FUNNY STUFF!!!

Last night Rich, Andrea and Evan came over to hang out. Several funny things happened that I think only family can fully appreciate! Luckily, I had the camera out and was ready for all of them.

1. Ummm dude...you've got something in your teeth.

Evan couldn't figure out Jordan's braces. He kept trying to get them out of his mouth.


2. What in the world?

When Evan got his swimsuit on he made a discovery....nipples!!! He kept poking them and trying to figure them out. I snapped this picture and didn't even realize the look of disgust on his face.

3. Beef Stew

Yes, the results are in.....this is Richard's son without a doubt. Mady and Evan had been playing. He would tackle her, sit on her and tickle her. One of the times, instead of sitting on her tummy he sat too soon and landed on her face. We then heard a loud rumble.....yep......Beef Stew!!!! LOL It was soooo funny.

Sorry for the beef stew Mady....I love you!!!

4. Lights Out!!!

Evan was sitting at the kitchen counter with Andrea and I eating cookies. You could tell he was super tired. He finally gave the cookie to Andrea and then he and I were playing a night night game where we would pretend to sleep. After a bit you could tell he really wanted to sleep so I tickled his face. Before I knew it...he was out cold with his little face on the counter top. It was sooo cute!

He was so out that when Andrea was trying to move him...he didn't even budge.

She got him to the couch and Baxter (Stephanie's dog) decided to join Evan in slumber! We love it when Evan comes over....there is never a dull moment! :) We love you!!!

B-day Wishes!!!

WOO HOO.... Mom had a birthday this week!!!



I just wanted so wish you a very Happy Birthday! Thanks for the fun dinner tonight. You will have to let us know how the book was! ;)

Lots of Love,
Hay

Tis The Season!!!!

The time has finally arrived. Tis the season for "Guymon Grown Green Beans" to go into production again. Time to begin the backbreaking work of bending over and picking the green beans, sitting at the counter nipping off the ends and cutting them into bite sized pieces. Then comes carting all those empty jars from the shelves downstairs upstairs and placing them in the dishwasher for sterilizing. Next the beans are washed and rewashed, placed in a big pot and covered with water and boiled for 5 minutes. They are then packed into the hot jars fresh from the dishwasher. Finally they are placed inside the pressure cooker where the pressure is raised to 12 pounds and then watched carefully for 20 minutes. Then, after three days of standing, the jars are carted back downstairs again and loaded onto the storage room shelf. Lots of work!! Lots of bending and lifting and standing! Lots of running up and down stairs. You begin to wonder if it is all worth it when you can go to the local grocery store and purchase a can of beans for less than $1 (I think!! It has been a long, long time since I bought canned beans!) But within a few weeks, when the memory of aching backs, sore feet and legs from standing and hot, tiring evenings are forgotten, the sight of all those beans sitting comfortably on the shelf in the storage room is a beautiful sight to behold. Even better is opening a jar for dinner and having all the family, even the littlest of darling grandchildren, enjoy eating them! That is when "Guymon Grown Green Beans" become a true joy and the hard work is all worth it.

Happy Campers!

So this weekend the kids and I an my mom and two sisters decided to semi-crash the camping trip the YM in our ward planned in sunny San Diego. Who can turn down the chance for a Padres baseball game, roughin' it in a tent, Scripps Aquarium, Sea Port Village (complete with Merry-Go-Round, and face painting), Ruby's Diner, and beautiful weather (even with ornery pre-teen sisters, a 2month old baby, and a whiney two year old)?

For 20 bucks a night even our campsite whice could easily be dubbed the worst on the grounds, was worth it. Once Matt realized there were things to put together, he got to tearing them down right away. Since Wednesday when I told them we would be going he has asked me every morning if we were going camping yet. He thoroughly enjoyed kicking dirt around, picking up sticks and rocks, and bugging my mom by being a boy!
Alaina was super excited too. And despite first impression of a prissy little lady, she didn't mind getting dirty either. I think her favorite part of it all was the long walk to the potty in the dark. She thought it was so cool. But she definitely awakens with the sun, bright and early at 6am. Which is even harder on a mom and dad who did not have the luxury of an inflated mattress, rather suffered from poking rocks and such.
Camping does bring out the best of us, doesn't it?
Padres are only entertaining when they make runs and earn the celebration of fireworks. Not much action! Alaina finally caught bottom of the 7th, that baseball can be kind of boring. But for the candy, soda, and the funky chicken mascott, she would have died of boredom.
Purely exhausting for the little one, who was a perfect angel the entire trip. Slept all night in the tent. . . and was perfect the rest of the time.
Matt was exhaustingly worn out by the time the trip was over. He needed much more sleep than the 5 hours his sister afforded him. We all suffered, but come this morning he was feeling much much better!

You all need to come on down again. San Diego is calling! Hopefully we will see you in a couple of weeks!

Ear Aches and Lucky Breaks!

Matt's ear was really hurting him so we got a dr. appt for the morning. All he wanted to do that morning was sit in front of the tv with a blanket, and he kept asking me to come hold him. . . that is a Defiinte sign that he wasn't feeling well. I told him we would go to the doctor and she would give us some medicine to help it feel better, and he was surprisingly very excited about that. I guess the fear of the doctor was no competition for the pain he was in. I sent Alaina with a friend to a swim party and the two boys and I headed off to the doctor with plenty of time to spare. Until we were about a block away from our destination. I heard Matt's little voice from way in the back seat say, "Mom, I have to throw up." Matt has always been so good about telling us when he has to throw, plenty of warning to get him to the toilet or the sink. . .I was sure I had time to get to the side of the road, which I promptly did. But alas, there was no holding back on his part, and I could hear the disaster from the front seat. The poor boy was covered, COVERED, in it. Not a dry piece of clothing. . .even his diaper had chunks in it. So I stripped him down, while calling the dr. office to let them know I would be a bit behind schedule (they were so ornery. . . told me I couldn't be more than 15 minutes late, luckily we were just around the corner). Then as I was trying to console my sick, sad and naked little boy and change his diaper at the same time. . . the darn thing broke, I ripped the veclro tab right off! So now I have a diaperless, naked, vomiting little boy, and a really stinky car.
Needless to say we did get to the doctor on time, Matthew was adorned in an overly large and fairly used Quiznos shirt (which he was embarrassed to be in) and a diaper which hung loosely around one leg. What a zoo! I looked like the mother of the year to be sure. But 20 minutes later, and a few tears to boot, we had a prescription and a promise of a much better feeling ear in a few days. "But No Swimming For a Week" said the doctor. (Not if you have Chuck for a daddy!) The rule has been no head under the water. . . He would be miserable without the pool.
$98 dollar miracle ear healing solution! (Worth it to see a smile on his face again)
But I guess the Lord figured that with all the ear aches and such, he would give me a lucky break! I found this in the parking lot at Carl's Jr. on Saturday. Just lying in the middle of an empty parking lot, waiting for someone to come rescue it from the blistering asphalt and scorching sun. Perchance a car should run over it and crush it to oblivion? Works and everything! Any game suggestions? It had Monster Jam in it already!

The Good Stuff....

Friday night we hung out with Rich, Anea & adorable little Evan. We had such a great time with them and were so glad they were able to come over. Poor Andrea had a little shadow all night long as Mady would NOT leave her side. She sure loves having such a fun aunt.

Of course the night wouldn't have been complete without playing a little Guitar Hero! It seems to be the new activity rut we are in! It sure is a lot of fun though. Notice the intense look of concentration on the guys faces!

This is the rear view of the setup in our backyard.

Once again Andrea is the lucky one with Evan and her shadow on top of her! What a good sport she is!

While the big kids played Guitar Hero...Evan had a blast jumping on the trampoline!

He kept chasing me with the camera. He would look me right in the face as he'd come running toward me. I caught this picture just before he got to me and I love his little mug!!! I can't help but look at these fun pictures and realize that family really is "The Good Stuff" I can't imagine not having family around to hang out with all the time. Thanks for hangin' out with us guys! Let's do it again soon!!!

Ear Ache

There's a first for everything and this in my first child with an ear ache experience. I hope it doesn't turn out as horrible as some of the nightmares I have heard before. I think Matt is just water logged! Hopefully it will get better quickly. . . we're off to the doctor soon. I have bribed him the reminder that the doctor gives out stickers to the kids that come to see him! Hopefully that will work!

Last, but not least....

Ok...So we are the slackers of the family! Somebody had to be last right? ;)
We have been enjoying all of the celebrations that have been going around for Pioneer Day! Yesterday we went to the rec. center so that the kids could swim and play. As we arrived we saw that they were having a carnival for Bountiful's Handcart Days. There were booths, games, rides, pony rides and even handcarts & covered wagons you could pull around just like the pioneers did. It was fun to watch the kids learn about the pioneers and what they used for toys, homes, cars, etc. It made me grateful for cell phones, SUV's, TV, and the wonderful world wide web!!! It was a fun celebration and we even ran into Evan, Andrea and her family! After a really long day we put on some comfy sweats and drove up the hill to a spot where we could enjoy the fireworks. The kids LOVED them! They had some really neat fireworks that I had never seen before! We had a great day together with only one regret....I totally forgot to bring my camera so I wasn't able to capture any of it. :( I guess we will have to do it all again next year!

First Try

Well, here goes. This is my first attempt to post on a blog. As I am not at all sure what I am doing, we'll see how well it works out!As time has passed, I have watched and read with great joy as our children have posted on their blogs. It is a highlight of my day to be able to go to their blog page and see pictures of my beloved children and grandchildren. It makes me truly thankful for modern day technology. As I have attempted to finish my reading of "The Work and the Glory" series of books, I have often thought about how blessed we are. Many of the early pioneers left family behind, not knowing if they would ever see them again in this life. As I leave children and grandchildren scattered from Texas to Arizona, I console myself with the thought of webcams, blogpages, and telephones that allow me to keep touch with them.So, in this first posting, let me say how much I love my family and the technology that allows us to keep in touch!

Welcome Welcome!

Well, lets see how this goes! I know that some of us already have blogs for our own families, but Mom and Dad have wanted a blog that we could all contribute to.
Rich beat me to the punch on posting here first. But at least I know one person will try to post here!
Hopefully this will be fun. . . if we already have a blog for our own fam. we could create new ones for this one, or just copy and paste from one to the other. Ya know. . . however we want to do it.
I will post later!

And Rich you're the bomb!

Boring

Why is this blog empty? I guess its up to me to make it cool... by posting this picture.