and Dallas and I will be there. My mom said she might want to grab a friend and join us as well. I am looking for one to four more couples. If you would like to come, please let me know ASAP. It is going to be a blast!

Second Time Around

I started microbiology this week. Again. I took this class a few months back but ended up failing it because I couldn't keep up and the drop date had already passed. At the time I was taking 12 credit hours, working full time, Dallas had gotten laid off and my mom had just had surgery so I was taking care of her around the clock. Toss in five kids, scouts, YW, sports, a primary chorister calling, housework and all that goes along with being a mom and I just couldn't do it anymore. Failing grade or not, I simply couldn't keep up. I chose the class that was the hardest and quit working on it. (Luckily the school was understanding when I explained my circumstances and allowed me to keep my financial aid, even though I took an F in the course. They are even paying for me to take it a second time. HURRAY!)

Things are a little less busy in my life right now. I still have all the normal things but my mom doesn't need care anymore, Dallas is working and I am only taking 8 credit hours instead of 12. My other class will be finishing in three weeks so I just need to hang on until then. In the mean time, this blog is going to be fairly quiet. See you in a month!

A good friend came over yesterday and helped me use up some herbs that are growing in my garden. She is a professional chef and a real riot! Her chef Tess blog is listed in my favorites over there on the right hand side of my blog. Check it out. She has photos of our day together. Seriously, I wonder why she doesn't have her own cooking show by now because she is hilarious and extremely talented. There are some good recipes and cooking tips on her blog. I would highly recommend it.

Our Boy of Summer

It's baseball season and we are having the best time watching Aiden play in his first season. Here is a video of him stealing home. It is a 42 second video and all the action happens in the last six or seven seconds so be patient as you watch it. Way to go Aiden!

The picture is of him and his best friend and neighbor, Tyler Stetka.

Deal Alert!!

This one is good! For the next year, you can now get what is called a "Culture Pass" to visit any of the following places for free:

AZ Museum for Youth
AZ Museum of Natural History
AZ Science Center
The Bead Museum
Cave Creek Museum
Children’s Museum of Phoenix
Desert Botanical Garden
Heard Museum
Mesa Contemporary Arts
Phoenix Art Museum
Phoenix Zoo
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Taliesin West

Here is a link to the website for more information. It is definately one you won't want to miss. http://www.showup.com/culturepass2

HaHaHaHa

If you read a couple posts down, you will know about the nice prank Alexis and Aiden wanted to play on Aspen last night. I told them that in order to be successful, they needed to pretend they were going to bed in the evening just like everyone else so Aspen wouldn't get suspicious. After about fifteen minutes of pretending to be asleep, Alexis came back out and started working on the project but Aiden never came back out because he HAD fallen asleep. When I went to wake him up I also found a paper right beside him on the bed but it was dark so I couldn't see what it was. I asked him what the paper was for and he replied, "What? Oh. It is a note telling me not to fall asleep." Ummmm...... it didn't work very well.

Another "AHA!!"moment

Last night it was my turn to come up with a lesson for Family Home Evening. I found a video about two young boys who find a pair of shoes on the side of the road that I thought would be perfect to share with the kids. Click on the following link to watch the video before reading this post so you know which story I am talking about. I'll give you a few minutes (it is short)........ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naqX9iYE0V0

We watched the video last night then went about the rest of our evening- baseball, dinner, getting ready for bed. After all the kids had gone to bed, Aiden came back out and asked me, "Mom, if I tell you something, can you keep it a secret from Aspen?" He went on to tell me that over the weekend he and Alexis had come up with a plan for April Fool's Day. They were going to draw scary pictures and write scary stories on pieces of paper then hang them above Aspen's face so he would be scared when he woke up (he sleeps on the bottom bunk). But after they watched the video, the two of them had decided to modify their April Fool's Day joke. Instead of scary things, they decided to draw happy faces and write things they like about Aspen and hang those up for him to see first thing in the morning.

It was such a great feeling to hear him tell me he wanted to do something NICE for his little brother for a change. Those two don't always get along very well and sadly, it usually stems from Aiden being mean to Aspen. I couldn't have been happier! It was another personal "Aha!! They are getting it!" moment.

Book Signing/ Radio Disney

Aspen playing Limbo (the only rule was that you couldn't touch your knees to the ground. Back in the day, we had to bend over backwards!! What is the world coming to?)
Aiden showing the stickers he won

The kids with author, Brandon Mull

Brandon Mull signing our book

There is a fantasy book series called Fablehaven. It is a huge hit with the older elementary school crowd (and a lot of their parents). Last night the author, Brandon Mull, was doing a book signing to release the latest book in the series. We attended it and found Radio Disney was playing games and giving away prizes outside the store. After we got our books signed we went outside and each got to play a game. Aspen won the Limbo (of course, his competition was a bunch of 9-10 year olds who were about 8 inches taller than him) and Alexis and I won a bean bag toss. Aspen's prize was a HSM3 CD and Alexis and I won the movie Pinochio. The movie was a Blue Ray disc but Walmart allowed me to exchange it for a normal DVD (LOVE Walmart!). The night was a lot of fun and now we get to enjoy the new book.

Lori's Challenge

Who's up for a little fun?I saw this on my friend Lori's blog and thought it sounded like fun!Here's how this works:
The first 3 people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1. I make no guarantees you will like what I make.
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It will be done this year.
4. You have no clue what it's going to be.
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch is that you must re post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 3 people who do the same on your blog. The first 3 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did, win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post of picture of what you win when you get it! Who's in?
And the winners are:
1.
2.
3.

Don't forget to post it on your blog too!

Put it on your calendar

For those of you who have asked me when Aiden's play is, we just got word that it will be on Tuesday May 12 at 6:00. His school is on Chandler Heights Road just west of Ellsworth. He would love to see any of you who will be able to be there. We will be having dinner and dessert at our house afterwards if anyone is interested in joining us. He has been working really hard on memorizing his lines and I am excited to see the finished product. Hope to see you there!

Spring Break

Last weekend we went up to Pinedale and stayed at Dallas' family's ranch. It was soooo nice! I can't remember the last time we went away just for fun. We have gone away a few times lately but there was always some other purpose- not just to enjoy the family. It was a much needed break and I am so grateful we were able to go.

Friday morning we drove to ShowLow and had lunch at a little Chinese restaurant. Afterwards we went for a short nature walk on a trail we found up there. Nothing fancy, just had fun. The kids were able to run around after a long car ride and we just giggled and joked around with one another. We played troll on a bridge, found sticks shaped like guns, threw pinecones at one another, watched some insects and tried to hear our voices echo. After our walk we went back to the ranch, ate dinner, visited and watched Rocketman.

Saturday morning we had Grandma's biscuits and gravy then headed out to Fool Hollow Lake where we enjoyed a long quiet morning fishing. We didn't catch a single fish but it didn't matter. There was a little playground nearby where the boys would play when they got bored fishing. Better still was the park bench where I was able to take a nap. It was perfect- the breeze was cool but the sun would come in and out of the clouds making it unbelievably pleasant. (Did I mention I had a nice time? ;-)

Keith and Kim, Chad and Caskie and Grandma and Grandpa all met us back at the ranch for fried chicken at lunch time. All the boys ran around the ranch with Chad and Caskie's kids in the afternoon while Alexis, Amanda, Grandma and I played cards. Later in the evening Dallas took the boys shooting.

Sunday morning we took our time waking up and eating breakfast. Afterwards we just cleaned up and headed home with no rush. That was one of my favorite parts of the trip- nothing was rushed. Sure, we may have caught a fish if we had rushed out on Saturday morning to be at the lake at sunrise, but then we wouldn't have enjoyed sleeping in. We drove home through Payson and there was some ice still on the ground. Our city dwelling children screamed "I want to play in the snow!" We obliged, pulling off at state park (?) and played in the snow/ice for a while. The kids all ganged up on Dad. hehehe. I only wish I had remembered my camera.

Overall, it was the best- do nothing- weekend I have had in a very very long time!

Snipe Hunt

On Friday March 20th, our neighborhood is getting together to go snipe hunting in the field south of our home. We will meet at our home at 7:30, hunt for about an hour then return to our home to roast marshmallows,make s'mores, and show off our newly caught friends around the campfire. If you are reading this, please consider yourself personally invited to join us! It is going to be a blast. Bring your flashlights and pillowcases to catch them.

For you novice snipe hunters, here is the low down on snipes:
Snipes are furry little animals that can live just about anywhere. Most of them live in the mountains but we have a different breed that likes the warmer climate so they live down here in the farm fields. Snipes like to eat the veggies that grow in the fields and will also eat the mice. They are friendly but may nip your feet and legs if they are scared. Coyotes like to eat them so if you hear coyotes on our hunt you will know we are getting close. To catch them you look for their eyes- they glow in the dark. Then you quietly bend down and catch them in your pillow case.

I made some cupcakes for the school carnival on Friday and they turned out cute so I thought I would share. Enjoy!

Cat with fishbone cupcakes

Hello Kitty Cupcakes

Frog cupcakes

popcorn cupcakes

sunflowers and ladybug cupcakes

MIA

Can you tell life has been crazy? I am normally a steady poster but it has been two weeks since I have even thought about writing in my blog. Thankfully, everything we have been busy with are good things but busy none the less. My biology class is picking up steam and I find myself needing to study more than usual, leaving me less time to browse my blog and the blogs of my friends. Most of my grades have been average so far and call me weird, but I really want to ace this class- just so I can say I aced a very difficult class, once. It is a pride thing, I know, I am weird. Anyway, lots and lots of memorizing but it is great to be learning. My days are spent reading books with two or three letter words and singing songs like "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes", making it feels good to stretch my brain in the evenings so it doesn't turn to mush like any other muscle would.

The kids are all good. Soccer is winding down for Aspen and Ash and they are gearing up to start wrestling season. Aiden has his first baseball practice this upcoming Saturday. I was surprised to hear Amanda wants to go out for softball! I can't wait to see her try it because she has always avoided sports so much. Alexis is out of any kind of sports until the fall but she isn't complaining. Her arms doesn't hurt anymore and she is getting anxious to get it off and wash her arm. Two more weeks and she will be finished.

My mother and father-in-law have been staying with us for about a month and are leaving this morning to go back to the ranch. My kids can't wait to go to the ranch this summer so they can go fishing again. Sounds like a dad trip to me!

Until next time...

Fractured After All

Yes, these pics are in backwards order but I am too tired to go back and fix it.

It's been a long day!The final product!
Getting plastered up

Alexis' temporary cast

Since Alexis fell off her bike on Saturday her arm has still been swollen. We waited a few days to see if perhaps it was just sprained. But this morning (Thursday) when she still couldn't turn her arm I knew I needed to take her in. X-rays confirmed that she had fractured her right arm just above her wrist. We got it casted today and she is ready for all of your autographs! Alexis did great during the procedure and I was proud of her- no tears, no worries, just brave as can be. She will be in her cast for 5 weeks and then in a removable cast for 3 weeks after that.

bedtime

Nothing much to post, I just thought this picture was sweet. Every night we read stories together in my bed and most nights the kids fall asleep before the stories are finished. This is what it looked like at our house last night- very typical. No matter what happens during the day I love quiet evenings on my bed because I don't have to share my kids with anyone or anything else; I don't share them with their friends, their teachers, their homework, sports or with the television. They are all MINE: to love on, tickle, cuddle with and just enjoy. Someday I know these evenings will end but for now, I relish this nightly blessing. That is enough to make me content.

Gymnastics and Bicycles Don't Mix

All cleaned up and 24 hrs later.

Yesterday we went to Discovery Park and rode bikes down the hills. On one of the runs down, Alexis decided to do a sommersault over her handlebars! Ok, it was an accident, she isn't THAT daring. I was at the other end of the park and Hailey had to come find me. The poor thing- when I got to her she had grass in her hair, in her mouth, she had ripped her shirt open, banged up her side, face and arms. By the time we got back to the car her right wrist was completely swollen and was turning purple! We took her back to my sister's house and bandaged her up and the poor thing was shaking and white as a ghost. (She doesn't handle pain well BTW) This morning the swelling has gone down a lot on her wrist and while she is still sore all over, I think she will live to ride again another day. I don't think she will ever brave that hill again though.