Memorial Day 2009

Our Memorial Day usually consists of the same basic events:

* Meet up at my Mom & Dad's

* Walk to the cemetary

* Think about/shed some tears over Grandpa & Cousin Greg

* Walk back to Mom & Dad's
* Have a BBQ lunch/dinner

* Play Games

This year was no exception, except that we started a bit later and that night we went to see a movie with Eric's family.

We got to my mom and dad's around 2:00 and were heading to the cemetary by about 3:00. When we got to the cemetary, we saw that my uncle and aunt were there visiting the gravestone of my cousin. My mom visited with my aunt for a bit (my aunt was having a really tough time) and my uncle visited with the rest of us and even hung out with Lex and my soon to be 3 year old nephew.

After the cemetary, we went back to mom & dad's and had our BBQ dinner. Then some of us played Rock Band while others visited. I got Nathaniel to take a nap, but as soon as I put him down so that Eric and I could head to the movie, he woke up.

I hated leaving him with my mom like that,but I heard he did fine. The movie made me kind of sad. They strayed from the book it was based on quite a bit. But all in all it was still a good day.

I just figured I'd share my fave pics from the day. Enjoy!

(My little sister got stung by a bee, take a look at her toe ALL covered in mud!)

(Lex and Tyler with their Great Uncle)

What Happens Next...

A Busy 3rd Grader...

Seriously, do they have to plan every performance that the 3rd grade does for the week before school gets out???

Last Thursday Tanis had a Literacy Night and Friday night he had a "This Is America" choir performance thing...

But before I get to those, I will quickly mention about the Pinewood Derby that was on the 16th. I know I am so behind, but what can I say, life has been busy, busy with all the end of year stuff the kids do and Lex having ball games, practices and what not...

Anyway, so for the Pinewood Derby, despite knowing a few weeks in advance AND having the kit purchased, Eric waited until the night before to start on it. Last year Tanis was all about his Indiana Jones car and they worked on it to make it look just right. This year Tanis only wanted a CUBS car....Yeah, so nothing fancy there....

After Eric got the car cut out and sanded down we had Tanis paint it. The boy went crazy...He mixed colors together and it ended up a big mess of colors. Then when we tried to have him put the CUBS logo on top, he just made a bigger mess. He was really frustrated by that, so I told him I would do it...

Well to redo the logo, I had to paint over his try and though I tried to resist, I repainted over the whole top...He had like a grayish color on it. I also touched up places where other paint colors weren't supposed to be.

Tanis didn't really care. He just wanted his car and wanted to be a the Derby. I don't remember exactly how he did, but I think it was better than last year - which is all that really mattered.

(I know this post has NOTHING to do with Nathaniel, but it was a cute pic of him at the Derby, I just couldn't resist sharing it.)

Onto LITERACY NIGHT -

Thursday, May 22 - The whole 3rd grade at Tanis' school worked on their literacy programs, and what made it extra nice is that instead of piling 4 or 5 classes into the auditorium, they had each class do their thing in their classroom. This made for a good seat - which was great - because Tanis is such a quiet kid.

Tanis' class sang a few songs and then they broke into 5 groups or so and each of the groups recited their favorite poem/story that they had heard throughout the year. It looked like they had lots of fun and they learned lots of fun stories/poems.


THIS IS AMERICA-

So Friday night, May 23 - The 3rd grade from Tanis' school and the 3rd grade from a neighboring school did a choir performance honoring those who serve in the military. There are quite a lot of military people out our way because we live by a base or something.

They held this at the outdoor ampitheater out our way. This was also nice because it wasn't in a crowded gym and the night actually ended up being a good night. It didn't seem like there was a lot of kids there, and Tanis later told me that only 9 kids in his class showed up. Sometimes I wish we wouldn't have shown up, but I was raised differently.

It was nice and I appreciated that my dad, big brother & wife and big sister all came to support Tanis. He was so happy to see them there.

What Happens Next...

Farewell to Preschool!!!

Thursday, May 21st, was Lex's last day of Preschool.

Instead of doing some major thing (like a graduation) with the 6 kids in our preschool, we decided to take a trip to the Farm Land (or whatever it's called) at Thanksgiving Point.

It was a nice day, but Farm Land was incredibly crowded when we got there. Luckily most of the crowds were leaving, so it ended up not being too incredibly crowded as we got into the bulk of stuff.

Lex had lots of fun being with all his preschool friends again, though, and Nate enjoyed the day as well. He even rode his first horse!

What Happens Next...

Mother's Day Projects

So for Mother's Day I made only 2 projects. I guess I kinda jipped my Mother-In-Law and Paternal Grandma a bit by not doing anything extra special for them, but I was running on little time and knew I couldn't squeeze a lot into my week. What I did by for them though, did have thought put into it.

Anyway, for my Maternal Grandmother I made her this tile:

I LOVE, LOVE this picture of her and Tanis taken at Tanis' baptism last summer. I just had to use it. I am not sure that I like the black & white, but it worked best when typing the words onto the picture.

For my mommy I did a scrapbook page. While reading in my scrapbook magazine an idea prompt they gave was: Compare your life with that of your Mother's when she was your age. (Or something similar)

Immediately, a layout came to mind and I knew exactly what pictures to use. This kind of inspiration HARDLY EVER happens to me in regards to scrapbooking, so I knew I had to roll with it.

I love how this turned out. And the picture of my mom's kids is one that my Maternal Grandfather loved. He wanted his own copy and my mom never got around to getting him one before he died. So this picture is so very near and dear to my mom's heart.

P.S. I am the little girl on the bottom right hand side, next to the baby. :D

What Happens Next...

A Walk on the Wild Side...

So after about a week of not really posting anything real relevant to our lives, here we go...

Take a look at these 2 cute kids and cute doggie...


On Monday, May 4th we lost all 3. Yes all three, at one time!

The story goes:

Foxy has had some issues lately with not letting me let her outside. I don't know why that is or how to go about correcting it, as it changes daily. Anyway, on this particular night, the kids are playing outside and I am cleaning up dinner.

I then notice that Foxy has left a trail of urine from the front room, all around our bed. I am trying to get it all cleaned up and take care of a whiny, clingy baby all at once. The next thing I know, Tanis comes in from outside and in so doing allows Milo to escape.

Shaylyn tells me that she will get Milo for me. I tell her to not chase him, but follow him, so we know where he is and I will send Daddy out. Well, Eric is in the restroom and I knock on the door. He tells me to wait just a minute...So, I do.

When he gets out I explain what has happened. So he walks out the door to look for the 2 kids and Milo. He comes back after a few minutes and decides to take the car. He is gone for about 10 minutes and when he arrives home, he doesn't have the kids or the dog with him.

Enter our neighbor girl, Faith. She runs up to Eric and asks if he's seen Jake. (Another neighborhood kid) Eric says no, and then figures that this kid must've followed our kids. Well the parents of missing kid, Jake have called the police and happen to live right next door to the bishop and our good friends, so they are out looking.

Somehow the word gets around that our kids and dog are missing as well. So the bishop, Eric and our good friend are out looking. Meanwhile, the cops stop by our house and after talking to me find out that not only is Jake missing, but so are Lex & Shaylyn. The cops try to get a description of what the kids are wearing, and I can't really even remember.

The cop I am talking to gives me a phone number if for some reason, the kids get found by someone else. A good neighbor is keeping me company at this point, and it's a good thing, cause I was going crazy!

About 15 minutes or so after talking with the cops, Jake's Dad drives by and tells me that the kids were found. They were found a good 3/4 a mile away, according to Eric. I call dispatch and tell them the kids were found and then call Eric and tell him where they were found. Eric meets up with whoever (I wasn't there, I am unsure of some details) and picks the kids up after the Sheriff has a little talk with them.

Eric is fuming mad at the kids and I am trying to tell him to calm down. They were just obeying what I told them to do. (I never figured they'd go as far as they did. I figured at worst, they'd get bored, turn around, come home and forget about the dog.) Milo, however, still hasn't been captured.

Eric heads back out to find Milo. About 10 minutes after he left, there is a knock at the door. It is cute little Faith again, only she has rounded Milo up and he runs in the door. Turns out Faith and her mom saw Milo run by and were able to chase him back home.

I call Eric and let him know and he lets the cops know and comes home. This whole thing started around 6:30 and ended around 8:30. It was a crazy night, and I was so thankful that everyone was safe. I only had a small glimpse of what people with missing children go through and it is one of the worst feelings in the world for a parent!

I am just so thankful to everyone who helped. Especially a lady in the ward, who just happened to be friends with Jake's mom, who happened to get a phone call, just as she was heading out. She is the one who found the kids, and I am thankful it just so happened to be one of Shaylyn's aquaintence's moms, otherwise I don't know what would have happened.

The next morning, I had to get up early to go to the zoo field trip with Shaylyn. I wasn't one of the "Parents" but Shaylyn really wanted me to go.

At first, I figured, "Okay, I'll go and just ride on the bus." But the Friday before when I talked to her teacher I found out that I wouldn't be able to ride on the bus and I'd have to drive myself. Well, I am a wuss driving some places, and the zoo is one of them. So we decided we'd all go as a family. Eric was going to take the day off anyway.

It then turned out that Tanis had CRT testing that day, and we wouldn't be able to go as a family, as I really didn't think taking him out of testing was a good idea. So I practically begged for a ride with a neighbor. :D

However, in the mean time she had met up with a couple other mom's in our ward and it was decided we could all drive up together. It was great and I am glad that turned out.

At the zoo, we divided up with our kids' groups. The group Shaylyn was in had 4 kids, 3 of whom had their mom's in the group as well. This turned out to be a good thing. These mom's were awesome and so very laid back. We were able to go on the train, the carousel and browse the gift shop. One mom paid for kid #4's train ride, one mom bought him a little something from the gift shop, and I took care of the carousel ride for him.

I had such a great time being with Shaylyn and Monday night's events made the day even sweeter.

Then, this past Saturday, Lex had his first T-Ball game. He has had a couple of practices and enjoys it. He had lots of fun at him game, as well. He is the first kid in our family to show any kind of talent when it comes to ball. I am not saying he is the greatest player in the world, I am just saying that he has some natural talent and enjoys it!

I look forward to many, many more games!

And that my friends is why it's been about a week. Life has been kinda hectic. Hopefully with summer coming, things will change a bit.

What Happens Next...

This Is Our Life...

Eric messaged me with a link to this video today.

It is an almost perfect example of his day to day job - minus me being the receptionist - However, when we were first married, I did work as a receptionist. Albeit it was at a different place than he worked....

Anyway, on to the video!

What Happens Next...

A Day In The Life...

Wow, wow, wow is all I can say about this past Friday, May 1st.

There was so much that happened, that life was just crazy....

I will post as my friend Catey did awhile back... (Some of the times may not be exactly correct, but you'll get the idea.)

7:00 - Pull myself up outta bed to get the kids breakfast and ready for school.

7:30 - Kids finishing up breakfast, and getting dressed for school.

8:00 - Give the baby a bath and get him ready for the day. And somewhere in there get Lex ready.

8:30 - Do Shaylyn's hair.

9:00 (or shortly thereafter) - Send Tanis & Shaylyn off to school with Thank You Notes for the teachers (It was Teacher Appreciation Week and I cheated and made a digital card following an example I saw at twopeasinabucket, and supplies I downloaded at shabbyprincess.)

RIGHT AFTER KIDS LEAVE - Jump into the shower and take a very quick one.

9:30 - Do hair & makeup

9:40 - Packing the little boys into the car and heading over to the school.

9:50 - Enter school gym, find a place to sit. Wait for Shaylyn's program to start at 10.

10:05 - Leave the gym (Shaylyn's program has just started)

10:06 - Find a bathroom so Lex can go potty.

10:10 - Wait in the kiva for the Student of the Month Assembly to start (For Tanis)

10:15 - Watch the assembly, listen to teachers explain why they chose certain student, blah, blah, blah...

10:20 - Take pics of Tanis w/teacher and then with certificate. Say goodbye to Tanis.

10:23 - Head back to the gym. Catch the last few minutes of Shaylyn's class performance. Hear the very last song all 1st graders did and feel content.

10:30 - Head back to Shaylyn's classroom to view their "country reports." She and a few classmates did Tibet. Learn a few interesting facts, see pretty good drawing Shaylyn did, visit with her teacher for a minute, snap a photo of Shaylyn with her teacher, say goodbye and head home.

10:55 - Pack the boys in the car and head home.

11:00 - Get home, put the baby down for a nap, and clean the house.

12:00 - Get Lex a PB & J sandwich and veg out in front of computer.

1:00 - Get baby out of bed and try to get him happy enough to play.

2:00 - Nathaniel cuts his eye on something, try to figure out how bad it's cut. Figure it's not too bad, snuggle baby. Lex wants to play outside. Hear the door open and shut a couple times.

2:10 - Check on Lex, he is nowhere to be found. Milo is also nowhere to be found.

2:15 - Put baby in car, grab leash and pull out of the driveway, see Lex walking down the sidewalk. He gets in car tells me Milo ran off (Yes, I know. Where is he?) Lex points in the direction and I see a flash of fur at the top of the street.

2:20 - Stop the car, get out and try to round up the dog. He must've had enough cause he comes to me and gets into the car.

2:25 - Pull back in the driveway, get everyone in the house, try to settle back down.

4:00 - Change Nathaniel's diaper, notice a rash on his belly. Start freaking out as I had plans for the night.

5:00 - Wait for Eric to get home to see what his thinks the rash may be. Does he agree that it looks like chicken pox or what? Call little sis to see how she feels about watching the baby now. She feels leary about it.

6:00 - Eric gets home, ask him what it looks like to him - he says it could be chicken pox. After a few minutes deliberating, we decide to take the baby with us to the movie and take the older kids to be babysat.

6:20 - Leave the house, head to the movie. Movie starts at 7:30, trying to hurry, in the rain.

6:40 - Still on Redwood Road, decide to just take all of the kids to the movie with us so that we make it on time. (Eric was really geared up to see the movie)

7:00 - Eric drops me off at Target to grab a cheap outfit for Tanis as he was in pj's. (Eric also has a thing about pajamas)

7:10 - Head out of Target spending only $20.00 and head to the theater.

7:15 - Get inside the theater, buy 3 kid seats.

7:20 - Wait for our friends who had our tickets.

7:30 - Still waiting.

7:40 - Still waiting...

7:50 - Hear from friends that he went to the wrong theater. Eric gets a refund from the 3 purchased kid seats and buys 5 more for the next showing at 8:15.

8:00 - Head into the theater

8:05 - Some weird guy starts talking to our kids. We turn around and discover it's Eric's cousin. We chat for a bit.

8:15 - Movie starts.....

8:25 - Nathaniel will not sit quietly. Eric gets up and takes him to the side of the theater.

9:00 - Start feeling guilty (it's a movie Eric really wanted to see) and go take Nate from Eric.

9:20 - No rest for the weary, Nate is fighting sleep and getting loud, so I take him out of the theater.

9:30 - Bored, Nate seems ready for sleep, maybe with a bottle...

9:35 - Sit down, get bottle, Nate drinks, almost asleep....Loud sound on movie - Nate's awake!

9:40 - Eric gets back up with him. Just as the movie ends, Nate falls asleep.

10:15 - Head out to our car in the cold and wake Nathaniel up...He fusses for a bit then finally falls asleep again. Head home and get some sleep...

And that in a nutshell was our Friday. The movie we went to see was the Origins of Wolverine movie. We all enjoyed it and had a fun family outing, even though it was crazy. As for the rash, I think it was just from his vaccine a few weeks ago as today, I can barely see any spots...

And I am so very proud of Tanis for being Student of the Month. If you watched the video of it, his teacher says how it's been a hard year for him, but he pulled through and kept a smile on his face. I was a bit teary eyed hearing such nice things said about him. She has been a good teacher to him from the get go and has always kept an eye out for him. I am so happy that he was blessed with such a great teacher.

Shaylyn's teacher has been a good teacher as well. She hasn't been as involved with Shaylyn as Tanis' teacher seems to have been with him, but she has gone above and beyond in her own ways. Shaylyn's teacher has taught them many Spanish words and has taught them things about other countries and how they live. It sounds like she has lots of cool ways of doing things as well.

I hope next year we will be just as lucky!

What Happens Next...

Nathaniel's First Birthday Party

I got a little behind with updating the blog, but it's been a couple of crazy, full weeks.

However, hopefully, life has slowed down a bit and I can now go on my merry way.

On Sunday, April 26th, we had Nathaniel's 1st birthday party. We held it at my in-laws house because I didn't want to make everyone drive out to the middle of nowhere with all the construction everywhere. Trust me, every street leading into our little city has construction!

Anyway, so we had his party at our in-laws and Nathaniel absolutely enjoyed himself. He loved to open his gifts and to see all the goodies inside. He was a little bit curious as to why everyone kept looking at him, but he gave us a good show anyhow.

He wasn't sure what to think of the birthday cake and the whole candle thing. (Lex blew out the candle for him...) He didn't even really care for his "cake." Ah, well I guess that is a trait he inherited from his Daddy.

All in all, it was a good night and my little baby had a fun birthday.

Here is a quick slide show of the pics my little sister took with my camera. I'm sure my MIL has lots more and more interesting pics, but I haven't gotten them yet.

Enjoy Nathaniel's 1st Birthday Party!

What Happens Next...