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 Robyn!

Robyn turned SEVEN years old today. Wow that went fast!

Her dad surprised her with a new bike in the living room when she came down for breakfast. It is beautiful with streamers and everything. He also got her some new socks because all of her old socks are very holey.


She decorated her butterfly birthday cake herself. Caden was very willing to help her eat it. He wants it to be his birthday again tomorrow. Birthdays are fun stuff!


Grace provided the music to "Happy Birthday." I'm afraid it didn't help our singing. The song still sounded like it usually does - pretty bad. I'm reminded every birthday of when we sent Darron a tape on his mission of the whole gang at Thanksgiving singing Happy Birthday for him. When he listened to it, his companion asked, "What IS that?"


A few things about Robyn:

She really likes blue socks.

She is a great babysitter.

She loves to do laundry because she has to climb the walls to hang up Randy's shirts.

She is always the first one with her jobs done.

She has amazing endurance when she runs and she's fast too - she takes after her Daddy.

Her mother loves her very, very much!

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.

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.

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.)

Crazy Manimal!

Cader Bader is a crazy manimal! But he has beautiful big brown eyes so he gets away with everything.


He is not afraid of ANYTHING.


The girls and I made the cutest table display yesterday with some great little gourds and pumpkins we found at a farmers market. Today Caden put all the great little gourds and pumpkins down the vent! Even the adorable little warty one.
Randy saved the day by crawling under the house and pushing up on the vent so I could retrieve them. Hooray for Dads!



He thinks he is big like his brother and loves to get in on the computer games. Colin has been building a chess playing robot this week with the Lego Mindstorms and Caden loves to "help." I'll have to get a picture of it when all the bugs are worked out. Colin is building it for Robyn - she likes to play chess, but no one likes to play with her because she always wins so he is building her a robot. What a great brother! :)
I love to watch the things these little turkeys come up with.



One good feature about Caden is his impeccable table manners. He can use a spoon better than his three siblings put together. He is contrary even in that though - notice he is a little lefty!

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.  

Robyn's Essay on our Twin Falls Trip

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.

Robyn had a birthday!

We had us another birthday at our house last week. Robyn Sue turned 6 on us. Darn kids, just keep growing.
As much fun as that birthday was, now we're fixin' to have another one this weekend. My Gracie May is turning 4. We pretty muchly just party all summer long around here.

Quick update

1 weekend + 700 miles = visiting with lots of family.
Grandma's bounce house is always a hit with the kids.
The bows Aunt Katie made are AWESOME. I have incredibly talented sisters! (Not to mention incredibly beautiful daughters - they definitely take after their aunts.)


Caden turned 1 = Happy Birthday, baby boy!


Van's fixed. 1 rock chuck = $1700 worth of damage!


Sour dough experiments = complete success! Go me!


Jeremy + Shannon = a new aunt for us in August! Go Jeremy!


Last year's jam = 1 jar left + 26 new from this year's crop. Talk about good planning!

3rd week of June = National Old Time Fiddler's Contest. Colin, Robyn, and Grace played with the Jr. Jammers as entertainment during the evening contest last Tuesday. Fun Stuff!