Mother/Daughter Nerd Night

Haley and I had a great time last night at our YW Mother/Daughter Nerd night.  We had been planning our outfits all week, and were really looking forward to it.  We had some left-over 3-D glasses that Haley popped the lenses out of (because I couldn't do it -- but I'm really not a wimp), and we added the classic tape in the middle.  We did our hair -- I had a side pony tail, ah la "Deb" in Napoleon Dinomite, with a big bow hanging out and my bangs poofed to the roof.  Haley's bangs wer also poofed, and she had pig-tails with a sparkly crown in one, and a doily rubber band in the other.

Our blouses were mostly tucked, with one corner hanging out, LOTS of pens in our pockets, our pants rolled up and pulled up above our waists, and we had funny socks and wore flip flops (that was hard!). 

Our makeup was hideous, complete with freckles and lipstick above and around our lips, and on our teeth. 

Haley wanted to die riding in the car, for fear that someone would see her.

I threatened a trip to the grocery store, but I was afraid she would run away.

Our fearless leader, Sister Taylor, Queen of the Nerds:

Our cutest nerds of the night were the mother/daughter nerd team of Colleen and Emily:

Our coolest nerds were the Ostlers.  They put us all to shame.

Our Suspender Queens:

Haley and I were the champions of three nerdy games.  Man, we look bad.  I might have to destroy these someday.

That was a very fun evening that we won't soon forget!  We found out just how competitive we are.  We also found out that we're pretty comfortable being nerds!

Joey's First Day of Preschool!

Joey had his first day of preschool today!  He's been very excited since going last week to the open house.  He was nervous before that, but after seeing his classroom and meeting his teachers, he was very excited.  He has his own backpack, and his EpiPen is attached right to it.  That's where he likes it.

He wore his favorite new shirt and his dinosaur shoes.  He has his own snack bucket, and the other kids know not to bring nuts to class.  His favorite part was recess, and he said he likes everything, and he likes all his teachers.

I think it's going to be a fun year, and we're so happy to have Miss Kim as his teacher!

Happy Birthday Andrew!

Andrew turns the all important eight today!  He is very excited, and is especially excited to be baptised next week.  Andrew has been such a good boy all of his life.  We've enjoyed every minute of him!  He was a quiet baby, fascinated with cars.  He only said "mama, dada, and uh oh" until he was about 2 1/2.  But his vocabulary has expanded greatly since then.  He's even in Extended Studies (formerly Gifted and Talented Education) and is a downright genius (seriously - he was tested!). 

Let us reminisce Andrew's earlier years, and some very important events:

Andrew did this himself.  I guess I should have picked up after myself a little better.

OOO!  You're just so cute!

Love that smile!  We see a lot of that smile, because Andrew is usually as happy as can be!

Andrew and Shoji:

First trip to the ER ended in three stitches:

Andrew's fourth birthday:

First day of preschool!  He went to Aunt Jill's preschool, and loved every minute of it.

Fifth birthday, he got the Game Boy!

Sixth birthday we celebrated with friends at Chuck-E-Cheese:

Andrew turned seven:

Andrew turning eight!

Here are some of Andrew's birthday answers:

What's your favorite:

toy: Star Wars action figures

show: Clone Wars

movie: Star Wars

food: Apples

person: Mom

place to go: Florida

color: Green

thing to do: Play with friends

thing: Nintendo DS

place to eat: City Brew (thanks, Grandpa)

song: Power Rangers Ninja Storm

book: Star Wars books and Magic Tree House series

animal: dog

He would also like you to know that his best friend is Ryan.

Happy birthday, Andrew!  We love you!

Happy Birthday, Gracie!

Yesterday, Gracie woke up and she was 3 years old! She was so very excited...

Here's Gracie through the years (all three of them):

Newborn Gracie:

Grace age 1:
Grace age 2:

Grace age 3:

We took all the kids out of school for lunch and went to Chuck-E-Cheese. That's the tradition here - you get to pick where to go for lunch, and since it was Chuck-E-Cheese, we had to include all the kids! School can wait when there's fun to be had.

Her favorite thing to do was the car that took your picture. We ended up with seven of them. And the strangest thing was, she looked exactly the same in every picture! She had her head turned with the same expression on her face. It was weird. You could only tell the difference by who was passing in the background.

I like going there for lunch during school - we had the place almost all to ourselves!

The boys were really excited to sit all by themselves, even though they were right at the next table:

Grace really enjoyed her pizza, but left most of it on the plate because there was just so much to do, and so little time!

I decided to ask Grace what some of her favorite things are, for posterity. Here's her answers:

What's your favorite:

toy: Tinkerbell

show: Kai Lan

movie: Star Wars

food: Spaghetti

person: Emma

place to go: Eat Lunch

color: Orange and Pink

thing: My blankie

thing to do: Play with my brothers

place to go eat: Chuck-E-Cheese

song: Power Rangers songs

book: Bobby

animal: kitty

Grace also wanted me to include these other favorite things: working, laying down in bed, playing kitchen, dancing, going outside, I Am a Child of God, saying my prayers, jumping on the trampoline, fixing things with my daddy, hammering, talking to Mr. Cory

I'm sure she'll let me know if there's anything else.

We're having Andrew and Grace's family birthday party tonight, so hopefully I'll remember to take some pictures.

Happy Anniversary!

Today is our anniversary. It's been nearly a decade of marriage, and we've had a lot of fun so far. We decided not to get each other silly gifts, so instead I wrote this for you:

We've got five great kids

Bought two houses
7 cars
All for just two spouses.

Visited 10 states
A few broken plates
Sleepless nights
A few fights.

Too much yard work
But you've never been a jerk
Laundry load after load
You're a prince, not a toad.

The kids are wild
You are mild
We make a great team
But you've still got to install that beam.

We've had a dog or two
You've always come home on cue
I'm not always easy to live with
You found out my sweetness is only a myth.

I've loved our time together
I'm looking forward to forever
I'll love you always
We'll have many more great days.

My tall dark and handsome
I'd kidnap you for ransom
I love you and our clan
I'm glad you're my man!

Happy Anniversary, Ben. I love you!

Family Service Day....And Other Stuff

Last Saturday was Stake Family Service Day. We went to the church at 9:30 in the morning (and found everybody leaving because it actually started at 9:00, we just had it wrong) and got our assignment to collect food for the Food Bank. We went as a family (duh - that's why they called it "Family Service Day") around my mom's neighborhood and collected a whole wagon-full of food. We chose to go around that neighborhood because we were on a time limit, and her house is right by the church. Plus, they have a wagon and ours is a big heavy working-man one.

Here's our loot:

I've still been desperately trying to keep up with our harvest. So while Ben and I were in the garden, I caught the Union's new Steward (see post below) sitting on the other side picking green tomatoes and eating them while sitting in the dirt. He then took the green tomatoes to the sand box and began burying them. At least he had the right idea! I mean, you do plant things in the garden.

He also tried a bite of a carrot the Ben pulled, but he spit that out.

Here he is trying to get up on the trampoline because all the big kids were on it and it looked fun. However, this is how he pulled his arm out of socket last time, so I figured I'd get proof this time before we went to the ER.

And here's the little monkey man after he was successful:

I tried to get everybody together for a group picture, but nobody would cooperate. What was I thinking interrupting their fun for a lowly picture?! Haley was inside doing her homework. I think. Maybe she was talking to friends or on the computer, but I choose to think she was doing her homework.

Anyway, this was the best I could do under the circumstances:

And this is Andrew "playing dead":

At dinner time we ate some great zucchini spaghetti. It was great, and I'm still waiting for the Union to ask, "Where's the Beef?" Not that we ever have beef, except at barbeque's. But the Union did sit down with management and asked for a majority vote on whether or not they can watch "Fred videos". I don't know how they expect to get a majority vote when there are two of us. I guess we'll have to agree!

I think I'll have to watch some of these videos before I can vote.

It's going to be a busy month: we have two birthdays, one anniversary (tomorrow), a baptism, a friend birthday party, a family birthday party, Opera rehearsals and performances, and Ben will be gone for two weekends (well, Thursday thru Saturday) for Woodbadge. So hopefully I'll be able to keep posting, but we'll see. The good news is our camera should be fixed soon:)

I must go fold the laundry now. The Union has been complaining about lack of available clean clothes.

The Union Acts

The Union has voted on a new Steward to conduct its day to day business. Apparently, I did not know the Executive Committee was having a meeting to vote on their new Steward, but, in fact, he has already started to act in his new role.

I have found that my deodorant was taken from the Management's bathroom and relocated to a place unknown. I made a dash for the store to buy more (thinking it had been thrown away), only to find it the next day stashed deep in a corner in the Management's closet. Management's lip balm has also been taken by said Steward and not been found. It has been replaced as of this afternoon.

Management has also been finding that the Steward has been re-organizing things all around the house. Every day, I find a new article in the Management's bathroom drawer, including magnets, action figures, and balls.

Management has provided fringe benefits to this Steward, including his favorite toys, juice in a sippy cup, and multitudes of snack options. Yet this Steward insists on bypassing said fringe benefits in favor of emptying Management's cupboards while they are trying to cook, clean, and get anything productive done.

Arbitration may be needed. Anyone with ties to this Agent of Darkness:

should call the Appointing Authority before a contract dispute is in the works and strike ensues.

Harvest Time! School Time!

Fall is my favorite season of the year, but I find myself in the kitchen A LOT, trying to do something with the bounty that is our garden. Here is just one day's worth of loot:

I'm really excited that we've had a productive garden this year. Of course, I think squash could grow anywhere! I've been busy making and freezing lots of soups. I have a great, easy butternut squash soup recipe if any of you would like it. It has squash, cream cheese, onion, chicken broth, and some spices and it's oh so yummy. I've got two batches frozen already, just from four squash!

We were in the garden the other day, and I was searching for some treasures, so Grace and Joey came to help. Joey got distracted catching grasshoppers, but Grace shouted, "Hey! I found a smoosh!" I didn't know what a "smoosh" was until she grabbed a giant squash. I guess 'squash' and 'smoosh' mean the same thing, so she just got them mixed up. We thought it was so cute, though, that now squash are known as 'smooshes' in our house.

We also found what I call "The Champ", and the kids call "The Green Monster" (Go Red Sox!). It was a great big zucchini we stumbled upon in the garden. It took three of us to pull it out. It's almost two feet long. I don't want to cut it up because it's so awesome, but I'm afraid it's going to be dinner. So long, Champ.

So far, everyone is enjoying school. Yesterday was our first day, and Andrew and Haley settled into their regular schedules perfectly. Haley was up at 5:30 doing her hair, and Andrew struggled out of bed at 7:15. He is so happy to have his best friend, Ryan, in his class again this year! Three years in a row!

Haley is happy to be socializing again, and dealing with some whacky teachers. I laughed at her reinactment of her history class, where they did some hippie exercises because "history is all about acting" according to her alternative-style teacher. It should be a fun and interesting year!

At the Lake

Well, we didn't sleep very well Friday night. It was a little too exciting for the kids in the backyard. Grace decided around midnight that she actually didn't want to be outside after all, so she went to her bed to sleep. I fell asleep (in my comfy bed) soon after that, but I think Dad was up till about 3 a.m. We got up at 7 anyway to make it up to the lake.

We had a great time, even though it was scorching hot. There was a bit of a hike up to the lake, only about a quarter mile, but it was uphill and New York decided to wear flip flops. Haley was a genius and also wore city footwear. They decided later that the flip flops were actually mountain sandals, since they had very little trouble with the terrain.

While the big kids fished and Eric took pictures, Matt and I played in the water. He ingested just enough to give him some diarrhea today, but it will pass. We had fun cooling off in the water, and the ducks swam right up to us. He thought that was really funny. He also had a great time playing hide and seek with the bucket on his head.

They caught several fish that were guppy-sized. Around 11:30 we had enough, so Dad and Andrew (those two could fish all day!) stayed at the lake while we ran into town to grab lunch. I said we'd be back to pick them up in the parking lot in a half hour. What was I thinking? We found them loyally waiting in the parking lot an hour and 20 minutes later, when we finally returned. I think Andrew thought he'd have to hike home. But we brought Subway, so we were forgiven.

When we went camping, I brought each of the kids a squirt bottle, which kept them busy. This time I forgot the squirt bottles, but I did remember the shovels and pails, and I stuck the "big whapper" in the car for Joey. He killed many bugs, and stayed out of the way after he was done fishing.

We didn't get any pictures of the New Yorker, because he was busy being the cameraman. Maybe we'll get some today.

A Crazy Friday Night

The kids and Ben are in the back yard right now in the tent. I was just out there playing shadow puppets with them. I think it's gonna be a long night for Ben. They're a little wound up.

We usually like to camp in the wilderness, but Ben had a CE class today, and Haley had to be at a YW sleepover, so that didn't leave us time to get to the mountains. But we are going fishing tomorrow, so we thought it would be "fun" to sleep in the tent. Well, it will be "fun" for them -- I'll be in my bed! Someone has to be inside for the baby, right?

Speaking of the baby, we just got back from his very first trip to the ER. That leaves only Grace that hasn't been there yet. Joey's been two or three times. Story of my life. Anyway, he had pulled himself up on a chair to try to get on the trampoline, and he pulled his elbow out of socket. I thought it was his shoulder, because he was crying and his arm was limp at his side -- he couldn't use it at all, and it was very painful for him. It was still out right up until the time we actually got called in to be seen at the hospital. Then he must have twisted it back himself, because he started using it and then he was fine. The doctors probably think I'm nuts. Just another crazy person coming in on a Friday night. At least I have witnesses -- both my mom and Eric saw him with the limp arm.

Well, it's shaping up to be a fun weekend! Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings...