Swimming Part 2

SWIMMING LESSONS 2009

I am not the best swimmer and I have a fear, or should I say respect, of the water. So, I want my boys to be able to swim because I'm not sure I could save them let alone myself. This is Rylee's first year and he is doing awesome. He doesn't seem to have any fear of the water. He sticks his whole face right in the water and is like a little fish. This is Kaleb's 2nd year and he finally feels comfortable enough to be in the deep. He was afraid to jump off the diving board without a noodle until Tyler challenged him. Now I can't keep him off of it. I am so proud of the two of them!

This is just another example of why I love where I live. This

picture does not do it justice. It was too big to fit in the whole picture and it was a double. All my boys were running down the street trying to find the end of the rainbow. I was later told by a neighbor that the end of the rainbow was at my Bishop's house.

SuMmEr PrEsChOoL

Rylee on his first day of summer preschool. I can't believe he is old enough to go. He is always asking me to show him how to read. He has the biggest imagination for such a little guy. He is always telling me that his teacher taught him that.

He would not stop posing for me when I went to take his picture. He is quite the HaM!

1.. 2.. 3 Strikes You're Out

We discovered Kaleb is quite the little runner.

I don't know how some people do it. I only had 2 kids in baseball this year and it seemed that is all I had time for. The season was long but my boys enjoyed it. There was also a plus with it, it wore them out not to mention me too.

Brayden stepping up to the plate ready to make his debut.

Kaleb's version of ABC's

For Kaleb's 1st Grade Graduation program they sang this song. How as a mother could I not record this and share it with everyone.

Kaleb's 1st Grade Graduation

This is Kaleb's first grade teacher, Mrs. Lundell. He adored her and loved everything about first grade, well maybe not the spelling tests. I can't believe he is old enough to be graduating from 1st grade. At the end of the year they had a program with all the kids and I wished my camera was working better so I could show more pictures. These are the ones that turned out all right. Congrats Kaleb!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

I was told I needed to watch this video. After doing so I knew I needed to post it for all to see. If all people could be like this father the world would be a much better place.

Rylee turns 4

So I know I am a little behind. According to this it is more like a month. So much has gone on including Rylee turned 4 on May 19Th. I can't believe it has already been 4 years. He acts like he is going on 25. I remember bringing him home from the hospital and not quite sure how to handle him. He was my smallest baby and he was exactly 2 pounds lighter than Kaleb. I was afraid I could brake him because he was so little. I was also so excited because I had a whole new wardrobe for him that my other kids were too big to ever wear any of them. He is still my smallest but that does not slow him down any. I love my conversations with him. For example the other day he told me the water, from the drink he had just received, had swallowed his gum. One day he got mad at me for spying on Tyler and told me he needed his privacy. From the time he was just little he has always loved using big words. One of his first ones was Madagascar. It was quite funny to listen to him say it. Lately it has been words like Teleportation. Where does he come up with these. As you can tell I love this little guy and am grateful to have him in my life.

In desperate need of a Dance Teacher

After recording Rylee dancing the rest of the boys decided they needed to take a turn. After watching Tyler dance you begin to wonder how it is that Rylee and him are related. I think Tyler gets his moves from his father. If you need a good laugh this is the video to watch.

Kaleb's New Haircut

Kaleb wanted me to cut his hair like his daddy's. So here is the finished product. A lot of friends and family didn't even recognize him. It has been hard trying to pick him out of the crowd for me also. I like his new haircut but it makes him look so much older and I don't know if I am ready for him to be so grown up.

Where's the Beef?

My boys and their adopted Grandma Diana.

This baby calf is only a couple of hours old.

I didn't know I would ever say this but I believe the country has gotten to us. Since moving to Salem over 4 years we have witnessed the birth of multiple cows, chased chickens

and loved every minute of it. This spring my dear sweet neighbor invited my boys and I to come and pick out some chickens. Ever since then Brayden now counts her chickens as his own pets. He is constantly digging in my garden looking for worms to feed to the chickens. We also have a cow that we can call our own. We made the mistake of letting Kaleb name it. It's name is FIREBALL as with anything else he names. Soon he will be coming to a dinnertable near you. Hopefully his name does not jynx his flavor.

I know it has been awhile since I last posted. All of us are OK. I have so much to blog about just not enough time to do it. Between swimming, reading, piano lessons, baseball, scouts and many others I know I forgot to mention I haven't had much time to myself. I'm beginning to understand what a chicken must feel like once it's head is cut off. Please be patient with me and I will try to get it updated soon.

Rylee's Sweet Moves

Did I mention this little guy makes me laugh all the time. He tells me all sorts of things like the water swallowed his gum.He is always coming up with something. The other day I caught him dancing. At first he did not want me to tape him and then he just went with the beat of the music. I love his Sweet Moves! Of course I think he has talent and it is not because I am his mother. I'm sure you will get a good laugh while watching.

Beautiful Sunrise

One morning I was up getting Tyler ready for school and I could not help but want to take this picture. I love this time of year when the weather is warming up and your woken up by the birds chirping. We live in such a beautiful place. There is beauty all around us and we need to take the time to enjoy it.

The Quelf EfFeCt

I discovered a new game around Christmas time. I heard it was a blast but was not able to find it until now. We love to play games and when the opportunity comes to get a big group together we take it. During Spring Break we were able to play with sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews and who ever else would join us. This game is never the same. It has you doing hilarious stunts all along. Some examples are: speaking with a lisp while describing your front yard, sitting under the table till your next turn & many more. n While we were playing I got to wear one of Joe's socks around my neck for a tie, Brayden had to make a fort out of sofa cushions and sit in it till his next turn, Tyler had to fetch a piece of wood and act like a dog while doing it, Joe had to put keys on his head and hold something in one of his hands, one of our nieces had to wrap her hand in tin foil. I think you get the point. It was a lot of fun. Even the smaller kids liked to watch until they fell asleep. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

Spring Break Part 2

The second day of Spring break we went to Capitol Reef. We had a lot of fun hiking, spending time in the sun and being with one another. We hiked to Hickman's Bridge all the while Brayden was trying to catch little lizards. He was unsuccessful but enjoyed the hunt anyway. My boys found a giant tree and were determined they were going to climb it. Brayden was first up with Tyler soon behind. Rylee wanted to get up but there was no way he could do it by himself and I was not going to put him up there to have him get stuck. After a long day we headed back home to have an enjoyable night.

Spring Break

During Spring Break we went down to Fremont to install sprinklers at Joe's parents house. We started out trenching Friday morning in the snow. By the afternoon it was sunny and somewhat warmer. We found many treasures during the time down there. First there was a rock pathway that once led to the front door. After much digging and sweeping we uncovered this magnificent pathway. It was neat to see all the different sizes, color and designs that were in each rock. Brayden loved cleaning out the trenches. While cleaning out he was able to dig out a little syrup bottle in perfect condition. Along with the bottle we were able to find some marbles, an old hair cream tube, spoon, scissors and some really old bricks, we believe that they may have been from an old cellar foundation. After finding all these treasures it was really hard to keep the kids out of the trenches. If we would have let them they would have dug up the whole yard. I have to confess I found it pretty exciting also. It was addicting after finding the first item.

Spring Break Blizzard

This video is a little long but this was what you get for giving it to a 13 year old boy. At one point you may feel as you are actually in the car on a ride with us. This is what we encountered on our way to Fremont for Spring Break. It was a blizzard for quite a ways. We could barely see the road in front of us. Right before the storm worsened we also saw a huge Elk standing right off the side of the road. It was pretty scary for awhile hoping we would stay on the road without being able to see where the road was.

More Easter Fun

Easter Pandamonium

Easter Fun

We had a family party with my side of the family the Saturday before Easter. Needless to say once you get all of us together something crazy usually happens. The cousins love to spend the time with one another and I love getting together with my family for any occasion. Too bad it usually take some sort of holiday or other celebration to do so.

My brother-in-law Chris decided to make balloon creations for all the kids. They had a lot of fun with them and they couldn't hurt anyone. Except when they took the balloons and started snapping each other. Welts were had by all. It will leave scars and memories for years to come.

HaPpY BiRtHdAy JoE

Joe's birthday was on April Fools day so we did not do any major pranks. I gave him a watch for his birthday. It took a lot of planning and conniving with my sister to make him think the watch he had ordered was on back order. Little did he know I had it hiding in the house. You would have thought it was snowing in the house when he blew out the candles because there was powdered sugar on top. Happy Birthday Joe. Only 4 more years before your 40 and starting over that hill. Good luck!

Show me the Muscles

Before you wonder why I was taking this picture you must listen to the story. I hope he does not hate me for this when he gets older. Joe has been doing P90X so, every 30 days he has his picture taken to show the results. This day Rylee decided he needed to have his done also. Look what Joe has started. I would post Joe's but then I would have to find a new home.

Happy Anniversary

I meant to do this earlier but I have had a major cold and Rylee and Kaleb ended up with ear infections in the same ear on the same week. Between doctors visits, medication and lots of Lysol I'm hoping we are on the road to recovery.

On the 25th of March was our 14th Wedding Anniversary. Some days I can't believe where the time has gone and other days it seems they are never going to end. Still 14 seems like a long time. It all started when I was just 13 years old and Joe's family moved in across the street. At the time Joe was 16 and had a wild streak in him. I remember the joke around our house when we heard loud music coming down the street is we knew Joe was coming home. Unfortunately he still likes his music loud so if you are wondering why you have to repeat yourself around us this may give a little more insight. Anyways time went on and Joe came home from his mission and not long after saw me out in my driveway playing basketball. He sent his little nephew over to play so that he would have to retrieve him later. Later came and he came over and started to talk to me. That night he called me and asked me out on our very first date. Well the rest is history. We were married a little over a year later. Now 14 years & 4 kids later we are still chugging along. He surprised me by standing on the doorstep a day earlier than our anniversary with 2 dozen roses behind his back. I have always loved his surprises whether big or small.

Help with the dishes

When I say I need help with the dishes this is not what I expected. I couldn't get him out either.

Looks can be Deceiving

As most of you know my little Rylee is quite a handful. He may look innocent but can't looks be deceiving. He loves to learn and explore. Especially hands on. I love his love for learning but sometimes he can go a little too far. I can't leave him for 5 minutes without him getting into trouble. The other day I went to see if he was ready for lunch and found him in the bathroom with 14, yes I said 14, of my stamp pads. He decided he was going to do some redecorating. I found ink on the toilet, floor, wall, tub and even him. I hate to admit it but the hand prints on the tub were kind of cute. He did not like the fact that he had to sit in his room while I cleaned up his party. I would say I hope he learned his lesson but I know this will not be the last time.

Farewell to Grandma

Last week Joe's Grandma fell and broke her hip. Although she is 97 years old they decided she was in good enough health to do surgery. We went and saw her Monday night and she seemed to be in good spirits. She has always been such a sweet lady and an example to us all. It was hard to see her in pain. She did not complain at all while we were there. Tuesday morning she had surgery. Her bones were to fragile to put pins in so the did a hip replacement instead. She came out of surgery as well as a 97 year old can. She was a little confused I'm sure and they had to give her something Wednesday night to calm her. She had a very hard time coming out of the medicine. Joe received a call on Thursday saying she was not doing well and they were going to take her off the oxygen. We rushed down to the hospital to spend some time with her. If anything I think all of us there annoyed her. She kept asking why we were all there. At one point she told us all to leave. She also said we were waisting our time and we needed to go home. That is why I love this lady. She has always had such spunk and personality. Maybe it was trying to survive all those siblings growing up. She seemed to perk up and had been doing better for the last few days. Yesterday morning we received a call saying she had passed on in the early hours of the morning. We will sure miss her. It has been hard the last few years to see how frail she has gotten and her eye sight has also left. I remember not so long ago going and staying at her house in Richfield. She loved the company and would make these extravagant meals for you when you came. I remember after Joe installing her sprinkler system she would tell us she would get up early not to water her lawn anymore but to watch the sprinklers. I am glad to know that she is now free from her earthly restrictions and she is now with her husband, children and many more loved ones. I am glad I got the chance to meet this incredible lady. She has taught me so much and inspired me to be a better person.

Toilet talk

So this is how the story goes. Ever since moving to our new house the boys bathroom toilet would get clogged a lot, usually by Kaleb. It was never unusual items just what is supposed to go down. After plunging the toilet at least once a week I told Joe we needed to purchase a new one. He ended up buying a toilet that would flush golf balls down. YIPPEE no more plunging! At least that is what I thought until last week. Kaleb came running into the kitchen to tell me that we had a problem. He told me water was coming out of the toilet but he had put the lid down to stop it from coming out. Needless to say when I got in the bathroom the water was still flowing out. After turning off the water, cleaning up the floor and, yes, plunging the toilet I thought it was taken care off. For the next week it kept getting plugged. We tried plunging, Drano, a snake, pulling the toilet off and anything else you can think of. Nothing helped. We needed help. This is where the plumber comes in. After a half in hour, a special snake tool and $60 our toilet is now unclogged. What was causing all the problem you ask. Earlier Rylee had told me there was a toothbrush down the toilet and I just blew him off. He was right as usual. There was a toothbrush wedged in the toilet. The plumber told Joe he has only pulled out toothbrushes in 4 toilets like ours. Aren't we one of the lucky ones. We were wondering what had happened to Brayden's toothbrush. We all learned a valuable lesson. Toothbrushes don't flush.