Teacher Conferances DONE

Oh I am DONE DONE DONE. Today was a rather long day.. well most days are that start at 1:30 am.. hehe

I worked then got off put the big kids on the bus. Garyn was out today because kindergartners don't have school on SEP (parent teacher conference) days. I snuck in a small nap. Woke up put the chicken into cook, for the teacher dinner. Left to get my hair cut and colored. LOVE IT!!!! I am so lucky to have such a good friend that cuts my hair. She just knows me and knows how to make it easy for me to do. Garyn got his cut too. Yup he really needed it. Yeah don't believe me look at the puzzle picture below again. Then rushed home and cooked cooked cooked. I made 2 desserts. Fried Ice Cream or as I think it is really called Coconut Ice Cream something. Anyway Totally yummy! Finished the chicken made my refried beans etc. etc. I have been the PTA mom in charge of dinners for the teachers in SEP night for 2 yrs and this yr I am having other moms bring in food so that I don't do all the cooking etc. It is a great way to go and we don't use any budget money this way because each mom just donates a portion. But I am not so good at delegating.

I find myself double doing everything because I don't know if I have asked for enough or if they will be able to complete the assignment and etc. When I was doing the whole meal I could line it all up and see what I did or didn't have etc. It is much harder planning amounts when you are tasking it out. So of course once again I over planed and over did. But the dinner was FABULOUS! The teachers loved it and the food was great and we didn't run out of anything. And I had extra moms that came and helped since my helper was swamped tonight with family wedding obligations. So we had plenty of food and plenty of help and I left feeling really grateful to live in a place where the parents do so much for the school. Everyone that I called to have bring food was so willing to help and they all offered to do more or bring more etc.

Got home at 10 the kids had torn the house to shreds while I was gone. Jesse is in SanDiego for a few days for a Software Conference and so Jaden was the the babysitter while I was gone from 4:30 - 10. He does really good with the kids but man oh man was my house a wreck. I put the food away and did a minor pick up and left the rest so that I could get some sleep. I went to bed by 11:30 then was up by 2:30am to work and now I am off and get to sleep a little more and my kids are not going to like me when I get up because it will be cleaning time. They are the ones that made the mess and I am not having Jesse come home to a huge mess after being gone. I want home to be able to come home and spend time with us in a CLEAN and relaxing environment. I think I get tonight off so we will probably get a date night.

Oh wait now we won't get a date night our babysitter is going camping. Jaden is going with the scouts on a Winter Camp out. YIKES! I have been trying not to think about it. Just thinking about my baby boy (OK young man, but he is still my baby boy) out in the cold sleeping in an ice cave is not a comforting thought as a mom. He is so excited and can't wait to go. I am gong to be on pins and needles till he gets back home again. UGH it is hard letting them grow up and go off and do things.

great now I probably won't be able to sleep... shouldn't have thought of it.

Jaden's 1st adventure with Young Mens

Now that Jaden is 12 he gets to go to Young Men's or Mutual which it the Youth Group for the teenagers in our church. For his 1st activity they met at the church and then went and did a service project of stacking firewood for a widow in our ward (congregation). After the work was done it was tie to play... so they took the boys out on the lake for some fun Water Skiing. Poor Jaden has never been water skiing and he didn't get up on the wake board very well. But he still had a blast and thought is was a pretty cool 1st activity. This week he gets to go rock wall climbing. Pretty cool! He is gong to love this! How did he get so grown up so fast? It seems like yesterday they were handing him to me in the delivery room.

Jaden is 12, A very BIG deal!

Jaden turned 12 this month and for him this was a BIG deal! He has been so excited for his birthday he even made a little calendar to hang in his room that had numbers to pull off for each day. We did lots of fun parties for him. (pictures below) But the crowning event was Sunday Aug 17th at church when he was ordained by his dad to receive the Aaronic Priesthood. He is such a great kid and we are so very proud of him. He was so cute preparing for his interview with the Bishop. I think he was expecting a quiz on how much he knows about the gospel cuz he kept asking me questions for weeks. I kept telling him not to worry so much and that he was just fine. He has always been like that. He is such a good kid he just wants to be the best he can.

Honestly I have no idea how I got a kid that is such a strong young man. He has an amazing ability to choose the right. And he worries about his loved ones when they makes choices that he knows are not right. (believe me, I have had many a lessons from him about not swearing. LOL) And even though I still am not old enough for him to be 12 I am very very proud of him. The day they ordained him we all got a chance to tell him how we feel about him and his choices. It was so cool. There was such a special spirit in the room with us. I wish I would have written down all the nice things people said to him. He was beaming from ear to ear.

This last Sunday he was able to serve the Sacrament. He was once again so nervous that he would do something wrong. Of course he did just fine. He did giggle a little when he got to his best friends row. He said "Kaden and his mom were trying not to laugh so then I was trying not to laugh. So I just quit looking at them" He is a hoot. This next week he gets to collect the fast offerings and for that he is super excited!

For any one that is not a member of the LDS faith here is some info on the Aaronic Priesthood
In the LDS Church today, worthy male members may receive the Aaronic Priesthood beginning at age 12. These young men, typically ages 12–17, receive many opportunities to participate in sacred priesthood ordinances and give service. As they worthily fulfill their duties, they act in the name of the Lord to help others receive the blessings of the gospel.

More on my faith: http://mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/ or http://lds.org

I hope he can continue to make good choices and be as strong as he has been. He is an amazing person. And also because if he is a teenager like I was... I will lock him in a cage and throw away the key. LOL

Now for the Birthday Festivities:

Of course we had a big family and cousins party. For this we went to the pool.
Jaden, my other kids and the cousins enjoying the sun.

Jaden and Cousin Necia checking out his new long board that he got.

His other favorite gift... he put together all his birthday money and bought himself
a Digital Video Camera. (using dad's employee discount of course) LOL Spoiled Kid!

We went Bowling with some of his best friends.
More pictures of the friend party. (notice that we cut off the blond hair so it was just tips by the time we did pictures at the church and for school to start)
We also had the Grandma's and Grandpa's all go to dinner with us at Brick Oven. YUMMY!!!
This was his special request, and that we got a baby sitter for the little kids so it was special just for him.

Happy Birthday Young Man!!!

Last year to be a kid.. next year he is officially a teenager. YUCK!

Whats Up? A picture-palooza

I haven't had much blogging time lately but we have been having lots of summer fun. In between me trying to fit in sleep and trying to get the kids to clean and to stop fighting for a few minutes. Oh the sounds of summer. Screaming.... LOL And I have been reading lots lately and got some killer deals online for back to school. I big puffy heart old navy! And I can't wait till the kids are back in school so that we can get back to a schedule and so that I can keep some food in the house for longer than 10 mins. I swear they eat so much in the summer, it's like our lives revolve around food. Okay so I am not the best example for that but still. UGH!



And now here is my Picture Palooza so that I will know that I was not non-existent for the whole month of July. These are not in order, just however they uploaded.



FHE at Salem Pond w/the cousins. Being Silly: Jada and Samantha (with the spoons for eyes.)
Jaden, Necia and Samantha at 7 peaks
The little boys enjoying the new pool at a town near us.
Since we live out in a rural area we go to the pools, and parks at several different towns that surround us. I makes for lots of fun and breaks it up some. This new pool is becoming a favorite.
Will and Garyn in the baby pool of the water park



The 24th of July is a big deal around here. It's Pioneer Day and Fiesta Days so we have a big family shin-dig to celebrate. Here is the eating in Grandma's Back yard part. Always more food than we need.
And we broke out the water slide again. No, this isn't my yard. Though I would love intant trees. That would be cool. We took it to grandma's for the 24th. It is now back at our house which is funny since the new house has NO yard. I haven't even taken a picture of it over here. But need to, it is out in the old pasture that Jesse mowed down. The kids think it is grass so it's all good. LOL


This Chapter is called Animals:

Here is Harley the chihuahua thinking he can sit up to the bar like one of the kids. He is such a spoiled dog. We love him though and he is like one of the kids. Actually come to think of it he is less messy than Will, easier to feed and doesn't pee or poop on the floor nearly as much as Will eihter. Hummm.....



It's been another crappy week for the pets. Remember Izzy the he/she transvestdog? Well he was acting tired last Sunday and we thought is was a little strange because he is usually so full of energy and well extremely hyper. Miniature-Pinscher's are like that. Anyway he was acting tired but I thought well it's just hot blah blah, you know. Well I was wrong. He must have been sick cuz my dad found him 2 days later dead over on his back patio. UGH! Poor Samantha thinks the whole world is over. I feel so bad. He was such a cute dog too. Dang it! My dads dog acted sick for a few days too but now seems to be ok. So we think they got into something. And the same day we also found our neighbors English Bull-Dog drowned in the drain ditch in front of our house. It's always a roller coaster around here with the darn animals.



And get this Samantha says she will only feel better about Izzy, if Daddy will get her a horse. hahahaha That is not going to happen he says they are "hay burners" so I found a girl in our ward who will give her riding lessons once a week. That will have to do for now. Well, probably forever. Jesse is not really budging on the horse thing especially with the price of hay right now. He is complaining about the cows, and those you can eat. LOL



Speaking of cows. We got another calf. SOOOO CUTE! I know I shouldn't still be so excited with each new calf but I am. I love seeing them they are so cute. (for a few months) Haven't got a picture of him yet. Yes a him! WOO HOO! And we think he was born on the 4th of july. Cool huh? Anyway at least he is alive and appears to be healthy.

Jaden, Shayla, & Ethan, more silly cousin fun.




We have been painting lots of sun-catchers lately. The kids love it and they are a cheap and easy craft.
Amy came to visit me and we had a blast! We went shopping and she helped me turn my deals into this super cute wreath. LOVE IT!
There is always much 4-wheeling going on. Will could live on this thing if he can find someone to take him for a ride. Jaden doesn't look like it took much to convince him to be the ride giver huh? LOL And since the yard is mostly still dirt they have lots of fun area to ride on.
Yes we did the parade, of course!
Mom and Will at the parade

Will showing off his new hair cut. He is looking so big.
Samantha and her friend at yet another pool.
We have been trying to take the kids for some one on one time. Here is Garyn and Daddy when we went to see Wall-E. It was a fun night. He is such a funny kid and he talked the entire ride over, during the wait in the theater, some during the movie, and all the way home. Hum.... wonder where he gets it? Must be from strangers!? LOL LOL Couldn't be from his chatty, chatty mother! NEVER?
Grandma and I took Samantha and Shayla to get their nails done, during a sleep over. I had Acrylic Nails put on mine for the 1st time. I have long nails naturally so I never really wanted fake ones but they have all broken recently and my mom talked me into it. I like them. They are thick and that takes some getting use to but it is nice to look down at my hands and fell a little more put together than my usual slobbiness. (is that a word?) And I can still type when working so it's all good.

When Will wants to paint and i can't stand it in the house with the big kids. We go outside and paint with water. He loves it and it's ZERO on the mess scale. Super nice and by the time he gets to the other side he can come back and start over cuz the sun dries it.

Playing at the park on the 4th
My Flag Kids! Cute huh?
On the 4th we went over to see the fireworks. We sat above the Provo Temple. This is us taking up a huge chunk of the hill. I think we had 30 of us there.
Jaden trying to show me that he can long board on Necia's board. (he is getting one for his b-day Tuesday he's almost 12! UGH!)
Samantha and Erika at yet another park with the cousins.

Just hangin out at home
I like this picture. I love that my big kids are still small enough for play on the swings. These are the fun times. All of them playing together.
Just love the expression here. hahahaha
Beached Whale!!! Mommy with the kids checking out the clouds.

Garyn and Bergen at g-ma J's b-day party.
We went with her out to eat. It got pretty noisy down there on the end with all the kids together. And what a mess Will made. UGH!
So sweet. This is Will snuggling up with Jesse's dad. I love this! He just went over and layed down on him. He is a tough type guy the kind that like to "act" tough. But when he gets around his grandkids he is like Jello. It is so sweet.
Samantha Before
During

And after the pink streaks in the hair.

These are fun and she can only have them in the summer so I say go for it be pink if ya want to!
The kids watching the Hannah Montana 3D concert on TV. They even broke out the glow sticks and acted like they were at the concert. I was glad they were having fun cuz I was sooooooo sick that night. UGH!

So there ya have it some of the what's been going on on the funny farm.

Wordless Wednesday - Camping

Over the weekend Jesse took the scouts camping. Jesse and the other leader with 4 11 yr old boys..... for that there is no words. LOL

No, they actually had fun here are some pictures:

Just thought Jesse got a great picture of where they were

The boys hiking (close up)
This one shows how far up the ravine they were. They had a blast.

Jaden can't wait to go again!

Pictures from the Last Night of School Party

So, the Last Day of School Luau Party was a blast! And I am finally getting the pictures posted.

School got out at noon and the 1st Samantha wanted to do when she got home was to decorate. She has been so excited about the decorations she found at the party store. Bless her heart, she is such a girl. But I told her she was going to have to help clean 1st. Not her most favorite answer but she helped and so did Jaden until he got called for a last minute party at a friends. I was sad about loosing my party slave but also so happy that he was going out for a fun night after all. He was happy to be getting away from spending the night helping me entertain a bunch of 9 yr. old girls. LOL Picture of the front of the house all decked out in Samantha's version or Hawaiian decor.

And a close up of the front door. I helped he with the Porch Banner and lights. Once again thank goodness for the Cricut Machine I love that thing!

As each girl arrived we have candy leis. My friend from work Simalu came down and showed me how to make these. She and Yvette IM'ed me all week with great ideas for the party. Thank goodness to because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. This picture totally sucks but these were really fun and the girls loved them. They looked kinda like this one click here, only mine were made with cling wrap and curling ribbon around the candy. Cheap and Easy. Then as each girl would get done I sent them up to the upstairs family room/playroom to do Karaoke and a Hula Hoop contest, while I was making the garlic bread and Jesse was put picking up the pizza. Since I didn't have my party slave and there was no officiator for the planned games up there they decided it was boring and almost committed a mutiny. Thank goodness Jesse returned just in time with the Pizza so we could feed the mutinous bunch.

I had one mom that volunteered to do my drinks so we had her lemon aid and Pizza and Garlic Bread. I know, you just can't believe how I went all out on the cooking. LOL Hey cheap and easy was the theme here, remember?

So then we made Hydro Bracelets. FABULOUS! These were so much fun and you can get the instructions on Family Fun. I did. These were so fun and totally cute. Here is a picture of some of the girls making them and of the glitter mess. (And I learned that my central vac totally does a great job sucking up glitter. Jesse is going to get a sparkly surprise when he dumbs the tank next time. LOL) Notice the home-made paper funnels? I couldn't find my funnel besides 1 funnel was not going to handle the glitter of 12 little girls so I improvised and it worked out great.

And then when we were sufficiently glittered and bedazzled from head to toe, we took every one's picture. Samantha had decorated a little backdrop in the upstairs but it was up to high for the pictures to get much more than just a flew flowers. LOL So here is Samantha in front of the backdrop that you can't see and one of her friends in front of the door. Later towards the end after the pictures were printed they each got a little key chain and they put their pictured in them and took them home with an aloha bracelet. Very Cute!

And while I was taking the pictures and Jesse was getting a fire ready they resorted to frog catching in the field. Only the seasoned and professional frog catcher Samantha was able to catch one that of course had to go home with one of the girls in a jar. Should have heard it croaking in there. I echoed and was kinda creepy that a little 1 1/2 inch frog could be so loud. They girls are so funny and to be honest I think the frog catching was the highlight of the night. So much for planning things to do. LOL

And then we pulled out the fire pit and did s'mores. One of the other moms sent all the s'more making supplies. Nice eh? Yup my 2 helper moms rock! You can see it was chillie and windy out there. Why in the heck is the weather so nasty these days? Jesse had a killer head ache but being the total awesome dad he is he did the s'mores and the pictures and go the pizza and all anyway cuz he ROCKS even more than helper moms. I am so lucky to have him. Poor man has to participate in all my parties and live in my ADHD messy totally fly by the pants compulsive lifestyle and he loves me anyway. And little Miss Mantha too. Awwww aren't we special? Can you see Samantha doing a Sasquatch impression in the background? You can't? Well then here is a close up:

LOL Oh yes the party throwing girly princess that she is. LOL She forgot to shave before the party. Oops! Hahahaha isn't she so scary here? I wouldn't let them tell scary stories because I didn't want calls from the moms about me sending the kids home scared out of their wits. But when they were upstairs waiting for the mom's to come pick them up they did anyway. Little Muffins!

And because Samantha says that i have to post the little lanterns that were on the ceiling on the upstairs. Like I said she loved the decorating. It was pretty fun. What a great way to kick off summer.

I love having parties for the kids.

Do you do kid parties?

Do you do themes?

Do you plan lots of activities or just let them run and play?

Am I totally crazy?

Is this why I feel like a walking tornado?

OH and this other little funny. Jaden came home just at the end of the s'mores and for the next few days s'mores what the snack of choice for all the kids. I showed them how to use the microwave so that they would stop asking me to light a fire. They ate ever last gram cracker they could find in the house. The next morning when I dragged my butt out of bed I came down to find Jaden having a bowl or melted marshmallows for breakfast. And he even stuck in a few chocolate chips just for fun. He didn't think I was too cool when I told him that wasn't a marvelous breakfast choice. Admit that I took a bite though. LOL Wouldn't you?