Motorcycling...

USRA Desert, Round 1 2012, Mesquite from 763 EDITS on Vimeo.

I love my family!

While Jason, Amanda, Eric and Jillisa went to Vegas to visit their mom, They decided to take the elevator to go downstairs. Jillisa is Eric's girlfriend and eight months pregnant. They wouldn't let her use the bathroom upstairs, and said she had to wait and use the downstairs one. It was less gross. While on the three floor jaunt, Jason and Eric were wrestling. Then, Jason started jumping up and down to scare the girls. Guess what, he got the elevator jammed! It took the fire department to get them out (oh yeah and about 45 minutes later) Jillisa was so ready to kill Jason. She had to use the bathroom! The nurses heard there was a pregnant woman stuck, so when the doors were opened, they were ready with oxygen, a wheelchair and three nurses to help her. She let them know that all she needed was a bathroom! (and maybe a nicer brother-in-law)! :) Almost happy I was not around for this one. I don't think I would have been very happy either! Glad the boys could still have fun!
You will notice that both boys have almost no hair. They shaved their heads to be like their mother. Every time they go in to her this way, She opens her eyes up wide. She knows Jaosn's surfer locks were almost to where they were perfect. It was a small sacrifice to make. But I do miss miss the long locks. I'll have to find a pic and post it later of what he did look like with longer hair. Pretty cute either way!

Hello again!

It has been over a year since I have posted and there has been quite a lot that has happened in our small, sweet family.
December 6th or so, Jason's mom was out for a walk with her husband and slipped on ice. She was life flighted to Vegas and two brain surgeries later, we are hoping for her to recover. She has a feeding tube in her stomach that she hates, she is not talking, she is able to move her left arm and foot, but is not responsive on her right side. As an artist that is right handed, it has to be devastating for her. SO, this Christmas has been harder than ones in the past being without her. She has missed the birth of two grandchildren and missing today, her baby turn 24. We have asked anyone that knew her, if you are able, to visit her. Her last name is now Ankeweicz. She is sad, and depressed and we are hoping more visitors would help cheer her up. Please keep her in your prayers and thoughts. We love her and miss her being a part of all our events! Thank you.

Disneyland

Jason sold a four-wheeler over a year ago, and the guy kept promising to pay us. He finally did this September. We decided we could be really frugal and put it back into our ever-dwindling savings account, or we could go on vacation. We decided to go on vacation and be very frivilous. We had so much fun! We told the boys we were going fishing. They were actually really mad when we showed up at the gates of Disneyland! They wanted to fish really bad! But, we convinced them we really would go to the beach and go fishing too! We went to Disneyland the first day (Friday) and the boys were ready to leave because of the lines. The next day, when we woke up, they wanted to head straight for the beach. We promised them we would go to the beach a little later as the park got busier. We finally went to the beach later that day and froze our tooshies off! The boys got to fish, without any luck. They played in the water and had a great time, even though it was very cold and foggy! Thanks to Mike and Micah and their family for joining us on this crusade. It was so much fun!! My boys really wanted to get their picture taken with Lightening McQueen! They thought he was really cool!
We went to California on Sunday (yes, I know. Sunday.) We were limited on time, because I had to go back to work on Tuesday -we had a four day weekend for the deer hunt Love Utah!!!! We don't have very many current family photos because I always stand behind the camera, but here is one that is kind of fun! I cut and colored my hair in September, so yes, that is my round self next to the R.
Early entrance into Disneyland on Sunday and the boys are loving that it is quiet and not crowded at all!
Bugs life was a great ride! We went several times and laughed so hard! Aren't these the cutest bugs you've ever seen??

All in all, we had a great time. We need to go sometime that is less rushed and I can take a couple personal days because it was much less crowded in October than in the summer! But, it will probably be another three years before we attempt going back. The boys really want to go back now that we are home, but they are much more "beach kids" than "amusement parkies"! And, I'm okay with that! We can beach it every summer because it's so inexpensive, and Chuck-E-Cheese is also our really great friend in the summer. We don't have one here, so it is so special for them! I love the family time that we were able to accomplish. With me working it seems that everything is so rushed now, and I only work four hours a day! I love my family so much and so glad we were able to create some fun memories with money that we should have put in savings, but extremely enjoyed the memories it created!
I have birthdays and other events to still post about, just bear with me please as I accomplish one post at a time! :)

New Adventures...

Okay, so many of you know that I have started teaching school again. It is only half-day Kindergarten, but it has been a very stressful event for me. It was a quick decission and I didn't have time to let it sink in before I actually started working. I had a very hard time leaving the boys with some wonderful friends. I am going to just get through the first week. That is the hardest. I have to work all day for three days, and then have back to school night and two days of teaching before the weekend. Our plan is to have Jason come home around luchtime to be with Stanton and Easton for 3 1/2 hours while I work. Then, when Jaden and I get home (he's going to be in first grade!!!), Jason may have to return to work depending on how busy and pressing it is. I know this was a blessing, since we have been surviving on savings for five months. Yes, Jason is working, but the the company he was working for went under and we started our own. It's going t take several months fr the new business to show any profit, and we don't know how steady it will be right now. So, for this year, those are the goals. I am already pretty lazy when itbcomes to updating my blog, and it will probably be even worse now! But, there will be posts and just remember that I am just busy. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers as I struggle to leave my little ones these few days. But, I am so grateful for the education I earned early in my life and that I am available to help the family right now. We love our friends and family!

Now I'm ready...

My kid's say the sweetest, most hillarious things! I thought I would share a few with you...

Jaden finished riding the horse with Papa and told him, "Well, now I have ridden the horse and I want to be a real cowboy, so When do I get to ride the cow"?!?!

Jaden and his cousin were talking. Jade said there was one really bad person and his name was Satan and one really good person and his name was Jesus. We choose everyday who we want to follow. He asked the cousin who he wanted to follow, and the answer was Jesus. Jaden asked his cousin,"are you sure? You are mean a whole lot"!!!!!
The cousin shrugged his shoulders and they got back to playing.
This would never fly with adults!

When we went to a baptism, we pulled up to the church and waited in the parking lot for a minute. When Jaden realized that's where we were staying for the baptism, he siad, "Wow, this is where they keep the River Jordan"?!?! We had to explain to him that no, it wasn't really. But, made us feel good that he knew a few things we had tried to teach him!
Kids can be so hillarious and I am so grateful I get to be here everyday to experience it. I would miss this so much if I had to work right now. What a blessing to have the family I do. I love you guys!

Holy Posts, Mommy!

Yes, I have only updated about one or two posts a month. Now that it is summer and we are home more, I think the guilt is getting to me. So today I made a few posts. If it didn't take so long for the pics to load, I would do it more often. But, in the meantime I was able to get some laundry folded and keep my children busy with chores! Enjoy reading!

Finished Quilt

Yay! The quilt is completely finished and I love it! It is the crazy 9 patch. I was super easy and if you ever see it in person, don't look too close!!! It is my first real quilt. I even did the machine stippeling! It was surpringly fun. I think I may enter it in the fair this year, under beginner. I did a quilt with pinks in it, for me! I get so tired of making so many blue things, that I thought I would do this for me. I had most of the material and the borders and back I got at the darling quilt shop in town. I love that place!!!! Papa Tom gave me money for Mothers Day and this bench is what I bought with it. Jason and I both fell in love with the bench. It is really cute, and for finding it at the grocery store-I think it was a great buy! I keep the quilt folded on the side for a little country-look. I have a few of the crazy squares left over and if I didn't throw them away already, I am going to make some throw pillows to go on the back of the bench!
Now, I think I am going to start one for my mom for Christmas. She is so hard to buy for. But shhhhh don't tell her!!!!!

My Cowboys

I always wanted my family to be well-rounded individuals, I think with this latest excursion, it is putting us there. Last Saturday we went on a five hour motorcycle ride. All of us. I rode an 80, yes I am too big for it. Jason took Easti, Papa Jerry took Stanton on the four-wheeler and Jaden rode his 50. We came home sunburnt, and very tired.
So this was last night adventure. Riding the new horses (or horse, I should say). Easton loved seeing the horses and was very relaxed enjoying them. He would get so mad everytime we took him off of Sammy. He would scream and cry. Jaden is leading the horse all by himself.

Excited, buddy????!!!!!

My hot, funny cowboy husband. He put on his (baseball) hat, his (steel-toe) boots, his (Calvin Klein) jeans and his (tee) shirt, and said he had cowboyed up and was ready to ride!

HOORAY!!!!

No I did not ride, nor do I intend to for a while. I am so deathly scared of horses. But, I am sure I will eventually get over that childhood scar, and Sammy would be the perfect choice for mending that wound. Just not right now!

Farm wife?!?

Okay, so my wonderful husband is a comedian for sure. He makes me laugh my guts out every day and he loves it!
When I came home from camping, he asked if I felt like a farmers wife yet. With skepticism, I worridly asked why. He just giggled and got on the phone. Obviously making arrangements for something. I reminded him that we have fourteen chickens, a dog, a cat, three monkey boys, a papa, and us. I take care of them. I do not need more on my plate. He just chuckled. I told him no goats and no cows. He reassured me there would be no goats or cows and continued the conversation with the person on the phone, arranging a pick up time. I was getting scared.
It seems his aunt had two horses that she needed to get rid of and if we wanted to come pick them up, we could have them. Our property is horse property. We are allowed to have 2 1/2 horses (it's based on acreage, don't know about the half situation) for our lot. But, Jason had been talking to my dad, Jerry that lives six houses away. He already has one horse and they figured they could just add to the corral. So, now they have three horses on their property. They are called the family horses. They are there for my parents and us. It will be fun if I ever get the guts up to ride one!
The horses really are beautiful. Until the corrals get built on my property, I won't feel too much like a farmers' wife. Hollywood. The beautiful, spirited thouroghbred (sp?)

Sam's News The Palimino that is family friendly and the favorite the kids call her Sammy. I think we are all partial to blondies!

Camping

One of my good friends has a cabin on a ton of acreage in the woods. We all went up there last week. Just the moms and kiddos. We had a ton of fun and it was very relaxing. The boys absolutely loved being able to roam for hours. They built forts, slid down big hill slides, meandered around the pond, rode four wheelers and just explored.
This is a phot of one of the biggest dandelions I have ever seen. Stanton loves the flower, and he was so excited when he saw one this large. He is trying to pick it, but it didn't fare so well. So, I let him blow another one. Then we raced out of there to beat the oncoming storm that would have stranded us for days! The Boys eating their yummy dutch oven.

We really went on a four-wheeler ride with this many people, plus Jaden! It was fun!

Here, Kitty, Kitty!

Those of you that know me well know that I am not really an animal person. I have enough things to take care of, and an animal adds to the stress. Well, since we live out in the sticks, we have great wildlife. A deer ran through our front yard the other day and it is a constant parade of chickmunks, rabbits, and other fun animals that eat my garden! But, this year we had other gross uninvited guests. Mice. I was so freaked out! They were the smartest mice ever. They avoided every trap and would keep me up at night worrying that one would scurry past one of my babies. Yes, I am a nut. So I went straight to the pound (yes, I know people give these away everyday) and we adopted a sweet kitten. It had to be a kitten because we have a dog. We know Toby would be fine with the cat, but we also know that a big cat would not be fine with Toby. So, we brought home this tiny six week old thing. We had a family vote on what to name it. It was a close call between Cat A. Pillar, and Mitten. In the end, Mitten won. Sorry, Jason.

Yes, SHE is too little to actually catch anything, but in the meantime, my decon worked wonders and we are mouse-free. SO, next year, at this time when the swamp coolers are running and we have doors ajar, I 'm thinking we will still be mouse-free!

It was kind of scary the first two days. The dog was really wary of the cat. But, now they are buds. They play all the time, nap together and just hang out. It's very cute. Toby has to watch where he steps. Cat may be underfoot!

The worst part is that now we have had her almost a month, and the boys still fight over who gets to hold her. I was hoping that would wear off a long time ago. Yuck!

Hobbies... Part 2

This post was supposed to be after Jaden's post, but I am trying to multi-task and did not do a very good job of paying enough attention to details. Oh well. Here we go anyway!



My hobbies have varied throughout my lifetime. There's crosstitch, tole-painting, scrapbooking, card-making, jewelry making, beading, quilting (this is a new hobby) I sew with a friend every Thursday, and am learning so much. I am almost done with a project I am so excited about. I will be done next week and post the finished product. The other big hobby/project that I do is couponing. I have always been frugal and very careful in spending. But, I have been couponing for about four months and have been so amazed with the items I can get for free! My supp;ies of items are increasing dramatically and I am spending little to no money in the process! I am amazed at what coupons, doubling coupons and combining them with the right sale can really make things cheap! Here is a picture of the stash I got this morning. Three of my friends went with me and we went at 6:30 this morning. It was so nice without kiddos and we had free reign of the store. 7 cheeses, 5 flatbread melts, 2 airwick refills, 2-6 packs angel soft toilet paper, 4 Smart Balance butter, 2 V-8 Fusion, 1 Marshmallow, 2 cottage cheese, 2 Country Time Lemonade canisters, 4-8 packs juicy juice, 2 lunch meat packages, shaving gel, 1 tobasco sauce, Peanut bars.



Total spent: $30.81 Total saved: $115.53



Yes, totally worth the hour and a half of preparation, the drive to St. George, and it was so fun with my girlfriends! Thanks, girls!

Stay tuned for some more great finds!

Hobbies...

At our house, I paint faces all the time. It's fun and the boys just love it.
This is Stanton's catterpillar that turned into a yellow butterfly with pink hearts. They always choose intering things! Jaden has always wanted to be an author/illustrator since he could kind of say the words. Not surprising, since his Grandma Connie is an artist and his mother is a closet wanna-be children's author (someday). He loves to do different art projects and play in different mediums. The boys always give me very interesting requests for face painting. Then, Jaden always looks at the finished product and laughs, telling me how funny I am. I really don't try to be. I'm just artistically challenged (big time)! So, today, I told Jaden he could choose the objects and draw them himself on everybody. Stanton was already done, so he did himself, Easton and me.
He chose to do a red and black version of a bee on himself. He thought he was so clever with the color combination. He just snickered the whole time!

He painted this ladybug on Easton. Of couse it didn't make it long enough to dry completely. Easti loves getting things on his face, and touches it as soon as you set him free. Then he rubs his hands on it. In about two seconds, it's a smeared mess. But, a happy boy is always wonderful!
>

This is the catepillar he was so excited about. I never do them right!

My favorite. A big red heart with the words, I luv you. How could your heart not melt? He made me guess what he was drawing and he just giggled at all the things I would guess. What a sweet little boy. He is growing up too fast!

Don't mind the tired face or nasty hair. It was in a hat all day.

I am so grateful for boys that will try new things and have the confidence to laugh at things. What wonderful self-esteem and talents they have. I am so blessed with all these little blue monkey boys!

Happy Mothers Day

This year for Mothers day, we had two very sick little boys we were up with all night. At about three am , Jason told me Happy Mothers Day. Yes, I was in the bathroom helping a vomitting child. Not a very nice thing to say to me. I did make it to church and Jason stayed home with Stanton and Easton. Jaden did a great job singing in Sacrament and my Sunbeams were obviously fed too much sugar for breakfast. They were seriously out of control! But, I got my little flower and went home happy. The economy and uncertainty of our future at this moment has made us step back for a moment and realize that we can do without a lot of things. Mothers day was a great beginning to that. I had Jason make a screen for my garden so that the critters stayed out and he fixed my brakes. So now I don't squeek, and my rotors will survive. My veggis should grow nice and big and I am very content and happy with these small, inexpensive gifts. He mopped my floor and helped clean up. It was a nice day. My mom brought me flowers and Jaden made an adorable little plaque. The reason he loves me the most: I let him play Club Penguin. Nice! I guess that is the most endearing quality my son loves the most. Oh well, he's six. All in all the day was nice and I had fun. Even without presents! I hope that everyone else had a wonderful Mothers Day and that it was filled with kind, loving words and lots of loved ones.

Jaden Fly-n-high

So, I am a little techno-challenged and could not figure out how to get both of the pics from the ride to post together when I sent from from picassa. Oh well, I will figure it out soon. So, this is Jaden's first little jump with his bike. He has been trying to figure out the wheelie thing for a while, and this hill helped him a ton! He looks so cute! What a fun time it has been getting him to ride. He loves it so much, he even cried when we left. Music to his dad's ears!

High Flyin' Boys!

We went out riding in the sand and I took some pictures of the boys on their bikes. We got some good ones and had a lot of fun! Jason is still a little hottie!

Stanton Turns 4!!!

Stanton turned four on March 18. What a fun time! He had a family party first, then we had a few friends at the park. He wanted a pirate party so bad and it had to have a pirate boat. This is the first birthday he has really been able to tell me what he wanted. And, he held nothing back! He told me in many details how he wanted hs wooden pirate boat to be. Needless to say, we didn't build a wooden pirate boat. Instead, he seemed very pleased with his pirate ship cake I made. It was suprisingly easy to put together, and the funnest part was probably the candles coming out of the side, like cannonballs! It was perfect March weather, with enough wind to use all the kites we bought for favors. He had a lot of really great friends come and he loved all the fun presents. Thanks for all your support. We have worked hard to get where he is today! This is the cake he had at our house. I did not make this one. It was found at Lins. It was cheeper to buy this than the frosting and sprinkles he wanted. It's really cute, and was quick for me!
Stanton's favorite food is bacon and eggs. At our house, when it is your birthday, you get to choose what we all eat for every meal you are home for. So, for breakfast, we had bacon and eggs. He wanted that for lunch and for dinner too. Jason came and took us to McDonalds for lunch, and I pepped it up at dinner. We had pancakes with strawberries, whipped cream and strawberry syrup. We of course, also had bacon and eggs (thank heavens we have chickens). So, by the time cake and ice-cream came around, we were sugared out! We had over half the cake left! But, it was a fun dinner.

He got a suitcase, which he calls his new backpack. He loves Lightning McQueen. He thought it was awesome.

He is adorable!

In the past year, Stanton has improved in speech and behavior dramatically. He only spoke a few words at three and was so incredibly shy and afraid of people. He now has a very large vocabulary, much more self-esteem and is so funny! He loves to do things that make his muscles work and loves preschool people don't scare him anymore, and he is very friendly. He is going to speech therapy once a week and has really come out of his shell. He loves his brothers and can be so sweet. He has been a challenge for me since he was born. I was not prepared for what came. I am so grateful for the things I have learned through Stanton and how much we have grown together. I have learned patience and understanding and to love all accomplishments in life. He is an amazing boy and has a Christ-like meekness, which people identify with, and they soften when they are around him. How blessed we are to have this sweet boy in our lives. Thank you for being you. We adore you! Have a wonderful year. We are excited to see you grow and learn so much.

Cow Dung Run

Jason and Jaden participated in the Cow Dung Run in Delta on March 15. They had fun, but it was only 13 degrees when we entered Delta! Jade got an awsome start, but finished second to last. He cried the entire race, but he did finish! He had cold hands and was so upset over it. I am very ill-equipped for this type of weather! Jade said he was just so happy he didn't lose and get last place. Jason says that's a boy thing. Finally, the finish line

Jason's run went well. Here he is with two of the boys just hanging out to get his finishing order.

This is his last lap of the race. He fell and his feet were tangled up in the handlebars... Another rider had to stop and help him get untangled. He still took second place in his class. It is craziness to me all the stuff he goes through, for the possiblility of a trophy. There isn't even cash invloved in these races!!

This is a checkpoint and coming into pit road. He said while he was tangled in his bike, he was thinking that he was being crazy about racing, and probably wouldn't do it anymore. Well, the next night, he was telling me to get the next application ready and sent out. So, Wendover, here we come on April 15. Back to Delta in May, and maybe a bit of a break for the summer. Who knows????

He sure looks cute, though!

Rhino Rally 2009

Jason and Jaden both participated in the Rhino Rally this year. It's a motorcycle race. Jade's was a loop that they ran for twenty minutes. Jason's was a 55 mile ride. I didn't get any pics. of him during the race, but this is him coming into pit road. He was really mad at this point, because he had to fix his clutch in the middle of the race. It took him about ten minutes to do that. He was passed by so many people, he was very frustrated. Still, he took fourth in his age class. We still don't know how he did overall, with the three hundred riders. But fourth in his class for his first time, isn't so bad. He even received a trophy! Off to Delta this weekend for the Cow Dung Run! Yee HAW!

Jaden looks so cute in his matching red gear. He had a lot of fun and it was fun to watch. I asked him how many times he crashed, and he said," I quit counting after four, mom". So funny! All the kids were falling a lot and some were even on training wheels! Talk about cuteness! He took fifth in his age group. He thought he took third, and is still upset over it. He will try again in Delta this weekend, and we'll see how aggressive he gets there about third place!

Off he goes!