the olson family

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T07:30:00.001-07:00

One reason these

have not made it to the mailbox, even though they have been sitting in my house since before Thanksgiving, is these

I ran out of fabric to make a cuff for mine, and some kind of personalization is on my wishlist for next year, but I let the kids choose the back and inside fabrics, so we can still tell them apart.

They took a lot longer than I thought when I started out on this project. (It's a long story, at least 2 years in the making. I used this tutorial and this one- I took a shortcut on my lining though, so the insides are quite as nice.) We have also had a nasty head cold/flu type of thing making its way through the family, but I'm not going to post pictures of that.

I had such great intentions, my shopping was DONE the first of December (mostly online). I had carefully planned some fun and some meaningful activities for our advent calendar. This week before Christmas was supposed to be fun and relaxing, not full of coughing, sniffling, and "Mom, I need a tissue!" And, I was going to make some major progress on having the baby's room ready (even though she won't sleep in there for at least a few months). But, it just was not to be, and I am [trying to be] OK with that. So, you'll just have to wait a few more days to find our smiling faces in your mailbox.

Getting our "To Do" lists "Done" isn't what's most important. At this time of year, we celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. We enjoy time with friends and family and are filled with that magical Christmas spirit. We hope your Christmas is one with love, joy and peace, and we hope all the best for you in the new year.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Scott, Lani, Eden, Andrew, and Jacob

Family Photos, round 2

2011-11-03T21:51:00.004-06:00

We went out with my photographer friend again on Tuesday afternoon, with a blizzard forecasted to move in that night. It was a little chilly (you can tell in a few of the pictures), but we had a great time. Even the kids seemed to have a mostly fun time. (I need to remember to prepare them a little next year.) Now with so many more great choices, what will I do?

This is one of my favorites. My favorite from the first round is not color either. But, do I want the Big Family Portrait on the Wall to be black and white? It's always been color before. Hmmmm.......

Family Photos 2011

2011-10-29T21:38:00.004-06:00

This year I decided not to do school pictures anymore. Instead, we'll do family and individual shots once a year with someone who can give us the pictures on a CD to make whatever prints, etc. that we want. That way we're guaranteed to get a 'frame-worthy' shot of everyone at least once a year. Luckily, one of my friends here is a photographer who does just that. (I think I'll also do some newborn shots with her early next year, which is probably kind of backward to start that with baby #4, but after realizing I had almost ZERO frame-worthy shots of my other babies, it's what I want to do.) The individuals of the kids turned out great. Considering the antics we had going on during the family shots, she got some pretty good photos, but I think we could do better. So, thanks to my friend's generosity, we are probably going to try one more time. Here's some of what we've got so far. She also made black & white versions of most of them.

Which one do you like best? I want to try printing one of these pretty big to canvas at Costco, probably 16" x 20" size.

Right now, this is my favorite.

Individuals/Couple:

I've only had the CD since yesterday afternoon, and I am already liking the pictures better and better every time I look at them. But, since we're going out again anyway, feel free to make suggestions on what to do different next time. (We're already trying to prepare the kids for a better experience- bribery may or not be involved- something we didn't do last time. And I'm considering some slight wardrobe changes.)

(By the way, I think this totally counts as a 'more current post' for my November goal!)

Lemonade & Homework

2011-10-27T14:24:00.001-06:00

This officially concludes my "5 posts this month [of October]" goal- yay! Next month's goal-- aside from renewing my low-sugar effort ;)-- is to adequately document our big East Coast trip from June (likely taking at least a few posts), and to do at least one post that is more current (ie. since school started). I also should probably put these 5 posts in their proper chronological order.

Shortly before school started, I let the kids have a lemonade stand. I thought they would do it for a couple hours then be done. But they had enough customers stop by to keep them motivated the whole day! (I imposed a 2-hour break around lunchtime.) I forgot to take a picture on that day. But we kept the sign and I took this picture a few days later.

This year, I decided the kids needed to have a homework space that was separate from the kitchen table. That way, things could be left there to be finished later, instead of having to put everything away and then get it all out again. Here they are 'enjoying' their new space. (Of course now that school's been in session for a couple months, some of the novelty has worn off and they are not always this cheerful about homework!)

Another camping trip

2011-10-26T14:23:00.000-06:00

Finally on Two Wheels!

2011-10-26T13:57:00.000-06:00

(In case you're wondering... I've decided our East Coast trip will be next month's goal. I started on it, but there's just too much. So, 2 more catch-up posts and I'll reach my goal!)

Camping with Dad

2011-10-25T16:03:00.000-06:00

One down, Four to go...

2011-10-19T14:49:00.001-06:00

October is two-thirds gone, and I have only 1/5th of my goal accomplished. But, I am hopeful that I will still reach my goal. The kids are finally back to a 'normal' school schedule until Thanksgiving. I am riding a hormone roller-coaster right now. It definitely has it's disadvantages, but it also (at times) makes things like catching up this blog seem infinitely more important than other tasks (today those would include scrubbing my shower and putting away the laundry among others). This one took about 20 40 minutes (this little monologue took longer than I thought) or so to put together, so hopefully I only need my hormones to work this way another ~~1 1/2~~ 3 hours out of rest of the month. I do have to wonder if my slack running lately has anything to do with my mood swings. I've definitely slowed down, and have started using a Galloway-esque method to avoid potty-stops every mile. But, lately it's been more of a scheduling problem and wimping-out-to-the-weather problem than anything else. I went running for the first time this week, and I swear it's like a giant Reset Button for my mood. Sometimes the endorphine-induced high doesn't last the whole day, but it definitely helps.

I know I mentioned to some of you that I was considering a low/no-sugar diet for the last few months of this pregnancy in an effort to keep this baby as small as possible at birth (after that she can get nice and chubby). Jake was almost 9 lbs, and I have no desire to go there again! Well, we're now 3 months out and if anyone is wondering how that endeavor is going, it isn't, at least not yet. I just pawed through the jar of Skittles and Mini M&M's (Jake's potty treats), and ate ALL of the M&M's! For the past 2 weeks, I had been doing this a handful or two at a time, and only almost every day. I've been thinking it was a ~~stupid~~ silly (we're trying to help Jacob stop saying this word so much, he really is obsessed right now) idea to mix the two together, and today I finally rectified the situation. Yesterday, I ate about half of the 9x13 brownie pan (we MUST have treats for FHE!), frosted brownies. Thank goodness I only made half a recipe.

a new quote, more excuses, and a question

2011-09-30T05:32:00.000-06:00

“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face…You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

I just love this new quote I came across and wanted everyone to see it (it's also on my sidebar list). Now, as far as new posting. Here's the deal: it seems like almost every time I get enough 'on-top' of things around here that I don't feel too guilty spending a lot of time updating the blog, something happens that throws things out of wack again-- someone(s) get sick, we go on a trip, we have company, etc. So, this morning I should be doing all the last minue things I ran out of time for last night for our weekend getaway to Provo, but instead I am giving you all some more excuses. My goal for October is 5 posts (real ones where you can actually read about what we've been up to these days).

One more thing... people keep talking about Pinterest on my facebook page. I looked into it briefly, and what I saw seemed to be a place to create a never-ending collection of wishes and wants, a huge time-sucker with no benefit. (I totally admit Blogger and Facebook can also be huge time-suckers, but they have the redeeming quality of helping people stay connected). HOWEVER, people I know and trust really seem to love Pinterest. So, I am still curious-- do any of you use Pinterest? Why? What do you use it for? How has it been helpful for you?

And now, I really must finish packing!

New posts

2011-09-04T18:18:00.000-06:00

I have finally added a couple new posts! Of course they're outdated, but better than nothing!

Projects

First Day of School

Just some more excuses

2011-08-22T00:51:00.000-06:00

It's pretty sad that I have pictures of the first day of school on the same card with pictures from the last weeks of the last school year. I finally got motivated enough (because Jake will start 'preschool' tomorrow and I have no more room on my memory card), to download this summer's pics onto my computer, the first step to getting them on the blog.

Unfortunately, the camera battery died before I could finish, so I've only downloaded pics for May and June. And my computer and my external hard drive (where I store all the pictures), are having some communication problems. But, I wanted those of you who still are holding out hope for this blog to know that I am trying. Hopefully my hardware will reconcile (camera battery is charging tonight), and I'll be able to post something worthwhile soon.

ps- RE: the parenting aricle I posted a link to a few weeks ago- I don't actually think any moms (or dads) should be truly mean. My kids don't call me "Mean" when I actually am being mean (it's been known to happen, I'm not perfect). My kids only call me 'Mean' when I stand firm on rules and expectations, instead of giving in to their whining and/or negotiation tactics (which also has been know to happen on occasion, again, I'm not perfect). The article basically says it is healthy for our kids to experience challenges, disappointments, sadness and other 'negative' feelings, so that they can handle those experiences as adults. We do them a disservice when we try to protect them too much.

Just in case...

2011-08-18T20:47:00.000-06:00

...you are wondering why there is still nothing worthwhile (ie. pictures from the last several months) on this blog, I refer you here, it's a pretty accurate description of my current condition.

First Day of School! First Day of School!

2011-08-16T18:06:00.001-06:00

Be a Mean Mom!

2011-07-31T22:25:00.000-06:00

...OK, maybe not all the time. ;) But, for any of you who may feel guilt when your kids call you "the meanest mom ever", or "evil" (I've been called both, and a whole lot more), read this article. Being 'mean' sometimes is probably good for your kids. Recently, I realized I often feel a sense of satisfaction when my kids call me 'mean' (and felt a little guilt about that instead of guilt about being mean). It's nice to have some validation.

How To Land Your Kid in Therapy

Arriving January 2012

2011-07-20T16:57:00.000-06:00

One little reason I haven't kept up on the blog lately...

....Although honestly, I've been mostly over the 'morning sickness' for a little while now, and still haven't kept up on the blog. As of right now, the kids are united in hoping it's a girl. We'll see how long that lasts.

Notice my new quote!

2011-07-18T21:52:00.000-06:00

I know you guys are all super excited about the new addition to my quote list. I like it. Disclaimer: I am not familiar with the book or the author, I simply snatched this quote from the blog of someone who did read it. The last sentence says people either have what they wanted or a list of why not. I think this may need to be changed to "what they needed"; or maybe to "what they wanted even if they didn't realize that's what they wanted" or something... I think that the majority of the time we DO end up with what we want, or at least what our actions show we want, maybe not what we said we wanted, sometimes what we want changes over time. And sometimes we don't realize that what we have is truly what we want.

It also reminded me of something one of my neighbor/friends at Hickam said. It was something along the lines of, "The older I get, the less I care what other people think." At the time it struck me as a little odd (I don't remember the context of the conversation, but this woman is about 8-10 years older than me), but I have to admit, I've found that to be true. Now, I'm not saying I am completely above everyone else's opinion's of me all of the time. But, I do feel a lot more confident (in general), in the choices I make concerning how I spend my time and how we try to raise our kids, and things like that. I still have moments of self-doubt and insecurity, but when it comes down to it, what other people think plays little or no role in the decisions I make. It's really very liberating. I think the connection I see to my new quote is that sometimes we have a hard time 'owning' our uniqueness, and spend too much energy comparing ourselves to others. That's where some of the issues the quote talks about come in. Sometimes we have excuses because we never really wanted that result anyway, we just thought we should want it. It reminded me that instead of coming up with excuse why I am not or have not, I should examine my motives a little. And if it's not something I truly want, then I should own that uniqueness instead of making excuses for it.

This may not make a lot of since (I'll blame pregnant-brain), and I apologize if you didn't want to hear a kind of random soapbox episode from me today. But maybe if I let this quote fester for a while, I will find the motivation to do REAL updates to my blog. Or, maybe I'll realize that I never want to blog again. (But, I'm hoping for the first.)

Here are some potential future catch-up posts:
* Our trip to the East Coast (NOT Europe)
* The Dixon Family Reunion
* A picture of #4 waving 'hello'
* Projects started and/or completed (more the former than the latter)

And I'm sure there are more, since I don't even remember the last time I updated our blog. So, here's to hoping I get some pictures on here again soon.

For Mothers' Day

2011-05-08T00:01:00.003-06:00

Projects

2011-05-04T16:22:00.004-06:00

I'm posting them for Heather, better late than never! The framed sheet metal was a Super Saturday project- supposed to be a chart to keep track of birthdays- but I wanted to make a FHE board. Heather cut the vinyl for me and even sent me the kids' names in another font that I really liked, but didn't work for the FHE board. Now you can all see that I really did use the vinyl and finished not one, but TWO projects! Thanks again Heather!

I thought the prints I had ordered would be a little smaller, and not cover up the words so much. Maybe someday I'll get around to fixing that.

(You'll just have to imagine a cute portrait of Jake in the far right frame. I took the picture while I was still waiting for the prints from JCPenney.)

This was an empty wall in our bedroom. I think it turned out pretty well for just 'eye-balling' it!

2011-05-02T21:31:00.000-06:00

some of April

2011-05-01T17:14:00.000-06:00

Here are a couple pages for April. I still have to put together some layouts for our weekend in Mesa, AZ. I'm trying out a 12 x 12 layout this time.

Here's what happened in March...

2011-03-31T23:00:00.002-06:00

(I've tried loading these collages again, so hopefully people can see them now)

After completing a blurb book for 2008, I've decided to try making more posts using the collage function in Picassa. You should be able to click on a collage to make it bigger (if you're interested).

While we were away

2011-03-07T21:22:00.000-07:00

...the kids got to play with Grandma! My mom flew over here and took care of Eden, Andrew, and Jake for 9 DAYS! My only regret is that she was here so long, but I only got to see her for a couple of days. She took some pictures to show us what we missed while we were gone.

They took happy Sunday pictures- both weeks!

reading The Friend magazine together

had crafts (funfusion beads)

played games, including math bingo, and Guess Who? StarWars

Played in our side-yard terrace, that maybe a garden soon, but right now it's a pretty fun place to play, especially since the soil around here is naturally pretty sandy. They also jumped on the trampoline

But, they still had piano practice and homework

And chores

Jake started taking a nap again, and still slept OK at night (I thought he was about done with naps). AND, he started using the toilet sometimes for #1. We're far from done with the potty-training, but at least now we have something to build on. :)

We 'missed' some of this ;)

Thank you, thank you, thank you Mom! We love you!!!

Cozumel

2011-03-07T20:55:00.000-07:00

In Cozumel, we decided to rent a jeep and explore on our own. We got about half-way around the island then the jeep wouldn't start. Luckily, after some prayer, it finally started but it kept stalling, so we took it back to Alamo and fortunately were able to trade for a different one. We had lunch at a little restaurant on the beach, then found a nice little lagoon to enjoy the rest of the afternoon. I guess our sunscreen worked pretty well, because I only got a slight burn on a couple spots I missed, and barely tanned on the rest. Oh well.

the port

Scott took this picture because we couldn't figure out how they could get the helicopter on or off that tiny space. It's hard to tell from this angle, but that white ball would be in the way I think

I found this on the beach where we started having problems with the first jeep. This shoe must have been in the ocean for a while before it got washed up, since it had all these little creatures growing on it. We tried to save them, but the shoe just came back

We saw a couple blowholes in the rock formation

and some hermit crabs and snails in the tidepools

Aren't the hats awesome?!?

Of course Scott needed a picture of the Mexican military aircraft

this is the closest we got to an iguana

This is mostly what I did after lunch.

Scott explored the water a little more

The water was gorgeous, I think Cozumel had the clearest water- this is right at the pier we were docked at.

Roatan

2011-03-06T13:35:00.001-07:00

We thought Roatan looked similar to Hawaii, it was much hillier? than the other ports we visited. We were supposed to dock in Mahogany Bay, but due to high winds, we tendered to Coxen Hole. This was actually a good thing because I wanted to shop for souvenirs at Yaba Ding Ding, which is walking distance from the port. All their merchandise is handmade by Hondurian women and the proceeds go to benefit various womens groups in the country.

Beautiful island of Roatan

We went to Gumbalimba Park to kyak (the bottoms were clear! but we didn't get to see as much as I hoped) and to snorkel (definitely saw more that way). We also relaxed on the beach for a while.

Getting ready to kyak. As you can see, I didn't work too hard on my tan

Scott was playing with the camera while we waited for the bus back to Coxen Hole

Belize

2011-03-06T13:12:00.001-07:00

A view of Belize City from the tendering boat.

In Belize, we toured the Mayan ruins at Lamanai. Belize actually has the highest concentration of ruins, but doesn't have the resources to excavate or maintain more than what has already been done. We rode 1 hour in a bus, then 1 hour by boat up the New River to reach the ruins. We saw some wildlife along the river, and after the return boat trip we enjoyed a delicious meal of rice, beans, chicken, and coconut pies.

A smallish alligator near the boat dock.

One of the many birds we saw along the way

We saw a couple iguanas these bushes

This monkey was somewhat tame, I think. The tour guide left a banana for him

These are bats sleeping on a tree trunk above the river

We learned there is a sizeable Mennonite population. They have a lot of farm land in Belize, and apparently they like to fish too.

treking through the jungle to see different ruins

We saw a couple owls in the trees

The mask temple. The different color on the mask portion is a fiberglass covering to protect it.

The high temple

At the top of the high temple

We also saw a couple monkeys playing in the trees there.

One of the jaguar faces at the jaguar temple

Costa Maya

2011-03-05T11:10:00.001-07:00

Our first port was Costa Maya. As fun as the ship was, we were so excited to get off! There was a dolphin pool right by the pier, and lots of people were enjoying a "dolphin experience" that morning, but I guess we didn't get any pictures of it. We opted for a zip-line excursion. I even scanned in the pictures we bought (of course we couldnt take our cameras with us). The platforms were 90+ feet high, and for a few seconds I really thought I would back out. But, luckily they keep you moving pretty smoothly and quickly, so I didn't have too much time to think about it. The hardest part was starting off from the platform, once I got going I could open my eyes and enjoy the ride and the beautiful view.

The Norwegian Spirit is the one you can see the starboard side of, pointing away from the shore.

We walked around the port area for a few minutes before we had to meet for our excursion. This guy escaped into the drain hole not too long after taking the picture.

We first rode a bus to BioMaya, then transfered to these big trucks to get to where we put on our gear and to the platforms. They had several platforms and lines above the forest canopy, our tour only included 3 lines.

Top- The 3rd line went right by the water, beautiful! And it was the steepest line, so fast that there was a 'brake' we hit to slow us down before we reached the platform. Bottom- The second line was the longest, so we could enjoy the view for a long time. Both Scott and I stopped before we reached the 3rd platform, so a couple of guys towed us the rest of the way with long poles

At the pier, on our way back to the ship. The hat is kind of funny-looking, but I'm glad I had it for the rest of the trip.

the ship

2011-03-04T20:45:00.000-07:00

We cruised on the Norweigan Spirit. It's pretty amazing how much you can find on the ship. We went to comedy shows, an acrobatic show, and a dance show. We enjoyed the pool and hot tubs, and went jogging on the one lane track on the top deck. Most of the time we ate at the buffet or other freestyle dining facilities. We ordered room service, and we got dressed up one night to eat at Le Bistro, their fancy French restaurant. Almost every night, we were welcomed back to our stateroom by the legendary towel animals.

This is the main lobby we entered when we first boarded. I am checking out the menus for the different specialty restaurants

This is a picture from the top deck, port side. You can see the hotel we stayed at just a few blocks from the port. Definitely a good choice to be in walking distance.

Captian Scott at the helm. Looks like were headed into dangerous waters ;)

Sunset as we head down the Mississippi.

Cool-dude piggy

This monkey was hanging out in our room our last night on board.

the big easy

2011-03-04T13:48:00.000-07:00

Our cruise departed from New Orleans, and since we flew in the day before, we had some time to enjoy some sight-seeing. They had started preparations for Mardi Gras, so we saw some decorations and beads, but nothing really crazy. We also sampled some of the local cuisine: gator sausage, gumbo, jumbalaya, and beignets. Yum.

the Saint Louis cathedral at Jackson Square

a street in the French Quarter

our bag of beignets from Cafe Du Monde

Just a few days ago

2011-03-01T18:00:00.001-07:00

...this is where I was.

But now I we are back to reality. Sorry if it takes me a little while to post about our cruise to the "Exotic Western Caribbean"

Indoor entertainment

2011-02-13T21:36:00.000-07:00

Today's high was about 60 degrees, but the last couple weeks we've had some bitterly cold, wintery days. In fact, there was one day that we were actually COLDER than Rapid City (according to WeatherBug), including the wind chill. I didn't know it was possible Keeping busy {read: preserving my sanity} included letting the kids take pictures, computer games, legos, and we finally tried out the fireplace. (Also, books,Wii, board games, and hot cocoa, but I don't have pictures of that stuff) Every picture, except the fireplace, was taken by someone under the age of 30.

Apparently, I am failing

2011-02-13T21:32:00.000-07:00

... according to Eden

Eden made this 2 or 3 weeks ago

And, I am supposed to tell her she plays the piano perfectly so that her spelling and handwriting will return to normal

She put this on her door last week after a not-so-pleasant piano lesson with her most favorite teacher, who also happens to be "The Meanest Mom Ever!!!"

Just one reason...

2011-02-13T21:27:00.000-07:00

...that I love running here, even in winter.

This picture was taken about 3 blocks from our house. How could going for a run and seeing this NOT make me happy?

the way Jake naps

2011-02-13T17:08:00.001-07:00

Jake is in that miserable transition from taking naps to not taking naps. It started in November or December with a day here or there that he would refuse to sleep during nap-time. This past week, he only took one real nap, although I still enforce some kind of 'quiet time' almost every day. After Christmas, we thought it would be fun to add the toddler-bed transition to the mix, so we took the drop-side off of his crib.

The door by his feet is his room (or was, we moved him back in with Andrew since this picture was taken).

In this one, he actually came downstairs without me realizing it and crashed on the living room floor. I already knew he liked having the blanket over his face, but had no idea he preferred the floor over his mattress!

how Christmas looked at our house

2011-01-13T14:46:00.000-07:00

(I am having fun playing with the collage feature on Picassa.)

The Rest of the Trip

2011-01-12T05:00:00.002-07:00

We had a great time visiting with Scott's family. It had been a while since we had seen everyone. We were able to visit with Scott's grandfather and Aunt Sandra and Uncle Jere. It was foggy and rainy for most of the trip, but we still got a quick tour of the lights at Temple Square. I actually ended up with lots of cute pictures from this trip. So, I made a collage. You can click on it to make it bigger.

Columbia

2011-01-12T05:00:00.001-07:00

We always make a trip to Columbia when we visit Scott's family. It's a 'living' gold-mine town. There are sometimes people dressed in period clothes. It was a little rainy, but we still had fun.

Feeding the chickens. They LOVE grass ;)

Gotta have a picture in one of the wagons

Nutcracker

2011-01-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to California about a week before Christmas. Eden and I started out with a couple days with the Olson girls. We were so excited to join them for the Nutcracker in San Francisco. So, it was It was beautiful, and so much fun!

all dressed up for our big night out!

the cousins were so excited!

Enjoying an intermission snack of juice and cookies.

after the show we took some pictures...

the grand-daughters with Grandma

And this is what they looked at by the time we got back.

Happy January!

2011-01-10T17:29:00.003-07:00

I have successfully moved almost all my pictures to an external hard drive. It's a My Book, I'm told that they're good. So, I went ahead and got all the pictures off my camera from the last month or so. Turns out there are a lot. I lost motivation when I saw the large number of pics being loaded into 'Dec 2010'. But, here are a couple from 2011:

When she turned 7, we told Eden she could get her ears pierced whenever she was ready. After seeing quite a few friends survive the ordeal untraumatized, she took the plunge! She choose her birthstone, sapphire. I think they look great!

The kids had a snow day, and I decided to make Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls for our snack/FHE treat. I ended up using mostly whole wheat flour from my grinder (because we were out of regular and I didn't want to go to the store), and I cut back a bit on the butter/sugar/cinnamon filling. They were still ooey, gooey, and delicious!

10?!? Hmmm... Let's See...

2011-01-06T20:23:00.000-07:00

1. Our December was great, I really do have things to blog about. I even have some pictures to go with them.

2. My computer keeps telling me my disk space is running low. So, I'm a little worried about loading more pictures on it.

3. We have a 1 TB external hard drive, still in the package since its arrival at the beginning of December. I am a little afraid of it.

4. I also ordered some beanbag chairs (actually they have a foam filling, but you get the idea) at the same time, both from Costco. They arrived yesterday. The foam is vacuum packed and it could be a whole week before they are fully fluffed and ready to use.

5. I also got a right pedal for the exercise bike in the mail yesterday, so now I can start using the bike that came at the beginning of December (I ♥ Costco). (It came with 2 left pedals and no right pedals originally. I still ♥ Costco.)

6. With all the boxes and packaging, it was {almost} like Christmas all over again. Except we took down the tree earlier this week. :( All our other Christmas decorations are still up though.

7. I have spent too much time on Facebook and other people's blogs the last couple weeks, and have left myself insufficient time for posting on my own blog.

8. I have done all the exercise I have planned for myself so far (since the week after Christmas).

9. Getting away from the 'holiday' indulgences has been a little more challenging. But, I think I am s l o w l y making progress on that front too.

10. Eden and Andrew went back to school today, so hopefully some semblance of normalcy will return soon. Hopefully a little inspiration and motivation will tag along too.

Happy New Year!

{sort of} birthday interview with Andrew

2010-12-12T20:33:00.003-07:00

I always feel a little bad about not having much to put in the blog besides a birthday celebration report for the kids. Tonight when I was catching up on Andrew's birthday post, I remembered that our Primary did these spotlights by email. So, I copy and pasted, 'cause that's how I roll.... (now hopefully I still have the one from Eden's birthday too....)

1. Where were you born? Honolulu, Hawaii

2. How many Brothers and Sisters do you have? 1 brother and 1 sister

3. What do yo like to do for fun? play with Legos, ride his scooter, jump on the trampoline with Dad

4. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas!

5. What is your favorite food? pizza, salami (not sure about this one, but that's what he said!)

6. What is your favorite Primary song? Joy to the World and Follow the Prophet

7. What is your favorite scripture story? Helaman and the Stripling Warriors

Guess who's six!

2010-12-12T20:30:00.000-07:00

This guy!

He was just *a little* excited to be celebrating the big day, complete with cupcakes and presents, in the morning! (One of the perks of Scott's weird work schedule.)

He's been asking for a 'ninja backpack' for a while. Once I figured out what he was talking about (a weapon carrier that can be strapped to his back), I thought I might find one on clearance after Halloween. No such luck, but Amazon came to the rescue.

Of course, no birthday would be complete without adding to his Lego collection....

... I think Legos are here to stay for quite a few years (Jake loves them too)... not such a bad thing to be crazy about, as long as they don't completely take over our house!

Once again, our photographer got lazy {read: busy serving and eating the yummy cupcakes and ice-cream} and didn't take any other pictures of Andrew's celebration.

We love you Andrew! You are a great son and brother. We're lucky to have you in our family!

Early December...

2010-12-10T22:14:00.000-07:00

Who's the birthday boy in this picture?

If you answered, Scott, you're right! It was so obvious to Andrew that the thing his father wanted and needed most in the world was a set of two Star Wars guys. "So he can have someone play with him when he wants to play Star Wars." Unfortunately, our resident photographer forgot to take any pictures of the cake, so this is the only documentation we have that Scott did indeed have a birthday this year.

Our ward Christmas party was the first weekend in December, and the theme was "A Night in Bethlehem". Lucky for us, we had these great outfits from Scott's trips to 'the desert'. We got lots of compliments, I guess deployments and TDYs have their perks... Unfortunately, Scott had to work that night so he didn't get to come to the one party this year where he'd have a reason to wear his own middle eastern outfit.

One FHE in November we collected leaves. I flattened them and coated them with wax using an iron. And, finally, a few weeks later, I remembered to let the kids make som art with them.

Eden was so excited when she came up with the idea to put all these together (Notice how well they 'go' with her shirt ;)

Thanksgiving Dinner

2010-11-29T11:43:00.001-07:00

While I was pretty impressed with how The Turkey came out (we tried brining this year), I am hoping to get some more pictures from my sisters to show the real fun we had with our visitors. I seriously have only 3 pictures from this weekend, and they're all of Scott cutting the turkey!

The kids had the whole week off and it was nice to not have to worry about schedules or homework for a while. We did have some sickness early in the week. Jake passed his cold to me, Eden and Andrew both had a stomach bug. But, by the time our guests arrived Wednesday evening we were on the mend. Dana & Guillaume caught a ride with his sister and husband, and they even made room so Michell could come from Rexburg too!

It was so nice to have the extra hands in the kitchen on the day of. We had lots of things that would be best if we made shortly before serving. We were shooting to eat at 3pm, and we sat down at about 3:40, so not too bad, considering all the food came from one kitchen! There's no way it would have been all done if I had been cooking all by myself. Here's the menu, with my own notes for next year:

turkey- saoked in a brine overnight, then we cooked it breast-side down for the first hour, came out pretty good, maybe try buttering it before cooking next year (PW makes it look so good), 11 lbs. was a pretty good size
garlic mashed potatoes- red, unpeeled,
stuffing- added sauteed onion and celery to stovetop stuffing
cream corn- Cream Corn Like No Other from Recipes.com, remember to warm it up in the crockpot next year
green bean salad- had butter, bacon, and sliced almonds from The Girl Who Ate Everything, much better than green bean casserole, maybe use less bacon next time
spinach & cranberry salad- Jamie's Spinach salad, used store dressing, make a half recipe, since it doesn't keep well for leftovers
dessert-y sweet potatoes- from the Guthrie's, half it next year
gravy- from the drippings!
cranberry sauce

dessert: probably need to narrow it down to 3 or 4 next year, but they were all yummy, and we used our own pumpkin puree for all the pumpkin recipes
pumpkin roll
pumpkin pie
double layer pumpkin cheesecake- TGWAE
apple crisp- TGWAE, only cooked half a recipe, good thing
peppermint oreos- TGWAE, make a half recipe next year, but this was the first thing gone!

Another list for another weekend

2010-11-21T20:38:00.006-07:00

This weekend was preceeded by a pretty nice week, minus Jake hanging on to his cold that started the previous week. Scott was home for 5 days instead of the usual 4 and we got a few things done around the house, including Scott deep-cleaning the stove, and staining our front door. Isn't he great?!

1. I ran about 14 miles on Friday. I'm not 100% committed to the half marathon in a couple weeks (I'm waiting to see what the forecast is for race day). (Which probably makes the mileage sound even crazier to those of you who already think I'm crazy.)

2. Jacob has been sick with a cold and whiny most of the week.

3. I was supposed to participate in a 5k with a bunch of ladies from our ward Saturday morning, but couldn't bring myself to ditch a whiny, slime-faced Jake on any of our baby-sitters (I want to make sure they actually want to take care of my kids!) Of course, Scott had to go back to work with the morning shift on Saturday.

4. I took the kids to the zoo on Saturday morning instead. I used up almost an entire package of tissues with Jake. It was pretty cold, so that didn't help his current condition. One of the kids favorite things at our zoo, is the place called My Big Backyard. There are a few farm animals there, and some BIG backyard items.

The kids requested that the black chicken be in the photo too.

5. Yesterday afternoon, I went visiting teaching, which is always good, and then to Costco. I stocked up on things (Nutella!) from the coupon book and got only a few other things that we were out of, but didn't have coupons for. My savings were about 15% from the coupons, on top of the fact that I was buying in bulk from Costco!! The checkout guy was impressed too.

6. I caught Jake's cold yesterday. (I know it's only just begun because it's only affecting one side of my face so far. Lovely.)

7. Scott and I had a nice date-night at home with Shawn Spencer and Burton Guster. Dinner was take-out from a local restaurant that sent Scott a $10 gift certificate. The Mile-High Ice-cream Pie was delicious and HUGE. We'll finish it off tonight when he gets home. :)

8. This morning, Scott made crepes- SO YUMMY!- then we played some card games with the kids. Fortunately? I decided to stay home from church with all the kids, since Jake and I have colds (Scott's working this afternoon- of course!) I got to Skype with my mom and sister in Belgium and eat Tam-Tams with Stephen's Hot Cocoa (Chocolate Raspberry flavor if you must know).

9. Andrew got tummy-sick. I'm glad it didn't happen at church. But now I have 2 whiny, sick boys. Did I mention Scott's at work?

10. I made 3 pumpkin rolls to be filled with cream cheese frosting and frozen later tonight or tomorrow.

11. I'm having Thanksgiving at my house. I'm a little nervous about all the cooking, but we're excited for the company! I do have a plan for cooking most of the food ahead of time and just heating it up on Thursday. It involves me doing some amount of cooking (besides our regular meals) every day this week. I really can't afford any more sickness around here.

12. So... Not a completely horrible way to spend the weekend, but not quite the 'BANG!' I was hoping to start out the Thanksgiving Week Break the kids have. That's right, they get the WHOLE week off, and I'm trying to make that a good, fun, healthy thing for all of us, while still staying somewhat sane. :)

For your viewing pleasure, here are some crafty things I've been up to lately (not this weekend):

The wreath idea came from my friend Jessica's blog, Sherbert Cafe. The rest came from our ward's Super Saturday. I was in charge of 'teaching' the Cookies for Santa plate.

This is vinyl stickers on a circle cut from an acetate sheet (like they use for over-head projectors). Then rolled it up to get it inside the flattened sphere ornament and then add some 'snow'. So easy, the kids helped me make them at home.

And here's a new 'old' post about a morning at the hot air balloon festival:
Colorado Springs Balloon Classic

1:50:06!!!

2010-11-07T19:49:00.001-07:00

...or 1:52:30

Here I am still in the first half of the race, feeling good. And how could I not when I had a van full of fans cheering me on?

This is not the greatest view of me, but it does show my clock time. Actually, given the look on my face the last few miles, this probably is my better side. ;) ['TMI' details on my running blog only]

I started my watch started when I crossed the start line, and paused it for one pit stop (luckily there was no line!), and I stopped it right after they ripped my tag off my bib, not more than a few seconds after crossing the finish. So take your pick- I'll take the watch-time!

And here is my fan club, these guys sat in their van for nearly two hours and cheered me on while their mom took lots of pictures, and the girls even gave up their room for me the night before the race, thanks again! I am so lucky!

The best part of the weekend was spending some time with my friend TeraLyn, I even brought my camera to get a picture of the two of us, but completely forgot to get a picture. And I discovered Noodles is a yummy place to eat! Thank you, thank you Rocknak Family!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T14:43:00.000-06:00

We didn't get a lot of pictures of our Halloween festivities, which mainly consisted of our ward's Fall Festival. {Chili Cook-off, Brownie Bake-off, carnival games, and trunk or treat.} Scott and I are on the activities committee and were heavily involved in pulling the whole thing off, and I didn't even think about my camera the whole night, so we don't have many pictures.

We did have this yummy guy for dinner one night last week. (Jacob didn't get the 'funny face' directions.)

Merlia (Barbie), Iron Man, and The Tiger are excited about the candy, just a little.

Enjoying their loot. Jake is a major candy-monster. If you don't want him to eat it, you better not let him see it.

huh.

2010-10-26T11:57:00.000-06:00

Does anyone else get messages to their inbox that look like some random person has commented on a blog post, but then when you actually look at the post, the comment isn't there? This has happened a few times in the last few months. Thankfully, nothing obscene so far, and since the posts don't seem to be real, I'm thinking it's some kind of spam.

Museum fun with Logan

2010-10-24T18:09:00.000-06:00

Last week, my brother came out for an ROTC convention in Denver. He was nice enough to come a little early and play with us at the Littleton Historical Museum (the kids had another day off of school- what's up with October?). First we stopped at a grocery store to grab a quick lunch (Lunchables are a HUGE treat for our kids). We ate at a park right across from the museum. The kids had tons of fun, and burned some energy so they were a little more excited for the museum after the long ride up to Denver.

Jake's favorite was this climbing wall, and he could scale it all by himself!

The museum is pretty great, and free to the public. It is the only Smithsonian affiliate in the state of Colorado. The museum itself has a few exhibits, including some hands-on stuff for the kids. Then there are two 'working' farms, circa 1860s and 1890s. It's amazing the change that 30 years could make, when that 30 years brings the railroad in. Their website said that they have people working the farms in costume from the time period. But, we missed all of them, I think because we waited until after lunch. (I caught a glimpse of somebody driving a wagon at one of the farms while we were still at the park.) So next time, I think we'll make sure we go when we can see them in action. They keep farm animals there, but the kids favorite was a little cat they found relaxing in a window of the 1890s farmhouse. Of course the cat bolted as soon as the house became over-run with cat-loving kids.

The kids could have spent a lot longer at these hands-on parts of the museum. Andrew kept saying he was "The King of England!"

Thanks for playing with us Logan! Hopefully Anna can come next time!

Fun at a 'pumpkin patch'

2010-10-14T23:05:00.001-06:00

Scott's parents were able to visit with us for a few days before Eden's baptism. Originally, I had picked out a different farm where we could go into a real pumpkin patch and pick our pumpkins. But, this one was closer, with a petting farm, and a deal running for half-off adult admission. And each admission came with a *free* pumpkin- any size. (And I mistakenly thought there was a real pumpkin patch too.) When we got there we found out they also had some other things to offer:

- a camel, seriously

- lots of fences for little Jake to climb (Andrew joined in too)

- a slide down into a small gorge

- pony rides (the kids also got to ride a barrel train)

- a hay-bale pyramid to climb on (there was also duck racing and large containers full of dried corn for the kids to play in) and *a little* of wind. Even with Andrew's pointing finger, that is by far the best picture we got.

Notice how our pumpkins are all pretty much the same size? Well, the 'pumpkin patch' consisted of a fenced in area with pumpkins spread all over. And they were all pretty much the same size. (Luckily, there was a wheelbarrow available for transporting our SEVEN pumpkins!) A little disappointing, since I had envisioned a less homogenous display on our front porch. But, I think we'll be making some pumpkin recipes soon- without using a can!

Eden's Special Day

2010-10-13T21:41:00.001-06:00

Eden was baptized on October 9th. We were fortunate enough to have both of Scott's parents and my mother able to attend. Eden asked both of her grandmothers to speak at her baptism. (We were also fortunate to have the program all to ourselves, since Eden was the only one in our ward being baptized this month.) She asked me to play the piano, and Scott baptized and confirmed her. I know it was a special day for her. When she came out of the water she said, "That was so exciting!" She was so happy to finally have her baptism day. My only regret is that I spent most of the time (that I wasn't playing the piano) wrestling with a quite disruptive and uncooperative Jacob. Letting someone else try to take him only made him louder. Obviously, this was something I should have thought about and made a plan for before the baptism. Should I have got a sitter? But, I don't think I would have felt right about not having Jake there. Definitely something to consider if we have another restless toddler around when Andrew turns eight.

I'm so proud of Eden and her choice to be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. It's the first of many decisions she will face that will greatly influence her life's path. Love you, Eden!

Another Eden

2010-10-06T09:23:00.000-06:00

"Well, I pretty much know everthing because, I learned lots of stuff in primary."

We actually got to watch General Conference on our TV this year for a couple sessions. Saturday morning we watched with friends who projected it onto a huge wall in their living room. Sunday afternoon we listened on the computer upstairs while Jake napped, and Eden and Andrew played with Fun-Fusion Beads {= 2 whole hours of nearly perfect quiet}. I'm so thankful for modern technology! This is the first year we didn't drag everyone down to the church building for one session. Scott was working swings that weekend, so he only got to see the morning sessions. It was a nice weekend, but I digress.

During the conference sessions, the kids had packets I printed out from sugardoodle, the both really enjoyed those, and the bingo game (we used peanut butter M&Ms) I printed out as well. Eden really wanted more pages, even though she apparently knows everything at the ripe old age of 8. Actually, that's probably why she wanted more pages, she loves being right, and knowing everything. It would have been nice if she had given her parents some credit, but at least she likes Primary. Really, she's known everything since she was about 2, but now she's able to write it out for the world to see, in almost perfect English.

Believe it or not

2010-09-25T14:50:00.003-06:00

**I originally wrote this almost two weeks ago, so note the updates.**

1. I recently decided there are 3 things that help me feel good. They are so simple, and yet so easy to forget, or push aside for things that seem more urgent (or because I get lazy). They say writing down things, like goals, makes them more likely to become real, so I am giving it a try.

Reading the scriptures. Currently, my goal is one chapter per day (in the Book of Mormon) and I can't believe how hard it is to be consistent! But, I do feel better when I am consistent.
Exercise. Ever since I found out that Scott's work schedule would interfere with our half marathon, I've been pretty lazy on the running. I still go, just not as far or as fast as I should. It's sad, because I'm kind of wasting all the mileage I had built up. On the other hand, I've been pretty consistent on the ChaLEAN Extreme program, and I'm in the lean phase (last month out of 3) now. I really like the program, and I think it has worked pretty well for me. (It would work even better if I was as consistent with nutrition, and if I was as consistent on Ab workouts, I really don't like those.)
Service. At first I was thinking just #1 and #2 were the keys to my personal happiness, but recent experiences have reminded me that NOTHING beats the feeling of knowing you have really helped someone. Sometimes it's a family member, sometimes it's a friend, sometimes it's a stranger. I could do a lot better at looking for opportunities to serve- again with the consistency.

Maybe my real problem is consisteny.

**UPDATE: Kid-parent frustrations are one of the quickest and surest ways (for me) to be in a foul mood. And, I have to remember that getting sufficient sleep makes a big difference in my ability to be a better mom. Scott typically works 2 midnight shifts out of 10 days. I have the same troubles sleeping as when he's gone. I REALLY need to figure out a way to get myself to bed at a decent hour on those two nights. FYI- I'm pretty sure that when those 2 mids land on Friday and Saturday night- meaning Scott is sleeping or working for most of the weekend, and Tired Me is faced with 3 bored and energetic kids- it's the perfect storm for creating Mean Mom around here.**

2. Being a 'fun mom' is hard for me. Sad but true. We're pretty good at getting out and about to see and do, but I want to create more family memories in our home. I think that's as important as anything else we do for our kids. Today I ordered a subscription to Family Fun Magazine ($10 for a year, so I thought it was worth a try) after seeing it referenced on a few blogs. (I am attempting to study up on creating 'family fun'- can you say nerd!?)
The last several months, I got pretty good at being the 'authoritative mom' and the 'disciplinarian mom' (maybe those aren't quite the right descriptions, hopefully you get the picture), but 'fun mom' kind of got pushed out of the picture a bit. I'd say I felt 90% serious, 10% fun. (Hopefully the kids have a better impression of that time period.) Sometimes I think I'm still stuck in that 'mode'. Having Eden (and Andrew) back at school really has helped me unwind a little (I was wound pretty tight) and focus more on non-academic/non-serious, but still very important, family/parenting issues.

3. Maybe I'm not done unwinding seeing how I've spent almost an hour on this post, when I should have been blogging about any number of other things. Things that my kids would certainly rather read about if I ever get around to turning my blogging into blurbing.

4. New-girl syndrome has struck. One benefit of being so focused on homeschooling since we moved here was that I didn't notice and/or didn't care too much about making new friends. (Sure, we've met a lot of people, and made a few 'friends' and had some fun, but no real lasting connections yet.) Now that my head is above water again, I feel the feel the familiar sting. I miss my old friends and I'm not sure I'll ever find any as good as them. And at the same time I know it is (probably) only a matter of time before these feelings pass and I do feel like I fit in here and have made some real connections to people here. It's a comforting thought, but sad in a nostalgic way at the same time.

5. Boy, would I love to have a running partner again.

6. I have not touched the Hunger Games series yet. While the rest of the world (at least my facebook world) was submerged in Mockingjay, I sank into a couple books from a caterer murder mystery series Erin got me started on.

7. Scott and I are on the activites committe. (Now if I could just get a calling in the Sunday School, I think I'd have everything outside the priesthood on my New Member ~~Resume~~ Information sheet.) We have an 'adults only' square-dancing/barbeque coming up, and part of me is hoping for something to prevent us from attending.  My comfortable 'kid cushion' will be stripped away. I will have no easy escape from the pressure and awkwardness of social conversation. Wo is me. Hopefully I remember to wear a top that won't give away my profuse nervous sweating.

**UPDATE: We went, we had fun, and I did remember to wear something that wouldn't show the sweating. But, with the full hour of square dancing, everyone was sweating anyway.**

8. I really thought BYU would defeat USAFA. Where did the team go after those first 2 touch-downs? (I have to admit I didn't pay enough attention to the game to have a real opinion on what happened after the first quarter.) Fortunately, the friends and the post-game food more than made up for BYU's poor performance. (Does remembering to bring the camera count for anything when I don't remember to TAKE A PICTURE? Nope.)

9. Since every one of our children has had their turn getting very lost (as in putting me into near-panic lost), Andrew decided it was time for seconds.  {Actually, maybe he just thought his first experience didn't count since I didn't actually know I had lost him until a kind woman returned him to the group we were with. But that's another story.} We (me and the kids) were on our way back to our seats from the [outrageously price] kid-fun-zone. I didn't realize how close to the end of the game we were. As we were hiking up to the U sections, the flood started. (There had been a trickle of mostly BYU fans before this, but I just thought it was because BYU was playing THAT BAD.) Andrew had been running ahead of me (against my vocalized wishes). I was hoping he made it to our section (our seats were near the top, close to the main walkway on that level. But, when I go there (with Eden and Jake), NO ONE was there. Scott and the rest of our group had already started towards the parking. That's when I started to panic a little. I ~~screamed at~~ talked to Scott on the cell phone, then told the nearest gate attendant that we had lost a five-year-old boy. Shortly after that, Scott and our friends started back-tracking to look for him. In the meantime, stadium security located a 7 year old boy (not Andrew). Scott eventually found him on the main walkway between where I had lost sight of him and where our section was. The whole ordeal was probably 5 minutes, but it felt like a lot longer.

10. I will not post this until I have posted something more fun.

**UPDATE: our desktop, which has all the pics, has a virus or something slowing it down A LOT, and this post is getting pretty out-dated, so I'm ignoring the self-challenge.**

Here We Go Again...

2010-09-25T14:00:00.000-06:00

Jake loves Andrew so much (most of the time), and wants to be just like him. He's had a couple close calls with the brick fireplace that gave Andrew staples in the back of the head. But, he took it on the chin (this time), and the culprit was a sideways kitchen chair (why do they insist on playing with the chairs this way?). Luckily, no staples, or even stitches. He got glue (that didn't make him any happier about holding still so they could be sure to glue the cut CLOSED (and not open).

Fortunately (for me), Scott was home (sleeping for MidS, so not so fortunate for him) when the incident occored. He kindly volunteered to take Jake to the emergency room, and I stayed home with Eden and Andrew. Last time he was working the night shift, he came home and let me sleep a couple more hours before he went to bed for the day because he knew I struggle with getting good rest when he's gone. He offered to do that yesterday too, and I foolishly declined. He's such a nice guy.

...And the surprise party

2010-09-20T22:09:00.001-06:00

Eden and Andrew went out to lunch with Scott. They even picked up one of Eden's friends who we had invited, and she did a great job of not letting on to Eden. She was REALLY surprised!

On of the games we played was this 'flour cake with a penny on top' game. Everyone took turns cutting away pieces of the 'cake'. Whoever made the penny topple had to go in after it with their teeth. Surprising Andrew didn't mind the mess too much!

I was so impressed with the age range we had that the girls all played nicely together and even included Andrew in all the fun.

Scott got a 'real' icecream cake from the ice cream store. We got this great picture of Eden as she blew the candles out. After more than 5 minutes of trying to cut and serve the cake, we sent the kids outside so the cake could soften more. It was just a *little* too hard to cut.

Eden's birthday night with the family

2010-09-17T20:58:00.002-06:00

I told Eden we weren't going to have a 'friend party' this year, and that she could choose a special family activity for her birthday. She REALLY wanted to go bowling on her actual birhtday (a school night), and I aquiesed. Then, Scott convinced me we should do a surprise party for her. But, since we couldn't let Eden know, we had to go ahead with the family fun (even if it was on a school night).

The kids had running club that afternoon, so we hurried home had Eden's birthday dinner (Ramen noodles, yay for quick meals!), did the birthday gift scavenger hunt (the Barbie house + accessories from Craigslist was a huge hit), ate ice cream cake, and headed for the bowling alley.

Everyone got to bowl, even Jake, and it was a good fun night (despite a nasty cold I had, so no pics of me thank you).

I can't believe Eden is 8 already. She has matured in her attitude a lot this year. She is becoming a real big help with her brothers and things around the home. Although there were a few things she needed to figure out in the transition from homeschool back to public school (ie. using an agenda, keeping track of homework), she is confident and comfortable in 3rd grade. She has a strong desire to do what is right and wants to be friends with everyone she meets. And she is super excited for her upcoming baptism. She is still very independent and head strong, but if she continues on this path, she will be unstoppable. We love you Eden!

{sort of} birthday interview with Eden

2010-09-16T20:37:00.001-06:00

Totally copied and pasted from our ward's Primary spotlight. (See Andrew's here.)

Where were you born? Provo, UT

How many brothers and sisters do you have? 2 brothers

What do you like to do for fun? swimming, bowling, riding my scooter
What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

What is your favorite Food? chocolate

What is your favorite Primary Song? Give Said the Little Stream

What is your favorite scripture story? the story of Esther

Hot Air Balloons!

2010-09-10T13:17:00.001-06:00

Labor Day Weekend brings the Colorado Springs Balloon Classic, and we didn't want to miss it! Maybe next year we can take a ride in one of them. The kids were pretty excited to see the Energizer Bunny get 'blown up' and take-off.

This balloon said, "When Pigs Fly" on the side.

These pictures don't quite do it justice. It was a beautiful day, and an amazing site to see all these balloons take off.

We got each of the kids a balloon before we left the park. Then we headed to IHOP for breakfast. Little did we know that there would be a pretty talented balloon artist at the restaurant, so the kids ended up with lots of balloons that morning!

Eden taking charge again

2010-09-06T22:06:00.001-06:00

...does that really surprise anyone?

Earlier last week, she decided I was taking too long to make assignments for the next week's FHE (which was tonight). I actually didn't read this carefully until a few days after she wrote it out.

"Scripture Pass Out" is a new assignment, and it actually worked out well. Andrew was happy to be in charge of the scriptures, and even put them all away when we were done. My favorite "Tickler in Group Hug" is also a new assignment category, although I'm not surprised at who she picked.

Of course she didn't forget the most important part. The treat is the reason for all the rest of it, isn't it? ;)

Date Night Hike

2010-08-28T22:29:00.000-06:00

We hiked Pulpit Rock on a date night, and this was at the top:

One of the things we love about this place is the easy access to the great outdoors. Pulpit Rock is only a few miles from our house, no even out of the city limits. It's not a real long hike, but it was nice to do something outside the "dinner & a movie" box.

On the way back down, we saw TWO baby rattlesnakes. Scott actually stepped on the first one because he didn't see it. Luckily, they were pretty lethargic, and really didn't seem to care about us tramping right by them.

To go along with our 'adventurous' night, Scott talked me in to going to a Moroccan restaurant. What I didn't realize at the time is that there would be lots of lovely rugs and pillows (because you sit barefoot on the floor), a multiple-course dinner (that we ate with our hands, as in no utensils), and belly-dancing. I felt a little out of place in my slightly sweaty and dirty t-shirt and jeans, not to mention my rough and calloused, not-fit-for-eating-barefoot-in-public feet. But, it was a fun night.

First Day of School!!!

2010-08-19T12:40:00.001-06:00

I know I promised pictures, but I can't find the usb cable for my camera. So, sorry. Hopefully I'll get them on here soon. At least I did remember to take pictures of the big morning.

That morning (Monday) started quite early for us. Andrew had everyone awake shortly after 5AM. And that's after he didn't go to sleep until 9 or so the night before. And he'd been tired and cranky for that whole weekend, so he REALLY needed better sleep. But, that's not what happened. I think the transition has been wearing on him lately, or something. I hope he gets over it soon. I'm starting to feel really bad about leaving him with Grandma this coming weekend. Who needs to worry about a very 2-year-old when you have a super cranky and extremely obnoxious 5-year-old on your hands?

Minus some major drama from said 5-year-old (over what shirts were acceptable for the first day of school), the morning routine went very well. Eden put together her own lunch without me even asking (I was going to make her lunch, but she just did it). And she even did a pretty good job health-wise: PBJ, carrots, grapes, {healthier-than-average} fruitsnacks. She also was supposed to bring a snack or two besides her lunch, I gave her two Luna Bar minis {a slightly healthier option to the typical granola bar}.

We were out front about 7:40am (we didn't need to leave until 8). Plenty of time to take pictures, pull out the trash cans (Monday is trash day for us), and let the kids loose on the neighbors front door (they wanted to walk to school together).

We arrived early to the school, got the kindergartener lined up, then went to find the 3rd graders' lines. She was perfectly happy to not have me stay and watch her go to class. I went back to the kindergarten area (our neighbor was waiting there). It was kind of fun to watch Andrew's expression change between anxiousness and exitement. At one point there was a little toddler boy who wasn't at all happy about his big sister going to school. Andrew got face got more and more concerned, I thought he might have a breakdown. But, when the bell rang for the students to walk inside, he gave a huge wave and the biggest smile of the morning.

After that, I set out with Jake in the jogger. I couldn't start jogging for a little while because of the throngs of parents leaving the school. But, I found a side street that got me out of the main traffic, and we were off and running. I don't think I've pushed the stroller that fast in a long time. I was seriously giddy almost to the point of laughter to have 3 hours almost to myself. And I found out that Jake is A LOT QUIETER when he doesn't have to compete for my attention.

Both school kids had a great day and like their teachers and classmates. They will both be learning some French at this school. They even offer immersion classes starting in 2nd or 3rd (we didn't opt for that this year). Andrew couldn't care less about learning French, but Eden thinks its pretty cool.

Eden informed after the 2nd day of school that she has a buzzillion best-friends now. She didn't actually use that word, but she does seem to think that everyone in her class is her best-friend.

MY thoughts on a new school year- Addendum

2010-08-10T22:44:00.000-06:00

My last post did not come off the way I intended. I published it anyway because I never get around to 'fixing' and publishing those kinds of posts. You know, the ones that start out with some real inner thoughts and feelings, but aren't quite right when you put them in writing. I don't really know how to fix what I wrote, but I want to add to it, and hopefully explain better where I am/was coming from.

*******

I love my kids, and I do worry about them, and I will miss them (a little) while they're at school. But, lately I keep thinking about this line from the story of Esther:

"who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" (Esth. 4:14)
I know Heavenly didn't send my children (and I need to remember it applies to me too) to Earth at this particular time to fail. I know He sent them to accomplish a great work. And fear of the world and of the unknown will only hold them back from their divine potential. I'm not saying that I'm never afraid, only that I do not want to teach fear to my children. I believe it is a waste of time and energy, and distracts from more important things. I want them to know how to set aside fear and do what is right.

I believe I must do my best to be like the mothers of Helaman's young warriors. They prepared their sons (and I'm sure they prepared their daughters too) with righteousness and truth. And because they were prepared they did not doubt, they did not fear. They moved forward with faith and strength and were blessed abundantly.

When I reflect on my life, I can see that it is not the life I had planned for myself. This one isn't extraordinary in any particular way, and neither is the one I would have imagined for myself 12 years ago. But, I know its not some accident or coincidence that I am where I am. And the fact that I can see the Lord's hand in my life tells me I must be here in this life for a reason.

I think I feel rambling coming on, I better stop and go to sleep. I am going to click "Publish Post". Hopefully I don't look at my blog tomorrow or the next day and wish again that I had clicked "Save Now" instead.

I promise my next post will be more interesting.
It will have pictures.

A taste in 10

2010-08-10T20:47:00.004-06:00

I've neither caught up on things from before the move, nor have I caught up on life since the move. So here's a little taste of my life:

1. So far, Eden really is going to 3rd grade on Monday. (I say 'so far' because there's still a paranoid part of me that's waiting for someone somewhere to tell me she has to go to 2nd grade.) AND, she got into our neighborhood school. (Nice, since walking distance to school was one of the main criteria for choosing this house.)

The plan is to practice tomorrow morning as if it was a school day, including walking to school. (wish us luck) We have completed the school supply list shopping, and my disdain for this ritual continues to grow. At least I didn't have to buy T.P.

2. I think I should keep Facebook less intimate? and let this blog be the place for my inner thoughts/feelings/rantings/ramblings. Funny, since this blog isn't private (yet).

3. I don't think Jake or I will know what to do with ourselves for 3 hours 5 days a week starting next week.

4. We have lived here 2 1/2 months and all that is hanging on the walls are my kitchen calendar and about 5 cardboard dinosaurs in the boys room. I'm not sure those count since I used blue fun-tac to hang those.

I'm planning to rearrange the family room, living room, and 4th bedroom too.

There's also my list of projects. But I fear I have devoloped some sort of adult-onset attention deficit disorder from having more kids than hands, so I don't know if I'll actually get any of them done.

5. We FINALLY scored a trampoline off Craigslist. We picked it up today, and it will get put together tomorrow.

We're also purchasing an exercise bike of Craigslist tomorrow.

Next up, a bed (hopefully with a trundle) for our extra bedroom.

6. We got rained out of our first tent-camping attempt in Colorado.

But, we got to go to a Rockies game with some great friends instead. AND we ate an absolutely scrumptious Chocolate Chip Calzone at Claim Jumpers, I think it may be my new favorite dessert.

7. Scott has started his crazy rotating shift work. He works 6 days (2 each of days, swings, nights), then gets 4 days off. It's really not so bad.

Just remind me I said that when I do Sacrament Meeting by myself again..... And on Labor Day when we miss the ADT Half that I was so looking forward to..... And when we miss both BYU Football games in Colorado because of his work schedule (we might still make the Air Force game... maybe)

8. He did get time off for Dana and Guillaume's wedding. We will have 3 days and 2 nights sans children in Washington D.C. thanks to Scott's Mom.

9. On Friday, my house was the cleanest it has ever been since we moved here (the owner came to look at the deck and yard that need fixing). Sorry you missed it. Being the lame photographer that I am, there is no proof. You will just have to take my word for it because it definitely doesn't show anymore.

10. A lot of the time I think having three kids is REALLY busy. (By busy, I mean CRAZY.) And we're not even doing any 'extra-curriculars' right now. I am constantly interrupted, you can tell just by looking around my completely NOT-decorated house, especially during the day. You'll see lots of UN-finished tasks, they mirror all the UN-finished thoughts in my head and on this blog.

(Notice my emphasis on NOT- and UN-? I think there is a distinction between the two: NOT implies it hasn't happened yet; UN implies undone. In my current situation, they both apply and can be used interchangeably in the preceding paragraph.)

Sometimes I think its just having a 2-year-old that make life so crazy. He definitely makes the biggest contribution to the UNs. I started calling him Monkey Monster and Monster Monkey the other day. I swear Eden and Andrew weren't ever as loud or 'busy'. They currently make a bigger contributions to the NOTs.

People tell me "if you can handle 3, you can handle 4 (or more)". But what does that mean? We're all still alive and have all our limbs, but I wouldn't say I'm good at having 3 kids. I reach the edge of sanity and reason on a regular basis (ie. every day- see above). I remember being paranoid about going from 2 to 3 because having 2 was so hard at first, but I knew it was irrational. The worry I have about going from 3 to 4 feels different, I think it feels more real somehow.

I think there's a pretty good chance I will find out first hand the difference between having 3 kids and having 4 kids. {Despite everything I just wrote, we would be happy and thankful to have another monkey.}

This is NOT an announcement. I am NOT pregnant.

MY thoughts on a new school year.

2010-08-06T11:43:00.000-06:00

I've always had a mixed feeling of horror and guilt when other moms talk about how sad/anxious they are about sending the kids off to school again. Horror because I tend to think they're a little crazy. Guilt that I don't feel the same way about holding on to my kids a little longer. That I actually look forward to sending them to school- does that mean I don't love my kids as much? Am I selfish because I enjoy having fewer kids around for a couple hours during the week? Today I realized my reasons for loving a new school year are not all selfish.

It's been especially difficult this year after homeschooling Eden. I am looking that much more forward to 'getting a break'. (I know Eden is too.) But, at the same time, I have a hard time not feeling like some kind of failure for not wanting to keep homeschooling this year. At this point, though, I feel like not being 'The Teacher' will help me be 'The Mom' to all three kids better.

I'm excited for the school year, and not just because of the quiet and order that will be enjoyed by me for a couple hours every day. Our kids are here to learn and grow, just like us. They will be adults far longer than they will be children. I'm excited to see them grow into who they are meant to be. There's some sad and ugly along the way, but its necessary for their growth (and ours). I know our kids are here at this time because they are VALIANT spirits. I pray to be able to be the best mother possible for them, to know how to lead them and guide them. That they can handle the sad and ugly that sometimes seems overwhelming in the world today. But, I am really so excited to see them grow into their potential.

And I know despite the sad and ugly, there's still A LOT of happy and beautiful in the world we're sending them out into. I'm excited to see the part they play in all the good and wonderful that is still to come.

Its funny how quickly an day can change...

2010-07-16T18:41:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was play-group/walking-group day. I even made rice crispy treats to share with everyone. This meant we didn't have time to walk the one mile down to the park, but our group ended up doing 5 laps (usually we only do 4). Arranged a play date for Eden after lunch. She did about an hour of schoolwork, then we dropped her off. The boys and I came home, I put Jakey down for a nap. Andrew and I did a reading lesson (he's completed 80 out of 100!). I took a much-needed shower (its been HOT here). Andrew and I had popcorn and smoothies for a snack. The house was quiet, and decided to just sit there and eat and talk with Andrew (usually I try to clean up a little, and do other little tasks while eating and feeding the kids). I came to the computer and checked my email while Andrew was talking about all the different things he might choose when he finishes ALL 100 reading lessons (Lego set is at the top of the list currently, but other favorites are Nerf gun, Bakugan, Ben 10, and Mighty Beanz). I sort-of knew that Andrew was tipping his chair back and forth while he talked to me. I was looking at a friends' blog while debating whether to tell him to stop.

Then I heard the crack. The chair was down, and Andrew was screaming. He had hit his head on the edge of our lovely brick fireplace. I quickly looked at the back of his head (hoping that it wasn't too bad- he's had lots of good bumps on the head, but none that broke the skin, until now). I saw what I thought was about a 1-inch-or-so split, but I clamped my hand over it before I got a real good look at it.

As we walked to the kitchen, I realized this was probably going to require stitches or something more than we could do at home. While I got a towel and ice pack (actually frozen corn), I tried to decide what to do- Jake was asleep, Eden is at a friend's house, I don't know where to go. I decided to call the Mom where Eden was (turns out she's an RN), she agreed to take Jacob while I took Andrew somewhere-to-be-determined. I left Andrew holding the towel and corn while I went upstairs to wake up Jacob (who normally takes nice long naps on playgroup days!). We all got in the car, I was feeling pretty calm until Andrew said he felt tired. I thought there's a good chance that had more to do with his late nights lately than with the bump, but it still made me worry a little more.

I dropped Jake off, RN-friend took a look at Andrew's head. The gash was no longer actively bleeding and it was smaller than I had originally thought- 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch instead of 1+ inches. I had grabbed the PCM letter we received recently, assuming there would be contact information for the base clinic. WRONG. Andrew and I head back to our house where I can look up the number for the clinic. The nurse on the phone tells me its and emergency and I should take him to the emergency room, and gives me the location of the nearest one, less than 2 miles from our house (I did already know where it was, just didn't know if I should take him there or not, since it was no not a 'life-or-limb' situation).

Off we went. I was a little worried about how long it might take. RN-friend had suggested an urgent care place might be quicker. But, when I asked the phone-nurse about that, she said that protocol was the emergency room, and I didn't want to risk insurance issues later. The wait ended up not being too bad. Andrew got to watch cartoons, the nurses were all very nice, and when the doctor came to 'fix-it'. Andrew was so distracted by the TV and the grape double-popsicle, that he only grimaced when the staples went in. While we waited a little longer for the discharge papers, Andrew kept asking if the staples were sharp. Avoiding the obvious answer, I told him I didn't see the staples until they were already in his head. When he asked if they looked sharp, I just told him they looked pretty small- over and over and over. Then we were done.

I rewarded Andrew with a Lego set. On our way to the store, Andrew was talking about the whole ordeal, turning it into a major 'fish-tale'. He talked and talked about how brave he was, how it only hurt a little, how it actually hurt kind of a lot but he didn't cry, how he almost had to have surgery, how he almost died..... of course this was all said very matter-of-fact, in true Andrew fashion. It was pretty funny.

Needless to say, this took over the rest of the day. Eden didn't get any other schoolwork done. I didn't do the laundry or cleaning that I was planning on. I didn't make dinner (RN-friend made us a yummy dinner, and even brought brownies over later!). I am so thankful for her help. If Eden hadn't been playing there, I may not have called anyone for help, taking all 3 kids with me instead. (It's hard to ask for help, especially when you don't really have friends yet.) Once Andrew's head was 'fixed', my brain turned off, and I just couldn't think clearly for the rest of the afternoon. These little interruptions and detours to life-as-I-think-it-should-be can be frustrating. What was supposed to be a fun, relaxing day, and quiet afternoon with Andrew turned into drama and chaos. (If only I had been more attentive and stopped Andrew from tipping his chair earlier!) On the other hand, Andrew told me on the way home, "This was kind of like a special date for you and me, huh?"

Another flashback to recent Olson history....

2010-07-13T14:47:00.000-06:00

.... here.

New (backdated) post about Montgomery

2010-07-07T10:18:00.001-06:00

I finished an old post about things we did during our Alabama trip. I backdated to keep things in as sort of chronological order for myself. If you want to read it click here. I plan on catching up and creating more backdated posts, so consider yourself warned. :)

Sacrament Meeting Talk {revisited}

2010-06-26T23:26:00.003-06:00

Scott and I spoke in our old ward on Mother's Day. We're speaking in our new ward tomorrow. While I might attribute the timing to our move (it seems pretty common to ask people moving out or in to speak), the fact that the topics are so closely related causes me to think its more than that. Since, this is a journal of sorts, and I'm trying to include more of my 'inner thoughts' into these Olson chronicles, I've decided to post my talk here (minus the introduction). Its pretty long (for a blog-post), I was assigned to speak for 12-15 minutes on "The Role of Mothers in Encouraging and Nurturing the Testimonies of Children". I basically took my first talk (assigned on Alma 56:44-48) and cut out some things and developed some ideas further. The story of Helaman's stripling warriors has become very dear to me. I know that the principles taught in that scriptural account apply to mothering daughters as well as sons. Reading and thinking about the mothers of the stripling warriors reminds me of my responsibility to all my children to guide them properly. Eden has such a strong will, I hope I can help her to focus it in the right direction as she grows.

Sacrament Meeting

June 27, 2010

I was asked to speak on the role of mothers in developing and nurturing the testimonies of children. As a mother of three, I have learned that I am not an expert on the subject of motherhood. So, I will quote teachings from scripture and from current church leaders on the subject. They say it so much better than I could.

Literal mothers are not the only women who can fill this responsibility. I am so grateful for ALL the women in my life who have helped me along my way. Julie B. Beck, general president of the Relief Society, spoke about women with a “mother heart”. She said:

In my experience I have seen that some of the truest mother hearts beat in the breasts of women who will not rear their own children in this life, but they know that “all things must come to pass in their time” and that they “are laying the foundation of a great work” (D&C 64:32–33)…. What is a mother heart and how is one acquired? We learn about some of those qualities in the scriptures. To paraphrase Proverbs: “Who can find a … woman [with a mother heart]? for her price is far above rubies. … She … worketh willingly with her hands. … With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. … She stretcheth out her hand to the poor. … Strength and honour are her clothing. … She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness” (Prov. 31:10, 13, 16, 20, 25–27). A woman with a mother heart has a testimony of the restored gospel, and she teaches the principles of the gospel without equivocation. She is keeping sacred covenants made in holy temples. Her talents and skills are shared unselfishly. She gains as much education as her circumstances will allow, improving her mind and spirit with the desire to teach what she learns to the generations who follow her.

When I first began thinking about this topic, I came up with the following list of basic things we do to encourage and nurture our children’s testimonies. It’s only a start:

-pray as a family and teach our children to pray

-read scriptures as a family. Now that Eden is reading and Andrew is learning to read, I occasionally find them reading their scriptures on their own.

-attend our church meetings. This is not always as easy as it sounds. Especially when you have a pre-nursery age noise-maker. Our youngest, Jake does go to nursery now, so we’re no longer in that stage, but I’ve been there. There have been times (usually when Scott is gone) that I have wondered why I bother. I struggle with restless kids, and spend most of the 3-hour block in the hall with a cranky, sleep-deprived toddler who really wants to go home. And ALWAYS the first thing that comes to my mind when I have these doubts is that my children need to be here, to attend primary, and most importantly, they need to know that attending church is important to me- important enough that we do it even when Daddy can’t be with us.

-pay our tithing and help the kids pay tithing when they receive money

-FHE lessons are a great time to bear testimony of specific gospel principles

I am grateful to my mother for teaching me, by her example, the importance of these basic practices. I strive to set the same example for my own children.

The story of Helamans’s stripling warriors shows how powerful a mothers influence is in the testimonies of her children. I found 3 places where Helaman describes the amazing faith of these young men (and faith is testimony in action), and 2 of them credit their mothers.

In Alma 56:47-48:

47 Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the aliberty of their bfathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their cmothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.

48 And they rehearsed unto me the words of their amothers, saying: We bdo not doubt our mothers knew it.

Alma 57:21, 27

21 Yea, and they did aobey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their bmothers had taught them.

27 Now this was the afaith of these of whom I have spoken; they are young, and their minds are bfirm, and they do put their trust in God continually.

Alma 58:40

40 But behold, they have received many wounds; nevertheless they astand fast in that bliberty wherewith God has made them free; and they are strict to remember the Lord their God from day to day; yea, they do observe to keep his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments continually; and their faith is strong in the prophecies concerning that which is to come.

Growing up, I knew my parents had a testimony. They didn’t verbalize it often, but they lived it. It is said, “Actions speak louder than words.” I don’t mean to say that it is not important for a mother to verbally share her testimony, but I believe that setting an example leaves a stronger impression. I feel like Helaman’s young warriors when they said, “We do not doubt our mothers knew it.” I hope that my children will have that same firmness when they think of me.

In our home in South Dakota, I had a quote on my mirror from D&C 64:33: “Be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work.” It was a vinyl cut-out and although I tried to remove it carefully, so I could transfer it to our new home, it didn’t survive. I hope to replace it soon. This quote serves as a reminder and a booster at times when I wonder if I’m doing the right things for my children, or when I doubt my influence as their mother. The quote was given to me by my visiting teachers, and their message came from Elder Bednar’s talk in the October 2009 General Conference, entitled “More Diligent and Concerned at Home”. He related the following about their family prayer, scripture study, and family home evening experiences:

…Sometimes Sister Bednar and I wondered if our efforts to do these spiritually essential things were worthwhile. Now and then verses of scripture were read amid outbursts such as “He’s touching me!” “Make him stop looking at me!” “Mom, he’s breathing my air!” Sincere prayers occasionally were interrupted with giggling and poking. And with active, rambunctious boys, family home evening lessons did not always produce high levels of edification. At times Sister Bednar and I were exasperated because the righteous habits we worked so hard to foster did not seem to yield immediately the spiritual results we wanted and expected.

Today if you could ask our adult sons what they remember about family prayer, scripture study, and family home evening, I believe I know how they would answer. They likely would not identify a particular prayer or a specific instance of scripture study or an especially meaningful family home evening lesson as the defining moment in their spiritual development. What they would say they remember is that as a family we were consistent.

…The consistency of our intent and work was perhaps the greatest lesson—a lesson we did not fully appreciate at the time.

….our consistency in doing seemingly small things can lead to significant spiritual results. “Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great” (D&C 64:33). Consistency is a key principle as we lay the foundation of a great work in our individual lives and as we become more diligent and concerned in our own homes.

In light of Elder Bednar’s words, it occurred to me that maybe, at times, the future stripling warriors were rowdy and boisterous and naughty, like my children sometimes are. Maybe it wasn’t all peaches and roses to be the mother of a future stripling warrior. Maybe these mothers’ success had a lot to do with their consistency.

Elder Bednar shared 3 tips for improving our families in that same Conference address. While his talk was addressed to parents and families together, each of these principles can be applied to motherhood specifically.

1) Express Love- and Show It; who gives more hugs, kisses and other nurturing, loving gestures than a mother?

2) Bear Testimony- and Live It; a mother is usually the first teacher a child has, we are in a prime position to bear testimony to our children and teach gospel principles to our children by our example.

3) Be Consistent; this is where D&C 64:33 comes in. “Be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work.”

I doubt those mothers knew their sons would become valiant, heroic warriors at such a young age. But they did not grow “weary in well-doing” and neither can we. We know our children will face adversity and temptation in the world and must do all we can to arm them and prepare them to meet their battles and conquer them.

In closing, I’d like to share the following quote from president Joseph F. Smith:

….sisters, you do not know how far your influence extends. A mother that is successful in raising a good boy, or girl, to imitate her example and to follow her precepts through life, sows the seeds of virtue, honor and integrity and of righteousness in their hearts that will be felt through all their career in life; and wherever that boy or girl goes, as man or woman, in whatever society they mingle, the good effects of the example of that mother upon them will be felt; and it will never die, because it will extend from them to their children from generation to generation.

I am grateful for my mother, who taught me by instruction and by example, most of things that make me who I am today. I know our Heavenly Father loves us, I know my Savior lives. I know we can be guided in our mothering efforts by the promptings and whisperings of the Holy Ghost. We truly are “laying the foundation of a great work.”

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Sometimes I wonder

2010-06-24T20:55:00.004-06:00

...how a little boy's mind works.

I don't want to forget what Andrew told me today, while we were on our way to the other side of town to purchase a totally sweet pink vinylish reading chair for Eden's room (off Craigslist). Maybe I'll take a picture once Scott moves it up to her room.

Andrew: "Did you know I wasn't even created yet when we lived in Texas?" (Yes, he said 'we' even though he hadn't 'been created yet') "Guess who created me, Mom."

Me: "Who?"

Andrew: "Jesus. Jesus and Heavenly Father. They did it together."

Me: "That's right, good job, Andrew."(At this point I'm thinking 1. where did this come from? we haven't discussed this topic recently; 2. maybe he actually listens in Primary, even though every week he tells me how much he doesn't want to go to church, becuase it is SO BORING; 3. we must be doing something right.)

----then a few seconds later----

Andrew: "I think Jesus made this side [pointing to one leg], and Heavenly Father did this side [pointing to the other leg]." (pause) "Or maybe Heavenly Father made this side and Jesus did this side. Yeah, I think that's it."

----then several minutes later----

Andrew: "Do you think nerf guns are created in Texas?"

Fun Run, Kids Mile

2010-06-20T11:41:00.002-06:00

{Scott took care of the kids Saturday morning, while I ran a 10k- see my sidebar.}

After the 5k/10k, there was a kids race- an out & back 1 mile. It was lead by motorcycle cops, all the kids thought that was pretty cool. Scott ran with Eden (and had the camera), while Andrew and I started in back with Jake in the stroller. (Anyone else notice that lots of races now forbid baby joggers?!? Strollers were only allowed in the kids' race. How annoying!)
This first shot is blurry, but I love Eden's form- look at her drive! These girls were passing her, but she "completely toasted" {her words, influenced by her father, I think} the girl on the right during the back half.

The kids' post-race treat was a super-yummy popsicle. I was a little jeaolous, but then Eden decided she didn't want hers, so I ate it :). Andrew said, "That was super-fun Mom." But when I asked if they wanted to do another race in a couple weeks, Eden was excited, while Andrew just said, "Ummm, no thanks."

Andrew had a hard time pacing himself, but didn't walk very much. Scott happened to catch us on one of his walking breaks.

All the Olson racers after the races were over. It was a fun morning, I think we'll repeat it in a few weeks!

Happy Yu-Yu Jake!

2010-06-11T22:00:00.000-06:00

Jake got a slide for his birthday. He found it a little intimidating at first, but now he loves it. We set it up in the basement because we were having crazy weather that day- huge downpours and hail, interrupted by a few moments of sunshine. Soon, it will go to the back yard where it belongs for the summer, but it we will bring it back to the basement in the winter for some inside fun.

We didn't do anything big for Jake's birthday, since he's turning 2 and still doesn't really get it. But for the last few days, he's been pulling the air popper out of the cupboard while asking for "pa-cohn PEEZ", so we had popcorn for snack. Eden and Andrew helped make cupcakes, and they had some of those for a snack later in the day.

We had pizza (one of Jake's favorites) for dinner, then had cupcakes and icecream for dessert.

I think he liked it.

When it came time to "open" the presents (they weren't really wrapped), Jake was busy crawling around and between my legs. (I really didn't think he was getting the whole birthday thing, but the next morning he asked, "Happy Yu-Yu?" I guess he was 'getting' it afterall!)

Finally, we got him to sit still long enough to hand him the bag.

Eden and Andrew picked out a foam battle axe, a lego tiger and zoo keeper, and a T-ball set. At first he was only interested in the legos. But, after a few tries with Dad, I got this photo of Jake hitting all by himself- way to go!

**Because I got lost looking for Toys R Us the night before, Jake was with us when we bought all of the presents except the T-ball set (we actually had that a couple weeks earlier). I made the mistake of letting him hold the little Legos box while we drove to get groceries. By the time we got there, the box was torn to pieces and Jake was sharing the Legos with Eden and Andrew. So, it wasn't exactly a surprise, but the slide came in a big box that he never really saw. Besides, at his age, I can get away with it.**

Now for some quick facts about 2-year-old Jake:

He likes taking a bath now (usually), and will even stay in after getting all washed and scrubbed. Yay!
He curls his tongue up out of the corner of his mouth, SO cute! I haven't been able to catch it on the camera yet.
He loves spaghetti and pizza and anything you can use to dip- especially ranch and ketchup
He is starting to do OK in nursery (meaning we (Scott) has been able to leave him and the nursery workers haven't had to bring him to us before church is over). Hopefully he'll start to actually like it in there someday.
He loves it when all of us are together. If someone is missing, particularly if we are going somewhere, he calls for whoever is missing and wants them to come.
He has become a definite Daddy's-boy. He's OK with Scott leaving the house in uniform to go to work, but if Scott leaves not in uniform, Jacob is so sad.
He loves to go outside, no matter the weather. He loves to wander and explore.

Now its time to UNpack all our STUFF!

2010-06-01T22:00:00.000-06:00

We were packed to the gills, and still left some things behind in an awesome friend's garage (thanks Heather!) to get later.

Back of the van was completely full (I love our easy-to-stow seating), plus the cargo carrier on top was full. At least we didn't have to leave any family members behind! ;)

Pick-up fully loaded, including the cab, since no one was driving it.

Even stashed a few boxes in the cab of the moving truck.

Now, we just have to figure out where to put all our 'stuff'.

This little corner at the front of the house looks almost decent. The bedroom furniture is also pretty well arranged now.

But, most of the house looks not-so-great yet, like this.

And I haven't hung a single thing on the walls yet.

Packing isn't much fun, but unpacking is even worse to me. Even with more space, I have a really hard time deciding where to put things- I should have studied interior design, it would be so much more useful right now than my BS in Conservation Biology. It seems like I never get our house arranged the way I like until its almost time to move again. I welcome any and all tips, suggestions, I'll even take some constructive (or at least productive) criticism.

Devil's Tower

2010-05-31T09:48:00.000-06:00

Before we left South Dakota, we did finally make it to Devil's Tower (which is actually in Wyoming). We had some extra time on a Sunday, becuase of Stake Conference or something like that, so we went. It's always a kind of dicey decision to make a spontaneous daytrip like this, but it went really well. It was a fun, relaxing afternoon all together. We even got our South Dakota state line picture (only took us 3 years, despite multiple out-of-state road trips)!

about 'starting over' again

2010-05-13T21:38:00.000-06:00

I thought a picture of myself would be appropriate for this post, and this was the best I could come up with, since I'm usually the one behind the camera... maybe I should work on that, maybe not ;)

Perhaps the very best part about our Air Force life is the opportunity it gives us to see/do/experience so many different people, places, things (even though we've stayed in the US so far). I get really excited every time we start looking at the possible locations for a PCS. So far, I've been REALLY excited about the places we've lived- Texas (the great state of), Hawaii, and Rapid City. Now, I was REALLY excited about Colorado Springs too, I still am. Scott's happy about the job, we found a geat house that is within walking distance to both the elementary school and the church building......

....BUT, as the move date looms closer and closer, I realize how NOT excited I am to leave our home. Despite my efforts not to make roots here, this has become our home and I will miss it- especially all the truly exceptionally wonderful friends I've made these last three years. In fact, it makes me pretty miserable to think about. So, a lot of the time I block that out and focus on the work of moving, its easier.

And then all of that reminds me that I felt this too when we moved from Hawaii to Rapid City. And how sad it is that I don't keep in touch (at least not as well as I'd like) with all of the truly exceptionally wonderful friends I made there.

To top it all off, I start thinking more about how hard it will be to 'start over' again. Make new friends (this doesn't come easy to me), and now that my kids are getting older, worrying about them making new friends, fitting into the new ward, finding the parks, library, stores-- the list goes on and on. I remember how hard it was when we moved here, how lonely it was, how I was certain I wouldn't meet friends as good as the ones I had before.

But then I am reminded that I actually did make new great friends, which means I will probably find new friends in Colorado. And we can keep in touch (even if its not the same as living in the same city or neighborhood) thanks to the miracles of technology. So, I want to tell all of you, my truly exceptionally wonderful friends, especially those I haven't seen in a long while, that each of you have made a special impression in my life, you inspire me, and I miss you. And I hope that some day our paths will cross again.

Packing, packing, and more packing!!!!

2010-05-11T22:50:00.003-06:00

My excuse for my blogging absence is a combination of the following: being pretty darn busy, knowing I can't catch up decently, and therefor not trying, and a new found obsession with food blogs. So, be prepared for a random order to my future posts, as I attempt to document what we've been up to.

I wrote this in the middle of packing up to come home from Montgomery, Alabama, but never posted it:

***I'm so over the packing, right up there with school work on my list. I really wish we could be going home, and that's it, just be home. But, we're not. We get to take 2 quick trips in April, and then move at the end of May. At least I know better than to think things could not be more hectic than they are right now. I'd like to think we're going to have a blissful relaxing time once we get through the move, and through with Eden's school work. But, I know from experience that's probably not a realistic expectation. So, I will try to enjoy what can be enjoyed now and get the work done the best I can.***

Here are some pictures of some of the packing we've done in the last 5 months. I'm not crazy enough to have photographed the packing for every trip, so here's the itenerary:
January 2010 (was supposed to be December 2009)- trip to Washington for Tricia & Kyle's wedding (I still take pride in having only 3 checked bags and 2 carry-ons for 4 people for 10 days); (Scott returns from deployment at the end of January);
February 2010- pack up for 5 weeks down south (Florida and Alabama);
March 2010- pack it all up again for the trip home (I count it again because it was a mini-move, not exactly a 'trip';
April 2010- 3 day house-hunting trip in Colorado Springs (this time it was just me and Scott); April 2010- two weeks later pack up for a 4 day trip to Utah and back for Logan and Anna's wedding; also begin packing for our move to Colorado Springs
May 2010- overnighter to Bismarck so Scott could attend the temple that we are actually assigned to before we move (the Denver Temple will be just under 1 hour away from our new home!); continue packing for said move, which is coming way too quickly!

Left: all packed up for a blizzar-postponed trip to Washington

Above: part-way packed for our return to Rapid City after a month in Montgomery (and Naples)
Below: my Mom is an awesome packer, this is what she did during her visit at the beginning of April!

Left: Jake scaling the boxes after our return from Utah (notice not much more packed than the above picture 2 weeks earlier).
Right: taken yesterday- I thought I had made the boxe to steep for him to climb, we think he used the couch and the wall ledge to get to the spot he's in (notice, a few more boxes! there are actually a lot more boxes packed around the house, we just haven't put them all in one place.)

April Happenings....

2010-04-30T14:45:00.001-06:00

Here's a few clips from the rest of April. I thought I had grouped things together in the collage, but oh well.

**'We' dyed Easter eggs, notice that 'we' means me and the kids' stuffed animals.

The kids lost interest pretty quickly for some reason**

**We watched General Conference in our PJs**

**The Easter Bunny brought candy loot**

**Scott and I made a house-hunting trip and the kids became bonafide SkySox fans**

**I spent HOURS on the computer to homeschool Eden**

**Jake was left to his own devices during school time and got very dirty playing outside and very good at his coordination/reaching skills. He got multiple mini-muffins off the stacked cooling racks

without making a mess (besides on his face), and without me even noticing.

I see ball sports in his future**

**The Dixon Clan came together for another wedding (Logan and Anna),

I got a few shots of the togetherness, but don't have any on my camera of the wedding-ness, oops,

but I WAS THERE for the main event this time!**

**My camera some how made a trip to Sacrament Meeting, still a mystery**

**I made my own chicken nuggets- definitely yummier and healthier

than the bag we usually buy at the store**

American Kids

2010-04-02T07:04:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, Eden and Andrew were playing Just Dance on the Wii. After "Who Let the Dogs Out?" (Andrew's fave), it got quiet for a bit. And I hear a conversation that went something like this:

Andrew: No, I don't want to listen to that one.

Eden: Andrew, this is a VERY important song for kids. Its for kids to remember America.

Andrew: (not impressed) Oh.

Eden: This song is a really IMPORTANT song for kids to help them remember America. And America is one of the importantest countries in the WHOLE WORLD.

This went on for a while, and I'm upstairs wondering what song she could possibly be talking about. But, I don't want to interrupt. Apparently, she finally convinced Andrew. Pretty soon I hear "Kids in America" by Kim Wilde blasting from the family room. Ummm... not exactly patriotic.

Montgomery Adventure, continued: What we saw and did

2010-03-30T09:54:00.000-06:00

We've mostly enjoyed our time here, but we haven't gotten out quite as much as I had hoped originally. Between Eden's schoolwork and a toddler who still need at least one nap every day, I shouldn't be surprised. Anyway, here's a little of what we did in and around Montgomery, AL (I didn't remember the camera for all of it):

Montgomery Zoo- a couple times :) almost enough to warrant a membership!
Mann Wildlife Museum
Tuskegee Air Museum
Blount Cultural Park (where they hold the Alabama Shakespear Festival)- beautiful park with ponds, ducks, and walking paths
Vaughn Road Park- super fun park for the kids with TONS of different playground equipment

Plus, I need to remember that although the weather wasn't quite as warm as I thought it would be, it was still A LOT warmer than South Dakota (most days), plenty warm for running, and I never had to worry about snow or ice! (Although there were a couple mornings that we had to scrape frost off the windshield.)

We also stopped at a few places on our way home:

Kentucky graveyard to search for one of Scott's ancestors

St. Louis Arch

Winter Quarters

I really didn't get many pictures of our adventures. Oops.

Here's how it went

2010-03-23T14:15:00.000-06:00

My birthday was on a Thursday, Scott had lots of homework that night. So, we had takeout from Applebee's on the weekend after the kids went to bed. (They were mad they missed out on the Triple Chocolate Meltdown.) On Sunday, we had the tradional Dixon ice-cream cake and presents. My kids, knowing how much I love cupcakes, insisted (according to Scott) on getting me a book filled with cute and yummy cupcakes and a muffin pan. They even volunteered to help me make them (because they know how much I love cupcakes). I hope you caught the sarcasm there. Anyway, the next week, Eden and Andrew picked out the dino-cakes to try first. Our Tootsie-Roll heads were too heavy for the cakes, so they look kind of sad, but it was a fun activity to do with the kids, and they were yummy.

Do you think they were happy about the dino-cakes?

Just to show they really are punks, for future blackmailing perhaps....

I didn't even ask them to do anything, this is what they were doing after I took the first pictures.

Typical Day in Montgomery

2010-03-23T11:12:00.001-06:00

This is what a typical day looks like for us in Montgomery. With Eden's schoolwork, Jake's naps, and me taxiing-or-sharing-the-car-with Scott for his classes every day, we haven't gotten out a lot. Luckily there is a playground here that the kids love. And, we have gone out to 'see and do' a few things while we've been here. (That's another post). This is what we've done most.

If you click on the collage to enlarge it, you'll see some funny things:

- Jake stuck his plate of ketchup on his face, then rubbed it in his eyes, so he wasn't very happy that I was taking a picture before cleaning him up

- The Lego bucket turned upside down next to the garbage can: when I went to get the camera, Jake had used his make-shift stepstool to climb on top of the garbage can a STAND on it, but he climbed down before I got a picture

- Andrew's ~~rough~~ brotherly hugs for Jake

- Eden's messy hair: one of the casualties of homeschool, we don't always get her hair done before we start school work

I'm sure there are more, but those are the ones that come to mind right now.

Our day of green

2010-03-23T09:41:00.001-06:00

I did what I could to make St. Patrick's Day fun for the kids, they kept looking for green toilet water. I guess our leprechauns will have to remember that for next year.

I am SO ready to be done with school, but we'll be going well into June, I'm sure. AND I'm actually looking in to the charter school system in Colorado Springs. Scott will probaby be on rotating shifts, 6 days on and 4 off for at least 18 months. It might be nice to be able to have the kids on a more flexible schedule so we can go see and do more easily. We could even stick with the same k12 curriculum that we've been using this year. I know it wouldn't be as hard now that we've done it for a while, since I would only be trying to do one year of curriculum in one school year, instead of 1 year of curriculum in half a school year. Then again, it might be hard to do homeschool when Scott is supposed to be sleeping. Not to mention that I am so ready to have those 4 hours back every day. Its been great to see Eden's learning, and be more involved in the process, but there are really good schools in Colorado Springs. So, I'll most likely give them a chance to teach my kids, knowing that I am capable of homeschooling if the need arises.

Sorry for the ramble on a completly unrelated topic.

Montgomery Adventure, continued: Florida First

2010-03-10T13:49:00.001-07:00

My brother and his family live in Naples, FL. I couldn't resist the relative 'nearness' to Montgomery, so the kids and I dropped Scott off at Maxwell AFB for his SOS class and drove one more day to spend time with the cousins (and the beach).

Florida has actually been experiencing abnormally cold weather, so we only had one real 'beach day', but we still got outside everyday.

Eden read bedtime stories for everyone.

Scott got to join us for one day the following weekend before all of us drove back to Montgomery together.

Jake wasn't really loving the beach this day.

I'm not sure why Eden decided to write "NOeL" in the sand, but I think she made our Christmas card for this year (if I actually get to it this year!):

We had so much fun, thanks Bren and Elise!

Our Montgomery Home-Away-From-Home

2010-03-09T10:58:00.000-07:00

Because we have more than 2 kids, we were not allowed to stay in the cramped little studio apartment dorms with the rest of the accompanied spouses for SOS. The Air Force still only gives us $39 per night, plus Scott's per diem, to find lodging off base. At first we had an extended-stay hotel suite booked, but then we came across some apartments that offered short term leases. It turned out that short term usually meant 3 months. Then Scott came across a couple of companies that sublease furnished apartments to corporations and individuals for REALLY short term (at a REALLY high rate). We wanted to find a two bedroom to squeeze into for these few weeks. But, all that was available for our trip was a 3 bedroom apartment with nearly the same square footage as our apartment. It is still a little cheaper than the hotel we had booked, and much more family friendly with a playground right outside our building. Between the $39/night, Scott's food per diem, and the travel per diem, we should just about break even, which isn't so bad either. We figure we can cover the rest with part of our ridiculously high tax return. Anyway, here's the pictures of the place we call "home" right now:

what you see when you walk in the door

little kitchen with the living room straight ahead and our bedroom to the right

where Eden does most of her school work, and there's a small screened in porch through the door to the right of the TV.

Down the hall to the laundry, 2 bedrooms, and a bathroom

and looking back to the front door

Grateful

2010-02-14T14:13:00.000-07:00

At least one of my kids appreciates oatmeal for breakfast!

Today I am so happy to be home taking care of a sick Jacob. He had a fever last night, and still has it this morning. So Scott is teaching my Sunbeams class (2 kids) and my friend's CTR 4 class (her family is sick too). I'm not happy Jake's sick, and I'm not happy to be missing church (although the quieter house IS nice). I am just so happy to be able to stay home with the child who needs me. For the past six months, when someone was sick on a Sunday, I always had to make the big decision on whether they were sick enough for all of us to stay home or if they were well enough to suffer through 3 hours of church so the rest of us wouldn't miss our church meetings. Sometimes its hard to believe Scott was really gone for so long. Other times, like today, I am so grateful to have him home.

Part of me wishes we could be somewhere, and just enjoy being there. It feels like we are always getting settled, getting ready to unsettle, getting ready for Scott to go TDY or deployed, and so on. I am really, really sad to be leaving my friends so soon. But, the Air Force has given us some exciting opportunites in the next few months, and I'm trying to focus on the positive aspects. We are thankful we can stay together for Scotts training school, even if it means 3 days of driving each way. We are happy to be moving to Colorado Springs, we like seeing new places.... I just wish we could bring our friends with us every time.

2010-02-09T16:53:00.112-07:00

I feel pulled in so many directions lately. Life is good, but full & busy. Lately I find myself wondering what I'm supposed to give up in favor of some of the things I've been neglecting.
I still haven't blogged about our lovely trip to Washington. The kids got to play with cousins, and Eden started some school work from our homeschool curriculum. I got to jog outside for a change. Even got a run in at Cougar with Robin, Elise, and Dana. It was awesome. Here are a few of my favorite pics, and for a more detailed description of the Dixon shenanigans, read here, here or here. My sisters did a great and timely job documenting the reunion, plus they were there for the main event (Tricia's wedding).

Scott came home almost two weeks ago, and even got in a few hours early!!! We have loved having him home.

We celebrated by finishing off our Christmas celebrations. We opened presents, and had Christmas breakfast for dinner that first evening together.

We have joined the ranks of Wii-owning families. Eden's favorite is making new Mii characters and dancing, Andrew loves the Star Wars light-saber duels, Jake likes to wear the remote around his wrist and play along, Scott likes the tennis and golf (he says the light-saber duels are rigged), and I had a fun time dancing to 80's music with Eden.

Scott and I have completed 3 days of P90X. I am sore and doubt if I'll ever do any pull-ups, but I feel ~~SORE~~ like I'm getting a good work out. And really is fun to be doing this together, even if I'd rather run a marathon or something like that.
Speaking of extreme, Jake has taken toddlerhood to a level never before known in this home. He sleeps LESS and climbs, dumps, yells, & wreaks general havoc MORE. Fortunately, he's still pretty adorable.
I started homeschooling Eden. At first, it was great. She was super happy, and the work was pretty easy on both of us. Lately it's been a little more difficult. The work is definitely still within her capability, but there have been more distractions around here. (see all of the above)
We are headed SOUTH for 5 WEEKS and I haven't prepared a single thing. Scott has to do a training school at Maxwell AFB in Alabama. We are going with him, largely subsidized by the Air Force. We'll even get to visit my brother and his family in Naples, FL. I am so excited to leave winter behind for a while. If anyone has recommendations on fun things to do while we're there, please let me know!
Before I know it, we'll be in Colorado Springs! Again, not a thing prepared yet. I hope we can get everything done that needs to be done without going completely nuts or collapsing from exhaustion.

some things I want to remember... although I'm not really sure why.

2010-02-01T09:24:00.000-07:00

I know I have plenty of news to blog about, but I'm trying to make my blog more of a journal for myself. So, that means you all may be subjected to things that do not interest you at all. This is one of those times, consider yourself warned.

- Jake HATES taking a bath. Not just the hair-washing, body-scrubbing part (I consider that fairly normal, at least for our kids), he cries and screams the entire time he's in there. And now that he's bigger, he tries to climb out too. So, I make it a quick ordeal, get him out and put his jammies on while the others play. But, then I can't keep him away from the tub! He gets soaked just playing over the side, but then he screams some more when I take his wet clothes off. He's weird.
UPDATE: Yesterday, Jake played happily for 5 whole minutes! Then he was done.

- Last Sunday, during the passing of the sacrament, Andrew used the bristle blocks (which are supposed to be for Jacob) to build a gun. He even had a little sight piece and laser attached to the top of the barrel. Then he starts shooting at me (very quietly, since this is sacrament time after all). And I must have been in a good mood (it was the last Sunday before Scott should be home), because I was just trying not to laugh at the irony- my little boy shooting his gun at me in the middle of what should be the most reverent time of the Sabbath day. sheesh

- Further evidence that I have some wierd kids: In a week I wash about 3 pairs of Eden's socks and about 12 of Andrew's. AND, he freaks out if he doesn't have socks that he approves of to wear. He likes to put them on first, even before his underwear. I have succeeded in convincing him his feet should 'breath' at night. So, AFTER he's all tucked in and warmed up, he asks me to help him take his socks off. In Eden's case, I'm pretty sure her sock number is so low because she doesn't wear socks all the time, not because she uses dirty socks over and over. I've caught her a few times even putting on her black 'leather' boots without socks- ew!

These pictures were supposed to go with the previous post....

2010-01-25T10:23:00.001-07:00

...photo and video uploading on blogspot has not been working quite right for me.

2010-01-23T23:57:00.002-07:00

- We had so much fun in Washington and got to see almost everyone (except the newlyweds)! But I just haven't gotten around to sorting through all the photos and posting about it.

- I've had thoughts and ideas of things I want to post, but they usually escape my mind by the time I sit down to do it. I feel like my brain stops working by the time the kids go to bed, sometimes a lot earlier than that!

- This is fairly typical of our life right now. Eden does a lot of her school work downstairs even thought that's where the toys are because the lesson plans and some of the activities are on the computer. I think we'll use Daddy's laptop at the dining table once he gets home. Overall, the homeschooling is going well, even if it does make for some very crazy days.

- We are really excited for Daddy to get home- less than a week! Love you, Scott! Some of the highlights (for me) will include:
- having our own little Christmas together,
- lots of Daddy time for the kids,
- date nights will resume,
- a 2-nights-1-day get-away for the two of us, courtesy of some AWESOME friends!
- I WILL leave the house without first preparing my kids to either 1) come with me, 2) go to someone else's house, or 3) have a babysitter- ah, the freedom! (I may even go to a movies BY MYSELF, something I used to think was kind of sad and weird, just because I CAN!

- I just had this thought and decided to add it to this list update: For me, this deployment has been a lot like a marathon (about the same number of weeks for the deployment as miles in a marathon)-
FIRST WEEK OR TWO: freaking out at the beginning, wondering if I'll make it the whole way, but still with a silly grin on my face because somehow a part of me finds the challenge sort of thrilling.
NEXT FEW WEEKS: Feelin' good once I settle in at what I think is a nice pace, except when people tell me you're halfway there, when I KNOW we're not.
HALF WAY POINT: excitement I've made it this far, quickly replaced by the knowledge that the second half will be the harder half.
NEXT SEVERAL WEEKS: ups & downs, mental games, definitely still in the race, but wondering why I signed up for this.
LAST FEW WEEKS: I've hit a wall, maybe stopped running, but I'm fairly certain I'll finish, just maybe not as well as I'd planned.
FINAL WEEK: I see the finish line and am absolutely over-joyed on the inside, even if I'm falling apart physically.
*This analogy was created in a past-my-bedtime mental state, so take it as you will.

10 or so for Christmas

2009-12-27T18:55:00.002-07:00

(I just wanted to make a note here, that I LOVE the updated editor for blogger. I may have gotten a little carried away- it made inserting picture so easy!)

1. What it looked like after Santa came.

2. What the kids thought. They are still so excited to be saving all the wrapped gifts (ie. not from Santa) until we can open them with Scott at the end of January. They are pretty amazing kids!

3. What our living room looked like at 10:30. I worked really hard and was COMPLETELY packed-up 2 days earlier. 1 Mom and 3 kids packed into 3 checked bags (all well under the weight limit) and 4 carryon bags (1 extra bag incase we got stuck in Denver where we have to change planes) and 1 stroller. I originally had everything packed with only 2 checked bags, but decided to leave some space for the potential inspections and for anything we might accrue on our journey. I admit I am proud of myself.

4. Half an hour later, our flight was cancelled because of a pesky little 2-day blizzard (that's my neighbor's driveway, I think maybe some of our snow ended up there since our driveway was completely clear without shovelling).

5. So, the next day we did what we should have been doing instead of the last-minute preparations for our trip. We played with our loot some more. Eden baked and decorated a couple cakes, thanks to the Kennards (they had the C batteries that Santa forgot the day before). I actually took the ipod speaker dock out of the box and used it!

6. For the first time in too long, I updated my playlist.

7. I need ideas for workout/running music.

8. I also need ideas for getting an awesome workout at home. Easy access to the gym is probably the #1 sacrifice I'm making to homeschool Eden. I'm considering P90X- any thoughts???

9. The outfits you see on our header were for Tricia's wedding, which we will be missing. Aren't they adorable?

10. The earliest we could get re-booked is January 1st. ONE WHOLE WEEK after our original reservation. But, we also get to stay later (thanks to homeschooling Eden). Can't wait to see everyone who is still there when we get there!

11. And since we're all packed up and the house is so clean (we finally scrubbed the bathrooms), I find myself contemplating A) some new luggage after noticing how beat-up some of ours is, and B) some new clothes for all of us so I don't have to unpack anything for the next 5 days.

Gifts for Jesus and The First Christmas Story, according to Eden & Andrew

2009-12-26T22:50:00.007-07:00

We thought of gifts for Jesus this year as part of our advent activites. Eden did hers all by herself- she is growing up so fast! Andrew wanted Jesus to have Star Wars Legos (and he'll try to love everyone too). Jake might have had a little help- he's going to be extra good for Mommy on our airplane trips. :)

This is a part of what I got when I asked the kids to tell the story of the Jesus's birth. Pretty cute, even if not totally accurate.

5 YEARS

2009-12-19T21:48:00.002-07:00

Andrew had been counting down to this day for a long time. (It doesn't bother him at all to have a birthday close to Christmas, even though it stresses me out. I should try to remember that.) His special day happened to fall on a Saturday and it started with opening presents.

Do you think he was happy with what he got? Just a little! Andrew is so expressive and so genuine in his happiness. Look at that smile!

Checking out the details on his Ben 10 Alien Force game (similar to Perfection if you know what that game is) with Eden.

A picture of the sugar (over)load that day. Frosted Flakes for breakfast and a candy bouquet from Daddy.

We spent most of the day playing with his new toys, and enjoying the menu Andrew picked out:

Breakfast: Frosted Flakes

Lunch: Chicken Nuggets

Dinner: Fish & Chicken

(Andrew actually wanted to GO FISHING for his birthday, but I was able to convince him to have some of the trout from the freezer that the kids caught with Scott before he left. And then we ended up saving that dinner for another night because we snacked on junk during the day and had a late lunch, so no one was hungry!)

Snacks: mini Chips Ahoy! cookies

Ice Cream Cake: Berry Rainbow Sherbet with Vanilla Cookie Crust- no toppings, no coolwhip, just some Star Wars Heroes on top! (and 5 candles!)

The first time we sang, Andrew blew out the candles halfway through. So, this is from our second go at it.

He also got to have a 'friend party' at Chuck E. Cheese's a few days later, but we have no pictures. I completely forgot the camera! Oops! At least we do have some evidence that Andrew did indeed turn 5 this year. Happy Birthday buddy, we love you!

Christmas photo shoot..... first round

2009-12-13T11:25:00.003-07:00

For some reason, the captions won't show up on the blog, so I will narrate.
Eden was trying so hard to be a good helper and keep Jakey happy and still for the pictures. Andrew IS smiling and saying 'cheese', apparently its almost unbearable.

This is what I got after I asked Andrew to look at the camera and smile with his eyes OPEN.

And finally a pretty good one (minus Jake mid-blink), they actally look like they love each other and just love taking pictures for Mommy!

Theo's back!

2009-11-11T18:17:00.003-07:00

Some of you may remember Theo, our colorful, thankful turkey we created during a blizzard in November of last year. Well, we pulled him out yesterday for Family Home Evening, and had some catching up to do. (I can't believe how fast November is flying by already!) It's awesome to see the kids being so self-motivated about it this year. They constantly want to add feathers to Theo, and work together on it a lot better than other things they try to do together. I am so happy this has turned out to be a meaningful family tradition. It makes this Mommy proud!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-25T09:51:00.001-06:00

Eden decided she wanted to be a cowgirl after we bought the black boots in our school shopping. She thinks they're cowgirl boots, and I wasn't going to argue. The hardest thing to find was a cheap cowgirl hat (there are lots of places around here that sell nice 'real' western hats, even for kids). Luckily I found hers at the seasonal Halloween store in the mall for $8, so her costume was pretty cheap and pretty easy. Andrew had said he wanted to be a padawan, so I was going to make a brown cloak like he used in his Jedi training at Disneyland, and he already has a light saber. But, being the indecisive 4-year-old boy that he is, he kept changing his mind. We ended up buying the Boba Fett costume, at least he's happy! Jake is a tiger (Andrew's old costume, actually from the last time Scott was deployed). Coincidentally, Scott is deployed with the Tigers right now!

This was the best 'portrait' I got during our 'photo session'. At least cute kids look good even if the photographer has zero skill.

Andrew is pretending to be dead, I thought it was pretty funny.

Strike a pose!

And this is the best evidence I can provide that Jacob has decided walking is actually kind of fun (finally, at 16 months!). I have some cute video clips but can't get them to load on Blogger or YouTube. Sorry Daddy!

Badlands Excursion

2009-10-11T21:26:00.005-06:00

Back in September, when we still had summer weather, the kids and I tagged along with some friends for a Badlands excursion. We explored a bit in the Badlands, had a picnic lunch there, then headed to 1880's town. I think they hadn't cleaned parts of it since 1880, there were lots of cool spiders and webs. It was fun and we enjoyed sarsaparilla and snack at the saloon. Then we went to Wall Drug for dinner on the way home. Considering we had 8 kids under 7 (it was before Eden's birthday), we all fared quite well. Thanks again to the Kennards and Shirleys!

Since I don't know how to load more than 4 pictures and keep them in the right order.... Jake figured out how to put is fingers in his ears on the way home. I don't know if he just couldn't sleep with everyone around him, he should have been plenty tired. But he kept his fingers in his ears for a while. He did spend a lot of time in his stroller, but this is what he really wanted to do- explore, explore, explore! It would be a little cleaner if he could stay on two feet, but how could I deny him a little happiness?

Andrew and his buddies, they found the perfect hideout! Getting ready for lunch- yum!

Andrew and Creed at Wall Drug. Lucy and Eden at 1880's Town. We all had a great time!

Preschool already?

2009-10-05T21:06:00.000-06:00

For Andrew, it was more like 'Preschool, finally!' since his preschool didnt' start until a couple weeks after Eden started. He was so happy that he got to take 'school supplies' too. It really is hard to believe he'll be 5 soon and in kindergarten next year.