A Few Fun Days...

...And a LOT of pictures!

First, Rylee told me that I HAD to blog these. She was very proud of herself. (Pretty sad when your daughter asks you all the time if you are "going to blog this" or if she can take pictures for you to blog. Hmmmm...What does mommy do a lot?)

So, on Saturday, Bill took Lana and Hayden to the store for a minute and that left me with Rylee and Kate. I had a horrible headache on Saturday night, and Rylee wanted to help watch Kate. After Bill had just been gone a few minutes, Rylee came running in to my room where I was happily trying to finish reading Eclipse saying, "Look at these. I just took them. You gotta blog this!" She had propped Kate and then played photographer. Apparently Kate likes her picture taken (at least by Rylee!)

Now she can be happy. I have officially blogged her pictures!

Next item of business...Our 4th of July festivities update with a few pictures (just in case you are curious!)

On Saturday morning, Bill got in on the action by taking the three older kids shopping for 4th of July clothes while I stayed here and put Kate down for a nap and start working in the yard. (Some may say that I should have taken the kids shopping, but until you have been shopping with my kids you don't understand why yard work sounds NICE! Poor Bill got the "adventure" for the day!) Bill did a great job picking out clothes and he even went to Michaels (yes the craft store) to get another project for me to do with the kids. (What a man, huh! Not only does he brave Michaels for me, but he does it with three hooligans tagging along!)

So this is what the kids are going to be wearing on the Fourth:

And this was our project yesterday (the one I had Bill run to Michael's for):

We bought foam visors for the kids and let them decorate one. Rylee got the red one, Lana got the white one, and Hayden gets the blue one. They will be so cute at the parade!

Rylee working ever so diligently on her little project.

And Lana working so hard as well! Hayden wasn't interested in the craft project. Bill would be proud of his boy!

And the finished products were fun.

Rylee and Lana had to POSE for a picture with the visors, of course! Silly girls! Can you tell it was at the end of the day? No cute hair here after about 1:00 in the afternoon! :)

And for Family Home Evening we listened to Take Your Hat Off When The Flag Goes By while we went out and delivered some firecracker cups to some people in the ward (yes, some of those to the people I visit teach - Hey it wasn't midnight yet on the last day of the month!) I had to jam two activities into one day because I was a slacker on Sunday and we didn't get to one. Oops!

We are having a ball with the countdown and activities and this will definitely be a tradition for us! (Or an obsession for me!) My kids are more excited for the 4th of July this year than they usually are for Christmas! I LOVE it!

And stay tuned: In my next post, I will post pictures of some more fun treasures I found to help us celebrate as well as ideas for a fun 4th of July dinner - okay, I make the same thing every year, but for those of you looking for fun ideas, I got 'em! See you all soon!

Patriotic Update

The countdown chains are getting shorter and we are having fun! The kids have loved doing fun patriotic things every day. Here is a rundown of what we have done for the past few days (just in case anyone is participating in my 4th of July brainwashing!)



One day, we looked online at the history of the American Flag and talked about Betsy Ross. The kids thought that was cool. (There are some fabulous websites out there on this subject, by the way! I wish we could have read them all!) Then when we were finished talking about the symbolism in the flag and looked at all of the different flags throughout history, I had the girls make a flag of their own - like Betsy Ross. It was a simple project, but they loved it and they are so proud of their creations.

Lana got a little carried away with the stars and didn't color the stripes just right, but hey, she is four! She did a fabulous job! And then they put craft sticks (or a straw if you are Lana) on them so they can wave them and do parades!

Then, yesterday, we talked about all four branches of the military. Again, I used the Internet and we found a really cool video on YouTube about the Navy. The girls loved seeing the ships and the planes. Pretty cool. Then we looked at other websites for the other three branches and talked about them.

Then I turned on my patriotic Mormon Tab's CD and we listened to the songs for all four branches of the military and danced to them. This is where it gets crazy: (some may think I am a horrible mom!) While we were dancing to the Air Force song (my favorite -something about jets - ohhhh, love it!) we were doing circles around the family room and had our arms out like we were flying planes. Yes, I looked ridiculous, but the more you get your kids moving the more they remember things. So I played along. I was the leader and they just started "flying" behind me and following me (closely) so every time that there was this one certain spot in the song, I would stop and they would run into my bum. They would go flying and laugh and laugh. (I think that if I was looking to make a memory with them, I have succeeded. Who could forget running into my big fat rump and then bouncing off onto the floor?) But we laughed and had lots of fun. Something must have worked because Rylee can name all four branches of the military no problem! Yay you, Rylee!

And the activity for today: We took sidewalk chalk outside with the girls' friends and drew flags, stars, and fireworks on the driveway. They loved it!

We are definitely getting in the 4th of July spirit here, as you can tell with the new blog background. EVERYTHING is patriotic around here!

Candy Firecrackers!

Okay, today for our Fourth of July activity we made the little firecrackers that I described in the previous post! So fun! You can use blue or red cups - either one works. But I really do prefer blue ones - it contrasts with the licorice well. But, hey, the store had red, so I take what I get because I am not wasting more gas driving all over looking for blue cups! Anyway, I let the kids each put their own candy in their cups and they thought that was great because they each picked out their favorites and loaded it up! And here are the girls' finished products:






Sorry. I hope you can see them well enough to see how to make them. Then if you make them for the sisters you visit teach it is fun to make a cute patriotic tag to go on them! Anyways, happy Fourth!

We Love America...

Or at least I do, and I am determined to make my kids all feel the same.

For those of you who don't know, I am a FREAK about the 4th of July. It is my favorite holiday, and always has been. There is just something about the BBQs, the fireworks, the picnics, the parades, the water games, the patriotic music, and my favorite part: the jets that fly over to start a parade! Oooh, gives me chills just thinking about it. I seriously LOVE the Fourth!

So, I decided this year to do something fun with my kids (and they will have fun whether they like it or not!) For Family Home Evening last night we made those little paper chains so they can rip one off every day until the Fourth. They turned out so cute! Bill went to the store and bought some little flags that we could attach the chains to and I already had some fun garland stuff to wrap around the flags and attach the chains with. Then when the chains are all ripped off, the kids have a fun flag to wave at the parade. This is what they looked like:

And this is Rylee making hers:

And this is where we hung them. Kind of a cute decoration, don't you think?! Rylee is such a ham!

So, with our chains, the kids get to rip one off every day until the Fourth, and each day that they rip one off, we will do something related to the Fourth to help them appreciate it more and learn about it. Just in case you are interested, here is a list of a few of the ideas I have:

~ Write a letter to someone who is currently serving in the military

~ Make Fourth of July hair bows

~ Get a Fourth of July outfit

~ Take sidewalk chalk outside and draw a huge flag on the driveway

~ Listen to and learn the songs on Janeen Brady's Take Your Hat Off When The Flag Goes By and take the quiz about America at the end of the book.

~ Talk about Francis Scott Key and the Star Spangled Banner

~ Talk about and show the kids the different flags throughout America's history and talk about Betsy Ross.

~ Make a flag

~ Paint the girls' nails with patriotic nail polish and give Hayden patriotic animal cookies

~ Listen to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's patriotic songs cd to hear the songs of all the different branches of the military and talk about each branch.

~ Make the fireworks candy cup I make every year for people I visit teach, but this year the kids will make some! They are super cute! (Instructions: Fill a large blue or red SOLO cup with candy. Get three pieces of Twizzlers licorice and cut the tips off of the top of them and stick them down into the cup so they stick out kind of looking like fuses. Then wrap the whole thing with clear cellophane and tie with either red, white, and blue curling ribbon or with the same kind of garland kind of stuff I used on the flags. Then make sure the fuses are sticking out the top and stick a match in the top of each one to finish the look.) They are darling, and yes, I did think this one up all by myself - and I'm so proud of it that I make it every dang year. My poor family is probably so tired of them! I will post pictures when we make them!

~ I want to talk about our freedom and have the kids all write on stars reasons they are thankful to live in America and put those all over their bedroom walls.

So those are some of my ideas, and I am really hoping that the kids will want to keep it gong even after the Fourth is over.

But we kind of started last night after they were done making their chains. We talked about the flag itself and why it has 13 stripes and 50 stars and about respect for the flag. Then we turned on the first song on Take Your Hat Off When The Flag Goes By, which is a great marching song and they took turns using the extra flag (we didn't make a chain for Kate) to "lead their parade." It was cute to see.

Hayden couldn't quite figure out how to march and wave the flag at the same time.

Lana was kind of a "flag hog," but the other kids were good sports about it.

And Kate was dressed patriotic, but was NOT in a patriotic mood. She wanted to go to sleep! Poor girl!

Then we had those Mothers Frosted Animal Cookies (the ones that are usually pink and white - but we got the red, white, and blue ones) for treats, and the kids were so excited! Maybe I will get them just as pumped about the 4th of July as I am! Wish me luck!:)

We Start Em Young...

Today since Bill had the day off we decided to take the kids miniature golfing. As we were walking in, I saw a bunch of kids walking out from golf lessons with these cute little golf bags and tiny little clubs. So adorable!

That got me thinking....Hey, this is a very smart thing we are doing here. You see, if we get our daughters golfing now, maybe when they are older, they can go golfing and attract the guys with money! Hehehe. So if we make a small investment now and get them golfing, maybe they will meet guys on the golf course. Terrible, I know. But, seriously, we all know that golf isn't a cheap hobby, so put two and two together and viola! Our kids have secure futures!

Or not...If we are judging by the way today went, I think only one of our kids has a shot at the future in golf...

Hayden was funny. He kept grabbing his ball, walking toward the hole and saying, "Watch this!" Then he would drop his ball in the hole and say, "I did it!" Silly kid. Whatever. He is two. He just had fun trying something new.... After a while, he did try to hit it with the club a little bit...until he decided he was bored and wanted to explore.

"Hey, Buddy, the putting course is this way..."

Kate just sat and enjoyed being her sweet, cute, chubby self! What a good baby! She is absorbing all she can by watching the rest of us. She will be a pro someday. She is learning quickly what NOT to do!


Bill tried to teach Lana how to hold her club, how to stand, and how to swing. But, nope, she wasn't having any of that. She will attract men someday on the golf course because they will be wondering what the heck she is doing. If she can learn to dodge moving obstacles (like her brother) and still sink a putt, she will make us millions. Nice try, Bill.

She kept turning her club on its side and pushing the ball like she was vacuuming. She is my kid who "thinks outside the box." Even though it wasn't the right way to golf, it was dang cute!

Lana pushed her ball all the way around the curve and into the hole - just like Bill told her to. And the other two had to be there to hover over her every move.

Rylee did pretty well. She is the only one who actually tried to get the stance, the swing, and the follow-through down (follow through means guiding the ball with the club into the hole.) She even got a hole-in-one! She was supposed to hit the ball through a wishing well into the hole in the other side. But, nope, my little "Tiger" decided to hit the ball AROUND the well and sink her putt instead. She doesn't want to take the easy way out! It was great! After she made the putt, I said, "Rylee, you got a hole-in-one!" She said, "Is that good?" Funny girl! We even called grandpa on the way home to tell him. He was proud! I'm thinking we need to buy her some clubs and let grandpa teach her!

Then we came to one of the last holes. Funny little story here: As we approached, I asked Rylee what it looked like to her. Here is the hole (with Rylee trying for about the tenth time to get her dang ball in the hole) we were at:

After I asked Rylee what it looked like (I was going for an ant hill), Bill replied, "It looks like Kate's boobs with the indented..." Well, you get the idea. Seriously, I about peed my pants right there.

And after her many tries, Rylee finally got the ball in the hole! And she was so excited! I love her little excited dance!

We had a lot of fun and maybe our girls will benefit from our little excursion someday...if we keep at it!:) And, hey, we can keep going back since we didn't get kicked off the course today!

The Poor Sap Has Been Officially Stuck For 9 Years!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BILL!!!

Aw, don't we look so cute!!!??? Wow, we look young! Now I really feel old!

Yep, that is right, Bill has been stuck with me for nine years (officially.) But if you count the almost year and a half that we dated that makes for over ten years! Holy cow! And he hasn't dumped me yet!:)

Just a little walk down memory lane. We were married in the Logan temple nine years ago and it was the BEST day! We went to the temple fasting because we were extra "spiritual" - or dumb! By the time we were finished with the pictures and wedding video outside after the ceremony, we were dying. We hadn't had anything to eat or drink. AHHHH! So as soon as we could leave the temple, we stopped by the grocery store in Logan and bought a bag of chips and bottles of water on the way to our wedding lunch. That is funny to tell people who are just milling around in the store that you just got married. Kind of surreal.

On with the story...We had a fun wedding lunch with all of our close friends and family. We had a lot of laughs and Bill and I were able to stay until the last few people were leaving the lunch. We really did eat up all the one-on-one time we had with family and friends there.

From there we ran to my parents' house for the reception. We quickly changed and got ready for pictures. The reception was fun, and we had so many people we love surrounding us. What a great day!

The Girls!

The Handsome Guys!

The Cake!

After the reception was over we stayed at my parents' house until 10:30 or 11:00 and just visited with the family that had come in from out of town to be with us. It was so nice. My mom had made pasta salads and other yummy food just for that reason (to feed people who had travelled and were hungry.) She is always such a good hostess. We loved spending that time with those relatives and our immediate families.

All in all, it was such a great day! We both had a little bit of a hard time because of the fasting thing. Like when we did the cake, we both felt gross and didn't really want any because it was taking us a while to recover from the fasting. We finally had more of an appetite after our reception, so the food my mom made tasted SOOOO good.

Anyway, happy anniversary Honey! I am so lucky that you chose me, and to all the people who said we were too young and that we would never make it -Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na! We showed you! Here's to many, many more years! I love you, Honey!

My Nothing Day

Do you ever have a day where you just really don't care if you get anything worthwhile accomplished or not? Well, today would be one of those days for me. It is two o'clock in the afternoon and I have done zilch (is that how you spell it?)today. I will say it is because I worked my tail off cleaning yesterday and organizing the pantry and storage room downstairs. Ugh. Yucky jobs! But they are done. So here is my list of tasks I have "accomplished" today and you can see for yourself how lazy I am today.

* Um, I got out of bed.
* Uh, let's see, I changed three poopie diapers.
* I fed four kids breakfast and four kids lunch.
* I read a chapter in the third Twilight series. (I only have about 350 pages left, and if my kids didn't need to eat or be entertained I could finish it really quick! I WILL read more today!)
* I cleaned chocolate off Kate's face after Hayden so nicely fed her a KitKat. Thanks, dude.
* I ate a whole cup of those mini Chips Ahoy cookies. Yep, I'm a cow.
* I checked in with the MOFia for a few minutes.
* I folded a batch of laundry.
* I turned on Sesame Street so Hayden would go to sleep.
* I have held Kate while she whines because she doesn't feel well.
* I nursed Kate twice.
* I drank a Pepsi.
* I broke up two fights.
* I yelled at Hayden for throwing his cars and "buddies" all over the railing down the stairs for the thousandth time today.
* I checked other blogs.

Okay, enough of my "nothing" list. I guess I will go and do my girls' hair right now so that it looks like I have tried today. I haven't showered and I have no plans to do so. So sue me! All I want to do today is the minimum effort required (yep, I am a neglectful mother too - just add that to the list right behind "cow":)) And after I get my kids' hair done and send them off to their little dance thing, I am going to dump toys out all over the floor for the two little ones while I read Twilight. Oh, happy day of nothingness. Sometimes we need one of those days, don't ya think?