Planting Raspberry Bushes & Sitting Around the Campfire

This year, we were blessed with a bunch of Raspberry Plants.  A good friend in our Ward gave us some from his bushes that were in over-abundance.  He said ours should take root and give us a great supply of raspberries in a few years.  We got right to work preparing the ground and planting the bushes...or sticks rather, according to how they look!

The ground before.....

Mason and Chloe doing a little "much-needed" weeding!

Matt, bringing out one of his many favorite Man-Tools!

Josie, putting on her fancy work shoes.

Each of the kids taking their turn tilling the ground.

Josie still getting fancy!

Carter is putting the plants in the ground.  This is a great Cub Scout Project for him...and he really loves playing in the dirt...like his mamma and daddy!

A proud little-man, admiring his work.

After a hard-days work, we decided to have a little campfire out in the back yard.  We barbequed some

hot dogs and hamburgers and then gathered around the campfire for some s'mores and singing.  We sang several songs, but our favorites were: 

There Once Was a Man Named Michael Finnigan

&

The Wheels on the Bus

We tried to sing a little bit quieter because we didn't want to attract too much attention from all of our backyard neighbors, but it was a really great time!  We also had to sing some of the kids favorite

Primary Songs like:

I Love to See the Temple

&

I Am a Child of God

By the way, empty paint buckets work great for campfire stools!

What a great day and evening with the kids.  I think this is one of the days I would consider a "perfect day" because we were decent parents and enjoyed watching our kids be kids.

Hard Work + Lots of Fun = Success

First Cub Scout Pack Meeting

Have I mentioned before that Carter loves Cub Scouts?  Well, he does and today was his 1st Cub Scout Pack Meeting since he joined Cub Scouts.  Well, technically the Pinewood Derby Race was his first, but that Pack Meeting is different in the event that they do not give out awards, at least they didn't last time.  So, here is Carter earning some of his first awards.  He had the priviledge of leading the Flag Ceremony, which he did a really great job.  He has always been a little bit shy in public, but as with so many other areas of his life, he is growing right up into a young man. 

(Stop it - I say!)

Look at this proud little man, calling in the Color Guard...to post the United States Flag.  What an awesome country we live in!  Aren't we proud to be Americans?  I am.

He earned his Bobcat Trail Award, a Gold Arrow Point, and the Marbles Belt Loop. 

Mom also received the Bobcat Pin, which Carter pinned on for me.  I told him later, that it is

tradition for him to give me a hug and a kiss afterword.  :)  I expect to receive all the benefits of

being a Cub Scout Mom!  :)  Can you believe how tall Carter is getting?  I know that I am short,

but it seems like I am only about a head taller than him! 

I grew up with scouting being a big part of our home.  My dad was a Scout Master for many

years while I was young and I went to many Pack Meetings and Courts of Honor.  I have two

brothers who both went all the way through the scouting program and both received their eagles. 

Then I married a wonderful man who had travelled all the way along the scouting road also, receiving

his eagle and many other awards, including his Wood Badge, which he will receive soon.  As I have

read the Wolf Cub Scout Handbook and begun a journey to help my boys travel this road, I have

really gained a greater understanding and testimony of the importance of the scouting program. 

It is an amazing program to develop these young boys into great men who will contribute a great deal

to the world around them.  I have seen it in my father, my brothers, my husband and now my oldest son.  Thank you to the great men and women involved in this wonderful program!

Let's Go Buy Some!

Today, Mason and Josie had a little friend over to play.  He brought some pretzels to snack on while he was here.  Mason told me he wanted some pretzels.  Our conversation went something like this...

Mom, "Well, we don't have any pretzels."

Mason, "Well, let's go buy some."

Mom, "We can't go right now with R.J. here."

Mason, "When R.J. leaves, lets go buy some."

Mom, "Do you have money to buy pretzels?"

Mason, "No, but you do!"

Mom, "I don't have any money to buy pretzels."

Mason, "Well, let's go buy some money!"

We need to plant that money tree in our yard...the one we have been talking about planting for years!  :)

I'm Back!!!

Well, it has been a while since I have blogged, but it must be time to get going again because I am starting to write them in my head as I see things and experience the daily fun of life.  I will be moving forward and backwards to get caught up and to keep up, so feel welcome to experience our lives whichever direction you choose to follow...

Backpacks and Rollerblades

While the big kids are gone to school, the little ones have all the fun.  Mason and Josie put on their backpacks and got out the big kids roller blades.  They were a real joy watching as they tried to rollerblade around the house with blades that were wayyyyy too big for their little feet.  They were always helping each other get up after falling.  I am not sure if they thought they were going to school with their backpacks, but none-the-less, they were completely enjoying themselves!

Dare Me, Mom!

These two little children are really developing their personalities.  They really crack me up some days.  Well this particular day, Mason came out of no-where with the phrase, "Dare me, Mom!"  I haven't heard this one much in our home, so I am not quite sure where he picked it up, but I have to say, it was kind of funny!  He said it over and over with everything he was doing.

"Dare me, Mom!..." to drink a glass of water.

Josie joined him by saying it also, "Dare me, Mom!"

"Dare me, Mom" to eat some delicious Taco Soup.

I dare you Mason and Josie, to continue eating healthy and drinking your water!  :)

Just leaving...

Since Carter and Chloe were little, they have loved playing in the cupboards.  They just empty out the few items in their way and then climb right in.  Mason and Josie have joined the fun. 

This particular day I heard them playing in the cupboard and they were discussing how

they were leaving.  They were saying goodbye to each other and then I realized that

they had transformed the cupboards into a car. 

I love to see them using their imaginations.  Chloe usually plays the mom, so I hear,

"Hi Mom, Bye Mom, Hey Mom, etc." and when I answer they say, "No, not you...she's the mom!" 

I sure am glad not to have to attend to whatever situation they are calling her for!

Mason's First Talk

Mason is a Sunbeam this year!!!  He is so excited to be going to Primary finally, although he is sad to not be in nursery anymore with Josie.  (Actually their nursery class was so big that they divided it into 2 classes which separated Mason and Josie several months ago.  He wasn't too happy about not being with Josie anymore, but when I asked the teacher what her reasoning was in separating the 2, she said it was because Mason always came to the rescue of his sister.  She said he didn't have much restraint when it came to protecting her.) 

He had the great opportunity of giving his first talk, first thing in the year!  :)  He gets very shy talking to people, so I wondered how he would do.  He kept telling me, "I won't be shy, Mom."  And he wasn't.  He did a really great job and wanted Daddy to help him. 

This is what he said,

"Jesus Christ is my Savior and my Redeemer.  I love Him and He loves me.  I will live my life to be like Him and follow His example."

He held up a picture of Jesus holding a little boy on his  lap and Mason told us the little boy was him.  He was so cute with his little suit on standing at the pulpit.  You could barely see him.  Oh, my little man is growing right up!

Bloody Noses and Bandaids

Josie has recently discovered that she can climb out of her crib. When I tell her it is nap time, or bedtime, she will say to me, "Me, get out my cib." I reply to this statement by telling her, "Then I will shut your door." Thankfully she can't figure out the child locks yet, so I have put one on the inside of her door so she will stay in her bed. (I don't mean for this to sound like child abuse, I just want her to know her boundary at bedtime and that she needs to stay in her bed.) Well, she knows the conversation well enough now that she tells me, "Me, get out my cib, shut my door." She is a quick learner.

Josie has also discovered how to dress herself. She does it often, changing her clothes many times a day, and coming up with some very interesting outfits. Her drawers are some of the very top of the dresser, so she has a system of getting to her clothes. She climbs up on Chloe's bed, then up on the footboard of the bed, then she hangs on to the dresser and opens up the drawer.

Well today, in her dressing up quest, she toppled over and made a loud crash. We didn't see exactly how she fell, but her nose began to bleed everywhere causing serious concern and worry from her older siblings. After everything was cleaned up, she laid on the couch for a little nap. Once waking up and feeling the crusty blood on her nose, she put her finger in her nose and saw the blood as she pulled it out. She cried that she needed a bandaid. Matt got her a pretty pink one and placed it on the top of her nose. She wore it the rest of the day and agreed it "felt better" with a bandaid.

I, of course, had to take a picture to remember this tender moment. As she posed for the picture, she demanded "I want to see it!" After looking at the picture she gasped, "Aaaahhhhh Biiiiiiiigg Nose!" So funny!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

This weekend Aunt Krystal came for a short, but very fun visit.  On Saturday she took us to Pei Wei for Chinese Food, one of our family's favorite foods.  We also spent much of the day watching Return to Cranford, from a BBC Series.  It was lots of fun relaxing, eating popcorn and laughing with her. 

On Sunday, Valentine's Day, we decided to make a delicious Red Velvet Cake.  It was very yummy and all the kids helped decorate the frosting.  Of course, before we had our dessert, we had a barbeque and Daddy made hamburgers and Krystal helped make homemade potato wedges.  We hadn't had hamburgers and fries for a very long time.  It was a real yummy treat!

We wish we had more pictures to show for our fun weekend.  Happy Valentine's Day

to all, and thanks for a great weekend Krystal!

Happy Birthday Papa Bob

Today is my dad's birthday!  He would have been 57 today!  We celebrated his birthday by sharing some of his favorite foods.  We all hope that he enjoyed watching us celebrate his earthly life!

One of his favorite foods was Chicken Enchiladas.  He requested for me to make these for him on many occasions.  We also drank strawberry lemonade out of the Oreo Cookie mugs that Matt and I gave him for Christmas one year.  I would guess that he likes strawberry lemonade because he loves most everything else!  We didn't have any milk and oreo's or else we would have ate some for him.

This little tongue picture was too cute not to post.

The kids all enjoyed eating Papa Bob's birthday dinner.

I also ventured out to make Papa Bob's favorite...German Chocolate Cake.  I made it all from scratch, even the frosting.  It has 3 layers and was quite tasty.  It doesn't look so beautiful, but it was sweet.  My dad would always say, "It's the thought that counts."  So, I believe he must  have been pleased with my efforts.

Getting anxious to sing Happy Birthday.

And a united effort to blow out the candles!

What a fun birthday party for Papa Bob.  We love and miss you!  Hope your day was full of happiness!

1st Annual Pine Wood Derby Race

One of the most exciting things we have done this year is attend the Pinewood Derby Race with Carter.  He has waited for the day he can be a Cub Scout and work with his dad building a race car!  I can't quite tell who had anticipated this race day more...but my guess would be Carter's Daddy! 

I have a philosphy about The Pinewood Derby and that is...Dad's are so excited to finally have the opportunity to make the car, since their dad made theirs...hence the cycle continuing.  Well, I tried really hard to insist that Matt let Carter do all the work, but when the time came, it also went, and they were hurrying to complete the job.  I would say that they shared the work and the creation of....Sponge Bob Rectangle Racer.

We have a guy in our ward who literally "went-all-out."  He owns his own metal race track that is fully-loaded with camera's (for the photo-finishes), loops (for the trick racers), projectors (for the fan's easy viewing),  dozens of signs (for the transformation of the gym into a race track), and you get the idea.  I must say that there was even wiring with sensors for I can't remember what.  Anyway, it was very exciting!

The boys started off by taking a written "Driver's License Test."  They had to pass the test

in order to drive their race car. 

The Driver's License was followed by an Eye Exam. 

All lined up, with engines pur-r-r-r-ring.  Doesn't Sponge Bob look like he is a 

wanna-be Bob-sledder?

Carter told his Dad that he wanted a Sponge Bob car, and after the car was near completion, Carter told Matt that what he really wanted was Sponge Bob riding in a race car. 

Any guesses on who might have been the winner at the finish line?

After all the different race heats.....Carter was the 1st Place winner!  He only lost one heat and that was by Quinn Divett, the reigning champion from the last 2 years. 

Dad, and Mom couldn't be more proud and Carter went away telling people that he got 2nd Place.  He figured that because he lost once, he didn't deserve to take the 1st Place ribbon.  Matt told us that he won his first pinewood derby race also, years ago.  Way to keep up family tradition Carter!  :)  Carter also won the "Funniest Car" Award.

The evening ended with cupcakes.  I think the boys enjoyed refreshments as much as the race.  Hey, I totally agree with the boys!  What a fun and eventful evening!  Way to go Carter and Daddy!

In Order to Get Things Done

This morning, I was really pressed for time in order to get a lot of things done.  I normally spend much of my day trying to herd these two little kittens.  They run circles around me giggling, fighting, whining and especially un-tidying up the house.  This day...was different.  

I came downstairs and found them all buckled up nicely in their car seats.  Yesterday, we had brought the car seats in the house to clean them (don't ask me why!) and it worked to my great advantage this morning.  I had a brilliant idea...well it was their's actually...I moved them in front of the t.v., gave them a bowl of popcorn and ran around the house as fast as I could to take advantage of every last second of this captivity.  The blessing of it all is that they can't get out of their seat belts!      

No, I have not done this since and do not plan on making a habit of it.  :)  Although, when push comes to shove (that sounds a little like fighting) it just might come in handy again.

Who's Got the Gum-Gum?

We are among the many parents who allow our children to have gum on rare occassions, expecting that they keep the rules of the Gum-Gum.  Well this little girl, LOVES gum!  She notices anyone and everyone chewing it.  One of the rules is that if you take it out of your mouth, you lose it.  This morning, I was too slow in grabbing it from her.  I think she is the first of all 4 kids to get gum in her hair.  Thank goodness for the old peanut butter trick, I learned from my mom!  It worked like a charm! 

She was oh, so proud of her debut!

She almost looks like a cute little unicorn!

This was perhaps the look she gave me when I told her she couldn't have gum again...for the rest of her life!

Carter's First Talk

So, Carter has somehow slipped through the hoops for many years in Primary.  He is quite shy when it comes to speaking and has never given a talk.  He has given the scripture and prayer on occassion, but never the talk.  A year ago, he even prepared one and then "lost it" in the car on the way to church, so he wasn't able to give it. 

This time, he actually followed through and did a wonderful job!  He didn't even look nervous as he spoke.  Here is what he said...

"On a beautiful spring morning in 1820, Joseph Smith went into the woods near his home to pray.  He did not know which church to join and decided to ask Heavenly Father.  Joseph looked around to make sure he was alone, then knelt and began to pray.  He was immediately overcome by some evil power.  Thick darkness surrounded him and he could not speak.  Joseph thought he was going to be destroyed, but using all the energy he had, he asked God to deliver him from this unseen enemy.  Just as he was about to give up, he saw a pillar of light over his head, and he was released from the evil force that held him.  The light came down and rested upon him, and Joseph saw two Personages whose brightness and glory were beyond description.  They were standing in the air above Joseph.  One called Joseph by name and, pointing to the other, said, 'This is My Beloved Son.  Hear Him!'  These Personages were Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. 

From Joseph Smith's experience, we have revealed to us the first Article of Faith.  'We believe in God, the Eternal Father and in his son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.'

I know these things are true.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

New Year's Resolution

Where has the past year gone???  I have completely run out of time to finish my last year goals!  Oh wait, I didn't really set any for last year.  I decided to try to "let it go" and figure out what I really wanted to accomplish in life.  Click here to read about last year's resolutions.  Looking back, I think I made some progress, which brings me to this years resolution. 

I only have one and it is something I have needed to work on for years now.  It is something that has become harder as the daily life tasks have quadrupled.  Regardless, it is something that, if accomplished, will make life a little more simple...I do believe. 

So, my one little goal is to Follow Through!  I am posting this phrase everywhere, in hopes that it will become part of my reality.  I have so many thoughts daily...thoughts to do service, thoughts to call those whom I love, thoughts to be a little kinder to my children and husband, thoughts to make my world a better one, and often those thoughts go un-noticed if I do not follow through.  My life may or may not be affected by my lack of taking action, but those around me definately may be. 

I love to organize and have always felt pretty confident in my abilities to organize, but if I do not follow through with the order I have created, it will become chaos...rather quickly!  So, may this year bring many finished projects, completed kind deeds and many worthy acts of love shown to those who may not feel my affections.  With this being said, I must get busy, following through!