Thompson Brigade

Resolutions for 2010

2010-01-03T20:43:00.000-08:00

New year, new focus. There are many things I need to work on this coming year. More than I can possibly list, but I need to commit to some of them so I can do a better job of achieving them.

I think the first and most important one is to better myself. I think I have let myself slack a bit in this area and it is time to take charge to make this a top priority. I need to be a beter mom, wife, daughter, neighbor, friend, and daughter of God.

The next area is one I seriously work on every year. Usually I resolve to lose weight. And I really need to lose some weight. But this year I am going to make my goal to become healthier. I am going to give up soda pop. No more, not ever. I am going to go the entire year without drinking any, which will be tough. I can give it up for periods of time, but I usually go back to drinking it. Not this time.

And the last thing I am going to focus on is my finances. I need to be better about saving money and spending it. I am a sucker for a good deal. It is a sickness I think. Going forward I am going to be better about the money I spend and what I spend it on.

Wish me luck!!! I am sure I need it!!!

Princess and the Frog

2009-12-30T20:30:00.000-08:00

Since I took this week off of work, I decided I needed to do some fun things with the kids.

Well the week is about over, and we hadn't done much. I had promised the kids I would take them to see the Princess and the Frog movie.

I figured today was as good a day as any. Plus Evrett wouldn't stop bugging me about it. He had this movie on his list for Santa and I had to explain that Santa wouldn't be able to bring it so I would take them to see it while I was off work.

We were early (surprise, surprise) so there was plenty of time to snap some great pictures. I really liked the movie and I think the kids had a great time, eating lots of popcorn!!!!

HELP!!!

2009-12-16T13:13:00.000-08:00

Okay, it took me forever to get our new family picture to upload and now it is freaking GINORMOUS!!! Any ideas on how to make it smaller? I might have to save it smaller in photoshop. But that is a pain, was hoping someone new an easier way. Let me know.

Bountiful Basket

2009-10-19T09:54:00.000-07:00

In an effort to try to eat healthier and save money we have signed up for a Co-Op. They provide a ton of fruits and vegetables for a great price. I also signed up to get their 9 grain bread. And it is wonderful and healthy!!! Double bonus. Here is all the stuff I got:

Here is what we got:

5 loaves 9-grain bread

8 lemons

6 apples

8 bananas

5 persimmons

grapes

strawberries

1 head of lettuce

green beans

3 cucumbers

2 bags carrots

2 tomatoes

5 zucchinis

Not to bad for $29.50 which included my sign up fee. I have never had a persimmon before, but they are really tasty!!!

Crazy, Crazy Times!!!!

2009-07-30T12:51:00.000-07:00

It has been a very busy surprising couple of weeks. First Brett's b-day, finding out I am PG with an IUD in, 4th of July fun, vacationing to Staint George, visiting the Grand Canyon, hiking Zions, coming home, having a miscarriage, then a D&C, family in from out of town, Payton's birthday going to Lava Hot Springs, coming home in pain, having a huge cyst on my ovary, scheduling surgery, finding out right before surgery that I am still PG and it is ectopic, having the cyst, part of my ovary, baby and tube removed, a whole week of being out of it while on pain killers, finally feeling somewhat better, and now trying to play catch-up to life and everything that has been over looked while dealing with everything above!!!! Crazy isn't it!!!

That is my update for now, hopefully pictures and additional posts will follow, just letting everyone know we are still alive. Now I am off to get ready to take 10 crazy 10 year old boys to Toads for a fun all be it late Birthday party!!!!

SUMMER Here we Come!!!!

2009-06-05T12:27:00.000-07:00

So the Boys are officially out of school. Today was their last day!!! I am actually excited. It will be so nice not to have to worry about homework and getting the boys up early and projects to finish!!!

Here is Brewer dressed up for Disney and Pirate Day!!

Here they are on their last day. Can you believe they will be in 2nd and 5th Grade!?!?!?!

Amazing!!!

We ALL fall DOWN!!!

2009-06-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

So how do you get two 10 year old boys to hold hands??????

You have a little 2 year old who wants to play Ring-around-the-rosey, of course!

Here are few more photos of the fun the kids were having playing in the water!!!

Random "Right Now" Moments

2009-01-06T10:08:00.000-08:00

Right Now (the first few were answered last week, the rest today 1/12/09):
***Anyone who feels like it should add this to their blog, kind of fun to reflect on these things***

Out of my window: Snow everywhere, and I love it!!! I even shoveled the walks 3 times yesterday, and it didn't even bother me at all. The dogs are staring in through the back door, and it is still snowing....I really LOVE it!

I am wearing: Jeans, gray sweater, gray socks (I like to match) black t-shirt. I have not done my hair or make-up yet, working on that one!

I am hearing: Brett vacuuming, boys wrestling, Birkley watching Little Mermaid, music from Elizabeth Kartchners blog (I like her music selections and usually open her blog everyday just to listen to the music).

I am thinking: I need to go to the store, all the projects that need to be done, the busy week ahead, am I crazy for going on my diet again? Do people really pick their noses at least 4 times a day? Should I play Webkinz for Brewer today to get him more money? What should we have for dinner and lunch, how do people keep their houses clean? Should I go to the movie tonight? I need to purge half of the crap in my house? Is it a good time to build our house in Hooper? And tons of other random thoughts.....my mind never stops.

I am thankful for: My life, I truly am blessed. I have an amazing husband, 4 great kids, a nice home, food to eat, awesome friends and family. Brett and I both have good jobs, more "stuff" than we need. The freedoms we are blessed with by living in the USA. My religious beliefs. I could go on and on, I really am very blessed.

I am creating: Not much scrapping going on , though I am really wanting to. I find that time is limited with basketball starting and 4 young kids to care for. And at night when I could be working on it there is a dirty house, laundry, and dishes starting at me and I have no energy!!!

I am going: Possibly to Albertson's to finish my attempt at getting the "good" deal, maybe to Walmart for tote for my Christmas stuff (I must have accumulated more this year because it didn't all fit), to make a good dinner for my family even though I can't eat it!!!!

I am hoping: That I can maintain after this round of my diet and that I will lose as much as I did the first time, that the room in the basement will be done soon, that our tax return will make be pretty high, that Brett and Payton will get his pine wood derby car done so I don't have to worry about it not being done in time, and that my house could stay clean for just 1 day-I wonder what that feels like?!?!?!

I am reading: Nothing, seriously when I read I abandon my family and do nothing else until I finish the book, but I really love to read........definitely something I need to try to control and add into my routine.

Around the house: Tons of laundry waiting to be finished, kids running, playing and fighting, dryer going, lots of work on my computer to do, floors are mopped, a disorganized mess, yeah that about sums it up!

One of my favorite things: Mindy Mints, Lime Rickeys, Chinese food, Deep Fried Mushrooms (Can you tell I am dieting???), climbing into a tightly made bed and putting my cold feet on Brett, playing games with my family, the Wii, Scrapbooking, when I get most things checked off my to-do list, finding money in my pants pocket,-----okay that is more than 1, I didn't read that one to closely------sorry.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Lots of basketball games for the boys, soccer for me, Date night with our dinner group, family baby shower, organizing the storage room (half way there), taking at least 1 load to the DI-I need to purge, scrapbooking at least 3 layouts, losing 5 lbs-----that is all that comes to mind at the moment.

Movie Fun

2008-12-30T08:46:00.001-08:00

Great movie, Great company, Great Monday!!!!

I took last Friday and yesterday off of work to burn time so I don't loose it at the end of the year. Well since I didn't get anything accomplished (I swear I think that if I have a day off of work I should get a 1000 things done) I decided to take my sister up on the offer to go to a movie. We took the kids to see The Tale of Desparuex. This was a great movie. The kids enjoyed it, Birkley and Evrett I think REALLY enjoyed the popcorn!!!!

Here is a picture of all of us in front of the sign....and some kid who kept saying the poster was his and he would NOT move.

Oh well-future generations will try to figure out whose kids he is!!! HA HA HA! He is the one in the red shirt.

This was definitely a movie I will be adding to my collection.

Family Photo Shoot

2008-12-14T18:19:00.001-08:00

I think this is the most precious picture of Daddy with his little girl!!!!

I decided with our limited budget this time of year and the crazy schedules we all have (overtime for Brett, Basketball for the boys and soccer for me) that I would do our family photo.

A little crazy but well worth it, at least I think so.

I had exactly 1 hour from the time the boys got home from school until Brett had to leave for work to make this happen. I know-CRAZY.

So I hurried to get the boys changed and we headed out. I think the pictures turned out nice-the people at Walmart insisted on my copyright release from the photographer-they looked at me like I was lying when I insisted I had taken them.......with my timer and tripod of course!

Here are the finished Christmas cards (I know who does multiple cards!?!?!?!). I couldn't decide which one I liked best, so I printed about 25 of each and randomly sent them out! In case you didn't like the one you got here they all are for you to see.

I think the middle one is my favorite, just because it is different, and you know me I like to be different!!!! What do you think?

Chatty Birkley

2008-12-09T08:21:00.000-08:00

I am hoping to find a photo to go with this post. Little Miss Birkley LOVES to pretend she is talking on the phone. On Sunday she was walking in the hall with Brett and had her hand up to her ear blabbing away and then she would say "good-bye". Then she would do it again with one of our names thrown into the the language we call Birkley Talk. Brett was telling me how cute it was.

Summer 2008-already loving the phone

Then last night I ran to the store with her and left the boys home doing homework. Of course they keep calling for all sorts of reasons, too ask for food, to ask for candy to tattle on each other, to ask about their homework; you name it and they called me about it. As I was pushing the cart I noticed Birkley kept pretending to be on the phone and she was trying to copy what I was saying. It was really cute. I suppose this is preparing us for what it will be like when she hits the teenage years!!!! LUCKY US!!!!

Great Grandpa and Grandma Return

2008-12-09T08:08:00.000-08:00

Why do I forget to take my camera. Brett was so wonderful and bought me a little camera to keep in my purse so I would never miss a photo opportunity. You think it wouldn't be that hard. Well I always forget. Last night we went to my mom's house to have pizza and welcome Great Grandpa and Grandma back from their travels. It was tons of fun. The kids help them decorate their tree and had lots of fun visiting with them and doing gymnastics in the living room. Great Grandpa and Grandma were thrilled with their made over room and new comfy recliners. It was nice to see them after they had been gone for so long. My mom and dad did a great job re-doing their bedroom and bathroom. I wish I had taken some pictures. But without having to try to upload photos my blog gets updated!!! So that is a bonus!!!!!

Christams Parade

2008-12-01T11:45:00.000-08:00

This is a fun tradition our family has every year. I only think I have missed it a few times.

We love to go to downtown Ogden (also known as the HOOD) and watch the Christmas parade.

This year it was really warm so that meant there were 10 times the number of people who usually come. It was fun, but a bit disappointing. The have separated Wall with cement barriers which made it difficult to see all the entries in the parade.

They needed better planning so that the floats and such were not going down both sides of the road at the same time. We totally missed half of the parade!!! This year they did NOT have the Christmas tree jubilee in the Egyptian Theater, what is up with that?!?!?! We always walk though after the parade and see the cool trees and cute crafts.

And Santa....he was sitting in the back of a pick-up truck. Way disappointing!!!!! And of course there are the usual things that annoy me. Inconsiderate people, annoying people, people who smoke around crowds, etc.

But it was still fun!!!! Fireworks in December, of course it was fun!!!!

Birkley's birthday #2

2008-12-01T11:43:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIRKLEY!!!!!!

# 2

I can't believe my daughter is 2. Time flies. I guess it is time to start thinking about out next addition. If I could only get Brett on board!!!

She is so sweet and such a joy. There is definitely something completely different in little girls. She really loves Disney Princesses, Barbies (I had no idea she even knew who Barbie was), reading books, playing with her dolls, play cooking, and dressing up!!!! Although she has attitude (wonder where she got that from) she is so sweet and loving.

Happy birthday Penelope, we love you!!!!!!

Sunday SNOW!!!!

2008-10-13T08:23:00.001-07:00

We were pleasantly surprised to find a nice new blanket of snow Sunday morning. The kids couldn't wait to go play and build snowmen and snow forts. That is one good thing about 1 o'clock church. Birkley was especially determined to go play. In fact I just had to stop updating this post because she was yelling in my ear "outside, outside, Holly! outside!!!" (she always calls me Holly when I don't hurray and respond to mom!!!) So I bundled her up so she could go play in the snow with Evrett. After the chaos of finding all the snow stuff and getting everyone bundled up, off they went. Brett decided they needed a little help, and I couldn't wait to snap some cute photos. So after like 40 shots-the kids were being too cute.
Dad leading the crew in making the perfect SnowMan!

Creating a wonderful, sweet Snow Angel.......

and the best SnowMan ever!!!!!!

I told Brett to take a picture of me and Birkley. He took the picture and then told me there was no memory card in the camera. What the crap!!! How had I taken so many pictures without realizing that fact?!?!?! I guess it was because I kept hiding my camera under my shirt, since it was still snowing. Needless to say I got the memory card and took some more shots, but the kids were freezing and didn't really want to pose for anymore pictures!!! Oh well, it was still fun!!!. We came inside and had blueberry pancakes, eggs, sausage, fruit and hot chocolate - I totally forgot it was fast Sunday!!! I know some people will hate me for posting this, but I hope we get a TON of SNOW this year!!!! I love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Brewer and his Mini Snowman

Payton and his "It's cold" look!

Evrett-having a little snack of snow!

Birkley-loving every moment in the snow!!

The Thompson GANG!!!

2008-10-09T12:47:00.000-07:00

I think when you have boys you should always, always expect that they will try to find mischief! Tuesday morning Evrett came upstairs covered in Red Marker!!!! Since I had listened to converence and my wonderful mother reminded me that I should have patience and cherish every moment with my kids-before long they will be gone with kids of their own-I inlisted the all the forces of patience I have (which honestly isn't that much). I calmly explained to Evrett that we shouldn't write on ourselves, only paper. This is only the 1 million time I have given this lecture. He told me Brewer did it last night. So I told him he should have come upstairs and told mommy and daddy. I then went about giving him a bath and scrubbing the bright Red marker off. He didn't like this, but I sweetly told him that I had to scrub hard to get it off. So after bathing him and Birkley, I went downstairs to get his clothes. Much to my horror I found a newly redecotated bedroom. Apparently Brewer had decided to "tag" everything in sight......which obviously was not limited to his little brother. He had drawn (with the same Red marker) all over everything.....and I mean everything, the bed, the toys, the Thomas table, the walls (seriously-every wall had been drawn on), the doors....EVERYTHING.

Still thinking of my desire to be a better mom, I calmly asked Brewer-he was still asleep, why he had wrote on everything. Of course he lied (this is something he has difficullty with). "It wasn't me....it was Evrett!" I asked him why he was lying and he told me he wasn't. Again I asked him in a less calm voice why he had writted all over everything. Again he lied. SO after 3 or 4 times of me explaining to him that I knew he had done it-Evrett can't write his letters yet and there were words on everything..he was attempting to write something about jail (GEL)-I lost it. I will refrain from going into detail.......it really wasn't pretty. I yelled alot, spanked him and then had to go upstairs to calm down. I guess my desire to be a better mom will continue!!!!

Evrett's 4th Cowboy birthday

2008-10-09T10:58:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVIE!!!!

Isn't he a cute little cowboy. Of course I had to use the opportunity to have my country girl side come out. I make a great cowgirl!!!! HA HA HA

Here he is blowing out the candles on his cake. I searched all over for the little horses to go on top. I bought enough that we played a "corral your Horses" game where the kids tried to throw the horses in a bucket. They had tons of fun trying to beat each other. I can't remember who won....but I know Brett had to give it a try.

This was my favorite game, . The "Cowboy Relay Race". I had the kids put on their cowboy gear.....yes those are my cowboy boots. We divided them into 2 teams, and they had to ride their horse around the barrel. Then it was the next person's turn. This was hilarious to watch. My boots were way to big for their tiny feet so some of them were hoping aroung the barrel. Too cute. I wish I would have had the video camera out for this one!!!!

We played a fun game of "Cowboy, Cowboy, Horse " (like duck, duck, goose).

And of course a candy filled pinata boot! This is the one thing Evrett really wanted at his party. And a live pony for rides, but I wasn't so sure how my horse would do, so we bagged that idea. She hasn't been ridden in quite some time. I know, I suck!!!!

Opening Presents:

Cowboy cupcakes:

Here are some pictures of cake and ice cream we had for the family on Sunday. He shares his birthday with Great Grandpa Henderson and Uncle Trents birthday is the day before!!! I think he had a wonderful birthday!

I know....you all HATE me!!!!!

2008-10-09T10:54:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have always admitted the fact that I am not the best at this blogging thing. I try.......try being the key word...to keep posting. But I find myself lost int eh world of blogging whenever I attempt to update my blog. For some reason I would rather check out everyone elses life (even complete strangers)when I come to my blog to post. SO please accept my apologies. I will try...key word again...to be better!!! So that being said I am going to update a ton of posts. Or atleast ry to....uhntil I decide to read about what has been going on in your lives!

Tara's Baby Shower

2008-09-24T07:49:00.000-07:00

Michele and I threw a baby shower for our neighbor and good friend Tara Howell. We had the whole pink and brown theme going. Notice in the pictures all the decorations and food. They all match!!! I know, I think this is wear my OCD comes into play. We played some kind of cheesy games, but I thought they were clever. It turned out really well. Sorry to anyone I didn't get invited, I ended up sick the few days before and didn't get EVERYTHING done I wanted to. And since this update is so late, Tara and Chris have had their baby. She is a beautiful little girl and they named her Avrie Marie. Sooooooo cute!!!!

Paintball Fun!!!!

2008-09-05T21:38:00.000-07:00

So Thursday evening the phone rings. I look at the caller ID and see that it is Kevin Jones, the 2nd councilor int he bishopric. Yes it crosses my mind to not answer-he might be wanting to ask Brett and I to speak in church on Sunday. But the guilt wins over and I answer. Much to my surprise I hear an enthusiastic Kevin asking if we are going tomorrow. "Going where I ask?" slightly confused and wondering if I saw the caller ID correctly or if he mis-dialed. He says paint balling, and I am still confused. "What are you talking about?" I challenge, still thinking one of us must not know who we are really talking to. But apparently he had talked to Brett about playing a couples game, of course Brett had failed to relay this information to me. Kind of funny, even though I feel slightly stupid for acting so surprised and confused.

But luckily he called and talked to me, otherwise we may not have been able to swing the babysitter and Brett probably would have remembered Sunday when they were talking about it. Of course I called my mom immediately to see if she could handle watching the kids for a few hours. Of course she said yes......there is life after chemo!!! Thanks mom!

Here are the fun........and painful shots of everyone playing. I know, I look HOT in camo!! We played team games and then a couple of boys only/girls only. It was amazingly fun. They guys had more of an advantage......playing with Barbies did not prepare us gals to be stealthily (is that a word) and conquer the other team-like I am sure GI Joe prepared the guys.

But it was great fun. We will definitely have to plan another game again soon. And I promise not to knock over the pizza boxes and spill all the paint balls and act like a blond. At least I will try not too.

Evrett's First Day of Pre-school

2008-09-03T20:24:00.000-07:00

Evrett excited to start school!!!!!

Evrett started pre-school yesterday. He was sooooooooo excited. I couldn't get over the huge grin he had on his face. He has been bugging me for months about finally getting to go to school like his older brothers. It was kind of weird to not have him here with me. It was a short day, and I almost forgot to get him. Luckily Nikki (THANKS) reminded me after we dropped the boys off that we had to pick them up at 2:10pm, otherwise I would have waited until 3:30pm to go get him. He is going to have tons of fun going to school with his buddies Hayden Howell and Kyson Weekes. I am sure he will learn tons and have a wonderful time getting to do something for him. It has been hard for him to watch Payton and Brewer go to school, soccer practice, scouts, and all the other many things they get to do because they are older. I guess Evie is growing up, I can't believe he will be 4 in a few weeks. Where does the time go????

This is the cutest picture of him when I picked him up from school. Notice the huge grin on his face as I was asking him if he liked school. Apparently he LOVED it!!!!

Start of Soccer

2008-08-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

And soooooo the craziness begins. Soccer started this weekend. I totally love that my kids enjoy playing sports, but it makes for some busy Saturdays. And since Brett works every Saturday I have to drag all 4 kids aroung on my own. Thank heavens for grandparents. There were a couple of times the boys had games that overlapped.

Between my parents and Brett's mom they were always able to hlep me out! Plus love that they are so supportive and come to watch the boys play. I am going to appreciate this year, because next year Payton is dead set on playing football and Evrett will be old enough to play soccer.

Payton is playing on a team that has a bunch of boys from our ward. This is going to be a fun year. And they are all really good. I was amazed at their skills. They won their game and I think they had lots of fun. In fact Payton wanted to stay in the whole time, and usually he is ready to sit out a quarter by half time.

Brewer was amazing!!! His team scored 10 goals and he personally made 8 of them. I think it pays off to have an older brother to practice with. Sometimes the boys play "jungle ball" where they tackle and push each other to get the ball away. Brew did this a couple of times, so his coach and I had to tell him not to push and shove. But he was really fast and knew how to dribble the ball down the field once he got it. Now we just need to work on passing and remembering to play as a team. But he was sure excited!!!!

Pates Birthday, #9

2008-08-22T15:44:00.000-07:00

I can not believe I have a nine year old. I have been meaning to post all about his birthday, and now that it has been a month a guess I better get around to it. For his friends we went to Cabellas in Lehi. This was the best birthday party ever. No mess for me to clean up, no activites to plan, no decorations to make (they provided a big bunch of balloons), no hassel for me and best of all it was only $40. My kind of deal.

The kids got treat bags with a scavenger hunt paper. They had to wander around the store looking at all the displays answering the questions. They also had food to feed the fish and a treat to eat.

After everyone was done wandering we headed back to the room to open presents. After the gift massacreing we had cupcakes and ice cream. The last part was probably the funnest. Each of the kids got tokens to use at the shooting range. This was by far the highlight. All of the kids and adults had fun trying to see how good of an aim they were. Grandma Thompson kicked some major butt!!!

Pack Meeting Bike Rodeo!!!

2008-08-22T15:41:00.000-07:00

Payton and Noah, ready to ride!!!

We are really enjoying all the fun things Payton has going on with scouts!!!

This month for Pack Meeting they did a bike rode about bike saftey.

I think all the boys had a fun time and learned tons.

I know Payton loved it and my kids enjoyed watching them.

Brewer can't wait to be in scouts like his brother!!!!

SURVIVOR Wayment Acres

2008-08-22T14:21:00.000-07:00

Okay we had the funnest dinner group outing ever, well we actually always have fun no matter what we do, I come home every month with my sides aching from laughing so hard. Steph and Dave did an awesome job hosting this months gathering. And I know they spent tons of time organizing all the games and setting the mood. It was AWESOME!!!! We were divided into 2 teams:

Red team (the best, yes we won the Idol the most!!!!)

Blue team ( the losers)!!!

Here are some fun photos!!! The food was great, the decorations were great, the activities were great , the company was great, the whole thing was GREAT!!!!!

Now the rest of us have to live up to this with our coming months. Anyone have any fun ideas for October?!?!?!!?

Busy Saturday

2008-08-22T11:43:00.000-07:00

We had the busiest day on Saturday. Brett played golf at 7am, Payton had his first soccer practice at 9am (we were at the wrong park so he missed it, but the effort was there). We picked up our niece Kylee, then headed off to Lagoon-a-Beach - after running a couple of errands. Then we rushed home, showered, got ready as fast as humanly possible, and went to Jonah's baptism in Plain City. Then we rushed back from that, made a fruit salad----fresh fruit salad with watermelon, cantaloupe and grapes, among other stuff-----and went to our Survivor dinner group party. WOW, can you say BUSY!!!!! But everything was fun. It was exciting to see Jonah get baptized. He is really good friends with both Payton and Brewer. And we have been friends with the Flints forever. Ron and Brett have known each other since they were born, I think.

Scrapbook get-a-way with Lisa Bearnson

2008-08-07T09:05:00.001-07:00

Yes, I said that right, with Lisa Bearnson!!!! This was such an awesome experience. We had such a fun time. Laughing, joking, touring, making fun of each other, meeting new friends, being fashion divas, and tons more!!!!!

We now have our own inside jokes, tons of great STAR Girl references, and amazing memories.

Meeting Lisa Bearnson was weird. She is such a great, genuine person. For those of you who don't know who she is-shame on you!!! Seriously, you wouldn't unless you were into scrapbooking. She is the founding editor for Creating Keepsakes Magazine. I real "Superstar" in the scrapbooking industry!!!

Lisa's sister Angela was our tour bus guide, and she is a hoot. She told us some funny stories about Lisa and had us laughing the entire time. We met some other great people, Tiffany, Dana and MANY MORE. It is great how a common hooby can bring so many people together.

It was so nice to have a break and get away from the everyday routine. I did miss the kids and Brett a little. It really felt like we were gone forever. But it was a quick getaway, only 2 days.

Thanks to my great neice for watching my kids and my wonderfu moth-in-law for helping run them all around. Oh and my supportive husband for not even thinking twice when I told him I wanted to go! I really am a lucky girl!!!!

Fashion Diva!!!

2008-08-01T06:19:00.000-07:00

What a funny girl!!! These are just a few of the outfits she has come up with where I actually grabbed my camera and shot some photos. She has also been known to wear the boys under ware on her head, my shoes and Brett's shoes, towels or blankets on her head. She really gets creative. I know she is a bit messy.....this is why I hate Cheetos and my floor needs to be vacuumed (this is done every night, but after a few hours in the morning it looks like I haven't vacuumed for a week.........as long as they are entertained while I work I don't stress about it, or at least I try not to!)

See the dirty floor, but you gotta love the 1 shoe look, especially the camo with cherries. I think she pulls it off nicely!!!

My absolute favorite!!!! I used to dress my Barbie dolls with their pants as shirts just like this. Call me crazy.....I wanted to be a fashion designer. Maybe Birkley has the same aspirations as her mom!!!!

Happy Sailing Birthday Dad!!!

2008-07-31T16:17:00.000-07:00

So my father is completely obsessed with sailing. My sister and her husband bought a sail boat and they go out every chance they get. I think it is great for him to have something he loves to do and that gives him a break from being nurse maid (have I mentioned he is currently taking care of my grandparents and my mother as she deals with chemo!!!!)

Anyways for his birthday this year we decided to have all the adult take him sailing. We arranged babysitters-thanks Erica and Kylee-and headed out. Unfortunately there was not much wind and even worse the lake (Great Salt Lake) was not as full as it had been the last time they had went out. Those of us who hadn't been sailing before-me, Brett, my Aunt Peggy- got to take a short trip with my dad. We never actually had the wind pick up to experience the JOY of sailing, but it was fun to go out on a sailboat.

Oh yeah and we got ourselves stuck and had to try really hard to get out of the MUCK. This is me on the phone with Ryan who was telling me what Aaron was suggesting to my dad to get us unstuck!!! Oh and he is telling me that since Brett and I had worn out swimsuits we might have to jump in the lake and push the boat back . Luckily the genius (this is what we call my dad) was able to get us back to shore.

We had great view of the sunset, enjoyed a picnic dinner and had some great conversation!!!!

The GIRLS!!!

The GUYS!!!

Maybe one day I will actually get to experience "true" sailing!!!

I know you all hate me!!!!

2008-07-27T16:28:00.000-07:00

Maybe I shouldn't Blog. I really am not good at it. I have tons to say and update, but I always forget until I am in bed at night. And who wants to get out of bed and Blog? Not me. I have thought of taking my laptop to bed with me, then all I would have to do is roll over and type. But I fear that would lead to an all nighter on the computer. For now you will all have to bear with me. Until I get this cemented into my routine it will be hit and miss. And I truly empathise with all of you who are so annoyed that I am not updating regularly. I do it to. Cursing people that I actually took the time to go to their blog site, and no new updates. So I will apologize up front. SORRY!!!! And I know I am going to be in big time trouble for not posting a picture, but be glad you are getting a comment.

Tons and Tons of Updates!!!!!

2008-07-08T19:19:00.000-07:00

I know...I really suck at this blogging thing. I swear when you don't post for awhile you totally get out of the habit. So here it goes. Brewer graduated from Kindergarten!!!! The boys enjoyed the annual water party at school which included the Clinton City firetruck hosing them down. Trust me it felt so refreshing!!! Yes Payton is in the mass of kids you see getting soaked!The kids are officially out for summer break (if you can call it that, 3 weeks is not nearly enough time in my opinion!)

We had a GREAT date night eating at P.F. Changs and then seeing Jerry Sienfield live at Abravinal Hall in Salt Lake.

Lots of 4th of July celebrations-Riverdale Parade , Bar-B-Q, and fireworks. We now have pet frogs-though no one has named them or feed them since we HAD to have them!!!! I have officially lost 27lbs. Brett is working hard on installing our fence. I am sure there is more, but I can't thing of it. Enjoy my post........it may be a while-let's be honest, I keep saying I will be better, but it never happens!!!!

Lagoon

2008-06-17T09:46:00.000-07:00

We went to Lagoon on Saturday. We started out the day at the Terrace Day parade. We ended leaving Birkley home with grandma. If was a little difficult for her to deal with. She cried for 45 minutes after we left and then at about 5pm she cried again for 45 minutes. Who the heck spoiled this girl. I guess that not having to really take her to a baby sitter has given er a phobia of being left. I guess I better leave he more often so she doesn't freak out so bad. It could also be we tricked her into the sleepover earlier in the week.

Since it was sooooo much money for a day pass (we didn't have any discounts) we ended up buying season passes. I guess we will be spending lots of time down there this summer!!! It was fun to be their with Brett's family. The boys had a great time riding all the fun, wild rides. Evrett and I spent most of the time in the kid area. He loved riding the train and the airplane ride. The power was out for a while, but Uncle Kirk entertained the kids by paying for them to play the games. After Lagoon we went to Grandma's for some delicious dinner: Bar-B-Q, potatoes, fresh fruit, rolls, ect. Birkley loved it. She kept eating off of everyone else's plates. I think she must be going through a growth spurt!!!

Zoo with Brew and Birkley and Evretts Sleepover

2008-06-11T13:25:00.000-07:00

I took Monday off of work to go with Brewer and his Kindergarten class to the Hogle Zoo. We arranged with Brett's mom to have a sleep over on Sunday night with Evrett and Birkley. That way they would already be at her house on Monday to be babysat....yes I know, I am lazy, I really did not want to get up early enough to have them up and ready and to Grandma's house before 8am. Well Birkley was kind of a stinker. She did not want to stay or go to sleep. We tried everything. Finally at about 10:30pm Brett suggested I drive her around in the car to get her to sleep. That worked. I was so worried about her waking up and freaking out, but she did fine. They had tons of fun with Grandma and Kylee!!!! They had waffels for breakfast and went to play at the park. Thanks guys!!

The zoo was great. It was the perfect weather. Nice and cool. I only had to keep track of Brewer and another kid. Brewer was so excited to ride the bus!!!! I think he was more excited about that than actually going to the zoo. All of the animals were very active. We got to see the tiger up close and the bears were playing/fighting. I told Brewer they must be brothers becaause that is totally what it is like at our house. Only we have 4 bears!!!!

Curly Hair

2008-06-10T15:41:00.000-07:00

So, I have always wanted curly hair. I still do. After having Evrett and his tons of curls I hoped my daughter would be lucky enough to have this gene, where ever it came from, passed on to her. NOPE, not happening. Her hair is stick straight like her moms. Poor girl. But thanks to the links on Kim's blog I found a way to make it look curly. Using a flat iron....Ironic huh? A flat iron is for straightening hair.....or at least that is what I though. These are way cute pictures of Birkley (she was a bit crabby since she hadn't had a nap) on Sunday after church. Maybe there is hope for her to have pretty, natural looking curls. Not the crazy, tight, clown hair I got when I used spongy curlers.

Brest Cancer Party

2008-06-06T08:22:00.000-07:00

Last night my GREAT friend Nikki held a party for Ruth, one of the ladies in our neighborhood. Ruth has breast cancer and is currently going through chemo like my mom. There was so much support from wonderful ladies in our area. She got tons of cute hats and there were lots of wonderful desserts. Of course I didn't eat any, I will NOT break my diet!!!! This cancer thing is so evil. I can't believe how many people it affects. And then their are people like Ruth and my mom, who just deal with it and keep on smiling and living. They are true HEROES!!!Thanks girls for being awesome examples and for fighting the battle. (I will try to get a picture from Nikki to post...I forgot my camera and I couldn't steal a picture off Nikki's blog!)

Inventive

2008-06-03T10:44:00.000-07:00

While working from home my kids have learned to entertain themselves....for the most part. Well today I hear Evrett struggling. He is kind of breathing hard, but then he laughs. Upon looking out my office door...(I know it is a mess). I see him sitting in the back of his block truck. He is grabbing the wheels and pushing himself around the house, like he is sitting in a wheel chair. It was really cute. He comes up with some interesting things.....Brett calls him inventive. He must have gotten some of his gene pool from Grandpa Bill. Maybe one day it will pay off and he will make some money off of one of his "inventions" but fir now we will just smile and encourage him to think out side of the box!!!

"Camp-Out"

2008-06-02T21:01:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen those crazy individuals that forgo sleep, showers and all other things to sit in line for concert tickets or the day after Thanksgiving sale?!?!?! Well, my neighbors and I joined the crazy ranks this morning and decided to "camp-out" to make sure we got our kids into a certain pre-school. Pre-school, can you imagine.

Honestly, I think it was out of control...in fact I made fun of the ladies who did it last year. It was pretty insane. Who ever heard of "camping-out" for a pre-school class. Even though I really thought it was crazy that people stayed out all night waiting in line to make sure they had a slot for their kids I was willing to do whatever it took to make sure my kid (Evrett) got to go to the "good" school with all his friends. And after the trauma I went through with Brewer I decided it would definitely be worth is to sacrifice my sleep and stand in line. We loaded up our camp chairs and headed out at 3:30am.....yes 3:30am.(I know, what were we smoking).

Needless to say our efforts were worth it....we got all 4 of the kids into the school. I took the camera and shot these pictures....as proof that we weren't the only crazy ones. People were a bit annoyed at my flash....but I needed proof of the adventure and insanity. Kids better appreciate all their parents sacrifice and do for them.......even if it isn't until they are 33 standing in line for their child a slot in pre-school.

Chugga Chugga Choo Choo

2008-06-01T07:23:00.000-07:00

This is a fun game invented on our trip to California. We were driving from our hotel down the coast to Sea World, about a 45 min drive. The boys were a bit restless, so I told them to try and find the ocean. They were supposed to look for boats, animals, and other fun stuff. Well Evrett decided that every time we saw the ocean we had to say "chugga, chugga, choo-choo". This went on the entire way there, the long drive home and practically every time we drive in the car. Since we do not live by the ocean Evrett now changes it to if you see a truck, a motorcycle, a tractor, or what ever other cleaver thing he can some up with. I do not know why he decided to say "chugga, chugga choo choo" -it's not like we were looking for trains- but it is really cute.

Goofy Kids!!

2008-05-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

I have been uploading pictures off of my memory cards and came across these from our trip to California earlier this year. I want everyone to pay close attention to Brewer. What a goof ball. In each of the pictures he is pulling a funny face....especially in his eyes. It made me laugh.....today. I think any other day I might have been annoyed at him for "ruining" the perfect sunset picture off our balcony. But since I am trying to roll with the punches so to speak, I will just laugh. It so Brewer to be goofy and silly. I remember a phase Payton went through with his "BUG-EYES"....maybe there was a little of Pate that rubbed off on Brew!!! Enjoy the pictures and the daily post girls.......and some of you aren't doing to well at the daily post thing....I won't mention any names, you know who you are!!!!

Kid @ Heart

2008-05-29T15:34:00.000-07:00

Brett is such a kid at heart. He always loves to act young and have fun. I was in my office working and I heard some eangines roaring. I knew Ron had been waiting for Brett to get home to help him work on his 4-wheeler. So I figured that is what it was. Well, the noise would get loud and then fade away, and then loud again and fade away. I went outside to see Brett and Evrett on one 4-wheeler and Ron and Hannah on another one. They were chasing each other around our front and back yards. I am not sure who was having more fun the "big" boys or the kids. I figure they better have fun for now.....because once we get the fence in (hopefully next week) they won't be able to ride around here.

Under construction!!!

2008-05-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

So I consider myself to be some what of an inteligent human being, but this darn blog set up is kicking my butt!!! I am really trying hard to make it a bit more eye appealing, but for some reason I medd it up. So now I am back to the plain simple template. Bear with me while I do some research and elicite some assistance from other BLOG gurus!!! I guess I am not as hip with technology as I once thought!!!

Sorry there is no picture, but I am sure you don't want to see a picture of me still in my PJs cussing at this darn computer!

Memorial Weekend

2008-05-27T13:57:00.000-07:00

So I received an email from a friend about the origins of the Memorial Day Holiday. I bet you didn't know that is to honor those people who died fighting for our country. My whole life I thought it was to remember our family and friends that had died. But it is specifically to honor those military people who died fighting for the freedoms we too often take for granted. WOW!!! You learn something new each day.

We were lucky enough to have family in form out of town and got to spend some time visiting with them. We had a bar-b-que at Grandma and Grandpa Henderson's house. It was touching since it may be the last family party we have there since they are selling their house. I LOVE my grandparents yard and have many found memories of "too-many-to-name" parties there!!!

Since I got in trouble with the sisters for not posting pictures with ALL my blogs I am going to upload some of the fun photos from the night.

Update

2008-05-22T11:33:00.001-07:00

Maybe I can shoot for weekly posts and stick to that!!!! It has been a busy week. I am going to start with a cute story about Brewer and then I quick update on the rest of the week.

So Brewer is at the age he is losing his teeth. Well his front one has been loose for awhile now. He woke up the other morning so sad. I asked him what was wrong. He told me that while he was laying be he was wiggling his tooth and it fell out. So he put it under his pillow but the tooth fairy didn't come. He wanted to know why she didn't come and take his tooth. Well being the genius I am I told him it was because mommy had stayed up late reading (I couldn't put Stephanie Meyers new book the HOST down.), so I must have been awake. And since the tooth fairy can't come unless everyone in your house is asleep that must have been why. He was so cute about it and told me I better not stay up that night reading. In fact when we were getting ready for bed he reminded me again that I couldn't stay up late. I had forgotten, so I asked him why not. And he told me so the tooth fairy could get his tooth. It was really cute.

Well we finished up the boys last soccer games on Saturday. Both of them scored goals (Brewer scored 4 for his team!) After soccer Payton's coach had a party planned so we went over for pizza and the kids played on one of those water slide things. Not like the kind we had when I was younger...you know the old "slip'n slide" where you hooked the hose up and the slid across this flimsy piece of plastic and hit every bump and rock on the lawn. Nope...now-a-days there are these huge blow up slides that are at least 8 feet high. The kids climb up the front and then can slide down the sides into a little pool of water. Way fun!!! Sunday was spent with the kids. We had a bar-b-que after church and then played dodge ball on the tramp and then some games before bed.

So that was the weekend....HOT, I think on Monday it even reached close to 90 degrees. Of course I didn't even think of putting sunscreen on for the games, we are so used to be bundled up in blankets, so even though I put in on before the party we got a little fried. Well I guess Birkley and I did, the boys have spent their time off track playing out side, so they are all turning a nice golden brown.

Today is Thursday and it is only 5oish. That is a big change in temperature! I am waiting for my cough to begin. It always happens when the weather is crazy like this. I really wanted to atleast a few weeks of true spring.....70ish weather...before it got hot, but I didn't want to go back to the 50s. Hopefully it will warm up a bit and then stay there for a few days. It has even been snowing in the mountains. Almost June and snow!!!! Now that is crazy!

One last update.....I play soccer, or at least I try. I was playing on the women's league last night and twisted my knee. I hope I didn't damage it.....the track record in my family is not that great when it comes to injuring your knees. I thought I was fine, but today it hurts when I do certain things. I am hopeful it will feel better tomorrow, or I will have to break down and go to the doctor!!!!

What's new?

2008-05-07T11:04:00.000-07:00

I need to be better about updating my Blog. really want this to be a journal, how annoying will it be if for the whole year I only have 3 entries.

Brett graduated last Friday. YIPEE!!!! Everyone needs to give a shout out to him. I am soooo proud of this accomplishment. He has worked so hard and sacrificed tons to reach his goal. We had our family and friends over for brownies and ice cream on Sunday to celebrate. It is so nice to see the support and those you care about. I hate the getting ready and stressing over people being at my house. I always worry it won't be clean and that I will forget to talk to everyone. But I do my best.

The next step is finding a great job to use all the knowledge he has gained and the talents he has. I hope he finds something that will make him happy. Having a job you like makes a world of difference. We are just excited to have our dad back. It was a crazy sememster of working full time during the day and then going to classes 3 nights a week. He rarely had more than 1 day off of work and then sent his "free" time working on his online class and writing papers and studying for his other classes.

That is all for now. And yes...I am going to try to post more often!!!!

Not a GOOD blogger

2008-05-01T16:48:00.000-07:00

So considering the fact that I was going to post on this daily as much as possible, and it has been a long, long time since I have posted. I would have to say I really am not a good blogger. I have every intent of doing better, but hey life happens.

At work today I found out I had built a bunch of stuff (I won't get to detailed because my sisters tell me when I talk about work it is like I am speaking a different language) anyways, I built this "stuff" on the wrong switch. So hours and hours of work had to be redone and I had to tell people I totally messed up. Not good. But I guess stuff happens and you have to take it all in stride.

Speaking of which......I am not sure how much I love the fact that Birkley is growing up. Her older brother, Evrett (Mr. Mischief-not-gonna-follow-the-rules-Independent) was sneaking cereal from the pantry and left the door open. Seeing how she is so darn smart (and cute if we are being honest) she followed his lead and tried to get herself some cereal. Well she got into the pantry and climbed up on my crock-pot. Needless to say she knocked the lid off and it shattered all over the place.

Initially I was pretty ticked off. I think get that from my dad. After I calmed down a bit I realized there were three people at fault. Evrett for being sneaking and not remembering to close the pantry door. Birkley since she was to ambitious and tried to get her own cereal. And Brett....how long have I been asking him to put a lock on the pantry?!?!?! But I guess it doesn't matter to much. I will just have to tell Brett I want a new crock-pot for Mother's Day. Along with the Big Bite scrapping tool. I can't wait to play with that.

Even though kids can be turkeys like above they can also be amazing! Last week (I think it was last week) I wasn't feeling well. Let's just say my guts hated me. Payton got all the kids up and had them fed breakfast and getting ready before I even crawled out of bed. I only woke up because I heard him telling Evrett to "not bother mom because she was sick". How great is that. He is so responsible and such a great helper. I can't believe he is going to be 9. Like everyone always says , "where does the time go" and I will re-emphasize that again since I can't believe it has been since the 15th that I posted and I was going to post at least something ever day. Oh well...I guess you just keep pressing forward and have gratitude for the opportunity to do better tomorrow.

Math Night

2008-03-14T10:12:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I was going to be really good about updating this everyday. Obviously that might not happen. Sometime life is crazy and gets so busy. On Wed night we had math night at the school. It was fun for the kids to do math oriented activities and then there was a magic show. Payton also won a book. Which I might add he stayed up until 11pm finishing (I wonder where he gets that from). It was a good thing I got dinner done before we went over to the school. We didn't get home until almost 8pm....and with 8:30pm bedtime that wouldn't have left much time for dinner.

Once we were home and the kids were in their PJs we watched the results of American Idol. I will say I haven't missed the fact that we wasted alot of time watching the TV, but since we got rid of DirecTV I really do miss having Tivo. There is something wonderful about having the few show I like to watch recorded and available whenever I have a chance to sit and watch them (which isn't that often). And the beauty of being able to fast forward through commercial....I REALLY miss that!!!! Needless to say I haven't been watching it like I usually do, but I try to catch the results show, since it gives you a recap of the performances and I know who is still in the game.

Yesterday was a bit busy. Trying to work from home is challenging a times. I am blessed that I am able to, but here are days it is harder than I thought it would be. But there is nothing better than be home when the kids get done with school and not having to take them to a baby sitter. Once work and school was over we had to get everyone's homework done (it is due on Fridays). Payton had a conflict in his schedule....he was supposed to have Cub Scouts and Soccer practice at 6pm. Lucky for him scouts got cancelled so he didn't have to choose which one to go to. I am probably going to have to talk to his coach because he is so gung ho with scouts I don't want him to loose his drive.

I went to make dinner and realized I didn't have all the ingredients...so off to the store I went. By the time I got returned home and got dinner made it was time for baths and to review homework. The scripture study, and few stories and the kids were in bed.....after 9pm.....why can't we ever make bedtime. Then I cleaned up the house and sat down on the couch. I have been really tired lately and found myself dozing off. Brett told me to go to bed....he was in working on his homework and found me asleep on the couch. So I crawled into bed...even though there was a list of things I needed to get done. I woke up early this morning and finished a few of them. But I still have Brewer's Pirate Party to finish planning for tomorrow and we are in charge of date night. This week has been crazy. I can't seem to stay on top of everything.

Speaking of that I was talking to my friend Nikki about it yesterday. I at one time was pregnant, going to school full time, working full time, serving in the Primary presidency, coaching Brewers soccer team, on top of being a mom and wife. And now I don't even have half that on my plate and I can't keep everything going and get it all done. We decided (since she was the same way) that having more on your plate...not too much, just enough to have a good balance...keeps you on target with everything. I guess I need to add a bit more to my plate so I can keep up with everything. Just not until Brett is done with school.....having him gone 3 nights a week and doing homework every chance he gets is enough for now.

The beginning

2008-03-12T11:13:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I have always thought about creating a blog, but have never gotten around to setting it up. I am hoping this will be a great way for me to document the goings on in our lives. My oldest son is 8 and realize I do not have the memory I once had. So here goes.

I am going to start writing about he wonderful evening we had yesterday. On the first of February my mom found out she had cancer. It was such a shock and so scary to think of her having to deal with all that comes from that kind of diagnosis. Anyways she started chemo today so my siblings and I decided to plan her a surprise party, to show how much support she has. We invited friends and family and titled the invitations "Hair today Hat tomorrow". We asked everyone to bring her a scarf or hat, something she could wear on her head since the doctor told her she would defiantly loose her hair. Talk about a hard thing, it was very difficult for us to keep a secret from mom. She is involved with everything, just talking to her on the phone was hard....I was afraid I would slip and say something in reference to the part.

Well by some miracle we were able to pull it off. Even with my cute little 5 year old niece Hannah wanting so bad to tell grandma about the party and my dad not being able to come up with a reason for all the calls between him and his girls. We asked everyone to wear pink in support of Breast Cancer, planned tons of "pink food" and had notes for everyone to fill out with inspiring words or uplifting thoughts to help her through the chemo (we are putting these in a small scrapbook that she can keep with her all the time).

I have to say that even before Tuesday arrived I was overcome with emotion. My mother's sisters who live out of state sent packages with hats and people called to RSVP and ask for ideas. WOW!! My mom sure is loved. And then I lost it. As everyone was piling into my living room and asking how we were planning on getting her out to my house with out her knowing it, I got a bit teary eyed. All these people cared so much about my wonderful mom and they were here to show her that support.

I truly was an amazing night. She is going to be one stylish cancer patient!!!