Our Happy Family

Dress from a shirt

2012-01-07T15:32:00.000-08:00

I made Brinly a little dress from a men's shirt. I've never done a "refashion" before, but I think I'm hooked!

Christmas Vacations Favorites

2011-12-31T15:20:00.000-08:00

1. Skiing for the first time!! (Abby, Brinly, Jordan)...but NOT the ski lesson! (Brinly and Jordan)

2. Ice Skating and tubing at Grandpa Winters Ponds. Everyone wants to take ice skating lessons now!

3. Seeing all the Grandparents.

4. Sleeping in.

5. Movies!!

6. Too much good food.

7. Playing with new toys--favorites were nerf guns for Jordan and Bryant, digital camera for Brinly, and CD player for Abby.

8. Trevor's campout/ice fishing/swimming adventure with the scouts.

9. Playing games. (Has anyone played Pandemic? It's a good one!)

10. Great weather!

Bryant's Three!

2011-12-20T11:37:00.000-08:00

Bryant had a birthday this past week. I can't believe he's three! He celebrated with a green Mickey Mouse cake and a huge Mickey Mouse balloon. He was one happy kid.

Bryant is such a sweet and funny little boy. All of us love him so much.

A few things about Bryant:

His favorite color is green.

He is very compassionate. If he sees one of his siblings is upset he will try to make them feel better, usually with a hug and a bandaid.

He loves to give hugs.

His mommy is still his favorite person. (I love this one!)

He likes to tell jokes and tell us how funny we all are.

He usually picks out one toy that is his favorite and that is the only one he wants to play with for extended periods of time.

We're so happy Bryant's in our family. Happy Birthday Bryant!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T08:16:00.000-07:00

Unicorn (Brinly), Mickey Mouse (Bryant), Spider man (Jordan), Pocahontas (Abby)

I had to include a picture of our pumpkins and dahlias this year. The flowers didn't freeze until right before Halloween and I lucked out when I planted them that the orange, red, and yellow ones ended up here. It ended up being a nice fall display!

Happy Birthday Jordan!

2011-09-25T15:51:00.000-07:00

Jordan is now five!

Jordan is a great kid. A few months ago, Trevor asked me if Jordan could stay this age forever. I totally agreed. He's just so fun and interesting. We love hearing what he has to say!

For his actual birthday, I let him pick out an ice cream cake and we had pizza. Picking out the cake was the highlight of his day. We also had a friend party. Jordan wanted to have a dinosaur party. It was a lot of fun to put together. The only part Jordan cared about was having a pinata. We ended up getting this three foot tall dinosaur pinata at the local grocery store. He was so proud carrying it through the store. I'm so glad Jordan's a part of our family!

First Day of Preschool

2011-09-07T15:45:00.000-07:00

Jordan is going to preschool this year. He loves it! He told me it is better than soccer and gymnastics. Must be good! I can't believe he goes to kindergarten next year.

First Day of School 2011

2011-08-24T15:11:00.000-07:00

First Day of School

Abby (2nd) and Brinly (1st)

Mini-Vacation

2011-08-20T14:55:00.000-07:00

In August we got to take a quick trip to Utah for some fun, a family reunion, and to see Trish's sister and her family. We had such a good time.
We spent one day with Trish's grandparents and other Workman cousins at the Tife Ranch near Morgan, Utah. Everything was so well organized and there were great activities for the kids. They had a lot of fun making necklaces, rockets, bubbles, breaking pinatas, and just playing. The ranch is really beautiful.

We stayed in Park City. Aother day we got to enjoy all the fun things to do there with the Gardner family. The kids were excited to see their cousins and got to do the alpine coaster, play mini-golf, go on rides, and do the zipline.

We also got to spend a little time in Salt Lake City. We took a tour of the Conference Center and were able to have dinner with Trevor's mission president and his wife. It's always great to see them and it was fun to show the kids around Temple Square and the Conference Center.

Tennis

2011-07-20T14:51:00.000-07:00

Jordan took tennis this summer. Like everything else, he loved it!

T-ball Style

2011-06-01T09:12:00.000-07:00

Brinly in Action

Brinly's t-ball style consists of a rubber band to knot her too long t-shirt to the side.

She also enjoys talking to and hugging the kids from the opposing team who end up on her base.

It's been an entertaining season so far.

A Little Get Away

2011-05-31T14:51:00.000-07:00

Last week we headed to Yellowstone for a couple days. The girls finished school on Tuesday and Trevor had Wednesday and Thursday off because he was scheduled to work Memorial Day weekend. It worked out perfectly.

The kids at Mammoth

We left Wednesday morning and took the Chief Joseph Highway to the northeast entrance. There was still A LOT of snow at Cooke City, but once we got into the park, it wasn't bad. We saw so many animals including: six bears (two grizzly, four black), lots of elk and their babies, bison and their babies, a bird we identified as some type of grouse, and mountain sheep.
We seemed to be some of the few English speakers. The kids were wondering how the other people could understand each other without talking "normal". We also seemed to be part of the attractions and got our pictures taken a few times. :o)
We stayed the night just outside the north entrance and then drove back through the next day. It was nice to get away just for a little bit and have a little fun. It seems we've been so busy this year that's it's been a long time since we've had time to relax and have fun as a family.

Dance Recital 2011

2011-05-19T10:32:00.000-07:00

We finished another year of dance. This year Abby and Brinly took jazz and ballet. They did their jazz dance at their recital and also danced in Swan Lake. They LOVED it. I'll be honest, our schedule for the two weeks before the performances was crazy. However, we all survived and the girls did a great job performing.

Here are the girls after Swan Lake. They were the youngest performers and so they got their own room back stage. They liked that a lot. (I'm really curious how all those little girls were kept entertained for over three hours backstage.)

This was at the dress rehearsal. They really enjoyed jazz and I think it was their favorite this year. Abby's already informed me she wants to do ballet, jazz, AND tap next year. We will see.

Doing their jazz piece for the dress rehearsal. A friend watched the boys until Trevor could pick them up after work. I was so grateful! Jordan and Bryant had done pretty well going to all the practices during the two weeks prior, but I think that final night would have done us all in.

On recital night with hair and make-up.

I'm glad the girls like an activity so much. We loved watching them perform and it's so great to see they progress they've made.

A few of the week's highlights

2011-04-29T12:07:00.000-07:00

We've entered the time of year where every day on the calender seems packed. While this makes me half-crazy, we've been able to fit in a lot of fun things. Here's a little from this week.

1. We were able to visit Trevor's parents for Easter. While we were there we got to visit Trevor's brother Steve, a fireman, at the fire station. The kids totally loved it and he did such a good job explaining everything. Steve and his wife, Ruth also had their first baby this week. That was definitely a highlight! Congratulations guys!

Checking out the fire engine

Steve let all the kids try on the gear. They had a lot of fun.

Jordan and Bryant checking out the fire engine cards Steve gave them.

2. The bunk beds are finished. The bed parts have been finished for a couple weeks, but they still needed to be stacked. Trevor and a friend got them put together this week. They look great and Bryant and Jordan are very happy. I think both of us are glad to be done with this project.

3. The kids have been busy. Abby had a soccer game. The girls got their dance costumes for the recital. They are cute and I know they're excited to dance in them. Abby and Brinly also ran in their school's marathon. It was cold and snowy, but they had fun.

I heard Abby and Brinly planning out how they were going to run together since the kindergartners lined up in front of the first grade. Their plans must have worked because they ended up running the first two laps holding hand. It was cute.

After the race. They were pretty proud of their medals.

Etsy Shop

2011-04-07T11:42:00.000-07:00

Last fall I worked with a friend making things for a craft fair, and we had a few (and I use that word VERY loosely) things left over. We decided to set up an etsy shop to try to sell what we had left. We've put up some of these items as well as some other things we've made this spring. Hopefully we'll get more up in the near future! Anyway, our shop's called Spot On Stuff. If you want to check it out, click

HERE!

Layer One

2011-03-15T13:18:00.000-07:00

Trevor's project of the month has been the full part of a twin-over-full bunkbed for the boys' room.
It's been fun to see it come together!

(I'm even more excited for the ENTIRE bed to be finished.)

The Answer to the Question

2011-02-21T13:42:00.000-08:00

So the answer to what exercise program Trevor and I have been doing is:

It's done by the same company as P90X, so that was a good guess.

Some things I like about the program:

The workouts are fast moving. Even during the second 4 weeks when the time increases from about 45 minutes to 60 minutes, the workout still seemed to go fast.
No outside equipment is needed. I like that I didn't need weights, pull-up bars, etc.
It is a REALLY good workout. When I was trying to decide if I wanted this program or not, I read a lot of reviews. Some people complained that it was too hard. I feel like it pushed me, but I could easily adapt exercises I couldn't do until I was able to.

We have one week left. Trevor's excited. I'm planning on continuing to use the DVD's in addition to some running. Hopefully the weather warms up enough that the running part can happen soon!

My Great Valentine's Day Idea

2011-02-11T12:39:00.000-08:00

If I lived somewhere with just a little more shopping variety, this is what I'd be doing for Trevor for Valentine's day.

Trevor likes a good root beer. My idea was to get nine or so different varieties. I would then add a label to each bottle that said "Love Potion #1", Love Potion #2,.... up to Love Potion #9. He might not appreciate the cuteness, but he would appreciate the root beer. :o)

As it is, my local grocery store has only three varieties! I might try to modify it. We'll see. I thought I'd share because some of you might know of another root beer lover and might want to use it!

Starting somewhere

2011-02-08T10:15:00.000-08:00

It seems when I don't write for awhile, it's hard to know where to start!

For the past six weeks or so, Trevor and I have been working out...together. For the record, we have NEVER worked out together the entire time we've known each other. Trevor's sometimes expresses some interest, but I've preferred to do my own thing as far as exercise goes. For Christmas this year, I got a DVD workout program and Trevor decided to do it with me. I was a little apprehensive about it! Trevor's was in way better shape than I was and I was a little afraid of his ridicule or worse...pity. :o) I shouldn't have worried. The whole program is intense. We hardly have the energy to look at each other during it, let alone notice what the other person can or can't do.
Anyway, on to the list entitled "The Best Things About This Program":

It's something the entire family likes to do. When we pull out the DVD the kids go running to put on their workout clothes. (Doing the workout around four moving kids doesn't usually go well, therefore we've had to modify when we workout when we can! Then, they're VERY sad that they missed it.)
Bonding with Trevor over exhaustion, sore muscles, and sweat.
Jeans that fit just a little better.
The kids have a whole new arsenal of one liners. The best was when I said something like I didn't want to do the dishes or laundry and Jordan told me to "Dig deeper Mom, Dig deeper."
Feeling like I can't wait for the weather to warm up because I know I'm in better shape to run.
Listening to Trevor pick apart the workout. Seriously, he notices every glitch in the program. Including and not limited to when we only stretch on one side for five seconds and we stretch on the other side for eight.
Laughing about some parts. The lead guy talks about his "big quads" a couples times and how he has to modify the exercises to accommodate them. There's also a girl that reminds me of the blond, spacey acting girl on Glee. Highly entertaining.
Checking off working out everyday. It feel good to have some consistency.
Having Abby tell me that this one particular exercise "really freaks me out" because she's not sure if she'll EVER be able to do it.
Spending time with Trevor doing something active and fun...once it's over. :o)

Does anyone know which program we're doing? If you have a guess, leave it in the comments, there might possibly be a prize if someone knows. :o)

I've also been busy on some projects. This is one for what is apparently my favorite and only room I decorate, the playroom. It's a throw pillow with our favorite little people on it. I like it, but Brinly does not like her sticking up curly hair and she would prefer to be pink. Jordan likes that he's wearing shorts, but would rather be orange.

Naughty or Nice

2010-12-23T14:26:00.000-08:00

The following has definitely been the best part of my week:
Yesterday Abby brought me a list that looked like this-

Dad

Yes or No

Brinly

Yes or No

Jordan

Yes or No

Bryant

Yes or No

She told me she was deciding who to give presents to for Christmas this year and she wanted me to circle yes if the person had been nice and no if the person had been mean. I asked her why I wasn't on the list and she said, "Mom, I already know that you were nice this year!"

Fall

2010-11-07T12:02:00.000-08:00

Where to start? This month has flown by. I've been meaning to post about SO many things, but it hasn't happened.

Our pumpkin harvest

A couple posts ago, I talked about the many projects we've had going on...well, some of them are still going on and I've added a few more. Add a little traveling, hunting, holiday celebrating, and kid's activities to the mix and I feel like I haven't had time to think straight! At this point, I'm hoping things will be a little less crazy by January.
Some highlights of this month:

Longest fall without a hard freeze I've ever experience. We were still picking tomatoes on Halloween and we picked the last of our raspberries yesterday. Long growing season=extra time to can and preserve all the produce. Maybe not such a good thing when you're short on time!
Halloween. Abby was a butterfly, Brinly was a cat, Jordan was spiderman, and Bryant was a lion. Bryant was too sure about his costume at first, but thought it was pretty fun to growl at people by the end. We made it to the class parties, downtown trick-or-treating, trunk-or-treat at the church, and had a Halloween dinner and passed out treats. We had enough Halloween to last at least a year.
Trevor went elk and deer hunting and shot some animals. He had a great time with his dad and brothers elk hunting. I think his deer was the biggest he's ever shot and he's totally converted to "opening day" hunting now. Jordan went with him and really enjoyed hunting with his dad and Grandpa Winters.
Trevor and I were also able to attend his brother's family's sealing after they adopted two girls. It was an experience both of us will always remember.
I've been busy making things for a craft fair that's happening the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It's been fun, but it's been a lot of work too. If any of you will be in the area for Thanksgiving, you should stop by our table.

We've been so busy, but it's all with such good things. I'm extremely grateful for what I've been given.

26.2

2010-09-22T09:03:00.000-07:00

We spent last weekend in Logan, Utah so Trevor could compete in the Top of Utah Marathon. This was the same one I did a few years ago, so it was fun to go back.
Trevor and my sister Victoria both ran...and both finished. :o) Victoria finished in 3 hours 38 minutes. Both Trevor and I were impressed. Trevor's time was 4 hours 18 minutes. He wanted to finish under 4 hours, so he was a little disappointed. He did really well though, especially for his first one...(yes, he already thinks he wants to run another one.)

Another plus of taking a trip that direction at this time of year is we came back with a couple bushels of peaches! It was a great weekend overall.

All I want for Christmas....

2010-09-09T13:20:00.000-07:00

Due to some motivation from the 1st grade "Who lost a tooth" chart, Abby lost both her front teeth this week!

Project Central

2010-09-03T10:33:00.000-07:00

If I had to use one word to describe what's been going on around our house the last little while, it would be projects. Projects have been consuming my thoughts, time, and energy. It's a good thing I like stuff like this. :o) Here's a sampling:

Trevor built these lockers for the kids to put their stuff. I helped a little.
The kids and I totally love them. I think Trevor would too if he wasn't so aware of every mistake. (I can't see them, but apparently, he can! :o) )

He also built this bench for our porch.

He's not a fan of staining, so I got to do most of that.

A friend and I have been getting together to do craft projects every week. In the in between time, we each come up with even more projects for us to try. This is a sample of one thing I made this week. I didn't have a pattern and I cut up an old dress of the girl's to make this, so there are some things I want to do differently next time with the measurements, etc.

Canning has also consumed some time. We currently have quite a stock of apple and cherry pie filling, green beans, applesauce, jelly, and pickles.

My grandma turns 90 this fall and my aunts are throwing a party. I'm helping one of my aunts with the table decorations. I've been making A LOT of flowers like these to use.

Last, but not least, a few months ago I was also asked to help with the additional Relief Society meetings (formerly known as homemaking and enrichment :o)). This includes Super Saturday. It's been fun, but projects for that have really been on my mind the last two weeks too.

Honestly, I can't really think of much else we've been doing!

Choices

2010-08-26T20:24:00.000-07:00

Today Abby was telling me about her day. Apparently, there are two little boys in her class that she thinks she might marry. We'll call them A and B here. She said that she told A she was going to marry him when she grew up. He was pretty excited. A little while later, she told B that she was going to marry him, but added, "don't tell A, because he wants to marry me too." She said she didn't want A to know she had also told B she was going to marry him "because he would be mad." She finished with, "I just told them both I would marry them because I'm not sure which one I want to yet and I want to be able to choose later."

Player? :o)

What we decided

2010-08-25T18:30:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to do a quick post on what we did (so far!) with the pictures Kara took.

I really wanted a big picture of the kids in the playroom:

I had the kids wear the colors they did so it would coordinate with this room. So many people have commented on how well the picture goes with the room! :o)

I also wanted some new pictures of the kids to put in the frames in our living room:

I really liked one of the other group shots and cropped it into four pictures. I wasn't sure how it would look, but I'm very pleased with it. I like how they're all individual, but they all flow together too.

The "Real" first day

2010-08-24T14:27:00.001-07:00

Abby and Brinly started school yesterday. It's crazy that I have two kids in school now.

First day of 1st grade and kindergarten

Yes, Brinly's backpack was almost bigger than she was. Especially when it was packed with all her school supplies.

They had great first days and both really like their teachers. It is SO strange to just have the boys with me all day, but I'm sure I'll get used to it!

First day in the classroom

2010-08-03T13:50:00.000-07:00

Brinly had her first day of Jumpstart Kindergarten today. She was SO excited. She got up at six, got completely dressed, added some accessories, and was ready to go. I wanted to get some pictures, but my camera was in Trevor's car.
As we were leaving she told me that she hoped she would be the "beautifulist one there!" I'm not sure where she got this one...maybe too many princess stories lately? I told her that I hoped she would also be the nicest.
When I picked her up, she was full of information. I asked her if she talked to her teacher and she told me, "I raised my hand and she asked me what I wanted and I told her that I REALLY liked her shirt. Mom, it was pink and it had a little necklace on it. " :o)
I think she's really going to like school.

July in Pictures

2010-07-28T12:27:00.000-07:00

It's been a fun and busy month. I'm behind on blogging and would like to make a fresh start...in August. :o) Here are some of our pictures from what we've been doing in July.

Bryant's asserting his independence more and more every day. It's cute and frustrating at the same time. We've been working at getting him to say more words and learn some signs.
Jordan's been enjoying swimming lessons. He has quadruplet girls in his class. It's pretty cute to watch them swim.

Abby's had fun during her tennis class. Her class is small. During the last class only she and one one other boy were there. She was glad because they got to play "real" tennis.

Brinly's also had fun with tennis. Her class is a little bigger. They take lots of water breaks and spend a lot of time picking up the balls all over the court.

We also got to go camping for the first time this summer for the Winters' Family Reunion. My Grandma Ann and Grandpa Harold even made it.

One of the program highlights was Uncle Steve and Aunt Mary's family skit. It was called "Winters Got Talent". Uncle Steve won with a nice opera number, but I think Aunt Mary gave him a run for his money with her cheer/dance routine.

Abby was very excited to be dressed as a tree during Eileen and Heber's program number.

We got to roast some marshmallows. Aunt Vickie told the kids about her camel sighting earlier that day. She also told them that she knew someone who would pay $20 for a live squirrel. Needless to say, the kids were all ready to find that camel and try to catch a squirrel.

Here's Vickie leading the kids on a search for the camel.

That's been our July so far!

Good

2010-07-09T10:28:00.000-07:00

We've been having a really good summer. The weather's been great. The kids have been good (for the most part!). I'm trying to enjoy it as much as possible. Here are a few "good" things that I want to remember:
Our garden is doing great this year. We picked some peas and carrots and dug some potatoes (see the blue ones?) this week.
One of my favorite "comfort" foods is new potatoes, carrots, and peas in white sauce. I made some this week and totally enjoyed it.

I told the kids something to the effect that too much t.v. rots their brains. Abby took this very literally and has been reminding Brinly and Jordan that they don't want to have "rotten brains" whenever she thinks they've been watching too much. I also told the kids that if they did their regular chores (make bed, get dressed, pick up room, brush teeth, etc.) I would give them a grown-up chore to do (fun stuff like cleaning toilets and dusting and polishing furniture). Abby's the only one who's qualified to do a grown-up chore every day this week. :o) What a great girl!

Brinly's been helping Jordan learn his letters and learn how to write his name. (You're probably wondering at this point what exactly I have left to do. No wonder it's been such a good summer for me!) She's really enjoyed her cooking class this week.

A family in our ward was in a car accident a couple weeks ago. Brinly's pretty good friends with their oldest daughter, so all the kids have been concerned. Every night when I ask Jordan what he wants to say in his prayers he tells me that he wants to pray that A's mom will get better. It's sweet.

Bryant's been keeping me hopping. He's become very accident prone lately:

At least he's still happy! He's also started sleeping through the night pretty consistently. It has made a WORLD of difference for me. I think I might be making my way back to the world of the living, or at least the more patient. :o)

Have a great weekend!

Summer

2010-06-25T12:02:00.000-07:00

We've been having a great BUSY summer so far. Abby and Brinly took t-ball. Currently Jordan and the girls are in gymnastics and Abby and Brinly are in swimming lessons. It's been fun, but we've been running around a lot!
A few weeks ago, my friend Kara was kind enough to take some pictures of the kids for me. She did a great job. She took some of each kid individually and some group shots. I loved them all. Here are a few of the group shots. I totally appreciate these because I haven't been able to get a good shot of all the kids together since Bryant was born!

I have big plans to put one of these in our playroom. Now I just have to decide which one!

Seeing The Big Easy

2010-06-18T08:59:00.000-07:00

Our trip started last Friday. We drove to Colorado with a stop in Laramie. We were able to visit my friend Sarah. It was so good to see her! I've missed her so much this year so I was excited that we had some time to chat. We continued on to Trevor's brother's home to spend the night. It was fun to see them and their girls. Abby and Brinly had a little sleepover with their five-year-old.
The next morning we got up at 4:00 a.m. so we could be at the airport by 5:30. The kids did great for being up so early. We only had one mishap at DIA which involved Brinly not hopping on the escalator. She was at the top, we were at the bottom, Abby and Jordan were very scared for her! We made it to our gate just as they began boarding.

Abby was very excited to be on a plane for the second time in her life. The first was when she was 11 months old, but she still liked to talk like an experienced air traveler.
Jordan and Brinly did GREAT on the plane. Bryant had his moments, but overall did really good too.

We had a layover in Dallas. We ended up being there a little longer than we planned because we missed our connection. Long story short, we had an hour layover, the gate changed three times during that hour, we made two of those changes and were running for the third, but didn't quite make it. :o) Luckily the next flight was just 90 minutes later. The kids wore themselves out during those 90 minutes and all but Abby fell asleep before take-off. We finally arrived in New Orleans later that afternoon. It was about 55 degrees when we left Denver and 95 degrees and humid when we got to New Orleans.

Thus began the "falling asleep within minutes of stopping" that was part of the rest of the trip.

Amy and Matt had a great meal for us that night. We also got to have fun swimming in their pool.

The next day, my niece got baptized. We were so excited we could be there for it.

Abby and Brinly got to have a few more nights of sleepovers. There was a lot of talking until very late at night and a lot of Polly Pocket playing. They had a really good time.

Bryant really liked their screened porch. A couple geckos managed to squeeze in and Bryant and Jordan really liked seeing them.

The next day we went on a swamp tour. It was so hot and humid, but the tour was really neat.

We saw lots of alligators:

They like hot dogs and marshmallows.

We also got to see the rivers and swamps and lots of other animals and enjoy the humidity (who knew we all had curly hair!)

Bryant did well, but I think he was getting hot and tired by the end.

The next day, Amy watch the kids for us (thank you!) while Trevor and I walked around the French Quarter and downtown New Orleans.

We walked along the Mississippi River.

View of part of the down town area.

We had a great lunch at Mr. B's and saw some things we'd like to do if we come back.

We went back to Amy and Matt's that night and went swimming again. We really enjoyed their pool.

The next morning we went on a nature walk.

Here the kids are looking at some turtles.

They saw this one on a log and thought it was a statue turtle. They were pretty surprised to find out it was real. They also saw some lizards and bugs.

After a great lunch, we drove back to the airport. It was really hard to come back. Amy and Matt were excellent hosts and we really had a wonderful time.

The kids were excited when the plane pulled up.

It was crazy, but fun, to travel so far with the kids. We were glad we got to see Amy and Matt and the kids and have fun seeing New Orleans. Now we are back trying not to freeze in Wyoming. I guess we got used to the heat while we were there!

Somewhere over the rainbow...

2010-05-25T08:40:00.000-07:00

Both girls really wanted to have a friend party for their birthdays this year. April was busy and I didn't feel quite up to it. I did tell them they could have a play date later with a few of their friends. They were excited about it. I liked the idea of having fewer kids. They picked a rainbow theme. We had lunch, played one game, and made a craft. It was really fun! Here are some pictures: (some of them are cropped funny because I didn't want to post pictures of the other kids without permission!) They each decorated a cupcake with mini M&M's.

I was pretty proud of this Jell-O!

We had some colorful drinks and fruit and rainbow sandwiches. They also each got some crayons to color rainbows for the game: pin the pot of gold to the end of the rainbow. :o)

We did this right after Abby got done with her kindergarten circus so her face was still painted.

They also made rainbow necklaces that I didn't get pictures of.

It turned out to be a really fun day!

Pony Costume

2010-05-19T13:38:00.001-07:00

Every year the kindergarteners put on a circus at the end of the year. From what I can gather it's basically a play/concert. Abby wanted to be a pony. I was fine with that until I started looking online for a costume. Ummmm...there aren't many pony costumes for six year old girls. Actually none since the two I did find were out of stock. I finally found this one at Posh Tots that I thought I could copy. (I was not confident in my abilities to create some kind of horse head out of fabric and stuffing without a pattern.)
Anyway, Abby's happy with it. She was trying to pose like a pony in these pictures, so I got some interesting expressions.

Dance Recital 2010

2010-05-18T13:27:00.000-07:00

Abby and Brinly's dance recital was on Saturday. As Brinly said, "I LOVE being on stage!" They both really did. They loved their beautiful costumes and being able to perform. Both of them did very well. Here are some pictures from the dress rehearsal and the actual night.

Waiting their turn at the dress rehearsal. They were so excited to wear make-up.
Brinly on stage waiting to start. They each had to find their dot. The first time they tried it was pure chaos.

The pretty princesses the night of the performance. They had to be backstage for the whole thing (2 1/2 hours) and their number was one of the last performed. I was impressed that they could do it. Afterward, Brinly did say she was "SO tired".

A Hard Day

2010-05-16T19:01:00.000-07:00

Today was a hard day. I try to put on a good front. On here, and in real life too. Today just went downhill. Trevor worked this weekend. To be honest, I totally dread those weeks. Saturday is not so bad, but church on Sunday is really difficult. Bryant doesn't like to be contained. The kids ask me a million questions in their not so quiet voices and sometimes they fight. A lot.
After the first hour of church it's my calling (church job for those who aren't LDS/Mormon) to teach the 4 and 5 year olds. It has been a challenge for me. There are 11 kids in the class. Ten are there on a regular basis. It's also a fairly "young" class. For the most part I manage, but I almost always feel like the lessons are more about stopping the more energetic kids from hurting themselves or bothering the kids around them then actually teaching. Today, I had Bryant with me. I had forgotten my object lesson at home, but quickly thought of a Plan B. It involved going outside. I talked to the kids about how we would act outside, how we still needed to be reverent, etc., etc., etc. Anyway, long story short a few of the kids were running everywhere, not listening, while the four kids that always do what I say were being pretty perfect. Bryant was pretty content chasing the runners, but not so content going where it was safe for him to be. It was a total disaster. I finally told the kids we couldn't finish and needed to go back to the church. The runners were totally o.k. with taking off across the parking lot toward the church, but my little stubborn daughter (Brinly's in my class) was VERY upset that she didn't get to explain her rock (each kid had a rock that represented a priesthood responsibility). She wouldn't budge. I told her that I was very sad too that we didn't get to finish but that the other kids weren't listening so we had to go back to the classroom all while trying to make sure none of the other kids got hit by a car. She started crying. Her little friend said she was so sad too. I was sad. Finally, finally, Brinly started moving while crying at the top of her lungs. The kids were running all over the church lawn. I finally got everyone halfway to the door when one of the poor Primary counselors stuck her head out and asked if everything was going o.k. I'm holding squirmy Bryant, my daughter is crying, and half the class is going crazy. I was not o.k.
I started crying and could not stop. She took my class. I took Bryant and went to get some KleenexesI was embarrassed (losing it at church is not my favorite thing to do!) and totally overwhelmed. It was hard. I feel like I can learn something from every calling and I have learned a lot from this one. I'm still so far from good at it and it's hard for me to admit that I am struggling so much with this calling.
I'm not sure what I want to gain from writing this post...Suggestions for dealing with active four-year-olds maybe? :o) Most parts of my life are so good and I enjoy writing about them. Maybe I just needed to write about one hard day too.

a year later

2010-05-11T10:18:00.000-07:00

This week was the anniversary of Trevor graduating and our move. It's kindof been a mix of emotions as I've looked back a little over the past year. When Trevor accepted his job, I think he was more excited than I was about the area we were moving to. For me, it was like moving home...but not quite. We were moving close to the community where I grew up and we were going to be in the same stake, but it was a whole different town. I loved growing up where I did, I loved high school and felt it was a great experience. That being said, I wasn't sure I was ready to move back. Trevor and I always talked about moving to this area eventually, but I expected we would have a little adventure somewhere else first. I have grown to really love it (again!) even though I miss some things and some people terribly!

Here are a few things I've noticed being back:
The consistency in this area is incredible. One of the things we looked forward to with this move was not having to say goodbye to old friends at the end of every semester. For the most part that has been the case and we love it. It's been fun for me to run into so many people I went to high school with. It's also slightly amusing to know so much "history" about so many different people and a little embarrassing/funny to know that some of them know your "history" too. :o) I also have to give myself a reality check every once in awhile. You see, I've found that everyone I went to high school with has stayed 18 in my memory. I have to keep reminding myself that they are in their 30's and are old enough to have six kids, real jobs, houses, and basically be grown up adults. :o)

Another unexpected thing has stayed the same...the radio station (and I do use that singularly) plays nearly exactly the same music it played during my junior high and high school days. (Ace of Base, Savage Garden, Alanis Morissete, music from Robin Hood, I even heard "How do you talk to an Angel" one day...I'm pretty sure that was a Homecoming theme one year!) I associate memories with music, so it's like a walk down memory lane every time I turn on the radio. Strange.

One thing hasn't stayed the same...the little kids have gotten older. I said the kids I went to high school still look the same age, but their younger siblings have gotten huge. All these kids I babysat are getting married and going on missions. It's CRAZY! I even got introduced to a guy and his wife at church that had a huge crush on me when I was in junior high and he was probably in kindergarten. Of course I remembered it when I heard his name (he was a persistent little guy), but thought he probably wouldn't since he was five or so at the time. He did. It ended up being a little awkward.

We have really started to feel at home. It's been good for us to have some stability and consistency during this time in our lives. Even though I wasn't excited at first, I'm really glad we've had the opportunity to be here for the past year.

those of you who moved the same time...What have you noticed about being back? How has the transition been for you?

Weekly Wrap-up

2010-05-07T09:15:00.000-07:00

When I was in school, we would take home a paper ever Friday called the Weekly Wrap-up. Since this post is just some random things from the past week, it seemed like a fitting title.

First off, Bryant and I have been spending a lot of quality time together in the hours between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. It's hard, I'm tired, I really dislike teething, colds, and everything else that's been keeping him awake.

Sometimes being a baby is hard.

Abby ran the last mile of her marathon this week. She did great. It was really fun to watch her run.

First lap.

First the gloves and hat came off, then the coat.

Finish line

Abby and Brinly had their first t-ball practice. They had fun, even though it was freezing. They especially liked putting their hands in the middle and shouting their team name at the end of practice.

Our t-ball "stand-outs"

Jordan has been alternating between extremely sweet and extremely naughty. Between teasing Brinly and Jordan this morning he told me about his bad dream last night. He told me that he had gotten mad at me, ran away, got lost, and wanted me to find him. He even shed a few tears during the telling. It was sweet. I'm glad I have some moments like this to remember during the times I'm so exasperated with him.

Trevor's apparently decided to enter the running for husband of the year. He's been gone a lot the last month with work, but he's still found time to help the kids clean up their messes before dinner, do some yard work, and most importantly , talk to me. I seriously appreciate his extra effort.

As for me, functioning on small amounts of sleep are not good for my mental state, but I have managed to get the necessities (such as pony costumes) done. I can't believe how busy the end of the school year gets and I only have one child in school!

Sunday Best

2010-05-02T16:16:00.000-07:00

Today, the primary teachers got to go to Relief Society and the Young Women taught our primary classes. Saturday was prom, so a lot of the Young Women wore their formals to church. After church today, Jordan was telling me how it went. He said, "Sister Y. didn't teach our class today. I had three princesses teach my class!"

Our Week in Pictures

2010-04-30T08:05:00.000-07:00

Brinly and Jordan playing nicely (for once!) and having a tea party.

This pile of stuff will hopefully become a pony costume for the kindergarten circus in the next week. No pattern...a few ideas...wish me luck.

Abby was ready to run the last mile of her marathon this morning even though it was a blizzard outside. They did end up canceling it. We're looking forward to seeing her run when they reschedule.

I just wanted to record some of their "sweetness".

First

2010-04-23T13:05:00.000-07:00

I planted a bunch of tulips last fall and this is the first one to bloom. I'm so excited for the rest!

These girls...

2010-04-21T10:33:00.000-07:00

Recently, Abby and Brinly have discovered the joy of talking in bed before they go to sleep. In some ways it bothers me because it's taking them A LOT longer to fall asleep and we sometimes end up with some really grumpy girls. On the other hand, I love that they're such good friends and have a lot to talk about.

One night Trevor and I could hear them talking away long after their bedtime so we eavesdropped. I was interested to see what they had to talk about this late at night. I think we were both surprised to hear the following:

Brinly: How do you spell "magic"?

Abby: m..a...g...i...k

Brinly: No, one letter's wrong.

Abby: m...a...g...i...c

Brinly: That right. How do you spell "princess"?

So instead of telling secrets in the late hours, these two prefer quizzing each other on spelling words!

Next Direct

2010-04-19T14:41:00.000-07:00

Last fall I got a flyer for a British company that was starting to sell clothes in the U.S. called Next. I thought the prices for kid's clothes were pretty reasonable (adult stuff seemed kindof pricey) and some of the kid's clothes were super cute. I ordered a few things for Bryant and Jordan and was impressed with the quality too. I made another order before Easter and got the items in two days! The ONLY problem I had with ordering is for some reason, debit cards don't work well. I had to use a regular credit card.
Anyway, I just got an e-mail from them saying that I could send them up to 12 names and e-mails and they would send those people a coupon for $20 off their first order of $25 or more plus free shipping. I will also get a $10 coupon for each person that makes an order. Anyway, if all of you wouldn't mind checking out their site and if you see some things you'd like to order please leave your name in the comments and I'll send your name in. It seems like a win/win situation to me. :o)

Five Years Old

2010-04-18T18:58:00.000-07:00

My second little girl has turned five. I can't believe it! Here are a few things about Brinly:
1. She is still in the unicorn phase, so we celebrated with a unicorn party. She's been asking for a unicorn balloon for weeks. She was excited with this one.
2. Brinly's taste in food never ceases to amaze me. Some of her favorite foods are stir fry with lots of vegetables, butter chicken curry (yes, she drinks a lot of water, but she totally loves it), and chicken enchiladas. She doesn't really like sweet foods. She's been able to have more milk, but she doesn't really like ice cream. I was totally surprised when she did LOVE one variety...this one:

Yes, that is 1/2 the fat, sugar free chocolate.

3. She loves to make things for herself and her dolls. Some of my favorite are a dress she made for herself out of paper and glue and these headbands and necklaces. She informed me that the star shaped things on the necklace and headband in these pictures are diamonds.

4. Brinly is an optimist. One example is after I picked her up from playing with one of her friends she told me that he had told her that he never wanted to play with her again. She started laughing like crazy and said, "But I KNOW he will change his mind!"

5. Brinly is very social. She always jumps at the chance to play with any of her friends. She has been creating invitations for her friends for "sleepovers".

Brinly continually brightens our lives. I'm so glad she's in our family!

Six

2010-04-13T12:19:00.000-07:00

Abby turned six this week. She got to celebrate three different days. On Friday, she got to take snacks to kindergarten. On Saturday she got to go on a date with Mom, open part of her presents, blow out candles, eat cake, and have a movie night. On Monday, her big birthday present arrived:
On Sunday the tracking information said it would be here by Wednesday, on Wednesday, it said Thursday, On Thursday it said Friday, On Friday it said Monday, and it really came! It's a little big for her, but she quickly got the hang of it. She really likes the bell.

Abby is such a great girl. Here are six things about her I don't want to forget.

1. She always tries her best. At school the kids can run laps for a marathon program. If they get enough laps, they get to run the last mile of the marathon at the high school. The kindergarteners are only required to run 13 miles to qualify, but Abby decided she'd rather do the whole thing. Last time I checked, she was at 24 miles! (Her teacher told me about this at parent teacher conferences.)

2. She is very responsible and likes to follow the rules. She remembers everything.

3. She loves school and has learned how to read this year. She is working hard at getting to 150 AR points. She loves her teacher and especially loves her 3rd grade "bucket pal."

4. She doesn't like missing out on the fun stuff going on at home when she's at school. She wants to meet all of Brinly and Jordan's friends and classmates.

5. Abby is very sensitive and emotional. She likes to help other people feel better when they're hurt and feels very bad when she hurts other people's feelings.

6. Her favorite outfits are still dresses and still pink and purple. She will wear pants occasionally on P.E. days or when it's really, really, cold, but I have to talk her into it.

We're so glad Abby's in our family!

A Tutu T-shirt Dress

2010-04-07T11:14:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to put this together for a couple weeks. I've never done a tutorial before and it's harder than it looks. If anything is confusing, please let me know!

J Crew inspired Tutu T-shirt Dress
Materials
2 identical t-shirts in the size your child wears
1 yard coordinating tulle (54" width)
Coordinating thread
Sewing machine
pins (lots)

Steps
1. Cut six, 5 inch strips of tulle on the 36" direction. You should end up with your strips, plus 6 inches left over. (Note: The five inch strips work well for the 4T-6T dresses. If your child is smaller, you might want to make the strips 3 or 4 inches wide.)
2. Decide how long you want the dress to be. I like the t-shirt part to hit just at or slightly above the knee. To measure, I tried one t-shirt on my daughter and then measured the gap between her knee and the bottom of the shirt. Add about 1 inch to that measurement for the seam allowance. Measure that distance up from the bottom of the 2nd t-shirt and cut straight across. (For Brinly's dress, I measure up 7 1/4 inches.)

3. Pin cut off shirt to whole shirt with right sides together. Make sure to match side seams. Pin well.

4. Turn inside out so that the "whole" shirt is on the outside. This way, you can use the bottom hem as a guide to sew them together.

5. Sew shirts together using the hem line for a guide. (See below.)

6. Turn shirt right side out. It should look something like this:

It doesn't look perfect, but it doesn't matter. The tulle covers it up.

7. Match two tulle layers together and sew at each side. (I double sewed mine. The first is 1/4" allowance and then the second seam I did right next to that.) Sew the other strips the same way. You'll end up with three tulle circles.

8. Now it's time to gather each of the tulle sections. Stitch around each tulle circle 1/4" from the top edge. Do NOT back stitch. Leave about 1/4" between your first stitch and your last. Carefully pull on one of the loose strings to gather the tulle. When it's about the same width as the dress, even out gathers. Repeat with remaining two tulle circles.

9. Pin first tulle layer to the right side of the dress exactly over the seam as shown. This is the only layer that needs to be pretty exact as it covers the seam and provides a guide for the other layers. Pin well. I think I pinned about every inch.

10. Sew tulle to dress exactly over the seam.
11. Measure down about 1.5 inches and pin next layer on. (If you have a smaller child, it might be slightly less than 1.5 inches. Eye ball it so it looks good.) Sew. Repeat this step with the final layer. Cut strings.

The finished product:

One more note...You should probably wash your t-shirts before you start. I didn't with this one and I'm a little nervous to see how much it might shrink!

One picture

2010-04-06T09:24:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter. Unfortunately, I didn't check the battery on the camera soon enough and wasn't able to get pictures of the morning's activities. The kids all got sunglasses in their baskets. Abby and Brinly enjoyed wearing them all day.

When I asked them where they got the idea to put them on their head like this Abby said, "Because it's just like how Brenda does."

April 1st

2010-04-01T11:12:00.001-07:00

Today is Trevor's birthday. Last year I made a list about him. This year I'm adding to it. Here are some well and lesser known things about Trevor:

Trevor is a perfectionist with his projects. I'm not afraid to ask him to do or make something because I know it will turn out really good.
He told me it ALWAYS snows on his birthday. I wasn't so sure now that we've moved to the warmer, very much drier part of the state. I was wrong.
He likes big, hot breakfasts or none at all.
Trevor enjoys breakfast meats, biscuits and gravy, and french toast for breakfast. He doesn't really like pancakes.
He's picky about his socks. He used to wear black Nike socks with his suit. I made fun of him, but he liked them best. His favorite for work are khaki colored Adidas.
He listens to a lot of books on tape. Usually I pick them out from the library for him.
He is very excited that Abby and Brinly are old enough for t-ball this year. It's a sport he can relate to.
We spent two hours discussing t-ball mitts. Two hours. It ended in a compromise.
He didn't have many opinions about the kid's clothes or toys when they were younger. Now that they're getting older, he has a lot more.
He really wants a truck, but he's willing to wait until we can afford it. (Afford=paying cash. :o)
If Trevor gets something new, he wants to use or wear it right away. If I get him something for a birthday or holiday I have to hide it well. Some tools went on sale in October and I decided to get them for him for Christmas. They came in a huge box that I nearly killed myself getting in the house. I hid them, but Trevor discovered the box. It was the hardest job of my life to keep them boxed and unused until Christmas.

Whenever I try to coordinate outfits with Trevor and the boys, he acts totally unenthused. However, this week he totally made my day when he asked if I could get him some pants just like Jordan's. (For the record, pants exactly like Jordan's had already been purchased for Trevor's birthday and were well hidden.)
Trevor's great at gift giving when I'm very direct. Several months ago I made a separate blog that just has items I would like but won't buy for myself. It's worked out really well for us.
Trevor doesn't have a blog, but sometimes he gives me topics he thinks I should blog about. I may or may not use them.
Trevor and I have different love languages. Trevor's is not sweet, thoughtful, homemade gifts.
Trevor is great at getting the kids to clean up when he gets home.
His idea of a great vacation is lots of activities. No relaxing on the beach with a good book for him. :o)
Trevor loves condiments, ketchup, BBQ sauce, salad dressings, dips. He LOVES them all.
Trevor is almost as excited as I am about our garden this year.
Trevor takes great care of his car. It's almost always very clean.
Trevor said no one really played April Fool's tricks on him when he was younger because it was his birthday.
Trevor gave in to the pressure and mowed our lawn last weekend. He's a little picky about our yard too.
Trevor loves a good emergency. I think it's the adrenalin rush.
Trevor's not really into holidays and birthdays, but I know he appreciates being remembered.

Happy Birthday Trevor! I hope this year is a good one.

Our week

2010-03-26T09:26:00.000-07:00

The last couple weeks have really flown by. It seems like there is either something going on or something we're getting ready for. Here are a few things that have been occupying my thoughts and time:

Spring is here! We've had a few really nice days. We used them to do a little yard work and expand our garden spot. We're going to put our strawberries in the boxes. We've got quite the variety of plants and I'm excited to get started. I planted some bulbs last fall and it is so exciting to see some of them coming up.

Most of our neighbors mowed their yards a couple weeks ago. Ours looked fine, brown, but fine, until our next door neighbors mowed their's this week. That might be a project for this weekend.
Birthdays/Easter. April for me is nearly as crazy as December as far as figuring out what to get kids for their birthdays and what to do for Easter baskets and clothes while trying to stay within budget. I cut a lot of things out, but then I was down to nothing and didn't feel that would go over well. :o) We know we're getting Abby a bike for her birthday and that's one thing Trevor has an opinion on. Needless to say, he has been very involved in the decision making process, but we (Abby, Trevor, and myself) have FINALLY found something that we all can agree on only to find we couldn't get it anywhere in Wyoming. Let's hope it gets here by the big day.
Kids, Kids, and more Kids. This week the kids have had friends over almost every day for a majority of the day. Usually we might have that happen one day a week, so it's definitely not the norm. They played great, but were pretty tired from it all by last night. Some days went really well and I hardly saw the kids and was able to still do my regular laundry and cleaning. Some days were a little "harder". It was still fun though.
Bryant. He's been sleeping better and eating great, but he really is my little shadow. He follows me around all day and is not really content. I'm trying not to get frustrated by it. Even though he is walking everywhere now, he still would prefer me to carry him. On the bright side, I'm maintaining my baby arm muscles. He started falling asleep in his crib on his own for his naps. I consider it a miracle.

I am ready for a weekend!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2010-03-17T08:11:00.000-07:00

Can you spot the nonconformist?

The funniest part of my Sunday

2010-03-15T09:14:00.001-07:00

was when one of the 4 year olds in my primary class turned to me during singing time and said, "This song (Follow the Prophet) really creeps me out."

All finished

2010-03-08T19:00:00.000-08:00

As promised, here's the bench Trevor built:

He finished it today and I couldn't be happier with it.

I love it!

I need to get some baskets to go underneath, but the hard part's done.

Thank you so much Trevor!

I also worked on a project this weekend. I really like some of the kids dresses from J. Crew. I saw this one a few weeks ago:

Cute, but not $50 cute. :o)

I've been thinking about how I could copy the idea and here is the first attempt:

I used two t-shirts from Wal-mart for $4 each and a yard of matching tulle for $1. I liked the result, but I would change a few things if I make another one (like make the tulle layers a little longer).

Would anyone be interested in more detailed directions?

and the rest of the story

2010-03-07T14:48:00.000-08:00

Thank you all for your nice comments about the Dr. Suess treats. They sure made me feel better when Abby told me that my snacks were the LEAST popular out of all the snacks sold. I just can't compete with pop and M&M's!

The week's highlights

2010-03-05T10:37:00.000-08:00

This week...

Abby has been reading and reading to get to 100 AR points. She was at 99 yesterday, so we have high hopes she will make it today and earn her trip to "Old McDonalds" with her teacher. We were especially happy that she did really well on a chapter book I read her. ( I realize that if you're not familiar with the AR reading program this means nothing, but she's doing well with her reading!) She also got a new girl in her class who only speaks Spanish. Abby told me she went up to the girl and said, "Hola! Me llamo Abby!" (Thank you Hooked on Spanish.)
Brinly's flower that Santa brought her finally bloomed this week. She's been doing an excellent job taking care of it. She was so excited that she wrote a thank you note to Santa for his gift. I also heard her asking a little boy she friends with if he wanted to go on a date with her. He told her no and she said, "Why not? Dates are really, really fun."

Jordan (and Mom) was super excited to spend the first part of this week outside in the lovely weather. We were definately reaching the breaking point.

Bryant is doing a little better. He's still has some pretty rough nights, hence the total crashes during the day, but I think he's enjoying being outside a bit more too.

Trevor had two days off this week since he works the weekend. He spent his time buying, cutting, and sanding wood and building an entry bench for me. I don't think I've ever been so impressed. I'll post the final picture when he finishes staining it, but it is GREAT, WONDERFUL, PERFECT! I think my list of things I want him to build just got a lot longer.

I've been working on an assortment of projects. One of the most fun was for Abby's class. They celebrated Dr. Suess all week. Today they had a store where the kids could buy things before they watched Horton Hears a Who, so I sent some items for the teachers to sell.

I got the idea for the cupcakes from Kara's Party Ideas. Unfortunately, the cotton candy was starting to melt a little by the time we got to the school. I sent some cotton candy for touching them up, but I have a feeling they're going to be a melted blue sugar mess by the time the kids actually buy them. Oh well...

Have a great weekend!

Good sites

2010-03-01T10:17:00.000-08:00

I found a couple good websites that I think some of you might like. That is if you haven't found them already!

Knock Off Wood- This blogger creates plans off furniture she sees at Pottery Barn, Land of Nod, West Elm, and Crate and Barrel. I can't believe she puts them all up for free. It's pretty amazing. The possibilities....

One Pretty Thing-A compilation of so many cute crafty projects. This site is a serious time waster, but I've seen some really great ideas.

Anyone else found any good sites lately?

Meet "Mama"

2010-02-26T07:58:00.000-08:00

This is a little story about Brinly. Remember the Christmas request? She ended up getting a little beanie baby unicorn in her stocking. She totally loved it.
Last week we were in Albertson's and she spotted a big pink and purple unicorn which she promptly decided was her little unicorn's "mama". She wanted it on the spot, but I told her she needed to save her money for it. I've written about Brinly's money "saving" techniques before. (I'm thinking we might need to start some sort of allowance based on chores!)
The past week has been so funny. Here are some of Brinly's arguments for getting Mama unicorn:

"Mom, I am trying to do my best taking care of the the baby unicorn, but I do not have the right milk. The baby needs the mama unicorn so she can feed her."

"We need that mama unicorn to help her baby be safe."

"The baby needs a mama so it can grow strong and healthy."

"Could we drop Abby off at school and then dad could come stay with Bryant and Jordan so we could go buy that unicorn."

"I really, really want it and I love it SO much!"

I know there were more and I really wish I could remember them all. She is persuasive.
This week we were in Albertson's again and Brinly had "collected" a lot of money. There was one panic moment when Brinly thought that someone else had bought it, then she found it. Relief. She gave me all her money (luckily it was only $7.50) and we purchased "Mama". Brinly had come prepared with a big box (carrier, I think) for her to ride in while she was in the car plus she had brought her baby unicorn so that they could be together at last.
The past couple days she has been feeding them and letting the mama unicorn take care of her baby. Trevor asked her after the first night if they slept well and she told him that the baby "just neighed a little, but then the mama fed her a little bit and she went back to sleep."

She just makes me laugh.

Reality

2010-02-24T07:46:00.000-08:00

I get asked a lot how it is to have four kids so close in age. Usually, I'm not sure how to answer so I say something like, "Well, it's always exciting!"
In reality, I don't know anything else! I don't know if I'm busier, my life is crazier, or really if life as I know it is different than any other mom.

Cute kids, huh?

One thing I can say is that I didn't realize how "intense" motherhood is until I experienced it.

Intense is when you have had a child at some stage in the potty training process for a continuous four years.

Intense is the sleep deprivation. When you can count the number of nights without kid or baby interruptions in the last 5 1/2 years in the single digits. (Does that really equal less than two nights a year?!?)

Intense is when the terrible twos and threes just blend together. When one child is getting better, another is entering the same phase. When two of them seem to be in the same stage at the same time? Yes, that's intense.

Intense is the constant juggling act. Remembering everything I'm suppose to have when I go out the door, the constant kid energy, trying to be organized enough to deal with life! Making dinner with one child "helping", helping Abby with homework, rescuing the new peanut butter jar from the child taking a spoonful and then spitting it back in, breaking up fights over trucks and babies, on and on and on...

Intense is the guilt. Am I spending enough time with each child? Are all their needs being met? Am I doing my best to help them become their best? Can I do more?

Intense is constant care giving. Bryant was sick this week. One thing we've learned about him is that when he gets a fever, he throws up. When he gets upset, he throw up. When he get congested, he throws up. When he cries, he throws up. When he is teething, he throws up. He usually throws up when I'm holding him. (Although Trevor's gotten some turns too.) I've run out of carpet cleaner and my washer and dryer have been going constantly. It seems we get over one thing, I breathe a sigh of relief and the next day something else pops up. Sometimes I want to cry when I'm getting us cleaned up. He's crying, neither one of us have been getting sleep, we stink, the house stinks...I'm not a crier, yes, it's intense.

The "intensity" being said...

It is the most rewarding thing I have ever done. I get more satisfaction from watching my kids succeed than anything else. I love what good friends they're becoming. I have learned more about myself since becoming a mother than at any other time. Even though it is the most intense thing I have ever done, I love the growth my kids have given me, and

It's worth it.

Leg warmers were made for her

2010-02-19T10:07:00.000-08:00

It's no secret that the least favorite part of my day is getting the kids out the door in the morning to drop Abby off at school. Abby is not the problem. For some reason, her younger siblings don't always (never) like to cooperate. Anyway, Brinly does come up with quick solutions when the "We are leaving RIGHT NOW!" command is given...even when she's still wearing her p.j.'s. Brinly in one pair of her growing supply of leg warmers.

A few pictures from the Valentine's Day

2010-02-17T07:59:00.000-08:00

Abby celebrated Valentine's Day at school on Thursday. I had some leftover material from a Christmas project, so I experimented with some skirts.
The skirt pattern is here. The pocket pattern is here. I centered the pockets on the front of the skirt before I put the elastic in the waist. I made my own bias tape for the pockets by cutting about a 1 1/2 inch width of fabric the same length as the pattern piece for the bias tape. It does not need to be on the bias. Then I folded each side over about 1/4 inch and ironed. Then I folded the whole piece in half and ironed flat. Clear? If not, you can get the idea from going here. I don't have a bias tape maker, but I think you might be able to figure out what I'm trying to explain!

Abby was very excited to take Valentine's to school. She gave pencils to her classmates and flowers to her teachers.

She has a lot of teachers!

She wrote a poem to go on the flowers. It was ALL her idea. It said:

"Roses are red

Violets are blue

But what do you see

A flower for you."

Brinly's been going through a tape phase. She's been wrapping up presents by the dozens. I finally told her she needed to use her own money to buy tape since she quickly depleted my supply. Since then, she's been gathering up loose change she finds throughout the house to support her habit.

Sometimes I won't see her for an hour and then she'll emerge from her room with a giant wrapped, heavily taped package. I suppose it could be worse!

Peanut Butter Magic Middles

2010-02-09T15:20:00.000-08:00

I once had a roommate named Hanni. Around Valentine's Day, she would make these yummy cookies called Magic Middles. They were basically 2 layers of sugar cookies with a chocolate heart in the middle. I kept thinking about these cookies and how good they would be with peanut butter cookies too. I combined a peanut butter cookie and a sugar cookie recipe. I really liked the result.

Peanut Butter Magic Middles

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

About 15 wrapped chocolate hearts (I used Hershey's)

In large bowl, combine sugar, brown sugar, and butter; beat until light and fluffy. Add peanut butter, vanilla and egg; blend well.

Add flour, baking powder, and salt; mix well. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Heat oven to 375. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to about 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out hearts. Place 1 unwrapped heart between two layers dough. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Cook 10-12 minutes. Let cool slightly on cookie sheet. Remove and finish cooling on wire rack.

I frosted some with a little chocolate ganache. I melted about 1/4 cup chocolate chips with about 1 tablespoon cream in the microwave. It took 15-20 seconds. Frost cooled cookies. Work fast with the ganache.

Enjoy!

Dancing Baby

2010-02-08T08:14:00.000-08:00

Bryant has certain songs he really likes to move to. Here's one:

Great Minds

2010-02-05T08:49:00.000-08:00

Last night I was checking out one of my favorite websites for ideas and saw this post. She tells about how Pottery Barn Kids sold felt chair backers a few years ago. She purchased some and how she and her husband write little notes to their kids and stick them in the envelopes in the days before Valentines Day.

A couple of years ago, I had the same idea and made some of these:
This is the first year that I've been putting things in them every day. It's never anything big, just a note, or a piece of Valentine's candy, but the kids LOVE it. They all run to check their envelopes every morning. It's good for me too because I get to think about how much I love them every day! I am almost done with Bryant's envelope and think I about have the process down. I may have to post a tutorial when I finish.

Gingham: Looks like it's in

2010-02-04T10:16:00.000-08:00

So I've been doing a bit of online window shopping at the new spring items. I am impressed by the amount of gingham I've seen.

Here are a few of my finds:

Impressive? Any thoughts on this trend?

New Discovery

2010-02-01T08:58:00.000-08:00

I found something yesterday that some of you with primary kids might find useful--especially if you're like me and don't have a piano. I've been wanting to practice the songs the kids are learning in primary at home, but I could never remember all the words or melody by the time we got home. I found this on the LDS website. If you click on the 2010 Primary Program link, you can play all the songs they are learning for the program. The kids had fun singing along yesterday.

A Before and After

2010-01-27T10:45:00.000-08:00

Last week we said goodbye to this table...

I got this table for $25 when I was single and lived in Laramie. It was oak, brand new, and just needed to be put together. Lots of good memories.

Last week we upgraded.
It's huge and heavy...I heard the delivery guys grunting. It's square and seats eight.

It has two leaves and extends to fit 12.

The delivery guys asked if we were planning on having a large family.

It will be difficult to buy tablecloths for it. I sewed this one.

It makes me smile everytime I see it.

Relieved

2010-01-26T10:09:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to post a quick update on Jordan. He's doing really well. We were a little worried...(maybe more than a little)...when we got his blood test results at the hospital. He was tested for about every bacterial infection and none of the tests were positive. His blood tests showed Jordan had extremely low levels of platelets and white blood cells. The doctor said that this could indicate a viral infection or perhaps a bone marrow disorder such as leukemia. Yesterday Jordan had another blood test and his levels look a lot better. It looks like it was some kind of viral infection. We are very relieved. Thank you for all your prayers and concern.

Round Two

2010-01-21T13:11:00.000-08:00

We've had a bit of excitement this week. First off, I had a birthday. Thank you for the great birthday wishes. I was planning on a nice, relaxing evening of pizza and birthday cake, but it was not to be. Here's what happened:

Trevor had the day off, but had to go to the hospital for a teleconference at 4:30. The kids and I were working on our nightly cleanup when I turned around and saw Jordan was not acting right. I talked to him, but he wasn't responding. He was having another seizure. I was calm at first, but it was lasting a little too long (I was watching the clock). I called Trevor because I figured he could get home and back to the hospital quicker then either I or the ambulance could. He was home within a couple minutes and the ambulance was right behind him. By this point, Jordan was turning a bit blue. The ambulance crew hadn't waited for their driver, so Trevor got to drive the ambulance. Through a crazy coincidence, a girl from our ward was at the hospital and came over to watch our kids until my dad arrived. It all happened so fast. Like the last time, the seizure was caused by his temperature. We're still not sure what caused his fever. He wasn't acting sick and the whole thing was a little out of the blue. He gets to go back next week for more tests. Jordan was such a trooper. He was very brave through all the poking and prodding. He got to spend the night in the hospital and was feeling a lot better the next day. Besides being a little physically and emotionally drained, the rest of us are doing well too.

I'm hoping next year's birthday is a little calmer!

Atomic Red

2010-01-15T08:24:00.000-08:00

Way back in November Trevor and I were watching a cooking show where the chef was using red carrots. I had never heard of red carrots before, but was instantly interested. The holidays were coming up and I had visions of creating totally red, white, and green vegetable trays. Unfortunately, the only ones I could find to purchase charged $30 for shipping. I tried the local grocery store thinking maybe they could do a special order. No luck. The produce manager may or may not have laughed a little, said he'd never gotten them in, but that he'd check, and never called me back.

So we got a seed catalog last week and among all the carrot varieties was one called

"Atomic Red".

I am completely excited. It might still be freezing cold outside, but I have my bright red carrots to look forward to this summer.

New Year

2010-01-09T12:03:00.000-08:00

As this new year starts, I seem to alternate between feeling incredibly blessed to feeling incredibly overwhelmed! Anyone else? Here are a few of the happening over the last couple weeks:

Jordan started Sunbeams. It's fun to see him in there. He does great and is very reverent, at least during singing time.
Abby moved out of my class. Honestly, it was good for both of us. She had a great Sunday last week with no tears. (She's cried nearly every week I've taught her. I think it was just too stressful for her having her mom as her teacher.)
Brinly moved into my class. We had a few minor issues, but overall it was a good experience. She volunteered to say the closing prayer and didn't want to start until all the kids were facing forward in their seats and had their eyes closed and arms folded. I have NINE four-year-olds in the class! In her beautiful prayer she asked that we would remember to choose the right and that "all the kids would listened to her mom and do what she said!"
Brinly also started a little preschool that a few moms have put together. It's just once a week for a couple hours. She's the only girl, but she loves the social interaction.
Trevor and I were able to go to the temple together. My family was able to watch all of the kids. It was a great day and much needed.
We finally got our tax credit for buying our house. We filed our amended tax return the beginning of May, so we've had a LONG wait. We had decided that we were going to get a dining room table when we got it. (Not that the four person, drop leaf isn't working, but...!) It has been ordered and should be delivered in a few weeks. I am VERY excited.
You know how I said a few posts back that Bryant was drinking cow's milk great. I L.I.E.D! It appears that out of four kids, three have milk issues. We are trying to figure out if it's an allergy, lactose intolerance, or something else. It's been so frustrating for me dealing with this, since to pinpoint what it is uses a lot of trial and error. We took him to the doctor this week who was able to tell us that it was probably something he was eating, an obstruction, or a metabolic disorder. (I'm betting on the "something he was eating.") Bryant hasn't been sleeping well and has been throwing up lots as we try different milks or the lack thereof.
I have also been working on organizing some parts of our home that need to badly and doing a little spring cleaning.

So, in a nutshell, that's our last two weeks. I'm hoping to be posting more frequently this year!

A Very Merry Christmas

2009-12-29T09:58:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas. Trevor's parents and brother Brice were able to spend it with us. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of pictures of the festivities. On Christmas Eve, Trevor, his dad, and his brothers Steve and Brice went pheasant hunting. It sounded like they had a great time.

Trevor, the kids, and I got to get together with my family and grandparents for some food and opening our Christmas Eve presents. Abby lost her second tooth at my parents house. She was pretty excited to have both Santa and the Tooth Fairy come in the same night!

Later we met back at our house for the rest of our Christmas Eve. We opened our p.j.'s. The boys all got shorts and socks.

The kids had a lot of fun playing with grandma and grandpa and Uncle Brice.

The kids slept in until after seven on Christmas morning. I think we all got what we wanted! Later that night Brent, Lindsay, and their girls joined us for Christmas Dinner. We pick a different country each year to plan our dinner around. This year was Sweden. I learned a lot and we all got to enjoy some Swedish recipes, cookies, candy, and different cheeses.

I also wanted to list a couple things I want to do again:

Do Christmas Shopping early. This relieved a lot of stress and I really did feel like I was able to spend more time with the kids doing projects, reading books, making treats during December. I also felt we were able to focus more on the real reason for Christmas. It was a lot of fun.
Simplify the gifts. We tried to focus on getting the kids one thing that we knew they would really like. The got plenty of stuff, but I don't feel like I need to totally organize what they have to make room for the new things. It took a lot of the pressure off me while I was shopping too. Plus the best part--they actually play with/use what they were given.
Even if you have the pattern, fabric, and the fabric cut out for those Christmas p.j.'s you wanted to sew, if they're not COMPLETELY done before Halloween, it is not going to happen for you....maybe for someone else...but for you-Not going to happen. Just save yourself some stress and just buy them!
Trevor should take some days off. It was completely lovely for both he and Abby to have five whole days of not having to be at work or school.

One Year Old

2009-12-18T09:32:00.000-08:00

Bryant had a great, laid back, first birthday.

He started out the day opening presents. He got a truck and clothes.

The big moment! He was already pretty messy from his dinner, but he didn't dig into his cake like I thought he would.

For a fun comparison, his siblings at one year (or close in Brinly's case)...

Jordan--note his different approach to the cake. He still has a sweet tooth.

Brinly, around one year...not the neatest eater either.

Abby at one year.

Bryant is such a sweet addition to our family. Here are a few things about him:

He is so responsive and loves to laugh and smile at the rest of us.
He is the lightest sleeper of the kids. Nearly every day he is waken up from his nap by Brinly and Jordan's loudness.
He's only slept through the night three times. The same three times that Jordan was sleeping somewhere other than their room.
He is working on walking and is getting very close.
He is a super snuggly baby.
He FINALLY seems to be adjusting to cow's milk.
He loves pushing trucks around.
He loves bathtime and cries when he has to get out.
My view of him for a lot of the day is this:

We are so glad he's in our family!

Happy Birthday Bryant!

Growing up

2009-12-14T09:00:00.000-08:00

My baby turns one this week.

My biggest girl lost her first tooth this morning.

My kids are growing up.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry!

What we've been up to

2009-12-10T09:36:00.000-08:00

Decorating for Christmas...
The kids have had fun playing with the nativity set.

Cleaning...

Is it ever done?!? Jordan and Brinly have been helping me.

Preaching...

Brinly put on a church dress, set up a box for a podium, and gave an excellent talk. It was filled with such expressions as, "My heart is so full today" and a touching story about "her dad". Plus a little fake crying. The kicker was during the middle when she said she's like to share what she needed to say with a song--and she sang. Who knew she was absorbing so much from church?

Christmas Party stuff...

I was asked to host a table for our ward's Christmas dinner. Apparently they did the same thing last year. I felt a little clueless, but it was fun to plan.

Besides that, we've been trying to stay warm. It's been a super cold week. Where are the 60 degree temperatures of two weeks ago?

A little update

2009-12-03T11:12:00.000-08:00

We've been busy!! I have a million things to post about and am getting so behind. Anyway...
We had a great Thanksgiving. We stuck around here since Trevor only had Wednesday and Thursday off. We got a Christmas tree and enjoyed a great dinner. (The kids and I got to enjoy TWO dinners.) It was fun to see all the family who was visiting.

Abby, Brinly, and Jordan finished fall gymnastics. They had fun. The time was a little late for our family, so I'm a glad for a break from it.

We are very much in the middle of holiday planning and activities. I can't believe how fast our calender is filling up. I was able to get nearly all the Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving, but it seems like there's always one more thing. It's fun to see the kids so excited about everything. I think the holidays are going to be really fun this year.

Things learned from Family Home Evening

2009-11-19T11:42:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I wonder what, if anything the kids get out of Family Home Evening. This week was different. I gave a lesson on the Holy Ghost and learning how to recognize the spirit. I particularly stressed that if we did things that were wrong the Holy Ghost couldn't stay with us.
A couple days later, I was cleaning in one room and I heard Brinly and Jordan fighting in another. They were really getting upset with each other. Finally, Brinly said, "Jordan, your Holy Ghost just left you because you're being SO bad!"

All I want for Christmas

2009-11-13T11:46:00.001-08:00

We've been talking about Christmas lately...A LOT. The kids have noticed.

Abby and Brinly are finally to the age where they really "get" process and have been telling us exactly what they want. Here's a sample:
Abby wants a doll that looks exactly like her and has the EXACT same wardrobe that she has. I was a little surprised by how specific she was so I've looked. Ummm...It's a little out of our price range this year.
Brinly would like Santa to bring her a large pink unicorn. It must be able to fly. Also, it has a button that you push that allows dresses to come out of the unicorn. In her words, "Most of them are beautiful 4T dresses, but there are also some 5T dresses for when I get bigger."

I'm a little at a loss on that one! :o) Luckily, I know they're still at an age where they will be happy and excited with whatever they get.

Baking with Brinly

2009-11-06T09:15:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Brinly and I made pumpkin muffins.

She measured and stirred by herself.

(We took turns.)
She cracked the egg all by herself.
(Just working on those necessary egg skills.)

It was fun.

One more funny

2009-11-02T10:12:00.001-08:00

Before church yesterday Jordan told us this:

"I like to talk to my friends in nursery, but I really don't like to listen to them."

He was totally serious.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-02T09:12:00.000-08:00

Cinderella, Lion, Lady Bug, Super Why

Costume Making, Class Party treats, Trunk-or-Treat, Trick-or-Treating, handing out candy, Orange and Black dinner, Dad getting home from hunting, time change, one tired mom.

Lunches

2009-10-30T11:06:00.000-07:00

Even before Abby started kindergarten, she wanted me to make her lunch. It has been something I like doing. So far she really seems to like what I make her, but some of the things she has noticed or other kids have told her have been funny.

One day she came home and told me that she was the ONLY one who had "brown" bread in her lunch and that EVERYONE else had white. How traumatic!

Since we've moved, I've been baking a lot more. Therefore, Abby gets a lot of homemade snacks. Once, she was describing something one of her friends had brought. It took me awhile, but I finally figured out it was crackers with the cheese spread. Abby wondered if she could bring something like that for snacks instead sometime.

I usually pack a cookie in Abby's lunch. One day Abby came home a little upset because someone had told her that cookies were "unhealthy" and that's why their mom didn't pack them for their lunch. This happened the day after the cheese crackers discussion.

Peer pressure starts early I guess! :o) Plus...isn't it ironic that when you try to do the "good" mom things, it doesn't necessarily matter to the kid.

A Day in the Life

2009-10-29T12:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Jordan woke up tired. He asked (demanded) that his mom cover him up with a blanket while he laid on the couch. Later, he was drinking out of a water bottle and ran into the wall. His mom cleaned up his bloody mouth and he was good to go. A little while later he was playing "cats" and hit his mouth on the table while meowing.

Jordan was not happy. His mom cleaned up even more blood. They picked up Abby from school and drove to Cody for shopping and dance. Jordan fell asleep in the car. It took his mom awhile to wake him up for the first store. Jordan whined through the whole store and his mom still let him pick out a candy whistle. He was happy for 10 seconds. When he got to the next store, Jordan had had enough. His mother could do nothing right. She held her list in the wrong hand. He wanted her to hold his hand and push the cart at the same time. When she had to actually put food into the cart, he was livid. The kicker was when they got to the card isle and she wouldn't let him get the birthday card (actually it was a sympathy card) he wanted. He cried over and over "But I NEVER got a birthday card before." The whole store was very sympathetic. One lady even volunteered to do something...anything...watch the kids so Jordan's mom could get the car. Jordan's mom declined since even with the crying he was moving in the right direction.
When they got to the dance studio, he was suddenly very happy. He chatted with his mom and played with his baby brother. He was quite agreeable for the rest of the day...until he was ready for bed and started demanding "quiet time"!

Oh Jordan....

It's Friday!

2009-10-23T11:29:00.000-07:00

Bryant wants to check out the new camera too.

I'm a little excited about this day of the week. For one thing, it's been the first day other than a few Sundays that BOTH Trevor and Abby have off. It will be great to have some good family time this weekend and hopefully a break from a few stressers that have popped up. Also, we got a new camera this week. It was suppose to be a Christmas gift for me, but I was getting so frustrated with our old one and all the grainy, blurry, fuzzy pictures, I decided I couldn't wait to open it. I'm excited to learn how to use it.

Difference of Opinion

2009-10-16T10:08:00.000-07:00

Can you guess which article of clothing Trevor and I disagreed on?

Basically, one of us didn't think it was necessary and one of us thought it was VERY cute and perfect for church. :o)

We got Jordan some new church clothes for the upcoming holidays. When he opened the shoes he got very excited and said, "Mom! I got some tap shoes too!" He's been tapping around the house in his new "tap" shoes. He is one cute kid.

Finding Order

2009-10-14T10:42:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have been crazy. I seem to be obsessed with getting things a little more under control! Hopefully soon. :o) It seems like whenever I have a major life change it takes me a little while to figure out how to function. I'm the first to admit, I'm not the most "go-with-the-flow" person...still! Anyway, after past babies, I found that things were a little crazy for the first six months, then I felt a little more in control. With Bryant, I haven't reached that yet and he's almost 10 months old. I realize we've had some other big changes as well (move, new job, etc, etc, etc), but I also realized that I can't live like this! I have been working on that and am starting to see results although I'm no where near as organized as I would like. I'm still working and hopefully we'll get there soon. The kids have been as fun as always. Here's a little update:

Abby is loving school. She made the cutest card for the school's librarian. Abby helped make some bookmarks for her and the librarian gave her a thank you note. Abby decided that the thank you note deserved a reply. Her card said, "Mrs. Shelby, You're Welcome. I hope you have a wonderful Halloween." I didn't know what she was writing but she kept asking me how to spell the different words. I thought it was fun she thought of it by herself.

Brinly has been saying the funniest things lately. One conversation went like this:
Brinly: Mom, I really want to be a mom when I grow up.
Me: That's great Brinly.
Brinly: (very sadly) But Mom, I really don't know how to make eggs very good yet.
I guess making great scrambled eggs is part of being a mom.

Jordan is holding on to summer. I've had a hard time getting him to give up his shorts and sandals for pants and shoes. I'm worried about keeping him contained this winter. He can destroy a room in less than 5 minutes!

Bryant surprised me by getting two teeth at once a few weeks ago. All the rest were closer to 12 months when they got their first teeth. He's been a pretty grumpy teether. It's honestly wearing me out. The plus side is my arms are getting in shape from carrying him around so much. I also spend a lot of time fishing things like Barbie shoes out of his mouth. It was a lot easier to child proof when Abby and Brinly were at this stage.

look who's 3

2009-09-23T12:05:00.000-07:00

Jordan turned 3 on Sunday. He had a great day. He really likes Dr. Suess, especially the story of the Sneetches, so we had a Sneetches party.

Jordan wanted a birthday crown.

He got his very own copy.
Chocolate cupcakes with green stars. Wearing his new bike helmet and elbow pads for breakfast.

Green, yellow, and red star cookie bouquet. The kids loved these. Abby and Brinly called them magic wands.

Sneetches silverware holder.

I saw an idea on Design Mom where someone had sewn together book pages to make little bags. It was really cute and I thought this was a fun way to use the concept.

Little goody bags with Starbursts inside.

The birthday banner. Jordan kept asking, "Are those star for my burth-day?"

I gave myself a budget of $10 for all the extras and decorations for his birthday. I found out that paper is cheap, therefore, most of the things are made out of paper and leftover craft materials from other projects. For dinner we had hamburgers, potato salad, 5 layer jello (like 7 layer or rainbow jello, but I only did 5 layers of green, yellow, and red), fruit salad, chips, cupcakes, and Squirt and 7 up. It was a pretty color coordinated meal!

Jordan is such a great kid. His personality is really developing. It seems like every day he gives us something new to laugh about. I'm glad we were able to celebrate his special day.

self-esteem boost for the day

2009-09-17T09:38:00.000-07:00

"Mom, you are a gee-nius because you always show me how to do stuff."

Thanks Brinly!

The End of an Era

2009-09-11T13:09:00.000-07:00

Today we got cable. Trevor is excited to watch the UW/Texas football game tomorrow. We've never had cable before in our marriage. I'm hoping it doesn't interfere with our relationship. :o)

And, as I realized this morning, It is also the first time I have ever had cable in the place I've lived. My parents didn't have it until after I graduated from high school. I didn't have a t.v. in my room my freshman year of college. We didn't have a t.v. in our apartment my sophomore or junior years. No cable senior year either. No t.v. in the years after that. When Trevor and I got married, we did have a t.v., but still no cable.

Now we do.

What have I been missing?

Changes

2009-09-10T12:17:00.000-07:00

In my life, I've been amazed at how fast things can change. It's hard to remember when I'm in the middle of one "stage" that even though it seems unbearable at the moment, it really won't last forever! On the flip side, I need to remember to appreciate the good moments before they're gone. That being said, we've experienced a few changes lately:

Our garden has been very productive and we've moved into the preserving stage. (Fun at first, but now I'm at the "It won't last forever..." "It will be over soon and I'll be glad I have it" time.)
Our pumpkins are starting to turn orange reminding me that fun holidays are just around the corner.
Abby and Brinly started dance this week. They do tap and ballet. I'm impressed with the school. (Sarah--Plenty of room for little boys to run around without disrupting class or anything else.) This requires a once a week trip to Cody. I'm hoping to combine it with my weekly grocery shopping. Shopping with all four...wish me luck.
Abby and Brinly have decided to include pants in their wardrobes again. They still love their dresses, but I'm happy some of their pants will actually get some wear now.
Trevor is now an Assistant Scoutmaster.
I am now the only Primary teacher for my class of 5 year-olds.
Trevor is going to be Pharmacist In Charge at the Lovell hospital. Life for me won't change much, but he'll get to do different things at work and spend a few more mornings in Lovell.
Trevor's schedule has changed a little this summer. In the beginning he had Thursday's and weekends off. Now he works one weekend a month and has different days off during the week. It's taking some getting used to. On one hand, we see him MUCH more then we have for the past few years. On the other hand, we have to get used to being on call, and a varying schedule (one that doesn't always match up with the school calender!). Overall, I love it and it's a good change.
It's getting cooler. I'm excited to have a real fall this year.
I've had several days of not doing Jordan laundry. I can't believe how much time and energy this frees up.
Brinly and Jordan have started getting along when Abby's at school. The first week I thought I was going to go crazy. Luckily, this changed and our house is a lot calmer.
Even though we've settled in very nicely and really love where we're at, this time of year has made both Trevor and I miss Laramie. Even the girls have been talking more about some of their friends and activities lately. Change is hard sometimes!

Some of you were wondering about the nutrition class. It's a one time thing for a tri-ward Relief Society event this weekend. It will be fun, but has required a little extra planning and preparing.

A Newsy Post

2009-09-04T08:43:00.000-07:00

Here's a little bit of what we've all been doing this week:

Abby: Totally loves school. She made a "best" friend. (A pink dress wearing girl in her class.) She's been having a hard time going to sleep at night because she's so excited from school. She tells me ALL the details which I really appreciate.
Brinly: She's been adjusting to a schedule fairly well. After MUCH thought and debating back and forth, I've decided to do preschool at home with her this year. It's been going fairly well so far. The hardest part is trying to do it around Bryant and Jordan. I think she was a little disappointed at first, but she does really well learning from me. I wish they had the same program here that we had last year. I'm really missing it.
Jordan: Is doing fairly well at potty training. He's been perfect when we're out and about. It seems like at home he lacks motivation. :o) He's doing great this week.
Bryant: Happy, happy Bryant. He's finally crawling like a pro. He's been doing a little bit for a few weeks, but didn't seem to want to actually get anywhere. That's changed, but he's still a pretty laid back kid. He's had some rough nights this week. We're working on that. :o)
Trevor: He probably thinks it's the same old, same old. Work, yard, garden, and cleaning up after Trish's peaches and salsa. Everything looks great!
Trish: I've been working on Sharing Time, Primary Lesson, nutrition class preparation, Jordan's birthday, peaches, and salsa. I have a feeling I'd be more productive if was getting a decent night's sleep!

That's our week in a nutshell. Have a happy Labor Day weekend!

Feeling Creative?

2009-08-27T13:37:00.000-07:00

I've been feeling the need to be a little creative lately. I've hardly touched my sewing machine for the last year, but I pulled it out this week.
The result:

two cute skirts for two little girls.

Abby's is pictured.

Cost:
pattern --Free
1 yard material from Hobby Lobby--$2.09
3 yards ribbon--$1.99
Thread and elastic--leftovers from other projects.

This is probably one of the easiest things I have even sewn and the girls love them.

First Day of Kindergarten

2009-08-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

Abby started school yesterday.

In my perfect world, I would have made it more of a big deal. I had a lot of good ideas, but ended up not having so much time (see disclaimer). Anyway, the day went like this:

6:10-Get up. Make Trevor and Abby's lunches. Nothing super cute, but I did cover the food groups.
7:20-Wake Abby up. Ask her what she wants for breakfast. Offer pancakes, waffles, whatever. She wants oatmeal. :o)
8:00-Brinly and Jordan slept in. I didn't even want to fight about shoes, so we start loading everyone in the car. Drive to school. Realize I forgot Abby's school supplies and there is no time to go back and get them. It's o.k., I'll just bring them when I pick her up.
8:15-Drop Abby off by her door on time. She runs in--no problem.
8:15-3 Normal day stuff.
3:00-Start getting kids ready to pick up Abby. School gets out at 3:15, plenty of time.
3:10-pull up in front of school. Something doesn't look right. Not quite as many parents and kids as I would have thought. Sudden realization that school gets over at 3:05, not 3:15. I KNEW that! Run to the class where Abby is the only student left with the teacher. What kind of mother am I? Late picking up my daughter on the first day of kindergarten?!? On the way home I realized I had forgotten her school supplies once again. Abby had a great first day and was full of information when she got home. One particular story she told was about a boy that insisted on sharing his lunch with her. She said he kept trying to give her crackers but she didn't want them.

This morning we were 10 minutes early and Abby had all her school supplies. It can only go better for me today.

Disclaimer: In the last week I had one brother get home for a mission, two cousins get married, one wedding reception in Burlington, one brother speaking about his mission in church, one trip to Billings for a class Trevor took (including an overnight stay), a second trip to Billings for one cousin's sealing, picking a few gallons of chokecherries, making jelly out of those chokecherries, potty training, plus all the regular activities. Anyway, a lot of early mornings, late nights, and not much sleep. By Monday morning we had all about had it.

Welcome Home

2009-08-18T06:55:00.000-07:00

We had a late night last night. We were at the airport...

watching and waiting...

for this guy...Elder Scott Winters...to arrive.

Scott seeing the crowd for the first time in two years.

Grandma Greta and Scott

Grandma Ann even made the 10:30 p.m. arrival.

Grandpa Harold, Scott, and Uncle Brent

Scott and my dad

Cousin Emily, Cliff, Scott, and my dad

Welcome Home Scott!

Things I didn't want to do but I did anyway

2009-08-17T10:41:00.000-07:00

I read a story one time that said the definition of being an adult was doing things that you didn't want to do. I think I've arrived. Here's a run down of the week.

1. Patch two holes in the wall. (Thank you Abby and Brinly.)

2. Take two crying...make that hysterical...girls to the store to buy materials to patch the wall. For the record, they were crying because they had to spend their OWN money to buy the stuff, not because they had put a hole in the wall. These comments were heard: "I wanted to buy a Barbie with my money!" "I wanted to buy a princess car!" "Brinly, we are NEVER putting our money in the bank again!" Apparently, money in the bank is too easy for Mom to access when events like this happen. So much for teaching my children about saving! :o)

3.Wash and fold about 5 million loads of laundry. We are "seriously" potty training Jordan. Saturday was finally an accident-free day. Not so lucky today, but at least I have hope.

4. Clean the kids bathroom 5 million times. Too bad it still doesn't look it.

5. Get up 3 times a night with Bryant. He's having a hard time sleeping lately, any suggestions? Let's not count the times getting up with Brinly and Jordan.

We'll stop at five. For the record, I really do enjoy being a mom, love my kids, and have had some very positive moments I will also post about...at a later time!

Abby's First Day

2009-08-12T15:47:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, Abby started "Jumpstart" kindergarten. It's a program to get the new kindergartners ready for school.

Abby on her first day of "Jumpstart"

She only goes half-days this week which I really like. She likes her teacher and seems excited to be back in the world of structure and rules! :o) She comes home with stories of kids who got to "refocus", explanations on why they can't talk at their tables, and detailed reports on who cried and why. It's pretty entertaining. I hope she continues to enjoy school as much as she has so far.

Camping with the Casey's

2009-08-12T15:39:00.000-07:00

On Monday we headed up to the Big Horn Mountains again. This time it was for Trevor's parents' family get together. It was great to chat and spend a little time doing this:

Trevor, Jordan, and Brinly trying their luck.

Brinly took it very seriously.

Abby fishing by Grandpa Casey.

It was a fun day and it was good to see everyone!

Time

2009-08-07T13:31:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking a lot about time lately. Basically, how it goes SO fast. I've heard it before--how time with kids goes so fast--but I didn't understand how fast.
Abby starts kindergarten this month. She's ready. I know she'll do great. It's me that's having a hard time. For the past five years, I've had her with me nearly all the time. In a couple weeks, she's going to be in school for 7 hours a day! My time with her is going to be so limited and so much more precious.
There have been plenty of teaching moments and fun times, but at the same time I wonder where I could have done better. Sometimes I wish I could have a "do over" and be more patient, more involved, less busy with other things, but I am glad I have an opportunity to look back and see what I'd like to do better. And you better believe that we will be taking advantage of every day until school starts!

Family Reunion Time

2009-08-03T08:24:00.000-07:00

A week or so ago, we headed up to the Big Horns for a family reunion for Trish's side of the family. Almost all of the aunts, uncles, and cousins were able to be there. It was so fun to see everyone, especially those that we've never seen! We went up Wednesday afternoon and stayed until Friday morning. Trevor's parents generously let us use their trailer. It made for a much more enjoyable camping experience with kids.
Wednesday everyone arrived and we spent time chatting and catching up. Thursday, we enjoyed a lot of the activities that were planned.
My Aunt Karen, her daughter Brenda, and my cousin Janna were in charge of the games for 2-8 year old crowd. They really out did themselves. Abby kept saying, "This is so fun mom."
Here's Jordan playing "Duck, Duck, Goose":
Brinly gave it her all in the sack races. She really enjoyed making friends with some of my cousins kids.

Here are Abby and Brinly waiting at the fish pond. They got to go fishing SEVEN times. They were in heaven.

Another highlight for the kids was decorating bug jars and getting bug catchers from Aunt Karen. It was really fun to see all of them trying to catch bugs.

I also think I found the answer to all my problems... :o)

Where can I get a 10-12 year old girl who loves babies? These girls were great. They loved Bryant and all the other babies around his age. They took such good care of him.

On our last morning we got to see some moose. The kids and I only saw one, but Trevor snapped this picture when there were two.

All in all we had a great time. I'm so glad we were able to see everyone!

Summer Snacks

2009-07-18T12:41:00.000-07:00

When I saw these on Jadi's homemaking blog, I knew I wanted to try them. Today the kids and I had some time, so we made the attempt. I didn't have green gel food coloring, so I just used regular in the cookie dough. They still turned out cute. The kids were so excited and really liked decorating their own watermelons.
Jadi has a lot of fun ideas for kids on her blog. Check it out!

The Story of a Chair

2009-07-16T18:22:00.000-07:00

Almost six years ago, a boy and a girl were days away from being married. They had almost nothing in the way of furniture, but that didn't really seem to matter. One day at work, the girl's boss noticed some chairs about to be thrown away. She was not a lady who likes waste. She asked the girl if she needed some chairs for her new apartment. The girl actually didn't have any chairs for the new apartment, and these would be free, so she and her boss got two of them. The boy later took the chairs to the new apartment. A couple weeks later, after the wedding, the girl moved into the new apartment. A year later, the boy and girl moved them to a new apartment (with a extra bedroom for their very new daughter). A couple years later they moved one of them to another apartment (with another extra bedroom for their second daughter). A few years later, they moved that chair to their first home (with the girls and two more little boys). As the girl looked around the new home, she realized that the chair was the only piece of furniture they owned that started in their first apartment and was now in their new home. However, the chair didn't really "fit". The boy and the girl bought a new desk, but the girl was cheap and didn't want to spend lots of money for a new chair. She had thought of something. She sanded and sanded and sanded. Eventually she sanded off nearly all the imperfections and old stains. It was a lot of work, but she knew it would be worth it.
When the chair was totally bare, she applied the rich mahogany stain. While, still not perfect, (it was, after all, the girl's first attempt at refinishing), it was beautiful.

Happy Anniversary Trevor!

I still think you're worth it.

Here's to many more years of making our relationship beautiful.

A Work in Progress

2009-07-09T13:55:00.001-07:00

The posts have been few and far between lately. We've been busy with a couple of projects. The first is the playroom. We worked on it a lot Monday and Tuesday. It went from it looking like this:

to looking like this:

It only took me about three weeks to decide on paint colors! We used chalkboard paint for the area under the chair rails (the darker color). I still have a few more things I want to get for toy storage and and also some things for the walls, but it's getting there.

We had a great fourth of July too. Trevor's parents and two of my sisters came up. It was so good to see everyone.

What a Difference a Month Makes

2009-06-26T09:17:00.001-07:00

A month ago I posted a picture of our plants starting to grow. Here's our garden one month later:

I should have put something in it for scale, but those potatoes on the left are at least two feet high.