Hi everyone,
I've just spent the last couple hours catching up on email and blogs. Both Kristi and Stef have been very active writing to their blogs lately. I feel like I have been for a visit! There are lots of fun stories and pictures that I hadn't seen or heard. I think Kristi is going to write every day in November. Check them out.
Love you all.
Mom
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Sunday, October 31, 2010
A week in the life of Rosey
Dearest Family,
I don't think I have written to this thing since Blaine and Kristi lived in Texas, kind of pathetic! So today as I was talking with Janet (my 4th room mate whose family lives in North Carolina, Florida, and Georgia) about how often she talks to her family, I realized that I am just a little pathetic about keeping up with what is going on in a lot of my family who lives so close to me! So, here I am writing the BAWB.
I thought I would give a quick recap of a typical day for me, although each day of the week is very different, they (meaning each individual day of the week) are basically the same each week. So I am going to give a quick recap of each day...it will be quick hopefully!
Monday:
Wake up at 6:30-shower, make lunch(the same one I have been having my whole life :)
7:45- Ride my bike to BYU (up that dang hill!)
8-10:30- Social Policy class
10:30-11:00-Read the Book of Mormon somewhere on campus to clear my mind, OR call Mom, OR run campus errands, OR socialize with classmates (or discuss school projects...)
11:00-1:30- Group therapy class, eat my lunch
1:30-2:00- Same as my other break
2:00-3:15- Research methods class
3:30-5:30- Homework
6:00-7:00-Dinner with all my roomates (made by Janet...we switch days)
7:00-8:00- Football practice (ha ha)
8:00-9:30-FHE (love my family this semester!)
9:30-11:00- Homework, chit-chat with roommates, extended FHE, etc. Bed
Tuesday:
7:00- Wake-up (no shower!), make lunch etc.
7:45- Ride bike to school
8:00-10:30- Direct Practice (how to be a good therapist)
10:30-11:00-Ride bike to Marriot center, go to devotional
12:00-4:30- Work at Wymount doing grounds (raking leaves right now...4 hours a day!)
4:30-5:30- Make dinner (my day)
6:00-6:30- Eat with roommates
7:00-11:00- Homework, intramurals (I was on 5 different teams this semester), watch a Jazz game or Criminal minds, go running with Chels, Amber, and Jamie (I have convinced them all to do a 1/2 marathon in April, pretty big news!) etc....just depends on the night!
Wednesday:
Same as Monday, except different classes, and after my Research Methods class I have a Spirituality in Social Work class from 4-5:30 (love it so much!)
And then my Wednesday nights are same as Tuesday nights...
Thursday:
7:30- Wake up, make lunch, etc.
8-2:00- Work at Wymount grounds (raking leaves!)
2:00-5:00- Meet with my research mentor (I am working on a publishable research project about American Indian father involvement) and work on the research (I get paid 16 bucks to do this...I only make 8.25 doing grounds....wow kids, get an education!)
5:00-11:00 same as other nights...
Friday:
7:30-Wake up
8:00-4:30- Work a full day at Wymount doing grounds, although all I do is work, I do love my job! I usually work with all guys and one Brazilian girls, it is a lot of fun!
***It is from here that my weeks are different each week! I love weekends, I usually spend time with Brett during the weekend (not some hottie, just the sweet boy I mentor :) I spend time on Saturday doing homework, go shopping, etc.
***On Sunday I like to try and spend some alone time, get to know people in the ward, and have dinner and play games with different people. I love Sundays!
Well I know that was probably not the most exciting blog post, but in a nutshell, that is my life! I do love school, I feel healthy because I take time to get enough sleep and exercise, I find time to have a social life, I find time to serve others (which helps keep me happy) and I am still a single woman...I try to associate with as many men as possible but so far no real prospectives. Life really is good though. I hope to see you all soon, I can't wait for Thanksgiving! I love you all and hope all is well.
Love,
Rose Bud
Friday, October 15, 2010
Time (Kristi)
Wow. I cannot believe how busy life is when you have a kindergartner. I used to think my friends were lying when all of the sudden they didn't have time to do things anymore once their kid started school - I mean - their kid was in school all day, wouldn't that technically give them more time to hang out with me? Now I get it : ). Between driving Gwen to and from Kindergarten, her reading class at the literacy center, Bentley's preschool, my zumba class, dinner swap, and so on, we are constantly running around like chickens with our heads cut off.
But we love it! I much prefer being busy to being bored. Gwen is loving kindergarten. I think she is making some friends. Though it is really stressful to me to hear about all of the drama already. Each day I get to hear about who told her that she is not their friend anymore and who she told that she isn't their friend anymore. Agh. I can only imagine how complicated things will get in Junior High.
It's really cute when I go to pick her up she always comes out of the school holding hands with Sam. I think they are assigned to be carpool partners or something. Anyway, one day she came home and Sam had given her a sillyband shaped like a flower. It was really cute. But I have to be careful to not say too much, my inclination is to tease her about having a boyfriend, but I don't want her to not be friends with boys because of teasing, so I keep my lip zipped.
She is getting so excited for her Tinkerbell birthday party next Saturday. For the last three years it just hasn't worked for her to have a birthday party. In 2007 Bentley was a newborn, in 2008 I was morning sick with Ivy, in 2009 we had just moved and didn't have friends, so...here we are! It's 2010, I'm fit as a fiddle (much to all of your dismays! Ha!), we have been here long enough to have a few friends, and we are going to have the best Tinkerbell party ever!
Bentley is LOVING preschool. We just do a swap with four families in the ward. The class is each Wednesday from 9-11, and I teach once a month. Have I ever mentioned that teaching is not a talent of mine? It really isn't? I absolutely hate it! But, luckily it is just once a month. Bentley cries whenever I pick him up from preschool. He loves it so much! He really is such a smart little guy too. He is incorporating all sorts of funny stuff into his vocabulary. He says "probably" all the time. If I ask him if he is hungry he says, "probably yes". And if I pour his cereal he will say "mom, I need some more in this area ". Looks like he is following in Gwen's footsteps in the vocab department.
Speaking of that, Gwen was telling me the other day that one of her friends fell off of the swing and so she asked her if she was okay. Then Gwen's other friends came up and said "is she okay?" and gwen said, "well, I asked if she was okay and she didn't respond" and apparently all the kids said, " you don't even know what respond means!". And then she told them what it meant and they were all very impressed. I don't think they teased her, thank goodness! She has such a big vocabulary, the other day she was talking about birds migration patterns. It was awesome : )
I am LOVING my zumba class. It makes me so happy. It is a fun thing to look forward to on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. And the extra good news is that it is by Grandma's house so on Tuesdays we go right from school to visit Grandma and then to Zumba. The kids love the childcare center at the gym (well, Ivy is working on liking it). So it is a welcome break for all of us. I am really glad that we will have that available to us in the wintertime. Winter was really a hard season for all of us last year so I am glad we will have somewhere to go.
I've also been playing volleyball with our ward on Thursdays (when I can) and Tuesdays (when I can), it's really fun. Things are going so much better in this ward than the last one. So I am happy!
For a while it was looking like I might get to go to Texas for my birthday, and I still might, though it isn't panning out to be as perfect as I had thought it might.
Blaine is doing well, he likes playing Basketball with the EQ on Thursday evenings. He is also working on writing again. He is reading a really good book that is inspiring him to pick up with writing again. He is also about to dive whole heartedly into applying for law school. So wish him luck!
So life is busy, and good! Sorry this is a quickie, but I checked the BAWB today and it was pretty much lifeless so I thought I would try to revive it a bit!
But we love it! I much prefer being busy to being bored. Gwen is loving kindergarten. I think she is making some friends. Though it is really stressful to me to hear about all of the drama already. Each day I get to hear about who told her that she is not their friend anymore and who she told that she isn't their friend anymore. Agh. I can only imagine how complicated things will get in Junior High.
It's really cute when I go to pick her up she always comes out of the school holding hands with Sam. I think they are assigned to be carpool partners or something. Anyway, one day she came home and Sam had given her a sillyband shaped like a flower. It was really cute. But I have to be careful to not say too much, my inclination is to tease her about having a boyfriend, but I don't want her to not be friends with boys because of teasing, so I keep my lip zipped.
She is getting so excited for her Tinkerbell birthday party next Saturday. For the last three years it just hasn't worked for her to have a birthday party. In 2007 Bentley was a newborn, in 2008 I was morning sick with Ivy, in 2009 we had just moved and didn't have friends, so...here we are! It's 2010, I'm fit as a fiddle (much to all of your dismays! Ha!), we have been here long enough to have a few friends, and we are going to have the best Tinkerbell party ever!
Bentley is LOVING preschool. We just do a swap with four families in the ward. The class is each Wednesday from 9-11, and I teach once a month. Have I ever mentioned that teaching is not a talent of mine? It really isn't? I absolutely hate it! But, luckily it is just once a month. Bentley cries whenever I pick him up from preschool. He loves it so much! He really is such a smart little guy too. He is incorporating all sorts of funny stuff into his vocabulary. He says "probably" all the time. If I ask him if he is hungry he says, "probably yes". And if I pour his cereal he will say "mom, I need some more in this area ". Looks like he is following in Gwen's footsteps in the vocab department.
Speaking of that, Gwen was telling me the other day that one of her friends fell off of the swing and so she asked her if she was okay. Then Gwen's other friends came up and said "is she okay?" and gwen said, "well, I asked if she was okay and she didn't respond" and apparently all the kids said, " you don't even know what respond means!". And then she told them what it meant and they were all very impressed. I don't think they teased her, thank goodness! She has such a big vocabulary, the other day she was talking about birds migration patterns. It was awesome : )
I am LOVING my zumba class. It makes me so happy. It is a fun thing to look forward to on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. And the extra good news is that it is by Grandma's house so on Tuesdays we go right from school to visit Grandma and then to Zumba. The kids love the childcare center at the gym (well, Ivy is working on liking it). So it is a welcome break for all of us. I am really glad that we will have that available to us in the wintertime. Winter was really a hard season for all of us last year so I am glad we will have somewhere to go.
I've also been playing volleyball with our ward on Thursdays (when I can) and Tuesdays (when I can), it's really fun. Things are going so much better in this ward than the last one. So I am happy!
For a while it was looking like I might get to go to Texas for my birthday, and I still might, though it isn't panning out to be as perfect as I had thought it might.
Blaine is doing well, he likes playing Basketball with the EQ on Thursday evenings. He is also working on writing again. He is reading a really good book that is inspiring him to pick up with writing again. He is also about to dive whole heartedly into applying for law school. So wish him luck!
So life is busy, and good! Sorry this is a quickie, but I checked the BAWB today and it was pretty much lifeless so I thought I would try to revive it a bit!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Christmas
Well I tried to wait longer this year to bring it up :)
but alas, we need to decide.
Would everyone still like to do the traditional $30 big gift and then dollar gifts for everyone else?
(We would have Rosey this year...you can do the math)
or
would you like to give say a $5-10 gift to everyone??
We are good with whatever! Just wanted to find out everyone else's thoughts.
Love you guys, so nice to see you all over the weekend!
-Stef
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Happy Birthday Blaine!! (mom)
Dear Family,
In front of you all I wanted to wish Blaine a very happy birthday today. We celebrated last Sunday night in their home with Ben but I want you to know, Blaine, that I have been thinking of you ALL day today. You totally changed my life 29 years ago. I had no idea what a rewarding, wonderful and challenging journey I was beginning on that day. What an honor to be your mother. I'll always remember grandma Winder's comment in the hospital that she thought you looked just like a general authority. I always felt I gave birth to someone VERY special! Thanks for being such an obedient and trustworthy son and such a good example to your siblings. You had to be the one we "learned on" being first and all. And you have taken it all in stride. Thanks for being patient with me as a mom. I love you so much. You probably understand that statement much better now that you have your own children, but I promise you that love just grows and grows the longer you live.
Lots and lots of love! Hope this day is happy.
Love, Mom
In front of you all I wanted to wish Blaine a very happy birthday today. We celebrated last Sunday night in their home with Ben but I want you to know, Blaine, that I have been thinking of you ALL day today. You totally changed my life 29 years ago. I had no idea what a rewarding, wonderful and challenging journey I was beginning on that day. What an honor to be your mother. I'll always remember grandma Winder's comment in the hospital that she thought you looked just like a general authority. I always felt I gave birth to someone VERY special! Thanks for being such an obedient and trustworthy son and such a good example to your siblings. You had to be the one we "learned on" being first and all. And you have taken it all in stride. Thanks for being patient with me as a mom. I love you so much. You probably understand that statement much better now that you have your own children, but I promise you that love just grows and grows the longer you live.
Lots and lots of love! Hope this day is happy.
Love, Mom
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Dear Max:
I'm really glad that I've known you since you were three. Because I have a whole box full of the cutest things that you made for me. Actually all of your siblings too for that matter, it's been SO fun to get a chance to be a big sister. I always wanted to be one, and never thought I would have the chance. As I went through my box of memories tonight I had the cutest letters and cards from each of you (Nick, some of yours were so classic!). But I think because I got to watch him grow up from being such a little guy Max is my favorite little brother! Thanks for making being a big sister such a fun experience guys!
Love,
Kris
P.S. I know you guys have always thought I had skinny legs but.... I had no idea they were THAT skinny!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
I got a job!!!!! (Janey)
I just thoughts I would let you all know....I GOT A JOB! I am so excited! I will be working as a Speech Language Pathologist Assistant for the Granite School District. I have already met with the lady who I will be helping and she seems great! This will be a great job to add to my application/resume when I apply to grad school next year. It is only 29 hours a week but pays decent. The worst part is that I won't get benefits, which I need. But beggers can't be choosers. :) Heavenly Father has blessed me so much. I seriously felt like this job fell in my lap (well...sort-of). If you want to hear the cool story about it, just ask me next time you see me! Thanks so much for all of your prayers and help as I have searched for a job. Hope everything is going great in your part of Utah (I was going to say "world," but that seemed a bit extreme since we all live in Utah.) :) Love you all!
Monday, August 9, 2010
4 best photos of Disney Trip (dad)
Okay - here's a fun assignment. Pick 4 of your favorite pictures of our trip to Dland. Then post them up here. Here are some of mine.
I love this for the color and the motion. I love the fact that Gwen loved this ride so much that she wanted to do it again and again. I also loved the fact that the 2nd time they rode this, Blaine and Kristi both had their cameras going the whole ride.
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I love the motion in this picture, and that I was able to catch everyone at such a cool angle.
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This picture of Max and Rosey represents the excitement that everyone brought to every aspect of the trip.
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And I loved being able to be the Krispy Kreme man who was able to not only bring home the donuts, but also bring the whole gang together for this wonderful trip.
Good luck narrowing your photos down to just 4!
Loves. Dad
I love this for the color and the motion. I love the fact that Gwen loved this ride so much that she wanted to do it again and again. I also loved the fact that the 2nd time they rode this, Blaine and Kristi both had their cameras going the whole ride.
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I love the motion in this picture, and that I was able to catch everyone at such a cool angle.
.JPG)
This picture of Max and Rosey represents the excitement that everyone brought to every aspect of the trip.
.JPG)
And I loved being able to be the Krispy Kreme man who was able to not only bring home the donuts, but also bring the whole gang together for this wonderful trip.
Good luck narrowing your photos down to just 4!
Loves. Dad
Fountain Green pt 4 (Dad)
Blaine takes Gwen for a thrill ride
Nick takes flight
Nick gives Bret the thrill of his life.
Gpa helps get dinner ready...mmmm turkey, steak, and lamb...
Fountain Green pt 3 (Dad)
When mom wasn't working in the kitchen, she was taking care of grandkids. She was truly a co-hostess with Nancy.
Max took kids out on thrill rides.
Nick showed stef why he loves horses so much.
Gma and Gpa try for another photo w/ the grandkids. Oh well.Fountain Green pt 2 (Dad)
Ivy was such a good sport.
I love this photo...It looks like Gwen was the only one who was promised a bribe for getting her picture with Gma and Gpa.
breakfast kids!Fountain Green pt 1 (Dad)
I am so excited! I just discovered that once again PICASA is king! As you can see I'm able to add photos VERY VERY easily FROM Picasa TO our BAWB. This is so great (and easy to do).So I hope I don't bore you all with photos going forward. But I'm very excited about this capability and hope all of you will use it!
So Some pictures from our trip to Fountain Green. Thanks to all for being there. I know Brent and Nancy went to a lot of work to make it fun.
Janey and the grandkids.
Brent and Bentley enjoy the thrill of the glider!
Clay enjoys the thrill of the grandma
Rosey - the winner (Dad)
Two photos. Once is just a gorgeous shot from Sherm Circle. The other is a shot of our champion - Rosey B. Her softball team won the championship (Division 1). They had to win two games in a row on the same night to do it. And they did it. They came back from behind on both games to take it. Congratulations!!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Disneyland (Dad)
I may post a couple of times, on this trip. I got all my pictures posted () and so now I can start documenting some of my thoughts and feelings.
One of my favorite memories were just driving in the car. Rosey had CD mixes she had made, and so we listened to those the whole way in and the whole way home. They were great Rose - thanks! Janey and I kept having a discussion of whether it would be worth pulling over and buying one of those things that hooks to your ipod to play our music on the radio. But alas, Rosey's music was good enough to keep us all happy.
One of the continuing conversations (which got funnier and funnier as the trip went on) was around whether something had become a big gap, or was just a funny idiosyncrasy. I pointed out early in the trip that no one is perfect. And everyone has weird things about their personality. And that's okay. It's when we allow our weird traits to get bigger and all consuming, that it becomes more than a trait, it becomes a gaping hole or a huge gap. And that's not okay. That's when you need some counseling, or you need to put some effort behind fixing it. And the example, I gave (which Rosey pointed out is the example I always give when I bring up this subject) was around Margarette and her dislike of hugs. When she and Rosey were little girls, they both laughed about not liking to get hugs. I was happy when Rosey overcame that weird little trait... but Margie let it grow and become kind of a personality trait. Again, that's okay - it's kind of funny and cute to watch her squirm. But if she let it grow to the point, where the she didn't want anyone touching her, or kissing her, or looking at her, then it would become a gaping hole, something for which she might need some help. Because it could keep her from being free to be what the Lord would want to be... married and motherly. So for the rest of the trip, whenever something came up where they were talking about a person who had a problem or a bad habit, and they would tell I was getting ready to preach about the dangers of that habit or trait, then they would clarify for me, that it wasn't a gaping hole.... but just a weird trait, and it was okay. That got funnier and funnier to me as the trip went on.
We loved stopping in Beaver for cheese curds, seeing N&S new house for the first time, going into St. George and watching Toy Story3, eating spahetti, having a little lesson on the declaration of independance and sleeping in Brent and Nancy's big bed.
I loved getting up early and seeing the red rock, going to N&S's church and hearing Nick bear a wonderful tetimony, and then hitting the road together. It was fun doing lunch outside of Vegas, and then listening to the mormon tabercale choir at full blast was we drove past Las Vegas with windows rolled down and me shaking my fist yelling out the window, "Repent sinners...the end is near" (or something like that). Knowing that all 3 cars had GPS systems, and we didn't have to see each other all the time, to know we would all arrive safely. I loved arriving at our hotel, seeing how beautiful it was, then having pizza (see Janey's story) and going to the fireworks show at DLand. I was happy the shuttle to the parks worked so well and that my feet were holding out.
I loved having breakfast at our place each day. The crispy creme donuts were a special treat which everyone seemed to appreciate. I never heard any complaints and never felt like anyone wanted to moan that we only had Peanut Butter and Jelly for sandwiches. I just felt gratitude from all, all the time.. I was happy that the food budget idea seemed to work so well. In the parks I loved not feeling rushed, and at the end of each day feeling like we had packed sooo much in. I loved that everyone wanted to hang out together... and for the most part we did. I appreciated that Rosey, Janey, Kristi and others were willing to go so often running off for going into the park to get 'fast pass' tickets. I loved how willing everyone was to sit with kids who couldn't go on rides while we took turns going on rides. I also appreciated how parents of young kids were so willing to sit out, instead of expecting others to take care of their kids. When anyone helped with kids, you guys were always so grateful, and that meant a lot.
I appreciated that even though Janey and Max both came down with illnesses, they were still able to enjoy the fun, and they didn't spread it to everyone. I appreciated all the little miracles....miracles including - Magic morning and being able to pull together all the loose ends so quickly. Blaine and Kristi finding her camera. Never losing a child. Never having to wait for multiple shuttles to take us back or forth to the park. That my feet held out. That Bentley didn't wander off and get lost when he'd go on his early morning excusions while his family still slept. That Bret was happy with his "Cars, Cars" even though they didn't roll. That we experienced an earthquake. That we got to eat out occassionally. That there wasn't any drama so negative that people came away feeling too badly.
And if I ever did say something or do something which offended any of you, or made you feel small, or unappreciated... I apologize, and hope to be able to make it up to you...
Thanks all for making it a wonderful memory. See you soon.
Loves. Dad.
One of my favorite memories were just driving in the car. Rosey had CD mixes she had made, and so we listened to those the whole way in and the whole way home. They were great Rose - thanks! Janey and I kept having a discussion of whether it would be worth pulling over and buying one of those things that hooks to your ipod to play our music on the radio. But alas, Rosey's music was good enough to keep us all happy.
One of the continuing conversations (which got funnier and funnier as the trip went on) was around whether something had become a big gap, or was just a funny idiosyncrasy. I pointed out early in the trip that no one is perfect. And everyone has weird things about their personality. And that's okay. It's when we allow our weird traits to get bigger and all consuming, that it becomes more than a trait, it becomes a gaping hole or a huge gap. And that's not okay. That's when you need some counseling, or you need to put some effort behind fixing it. And the example, I gave (which Rosey pointed out is the example I always give when I bring up this subject) was around Margarette and her dislike of hugs. When she and Rosey were little girls, they both laughed about not liking to get hugs. I was happy when Rosey overcame that weird little trait... but Margie let it grow and become kind of a personality trait. Again, that's okay - it's kind of funny and cute to watch her squirm. But if she let it grow to the point, where the she didn't want anyone touching her, or kissing her, or looking at her, then it would become a gaping hole, something for which she might need some help. Because it could keep her from being free to be what the Lord would want to be... married and motherly. So for the rest of the trip, whenever something came up where they were talking about a person who had a problem or a bad habit, and they would tell I was getting ready to preach about the dangers of that habit or trait, then they would clarify for me, that it wasn't a gaping hole.... but just a weird trait, and it was okay. That got funnier and funnier to me as the trip went on.
We loved stopping in Beaver for cheese curds, seeing N&S new house for the first time, going into St. George and watching Toy Story3, eating spahetti, having a little lesson on the declaration of independance and sleeping in Brent and Nancy's big bed.
I loved getting up early and seeing the red rock, going to N&S's church and hearing Nick bear a wonderful tetimony, and then hitting the road together. It was fun doing lunch outside of Vegas, and then listening to the mormon tabercale choir at full blast was we drove past Las Vegas with windows rolled down and me shaking my fist yelling out the window, "Repent sinners...the end is near" (or something like that). Knowing that all 3 cars had GPS systems, and we didn't have to see each other all the time, to know we would all arrive safely. I loved arriving at our hotel, seeing how beautiful it was, then having pizza (see Janey's story) and going to the fireworks show at DLand. I was happy the shuttle to the parks worked so well and that my feet were holding out.
I loved having breakfast at our place each day. The crispy creme donuts were a special treat which everyone seemed to appreciate. I never heard any complaints and never felt like anyone wanted to moan that we only had Peanut Butter and Jelly for sandwiches. I just felt gratitude from all, all the time.. I was happy that the food budget idea seemed to work so well. In the parks I loved not feeling rushed, and at the end of each day feeling like we had packed sooo much in. I loved that everyone wanted to hang out together... and for the most part we did. I appreciated that Rosey, Janey, Kristi and others were willing to go so often running off for going into the park to get 'fast pass' tickets. I loved how willing everyone was to sit with kids who couldn't go on rides while we took turns going on rides. I also appreciated how parents of young kids were so willing to sit out, instead of expecting others to take care of their kids. When anyone helped with kids, you guys were always so grateful, and that meant a lot.
I appreciated that even though Janey and Max both came down with illnesses, they were still able to enjoy the fun, and they didn't spread it to everyone. I appreciated all the little miracles....miracles including - Magic morning and being able to pull together all the loose ends so quickly. Blaine and Kristi finding her camera. Never losing a child. Never having to wait for multiple shuttles to take us back or forth to the park. That my feet held out. That Bentley didn't wander off and get lost when he'd go on his early morning excusions while his family still slept. That Bret was happy with his "Cars, Cars" even though they didn't roll. That we experienced an earthquake. That we got to eat out occassionally. That there wasn't any drama so negative that people came away feeling too badly.
And if I ever did say something or do something which offended any of you, or made you feel small, or unappreciated... I apologize, and hope to be able to make it up to you...
Thanks all for making it a wonderful memory. See you soon.
Loves. Dad.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Disneyland (Blaine)
Wow, it's been a really long time since I've written an actual post. I justify my inactivity because I'm so good at reading and leaving comments, but really it's about time that I post. For that matter I think it's about time that anyone besides Mom or Janey post (they get off the hook since they have actually written this month! :)
Anyway, I'm not sure what memory I want to talk about yet but I just decided I would start typing and see what comes out. It was a wonderful trip as we have all said. It was so fun to have all the kids just a bit older and I think it stood out to them more than last time. Having Ivy and Clayton along with us for their first time was great and I KNOW Ben and Bret got a lot more out of it. Ben was so cute in the months, weeks, and days leading up to the trip. He would hear us talking about the upcoming trip every so often and latch on to how much longer there was until the trip. The funny thing is, he wouldn't then "update". In other words, for about 6 weeks when we asked Bentley when Disneyland was he would say "2 months". And then, until the day before we left he would say "2 weeks". And then he said "tomorrow" which was true from basically the Friday (well, we were on our way on Friday's "tomorrow") until the end of the trip. However, unfortunately for him, that is still where he is at. He keeps hoping that we'll go to Disneyland again tomorrow or at least some combination of "not tomorrow, not the next day, not the next day..." etc. as if we have another trip planned. Finally I tried explaining to him that we'll probably go again when he's about Gwen's age, which was a little hard for him to understand at first, and then a little hard to accept, but I think he's finally gotten through his head what a fun, special time it was, why we were so excited for it, and what we have to look forward to again someday.
For Gwen's part, I think she had a much more memorable time as well. There was much more to anticipate this time and I was amazed how much she remembered and knew to look forward to. I'm sure it didn't hurt that she watched our home videos from the 2008 Disneyland trip 2-3 times each Sunday for months leading up to the trip. She knew all the rides she wanted to do and all the rides she didn't want to do long before we got there. And she knew most of all that she wanted to be a part of everything "fairy" or "princess" at the park once we got there. For weeks she saved all kinds of little trinkets in a special basket that was her "fairy basket" to take to Disneyland. This included bigger things like new Tinkerbell t-shirt, panties, and socks, as well as smaller things like shiny beads that she came across in her little life, pictures of "well-endowed" fairies that she had drawn (I think you know what I mean by this--the big circles she never fails to draw on her subjects' chests :), used stickers, feathers, pieces of granite she found at the cabin, and who knows what else. In the end, we definitely brought all the new clothes but I'm not sure what else made it. And ironically, when she found out that the Tinkerbell there was a full-size person in a costume (yep, there's no fooling her!), she pretty much lost interest in seeing her. Which was good for us because the Tink line was over an hour long and we had already done the 1.5 hour Princess line that day.
The other fairy bummer was that they didn't have as cool of Tinkerbell stuff as they did for the other princesses. For example they had no fairy wallet, much to Gwen's disappointment. So she had to go with the princess one. Which reminds me of another big Disneyland discovery Gwen made--the value of money. We decided to give each kid $35 for treats and souvenirs over the course of the week. Gwen and Ben both started frittering it away immediately as soon as they learned what having money really meant: that Mom and Dad aren't so quick with a "No" when they say "I want that $5 snow cone" or "Can I have a $2.50 lollipop"? Ben continued along this vein and ended up with little to speak of for souvenirs but had a yummy week. Gwen, on the other hand, slowly started to figure out that she could actually get something pretty cool if she saved her money. In the end we spent half of the time that the rest of the family was partying at the beach helping Gwen shop for just the perfect item. She ended up with a cute Princess wallet, a magic wand pen, and a Tinkerbell necklace. How did she have enough for all this after also having bought so many expensive concession stand treats already? She went on rides that she didn't really want to go on. Because there was already plenty of "sitting out" on most of the rides, Kristi and I were desperate to have the kids go on every ride that they were tall enough for. Gwen figured this out quickly and took us for all we were worth. For example, we ended up giving her $2 to go on Pirates (which she hated) one day and then $3 to go on it again the next day. We also paid her for Splash Mtn, Space Mtn (the first time, then she did us a couple freebies because she kind of liked it), and several others. It ended up costing us a fortune but it was good to see her start understanding the value of money and being able to bargain with her. Like I don't think either of us (me or Gwen) thought she would ever do Pirates again after her experience the first time, but we just had to find her price. That girl is nothing if she's not reasonable and logical.
Ivy seemed to enjoy Disney fine. She didn't get to do a whole lot obviously. But I think the real highlight for her was when we drove to Hollywood on Saturday and saw, if for only a fraction of a second, the Hollywood sign, and drove along Hollywood Blvd to see the stars in the sidewalk and the Kodak Theater where American Idol takes place. Just kidding, Ivy didn't really love that day but I wanted to mention that we did all that :) In reality, Ivy's favorite was the beach. That girl is fearless! She, in all her pale skinniness, was completely unphased either by the hot sun or the FREEEEZING cold water. She just went for it, laughing all the way. We couldn't get her out of the water. This in strict opposition to her big brother who was immediately bothered by the way the water rose and fell so unpredictably. He liked to stay far enough out that there were no surprises. Gwen, like Ivy, was a big fan and, unlike the rest of us, didn't have to pay the price in pain and peeling skin for the next week or two since her olive skin doesn't get sunburns.
Finally, I'll say a word on Kristi. Talk about the funnest Disneyland mom ever! (Well, "ever" is a strong word, since my Mom and Stef were pretty awesome too, but you can indulge me for a minute... :) She was such a trooper and was just tireless in trying to get everything done to make sure we didn't leave any memory un-made. This made for some LOOONG days, some sparse meals, some diaper blowouts at inopportune times, and lots of tears, but Kristi never slowed down. My favorite moment that made me totally fall in love with Kristi all over again was when we had our first night in the hotel and she kept tossing and turning all night. I worried that it was hard sharing a twin bed but when I asked her why, I learned that that wasn't it at all. It was just because she was so excited for the next day. ISN'T THAT CUTE?? She's the same on Christmas Eve; even as an adult she still just can't sleep well because she gets so excited. I think it's so adorable!
Anyway, Mom and Dad should win parenting and grandparenting awards for making the trip so much fun and such a success. What a truly magical place and what fun it is to add more memories to the pot every few years, especially as the family grows and evolves through different phases of life. Thank you to EVERYONE for being so fun, for helping with kids, for going on kid rides with a great attitude, for laughing when older brothers tease you (like Max holding up his one finger since he was riding on the Bug's Life bumper cars alone!), and for just being great!
Now let's hear everyone else's memories while they're fresh!!
Anyway, I'm not sure what memory I want to talk about yet but I just decided I would start typing and see what comes out. It was a wonderful trip as we have all said. It was so fun to have all the kids just a bit older and I think it stood out to them more than last time. Having Ivy and Clayton along with us for their first time was great and I KNOW Ben and Bret got a lot more out of it. Ben was so cute in the months, weeks, and days leading up to the trip. He would hear us talking about the upcoming trip every so often and latch on to how much longer there was until the trip. The funny thing is, he wouldn't then "update". In other words, for about 6 weeks when we asked Bentley when Disneyland was he would say "2 months". And then, until the day before we left he would say "2 weeks". And then he said "tomorrow" which was true from basically the Friday (well, we were on our way on Friday's "tomorrow") until the end of the trip. However, unfortunately for him, that is still where he is at. He keeps hoping that we'll go to Disneyland again tomorrow or at least some combination of "not tomorrow, not the next day, not the next day..." etc. as if we have another trip planned. Finally I tried explaining to him that we'll probably go again when he's about Gwen's age, which was a little hard for him to understand at first, and then a little hard to accept, but I think he's finally gotten through his head what a fun, special time it was, why we were so excited for it, and what we have to look forward to again someday.
For Gwen's part, I think she had a much more memorable time as well. There was much more to anticipate this time and I was amazed how much she remembered and knew to look forward to. I'm sure it didn't hurt that she watched our home videos from the 2008 Disneyland trip 2-3 times each Sunday for months leading up to the trip. She knew all the rides she wanted to do and all the rides she didn't want to do long before we got there. And she knew most of all that she wanted to be a part of everything "fairy" or "princess" at the park once we got there. For weeks she saved all kinds of little trinkets in a special basket that was her "fairy basket" to take to Disneyland. This included bigger things like new Tinkerbell t-shirt, panties, and socks, as well as smaller things like shiny beads that she came across in her little life, pictures of "well-endowed" fairies that she had drawn (I think you know what I mean by this--the big circles she never fails to draw on her subjects' chests :), used stickers, feathers, pieces of granite she found at the cabin, and who knows what else. In the end, we definitely brought all the new clothes but I'm not sure what else made it. And ironically, when she found out that the Tinkerbell there was a full-size person in a costume (yep, there's no fooling her!), she pretty much lost interest in seeing her. Which was good for us because the Tink line was over an hour long and we had already done the 1.5 hour Princess line that day.
The other fairy bummer was that they didn't have as cool of Tinkerbell stuff as they did for the other princesses. For example they had no fairy wallet, much to Gwen's disappointment. So she had to go with the princess one. Which reminds me of another big Disneyland discovery Gwen made--the value of money. We decided to give each kid $35 for treats and souvenirs over the course of the week. Gwen and Ben both started frittering it away immediately as soon as they learned what having money really meant: that Mom and Dad aren't so quick with a "No" when they say "I want that $5 snow cone" or "Can I have a $2.50 lollipop"? Ben continued along this vein and ended up with little to speak of for souvenirs but had a yummy week. Gwen, on the other hand, slowly started to figure out that she could actually get something pretty cool if she saved her money. In the end we spent half of the time that the rest of the family was partying at the beach helping Gwen shop for just the perfect item. She ended up with a cute Princess wallet, a magic wand pen, and a Tinkerbell necklace. How did she have enough for all this after also having bought so many expensive concession stand treats already? She went on rides that she didn't really want to go on. Because there was already plenty of "sitting out" on most of the rides, Kristi and I were desperate to have the kids go on every ride that they were tall enough for. Gwen figured this out quickly and took us for all we were worth. For example, we ended up giving her $2 to go on Pirates (which she hated) one day and then $3 to go on it again the next day. We also paid her for Splash Mtn, Space Mtn (the first time, then she did us a couple freebies because she kind of liked it), and several others. It ended up costing us a fortune but it was good to see her start understanding the value of money and being able to bargain with her. Like I don't think either of us (me or Gwen) thought she would ever do Pirates again after her experience the first time, but we just had to find her price. That girl is nothing if she's not reasonable and logical.
Ivy seemed to enjoy Disney fine. She didn't get to do a whole lot obviously. But I think the real highlight for her was when we drove to Hollywood on Saturday and saw, if for only a fraction of a second, the Hollywood sign, and drove along Hollywood Blvd to see the stars in the sidewalk and the Kodak Theater where American Idol takes place. Just kidding, Ivy didn't really love that day but I wanted to mention that we did all that :) In reality, Ivy's favorite was the beach. That girl is fearless! She, in all her pale skinniness, was completely unphased either by the hot sun or the FREEEEZING cold water. She just went for it, laughing all the way. We couldn't get her out of the water. This in strict opposition to her big brother who was immediately bothered by the way the water rose and fell so unpredictably. He liked to stay far enough out that there were no surprises. Gwen, like Ivy, was a big fan and, unlike the rest of us, didn't have to pay the price in pain and peeling skin for the next week or two since her olive skin doesn't get sunburns.
Finally, I'll say a word on Kristi. Talk about the funnest Disneyland mom ever! (Well, "ever" is a strong word, since my Mom and Stef were pretty awesome too, but you can indulge me for a minute... :) She was such a trooper and was just tireless in trying to get everything done to make sure we didn't leave any memory un-made. This made for some LOOONG days, some sparse meals, some diaper blowouts at inopportune times, and lots of tears, but Kristi never slowed down. My favorite moment that made me totally fall in love with Kristi all over again was when we had our first night in the hotel and she kept tossing and turning all night. I worried that it was hard sharing a twin bed but when I asked her why, I learned that that wasn't it at all. It was just because she was so excited for the next day. ISN'T THAT CUTE?? She's the same on Christmas Eve; even as an adult she still just can't sleep well because she gets so excited. I think it's so adorable!
Anyway, Mom and Dad should win parenting and grandparenting awards for making the trip so much fun and such a success. What a truly magical place and what fun it is to add more memories to the pot every few years, especially as the family grows and evolves through different phases of life. Thank you to EVERYONE for being so fun, for helping with kids, for going on kid rides with a great attitude, for laughing when older brothers tease you (like Max holding up his one finger since he was riding on the Bug's Life bumper cars alone!), and for just being great!
Now let's hear everyone else's memories while they're fresh!!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
"Happiest Place on Earth" (max)
Hello everyone!
I was just on picasa looking at all the fun fun fun fun fun pictures that everyone took! They are so great! I feel like I am there on the shuttle again driving to disneyland, or waking up walking into mom and dads room to find a box of Krispy Kreams on the counter, or watching the fireworks light up the sky, or waiting in a 13 minute wait time for Tower of Terror with NO fast passes, or watching the wonderful World of Color!(Thanks again Kristi for getting fast passes for that!) But thanks everyone for taking such fun pictures!
Thank you so much mom and dad for making the whole trip possible! Even being super sick in St. George and having no voice to sream on the rides, I had such a fun time being with everyone. I'm so glad we have such a wonderful family that can get along so well. I really loved every single minute of the trip!!!!
I just wanted to write and tell you all how much I love this family! You are all such great examples to me, and I couldnt have asked for a better fam to be in! I love you all so much!!!
Also, I was trying to make a link on this page to my song, but I couldnt ever get it to work. I will keep trying because I've finished another song too!
Thanks again and LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!
- Max
I was just on picasa looking at all the fun fun fun fun fun pictures that everyone took! They are so great! I feel like I am there on the shuttle again driving to disneyland, or waking up walking into mom and dads room to find a box of Krispy Kreams on the counter, or watching the fireworks light up the sky, or waiting in a 13 minute wait time for Tower of Terror with NO fast passes, or watching the wonderful World of Color!(Thanks again Kristi for getting fast passes for that!) But thanks everyone for taking such fun pictures!
Thank you so much mom and dad for making the whole trip possible! Even being super sick in St. George and having no voice to sream on the rides, I had such a fun time being with everyone. I'm so glad we have such a wonderful family that can get along so well. I really loved every single minute of the trip!!!!
I just wanted to write and tell you all how much I love this family! You are all such great examples to me, and I couldnt have asked for a better fam to be in! I love you all so much!!!
Also, I was trying to make a link on this page to my song, but I couldnt ever get it to work. I will keep trying because I've finished another song too!
Thanks again and LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!
- Max
p.s. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!!!! I am officially the first one to do it on the BAWB!!!! :) Love you mom!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Disney Trip (Janey)
First, I want to say a big, huge, THANK YOU to mom and dad for such a fun trip! Heck, I thought it was fun enough when we got to St. George; I loved just being togehter. We could just do that for our next family vaca (although that probably wouldn't be as fun for Nick and Stef.) Anyway, I loved the trip, thanks so much.
I am going to write about Sunday night....what an adventure. I'll be honest, when all of it was happening I felt stupid, but looking back on the whole thing I just laugh.
On Sunday, July 4th, we finally arrived at our destination, the Double Tree Hotel with a beautiful lobby and nice rooms. We all settled into our rooms and eventually met in Mom and Dad's room to decide what the rest of the evening would consist of. Here's how the rest of the evening went (with an approximation on times):
6:35 PM: We finally were all togther after a long day of traveling. Lots of idea's were bouncing around as to what we should do for the rest of the night. After lots of debate, we decided to do a Pizza dinner and then catch the 8:00 shuttle to Disneyland for the spectacular and unique 4th of July firerowork show.
6:50 PM: Blaine (or someone) calls Pizza Hut hoping they can have pizza ready in the next few minutes; unfortantely that will take too long so we decide to settle for Little Ceasar's pizza.
7:00 PM: Blaine, Nick, and Max leave to pick up 6 pizza's. Mom and Dad go to the grocery store for soda pop, salad (because Rosey wanted it SO bad), and a few other things that we needed for the next few days. The girls stayed back at the hotel to get ice and pack up to go to Disney.
7:25 PM: The boys return to Mom and Dad's room with the pizza. We decide we don't want to make their room a mess, so we decide to go down to sit by the pond on some nice patio furniture on the back side of our hotel. We suddenly realize that we only have about 20 minutes to eat this pizza so we realize we need to HURRY.
7:30 PM: We hurry down to the lobby of the hotel, walk through the bar with our six pizza's, and settle down on the patio furniture. There was a couple sitting on some nearby patio furniture. I remember feeling bad, but thought, "well, we are guests at this hotel too." Blaine says a prayer and we dig in. Meanwhile the kids are running around and mom and dad show up with the pop and salad (we forgot the ice so now we are just going to have to drink warm soda.)
7:34 PM: We see two of the bar manager's come outside and we know we are in trouble. The lady was super nice and told us this was part of the bar and asked us to leave. (She was really nice and we could tell she felt bad making us move. The couple that we sat down next to obviously didn't enjoy our company and went and ratted on us.....)
7:35 PM: Everyone picks something up (whether it was 6 pizza's, the salad in a bag, the soda, or one of the kids) and we move about 100 yards down to the swimming pool area (we didn't even eat at a table, we just found an area where we knew we wouldn't get in trouble). We could tell that the people in the pool were a little suprised to see 14 people running around and scarfing down pizza and pop all at the same time.
7:38 PM: The hospital was right next to our hotel. As we scarfed down pizza, we watched as a helicopter took off...very cool.
7:40 PM: After everyone has eaten probably only one, possibly two pieces of pizza, we realize that we need to take all this stuff back up to our hotel room, grab our jackets (because it's cold), and head down to be on time for the shuttle.
7:55 PM: Luckily a few of us (namely Kristi) had gotten to the shuttle line a little early. Good thing, because lots of people were tryig to catch the 8:00 shuttle.
8:00 PM: By some miracle, we got on the shuttle and were on our merry little way to disneyland. Some of our tummies hadn't been filled completly, but we still had lots of pizza left, stinking up B&K's bedroom (sorry again Kris.)
We arrived at disneyland, picked up our passes, received "Honory Disneyland Citizens" buttons because we just looked so excited to be there. We got into the park and settled into a good spot at the end of main street. I love the fireworks show and was so glad we made it in time to see the show. I love how Disney puts music to go along with their fireworks (Max, maybe to improve your future fireworks shows, consider playing some music as you light your "flowers" and "sparklers" while we sit on the roof. :)
I can't wrap this evening up until I mention one of my favorite moments. We had about an hour to sit in Disneyland before the show even started. There were obviously lots of people around. I was sitting there visiting when all the sudden I turn around and see Kristi high in the air. Blaine was hoisting Kristi well above the crowd so Nick could take a picture of her with the castle in the background. Kristi needed this picture so she could update her facebook...I love you Kris. :) That was seriously one of my more favorite memories of the trip.
Thanks again mom and dad for the fun trip and lots of memories. And thanks to everyone who took so many pictures. The pictures make the trip seem alive!
Love, Janey
I am going to write about Sunday night....what an adventure. I'll be honest, when all of it was happening I felt stupid, but looking back on the whole thing I just laugh.
On Sunday, July 4th, we finally arrived at our destination, the Double Tree Hotel with a beautiful lobby and nice rooms. We all settled into our rooms and eventually met in Mom and Dad's room to decide what the rest of the evening would consist of. Here's how the rest of the evening went (with an approximation on times):
6:35 PM: We finally were all togther after a long day of traveling. Lots of idea's were bouncing around as to what we should do for the rest of the night. After lots of debate, we decided to do a Pizza dinner and then catch the 8:00 shuttle to Disneyland for the spectacular and unique 4th of July firerowork show.
6:50 PM: Blaine (or someone) calls Pizza Hut hoping they can have pizza ready in the next few minutes; unfortantely that will take too long so we decide to settle for Little Ceasar's pizza.
7:00 PM: Blaine, Nick, and Max leave to pick up 6 pizza's. Mom and Dad go to the grocery store for soda pop, salad (because Rosey wanted it SO bad), and a few other things that we needed for the next few days. The girls stayed back at the hotel to get ice and pack up to go to Disney.
7:25 PM: The boys return to Mom and Dad's room with the pizza. We decide we don't want to make their room a mess, so we decide to go down to sit by the pond on some nice patio furniture on the back side of our hotel. We suddenly realize that we only have about 20 minutes to eat this pizza so we realize we need to HURRY.
7:30 PM: We hurry down to the lobby of the hotel, walk through the bar with our six pizza's, and settle down on the patio furniture. There was a couple sitting on some nearby patio furniture. I remember feeling bad, but thought, "well, we are guests at this hotel too." Blaine says a prayer and we dig in. Meanwhile the kids are running around and mom and dad show up with the pop and salad (we forgot the ice so now we are just going to have to drink warm soda.)
7:34 PM: We see two of the bar manager's come outside and we know we are in trouble. The lady was super nice and told us this was part of the bar and asked us to leave. (She was really nice and we could tell she felt bad making us move. The couple that we sat down next to obviously didn't enjoy our company and went and ratted on us.....)
7:35 PM: Everyone picks something up (whether it was 6 pizza's, the salad in a bag, the soda, or one of the kids) and we move about 100 yards down to the swimming pool area (we didn't even eat at a table, we just found an area where we knew we wouldn't get in trouble). We could tell that the people in the pool were a little suprised to see 14 people running around and scarfing down pizza and pop all at the same time.
7:38 PM: The hospital was right next to our hotel. As we scarfed down pizza, we watched as a helicopter took off...very cool.
7:40 PM: After everyone has eaten probably only one, possibly two pieces of pizza, we realize that we need to take all this stuff back up to our hotel room, grab our jackets (because it's cold), and head down to be on time for the shuttle.
7:55 PM: Luckily a few of us (namely Kristi) had gotten to the shuttle line a little early. Good thing, because lots of people were tryig to catch the 8:00 shuttle.
8:00 PM: By some miracle, we got on the shuttle and were on our merry little way to disneyland. Some of our tummies hadn't been filled completly, but we still had lots of pizza left, stinking up B&K's bedroom (sorry again Kris.)
We arrived at disneyland, picked up our passes, received "Honory Disneyland Citizens" buttons because we just looked so excited to be there. We got into the park and settled into a good spot at the end of main street. I love the fireworks show and was so glad we made it in time to see the show. I love how Disney puts music to go along with their fireworks (Max, maybe to improve your future fireworks shows, consider playing some music as you light your "flowers" and "sparklers" while we sit on the roof. :)
I can't wrap this evening up until I mention one of my favorite moments. We had about an hour to sit in Disneyland before the show even started. There were obviously lots of people around. I was sitting there visiting when all the sudden I turn around and see Kristi high in the air. Blaine was hoisting Kristi well above the crowd so Nick could take a picture of her with the castle in the background. Kristi needed this picture so she could update her facebook...I love you Kris. :) That was seriously one of my more favorite memories of the trip.
Thanks again mom and dad for the fun trip and lots of memories. And thanks to everyone who took so many pictures. The pictures make the trip seem alive!
Love, Janey
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Disneyland Trip 2010 (mom)
Dear Family,
We have been home from our trip a week now and I am finally getting around to writing about it. If this blog is to be a record of our family (which is part of the original intent) then we ought to take a few minutes to document the trip! I thought maybe I would give a general quick overview of the trip and list some of the events and then each of you (Blaine, Kristi, Nick, Stef, Janey, Rosey, Max, Dad) could take one of the events (or another of your own choosing, the list is only to get you thinking) and write a quick paragraph or two about it. You could title it "Disneyland Trip" too and then we would have a fun record. Sound good? Let's not make it hard, lets just do it!
Saturday, July 3, 2010
*Bret, Wendy, Janey and Max got the van packed and were on the road by 8:15 a.m.
*Picked up Rosey at her Provo apartment and communicated with Blaine and Kristi and family who were not very far behind us.
*Stopped in Beaver for cheese curds, Wendy's in Cedar for lunch and arrived at Nick and Stef's in the mid-afternoon to see their new and adorable townhome.
*Bought tickets for the Toy Story 2 Movie and unpacked at Yorgasons.
*Met everyone (9 adults, 5 children) at the theaters to watch Toy Story 2
*Ate a spagetti dinner at the Yorgason home, played outside,
*Gathered in backyard, talked about The Constitution of the US and marched around the yard.
*Ice Cream with chocolate hard sauce
Sunday, July 4, 2010
*Sacrament meeting at Nick and Stef's ward, photo afterwards.
*Went to Nick and Stef's to change clothes and diapers, nurse, on road around 11 am.
*Stopped for lunch outside of Las Vegas for lunch at KFC. Ben blowout.
*Stopped for gas in Barstow. Gas prices going up.
*Arrived at the Double Tree Inn in Orange City. Checked into 4 rooms: Mom and dad/Blaine and Kristi's fam/Janey, Rosey, Max/Nick and Stef's family.
*Boys brought home Little Caesar's Pizza for dinner, tried to eat it!
*Took Shuttle to Disneyland Park, picked up 5-day passes, watched 4th of July fireworks show.
Monday, July 5, 2010
*Breakfast in Room 412 (mom and dad's) with cereal and milk. Everyone made lunches
*10 am Hotel Shuttle to Disneyland.
*Spent day in the Disney park, start with traditional Jungle Cruise, get fast passes, Pirates, Splash Mt, Haunted Mansion, Thunder Mt, Autopia, ate dinner in Tomorrowland (Mom highly recommends the mahi mahi wrap with fries) Captn EO, more rides
*Saw fireworks show on our way out to shuttle back to hotel.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
*Breakfast in Room 412. Made lunches.
*10 am shuttle to Disneyland.
*Spent day at California Adventure. Got wet on Grizzly River, Blaine chokes on a cornnut, chilled in Bug's Land, Aladin show, Soarin over CA, Janey leaves not feeling well, Tower of Terror, Screamin ride, ferris wheel, etc.
*Back to hotel, walked to Mexican Restaurant for dinner all together. Rosey and Kristi walk to mall to buy jackets (amazed at how cool our weather is all week)
*Shuttle back to CA adventure at 8 pm. Go to World of Color show.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
*Breakfast in Room 412. Breakfast upgraded with Krispie Kremes and chocolate milk
*10 am shuttle to Disneyland.
*Find ourselves waiting in that dumb Nemo ride again!! Autopia, train, Small World, decide not to go to beach, Janey doesn't feel well and leaves, TooneTown, Fantasy Land, split up a bit, notice people pouring out of rides, learn there was an earthquake, Disneyland seems CROWDED! Tiki room.
*Leave Disneyland, dinner with all but B&K.
*Dinner at TGI Friday's
*Many sit in hotel hot tub
Thursday, July 8, 2010
*Breakfast
*Catch 7:30 am shuttle for park. Enjoy our magic morning in Disneyland where the crowdes are much smaller. Peter Pan ride, Matterhorn, B&K head for Princess stuff. They end up staying all day visiting both parks. The rest do Pirates Island, more rides and shuttle back to hotel in early afternoon.
*Two cars drive to Corona Del Mar Beach, play in waves, build sand castles
*Dinner at Johnny Rockets
*Dad drops us at park barely in time for Fantasia show, split up, more rides, meet up with B&K who have been there all day. Most stay to midnight shuttle.
Friday, July 9,2010
*Late breakfast, Krispie Kremes again.
*Pack up and check out of hotel
*B&K stay an extra two days. Dad and Nick's cars drive to St. George.
*Stay at Yorgs, dinner at Bajio, N&S sleep over. Finish hard sauce! Lightening Thief Movie
Saturay, July 10, 2010
*Sleep in
*Swim at community pool. Little Bret gets brave in pool! Rosey gets sunburned. Where is that cool weather?
*Clean, say farewell, drive home to Salt Lake.
So there is the run down! It was harder than I thought to tell the days apart. They sort of blended together and that is okay. It's the little details that will make all the difference so if you can, write about some of your favorite memories. I think that will help the trip live on for all of us (besides all the wonderful photos that dad and others have taken)
Thanks and love, mom
We have been home from our trip a week now and I am finally getting around to writing about it. If this blog is to be a record of our family (which is part of the original intent) then we ought to take a few minutes to document the trip! I thought maybe I would give a general quick overview of the trip and list some of the events and then each of you (Blaine, Kristi, Nick, Stef, Janey, Rosey, Max, Dad) could take one of the events (or another of your own choosing, the list is only to get you thinking) and write a quick paragraph or two about it. You could title it "Disneyland Trip" too and then we would have a fun record. Sound good? Let's not make it hard, lets just do it!
Saturday, July 3, 2010
*Bret, Wendy, Janey and Max got the van packed and were on the road by 8:15 a.m.
*Picked up Rosey at her Provo apartment and communicated with Blaine and Kristi and family who were not very far behind us.
*Stopped in Beaver for cheese curds, Wendy's in Cedar for lunch and arrived at Nick and Stef's in the mid-afternoon to see their new and adorable townhome.
*Bought tickets for the Toy Story 2 Movie and unpacked at Yorgasons.
*Met everyone (9 adults, 5 children) at the theaters to watch Toy Story 2
*Ate a spagetti dinner at the Yorgason home, played outside,
*Gathered in backyard, talked about The Constitution of the US and marched around the yard.
*Ice Cream with chocolate hard sauce
Sunday, July 4, 2010
*Sacrament meeting at Nick and Stef's ward, photo afterwards.
*Went to Nick and Stef's to change clothes and diapers, nurse, on road around 11 am.
*Stopped for lunch outside of Las Vegas for lunch at KFC. Ben blowout.
*Stopped for gas in Barstow. Gas prices going up.
*Arrived at the Double Tree Inn in Orange City. Checked into 4 rooms: Mom and dad/Blaine and Kristi's fam/Janey, Rosey, Max/Nick and Stef's family.
*Boys brought home Little Caesar's Pizza for dinner, tried to eat it!
*Took Shuttle to Disneyland Park, picked up 5-day passes, watched 4th of July fireworks show.
Monday, July 5, 2010
*Breakfast in Room 412 (mom and dad's) with cereal and milk. Everyone made lunches
*10 am Hotel Shuttle to Disneyland.
*Spent day in the Disney park, start with traditional Jungle Cruise, get fast passes, Pirates, Splash Mt, Haunted Mansion, Thunder Mt, Autopia, ate dinner in Tomorrowland (Mom highly recommends the mahi mahi wrap with fries) Captn EO, more rides
*Saw fireworks show on our way out to shuttle back to hotel.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
*Breakfast in Room 412. Made lunches.
*10 am shuttle to Disneyland.
*Spent day at California Adventure. Got wet on Grizzly River, Blaine chokes on a cornnut, chilled in Bug's Land, Aladin show, Soarin over CA, Janey leaves not feeling well, Tower of Terror, Screamin ride, ferris wheel, etc.
*Back to hotel, walked to Mexican Restaurant for dinner all together. Rosey and Kristi walk to mall to buy jackets (amazed at how cool our weather is all week)
*Shuttle back to CA adventure at 8 pm. Go to World of Color show.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
*Breakfast in Room 412. Breakfast upgraded with Krispie Kremes and chocolate milk
*10 am shuttle to Disneyland.
*Find ourselves waiting in that dumb Nemo ride again!! Autopia, train, Small World, decide not to go to beach, Janey doesn't feel well and leaves, TooneTown, Fantasy Land, split up a bit, notice people pouring out of rides, learn there was an earthquake, Disneyland seems CROWDED! Tiki room.
*Leave Disneyland, dinner with all but B&K.
*Dinner at TGI Friday's
*Many sit in hotel hot tub
Thursday, July 8, 2010
*Breakfast
*Catch 7:30 am shuttle for park. Enjoy our magic morning in Disneyland where the crowdes are much smaller. Peter Pan ride, Matterhorn, B&K head for Princess stuff. They end up staying all day visiting both parks. The rest do Pirates Island, more rides and shuttle back to hotel in early afternoon.
*Two cars drive to Corona Del Mar Beach, play in waves, build sand castles
*Dinner at Johnny Rockets
*Dad drops us at park barely in time for Fantasia show, split up, more rides, meet up with B&K who have been there all day. Most stay to midnight shuttle.
Friday, July 9,2010
*Late breakfast, Krispie Kremes again.
*Pack up and check out of hotel
*B&K stay an extra two days. Dad and Nick's cars drive to St. George.
*Stay at Yorgs, dinner at Bajio, N&S sleep over. Finish hard sauce! Lightening Thief Movie
Saturay, July 10, 2010
*Sleep in
*Swim at community pool. Little Bret gets brave in pool! Rosey gets sunburned. Where is that cool weather?
*Clean, say farewell, drive home to Salt Lake.
So there is the run down! It was harder than I thought to tell the days apart. They sort of blended together and that is okay. It's the little details that will make all the difference so if you can, write about some of your favorite memories. I think that will help the trip live on for all of us (besides all the wonderful photos that dad and others have taken)
Thanks and love, mom
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Only 1 More Week (Mom)
Hi Happy Family,
I just got done with my run and spent the whole time thinking and planning for the trip. Here's a few reminders/updates.
Yesterday dad and I bought the Disneyland tickets on line. We will pick them up in the park like last time. If I understand it right, each person needs picture ID to get their 5-day pass. Ben, Bret and Ivy are free! Wahoo!!
Yesterday I also spread out my thousand dollars in cash ($20's) and divided it into envelopes (I even decorated the envelopes) for each family for their food. We have $300 for Blaine's family, $220 for Nick's family, $100 each for Janey, Rosey and Max and $200 for dad and I. We will get these to you as we see you.
The Odyssey van (that has just had over $1,200 worth of work done to it to get it in shape for this trip, including 4 new tires) with dad, mom, Janey and Max is planning to pull out of West Valley City no later than 9 am next Saturday morning. We will pick up Rosey in Provo and head south. We're not sure if Blaine's family wants to travel together but we would love that. We hope to make a quick stop in Beaver at the cheese factory for some cheese curds. We also will make a quick stop for lunch somewhere along the line.
We hope to arrive in St. George in the early to mid afternoon. We would love to treat you all to the movie Toy Story 3. We would definitely want to get in on matinee prices and do around a 4 pm movie. Would Nick & Stef check into that for us? Thanks. Then we will have a delicious spagetti/salad/garlic bread dinner at the Yorgason home. Maybe we can even pick up some ice cream and have hard sauce that night. We are open to playing games since we would have already seen a movie that day. (okay, I admit, this is mom writing. Maybe dad would rather watch a movie and that's great, too.)
Sunday we will have a cold cereal breakfast and go to a 9 am church, sacrament meeting only. We could either find a building close to Yorgs or go to one in Nick and Stef's building. I haven't heard about your new ward so let us know what you would like to do there. At this point I think we ought to be ready to take off for California straight from church. Opinions there?
Here are some things you want to remember as you pack (pretty much this list is for Max so don't laugh at the detail. I use to make lists for the kids when they got old enough to pack themselves.)
undershirts, underwear and socks for 8 days
shorts 3 or 4 pair
maybe one pair long pants
plenty of golf/t-shirts 6 or 7
Sunday pants, shirt, belt, tie, socks, shoes
swimsuit
flip flops
hair stuff, toothbrush, deod, retainer, (whatever bathroom stuff you use daily)
scriptures
i-pod or whatever
book or something to do/read in the car
reusable water bottle
wallet with license, food money and extra money
Anyone care to add suggestions?
Love you all, Mom
I just got done with my run and spent the whole time thinking and planning for the trip. Here's a few reminders/updates.
Yesterday dad and I bought the Disneyland tickets on line. We will pick them up in the park like last time. If I understand it right, each person needs picture ID to get their 5-day pass. Ben, Bret and Ivy are free! Wahoo!!
Yesterday I also spread out my thousand dollars in cash ($20's) and divided it into envelopes (I even decorated the envelopes) for each family for their food. We have $300 for Blaine's family, $220 for Nick's family, $100 each for Janey, Rosey and Max and $200 for dad and I. We will get these to you as we see you.
The Odyssey van (that has just had over $1,200 worth of work done to it to get it in shape for this trip, including 4 new tires) with dad, mom, Janey and Max is planning to pull out of West Valley City no later than 9 am next Saturday morning. We will pick up Rosey in Provo and head south. We're not sure if Blaine's family wants to travel together but we would love that. We hope to make a quick stop in Beaver at the cheese factory for some cheese curds. We also will make a quick stop for lunch somewhere along the line.
We hope to arrive in St. George in the early to mid afternoon. We would love to treat you all to the movie Toy Story 3. We would definitely want to get in on matinee prices and do around a 4 pm movie. Would Nick & Stef check into that for us? Thanks. Then we will have a delicious spagetti/salad/garlic bread dinner at the Yorgason home. Maybe we can even pick up some ice cream and have hard sauce that night. We are open to playing games since we would have already seen a movie that day. (okay, I admit, this is mom writing. Maybe dad would rather watch a movie and that's great, too.)
Sunday we will have a cold cereal breakfast and go to a 9 am church, sacrament meeting only. We could either find a building close to Yorgs or go to one in Nick and Stef's building. I haven't heard about your new ward so let us know what you would like to do there. At this point I think we ought to be ready to take off for California straight from church. Opinions there?
Here are some things you want to remember as you pack (pretty much this list is for Max so don't laugh at the detail. I use to make lists for the kids when they got old enough to pack themselves.)
undershirts, underwear and socks for 8 days
shorts 3 or 4 pair
maybe one pair long pants
plenty of golf/t-shirts 6 or 7
Sunday pants, shirt, belt, tie, socks, shoes
swimsuit
flip flops
hair stuff, toothbrush, deod, retainer, (whatever bathroom stuff you use daily)
scriptures
i-pod or whatever
book or something to do/read in the car
reusable water bottle
wallet with license, food money and extra money
Anyone care to add suggestions?
Love you all, Mom
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Happy Father's Day (Dad)
To all you Father's and fathers to be...here some thoughts on fatherhood. Take em for what their worth.
I was fortunate to have a wonderful father. He did it all. He provided. He protected. He presided. He gave me what was needed so that I could go forth into the world, and become a father myself.
Today I honor him, and thank him for his sacrifice on my behalf.
A couple of thoughts on fathers.
What is a father
We often attribute the term 'father' to anyone who is the creator, or inventor of some new device, technology or field of investigation. Or one who had such a huge impact on the field that he is credited with defining the direction and it's survival. Examples include:
- James Naismith is the Father of Basketball
- Lord Baden-Powell is the Father of Scouting
- Thomas Edison is the Father of the Phonograph
- Juan Sebastian Bach is the Father of Music
Role of Fathers
In many respects, the Father is the one who had the vision, the drive, the resources, the wisdom to start something that would last for generations. The father is the creator. The one who begins the creation, then provides for it and keeps it going the right direction. He works to ensure that it has a place in the world to grow and to find its place in the world.
The proclamation on the Family says that fathers have 3 primary roles:
"By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. "
To Provide
To Protect
To Preside
He provides for his creation. HE provides food, recreation, safe home, societal experiences and resources sufficient to prepare their children to enter the world. Fathers often sacrifice personal ambitions in order to work in employment which will provide regular means to provide for his family.
He protects his creation. He teaches it how to survive in a world which is not revolving around the child. A father loves his creation. He loves it to the point he would give everything he had to it, to ensure It's success. If it is at risk, he protects it. If it is floundering, he provides it resources, even everything he has to it's success. Protection requires interaction, monitoring, and manipulating the outside environment to ensure a safe environment in which the creation will grow.
He presides (gives it direction and ensures it does what it should to fulfill the measure of it's creation) over his creation. He gives it the skills necessary for it to sustain itself in the world. The father is the intermediary force between the creation and the world in which the creation will take root and grow. He ensures the soil is sufficient. That the placement is proper. The father determines the direction that the creation is inclined to grow, to move, to change.
Mothers and Fathers
A mother is the one who gives birth to the creation. She nurtures it. She feeds it. She cares for it's daily needs, and teaches it.
A mother focuses on the inside.
A father focuses on the outside.
The mother and father must both exist. A creation will suffer without both parties working together for the benefit of the creation. One caring for the nourishment and proper care of the creation, the other watching out for the protection of the creation.
Examples of fathering can be seen in the natural world:
For some animals, it is the fathers who take care of the young.
- Darwin's Frog (Rhinoderma darwini) fathers carry eggs in the vocal pouch.
- Most male waterfowls are very protective in raising their offspring, sharing scout duties with the female. Examples are the geese, swans, gulls, loons, and a few species of ducks. When the families of most of these waterfowls travel, they usually travel in a line and the fathers are usually the ones guarding the offsprings at the end of the line while the mothers lead the way.
- The female seahorse (hippocampus) deposits eggs into the pouch on the male's abdomen. The male releases sperm into the pouch, fertilizing the eggs. The embryos develop within the male's pouch, nourished by their individual yolk sacs.
- Male Emperor Penguins alone incubate their eggs; females do no incubation. Rather than building a nest, each male protects his egg by balancing it on the tops of his feet, enclosed in a special brood pouch. Once the eggs are hatched however, the females will rejoin the family.
- Male beavers secure their offsprings along with the females during their first few hours of their lives. As the young beavers mature, their fathers will teach them how to search for materials to build and repair their own dams, before they disperse to find their own mates.
- Wolf fathers help feed, protect, and play with their pups. In some cases, several generations of wolves live in the pack, giving pups the care of grandparents, aunts/uncles, and siblings, in addition to parents. The father wolf is also the one who does most of the hunting when the females are securing their newborn pups.
- Dolphin fathers help in the care of the young. Newborns are held on the surface of the water by both parents until they are ready to swim on their own.
- A number of bird species have active, caring fathers who assist the mothers, such as the waterfowls mentioned above.
- Apart from humans, fathers in few primate species care for their young. Those that do are tamarins and marmosets.[28] Particularly strong care is also shown by siamangs where fathers carry infants after their second year.[28] In titi and owl monkeys fathers carry their infants 90% of the time with "titi monkey infants developing a preference for their fathers over their mothers".[29] Silverback Gorillas have less role in the families but most of them serve as an extra protecting the families from harm and sometimes approaching the enimies to distract them so that his family can escape unnoticed.
Pasted from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father#cite_note-0>
Sacrifice is an important trait of fathers. They give time, thought, resources, work, and energy to the protection, providing and presiding of their family.
With Father's Day coming up on June 18th, I thought it might be a good time to focus on fathers and to look at some of the research findings related to being an “effective” or “good” father. While each father is a unique person who parents in his own style, there are some characteristics that effective fathers have in common:
*They are involved in the day-to-day lives of their children. They help their kids find answers for problem areas. They are interested in what is going on at school. They participate in community and extra-curricular activities with their children.
They are a presence in their kids' lives.
*They demonstrate unwavering love, communicating to their children in words, affection, smiles, and actions just how special each one is. And letting them know that their love for them will last forever, no matter what.
*They provide support for their children – financially, emotionally, mentally, physically, socially, and spiritually. They encourage and assist their youngsters in the development of all aspects and aspirations of life. They are not ashamed of their children.
*They practice appropriate discipline, taking into account the age and personality of each child. Fathers discipline with love and respect, the goal being to help socialize their children in positive ways. Good fathers set limits and are firm. They let their children know their beliefs and expectations but rely on explanations and reasoning rather than force.
*They schedule time on a regular basis to interact with their children. They really listen to their children, trying to be sensitive to the meaning of the words spoken and the emotional feelings behind those words. They realize that their time with children is really an investment in them. Taking time for the child when the child needs that time will be much more important than taking time for the child when it is convenient for the father.
*They provide consistency in their children's lives, providing a stable environment that children can depend on every day. Fathers set certain standards and values which they teach their children and which they, themselves, adhere to.
Pasted from <http://jackson.ces.ncsu.edu/content/ParentingCorner:CharacteristicsofaStrongFather&source=jackson>
Father absence
When the research on father absence began in the 1940's, there was a tremendous concern that the absence of a father would have major effects on boy's sexual adaption. So the primary focus of this research initially was on whether or not boys would be adequately masculine if they were raised without fathers. It took about ten years for people to realise that actually fathers were equally likely to have sons and daughters, and that they might want to consider the fact that father absence would influence girls as well. And so from around 1950 there was an increased interest in the effects on children of both genders.
The effect of father absence that we see in the United States, and I would guess in Britain, are highly controversial. I believe that there is now substantial evidence that father absence, on average does affect children's development, and it does affect their development in a variety of domains.
The effects of father absence are:
- psychological maladjustment
- academic / school under-performance
- antisocial behaviour
- difficulty establishing and continuing intimate relationships
On average, children raised without fathers are more likely to show signs of psychological maladjustment, they are more likely to have difficulties at school, difficulty in getting even to underperform, or to drop out of school early, to have less school completed. They are more likely to be represented in the statistics on delinquency and unconventional social behaviour, and they seem to have difficulty establishing and maintaining intimate relationships, particularly heterosexual relationships once they move into adulthood.
The important question it seems to me is not, whether or not these factors are associated with father absence, but how we go about interpreting them. There has been an effort to interpret these in terms of the absence of the male sex role model, and indeed there are many .. who would argue that the reason why boys show these deficits is because they lack access to a male sex role model. My reading of the literature is a little bit different. I actually see very little evidence that the absence of the male sex role is particularly important in these cases.
Father absence represents a number of things to a child.:
- At least in the United States, and I believe to some extent in the United Kingdom, single parenthood is associated with tremendous economic disadvantage. In the United States, single mothers with children are the most disadvantaged segment of our society, and the economic consequences of father absence play a tremendous role in explaining why some of these disadvantages are seen on the part of children who are raised in single parent families.
- In addition single parenthood is associated with a substantial degree of emotional isolation, conflict between the two parents, particularly around situations of divorce. And there is a substantial body of evidence suggesting that conflict between parents before, during and after separation, has a toxic effect on children's adjustment. That characteristic too is an important factor to bear in mind, which helps us understand how father absence influences children.
- Children who grow up with only one parent are raised by a person who lacks somebody to back them up, to give them time away from parenting, to share both the burdens as well as the enjoyable aspects of being with and raising children. And that sense of being overwhelmed as a single parent, translates into difficulties in parenting which too have an effect on children's development.
- The flip side of this is that children in these situations are deprived of another intimate caring relationship with somebody who is deeply interested in their own development and care. One developmental psychologist has argued that all of our collective knowledge about developmental psychology can be summarised in the notion that 'what each child needs is somebody who passionately cares about them'. And I think that I would only change that to say that 'children feel better when there are two people who passionately care about what happens to them'. And what helps to compound some of the effects of father absence is the fact that children are raised without one of those persons, and with another person who is dealing with a substantial degree of stress - emotional, psychological and economic, at the same time.
What's important then in understanding the effects of father absence, is to recognise that when a father is not present in the home, it is not only the male sex role that's absent, there are all the other aspects of the father's role that are not being fulfilled in the same way. The breadwinning, the companionship, the support for the mother. We need again to recognise that fatherhood is not a uni-dimensional role, but one which has multiple facets, and that when fatherhood is not exercised in the family, the effect on the child can be damaging.
Pasted from <http://www.spig.clara.net/ippr/lamb.htm>
To conclude then, if we go the question I was given as the title of my talk: "What are fathers for ?" We find that fathers have lots of different roles and functions. I've listed them here in alphabetic order, rather than in any order of importance.:
- care provider
- companion
- economic provider
- educator
- lover
- model
- mother's support
- protector
The point I want to emphasise though, is not so much the specific roles, but the fact that there are a diverse number of roles fathers represent, and to emphasise that all of these are roles that can be, and are often, filled by mothers as well. And to emphasise, as I said at the beginning, that we can't identify a single father's role - one singular in terms of the characteristic of the father that makes him important, nor singular with respect to a culture as diverse as this one.
Pasted from <http://www.spig.clara.net/ippr/lamb.htm>
Unlearning (Dad)
Hi Happy Family,
For Stake General Priesthood meeting I spoke about the importance of education. And in particular the importance of unlearning things. Enjoy!
http://bbbmetaphors.blogspot.com/2010/06/unlearning.html
For Stake General Priesthood meeting I spoke about the importance of education. And in particular the importance of unlearning things. Enjoy!
http://bbbmetaphors.blogspot.com/2010/06/unlearning.html
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
The Big Move (Stef)
Hi all! Well tomorrow is the day of the big move. We have a tight line up and we hope it all goes as planned :)
Wednesday:
4-5pm (sometime in that window)-title co. will call and we will pick up the keys
5pm-pick up the UHaul
6pm- Sweet Nancy will pick up our little boys/wardies will come over to help move/clean
6-12 work, work, work!!!
12-sleep!
Thursday:
more work
5/6pm-leave for SLC!
Friday: THE BIG RACE
Saturday: SAME THING!
Hopefully we will get to see most of you this weekend!! We were kind of hoping to celebrate Dad on Saturday if that is okay. Sunday the Schaefermeyer's will speak in my parents ward (prior to heading off to be mission pres. in Philly) and we want to hear that and then we will eat lunch and take off a little earlier than we usually do since our new house will be in utter chaos!
Anyways, as a little "post" note, boy am I stinky. I didn't even shower today, just been cleaning and packing and sweating all the day long. I did the silliest thing, I waited until the hottest time of day here then started the oven on self-clean and proceeded to pack/clean the kitchen. Boy was it hot! I feel like I have been permanently wearing rubber gloves for the last three days. I am really hoping for some good Karma with how well we have been cleaning (really I mean the Law of the Harvest :)). Is is looking mighty sparkling around here.
We sure are stoked for the new place though. It will be such a vacation to come up this weekend (even though our house won't be unpacked). I will love to have a nice rest!
Anyways, enough late night rambling. Got to get to bed before perky little Bret wakes up at 6am ready to play cars!!!
One last thing, Bret says the cutest thing every day when Nick gets home from work. It goes like this "How's your work Daddy?" His intonations make it even cuter. He sure is growing into a big boy!
By the way, DAD- I accidently deleted my video you took of my dance performance! Oh No! I was so sad when I did that. I am working on getting another copy from the studio. I will post it if she really sends it to me. So Sorry : (
Much love to you all, see ya soon,
Stef
Monday, June 7, 2010
Stef
yeah...couldn't think of a title...
Well here I sit, just finished balancing the checkbook and I've got the facemask on some of ya'll gave me for my birthday, so I just thought I would do a little BAWB while I was at it!
So they didn't finish our house yet.....so it looks like we won't be moving in over the weekend. Sure hope we can move in next week while Nancy is here.
We finished our dresser we have been refinishing and right now Nick is drilling new holes on a few of the drawers to put on the final handles!!! We will post pictures of the finished product, it looks absolutely beautiful!!
Thanks all for such a fun weekend. We sure loved seeing everyone and doing lots of fun and good things!
B&K hope that the unpacking is coming along. We loved your cute house and can't wait to see the finished product!
Thanks again everyone!
Love you guys,
STEF :)
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Life Snapshot - Gwen 5 years 7 months
Gwen!
* Gwen gave herself her first "kid haircut" about a month ago. I was sad to see her luscious long locks go but I am LOVING her new do. Zero maintenance and it always looks cute! I think we are still planning on growing it out long again, but this short haircut has been awesome and turned out way cuter than I anticipated.
* Gwen is loving her gymnastics class at the Lehi rec center. She has only been twice but I've never seen her so enthusiastic about something. I have signed her up for the summer session and hopefully it will be something that she will continue to enjoy.
* Gwen graduated from preschool a few weeks ago and I was so proud of her. She doesn't like being in front of a crowd, especially when it involves singing (hello mini me!), so we were so proud of her to sit up on the stage and sing as loud as she did. Way to go Gwen!
* Gwen is really hesitant about kindergarten, which kind of baffles me. I think it will be right up her ally and that she will love it, but I may have to drag her in kicking and screaming the first day. That'll be fun!
* Gwen is really in to art and wants to take art lessons. In Texas our bishop was an artist and had an art school but I am still looking for something here for her to get in to. I think she is pretty darn good, and if you've seen her "fairy" drawings, you'll probably agree.
* Gwen still has her good days and bad as far as --- um--- temperament goes, but it seems things are getting measurably better. There are some days when she is just so happy and good all day and it is amazing how much better my day goes when Gwen is having a good day. They always say "if mom ain't happy ain't nobody happy" but in this house it is more like "if Gwen ain't happy, ain't nobody happy".
*Gwen is excited for Disneyland - but not for the rides, just to meet the princesses and fairies. So I am excited we will have so many days there so that we will have time for me to enjoy the rides and for Gwen to enjoy standing in line to meet the fairies : )
* She is getting so close to being able to ride a bike without training wheels!
* She's still as smart and logical as ever
* Love her : )
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