Leaping for Leap Year!

Enjoying our EXTRA day this year by hanging out together!

Once every 4 years we get a special gift. We get and extra day to enjoy our loved ones. So today we celebrated by spending time with the family Leaping and Jumping at the local bounce place. Again isn't Helen the greatest mom on the planet??? She comes up with the funnest ways to make events like Leap Year special. And she will not belive me that we all think she is cool!

Tell me this does it look like these kids are having fun!?

They were having a blast even it Samantha is trying to look like a pill!

She was mad I made her stop jumping long enough for a picture. LOL

And you can totally see she was trying not to smile. (rolling eyes)

Jaden in the Wax Museum as Gordon B. Hinckley

This week at school all the 5th graders did their Wax Museum Presentations. Each kid picks a famous person from American History and they prepare a 5 sentence dialog and then they get to dress as that character. They sit or stand and hold still like a wax figure and when you push their button (aka sticker) they repeat their little spill. Jaden chose to be Gordan B. Hinckley. He did a great job and I was so proud of him. Of all the famous Americans from sports, to music, to historical, that he could have picked to be Hinckley is who he chose. He is a really neat kid.

It has been so amazing to watch as this 11 year old boy has grieved the passing of the only prophet the has ever known in his lifetime so far. He will also have such a special connection to President Hinckley and I hope he will always remember how he felt about him and his teachings. Jaden has always been the one in our family to get mad at the other kids during conference and tell them "sssshhhhh that is the prophet speaking and I need to listen" He had a really hard time when he found out about the passing or the prophet, and I felt that this was a great opportunity for him to pay tribute in his own way to such a great man that not only did so much for the members of the LDS faith but for people all over the country and all over the world. I am so glad that he would pick such a great man at his hero! I don't think that he could find anyone more Christlike to follow than the leaders of our church. I am so Thankful for their testimonies of Jesus Christ and that my children have the opportunity to listen to them and learn from them.

I didn't even know that he was doing this and he did all his own research and preparation. He even called around and found a cane to use. It was a really fun night for us. I had several people come up to me after the night was over to tell me that he really, is such an amazing boy and that his presentation really made them think about President Hinckley and that he carried such a reverence to himself as he did it. I am grateful to have such a great person in my life. Jaden I learn more from you everyday than what you will ever learn from me. You are one of my greatest heroes buddy! I am one lucky mom!!!!

Wordless Wednesday (late)

Piles like this one are all over the house.

Fish Heads, Fish Heads, Rolly Polly Fish Heads! ~ My Tuesday Tell All

Isn't that like a Dr. Demento song? Well that describes my life these days. I promise if you read this you will understand why. Though it is a little gross. That is your warning.

OK so since we are in the middle of building a new house and still living in a way too small for my family (especially since mom is a pack rat) old farm house we are in a mess. When I say a mess that is putting it lightly. I swear people, we have redefined the word filth! I feel like I have to houses to keep up on and I am not any good at keeping up on one. As soon as the kids get home from school we run over to the new house and also feed the cows while there, then we usually leave in just enough time to grab some food, (don't know when I cooked last) and head home just in time for me to eat before gong into the den of solitude to "work" for the night) It is getting crazy!

I have been trying to pack during the day but with the Trollz at home with me that isn't going to swell. And as for the outside.... lets just say this: I admit it I still have Christmas lights and my Christmas wreaths on the fence. Well some of them, some have blown off and are lying on the grass. Yes we are WAY STINKING BEHIND!!!!

So with all of this more than our usual chaos dear hubby decides that he doesn't care about the fish tank any more. The freaking huge fish tank, that use to be his pride and joy, and that is consequently placed front and center when anyone comes to visit. (please try to remember that the placement of hear said tank is because it is USUALLY Beautiful!) He says "It will be too hard to move with all the water so I am going to let some evaporate before the move and then I will get it all fixed up again" hum...

It has been gradually getting uglier and uglier as time goes on. Yup sure enough the water started to evaporate and the remaining water well lets just say "pond scum" would be a great description. And then the fish start dying. These are some big fish too that have been in there for years. And once you loose one large size fish it toxins the water and then they all die in a matter of about 24 hrs. OH yummy! I need to add here that it is fully against my moral beliefs, or rather my gag reflex, to touch the dead fish even with a net, (as if a little fish net were going to do the job) So in the a.m. I hear splashing water and look over at the tank that is at this point only about 1/3 full and see them all dying. YUCKY!!! So I just decide that we aren't going into the front room until daddy can come home and bravely scoop the fish up. By the time we got home that night they already stunk. So he ever so bravely get his cup and scoops up all the stupid bodies and where does he put them?

Oh yes right on the front lawn. Thank goodness we live in the country!!! And thank goodness we have 4 cats of our own and about 4 farm cats that stock us daily for free food. I am sure they thought it was a Sea Food Buffet. So the next day, the kids go out the door to school, and what do they see?? Fish Heads, Fish Heads, Rolly Polly Fish Heads! all lined up on the porch! Gotta love how cats want to show you how wonderful they are for what they have uhm "caught" for lack of a better word.

And here is me thinking (edited here for the swearing that was really going on in my head) "You stupid lazy a$5 cats! You sit out here all day waiting for your free dang food and then you finally go hunting, and you can only come up with are already dead fish off the lawn and then you actually bring us the rotten disgusting fish heads? Great job hunting guys!" Worthless d@*n cats!!! I kicked the heads our by the field and next day they brought them back AGAIN! Stupid cats! I had Jaden put them in the trash this time. Samantha thinks she is going to die!

Seriously I don't know who is worse the Cats for their lame-O hunting skills? OR the Hubby for his lame-O fish disposal skills!? Or the wife who is still lame-O complaining when he is building her a new house? LOL

And then there is the other matter of the frozen dead bunny!? And dear hubby of mine if you don't get that one taken care of I might just take pictures and blog it too!? What is this pet cemetery? UGH UGH UGH I want a normal life back!

Sorry kids, I am SO giving up pets for a while!!

Have you ever had something get this far out of control?

Man Vs. Wild, Adventures in House Land

The house is almost done, which means that I will soon be done blogging about it all the time. I am thankful to all my Friends that understand that this is what we are doing right now and that it has consequently become what I tend to blog about most. But I am trying to keep a record of the events and excitement for our family. This weekend we painted Jaden's and Samantha's rooms and today we got carpet. WOO HOO! Isn't that a sign that the end is near?

But mostly I have to tell about Jaden's experience as Man Vs. Wild

Today Jaden had quite the scary moment. We took the kids over to look at the new carpet. And I swear I told them a million times to say in the house because it is SOOOO MUDDY over there right now. We have had so much snow in Utah this winter and it is now melting. Our contractor dug a trench with a backhoe from the Well to the house to hook up our water. This is about a 3 foot deep trench I am talking about here. The melting snow and mud it all running toward the trench and it is completely full. We have been joking with our contractor that he is going to need scuba gear to put in the water line. This is a lot of water. Jesse just told Jaden when they were feeding the cows "DO NOT COME OUT HERE, there is a deep trench of water"

So like 20 min. later Jaden decides we wants a drink from the well and he puts on the mud boots to walk out to get a drink. Samantha and Garyn were following him too. From the surface it just looks like the entire yard is muddy and puddles. So he walks straight into the trench and falls in. YIKES! The kids start screaming and poor Jaden doesn't realize that he can just stand up. He said "All I could thing about was the episode of Man Vs. Wild where he was showing how to get out of a frozen lake." Bless his heart he had no idea how deep it was and he thought he had fallen into the well. (even though you can not fall into our well. It is only 9 inches wide pipe and it is sealed off) But he didn't know that. So he finally climbs out the side of the trench and then if freaking out because he thought he lost grandpas mud boots. So he retrieved the boot and comes to the house to tell us what happened. We are so mean and we couldn't stop laughing because he was so muddy. And yes of course I took a picture. He as very upset but we calmed him down and warmed him up. Poor Kid. I bet he won't be wandering around the yard for a while. And I bet I won't be letting them outside the house until that trench is drained and covered back up. I am lucky he didn't lead Garyn into it that would have been really deep for a 5 yr old.

The carpet came today, it is called "Whole Wheat" I love it of course.

My Camera batteries were dying to the pictures aren't very good.

Over the weekend we painted in the kids rooms. We had the painters do most the house and painted the bedrooms white and then we just went in and did accent paint. This is Jadens room we did Navy Blue bottom half with chair rail. Jesse did a great job especially for his first time putting up chair rail or molding. I love how it looks with the carpet.
Samantha's room is awesome!

Nikki came over and spent all day Saturday with me glazing the walls pink. Then Sunday we had my brothers Kenton and Thad come over and add another layer of pink and they helped finish the blue room. I was glad they were there to play power tools with Jesse. Aunt Heather (Thad's wife) and Samantha also got to help add more of the glazing. It is just enough pink and Little Miss Samantha Montana it THRILLED!!

She can't wait to add all her Hannah Montana Decor to it.

Just had to throw this picture in here. I thought is was so cute. I keep finding little notes written in the dust all over the house. In cupboards on the counter tops and this one on the stove top. Samantha is so excited about getting the house done. When the contractor comes across these little notes he tells me where they are so that I can get pictures. It is really cute of her. Yesterday while we were painting her Uncle Kenton told her that she should write a note and put it under the carpet so that whenever we pull the carpet up to change it she will have a note from her 9yr old self. Kinda like a time capsule. So she did it. It was so cute it says some of her favorite things like her favorite foods, color (pink duh), sports, shows, and etc. But the funny part was this:

"I am Samantha my room is the pink one, I am 9 because I was born in 1998 it is now 2008 February the 24th and it is 8:15 pm, so I better hurry and get this done because the carpet is coming tomorrow." She is a doll!! She colored a picture and put it all into a zip lock baggy and we went over and put it under the carpet pad in her closet. The carpet guys probably thought we were nuts, but my contractor was nice and said it was a cute idea. Thanks Uncle Kenton for the great idea. She was very excited about it! I wish I would have had time for them all to make one.
Man, this was a long one, but it has been a very long weekend. Not to mention a very Sh*#y one! Will, will not leave his diapers on and he has diarrhea and keeps leaving surprises on the floor. UGH! He did it at Grandmas last night while we were finishing the painting!!! UGH UGH UGH! SO Missy may be Pi$sed off but my Sh*#Y weekend beats her! LOL KIDS! I finally got to the point that I taped across the diaper straps but he still got if off so now he is wearing PJ's with the top of the zipper safety pinned shut. OK I am finally done thanks for reading about my Crazy life it is no wonder I feel like a tornado all the time!!

Tagged by Sunny!

I've been tagged by my good friend Sunny

You must post the rules before you give your answers. You must list one fact about yourself for each letter of your middle name. Each fact must begin with that letter. If you don't have a middle name, just use your maiden name. After you've been tagged, you need to up-date your blog with your middle name and answers. At the end of your post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and need to read your blog for details).

My middle name is Jo! HAHA easy I am Natalie Jo. Hence the Nat Nat Jo :)

J- Just can not ever put the camera down
O- Only have one girl. & Only have one sister

OK there you have it! So I tag hum... who? ok I guess Missy, and Amy.

Wordless Wednesday (Daddy Daughter Date)

Credits: Page kit from www.faithsisters.com/shop

Water, Water, I Have Water!!!

I am so excited/relevied that the Well Drillers have finally hit a good supply of water. Ok so it is at 407 feet but we finally have water! When you live out of town this is one of the things that you have to have. You have to have your own water supply and your own septic system and did I ever mention that what is cost me to have my power brought in?

Yeah I still haven't healed from that one. YIKES! They had to bring in about 7 poles to reach our house. But in the end I will have lots of space and I will enjoy sitting on my big ol porch watching the birds. LOL Here are some of the pictures of what is going on at the house these days. Now that we have water we can quit holding our breath and actually start packing to move. Here are the pictures:

Will is a Pill again! & Some Random Thoughts From my tornado mind

I have said it once I will say it again this kid is such a pill. Here he is getting into food coloring! And the worst part is he totally knows how to smile and look so inocent which (again) he is not. Just thought I would post his anctics from last week.

Some Random thoughts from my tornado mind:

Once when I was getting mad and scolding Jaden about something, (he was probably 3 or 4 at the time) he stops me mid sentance and says "hey I can see myself in your eyes" I couldn't stay mand and had to laugh at him for being so perceptive and also was at the same time so mad at him for focusing on his reflection in my eyes instead of listening to what I was saying. Yet another reminder that getting mad and resorting to my yelling de-humanizes me to my kids and I become just "angry robot" mom.

Will pluralizes everything when he talks. He doesn't say very many words and when he does it is all pluralized. I find this very cute. I know he will grow out of this so fast and I want to enoy it while it lasts. He used words like: Colors, dinners, kisses, cups, and etc. it is so cute and it is so fun to listen to him at 2 yrs old learning to talk. Its also sad realizing this will be my last kid to go through this learning to talk stage. :(

Samantha is trying way to hard to grow up. I was listening to her go through her valentines on our way home from school thursday. She kept making little comments about every valentine and then I hear her say "Oh I can't belive some people are still giving Barbie Valentine's" Like this is just oh so dumb. She is only in 3rd garde! UGH! I totally remember taking Cabbage Patch Dolls to school to play with my friends until 5th grade. So I tell her that and her response is "Well you must have been a baby." UGH! How did she become so cool? and judgemental? What happened to my little girl? And where did this Pre-teen attitude come from.

I had to keep Samantha home from school on Friday to make her rest and eat. She hasn't been felling well and thanks to Alyssa for tattling on her I know she hasn't been eating lunch at school. I noticed too that she only picked at a few meals at home. She gets so upset over things. We had the Daddy Daughter Dinner on Wed. and I think she got so nervouse that she made herself sick. Then once she felt sick she didn't want to eat because she was affraid she would throw up. On top of her having a cold she just needed a day off. Once I got her to sleep and to eat some good foods she was feeling much better and acting a lot happier. Poor kid is such a worry wort. I have to remember that she needs a gentle touch and to watch her closely. I really hope that this is the only reason she was not eating. I hear eating disorders start early these days.

Why won't my blog let me spell check anymore? I am the worlds worst speller and it isn't spell checking me! It makes me mad!

So close I can taste it!

I am so close to moving in that I can taste it! I am getting excited!!!!

Painting is done, yes I love it! The colors turned out great. the downstairs and upper hall is 2 tone, lulled beige with Ricks White trimming. I can't believe how great it turned out and for those wondering no it didn't end up looking like a that cave I thought it would. LOL Boy, does it smell great. I love the smell for new paint. The appliances arrived today. They aren't in yet but they are at the house now. Woo Hoo! And the countertops are done. LOVE LOVE LOVE them! I can't belives how much I love them. I picked up this little 2 inch sample and carried it around for months. Totally know thats what I wanted it as soon as I say it. It was love at 1st site, and now they are in I see that I was totally right! My mom wants the sample so that when she gets sick of hers she can copy. Cute huh?

Heres a picture of the paint, the countertops, and Dad with the boys, checking out the new appliances:

The well drillers are back and have been working away, drilling with a different, older style rig. Today they are at 400 ft. (yikes $44 a foot!) and have hit into water with gravel. Much better than the water with sand that we have been getting up the last 30 ft. So they think we are pretty much there and will be good to go. Please send your prayers this way. It really need this to be done and we really really need water for our house. I am kinda starting to stress out over this!!!

Yea, so here we are about a week from totally done and my view out the bay window is still that of the well rig! UGH!!!!!!!!! House with no water, just great!



Now, for the final look of the house. They finished up the outside today as well. Check out my totally cute shutters. I am also loving these. I am very excited to see that the stuff that I picked is really coming together for me and that I do like the finish look. :) Here is what you will see when you come to bring me cookies. ;) Minus the yellow dumpster I hope.

Little note: It keeps snowing and snowing and snowing which make pouring concrete impossible so we are also hoping praying that all will work out with this part as well. We wouldn't be building if we didn't have a few snags right?

Wordless Wednesday (Such a Sweet Big Brother)

Poor Little William and Garyn Sick AGAIN!

Here is he is getting his 1st home breathing treatment.

I got some darling video too of how brave he is. This poor kid is sick again! Garyn and Will have both got Croup pretty bad. Poor Garyn knew it was comming on Thurdsay he kept saying "I am breathing like Krook again, you better take me to the hospital" He had a really hard night and was paniking about not being able to breath. He responded well to going out in the cold for that night. Then we got him to the doctor Friday and got him some medicine and decided that it was time to buy a breathing machine. Good thing too because of course Will got it the next day too. Poor kids both sound aweful. Garyn seems to be doing good and doesn't even need the breathing treatments. I am so glad the doctor gave us the medication for it though because Will has had several of them now. He is such a trooper and just sits still and breaths. I am so surprised for a 2 yr old he is doing really good at it. It is so hard when they are sick all the worry. Its almost harder on us as moms than on the kids because they don't have the worry all they know is that they don't feel good.

Best of Both Worlds - Another Great Night for the Kids

Totally cool, waiting to get into the 3D Movie

Either Samantha is totally spoiled beyond all repair, or Disney is a corporation of evil geniuses, or I am a total sucker mom, or ..... OK fine all 3! Not only did this Little Miss Montana Wanna-be get to go to the concert but then I also shelled out $15 a seat to take her to the concert-movie. She totally is getting the best of, The Best of Both Worlds Tour. LOL Have to admit I would totally do it again. YES I am a sucker mom. Ya know, they are only going to be little once, And this time we got to take Jaden too. But, he was embarrassed because, he and his friend were like the only boys in the theater other than the poor dads. LOL

This was so much fun. We took Jaden, and his friend, Samantha and her cousins. (Since someone else bailed on us. Not mentioning any names NIKKI) They had such a ball! This was not like any other movie experience we have had. (good thing too at that price lol) the kids were actually all up dancing around the theater and having the time of their lives. For Samantha it was like reliving the concert only better because you could actually see it. LOL Yes we sat on the roof at the actuall concert. ;) At one point I walked down to see the dancing frenzy going on in the front of the theater. I counted at least 50 people up there dancing. Girls, Teens, moms and oh yes 2 of the cutest 11 year old boys you will ever see. ;) What a night. I wish my kids could always find this kind of family fun night to be so exciting.

Again totally cool we were the 1st ones in line,

so we got great seats and I got to take pictures before the theater filled up!

It almost killed me not being able to get a picture of all the people dancing in front of the screen. So after the show was over I had to snap one of the few stragglers left there chatting.

After movie excitment: It was totally snowy and I hated the drive home anyway, but with the kids being all excited and loud it was nuts! I took them on a school night and my kids did not have an easy time winding down afterward. I am sure it didn't help that we stopped by the house so see the new paint. LOL at 10:00 pm yeah we are crazy like that sometimes.

Glenn Beck talking about Gordon B. Hinckley

I use to watch Glenn Beck, but don't really get the chance to now because of working nights. (I so need Tivo) But I was sent this video of his tribute to President Hinckley and I found if very moving. I thought I would post it here since so many of my family and friends wanted to see it.

One of the neat things about Glenn Beck is the way he has changed into a better person and has really moved away from his past mistakes but how he realizes that #1 those are part of what has shaped him into who he is and that #2 he is still a work in progress. I like his down to earth way of speaking. Though if I watch his show or listen to his radio show too much it can get me scared. LOL

I love Marshmellow Kids in the Winter, but not that Groundhog

I don't know what it is about a little kid all bundled up in a winter coat, standing in the snow, but it just melts my heart. I love how they look like squishy marshmellow kids in the winter.

But does this mean I am finding a soft spot for the groundhog that has doomed me to more of this crappy weather? NO WAY!!! He is still at the top of my "Animals to Kill" list. But hey, don't my little boys look cute? :)

Super Bowl Party

Gotta love Jada's Super Bowl Tree! Go Jada, way to utilize your resources!

Just wanted to add a few pictures from our fun party last night. Kara hosted the party at her house this year. (poor Kara) We ate lots and lots of food and left her a huge mess to clean up. The kids had a blast making Kara play games for them all on the computer. The men had fun watching the game and the rest of us had a great time watching the comercials. LOL

Kara getting bombarded with computer kids.

Samantha and Jada. Oh yeah they are totally here for the comercials. LOL!

I HATED the ride home in the snow/thunder storm. What is up with this stupid weather??

Groundhog Party! & That Groundhog Better RUN!

Eeewww! That damn groundhog better RUN! I am not happy with him, and if I run into him in a dark alley he may be in trouble! I am so sick of Winter this year! And of course since I am building a house and trying to get my dang well drilled, we are having one of the worst winters in who knows how long. My stupid luck! (The well guys were trying to un-thaw a hose and caught the whole rig on fire friday so they had to pull off and will be back with a different one monday. They are already 380ft deep and no good water yet! UGH!!! They keep saying it's too cold for the equitment. Thats a whole other story) And so then this STUPID!!!! groundhog has to go and see his stupid shadow! OK so I don't really belive that a rodent can predict the weather and I usually just have fun with this holiday. But since I am so sick of winter I am going to blame this poor defenseless creature because that is just the way I Roll.

RUN PHIL RUN!

Mmmmmmmwwwwwwwaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!

On a not so sinister note: I am so lucky to have the mother that I have. She does the funnest and ok the funniest things. Every year for who knows how long my mother has celebrated Groundhogs Day. She celebrates everything. And I think it is so much fun. This year she wanted me to plan the brown festivities but since the painters have too much stuff in the new house I decided to plan it for her house. (poor mom! she got stuck with all the mess because I had to get home to work)


So this year we had everyone come in winter clothes so we could have more fun tubing behind the 4 wheelers. We ate sandwiches, chilie, and groundhogs on a stick (also known as corn dogs) with baby ground hogs (also known as tator tots). After much eating and playing grandma sat down at the table and helped the kids make a groundhog candy bar treat. This is a picture of them making the treat. She does it with a small candy bar then they add ears made out of almonds and eyes of cloves and a tiny sweet heart for the nose. They are really cute. I didn't get a close up of them. BAD ME!

Lets Play I Spy.....

Yes on occasion I do, try to do the laundry.

I have been (as usual) way behind. As you can plainly see from my enormous pile that I tried to take from the laundry room and fold on the couch. Can you spy the totally exhausted 2 yr old child that finally wore him self out after playing like a mad man in the piles of clean clothes?

Here is a close up of him totally zonked out in the laundry pile. Have I mentioned that this child does not EVER nap? This still baffles me how I can try for months to get him to nap and then one day he will just kill over totally exhausted in the middle of our chaos.

Also note the ever present gloves on the hands.

This is his strange fetish that still eludes my wee tiny brain.

So? The kid loves gloves so what?

Confession: I am a pig. PIG I tell ya! My mother would call me a "Regular Hog" I never seem to be able to clean anything. I mean not even keep it picked up. I totally frustrate myself in this area. (my poor hubby too for that matter) But I have to confess that my poor child probably likes the gloves as a precaution not to pick up any scary germs in our house. LOL

WOW! My cabinets are in!

I have to say that I have the best builders in the world! We started our house on Oct. 15th and we are almost done. They have been so great to work with and the are even pretty understanding that I am a basic simple person that is a little old fashioned and doesn't like all the frills. They have been so amazing about building my house to suit me! I had to run over to take pictures because the cabinets are now in. This is the same room that we had the party in on Sunday. I am so excited and I love how they have turned out.

We Thank Thee, O God, For A Prophet!

Beloved Prophet

Gordon Bitner Hinckley

1910-2008

Because words can not describe how I feel about this amazing Christlike Man that has strengthened and guided me for these past many years. This song says it all:

We thank thee, O God, for a Prophet
To guide us in these latter days;
We thank thee for sending the Gospel
To lighten our minds with its rays;
We thank thee for every blessing,
Bestowed by thy bounteous hand;
We feel it a pleasure to serve thee,
And love to obey thy commands.

When dark clouds of trouble hand o'er us,
And threaten our peace to destroy,
There is Hope smiling brightly before us,
And we know that deliv'rance is nigh;
We doubt not the Lord nor his goodness,
We've proved him in days that are past;

The wicked who fight against Zion
Will surely be smitten at last.

We'll sing of his goodness and mercy;
We'll praise him by day and by night;
Rejoice in his glorious Gospel,
And bask in its life-giving light;
Thus on to eternal perfection
The honest and faithful will go;
While they who reject this glad message,
Shall never such happiness know.

He will be greatly missed!

A few thoughts from me:

I am thankful for a leader to guide me as I stumble down this path called life.

I am thankful for such a pure example of true love.

I want to "Stand for Something" & "Be a little better" than I am today.

I am thankful for his humor, and wit and that at 97 he was a tireless leader.

I am thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ, and for his mercy and unconditional love.

I am thankful that I can live eternally with my beloved family.

I am thankful that I am not alone, and have amazing examples to follow.

1st party at the new house

Will turned 2 on Saturday and today we had our Grandma Grandpa Party for him. It was the 1st family shindig to be held at our new house. It was really fun. Since the kitchen flooring is down now. :) It was nice to be in a big empty space and have room to relax an talk. Too bad in only a matter of weeks it will be cluttered with my furnishings and my many many personal belongings. (I am in the process of doing some de-junking) No Amy you can't choose what of my things to throw away for me. ARG!



Will had a blast. He totally knew it was his day and was HYPER! He was running all over an being so cute. Yesterday we had a fun cousin party playing arcade games, so I am sure that warmed him up. Here are a few pictures of the parties. Tomarrow I will post a slide show of my favorite pictures of Will from the past 2 years. Only fair that if I did it for Garyn that Will gets one too. And I have to say even being the 4th child he is not lacking at all in the picture department. The scrapbook pages made department maybe but this kid gets lots of pictures taken of him. Good thing he is cute that is all that saved him these past 2 years. LOL

Forgot to mention that big sister dressed him for the party since I was cooking food. Don't you love the onsie ontop of the pants? CLASSIC!

It has been a full of funnies week so I will have to think about what I want to blog for tomorrow. I will sleep it over (my whole 3 hrs of sleep I am going to get) Hum... Will it be Jesse breaking the lights over the Wii? Jaden and his new mullet? A game of I spy the 2 yr old? Spoiled child and his nighttime rituals? Or Snowdays make good pictures and I love Marshmallow Kids? Stay tuned for more of my random ranting about my crazy yet go no where life.........

PS To all of you who take the time to read my pointless writing. THANKS FOR READING! Its a crazy life around here.

Energy on the go! & I am SO going to jail!

Ok, so my already happy go lucky little man Garyn decided to raid my purse while his big brother was home babysitting. (Not even going to comment on how well he was watching them, because that much is obvious) While rummaging in my purse he found my entire box of Crystal Light Energy On the Go Packets. Remember I work nights at home and have to have enough energy to make it till 2 am. I had barely bought these thanks to Heidi's introduction to them. I can see now maybe not the best idea, since my kids don't understand the term "belongs to mom." So the box had 10 packets and I had used maybe 2 0r 3. When I get home Jaden says "oh yeah and by the way Garyn ate all your Crystal Light from your purse" Little did he know these things were packed with Caffeine. YIKES is right!

I found one unopened package still in the box and then later one on the bathroom counter. But most the rest he just opened the packages and ate them straight. So YES my 5 yr. old ate straight packets of Crystal Light packed with Caffeine!! No kidding, he dumped the straight powder into his mouth! That had to be so nasty tasting. He did later confess that he put some of them into some water to "See what it would look like." And the water I think got poured down the sink. So I don't know for sure how many he really ate.

He did have lots of energy and was on the go! K Subrina don't put me in jail for inadvertently drugging my child. Want to know the best part of this whole thing? This was about 7:30 pm just before I got to go out to my office and shut the door and let daddy deal with him all night. Nice huh!? I love how my kids keep us so entertained at this house. For one night I was not the only walking tornado in the house. LOL

Will loves to vacuum!

Will loves to vacuum

Why can’t I have this much enthusiasm and joy to vacuum our … uhm… can you call that carpet? I can’t wait to get out of this house!!! But the new one is almost done! Here’s a picture of the outside. Most the siding is on. It is way browner than I had imagined it but I love it! Picked out all the lights today. That got me very excited. Good bye 1950's carpet! Hello plush and fluffy 2008! Can't wait to be vacuuming my new carpet in MY own house. :)

(I know it won't last. That's why I am teaching Will to vacuum LOL)

Just the highlights please

So far this year hasn't been extremely eventful but I wanted to at least hit on the highlights since I haven't blogged in a while. "Highlights" also can stand for: the things I actually took pictures of. LOL

To start the year off I spend the 1st few days of it reading the 2nd 2 books in the "Twilight" series. When I read I do nothing else. I just read and read until the book is done. I did at least surface from the pages long enough to make cupcakes for Garyn to decorate for his school class. Garyn had a blast and loved having "another Birthday" He kept saying all day "Wow, I have a lot of Birthdays" It was very funny! Take note of how innocent Will is looking here as he sneaks into Garyns b-day picture. This innocents is not going to last, read more below. This kids is going to be the death of me I tell ya!

The crowning event of the 1st week of this year was Samantha being the woodland fairy for the Boar's Head Festival Dinner. Thanks uncle Kenton for making her feel like a total princess and like she was the guest of honor! Also thanks Kaila for the day or pampering and for making her look like the princess she is. (Checks in the mail kiddo) She looked fabulous and had a great time! She will remember this night for years! I will try to get the other pictures of her all dressed up, it was like prom. I was using grandpas camera that night so I don't have my pictures. UGH!

Are my kids trying to give me a heart attack? So I walk into the family room and see Jaden playing with a tote. Tossing it in the air and what not. I didn't think to much of it because my kids find weird things to play with. Well didn't think much of it until Jaden says "Hey mom, guess who is in here?" YIKES! Not what you expect to hear! So he un-snaps the lid and what do I see but Will grinning from ear to ear all stuffed into a tote with a toy, a blanket and a pillow. Having the time of his life. Again looking all innocent which he is soooooo not!!!! There was much lecturing about being safe and no stupid! I should have taken a picture of the sticker on the lid that clearly shows a picture showing NOT to put a baby in the tote!!! Hey Jaden dur! dur! Even if "Will loves it!" Again the death of me I tell you!!

I also spent one day makeing, taking, and cleaning up dinner for about 40 teachers and staff at the kids school during parent teacher conferences. That went over pretty well. We had a taco salad bar. I do these dinners 3 times a year for the teachers. It is my PTA job. It is nice to be able to do something nice for the teachers.

Daddy pulling the kids on a sled in the snow. That was a fun night! VERY COLD!! (I admit I spent some of that time in the van with the heater reading)

He is so not innocent! OK so this picture is a year ago but it was the best thing I had to go with my story. So I am on the phone (as usual) and here is what happens. I ask Heidi if she is at home because I can hear water in the background and that seemed weird for her office. She says that she is at work and that the water is at my house. So I go to investigate thinking that the kids must have the other phone. So what do I find in the bathroom? Um, yea I find that not only does Mr. Willser Pillser have the other phone but that the reason I can hear water so distinctively is because he is holding the phone under the tap in the bathroom sink! UGH!!! This is the 3rd set of phones this child has ruined and he isn't even 2 yet!!!! Will it is a good thing you are cute you little stink pot! This kid never stops getting into things, but at least he isn't crying all day anymore. That makes me feel happy!!!

A piggy with paper!

And MY highlight of the year so far....... Running away this weekend with my girl friends to scrapbook, giggle and shop! What a blast!!!! It was very fun, minus the part with the car wreck, rental cars, and jerk cops of course. (Hope you are feeling better Brina!) I am back at home now but I don't have to be happy about it. We had so much fun!!!! And we didn't have so much sleeping. Yes I did beat my personal record by staying up for 33 hours straight. But hey we don't get to spend much time together because we all live in different areas for the state so we have to take advantage of our time. I love a good road trip. Slumber parties are funner as an adult. Please someone (Subrina) send me some pictures to post or I will use the ones I have access too. Trust me girls you don't want to see that!!!!

Not a bad way to start a year huh!?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 2008!

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!

Are you making resolutions for 2008?

I am not. I think that instead of trying to do a bunch for things that I will never get around to, I will just try to enjoy each day as it comes.

2008 is going to be great!