Whens My Vacation?

Jason is 11!!

2012-01-29T15:08:00.000-07:00

Jason turned 11 last week. He did not ask for much. He wanted a $20.00 bill and some soda. So he got exactly what he asked for. In his bag he received a 2 liter of Mt. Dew (disgusting!), a card with a $20 inside, a box of Zingers, some chocolate, and a bag of beef jerky. You would have thought that he won the lottery. He was one of the happiest birthday boys ever. He had his friend spend the night and we took him to Red Robin for an adult sized burger and some free birthday cake. He really is the easiest kid ever!

The one thing that he was not thrilled about was that Abigail made him a birthday crown that he did not want to wear. He did for a minute just to make her happy. He took it off as soon as I would let him.

Jason really is one of the easiest kids I have ever met. He is sweet and lovey-dovey (which none of my other kids are). Jason is laid back and chill as long as he can play his computer games. He is always willing to help me and empty the dishwasher for his chore.

Happy Birthday!!!

2012-01-29T15:00:00.000-07:00

For Christmas my dad gave the granddaughters and Gabe ice skating lessons. They go once a week on Saturday and have a great time. Here are some pictures from the first lesson:

Haley, Rebekah, Ti, and Abigail

Rachael and Gabe were not here because we went at the wrong time the first week. Oh well. They still let the girls skate with other classes.

Abigail waiting for instructions. She is of course wearing a nice and interesting outfit. She has a tendency to choose interesting outfits. At least she is an original!

Abigail and Rebekah learning to get their balance when they feel like they are falling.

Ti wishing she had gotten into the adult classes instead.

Haley "marching" across the ice.

Christmas Morning

2012-01-05T17:47:00.000-07:00

Christmas morning came bright and early, not! The kids slept in until 7:30! It was so nice. Usually on Christmas morning they are in out room at 6am. We are some lucky parents! Here they are all lined up for the annual morning in the hallway picture:

Seven got a gift from Bella the dog. She LOVES this toy. She has been playing with it and is acting a bit "high" ever since.

Jason loved his haul that included:

Kindle Fire

Skyrim Strategy Guide

Magnet Set

Ski Coat

Haley received:

Kindle Fire

Camera

Microphone with Speakers

Big Fluffy Pillow

Adam:

$200 Debit Card

Scope for his .22

Tripod for Filming

Machete

Abi:

I-Pod

Camera

Slushy Maker

Shopping Cart for her Baby Doll

Handerpants:

Surprise!

Mojito in his coat having a treat from Bella!

Haley wearing her new glasses. She loves them despite the fact that she does not "need" them.

Don't worry, Lewis and I were spoiled too. Lewis got a new watch and mats for his Jeep. I got a purse, coat, and an I-Pad from the kids.

Merry Christmas Mojito

2012-01-05T17:35:00.000-07:00

Mojito got into the Christmas spirit too. Jason and I drove all over the valley to find a Christmas outfit for him to wear. The best we could do was this red "robe". He actually liked it and he wants to wear it. Just don't tell him that I think it looks like it is for a girl dog even though it was in the boy section at the store. The blue and green looked like it was for a boy, but we wanted it to be festive so we got the red.

Merry Christmas!

2012-01-04T17:31:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

2012-01-03T17:19:00.000-07:00

On Christmas Eve we always head over to my parent's house for dinner and festivities. Grandma reads a story to the kids, we eat crepes, Grandpa hands out the gifts, and the Christmas story is read. Abi gets to hand out the chocolate ~~bunnies~~ reindeer. She loves this tradition even though it will soon be her last year. The youngest grandchild that is able hands them out to all of the grand kids. Talise will be old enough soon and she will lose her job.

This year all of the kids/spouse got the same gift. It is a radio/charger/flashlight. It is great in an emergency such as a ~~zombie apocalypse~~ earthquake or flood.

The kids all got ski passes or classes for ice skating. Everyone was happy and I only had to go to the store one time :)

Gardner Village Elves

2012-01-02T17:10:00.000-07:00

I took the kids to Gardner Village with the ladies from work and their kids for a fun morning before Christmas. Well it was pretty cold and Gardner Village only did about half of the elves this year so after 40 minutes we were done. Usually we are looking and taking pictures for a long time. Here are a few of what we got:

Abi and 2 friends in a bathtub ~~that I am pretty sure we were not supposed to touch~~ that was supposed to have an Elf inside taking a bath. Since it was empty we helped ourselves to a photo :)

These are all the "butts" that we took to Gardner Village. Minus VaNita, Lyndie and myself.

Here are the faces that belong to the "butts" in the previous photo.

Grandpa's Tree Decorating

2012-01-01T17:01:00.000-07:00

Every year my parents have all of the grand kids over on a Sunday afternoon to decorate the tree for them. My kids love this because I decorate the tree at home so this way they have a tree on display, even if it is not at our house. This year my dad wanted a picture for his Christmas card with all of the grand kids on the stairs. This is just my picture of the kids (minus Talise).

And one of them acting all crazy...

yes, that is as crazy as Adam gets now a days. He is a serious guy. And Jason hates pictures, on account that they take his soul and everything.

Adam did participate in the decorating this year though.

It is always a fun evening for the kids to decorate and for the adults to eat :)

Candy Houses

2011-12-31T16:46:00.000-07:00

To keep the kids busy one night we decided to do gingerbread houses. Within 3 min the boys had quit leaving it to be a Haley and Abi project. Whatever, boys are boring.

Haley made the one on the left. If you look closely there is blood dripping down the roof. Something about a snowman being squished to death. Really the red icing was too thin and dripped so we had to come up with a reason. I would like to think that it was a Zombie that attacked and the blood is all that is left from the people... moving on....

Abi's is on the right. She was very methodical and neat. All the same colors on each window and a grid pattern on the roof. That is my kind of house. Not that I am OCD at all...

Reindeer Romp

2011-12-30T16:39:00.000-07:00

Haley started a program in October called Girls On The Run. It is a program for girls grades 3 to 5 that promotes good self esteem, health and wellness. The main part of the program was about setting good healthy goals and sticking to them. Haley's teacher at school ran the program at Channing. Haley loved it. The culmination of the program was a 5K run in Sugarhouse park on December 5th. It was completely freezing out (high of 20) while they were running and even though it was sunny most of the run was in the shade. ~~I was going to run with her but since I am totally out of shape and lazy.~~ Lewis was her running partner. They dressed up for the race and they looked great. Santa with his little elf. They finished in 46 min, which I think was pretty good considering the hills and cold that they had to deal with.

Thanksgiving

2011-12-29T16:27:00.000-07:00

We started a family tradition about 4 years ago. We (I) decided that Thanksgiving is a hard holiday in a household of 4 children who are ~~just like their mom~~ picky eaters. I would make the whole spread and cook for two days just for them to eat turkey and pie. So we decided for my sanity to start going out for our big meal. It has been heaven ever since. We have been going to The Grand America in Salt Lake the past 2 years and we love it. This year we took my parents with us and we had a great time.

The girls happily get all dressed up in new dresses and the boys were button up shirts. This year Adam even put on pants! You might think that is funny but he wears shorts every single day unless he has to. In the past year he has worn pants twice. Once on Thanksgiving and once on Halloween but only because it was part of his costume.

We had a great time eating lunch. In the evening we all (including Adam) went to see Aurthur Christmas and have dinner at the movies. I LOVE our Thanksgiving tradition. It is just a day that we can be together and have fun without the fuss and mess. I am THANKFUL that my little family puts up with me and embraces my tradition :)

Hiking, Um Walking Around The Lake

2011-12-28T16:15:00.001-07:00

We went up to Brighton and took the kids on a hike, well a walk around the lake. It was one of the last warm and sunny days that we had in November. There was snow on the ground and the lake was about half way frozen but if you stayed in the sun (easier said then done while you are on the far side of the lake) it was nice and warm.

Notice the stache on both Adam and Lewis. It was No Shave November after all.

Costumes and Parade

2011-11-06T21:56:00.000-07:00

The kids got to wear their costumes to school on Friday. Everyone had great costumes this year. Adam was Rick Grimes from The Walking Dead, one of his favorite shows, Jason was the Sham"wow" guy, Haley was Hermione from Harry Potter, and Abi was a little ladybug. I got pictures of all of the kids (except for Adam) at the school's parade.

Carving and Crying

2011-11-05T21:49:00.000-06:00

The day after we got our pumpkins we had to carve them. Haley and Jason had a great time pretending to both eat and throw up the pumpkin guts.

Abi on the other hand had a hard day and could hardly function long enough to draw the face on her pumpkin. It all worked out and everyone got a pumpkin done. Adam's is a little different and not exactly carved, but it is done and dead all the same.

Picking Pumpkins

2011-11-03T21:44:00.000-06:00

After school last week Lewis and I took the kids to the pumpkin patch to get pumpkins. The patch that we go to has tons of hay and corn stalks laid out to take pictures, a corn maze, and a ton of old tractors for the kids to climb on. The girls had a great time posing and the boys just picked out pumpkins. They also have a tractor takes you on a ride but we did not do that because we were starving and needed to leave and go to dinner.

Decorating Cakes

2011-11-02T21:35:00.000-06:00

Abigail had a play date set up so I went to the store and got some decorating supplies. We decorated a ton of cupcakes. The girls had a great time and we got some yummy treats to eat!

Gardner Village

2011-11-01T21:32:00.000-06:00

During UEA (a break from school) I took the kids to Gardner Village to see the witches and have some lunch. It was a very nice day with sunshine and warm temps. We ate sandwiches at the deli and walked around until we found the candy store. Each of the kids got one thing and we got a treat for Lewis too. Haley and Abi participated in the picture taking happily, Jason got in one or two and I think we managed to not get any of Adam at all.

Family Fun and Trail of Terror

2011-10-31T21:25:00.000-06:00

We took the kids to a fun family corn maze. We all did the maze and then when it was dark we were all supposed to do the Trail of Terror. Well Jason saw some of the guys getting ready for the haunted part and saw that some of them were dressed as clowns, and as everyone knows clowns are a deal breaker for Jason. So Jason and Haley decided that they were going to be more safe sitting in the car playing on their I-pods. I almost chickened out but decided that since Abigail was going to give it a try, then so would I. It was a little scary but with Adam next to me so that I could hold on tight and close my eyes when I needed to, I was just fine. I didn't see much but what I did see scared me just enough. When we got into the building with the clowns I just shut my eyes and Adam had to scream at me to keep moving. Thanks Adam, you saved me.

Awesome!

2011-10-30T21:48:00.000-06:00

Check out this awesome pumpkin that a teacher brought into school this week. It was made by one of her "friends". Not a boyfriend, but a special friend all the same.

This is the school crest. I am just in awe by people that can create this kind of thing. He used a picture and cut just using sight. If I even want to do a smile I need to draw it on the pumpkin first.

2011-10-30T21:13:00.003-06:00

In September my brother Sam got sealed to his wonderful wife Erin. It was beautiful and I am so very happy for both of them.

Of course I had to take a funny picture and of course Cris had to jump in and make me look even stranger. Thanks.

We Put A New Bumper On The Jeep

2011-10-23T14:05:00.000-06:00

Awesome!

BYU Football Team

2011-10-22T14:01:00.000-06:00

The CTE teacher at Channing knows some of the BYU players so they came and talked to the middle school students this week at school. I was able to get some pictures and we sent them into the local paper. I also think it will be a great addition to the yearbook. The kids had a good time.

Girls Night Out

2011-10-21T13:58:00.000-06:00

Our friend Winnie came into town so we went out Friday night. Started at one place and quickly went to another. We had a great time. We miss you Winnie!!!!

Vegas Baby!!!

2011-10-20T13:47:00.000-06:00

Susan and I went to Vegas for a girls trip. We left on Friday and came home on Sunday. We were able to get lots of pool time a little bit of gambling (winning), shopping, eating, and some Adam Levine into our trip. We also had a free concert right outside our hotel window from One Republic. Not to mention we saw Joe here right before the big fight at the MGM.

We had a great time!

And of course my love, Adam.

Lewis, thanks for the great trip!

Party Time

2011-10-19T13:46:00.000-06:00

We had a little party in September. So fun! Thanks everyone for coming!

Labor Day Camping

2011-10-19T13:30:00.000-06:00

In September we took the kids and went up into the woods for Labor Day weekend for a short camping trip. It was nice and warm during the day and it sprinkled at night but we had a great time. We bought a 22 right before we went so all of the kids got a chance to shoot. They all did really well. Adam is amazing. He can hit things that Lewis I can't even come close to hitting.

Hike To The 'Y'

2011-10-17T13:22:00.000-06:00

Lewis decided to take us on an adventure and hike the 'Y' in Provo. All I have to say is ouch. Haley and I were way behind, almost deciding to stop when she was viciously attacked by a hive of wasps. The literally swarmed her head so I grabbed her shirt and lifted it over her head to protect her. She only got 1 sting on her back. She was miserable and crying but I thought it would be best to keep moving up the mountain. We met the others as they were on their way down. We made it more then 3/4 up when we met them and decided to just head down. Haley was a mess and crying and in pain. Everyone else had already been to the top and I was trying not to barf.

So yes, in all it was a fun day. Oy vey.

Family Reunion: The Up House

2011-10-16T13:18:00.000-06:00

We went to the Up house while Katie was here. She had to see it. I loved the actors on the front porch dressed as the characters. It was very cute.

Family Reunion: The Whole Family

2011-10-15T13:13:00.000-06:00

On Sunday we invited the whole Sigman family over to our house for dinner. We had a great time visiting with everyone and got a bunch of pictures. Almost everyone made it but we were missing a few people, but as you can see even with a few people missing we still had quite a crew!

Family Reunion: Family Pictures and Ziplines

2011-10-14T13:04:00.000-06:00

The day we came back from Park City we had family pictures done. It was fun and easy. Here is a little sneak peek. Actually this is my favorite one of the night. I had it blown up for the wall in the family room. After pictures it was pretty late so Heidi and Ryan took their kids back to Park City with Allison and Marty and Lewis and I took Katie and Nathan out to Wing Nuts for dinner. After dinner we played on the zip line. Well, I played on the zip line. Somehow the ladder crashed down on Nathan and cut up his leg and arm too, I think. So with that the day came to an end.

Maestro on the porch.

Family Reunion: Park City Resort

2011-10-12T12:53:00.000-06:00

The next day we all went to the resort to play. We did the zip line, alpine slide, roller coaster, and all of the other kid stuff. We had a great lunch all together and spent the whole day playing.

The whole crew.

Look at these little matchy matchys.

Family Reunion: Park City Swimming

2011-10-11T12:39:00.000-06:00

Did I mention that EVERYONE except for Allison and Marty stayed at our house? Plus their dogs? Yes, we had 6 adults, 7 kids, and 3 dogs, all in my house. Yikes!

We knew that we would need space so we headed up to Park City for a few days. We stayed at The Canyons resort. Lewis and I decided to get the Presidential Suite that came with 4 bedrooms, 3 living rooms and a dining room, 2 kitchenettes, a full kitchen, and 4 bathrooms. This way our family and Katie and Nathan would be able to spread out. Each of the kids got their own bed, in their own room with their own television. This way there was no fighting at all. It was heaven. Everyone else stayed in other rooms. The hotel was so overbooked that when Lewis and I got there an hour earlier than check in we were lucky because they were about to give our room away and move us into something else. No Way. I wanted that hot tub. We got settled in and went to dinner. After dinner everyone headed out to the indoor/outdoor pool area. It was rainy and cold but the hot tub was nice and warm and the kids had a great time. Adam even made Oreo milkshakes after the little ones went to bed.

Family Reunion: The Show

2011-10-10T12:26:00.000-06:00

After the swimming we all went back to my house and had pizza for dinner. And if you have little girls then you know that after dinner you always have a show. I won't tell you the extent about how I feel about shows right now but let's just say that they are not my favorite. So we decided to make the show more exciting. We told the girls to go ahead and do the show and while they were doing the show Lewis was setting up a way to scare his mother using the girls show as bait. HaHa!! So as she was walking to watch the rest of the show he...

ATTACKED!!! It was great!

And afterward Lewis had a swing.

Update City

2011-10-09T19:06:00.002-06:00

As you can see I finally updated the blog. I have 15 more posts all done and scheduled. I figure if I cheat and schedule them then we will have more on the blog. I just run out of time during the week to update like I used to. I am going to try and sit down every Sunday and do all of my updates for the week.

So for the next 2 weeks there will be updates just about every single day. It will get you caught up with our summer and the beginning of fall. Thanks for being patient. :)

Family Reunion:Water Park

2011-10-09T18:55:00.000-06:00

This summer we had a family reunion with Lewis' family. His mom and Marty came, Summer, Katie and Nathan, Heidi and Ryan and their three kids. All of them plus our family equaled a great time. On the first day we all went to Seven Peaks in Provo. Aside from a little bit of rain in the morning it was a beautiful day.

Clearly Lewis, on the far right, won the race. Ryan came in a close second, on the far left. Sorry Marty. You went the farthest in the end but Lewis won the race.

Eating under the umbrella due to the rain.

All in all a great day!

Guess Where We Are Tonight!

2011-09-01T19:30:00.001-06:00

Another First Grade Playdate!!

2011-08-28T19:50:00.001-06:00

Abi is 7!!!

2011-08-28T19:28:00.002-06:00

Abigail's birthday was on a Friday this year. For her birthday lunch she choose to take Brady (her little boyfriend) with us to Red Robin. The manager saw us come in and asked if they were on a date, they said yes, and so he sat them next to us at their own little table. He then brought out a milkshake with 2 straws for them to share. During lunch he kept checking on them, and asking how the cute couple was doing. He then brought them a huge piece of cake for them to share. It was the cutest thing that I have ever seen!

After lunch we went home for present time. Brady gave her a small heart necklace.

Her birthday dinner was chicken, watermelon, and cheetos. It is her classic meal. Last year we did hot dogs, watermelon, and cheetos.

Beautiful cupcakes.

This is how we do it in the Frampton house!

Camping In Less Than 15 Hours

2011-08-28T17:37:00.000-06:00

Right after we got the new Jeep in July, Lewis and I decided to throw some stuff in the car and take the kids camping for the night. I brought dinner and some snacks but we decided that we would pack up early and come back so Lewis could make it to work in the morning. We left at 4 to go to Heber and then we collected firewood.

We brought Mojito with us. He did not have a good time. He laid in my lap and shook the whole time. The bugs, the fire, everything made him scared. The only part that he liked was getting to eat a hot dog for dinner.

Here are the girls chilling out in the Jeep while Lewis and I set up the camp.

Lewis brought his gun, for protection from the bears and whatnot. So I got to shoot it. I LOVED it! Shooting is way more fun then I ever thought it would be. And I was pretty good at it.

Notice the shot up can of Pringles. Jason kept it for a souvenir. :)

Overall we all had a great time. Adam was not with us, he was at scout camp. Next time we will take everyone. We left at 7am after Abigail and I froze all night. Lewis even made it to work Friday morning.

2011-08-03T23:42:00.001-06:00

Just so you know that I am still here and alive. Watch for updates this week!

To Fill My Time

2011-07-20T15:40:00.001-06:00

I finally decided that I needed to finish the London Bridge.

First Grade Playdate

2011-07-13T09:56:00.000-06:00

Some smart mom from our school set up a summer play date schedule for the first graders. So each Wednesday we go somewhere and meet so that the kids can play. Last week we went to the park and it was crazy windy so we did not stay very long. This week a mom volunteered her home for a pool party. Only about 15 kids came this week but it was perfect. I took Haley as well and our cousins were there as well. It was a fun picnic lunch and swim in the salt water pool.

Fourth Of July

2011-07-12T09:46:00.000-06:00

Every year on the fourth we go to a luau with our friends. The kill and roast a pig and 15 rabbits. Everyone brings a side dish to share. this year I made mini cheesecakes decorated for the holiday. I made 2 pans of them and all 48 were gone before I could get one.
Abigail had a great time hanging around...

I like this picture even though my head looks strange...

and as for that scratch on Lewis' face, I did apologize for that, I promise.

We left in time to go home and do a few fireworks in the driveway. It was sprinkling so the girls got out their umbrellas.

Adam smiled but not happily. This is obviously a fake smile...

but Jason (for once) smiled willingly.

Happy Independence Day!

Fourth of July: 1K Race

2011-07-12T09:37:00.000-06:00

On the fourth of July we got up very early in the morning and the girls ran in a neighborhood 1K. They both finished and had a great time. Here they are with their "swag bags".
Here is Abi coming into the finish. She was pushing so hard to finish. She said that she had to walk a little because she was having side cramps.

And here comes Haley. She ran the whole thing. She tried so hard and that is all that we can ask.

They both did a great job. I am proud of them for running. they got up early and had a positive experience. There was an adult run but there is no way that I was running the adult 5K, I am just not ready for that.

Planking

2011-07-10T09:25:00.000-06:00

This is Lewis' new pastime.

Look it up. People apparently die from this when they do it on balconies. Adam calls it Parkour for slow people. Ha! I guess he does have a sense of humor.

Vacation: Heading Home

2011-07-09T09:05:00.000-06:00

On the way home we stopped in Vegas again. We stayed at The Hotel. It was very nice. Because it was Sunday night and slow we were able to get 2 suites connecting for a very low rate. We just opened the doors between them and had a large apartment. We had 4 rooms and 4 bathrooms so everyone had plenty of room to spread out.

Once there we took the kids to see the Shark Encounter at Mandalay Bay. It was about $75 for all of us to go through and it was alright. It took less then an hour to walk through. Maybe if we had not just gone to the zoo 2 days before it would have been better. They have lots of good things to see but many we had just seen at the zoo.

Christmas card? I think not! Look at Jason's face! Ha!!

After looking at the sharks we changed and went to the pool. It was great. They have a lazy river that is faster then any of the other ones that we have been in. There was a large regular pool, a huge kiddie area, and a wave pool, that the kids really enjoyed. You have to be 48 inches to go into the wave pool and Abigail just barely made it! They also have a beach with chairs.

After swimming we hit up the buffet at Mandalay Bay. My advice, pay $5 more a person and go to The Bellagio. Mandalay Bay was tiny and questionable.

The next morning we stopped to get fireworks on the way home. This is always our last stop before we cross the border to get home. The vacation was amazing, as always. We learned a lot which will make next year;s trip that much better.

Vacation Part 5: Zoo

2011-07-08T08:40:00.000-06:00

One of the days that we were in California we went to the zoo. About three minutes after being there one of the cousins took a bad fall and had to be taken to the First Aide center. Yikes. She was fine, just a little scraped up and sad, but fine.
Maybe I am old. Maybe I a cynical. Maybe I am just a grumpy lady, but I remember this zoo being WAY better. We saw about a million monkeys and birds and a little of everything else. Here is Abi being a monkey! As you can see she has on a sweatshirt. We decided to go tot he zoo on the coolest day that we had in San Diego. It started out very cool, and ended up really hot and people got sunburns!

Abigail and Michael were always together.

My boys and me. I just want you to notice how tall Adam is compared to me and Jason, and Adam is only 13. Jason is growing on the exact same line Adam was at his age so in about 3 years they will both be much taller then me.

We had to stop at one point and use the foot massagers. The kids feet were "killing" them. I think that they just wanted to play with the seats.

Christmas card picture?

And by the ends of the day Abi could no longer walk, or look at the camera. She was so tired! So we went home. I made mac & cheese for the kids, put them to bed and the adults went out to a nice dinner.

Jason... Or is it Gibby?

2011-07-07T09:02:00.003-06:00

Jason LOVES to have his shirt off. So while on vaction he was in heaven because it was hot and he could be shirtless all of the time. If you don't know who Gibby is, look him up. At least he made the most of his vacation!

Vacation: Extra Bits and Pieces

2011-06-30T22:25:00.000-06:00

I needed to do a post about all of the "other" things that we did on vacation. These are the things that we did in between the activities. As you can see for the picture above, we danced...
the men played backgammon...

grandpa tried to teach the kids how to play backgammon...

Lewis kicked every one's tail in boules, bocce or petanque, depending on what you like to call it...

and a ton of reading was done.

Vacation Part 4: D&B

2011-06-29T22:18:00.000-06:00

One of the days that we were in Cali it was my dad's birthday. For his birthday (or was it to keep the kids busy for the day) we took everyone to Dave & Busters. Every time we go to California we end up taking the kids to D&B and they have a great time. As you can see Haley was a big winner! All of the kids won big thanks to the game cards that grandpa got them. They each got $25 to play PLUS Lewis, Cris and Grandpa also bought a couple more cards for extra fun.
After the kids all went to play the grown-ups got dessert and I was able to order my favorite little donuts. Yummy. I did save some to take home for the kids, but I enjoyed the ones that I ate!

Here is the whole group minus me. We also had one taken with me in it but Jason was making a bad face so I left that one out.

Vacation Part 3: Beach

2011-06-28T22:06:00.000-06:00

We did actually leave the great pool at the house sometimes to venture out and do something. We took the kids to the beach one day. I LOVE the ocean, but I HATE the sand at the beach. I feel like it never really is all gone. Case in point: we still have some in the car right now. Yuck!
The girls had fun digging in the sand...

as did these guys...

We walked down to the tide pools during low tide. Adam was able to climb some rocks.

These two walked the whole way together and must have had something interesting to talk about...

Here are the rest if the group walking to the tide pools. Even though we did not spend much time at the beach the kids had a great time and I was able to get some cute pictures.

Vacation Part 2: Pool Fun

2011-06-27T21:32:00.000-06:00

There has to be 1 naked picture of me at the pool right? Okay, actually you just can't see my suit. So the house we rented in California had a pool. This was the best decision that we ever made. The pool made the vacation. I was able to sit in the sun and relax and the kids were constantly busy and having fun. We spent most of the days just hanging at the house with the kids in the pool and me relaxing on the side.
Lewis even took some time out from playing with the kids to get a little sun. Great picture with the gas tank behind him (it was used to heat the pool).

Abi got some air...

and smelled some feet...

She also enjoyed some Popsicles with the pool guy cleaned the pool. (The kids were thrilled that someone else got to come and clean while they relaxed. I tell you what, that should be the life that we all lead.)

Jason took time to chill in the sun...

Haley looked like this most of the week. She loved those goggles!

Adam got paid to smile at the camera. Best $20 we ever spent! Really he had a ton of fun.

Here he is earning a bit of money with grandpa on his side.

The kids had a great time diving for money and nuts and blots. Whatever keeps them busy right?

Vacation Part 1: Vegas Baby!!

2011-06-26T21:19:00.000-06:00

Don't they look happy? We left at 9am on Saturday and got to Vegas by 2pm so we could check in at The Venetian. The girls thought it was beautiful. We got a deal and stayed in a suite. I thought that was amazing.
The tub was so large that Jason decided to take a nap in it.

After the pool we changed and went to eat. We hit up the buffet at The Rio. Do not waste your money, I thought it was terrible. Ever since I went to The Bellagio in May I do not think I will ever be able to eat at any other buffet again. (After a meal Lewis and I have started saying,"That was alright, but it is no Bellagio.") After the eh dinner we went to The M&M Store to get some prizes for the kids. Jason reluctantly let me take this picture.

Haley on the other hand loved having her picture taken with the real live Peanut M&M guy.

After that we went back to the hotel and the kids went to bed. Lewis won us a little money and we were in bed by 11 because we were so tired. We still had a long week of vacation ahead of us...

More Pictures From The Going Away Party

2011-06-25T21:15:00.000-06:00

Nice Clay...
Susan, Kendra, and a Creeper in the background...
(Plus look at that HOT Glee jacket!)

Good Friends

2011-06-25T20:56:00.000-06:00

At the beginning of June we hosted a going away party for our friends, The Normans. It was a small intimate gathering of about 50 children and 6 adults. Oh! I mean 6 women and 50 children/men. The kids played in the yard on the zip line, trampoline, and swings. The played in the crooked playhouse and ran around getting BBs from under the deck. The men played ping pong and grilled burgers, hot dogs, and brat's. Fun was had by all. The boys (men) fired off some firecrackers under the deck and tried to scare us to death. After that we did fireworks and the kids did sparklers. Before anyone left I suggested (forced) everyone to take a picture so that Natalie and Clay could remember the fun night. Here is the funny picture: We will miss you guys! Have a great adventure!

Poker With The Peeps

2011-06-24T20:51:00.000-06:00

Look at Mojito. He jumped into the picture at the last second.

This was in May over Memorial Day weekend.

Holy Cow!

2011-06-23T20:41:00.000-06:00

So I guess it has been a while since I have done a proper post. Let me catch you up:

School FINALLY ended. It feels like the year whizzed by and it was Christmas just yesterday. I am very happy to have summer break.

I finished my reports and "work" in record time this year. I was finished with everything on the last day of school so that we could head out for vacation. (More on vacation later.)

All of the kids got good grades and finished school without problem.

Lewis made his numbers for the fiscal 2010-2011 year at work. Thank goodness, mama needs money to shop!

So there is the last month is a nut shell. I will post more about everything with pictures later this week (they are already done and set to go out, yes sometimes I cheat :) It is easier then sitting down each day for a post).

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far. I know that we are!

Activity Day Craft

2011-06-22T19:27:00.001-06:00

Haley made these cute flip flops at Activity Days this evening. They are covered in balloons tied to the straps. She said the girls were even nice and that she had a good time.

Cinderella

2011-06-18T18:25:00.005-06:00

Abigail was a mini princess in Cinderella. She had a dress rehearsal and then did two performances on school nights and was extremely tired for a whole week at school. It was a fun experience that I would love to never deal with again, but alas, she loves it and we will be participating in the annual Nutcracker in December. She is signed up to be in the Gingerelle class and she is so excited. She has wanted this roll for about 4 years, and finally she has it. (For those that do not know the Gingerelles are the "Buffoons" who come out from under the man's skirt in the party scene.) Anyway we are doing one more year of ballet, hopefully just one more year...

Two hours in

2011-06-11T14:00:00.001-06:00

And we are already bored!

Happy Birthday!!

2011-06-01T20:16:00.000-06:00

My birthday was last Wednesday. Lewis woke me up by throwing open the curtains in our room and proclaiming, "It is a beautiful day (It was cloudy and rainy) ... Somewhere else!" Happy Birthday to me, right? I went to work, had cake, got some cute cards and then headed home all ready for a rockin' birthday. Um, no. Lewis had nothing planned so he took me to see Bridesmaids (which was totally funny, and a definite see if you can deal with language) and eat movie food for my dinner. I loved the movie but on the way home I was literally mad and sad all at once. I felt like my birthday had been glazed over and forgotten at home. Sad right? Oh well. I went on with the rest of the week working and thinking that this year was just going to suck.

Well the joke was on me! I got home from school at about 2pm on Friday. Parked the car and walked inside. There was a babysitter. I was shocked and confused. Lewis took my papers and told me that I had 3 minutes to pack. He said pack for warm weather and bring a swimsuit. I was flustered and the kids were laughing because they all knew! Adam had known for a week, and the others had known for 2 days. And they never told! So I packed a couple of outfits and a swimsuit. Lewis took my bag out to the car and I followed. There were 2 people in the car and I thought that the boys were going with us but when I got in the car it was our friends Nat and Clay!!! I was so surprised! Everyone knew where we were going except for me. The kids said goodbye and we drove off, headed south. After lots of driving I figured we were headed to VEGAS!! I love Vegas. It is hot and sunny with lots to do. What a great surprise. We stopped in Mesquite for dinner and then headed into Vegas. We stayed at The Hilton. We got in fairly late so we headed to bed early.

On Saturday Nat and I went outlet shopping while the boys enjoyed, um...well, the local gaming entertainment. We had an interesting cab ride...

After doing a little shopping we went back to the hotel and went out to the pool. At the pool there were some interesting people. Lots of guys that look like this:Yuck! There was way too much hair at that pool. To help cool us off we bought $15 drinks. What? Don't they look classy?
After I was abandoned at the pool (it was too hot for everyone else) for an hour I headed up to the room to get ready for the night. The boys had bought some tickets to a show. I was not allowed to know what show we were going to, another surprise! But I got to pick dinner. So we went to The Belaggio for the buffet. It was delicious. We had a great time waiting to be Raptured and eating sushi and small birds:

These were the best little cones with Nutella and raspberries in them. I had enough for Clay to get a set of nails:

These are our partners in crime for the weekend. I was very happy that Lewis was able to pick out the perfect people for a trip to Vegas. Thanks for coming and making my birthday a great success. (Plus I take a pretty damn good picture, right?)

So we left dinner and headed down the strip. As we walked my left foot started to hurt. I could feel my shoe cutting into my foot so I started to panic and since I was panicking inside I started sweating, which made me panic even more. It was like a vicious cycle: sweat, pain, panic, sweat, pain, panic. We finally got to Montego Bay and I ran straight for the shops to buy a new pair of shoes. As I was trying on a pair of $80 flip flops Lewis saw some band aids. I threw the flops and went for the band aids. (I waste money sometimes, but I would rather pay $4.00 for 4 band aids then $80 for flippy floppies.) Then right next to the band aids there was some deodorant! I grabbed it and made Lewis buy me that too.

Picture me in a casino bandaging up my feet and putting on deodorant. Clay was nice enough to keep my deodorant in his pocket in case I had another episode (I think at this point Clay was done with us, but kept going because we were his ride home). Once I was bandaged up and smelling fresh I was feeling much better. We were walking through the casino and I was totally not paying attention to anything until I saw this large pillar type banner hanging from the ceiling. It was for Glee Live. I suddenly knew! They had brought me to Vegas to see Glee!!!! Oh my wonderful husband who HATES Glee with all his soul, brought us to Vegas to see them LIVE!!!

Needless to say I was so excited and could barely sit in my seat! Look at this hot guy:

Oh yeah! I am talking about the one with the Mohawk! And you people all wonder why I encourage Jason to have a Mohawk. Dare I say that in real life Puck is even more HOT? They all were! It was a great show!

And at the end, in true Vegas fashion, it rained glitter! Oh I love Vegas!!

After the show Nat and I stood in line forever to get jackets. I will have to post that picture later because it is on Nat's camera.

And the best part was that the whole way home we watched Glee Season 2 in the car. Sorry Lewis, you sure are a trooper!

This was definitely the best birthday ever! Thanks to everyone who kept the secret and helped me have a great weekend.

Clay said it best,"You know how it is a gamble when you travel with other couples, and sometimes it works out and sometimes it is terrible. Well Natalie and I got lucky. We just feel bad for the Framptons." No Clay, we got lucky too. Thanks for the memories!

I may have the best husband in the world. He sacrificed his ears and eyes to make me happy.

Let's do it again next year!

Water Water Everywhere And Not A Drop To Drink...

2011-05-30T20:03:00.000-06:00

Last Monday (the day after Mother's Day) I got a phone call from the alarm company for the school saying that the fire alarm was going off and that someone needed to meet with the fire department at the school ASAP. I called the building and grounds guy and then Adam and I got in the car and headed to the school. Sure enough the fire department was there and inside. The kiln room had overheated and so the sprinklers came on. The sprinklers do not come on until it hits 165-170 degrees in a room so it must have been really hot. The whole west hallway of the school flooded.
I took Adam with me and he was a huge help with the cleanup. He moved furniture, boxes and equipment. He did whatever was asked of him by the adults. The school called in a disaster clean up company but there was still tons to do. We stayed at the school until 10:30 helping to clean. Then we headed home and I called one of the classes and told them that their room was flooded and that class was canceled for the next two days. All of the kids were very happy!

It is hard to tell but but this water is about 4 to 5 inches deep.

Happy Mother's Day to Me!!!

2011-05-28T19:53:00.002-06:00

On Mother's Day the kids and Lewis took me to Cheesecake Factory for brunch. I had a gift card from Cheesecake due to the broken tooth from a few weeks before. After we ate we walked around the mall and then took the kids home. Lewis and I then went to the movies in the afternoon.

The girls made me some pictures and a cup, and Lewis and the boys bought me a suitcase that I have been wanting. It is black and white pokadot.

I love my kids and love being a mom. Happy Mother's Day to me and all of the mother's that I love! Muah!!!

Bloody Boys Birthday

2011-05-27T19:35:00.005-06:00

Adam had his birthday party at home this year. He had an air soft war party. We had 15 or 20 boys show up with guns, eye glasses, and sweatshirts for protection.

Adam and his friends took about a month digging, building, and making an air soft war bunker. They shot each other up for 4 hours. There was a lot of blood, only one set of tears, and lots of laughing.
I told them NOT to aim at me. So what did they do? Boys.

Cupcakes, cake and chips were served. I choose to leave out the healthy options at this party because it was boys aged 12-16. None of them were going to choose the salad.

And last but not least Adam got money. Lots of it!

Happy Birthday Adam! I love you and can't believe that you are a teenager.

Happy Easter!

2011-05-01T20:37:00.002-06:00

First of all, as you can see, we are not morning people! The kids got up at 8:00 and they still had to wake Adam, Lewis, and myself up.

The kids had eggs to find in the yard. Here is the loot from the bunny:
Once we got up, and I made french toast for everyone, we were all in better moods. We put on our pretty clothes and headed over to my dad's house for Easter lunch. We decided to do a fun egg hunt for the kids. The real reason that I took the time, effort, and money to do an egg hunt at my dad's house was because of Abi. On Monday Abi and Haley missed the egg hunt for our neighborhood because of my root canal. Haley was alright with it but Abi was so sad. She does not remember doing an egg hunt before. (Last year we went to the neighborhood hunt and my kids got 0 eggs. The rules were 12 eggs per kid and then the rest would be up for grabs after everyone had their 12. Well my kids got none and others got 40 or more. And the people in charge did not care. So after I supplied 48 eggs for the hunt we took 0 home.) Because I felt so bad for her I promised to take her to the Thanksgiving Point Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday. Lewis and I took her and got in line about an hour before her egg hunt was supposed to start. We stood in line for 30 minutes, and NEVER moved. It was crazy. There was like one entrance for 10,000 people. So finally we just left. Abi was devastated. I promised her a toy at Target, a treat, anything to get out of that line. So I felt bad that she missed two egg hunts because of me. Anyway, I loaded like 100 eggs and Lewis and Adam hid them in my dad's backyard. Finally Abi got her egg hunt.

After the egg hunt my dad gave each of the kids a chocolate bunny. But to get the bunny they had to sit nice for a picture. This is the crazy one, it was the best :)

Happy Easter. Hope you had a great day with your loved ones... or at least got some chocolate.

Who will come occupy this poor little ignored child? She is bored and sad. Will anyone help entertain her?

2011-04-30T12:51:00.001-06:00

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...

2011-04-30T08:22:00.001-06:00

I hate the weather in April.

Final Product

2011-04-26T21:41:00.000-06:00

Spring "Break": Part 7

2011-04-26T21:05:00.001-06:00

Friday night while Adam was gone camping with scouts I helped the girls dye Easter Eggs. Even though they know we are going to be making them into Deviled Eggs for Easter Sunday Lunch, they wanted to dye them. So we went to the store and bought a couple of kits and set out to make the eggs pretty. Here is Haley making her fake smile face:

Abigail has a real smile, but I think that she doesn't remember ever doing this before. We are not really good about dying eggs every year. Sometimes we forget, and sometimes the kids won't let me forget, like this year.

A plethora of colors:

It really is a fun tradition to do the eggs with the kids. With the boys getting older and not wanting to do so many fun holiday activities I am afraid that the girls, and especially Abigail who doesn't really remember doing much before this year, will miss out on all of the fun things that can be done during the different holidays. Hopefully I will get better at remembering to do the cookies, and eggs, and wreaths and other fun things.

How To... Read a How To Post

2011-04-26T17:59:00.002-06:00

Step 1: Go to Stie's blog.
Step 2: Read her "How To".
Step 3: Read everyone else's "How To".
Step 4: Get completely obsessed with the other blogs that you find due to the "How To" and become a blogstalker.
Step 4: After weeks of reading all of the "How Tos" write a short "How To" so that you can feel included.
Step 5: Try harder next week with your "How To".

Good enough for a first time?

Spring "Break": Part 6

2011-04-25T20:51:00.000-06:00

So speaking of breaking...

Lewis called me at about 9:00, right when he was supposed to be finishing his basketball game. He jammed his finger and nobody would pull it out for him because it looked disgusting, and he did not want to pop it back out by himself so he had to drive to the ER. All of the Insta Cares close at 9:00 so there was nowhere else to go. He called me so that I could meet him at the ER and bring him the FLEX card, so he could pay for the visit.

When he got there they put him in a room and the nurse was setting him up with blood pressure cuff and a heart rate finger pad. She accidentally put the finger pad on his hurt finger and when she pulled it off to move it she inadvertently popped his finger back into place. So by the time I got there he was fine but they would not let him leave without having an x-ray.

Before I left him to go back home I managed to get him a glass of water even though there was an evil ER nurse that did not want him drinking, just in case he would have to have surgery... um yeah. He was going to need surgery because of a jammed finger...

He needed a splint for a week or so and they gave him some Motrin and a light pain pill just in case it was worse the next day. So now Lewis is fine, but he is telling the kids that his hand is broken so that they will give him foot massages and get him drinks and stuff. Not to mention that it is his middle finger that is hurt so he is walking around flipping all of us off all day.

Spring "Break": Part 5

2011-04-24T20:45:00.002-06:00

On Thursday night Abigail decided to make bag puppets. This is Bob Jon. At least she kept herself busy for a while.

I totally remember doing this when I was little and having my mom get mad that we wasted the lunch sacks. We would make like 25 of them and do a puppet show, but then there would be no bags for lunches for the rest of the month. Oh well, like I said she kept herself busy for a while.

Post Script...

2011-04-23T20:58:00.000-06:00

I woke up Wednesday morning at 4:20 in so much pain I had to get up and take pain medicine again. I called the dentist and he said that since it had only been 36 hours since my root canal it might still hurt because of the infection. He explained that the tooth was like a sliver in your finger. He took out the sliver but the infection takes time to go away. Hopefully it will get better soon. So far Wednesday, I have felt pretty okay!

Spring "Break": Part 4

2011-04-23T16:40:00.000-06:00

On Wednesday I took my kids and went with M.R. and her kids to Thanksgiving Point. We took the kids to the Farm. Her are the girls sitting on a cow:

Here they are petting a baby goat. She was so cute! She is 2 weeks old.

They rode horses:

We did not feed our fingers to the horses!

We saw baby rabbits:

we saw tulips:

Jason even asked to have his picture taken:

Don't worry, he did not smash any of the flowers.

After the farm we took the kids to eat at the deli and to have some ice cream.

Spring "Break": Part 3

2011-04-22T16:27:00.001-06:00

Monday I went into the Dentist to have my root canal. I ended up being there for 2.5 hours. He gave me more pain medicine and told me to stay on it for the next couple of days because the infection was not better. He said that the water incident on Friday night did more harm than anything else. Even though it was stopping the pain temporarily it was causing irritation within the tooth. He said that hopefully I would feel better in a day or two.

When I got home Adam had a bunch of friends in the yard digging a trench and having a huge air soft war. Lewis went out to grab me some dinner and I went to bed.

Tuesday I had a hair appointment and got all pretty. Feeling good so far!

Spring "Break": Part 2

2011-04-21T15:27:00.000-06:00

On Friday morning I left for a surprise trip to Las Vegas with my parents. They were supposed to go with friends but they had a family emergency so my dad called and invited myself and my SIL Marlo to join him and my mom for a couple of shows and some dinners and some sun. I said yes in about 1 second and we left on Friday morning. Now to refresh your memory, on Thursday I went in for a broken tooth and fond out that I had to have a root canal on a different tooth. So I was leaving for Vegas with pain meds and Motrin and the hopes that everything would be alright.

We left around 9 in the morning after a few pit stops and stopped for gas and lunch. Here is dad getting the gas:

I think he was yelling at me for taking the picture. Whatever, I have to document right? So we finished the drive and got to the hotel in time to take an hour or so to hang out at the pool before going to dinner and our first show of the weekend. Here is mom getting out of the jacuzzi:
After mom and dad played in the water and I sat in the sun for a while, I looked up and saw this:

The lady sitting next to me had the NASTIEST toes that I have ever seen! I am not sure how much you can see but I really wanted to offer her some clippers and some nail polish remover. Yuck!

We headed out to the Paris for dinner before our show. (Up until this point I was feeling fine. I had decided not to take the pain medicine and just take Motrin to keep up with the pain. So far so good.) Once we got to the Paris I started to feel a little pain and I thought it was just from all of the walking and raising my blood pressure. We sat down to eat. Here is my mom and Marlo:

and me and my dad having dinner:

By the time I ate my soup I was in quite a bit of pain, but I was still managing alright. I realised that when I would drink a sip of my water then the pain disappeared completely because no air could get to the broken filling. So I kept drinking and drinking. I think I drank 4 big glasses of water and some of my dad's cranberry juice when my glass was empty. I was very full (due to the water) and my tooth was not feeling any better unless I had water in my mouth. So we paid the bill and walked out to the car. On the way there I had to focus on my breathing knowing that I had a water bottle in the car to sip from on the way to our show. I managed to drink the whole bottle in the 2 miles it took to get to The Rat Pack. Here is mom and dad at the show. We had front row seats:

Once we got into the show and ordered out waters I found that if I put my finger on my tooth it helped almost as much as the water, by cutting off the air flow to my crack. Here we are demonstrating the tooth cover:

During the show I drank my whole water and Marlo's whole water. After the show we got to take a picture with the guys from the show. I was in so much pain at this point that I ran into the bathroom with my empty water bottle and filled it with (GASP) tap water!!!! I NEVER drink tap water, not even at home. I can't stand the taste. But at a time like this I had no other choice. I was in pain like I have never felt before (and I have four children!!!). I walked back out took the picture quickly and then ran back to the bathroom to refill my bottle for the ride in the car. I seriously felt like I might pass out from the pain. My whole body was shaking and I had no focus on what I was doing or how long I had been in the bathroom.

We go tot the car and my dad knew that I was dying so he took me to a pharmacy to get some clove oil. This is a wonderful tooth pain reliever that I have never even heard of before. My mom and I jumped out of the car and bought some and I opened it up right there on Fremont Street in the middle of the crazy-ass Friday night crowd. I ripped it open and rubbed some in my mouth and felt immediate relief.

I think that because of how far I let the pain go nothing worked for very long. Now picture this:

I was full of about 8 bottles of water in less then 3 hours, I was in so much pain, and I was running down the stairs of a parking garage to get into the hotel before I either passed out or peed my pants. I ran into the hotel, went up to the 19th floor and sprinted to my room, all the while taking sips from my bottle and holding my cheek.

I got into my hotel room, took my pain pills and filled up my water bottle with more nasty tap water. It still took about two hours to get control of the pain so that I could even lay still. We watch 50 First Dates on the TV and I finally fell asleep, but not before setting my alarm for every three hours so that I could keep up on the pain pills.

By morning I was feeling fine and I made sure to keep up on the pills for the rest of the trip.

Saturday we got up and went to a little coffee place, saw Elvis:

ate a small breakfast:

and went out to the pool:

We sat out by the pool all day. We had lunch and strawberry slushy drinks. I sat in the sun and got a brownish tint to me, Marlo got a couple of burn spots, Mom and Dad sat in the shade and mom got toasted by the sun.

After the pool time we got ready and went to see The Lion King. It was my second time seeing it, but nobody else had seen it before. I loved it just as much the second time. After the show we had a yummy dinner at Mandalay Bay and then walked the strip. We saw this:

and this:

and we saw an episode of COPS being taped. Too bad nothing interesting was going on:

We went to the M&M store to get some prizes for the kids and then headed down to the fountain so Marlo could watch. She had never seen it before:

Here we are after the show:

We took our time walking back to Mandalay Bay and saw a few fun freaky people along the way. Best of all my teeth never hurt again for the rest of the trip!

Spring "Break": Part 1

2011-04-20T14:38:00.005-06:00

Last Monday I went out to dinner with my aide friends from school. It was Jen's last day, and Tori had just quit a few weeks earlier so we all wanted to go out to dinner to celebrate them moving on to something new.
A wonderful restaurant down at the mall was chosen. They have so many choices for dinner and a great dessert menu. So I ordered chicken with potatoes and asparagus spears. When I was taking my second bite of the chicken something hard broke my tooth. I can't say for sure what the hard thing was but I felt my tooth crack and then it fell off. I ran to the bathroom and saw for sure that a quarter of my #30 tooth (right bottom, 2nd from the back) not only cracked but broke off completely. I complained, got my meal comped, free dessert to take with me and then filled out a bunch of forms about how it happened and all of my personal information so that they could contact me and and pay for the damage, if any.
Tuesday came and I scheduled a 9am dentist emergency appointment. They checked out my tooth and sure enough it was too broken to fill. They had to make a crown for it. All he could do on Tuesday was file down the tooth so that it was not cutting my tongue anymore. So we scheduled me to come back on Thursday and have the tooth cleaned out and to have the crown mold made.
Thursday morning came and I went to the dentist. They started and I was feeling completely fine. Then they put in the rubber stopper thing that holds your mouth open on the opposite side while they work. As soon as I put pressure on the rubber thing excruciating pain shot through my mouth. I stopped him from working and started telling him that it hurt. He took a look and could not find anything so they took an x-ray. Sure enough the filling that I had from the time I was 17 (my first filling ever!) had cracked and the tooth was completely infected! I had felt zero pain before because I am a right side eater (I chew my food on the right side of my mouth).
The only thing he could do was wipe some numbing cream on the right side and finish having the crown mould done without the rubber stopper. When they finished he gave me a prescription for some antibiotics and some pain pills. He told me to alternate the pain pills with Motrin every three hours and to take the antibiotics 3 times a day until I could have the tooth fixed. I made an appointment for the following Monday (I needed to be on the meds for 3 days before he could do the root canal).

Tomorrow; Spring "Break": Part 2 VEGAS!!!!!!!

Guess What...

2011-04-20T08:46:00.001-06:00

Guess what I haven't done in a week?

Laundry.

Guess what nobody has clean?

Underwear.

Guess I better get to work...

Going On A Trip

2011-04-14T21:38:00.001-06:00

Stay tuned. I am headed out tomorrow for a surprise unplanned trip! I will update daily so you all can see where I am, and what trouble I am causing!

I hate the weather in Utah in April. Bright green grass and giant snowflakes.

2011-04-09T16:16:00.001-06:00

Hit Me With Your Best Shot!

2011-03-29T19:46:00.004-06:00

On Sunday I went to bed feeling questionable. By the time I woke up on Monday morning I was feeling like I had a really bad cold. Fever, little cough, slight sore throat, and headache. As the day went on I felt worse and worse. I was at the point where I needed to go home from work but couldn't because one of the ladies was gone for vacation. I canceled the kids lessons for the day and went home to bed. I ate some chicken broth and a Lemon-berry slush because my throat hurt so much.

When I woke up this morning (Tuesday) morning I felt terrible. I had to work again because my lady was still gone on vacation even though I felt like I had a midget sitting on my chest constricting my breathing. By the end of school today I was feeling so bad that I went straight to the doctor. I told them that it was strep and so the nurse went to take a strep culture and she had me open and she kind of gasped. She opened the door and called the doctor in to look at my throat. Apparently my throat was swollen shut from the left side and 3/4 closed on the right side, whatever that means. She was shocked that I could even swallow at all, let alone work for the last 2 days. So they gave me a shot of this steroid drink to take the swelling down. It worked in like 5 minutes. They took the culture and it of course showed positive in like 1 minute. I got my antibiotics and came home after being told I was in no way allowed to work for at least one day. Ha! I will show that doctor, I can work from home!

Oh yeah, she told me that the steroids have a small side effect after taking the swelling down. It would make me feel much better for about 4 hours and it would give me a boost of energy. And she wasn't kidding. Since I have been home I have showered, done two loads of laundry, cleaned out the girl's closets and put away all of their clothes that have been piling up in the laundry room. And now I am writing a blog post, which I hardly ever do anymore because I don't have the time or the energy. I am starting to feel tired and my throat hurts again. So I will leave you with a picture of myself when I was feeling much better.

Laundry

2011-03-26T22:38:00.001-06:00

Now you can see who really helps me with the laundry.

Not To Park In The Back Of The School

2011-03-26T22:36:00.001-06:00

We got a double delivery this week. If all of you people were parked illegally then we would not be able to be efficient. This is why there is no parking behind the school in the delivery driveway.

"Mom, Are You Proud Of Me?"

2011-03-19T17:53:00.003-06:00

Look how serious she is in the picture above.

My 6 year old taught herself to ride a bike today. Yesterday she asked if we would take off her training wheels and Lewis did after work. She had time to sit on the bike and try to balance while standing there and then we had to go inside. Today she went out for 5 minutes and came back in to get us to come and watch. So we did, and you know what? She can do it without a problem!!

Adam and Jason each took over a year, 25 scraped knees, rivers of tears and at least one grounding. When Adam was learning, Lewis had to just walk away and make him do it himself because he would cry in the first 10 seconds of the lesson, we started teaching him when he was 5. Adam ended up teaching himself (probably out of embarrassment) at age 9 or 10 (maybe 12). Jason learned last summer at age 9 but can only now start riding alone without going down a hill, and stop without just having himself crash into a curb or tree or car... you get the point. Haley is still learning. She just started learning yesterday. So maybe tomorrow, but most likely in about 3 years or so.

So when Abigail asks, "Are you proud of me mom?" I say yes. Yes I am.

How Do I Look?

2011-03-13T23:15:00.002-06:00

I FINALLY went and got my hair done (and scheduled another hair appointment for 6 weeks from now so that I can keep it pretty). I love it. Now if I can just figure out how to do it the way that she did when she cut it!

My Baby and Me

2011-03-07T22:17:00.001-07:00

I took this picture of Abigail tonight once she was asleep. If you look closely you can see that she was not only sleeping with her American Girl doll, but she must have been reading the magazine when she fell asleep too. It is tucked nicely under her baby's head. How cute is she?

Look At My Blog

2011-03-06T12:52:00.001-07:00

I changed all of the pictures and the header picture. The kids have grown so much!!

What Keys?

2011-03-05T21:46:00.002-07:00

When I was little we lived in a small house next to the train tracks in Provo, Utah. My dad was in law school at BYU and my mom was taking undergrad courses, and of course they worked. I was the third of four children that had been born (there ended up being a fifth, but she came a few years later) before my dad graduated from law school.

We were poor then, and even though we had lots of toys to play with I would always make up games with random household items. One morning I was walking through the living room into the kitchen when something shiny caught my eye. It was my mom's keys. Oh joy! I knew right away what I was going to do with those keys. I was going to play catch... with myself. How was I going to do that you ask. Oh it was a plan in my head before I even grabbed those keys. I was so excited. It was going to be so fun. And the best part? I was all alone in the living room and nobody was going to bother me.

So I snatched up the keys and stood in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room. I faced the front door stretched my arm back and let the keys go with all of my might! Before they even landed I was congratulating myself on the great throw. But how far can a toddler throw keys... not very far. I was either a wimp or a weakling or something else all together, who knows, but those keys only went like 4 feet. So I went to where they landed and turned around and got myself all set up to throw them again. This time I took a little step when I threw them and they went a little farther. Yes! I am great. I thought that I was the strongest kid in the world. I might have even let out a little Incredible Hulk roar and tried to rip my shirt off...maybe. When I grabbed them the third time I knew that I was going to at least hit the front door, if not blow it off of the hinges and get the keys out into the yard. As I got my stance and threw the keys I knew something was wrong before they even hit the floor. I watched them crash into the floor and saw the keyring fly apart. It was like slow motion in my toddler eyes. The keys flew everywhere.!

I panicked. I grabbed what I could find and shuffled all around the living room looking for somewhere to hide the keys. In my mind I had broken something that was irreplaceable. And I knew that my mom was gonna be really mad.

That is when I saw the book on the bookshelf. I knew it was the best place to hide the keys and keyring. I opened it up and shoved everything inside, and I closed the book. I then pushed down as hard as I could on the cover trying to get it to shut all of the way. I could not figure out where my strength had gone. I was the HULK, a giant green monster a minute ago, and now I am no stronger then a kitty cat. As I was panicking to get the book closed I heard a noise and decided the best thing to do was just run away. Fast. So I ran downstairs and decided to play something else, anything else.

Well, as what happens with most small children I forgot all about the problem once I was busy with something else. Some time passed (I am not sure how much time. I was busy playing and I was two or three for goodness sakes), and my mom was running around trying to get us ready to leave the house so she could go to class. (I think. Maybe it was work, but I think it was class.) That was when the yelling started. She couldn't find her keys. In my mind I thought, keys, keys, what are keys. Then I remembered. Oh crap. She is gonna kill me.

So I watched for a while. She was searching everywhere for those things. Sam was helping, I am supposed to be helping but I really just want to sit in the twirly 1960's chair that we had in the living room. I was content to watch it all play out. Finally the keys were found. But the one key that was not there was the car key. CRAP!! I missed a key. By this time I was standing by the bookcase looking at the broken keyring like it was an alien and like I had never seen a key before in my life. The following is the dialog:

Mom: "WHO DID THIS??? WHO DID THIS??? WHY ARE MY KEYS HIDDEN IN A BOOK? A BOOK? WHO THOUGHT THAT WAS A GOOD PLACE TO HIDE SOMETHING? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU GUYS??WHO DID THIS? I AM LATE. WE ARE TOO LATE TO EVEN GO NOW. WHO DID THIS??"

(This went on for about 5 minutes with neither Sam nor I answer her except to say things like not me, huh, I don't know, and similar 2 to 4 year old child answers.)

When I was about to crack because I thought that we were both going to get beat to death with wet noodles Sam suddenly says: "It was me. I did it. Sorry."

What? What? Music to my little ears. Of course I look at him in shock and dismay. But in my mind I was thinking, FREEDOM!!! I WILL LIVE TO SEE ANOTHER DAY!!

At that point my mom put Sam in his room for the rest of the afternoon. I think he got spanked for not telling her when it happened. I was so torn up that he would do something like break something and hide it from Mom, that she let me have 2 Popsicles and I got to go outside and play for the rest of the day.

So what did we learn from all of this? I learned that Sam will save you when your a$$ is on the line :) So if you ever get arrested, you know who to call.

*We do talk about this story a lot at my parents house when we are all together. Sam has said that he admitted to it because he thought that maybe he did do it and then forgot about it. I just did not want to get into trouble, period. I guess at this point I not only can take the blame for Sam becoming the miscreant that he is today, but also that I owe him a Popsicle.

Update What?

2011-03-05T21:33:00.002-07:00

I feel like I should be updating something on this blog of mine. But what? Nothing interesting is happening. We are just living our everyday lives.

Get Up
Go to school/work
Homework/lessons
Dinner
Bed
Repeat

So what do I write about? This is the question that I ask myself everyday when I sit down to type. I have lots to say but does anyone really want to hear it? No, I am sure that you don't, and frankly I like writing this blog so that I can have something to look back on and see what we have been doing with our lives, so it doesn't really matter what anyone else wants to hear, right? But is mundane everyday occurrences blog worthy? Again, no, I do not think that they are.

I have been going back and reading my blog. I am reading backwards and I got to 2009 before I stopped and laughed. I used to blog some good things. Not that pictures of the kid's parties aren't good, but some funny or interesting things have been posted on this blog in the past. So what happened? I got busy, bored, lazy... all of the above.

Now that I have the minute to type something I am rambling on about nothing of any importance and wasting my time...

So I have made a decision. In between all of the cute pics and short nothings I will be posting stories. Funny stories, crazy stories and some questionable stories. My goal is one story for every year that I have been alive. As we all know that number is 29. So hopefully by the end of the year I will have 29 stories that in many years when my kids come back and read my blog they will have at least a little view into who I was, and who my friends and family were.

This hopefully will at least get me out of my blogging rut. Maybe.

Do You Want Fries With That Burger?

2011-03-04T17:53:00.004-07:00

Haley: "Dad! Would you get up out of my grill?"

Lewis: "What?! Your grill is up here.What are you talking about?"

Oh! The things I hear while on the computer.

2011-03-03T21:46:00.001-07:00

The cleaning woman came today and it was beautiful. Three hours later my house looks like it exploded. Why?

2011-02-27T11:29:00.001-07:00

Sitting in the car with a dead battery.

We Are Gonna Be In Big Trouble In A Couple Of Years

2011-02-21T21:57:00.000-07:00

Can you read this? Do you see the picture? Abigail was given this letter with a gift at her school's Valentine's Day party. He gave her a cute red stuffed animal and some treats. He was so cute and embarrassed to give it to her. His mom even came and told me all about it. We had a little giggle about it . I personally think that it is very sweet and cute. Unfortunately, I can see this happening when she is 14, 15, and 16, and I do not think that I will find it very cute when she is that age.

Cabin Fun

2011-02-20T21:34:00.000-07:00

We were invited up to our friend's cabin at Brighton on Saturday evening for a pot luck and some sledding. She owns the original Brighton sister's cabin. It is just amazing. (The cabin is heated by a log burning fireplace, so everything we take up there smells like smoke.) We get to go up there a couple of times a year and we always have fun whether it is summer or winter. This time we had to hike in and bring a sled to carry all of our gear. Here I am standing on about 5 feet of snow. As you can see the window has been dug out of the snow, so around me there was at least 3 more feet, if not more.

Here I am sledding off of the propane tank with Holly and Robyn, but really you can only see me. They are hiding behind me on the sled :) This snow is more like 8 to 10 feet deep. Plus the propane tank.

Kyle & Holly

Kendra & Lew

We had a fun night, even though it did cost me $40 in lost poker money!!!

So many problems with this outfit...

2011-02-20T12:32:00.001-07:00

Should I count the problems with this outfit that Abigail choose for today.

1. It is snowing. Like really snowing.
2. The pants are way too small. In her defense they did fit her in the fall. Her legs have grown quite a bit this year. (She is actually the same size as most of the kids in her class, and taller then a couple!)
3. Spongebob crocks. Do I need to say more? I don't even know where they came from.
4.Her "hat". She was setting up Easter games today and decided that the bucket was better as a hat.
5. Notice that she is wearing a pedometer. She is going to try and beat my 14020 steps from yesterday. So far she is at 455 steps and counting.

At least she can keep herself busy on a cold winters day.

Happy Valentine's Day From Abigail

2011-02-19T21:28:00.000-07:00

The school had Valentine's Day parties on Friday. They were also able to have free dress for the party day. Abigail was so excited to wear her heart shirt to school to show all of her friends. She was also very excited to wear jeans. I don't think that she has ever been able to wear jeans to school. She even had me curl the ends of her hair so that they would "flip" out. She is so cute!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

-6 Degrees

2011-02-18T21:19:00.002-07:00

This winter has been very cold in Utah. The last week of ski lessons it got very cold. With the wind it got as cold as -6 degrees when it was dark. After lunch on the last day of lessons Jason's instructor "Froggy" came to me and asked me to have Jason sit out for a while. It was so cold out and he had pulled off his gator so his face was exposed for about 12-15 minutes. This is what he looked like after sitting inside for 40 minutes:

Do you see the white streak inside the red on his cheek? That is the beginning of frostbite. And this is after he has been warming up for a long while.

This year Brighton did a ton with the kids on skiing safety. They all received safety whistles and they were taught what to do if they ever get lost or if they hear a whistle blown because someone else is lost. The instructor also decided to show the kids how to build a snow cave shelter just in case they were even trapped in weather like that again on the mountain. I really appreciate all of the safety that they teach along with the skiing.

Skiing!!!

2011-02-17T21:11:00.000-07:00

Grandpa gave the kids ski lessons for the second year in a row. As you can see they love it! If they could ski all of the time, they would. The best gift in the world is a gift that is useful, fun, and one that keeps the kids busy. They will be able to use this gift the rest of their lives. I wish I was able to do this when I was younger. Thanks Dad for enriching the lives of the little ones. Love you.

2011-02-16T22:47:00.003-07:00

Dear Zombies,

Please do not eat and or kill me while I sleep tonight.

Frightenedly,

Kendra

2011-02-16T22:47:00.001-07:00

Dear Zombies,

Please do not eat and or kill me while I sleep tonight.

Frightenedly,

Kendra