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Friday, December 31, 2010

Fun in Pheonix

While we were in Arizona, we took in some sights.  We went to the Aquarium.  It was neat seeing al of the different kinds of fish and sea life.  Hope was thrilled by it all and thought that she should be able to touch the fish.

We spent a few hours at Castles and Coasters. It is like a mini Lagoon but had some great rides.  The roller coaster was the best.  Their weren't lines at most of the rides so we just went from ride to ride.  Parker would only ride the go carts, over and over.  I took Hope on the carousal. I couldn't tell if she liked it or not.  She didn't get upset, but she din't smile either.  We also played miniature golf. I think Hope had the most fun.  She would get 2 balls from people,so we were always sharing golf balls, find the holes and drop them in.  She loved running up and down the slopes.













It was fun to be able to play outside in December without a jacket and get some sun.

Snow and Christmas

We decided to spend Christmas in Arizona this year with Loren parents and siblings.  We left the WRONG  day.  We left Tuesday during the storm that turned into a night mare. The roads were snowy and icy.  After seeing 20 cars in the snow banks, diesels stuck in the middle of the high way blocking traffic and snow plows going no where we gave up for the day.  We had been on the road for 4 1/2 hours and only made it to Fillmore. In normal weather we would have made it that far in under 2 hours.  We found a motel and spent the rest of the day and night.  The power had been out there since 6 a.m. and didn't come back on until about 4 p.m..  The motel had back up power, enough to run the heater and stay warm. Loren decided to go find something for lunch, to find out most places where closed. He came back with lost of different kinds of food from a gas station.  The children called it random food and asked if we were going to have to have it again for dinner.  Thankfully, places where open again by 6 p.m..  We hit the road again Wednesday morning in dense fog that lifted after about 30 minutes.  The rest of the trip was smooth sailing.  All of the children did well for the long car ride.  Hope would get fussy and we would get out a a baby genius movie and put it on for her and she would settle down.
It was great to walk through the door and be welcomed by Loren's parent and his siblings and their kids.  It is always fun to get together with family and eat good food and just relax.

I went to pull my camera out to get some pictures and guess what, It was covered in children's liquid ibuprofen.  I saw it sitting on the counter the morning we left and hurriedly through it in the bag of med's I was holding.  What a big mistake!!! I washed it off wet a wet cloth, just to have to wipe it off again a few minutes later cause it was oozing out of the buttons and cracks.  The battery compartment was filled and I wondered if it would work.  Loren surprised me by buying me a new one when he went shopping.  Thanks for the early Christmas present.


Christmas was a blast!! Hope couldn't figure out what was going on, but loved opening present and playing with everything.  The 3 oldest kids got laptops and where very quiet and entertained the rest of the stay. Ethan got DS games and lego sets, Parker got a DS and games, and Hope got the Fisher Price doll house and a talking tea pot.  Santa brought Loren an I pad and myself some sizzix dies.
We kept Christmas small because it all had to make it the the car for the ride home.
Putting on the nativity.










The children and their cousins put on the Nativity story Christmas eve. It was fun and quick since their are still small children.

Friday, December 10, 2010

SIng, sing, sing


Braden performed in the Lehi Christmas concert. It sounded great.  I love that my children love to sing!!


I used my I phone so the picture isn't  great. The songs are!

Parker's surgery

Parker was the bravest kid I have every seen.  He was only a little nervous about getting his tonsils and adenoids out.
Maybe that is because we took him to a pre-op class where they walked the kids through what was going to happen and gave them cool things.  They gave him a hospital buddy that was dressed in a hospital gown and he got to draw the face on it.  He also got a mask just like the one they would use in surgery to practice with at home.

We didn't have a long wait before surgery which helped.  We were only in the waiting room about 15 minutes, then they took us back to get him ready.  All of the nurses and doctors were very cute with him.  The one that wheeled his bed into surgery drove crazy. And Parker says that Dr. Deny's new name is...crazy Dr. Deny's because he zig zags across the room when he walks.
The whole procedure was about 35 minutes long.  When they brought Parker to recovery, he woke up and told us," that was fun and painless"!  The nurse told him that he was the best patient that she had ever had.
He loved the 2 slushes that they gave him.  We watched t.v. and talked for about 1 hour and then they let us go home.
Surgery makes you look horrible and feel tired. 
I thought that Parker would come home and sleep. But, no!! He watched t.v. and played computer games, even while taking tylenol with codeine. 

 He feels good until the med's start to wear off.  I set my alarm clock so I could get up and give him the next dose before it wore off and he was in pain, so the night went well.
A scout made children's lounge pants for the hospital(eagle scout project) for the children that had surgery, so they could go home in something comfy. Parker got a pair. He also got a game and they let him bring his pressure cuff home.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Christmas tree


Okay, we really did have Thanksgiving at our house this year. The only problem is, I left my camera at my parent's house.  I heard that it made it to my sister's house that same day but it is still there. So I will write about it when I get my camera back.

Monday we decorated the Christmas tree for our FHE activity.  Hope had a great time emptying out all of the ornaments onto the floor. And then putting them back in so she could dump them out again. I let the kids put up whatever they wanted too this year.  So the tree looks like a kid tree.  I am usually pretty picky about what gets put on and where. However, with a one year old running around, it won't stay that way for long. I've already put about 15 back on.  I'm sure that having a kitten that plays with the tree doesn't help either.

So if you come to my house, it's okay to laugh at my tree.


Sunday, November 28, 2010

Brave Parker


I took Parker tho the Ear, nose and throat doctor about 1 week ago.  He snores at night and that isn't normal for children, unless they have a stuffy nose.
He cooperated but was nervous.  Especially when they put numbing spray in his nose and then a tiny camera to see what his adenoids looked like.
Parker has to have his tonsils and adenoids out on Dec. 9th.  We're talking the whole thing up....pop, ice cream, miss school.  Some how I think it won't be so easy.


Thursday, November 18, 2010

Pine wood derby

Braden, Paige and Zachary made pinewood derby cars for Young men and women.  Paige and Zach decided that they wanted pre cut cars so didn't have to do so much work.

Braden made his from the normal block of wood.
 All of them turned out well but didn't win any of the races.
 Paige however did win the award for the Cutest car.



Braden also took a car that he made while in cub scouts.

November is for...

Thanksgiving and recognizing your blessings.
 I am grateful for my loving husband, Loren. He is an amazing man. He loves his job most of the time and provides well for our family.  He is a wonderful Dad and is involved in our children's lives. He is a great example of the Priesthood and brings happiness into our home.
I am grateful for ALL of my children ( yes, even the 3 teenagers), they each bring something special into our home with their different personalities and talents.
I am grateful for Birthparents that give the gift of life so unselfishly.
I am grateful for the gospel in my life.
I am grateful for parents that raised me in the gospel and taught me many things growing up and still do.
I am grateful for such good friends and neighbors.
I am grateful for Christ, my Savior.
I am grateful for life it's self.

My grateful list goes on and on........

I am even grateful for trails, some more than others.

Right this minute, I am grateful for Doctors and the technology of medication.  For without it I would feel lousy, tired, sore and more...every single day.  Instead, I only have these days a few times a month or when my medication need to be increased.  Yes, I am thankful for the health that I do have.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Fruit Facials



Here are a few recipes for fruit facials...

Honey Facial
1 Tbs honey
1 egg yoke
1 tsp olive oil
Beat yoke with fork, add the honey with a warm fork, then add the oil and mix well.
Smear it on your face and leave it on for 15 minutes, rinse well.

Cucumber Facial
1 cucumber-peel and put throw blender and strain or use a juicer.
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp witch hazel
1 egg white beat until fluffy
add everything together, smear on face and let sit for 15 to 20 minutes. Rinse off.

Blemished skin mask
1 tomato, ripe, chopped
1 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbs instant oatmeal or rolled oats
Blend everything until just combined. Apply to skin, or just on blemishes. Add more oats if needed. Leave on for 10 minutes and rinse.

I have tried the first two and love them. Not sure about the blemish mask, yet.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Blue baby

I have never seen any one really turn blue before but tonight I did.
My side of the family got together at my sister Teri's to work on our family service project for Christmas.  Teri served us dinner.  Loren was feeding Hope and letting her eat off of his plate.  She started eating cabbage salad and I told Loren not to let her because she doesn't have teeth to chew it.  Within seconds she was choking and turning blue.  I was so glad that I knew what to do. Who would have guessed that learning things from working at Childcare centers would actually come in handy at home.  I got her breathing again, and the scare was over.  However, I was glad that if I couldn't help her that my sister Teri could. She is a nurse and knows everything.  Okay, not everything, but a lot more than I do about emergencies.
Hope is fine!!!

Friday, November 12, 2010

Activity Days

For activity days we had a Spa Night here.  We did homemade fruit facials, fingernail painting, foot bathes, hair and of course cucumbers on our eyes. It was a blast.






When activity days were over my children had to have a turn also.  Zach tried the cucumbers and  a facial, silly boy. Gotta love him.
Paige and Brinn did it all. Hope thought the foot bathe was great fun.





Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Our new addition

Sparta is our newest addition. Or as Hope calls him, Wuba.
Paige and I went shopping and saw a family with a box of free kittens.  Jokingly I said," we should get one". I honestly thought Paige would say," no way" because she is allergic to them.  But she said, "we should, lets go see them."  So we did.  This kitten was so gorgeous that we just had to have him. He is so cute and tiny. Hopefully he will help keep mice out of our house and yard.


Tuesday, November 9, 2010

No more braces

After little more than a year, Braden got his braces off!! He now has nice straight shinny teeth.  He has clear retainers to wear at night for the next year or two.  He says it feels so nice not to have a metal mouth any more.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Guess who's

                                                Who's hand do you think this is?

If you guessed mine, you are right.  I tore the ligaments in my thumb and get to wear this nice contraption for two weeks.
How did I do this, you ask.  Well, we all are aware of those crazy child proof covers they make to put on door knobs, apparently they are adult proof and dangerous!!! Okay, maybe only dangerous for me.
I couldn't get the knob to turn and so I put my left hand over my right to get more leverage and pop. It only hurt for a second so I didn't think much of it. A few hours later it began to hurt and was very swollen. I waited until the next day to have it x rayed in hopes that it would get better. No such luck.
It is tricky using my left hand and having diapers to change. But life goes on.

Halloween fun

We carved pumpkins for Family night.  We all had a blast and made quite the mess.

On Friday, Loren's work had trick or treating for children 12 and under. So we checked the kids out of school early and the went with dad to have some fun.
Both Zach and Paige threw Halloween party's here on different nights.  Everyone had a lot of fun and stayed up late.
Yes, that is my old cheerleading outfit.  Glad it can still come in handy.

The kids had fun trick or treating even though it was rainy and cold.  I guess that I bought to much candy this year.  The cold weather didn't help.  We were even giving 3 or 4 pieces to everyone that came because we knew that we probably wouldn't  get as many as usual.  Braden and a friend went to their young men leaders house and Sunday school teachers to get candy and to hang out.  They said that they were going to go cause some trouble.  I really doubt that happened.