Happy "Memoreo" Day

When my youngest sister was little she thought Memorial Day was "Memoreo" Day, and that we were supposed to have Oreos. So, ever since then Oreos have always been part of our Memorial Day! Today we enjoyed our Oreos at Antelope Island with Grandma Keime. We left about 9:30am, hiked up to Buffalo Point, got eaten by a few thousand gnats and saw a beautiful view, hiked back down, drove out to the ranch on the South end of the island and did all kinds of fun stuff. The boys got to make candles, play in the "jungle", try their hand at roping steers, and ate lunchables-thanks Grandma! It was a fun day! Perfect weather, and perfect company! It really made me appreciate the beautiful area we live in, and the free country we enjoy, thanks to many valiant men and women who have fought, and still fight, for our freedom. Happy Memorial Day!!!

Perfecting the Art of the Butt Scoot

Noah is 16 months old. He doesn't crawl, he doesn't roll, he doesn't walk, but boy can he butt scoot!!! Yesterday he turned it into a real art form! :) It's the "butt" scoot boogie!!! :)

Happy Mom's Day!!!

I am proud to say that I was the first to make my Mom a Mom! And I'm sure she'll love me for posting this picture! :) I thought I would take a minute and write some of my favorite memories of her, and some of my favorite things she says:
* "Time is but the stream I go a fishing in"
* "I'm bilious"
* "Kookamunga"
* "I'm gonna crack your heads together!"
* "Vegie dujour"
* "What's for dinner? Crap."
* "Whats for dessert? Air."
* My friends in high school called her Snow White because she has black hair and she is always kind.
* When I had friends sleep over she would always get us our favorites: Skittles, Cool Ranch Doritos, Red licorice, and M&M's.
* She loves nature and would always take us on hikes. She even went on several three or four day back-packing trips with us when we were in Young Women.
* She built the best tubing hills in our front yard.
* She would wake us up to watch cool lightning storms.
* She supported us in everything we wanted to do; cheerleading, dance, basketball, baseball, football,volleyball,flute, piano, violin, soccer, clogging, voice...
* She is very creative and has written poems for many people and for many occasions.
* She played the trumpet in the BYU Marching Band and she used to wake us up with the Bugler's Call-(is that what it's called?)
* She had five kids, even though at one point she didn't want to have kids and wanted to become an archeologist.
* She has tried every diet known to man and made us try some disgusting things growing up...:)
* She is a work-aholic and always wants to do her very best.
* She and Devin were really into bird watching for a few years and she would take him places to see bald eagles and different kids of birds. She also bought him some binoculars.
* There are a million other things I could mention...
* I love you Mom!!! You're the best!!!
I can't forget Mark's Mom...who is also my Mom! This pic was high school graduation.

I am so grateful for Karma. She is such a kind and wonderful mother-in-law and grandma! My boys absolutely adore her and get so excited when they get to go to her house for "Arby's Night" or "Pizza Night".
Ever since Mark and I started dating I have always enjoyed going to their house and talking with Karma. She always has fun and interesting things to talk about, and she always listens to what others have to say. I am her only daughter-in-law, and she is so kind to me, and always brags about me-and even though it's lies, I appreciate that she loves me and is proud of me.

Happy Mother's Day to the two best moms on the face of the earth!!!

Life = Chaos

We have had a lot going on lately, and I haven't had time to blog much, so this will be a chaotic jumble of stuff. But, that is life, isn't it? A chaotic jumble of stuff. Devin had his piano recital over a week ago. He had asked his teacher if he could play Star Wars or Indiana Jones the minute she mentioned they were going to have a recital. She was nice enough to agree, and after purchasing both sets of sheet music he decided on Star Wars. It was a very difficult piece, and it took lots of practice. But, he never gave up. I was really proud of him. He did a great job.

My Grandma Keime was here for a few weeks. She lives in Denver and comes to stay with my Dad and Mom at least once a year. The kids call her Granny, and it is always wonderful to have her here. Ty especially loves her and talks about her for weeks after she goes back home. While she was here she took us all out to Golden Corral. She was also able to come to Devin's recital. She is a wonderful Grandma and Granny!

Today I went to my 12 week appointment and got to hear the baby's heartbeat. It was a little nerve racking because it took Dr. Hughes a few minutes to find it. I kept telling myself that we had been though a miscarriage before and if that was the case, I would eventually be okay...but, when he finally found it, boy was it a beautiful sound. I am always cheesy and try to guess whether it's a boy or a girl by the heartbeat....supposedly girl heartbeats are faster then boys, and this one was rather slow. No surprise there- if it is in fact a boy. That's what we're counting on. But, I am prepared to find out it's a girl, because I'm afraid if I don't prepare I may just have a coronary.

My Mom and I have been taking a square foot gardening class and I am so excited to plant! My parents always have a huge garden, and growing up we did all the growing, picking, and canning stuff. But, as an adult, I've never planted a garden. I am almost giddy at the thought of growing and canning my own stuff. (Leah would be proud-she's our ward food storage specialist:)

Lastly, I am reading a book called The Memory Keeper's Daughter for book club. It is haunting and a little depressing, but I can't put it down. I just have to know what happens. It is much better then The Shack, which we read last month. I couldn't even finish that one...and I don't think that has ever happened before.

K-so now you know more then you ever needed or wanted to know :)

It Had to Happen

I should have known that sooner or later I would get a phone call from the school saying that one of my boys had been sent to the Principal's office. I was laying on the couch with Ty, fighting off nausea, when the call came. It was Devin. I could tell something had happened because he could barely speak, and refused to talk to me about it on the phone. All he said was, "I had to go to the Principal's office". All the way to the school I was trying to imagine what had happened. Devin is not usually one to get in trouble, but he has a bit of a smart mouth, which gets him in trouble a lot at home. When I got to the office, Devin wasn't there, but Mrs. Caldwell, the principal, told me what had happened, and she seemed surprised that Devin had called me. She said that some of the 3rd graders, including Devin and Sawyer (a boy who has a tendency to rub Devin the wrong way), were playing baseball at recess. When the bell rang Devin's team was ahead by one point, but Sawyer wanted one last pitch. He hit it, giving his team the win..I guess...anyway. Mrs. Caldwell said that Sawyer followed Devin into the school bragging about his hit, and the win. And then Devin punched Sawyer in the stomach. I was pretty surprised at that, but Mrs. Caldwell said she talked with both the boys, and they seemed to be okay. But, obviously, Devin wasn't. When I talked to Dev, he said he had told Sawyer to "shut-up" a few times, but when he wouldn't he "sucker-punched him in the gut". After the boys went back to class the kids couldn't stop talking about it, and Devin was so embarrassed that he wanted to come home. I talked to him on the way home and told him that he had made the choice to hit someone, so he would have to face everyone talking at school. I let him eat two PB&H sandwiches and then I took him back. Chalk this one up to a good learning experience...I hope.

Easter '09

Happy Easter All! We had a great day....especially since the Easter Bunny came on Friday night and we didn't have to tear the kids away from their Easter baskets to get to church by 9:00am!!! I have always wanted to do the bunny thing on Saturday, but this was the first year we did, and I really liked it. But, first things first...on Wednesday we dyed eggs, on Friday we had an Easter Egg Hunt and dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Keime's house, and on Sunday we had dinner and ANOTHER egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpa Spalding's. Needless to day, we are candied out!

On Sunday morning I still wanted to do something to make the day special, so since I was subbing for the CTR 5 class, I did my lesson for the boys while they ate cinnamon rolls and had chocolate milk and OJ. It worked out perfect! I had the pictures of Jesus' death and resurrection and a glove to demonstrate the body and the spirit separating and reuniting again. It worked out pretty well, if I do say so myself. Except there always has to be a little kink in the works. Sam was upset that I had told that story AGAIN. Did I think he was stupid???? He already knew that story!!! Why did I have to tell him again????? Luckily by the time we got to church he had calmed down and we didn't have any more issues....at least not that I know of....I just hope he didn't ask his primary teacher if she thought he was stupid...

Dreams

Last night I had a dream that at church we were asked to write an essay on the government's part in the current economic situation. I went home and couldn't find a blank piece of paper ANYWHERE, so I took what looked like a potato chip bag, ripped it down the side and bottom, and flattened it out so I could write on it. I had writer's block for several frustrating minutes, and then the door bell rang. The bishop, the relief society president, the primary president, and several other people came into my house with food. But, they didn't just drop it off-no-they came in and sat down at the table!!! I had to clear off a bunch of junk so they would have somewhere to eat, and when I went to get plates, of course, they were all in the dishwasher and the dishwasher hadn't been started. Luckily, my Mom was there and she offered to wash some for me. Then to my absolute horror, the bishop got up to use the bathroom.....I screamed "NOOOOO", but nothing came out. As he walked down the hall the image of our pee stained, sewer smelling, covered-in-toothpaste, bathroom flashed through my mind. I heard the toilet flush a few minutes later, and then I woke up.

Hmmmm, today is Friday-cleaning day. Better get to it. At least I don't have to write the essay.