Our latest creation

Summer is a time to play and have fun at our house. Even I postpone housework to play with the kids. So tonight Rob made a video, perhaps because of the state of our house, and it is really fun to watch. The flag under the American flag is actually a Viking flag (not the football team) that we found on Ebay, of course, and we have hung it on our flag pole. It seems the Vikings officially have a compound! Enjoy!!!

Song: Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin

Fun in the sun!

Yesterday was my kids last day of school and boy, I could not be happier! It was a crazy last week. I spent most of my time at the school and we had programs and awards ceremonies and parties. It was nuts!! Plus, Rob was sick two days which really worked in well. But we made it through. Zach's last day of school was last Thursday. He had a really fun year and as their end of the year party the whole class went to the water park here in Palmdale. It was great and I pulled the boys out of school and we all went. My mom was suppose to come, but her class schedule is so hectic she couldn't get away. Rob was my backup, but when he went to ask for time off he realized he was already in the negative (whoops!) so it was just me and the five kids. What an adventure! The day worked out really great though and Rob picked up the girls after work (about 2:30) so it was not too bad.

Fun in the sun! Savannah is such a ham!

Just loving the day playing all together!

Today we went to a birthday party for one of our good friends son. They had it at their brother's house and this is the slide he has into his pool. It is 16 feet high and 34 feet long! It was crazy FUN!! It looks so much higher from the top! I definitely would LOVE to have something like this when we buy a house! We had a great time. We were the last to leave and we could have stayed all day. It was a really fun time!

Here is Dylan giving the slide a go!Griffin's turn!
Zach was scared of the slide. He went down once at the beginning and then refused to go again. Then about 30 minutes before we left he climbed up the steps to the top and asked me to catch him at the bottom. After that he was hooked and I could not get him off the slide. It was great fun! Such a fun day! Thanks Kim and Don!

Things I love about kids . . .

Griffin decided today that he wanted to make brownies by himself - without me doing it and he did do most of it too. I will admit that I did pour the saucepan of hot cocoa and butter into the batter (for obvious reasons, I think) and that I did pour the bowl full of batter into the pan (the thought of him dropping that and it splattering all over my kitchen made me sick), but beside that he did do it all himself. He was really cute and determined. Here he is while it is mixing (he told me that it already smelled liked brownies - so CUTE!)


Here the kids are enjoying Griffin's brownies. I will admit that I have not eaten any as I am cutting such food out of my diet (mainly because once I take a small bite I can rationalize eating half a pan), but the kids all asked for seconds and loved them!

Once Savannah saw Griffin cooking she decided she would help with dinner. See how happy she is as she puts sauce on the pizzas. Yes she found the most efficient way was with her hands . . . mmm yummy!

This weekend Dylan watched a cowboy movie with Grandpa. So, Dylan said yesterday as we had some IBC rootbeer with dinner, this is what the cowboys were drinking in the movie yesterday when they were drinking at that counter and then throwing and breaking the bottles. I am going to let him believe that as long as I possibly can. So cute!

Finally my sweet Zach. Everytime I start getting really frustrated and I may raise my voice a bit or close my eyes for a second he comes up to me and gives me a great big hug and says, "You are the best mommy ever!" I just love that and EVERY time it melts my heart and makes me feel instantly better. I just LOVE kids!

FHE ideas

This last week for family home evening we decided to use the article in the Friend that is about the first presidency. We read the article and while we read the kids were supposed to draw pictures of the new first presidency. It worked so well. After we judged the pictures and everyone got a prize and a treat. They loved it. Try it - I'm sure you will have as much fun as we did. Here are their pictures.

Check out my Slide Show!

This last week we went with my family (parents and sisters) to a beach house in San Diego. We had the best time! It was relaxing and fun and the kids did great. We went on a train ride down to downtown San Diego and the kids played at this park right next to Padres Stadium. They had so much fun! We also celebrated Savannah's birthday while we were there - I can't believe she is 2!! She had a great birthday and was so excited. All I said was lets go open presents and she went running right to the table and was so excited. It was so cute and I am glad she could have all her cousins around to share the day with her. The whole trip was wonderful and I have posted this slide show so you can share some of our memories. It really was so fun. The hardest part now is trying to get back into school to finish off the school year.

Rob's Birthday

Well, we have had a fun week and I will post all about it, but I wanted to start with Rob's birthday. He had a great time with everything he got and everything he got to do. He first got a drum set (given a week early because of our trip) and he has loved it. Thank goodness for Craigslist as I would never have been able to purchase such a great set for that price. He also got tickets to the Metallica concert at the Wiltern and it was awesome he said because it is such a small venue. Then for his birthday he went to see a friend play in a band and when my sister could not sell her Weenie Roast tickets he got to go to that also with his sister and once again see Metallica play. He said it was the best birthday ever.

Another week . . .

Funny Dylan


Loveable Savannah
Serious Griffin










Well another week has flown by. I honestly don't know where they go. Here are my two guys, as I finally finished unpacking the suitcase from Utah (I think they want to go back). I honestly feel like I am always cleaning and organizing and yet my house is always destroyed. Such are the joys of family life.





Speaking of motherhood, being as yesterday was Mother's Day I wanted to say some words to my own mom. My mom is amazing. She has had some rough years and has had some intense heartache and through it all she has stood strong. She trusts the Lord above all and has not let others actions or behavior dictate her own. I love that. She is a great listener and so fun to have around. When I need a project done I know bring her into it is going to get it done faster than anything. Plus she is a woman of her word. If she says it then you can bet it will be done. Most importantly she has always been at my life's great moments to support and show her love. I love you mom!! I have written a poem for this occasion! Here it is.








Once we lived in a beautiful place


Full of love and light and heavenly grace


A plan was made to send us to earth


We would forget all things at birth.





But alone we would not be,


Our Heavenly Father would give us a key


Just to remind us of where we come from


To love us, teach us and guide us some.





The mother is the key so important


The baby so sweet, she loves in an instant


Together each will grow and learn


Having fun and trials at every turn





The mothers place is sacred and noble


Through days of cooking, cleaning and fables


A bond is developed that can never be broken


The love of a mother that can never be spoken





The look in a baby's eyes says it all


As if the baby remembers the fall


And in a mothers love and embrace


The baby can still see the father's face





The simple love in that child's eyes


Can lift her up and becomes a mother's prize


The thanks that she seeks is simple, too


It is given in each hug and love you.





I love my mom and even more, I love being a mom. My children are my whole world and whether a good day or a not so good day there is no where else I would rather be than with my sweet family. I hope you all feel the same and that everyone had a great Mother's Day.








My sweet Chloe
Zachary at Jijitsu.

Utah is great

We went to Utah last weekend. Well, I did with the three youngest (Chloe, Savannah and Zachary). We had a great time. We stayed with Kelli and her gang and despite all the kids and a late night scare we had so much fun. Kelli has an amazing house and backyard and my kids loved it. It was fantastic! Kelli also taught me how to make bread and Orange Julius and is getting me recipies for all kinds of fun things. It was great to just hang out and have fun with such a great friend.

We also went to Matthew's graduation from BYU it was lots of fun. Can't believe my little brother is SO old!!! Just kidding, but it was lots of fun. We enjoyed hanging out in Salt Lake and in Sandy at my uncle's house. It is just great spending time with family and friends.

Chores

Well, I must say that since our weekend away (only one week now) I have been feeling very frustrated with my children and other issues and have been quite snappy and not very . . . um . . . lets say upbeat. So I have decided that instead of being frustrated and irritable I am going to try chores. Each of my kids have a daily chores (simple stuff - one takes out the trash, one empties the silverware from the dishwasher and one wipes down the countertops and table at the end of the day) and along with that they will each have a dog job (daily) and an outside job (every other day) then they will empty the car and all the trash cans and wipe down walls on Saturday. It seems to be working fairly well. If they do their jobs all week long there will be a treat on Saturday afternoon. If they do all their Saturday jobs then we will go to the park (or somewhere else fun for them) Saturday afternoon. In addition, if - like tonight - they are completely not listening (when I put them to bed or other times) instead of being frustrated I will put them to work. Tonight, I made them straighten the rooms, vacuum the family and living room, put away laundry and clean up the girls room. Not only were my nighttime chores shorter, but they got more tired and went right to sleep. I am hoping this might restore some sort of order to our house, but we shall see.

Thanks for all my girlfriends

I spent this last weekend (well Friday to Saturday night) down in OC with two of my most favorite people in the whole world. And I realized, once again, how much my girlfriends mean to me. Of course, Rob and my family help me with so much, but I don't think I would be half the person I am without my girlfriends. I can honestly say that whether we are hanging out at home, the park, the beach or even just working side by side to clean out a fridge or pack up a house I always feel better when I leave. I love that our kids are eachothers great friends and whether we see you once a year or more or less than that they always seem to pick up where they left off. At times, my girlfriends are there for me to vent to, cry to or just to help me out and at times, I am there for them (I hope). My girlfriends hold my darkest secrets and they have seen me at my worst and at my best. I know you all know who you are so I won't mention your names, but I want you to know that you are my heroes and my best friends and that you guys make me a better person everytime I see you or talk with you. I am so glad I met you, that I know you and I hope I always will because heaven knows how much I need you!

Moving!!

Well, we got notice around the start of March that the people we were renting from could no longer rent to us. Something about the structure being too large for the property or something like that. At any rate we needed to move and we looked to buy and looked around a bunch, but the market here is crazy bad and things are losing 10 - 20,000 a month in house values and we decided to wait and see. So we rented a house from a couple in our ward that was moving to Utah and could not sell their house and it is working out so far. The house is cute - little and yellow with a picket fence and it is on an acre and 1/4. We love it and the kids love it even more. The boys ended up with the huge room and they get all the toys in there and are just LOVING that!! We decided to move and then moved within a week and a half and it was crazy. We are all settled now except for some stray boxes in the living room.

Oh and did I mention that during all this we decided to get a dog. His name is Angus and he is a sweet mastiff. He is only 6 months old, but is already bigger than most full grown dogs. He has been an adventure.

Dylan's B-day

Dylan turned 6 on March 14th. He had a big b-day party with a jump house and slide and cotton candy and popcorn. He was so excited!!! He had some of his best friends from school come over and they just had a great time.

Here he is enjoying his birthday night out at his favorite restaurant. - Red Robin, YUM!

Such a fun day!!

Zach's birthday

Well, it has been a while since I blogged, so I thought it would be a good idea to catch up. First things first, Zach turned 4 on Feb. 7th. He is such a big day. He had a great birthday and we took him out and he got to stay up as late as he wanted and then the next day I surprised him by having his cousins come up and we took him to Chuck E. Cheeses. He loved it. But then for like 2 weeks afterward he kept saying he was 5 because he had had two birthdays. Such a smart, cute kid!!!!

The loss of a prophet

Last night the beloved prophet

Gordon B. Hinckley died. I can not express how sad I am for the loss of such a great man. I feel he was a gift from a loving Heavenly Father who served his community, his state, his nation and most importantly his Savior in an incredible manner. The loss to me personally as one who loved to hear him talk and to the church as a whole can not be expressed in words. The only positive to his passing is that he is now reunited with his beloved wife and with those prophets who have served before. While the earth mourns today the loss of a truly great prophet, I am certain that Heaven rejoices the return of a king. Of course, President Hinckley will be the first to crack a joke. Oh how we will miss him. How glad they must be to have him home.

Snow Fun

Today there was a big storm up here and while it did not snow at our house we drove about 15 minutes away to Leona Valley and had a bunch of fun. Well, except for Savannah who REALLY thought it was WAY too cold. The snow was really coming down and was blowing right in her face, but that was enough for her. She got in the car right after the picture and did not come back out. Lucky for me, Rob forgot to change from his work clothes and didn't want to get them ruined so I got to play in the snow with the boys. We had a grand snowball fight, made a snow man and even made snow angels. Who knew such things really happened in Southern California. Lucky for us and such a great day!!

Our houses

Some of you have been curious about our new living situation. So here it is for all to see!


Old house (so nice)
New house (so cheap)




Yes it did take a lot of pride swallowing to move. One of the harder things I have had to do. On the up side, we are paying off bills and furthermore, the picture below is one half of our back yard - not to mention we have a Huge front yard where the kids can ride their bikes. It has been hard, but I feel the Lord has blessed us in giving us this house, in our following through and moving here and in making our new house feel very cozy and quaint instead of cramped and crowded. We are very lucky to have found it in this area and especially close to the kids school. It's not perfect, but it is only temporary and if the market keeps going in its current direction. Rob and I will eventually be even more happy with our decision to move here.

Such a little girl

This morning I had Chloe under her little toy and Savannah was bugging me to move her, I couldn't figure out why, but she was persistant and eventually I did. When I came back to the room this is what she had done. SO CUTE!!!

We definitely have girls now. I love it!

We all made it!!!

Happy New Year everyone!!! Well we have traditionally in the past celebrated the new year at 9 (East Coast time) and then sent the boys to bed. This year everyone stayed up for the festive event. Savannah took a long nap and Chloe was asleep until about 11:30, but come midnight everyone was up and we officially rang in the New Year together. We had a great time as you can tell.