Where is the egg?

I'm sure that Rachael is actually "Supergirl". In the time it took me to answer the telephone she poured a half gallon of milk all over the kitchen floor. She must have super speed or something. Perhaps I should have her race a train or a bullet:)

Earlier today while putting away the chickens and collecting eggs I was reminded of a similar situation on Monday. We were doing the same thing and usually Rachael likes to carry the eggs into the house and put them into the cartons in fridge. This time she handed me one and ordered me into the house to put it away. I thought she was right behind me, but I guess she got sidetracked and never made it inside. When I found her I didn't see the egg. I figured she must have thrown it down the hill into the woods or something, I really didn't think much about it. The next morning I was trying to find something in my purse, and then the mystery of the disappearing egg was solved. I must have left my purse in the car the day before, because nestled between a brush and a diaper was the egg. Thank goodness it was still in tact. As I looked further I found a whole bunch of partially chewed gum all over the rest of the things in my purse. I'm thinking she wanted the egg to keep the gum company. I chucked the egg into the woods and then when Trent saw me trying to clean all the gum off of everything he had quite a laugh. He's lucky I'd already gotten rid of the egg or he may have had it thrown at him.

You'll have to excuse my bragging

I'm going to take a minute to brag about my oldest, Bryan. Bryan is a very bright boy and excels in most things he does (because he works his fanny off), but he does not, I repeat, does not like sports. Anyway, this is the time of year for the annual stake basketball tournament. Normally, he avoids it like the plague. But, this last weekend Trent and I were out of town and the boys stayed at friends houses. Bryan's friend loves basketball and so Bryan felt obligated to go to the tournament. Saturday Trent and I got home and I took James and a few of his friends to the stake center that evening for a dance. I hadn't seen Bryan yet (he just stayed with his friend all of Saturday). I walked into the stake center and a boy hurries over to me and tells me, "Bryan was on fire!" Then I see the bishop and he basically says the same thing. I hear this several times and finally get the story from my son. He got roped into playing and ended up making several 3 pointers, yes, I said 3 pointers, not just baskets (although he made a few 2 point baskets as well)! He was exhausted and hurting from all the sprinting up and down the court, but just beaming with pride at his accomplishment. It's always so fun to see my kids succeed. Good job Bryan:)

Mmmmm, Peach Jam

Last night I was toasting a piece of sour dough bread, and while I was anxiously awaiting my treat (I love sour dough) I decided to clean up a little spill by the sink. I guess when Bryan was doing the dishes earlier he didn't notice he'd knocked over the dish soap. Finally, my toast was done and I slathered it with real butter and peach jam, yummy. I took a bite as I walked to the table and then noticed I'd gotten some jam on my finger. I licked my finger and... gagged. I guess the dish cloth didn't get all the soap, a big glob of it made its way to my finger. I ran to the sink spitting out soap and then repeatedly washed out my mouth. Unfortunately, dish soap leaves a lingering, very distinct aftertaste. I tried to finish up my snack, but it just wasn't the same. Thankfully, I'd snuck a bite before I'd sat down.

I must admit I haven't eaten soap in years, but my kids do get that lovely privilege every once in a while. If I've had it with talking back, being rude, etc. then BAM, it's time to eat some soap. I think if I ever received that as a punishment I'd clean up my act (ha,ha get it). Yet, I have a few boys who have probably consumed enough soap to wash several sinks of dishes. Perhaps soap is an acquired taste, it's gross the first or second time and then it becomes desirable to the pallet. I'll have to ask my kids, I don't think it's a taste I want to acquire.

Middle College Acceptance

(James at Christmas 2008, the most recent picture I had)

At the beginning of this school year a new type of High School was introduced, the Middle College. They pulled students from all over the district and put them on the local college campus. The students take high school classes at a building on the college campus, but they also take college courses (which are paid for with scholarships and grants, we don't even have to buy the books!!!). Bryan was accepted into this program last year and absolutely loves it. He's taking the classes he needs as a junior in High School, but is also taking Anatomy (lecture and lab) through the college. He has to work his fanny off, but he thinks it's totally worth it. There are less than 200 students and if there are any problems the student will immediately be sent back to his High School of origin. I'm guessing the teachers are exstatic not having to deal with discipline problems. Anyway, James applied for this next school year, and has received his letter of acceptance to the Middle College. He is excited to be leaving the traditional High School and experiencing the freedom this school affords. We're hoping he realizes it will be hard work, but if he wants to do well we know that won't be a problem.

There are several things I like about this program: The low student teacher ration, no discipline problems, Every semester each student is expected to do 18 hours of service in the community (Bryan has been working with the Red Cross, that will look great on a college application), they are introduced to a College environment with lots of supervision and help, the students are expected to do well on their college entrance exams, and the school offers prep classes.

Why are you bringing a baby doll to school?

In our home, the kids are expected to do their homework right after dinner. Occasionally, when I'd sit down with Joey and go through his backpack we'd find that he'd forgotten his reading book. Without this book he can't do a good portion of his homework. To help him stop "forgetting" I had to implement a rule of him showing me the inside of his backpack as soon as he walked in the door. If he didn't have his book, then he would get no computer or television privileges (by the way, he has only forgotten once since his day of "nothing to do" and he realized I was serious). A few weeks ago he came in the door and gave me his backpack. I looked inside and this is what I saw. I started laughing and asked him why he was bringing a baby to school. He got really upset and adamantly denied putting it there. Trent said that he'd seen Rachael carrying his backpack around the night before calling it her purse. Obviously we didn't check his backpack before he left for school the next day. It wasn't until poor Joey got to school that he discovered this baby doll. I asked him if he'd shown it to the class for show-and-tell. He didn't like my teasing and turned red, but shyly admitted a few of the kids in his class had seen it. I guess it's not nice to laugh at him, but that boy, and his expressions crack me up.

Pinewood Derby

(Jake is holding his car in one hand, and his grand prize of a harmonica in the other)

We recently had our Pack's Pinewood Derby. This is the first one in three years that I have not had to be at least semi in charge of (released as Primary President last June). I am the current Webelos leader, but whenever anyone asked me any questions I plead ignorance and steered them to the Cubmasters, it was absolutely wonderful! I sat in the audience with friends and was able to just enjoy the races. Jacob and Trent had fun coming up with a very unique design, that happened to be well weighted. In fact, Jacob not only won his division, but also the entire competition. Jacob is a Webelos scout, therefore this was his last Derby, what a way to go out!

Guess I should add a side note: The front of the car is hollowed out, so Trent and Jake pushed straight pins into the two front points and then strung dental floss between them. This was so the car didn't begin 3 inches ahead of everyone else, they didn't think the other scouts would have liked that.

Our Trip to Germany

Blogging is a new thing for me, and I'm not really sure how to begin. I started by introducing our family, and now I guess I'll just talk about some of the fun things we've done, and go from there.

Trent travels quite a bit with his job, sometimes for months at a time. When he comes home from a long trip, he and I like to be able to get away for a bit. Last year my parents offered to stay with the kids so we could plan a trip. So, in September we took them up on their offer and went to Germany for 10 days. We worried how the kids would do, especially Rachael. But, we needn't have been concerned, Rachael took to her grandpa fairly quickly and loved being spoiled.

What a gorgeous view!

Our boys love knights and castles. We thought we'd see suits of armor all over the place, but that was not the case. I took this picture on our first day in country thinking it would be the first of many. We never saw another suit of armor, thank goodness I had Trent pose for this picture.

In Heidelberg we took the tram to the top of the mountain. It was a very rainy day, and fairly deserted. That was fine with us, that just meant we got special treatment at the birds of prey sanctuary. We received our own guided tour and took advantage of the opportunity to hold a hawk!

It was hard for us to leave Germany, it is a beautiful country. We also enjoyed all the wonderful foods. It's a good thing we walked for miles every day because we had a hard time passing up the amazing pastries in the many bakeries.

We left the day before Oktoberfest began. My parents were very glad to see us. They love their grandchildren, but are not used to the stressful schedule that comes with raising 6 kids. Thank you so much for taking over the role of mom and dad for a few weeks, Trent and I truly appreciate it. We love you!

18 event filled years later...

We are the proud parents of 6 wonderful children and are a very busy family of 8!

My how time flies

Long, long ago in a place called Utah two people entered the temple and made some promises...