Crazy House

November 2011

2011-12-30T18:05:00.004-07:00

Felicity - For Young Women in Excellence our theme was Women of Virtue. Felicity dressed as Emma Smith and shared how she exemplified the value Divine Nature. Then I gave a short thought on what women who exemplify that value look like today. Each of the Young Women presented a different value/woman from scriptures or history and their mother talked about the modern application of that value. Felicity participated in the stake youth choir for our Stake Conference this month.

Lauri - I had to get a couple small cavities filled after my regular dentist appointment :( We hosted dinner group at our house and served the Heavenly Chili. Two other couples plus and extra guest were able to come - the Welkers, the Griggs and their friend. The Welkers stayed to play some Wii RockBand with Shawn and I.

The girls - All the girls went in to the dentist on the same day for their regular cleaning and check up and they were all cavity free! Yay!

Family - We all got to go to Boise for Thanksgiving this year. After a year in Iraq, Brent wanted to have everyone together for Thanksgiving, so we were all at Mom and Dad's house. It was fun to have everyone together! We ate good food, raked Grandpa's leaves, played some games, went bowling, watched football, sang songs, and the "kids" all went for a late night Shari's run. The kids table was set up out in Grandpa's shop for Thanksgiving dinner and it was sweet to hear the kids talking about all the things they are thankful for. We also went out to Caldwell to spend some time with Shawn's family and have pie and Shawn went shooting with his family on Saturday morning before we left.

October 2011

2011-12-30T15:11:00.004-07:00

Family - October is always such a fun, happy month. We enjoy starting out the month by watching General Conference togehter as a family. This time, Felicity and Mom were both working on a Personal Progress goal together too, which made it even more special. We also had our first snow the first week of October.We went to our ward Harvest Carnival and Chili cook off. The Beehives were in charge of a cupcake walk so we brought cupcakes instead of our Heavenly Chili this year. Lydia did not get to go since she was working on lots of missing school assignments. They did all get to go to trick-or-treating with Shawn though. Felicity was a "gothic" girl, Evelyn was a "spider geisha" and Lydia was a Hawaiian girl.
Shawn - The Elders Quorum in our ward planned and enjoyed an activity where they went target/skeet shooting with a bunch of different guns. It's the first activity they've had in awhile and I think all the guys enjoyed it!

Lauri - I had been having numbness and tingling in my left hand since June, and since I had a couple days off work, I had carpal tunnel surgery to correct it. Shawn took the afternoon off so he could take me in and bring me home. It was amazing that the numbness and tingling were gone immediately! It will take a couple of months to regain full strength back in that hand, but I was able to go back to work the next Monday. Instead of a Super Saturday Relief Society crafts activity our ward had a Thrilling Thursday. I provided supplies for recipe binders with "scrappy" covers and was able to make some earrings and zip-close baggie pouches. Well, technically I only made one of each, but brought home the supplies for others. Bryan and Gina came that night with their kids and I took the next day off work to watch their kids while they went to the Rexburg Temple for Gina's little brother's wedding. I took the kids to them after the ceremony and ran a quick errand in Rexburg and a few more back in town. It was nice to have the day off and fun to spend some time with David and Alyson. The next night the girls watched David and Aly while the grown-ups went out to a yummy dinner :)

Felicity - Felicity is playing cello in the middle school orchestra again this year and played in their Fall Concert. Shawn and I thought the 7th graders (Felicity's age) sounded way better than the 8th graders! Felicity also went to a couple of stake YW volleyball activities. Not enough girls are interested to play with organized teams, so they just invite everyone to come and then teach and play with whoever is there. Felicity also went to her first school dance which was held right after school. She just went with her friends and she said no one was really dancing, but she was excited to go and I think she had fun.

September 2011

2011-12-30T14:20:00.003-07:00

Family - On Labor Day we enjoyed a little hike on the Cress Creek Nature trail followed by a picnic and afternoon at Heise Hot Springs and Pool with the Bone family. We left a little later than them and managed to squeeze in Pizza at Heise for dinner also - yum! On Saturday the 10th (the day before the 10 year anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York) we also went to a Symphony concert in the park. Our favorite number was problem the Pipe and Drum corps playing in memory of all the responders who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks.
Evelyn - I can't believe my "baby" is now old enough to be baptized! Evelyn looked forward to being baptized for a long time and it was a wonderful day with family and friends! She now gets to go to Activity Days with Lydia and her friend Rachel (who we watch after school) will be going also.

Lydia - The girls made these cute Liahona balls at Activity Days this month. Lydia was also sick one day this month and I got to learn how to handle that as a "working mother."
Lauri - As PTO President this year, I conducted my very first schoolwide PTO meeting. We had a good turn out and had several more parents volunteer as committee chairs. We also had our first fundraiser this month - the Walk-a-Thon at our neighborhood park. It was very well planned by the committee, but unfortunately the turn out was not great due to weather and other conflicting events. For dinner group this month we combined with another group and had a great big barbecue/picnic with families hosted by the Blakeslees and Herricks. It was great weather and nice to just eat good food and visit with good neighbors.

Shawn - Shawn's grandfather (Ross Thurber) passed away this month and he was able to drive to Spokane for the funeral. We were all planning on going, but since we had the flu (Lydia first, then Evie and Mommy on the same day and Felicity on the day of the funeral), we just let Shawn go. Shawn enjoyed visiting with family and was able to bring home some of his grandpa's tools and a wooden box he had made as heirlooms.

August 2011

2011-12-29T18:24:00.007-07:00

Wow, what a busy month!

Girls - The girls finished up their session of swim lessons and each advanced to the next class. They all did a great job, but Lydia is really our water-baby. After going to Boise with me for a few days, they left with Grandma and Grandpa to go to the Wendell Sorenson Family Reunion in Cedar City Utah. They had a great time at the water park and playing with cousins and second-cousins there. Thanks for taking them Mom and Dad! The girls all got back-to-school haircuts (complete with feather extensions), went to back-to-school nights and started school. Felicity is in 7th grade, Lydia is in 5th and Evelyn is in 3rd.
Lauri - I took the week long MTI math class that is now required for educators in Idaho and actually enjoyed it. I was always pretty good at following the rules for math, but now I understand it all better - especially algebra! Our 2011-2012 PTO board had a barbecue so our families could get acquainted and the next day we helped at registration. Right after registration I went for a job interview and was offered the job as a part-time librarian at Hillview Elementary.

Shawn - Since the girls were still with Grandma and Grandpa, Shawn and I escaped to Park City for an overnight getaway. We enjoyed the outlet mall (well, I did), watching the ski jumpers practice and the Olympic Park museum, Shawn met Bill Engvall (There's your sign!), lots of art galleries and a Ghost Tour of Park City.
The same day I interviewed and was offered the library job, Shawn had an interview with the Stake Presidency and was called to be the Elder's Quorum President in our ward.

Felicity - Felicity did a great job on her first sacrament meeting talk which she wrote all on her own. Her topic was Dress and Appearance (from the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet.) She was also "kidnapped" (along with all the YW) for a Back-to-School pancake breakfast and special speaker on the Saturday morning before school started. And Felicity got to start the new school year with contacts - no more glasses!
Lydia - Lydia had one final surgery to get the last plate and screws out of her arm.

Evelyn - Evelyn turned 8 years old and got to have a birthday party with her friends this year. She wanted to have a pajama/spa/dance party. So, for three hours we had a few friends over for pizza, a pajama fashion show, Just Dance 2 on the Wii, cake and ice cream, and opening presents. We also treated them all to some spa treatments - foot soak/massage, manicure, and a homemade chocolate face mask (which was edible!).

July 2011

2011-12-29T10:26:00.008-07:00

Family - Spent 4 wonderful days in McCall Idaho with Lauri's family for the Sorenson Family Reunion. We walked to a fish hatchery, went to a park for a virtual geo-cache and a picnic, played Minute-to-win-it games, Bingo and the Lizzie McGuire game we found in a closet. We made S'mores over a camp fire and relaxed in the hot tub. We even had a bear visit our rental house!

On our way home on July 4th we stopped to see Shoshone Falls in Twin Falls.

We also enjoyed good food a friends this month at several bbq's/picnics - our neighborhood barbecue, Shawn's work picnic and the annual Ward Chicken Dinner (byo-chicken and a potluck side dish with root beer and scones provided by the ward.)

Went to the Zoo with the Bone boys.

Lauri - Gave a talk in sacrament meeting, which terrifies me, but it went okay. The basis for my talk was Russell M. Nelson's talk Face the Future with Faith from the April 2011 General Conference.

All the girls - Started a round of swimming lessons. We went to a couple of Shakespeare "reader's theater" performances at the library for the summer reading program. One day the girls and I decided to take a walk down by the river and find as many "art benches" as we could. We had fun taking pictures at each one - except the one occupied by a couple of "love birds" we didn't want to disturb.

Felicity - Enjoyed her first experience at Girls Camp, even with her mom being one of the leaders! The theme was "Round Up Your Beliefs" and we stayed in an old ranch house in Island Park. We had firesides, a sunrise testimony meeting, good food, a hike through Lewis and Clark caverns (in Montana), sang camp songs and worked on certification.
Lydia - Went to Day Camp at Krupp Hollow with the Activity Day girls where she got to shoot a BB gun.

Evelyn - Funny story: I had noticed that Lydia's hair had some short hairs on top, but since she denied cutting it, I thought maybe they were just new hairs growing out. A few days later, Felicity found a lock of hair on the top shelf of the computer desk while she was dusting, so I knew the hair had been cut. Felicity bagged the lock of hair as evidence and labelled it this way: Evidence suspect: Lydia, 7/22/11, Case: Cut Short, Found: Top Computer Desk Shelf (with scratch paper). Lydia still denied being the one who cut it or knowing anything about it, so the girls were all put on "probation" until someone confessed. Evelyn finally fessed up and said she did it. When asked why and how, she said she was just really mad at Lydia, so went in when Lydia was taking a nap and cut her hair. Really??!!

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-25T18:18:00.002-07:00

Yup, this is our Christmas card this year. Merry Christmas to all our beloved family and friends! We are so blessed to know so many wonderful people from our very own neck of the woods to the other side of the globe! May our Heavenly Father bless you, each and every one!

June 2011

2011-08-05T10:21:00.009-06:00

Evelyn - Went to the dentist twice this month to get all her cavities filled. She is our cavity queen (unfortunately). The dentist prescribed some special vitamins with fluoride to try and help strengthen her teeth.

Lydia - Saw her orthopedic surgeon 3 times this month. On the second visit she got her cast off and on the third visit she was cleared for all activity! She also got to take swim lessons (2 week session) on her own since she did not get to do an extra-curricular activity during the school year. She loves to be in the water and was able to move up to the next class. She is now caught up with Felicity.

Lydia modeling her new swimsuit.
She really wanted one with shorts or a skirt.

Felicity - Went with the Beehives to do baptisms at the temple. Also learned how to do Family Search indexing and did a few batches here at home even. She really enjoys it!All the Young Women had a bake-off for one of our activities. The secret ingredient was marshmallows. One group decorated cupcakes in a Madagascar theme with them and the other group made s'mores cupcakes and marshmallow fondant and decorated cupcakes with it. We took some of the extras to the Bishop's family. Felicity has been enjoying trying out some different recipes this month also.Felicity's mini oreo cake. Frost two oreos together, roll in coconut and drizzle with chocolate. Let sit (covered) overnight to soften a little if desired.

Felicity's Cherry-Cola jello snack.

She also did an awesome job helping me clean
all the hard water deposits off the basement windows!

Lauri - I really enjoyed going to the temple to do baptisms with the beehives. Even though I only helped them, it was still enjoyable and it was my first time seeing the baptistry at the Idaho Falls Temple.

Shawn - Went to the annual IDAMFT retreat in Hailey, ID. For Father's Day Saturday, we made Daddy breakfast in bed and then went and played disc golf. On Sunday we made Daddy a German Chocolate cake. Shawn earned his first Brown Belt at the end of the month! Way to go Shawn!The Girls - We went on our annual "girls week" trip to Mayfield with my mom. We always look forward to this week with our grandmas! This year it was a short week - 5 days - but still fun and relaxing. We stopped for lunch in McCammon and visited with Grandma Sorenson on our way down. Our first night out mom took us to dinner at Cracker Barrel and to see Seussical the Musical at the Hale Center Theater in Orem. It was a really fun, cute show! It was great to see how many of the Dr. Seuss stories they could weave into one musical tale, and all the actors were very talented. We drove to Mayfield after the show and didn't get there until around midnight. We had a hot dog roast, played at the park and Grandma treated us to dinner at Lishy Lou's - the cafe in the little Mayfield market/gas station. We also helped grandma plant corn and flowers in her garden, move sprinkler pipe and clean up some branches in the far pasture. Shawn was able to drive down in Mom's car on Friday and spend the weekend with us. We went into Ephraim to see Kung-Fu Panda 2 and to eat at the old Fat Jack's. Even though it is called something else now, they still have the "fat sticks" that we loved to get during our college days at Snow! After going to sacrament meeting on Sunday packed up to leave. We stopped at the cemetery in Fayette to see Grandpa Olsen and Blaine's graves and then all the girls got to have a turn to ride with Grandma alone until around Brigham City.

Waving to Dad at our "Wienie Roast".

Swinging on the hammock.

Climbing the tree after cleaning up sticks in the pasture.

We also had a family yard sale during our neighborhood garage sale. It was during the weekend Shawn was gone, but he helped us set up tables and bring everything up from the basement before he left. He rocks! We tried to sell cinnamon rolls, hot cocoa, water, lemonade and rice krispies treats, but they didn't do too well. I wouldn't mess with that again. We did sell most of our "big" items - a bike, microwave, stereo - and made about $100. Afterwards, we loaded up the van, took all the leftovers to the D.I. and then went to McDonald's for drinks - frozen lemonades or a smoothie - with some coupons I had.

We've also been working on our summer reading and went to the library to participate in a couple of their Greek Myth plays. The kids are assigned parts with simple props and then the children's librarian narrates and feeds the kids some lines to tell the stories. In June they did Orpheus & Eurydice, and Tantalus & Pelops.

Lydia as a sad Persephone (Hades' wife) in the story of Orpheus and Eurydice.

Evelyn as a sad Hippodania (wife of Pelops) in the story of Tantalus and Pelops.
Felicity as the "stable boy."

For "Summer School" we did some science experiments one day. This is a picture of the girls experimenting with some water-proof sand. We did a couple of others but our water/oil lava lamp didn't turn out very well and I can't remember what the other one was. Another day, Lydia taught us an experiment with milk, food coloring, and dish-soap that someone did in her class during the school year. (I'll explain it on our Crazy House Creations blog.)

Family - We spent a FHE planting our garden and working in the yard. This year we planted corn, zucchini, yellow squash, radishes, onions, green onions, peas, and carrots. I also planted some canna lilly bulbs I got from Grandma Olsen.

On the last day of June, we left for Boise and McCall for the Sorenson family reunion. We got to mom and dad's house in time for lunch, and then we followed them up to the house in McCall that they rented for all of us to stay in. Andrea and Taryn were there along with Bryan and Gina's family. That night we played some "Minute to Win It" games.

Crafty Post

2011-08-03T13:45:00.002-06:00

I posted about some crafty things I did in May on the Crazy House Creations blog - click on blog title on the right to see them :)

May 2011 Videos

2011-08-03T13:40:00.006-06:00

May 2011

2011-08-02T19:18:00.008-06:00

Family - My friend Dana taught us how to make sushi for FHE one night. Yummy! Went to see the Bodies exhibit at the museum. Interesting! Went to see Wicked in Boise. Awesome!

Shawn - Taught the young women in our ward to play Bocce Ball.Lauri - Subbed a few days at the girls' school. Helped the PTO with Yearbooks, Teacher Appreciation Week and Field Day (which was inside due to inclement weather). Received sweet cards and homemade books for Mother's Day. Chaperoned the 6th grade overnight graduation party.

An artistic representation of Mom by Felicity - I think.

Felicity - Went to 7th Grade Orientation at the Middle School - so exciting! Got her immunizations updated - so NOT exciting! Participated in the 6th grade track meet in the frisbee throw. Played 2 solos in her piano recital. Played cello in the End of Year orchestra concert. Graduated from 6th grade! She and a friend were in charge of making all the diplomas for the Bridging Ceremony.

Not lovin' the shots so much ;)Felicity with two of her "besties" - Kayla and Jana -
after the Bridging Ceremnoy.

The diploma Felicity and her friend designed.
She did all the calligraphy herself!
Jammin' out to some karaoke at the 6th grade sleepover.

Lydia - Had a special Mother/Daughter Activity Days activity where we played games and ate treats. Went to some physical therapy to improve rotation (supination) of her arm. Went to an appointment and discovered one of the titanium plates was broken! Had a second surgery to remove a broken titanium plate. The doctor also put a cast on her arm to hold it in semi-supination so she would have more mobility when the cast comes off. Missed her 4th Grade Idaho History performance (skit, etc.) Was not able to perform in her piano recital, but won a special award for having the most reward points (for practicing, etc.) - even with a broken arm! Performed 14 songs in a Spanish concert at school.

Before surgery...

After surgery... Like father, like daughter.
I was trying to talk to them and they were both zoned out.

She really wanted a cast - so she could get signatures. Wish granted!

An Idaho poster she made at school.

Singing for "Spanish in Concert."Receiving her award at the piano recital - a GIANT bag of Mike and Ikes!Just love to catch my girls snuggled up with a good book.

Evelyn - Went to her friend Bekah's birthday party. Danced a tap/hip-hop routine to Elvis' "This Thing Called Love" in the Spring dance recital. Played 1 solo at her piano recital. Gave a talk on the Restoration in primary. Graduated from 2nd grade!

Singing during 2nd grade graduationEvie with two of her besties - Bekah and Sabrina.

Hammin' up for the camera at dress rehearsal.

Tappin' her toes during the dance routine.

Evie's dance class - she is in the back right next to the teacher.

April 2011

2011-07-29T15:01:00.006-06:00

Lydia: Broke her arm in 2 places and had to have surgery to repair it! This has been covered in several other posts - as it was quite the traumatic event for all of us. She also celebrated her 10th birthday and got her ears pierced. She was so brave - she didn't even blink! I guess after breaking your arm, getting your ears pierced is no big deal :). She got a new hoodie for her birthday, to replace the one they had to cut off her when her arm broke. Lydia had to recruit some helpers to perform a science experiment that she had planned since she is restricted from riding a bike or a scooter for the time being. She missed an MVOC (outdoor club) hike through the lava fields, but she did get to go to a GPS workshop.

Shawn: Went to Sandpoint, ID to present an ethics training.

I got to go with him and we had a very enjoyable weekend. It was a little rainy, but we enjoyed a nice dinner with some of his colleagues, I enjoyed some shopping at the Coldwater Creek flagship store (50% off clearance!) and a nice long bubble bath while he was at his presentation, and we enjoyed walking around the town a little. Lydia broke her arm while we were traveling home.

We also got to go to the Idaho Falls Symphony again at the end of the month- this time the soloist was a violinist.

Lauri: I got to go see a counselor in the bishopric again and was called to be the 2nd Counselor in the Young Women - I still get to be with my Beehives!

Easter: Lydia and Evelyn got to hunt Easter eggs at our neighborhood Easter Egg hunt Saturday morning. Imagine hundreds of eggs just lying in the grass at the park - not much of a hunt really. Felicity was a little bummed that she was too old and I wouldn't let her keep all the candy she "helped" Lydia and Evelyn get.
Later we dyed Easter eggs, trying our hand at a little batik technique. Sunday the girls found their baskets of course (notice Mom working on some last minute YW handouts) and after church we went to the park to fly our awesome new kite (Thanks Mom!)Here is my laptop just before it crashed. That was such a sad day.... I took a picture of the screen and sent it to Shawn to see if he knew what was going on.Here are some fun pics take with the RetroCamera app on my new phone - which I love!
I think this must be how the girls see me a lot...

Doesn't every family have the "place" where the shoes all end up...?

March 2011

2011-07-29T14:42:00.004-06:00

Shawn: Went to Washington D.C. for the AAMFT conference. Also celebrated his 36th birthday.

Lauri: Did some subbing, worked on several projects/events for PTO - the school yearbook, kindergarten registration, book fair, meals and snacks for parent/teacher conferences. Started going to mutual with Felicity!

All the Young Women from our ward got to take a day trip to Salt Lake City, to attend the General Young Women's Meeting. We left Saturday morning, spent some time at the mall (brought sack lunches), went to temple square, had dinner and changed at Golden Corral and then went to the broadcast. My car ended up parking a few blocks away, at the top of a parking garage. We made it just in time for the meeting to start (sitting way over on the right side of the Conference Center). It was a wonderful meeting and I'm so glad we got to go! It took us about 45 minutes just to get out of the parking garage once we got back to our car, because everyone else was leaving the conference too. We got home around midnight, I think. It was a fun way to get to know some of the girls a little better :)

All the girls who went

Felicity with some YW value flags

5 of my 6 Beehives, after the conference

Felicity: Missed an orchestra concert (playing the cello this year) because she had influenza B, which lasted several days!

Lydia: Read one of her original stories in the school talent show. She also enjoyed her Activity Day activities.Evelyn: Played "My Ducks Love to Quack" in the school talent show. Her grade also had a Spelling Bee, and then they had another one in her class.

February 2011

2011-07-29T14:00:00.005-06:00

Evelyn: Played the part of Pippi Longstocking in a reader's theater performance of several little plays that her school class did. She is the 2nd girls from the right in the pictures below. The 2nd graders all had a Science Fair also. Evelyn experimented with gravity by dropping several different objects from the top of our stairs and seeing which fell the fastest. No pictures though... :( Felicity: Got to go to the temple and do baptisms for her 2nd mutual activity, and went to New Beginnings for her 3rd mutual activity. Shawn and I were sick that day, so we did not get to go with her :(

Lauri: Released from the Primary presidency and called to be a Beehive advisor. Got to go on a fun date with Shawn - the Idaho Falls Symphony and Rockapella! It was a fun night! I also got to go to an educators/PTO preview of the Bodies exhibit that is at the museum this year. Wow! Our bodies are amazing! Celebrated my 37th birthday. I got a new Android phone that I love more than I have ever loved any cell phone before! I love downloading apps - the calendar, weather, camera, Goodreads, Netflix, facebook, email, internet, etc. all at my fingertips!

Shawn: Introduced the girls to the Lord of the Rings movies. They spent a couple days watching them - especially when Felicity got the flu.

For President's Day, we decided to go to Utah to visit my Grandmas. It was nice to get away for a weekend, especially since I was kind of between callings, so didn't have to prepare anything for Sunday! Here is a picture of Lissy reading scriptures with Great-grandma Olsen.

January 2011

2011-07-29T13:27:00.008-06:00

So the girls pointed out yesterday that I really need to update my blog. Fortunately, I just downloaded a bunch of pictures from my phone and camera, so I should be ready to go. However, my hard drive crashed a few months ago, so many pictures of events are lost forever (sniff, sniff). I was fortunate to have some pictures on the blog already, but those and pictures on my phone are about the only ones to survive since the last time I backed up (which was 9 months prior to the crash). So, just a friendly reminder, BACK UP YOUR PICTURES! And just because I'm weird this way, we're going to start with January (because it just seems to wrong to start with June of July....). So here goes...

Shawn: Earned his blue belt in karate. A couple of the girls and I went and watched him test and were very impressed with his mad skills!

Lauri: Continued with her Primary and PTO responsibilities. Also got in some New Year's organization by cleaning up our office (4 hours) and helping Shawn assemble some shelves in the storeroom. Over the course of a couple of Saturdays and a trip to D.I., we got the storeroom looking quite a bit more organized.

Felicity: Celebrated the long-awaited milestone - her 12th birthday! She had a group of friends over and they played Just Dance 2, made personal pizzas, played a sentence/picture game, and ate eclairs and dipped strawberries. Her invitations were a Paris theme and her friends know her well - she received lots of French decor, "pie" references, and the color lime green made an appearance quite often. Her first mutual activity was the Stake Standards Night, the day after her birthday. Before graduating from primary, Felicity passed off all her Articles of Faith for the 3rd or 4th year in a row.
Lydia: Passed off all her Articles of Faith for the 2nd year. Here is a picture she drew for a FHE lesson she taught on Ammon.

The girls' school librarian had a contest where the top 4 readers in each grade (during the month of January) got to have "Pizza with the Principal." I was a proud Momma when all three of my girls got to participate in that activity.

Lydia's Arm - Post 2nd Surgery

2011-05-19T19:51:00.004-06:00

Joking with the anesthesiologist before surgery.

Lydia's surgery went really well. It took about an hour and a half. The orthopedic surgeon removed the screws and broken plate from the radius and checked to make sure the bones had rejoined. Because they had rejoined, he did not need to replace the plate. He then rotated her arm so the thumb is pointing upwards and then put it in a cast. The cast isn't for the bones - those are pretty much rejoined - but to hold her arm in a certain position to try and improve her mobility when the cast comes off. A month after the accident, she was still unable to turn her hand facing palm-up. She was in some pain right when she woke up, so they gave her a couple doses of pain meds and brought her up to a recovery room. She was still pretty groggy, but after mention of a snack and getting up to use the bathroom, she quickly perked up. After checking her vitals, they gave her the snack - crackers, juice, jello and ice cream - which she gobbled up right away since she had been fasting. Then they gave her some more pain meds and sent us home. She took it easy the rest of the day.

I couldn't resist taking this picture.
I was trying to say something to them and they were totally zoned out.
Like father, like daughter :)

Wednesday she did go back to school, but came home a little while after lunch since her arm was hurting pretty bad. She has been little achy today, but that's getting better and she made it through the whole day of school. Well, actually, I went to get all the girls early for a mass dentist appointment. But she made it through that, her doctor's appointment, and a school dinner and is still doing fine.They didn't put a window in the cast, so it's just a regular one that goes up past her elbow. She has been having fun letting her friends sign it. She will have that on for a couple of weeks. The orthopedist said it could be up to a couple of years before her bones and mobility are normal. She had an "amazing growth response" and has some extra bone mass that will eventually go away. I'm amazed by what our incredible bodies can do to kick into turbo drive to heal themselves! And then when there is too much of something, they will just take care of that too.Lydia was disappointed that she had to miss her Idaho History program, as it was the day of her surgery. She also missed activity days that afternoon and will not be able to perform in her piano recital next week. Riding her bike is also out for awhile ;)

Lydia's Arm - Update

2011-05-16T17:46:00.001-06:00

Lydia will be going in for a little surgery tomorrow morning on her arm. Her doctor was just going to have her come in and put her to sleep to rotate and cast it for a week, but he took some x-rays before we left his office and found a few surprises. One of the titanium plates was broken in half, so he will take that out as it is no longer doing anything for her. Also, she has had some MAJOR bone growth on one of the bones and it is starting to grow over the screws. He also wants to make sure that the new growth (which looks like a lump growing on the bone) isn’t preventing her arm from rotating, or that the “swivelly” part of the joint hasn’t fused in one place. Basically, he’ll get in there and take a look around, see what’s going on and then decided what to do from there. He really did seem surprised and shocked by the broken plate and the amount of bone growth that had occurred in 2 weeks. She will probably be in a cast for a couple of weeks, with her arm in the “facing-up” position. It will be a “peek-a-boo” cast with a window over the incision.

We are going in at 7:30 am and the surgery is scheduled for 9 am. Shawn has taken the morning off and I had to cancel a sub job and a couple other appointments. Lydia is disappointed that she will not get to participate in her Idaho History Program that they have been practicing for several weeks. She is also very nervous that her arm will hurt after the surgery, since it hurts her to try and rotate it now.

Lydia's Broken Arm - LONG version

2011-04-18T14:36:00.009-06:00

I am still so far behind, but we did have a little more excitement around here than we have had for a long time. I wanted to get these pictures up for grandparents and anyone else who wants to see just what Lydia is capable of when we are not around!

I went on a business trip with Shawn over the weekend (Thurs-Sat) to North Idaho. The trip was lovely and relaxing, even though we had rain and most of our "quality" time was in the car. We farmed each of the girls out to stay with friends for the 2 nights that we would be gone. On our way there the car started making some funny sounds and shimmying a little at low speeds and idling. Friday night, at dinner, we got a recommendation for a shop to take it to so we could have it checked out. So, Saturday morning, instead of doing a little more exploring, we drove into Ponderay to have the car checked. Turns out some bolt had fallen off of some thing-a-ma-jig and there was low compression in something-or-another, but it would be fine to drive home in and have it fixed by our mechanic. In fact, at high speeds the compression should be just fine. Phew! We didn't want to leave the girls another night and we hadn't send any Sunday clothes with them. So we pointed the car toward home, and off we went.

On our way home Saturday, around 2:15, I suddenly got a voice mail from Felicity saying that Lydia might have broken her arm and did I know anything? Ummm, NO, I didn't know anything. (We were in an area with bad reception, so communicating with everyone from this point on was a little hit and miss.) Well, turns out it really had just happened, and Lydia was still being transferred to the ER.

Here's the long version of what happened. Evelyn was missing her sisters, so she called and arranged to meet Lydia at the park, in our neighborhood, on their bikes. While Lydia was waiting for Evelyn, she rode down a hilly part of the bike path, and from what I gather, the bike stopped and Lydia kept going - right over the handlebars. She didn't hear anything break, but felt lots of PAIN and told some boys nearby that her arm was broken and to go get our friend that she was staying with. They didn't believe her, because she wasn't screaming and crying, so she showed them her misshapen arm so they would believe her. Then they asked why they should go get Mrs. H "of all people." She explained that we were out of town and that's who she was staying with, and they went right away to get her. Mr. H was able to back their car into the park so they could load Lydia in without having to move her too much.

Mrs. went straight to Urgent Care and I got a hold of her just as she was pulling into the parking lot - maybe 15 minutes after the accident. She went in and explained the injury to make sure this was where she should be and not the E.R. From the shape of the arm, they knew it was broken, but there was also a little blood on her sleeve, so they weren't sure if that was just from a scrape or something else. They assured her they could take care of it and brought out a wheelchair to take Lydia inside. They had to cut Lydia's sweatshirt off her arm since it was far too painful to pull it off. As soon as they saw the arm, they realized the bone had punctured the skin and that she needed to go to the hospital.

The Urgent Care facility called ahead to the E.R., so by the time they got there, they had a wheelchair and room ready and the paperwork started. One of the sisters in our ward was the nurse who was helping her and warned me that with this type of fracture, they often had to do surgery. I'm not sure of everything that happened at this point, but I know they took the x-rays and an orthopedic surgeon came to look at her. He called us and said they would have to wait until 6 to operate anyway, so her stomach would be empty, and since we thought we would be there around 8, he just wanted to wait until we got there.

We made a few calls to the 2 other girls and the families they were staying with to let them know what was going on and that we would be a little late picking them up. Everyone was so supportive and understanding! We have the best friends! We managed to make up some time (while not totally exceeding the speed limit) and beat our GPS's estimated time of arrival and got to the hospital around 7:15 p.m. They had moved her to the pediatric ward, and we called our home teacher and asked him to meet us there to give Lydia a blessing. As soon as we got there, we gave her loves and she said, "I broke my arm" and burst into tears. Shawn and our wonderful home teacher gave her a blessing, we looked at the x-rays and discussed our options with the doctor, and then they got her ready for surgery.

We walked down with her and then they showed us to the waiting room. I had asked about how long it would take, and one person told us maybe an hour to an hour and a half. Shawn went to pick up the other 2 girls at this point and get them home and settled. He would be going back later that night, and we thought they might be more comfortable and comforted to be together and in their own beds. (Well, actually, they both slept in Lissy's bed.) Shawn came back, and we waited, and waited. After about 2 1/2 hours, the surgeon came in and told us everything had gone well, and gave us the x-rays that showed the plates and screws. She should be able to have those removed in about 6 months.

We then went back up to her room to wait for her. About 11:30, they brought her in, very sleepy, and we gave her more hugs and kisses and told her she had done great! She kept saying (over and over again) that they told her to count to ten and she would start to feel sleepy, but after counting to five she never got to six because she fell asleep. Shawn stayed for a few minutes, and then went home to bed and to check on the girls.

I spent the night on one of the lovely fold-out chairs, and actually slept fairly well from about 2:30 am (when the frequency of check-ins decreased) until about 6:30 am (when Lydia had to get up to go to the bathroom). After breakfast, Shawn brought Lissy and Evie in to visit and they stayed through lunch. Lydia had her full-course hospital lunch, and Shawn got subways for the rest of us. Lydia's appetite was in full force as she ate all of her lunch, and then finished my Subway for me. Later in the afternoon, the doctor came to check on her (in his Sunday suit) and write up the discharge orders. Shawn took the girls home while we waited for all the prescriptions and home healthcare nurse to be arranged, and then came and got us.

It was so good to finally be home from the hospital and vacation! I couldn't relax yet though because I knew people would be coming over to visit and the nurse would be coming. So I madly tidied up and vacuumed. The nurse came that night to do her paperwork and to give Lydia an IV antibiotic. She came again on Monday evening to give her another dose of IV antibiotic and to change the dressing. This was the first time I had seen the injury at all. She has two incisions that are stitched up that are 2-4 inches long. The inside one is very neat and tidy, but the outside one is a little less precise, since that is where the arm was punctured. The wounds looked great (for incisions), but we are still trying to get the swelling in her arm and hand down. During the dressing change Lydia didn't want to watch, but I finally convinced her it wasn't too bad on the side closest to her. She took one peek and quickly turned away and said, "Oooh, gross! it looks like little lips sticking out of my arm!" Felicity read to her each time to help pass the time, although it only took about 15 minutes for each IV drip.

Lydia has had several sweet visitors, from the family she was staying with, to neighbors and friends. She has received balloons, flowers, cards, snacks, treats and her friend even brought over 2 jackets (I need to confirm this was okay with her mom). We've slept through the night for three nights now and her pain is getting better each day. In fact, she hasn't even asked me for any pain meds today! (She eventually did later in the afternoon, and the next day I just gave her a regular Tylenol). We are keeping it elevated and putting ice on it regularly to try and get the swelling down. She also has a course of oral antibiotics to take to make sure no infection sets in.

Although an experience like this always stinks, I am grateful for SO many things:
- It wasn't anything worse :)
- Mr. and Mrs. H responded so quickly and with such calm compassion! They were amazing! Jen spent hours with Lydia, calmly reassuring her, and distracting her from the big boo-boo by focusing on a small scrape on her thumb instead. She kept us updated as we were driving home, helpless to do anything for our daughter. If I'm ever in her shoes, my only hope is that I can be so calm, reassuring and functional in a crisis like that!
- Our car was in good enough condition for us to come home
- We were already on our way home when it happened
- Lydia was wearing her helmet, preventing any head injuries
- Lydia was wearing a sweatshirt, which probably protected the bone from the pavement
- Modern medicine - x-rays, painkillers, general anesthesia, surgical techniques, etc.
- The doctor and nurses were all exceptional - taking such good care of not only Lydia, but our family (the girls really liked the cranberry-grape juice and cookies the nurse brought for us)
- Completely amazing neighbors and friends who support and help our family!
- The restoration of the gospel (complete with the power of the Priesthood), faith and prayer
- A loving home teacher, who came from his restaurant, on what I'm sure was a busy Saturday night, to give Lydia a blessing
- Lydia's glasses didn't break, even though they gave her a cut, scrape and a black eye (glad we got the "indestructible" ones)
- I sent emergency contact and insurance information with each of the girls "just in case." (Even though I was trying to use Murphy's Law to my advantage, thinking nothing bad would happen if I had all our bases covered.)

I'm sure I left out some small details, but I think this accounting is probably complete enough for our family history and anyone else who reads it :)

Anyone still out there?

2011-03-30T21:12:00.004-06:00

It has been ever so long since I have posted! I don't know if anyone is even still out there... HELLO..Hello..hello.....

Things keeping us so busy---
Girls: Young Women, activity days, orchestra, dance, piano lessons, friends, homework and chores

Mom: Beehive adviser, PTO Vice President, Yearbook, chauffeuring, classroom volunteering, chores, etc. It doesn't look like much on paper, but all you mommies know it is!

Dad: 2 jobs, karate, another martial arts class (I call it Crawfish Magee, but it's really Krav Maga), his 3 callings, honey do's. Now that spring is here (anyway, it's supposed to be here), the honey-do list will just get longer - I'm really hoping that sprinkler system gets in this year!

Here are a few pictures to tempt you into coming back to see some more of what we have been up to!

Decorating the Tree

2011-01-05T12:22:00.004-07:00

Here are some pictures of the girls helping to set up and decorate the Christmas tree. They enjoy finding all the ornaments they have picked out each year, remembering the trips we have been on and looking at Grandpa's hand made wooden ornaments. I love our tree and all the memories the ornaments bring!

Love/Hate Relationship

2011-01-05T12:09:00.004-07:00

Okay, I'll admit it. I have a love/hate relationship with winter. I hate cold, wet, slushy, dirty, icy snow and wind. Yes, this is where I live, so it is part of the package, but I don't have to like it. I am grateful that I don't have to go out in it that often, or for very long. I can handle being a mostly-stay-at-home mom and curl up with a good book and cup of hot cocoa - when I get the chance.

Here is a picture of our snow at it's highest (so far) this year. Notice it covers the "foot swing" and nearly touches the bottom of the regular swing. I never did go measure it, but it was a couple of feet or more.

But, I do love the gorgeous sunsets and the picturesque, snow globe days when I don't have to go out :)

Karate Blue Belt

2011-01-05T11:48:00.003-07:00

Shawn achieved one of his goals for this year, which was to earn his blue belt in karate. This is the second style of karate that he has studied, so it is actually his 2nd blue belt. Congratulations Babe!

Passing off his katas.

Showing off some techniques.

Receiving his blue belt.

Striking a fierce-some pose.

Proof that karate is a good work out - or that Shawn sweats a lot.

School Projects and Snowmen from mid-November

2011-01-05T11:43:00.003-07:00

Lydia and Evelyn had fun building some cute little snowmen in our front yard.

Lydia and her Joan of Arc sword from a research project and Medieval Fair.Evelyn with the fossil she made at school.

Veteran's Day

2011-01-05T11:37:00.002-07:00

I was able to go to a very nice Veteran's Day program at the girls' school. The principal gave a nice speech about the history of Veteran's Day, recognized a few children of service men and women who attend the school, recognized the vets from all the branches of the military that were there and the sixth graders sang a few numbers. Veteran's Day was much more meaningful for us this year, and not only did I cry (shocker, I know), but Lissy was moved to tears also. She is a tender-heart like me :)

We are so grateful for all the men, women and families who have sacrificed to defend our freedom and liberties!

Let it Snow!

2011-01-05T11:27:00.003-07:00

Here I go - trying to catch up. Early in November we finally got enough snow for the girls to go out and play in it. Personally, I don't see the appeal of playing in something cold and wet, but they seem to enjoy it!

Christmas Cards

2010-11-29T14:56:00.003-07:00

It's that time of year again. Time to break out the trusty address book and start addressing all those merry messages of Christmas cheer. I don't know about you, but I like my Christmas cards to be nice and simple, so I can spend more time with my family. I've done hand made cards in the past, and while I love the creative outlet and how fun they can be, I need to make them months ahead of time rather than in December. And let's be honest, I just don't plan that far ahead. Maybe some year, but not this year.

In my opinion, the best cards to get are photo greeting cards. I love seeing how families have grown as they've added new babies, and how children have grown as the years go by. Now, don't get me wrong - all other cards are nice, and I am grateful to be counted among those on the "Christmas Card List" from each and every friend and family member who sends our family a card. So, please don't take me off your list if your card does not include a photo.

This year I have been checking out the beautiful card designs on Shutterfly.com. It really is hard to pick my favorite!

I also love Shutterfly's photo books. We treasure our photo book that has our amazing Disneyland memories. We also had such a fun summer last year, that I made a photo book of all our adventures, and then ordered copies for Grandmas and Grandpas and even Great-Grandmas for Christmas!

MORE Halloween Festivities

2010-11-10T17:56:00.013-07:00

Our FOURTH day of Halloween festivities was on Saturday the 30th. We decided to go to a nearby straw maze after Shawn and Jeff got back from hunting. So we got everyone ready to go, drove the long way there (following the directions on the flier, but actually there was a much quicker way) only to find that we were there an hour and 15 minutes before it opened. No worries, Big Jud's to the rescue! It was just down the road and we were planning on making a stop there sometime anyway, so we just made it a lunch stop :) Shawn, Felicity and I split the famous Big Jud burger - one full pound of hamburger on a plate-sized bun. The fries at Big Jud's are delicious also - you know, the fresh cut Idaho potato kind.

After eating we went back down the road to the straw maze and had a great time. It was big enough to take some time, but not so big you got lost forever. We could go through as many times as we wanted, so a few of us went through a couple of times. It was a gorgeous day - overcast, but not too cold or windy.

The girls - ready to take on the maze.

Shawn is attacked by the Straw Monster.Lydia in a creepy tunnel.

King and Princesses of the Straw Mountain.

Our a-MAZE-ing family!Lissy and Ben make it out!

That night was our neighborhood trunk-or-treat. The kids got dressed up in their costumes again, we decorated our trunk, and drove over to the park where it is held. I have never gone with the kids before (Shawn has taken them), and I was amazed at the number of little and big kids running around! I definitely did NOT bring enough candy. We will need to bring 2-3 giant bags next year! It was fun to see all our friends and their costumes and everything was pretty smooth considering the number of people there. They gave out prizes to the top 3 favorite costumes and Lydia was so excited to win one of the prizes! It was a Jack-o-lantern treat bucket filled with a cool twisty-straw cup and other treats and trinkets. After the trunk-or-treat we drove around the "older" part of our ward to trick-or-treat to some other important people like the Bishop and the kids' primary teachers. It was fun to go all together as a family this year and the girls were happy with their haul. I didn't get any pictures of their candy though! They must be getting too old (or I am).

Girls and our "trunk" at the Trunk-or-Treat.

Basically, by the time the 31st rolled around I was glad to have Halloween over with! I think I even took down all my decorations that night so we could have a fresh start on November 1st! (Except my pumpkin lights - Shawn did get those down later though...)

Felicity's Party

2010-11-02T17:41:00.004-06:00

During a conversation on why we don't "do sleepovers," Felicity decided that she wanted to have a Halloween Party. I told her she had to plan it and get everything approved. This was a week or so before Halloween. Well, Friday, she finally decided to get to it. She picked a Harry Potter theme, decided on some games and made a list of friends to call. Her 4 BFF's came over (even with short notice) that night for a few hours and played games and ate junk food. They played Don't Eat Harry (which Felicity made herself - email me if you'd like a copy) and Harry Potter Clue. Actually, I think they just talked and giggled more than anything else. Felicity had also planned on watching a Harry Potter movie, but they ran out of time and one of her friend's had a broken ankle and is on crutches and couldn't go downstairs anyway.

Halloween Festivities

2010-10-31T20:51:00.008-06:00

Thursday was our second day of Halloween celebrations (the first was our ward party on Tuesday night). This is the only day I got pictures of the girls in their costumes this year. Thursday afternoon I went and helped with Lydia's class party. One mom was a fortune teller, one mom brought a "donut on a string" game and one dad ended up leaving town for a funeral, but sent cookies and decorating supplies. I brought a "Don't Eat Frank" game and a craft where they could make ghosts, jack-o-lanterns, and Frankensteins out of lollipops and tissue paper.Lydia plays "Don't Eat Frank" with some classmates.Lydia pretends to lick her Jack-o-Lollipop at school.

That night was the school Fall Carnival, where costumes were optional, so we wore ours. As soon as we got there I helped pass out the pre-ordered tickets, so I sent the girls off to eat on their own. When they were done, they came and got some game tickets. When Shawn got there, I went and ate with him and then we walked around to find the girls, check the silent auction items, and to see what all the games were. Have I mentioned how nice it is to have big kids that can go off and do things with each other and their friends? I really enjoy watching them be independent and sociable.

Here are the girls ready to go to the carnival.

Lydia - the Zombie Bride - rises from the dead. This costume won her an award (top three out of hundreds) at our neighborhood trunk-or-treat Saturday night. She was so thrilled!

Evelyn, our little "Spider Geisha" or Japanese girl, as we call it. (Authentic chopsticks from Taiwan in her bun - thanks Melissa!)

Lissy - the 50's girl. She came home and told me she wanted to be an "80's waitress." I was perplexed and didn't realize that an 80's waitress had a distinctive look. She said, "You know, with roller skates and a poodle skirt." (Edited: Lissy is apparently decade-challenged. She was clearly thinking of a 50's waitress.) Thanks Mom for the poodle skirt! Isn't she cute?

And here I am. As dressed up as I have been in years. My skeleton shirt and skeleton earrings are just the beginning. The hours I spent at the tattoo parlor
are really what make this costume shine.

That's right, I'm a crazy rocker. As crazy as I get, anyway.

Pinewood Derby

2010-10-29T18:25:00.002-06:00

(the Boo is a Halloween decoration and is not intended to be our opinion of Dad's car)

The Pinewood Derby. Something we won't really have to worry about - what with having 3 girls and all. However, this month, Shawn had the opportunity to brush off his pocket-knife and whittle himself a Pinewood Derby car. After the initial whittling of the car, he sat down, showed us what he had done, and the suggestions just started coming.
"You should make it pink!"
"You should make it purple and pink!"
"You should put flowers on it!"
"Don't forget some bling"
So, being the awesome dad that he is, he made a car that is a tribute to his daughters. And his wife too, I guess, since we raided the scrapbooking and craft supplies. It is pink, with a lime green stripe down the top. It is called "chicaclan" - our family's "team" name. The number 5 stands for the number of people in our family. It has "bling" for headlights and some other embellishments for "tail lights." The hot glue gun was employed for attaching the bling and flowers.After making his car we all had the opportunity to go cheer him on at our ward's Elder's Quorum Pinewood Derby and Potluck. Let's just say that Shawn's car did not win any races, but he once again won our hearts by being such a sweet, fun, entertaining guy. Oh, and he did win the "Sweetest Ride" award. Wahoo!

Lydia's New Glasses

2010-10-29T18:21:00.002-06:00

Lydia needed new glasses - BADLY, and the new insurance had just kicked in, so she was first on the list of appointments. She is rather tough on glasses (imagine that!), so we looked for some frames that appeared to be indestructible. They are a bright pink on the inside, and have bling and peace signs on the sides. The peace signs are what sold her. I think she looks so smart and adorable! She thought she looked like a teacher, especially in this outfit.

Random Pics

2010-10-29T18:14:00.002-06:00

I love the view out my kitchen window! Not necessarily the shed and houses, but the leaves just beginning to turn and the mountains (or foothills) in the background.
This is how I often find the girls when it has gotten quiet enough for me to wonder what they're up to. Felicity has been teaching the girls to crochet and I was hoping to catch them all in the act. (We even took a trip to the craft store to let them each pick out their own skein of yarn.) Instead of crocheting, they were just vegging. Actually, Lydia does have her yarn. It is a deliciously soft, gorgeous teal yarn.

Day Trip: Part Two - Charcoal Kilns

2010-10-29T18:01:00.003-06:00

We almost didn't get to see these or learn a little Idaho history, because I told the "boys" that we had to be back in time for the General Relief Society Broadcast and dinner our stake was doing. But then, I decided that some more good old-fashioned family time outdoors, while the weather was so nice, would be just as lovely.My memory is not so good, but I'll try to explain what these are, because I thought they were pretty cool. I'd never heard of anything like this before and honestly hadn't ever even wondered how charcoal was made. These beehive-shaped kilns were at the base of some low mountains. Only a few remained, but there used to be a dozen or more. Back in the day, they would bring the timber down to these kilns and load them up to the top. Then they would seal upt he kilns and burn the wood to make charcoal. The charcoal was then transported across the valley to the mines to be used in smelting.

The top opening. You can just see the top of the doorway in the background.A view from a doorway up to the top opening. They were renovating this one, hence the ladder.

The gang standing next to them. You can see how big they are!

The remaining kilns.

Day Trip: Fishing at Birch Creek and Petroglyphs

2010-10-29T17:31:00.008-06:00

Goodness, it has been so long since I posted, I don't even know where to start. I'll start with pictures - that's always fun! Towards the end of September we went on a little day trip with Jeff one Saturday so he could show us one of his favorite fishing spots. It was just past Mud Lake on Birch Creek. We picked up some snacks and bait in Mud Lake and the girls got to try their hand at splitting a worm and baiting a hook. Felicity was fearless, but Lydia was a little more squeamish. (No pictures since I was helping to tear the worms in half - ick!)Evelyn didn't try it. She was more interested in the fruit snacks.

Yes, there were lots of cows. We drove through a herd with their cowboys on our way up.

Felicity and Lydia aiming for the ripples.
Daddy giving Evelyn a fishing lesson.

After we fished for awhile, we took a little drive out in the hills to see some AWESOME petroglyphs. Here's Lydia and her Vanna White impression.

Lydia and Evelyn had a blast climbing into every nook, cranny and "look out" they could find.

Felicity preferred to hang out with the guys.

I did manage to get a picture of the three girls together!

When we climbed up on top of the rock formation, we were treated to this lovely view.

Lydia and Evelyn enjoy the view from their "box seats."
To be continued.....

A New and Separate Blog

2010-10-08T17:06:00.001-06:00

I have decided to start a separate blog for my crafting, recipes, and general creating - Crazy House Creations. I am well aware that it will not be the crafting super-site like many out there, but this way if you don't want to read a mixed blog, you don't have to. I will keep our family "journal" on this original blog - Crazy House. A link to the new blog will be in the side bar.

Labor Day Camping Trip

2010-09-17T09:20:00.003-06:00

We had the opportunity to go camping with our friends the Bones over Labor Day weekend. We camped at Diamond Creek Campground past Soda Springs. There was no running water at the campground which meant nice walks to a stinky outhouse, but the Bones had a trailer, so we were able to wash our hands and even take a shower while we were there. We got there Thursday night and got our tent set-up just as the sun was going down. The Bones also had a generator, which meant Shawn could plug in to blow up our air mattress and run his C-Pap each night. The first and last night we were there were pretty cold (frost in the mornings cold), but we were prepared with foam pads, extra blankets and sleeping bags for the girls. We made up our bed with an extra sleeping bag for the mattress pad, flannel sheets, a blanket and another sleeping bag to top it all off. Although it was chilly, I think we all slept okay.

We had yummy food, tasty snacks and some pretty near perfect weather. We did have one windy afternoon and a few raindrops, but all in all, it was beautiful. Shawn taught the girls how to cast a fishing line (except for Evie, who could not tolerate the bugs) and Shawn and Jeff took the girls shooting one day. We also played games, read books, caught butterflies, gathered firewood and just played around the campsite. We didn't have a chainsaw, so the two men had to saw some wood old style. We also gleane

The trip was not without its unfortunate incidents however. As we were driving up, the trailer started leaking water and we think it lost 1/3 - 1/2 of its water. When we first got out at the campground, we discovered our van had a flat tire. So the first morning the men spent driving back to town to fill a water barrel and repair a flat tire. On the day we left, we stopped again in Soda Springs for a potty break, only to discover we had another flat tire. No one was opened on Labor Day, so we pumped it up, said a prayer that it would hold, and drove home. Thankfully we made it home safe and sound, and the next day we bought 2 new tires (and that is a story in itself).

The only pictures I took of the whole trip were of our little fishing expedition. Only seaweed and pond scum were caught, but the girls had fun. Felicity also took a picture of the butterfly she caught.Lydia untangling some pond scum.

Felicity casting her line.

Evie giving me the stink-eye on the way back to the van - hoping to get away from the bugs.

Back To School

2010-09-17T08:59:00.005-06:00

Wow! The summer flew by there, especially at the end, and the girls are now back into the swing of a school routine. I have been enjoying some lazy days and uninterrupted productive ones before I change my substitute teaching availability. The girls all seem to have really great teachers and seem to be happy at school. I have yet to spend much time in their classrooms, but I fully intend to. Felicity has already had to do a group project, devise and write up a science experiment, and she has to give a speech on Monday. That is in addition to math, reading and writing homework to be done nearly every night. She is a little overwhelmed and is still learning to use her time wisely. Lydia has had it pretty easy so far - a little homework here and there, but nothing major. Evelyn has a homework packet she has to complete each week and has to make a habitat diorama that is due next week. They are very excited to have Grandpa and Grandma Thurber come for Grandparents Day next week! Here are some pics from the first day of school (again):

3 Sassy SistersReady to go!

6th, 2nd and 4th graders.Evie and her teacher. Doesn't she look like fun?!

Lydia ready to learn.Felicity and her teacher. Her teacher was super excited to start a new year!

Slideshows

2010-09-09T22:35:00.002-06:00

I just figured out if you click on the slide show, it will open in a new window where you can view it larger and in different formats. If you click on "gallery view" you can see the thumbnail images and click through them that way. "Full screen" view makes it a little bigger. Hope that helps!

August Rundown and Slideshow

2010-09-09T20:39:00.005-06:00

Here is a recap of the month of August:

- Went to Boise for a week to help mom after her foot surgery - worked in her classroom and getting ready for reunion and saw Thoroughly Modern Millie at the Starlight Mountain Theater
- The girls got their back-to-school haircuts
- Went to a Chukars game with Jeff and Ben
- Went to the Youth Jam down by the river with arts and crafts for the kids
- Went stargazing to see the meteor shower - awesome!
- Dragged Shawn to see Eclipse with me
- Shawn earned his green belt in karate
- Went on some Funland rides (free passes from summer reading)
- Played miniature golf (coupon from summer reading)
- Shawn's work picnic went well even after a brief thunder shower
- Registered for school and dance
- Helped at registration
- Evie learned to ride a bike!
- Celebrated Evie's 7th birthday with pizza and lazer tag
- Went to the Back-to-School preview night
- Evelyn got to help cut the ribbon at the new school (it was on her birthday)
- Piano lessons, movies, playing with friends, library visits, reading books
- Went to a wedding reception for one of Shawn's karate buddies
- Started school and Evie started Hip-Hop/Tap
- Went to the Von Sorenson family reunion in Ashton/Island Park. Mom rented a beautiful "cabin" for us to stay in and we had fun going to see waterfalls, a melodrama play of Pirates of the Caribbean, playing in Warm River, playing Bingo and other games, golfing, playing with cousins, eating good food, and visiting with each other. Thanks Mom and Dad! It was wonderful!

**Close the "pets" thing to read the captions**

July Rundown and Slideshow

2010-09-09T19:37:00.005-06:00

Here are some of the things we did in July:
- Played at the new Fairmont Park in Boise
- celebrated Independence Day in Caldwell: parade, petting zoo, swimming, picnic, fireworks
- story time and crafts at Barnes and Noble
- Shawn, Lydia and Evie got the flu
- Read: Juliet Dove Queen of Love, Graven Images, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate with the kids
- Played at the park with my friend Joy and her kids
- Felicity made pudding pops with Torie
- Shawn took the girls shooting
- had the Bones over for dinner and some Bocce ball
- Girls went to day camp for activity days
- Had a Service Super Heroes primary activity
- Felicity started trading babysitting for sewing lessons
- Saw a couple movies: How to Train Your Dragon
- Played in the pool in the backyard
- Took care of our garden
- Got the van door fixed - AGAIN!
- Read books for the summer reading program at the library
- Went to the school library to do Accelerated Math and take AR quizzes
- Went to the temple to do initiatories with the Primary presidency
- Went to the Drive-Inn movie: Toy Story 3 and The Sorcerer's Apprentice
- Saw the Blue Angels
- Went to the annual ward chicken dinner
- Piano Lessons
- Went to see a newborn baby in the hospital
- Shawn moved offices for work; we moved a lot of couches!
- Made some yummy treats and played with friends :)

If you close the "pets" thing, you can read the captions

You may think...

2010-09-09T19:28:00.003-06:00

... that we have fallen off the face of the Earth. Nope. We are still here. We enjoyed the last 2/3 of our summer, got ready for school to start, met new teachers at a new school, went camping for 4 days and have been enjoying some cool fall weather. I have updated my background in the hopes that it will inspire me to update the rest of my blog as well. Now that the girls are in school, I should have a little more free time. At least until I start volunteering and substitute teaching. Stay tuned...

CSN Giveaway

2010-08-03T08:07:00.001-06:00

My friend Joy is hosting a CSN giveaway on her blog. You can check it out on Momma's Kinda Crafty.

June Week 4

2010-07-15T15:57:00.010-06:00

Another Busy Week! Sorry so long - if I ever get caught up, I can probably keep posts a little shorter.

Our 4^th week of June was our “Girls Week” with grandmas. Each year we try to take a trip to my grandma’s house with my mom. It has become a fun tradition that the girls and I look forward to. Even if no exciting events are planned, it is a fun relaxing week and we just get to be with our grandmothers, and what can be better than that? I'm so glad that we are able to do it! Thanks Mom!

We met mom just outside Rupert on Sunday after church and switched cars. This Sunday just happened to be Father’s Day and I’m grateful that Shawn wasn’t upset about us leaving him on “his day.” We did make a few goodies to leave for him, as requested. We got to Grandma Sorenson’s Sunday night and were able to visit with my cousins Sarah, Crystal and Jennie and my uncle Carl before we went to bed.

Monday morning we got up and had some of Grandma’s yummy quiche for breakfast, and then we decided to take the girls to one of the funnest parks we’ve ever been to in West Jordan. I think it is the Veteran’s Memorial Park and Wild West Jordan Playground, the largest playground in Utah. it is set up like an old west town/fort and the girls could play there for hours! We didn’t stay too long though, because it was starting to warm up a little and I’d already made a couple returns to the car for band-aids, tennis shoes, etc. We stopped in our old college town, Ephraim, UT, for lunch at the Malt Shoppe. My mom and I both attended Snow College there, so we like to drive around and see what has changed (a lot!) and show the girls the dorms we used to live in. We got to Mayfield late in the afternoon, and after dinner we helped Grandma Olsen pull the tulip and daffodil plants that were done and helped her plant corn in her garden. She has this amazing garden and spends some time every day working on her flowers, veggies, and lawn. She is 85 now and is “starting to feel old,” so she rests a lot more than she used too and didn’t plant quite as much as she usually would, but she is still very active and does more yard work than someone ½ her age!

Tuesday the girls worked on a craft I brought for them for a good hour and a half or so. They each had a new pair of flip flops and we just cut strips of ribbon and tied them on the straps to make “Tickle-Toe” flip flops. It was fun and simple and we could do variations on it as a tradition every year. After lunch we encouraged the girls to have a nap (and had a little nap ourselves) so we could go see the Mormon Miracle Pageant in Manti. We went to the dress-rehearsal last year, but it rained on us the whole time, so we were glad to see it in good weather this year. It is outdoors, so doesn’t start until dark – about 10 p.m. We parked right by the Patten House, which was an old pioneer house/museum that was just closing. The Daughters of the Utah Pioneer docents let us go in and look around for a few minutes before we went to get our seats. The girls were all good during the show, but a little wiggly trying to stay wrapped in the blankets to stay warm. I hope they will get to see it several more times and have fond memories (like I do) of going to see it while at Grandma’s. They were all touched by the story and the message that families can be together forever and I hope it strengthens their testimonies.

Making Flip-Flops

With actors from the Mormon Miracle Pageant

Ready to watch the play

The beautiful Manti Temple as set and scenery

On Wednesday we got sucked into watching the record-breaking Wimbledon tennis match between John Isner (USA) and Nicolas Mahut (France). The match was in its second day at this point and we watched for hours. ESPN stopped covering it on television, so we all huddled around my laptop and watched it online. Grandma made the comment that maybe she would have to learn how to get online so she could watch her sports J The game still had not concluded with a winner so it went into a third day, where Isner finally won 70 games to 68 games in the fifth set. It was the longest game in tennis history and lasted 11 hours, 5 minutes. Although we’re not particularly tennis fans, it was pretty fascinating to watch these two athletes battle it out and fight through their exhaustion in such a historical match. My aunt Elayne and Uncle Roger came down that afternoon with my cousin Janene and her kids (Carson, Tanner and Brynlee) and the kids hit it right off. They got busy playing foosball in the basement and Janene made us all a delicious tortilla soup for dinner. It was so fun to see her and her cute kids!

Thursday we all went down to the park to see what was new – a wooden train for the kids to play on, a bridge, and a balance beam that was low to the ground, but was attached by chains so it wobbled a little. The kids all had fun playing for awhile, and then we stopped at the Mayfield Mall/Mayfield Merc (it has had many names through the years) for the “penny candy.” It isn’t a penny anymore, but Grandma Sheri gave them each a dollar (in the time-honored Grandma tradition) to spend on the 15 and 25 cent treats – which they did. They next little while was spent eating those treats, making punch out of the sugary powder of Baby Bottle Pops, and playing with the empty containers. After lunch the girls got in their swimsuits and played in the sprinklers. Evelyn is still very reluctant to play in sprinklers, but Felicity and Lydia enjoyed a good old fashioned water fight. Then we helped Great-Grandma Olsen clean a little – vacuuming, washing towels and sheets, and cleaning bathrooms before we left the next day. For dinner we had the traditional wienie roast (the girls hate it when I call it that) and toasted marshmallows for dinner. While we were waiting for the fire to burn down a little, Felicity spotted a hummingbird in one of Great-Grandma’s bushes and took some pictures of it.

Playing with second-cousins at the park

Getting our treats

The cattle drive through the middle of town

Playing in Sprinklers

Lissy's Hummingbird

A Yummy Wienie Roast

Friday morning after breakfast we left for home. Mom treated us to lunch at Maddox Ranch House in Perry, near Brigham City. It is a steak house on a ranch that has been there for over 60 years and mom has good memories of eating there with her parents and has often wanted to stop there, but couldn’t convince my dad. We were happy to oblige. The girls had some yummy lunches that were served on souvenir Frisbees and Mom and I had some of their famous beef. We met Shawn just outside Rupert again, switched cars and headed home. Shawn took us to a new little restaurant he was introduced to called Bambinos that serves little pizza-type pockets. They were yummy and so was the raspberry dessert one we tried! We relaxed the rest of that night reading our family book (The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate) and watering the lawn.

Saying good-bye to Great-Grandma and getting the traditional picture by the grainary

Saturday morning I ran to Wal-Mart to get a couple of things and had the oil in the van changed while I was there. Shawn helped his friend work on a broken sprinkler in his yard. Shawn goes to karate with this friend and accidentally broke his rib this week, so called to see if he needed anything and ended up getting some other guys to go over and help with the sprinkler. Shawn wasn’t able to stay the whole time, but I think they did eventually get it fixed late that night. We had plans to go on a little geocaching/cookout trip with the Bones. Our family, Jeff and Ben went to Ririe reservoir and picked our picnic spot, then trekked off across the hot, dusty, brush-filled hills to find a geocache. Boy, am I out of shape! We never did find it, but enjoyed the evening cooking some hotdogs and marshmallows over a charcoal fire, playing Frisbee, watching the boats and just hanging out. Nikie and her mom came later for the barbecue.

Hunting for the GeocacheEvie coming off the hill

Defeated

Tossing the frisbee

Hanging out

Tail end of June

Felicity has arranged to trade her babysitting for sewing lessons with my friend and first counselor in the primary. She had her first swaps this week and enjoyed her first out-of-home babysitting experience and learning some basic sewing skills. She learned how to thread the needle and how to sew in straight, zig-zag and curvy lines with an empty needle. Her assignments were to practice the sewing and show 2 people how to thread a needle.

June Week 3

2010-07-09T22:53:00.007-06:00

This was a busy week, so get comfortable.

Since Evie and I were still not feeling well Sunday, we did not go to church. Instead, we stayed home and watched movies. Monday I was all better and made muffins and did laundry. Felicity went to the orthodontist and got 4 teeth pulled. They were baby teeth that were not coming out and the new teeth were already coming in in front of them. After dinner we planted our garden for Family Home Evening and went to get BOGO shakes at Sonic for treats.

Lydia helps daddy lay out the soaker hoses in our garden.
She was really a good helper and enjoyed preparing the garden this year!

Tuesday Shawn didn’t feel well, so he stayed home from work, but he didn’t end up getting as sick as Evie and I. The girls and I babysat Ben for awhile, had piano lessons, finished the laundry, and planted corn. After lunch, the girls studied books about Paris on a blanket in the backyard and Felicity made brownies. I love having a daughter who can bake! Evie ran with me to run some errands: to the library (I had books due), to the dance studio to pick up their pictures, and to Barnes and Noble so she could pick out her free book. In the afternoon Shawn and I watched “Little Shop of Horrors”, we all had a quick dinner, then we played a family game of Monopoly. We sweetened “going bankrupt” by letting the broke person go get a brownie.

Wednesday we went to the school library to take a couple of AR quizzes, check out some books and sign up for summer Accelerated Math. After lunch Lydia, Evelyn and I went to the public library to get our summer reading prizes, check out more books and watch the mini-play about Kronos and Zeus. The summer reading theme this year is based on the Greek myths. Then we went to pick up Felicity and her friend Ashlyn from the aquatic center. They had received passes from the D.A.R.E. program that let them go swimming for $1, so they got to go together and there were some other friends from school there. It was kind of weird for me since it was the first time Felicity has gone to do something where the parents just provided the rides and not constant supervision. I don’t know if I’m ready for her to grow up that much yet.

Thursday the girls had their seasonal “fashion show” to rotate all the summer clothes in and all the winter clothes out. We sure have plenty of pants for Evelyn… Then I made some strawberry-rhubarb jam with rhubarb from my neighbor and some strawberries I had in the freezer. I was afraid it was going to be too runny, but I think it finally set up. The girls made a blanket tent “town” downstairs and Felicity’s friend Torie came over and they made pudding pops again. This time they used vanilla pudding, separated it and mixed it with food coloring to make rainbow pudding pops. Our molds are fairly narrow, so filling them was kind of messy and they turned out more like tie-dye pudding pops. I think they used a lot of my food coloring (they wanted vibrant colors), but they had fun, so that’s what matters, right? While they did that I made our summer “bucket list,” a checklist of activities we would like to do as a family this summer.

The tent "town"

Evie fixing her tent "house"

Making pudding pops

Our summer "bucket list"

Friday we watered the lawn for the first time (it’s been rainy and cool so it hasn’t needed it) and played some croquet in the back yard before Shawn left for his IDAMFT retreat in Hailey. After Shawn left I broke out the sewing machine and was busy the rest of the night sewing fleece otter pop holders refashioning 2 pairs of pants into shorts and 16 shirts. I also got a few things ready for our neighborhood bake sale.

Two very similar long sleeved tees become to 3/4 sleeve tees with reverse applique hearts.

A long-sleeved tee becomes short-sleeved with tucked ruffles.

Two similar long-sleeved tees become to short-sleeved tees with mixed ruffle bottoms.

A sweater becomes a sweater vest.

The inset in this v-neck was too low, so I made a higher one out of the end of a discarded sleeve.

Saturday was our annual neighborhood garage and bake sale. I was in charge of setting up and running the bake sale which is a very tempting position to be in. There were so many yummy goodies! After the bake sale Felicity’s friend Cammie came over and they made some fudge for Shawn. Since we were going to be gone the next week, for Father’s Day he just wanted some goodies and snacks. I took the girls to McDonald’s for dinner and then I made him a batch of Chex mix later that night.

This week without Cedric was very quiet and hassle-free. The girls have still been sad on occasion (especially Lydia, who ironically did not want him here at first), but are getting over it. I enjoy being able to walk out my back door without dodging doo-doo. I enjoy having the extra shelf back in my pantry that no longer holds dog food and supplies. I enjoy pulling a blanket up to my nose and not have it smell like dog. I enjoy not having to interrupt a task to let him out. I will enjoy not having to take him to the groomer or vet. I do miss the clean-up job he would do on my kitchen and dining room floor.

June Week 2

2010-07-09T14:34:00.007-06:00

On Monday I took Felicity to Barnes and Noble to spend a gift certificate she was given for participating in the Newberry Club at school. She selected two math workbooks to work on this summer. Then she vacuumed and dusted downstairs, Lydia cleaned the kitchen floor and I put Cedric up for sale on Craigslist. We also discovered a bird had built a nest on our front porch light, so when Shawn got home from work, he knocked it down.

Mud +grass= messy!

My Hero! Birds are creepy...

On Tuesday we had piano lessons, I went to my friend’s house to grind some wheat I made my first banana cake and we did some lawn and garden work.

Here are just some pictures of one of the funny ways my kids entertain themselves. This took up the better part of Tuesday afternoon.

Let's play "Where's Evie" again.
See her yet?
There she is!

Wednesday we went to the public library where Lydia got to play the part of Hera in a re-enactment of the story of Heracles. Then I took Lydia to Wal-Mart to get some gum with her birthday gift card. That night, Felicity and Lydia each performed 2 solos in their piano recital. They had all their songs memorized and did a great job!

Felicity

Lydia

The girls with their teacher, my friend Jessica.

Thursday morning I had presidency meeting, worked in the garden and tried a new Jillian Michaels workout with Shawn. In the afternoon I made a lasagna and took the girls to see Ice Age 3 and made my third banana cake. That night the Jensen’s came over for dinner and instead of playing games, we ended up chatting, listening to Chad play the guitar and Kat helped me with a skirt I wanted to make out of a pair of shorts for Evie.

Friday afternoon I worked on some sewing projects - refashioning a couple of long sleeved shirts into short sleeves and the skirt I had my friend help me with for Evie. The shorts were corduroy and really wide at the bottom, almost like culottes, so they formed into a skirt quite nicely. That night the missionaries came for dinner.

Evie models her new skirt - the front (cute rivets around the pockets)
And back, cute little star design below the waist.

This was long - cut off the sleeves and cuffs, then sewed the cuffs back on to the shorter sleeves.

Layered look tee? Just cut off the long sleeve! Easy-peasy!

Early Saturday morning I got sick – worshiping the toilet sick. Shawn took the girls out shooting after breakfast and I forgot to pick up our Bountiful Basket. My friend called to let me know she had saved it for me and would bring it by. Saturday afternoon we got a call from a lady interested in coming over to meet Cedric and see if her other poodle would get a long with him. They got along fine and she ended up buying him. The girls were very sad, but she said they could come visit if they missed him too much. Later, Shawn and Jeff took the kids to the temple visitor’s center to see the photographs from the Hubble telescope and later that night Evie got sick too.

So sad to see Cedric go

But so happy to think of all the fun memories and how much they loved him

June Week 1

2010-07-09T13:52:00.003-06:00

Our first official week of summer was spent relaxing at home.We went to the library a couple of times, I worked out a few times, and we watched some movies, bought some groceries, made some treats, and played with friends.Felicity crashed her bike one night, but wasn’t seriously hurt.Felicity put together a babysitting kit and designed and decoupaged a tin for a first aid kit (to go in her babysitting kit.)Felicity (and the girls) babysat Ben while we went to a “free” dinner with the Bones.It was really a fire safety presentation, but we enjoyed our steaks anyway.After the presentation, we went out for some yummy pie. The girls also helped me clean out and organize our game closet and toy box. The girls planned and presented a talent show for us. Felicity sang, Lydia performed a couple of dances and Evelyn got upset about something and left before she performed.Shawn and I were invited to sing a duet.

Felicity's first aid kit

Lydia's energetic dancing

Shawn and Lauri's "Edelweiss" duet

Felicity's "This is Me" solo

2010-06-30T17:56:00.001-06:00

Phew! I am now caught up for May. Stay tuned for our June escapades!

Talented Lydia

2010-06-30T17:46:00.003-06:00

I missed the beginning of Lydia's reading in the school talent show, but here is the exciting ending. I will also include the text for your enjoyment. This is the first chapter of a story she is writing called "Breezy in the Wind".

Chapter 1
Breezy: The First Flight

Shakayla felt it for the second time that day. This time it was harder. She stood up, and looked down at her one large egg. Shakayla had hatched from her own egg about twenty-five years ago. Now, her own baby dragon egg was about to hatch. She blew a quick flame onto her baby's egg. The flame quickly went out on the egg. Then the egg started hatching. Little by little, pieces of the egg began to fall into the nest. Then a pair of light blue wings poked out and started fluttering. They started to fly upward, then the rest of the pieces fell off. A small light blue and white dragon flew up, his scales shining. Wait, he was flying! Most baby dragons don't' fly at first. "Breezy," flew through Shakayla's mind. Breezy was a First Flight Dragon.

Talented Felicity

2010-06-30T17:29:00.002-06:00

Here is Felicity performing in the school talent show. She had the song memorized, but was nervous so she used her music. She did a great job and we are so proud of her. P.S. The man behind the curtain is the principal :)

Everybody wants to be a Cat

2010-06-30T17:07:00.002-06:00

Here is Evie's dance from Wonderland. It was easier to focus on her as the lights were on and there was only one of her to film :)

Mushroom Dance

2010-06-30T17:04:00.001-06:00

This is the first few seconds of the hip-hop dance Felicity and Lydia were in. After this the lights went out and you couldn't see a thing. They're both in there, you'll just have to trust me :)

May Week 4

2010-06-27T21:13:00.006-06:00

Here are some highlights from the last week + 2 days of May:

- Primary teacher improvement meeting
- Evelyn excelled in the first grade spelling bee and was the last girl standing!
- Felicity performed a piano solo in the school talent show
- Lydia read some of her own writing in the school talent show
- Book group discussed Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell
- Girls made us proud at the school awards assembly - faithful attendance, Newbery Club, 100+ AR points, 200+ AR points (she was 3 points away from 300!), 400+ AR points, 400 AM objectives, etc.
- Lauri played some games in Lydia's end of year class party
- Lydia received the highest Science grade in her class
- Made teacher thank-you treats and cards
- Shawn supervised the bounce house at the school Field Day the last day of school
- Celebrated Memorial Day in Boise and Caldwell with a picnic at Katie's house
- Shawn and the "boys" golfed while Grandma Karen took the "girls" to see Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" - thanks for the fun weekend!

And this is just what a mom looks like after a busy school-year, after a busy last-week of school! (And how much the girls think I cost - ha!ha!)

Catching Up

2010-06-27T20:16:00.005-06:00

It has been too long since I have posted, and so I am beginning the "catching up" posts. Before June is over, I better catch up on May first. So here is our May, Week 3 report:

The 3rd week of May was pretty much dominated by the girls' dance activities. Tuesday night they had a dress rehearsal, Wednesday night was their dance performance called "Wonderland". All the dancers joined together to tell the story of Alice in Wonderland. There were some really fun dances, costumes and props. My favorite dancers were my girls of course. My favorite props were the giant mushrooms - kiddie pools painted red and turned over on some sort of base with touch-lights attached to the tops. They were used during Lydia and Felicity's mushroom dance as well as a disco light and some black lights. Funky! My favorite dance however, was the tea-party scene - bright, colorful, wild and crazy chaos. So fun! Thursday afternoon and evening we went down to the dance studio for team pictures and then Friday night Felicity and Lydia got to perform with the competition teams in a reprise of their mushroom dance. I love watching dance, but even I was a little worn out after that week. Here are some pics of the girls in their costumes - Lydia and Felicity are hip-hop Mushrooms and Evelyn is a jazzy Cat.

The girls were also busy with other school and church activities - Evelyn went on a field trip to the zoo, Felicity had her final Newbery Club meeting after school, Felicity and Lydia had activity days after school one day, Felicity went to the orthodontist and we went and selected some "new to us" clothes for the girls at our ward's Share and Wear.

I'll also share pictures of a crafty project I did. I live by the giant sized wall calendars. I can fit everything on it, have it where I can see it anytime, and see the whole month at a glance. I got tired of just poking some nails through the top and attaching it to my wall though, so I've had this Calendar Holder idea developing in my mind for a year or two. Several months ago I got around to attaching a couple of big silver clips (I forget their technical name) to a board I had painted black. That did the job for quite awhile. Then I started using some small magnetic clips to hold things like birthday invitations or Relief Society reminders. That led me to the thought that I should add some tin squares onto the sides of the board to stick magnets too. I've also wanted to come up with some cute little catch phrase to cut out with my Cricut to put in the middle. After letting all this stew around in my brain for a couple of years and slowly working on it, I finally decided one afternoon to finish it. So I got the tin, found the tin snips I bought at Harbor Freight with Shawn a few weeks ago, cut the squares, glued them on with some E 6000, and cut out my cute little bee and "Busy Bees" out of vinyl and put it all together. It may have taken me awhile to complete, but I am very happy with it and it is much cuter and more functional than a couple of nails in the wall.

Happy Father's Day Dad!

2010-06-20T01:46:00.003-06:00

Since it is Father's Day and I didn't get around to getting a card in the mail (sorry Dad) I thought I would share A few things I love about my Dad:

- He is sweet with babies.

- He showed me the joy of growing a garden.

- He showed me the joy of a good hike.

- He is a good example of working hard until a job is done.

- He takes us geocaching, even though we probably “cramp his style.”

- He is generous and comes to the rescue when “times are tough.”

- He is honest and follows the rules in life (unless it is a game, then he may make up his own rules).

- The look on his face when he finds something really funny.

- He taught me everything I forgot about rocks, wildflowers, trees and other plants.

- He would rather take pictures of wildflowers and scenery than people.

- He honors the priesthood and fulfills his callings faithfully.

- He is modest in his abilities and accomplishments.

- He likes the simple things: root beer, spice drops and wintergreen life savers.

- He is my Dad!

Happy Father’s Day Dad! I love you so much!

These are for you :)

Pink Glove Dance

2010-05-20T15:43:00.002-06:00

Ran across this while blog surfing today. Check it out - you get to hear a groovy song and support a good cause, because when this video reaches 1 million hits, Medline will be making a huge contribution as well as offering free mammograms for the community of Portland, Oregon. Got to love that!!!
The story behind the video is that a woman by the name of Emily (MacInnes) Somers, created, directed and choreographed this in Portland for her Medline glove division as a fundraiser for breast cancer awareness. This was all her idea to help promote their new pink gloves- which I think are A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!!! The fact that she got so many employees, doctors and patients to participate, is pretty cool and it looks like they all had a lot of fun doing it! Please check it out.....Pass it on....Get the word out. It's an easy and fabulous way to donate to a wonderful cause. As the saying goes....

"It's not a matter of if who you know a woman that has breast cancer....it's when."

Our week in Review

2010-05-16T15:44:00.003-06:00

It has been another busy week here at our house. We got to go to Boise last weekend for Mother's Day and enjoyed our visit there. Monday I went in to work, Evelyn had dance and for Family Home Evening we went over to the Bones to can some pickled carrots. I know what you're thinking, but if you like dill pickles, you'd probably like these. We canned 25 lbs. of carrots and ended up with about 20 pints and 7 quarts of carrots all together. As soon as we got home, Lydia threw up and spent the rest of the night throwing up about every hour or so. We're not sure if she picked up the bug from family in Boise or at school. I eventually got tired of going up and down the stairs and just slept on the couch downstairs.

Tuesday morning we got the 2 healthy girls off to school and then went back to bed until about 11. Shawn wasn't feeling too well either, but had to go into work for a little while. He did come home early though. We did borrow a carpet cleaner to get the "chili" out of the carpet and ran a load of laundry.

Wednesday Lydia was feeling better and was able to go back to school. We went in to school and watched Felicity and the fifth graders square dance. Boy, that looks exhausting, but was fun to watch. After I helped in Lydia's class, I came home and Shawn came home soon thereafter, not feeling well still. After school, Lydia had piano lessons and I had a presidency meeting. Lissy made us an oven-baked pancake from the recipe book she had checked out for dinner which was perfect for unsettled tummies.

Thursday was Evelyn's class party - a multi-cultural celebration. They have been studying different countries and having guest speakers come in the last couple months, so this was a culmination of all of that. Each child gave a report on their country (Evelyn did Russia), then we did some activities from Mexico, Russia and Holland and got to stamp our passports. We watched a video of the class' activities throughout the year and then had refreshments of food from different countries - chips and salsa, sausages, fortune cookies, some cucumber seaweed rolls and some Inca Cola and lemonade to drink. After school the girls went to activity days and got to paint some ceramic statues of Jesus. They were very excited and love to show everyone their statues and display them proudly. Lydia's is on her dresser and Felicity put hers in the living room. Evelyn and I went to help and got to paint 2 statues for girls that weren't able to go. Evelyn was disappointed that she couldn't take home a statue, so I told her I had a statue at home she could have. I picked up a little figurine of a girl praying at a Seagull book a few years ago and put it in my "gift box" thinking I would give it to one of the girls some day. But, I only had one and that didn't seem fair, so it's just been sitting there. This was the perfect opportunity - now everyone has a special statue of their own. Thursday night Felicity and Lydia had dance, and I made my library run.

Friday I volunteered in Lissy's class, sold snacks during lunch for the PTO at school and then came home to get ready for company. Shawn came home to help with the grocery shopping and cleaning too. Having company is great for 2 reasons: 1) We get to spend time with people we love and 2) My house gets cleaner than it has been for weeks!

My brother and sister-in-law came and stayed Friday night on their way to our cousin's wedding. It was great to visit with them and we got a fun little game of golf in. It's so nice to have some pretty weather so we can go out and enjoy things like that. Felicity also had her first paid babysitting job (other than her sisters) and babysat her 2 cousins - age 2 1/2 and almost 1 while we golfed. She even had to change 2 messy diapers - how's that for an initiation? After golf, we came home and had tacos for dinner and then Gina and I ran to the grocery store. I also downloaded some of my old primary chorister files for Gina to go through to help with her new calling. After that, we played a little Lego RockBand. Thanks for coming and playing guys!

Saturday after breakfast, we all left about the same time. Bryan and Gina left for Logan. Shawn went to Karate. And I took the girls to the dance studio for their first rehearsal for their program. They are putting on a show called "Wonderland" this year which should be a lot of fun - it is basically Alice in Wonderland. Sometime this week Shawn also helped me make 20 giant poster-sized playing cards for the dance production. We had to make the ace-10 cards in spades and clubs. That's a lot of vinyl stickers! Evelyn is a jazzy little cat and Lissy and Lydia are mushrooms doing disco. After lunch, we got to work in the yard. Lissy and Shawn mowed the lawn while the 2 other girls and I started weeding the garden. I decided it just needs some round-up, a weed-whacker and tilling since the weeds are so out of control. It was a pretty warm day, so we were all pretty worn out by the time that was over. That evening Shawn and I went to our stake conference meeting and Felicity had her second paid babysitting job. She watched her Mr. Bone's little boy at our house(2 years old) while they went to their stake conference. We had a broadcast from Salt Lake this time, so all the stakes in the area had Conference this weekend. It was great to be spiritually fed by our stake and general leaders, including President Monson. Afterwards, we all had some applesauce cookies and pickled carrots (which we bottled Monday night) while we visited.

Right now, I am enjoying some quiet time while Shawn and Mr. Bone have the kids on a Sunday Drive. I have had 2 weeks off (for Mother's Day and Stake Conference), so I'm feeling a little "out of it". I printed up some invitations/reminders for our Primary Temple Night this week and a Teacher Improvement meeting next Sunday. Since we didn't have our normal block of meetings today, we didn't get to announce them. It took me 1 1/2 hours to deliver my portion and a couple stacks to each of my counselors to pass out. Thankfully, the weather is beautiful again and I enjoyed visiting with the people who were home. Now that that's done, I think I'll go read a book.

Edible Cell

2010-05-13T10:34:00.002-06:00

For science, Lissy had to create an edible cell. She chose and animal cell and we decided to go the "fruit pizza" route and used a sugar cookie crust, cream cheese spread, jam, sprinkles, strawberries and maraschino cherries. Scientific and tasty!

Happy Birthday Lydia!

2010-05-13T10:04:00.005-06:00

I can't believe Lydia is 9 now! Her birthday was on a Sunday, but on Saturday I took her shopping - for 2 hours! She picked out her birthday outfit, got some new shoes, and then got to pick out some accessories at Claire's. She picked out some giant hair clips, a chunky ring and some hot pink and black zebra print fake nails. That night she got to open her first present so we could play it! We love RockBand and the Lego version is fun and family-friendly.
She really wanted to have a cook-out for her birthday dinner, so we were going to do that on Saturday after some yard work. After getting the yard work done and being outside for awhile, we realized it was way too windy (yes, it is a little windy here). So we went with her second choice, French bread pizza.

Sunday after church her primary teachers stopped by with a balloon and a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream "just for her". She had been looking forward to this treat for so long and made the ice cream last for several days. Later she got to open the rest of her presents: some "grown-up lip gloss", monogrammed note cards, a new DS game (she asked for a girly one with fashion, style, etc.), a tote bag with a peace sign on it, a Beatles CD with some of her favorite Beatles songs on it and lots of cards and love from grandparents. She loved getting her own chocolate bar and gift card to go shopping with!

We decided to go ahead and have the cookout Sunday night since the weather was cooperating. It was nice and simple - hot dogs, chips, soda and toasted marshmallows. It was fun to use the fire pit for the first time this year and to just hang out.
A few facts about Lydia at 9:
- She is very creative when it comes to writing stories, telling stories, or "telling stories"
- She is learning to enjoy piano lessons and hip-hop dance class
- She is a phenomenal reader and gets lost in books very easily
- Her room is always messy
- She often helps out without being asked - emptying the dishwasher, sweeping the floor, etc.
- She loves to talk!
- She loves 80's music and peace signs
- She loves to sing
- She is still my "rough and tumble" girl
- She has amazing faith and a powerful testimony of her Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ

Lydia in her birthday outfit - shirt, shorts and shoes.

Just for Fun

2010-05-13T10:00:00.002-06:00

Here is a picture I love of Felicity doing her homework. She has done so well in school this year, and has particularly grown in Math.

More Girls in the Kitchen

2010-04-18T21:20:00.003-06:00

On Sundays where Shawn is gone and I have meetings, I have just enough time to drop the girls off at home after church, leave them to their own devices for lunch, and then get back to the church. The last time this happened, they asked if they could make a cafeteria for lunch. I was hesitant - visions of arguments about who gets to do what or who gets to be what - dancing in my head. Against my instincts, I let them go ahead and do it and they had a blast - got along and everything! That is what they did again today - making a menu board on the white board, setting up a card table in the kitchen as the lunch counter, taking orders and serving each other peanut butter sandwiches, quesadillas with sour cream and clementines. Are they creative, or what? And it keeps them busy :)

Tonight the girls were all still in a cooking mood, so we just rolled with it. Felicity started out by browsing through a Rachel Ray kids cookbook we had and wanted to make a batch of her famous 5 minute fudge. Well, we didn't quite have the right ingredients, so we had to settle for the regular old-fashioned Fantasy Fudge from the marshmallow creme jar. Yummy!

Then it was time for Brinner - that's breakfast for dinner. We decided on waffles with eggs sunny side up (some like their eggs on the waffles, other prefer them on the side, I prefer them not to touch.) This is how Evie likes them.Felicity tried out one of those Rachel Ray recipes - a fruit and yogurt parfait made with layers of vanilla yogurt, clementine slices (substituted for mandarin oranges), rice crispy cereal, and crushed pineapple. I'll admit, I was skeptical about the rice crispies - hello, soggy! They did get soggy, but it wasn't too bad and was a yummy accompaniment to the rest of the meal.Lydia helped me mix up the waffles and poured them into the waffle iron. She thought it was pretty cool to beat the egg whites into stiff peaks.
Evelyn set a beautiful table with our white tablecloth and white dishes. She even put the napkins in the cups just like they do at fancy restaurants. Notice the little notebook she has out to take everyone's orders and she assigned herself the role of "bussing" the table also. I don't know if you can see them very well, but next to the milk and o.j. are 2 little pieces of paper - one is the menu and one is directions for passing the menu around the table. She also wore her apron and made herself a little name tag (hiding behind the cup she is holding). My girls are so cute! We all enjoyed the tasty meal and the time together, practicing our good manners (one of Lydia's Faith in God goals) and complimenting each other on the fine meal we had made together. I love my girls!

Just for Mom

2010-04-18T21:18:00.002-06:00

Here is a picture of Lydia's knee. There are 3 little black stitches, but the steritape hadn't come off yet, so it is hard to tell. I'll see if we can get a better pic tomorrow.

Easter Dresses

2010-04-18T21:03:00.003-06:00

The girls finally got to wear their new Easter/Spring dresses last week. For some reason, I have discovered that we have the best luck finding dresses for the girls at K-Mart - they are a good length and a good price. Felicity found hers this year at T.J. Maxx when we were shopping with Grandma Karen and Aleah.Here you can see how they all measure up to one another - Lydia is nearly as tall as Felicity.Evelyn liked the silky feel of this dress and the ribbon around the waist.This is a dress like Lydia has "always admired" on other girls, but it "looked expensive" and so she is thrilled to have one of her own (for a whopping 10 bucks).Felicity liked the tight-stretchy-ruched top on this dress (I forget what it's called) - and it has her favorite color, green, in it.My three beautiful girls!

Girls in the Kitchen

2010-04-18T20:57:00.002-06:00

The girls have really been enjoying doing more in the kitchen lately, so here are some pictures of them at work. I think we were getting a dinner ready after we had gotten a bunch of produce from a co-op program we have here, Bountiful Baskets.Evie and Lissy working side by side at the sink.

Evie cut some strawberries for us.

Felicity whipped up some ants on a log.

And we can't leave Lydia out, she helped set the table this time.

Freezer Meals Group

2010-04-18T20:50:00.004-06:00

Through our Relief Society I have been participating in a freezer meals group where we meet once a month and swap meals that are ready to go. I love it! Of course, figuring out a meal that is relatively easy to make in multiples and that freezes well is a little tricky, but I love having meals ready to go on those busy nights where I need something quick or don't really feel like cooking. So far I have contributed my great-grandma's Swedish Meatballs with rice and our favorite Sweet and Sour Meatloaf from my friend Denise at BYU. Here are my meatloaves ready to go:
In fact, I like it so much, I've even started making extra of some meals and freezing part of it for another night, or freezing individual portions for the girls' lunches. They are thawed by lunch time and ready to re-heat. If you want to check out some of our yummy recipes, they are here at Freezer Goddesses.

Today...

2010-04-17T20:48:00.002-06:00

... was a beautiful day. Here's a quick rundown:
- Croissant egg sandwiches for breakfast - yummy!
- Primary activity - good turn out, good fun
- Shawn's business meeting leftovers for lunch and a quick trip to Walgreens for bandage supplies
- Lissy cleaned up all the dog poo
- finished "Secrets of the Mountain" T.V. movie with the girls and a friend and the girls folded their laundry
- puttered around the house for awhile while the girls "felt crafted" again - this time doll clothes for Tinkerbell
- Popsicles on the back porch
- Took the girls out to dinner - love that they are old enough we can enjoy that
- Girls all opted for a walk in the park instead of playing Wii - took Cedric, scooters and a bike
- the girls are all bathed, in bed and reading quietly
- Ahhhh, just one thing missing....

Doctors visits

2010-04-16T20:04:00.002-06:00

Guess where I’ve been twice today? To Urgent Care – that’s where. I've been having an allergic reaction on my face for a couple of weeks and when I woke up this morning my left eye was swollen shut, so Shawn and I went over and opened the book fair (which I have been doing all week) at school and then went to the doctor as soon as someone else got there to cover for me. He gave me a prescription for Prednisone and recommend a daily dose of Zyrtec for awhile.

Then today after school, while I ran to the bank, Lydia fell off the counter and hit her knee on the corner of a cupboard. Lissy took good care of it and I didn’t think it was too bad, but when we had to change the band-aid for the third time, Shawn took a closer look at it and there was a dime sized flap of skin that was pretty deep. So, back to the doctor for a 2 ½ hour wait for 3 stitches. She was scared and cried before the stitches but was very brave and chatty during the procedure. Funny kid. She is our first child to have to get stitches - so not bad, eh?

They say bad things happen in threes, so I am on my guard. Guess I better not let the kids play rough at all this weekend. In fact, maybe I should just keep them indoors and separated for awhile.... just kidding. It is beautiful here and so I think we will need to spend sometime outside this weekend.

Snow Day

2010-04-08T16:04:00.006-06:00

The girls went back to school after spring break on Monday and that night we got 6-8 inches of snow, so Tuesday was a snow day! Some mystery Samaritan plowed our driveway and sidewalk, which was so nice! If it was you, thank you! The girls had already gotten up and started getting ready for school, so Shawn sent them down to watch T.V. and we got to sleep in! When we got up I made pancakes for breakfast and then Shawn went to work and the girls sorted the laundry for me.

Lydia and Evelyn spent a couple hours playing out in the snow and building a snowman. Felicity had a friend over and they watched a couple you-tube videos (with my approval) then made some brownies.They all warmed up some leftover pizza for lunch then enjoyed a little screen time. Felicity and her friend played Beatles RockBand, Evelyn played on the computer, and Lydia watched the movie Tinkerbell. When that had worn off, we got out the felt, embroidery floss, and needles and I showed them how to make a pattern and cut out felt to make stuffed animals. They were very creative and even added details! Lydia decided to make a snake as a birthday present for a boy in her class who likes to read, but didn't stuff it so it could be a bookmark. I think they really enjoyed making them, so we'll have to pull that activity out again sometime.Evie's flower

Lydia's snake

Felicity's penguin