We basically take turns rolling the que ball to knock the other balls out of the "circle".
Saturday, December 19, 2009
The Big Ball Game
The boys were bothering me the other day and I made Isaac pretty upset--Adrianne says I spanked him for something, but I don't remember. In any case, after he got upset, I figured I'd better help him to feel better, so I created The Big Ball Game to play with the boys.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Yuck
I am sick. I probably have a cold. But I feel terrible. My head feels like it is stuffed with cotton in every orifice. It is not good. My eyes are leaking, my nose is leaking, sometimes I even drool because I can't breath through my nose. My head aches and any time someone makes a loud noise I feel like it is going to explode. We went to BJs today and there was a man cleaning the floor with one of those giant floor cleaning machines. It was making a lot of noise and I had to plug my ears. Jason and Ryan both looked at me like I had lost my mind. Later in the car Jason sneezed and it hurt my head so bad it made me cry out. Jason felt terrible...but what could he do...he had to sneeze!!! Anyway, I find that I am a very whiny sick person and thought you all should suffer with me at least for a minute!
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Thanksgiving
Hi! How was every one's Thanksgiving? Did you get your 5000 calories for the day? What did you do?
We went over to Mike's brother's house. We had tons of food! We had 7 pies!!! For 12 people!! I have to say, with all the other good food, who really needs the turkey?? We ate, looked at ads, watched sports and played.
Did you go shopping on Black Friday? Did you get any deals? Did you see anything crazy?
I got up at 5am and went to Walmart. Cars were lined up to leave the parking lot when I got there at 5:15. There were lots of people, but I had studied the map and knew exactly what I wanted and where to go. Everything was very well marked. The lines moved pretty fast. I was there for about 45 minutes, including the waiting in line to get out of the parking lot.
Next I went to Kmart. I got what I needed, although there things were not marked as clearly and had to be searched out. I eliminated 2 things from my list. The lines there were not so great, but still didn't take to long.
After that I went home and was there as Mike was getting dressed for work, by 7am. Not bad, I say. I showered, ate breakfast and got the kids ready for the day. Later, Jake and I went out to Lowes and got a tree, then to Kohl's where we looked at the one thing I wanted, looked at the line and then left. Not worth it.
So, I discovered that people apparently can't see the lines in the parking lot that early in the morning. They also forget that even though they didn't shower before they shopped, I didn't either, they still need deodorant! I remembered, but others in line didn't. Lots of people were on their phones asking their friends/family where they were and if they had gotten their quests. Lastly, coffee seemed to be sustaining many people in the stores.
It was fun, I am pretty much done shopping, which is kind of sad. We got a new family room couch set, Merry Christmas me!
Tell me about your weekend! Oh, did anyone put up their tree yet? Ours is in the back of the van...
We went over to Mike's brother's house. We had tons of food! We had 7 pies!!! For 12 people!! I have to say, with all the other good food, who really needs the turkey?? We ate, looked at ads, watched sports and played.
Did you go shopping on Black Friday? Did you get any deals? Did you see anything crazy?
I got up at 5am and went to Walmart. Cars were lined up to leave the parking lot when I got there at 5:15. There were lots of people, but I had studied the map and knew exactly what I wanted and where to go. Everything was very well marked. The lines moved pretty fast. I was there for about 45 minutes, including the waiting in line to get out of the parking lot.
Next I went to Kmart. I got what I needed, although there things were not marked as clearly and had to be searched out. I eliminated 2 things from my list. The lines there were not so great, but still didn't take to long.
After that I went home and was there as Mike was getting dressed for work, by 7am. Not bad, I say. I showered, ate breakfast and got the kids ready for the day. Later, Jake and I went out to Lowes and got a tree, then to Kohl's where we looked at the one thing I wanted, looked at the line and then left. Not worth it.
So, I discovered that people apparently can't see the lines in the parking lot that early in the morning. They also forget that even though they didn't shower before they shopped, I didn't either, they still need deodorant! I remembered, but others in line didn't. Lots of people were on their phones asking their friends/family where they were and if they had gotten their quests. Lastly, coffee seemed to be sustaining many people in the stores.
It was fun, I am pretty much done shopping, which is kind of sad. We got a new family room couch set, Merry Christmas me!
Tell me about your weekend! Oh, did anyone put up their tree yet? Ours is in the back of the van...
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Another Snippet
Since no one else is putting up posts, I'll do another one from my book.
I had a problem--when I first started my book I made the religion of the main character, Jaren, a big deal. Then, for most of everything else I've written, I've left that stuff out. Someone pointed that out to me and I've been trying to decide if I should take it completely out of the first part or if I should go through and insert it into the other stuff. Well, I think I found a way to leave everything the way it is. What do you think?
"How are you doing?" She asked him, her brown eyes reassuring,comforting.
Not sure how to answer, or even what she was really asking, Jaren shrugged his shoulders, which hurt, and replied, "I'm fine."
Molly squinted a little and said, "No, how are you doing? How are you feeling, how are you taking all of this?"
Jaren teared up a little bit as he thought about what she was asking. With her arm still on his shoulder, she led him a few steps into the room and shut the door.
"I have a boy about your age. His name is Kevin. This whole experience was very traumatic for him--being enslaved, seeing his father whipped, being separated from us..." Molly's voice choked up a bit and she turned her head, wiping away a tear of her own.
It was then that Jaren really felt the whole weight of what he had been through. Thoughts of May and Elsa and *the little boys flooded into his mind, memories of the aching pain of hunger, the sleepless nights and drowsy days, the starving and whipped men, Lorentz and on and on. He gently touched his wrists, the brand on his shoulder, and the scar on his head, the muscles in his arms aching with each motion. For so long he had been holding it all inside, doing his best to carry on as if things were just normal, like he had when his parents had died. He had been trying to live by Lorentz' principle of focusing on the best in each situation and in so doing he pretended that there was nothing wrong. But, as it all came down upon him Jaren finally let go. Big tears rolled down his cheeks, and sobs broke through his scrunched up face.
Molly turned him toward her, and hugged him close. She spoke reassuringly to him and told him that things would be alright. Somehow, Jaren believed her.
"Jaren," she said, "this is a safe place. I won't say that everyone is nice or that they'll treat you kindly and I won't say that what you'll have to go through here is easy, but it is safe. Hairth does not tolerate people being cruel to one another. You will be happy again." Her last statement was like an answer to an unasked question lurking in Jaren's subconscious.
"How will I ever be happy again?" Jaren asked between broken sobs, "There's nothing left. I have nothing..." Jaren trailed off. Molly just hugged him tighter. She stroked his hair and let him cry. After a moment she said, "Hope for better things to come, ***, and always trust in the eternal." (These are the last words his father spoke to him before he died--if you had read the other part of the book, you might have remembered that. The *** indicates that I'd like something to go there but I'm not sure what)
The words sank deep into Jaren's heart, piercing the protective barrier he had been carefully building since he realized he was alone in the world. Images of his father rushed back into Jaren's mind. Not of his father, the diseased, disfigured, disgusting spectar that laid in his father's bed during their last interview, but the strong, vibrant man he had grown up with, the man he loved.
Like Lorentz, his father had always looked to the future with an expectation of "better things to come". But, when his parents had died, and Benjamin didn't return, something in Jaren gave up. He no longer trusted in the eternal, and no matter how the Devout Woman had tried, they had never been able to convince Jaren that better things actually would come. The past long weeks had acted only to re-enforce Jaren's disbelief of the doctrines his father had taught him. Jaren had never given up on the moral aspects of the creed. He had always tried to be a diligent worker and had always wanted to be kind, generous, and honorable. But he couldn't bring himself to believe that there was more to life than what he experienced--that there was providence watching over him and providing for him.
But somehow, Molly's words cut through all the disbelief. With the single statement, she eliminated years of doubt and took Jaren back to that eight year old boy, who, while standing beside his dying father had recited the most critical aspect of his faith, "Hope for better things to come, ***, and always trust in the eternal."
If you have suggestions for *** that would be good.
I had a problem--when I first started my book I made the religion of the main character, Jaren, a big deal. Then, for most of everything else I've written, I've left that stuff out. Someone pointed that out to me and I've been trying to decide if I should take it completely out of the first part or if I should go through and insert it into the other stuff. Well, I think I found a way to leave everything the way it is. What do you think?
"How are you doing?" She asked him, her brown eyes reassuring,comforting.
Not sure how to answer, or even what she was really asking, Jaren shrugged his shoulders, which hurt, and replied, "I'm fine."
Molly squinted a little and said, "No, how are you doing? How are you feeling, how are you taking all of this?"
Jaren teared up a little bit as he thought about what she was asking. With her arm still on his shoulder, she led him a few steps into the room and shut the door.
"I have a boy about your age. His name is Kevin. This whole experience was very traumatic for him--being enslaved, seeing his father whipped, being separated from us..." Molly's voice choked up a bit and she turned her head, wiping away a tear of her own.
It was then that Jaren really felt the whole weight of what he had been through. Thoughts of May and Elsa and *the little boys flooded into his mind, memories of the aching pain of hunger, the sleepless nights and drowsy days, the starving and whipped men, Lorentz and on and on. He gently touched his wrists, the brand on his shoulder, and the scar on his head, the muscles in his arms aching with each motion. For so long he had been holding it all inside, doing his best to carry on as if things were just normal, like he had when his parents had died. He had been trying to live by Lorentz' principle of focusing on the best in each situation and in so doing he pretended that there was nothing wrong. But, as it all came down upon him Jaren finally let go. Big tears rolled down his cheeks, and sobs broke through his scrunched up face.
Molly turned him toward her, and hugged him close. She spoke reassuringly to him and told him that things would be alright. Somehow, Jaren believed her.
"Jaren," she said, "this is a safe place. I won't say that everyone is nice or that they'll treat you kindly and I won't say that what you'll have to go through here is easy, but it is safe. Hairth does not tolerate people being cruel to one another. You will be happy again." Her last statement was like an answer to an unasked question lurking in Jaren's subconscious.
"How will I ever be happy again?" Jaren asked between broken sobs, "There's nothing left. I have nothing..." Jaren trailed off. Molly just hugged him tighter. She stroked his hair and let him cry. After a moment she said, "Hope for better things to come, ***, and always trust in the eternal." (These are the last words his father spoke to him before he died--if you had read the other part of the book, you might have remembered that. The *** indicates that I'd like something to go there but I'm not sure what)
The words sank deep into Jaren's heart, piercing the protective barrier he had been carefully building since he realized he was alone in the world. Images of his father rushed back into Jaren's mind. Not of his father, the diseased, disfigured, disgusting spectar that laid in his father's bed during their last interview, but the strong, vibrant man he had grown up with, the man he loved.
Like Lorentz, his father had always looked to the future with an expectation of "better things to come". But, when his parents had died, and Benjamin didn't return, something in Jaren gave up. He no longer trusted in the eternal, and no matter how the Devout Woman had tried, they had never been able to convince Jaren that better things actually would come. The past long weeks had acted only to re-enforce Jaren's disbelief of the doctrines his father had taught him. Jaren had never given up on the moral aspects of the creed. He had always tried to be a diligent worker and had always wanted to be kind, generous, and honorable. But he couldn't bring himself to believe that there was more to life than what he experienced--that there was providence watching over him and providing for him.
But somehow, Molly's words cut through all the disbelief. With the single statement, she eliminated years of doubt and took Jaren back to that eight year old boy, who, while standing beside his dying father had recited the most critical aspect of his faith, "Hope for better things to come, ***, and always trust in the eternal."
If you have suggestions for *** that would be good.
Monday, November 16, 2009
My progress bar
It's been too long since our last post, so I'm doing one. If you'll look to the left, you'll notice the progress bar I've added to help you all know how I am doing on my book. I've set the target goal of 110K words, so the percentage is based on that number.
Here's a picture of us making taffy. It needed more flavor oil...
Friday, November 06, 2009
Thadren
Jaren's head ached. The pain seemed to rise from his brain out to his scalp, and then sink back down. He held his head in his hands, like he was trying to keep it from falling apart. Confused by what was going on, Jaren tried to piece things together, but his thoughts were too elusive.
He had tried to open his eyes when he first woke up, but the sunlight was too bright. Instead, he had to use his other senses to figure out where he was. He could hear clinking metal and creaking wood. The pain intensified, distracting him. Jaren winced as he put his head between his legs. Tears ran down his cheeks and dripped from his chin. The more lucent he became, the more he wished that he was still asleep. His whole body hurt. His stomach ached, his muscles felt torn, and he felt as if large sections of his body had been rubbed raw and then exposed to too much sunlight.
The pain momentarily ebbed, and Jaren focused again on his surroundings. He was sitting on something hard, his feet and seat level. Whatever he was on was gently swaying from side to side, like a rocking chair. After a moment of concentration, he identified the metallic clinking. It was the sound of metal chain links bumping into each other. Jaren had often heard this noise when he had watched his father work with carcasses in the slaughter house.
Jaren inhaled sharply in response to the pain cycling through his body again. The throbbing still clouded his mind. Once it subsided, he focused on the very distinct odors that filled his nose: smoke, like burning grass or wood and pork.
There was another smell that somehow nostalgic. The image of the slaughter house with the animals hung by chains through their hind legs, their heads missing, and blood dripping in the collection pails below returned to his mind. The combination of senses made Jaren wonder if he was in fact in a swaying slaughter house. The smell was blood.
Jolted quickly to full awareness, Jaren ignored the pain the sunlight caused and looked down at the drops of blood that had dripped to the wooden floor below. He gingerly traced the source, a wound on his head, with his left index finger. Squinting he looked up and his heart surged with fear. It was mid-day. He was caged in on a wooden wagon heading away from his home town.
Memories from the past night flooded into his now alert mind.
Uh...that's how my book is going to start.
If you know anybody that works for a publishing company, let me know. I'm trying to get as many contacts as I can so when I'm finished with the book, I'll have people to try before just going to random publishers.
Mike
He had tried to open his eyes when he first woke up, but the sunlight was too bright. Instead, he had to use his other senses to figure out where he was. He could hear clinking metal and creaking wood. The pain intensified, distracting him. Jaren winced as he put his head between his legs. Tears ran down his cheeks and dripped from his chin. The more lucent he became, the more he wished that he was still asleep. His whole body hurt. His stomach ached, his muscles felt torn, and he felt as if large sections of his body had been rubbed raw and then exposed to too much sunlight.
The pain momentarily ebbed, and Jaren focused again on his surroundings. He was sitting on something hard, his feet and seat level. Whatever he was on was gently swaying from side to side, like a rocking chair. After a moment of concentration, he identified the metallic clinking. It was the sound of metal chain links bumping into each other. Jaren had often heard this noise when he had watched his father work with carcasses in the slaughter house.
Jaren inhaled sharply in response to the pain cycling through his body again. The throbbing still clouded his mind. Once it subsided, he focused on the very distinct odors that filled his nose: smoke, like burning grass or wood and pork.
There was another smell that somehow nostalgic. The image of the slaughter house with the animals hung by chains through their hind legs, their heads missing, and blood dripping in the collection pails below returned to his mind. The combination of senses made Jaren wonder if he was in fact in a swaying slaughter house. The smell was blood.
Jolted quickly to full awareness, Jaren ignored the pain the sunlight caused and looked down at the drops of blood that had dripped to the wooden floor below. He gingerly traced the source, a wound on his head, with his left index finger. Squinting he looked up and his heart surged with fear. It was mid-day. He was caged in on a wooden wagon heading away from his home town.
Memories from the past night flooded into his now alert mind.
Uh...that's how my book is going to start.
If you know anybody that works for a publishing company, let me know. I'm trying to get as many contacts as I can so when I'm finished with the book, I'll have people to try before just going to random publishers.
Mike
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Anniversary .... 4 year
Hola mi amor:
Hoy cumplimos cuatro anos de casados, estoy tan agradesida por eso.
Cada dia que pasa estoy mas enamorada de vos, sos mi mejor amigo mi companero eterno, el padre de mis hijos, y me hace tan feliz, Deseo estar siempre junto a vos, junto a nuestra familia etrena,
Amor soy tan feliz a tu lado gracias por todo lo que haces por nosotros.\
FELIS ANIVERSARIO AMOR TE AMO
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Projects
I am so enjoying the sharing that has been going on lately on the blog. Here is another discussion suggestion for you all:
What projects are you working on, planning to work on in the near future?
I have several.
~I want to make nativity costumes. As I mentioned before, buying them is crazy expensive. I bought a pattern for $1 at a JoAnn's sale last week. I may not follow it exactly, but it will give me a good reference.
~I want to make robes for my kids for Christmas. I thought, I could skip the costumes and just make robes and use them for both, but that didn't cross my mind until after buying both patterns. Plus, I want to use bland fabric for the nativity and fun fabric for the robes. I actually bought a robe for Mikayla last week, so I wont make her one, but Braden for sure and then we'll see how it goes after that.
~I am going to consolidate my recipe books. Thanks Adrienne for the suggestion.
~I have been organizing/cleaning out clothes and toys. I took several things to several places. I took a few of my things to a consignment shop and got $9 in my last drop off. I still have one item waiting to be sold. I took a bunch of stuff to Once Upon a child. They bought a bit less than half and gave me $11. I took a ton of stuff to a twice yearly children's consignment sale. I sold $126. With all that is left I have given some away, have boxes for the thrift store and will save some for the spring consignment sale. I'd like to go through the toy room one more time before I take a thrift shop run.
~A constant project for me is menus. I must have menus for each week for dinners. I need to know what we are having each night and that I have all that I need to make it.
~I'd like to make our home more inviting, so any suggestions for this project would be appreciated. How do you make your home inviting, warm and confortable?
~I've been working on my master Christmas list, so I know what needs to be done in the next two months for the holidays.
~I'm working on food storage, trying to get it all and organize and use it. Mostly I enjoy the buying and the organizing. Fun stuff!
~Finally, Mikayla would like a slumber party for her birthday next month. I've been thinking about this alot. Mike is not really sure he wants to have a slumber party for 9 year old girls at our house. We'll see what happens.
Anyway, I am not working on all of these right this second, but a little here and there over the next two months. What about you??
What projects are you working on, planning to work on in the near future?
I have several.
~I want to make nativity costumes. As I mentioned before, buying them is crazy expensive. I bought a pattern for $1 at a JoAnn's sale last week. I may not follow it exactly, but it will give me a good reference.
~I want to make robes for my kids for Christmas. I thought, I could skip the costumes and just make robes and use them for both, but that didn't cross my mind until after buying both patterns. Plus, I want to use bland fabric for the nativity and fun fabric for the robes. I actually bought a robe for Mikayla last week, so I wont make her one, but Braden for sure and then we'll see how it goes after that.
~I am going to consolidate my recipe books. Thanks Adrienne for the suggestion.
~I have been organizing/cleaning out clothes and toys. I took several things to several places. I took a few of my things to a consignment shop and got $9 in my last drop off. I still have one item waiting to be sold. I took a bunch of stuff to Once Upon a child. They bought a bit less than half and gave me $11. I took a ton of stuff to a twice yearly children's consignment sale. I sold $126. With all that is left I have given some away, have boxes for the thrift store and will save some for the spring consignment sale. I'd like to go through the toy room one more time before I take a thrift shop run.
~A constant project for me is menus. I must have menus for each week for dinners. I need to know what we are having each night and that I have all that I need to make it.
~I'd like to make our home more inviting, so any suggestions for this project would be appreciated. How do you make your home inviting, warm and confortable?
~I've been working on my master Christmas list, so I know what needs to be done in the next two months for the holidays.
~I'm working on food storage, trying to get it all and organize and use it. Mostly I enjoy the buying and the organizing. Fun stuff!
~Finally, Mikayla would like a slumber party for her birthday next month. I've been thinking about this alot. Mike is not really sure he wants to have a slumber party for 9 year old girls at our house. We'll see what happens.
Anyway, I am not working on all of these right this second, but a little here and there over the next two months. What about you??
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Personal Progress
I liked Mandy's discussion questions. I have a few questions I wonder about you all, too.
First: What is a normal day/week like for you (especially Andy and his Laura--I have no idea what your normal day-life is like now)? I have classes Monday through Friday. I usually leave here between 0730 and 0800. I get home around 1630. Every day, except Thursday, my classes are: 1000-1100 Nuclear Physics, 1100-1200 Linear Algebra, 1400-1600 FORTRAN (a computer programming language used by engineers and scientists to do calculations and model stuff). On Thursday's my only class is from 1500-1600, though there are frequently other things I have to do: PT in the morning or afternoon, big meetings with all the students, training, and other junk. I try to get all my homework and reading done while I'm at school so I don't have to do it here at home. Once I get home I do what ever Adrianne tells me to do :). Just kidding. We eat dinner, run errands, exercise, play with the kids watch a show or movie, etc. We are usually in bed between 10:30 and 12:00 (notice, time switches to normal time at some point after I get home from work). We go to bed together every night (there have been a handful of nights in our marriage when we have gone to be at different times).
Second: What goals, aspirations, etc. do you have for yourself? I was thinking about this question this morning. I have 3 main topics that I am working on.
1. I want to be the person God wants me to be. I have been working on this for a while, and I suppose I'll always be working on it. I have become better at reading my scriptures the past few months. I have improved from reading almost every day with some days being just a verse before I go to sleep, to reading every single day with some days only reading a few minutes. Part of my improvement has come as a result of another change I've been trying to implement. I try to get the most important things done before I do the less important things. For example, I get everything ready for the next morning (make a lunch and get my clothes and anything else I need for the next day together) before I do anything else in the evenings. I also study the scriptures, work on my calling, and do anything else I'm supposed to do before I can watch tv or do the other things I want to do.
2. I'm trying to do well in school. I'm not trying to be perfect, but I do want to put forward a good effort.
3. I'm working towards being wealthy. Besides our retirement savings, I'm looking at getting into real estate investment. I'm also working on a fantasy novel that I hope to have published (and sold). We pray each night that we will be careful and wise in how we spend our money, and I have been praying for help to write my book so that millions of people will buy it. :) .
What about you all?
First: What is a normal day/week like for you (especially Andy and his Laura--I have no idea what your normal day-life is like now)? I have classes Monday through Friday. I usually leave here between 0730 and 0800. I get home around 1630. Every day, except Thursday, my classes are: 1000-1100 Nuclear Physics, 1100-1200 Linear Algebra, 1400-1600 FORTRAN (a computer programming language used by engineers and scientists to do calculations and model stuff). On Thursday's my only class is from 1500-1600, though there are frequently other things I have to do: PT in the morning or afternoon, big meetings with all the students, training, and other junk. I try to get all my homework and reading done while I'm at school so I don't have to do it here at home. Once I get home I do what ever Adrianne tells me to do :). Just kidding. We eat dinner, run errands, exercise, play with the kids watch a show or movie, etc. We are usually in bed between 10:30 and 12:00 (notice, time switches to normal time at some point after I get home from work). We go to bed together every night (there have been a handful of nights in our marriage when we have gone to be at different times).
Second: What goals, aspirations, etc. do you have for yourself? I was thinking about this question this morning. I have 3 main topics that I am working on.
1. I want to be the person God wants me to be. I have been working on this for a while, and I suppose I'll always be working on it. I have become better at reading my scriptures the past few months. I have improved from reading almost every day with some days being just a verse before I go to sleep, to reading every single day with some days only reading a few minutes. Part of my improvement has come as a result of another change I've been trying to implement. I try to get the most important things done before I do the less important things. For example, I get everything ready for the next morning (make a lunch and get my clothes and anything else I need for the next day together) before I do anything else in the evenings. I also study the scriptures, work on my calling, and do anything else I'm supposed to do before I can watch tv or do the other things I want to do.
2. I'm trying to do well in school. I'm not trying to be perfect, but I do want to put forward a good effort.
3. I'm working towards being wealthy. Besides our retirement savings, I'm looking at getting into real estate investment. I'm also working on a fantasy novel that I hope to have published (and sold). We pray each night that we will be careful and wise in how we spend our money, and I have been praying for help to write my book so that millions of people will buy it. :) .
What about you all?
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Questions for all!
I have some questions for all of you. Feel free to expand on your answers.
**Do any of you have nativity costumes? We act out the Christmas story on Christmas Eve. I've seen in the Deseret book catalog the cute costumes they have for sale. They are simple and plain and $20 each. Do you do this? What do you wear?
We always use baby blanket and towels for our costumes.
**Does anyone do once a month cooking? If you aren't familiar with this term, it just means that you do most of your cooking for the month in one or two days and then freeze it and use it throughout the month. Do you like it? What good sites or recipes do you use?
I have done a bit of this, but not on a full scale. I will divide up packages of meats, make meatballs, taco meats and freeze them. I also have started to double soup recipes and freeze the second half for later. Also, if I make breads, I will freeze the extra loaves. I'm not anywhere close to doing all my cooking at once, but the idea appeals to me.
**Do you have a good chili recipe?
My kids love canned Hormel or other cheap/generic chili. I have to buy about 4 cans and then we eat all of it. I have made chili before but it never is the same as the canned stuff. Homemade has way more chunkies because of the veges and all the beans. One time I put a can of diced tomatoes in the canned chili to make it go further. Braden almost died. "What are these and why did you put them in the chili!!!"
**Have you heard of American Girl Dolls?
Mikayla would like to get one. They are about an 18" doll with one outfit. You can buy all kinds of accessories, furniture, clothes, pets, etc. They also have book series and movies about them. Several of them have names and come from different eras. You can also get one that looks like you and doesn't have a name or specific era. Mikayla has read some of the books and seen some of the movies. We get a catalog in the mail about once a quarter. We look at them and talk about which she would pick if she could get one. Are you ready? They cost $100 each. More outfits are about $25 each. The pets are around $20... She is not getting one. What happened to playing with the $5 barbie doll??? Do your kids want something a bit out of the question like this??
So, now lets start some discussion here and tell me what you think/know/do with all of this stuff. Thanks!
**Do any of you have nativity costumes? We act out the Christmas story on Christmas Eve. I've seen in the Deseret book catalog the cute costumes they have for sale. They are simple and plain and $20 each. Do you do this? What do you wear?
We always use baby blanket and towels for our costumes.
**Does anyone do once a month cooking? If you aren't familiar with this term, it just means that you do most of your cooking for the month in one or two days and then freeze it and use it throughout the month. Do you like it? What good sites or recipes do you use?
I have done a bit of this, but not on a full scale. I will divide up packages of meats, make meatballs, taco meats and freeze them. I also have started to double soup recipes and freeze the second half for later. Also, if I make breads, I will freeze the extra loaves. I'm not anywhere close to doing all my cooking at once, but the idea appeals to me.
**Do you have a good chili recipe?
My kids love canned Hormel or other cheap/generic chili. I have to buy about 4 cans and then we eat all of it. I have made chili before but it never is the same as the canned stuff. Homemade has way more chunkies because of the veges and all the beans. One time I put a can of diced tomatoes in the canned chili to make it go further. Braden almost died. "What are these and why did you put them in the chili!!!"
**Have you heard of American Girl Dolls?
Mikayla would like to get one. They are about an 18" doll with one outfit. You can buy all kinds of accessories, furniture, clothes, pets, etc. They also have book series and movies about them. Several of them have names and come from different eras. You can also get one that looks like you and doesn't have a name or specific era. Mikayla has read some of the books and seen some of the movies. We get a catalog in the mail about once a quarter. We look at them and talk about which she would pick if she could get one. Are you ready? They cost $100 each. More outfits are about $25 each. The pets are around $20... She is not getting one. What happened to playing with the $5 barbie doll??? Do your kids want something a bit out of the question like this??
So, now lets start some discussion here and tell me what you think/know/do with all of this stuff. Thanks!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Recipes revisited
Hi all~
I have been working on my cookbook project. Here are the recipes I have so far. If this gives you more ideas, please let me know and I will add them. These are all the ones I have from mom.
Thanks!
Carrot Cake
Poppy Seed Cake
Pie Crust Mix
Cardamom Bars
Chocolate Revel Bars
Chocolate Chip Cake
Gay Chess Tarts
Mini Cheese cakes
Frago Mint Dessert
Mississippi Mud Cake
Sweet Potato Souffle
English Toffee
Cranberry Bread
Yummy Potatoes
Fantasy Fudge
Brownies
Caramel Toffee Bars
Mexican Meat Mix
Guacamole
Chinese Chicken Salad
Potato Salad
Hot Chicken Salad
Mexican Chicken Casserole
Poppy Seed Chicken
Chicken Divine
Breakfast Casserole
Chile Rellenos
Cha Cha's White Chicken Chili
Zucchini Jack Casserole
Stuffed Pizza
BBQ spare/short ribs
Frog Eye Salad
Artichoke Heart Dip
Institute Rolls
I have been working on my cookbook project. Here are the recipes I have so far. If this gives you more ideas, please let me know and I will add them. These are all the ones I have from mom.
Thanks!
Carrot Cake
Poppy Seed Cake
Pie Crust Mix
Cardamom Bars
Chocolate Revel Bars
Chocolate Chip Cake
Gay Chess Tarts
Mini Cheese cakes
Frago Mint Dessert
Mississippi Mud Cake
Sweet Potato Souffle
English Toffee
Cranberry Bread
Yummy Potatoes
Fantasy Fudge
Brownies
Caramel Toffee Bars
Mexican Meat Mix
Guacamole
Chinese Chicken Salad
Potato Salad
Hot Chicken Salad
Mexican Chicken Casserole
Poppy Seed Chicken
Chicken Divine
Breakfast Casserole
Chile Rellenos
Cha Cha's White Chicken Chili
Zucchini Jack Casserole
Stuffed Pizza
BBQ spare/short ribs
Frog Eye Salad
Artichoke Heart Dip
Institute Rolls
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Dad's new Toy
Dad decided corvettes are too small and too expensive, and Solstices, Skys, Miatas, and other sports cars were too small, so he wanted a honda accord coupe with a 6 cylendar engine in it. After looking and looking, he came across a deal he couldn't refuse, a 2009 Pontiac G8Sedan with lots of extras. Here it is.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Nick and his uncle in the avacado tree
Hello eveyone.
thanks for the your coments. I'm happy be here witht my family and they are happy to have us here. Today I wanted to show everyone, my mons avacado tree.
Nick loves to climb among the giant avacados
Grandmpa and grandma we miss you very much and we're excited for you visit
Monday, September 07, 2009
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Free $10 gift card
Go to this website and see if any of your local malls are participating in this. I was just able to print a voucher for a free $10 gift card for one of my local malls. You have to go to the mall and pick it up on the day the 18th or 19th of September, but it's free. Let me know if this works for any of you.
There are only 500 vouchers available for each participating mall, but the mall near me still has 365 left. There is a $10 off $75 card and just a free $10 card. Make sure you click on the free card link. Happy shopping!
http://www.shopsmartlookfab.com/GiftCards
There are only 500 vouchers available for each participating mall, but the mall near me still has 365 left. There is a $10 off $75 card and just a free $10 card. Make sure you click on the free card link. Happy shopping!
http://www.shopsmartlookfab.com/GiftCards
Monday, August 24, 2009
We Finished!!!
I know I already posted, but this is a big deal, worthy of two posts in one day. WE FINALLY FINISHED THE BOOK OF MORMON!!! I can't say for sure, but I think it has been about 4 years of reading a chapter a night, then down to 4 verses, one for each of us, having the kids repeat after we read the verse, then up to 5 verses a night, with Mikayla reading her own and Mike reading for Tyson and helping Braden read his. Now three of us read a verse, Braden and Tyson repeat theirs after Mike and Jacob climbs all over the kitchen while we read. Mikayla is just disgusted that we have to start over again. She must have thought when we finished that we would never have to read again!
By the way, today during FHE, disaster child, also known as Jacob, pulled a shelf full of books onto himself, hitting his glued up forehead in the process. No blood this time, just tears. This is a bookcase we have had since Mikayla was a baby. No other child has attempted to climb it or pull a shelf out. I truly fear for this little boys safety!! What is he going to do next?!?!
By the way, today during FHE, disaster child, also known as Jacob, pulled a shelf full of books onto himself, hitting his glued up forehead in the process. No blood this time, just tears. This is a bookcase we have had since Mikayla was a baby. No other child has attempted to climb it or pull a shelf out. I truly fear for this little boys safety!! What is he going to do next?!?!
Books for Kids
Dolly Parton has teamed up with the United Way to offer free books to children under the age of 5. Since you all have at least one of those, I thought I'd pass on the information. My two boys each got The Little Engine That Could in the mail this month and were very happy!
Click here http://www.dollysimaginationlibrary.com/firsttime.php to see if it's available in your area.
Click here http://www.dollysimaginationlibrary.com/firsttime.php to see if it's available in your area.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Steven Earned his Life Scout
Steven earned his Life Scout after attending Scout Camp last week. Now he has to earn 6 more merit badges and his Eagle Project and he will have his Eagle Scout. Our Scout Leader and our Young Mens leaders have done a great job helping and encouraging the boys to succeed in moving along in the scouting program.
Right now they are at Fort Lewis in Tacoma, Washington at the Washington Jamboree, I think that he will have a great time. Ralph is going to go down tomorrow and spend the night until Sunday. They are going to have a special speaker and Sabbath program for all of the LDS troops down there. It sounds pretty neat!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Let's talk about... FOOD!!
I thought the mention of food might get your attention! Did it work? I would like to start a project of putting together a family cookbook. What I mean by this is a collection of favorite recipes we had while growing up. Things that Mom made for us. Then, Mom, if you could help to tell us if they were family recipes and also help to name recipes that we might not have thought of and ones passed down from both our grandmas. If you all help me collect them, I think we could get a nice little booklet out of it. It would be fun if anyone had a memory to go with it, or wanted to say it was a favorite and if they make it in their own homes, etc.
Does that all make sense? You could leave comments here or email me any suggestions you have.
Thanks in advance, I know you will help out when it comes to thinking about food.
By the way, Mom, this project would fall under a YW value project if you would like to work on it with me....
Does that all make sense? You could leave comments here or email me any suggestions you have.
Thanks in advance, I know you will help out when it comes to thinking about food.
By the way, Mom, this project would fall under a YW value project if you would like to work on it with me....
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Food Storage
I just found this cool calculator to help figure out food storage for a year. Now I have to go figure out what we have and what we need. Some friends of ours just got their years worth of food, so I know it is possible. I am trying to get ours, but it is quite a project as you all know. I will learn how to use our wards canner tomorrow. We bought several bags of wheat and some cans a few months ago that we need to put to use.
Our garden is doing pretty well. We are hoping to get somethings canned and in the freezer for later usage. I'll let you know how that goes.
What are you all working on?
Our garden is doing pretty well. We are hoping to get somethings canned and in the freezer for later usage. I'll let you know how that goes.
What are you all working on?
Thursday, July 09, 2009
A little FYI
For those of you with 7-11's near by:
In celebration of 82 years in business, 7-11 will be offering FREE 7.11-ounce Slurpees at participating 7-11 stores on July 11th (get it? 7/11? heh heh!) between 7:00am and 11:00pm.
More details here
(like many other places, 7-11 stores are independently owned & operated. It might be a good idea to call your local store to ensure that they are participating before making a special trip!)
For those who live by a Chick Fil'A:
Just a reminder that tomorrow (Friday, July 10th) is Cow Appreciation Day!
Stop in on July 10th to any participating Chick Fil’A dressed as a cow and get a FREE meal! Need some ideas for your costume? Click here for the Chick Fil’A “starter kit”.
Don’t want to go out in public in a full cow costume? Simply wear a “cow accessory” (don’t we all have those?) and you will still get a free entree item!
We don't have either of these near us, but I know some of you do so I thought I'd pass it along.
In celebration of 82 years in business, 7-11 will be offering FREE 7.11-ounce Slurpees at participating 7-11 stores on July 11th (get it? 7/11? heh heh!) between 7:00am and 11:00pm.
More details here
(like many other places, 7-11 stores are independently owned & operated. It might be a good idea to call your local store to ensure that they are participating before making a special trip!)
For those who live by a Chick Fil'A:
Just a reminder that tomorrow (Friday, July 10th) is Cow Appreciation Day!
Stop in on July 10th to any participating Chick Fil’A dressed as a cow and get a FREE meal! Need some ideas for your costume? Click here for the Chick Fil’A “starter kit”.
Don’t want to go out in public in a full cow costume? Simply wear a “cow accessory” (don’t we all have those?) and you will still get a free entree item!
We don't have either of these near us, but I know some of you do so I thought I'd pass it along.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
More Mom Birthday Pictures
Happy Birthday to you!
Did Dad just tell Mom how much that necklace cost?
Mom's Birthday
Austin was trying Grandma and Grandpa's present!
Mom and Dad in front of their edible arrangements present.
The surprise birthday dinner for mom. She thought they were just coming over to look at the basement and then we were going to go out. That didn't sound like fun to me, five kids in a restaurant...so we planned a surprise at our house! I think she was surprised!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Mike's chewing habits
Tonight we had Fajitas. I ate 5.3 ounces of fajita stuff (meat, peppers, onions), one tortilla and some sauteed zucchini and mushrooms. All of this equalled 310 calories. That makes 1000 calories exactly for me today.
The boys and Mike also had Fajitas. Will made a comment that his food wasn't going down his throat very well and it hurt. I told him he needed to follow Mike's example and chew his food more. So we decided to count how many times Mike chewed one piece of meat: 79 times!!
That is why he is skinny and I am not.
The boys and Mike also had Fajitas. Will made a comment that his food wasn't going down his throat very well and it hurt. I told him he needed to follow Mike's example and chew his food more. So we decided to count how many times Mike chewed one piece of meat: 79 times!!
That is why he is skinny and I am not.
Friday, June 26, 2009
"Richards Family Renuion"
So, while Adrianne and I were sitting here talking, she looked down at the table and gasped like she doest when she sees a big spider. I waited, like I do when she makes that noise, to find out why she was making it. She said, "Seriously?!?" And then she picked upt the photo book of our family reunion and pointed to the title, "The Richards family Renuion." Nice that we've had that for over a year, shown it tons of people, and never noticed that it doesn't say "reunion"...what is a renuion, anyway? How many of you noticed this, and were too nice to point it out to us?
I can imagine Dad noticing it right away and having to pretend like it was fine every time he looked at it...
Oh well. Soryy.
I can imagine Dad noticing it right away and having to pretend like it was fine every time he looked at it...
Oh well. Soryy.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Trip Pics
So, here are some pics from the trip we took a month ago... I know I am a slow poke in the blog area, but enjoy them anyway, who knows when you will get new pics.
This is Braden and his cousin Mason at the Pirate party we had in Calgary. We celebrated Mason's bday, Mike's Mom Barb's bday and Grandma Rolfson's bday. Lots of fun. Lots of cake!
Mikayla and her cousin Katie were flower girls at Tara's (Mike's sister) wedding in Calgary. So beautiful!
At the pirate party...
At the Calgary zoo... lots of behinds.
The kids in a kangaroo pouch, not real obviously, at the Calgary zoo.
This is Braden and his cousin Mason at the Pirate party we had in Calgary. We celebrated Mason's bday, Mike's Mom Barb's bday and Grandma Rolfson's bday. Lots of fun. Lots of cake!
Mikayla and her cousin Katie were flower girls at Tara's (Mike's sister) wedding in Calgary. So beautiful!
At the pirate party...
At the Calgary zoo... lots of behinds.
The kids in a kangaroo pouch, not real obviously, at the Calgary zoo.Monday, June 08, 2009
Monday, June 01, 2009
A fine post from Adrianne (title by Mike)
This is Isaac's first drawing of a person. I just love it.
Isaac drew lines for Mike.
Will was very excited about his picture. He said, "Look Mom! I can draw fingers!" So cute.
Their flowers. Will's is red and Isaac's is blue.
My sister recently posted something on my family blog about how her husband always answers "fine" to questions. I totally know what she is talking about. Actually, we recently (Mike and I that is) just got in a little tiff about that very thing. When I ask him if my hair is nice, he is supposed to say, "It's beautiful" not, "it's fine." You get the gist of it. Anyway, today we made little pictures. We aren't painting in this house because we won't really be here long enough so I wanted to paint a mural but haven't quite made up my mind so I painted a little dinosaur painting and will paint another dinosaur. Then I will probably do a mural of a plane in Eli's room. The boys made flowers because Will wants to plant something and so we had a follow on FHE tonight about The Creation and then went and bought plants. They also drew pictures. Above is our artwork. The boys were very excited to show Mike. Isaac said, "Daddy will say it's so beautiful." and then Will responded, "Daddy doesn't say, "it's so beautiful. Only Mommy says that." So when Mike got home I showed him my dinosaur and he said it looked "great." I said "does it look fantastic?" And he said, "No. It's a picture of a dinosaur that is supposed to look like a cartoon." What?! Doesn't he know he's supposed to say, "It looks freaking fantastic." At least he told the truth and didn't give me a non-answer like "fine." And, to his credit, when the boys showed him their artwork he said, "Oh, it looks so pretty." Way to prove Will wrong.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Blog statistics and weather
After next month, the year will be half way over. Has any one else noticed the difference in the number of posts that we've made this year? Look over to the left side of the screen under links at the archive. Just thought I'd draw attention to it.
Is everyone having a fun spring? It's already in the low hundreds here, but it doesn't bother me as much now as it did when I was a missionary. Maybe it was the dark pants and ties. Or maybe the AC I have here...
Is everyone having a fun spring? It's already in the low hundreds here, but it doesn't bother me as much now as it did when I was a missionary. Maybe it was the dark pants and ties. Or maybe the AC I have here...
Monday, May 11, 2009
Estoy re feliz
pase mi examen de manejo, me siento re orgullosa de mi misma y estoy re agradecida po andy grandma carol que me ayudaron y me apollaron. I am so happy that today I passed my driving test and I have a permit. I feel so proud and I'm so grateful for Grandma and Andy who pushed me to do this, and Grandpa who paid for the driving school. I went to school for 3 weeks and the other teenagers thought I was their age too. Grandma says I should be happy they think I'm young. The picture looks funny like always on ID cards. Now I need to drive at school and with Grandma. I have never driven an automatic before, only a standard shift. Grandpa says it will be very easy but I am still scared.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
More funny things from the scriptures
We've previously shared some funny things from scripture time in our family. Our scriptures are hiding somewhere among our stuff--imagine trying to fit all the stuff from the van with a car-top carrier and the car down to just the van. So, for family scripture study, we have just been trying to do stuff from our memories. Today we reviewed the first article of faith. Will's version included this phrase, "We believe in God, the eternal lover." Interesting thought.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Nick and Noah
amor espero que te gusten las fotitos y que las disfrutes.
te amamos mucho y cada dia que pasa te extranamos mas y queremos que ya vengas
cuidate mucho besos y abrasos de osos
con amor lau nick y noah
Monday, April 13, 2009
Translators??
An excerpt from Braden's school journal:
My fart sie es eim. (this was accompanied by a picture of a basket ball hoop)
means...
My favorite thing is gym!
Who could have guessed that???
Can anyone translate it correctly??
On another note, I had to go buy another prescription for Jacob today. This is the third I've had to buy in the past 2 months. The others I was so happy to have a coupon that gave me a $25 gift card for CVS when I bought a new prescription. Well, I was sad not to have one of these and was trying to come up with one. I called and asked my sister in law if she had one, no she had tossed it last week in a cleaning spree. I got on line to see if I could print one off somewhere, no way. I broke down and asked at the pharmacy if they had one they could give me and NO they did not. Now, we are not starving or so poor that I couldn't afford the medicine, but it was such a bonus to get a the gift card after paying for the drugs.
So, guess what happened?!?
As I was wandering around in CVS deciding if we needed an Easter stuff at 50% off, I found a $20 bill laying on the ground. I KNOW!! Wow! So, I went and took it to an employee and she told me to keep it. I felt bad, because if it was me that lost it, I would be soooo sad! So, I continued to wander and asked a few people if they had lost it. No one had, so it was mine!! Well, there was my bonus after all. I decided it was a great blessing for me and went ahead and bought an egg dying kit (at half price!) , as we had not dyed eggs yet. We did it tonight for FHE. Free gift cards are great, but free money is even better. (I am still sad for the person who lost it and hope they don't realize that it's gone and it wasn't the last bit of money they had to feed their starving children.)
BTW: I know what he was writing. I will tell you after a few good guesses.
My fart sie es eim. (this was accompanied by a picture of a basket ball hoop)
means...
My favorite thing is gym!
Who could have guessed that???
Can anyone translate it correctly??
On another note, I had to go buy another prescription for Jacob today. This is the third I've had to buy in the past 2 months. The others I was so happy to have a coupon that gave me a $25 gift card for CVS when I bought a new prescription. Well, I was sad not to have one of these and was trying to come up with one. I called and asked my sister in law if she had one, no she had tossed it last week in a cleaning spree. I got on line to see if I could print one off somewhere, no way. I broke down and asked at the pharmacy if they had one they could give me and NO they did not. Now, we are not starving or so poor that I couldn't afford the medicine, but it was such a bonus to get a the gift card after paying for the drugs.
So, guess what happened?!?
As I was wandering around in CVS deciding if we needed an Easter stuff at 50% off, I found a $20 bill laying on the ground. I KNOW!! Wow! So, I went and took it to an employee and she told me to keep it. I felt bad, because if it was me that lost it, I would be soooo sad! So, I continued to wander and asked a few people if they had lost it. No one had, so it was mine!! Well, there was my bonus after all. I decided it was a great blessing for me and went ahead and bought an egg dying kit (at half price!) , as we had not dyed eggs yet. We did it tonight for FHE. Free gift cards are great, but free money is even better. (I am still sad for the person who lost it and hope they don't realize that it's gone and it wasn't the last bit of money they had to feed their starving children.)
BTW: I know what he was writing. I will tell you after a few good guesses.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Mexico
I blogged...if anyone is interested. We had the most amazing time in Mexico...I want to go back right now!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
We have been "reading" the scriptures each evening before bed with Austin, Layla, Ryan, Nick, Grandpa, Grandma, and Laura (and Noah, a sometimes noisy but always incoherent participant), while Jason and Jessica have been soaking up the sun in Mexico this last week. It's been very interesting. Like Mike, I ask questions about the scriptures (we each read just one) that we read, and I'm amazed at the things even Austin doesn't understand as we read. We just thougt y'all could understand them if you could say them when we read scriptures years ago. To see if the kids were paying attention after Austin's scripture, 1st Nephi, 3:3, I asked, "So, how many fathers did Nephi have?" and Austin and Layla responded together, "Four!" So they were paying attention. Layla, Ryan, and Nicholas "read" by repeating the words after us (something we learned from Mike and Adrianne and their boys); Layla can handle phrases, Ryan two or three words, and Nicholas one word if he can pronounce it. If he can't pronounce it or doesn't want to, he says "wally" but like "oo-waah-lee" and the adults try not to laugh outloud, because he says it frequently sometimes. Scripture time is very interesting, all things considered.
I ran across an interesting website I thought I should share. It looks like a good free savings vehicle for kids (if the adults are saving money for them) and adults with a savings goal, currently paying 3.25% and if, when you reach your goal, you convert it to a participating company's gift card (best buy, Home Depot, etc), you can get up to an extra 6% on the total amount. It's www.smartypig.com . Check it out!
Love, Dad
Mom says, PS. Andy has a new post on his blog.
I ran across an interesting website I thought I should share. It looks like a good free savings vehicle for kids (if the adults are saving money for them) and adults with a savings goal, currently paying 3.25% and if, when you reach your goal, you convert it to a participating company's gift card (best buy, Home Depot, etc), you can get up to an extra 6% on the total amount. It's www.smartypig.com . Check it out!
Love, Dad
Mom says, PS. Andy has a new post on his blog.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Scripture reading and an early morning conversation
A conversation during scripture reading.
Mike: Isaac, what did you hear in that verse?
Isaac: Arson
Mike: Yep, you heard, 'our sins.' What does sin mean?
Isaac: Idun know.
Mike: Sinning is when you do something naughty.
Isaac: Nike spitting
Mike: That's right.
Will: And, and, and, and, and like hitting.
Mike: That's right.
Will: Hey! Hit and spit rhyme!
Adrianne: They sure do.
Will repeats the next verse as Mike reads it.
Mike: Will, what did you hear in that verse?
Will: Isle of the king.
Mike: That's right. You heard, 'Isle of the sea."
Isaac tells Adrianne about the Book of Mormon early one morning
Neepfi tried to keel his brudder da Lamans. Idun know why ee did it, but ee tried to keel dem.
Mike: Isaac, what did you hear in that verse?
Isaac: Arson
Mike: Yep, you heard, 'our sins.' What does sin mean?
Isaac: Idun know.
Mike: Sinning is when you do something naughty.
Isaac: Nike spitting
Mike: That's right.
Will: And, and, and, and, and like hitting.
Mike: That's right.
Will: Hey! Hit and spit rhyme!
Adrianne: They sure do.
Will repeats the next verse as Mike reads it.
Mike: Will, what did you hear in that verse?
Will: Isle of the king.
Mike: That's right. You heard, 'Isle of the sea."
Isaac tells Adrianne about the Book of Mormon early one morning
Neepfi tried to keel his brudder da Lamans. Idun know why ee did it, but ee tried to keel dem.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Family Reunion Book
Our family reunion book came in the mail today. What an incredible book! Nice job Adrianne! Sarah doesn't want to put the book down. She looked at every page with Laura, then brought it to me(Ralph), and we looked at every page, and when we were done she took it to Rebecca and wanted to look at it again. All I can really say though is what an incredible vacation! When is the next reunion scheduled? I know it isn't any time real soon, but I think I can still be anxious. Thanks again Adrianne for putting the book together. And thanks mom and dad for providing the books. I hope everyone is well!
Ralph
Ralph
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Water
We've been trying to work on our food storage, now that we have space to keep it in. It's kind of fun to watch your stock pile of food and toiletries grow. Now we need to work on water. In the past we have bought packs of bottled water. I don't know if this is the best way to go about it. I wondered how do the rest of you store water? What is the best way? In one apartment we lived in we would fill up all our empty milk jugs and add a bit of bleach to them. Was that good or bad? I've heard of people who use 3 liter bottles, but then we'd have to buy soda, and we don't. What do you suggest? What do you do??
Thanks for your help!!
Thanks for your help!!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
In the interest of a new post
First, I want to say, "Good luck, Andy!" We'll miss you--at least, as much as I can miss someone I only talk to once every few months. Learn some cool phrases in Arabic while you are there and get some good recipes you can teach us all. You will be in our prayers (including the boys--that means you will be added to things like, "Please bless the dinosaur bones, and please bless the dinosaurs that they will come back to life, and please bless my friend Talon and his mom that they will be able to hide before the dinosaurs come back to life.") Please avoid dangerous things while you are there.
Second, Eli is trying to walk. He can stand up in the middle of a room all by himself. When he's excited, he will stand up and fling himself forward and stand up and fling himself forward, and stand up...making his way across the room like "frog that doesn't jump."
We are trying to sell our house now. It will be listed this coming Sunday. We'd appreciate prayers that we will be able to sell the house in good time (close enough to when we need to move to not necessitate us finding somewhere else to live but before we move). I think our report no later than date will be 15 May, no earlier than 11 May. We will get 8 days of house hunting before we report and we are still planning on going on a cruise (or some other away from the children vacation) before that. That should put us moving sometime around April 20th or so. We'll have to see what we end up doing.
I've spent lots of time and space on this post hoping to stimulate our blog's economy...uh...please comment.
Mike
Second, Eli is trying to walk. He can stand up in the middle of a room all by himself. When he's excited, he will stand up and fling himself forward and stand up and fling himself forward, and stand up...making his way across the room like "frog that doesn't jump."
We are trying to sell our house now. It will be listed this coming Sunday. We'd appreciate prayers that we will be able to sell the house in good time (close enough to when we need to move to not necessitate us finding somewhere else to live but before we move). I think our report no later than date will be 15 May, no earlier than 11 May. We will get 8 days of house hunting before we report and we are still planning on going on a cruise (or some other away from the children vacation) before that. That should put us moving sometime around April 20th or so. We'll have to see what we end up doing.
I've spent lots of time and space on this post hoping to stimulate our blog's economy...uh...please comment.
Mike
Saturday, January 31, 2009
It's Mike's birthday
Today is Mike's birthday. We had a great dinner and some yummy cake. We missed all of you that weren't here.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Something new
Just for the sake of seeing a new post on the site, I'd thought I'd share what is going on around here.
It's cold... well, actually it got up to 40 this week and it was wonderfully warm. I shoveled the three inches of packed on snow off the driveway. It was so nice, I took my coat off. But now it is cold again. Today when the kids left for school it was 0.
You probably already heard, but Jacob got stitches last week. Three in his little forehead above his right eye.
The kids have been taking turns getting sick. Braden had some kind of a bug a week or so ago, Mikayla had it last weekend, and Mike has been battling it for a few days now. Tyson and Jacob both have yucky coughs, and now Jacob has decided to add a runny nose to the list as well. Lucky for me, I have some seriously strong immunities. Either that or the germs are afraid of me. Either way, it is good.
Mike is very busy at work again, or as usual. He has four briefs due in the next four days. So, we will not being seeing a whole lot of him. Then he will go to Chicago the first week of February. We will miss him of course, but I am glad he is not going to somewhere warmer than here. That just wouldn't be fair.
Earlier this month my iron died. I was ironing, which is quite a big deal, since I rarely do it, and there was a loud pop, a puff of black smoke and a black mark on the ironing board. Not too big a deal, we went out and got a new one. A cheap one, but who cares, it's not like I use it much. I'd say less than once a month. Don't be too shocked, Mom, but I don't iron my sheets!
Then about a week after that, I opened the drier to find that all the clothes were still wet. It was moving and blowing but not heating up. This had happened before, so Mike opened it up and fixed the wire that continually is burning out. I got all the laundry done, and then the next day I had some sheets to do, remember I had sick kids (gross!!). When I went to change the clothes from the washer to the drier, I found that the sheets were still wet, very wet, dripping wet. The washer was no longer spinning. GREAT!! So, I wrung them out by hand and dried them twice in the drier. I still had a comforter and pillow that had to be washed. Well, they waited, as did a whole weeks worth of laundry. I had to open some new unders, if you get my drift. After much looking, we finally bought a new washer and dryer.
They are so cool. They have electronic buttons and they sing to me when I open them. They are high efficiency. They are huge! I had about ten loads of wash to do when we finally got them. I got it done in 6 instead. That is almost half! The washer does not have an agitator arm in the middle so it is much bigger. It is 4.7 cuft. The dryer is, well I can't remember, but it is big. I love them! They were very expensive though. We got a $100 rebate for buying the set, 1-3 years worth of free Tide he detergent and we got a rebate for the delivery/set up/haul away. We are pleased! Fortunately, I did our taxes yesterday and we can pay it off as soon as the check comes in. Oh, by the way, we got the Maytag Bravos, which is the newest version of the Whirlpool Cabrio, if any of you are up to date on appliances. Or if you even care!
So, that is what's going on around here. Nothing too exciting, but pretty normal stuff. We hope you are all doing well. Oh, also, I have to admit that I am a bit envious of those who are able to visit Mom and Dad soon(today, I think). I hope you have a great visit. Wish we were there!!
It's cold... well, actually it got up to 40 this week and it was wonderfully warm. I shoveled the three inches of packed on snow off the driveway. It was so nice, I took my coat off. But now it is cold again. Today when the kids left for school it was 0.
You probably already heard, but Jacob got stitches last week. Three in his little forehead above his right eye.
The kids have been taking turns getting sick. Braden had some kind of a bug a week or so ago, Mikayla had it last weekend, and Mike has been battling it for a few days now. Tyson and Jacob both have yucky coughs, and now Jacob has decided to add a runny nose to the list as well. Lucky for me, I have some seriously strong immunities. Either that or the germs are afraid of me. Either way, it is good.
Mike is very busy at work again, or as usual. He has four briefs due in the next four days. So, we will not being seeing a whole lot of him. Then he will go to Chicago the first week of February. We will miss him of course, but I am glad he is not going to somewhere warmer than here. That just wouldn't be fair.
Earlier this month my iron died. I was ironing, which is quite a big deal, since I rarely do it, and there was a loud pop, a puff of black smoke and a black mark on the ironing board. Not too big a deal, we went out and got a new one. A cheap one, but who cares, it's not like I use it much. I'd say less than once a month. Don't be too shocked, Mom, but I don't iron my sheets!
Then about a week after that, I opened the drier to find that all the clothes were still wet. It was moving and blowing but not heating up. This had happened before, so Mike opened it up and fixed the wire that continually is burning out. I got all the laundry done, and then the next day I had some sheets to do, remember I had sick kids (gross!!). When I went to change the clothes from the washer to the drier, I found that the sheets were still wet, very wet, dripping wet. The washer was no longer spinning. GREAT!! So, I wrung them out by hand and dried them twice in the drier. I still had a comforter and pillow that had to be washed. Well, they waited, as did a whole weeks worth of laundry. I had to open some new unders, if you get my drift. After much looking, we finally bought a new washer and dryer.
They are so cool. They have electronic buttons and they sing to me when I open them. They are high efficiency. They are huge! I had about ten loads of wash to do when we finally got them. I got it done in 6 instead. That is almost half! The washer does not have an agitator arm in the middle so it is much bigger. It is 4.7 cuft. The dryer is, well I can't remember, but it is big. I love them! They were very expensive though. We got a $100 rebate for buying the set, 1-3 years worth of free Tide he detergent and we got a rebate for the delivery/set up/haul away. We are pleased! Fortunately, I did our taxes yesterday and we can pay it off as soon as the check comes in. Oh, by the way, we got the Maytag Bravos, which is the newest version of the Whirlpool Cabrio, if any of you are up to date on appliances. Or if you even care!
So, that is what's going on around here. Nothing too exciting, but pretty normal stuff. We hope you are all doing well. Oh, also, I have to admit that I am a bit envious of those who are able to visit Mom and Dad soon(today, I think). I hope you have a great visit. Wish we were there!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)