One last post for tonight!

Little Joe has been working hard on Scouts and recently finished his wolf requirements.  He really seems to enjoy Scouts and is learning lot of new things. 


Joe and Dad working on building a bird house of a requirement.  Thanks to Lowe's for the kit.



Halloween 2010

Before I post pictures here for you all to see I just have to let you all know that I HATE trying to put pictures on here.  I really don't like it.  It is not easy at all.  I want them on here and to look nice without taking up a lot of space but I just can't do it.  I don't know how you all do it and make it look so nice.  Someone please help me learn the tricks of the Blogspot trade. 

Ok with that out of the way here is are attempts at costumes for this year.

A Bride's Maid Barbie

A Pirate Girl

Davy Crockett



Mom dressed up so Rebecca would and Pocahontas



The traditional 1st year puppy!

Too cute not to post!

I am way behind!

Since I last posted Kiley and Sarah have each had a birthday. I have been putting off blogging about the two little girls because I have been trying to get professional like photos of each since their birthdays but I have decided it just is not going to happen.
So here I go-

On September 15, Kiley Raelean turned 3. She wants to be like the big girls and is always trying to ride their scooters so we decided to get her one of her own.

This is best I could get.

On October 5, Sarah Kay turned 1.  She is just too cute and so precious.  She could melt the hardest of hearts with her little looks and smile.  We all love her to pieces. 




She LOVED her Chocolate Cake



 





How could you not love that face?







No, I will not look at you Mom.



To facebook or not?

I have been thinking a lot lately about dropping facebook.  I am not sure it is really worth all the time I spend on it.  Today I decided to look at my facebook stats.  Here they are:

Total number of "Friends" is 198
Current ward friends is 47- 25 have never posted a thing to me
Childhood/School friends is 20- only 1 makes occasional comments
College friends is 23- 17 have never posted a thing
Family member is 73- Only a handful ever make comments
Friends of my siblings 18- only 3 have ever made a comment
Joe's friends 7- only 1 comments
Past Missionaries 7- i get occasional messages from 1, most are single college guys so I don't expect to hear from them.

So in all less then 1/4 of my "friends" really care two hoots about me.  It has done little to nothing to improve relationships with distant family members.  So I ask myself, what is the point?  If they didn't care about you before why should they start now?

 

Rebecca turns 13!

It says this was in 2001

2010

While it doens't seem possible, today is Rebecca's 13th birthday.  I can't believe that I am now a mother of a teenager!  Even though she was eight days late and decided to jump start things while I was doing laundry at a near by laundry mat she has been a joy to have around. 

There is not much planned for her today in the way of celebrating.  We have already been out to eat for her Birthday dinner, had a birthday dinner with the Lofgreen family, she went shoppping with Grandma Lofgreen on Monday, and she is planning a party for Saturday. 

Back to school time!

Yes, it is that time of year again!  Time to send the big kids back to school.  (Actually today is the start of the second week of school.)  Rebecca is in 8th grade, Savannah is in 6th grade, and Joe is in 3rd grade.  The kids all have mixed emotions about going back to school because they are not returning to the same school they left.  (They all appear to have survived the first week ok.) 

Dad made a job (and career change back to the education field) and since he will no longer be heading to work in the direction of the kids' school they will be going to the school by our home.  While I am glad that I will no longer have to spend 2 hours a day in the car getting the kids from school, I have my own mixed emotions about the switch.  I am excited that I can be more involved in their education by being in the school to help out more, but I am nervous about the quality of education they will be getting.  We attended Meet the Teacher night but were only able to meet Savannah's and Joe's teachers.  While the teachers seem like they will be great our previous experiences with this school and district have been less then desirable.  I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and hope they don't let me down.

Kiley is going through her own adjustment period now that the kids are back in school.  She doesn't know what to do all day long and is constantly asking if I will call her friends and invite them over to play.  When she has friends over she is good for about two hours then she gets bored and doesn't know what to do.  I was hoping with the kids back in school I could reinstate nap time but that is not going so well and the problem is that she really needs a nap. 

Sarah continues to be cute little Sarah.  She is just over 10 months and crawls but not like normal babies.  I have never seen a baby move like she does.  She scoots around the floor on her bottom.  I don't know what to do with her.  She now has her two bottom teeth in and appears to be working on the top too.  She eats lots of table food and not so much baby food. 

As for me I am here everyday with my two little ones and my computer.  As long as I have some kind of connection to life outside my front door I should be ok.  I am still working on my picture taking skills and my photoshopping skills.  I am proud to say I have learned how to do a few new things in each area but I will have to continue to work on both. 

We're going back, back, back to school again!

Pack Rat of What?

First a quick update on my previous post about hobbies/talents- I have checked about many books for the library and read though them.  I think I understand what I am reading on how to take a better picture but I am not always sure how to transfer that over to my camera.  Yesterday I took my camera outside and played around with the different auto settings.  I think I like what I got.  (You have to check out FB for some sample pictures).  I am still working on the whole Adobe Photoshop thing, but in my mind if I learn to take better pictures first I wont need to Photoshop very much.  I will keep playing there.

Ok, so this has been the last week before school starts and I have been doing the deep after summer house cleaning.  That means cleaning out the kids' closets, under beds, in drawers, and all other hiding places I can find.  While cleaning the thought occurred to me that everyone must be a pack rat or hoarder of something.  As I helped clean out the bedrooms I learned-

• Rebecca and Savannah's like to keep all kinds of trash, Dum Dum wrappers, broken crayons, dried out markers, broken jewelery, and stuffed animals.   
• Little Joe also like to keep all kinds of trash, old school papers, and tiny useless toys.  (I am not even sure where the toys come from.
• Kiley and Sarah's room as been the catch all crap room for years.  It houses everything that I don't know where to put or think I will put it away later.  There were a couple of donate to Goodwill bags, lots of bags and boxes of clothes that are either too big for Kiley or Sarah. I am proud to say that I got everything put away.
• As a family we have (the first things to come to mind)- outdated computer games, pages and pages of usernames and passwords to various websites, and cassette tapes (we lack anything to play them with).  I am sure there is more.  While cleaning out the girls' closet I came across two boxes.  I knew exactly what they were, 14 years of church magazines.  As I looked at these boxes I asked myself why I was keeping these magazines because if I really needed an article or something I could get it from the computer.  I keep these Magazines because my mom does.  Well, I decided since they were not getting used much there was no reason to keep them but I could not bring myself to throw them all out.  So to help myself out I kept two Magazines from each year- the May and November issues of The Ensign (there are the conference issues).  So now I have a half box filled with General Conference talks going back to 1997.  

I am sure that everyone reading this has something that you just can't get rid of.  What do you find your family pack ratting or hoarding? 

Lame Attempt at Photoshop

Turkey

Messed Up Turkey Leg

Kids at Easter

Today


I think I will stick with basic editing for now!  How totally Lame!

A hobby I would like to be better at

I have been thinking a lot about my desired hobby/talent lately.  I would love to develop the hobby/talent of photography.  I see photos from family member and friends that are just to die for and I long to have photos of my family that look like that.  With money always being short I can't spend the money for someone else to take pictures of my kids.  (Side note- I think the last time I spent money and had a pro take picture was in the hospital after Kiley was born.  The amount of money spend was ridiculous and the photos were never displayed and there are tons extra.  I see it as a total waste.)  So what had I been doing about this?  Well I have been in touch with friends that take pictures for their jobs and asked for suggestions.  I have been able to find some help in there recommendations.  Just yesterday I checked out four different book on the topic from the library.  I am taking notes as I read them.  I have learned that taken the actual picture is only a very small part of the whole process.  The key to great pictures is in the editing of them.  Months ago I bought Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 to help with this but was quickly intimidated by this program.  So now I am trying to learn how to use the program I bought to do some of the fancier editing.  When I learn a little bit more I will post a couple of attempts for you to see. 

Our summer 2010!

There really has not been much excitement for us this summer.  We took our big vacation early this year and went to California in April.  While there we spent a couple of days in San Diego with Joe's brother (Mark) and his family.  If you ask me that was the best part of the whole vacation.  I really enjoy getting to visit with them one on one and only wish we could do it more often.  (In fact I really enjoy being able to visit with any of our (mine or Joe's) siblings one of one.)  We then took the kids to Disneyland for three days.  It was the first time for Kiley and Sarah and the first time Joe was able to go on all of the rides he wanted to.  We had a good time but I really think two days is going to have to be our limit. 

Since then, Joe has spent countless hours applying for and interviewing for a job back in the teaching field.  He really misses being able to rub shoulders with teenagers and trying to relate history to their current lives.  I admit that he is a very good teacher and for the most part the kids love his classes.  He was finally able to secure a teaching job at a charter school within a couple of miles from our home.  He left USAA earlier this month and is slowing starting in at his teaching job.  School there starts on Aug. 11 and he will be teaching a government elective course.  He has met some of the students and they are asking to be in his class.  We will see how it all works out.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that all will go well.  The school has said they would help him complete an internship for his first master's degree in Education Administration so hopefully he will be able to move up into a job that pays a little bit better. 

With the time between jobs we took a two day camping trip to Lynx Lake in Prescott.  We have not been up there since Rebecca was a baby and it was also our first full family camping trip since then.  The kids all seemed to have a good time.  It would have been nicer if it had not been so hot and if we could have gone in one car.  I think we will have to plan more camping trips.  I posted picture on facebook so if you haven't seem them there you go.

Tuesday mornings have been movie day for the kids and I.  The local movie theater offer a kids' summer movie deal where you can buy tickets to 10 movies for $5.  We just attend that last movie yesterday.  We have been swimming a few times with the neighbors next door and a few times at a ward member's house.  (Thank goodness for ward members willing to share their pools with those of us that don't have one.)  We have been to two wedding receptions this summer.  One for a niece of Joe's and one for a cousin of mine.    We are so happy and excited for both of them.  The big girls have been able to have a couple of sleepovers with a cousin who lives close by.  We took an afternoon recently and went down to the Capital so Joe could pass something off for Scouts.  We have finished as much back to school shopping as we can for now.  I wait until I really know what supplies my kids are going to need before I buy anything.

 The kids are all doing well.  While Rebecca is not yet as tall as me, her feet have surpassed mine.  Both Rebecca and Savannah got back to school haircuts this last week and each donated 8 inches of hair to locks of love.  Joe has been reading a lot this summer so he can play the wii.  Kiley is 2.  Need I say more.  She is such the little parrot and acts just like the other kids.  The good + the bad = fun for me.  Sarah, finally got her first tooth.  She still is not crawling yet, but oh well.  She is so fun and is such a good natured baby. 

Well, I think that about wraps up our summer.  It has been nothing fancy just hot, hot, hot.  For pictures you will have to see facebook because I have such a hard time putting them on here.  Oh and one last thing- Rebecca and Savannah now have their own blog sites.  They are private and require an invite, so if you would like to read them let me know and we will send you the invite.  Love you all. 

Confessions from another bad blogger!

Yes, I admit it.  Like most of you reading this blog, I am not very good at keeping it updated.  To those reading this that don't share my problem,  shame on you.  (Not really.  I am just jealous that you can find something to write about so easily).  While I want to write on my blog, I find that my lack of creative juices, my boring life, and time spent stalking people on facebook is what keeps me from posting things here.  I try and remind myself that the reason I started this blog was to keep in better contact with my siblings that I do not see often (which in all reality is all of them.)  So here I go attempting (once again) to do better at sharing my life with of you who so graciously stop by looking for something to read.  Thanks for visiting and I will try to make it a exciting as I can. 

Before I start and on a total side note- I was thinking maybe we could help each other come up with ideas to blog about since that seems to be our stumbling point.  For example- someone could post a blog topic on FB for us all to write about.  I have some ideas so I will start it off in the next day or two so be looking for it.   For current update you will have to read another post. 

The headaches of modern technology

A couple of weeks ago I discovered that my cell phone doesn't like to swim and had to get a new phone. Thank goodness for the new every two plan with Verizon and the fact that I had not used it yet, I did not have to spend much for a new phone. I have the phone and most of my contacts are in it and it will work just fine.


Now it is our home computer. Kiley wanted to play a cd game on it last week and I told her she had to wait. She was not happy so she decided she would take care of it herself. After putting this cd in and not getting anywhere she became upset. I dont know exactly what she did to my computer but the dvd drive no longer works and makes a terrible sound every time you turn on the computer.  Yesterday I saw her feeding one of the front USB slots paper.  Needless to say it is now not working right at all.  I think the computer powers up just fine, but the monitor is not working.  Yesterday after 20 mins of the computer being on the monitor started working.  Today no such luck.  I have unpluged everything and repluged it all in.  The power to the screen comes on but it just flashes like it is asleep.   I am writing this from our laptop.  I guess I will take the computer and monitor to Dr. Dad and see if he can fix it.  I know that things are only broken if he can't fix them.  I am crossing my fingers that he can get the computer back up and running quickly.  Until then it is laptop for me because I can't live without my computer.  My connection to life outside my front door!  Wish me luck!

Savannah uncensored!

Hello! It's been a long long long time since I last posted so I thought why not do it now?! I know my mom already did  a little bit but I'm going to do it again. 

Okay so last week on the 17th we {the family} took a six let me repeat SIX HOUR drive. And guess who go stuck sitting in the middle for SIX HOURS!!!! But the good part is when got to San Diego! I got out of the middle and went to play a war of doge ball with my cousins.  On Sunday we went to two different beaches I don't know they are called but one was tide pools and the other one was a beach beach.  


On Monday morning we{the family} woke up early and had breakfast then went off to Disney land.  When we got there it was maybe about 12:00ish 2:00ish. but we went to Disney land for a while. 

SO let just do a recap on everyone else first.
Dad- is hoping to get back into teaching.And I think is very close to getting back in. He just had an interview with a school in Chinle {where ever the heck that is!} but he would be the SS/ History teacher. 
Mom- She is doing great! She is just the same as always she cleans, cooks, helps with homework, etc...
Sarah-She is a little bundle of joy! She gives you the cheesiest smile and if your mad it will make your day.
Kiley- She too is a little bundle of joy with lots of energy.  Yesterday she was outside {this was like 900 in the morning} and she went to far so I went to get her and she said she was going to get the mail I said"Kiley the mails not here yet." she  said "yes it is."
Joe- He is doing great he is work on his pinewood derby car. He is also now in scouts. He had a lot of fun with scouts. 
Rebecca- she is running in the district on Monday I said to her " Rebecca can you believe that you are running in on Monday?" " the reply that I got was funny " NO! I cant believe that at all. 
Savannah- Well I just had my second choir concert.  It turned out very well.  I had a big part in the concert I held a flag that had something to do with MIA { missing in action} and something else. but that's all I can think of and I think that's really good.  Oh on more thing. The missionaries in our ward are all leaving so we'll go from knowing all to some. And tonight we had the missionaries over and while I was babysitting they made hand actions to the ten commandments. It was kind of funny I have to admit I laughed a little bit.  But I think that's all for now
TTFN{ta ta for now}

Vacation!

Wow, I had not realized that it has been such a long time since I wrote on here.  Spending so much time on facebook seems to be taking time and attention away from here.  That and not really knowing what to write here. 
The latest thing we have to share would be our late Spring Break Vacation to California.  Joe was unable to get the kids Spring Break off from work so we took them out of school for four days and went on a six day family vacation this month.  It was a great trip and a much needed vacation for everyone.  We began our trip with a quick trip to San Diego to see Mark and Angie and kids.  I really enjoyed them time we were able to spend with them and only wish we could have stayed longer.  Everything was great- the three older kids each had someone to play and visit with, the food, the conversations, the sight seeing, and for the most part the weather.  After our weekend visit with them we headed to Disneyland for three days.  It was the second time for Little Joe and the first time for Kiley and Sarah.  Surprisingly enough Kiley and Sarah were both great for the most part.  Kiley had her moments but those were when she was just so tired.  She missed the parade and Sarah missed the fireworks do to much needed naps calling their names. Overall it was a good trip but I think three days is one day too long for me.  I am trying to post pictures somewhere but there are so many to look through and I am having a hard time finding to best ones to post. 

At this time we are all doing well health wise.  Joe is currently working on a second masters degree.  This is a general History Masters.  He is really hoping to be able to get back into teaching some time soon.  I spend my days doing the things that stay at home mom's do best- cooking, cleaning, laundry, watching tv, and facebooking.  I would like to think that Sarah has finally starting to sprout.  She still doesn't have any teeth yet but we are feeding her more solids.  She is just the happiest little girl and that makes her so fun to be around.  Her little smile can melt the hardest of hearts.  So many people at church just love to hold her because she is so cute.  Kiley seems to be developing in leaps and bounds these days.  Sometime she is just too smart for her own good.  She loves to sing and dance and always wants to play with the "big" kids.  The older kids are on countdown to the end of the school year.  I think the school years seem to be getting shorter each year.  I am not sure what I am going to do with them all summer long.  We don't have any great plans in the works.  I am going to have to get creative and quick.  I am just glad that we are all currently health or at least appear to be.

Small things that make a difference

This year instead of setting goals (that I knew I would not keep) I have decided to make more of an effort to do some small things that make a difference in how I feel.


1. Do more with my outward appearance. Get dressed every day (even if I have nowhere to go). Make sure my hair is fixed if I leave the house to go anywhere. (Even if it just to get the kids from school.) Put on makeup if I am going somewhere. (I think a little goes a long way.)

2. Clean what I can and don’t worry about the rest. My main daily focus is on the rooms I have to see while I am home (the family room and kitchen). Then if someone stops by unexpectedly I don’t feel like trash. I am beginning to think I need to add the kids bathroom incase someone wants to use it. (Their idea of clean is embarrassing to me.)

3. Do something besides watching tv all day. While I don’t consider myself good at anything, there are things I like to do. I like to scrapbook and have started a book for almost all of my kids but not one is finished. I love to bake and share. I don’t really like to read but I feel like I should to set an example for my children.

4. Don’t be so hard on myself. I am only one person and one person can only do so much. I am the one that chooses to do something or not.

While these are just a few areas I struggle with on a daily basis, I know that when I make more of an effort to do these things I feel so much better about myself. Some days (ok most) it is hard to find the motivation to do these things but that is when I need to do them the most.

Sarah's big discoveries in an even bigger world!

It is hard to believe that Sarah is already 4 months old. She is still tiny and sweet. She is fun to watch and when she smiles you can't help but smile. She has made lots of discoveries in her growing world. She has:


• Found her smile

• Found her hands and how to get them into her mouth (usually her left thumb)

• Found her voice (and she likes to hear herself talk)

• Found her laugh (it is a little hard to get it out of her but it is cute when we can)

• Learned how to turn in circles on the floor (almost ready to roll over)

• Tried baby cereal

We are still working on getting her to sleep through the night, but I think we are very close. She made it through three nights this week. In my efforts to help her with this, I usually sing her a little song, tell her it is ok if she goes to sleep, and then I put her down before she is totally asleep. I do this during the day as well. (Consistency is the key right?) It takes her about 10 mins to settle down and go to sleep.

Last night she was just too cute. She is still sleeping in our room and shortly after Joe and I laid down in bed she woke up. She was tossing and turning her head about but not crying. We just laid there waiting to see what would happen and if she was going to cry. She did not cry but made sounds like she was trying to sing. Her singing did not last long at all but she went back to sleep. She did this two other times last night. It was just too sweet. I wonder what she was singing to herself.

Babies, they grow up so fast and we can forget just how cute they really are. We all love her to pieces.

A quick Kiley Moment

Saturday we were shopping at Sam's Club and Kiley (who is 2) is walking around the store calling Jesus.  It took me a few times to realize what she was saying but I got it loud and clear.  She was calling out, "Jesus, where are you?" I just had to laugh.

2010 is off and rolling!

I know it is late, but let me start by saying we had a good holiday season. We were able to spend time with both the McKnights and Lofgreens for Christmas and New Years. Each family has their own holiday traditions and I feel luck that we are able to participate in the traditions for both sides.


The McKnights have a family dinner and talents show. The kids usually sing a Christmas song while I play the piano. Sometimes dad sings with the kids but not this year. There is always a special visitor to close out the night. Then they get together on Christmas Eve to read and act out Luke 2 and exchange gifts. This year we gave a sort of family history book with pictures we took throughout the year. I think they turned out nice.

My mother still enjoys caroling and does so every year. The sad thing is that there are people who look forward to us coming each year. I think my kids enjoy this also. Now that my brother and his family are back in town we are working on creating some new traditions. Those of us here is town got together on Christmas Eve to look at lights and have smores afterwards. My kids really enjoy getting to know my brother's kids better. They all love begin together so they piled in to the back of the truck and sang Christmas songs while looking at the lights. Since there were no out of town visitors for Christmas (most were here for Thanksgiving) my Mom and Dad came out to our house on Christmas morning to give the kids their gifts and spend some time with us.

We were lucky enough to be able to spend some time Christmas morning with four missionaries. For the last two years we have invited them to join us for breakfast and games afterwards. We have also giving them each a stocking with their favorite candy and then some. I would like to think that the missionaries enjoyed themselves as much as we enjoyed having them.

We were also lucky enough to be able to spend time with members of both families on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. We started off at my parents and then stopped by Scott and Teddie's house on New Year's Eve. As we walked up to the door most of the family was walking out of the door to different activities. We were able to visit with Scott and Teddie and Angie for a little while and then we returned to my parents' house where we rang in the New Year with my Mom and Erin. My parents were kind enough to let us spend the night so that we did not have to make the 45-60 min drive home. It was nice and Joe and I even got to sleep in. Thank you kids! We had breakfast around 10:30 with my Mom when she got home from playing tennis. Then that night we went to Scott and Teddie's house to watch the Gators' game with al of his family.

So again we had a great holiday season and enjoyed being able to spend a good amount of time with our extended families. Since then things have calmed down quite a bit and for the most part things have been good. I started out the year with a head cold and it is still being passed around. Right now Rebecca and Kiley (I think she started it all) are suffering the most. I am afraid that even little Sarah has gotten some of it now.

Dad is back to teaching early morning seminary, working, and trying to workout. ("This is the year," says Joe.) The three oldest kids are back in school and into the third quarter. They are all doing well. Kiley, Sarah and I are back to hangin' out during the day doing whatever we want to. There is a member family that recently moved to our street and we are becoming quick friends with them. (He is in the Air Force and is currently out at the Base. They have two little girls and Kiley loves to play with them and I enjoy visiting with their mom. Chances are we know his parents from when we were living in Glendale.)

I feel very blest that things have started off so well and I hope we can continue this trend. We are so luck to have so many family members close by and we love them all. We miss those that are not here but enjoy seeing them when the chances arise.

They are growing up so fast!

Rebecca turned 12 in August and today she was called and set apart as the 1st counselor in her Beehive class presidency as church.  I know she has no idea what this calling includes but I know that it will be a great experience for her.  She has a great ability to care for others and she wants everyone to feel included.  When we told her it would be her responsibility to help plan and carry out the weekly mutual activities she got really excited.  I told her that was only the beginning.