Wanna Bet!

This post.

Oh my.

In some ways it is nice to know that I am not alone in this world. That other mothers have creative, resourceful children too.

But in other ways it makes me think perhaps mom is right.


I may miss these days.


Some perspective is a good thing.

I'm gonna miss this?

My mother said that one day I would miss my kids being little. Some times I'm not so sure I believe her.


Take dinner tonight for example. This is Caden and Grace. I asked Caden why he was trying to sit in Gracie's booster and he said, "I'm not." So then I asked him what he was doing. He said, "I'm stepping in it." So what did I do? I whipped out my iPhone and took a picture because what else can a nursing mother do?

I might miss this Caden.


And this Gracie.


And Betsy and Robyn too.


But only if I forget about the gigantic mess that was made. :)

Car City

This post is really just a quick note-to-self so I don't forget about this newest great game the kids have invented. Plus the picture of Colin and Robyn with their new glasses they got this month.


Car city is a game the kids started this summer in the sand pile. Caden started it by filling the sandpile with water creating a swimming pool for the matchbox cars and the game took on a life of it's own as it evolved into a whole community.
Car city is on “Hamburger Island” in “Garbagetown.” The cars soon outgrew the sandpile and development crept out onto the patio. There are well laid out streets with houses and shops lining them. The opening of the shops necessitated the need for a bank and some kind of currency to shop with. The currency has changed as they discover better and easier ways to keep track of it. Of course, the store owners wanted lots of business so they needed to advertise. Then, like all larger cities, they needed rules to guide conduct. Laws were written but crime still became a problem and they needed a prison and policemen. Soon they needed a hospital and doctors and nurses because of injuries and diseases that were being spread throughout the community. (One of the diseases was house flu and it resembles Swine flu.) Over development occurred surrounding the swimming pool and the old time residents marveled at the changes but due to poor community planning “The Villages” were soon destroyed by flooding.

It has been so fun to see this game unfold. I have loved watching what happens next. It's been interesting to watch the changes that happens as the “community” grows and evolves. I plan to let them go with this as long as it lasts.

Happy Birthday to Grace!

Grace turned 5 yesterday!






Pretty much everything that could go wrong for a birthday did, but she didn't seem to mind too much. First her present didn't get here in time. Then I destroyed the cake trying to get it out of the pan. Dad was late getting home from work, dinner was even later. She wanted to go swimming for her birthday so we did, for a few minutes. Just as we were getting ready to leave the pool some boy tried to drown her twice! He said he was trying to "help" her when I asked him about it. It sure didn't look like he was helping her to me, nor did it feel like much help to her. I still don't know the whole story.

The good news is she lived through it and made it home to eat the destroyed cake that Randy managed to salvage and do a pretty good job of hiding the wreckage with frosting. Her present arrived this morning - it was scriptures, a blue quad with a button. We took them to get her name on them today - she picked rainbow and cursive, it's very beautiful. She likes them and is happy to finally have her own set.

Happy Birthday, Gracie!

Go Gracie!

Randy took Gracie's training wheels off yesterday. She's a big kid now!

Deal with it!

Last week I signed up to sew 10 receiving blankets for Humanitarian Aid. As I attempted to get them done, my sewing machine completely freaked out on me and would not sew. This is not uncommon for this particular machine. It does it everything I try to sew anything. It makes me never ever want to sew. But then I forget how my machine makes me want to say bad words and I try again.
This time, there was no fixing that Randy or I could do to solve the problem. I even recently paid $60 to have the dang thing serviced! I was not a happy woman. I gave up.

Grace came over to me, put her little hand on my knee, looked me right in the eye and said, "You signed up to do these blankets and now you are just going to have to deal with it."

That girl! Children are so very humbling. I spent all night trying to figure out how I was going to "deal with it." I came up with nothing.

Then, to my surprise, Randy dealt with it. He brought me home a new machine the next day. Now I have no excuses not to "deal with it." I'd better get those blankets done before this new baby gets here.

Happy Mother's Day!

Instead of breakfast in bed, Randy woke me up with this picture. Congratulations Ron and Andrea! I guess it's fair that you got yours first, but I wouldn't have minded getting a baby for Mother's Day too. (Madeline Rose was born yesterday morning - May 9th. She is two weeks early! Maybe her cousin will follow suit. That would be okay by me!)

Randy did make breakfast and when I came down to the table to eat I found very unexpected presents. I love a nice surprise. He had gotten me daisies and a terracotta flower pot that I had told him I wanted. My plan is not to use the pot for flowers but to use it to roast a chicken in. It's my latest idea. I read about it in Alton Brown's book I'm Just Here for the Food. I love Alton Brown's stuff. I'll have to post about it when I try it.



Robyn also had a nice surprise for me. She has been sewing lately, but she never showed me what she'd made until this morning. It was a homemade bag filled with little pillows that she had embroidered on. Made me cry. She is getting pretty good. Here are some close ups of her handiwork.



Grace also had presents for me. She made me a necklace. Unfortunately Caden broke it while I was wearing it. I need to get some stronger string. At primary, they had the kids write somethings they would do for their mothers today. Grace wrote that she would mop the floor and make cookies. When we got home, she had the floor mopped before I even got my dress changed. Then she changed and got right on those cookies. She did a great job making me some no bake cookies. They were very yummy. We recently got her tested for food allergies and found out she can't have dairy, wheat, or eggs. Luckily, with some minor modification, no bake cookies are okay for her to eat. Happy day - I wouldn't want to have to live without cookies. (But if I had to choose, I'd take Grace over cookies.) After dinner she finished sewing this pillow for me. It will be perfect for supporting my neck on our next car trip.


Colin and Caden have been fairly good boys. Colin wrote on his Primary list that he would program in PHP. He's been doing it since he got home. It's not exactly what I might have chosen for him to do for me for Mother's day, but at least he's happy. I do like happy children.
Caden drew me a picture this morning. The picture turned out great. Too bad he didn't stop there - he also decorated the wall and the electrical outlet with his marker. In case anyone is interested - dry erase marker does come off of electrical outlets but it doesn't come off walls. It's a good thing he is cute. Both my boys have those big brown eyes that make me melt - that's why they get away with everything.


This next picture is for my own dear mother. She had a few boys with big brown eyes that got away with a lot too. This boy reminds me a lot of one of them.

Declaration of Independence

I have been working on memorizing the first two paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence this month. I wrote up those two paragraphs on two huge pieces of paper. Colin thought we should make it look more authentic (old) by burning the edges of the paper. So we did and then I hung them on the wall by the dining room table so I could read it every time we sat down to eat. It's coming...slowly. If we work together, Colin and I can almost recite both paragraphs using just the first letter of each word as clues.

Tonight after family night, Grace sat on the table and read the entire thing! Of course she needed lots of help, but she stuck with it and wouldn't quit until she'd finished. She can now read words like "government" and "usurpations". I tell you what - it is really fun to hear your four year old read "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights..." Pretty darn impressive.
The whole "Inspire, not Require" thing does work.

Gospel Hour

The kids were in their Gospel Hour fiddle show this past weekend. They did great! It was so fun to be their mommy!
My pictures didn't turn out so great. There are better pictures at http://www.pricelessmemoriesstudios.com/. Currently, Colin and Robyn are in the picture that comes up with the site. They are on the bottom left. If you want to see more, enter the site and click on Gallery. The pictures are in Gospel Hour. Most of the good pictures of my kids are on page 2 and 3. Picture DSC_19031 is a good one of Robyn (there are a lot of good ones of Robyn). DSC_19131 is a good one of Colin. He and Robyn are at the mic for that part. Colin gets on the second row usually and it is hard to get good pictures of him. The pictures of Grace are DSC_1917, 19181, 19211, 1927, 1940. She is in a few others too.

Spring has Sprung!

I was feeling really bad about living so far away from family this month. Not so much anymore.

We went to Brad and Ashton's wedding this past weekend. It was beautiful! Everything went very well and it was great to see everyone. We had a great time. However, it was very COLD and snowy.

It was very nice to come home to 50 degree weather and crocuses. I love springtime!

Maybe you guys should all move closer to me. :)

Music Man

Caden woke up this morning "singing" the train part of Orange Blossom Special. I don't know how to type what he said. Something like "err, errrrr, err, err buck, buck, buck, buck." How can you not wake up with a smile when that's your alarm clock. So funny!!




Of course, the little turkey won't do it again for me so I could get a movie. This is not today's picture, but it's classic Caden.


The big kids have been doing several Christmas Fiddle shows at nursing homes and care centers for the past two weeks. With all the practice and the shows, it's no wonder Caden can sing the songs.

Merry Christmas!

Hoedown Pictures

This is a picture of the Jammers doing the Patriotic Medley. It's my favorite song of the whole show. They play each of the armed forces songs and have the veterans from each stand while their song is played. It's AWESOME!
Colin and Robyn are on the front row in the center. They are standing next to each other.


This is Colin and the other contest winners playing Dill Pickle Rag.


Here is Grace in the practice room just before going onstage.

It's that time again - The Country Harvest Hoedown is here!

This is it. The BIG Weekend we've all been waiting for. Finally.
The Country Harvest Hoedown is tonight and tomorrow. I can't wait to see the show.

Colin, Robyn, and Grace are all in it and they have been practicing for months to get ready.



Yesterday, Colin and Robyn were on TV as the dress rehearsal was televised during the weather reports on the news. That was pretty cool.



Grace didn't go because it was WAY too early in the morning for a four year old. She and Caden had a good rehearsal anyway.
Uncle Mike wrote and said to make sure Caden learns something "manly" like the guitar. Caden is happy to comply. Every time Randy picks up his guitar to practice, Caden goes for his too. Admittedly, Caden's playing backup isn't too pleasant on the ears, but it sure it fun for the eyes to watch.
(He still can't wait to get his hands on a fiddle though.)

When is the good part of pregnancy?

I was feeling not so great the other morning and I said to my family, "Don't mind me, this is just the bad part of pregnancy." After saying that, I wondered when the good part of pregnancy was. Then I looked around and saw it all around me.

Here are a few examples of the good parts of pregnancy, yep they pretty muchly all happen AFTER it's all over.


Colin, Robyn, and Grace trying to hold down the leaf piles they've been working on when a big wind came up.

Caden insisting he get to try to ride the unicycle. I am pretty sure he'll learn it before I ever do. I've been working on it and it's just too darn scary! It's the one thing I didn't get done before I turned 30. I brought home Mike's unicycle and I worked on it unsuccessfully for days. Then one night after work, Randy hopped on it and rode around the block. He was the kids' hero that night. He totally cheated by not telling them that he has been able to unicycle for years. Sure made me look bad! Pretty funny though.

Grace working on learning to rollerblade. Robyn found them at the DI yesterday and the three big kids have been taking turns with them. They actually only fit Colin, but that hasn't stopped the girls from trying. Robyn is the best at it so far. Luckily, I learned to rollerblade as a child, rollerblading is not nearly as scary as unicycling. Randy said he married me for my rollerblading skills. I'd better dust them off and start practicing again. :)

How to Draw a Butterfly

Here are the step by step instructions on how to draw a butterfly according to Grace.



Here's what it looks like with all the steps put together.





I tried it and it's pretty fun to draw butterflies! Especially with such a great teacher as Grace.

Weekend Fun

My Kids are so very creative. :)  Here they are being "doggies."  Caden thought it was pretty funny.  I am not sure what the implications for the future are.  Hopefully he doesn't try it in Oreo's water dish.  

Last weekend we went to Gunfighter Skies. It was pretty awesome. We even got to see the Thunderbirds.  

Learning all the Time

Yesterday, Robyn was reading her book in this chair. She got out to get a drink and when she came back, Caden had climbed in and was "reading" his book just like she had been. He didn't want to let her have the chair back, but they eventually came to a compromise.





Caden is getting pretty self reliant. He was playing in the sand pile and got hungry. No problem. He knows where the good snacks are - in the blackberry patch!


He was pretty excited that Grace was shucking some corn from Robyn's garden for dinner. It's delicious.


It looked good enough to eat. He was not happy when I took it in to cook it.

morning jam sessions

Here are a few pictures of morning fiddle practice. Everyone loves to jam with Dad! Dad can make everything more fun. Randy has been in charge of fiddle practice all summer - I love it! I hope he can keep it up when he starts his classes again this fall.

Jeremy and Shannon's Wedding Day

We got a new aunt this weekend! As far as I could tell, everything went great. Shannon was gorgeous. The food was good. The decorations were pretty. And, of course, the company was good. Here are some pictures from the day.


The Groom (aka Uncle Jeremy) and Caden at the luncheon.


The girls with the Bride (newly known as Aunt Shannon) at the luncheon.


The girls with Uncle Sam who is almost done with his service to "Uncle Sam". After two tours with the Marines in Iraq, he will be coming home for good in two weeks. Thank you Sam! We love you a lot.


Colin provides some entertainment between the luncheon and the reception. He did a great job at keeping the kids busy. He played several primary songs for them to guess the tune and some good dance tunes for a dance party.
Colin, Robyn, and Grace each played their fiddles at the reception for some live entertainment. They did a fine job.