Bella

Bella is our dog. She is a toy poodle. She was the cutest little thing when we got her. She was 6 weeks old and seriously the CUTEST thing ever. She would snuggle and I would let her sleep on the bed with us. I was in love with her. She has grown and is about 9 years old now. And she has decided that when she is mad at us, she will poop on the floor. Why? Yesterday all of the doors were open and she dropped a load right in the middle of the kitchen. 10 feet away from the wide open door. I really thought Lorin was going to lose it. She got thrown outside and hasn't been allowed back in since then. I put a cage next to the doggie door with her bed in it so she can come sleep in it if she wants. I feel bad that she is stuck out there but I am so tired of cleaning up after her. She has also started getting in the trash and spreading it all over everywhere. Why is she all of a sudden doing this? She makes me have guilt. One day when she goes to visit Pongo, Oreo and Chancho. WE ARE NOT GETTING ANOTHER DOG!!! EVER!!! I am so over pets!

Monday

Today is Monday which translates into- a date with the toilets! I clean my house really good on Mondays. I scrub toilets, mop floors, laundry. I even unload the dishwasher which is one of my all time not favorite things to do. I think I would rather clean a peed on toilet than unload the dishwasher or put laundry away. And Lorin wonders why there is always dishes in the sink.... Because there are clean dishes in the dishwasher. That's why! Loading or folding--- don't mind at all. Anyway- I digress. I clean and scrub all day. It kills me. By the time I am done my body is just a ball (literally) of aches and pains. I don't know what I did to my legs, ankles and back but they sure tell me that they have had enough by the end of the day. But oh honey buns! I sure love that it is all sparkly and dusted. It just feels so good to walk into a clean room. Even if it only stays that way for a few hours. It's wonderful! I also use pine-sol and it smells so good. It just smells clean. The only thing I really refuse to clean is the kids shower. They mess it up and make it nasty, they can clean it! Today I had some super cute helpers! Madeline & Hadley. They were so fun to have here for the most part. They were so excited to scrub the toilets and you would not believe the war that went on over who got to mop the floor. They even told me that it is fun to clean at my house and they love it so much because at home it is either help clean up or go to bed. They make me laugh! Although I did have to re-clean the bathroom mirror about 5 times because Hadley would climb up on the counter and kiss herself in the mirror. Silly goose! It was a good day to have them here.

Another really cool thing that happened today was that Devin came over even though he had worked until 4 am (How in the heck does he do that and stay coherent?) Anyway- he brought the girls over and then stayed and installed two light fixtures in my bathroom that I have been trying to get done for, forever. He seriously has no idea how grateful I am that he comes over and helps me do projects. I know he has a million other things he could be doing and yet, he does stuff over here.. THANK YOU DEVIN!!!! I think Darci is pretty lucky to have him and his handyman skills! (He also the other day fixed the garage door that has been broken for oh ya- EVER!!! I don't know how he knows how but he can figure out how to fix or build just about anything!

Sacrament meeting

Today is Sunday. That means church. I loved sacrament meeting today. It was fast and testimony meeting. My friend Vickie and her family are moving in a couple of weeks. I am so sad. She has helped me be a better person in so many ways. One day when I grow up, I want to be like her. She loves the Lord with all her heart. She loves those around her. She is my friend and just calls me to check on me and see how I am doing. She is just amazing. I love her. Anyway, I don't know what my deal was today but, I was sitting there listening, I look over across the room and there she is, sitting with her husband and son. Just sitting there, listening. And I just started crying. I have just been pretending it isn't happening. She isn't really moving in my mind. I will still be able to call and borrow eggs on Sunday because I wasn't prepared. I think it just finally really set in that yes, in just a few short days, my friend will be gone. And then her husband got up and bore his testimony. Then her son. Then her. I couldn't even look up while she was talking. I am just so sad. I am happy that she is going to start a new chapter in her life. I am just going to miss her. She is my sister after all. My Mom adopted her before she died. Who will I borrow eggs from now? Who will just call to see if I'm OK? Who is going to be that shining example to me to be a better person? Who? For the rest of the meeting I was a mess. I am sure I looked like a crazy person. But the good thing is, my friend Allison came to me afterwards and volunteered to be my traveling buddy to go and visit her. I am so taking her up on that offer!

I also want to say that at the end of the meeting, a non-member who was visiting for the first time got up and bore his testimony of God, the missionaries and that God was definitely in that room. I agree. He was. It felt good to be there.

Baby Boy

We have a new addition to our family. Baby Boy Buhl. He is the newest foster baby in Darci & Devins family and he is so stinkin' cute! Oh I could just smooch him all day! He is 6 days old and just came to their home today. He is so tiny! He is the same size as Tevin when he was born. Somehow I just don't remember Tevy being that eensy! I hope all goes well with him and that maybe one day he will be a permanent addition to our family. But for right now we will just enjoy him as much as we can! PS- I keep telling Darci she should name him Jack. She's not going for it. Rude huh!!!!

Rainy Day

Last night I was woken up by thunder and lightning. It was so awesome! I go exercise early in the morning and it was kinda clear when I left, but in the middle of the workout (We workout at the park) it started pouring. It was crazy how fast it went from nothing to total downpour. We had to stop, pick up all of the equipment and run for shelter. It was amazing! It has been pouring off and on all day. We've had the doors open, just listening to the down pour. We turned the A/C off and its nice and chilly. It is a chicken noodle soup kind of day. The roads have been completely flooded. I have been driving Dakota's car instead of mine and let me tell you, I SURE MISS IT!!! The intersections are so far underwater! One of the intersections was filled with big rocks that had been carried down from up by Lone Mountain.

 CRAZY! And yet, I seriously love this kind of weather! LOVE IT!!

Garage sale site

There is a group on Facebook that is for people in my area to buy and sell stuff that they would sell at a garage sale. It has been so fun! Today I got a bag of free maternity clothes for Darci and Brighton if they ever need them. I have also gotten a bookcase ($30), a doll for Madeline or Hadley (Brand new in the package that talks)($5), an apothecary jar ($8), a baby doll bunk bed ($15), a super cute jar ($3), some mismatched cabinet knobs ($7), a game (Brand new still in plastic wrapper) ($3), a 9 1/2' parachute ($8) and a toy for Jackson ($5). Tomorrow I am getting a bike helmet ($10) and possibly another cute jar ($2). Oh my goodness--- I really didn't realize how much stuff I've bought on there!  It is a VERY addicting site. I feel like I have to check it every few minutes so that I don't miss anything good. Cause it is really a bummer when that happens. I just need to get brave and start selling all the crap around here that I am never going to use. I bet I could make A LOT of money!

Dakota

Today is my beautiful daughter, Dakota's birthday! It is hard to believe that she is 17. I remember when she was born. We were at the hospital and it wasn't progressing very well. I had joked with the Dr. about letting me stay in the hospital for a week so I would be able to rest and not have to worry about being a mom to 3 other little kids. He had laughed and said that just wasn't how it worked. But then as I was laboring and it was going so slowly, mostly I think because she was posterior,  he came to Lorin and I and said that we could continue how we were going and she would start to go through the birth canal and she would probably get stuck and we would have to do an emergency c-section or---- we could do a c-section right then and all would be well. HMMMMM- lets think about that one. We opted for the c-section immediately. It totally freaked me out. I was so scared. They took us into the operating room and started the preparations. Did you know they strap your arms down so you cant move during it? I didn't know that and I pretty much freaked. i asked a few times if I promised to hold still if they would undo my wrists. They said no. I think if I had had a chance to prepare myself mentally, it wouldn't have been so bad. But I do have to say, it was over in just a minute. And what a beautiful baby we had! And she was a chubby little thing! 8lbs. 3 oz. I actually was really glad I didn't have to push her out! She was my biggest baby. I just loved looking at her. She was so beautiful. Her eyes had an exotic look to them. She still has big, beautiful eyes. We did get to stay in the hospital for 5 days. I was so ready to go home by the time they let us go. It was kind of scary too because I had started breast feeding while in the hospital and that girl could suck! Holy moly! She made my boobs crack and bleed. Which meant she was swallowing blood. And spitting it up. The Dr's almost didn't let us take her home with us until they figured out where the blood was coming from. They figured it out because they had to do a bunch of blood work on her to make sure all was well. It was horrible. The nurse who was trying to get her blood stuck her again and again. We finally had to ask them to stop and get someone else. As it turned out, it was our neighbor from our old house. She was so quick and good. It took about 1 minute for her to get it and be done. I will forever be grateful for her and her skills. She was fine and they let us go. I cant imagine how parents feel who have to leave their beautiful babies in the hospital without them.

She has grown up into a beautiful young woman. She is beautiful on the outside and inside where it counts even more. She has strong values and high standards. She is smart and does well in school. She loves to laugh and be funny. She is friendly to everyone around her. She has lots of friends from different walks of life. She is responsible and fulfills responsibilities given to he the best that she can. She is in Student Council on top of her school work. She is active in church and has a testimony of the Lord. She is just one all around amazing young woman and I am so glad I get to be her mom. I love you Dakota. Happy birthday!

Conference Brunch

This weekend was General Conference. ALWAYS so awesome! Years ago we used to do brunch in between conference sessions. Everyone came, brought food, ate then went home and watched conference at their own homes. It was so much fun. I don't know why we stopped doing it. Maybe it was too overwhelming for me to have to clean up the yard by myself  Maybe I was tired of picking up dog poop. I don't really know. But this year at Jamens open house, I decided it was time to start the tradition again. The yard looked wonderful. There was no dog poop. It was time! The only drawback and it was a big draw back was that Lorin had to work. I decided to do it anyway and get it going again. It turned out to be really fun. I was a little nervous because an email went out to the entire ward so I was worried about the # of people who would come but it was perfect. Just the right amount of people came. There were enough seats and still room to play football. It was so great! And of course there was some super yummy food that came!

My favorite was fresh pineapple and strawberries that my friend Sarah brought. She put the zest and juice of 2 limes and a little sugar in it. OHHHH goodness! It was delish! I think we will continue this tradition! I am so glad we have such good friends and such a great family ward.

The boys playing football with brother Perry

Our cute missionaries and some good friends

Don't you love Deajyee's face!

The teenage hangout

A view of some of the yummy food

Some more teenage fun.

Our very good friend David. He's crazy! JK!!!

Tevin baseball tournament

This past week was the championship baseball games for Tevins league. The whole season they only lost 1 game. He was pretty excited about it. There was 2 games. The first was The Giants- they won but it was a very emotional game (I had to leave early but from what I understand, Lorin became "one of those parents". I hear he was a little embarrassing) because the other team was being kinda stinky to our team and the umpires. It was a sad win. But we did win and move on to play the Sin City Sluggers. It was an awesome game. They scored, we scored. They made an out we made an out. Our boys were playing their hearts out. Tevin made a couple of really great stops out in the outfield. He was playing so great! All of them were. But bummer! They lost. They came in 2nd. But seriously it was a really good game! The other team totally earned their win. And it was interesting to watch the differences in the coaches. It was surely a much more enjoyable game that's for sure. Proud of you Tevy! Love you!

Jacksons birthday

Yesterday was Jacksons 1st birthday! Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday Brighton was freaking out because her water had just broken and she was leaving a trail down the hallway. (Good thing we have wood floors!) And then we were getting updates and finally the announcement that a beautiful baby boy had come into our family safe and sound. He is so much fun! I love when he scrunches up his nose into his cheesy grin face. He is walking and starting to climb on stuff! It seems that time is just flying by. Cute boy! Brighton planned a really cute birthday for him we celebrated today. It was a monster theme. She served monster toes and fingers (A.K.A. mini corn dogs and chicken fingers) salads and cupcakes for dessert. She served drinks out of plastic cups she had stuck google eyes too. They were really cute. She had posters made that had cute monsters on them for the kids to color.And she had made the cutest monster cake for Jacksy to smash. Fun times!

My friend Linda

This is my friend Linda. She is seriously one of the most amazing women I know. She always has a cheerful friendly attitude around her. She makes you feel important and that you are one of her very best friends. And mostly, you never leave a conversation with her without knowing that she genuinely loves you. I have had 2 really wonderful experiences with her. Keep in mind that I don't hang out with Linda. I visit with her at church or activities or whatever. We just run in different circles. The first experience was one day I was delivering something to her house. It should've been a quick- drop it at the door and go kind of thing. But she invited me to come in and visit with her. She sat me down on the couch and just chatted with me. She asked about my kids, Lorin, life. Just stuff. I was probably there for 20-30 minutes. And the thing was- I know she was busy making dinner- her husband was in the kitchen puttering around and I could smell it cooking. And yet she made me feel so good. She made me feel as if listening to what I had to say was the very most important thing she could be doing. She made me feel special. I left her home feeling good and wanting to be a better person, more like her.

The 2nd experience happened today. I was making phone calls, inviting people to a going away luncheon for my friend that is moving. I called Linda and again, she just chatted with me for a few minutes asking about this and that. At the end of the conversation as she was hanging up, she said "Bye, bye. I love you Jackie." I am sure she has no idea what an impact she made on me. I am pretty sure no one (other than my family) has ever ended a phone call to me like that. I truly did feel loved. I hung up the phone and just started to cry. I don't know why. It just felt good for her to say that to me. She truly is such a beautiful woman and really cares about people. I am so thankful she is my friend.

Dakota's lipsync

I went to the Arbor View lypsync tonight. Dakota was performing with the Junior class. It was really fun. They did a crazy song that I really couldn't understand the words too. And they won 2nd place! She was AWESOME!!!!It was really fun watching all of the songs. The MC's were kind of "interesting" but it was fun being there. Good job Koda! Proud of you for getting up there and performing!

Fence Panels

This past summer when I went to my Dads house, I had a mile long list of things I wanted to make (A.K.A. have HIM make for me). One of the things was these fence panels. They are seriously so AWESOME!!!! I was a little worried because they weren't exactly what I had envisioned (I wanted trees of some sort but the designs just looked to dorky)  but they are so perfect! They have been laying on the ground for about 2 months. Lorin isn't super excited about them so of course he hasn't offered to help get them set up. And I know how much work it is going to be to dig the holes for the posts so I haven't really been too pro getting them in the ground. But thank you Jamen for getting married and having an open house here so I would have to get my butt in gear and get them done. I asked Jamen if he would dig the holes but he was right there with me about digging them. NOT EXCITED!!! So finally Friday night, I just decided to do it myself. I was a bit worried because I had hurt my back a couple of weeks ago. And yes, by the time I was done digging, I could hardly move. But I did it!!! Slate did come help but I think it was only because I paid him $10.00. The ground is so stinkin' rocky here that you pretty much need a jack hammer to loosen the rocks up. Needless to say, I don't happen to have a spare one of those but I do have the next best thing- this long, black, heavy metal pole that you bang on the ground to loosen rocks. It probably weighs about 30 lbs or so. You lift it as high as you can, drop it and twist it a bit. Very good shoulder and arm workout! Anyway- it kept ramming into my shoulder after it had hit the ground and this is what my shoulder looked like later that evening----

Pretty sweet huh! This is two days later. But those fence panels are in and up!!! And look pretty dang good if I do say so myself! PS- Jamen and Rose did the concrete part and Jamen and Slate did the actual installation of the panels. So I need to stop complaining about doing it myself, I really did end up having help. I love how they look!

Stake Standards Night

Tonight was our first activity as a new Stake Young Womens Presidency. It was Stake Standards Night. It turned out AWESOME!!!! It was on social media. The first speaker was Lincoln Rogers. He spoke on knowing Heavenly Father love each one of us. I was a little nervous because the topic he had been given was on social media but he totally didn't even go there. Then we showed a Mormon Message on social media and how you need to determine if it helps you have the Spirit or if it influences you to be better in your life. Then President Truman spoke and seriously that man is amazing. He totally tied the two topics together. And he speaks to the youth on their level. They can relate to the things he is talking about. I was in awe of both he and Brother Rogers. They both spoke with no notes of any kind other than the scriptures. I hope that one day I will be able to do that. Maybe in my next life. Maybe! Then at the end we all sang the song from camp. I Will by Hillary Weeks. It was beautiful! Then of course yummy treats. Bread from Great Harvest! DELICIOUS!!! It was a really wonderful evening and the Spirit was there. You only needed to open your heart and feel it.

1st Day of School

The 1st day of school!

This has been an annual event at our house for the last 20+ years! I remember taking Darci to kindergarten for the very first time. I don't know who was more excited.... her or me? That's a really big day in the lives of first time parents and kindergartners! I was really excited right up until the moment when the teacher- Mrs. Cavanaugh said "OK, kids this way, parents that way." "No, Parents (ME) you cant come into the classroom. Your student is going to be fine!" Wait!!!!! What is happening? My daughter isn't old enough to go to school by herself! She needs me!!!! I was so upset. I cried. Yes, its embarrassing to admit but I did. And she was fine. And now it is onto another 1st day for my 3 younger kids. How does it happen? It just sneaks right by when you aren't looking. I think my kids should still be small and dependent on me. I think they should need me more than they do. I think time flies by WAY TOO FAST!!! Just stop for a bit will ya!

Dakota entering her Junior year. Isn't she just drop dead gorgeous!!! And smart too!

Here's Tevin! 1st day of  Middle School!!!! I can't believe my baby is old enough to be in middle school! He was just born the other day I believe. Isn't he a cutie pie! Don't you just want to smooch him!

Slate on his 1st day of High School! He is taller than me now! Holy Moly! He is such a good kid! I am really proud of him.

I am excited for them to be able to start a new adventure. They are all excited and yet a bit nervous to start. I hope they have all decided to try their hardest and do their very best.

Love you guys!

Poor Tevin

Not sure what is happening in this picture??????

Thinking about what is about to happen.

So about a month or so ago, Tevin had an appointment with the Orthodontist to determine if he needs to get braces because the crazy kid has an extra baby tooth and it wasn't falling out to make room for the permanent extra tooth that was coming in. It was making his mouth all crazy looking. Soooo, the lucky kid learned that he has to get braces AND..... Wear head gear AND.......... get 2 teeth pulled. He was totally freaked out. Can't say that I blame him! I did have to wonder to myself----- This kid has a lot of issues. Why does it seem like he has a bunch of things happen to him that really doesn't happen to other kids in our family. Just sayin' Head gear???? Now that's crappy! I think that is what he is most upset about. So to start the process off, we made an appointment for 2 weeks ago with the dentist to have them pulled. He wanted me to go back with him but there really wasn't any room for me in the work area and plus- I am pretty sure it would've totally sicked me out. I mean really- Seeing your kid get teeth ripped out of his head, who wants to see that and then relive it over and over in their dreams? NOT ME!!!!  The nurse (or whatever her title is, asked me to leave and wait in the reception area). I gracefully exited the room and went and settled myself nicely with about 10 magazines. I WAS READY to spend some time out there. Much to my dismay (Kidding, seriously kidding)- it only took about 20 minutes. That is only enough time to browse 1 magazine by the way. I felt so bad for the poor kid. He came out with a mouthful of bloody gauze sticking out. Truly glad I didn't have to witness the teeth coming out. And it seemed to just keep dripping, dripping..... dripppppinnnnnggggg. Too bad its not Halloween, he could've made a killer vampire! Killer- get it! I mean really- how often do you get to be a vampire with REAL blood? NEVER! He was a trooper though. I was really proud of him. He didn't want to be there but he did it and was so brave. Good job Tevy! Love you!

 Now if only that dang Toothfairy would come home off vacation and leave the poor kid some money already!

Game On...... Again

We are playing the lifestyle change Game On. I've talked about it before. I have a love/ hate relationship with it. I love it because it forces me to eat better, drink tons more water- Yes, you do pee ALL day! It helps me be a better person. I hate it because it makes me eat better. Seriously, why can't food that is crappy for your body, TASTE CRAPPY? Why does it have to taste so stinking delicious? Why do chemical infested, fake foods taste so delicious in my mouth? And why do I have ZERO willpower when it comes to that stuff? W.H.Y????  I also hate it because I have to be in bed by 9:30 pm on the days that I exercise. Do you have any idea how hard that is? HARD!!!!

I am really glad that I have the opportunity to lose some weight though.

I hurt my back about a week or so ago. I was exercising and it just twisted wrong (Dang exercise) It has hurt before but never like that. It really scared me. And I have learned from my friend Nan who is a worst case scenario kind of girl- if she has a headache, its a brain tumor. If her husband is late coming home from work- he's probably laying in a ditch on the side of the road. That kind of thing. So when it got hurt, I immediately thought my spinal cord had been severed and I would be paralyzed for the rest of my life. It really freaked me out! I even made an appointment to go see our chiropractor. I don't really like visiting the chiropractor. I feel like when he adjusts my neck, he is just going to twist my head off. As it turns out- it's been 6 years since I last saw him. Sad huh! He took some x-rays of my back and pretty much told me that if I don't fix my crappy lifestyle, that in 3-5 years the damage I am doing to my back is going to be permanent. That means, pain like this FOREVER! Well, at least until I die and am resurrected! And have my tall, lean, muscle bound, healthy, beautiful, tan  body. Lets just say- I have been being very careful about lifting or anything really. Mostly I think because it hurts like crazy if I do something wrong. But Dr. Grimes also told me I need to fix my posture and get some ab muscles. I am pretty sure he didn't mean the kind you get from eating cake doughnuts. It is really hard to sit up straight and hold your stomach muscles in 24/7. I told him it kind of hurts also. He said that's because I haven't used those muscles in who in the crap knows how long and that it is just like exercising- it will take a couple of weeks for my body to realize I'm serious about it and to start strengthening those flab, I mean abs. Great!

Anyway! Game On it is! I am hoping to lose at least 8 lbs! I'll let you know how my back is doing again one of these days and if I have a six pack or not.

Driving home

Today was going home from Utah day. I hate leaving. As much as I miss my house and doing normal daily things, I REALLY hate leaving my family. I miss my sisters so much. They are such good, amazing women. I miss my brothers too but my sisters especially. And this time up there I got to spend a lot of time with my Dad out in his shop. Just me and him! It was really great. I don't usually get to do  that. I miss him too. I miss that everyone lives pretty close together so you could just pop over and do stuff. We didn't really do anything exciting. Just hung out mostly. (I did get to see my sister Gaylynns butt though! That was pretty exciting! But its another story!) I miss them already and its only been a few hours. Going there makes me miss my Mom like crazy too! I rode my bike over to the cemetery one day and just sat at her headstone crying and missing her. I don't really go to the cemetery much if I can help it. I know she's not there. She's off having great adventures I am sure. But it was nice to be there by myself for just a minute.

Anyway- back to the going home trip........ Lorin drove my suburban home with Madeline and Hadley. He needed it to pull the trailer with our projects on it. Which left the Jeep for me to drive. Lets just say that the Jeep REALLY makes me appreciate my Suburban!!! The Jeep has no air conditioning which means rolled down windows the entire way! It is super loud so you have to practically yell to hear each other and Jamen has these giant speakers in the back with the spare tire which leaves no room to load stuff. Plus it is all dirty and yucky inside. I LOVE MY SUBURBAN!!! I couldn't decide what to do- leave early and try and miss most of the heat or go later in the day and drive through the night? I opted to leave in the morning. So we loaded up all of our crap the night before. We were doing really good on space until Slate brought out the 10 long boards he had made while we were there! Poor Tevy! He had skateboards falling on his head the entire way home! (I also wanted to leave in the morning so we would be able to hit some DI's on the way, we didn't end up stopping at any because there really wasn't any room for even a sheet of paper in that vehicle! So we got on the road about 9:00 Utah time. We went to see Rose in Orem so that Dakota and Slate could try on the clothes she had gotten for the wedding (They totally fit too!) Then I couldn't find a gas station so I kept getting on and off the freeway. Finally after the 2nd time- score! We got gas! I mean for the car! Slate already had gas! And finally we were on out way about 10:30ish. It started to get overcast and it looked like it was raining and having a great lightning storm off in the distance. I was saying a thank you prayer for it being overcast, it was so great! Then all of a sudden about at Beaver, it started pouring like crazy! It was scary! Slate was making fun of me because he said my nose was pressed against the front window so I could see. I was gripping the steering wheel pretty tight too! It was scary because you really couldn't see anything in front of you. I finally put my flashers on so the diesel in back of me wouldn't run me over. You couldn't see because of the rain and also it got really foggy. Lets just say, I was saying a prayer for extra help all during this time! At first we had the windows down enjoying the coolness but then it started getting everything on the inside wet also. Oh ya, that reminds me- on the passenger side in the front it was leaking somewhere and Dakota's stuff got all wet. Terrific! It lasted about 20-25 minutes but it seemed much longer than that! But like I said, it was really nice that it was overcast! It stayed that way til just past Cedar City. Then it started warming up. We stopped there for gas. Then on to fry out your brains and feel sick because it was so hot St. George. We did stop at Cafe Rio for lunch and I must say- their tostada salads are so yummy! They even work with the Game On Diet! Yay! Then off again! It was so hot that Dakota and Slate were having a water fight in the car and it would dry so fast. Slate was sitting in the front seat and he would throw the water out the window and it would come back in the back window and get Dakota all wet. Awesome! It was pretty fun listening to them laugh though! After that though it was just pure hotness! I have a pretty nice sunburn on one arm from hanging it out the window. I was really thankful there were no police officers patrolling that particular stretch of I15 because I wasn't slowing down for anything! All I could think of was a fresh, cold shower and a cool drink when I got home! We decided as we were coming into town to stop and see Darci and Devins new house (We really wanted cold water and A/C!) Their house is awesome! Then we went to see Brighton and Justons new house! (Same reason!) Actually, we really did want to see their houses, we were just having that survival instinct kick in! WATER! WE NEED WATER!!!! Then we came home, unloaded and laid right below an A/C vent! Heaven? I think YES!!! Glad to be home!

My cute Grandparents

Today we went to visit my cute Grandma and Pa Terry. They live in a nursing home. It made me sad. My Grandpa was walking up and down the hallway when we got there. He didn't know who we were. I gave him a hug and said hello. He told me he was going to go look for a skull garden (a cemetery) Then he kept on going. He didn't know who I was. He was always so full of life and when he saw me he would call me Jack and hug me. He is tiny and shriveled now. He cant hear either. My Grandma was in her room laying on her bed. I gave her a hug and said Hi Grandma how are you? Love you. She just looked at me like I was from outer space. She wouldn't even say a word. It was hard seeing her there, in bed, wearing a diaper, not speaking. I went out in the hallway because I started to cry. I remember her so tall and always busy doing something. Making quilts, sewing me doll clothes, dyeing macaroni to make necklaces, canning cherries. She never sat down as far as I can remember. Except to visit with people when they came to visit. She always made people feel welcome. She ALWAYS had cookies of some sort (Granted they were whole wheat and not that tasty) but she always had some to offer you when you came. It made me sad to see her lying in that bed. I hope I didn't scare her when we came in. I think it might be hard to see people just pop into your room and not know who they are.

It also kind of freaks me out, is that what I have to look forward to if I live to be in my 90's? I don't really think I want to experience that. It looks like it is really crappy.

They sure were the most wonderful grandparents. I miss them. I am so thankful I had them in my life and that they were so good to me and my siblings. They were really great examples. They loved unconditionally, it didn't matter who you were or what your circumstances were or mistakes you had made. They just loved you.

My birthday

Yesterday was my birthday. It was a really great day! I worked out in the shop and got all of my BIG projects done. OK actually, I mostly just stood there and my Dad finished the projects. But the fence panels are done, the septic tank cover is done. All of it is done. Then Lorin went to Leatherbys and got me some caramel sauce. I LOVE THEIR CARAMEL SAUCE!!!! If I wasn't already married, I would marry it! I ate it right out of the jar with a spoon! MMMM!!!!! Then my really awesome family came over and we had the most delicious dinner! Dads fried chicken (Which he taught me how to make!) Corn on the cob! And yes, I did eat 3 pieces of it! Watermelon and baked beans (We only had the beans because they were leftovers!) Then my cutie pie sister Jodi made HOMEADE chocolate cake with 7 minute frosting! I was pretty much in a food coma by the time the night was over! That cake, frosting, vanilla ice cream and Leatherbys caramel sauce! Delightful! I am pretty sure that was the best dinner ever! It was a really good day!

PS- Lorin got me the best gift also! He got me a road bike! I am a little nervous to try it out but really excited too! Thanks honey buns! Love ya!

Brighton

Brighton left to go home today. She and Juston are signing papers on their new house tomorrow! YAY!!!! I am already missing her. It was really fun having her and Jackson here. I am really excited for the projects she was able to have Dad "help" (Do) for her. It was nice having someone to talk to and help me with Madeline and Hadley. She is a really wonderful daughter. She is starting a new pre-school this year. I am sure she is going to do well with it. When she puts her mind to something she is really organized and gets it done. I think she will be a really good teacher. The kids will come out of there ready to enter kindergarten! I am excited for her to be having a new house! It is going to be so great for her to have somewhere of her own to decorate and make homey for her family. Love you tons Wugs! Love you tons!

Size 10 shorts

I brought some new shorts to Utah with me that are size 10. I havent worn them until yesterday. THEY FIT!!!!! I was seriously so excited! They were a little snug but not too bad. I like it!

Family Reunion

This is on our way to the lake. Yes, we did all cram into the suburban. Lorin drove very carefully and obeyed all traffic laws! I am sitting in the front seat with Tevin taking the picture.

Cute little Jacksee! Brighton made him a BSU crown out of duct tape and pipe cleaners. 

This is Byron helping Madeline get her jacket to the top of the flag pole. She was thrilled to get it all the way up there!

Madeline pulling it up to the top. (I also think Slate may or may not have tried to hook Madelines pants to the rope and pull her up. She didn't like it too much so she didn't go very high)

YAY!!!!!

Hadley sleeping. Notice the nice comfy mattress! And she slept in til about 10:00! Those beds were so stinking hard!

Just playin'!

Today and tomorrow is our Terry Family Reunion. We have one every two years. It is an overnight camping excursion that we are doing at the Marjorie Peay Hinkley YW Camp. It is a fun time. It is nice to go and see all the cousins and relatives that I haven't seen for a long time. Its a little weird at the same time because as we get older we have not really stayed in contact. But it is fun catching up and seeing their families grow. There is a tiny lake there that we can go canoeing on. It is pretty fun. The first time we went we didn't know how strict they were, you have to wear long pants, close toed shoes and no swimming suits. We thought it was really dumb but I guess it is all for protection. And the lake is pretty gross looking, you don't want to swim in it anyway. Grandma and Grandpa Terry will not be attending this year. They are both in a nursing home and don't really know what is going on these days. It makes me sad. They were such great grandparents. They have been such a great example to me in my life. I will miss them being there this time. More on this later......

Dads 70th birthday

Tonight we had a birthday party for my Dad. Gaylynn and Jodi came over and we got rollin'. We cleaned the house, made tons of food, and the decorations turned out so cute. Gaylynn had taken a whole bunch of pictures of Dad and put them on balloons, tied to a cute little base. We did have to be creative because the wind kept blowing it over so we ended up tying it to a brick. She also made a photo booth for people to take pictures in as they walked in. She wants to make it into a memory book for my Dad for Christmas. There were so many people that came. People I haven't seen in years. Relatives too. Even my Aunt Frankie came with some of her kids. I haven't seen anyone from my dads side of the family in I don't know how long. It was good to see how well loved my dad is. I think he had been a little worried that no one would come. It was overflowing with friends and family. It made me feel good to see the little smiles he had on his face. I am pretty sure I have the best Dad ever! I wish I lived closer so I could be around my family more. I sure miss them. Utah not so much but my family--- YES!!!! I feel left out a lot of the time. Anyway- I am so glad we made the effort to do this for my Dad. It turned out really well.

Madelines dinner

Tonight I made dinner- one of our family favorites, Apricot/ pineapple chicken, baked potatoes and salad. MMMM! Pretty delicious! Madeline decided that she wanted another yummy side dish------ She decided that a fresh apricot with butter on it would be just delightful! She wanted to put a whole lot more butter on it but I told her it would just slide right off. So she spread it out beautifully, then she took it gently in her hand and licked the butter off. She was in heaven! After she ate it she told me she was done eating. I told her she had to take 4 bites of her chicken because she is 4. So she hurried and stuffed it in her mouth and called it good. Keep in mind that we ate dinner at 6:30 Utah time, it is now 7:50 pm and she still has that chicken in her mouth. Delish I am sure! Is she saving it for later? I'm not sure! Crazy kid! Love that girl!

Dads yard

My parents have the most incredible yard ever! It didn't start out that way though. Way back in the day it was just a bit of grass with dirt in the back half. It was huge. Or at least it seemed to me as a kid. Well my parents cleared it all out and got to work. (I am sure with a little slave labor from their children) (JK!!!) I remember my mom bringing in semis full of leaves to till into the ground to help make the clay dirt usable. I remember one year the canal down the road from us was so low that all of the fish (Carp and catfish) were dying because they were too big to stay under the water. My mom sent us kids down there to bring back all of the dead fish to plant by the trees and bushes. SICK!!!!! SICK!!!! SICK!!!! I just remember bringing garbage bags and baskets back full of huge fish. I am sure that was so unsanitary! Crazy mom! But the results were that their yard is seriously spectacular! Also when we were kids they planted the whole back half in a garden. Can you say beans, beans, and seven thousand more miles of beans!!! They had a grape arbor, beets, peas, carrots and I am sure lots more. That was how our Saturdays were spent- WEEDING! I remember one time I was supposed to weed the grape arbor and I didn't. It was on General Conference weekend. So I had to go out there during conference on Sunday and do it. What I didn't know was that my Dad had gone out there just a few minutes before I did and pulled the heads off of about a gazillion grasshoppers. Did you know they can still jump when they have no head? And they fling bodily juices all over while they hop? Ya, I didn't either! I think I am still traumatized from that experience! Anyway, throughout the years my mom has planted millions of flowers and different plants. Dad built a playhouse for us, a greenhouse for my mom, a barn because I begged and begged and begged for a horse until they finally broke down and got the oldest horse known to man. I'm really not kidding. Her name was Ginger and she was 30+ years old. I think they finally gave her to the glue factory- that's what they told me anyway!  and back in the day a covered sandbox. He also built a wonderful covered swing that you can sit on anytime, even during a rainstorm. Its beautiful. They have a rock garden that they built out of lava rock that we went and got out of the desert somewhere. They have water features, statues, pathways and so much more. There is a tree that the branches bend down to the ground and make a secret hiding place just big enough for kids to play in. There are stepping stones that each grandkid made. And my finally built his dream shop out on the back half where that gigantic garden used to be. It is pretty amazing! 2/3rds of it is a wood shop and the other 1/3 of it is a metal shop. On the side he also made my mom here own little shop where she created to her hearts content. She made lots of beautiful things in there! It really has turned out to be pretty amazing! There have been weddings (mine and others) back there. When my mom was alive there were lots of ward parties back there. Mostly now it is just for family enjoyment. Like last night when we were sitting out there listening to the wind chimes, Nate and Hadley were intently bird watching, Tevin and Cole playing football and just enjoying each others company. Thanks Mom and Dad for creating this beautiful spot of paradise!

My cute Dad

Today is my cute Dads birthday. He turned 70 years old! Can you believe that?!!! 70! That seems to be almost ancient to me! He is a pretty amazing man! I am so glad he is my dad! I think he is the best dad I could've ever asked for! I have learned so much from him. Here is a list- that is in no way complete!He is a hard worker. He never took a sick day from his career. Ever. That in and of itself is pretty incredible! But he also was always the first one to go help someone in need. He always stayed the longest, til the very end. He worked hard to support his family. I am sure that was not an easy task with 5 kids and a wife to support on a teachers salary. In fact I really don't know how my parents did it. And he taught us kids how to work also. His philosophy was you work first, if there is time- you play later. He also ALWAYS said to us- If you don't have time to do it right the first time, when will you have time to do it again? I hated that saying when I was growing up. H.A.T.E.D it!!!! And yet, I now have it hanging in my kitchen for all to see. We were expected to do all of our chores which was usually a super long list of things to do before we could play. Which in turn taught me responsibility. I remember one time he told me to go clean my room. I was probably about 12ish and thought my dad was pretty dumb. I figured I could shove it all under my bed or in the closet and he would never know. Turns out- Dad wasn't so dumb. It was me. He came in, looked around, went and got a garbage bag and started cleaning. I wasn't allowed to get anything out of the trash. Nothing. And I am sure it was a lot of money that went into that bag. A lot! (I do think I am still traumatized form it though! He threw away my favorite teddy bear from when I was a kid. Rude huh!) It took me 3 times to learn that my dad wasn't messing around. He cleaned it like that 3 stinkin' times! (Or maybe it was just that I didn't have any stuff left!) I am sure he didn't enjoy that anymore than I did. And imagine if you will, a teenager that wants to hang out with friends but has to weed miles and miles of rows of beans or squash or grapes or...... I am sure I wasn't the most pleasant of people to be around to learn those lessons! I also learned his from his example of serving in the Church. I don't think he ever refused a calling or assignment he was given. And I am sure serving at the church farm was not one of his favorite things to do. Yet, he still did them. I also learned honesty from him. Did you know he has never received a speeding ticket in his entire life? Never! I cant say that. And I know he does not ever lie. He will tell you flat out what he thinks. He wont lie for you (Just maybe speaking from when I was a kid and maybe asking him to bend the truth a tiny bit) I have also learned how to be thrifty from him. He can take something broken and make it wonderful again. He is pretty talented. I also gained a love of creating things from him. He is a Master Craftsman. He was a shop teacher for the school district and he could turn a plain old piece of wood into a work of art. But I think the thing that sticks out in my mind as the very most important thing I learned from him was love. Not the huggy kind of love cause my family is definitely not a huggy family but the strong, unconditional kind of love. The first part of this lesson was learned on day we were watching some dumb daytime talk show like Jerry Springer or something like that and the topic was children coming out of the closet and telling their parents. And about half way through it I asked him what he would do if one of us kids came to him and told him that. He just looked at me and said- Well, I would still love them. That has always stuck with me. It was just so matter of fact. And as I said- my dad doesn't lie. I know he would be exactly like that. I have thought about that comment many times throughout my life. Would I be like that? I hope so. I hope so! The second part of this lesson was when I was a bit younger and made some pretty big mistakes in my life. And even though I know he was disappointed in me. He never once judged me or held me in contempt or any of the other million things he could've done to make me feel bad. Never. He just loved me and supported me through it all. And I know without a doubt, My Dad loves me. No matter what I do. He might not like my choices but I know he loves me. He is a pretty great guy. I hope he decides to stick a round for a few more years.

Happy birthday  Dad! Love ya!

The Lorax Movie

Tonight after a busy day of making projects we decided to go see a movie. The only one that we could go see with Hadley was the Dr, Seuss- The Lorax. It is a really cute movie. Hadley sat through the entire thing without moving until the last 10 minutes when she had to go potty. I was totally impressed! She did so good. We did miss the first couple of minutes because someone is so smart and didn't look up the address before they left so we got a bit lost. But it was all good and we had a good time!

Projects

We are here in Salt Lake and I have been busy doing projects. Actually, my Dad has been busy doing projects. I did a pretty great job standing around and watching. i actually did hand him a few tools here and there. Get me a couple of clamps, could you get me a bottle of water....... That is pretty much what I did today. Here is what my Dad did------ He made the bottom half of a SUPER COOL fire pit. (I will have pictures when it is all done) and I did learn to use a plasma cutter today which was very exciting. It is a machine like a welder but it cuts plate metal like it is butter. It was very scary to use it I think mostly because I had shorts and flip flops on and it sends burning hot sparks flying in every direction for miles around. Yes, yes I did get a few burns. I also learned how to use a scary metal grinder that also shoots sparks and burning hot pieces of metal all over. It was fun learning how to use them though! Also with the Plasma Cutter I learned that it is cutting with electricity and the electricity is pushed by compressed air through the metal and that is how it cuts. No it wont electrocute you if you touch the metal but you will get a rather nice burn just speaking from experience. We (he and Slate) also made 34 stepping stones which means that they cut some form tubing into 2" pieces, mixed the concrete, poured it, settled it into the forms and made them all lovely! I did get the forms ready by picking rhubarb leave and other leaves to make floral patterns in the stones. We also let each of the kids make their own stone. Gaylynn brought a ton of charms and beads they were able to decorate them with. Most kids did their footprints or hand prints. Slate though did a unique one---- he did one of his face. It was kind of dorky. I think it ended up just being an indention where his nose was. Crazy kid! I have been doing stuff at night when the girls are sleeping. I have made a cute pearl and hemp bracelet and some Styrofoam balls covered in paper flowers. They are really cute. I am so glad we have the opportunity to be here doing so many wonderful projects. Thanks Dad for helping (doing) them for me. I love you. And I hope you have back surgery insurance! JK!

Weight update

While I am still to embarrassed to publicly document my weight, I would like to report on my weight loss. If you recall I set a goal on March 6, 2012 to lose 40 lbs before girls camp which begins Aug. 13, 2012. So far I have lost........ (Drumroll please!).................... 25.2 lbs!!!!! That means I only have 14.8 lbs to go. YAY!!!! I am so going to be able to do this! I must be honest here, When I set this goal, it seemed like this huge unattainable thing. I mean really? 40 LBS!!! But as we started doing Game On and I saw results, sometimes a big weight loss, sometime only .2 lbs in days and sometimes hitting a plateau, I started to realize that maybe there was a chance in H E double hockey sticks I would really actually be able to accomplish this huge thing. I think seeing results has helped me WANT to eat better. Not that I am super good at it cause lets just say, if that first bite of crap goes in my mouth, its all over its like a piranha feeding fest! I cant (or maybe wont is a better term) stop myself. But I feel like I am making better choices and that makes me feel good about myself. I know I can do this! I know I can. Its hard and I hate having to do it (I actually hate even worse that I have put myself in the position of having to do it) but I know I can!

I also want to add that Heavenly Father really and truly does want to help us accomplish our goals. He really does help us. I sincerely wanted to be healthier and feel better about myself. He has helped me. He has helped me find people willing to play Game On everytime we have played which sometimes can be difficult to do. He has also placed people in my life to help and encourage me! Is it coincidence that my friend Nan Horlacher started an early morning fitness program right at the time I decided to do this? I think not! Is it by accident that on days that I need some extra encouragement or advice that there is someone there to ask? I think not! He is helping me. I know that I can do this with His help!

Nice day

Today has been a really nice day. I got to sleep in. No exercising at 5:00 am today! I did have to get up at 5 and let Lorin in. (he worked the crazy shift at work (9 pm- 5 am) but I went straight back to sleep again until 9:00 when Darci called to tell me Devin was knocking on the front door trying to wake us up so he could pick up Dakota to go babysit for them. After I was up, I straightened up the kitchen counters and started the dishwasher and 2 loads of laundry. Then Lorin got up and we took the kids to see the new Spiderman movie. It was fun to be there together. After the movie Lorin took us to lunch at A China Go Go. DELICIOUS!!!! I had their lunch special with string bean chicken and all vegetables. I love it! Then Lorin took Slate and Tevin swimming. I stayed home all by myself, it was nice and quiet. I made myself a new bracelet. It was supposed to be a long bracelet that wraps around your wrist 3 times but it turned out too short. It only goes around 2x's. Its cute, just not what I had in mind. It was just a nice day. I am thankful those come along once in awhile!

Salt Lake

It is almost time to go to Salt Lake for a visit. YAY!!! I am excited to go and visit my family of course but really and truly I am so excited to go and do about 100 million projects! (I know my Dad is extremely excited too! He told me he would be gone the week I was here. I told him that was fine I would figure out how to use the welder by myself so if the shop was burned down, don't be surprised!) I could totally hear him rolling his eyes into the back of his head! I know he secretly LOVES to help me with all of my projects! And he has the most wonderful shop. It has every tool imaginable and then some! You could get lost in time out there working on stuff. I used to spend hours and hours out there building, cutting and sanding. It is one of my most favorite places. It is just its own little world out there. LOVE IT!!!!!
Here's a partial list---
Build-
Gate panels for the back yard (6)
A tire swing
Fix our see saw
Make 30ish stepping stones
A girls camp sign
A new enclosure for our master bath tub
Baby shower gifts
A swing thingy- made out of pallets
A swinging chair- made from an old chair with no legs
A gianourmous grape arbor

And whatever else I can come up with! (Yes Pinterest- I am finally going to do some of those incredible pins I have been pinning!)

Yes, he is super excited!

It is also his 70th birthday so we are having a mustache bash for him. It is going to be really fun! He is so not the social butterfly though. He keeps telling us that he doesn't need a party. I think he is secretly excited about it though. He is a really great dad. He soooooo deserves a party!

Also one other thing I am excited about is that Utah has $1.00 movie theaters! I hope they have some super great movies playing! We could go everyday if we want!

Spring Cleaning

Spring Cleaning!
So I have been wanting to Spring Clean my house for sometime now. OK- for years! I finally made the decision to do it this summer. Yes, I know- making my kids help me with it is a genius idea! After all, they are 95% of the reason it needs to be Spring Cleaned anyway! And when I say I want it cleaned--- I am talking the really nasty, deep cleaning. We are taking everything off of the walls and scrubbing them. We are doing baseboards, windows, de-cluttering. EVERYTHING! And can I just say- I hate cleaning. Really. Hate. It! It is so not fun. Finding clumps of dried who knows what stuck to the wall, lifting couch cushions (That have been in my sons bedroom) and finding dog barf. Finding dust bunnies so big they could eat you. Seriously not fun! And trying to stay calm when your children are being dork faces, nearly impossible! My goal started out that we would do 2-3 rooms everyday for a week and be done. It is not really going according to plan. The first day we were going to do the pantry/ desk in the kitchen, the livingroom and 1 other room. We started about 10:30 am. Finished at 11:30 pm and only got the desk and pantry done. But ohhhhhh they are beautiful! I like going in the pantry and just standing there, looking at all of the beautiful tidiness! It just feels really good. And who knew that dried out homemade pickles look like bottled feces? Really great I know! Yes, my kids did fight over who had to throw that crap away!

 This is my list-
Laundry room
Master bedroom
Familyroom
Kitchen
Tevin/ Slates bedroom
Dakota's bedroom
Desk/ Pantry
Garage (It will have to be done after Brighton and Juston move out)
Guest bathroom
Hallway/ game closet/ coat closet/ entryway
Kids bathroom
Master bathroom and closet
Livingroom

So far we have done-
Desk/ pantry
Game closet
Guest bathroom
Livingroom

It was torture getting them done but man I am loving the beauty of these rooms! I just hope that the kids will remember how not fun it is to clean up these messes and maybe it will motivate them to keep it cleaner. I can dream right!

Tired

Today was a seriously loooonggggg day! I had to get up at 3:15 am to get Dakota to the airport. Yes we were late but not because of me. It was weird leaving her there with no adult supervision. She was with 2 of her friends though, Tallie and Lauren and Lauren has flown a lot so I was OK with her leading them. Then back home. I was trying to get home in time to see Slate off at 5:30 am but I missed him by like 1 minute. I hope he has the best time ever! Then I went and exercised for an hour, came home and went to sleep. I slept from 8:30- 11:00 am. Then I took Tevin over to his friends house and came home and cleaned the house. And it really needed to be cleaned cause I don't don't think that it has been mopped for 2 weeks. NASTY!!!! I also helped Brighton make apricot/pineapple jam (Makes the BEST BBQ sauce EVER!!!!) Then at 5:30 I went and helped clean the church. Then came home and finished cleaning then played a game with Tevin. I will be going to bed at 9:30 on the dot!

Can you hear that?

Can you hear that........ it is the sound of a quiet house. Everyone still sleeping! I got up, exercised, did the dishes and everyone is still snoozing away! It has been so awesome to not have to wake anyone up this morning! I thought Tevin would be up and running by now! You know how that works- if kids don't have to get up, they pop right out of bed at the crack of dawn. If they do have to get up, they cant seem to open their eyes without some serious "encouragement". YAY!!!! Summer is here!

Last day of school

Last day of school today! This is one of those moments I have really mixed feelings!
Yay!
I wont have to be the annoying mom that wakes kids up in the mornings!
I wont have to be the rude mom that makes you do homework.
I wont even have to be the mean mom that makes you clean your room up before you can do something with friends.
And you will not hear the words---- No not on a school night. For 3 whole months!

Nay!
I HAVE TO ENTERTAIN THESE GUYS FOR 3 MONTHS!!!!
3 MONTHS! Do you even know how long that is in terms of sanity? Of never having a clean house for 3 months? Its really a LONG time!

I am actually really glad that it is summer. I love summer and doing stuff at home with the kids. Its going to be a great 3 months!

Slate- oh Slate!

Yesterday Slate had an orthodontist appointment. He had a wire that was poking holes in his cheek. The ortho is CLEAR across town! And I mean CLEAR across! You probably cant really go any further across town than the ortho! Anyway- we went, got it fixed and all was well. We stopped at Lorins fire station on the way home to visit. That was fun. On Mondays, the firemen have to clean everything. So when we got there, Lorin was cleaning out the Barn (Where they park the engines). He let Slate help him. They had to spray the floors and mop them dry. Slate got to spray the water out of the fire truck. He had fun. Then he had to roll the hoses up. It was fun watching them work together. I was really glad we stopped. (Also that we hadn't seen Lorin for 3 days, it was nice to see him too).

 Anyway- I digress. On the way home after the Station, Slate fell asleep in the front seat. I had a Sharpie pen. Can you say- mustache! I was only able to get one side of his face before he woke up. But oh sooooo worth it! It was pretty funny! Especially when we had to stop at peoples houses and I made him run up to the door to deliver the stuff we needed to drop off! I was laughing so hard! He didn't think it was that funny but I think he was sorely mistaken! IT WAS FUNNY! I tried to get a picture but the brat wouldn't let me. That's OK, it is imprinted in my mind! Love you Slate!

Championship game

Friday night was Tevins championship baseball game. For the title! Winner take all. We were slated to play their arch rivals, the Red Sox. We have played them 2 times before during the season and we kicked their behinds to the curb both times. This turned out to be a very intense game. We were winning for a while. Then they were winning for awhile. Then we came back, then they came back. Back and forth, back and forth. It was crazy. The parents were getting a little emotional OK maybe a lot emotional. That poor ref. he was getting slammed by both teams. It was a little embarrassing. I am not one of those parents who yells a lot or even likes to be by people who are yelling. Its little league baseball for  heavens sake! They are 10 year olds. Just make them feel like they are doing the best job ever! They will learn. But my oh my. Emotions were high! We ended up losing. It was a very sad day! But Tevin was excited! He got a trophy to put in our trophy hall of fame. It was pretty fun watching him play. He can really run fast and has a really great arm. It is fun looking back over the season. Tevin has a hard time with new things or change. I signed him up and he was excited to be on the same team as his friend Jacob. But then he was totally freaked out when he found out they wouldn't be on the same team. He started fighting me every step of the way. I hate baseball. I hate practice. I don't feel good, can I stay home tonight? He had a really hard time. But I have to admire the kid, he stuck it out. He didn't know one single kid on the team but he continued going- Forced to or not, he continued. And look at him now! He loves the game and he is really pretty good at it! He has been able to make new friends and learn to do something new and hard! So all I have to say is..... GOOD JOB TEV! And the White Sox! GOOD JOB!!!!

After the game we went to Golden Spoon Frozen Yogurt to celebrate! Yes! Even 2nd place deserves a celebration! Tevin got the hugest ice cream! He couldn't even eat it all! I love frozen yogurt! I think we would've gone there to celebrate last place! And look at the smile on that kid! Worth it all!

Tevin super cool new hair-do!

That's my cute friend Cara! 

So Tevins baseball team has a tradition that for their last game, they cut their hair into a Mohawk and dye it the color of their teams uniform. This year it was black. I asked Tevin if he would like to do it and surprisingly, he did. So I called my friend Cara (Soooo last minute) and she did it for him. He really loves it! He was so excited! I must admit- I haven't ever let any of my other kids have such a crazy hairstyle, I really don't know why I agreed to it. Maybe because this has been such a weird year for Tevin. I don't know. But it does look pretty cool. There is a problem though. I sent Brighton to the store to get the dye (semi permanent) and she came back with the permanent kind. So I have let him keep it longer than I would've because Cara said that even if I shave it off, he will still have a black stripe down his head for a couple of weeks because the dye will have dyed his scalp. I would rather he has this crazy haircut than to have to go to school looking like a skunk. I know people at church were totally thinking I was a crazy mom, but I don't care. It has made him happy for a while.

PS- I think he had the coolest Mohawk on the team! His stood up the very tallest and was the blackest! (Thanks to Brighton for that!)

Tevins Baseball Team Party

Yesterday was Tevins Baseball Teams Party. We decided to have it at the Walters backyard pool. It is like Disneyland! They rent their pool out for $50.00 and hour. It is well worth it! This pool is seriously AMAZING!!!! It has 3 slides, a platform you can jump off of, a bridge that you could drive a semi over. It is 10' deep, has multiple waterfalls, has a hot tub and a firepit. It has a swim up bar where the boys ate their pizza and a sunken kitchen. It is so beautiful. I think it is Lorins dream pool. The kids were having a great time! They played and played. They didn't want to leave. Imagine that! Kids who don't want to leave a place that has water! The party was fun and the coaches decided they want to have their parties there every season. There was pizza, wings, soda and chips. It was a kids heaven! Even Tevin who doesn't really eat anything, ate a ton!  We were able to stay for 3 hrs. Good times! Good times!