Mommy Melynda

Getting excited

2012-01-26T06:53:00.000-06:00

Look at the counter on the top of the page. It will be here before I know it. I will start packing soon.

Christmas

2012-01-07T15:16:00.000-06:00

I got this cute plate on Joanns for 70% off. Love their before holiday clearance. The kids just last year started leaving cookies for Santa. This year they decorated sugar cookies and each chose one to leave him. They aren't very noticeable in the picture but they are on there.

Christmas morning, Joshua and I were the first up at 4:15. I went out to the living room to wait and nurse. I figured if they weren't up by the time Joshua was done nursing I would go back to bed. But at 5 a.m. when Joshua was done I heard whispering in the back and then out Sheila and Timmy came.

Sheila ran to get Kimberly and Timmy ran to get Daddy. Sheila got a guitar, Timmy got an Alfie robot, and Kimberly got the Little People Zoo with most of the animals. (She just needs the penguin so if I can find it she will get that in her Easter basket.)

Joshua got this cool play mat. It has three different stages. This one and the tummy one he can do now. When he is sitting the piano comes off so he can hold it in his lap.

The kids enjoyed opening gifts and at 6:15 we were done.

Both Timmy and Sheila got these game systems and they love them. Sheila got the Dora game to go with hers and Timmy got the Cars 2. He also got the Pixar Pals one for his birthday and Sheila will get one too.

Joshua slept on and off through the whole thing. Yes, I have another thumb sucker.

So now that it is a few weeks after Christmas I have time to figure out my favorite gifts although I like everything I got. My favorite gift is my canister set Ray got me and picked out all by himself. Then I also enjoy the Wii. I really enjoy the fit and work out to it every day. I love the island cycling and the free run. I also got another charm for my charm bracelet, some cartridges for my Cricut, and two books, Glenn Beck's "Being George Washington" and "Choke" the second book in the new trilogy by Obert Skye who wrote "Leven Thumps" series.

Florida Caverns

2012-01-06T17:48:00.000-06:00

While my parents were here we took them to the Florida Caverns. We had 10 in our party of 12 to go in plus there was 10 other people. We had the largest tour of the day. The next largest group was 4. Ray's parents didn't go in but Nettie and Lydia joined our family and my parents. Here is Ray, Kimberly, and Timmy going down the steps to the entrance.

One of the bats, taking a nap.

Some of the formations.

In the wedding room. The formation in the background looks like a wedding cake. Lydia liked to ask a lot of questions. Our kids entertained the whole group.

A ribbon formation.

Elephant ears formation.

The wedding cake.

Shells in the ceiling. Yes, this use to be under water many years ago.

The one post everyone gets to touch since it is already dead. It was wet.

Luckily Joshua slept through it although at the begging he was fussy and I thought he might cry through the 45 minute tour (which ours turned into an hour.) We hadn't been since Timmy was a baby so it was fun to go back and the two older kids really enjoyed it. Kimberly did really good too and walked most of it herself.

New Year Resolutions

2012-01-05T12:05:00.000-06:00

I didn't get any made last year but will try again this year.

1. Lose 20 pounds. I have lost 30 since having the baby and have 15 more of the baby weight to go and then I would like to lose an additional 5. Overall I would like to lose 25-30 but will just work on 20 this year.
2. Finish the Old Testament. Been working on this for years. I am now on Ezekiel.
3. Finish about 100 projects for the fair. Have done so last year and the year before that was nearly that many. I have 3 finished so far.
4. Go to the temple more this year. This will be tough since I am nursing and it is 6 hours away. But hopefully we can find another family to go down with and share baby sitting services.
5. Save enough money to buy my new digital camera. This will take will power since I usually spend my money on things for projects. But maybe I can get it with my fair money and whatever I save up until then.
6. Finish painting the house.

Also some things I would like to work on.
1. My cookbook. I am going through old cooking magazines, cookbooks, and recipe cards and typing up all my favorites and making my own cookbook.
2. Scrapbooks. Never ending story.
3. Start writing again. I love to write stories but have not written in a long time.
4. Start using my serger. (Yes, it is still in the box.)
5. Start to organize all the closets in the house.

Another Plateau

2012-01-03T11:05:00.000-06:00

I hit my second plateau. I lost 7 pounds and then gained 2 then lost 2 and then gained it again so now I am hoovering about 5 pounds lighter than my first plateau. That was my pattern last baby too but I think I dropped a little more initially with the last baby. I hope I can break through this plateau soon and drop more than 5 before I hit the next one. I am now working out with the Wii Fit Plus we got for Christmas. I have lost just about half a pound in just over a week. My problem is I crave sweets. I am trying to eat less. I know I can never give them up fully. The kids also love the Wii and we usually have to take turns for an hour each day.

As you can see I am trying to catch up on some posts. They aren't in order. I have a few more to catch up on and hopefully I will get them done soon.

Joshua's Blessing

2012-01-03T11:01:00.000-06:00

On December 4, Joshua Matthew was blessed and named.

These pictures were taken a few weeks later since you can see from the first couple of pictures that he was not a happy camper right after church the day of his blessing.

I love this picture. I will probably get it blown up to put on my wall.

Timmy Turns Five

2012-01-03T10:57:00.000-06:00

On December 26, my little boy turned 5. He got a ton more presents and enjoyed opening them. Every time he saw the camera he would turn and say, "Cheese" just out of the blue and in the middle of whatever he was doing.

He got some new Thomas the Train things.

And a new comforter for his bed.

I made his cake. This was one of two. The other was just a regular white cake with rainbow chip frosting and said "Happy Birthday" on it. This was a chocolate cake made to look like a dump truck. My cakes weren't as tall as the ones in the pictures so my cuts weren't as deep and refined as the picture but for the first time I think it turned out pretty good.

He got all five candles with one blow. I wonder what he wished for.

Baptism

2012-01-03T10:53:00.002-06:00

On December 17th, Ray's youngest brother's wife, Nettie, was baptized. Ray had the honor of performing the baptism. I wish the kids had acted a little more reverent than they did. Their cousin, Lydia, who has just started attending church is way more reverent than they are. But overall it was a good day and so glad she has taken this step.

Christmas Prep

2011-12-22T07:53:00.000-06:00

So I have a ton of pictures I need to blog about but just haven't found time to do anything extra lately. I forget how much time it takes to do anything with a newborn. I have to add an extra half an hour to prep time to everything, getting ready to go somewhere, making dinner, etc. I am so behind on my sewing, scrapbooking, crocheting, knitting, and cross stitching. However, all the presents are wrapped. Santa is ready to stop at our house. I am also behind on the holiday baking. Doesn't look like I will get the goodie plates done for the neighbors this year. Ray's brother comes in today sometime and I am not sure what our schedule will be like the rest of the weekend before Christmas.

Good news, I'm past the first plateau. I was stuck there for a month. But since my last doctors appointment the end of November I have lost about 7 more pounds. Need to lose 8 more in 6 weeks to make my goal. Could happen.

Hope everyone has a good holiday and I will hopefully do a catch up post soon after Christmas.

My First Plateau

2011-11-21T09:12:00.000-06:00

I have lost over half of the baby weight but for the last two weeks I have plateaued. It has been a little frustrating since I was hoping to be in my prepregnancy jeans by Thanksgiving. I can get them on just not buttoned up. But now we have our cruise booked I want to be down another 15 pounds by then. That will put me close to my prepregnancy weight. I should at least fit all my clothes. Than by the time Joshua is a year old I would like to lose another 10 pounds. Overall I wold like to lose 30 more pounds and than maintain. That is all my pregnancy weight plus 10 pounds of extra. That is my goal to reach in 14 months.

The Countdown is On

2011-11-19T12:52:00.000-06:00

It's official. We have decided on our vacation for 2012. Ray got a really great discount on a cruise with military rate. We actually had another one saved for 2013 but we couldn't pass up the rate on the one in February. Not only are we saving about $600-$800 on the original one we had saved but we also get rooms with verandas instead of just portholes. Those rooms alone run $900 more a piece than what we are getting them for. We are keeping it a secret from the kids. We will be going for Sheila's birthday. The Disney characters will be calling the night before to break the news to the kids. We will be on the new Disney Dream cruise ship. We had to get two rooms but they will be adjoining. I am very excited.

Halloween part 1: Trunk or Treat

2011-11-10T07:36:00.000-06:00

Our ward Trunk or Treat was the 26th. Sheila was a white fairy, Timmy was Bumblebee, and Kimberly was a kitty. We bought Sheila and Timmy's costumes last year on clearance for like a dollar each and they still wanted to be them this year. Kimberly unfortunately was too big for the one we bought her on clearance so I got her a new one. She picked it out herself.

Daddy was a hippie and baby Joshua was a skeleton. His outfit glowed in the dark. He slept in it that night and it was funny to wake up in the night and see exactly where he was because the bones glowed. I didn't dress up this year. I did look for costumes but I didn't find anything appropriate in my size. Next year I plan on making almost everyone costumes again. I already have the patterns for Sheila's, Kimberly's, and Joshua's.

We had a lot of fun at the party. The kids got some candy, although not as much as most of the kids since our kids decide only going around once or twice was enough. Most kids go around until everyone runs out of candy. Ray's parents and younger brother's family came over for it too. Sheila is sure growing up. She went off with a couple of her friends for most of the evening.

Kimberly's birthday

2011-11-08T15:55:00.000-06:00

This is almost a month late but here are some of the pictures from Kimberly's second birthday.

She had a Dora cake. She loves Dora although we don't watch it much since I never can remember when it is on.

She really got into opening her gifts this year. We had to keep reminding Timmy and Sheila to leave her alone since they will try to open her gifts for her.

She blew out both candles all by herself on her first try.

And she sure enjoyed her birthday and her birthday cake.

Here He Is

2011-10-22T20:13:00.000-05:00

Born 1:40 p.m. on October 17. 8 lb. 15 oz. and 22 inches.

Mommy and baby Joshua Matthew. My easiest delivery and fastest. Only about ten minutes of pushing.

Proud parents.

My big boy.

Oldest sister and baby brother.

The brothers.

Kimberly and according to her "my baby."

Relaxing.

Coming home at 2 days old.

At home at last.

Almost time

2011-10-15T11:47:00.000-05:00

I have had several false alarms so far. But I should have known better. I never go early. Tomorrow is the due date but I am scheduled to be induced on Monday. Now I kind of hope he doesn't come until Monday since I will get the doctor I want and we already have it arranged for Ray's parents to come over and be with Kimberly and pick up Timmy and make sure Sheila gets off the bus. If I do deliver earlier in the day than the afternoon they can pick up Sheila early too. We go in Monday morning at 7 so we will pretty much be able to get the kids completely ready and then Ray's parents will only have to stand out with them to get on the bus. If the bus comes on time we may be able to put them on the bus even before we leave. What would be funny though is if I go into labor naturally on Monday morning and don't have to be induced after all. I have had other signs that labor is approaching besides contractions but they disappeared today so I hope if we wait it out today than he will wait until Monday to come. I will try to post more regularly once a new schedule is established with the baby.

Frustration

2011-10-04T07:52:00.000-05:00

That is how I feel this morning. We got home late from the fair last night and since Ray has class at 8:30 we decided to have him take the kids to school and let them sleep in a little bit. That backfired in our faces. I need to have one of the booster seats in the van so I can pick up Timmy so Ray put the one in his car and then we got the spare one out for Sheila (who legally doesn't need one anymore but the seatbelts bug her). She threw a huge tantrum about it and we had to threaten her to get her in the seat and fight her to get the seat belt on. I was so ready to make her walk to school. She does this almost every time we take her to school. Now she is going to be late. I told Ray to make her get a tardy slip from the office. Also we will not be taking her to school again. She will be getting on the bus every morning for now on. And we got the new bus schedule yesterday and the kids bus is going to start coming 15 minutes earlier in the morning so now we really have to get up early to get them on the bus. Why does she have to be so stubborn? Why can't she see reason?

I'm Still Alive

2011-09-15T16:27:00.000-05:00

Well, since the kids have gone back to school I seem to have no energy and no time. I have tons of pictures (finally downloaded) that I hope to eventually will blog about.

Things that have happened lately:
1. Sheila lost her first tooth. Never got a good video of her wiggling it although I tried. I did get some pictures that may eventually make it on here.
2. We been painting our kitchen because we replaced the rotting back doors.
3. We got a new nephew. Ray's younger brother and wife had their second. Their oldest is just a few months younger than Sheila.
4. Timmy and Sheila started school.

Things that should be happening soon.
1. Finish painting kitchen and dining room.
2. The fair. I have a bunch of stuff ready and hope to finish about a dozen more if I find the time. Some I have only a little bit of stuff to do and other's a little more but close that I should get done.
3. Our baby. Just a month left. We are picking up a dresser this weekend and then I should finish organizing the nursery. It's been hard with bags of clothes sitting everywhere and Kimberly and the baby's clothes squeezed into a small dresser.

Ugh, I can't take it anymore

2011-08-25T07:16:00.000-05:00

My house is a mess. I have a hard time cleaning up now since once I get down on the floor it takes a long time to get up. I have tried to keep up with cleaning up/off tables, counters, etc. but I have to look to my kids and husband to help with the floor more. Well, this week with us being all so busy my house has become a big mess. I can't take it anymore. I am going to clean as much as I can today. The kids bedroom and the living room is the worst. I also am behind on my projects. My schedule is off since I now have to get the kids off to school and pick Timmy up at 11. I still figuring out a good routine. Next week will be just as busy. In fact probably every week will be just as busy until the baby is born. I will try to update the blog at least once a week but if I don't you know why. I have pictures to download of the kids first day of school so hopefully I can get that done sometime in the next week. Today is cleaning and catching up on projects.

Our temple trip

2011-08-09T07:44:00.000-05:00

In the middle of July we headed down for Orlando to go to the temple one last time before the baby is born. It is a six hour drive one way. I will never do it pregnant again, since it was so hard on me on the way back.

We got to the hotel just before 4. After checking in we looked up movie times for Harry Potter and one started in just 20 minutes so we headed down to the theatre just a few blocks away. We had to park in a parking garage (luckily the theatre validated our parking so we didn't have to pay for that.) Then we walked to the theatre. By the time we got there the movie was starting. We bought our tickets through a kiosk because we went in at the second level and not through the box office. The theatre was awesome, huge with huge seats. After the movie we went straight to dinner and then back to the hotel. We pulled over to let a fire truck go by and it turned into our hotel. Guess it wasn't a fire because we went right back in the hotel, good thing to since it was raining, and never found out why it was there.

We stayed in the Embassy Suites. It was a really nice hotel. We splurged a little since this is our last trip for the year. It had a really nice atrium.

A view from outside our door.

The bed was huge and comfortable.

The next morning we checked out after breakfast (they have awesome breakfasts.) We got to the temple right before one session started so we headed over to the clothing distribution for a few minutes and then over to the temple to do a session.

We headed home after the session. We stopped half way home for lunch. It was a fun little getaway and I am so glad we finally made it to the temple to do a session.

Today is an Anniversary

2011-08-04T21:03:00.000-05:00

I can't believe 13 years ago today I left my mission. It doesn't seem that long, and then sometimes it seems like it has been a really long time. I had such a good time. Had several great companions and met some really awesome people. But most importantly I found myself, my self confidence and self worth grew. I know that is because I came to know and love my Savior. I understood the Atonement and realized how important it is to each person as an individual. Jesus Christ, our Savior, loved us so much that if he knew he would only save one person by dying on that cross and being resurrected, he would have still done it. I just wish that every one understood that and lived accordingly. I have struggled in those 13 years, but my testimony has got me through those rough times and I know it will in the future as well.

Family Day

2011-08-02T11:58:00.000-05:00

Ray's work had Family Day out at Bonita Bay on July 23. It was so hot and I was miserable but the rest of the family had fun.

They had a guy there making balloon shapes for the kids. Sheila got a flower.

Timmy got a monkey.

Ray participated in the cardboard boat races. He's in the red. There were four boats but they only raced two at a time. It was a time race. The other boat, shaped as a F22 jet, sank as soon as the guys got in it.

Ray was nearly in the water when they got back. His troop (Ray's his supervisor) finished dumping him in after the race. They came in third overall but because one boat was disqualified since they used something other than cardboard and duct tape, they came in second.

The kids had fun on the water slide. I had to get after them because they didn't wait for people to clear out of the bottom and we had a four kid pile up at the bottom and Sheila bit her lip pretty good.

Kimberly was also hot and miserable. She wouldn't let me put her down. My hips and back ached from sitting on a bench for two hours and holding, carrying her. By the time Ray brought the car around I was in tears. He had to go get the other kids. I couldn't breathe and Ray asked me if I wanted to go to the hospital. Once I sat in full blast air conditioning for a few minutes I was able to calm down and breathe again. It was pretty scary though. We didn't go to the pioneer activity that night because of it.

Loose Tooth

2011-08-02T07:01:00.000-05:00

Sheila has a loose tooth. When it gets a little more wiggly I am going to try to get a video of her wiggling it. She is very excited for the tooth fairy to come. I think I am going to make her a little bag to put her tooth in for the tooth fairy. Should be fairly simple. I got a new cricut cartridge (Joann's is having an awesome sale right now) with a tooth die cut. Maybe I will use that. A lot of her friends lost teeth in kindergarten so she has been waiting a long time. She was a late teether so I am not surprised it took her longer to get one.

Also I am no longer as discouraged as I was in my last post. I read some article in the Ensign that helped me realize that it could always be worst and that I am truly blessed.

Discouraged

2011-07-29T07:18:00.000-05:00

I have been feeling a little discouraged lately. Maybe it is the pregnancy hormones raging in me. Last night I just started bawling for no reason. When my husband asked me what was wrong I couldn't tell him.

The state of the economy is really starting to worry me now. I really wasn't worried for a long time but now things are really starting to effect us. I have noticed every time I go to the grocery stores, prices have jumped again. For example, Country Crock has jumped over $1 in price, that is an increase of 50%. Most thing are 20-30 cents and when they were only a dollar to start with that is a huge percent. Ray got a piddly raise this year, but I am still grateful for it since not many people got a raise. The goverment claims that they give the military raises to match inflation or the growth of the economy or something to that fact. But my grocery budget has been going over every month and I even increased it like I do every year. I have been using coupons a lot more but the overages are adding up. I really have been trying to save more this year and that has been a struggle. (I use the coupons when the item is on sale or is less than the brand I normally buy is.)

Now we found out they want to mess with the military retirement. Before if you did 20 years you got 50% of your base pay every month for the rest of your life. Ray has 12 years. We had the plans that he would work about another 20 years after that and so that money would go straight to a retirement plan and we would live off his other income. But if the plan goes through he would only get 2.5% for each year he has right now which would be shy of 30%. Then he wouldn't receive that money for another 10+ years after he retired. So now our retirement plans are pretty much messed up. Why don't they cut the politicians retirement? Most of them make millions anyway in other businesses. There is no way they deserve 100% retirement for the lousy 2-6 years of service they give our country.

Ray and I made the decision that I would stay home and raise the children. That we would sacrifice that second income and do as the Lord has asked us to. I feel that the Lord has really blessed us. We have been able to do a lot for what we make. But now I am feeling the pressure. We have been in the house for 7 years and things are starting to wear out. Our carpet is hideous. Our paint is nasty. We have a rotted piece of wood on the back door jam that we need to replace. I still want to get a fence so my kids can play out in our back yard without stray dogs and kids wandering in. I'd like to take my children on vacations every year. But something has to give. So the fence may have to wait another year so we can fix the back door. The carpet will take another cleaning and hopefully will last a few more years so we can finish painting the house. Savings may suffer so I can pay for groceries to feed my kids.

Now just a side note about the groceries. I do not shop at more expensive grocery stores and I usually buy store brand items. Our grocery budget it actually probably at least 1/3 less than the average family of 5. I make homemade meals most often and with less expensive ingredients.

I know the Lord will bless us, I just need to have faith and not listen to the news so much.

Yay, the lawn mower is fixed

2011-07-21T16:18:00.000-05:00

Last year our lovely gas lawn motor died for good. Ray has been wanting to get an electric one forever. It was September and we finally found one at Lowe's. We got it for a great price and got a military discount on top of that. He got it out in May and mowed the lawn. Then with the drought he didn't have to mow the lawn at all until he got back from school six weeks later (he came home on the weekends.) It was completely dead so he charged it for over a day and it still wouldn't work. While it was charging we had a small rainstorm. That was the only time it got left in the rain. We were extremely afraid that might have done something. He found someone in town that does the warranty work for that type of mower. Well, yesterday he picked up the mower. It turned out to be a faulty switch, nothing to do with getting wet and was covered under warranty. So now our lawn is short again. Yippee. Paying tithing works.

Independence Day

2011-07-19T16:21:00.000-05:00

Last year we were on the road for Independence Day but this year was back to our normal traditions.

We actually remembered to put out our flag. We usually forget.

Grandma and Kimberly ready to watch our own firework display.

After the first one Kimberly had enough. Soon after this picture I took her inside and put her down for the night. Maybe in a few years we can try a big display but not until the kids aren't scared of the noise.

Some of my better shots.

Timmy and Sheila actually sat outside for the whole thing although they moved back to the middle of the driveway.

We just had about 10 or so this year. I think it was the perfect amount for our kids ages. Maybe next year we will get the next larger package. Before our fireworks we had our american hotdogs, potato salad, macaroni salad, and watermelon. We also decorated patriotic sugar cookies. We didn't attend the parade again this year because it was too hot but that is something I would like to do in the next year or two.

Father's Day

2011-07-12T11:17:00.000-05:00

Okay so almost a month late I am finally getting these pictures posted.

I rarely get pictures of Mother's Day and Father's Day so I am going to try to make a better effort at it. A lot of these pictures turned out a little blurry and that was disappointing plus the nice overflowing garbage and messy desk in the background. Other than that I love the pictures of Ray with our three current children.

Building together

2011-07-12T11:15:00.000-05:00

I ordered a bookshelf and a dresser from Walmart.com and had them shipped to our local store. We picked up the bookshelf and built it on the 2nd.

Timmy was a big help. He wanted to do everything from hammering to using the screw driver.

The girls even got in on the action.

Kimberly making sure the screws were tight.

Timmy helping out daddy get the screws in upside down.

I love this picture of Kimberly's funny face. I never seen her make that one before.

Finally it was time to hammer on the back.

I forgot to get a picture of the finished project but I love the look of the new bookshelf. We placed it in the living room and took the one from there and put in our room and put the small one in the kids room. I wish the other place I want to get a new bookshelf for was wide enough for this one because I would buy another one in a heart beat.

We got the dresser last weekend and Ray built it mostly while I was at a bridal shower and when I was reading to the kids. It is white and went in the kids room. I liked the look of it but it really is not that white. I may give it another coat a paint when we paint the kids room later this year or beginning of next year. Also it has a really cheap cardboard back. That was disappointing. Other than that I am pretty happy with it.

Another day at the beach

2011-07-12T11:07:00.000-05:00

We do try to go out to the beach at least once a month. The kids enjoy it, except Kimberly. She whined the whole time this time so we cut our visit a little short. The water was warmer and the kids ventured in.

Going Stir Crazy

2011-06-29T17:49:00.000-05:00

Hacking, sniffling, sneezing, oh what fun it is at my house. I am so going crazy. I have wiped so many noses, mine included. My son swallowed a frog. My youngest daughter's nose is a faucet of snot. Sheila remains the only one not sick but maybe not for long. We each seem to get it for the standard 7-10 days, and so lucky that one of us is barely getting over and someone else gets it so nonstop for 3 weeks now. I so want out of the house. I am really a homebody but I don't know how much more I can take. They too are going crazy. Everytime I turn around they are picking on each other. I have tried to keep my sanity by sewing, crocheting, knitting, and scrapbooking like crazy (and wearing ear plugs, jk but I have thought about it). As soon as the crud flies from our house we will be hitting swimming pools, zoos, the local water park, the beach more often, and the movies. Ray will be done with school tomorrow. Yay! A long six weeks. He will hate his weekends for the rest of summer since I will have them so packed with things to do. This year our vacation will be a staycation and doing things locally.

Enjoying Ice Cream

2011-06-24T11:19:00.002-05:00

No words needed.

A Bad Haircut

2011-06-24T11:05:00.000-05:00

The other day, Kimberly had pulled her ponytail out and the hair was hanging down over her face. I told her I needed to fix it for her. A few minutes later, Sheila is throwing something away next to me and said something that I now believe was, "Kimberly didn't cut her hair." I was in the middle of something and didn't pay much attention. Sheila is always coloring, cutting, gluing, stapling projects so I thought that is what she was doing. About 15 minutes later I got up to make lunch for the kids. Sheila and Kimberly followed me into the kitchen and this is what I noticed.

The hair had been all the same length as the one long strand hanging down her forehead. Now some of it on the one side was only an inch long. Some of it was cut really short to the top of her head. I didn't know how I was going to fix it. I looked at Sheila and said, "Did you cut her hair?" She got the quiltiest look on her face and looked down at the floor. I said a little louder and more intensely, "Did you cut her hair?" I didn't yell or freak out so I was proud of that. Sheila never responded but I knew she had done it becuase I don't think Kimberly can use scissors yet, although she does try, and to reach up there and cut it so close to her scalp would have been a feat in of itself. I took her in the bathroom and tried to straighten it out the best I could.

This is as even as I could make it without it being extremely short. It has been a couple of weeks now and looks better. Maybe in another week I can even it out some more. I was surprised that Kimberly sat still while I cut it. But no more pony tails for awhile. She had just started to have long enough hair to put it up but now it is hard to get enough hair into one. Sheila got her scissors taken away for a week. She vowed she would never cut anyone's hair again but I told her that was her consequence to have to do without for a week. It about killed her. Best thing to take away from Timmy is his car collection, Sheila her art supplies.

Beach Day

2011-06-17T11:57:00.000-05:00

The Saturday before Memorial day we took the kids out to Mexico Beach. We usually go out to the beach on the air force base since it is less crowded but it has a huge walkway and takes forever to get down there and with me getting bigger it is harder on me to walk that far. What I love about Mexico Beach it is usually not as busy as Panama City Beach and you usually can park within a few feet of the beach. If you go down far enough too you can find some good shells even in the middle of the day. We didn't go down that far this time. We got this cute raft for Kimberly but she still hates the water.

She much rather play in the sand but this time she wouldn't even get in the sand but she did dump it on her legs while sitting on the beach towel blanket I made (two beach towels sewn together.)

The kids found a premade hole that was dug and added their own touch to it. Daddy helped make the sand castle style towers.

Kimberly giving Daddy a kiss.

Timmy in his hole.

The kids never even got in the water. I am not sure why. Sheila usually like to play mermaid.

Afterwards we went out to the pizza place and ordered a large pizza. The kids enjoyed the treat.

Yay, A Fun Getaway

2011-06-12T17:55:00.001-05:00

Ray and I had a weekend to ourselves. One of my friends from the church, her husband, and three girls were sealed in the temple down in Orlando this weekend. Ray came home Friday night from school and then his parents came over to stay the night. We left at 4:30 a.m. on Saturday to make it down there for the sealing. It was such a beautiful experience. I cried when they brought their daughters in. After the temple we went to lunch (late) and then to X-men and then to the Cheesecake factory for dessert. We cashed in Ray's free night on a hotel card and then left early this morning to come home. I would have liked to do more temple work while there but unfortunately by the time we got out of the sealing and had lunch the temple was closed for the day. We plan on going down next month again and doing some. It was a much needed break. I am grateful for my husband to drive so much this weekend so I could attend. I was glad to get back and see my children. However, the moment I stepped in the temple I was happy. Makes me wish we had one close enough so that I could go more often and get a babysitter easier. Orlando temple is 6 hours away and so it is an overnight trip or a really long day when we go.

Pigtails

2011-06-09T10:36:00.000-05:00

About a month ago Ray cut about a foot off of my hair. No one noticed. I think it is because when you have really long hair no one notices when you cut a foot off unless you go really short like a mother and daughter in our ward. But if you have short hair and cut 2-3 inches off, everyone notices. I have been having migraines (always get them in the second trimester) and thought maybe chopping it would help. It didn't. But it has made me cooler especially since this is already a very hot summer and I really think I am going to like this length. I may let it grow about 2 or 3 more inches but I think I will keep it this length for awhile. After Ray cut it I put my hair in pigtails and the girls wanted theirs done to. Here are some of the pictures of us in pigtails.

And the Baby Is...

2011-06-01T13:09:00.000-05:00

A BOY!!!

And of course he had his face near the placenta again. All my babies are hard to get good ultrasound pictures.

My Least Favorite Household Chore

2011-05-30T16:43:00.000-05:00

I rather scrub toilets than wipe out the microwave. I have always despised cleaning out that little thing. For one thing I am just about an inch too short to really get into it without getting on my tip toes. I remove and clean the turntable and then spray cleaner in the microwave. Whether I use a wash cloth or a paper towel the food particles just seem to smear around or squish down into the minute seams along the sides. I try to wipe out any spills as soon as they happen but not everyone in our house does and so often I have some caked on gunk that stubbornly resists my scrubbing. However, if I put off the cursed task it is only gets worse so I dutifully roll up my sleeves, rise up on my tip toes, and lean into the migraine inducing chore.

End of school party

2011-05-25T11:44:00.000-05:00

I helped out with Sheila's end of school party. They had an ice cream party. I scooped the ice cream while the other mother helped with the different toppings. Sheila refused to have any ice cream. It was vanilla ice cream which she usually likes but not that day. She finally had a small bowl of m&ms and sprinkles.

Sheila and her bff, Makayla. Unfortunately, she will be moving to another state over the summer.

Timmy and Kimberly enjoying their ice cream.

Sheila and all the girls in her class that were present. I think there was only one not there that day.

Sheila and her teacher Mrs Lee. Sheila sure loved Mrs. Lee. Hopefully she will love her first grade teacher just as much. The school year went so fast. Next year Sheila will be in first grade and Timmy in pre K. Sheila will go all day while Timmy will be only half a day. They will both ride the bus in the morning but I will be picking up Timmy at 11 every day.

Sheila's Kindergarten Recognition (aka graduation)

2011-05-20T11:09:00.000-05:00

Tuesday we all attended Sheila's kindergarten recognition in the morning. They sang a few songs and then each got their certificate and then sang some more songs. It was very cute unfortunately a lot of my pictures turned out dark and blurry but here are a few that turned out.

Now it is on to first grade. Next year I will have two in school for half a day.

So weird

2011-05-13T14:29:00.000-05:00

My post from yesterday is not showing up. I have had a little bit of trouble with blogger lately. It takes forever to load my photos and seems to slow way down at times. I will wait to see if it shows up at some point but if not I will try to repost my post from the other day.

Be an Example

2011-05-12T10:10:00.000-05:00

I have not always been the best example to my children. I don't read my scriptures every day, I sometimes say things they shouldn't be repeating, and I often yell. However I do try to instill in them good values and to do the right thing. Today when I was finished with another headache inducing shopping trip at Walmart, with my daughter not happy the whole time and my son trying to quiet her in a not so gentle way, I was loading the van with the purchases and lifted up my purse to discover the birthday card I had picked up for my mother that I had totally forgot about and didn't pay for. My heart sank. I rarely do that but it made me sick. Someone was waiting for our parking spot but after I got everything else loaded in the van I took the card and my children and headed back into the store. A nice older couple let us go ahead of them since I only had the card. I told the cashier what had happened and she thanked me for bringing it back in. I had explained to my son why we were going back in to the store because I want him to know that it is never right to take something without paying for it even if it was an accident.

On a sad note, my mother called me last night to tell me that the lady I use to babysit for passed away yesterday from a heart attack. She was a very active woman of seven children. She was only 50 years old. Her children range from about 29 to 10. Three still live at home and one son is on a mission. (I babysat the oldest three mostly.) She will be missed by those who knew and loved her.

The rest of Easter and catch up

2011-05-10T10:49:00.000-05:00

Ray was gone during Easter so it was sort of spread out in what we did. We attended Sheila's school Easter egg hunt. The kids all came back with a huge amount of eggs. I sent 54 with Sheila to school but she only ended up with 8 full ones and 12 empty ones when she got there. So I bought another 30 for Timmy and Kimberly to contribute. I think 24 more might have actually made it in since one of the little girls in her class that rides her bus but doesn't celebrate Easter because of her religion brought in some eggs but I couldn't get the whole truth out of Sheila so who knows.

Then Sunday morning the Easter Bunny came to visit out house. He just hid eggs this time for the kids to find.

The kids wore their Easter outfits to church although Sheila has refused to wear her since.

Daddy came home Monday, May 2. On May 4, we joined Sheila's class on their field trip to the strawberry farm.

The kids got to pet one of the baby bunnies. They have chickens, bunnies, bees, peacocks, geese, cows, turkeys, and pigs there.

Then we took a wagon ride around the farm.

Finally to the picking. Unfortunately we were at the back of a huge crowd and didn't get many big berries. It was actually quite frustrating because I had my three kids and another little girl trying to pick and all they were finding were tiny ones and they wanted to get big ones. I had bought a box for Timmy and Kimberly to share and good thing I didn't buy anymore since we barely filled the two we had (Sheila got one with her field trip fees.)

For Mother's Day, Ray took me to the movies (on Saturday) and then we also got another two charms for my charm bracelet. He was going to buy me a quilting foot for my sewing machine but we got to the shop 8 minutes after it closed so we will have to pick one up some other time.

While Ray was gone the kids also attended two birthday parties for little girls in our ward. Other than that I have been busy sewing and crocheting and knitting. I will be updating my other blog hopefully tomorrow with one of those projects but I have to get pictures of some others that are completed.

Easter Bunny

2011-05-06T16:31:00.000-05:00

Ray was informed that he would most likely be going out of town for two weeks on Monday the 18th, missing Easter. Then on Tuesday while at work he found out for sure he would be going the very next day and not scheduled to be back until Thursday, May 5th. So our Easter was a little different this year. We made a call to the Easter Bunny and he gladly delivered the children's baskets while we were out at dinner (celebrating Easter early since my ham was still frozen.)

The kids were truly surprised to see their baskets sitting on the coffee table when they got home. Sheila almost walked right by them but Timmy shouting and running to them alerted her to it.

He didn't bring everything since all their eggs weren't ready but he brought them a basket full of goodies each. Ray left the next morning and was gone until Monday, May 2. Glad that he came home 3 days early but it was hard having him gone. He didn't get to help the kids dye eggs or see them find eggs the Easter Bunny left for them Sunday morning.

Easter cookies

2011-05-05T16:27:00.000-05:00

The family loves sugar cookies. So every holiday we make some and then decorate them. I give each kid a few cookies to decorate themselves, since they like to lick the knives. Ray and I do the rest.

Proud to be an American

2011-05-02T07:02:00.000-05:00

Once again patriotism is showing its glorious head on the news. For years I wondered where our patriotism had gone; what with a president going around apologizing to other world leaders, making sure we didn't step on anyones toes, and rejecting the faith of our forefathers to coddle those that believe differently so we wouldn't look intolerant. I have said we are so tolerant we are intolerant. We are so compassionate we are incompassionate. Etc. It seems like we are so afraid of offending someone we offend everyone. But this morning, or rather last night when the news broke that Usama Bin Laden was dead, people came out to celebrate and show their patriotism. I got out my Times magazine and Newsweek from the day after 9/11 and showed my children what that man did to us so they could understand why this moment is so important to us. I knew he wasn't holed up in cave somewhere. I knew he was probably staying somewhere nice and plush so he could be having his little laugh and spitting in our eye thinking he would never be found. And to get him just before the tenth anniversary, what a bitter sweet moment. Bitter because we lost so many innocent lives but sweet that their memory will be honored now by taking down the mastermind.

Isaiah 18

2011-04-25T08:10:00.000-05:00

I have been trying to finish reading the Old Testament for several years now. In the past I have made it past the books of Moses but not too much past that so a few years ago I made it a goal to finish it. I don't read everyday but I try to. I also read a chapter in the Book of Mormon everyday too. I have been using the LDS Institute Student Manual to help me understand the Old Testament. Today I read Isaiah 17 and 18. I read in the student manual something that impressed me. President Joseph Fielding Smith stated that verse one in chapter 18 is a mistranslation. A more accurate translation would be "Hail, to the land in the shape of wings." It is a greeting rather than a woe. He then went on to say that he once saw a picture of the American continent printed on a magazine in a shape of wings. He went on to explain that the chapter was about missionary work and the gathering of Israel. So after I read that I read the chapter in a whole new light. The last verse, verse 7, also has some more accurate translations. A direct quote from the student manual, "The Jesualem Bible renders the phrase in Isaiah 18, 'a people terrible from the beginning,' as 'the nation always feared'; and it renders the phrase 'whose land the rivers have spoiled' as 'the country criss-crossed with rivers.' These passages seem to refer to America, where the Restoration was to take place."

I am so glad we have modern revelation and prophets today to help us understand the words of prophets long passed away. Could you imagine trying to describe something you have never seen but in a vision, of things that have not been discovered or invented yet? That would be a feat.

Wish I could Sleep in

2011-04-25T07:01:00.000-05:00

My daughter's bus comes so early in the morning. We live just about 5-10 minute drive from school but her stop is one of the first on the route so we have to have her up and out the door by 6:30 a.m. Ray and I usually both get up at 5:30. I get her ready while he gets ready for work and then he stands out at the bus stop with her. He leaves for work about 6:50. But currently I am solo. He's busy with work and so I have to get her and I completely ready now. Luckily today she didn't fight me. Usually it is a big battle. Now if I decide to take her to school and let her sleep in to 6:30 she is so much more pliable to getting up and ready. School starts at 7:50 and I leave the house at 7:30 to get there in time. The only problem is since she is so young I have to walk her to her class and so that means dragging all the kids out of the car so the bus is usually the best option when I have no where else to go.

My new blog

2011-04-23T11:41:00.000-05:00

I decided to start a blog just on my crafts and hobbies. I plan to post about projects I have sewn, crocheted, and knitted. Also food that I have cooked and treats I have made that have been fun, turned out good, and were enjoyable. I also plan to post about books I have read since I love to read as well. Anyway if you are interested in checking it out here is the link. http://melyndacraftandhobby.blogspot.com/

Our new toy

2011-04-20T09:30:00.000-05:00

After much deliberation and contemplation, Ray and I decided a minivan would suit our family better than the Borrego. True, the Borrego seats as many as a minivan, however getting to the third row is more difficult and entails either going through the tailgate or removing a car seat to pull the second seat forward. Hoever, if we got rid of the Borrego we would have the trailer we couldn't pull. After the last incident of the awning being ripped off we decided to try and sell it. Well, we were able to trade both in and get the minivan.

We got a 2011 Nissan Quest SL. It's twilight gray. It has a greenish blue tint in the sun. It has beige leather enterior. The sliding doors open with just a single touch, so much easier for the kids. It also has a backup camera with a 7 inch screen in front, a DVD player, a power tailgate, and a smart key. It does not have memory driver seat or a navigation system like the Borrego but it has power driver seat and we have a tom tom GPS system anyway. Also it has a huge cargo well in the back. It rides very smooth and comfy. I think we will enjoy it over the next several years since I made Ray promise not to even mention getting a new car until it is paid off.

That Girl!!!!

2011-04-19T11:11:00.001-05:00

Sheila was asked to bring 18 candy filled eggs to school for her Easter egg hunt on Friday. Her teacher wanted them there by today so she could get them numbered since each child finds their number. Since I will be bringing Timmy and Sheila along with me I decided to get 18 for Timmy and then some extra. Well, because I am a little lazy this year I bought the prefilled ones and I bought a box of 30 and a bag of 24. I decided to send all of them since then maybe Kimberly could find a half dozen or so and there would be extra incase one of the other children didn't bring some.

Well, if I had been thinking I would have sent them with her yesterday when Ray took her to school but she was already taking a milk jug for her Easter basket project. I sent them today with her on the bus, all 54. At about 9 I get a call from her teacher. Sheila had opened the box (the bag of 24 was totally missing) and had eaten the candy out of the eggs. I am sure she shared with her friend on the bus and who knows who else. Her teacher ended up with 8 filled eggs and 12 empty ones. I was so upset with that child. I am going to talk to her bus driver to see if he saw what went on but because her backpack was full of empty candy wrappers I am under no illusion that one of the older kids took them all from her. I headed out to Walmart this morning to replace the missing eggs and she will be paying for those. Luckily her teacher had enough candy to fill the 12 that were empty and so I only bought another box of 30 for Timmy and Kimberly to find during the hunt. Little Stinker.

My Big Secret

2011-04-18T14:44:00.000-05:00

Baby number 4 is on its way. I am now 14 weeks. These ultra sound pictures are from my first visit at 8 weeks.

(Baby's back)

We are very excited. This will most likely be our last one. Sheila wants a girl, Timmy wants a boy, and Ray and I don't really care as long as it is healthy. We will be finding out what we are having. Ray's brother's wife is having a boy (they think although the ultrasound wasn't all that clear) a month before us so if we have a girl we will give them all the boy stuff we have saved up. We kept it quiet for as long as we could but I always show early so everyone is starting to find out. Only a few family members knew before now. I am due October 16, four days after Kimberly's birthday. I hope to have this baby on it's own birthday.

Painting the Hall

2011-04-13T11:41:00.000-05:00

I hate my walls. I have been sitting in this house for almost 7 years staring at the walls every day and hating them. The contractor used the crappiest flat paint ever. This year we are finally painting. Ray and I picked out a warm brown color and Saturday pawned the kids off with the grandparents and spent four hours painting our hall. We still need to finish painting the doors and trim (white) but I love it already. We got Valspar signature paint, which is more expensive, but definitely worth it, satin finish. It cleans up really good if it gets dirty. Gone is the scuff marks (and everything left marks on our walls) and the crayon and pencil and marker marks that wouldn't come off with the magic eraser. Here are some before and after pictures.

Sorry the pictures don't show the color too good. We are going to paint our dining room the same color in a couple of weeks and hopefully the pictures will turn out better. We hope to have our house completely repainted by December 2012. We are going to take a break after the dining room and then do the kitchen (red) and the girls room (purple) in the winter. Then in the spring we will do the living room (?) and the boy room (blue). Finally around December 2012 we will redo our bedroom and bathroom.

Strawberry Picking

2011-04-13T07:44:00.000-05:00

Wahoo, the strawberry farm is open for the season. Saturday morning we picked and picked and ate and ate.

Kimberly's first time picking. She didn't like the tall grass so I had to physically move her every few feet.

They all enjoyed snacking during the picking.

Afterwards we visited the animals on the farm.

We love this place and it is one of our favorite family traditions. I make jam and freeze some but we usually eat a lot of them just for snacks. It is one of our indulgence every spring. We will at least go one more time if not twice more before they close.

I Have a Secret

2011-04-10T18:11:00.002-05:00

I have a secret. I have left clues in my blog that last few weeks. Can you figure it out?

Stop telling me what to feed my children

2011-04-07T07:02:00.000-05:00

Okay so I am watching the news and it is really irritating me. This lady is arguing that McDonalds needs to stop adding Toys to their happy meals and that we need to get rid of presweetened cereal. Okay, I am guilty. I get my kids Happy Meals on occassion and sometimes we get Cocoa Puffs or Fruit Loops for them. But as a parent I don't let them gorge themselves on those products. Usually when we get the happy meal my kids get the juice or milk and the apple slices. They don't even eat the caramel sauce that come with the apple slices. In fact if they do away with the toys I think that parents will just start buying their children the adult size meals that have a lot more calories than a Happy Meal. Just because a few parents go the easy route and don't want to make their children mad and let them eat all that junk doesn't mean all parents do and so therefore we need to get rid of it all. We live in America. Land of FREEDOM, not you can do anything you want as long as it is healthy for you, you don't offend anyone, and it's political correct. Hello, Big Brother. "1984" here we come.

I need a Maid

2011-04-07T06:55:00.000-05:00

Lately it seems like I can't keep up with the house. I am either too tired or too busy. So today I really need a maid. But her Name will be Melynda. I am just going to have to do it. However, I went to clean my kitchen the other day and couldn't find my cleaner anywhere so I used soapy water. Well, yesterday we stopped by Wal-Mart getting errands and one of the things I needed was that cleaner and I walked out of the store without it. My bathrooms need to be clean. Ray is going to go to the commissary tonight so he will see what they carry there since I am picky about cleaners. But is it worth that $4 gas to go get a $2 cleaner so I may just take what they got. (We live about 10 miles from town.)

So in the meantime I will change the kids sheets, clean their rooms, and vacuum the house. The front room also needs to be straightened.

We did finally get the paint for the hall and dining room. We plan on painting the hall this weekend. The dining room probably won't be done until the end of the month. Also we decided on a red paint for the kitchen so we will head back to Lowe's sometime this month and get the red paint. I look forward to getting those rooms painted.

An Alien

2011-04-04T11:15:00.001-05:00

I didn't see the Virgin Mary or even the Savior himself, I saw an Alien when I cut into my red onion last night. I wonder if that means anything.

Oh no she didn't

2011-04-04T11:05:00.000-05:00

Saturday while playing outside Sheila scratched the Borrego all the way around with her finger nails. Four long curvy scratches starting one side, going around the back, and to the other side. Ray is hoping that the ScratchX will take them out. She is grounded for a week (would have been longer if she didn't fess up to it.) Ray had washed the cars earlier that day and she had been the only one out playing that day since Timmy refused to go out unless his friend Matthew was out there and they were busy.You can Never have anything nice when you have children.

Good Hubby

2011-04-02T10:55:00.000-05:00

I am so glad my husband is not a man of yester year. This morning after washing the car and vacuuming the mats, he vacuumed the living room and dining room without being asked. Then he took the kids out to ride bikes and walk all while I did some sewing. I am so Grateful for the man I married. I don't think I tell him that enough.

Expect the Unexpected

2011-04-01T18:45:00.001-05:00

"Expect the unexpected." Good motto. Wish I didn't find everything so predictable, even books, movies, and things people are about to tell me. Good thing April Fools Day is a day I can't believe everything I hear.

Day 18,19, & 20: June26-28, 2010

2011-03-31T11:54:00.000-05:00

We spent the next three days in Rupert Idaho with my parents. Mark and his cute family came to visit as well. Sheila and her two cousins, Allyssa and Ashlee were instant friends. Sheila is almost exactly a year younger than Allyssa and just over a year older than Ashlee so it was a good age spread.

Michael and his family also came over for a while to visit one of those days too.

I don't have many pictures of my siblings families together. I remembered to get Mark's family together before they headed off. I wish I had remembered to do it with my other siblings.

Tim's Birthday Party

2011-03-31T11:48:00.000-05:00

I thought I had blogged about this last year but I didn't so here it is. We had Timmy's birthday party a few weeks before his actual birthday. We invited a ton of kids and had 8 show up not including babies (including mine.) He had a spider man theme party.

In the last post about Missed Birthdays he had cupcakes for his actual birthday but he had this awesome spider man cake on his birthday. All the kids mouths were black after eating that dark frosting.

Kimberly has a Fever

2011-03-31T07:32:00.000-05:00

My poor baby has a fever again. It is between 101 and 102. Last time she had a high fever, which spiked over 104 for over two days, it was an ear infection. However this time I think the culprit is teething. She has run a temperature before because of teeth and today I investigated and sure enough another molar is starting to poke through. Ray noticed the fever yesterday when he changed her for bed. I gave her tylenol and put her to bed but this morning it was back up to almost 102. We will see if the tylenol helps. Another sign that it is probably teething is she is sucking her thumb like there is no tomorrow. She only usually does that if she is teething. She doesn't suck it hardly at all when she is not teething unless she is really hungry or really tired.

Missed Birthdays

2011-03-30T07:44:00.000-05:00

I missed blogging about Sheila and Timmy's birthday so here are a few pictures of those days. I think I blogged about Timmy's birthday party but we also had a little celebration on his actual birthday.

Pictures Galore

2011-03-29T12:15:00.000-05:00

Sorry no posting any pictures today on here. What I mean by my title is the other day Snapfish had a promotion to get free shipping for any order over $15 so I went ahead and ordered all the prints I needed to, spanning from Christmas to our trip during Spring Break massing to just shy of 350. They should be here today. Then I get to sort and divide through them to the different scrap books, which I didn't work on last month but plan on getting back on schedule this month.

Our new thermostat is great. It did only take us a short time to install it. The longest thing was getting the little wires out and labeled from the older one. We got a seven day programmable one. It is awesome. We get to program four different time periods during the day so I don't have to go back and change it manually at night anymore. I have been tweaking the schedule a little bit as I need to but for the most part my house has been very comforatble through out the day. We'll see if it helps out the bill at all since it claims that it can save up to 33%.

Cutting, cutting, cutting

2011-03-25T11:00:00.000-05:00

No I AM not cutting myself. I have been cutting fabric for a good part of the day, or mostly towels. I am making the kids these cut bath towels for Christmas. Kimberly's will be a butterfly, Timmy's a frog, and Sheila's a princess. The pattern calls for bath towels, hand towels, and washcloths for the various pieces. They will have hoods (hence the hand towels) and other embellishments. Terry cloth sure leaves a mess once it's cut. It's like fur or ultracuddly fabric. Now I need to vaccuum again.

I got the new font through blogger. I was changing my colors to match my new background and decided to change the font. They use to only have like 5 fonts. Well, now they have some more if you scroll down I think it says something about internet fonts or something and there is tons to choose from. Yay!

I was checking on line the movies that are now playing so I could save them to my Netflix queue, which we have on hold right now to build it up some but will be getting movies again next week. Anyway, I was on Fandango checking what was on the theatres here in town and I saw a news article about Robert Pattinson stating that the Breaking Dawn installments can't be PG-13. So I decided to read that article. At the end people were able to comment and most said they wanted it R so they can see all the gore and stuff. Now I have read the books because I am a fan. I already preordered the Saga book on Amazon. I was really disappointed though reading that. I will not be watching it if they do rate it R. I have a prime example of how they can make it PG-13. Look at Lord of the Rings saga. I have to admit that I was shocked when they showed the actually beheading of some of those creatures. But it was done it a way that wasn't so gross. Anyway, I guess I will just have to wait and see.

Thermostat went splat!

2011-03-23T09:03:00.000-05:00

Our thermostat has kicked the bucket. The day before we left on vacation I noticed it was cold in the house and the AC was running. I went to check the temperature it was 4 degrees colder in the house than what I had it set on so I thought maybe Ray set it down for some reason. When I tried to set it back up the buttons wouldn't push and finally it showed me it was set for 45 degrees. I checked the heat and it was still set at 68 but when I tried to see if I could change it and hit the up arrow all of the sudden the number plummetted to 45 degrees. So now I have to turn it on manually when the house gets too hot. This weekend we are going to go and get a new one and hopefully we can figure out how to install it although Ray's friend told him it was really easy.

Busch Gardens

2011-03-22T09:25:00.000-05:00

I had hoped to get to the park when it opened so we could do as much as possible until the kids got tired. But the sour person from the day before caused a big scene at breakfast and I got most of the blame for him having such a lousy day the day before. I finally had enough and left stating that I didn't have to take that and I wasn't in charge and I didn't want to be in charge. I went out to the car with Kimberly and waited. Finally after about 5-10 minutes Nettie joined me with the rest of the kids and about 10 minutes after that Ray finally joined me. After another hour we were finally cooled down and ready to go. By this time we would get there about an hour after the parked opened. It was just about an hour drive over to it. Then Ray's parents car wouldn't start. (We decided to take all three cars so if that person got tired again he could leave with his vehicle and no one was dependent on his car for a ride.) None of the others had been to Busch Gardens and some weren't to thrilled about going since they thought it might not be so fun. So Ray's other brother jumped it and it still wouldn't start. Finally his dad realized that he had triggered the antitheft device, he reset it and it started right away.

Finally after almost two hour delay we were off. Then we got on the freeway and no kidding there was three accidents and it took us 2 hours to go just over half the way. We finally decided to pull off when we got to the third one and had lunch. They decided to eat at a place that makes me sick so I barely ate any lunch.

We finally get to the park four hours after I had originally wanted us too. We had just about 6 hours to see and do everything before they closed. Ray's family love it. Especially the sour puss from the day before. Ray and him spent most of the time riding the rollar coasters. I spent most of the time with the kids. So did the rest of Ray's family. We did go on the train but each station took so long that Kimberly got tired of that and it was a struggle to keep her on my lap. We ran by the elephants and Ray, David, Nettie, Kimberly, and I did happen upon the tigers while we were trying to get to the log ride where Ray's parents and the two girls were waiting to go. I had a little more fun than the day before but I really didn't get to go on any rides I wanted to and I didn't get to see the hippo again. Maybe Ray and I will take the kids by ourselves. Busch Gardens also has this awesome kid area (where we spent the last two hours) and I know I would like the kids to spend a little more time there since they didn't get to ride as many rides as they wanted.

Anyway here is some of the pictures from that day.

The alligators are one of the first things visitors see when they enter the park.

While their dad and uncle went off to ride the rollar coaster we went to the gorilla exhibit.

He was lying right by the glass. It might be the same guy as last time (about 3 years ago) but last time we came one was right by the glass too. Kimberly actually saw him and was trying to point to him. I tried to get a picture of her doing it but I couldn't get the right angle with all the people.

On the trian we saw the white rhinos. (I wanted to do the rhino rally ride where you get a little closer to them and some other animals.)

The elephants are always a favorite. Sheila wanted to see them but wasn't too happy with the smell.

One of the beautiful white tigers. They have redone the tiger exhibit and it is truly awesome.

Here they have a popup where you climb up inside a glass enclosure. This orange tiger was napping right next to it.

Kimberly enjoying a snack while we took a break and waited for everyone to either get off the log ride or the roller coasters. I was little annoyed since I sat there for like 45 minutes by myself and I should have went and saw the hippo while I waited but it was all the way across the park and I was feeling that great at that moment.

Grandma and the girls coming down the log ride. Sheila hated it because she got wet. As she came by the deck I was on she was crying and screaming and everyone was like laughing and saying, "Ah!" Timmy later came down with Grandpa and Uncle David and he loved it.

The kids got to meet Big Bird. Timmy also met Elmo but I couldn't take pictures of that but had to buy them which I did since he loves Elmo but the photographer really didn't get the best pictures so I was a little disappointed.

The kids rode some of the kiddie rides in the Sesame street part of the park.

I definitely would like to go back and maybe we will next month before it gets too terribly hot. The kids had a blast so I was very happy about that..

Disney World 2011

2011-03-21T11:46:00.000-05:00

For Sheila's spring break we went down to Orlando/Tampa for a few days and visited some of the parks. We drove down on the 16th and on the 17th we went over to Tarpon Springs near Tampa to visit my friends that will be leaving on a mission next month to Scotland/Ireland. That night the rest of Ray's family arrived. I got a migraine the day before and was still feeling sick from that so those two days weren't very pleasant for me.

They decided to go to the Magic Kingdom the next day. Let's just say that it was crowded and hot. The kids had fun but not so much the rest of us. It actually was a big fiasco and made us decide to be more selective of who we invite on certain vacations in the future.

Here are some of the pictures from the day.

Yay, we are finally here.

We found Woody in Frontierland. Timmy was very excited to meet him. Kimberly not so much.

Sheila and I skipped lunch to find Ariel. This actually got me in a lot of trouble with a certain one of Ray's family members. Since they were busy eating I didn't think it was a big deal. But I was accused of not caring about what the others wanted to do and going off to get signatures and pictures of all the characters. But 3 of the 4 we got was before 2 p.m. (since we didn't even get into the actual park until like 10:30 and it takes so long to get anywhere) and 2 we just happened upon and the kids wanted to do it. But Sheila meeting Ariel was the highlight of her and my day. She was so happy and gave Ariel the biggest longest hug I have ever seen.

Here the kids, their uncles, their cousin, and Daddy went on splash mountain. I missed them coming down. I waited in the hot sun for about 45 minutes (even though they had fast passes) to see if I could catch them on the ride. My family is in the two first rows.

After splash mountain we ran into Mickey and Minnie.

Kimberly enjoyed an ice cream with me.

We all rode the carousel.

Since Lydia hadn't got to meet any of the princesses at the end of the day we went to find Tiana. This is the other event that got me in hot water, although it had been 4 hours since the last one. When I saw the line I wanted to go but the girls wanted to meet her so we stayed. It was the three girls (Kimberly in the stroller) and Nettie and I. I fianlly told Ray to tell his brother that he could leave with the rest of the family and and we would take Nettie back with us since we had room in our car.

Ray and I decide next time we will go around February (when it's a little cooler and less crowded) like we did two years ago and just go by ourselves or with other people who have children. I wish I could say more positive things about our trip.

My doings

2011-03-10T08:57:00.001-06:00

So this month has been really busy with doctor visits, dentists visits, and everything else. Plus we are all going through another round of colds. I really mean to blog more often but find myself doing other things. I have pictures I need to post of birthdays and other events. Thankfully we have one more appointment tomorrow and then we should be done for awhile. Sheila had her doctors visit last week and ended up with an ear infection so is on antibiotics now. Her bus is also coming at 6:30 a.m. now and we are having to get up a lot earlier. Ray and I both went to bed by 9 last night.

Kimberly now has 8 teeth and two molars. The 8th tooth broke through today. The molars showed up the 1st. Her other two molars on the other side are trying to come through too. She also climbed the entire ladder up onto the top bunk all by herself. I now put up the ladder during the day. I don't think she would be able to get down by herself.

Timmy is now registered for preK next year. Hopefully he will get in. I registered the minute it came up. If he does I will be driving every day next year to pick him up. He will ride the bus in the morning with Sheila but will only be going for half a day.

We are going on a fun trip for spring break. We are headed down to Orlando and spending a few days down there at Busch Gardens and Disney World. Ray's entire family is suppose to be going. I think the kids will have a lot of fun. The Sesame characters are now at Busch Gardens so I think Timmy will really love that.

Well, I will try to get the pictures up soon. Sorry my blogging is so sporadic.

Update

2011-02-14T13:21:00.000-06:00

I have been super busy this year already. I got a new sewing machine for my birthday and I love it. I rather sew then be on the computer. Also I am getting serious about trying to catch up on some scrapbooks. I am trying to work on 2-3 themes a month. I catch up on our scrapbook and then work on the kids. So therefore I am on the computer maybe 15-30 minutes a day. But I will try to get blogging again. I still have our big trip blogs to finish and also the things that have been happening since the beginning of the year. I also need to read up on all you lovely peoples blogs.

I also have a new love in life. I bought the new m&m pretzels today. They are wonderful.

Can't Open my own blog

2011-01-04T12:38:00.002-06:00

Something went wrong and I cannot open my own blog. I can get to it through dashboard but when I try to view it I get an error. Don't know what is wrong and when it will get fixed. So if I don't blog for awhile you know why.

I think it was food poisoning

2010-12-10T07:46:00.000-06:00

I am not sure what it was that might have given me food poisoning but I think that most likely what made me so ill. I started feeling bad Tuesday night. By Wednesday I could tell something was definitely wrong. My stomach had a dull ache to it and I had no appetite. I had no fever and the rest of me felt fine. Slowly energy began to drain from me. Ray ended up working the swing shift that day and so I had to put the kids to bed myself. I put Kimberly to bed by 6:30 and then the kids and I watched Sruvivor, which was interrupted by my many false alarm potty breaks. At 8 we did the Friend's little Christmas tree ornament scripture for the day (my kids love it by the way) and their advent calendars. Then I tried to read Harry Potter to them but ended up just lying on their bedroom floor until Timmy fell asleep. I left Sheila to fall asleep on her own while I took a bath. A nice warm bath always helps when I feel sick. I also noticed that I was getting a severe pain in my right side. If I tried to curl up in a fetal position it felt like a knife shooting up that side. I started to freak out that it might be appendicitis. Ray was supposed to be home by 9:30, that was an hour away.

I got in the bath and huddled in the warm water. Our big tub takes two fillings in the winter with hot water to get enough so I had it only half full and planned to fill it another time but when I started the water again things started moving in my nether regions (just looked up the true meaning of that word and it sure felt like that that night.) I jumped out of the tub but it was just another false alarm. I managed to get some clothes on. I laid on my bedroom floor rotating from rocking back and forth on my knees or lying on my side. Finally I got a hold of Ray a little after 9:30. He stayed a little later and would be home a little after 10. I had been debating whether to wait for him or try to find someone to take me to the hospital since the pain in my right side got very severe. I finally managed to get on my bed and sit there with my bowl. I knew it was only a matter of time and was praying it would just happen. Suddenly I felt the eruption begin and took off for the bathroom with my bowl in hand. Good thing to because I didn't quite make it the 10 feet to my bathroom when the first wave hit. Miraculously the pain in my side disappeared as soon as the grossness left my body. I was weak and queasy still but the pain was gone and I finally could move around without feeling like I needed to have a bathroom close by.

Ray got home right after that. Luckily that was the only time and I slowly have started feeling better. Yesterday I took it easy and only ate mild things. I still got a little nauseous after eating meals but nothing happened and it soon got better. My appetite started returning around 2 p.m. I therefore concluded it must have been food poisoning. I ate the same thing as my family but I must have got the portion contaminated or maybe just susceptible to it.

Now I have a lot to do since Timmy's birthday party is tomorrow and I need to clean the house. Hopefully no one else gets sick too so everyone can enjoy it. Glad I didn't have appendicitist.

Goal update

2010-12-03T07:38:00.000-06:00

Here is is only one month left of 2010. Let's see how I did on my goals and things I looked forward too.

10 things I look forward to:

1. trip to Idaho--had a blast although it was long and sometimes nerve wracking driving across country for the first time with a trailer. Still blogging about that.
2. Winter olympics--watched and enjoyed.
3. Ray's raise--much needed. May be one of the last one he gets if they freeze his oay fir 3 years. He will still get his 12 year one next September.
4. "Tower of Midnight"-- reading it now.
5. Kimberly's firsts--had lot of those. She is now walking and has three teeth (got the third one 2 days ago.)
6. new van-We got a Borrego instead but now thinking about getting a suburban because we miss the room of the van but need something to pull the trailer.
7. beach--went a few times. Next year we really need to try to go every month. She and Timmy both love the
8. Sheila going to kindergarten--she loves it.
9. temple--unfortunately didn't get to go yet. The one time it looked like we would be able to go on the trip the temple was closed and with a nursing baby it is hard to go 5 hours away to the temple. We plan on going to Orlando in March so we are definitely going then if we go.
10. moving-not going to happen for probably 2-3 years at the most.

10 Goals for 2010

1. learn to use my serger--got the video out. Now need to actually watch it so I can figure out how to thread and work it.
2. finish Old Testament--I am now almost through Proverbs. Probably will take another year to finish.
3. catch up on one scrapbook--this was extremely hard especially since I had that big trip and I sewed for two months after that to get things done for the fair. I now decided once a month I will work on a specific theme and get as many pages done throughout the years for those themes. October I did Halloween pages, November I did the butterflies at St. Marks, and this month I will be doing Christmas. If I finish the Christmas ones I will work on Timmy's birthday pages.
4. paint the inside of the house--painted the kids bathroom yellow. Plan on doing the kitchen red in March and then sometime next summer the dining room and hall a tan color. Then next December if we have moved Kimberly in with Sheila do their room a girly color.
5. finish the "Work and the Glory," "Harry Potter," and "Twilight" series again--finished the Work and the Glory and the Twilight series. On the fourth book of Harry Potter. I have been reading that at night to the kids so going much slower.
6. make my own cookbook--still working on it.
7. lose the baby weight. I have lost all the weight I gained with Kimberly and another 10 pounds. Would like to lose at least 5 more. Then maybe 5 more but we will see.
8. make over $200 at the fair--blew that number out of the water this year. Don't know if I will ever top how much I made this year again.
9. get a fence and new shed-getting the fence around Christmas. The shed will have to wait another year since we bought a trailer this year.
10. start writing again--slowly working on 2-3 book ideas. I love to read too and since I do both at night reading usually wins out but I have been trying to write more often.

So there it is. Some have been accomplished and some will probably move to next year.

Day 17; June 25, 2010

2010-11-30T15:32:00.000-06:00

We broke camp at 9:15 a.m. and headed over to Hayspur for another night of camping and some fishing. The kids had been talking about fishing for weeks.

With Granddad's help Sheila caught three fish (after the first one she wouldn't even hold the pole but still claimed she caught them.) Mommy and Granddad enjoyed them for dinner. The others not so much. Timmy wasn't so lucky because he would pull his hook out of the water ever few seconds.

Kimberly enjoyed playing outside.

For the rest of the time we just relaxed and played games.

Halloween

2010-11-16T14:23:00.000-06:00

Halloween is a big time for our family. We started off with the Ward Trunk or Treat. Kimberly was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Timmy was Lightning McQueen's Pit Crew. Sheila was Ariel.

I looked for a wig (and now know about the cute yarn wigs thanks to Rachel) but couldn't find any red hair ones for little girls without devil horns so we sprayed her hair. It didn't wash out yet. She still has pink/red highlights.

Next was Sheila's school party. Timmy joined for the parade. He put his hat on backwards himself.

Then back to the classroom for a snack.

And of course we had our pumpkin carving. Sheila and Timmy picked out little pumpkins that we intended just to have them draw faces on but the insisted they be carved too.

Both turned out cute and unique.

Finally we trick and treated around the neighborhood. I had a hard time getting all three together for a picture.

Sheila dressed up her doll and took her along. The doll was a princess. Timmy and Kimberly got tired after just doing our loop so I went home with them to hand out candy and Ray took Sheila around the rest of the neighborhood. I don't know if it was because of the Saturday/Sunday confusion but there weren't as many houses participating and also we didn't have as many trick or treaters and had some candy left.

Sheila's first day of Kindergarten

2010-11-10T10:26:00.000-06:00

I know this is a little late but Sheila started kindergarten on August 13. I was able to get her in a regular class this year and she has transitioned well. She only goes to speech now. She has made several friends in her class. There are 17 students. I tried to get a picture of her with her back pack when we got there but she wouldn't have any of that.

She rides the bus everyday. She gets on at before 7and home a little before 3. She has lunch at school but since she is a picky eater I am starting to send lunches with her more often. I figured her lunches to send cost between $1-$1.50 depending on what I send her when school lunches cost $2. If she only drinks the milk and eats one think it is not worth buying the lunch at school. (And that is what she does sometimes.)

Day 16; June 24, 2010

2010-11-10T10:20:00.000-06:00

We spent Day 16 at Craters of the Moon. We walked the lava flow trail and saw different forms of lava.

Grandma and Sheila take a break.

So did Kimberly.

Later Granddad and our family went out to the caves. We ended up only doing a couple with the kids.

Kimberly went down into them all with Kimberly.

Here we make our way down Indian Tunnel. The largest of the cave/tunnels open to the public. Some of it was open to the sky because of cave ins and we did have to climb over some rocks.

Sheila and Timmy did such a great job. Here we are at the end. Sheila and Granddad are about to climb out the opening. Ray ended up going up first to help Timmy and then have me hand up Kimberly. After this cave Sheila was tired so I took the girls back to the car and the boys went to the last caves but it was too scary for Timmy so they came back. In the afternoon Ray and I went back out and went down into the caves. I couldn't go all the way into Boy Scout Cave since I got too scared. At the far back of Beauty cave there was a couple trying to take a long exposure picture of the pool of water. It was a lot deeper than I remembered.

Here is Grandma and the girls relaxing outside their trailer. I think the kids over all enjoyed Craters of the Moon. Maybe in a few years we will come back when they are older and do more of the hiking trails.

Kimberly's First Birthday

2010-11-09T11:27:00.000-06:00

On October 12, Kimberly turned 1 year old. But because the 11th was the holiday and both Daddy and Sheila were home during the day we decided to have her party that day. Grandma and Papa Walden also came over.

Kimberly didn't quite get opening presents. I tried to show her how to tape them. I was accused of using too much tape again. For the kids I barely use enough to keep the paper on but I am a neat wrapper so sometimes the seams are hard to get at.

Sheila and Timmy took over the tearing into the presents and poor Kimberly could hardly get to them. She also wanted everything immediately out of the boxes so she could play with them.

This is one of her favorites although she needs help getting on it. She mostly just pushes it around with stuff in the basket and pushed the button to get the music going.

We got two cakes, one for her and one for us to eat.

She actually kept her hat on. She looked so cute.

So I thought she might eat her cake by herself since she loves sweets and has dug into stuff in the past but after touching the frosting she didn't want anything to do with it. Sheila tried to help. Kimberly ended up sharing with me and later the other kids ate her cake since it was mostly frosting it seemed and the other two love frosting.

Day 15; June 23, 2010

2010-11-09T11:17:00.000-06:00

We headed for Craters of the Moon in the morning. My parents took their trailer and we took ours. We have a really long trailer so finding a spot big enough was a little difficult. At first we found two spots across the street from each other but then a couple was vacating the one next to the other open spot and so we were able to take the two camping sites next to each other. Grandma and the girls were wearing hats but Kimberly didn't like hers much.

This little guy was our visitor every day. I did get close to him but I really used my zoom to get this good of a picture.

We went out to see the spatter cone, (and climb it) snow cones, (they have snow down inside them my pictures didn't turn out that good) and inferno cones. The two little people in the middle are Timmy and Sheila. They ran up it almost all the way to the first peak. The top had two false tops. Where it looked like it ended there would be more. Everyone climbed it except my mom, Kimberly, and the dog.

Finally we made it to the true top.

We took a walk through Devil's Orchard too. It mostly has signs telling about the different vegetations.

Quote of the day: That campground is dirty. I want you to clean it.--Timmy (the dirt is black because of it's an old lava flow.)

Day 14; June 22, 2010

2010-11-04T17:35:00.000-05:00

Kimberly enjoyed my parents' dog's toys more than the baby toys they had. We couldn't keep her out of the basket.

We went to City of the Rocks for a day trip. Timmy loved seeing the big rocks. They don't make them this big in Florida.

I thought there would be more rocks for the kids to climb on. It was great place for rock climbers and we found some good rocks for the kids to climb on.

We all climbed this rock formation except my mom.

Ray decided to climb up a rock formation to a tree up the cliff a little bit. Turned out it was further and steeper than he anticipated.

Sheila followed him up and he had to help her down.

After the City of the Rocks we drove out to Mt. Harrison to find snow for the children. We found a big drift over the road. Sheila wanted dry snow. But after a little coaxing they had the time of the their lives playing in it. Making a small snow man, making and throwing snowballs, and making snow angels.

Oh No they didn't

2010-11-04T17:22:00.000-05:00

Timmy and Sheila were playing in the yard while I sat finishing a movie. I could see them out the window I was sitting next to and I had the window open so I could see them. They were playing in a puddle in the driveway. I looked out and saw them in the puddle and some teenager girls across the street talking. Within a couple of minutes one of those teenage girls were at my window telling me that my kids were taking off their clothes. I looked out and Timmy has his shirt off (they already had their shoes off.) I think, "Phew, they told me before he was naked." Then Sheila streaked past the window.

I jumped up and open the door saying thanks to the girl on my way. "Sheila and Timmy, get in this house and get some clothes on!" They run in the house and I am left to go out and gather up the wet discarded clothing.

Fair 2010

2010-11-02T11:46:00.000-05:00

We went to the fair on October 4. I mostly got red and blue ribbons like I mentioned before. I forgot to take pictures of some of my items. If you see the picture of Kimberly on the side bar I made the outfit she is wearing. I actually made Kimberly about 4-5 dresses and Sheila 2 skirts and 2 dresses.

The kids had fun riding the rides. I rode a few with them and so did Daddy. I was suprised Grandma didn't ride as many as she usually does. The kids each played a fishing game and got a "lovely" horn.

We stayed for 2 1/2 hours and rode almost every ride they wanted to go on at least once. We all rode the ferris wheel except Kimberly and the grandparents. Next year Sheila will probably be big enough to start riding the bigger rides.

Day 12-13; June 20-21, 2010

2010-11-02T11:42:00.000-05:00

Day 20 was our first full day in Idaho. We went to church with Grandma and Granddad Dudley. I also had to do laundry since we had gone over a week without doing it. I think my last time doing it was at Mammoth Cave. We also got to celebrate Father's Day with Granddad Dudley. Grandma and Grandpa Gilmour came over. They were down from Boise for some event.

The next day we did some much needed shopping and Grandma and Grandpa Gilmour came over for another visit.

Meeting her great Grandma Gilmour for the first time.

We also went over to my brother Michael's house and it was his son, Layne's, first time meeting us and our first time meeting him. He is 6 months older than Kimberly and so was 14 months while we were there visiting.

Days 8-11, June 16-19, 2010

2010-10-26T08:08:00.000-05:00

We left Nauvoo on the morning of the 16th and drove to Council Bluff, Iowa. What took the pioneers four months to cross took us a day. However we did not have as easy time either. We left at 9:35 a.m. We originally planned to get there early enough to maybe see my mission president who is serving there currently at the temple. It took 9 hours and we got there at 6:30 p.m. We stayed in the Country Inn and Suites. We were so tired we just ordered pizza and relaxed. President and Sister Oaks was attending a play so we got there too late to see them.

It was extremely windy and we were nervous about the trailer since its hard to pull in wind so we went slower. Also we waited too long to get gas and the light came on and we found ourselves in the middle of nowhere. We found a gas station on the GPS so we took the exit. The right looked more promising but we went left since it said it was on the left. When we got to it it was burned down and no where to turn around the trailer. We ended up on a dirt road in the middle of a cornfield running on fumes. I finally convinced Ray to turn back towards the freeway and we made a big circle and ended up in a small town on the right of the freeway (yes if we had gone right we would have hit a gas station within a mile.)

We had wanted to stay a little bit in the morning and see President and Sister Oaks but because we had such a bad day and the distance was just as long we decided we had to start early. I had tried to cancel reservations and make new ones (which I did for one of the nights but couldn't for that night.) And that proved to be a smart idea to leave early.

We left at 9:15 a.m. and didn't arrive until 7 p.m. Mountain Time. We had a time change and so it really took almost 11 hours. We camped at Lake McConaughy, NE. It was a white knuckle ride with lots of wind. We finally got off the freeway and took the highway across the river (the Mormon Trail.) While driving across Nebraska our trailer mirror on the passenger side flew off and shattered all over the road.

We stopped at a Walmart before the campground and since it was so late we just ate dinner at McDonalds. Once we got to the campground we had to unclog our black tank with a stick. Then we took the kids to a playground.

On the 18th we drove from Nebraska to Rawlins, WY. We originally had planned to camp in Green River, WY but because of the bad days of driving we cancelled that reservation and made one for the KOA in Rawlins. It took just under 8 hours of driving that day. We left at 9:15 a.m. and arrived at 5 p.m.

The pool was closed because of storms that had caused it to flood and they were working on getting their chemical levels back up. So we just played at the playground. We met another family there and Sheila and Timmy played with their daughter.

On the 19th we had planned to drive just to Echo, UT. It was only 3 hours from my parents but it was supposed to be a heavy drive again and a lot of mountains. However driving over the mountains was a lot easier than we anticipated and so when we reached Echo it was only 3 p.m. I called my parents to let them know we would be arriving that day.

The kids enjoyed a little hike up the mountain with dad at Echo. We arrived at Rupert, Idaho at 7 p.m. We had planned to get some dinner at Snowville. There use to be a subway there but when we got there it was closed down so we ended up eating dinner at the truck stop at the Flying J. We just got some of the deli stuff they have there.

It was so good to finally arrive. We got our trailer hooked up and then spent the evening with Mom and Dad and catching up. The kids initially were scared of Freckles but they soon warmed up to her.

So I love to Sew

2010-10-21T16:41:00.000-05:00

I use to hate to sew. I learned how back when I was in 4H. My grandmother taught me how to sew. She was a beautiful seamstress but one of my only memories from the lessons is that I caught my jumper I was sewing in the serger and it cut a big whole in the strap and my grandma yelled at me while she tried to fix it. My older sister was so much better than I. After a couple of years I stopped sewing.

Years past. I took up crocheting and knitting again after a long hiatus as well. I was working as an intern at Walmart and whenever I could I would help out in the Fabrics department. I saw these people bring in these beautiful things that they sewed and thought I could do that. So I used my nice bonus and bought me a sewing machine and started up again. The next year I moved in with Catherine, who was majoring in it. She gave me so much tips and was much more patient with me than my grandma was.

I still didn't like it as much as I hoped. If I started screaming at my sewing machine, I would know it was time to put it away. I made my own wedding dress but still didn't know if I liked it so much. Then this summer I sat down for two months and just sewed. A miracle happened. I put in a zipper and it looked good. I put in another and it looked good. For the first time I attempted to make bias tape, and it worked. I use to skip parts (make the pattern simplier) if I didn't think I could do something I hadn't done before. This time I found myself trying them and mostly I succeeded. It made me excited.

I entered the things in the fair and I got almost all blue ribbon. I was so shocked. However, I took a few weeks off to make cards and work on scrapbooks but today I started to get out some new patterns and material to make a few things. I felt myself getting excited and having a lot more patience with things that use to drive me nuts. What is first up? A kimono inspired dress for Sheila made of red brocade with yellow flowers. I cut the material today. I will be putting these items in the fair next year so I making them a size too big for her. Also up for this month, a yellow eyelot dress for Kimberly, denim shorts and a button down shirt for Timmy, and a skirt for me. I plan to make 4-5 things a month.

I will need to get a new sewing machine soon. Mine is almost 10 years old and I have been having trouble with the button hole feature. Also my serger still sits in the box. I need to just suck it up and do it and forget the yelling grandma episode because I love that she taught me something that I now love to do.

Day 7, June 15, 2010

2010-10-21T16:28:00.000-05:00

We got to stay all day in Nauvoo that day.

We started off at the ox cart. We were the first to arrive for the day and so we got to watch them hook up the oxen. The kids loved it.

Then we stopped by Pionner Pasttimes and spent quite a bit of time there. The kids loved playing all the different games.

The kids really didn't enjoy the tours of all the buildings so we only did a few of those. I hope to go back when they are a little older so they can see everything that they missed and maybe enjoy it.

We spent the last part of the day on two wagon rides. We took one out into the country and had to go through a small creek. The last one was through the streets of Nauvoo. Kimberly cried through one whole trip and I was so ready to get off. Our wagon masters on that one were both from my hometown of Rupert, Idaho.

And of course the temple was beautiful. We didn't go this time but last time we came through Nauvoo (when I was moving to Florida after getting married) my parents, Ray, and I all attended and it is just as beautiful inside as it is out. And just a little side note, one of my friends that I met while at Utah State had the opportunity to paint the temple and I still have the plate he sent me from there.

Day 6, June 14, 2010

2010-10-20T07:37:00.000-05:00

We left our hotel in Morton at 9:15 a.m. and it took just over 3 hours to get to Nauvoo. We camped at the Nauvoo state park. After setting up camp and having lunch we went out to see some of the sites. Our first stop was the brick yard. We got the brick that they give every family after the presentation. They actually did the presentation in a new room in the building instead of out in the brick yard. Sheila dropped the brick later and cracked it but it did make it back to Florida.

We headed over to the Visitors Center to get some tickets for the play Rendezous that night and saw the Women's Garden.

The kids really wanted to make rope so after that we headed over to the Family Living Center. The kids enjoyed making the rope. We also learned about candle making, baking bread (yummy, we got a sample), and a few other pioneer activities.

We then headed back to the trailer for dinner. The park is really nice. The sites for the nonelectric are way nicer (and cheaper) than the electric. The electric sites seemed to be an after thought but we got the electricity since it was so hot. We didn't stay in the park that much anyway with so much to see and so little time.

After dinner we headed for the play. It was a cute play with lots of singing. The older couple missionaries put it on. The kids did okay during it but we decided to skip the other performances the next day since the kids did get bored about half way through. Kimberly slept through it. After that we retired for the day since we planned a full day out the next day.

Update

2010-10-20T07:24:00.000-05:00

I have been extremely busy getting things ready to for the fair and frankly have been on the computer maybe 5-10 minutes a day for the last month, mostly to check my email. But now I will try to get back to blogging, hopefully at least once a week, and catch up on our trip report.

The fair is over and I blew my goal out of the water (to make over $200.) I really don't know how I am going to top that. I entered 58 items and got all blue and red ribbons. Most were blue actually. 2/3 of my stuff was sewing and I got mostly blue (first) on that. I am saving most of the money for buying more material and yarn for things in the future.

Sheila is doing well in school. She is learning to read. Has about 10 sight words that she knows but can sound out many with help. She also does well with math and is learning to add and subtract. I can't believe the stuff they learn in kindergarten these days.

Timmy has shot up another inch since vacation. He has grown 5 inches in a little over a year and almost skipped a whole size of clothes (only wore it for about three months.) He is adjusting to being a big brother and has to be reminded several times a day not to be too rough with Kimberly.

Kimberly turned one (blog will follow hopefully soon.) She has two teeth now and can walk. She also can climb onto everything and has learned to push stools or other items over to where she wants up and climbs up that way. She has said Momma, Dadda, and Sheila. She also says yeah. But not really talking yet.

That's what has been up mostly. I shall blog about the big events soon.

Back to School and all the fun stuff

2010-08-30T16:05:00.000-05:00

So I have been super busy trying to finish all my projects until the fair that I have neglected Facebook and this blog. I have a month until the fair and about 10 projects to sew plus I would like to finish a few knit and crochet projects. I won't have as much for the fair this year but at lot of sewing.

Sheila went back to school on August 11. Early start this year. It was a dramatic experience that I will blog more about later when I download the pictures. We got it all straightened out and she loves her new class and teacher. She rides the bus most days.

Timmy is going through the terrible threes. I have to watch him constantly because he takes out his aggression on Kimberly. But he is usually a joy to have around and misses Sheila to play with. He has started to play with Kimberly more and that helps.

Kimberly is cruising around the furniture, has one tooth, and has taken steps on her own. She is very adventurous. She has climbed on stools and other things to get to things she wants. She was my earliest to teeth. Got it just a week before her ten month mark (Timmy was 11 1/2 months and Sheila was 15 months.)

We are all going through our first round of colds for the season. I was the last to get it and maybe half way through it. I can finally breathe again.

Ray's birthday is today. Not too many plans but we will try to make the day special.

Day 5: June 13, 2010

2010-08-02T15:04:00.000-05:00

We drove from Erlanger, Kentucky ,to Morton, Illinois. We actually drove through Ohio and Indiana along our way. It was a pretty uneventful day except when we were in Western Indiana our gas light came on. Unsure of how long we could drive with the gas light on and pulling a trailer we saught the help of our GPS for a gas station. Discovered there was one at the next exit. We pulled off the freeway. It told us to go left so we did and the gas station didn't exist. A little bit down the road there was a burned out one. I immediately put in the next one. We had to make a U turn. Not going to happen with a trailer so we start looking for a turn around or a road to go down and maybe make a square back. The GPS kept telling us to go down these little dirt roads. Soon we were in the middle of nowhere on a dirt road in a middle of a cornfield. I was praying the whole time. I really didn't want to have to be stranded out there. Finally we got into a small town and found a gas station we could pull into. We were less than a mile from the freeway and once we got to the freeway we realized if we had gone right instead of left (like the GPS told us too) than we would have gotten into that town. We had just made a big circle.

Playing with her tongue during one of our rest stops.

We left at 9 a.m. and arrived at the Baymont Inn. It was a fairly nice hotel. Smelled like smoke in the halls and lobby. It was older without an elevator but the rooms were updated and clean. They also had a nice breakfast in the morning.

We walked over to Steeak-n-Shake for dinner. Ray and I both love their milkshakes. The kids ate free that night so that was an added bonus.

When we got back to the room we got in our swimsuits and went down to the pool. We had it to ourselves. Thank goodness the pool was inside because it was raining outside. The kids enjoyed swimming on daddy's back.

Day 4: June 12, 2010

2010-07-24T13:10:00.000-05:00

We drove from Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, to Erlanger, Kentucky. Since it was a shorter trip we took our time leaving Mammoth Cave. We didn't leave until nearly 10:30 a.m. I had forgotten about the time zone. The wedding was at 6:00 p.m. Eastern time and we left on Central time. I had planned on giving all the kids baths and us showers too before the wedding.

We got to our hotel at 4:30 p.m. but by the time we got everything situated it was about a quarter to five. I jumped in the shower and then Ray got in. We quickly dressed and made it to the wedding with 10 minutes to spare. The wedding was not far, actually our hotel was almost exactly in the middle between the church and the reception hall.

The kids did fairly well at the wedding. It started late and got out about seven. We had half an hour before the reception started so we swung by the hotel to get something (can't remember what.)

We didn't see anyone we knew once we got to the reception hall. The wedding was for Ray's cousin and besides Ray's cousin's parents and brother, only Ray's dad and mom made it from the groom's side of the wedding. We sat at a table but soon found out that we were assigned to the groom's family table so we had to move. The kids loved the photo booth and got their pictures made into magnets. The bride and groom were almost an hour late. But finally we got dinner. Kimberly had fallen asleep on the way over and slept until after dinner.

The kids also enjoyed the dance floor. We stayed until about 10 p.m. and then went back to the hotel so we could get some sleep.

A Day of Relaxation

2010-07-23T07:36:00.000-05:00

My inlaws picked up Sheila and Timmy yesterday morning around 9 a.m. and since Ray had the day off we had a day to ourselves with just little Kimberly. We took the Borrego in to get serviced and learned there was a recall on it and since they had to order the parts we decided to let them have it overnight since they were getting the parts in this morning. I definitely need it tomorrow so we will have to pick it up tonight. The recall is on the plastic seat backs and they are replacing them with carpeted ones, which we were glad about because the plastic ones were pretty beat up.

Then we went shopping. I am not a real big shopper. I usually just like to get in and get out but I forget how enjoyable it can be without screaming children throwing tantrums and demanding everything within eye sight. We went to Toys R Us. Got a bunch of ideas for Christmas. Bought a few things. I got Sheila an Ariel costume for Halloween. I was going to make one but found the perfect thing in the dress up aisle. I wouldn't even attempt going into that store with my children in tow.

We also went to Joanns and got material for eight different outfits. That will probably keep me busy through August. I hope to make a few more things besides that by the fair the first week of October so I will buy some more stuff to make in September.

Then we went to lunch at Red Lobster. Another place I dread going to with children in tow, a sit down restaurant. My kids run around like wild hulligans in them. They get bored after 15 minutes. Kimberly ate her baby food and then just played with a few things while Ray and I finished ours. And we even had dessert.

After that we went to Target and I found some cute shoes for the kids on the clearance aisle. Still looking for some new church shoes for Timmy though. I have a hard time buying shoes full price (since they are about the same price as adult shoes) for shoes the kids will only wear for a year.

Finally we headed for Walmart. I actually bought myself a few things. I hardly ever do anymore unless I am ordering books off of Amazon. I got a new purse. One large enough to use as a diaper bag and purse but not huge. I also found nursing bras. Now from all the people I hear that nurse or at least attempt to nurse the first few months I would assume that they would be fairly easy to find and that there would be a few different styles to select from.

I hate bra shopping. It's my least favorite thing to buy. So I was getting a little annoyed walking around and around the bra section and not finding any nursing bras. I rarely ask where things are but I almost did when I spotted, or rather Ray did, them on an endcap. Just one type but at least they were two packs. There were two sets my size and so I bought both. Hopefully I will not have to buy anymore for the rest of the time I am nursing. I can now throw out my yellowed, stretched out, falling apart, two that I have been wearing for the last nine months (not to mention two other babies.)

We finally headed home and had a relaxing evening since the kids were staying the night. They are also staying all day today coming home tonight for dinner. Ray is back to work. What am I to do with a day to myself with just the baby? I am going to clean, that is what I am going to do. And then start my sewing. I think we will see if Grandma and Papa want to take them one more time before school starts again.

Day 3: June 11, 2010

2010-07-21T10:04:00.000-05:00

We spent the whole day camping at Mammoth Cave. It started off as a hot day. Our battery in our trailer kept dying. We would run the car for 30 minutes to an hour to charge it and within a couple of hours it was totally dead again. Also our refrigerator wouldn't stay on. I started to have real anxiety over it.

We drove down to the visitor center this time since we needed somewhere to leave the strollers since we wouldn't be able to take them on the cave tour and the walk was a little long for Timmy. We got there right after the 8:30 a.m. tour had already left. We paid for the 9:45 a.m. tour and decided to walk down to the cave entrance that was close to the visitor center. The Visitor Center was undergoing construction and so it didn't have a whole lot to look at and was very busy. All the kids were free so we only had to pay for Ray and me. Kids 5 and under are free on the cave tours.

Once we got close to the cave entrance we could feel the coolness rising from the deep entrance and we talked about staying down there all day.

We rode a green school bus over to the cave entrance we were going on. We did the Frozen Niagra tour since that was recommended for people with physical limits and small children. We put Kimberly in the snuggly on Ray and I helped Timmy. We entered through a revolving door and Sheila immediately wanted out. She is not much into caves. Ray distracted her when he saw a cricket on the wall. Sheila loves bugs.

It was only about 1/4 mile round trip but it felt longer since there were narrow and short passage ways. Sheila wouldn't go down the stairs to see the frozen niagra so I stayed up top with her and Ray went down with Timmy and Kimberly.

After the cave tour that lasted just about an hour and then a ride back to the visitor center we drove into town to get some gas and got some lunch since I didn't feel like cooking in a hot trailer.

Later that afternoon we went a hike on one of the nature trails. We took the strollers and eventually had to leave them on the trail. Oh and there were ticks everywhere. The night before Ray saw one on his camp chair and knocked it off. Then when he took Timmy to the bathroom after the cave tour he saw one on Timmy's privates. He asked the ranger what was the best way to get it off and he said tweezers so we did that when we got back to camp. Ray got a tick in his leg the next day when we were breaking camp. I sprayed the kids and I with bug spray so good that I think that helped us from getting anymore.

On the nature walk we saw a really cool turtle and some wild turkeys. A couple saw deer on the trail but we never got to see them. We hiked down to a sink hole and back. It was full of water so just looked like a swampy pond.

The refrigerator and battery continued to give us problems all day. After dinner I couldn't take it anymore. I called my dad to discuss what the problem was. He told me the refrigerator might be because of the battery being bad. It ran on propane when not running on electricity but the battery gives the power to the ignitor on the fridge. So at 8 we decided to go find a walmart. There was one 20 minutes away. We got there and bought the biggest battery (it was only $10 more than the other size.) We got back to the trailer around 10. Ray got it hooked up and viola! everything worked again. No problem with the battery for the rest of the trip. We will be going back to RV connection to replace the battery that trailer since it was bad. The new one becomes fully recharged after only about 10 minutes of being charged. We still didn't have AC but we had lights and the refrigerator stayed on.

Day Two: June 10, 2010

2010-07-15T07:44:00.000-05:00

We traveled from Hoover, Alabama, to Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. The trip started off really rough. The roads around Birmingham were horrible. Traffic was too. Our trailer was bouncing all over the road. I even told Ray we could turn around if he would like.

We started out at 8:45 a.m. We crossed into Tennessee at 11:37 a.m. and Kentucky at 3:01 p.m. We arrived at 4 p.m.

We were camping at the campground there at Mammoth Cave. The good news was that they had moved us to a larger pull through spot (I booked before we got the trailer and even though it was supposed to fit us it would have been tight.) The bad news was no power. Normally that wouldn't be a problem but Kentucky is still hot and humid and I about died that first night. I didn't sleep under the covers and wore just my under clothings.

In the evening fireflies came out and Sheila and Timmy loved chasing them down. Before dark we went for a walk over to the visit center and got information on the tours for the next day. We then went for a walk around the campground and a deer walked right by our campsite.

We also started having problems with our fridge (or what we thought was the fridge.)

Day 1: June 9, 2010

2010-07-12T11:44:00.000-05:00

I totally meant to update along the way but time and exhaustion got to me so now will have to do. I will try to do one day every day or two until I am done and blog about other things too.

Our first leg was from Panama City, Florida, to Hoover, Alabama, aprovimately 260 miles. We had to get the trailer and everything hooked up plus finished packing so we didn't leave until 10:45 am. We arrived at 5:40 p.m. We were so exhausted by the time we got there that we just ordered pizza to our room.

A funny thing we seen on the way was a sigh that said "Go to the church, or the devil will get you."

The kids each had their own DVD player and watched movies almost the whole way. Kimberly slept.

We stayed at the Hyatt Place. It had a huge room. It was a little too businessy for me. The continental breakfast was also lacking, unless you like cereal and bagels. The kids had a great time swimming but Kimberly didn't like the pool and so we didn't get any pictures.

Almost Home

2010-07-08T19:32:00.000-05:00

....and thank goodness. I so miss my bed and my bathtub and my washer and dryer. I am tired of riding in a car for 6+ hours everyday. Don't get me wrong. I have enjoyed seeing the changing scenery as we galavant across the country. But my body is just not having anymore of it. I am exhausted and stressed and having headaches. The worst part has been the wind. But despite all that we have had a wonderful time. In two days we will be home and it will take some time to get everything back in order and pictures downloaded and sized for web pages (I have 600+ of 12M so it will take some time.) I will hopefully soon be updating my blog about our trip so look back soon.

Driving across country

2010-06-13T06:27:00.000-05:00

We started out on June 9 (Sheila got out of school on the 8th.) The first night we drove to Hoover, AL, just outside of Birmingham. We stayed in the Hyatt Place hotel. It was a fairly nice hotel. (The continental breakfast was not impressive at all.) It took longer to get there because we are now pulling a trailer behind us and Ray is only going between 55-60 most of the day. I had already booked four hotels before we decided to get the trailer and most of those were nonrefundable so we decided to go ahead and keep them. We were so tired when we got there that we just ordered pizza to our room. After eating we went to the pool. We were almost there by ourself. Kimberly didn't like the water too much so she and I sat on the steps most of the time. Sheila played on the steps most of the time too. She wants to take swimming lessons when we get back. She was experimenting with going all the way in to the 31/2 feet deep side all by herself. But she and Timmy also took turns riding on daddy's back while he was swimming.

Ray was showing them different things. He was a few yards away from us and said, "Hey, kids, watch this." And dove underwater and swam across the pool. Timmy excitedly said, "I want to do that." He was standing on about the middle step just out of arms reach of me. He teetered on the step a few seconds and then jumped into the pool. The water was still above his head at the shallowest but just barely. Ray and I were both in shock but Ray acted quickly and was to him in two large leaps and had him out of the water. Timmy started howling and I started laughing (in schock.) But after he calmed down, back on daddy's back again and he exclaimed , "I want to go swimming again." Good thing that didn't scare him off.

This morning we are trying to recover from a long night. We attended a wedding here in Erlanger, KY (just outside of Cincinatti, OH.) I would be still asleep but the hotel's alarm clock went off at 6:30 and I couldn't go back to sleep. We spent June 10-11 at Mammoth Cave National Park, KY. I will try to blog about that with pictures once we get to the hotel tonight. If not it will have to wait until June 16 when we get to our final hotel or June 19 or later when we finally reach my parents. I will also blog about the wedding at a future date as well.

Birdhouses

2010-05-21T10:45:00.000-05:00

I am going to try to update my blog this next week. At the end of April the kids painted some birdhouses I had picked up at the craft store for a dollar each. I already had oodles of paint and paint brushes in my craft supplies so it made for a cheap and fun craft for the kids.
Afterwards we hung them on our lone tree out front. The kids wanted the birds to come right away but I have yet to get the bird seed for them.

Maybe We're Crazies

2010-05-08T20:04:00.000-05:00

I was so not looking forward to driving across country in a packed SUV, putting up a tent and blowing up an air mattress every few days, staying in hotels, eating out. We were thinking of getting a trailer last year and then found out that we couldn't tow one like we wanted with the minivan so we stopped looking. Than in January we replaced the van with an SUV that tows a big load but we still weren't even thinking of the trailer by then. Well, we decided to go look at them last weekend and found two we love. I wanted it. It was the answer. Instead of endless lists of what to take, what we will take if we have room, food to buy now, food to buy on the road, etc. we could just load the trailer and not worry. Today we went and looked again and they gave us a price we didn't want to pass up on the bigger trailer. Now hopefully we will be able to tow it. (The vehicle should but are the drivers capable?) We pick it up next week when we finalize everything. I am excited. It will be like being thrown into a fire pit to figure out the backing and everything. We planned on getting one in 1-2 years anyway. I know we are crazy. We made three big purchases this year but the vehicles we plan on having for ten years and the trailer for at least 20. Pictures will be posted next week after we get it.

May Day Flowers and Potty Training

2010-05-03T15:57:00.000-05:00

My five year old is so sweet. On May Day we took Grandma and Papa to Wal-Mart since their car broke down and they needed groceries. Sheila saw the flower display near the produce section and insisted she needed to get some flowers for momma. So Ray finally let her pick out some to get me. She picked out some yellow tulips, which are blooming nicely on my table now.

I have dreaded potty training ever since it was a disaster with Sheila. I have tried every few weeks with Timmy and he has cried and cried. Today I prepared myself for the drama. I told him he couldn't watch Clifford until he went to the potty. I was shocked as he followed me to the bathroom and then sat on the potty with no tears. He was so proud when he started to pee and sat there for several minutes getting everything out that he could. He was so proud to pee on the potty. Then he told me two more times he needed to go. Only one accident so far today and that was right after his nap. Here's to hoping that maybe I finally will have some success and soon I will only have one in diapers again.