Matt and Mel in Mesa

Happy Birthday, Wrenny-Girl!

2011-04-12T08:56:00.000-07:00

It was so fun to have everyone together for Fast Sunday dinner and Wren's birthday. The Huishes drove all the way from Ohio to stay for a couple of months while James would be doing a rotation in Phoenix and New Mexico. She loved all the attention from cousins who eagerly watched and helped her open presents. And in typical Peterson fashion, she thoroughly enjoyed her birthday cake. :)

Wren brings so much joy to our family... she loves to tease us by giving us a silly dirty look (pictured below), and then breaking into a huge grin when we do it back to her. She has a lot of energy and keeps us on our toes, but that makes her all the more fun!

Sleeping Beauty

2011-03-15T21:02:00.000-07:00

Sleeping Beauty just happens to be this one’s favorite princess (although she doesn’t like the movie—too scary, you know). She is already planning a “Sleeping Beauty” birthday party (her b-day is 7 months away) with a Sleeping Beauty cake, piñata, bounce house, dress, etc…. She looks like she’s dreaming of it all, doesn’t she?

February to Remember

2011-03-05T15:28:00.001-08:00

February turned out to be quite a memorable month for us Petersons! It started off with Grandma Peterson’s announcement that she had decided to be baptized! What a wonderful surprise! We knew that she had been going to church with her friend and reading the Book of Mormon, but she hadn’t told us that she’d been meeting with the missionaries. It goes without saying that we were all so thrilled that our prayers and fasting had been heard in such beautiful way. Matt performed the baptism and confirmation, and it was such a special time for our family. She has a wonderful ward who looks after her and is excited to have her, so that means a lot to us.

Of course, we also got to celebrate Valentine’s Day, which is kind of a big deal in the Phelps family. Valentine's Day was my Grandma Phelps's favorite holiday, so we always like to have a party and exchange Valentines with all the cousins to honor her memory. This year, instead of having a huge party with ALL of the Phelps cousins like we usually do, we decided to simplify things and do one just for the preschoolers. It was hard to break that long-standing tradition, but it was a lot less chaotic and still tons of fun. Hopefully Grandma isn't too disappointed in us!

Our little Wrenny-Girl had to have an MRI this month to find out why one of her legs is smaller than the other. Thankfully, she was such a sweetheart and didn’t even fuss at all when the nurses took her away to put her under. We are still awaiting results and hope to find out that all is well very soon! Meanwhile, she is learning and doing new things every day. She loves it when it’s time for the kids to leave for school and starts waving bye bye as soon as she sees them with their backpacks on. Then she waves and gives hugs so it’s extra hard for them to leave her!

Rilla has been really into some Barbie Princess movies that she got for Christmas, and one of the lines that I love to hear her quote is, “Of course, my lady.” Like when I say, “Rilla, go brush your teeth,” she’ll respond, “of course, my yaidy (lady).” Okay, maybe she doesn’t say that every time I ask her to do something, but when she does, it almost makes up for the times when her response is whining and complaining. :)

Elly finally decided to take our advice and read the Harry Potter books recently, and she has now finished the first two! At one point while reading the first one she said, “this is actually really good!” Like she was shocked that something we recommended would be so good! We let her stay up late finishing the first one, but regretted it later when she was too scared to go to sleep.

Hite got to be Star of the Week in his 1st Grade class, and everyone in his class wrote what they liked about him. Lots of kids said that he was nice and funny, and a few girls said he was cute, too. He got awfully embarrassed when we teased him about that. We had to agree that he fits all 3 of those descriptions, though!

Matt continued his PR Youth Sports program this winter, and the kids had a great time playing basketball. Elly and Hite really improved a lot, and we were so proud of their hard work and progress. It was so fun to have so many of the cousins on Hite’s team (the Fireballs!). They were so much fun to watch! All of the parents of kids in the league got together and organized a big surprise party for Matt to show their appreciation. They were so kind, and gave him gift cards to buy some new equipment, as well as other gift cards to use on date nights. It was SO nice of them!

Check out Tristan's (purple shirt) flagrant foul in the background of this shot. Awesome.

I got released from my calling in Young Women this month, and am now trying to learn the ropes as the Relief Society Secretary. Lots of excitement around here… It sure is a wonderful life!

Disneyland (short version)

2011-01-11T20:49:00.000-08:00

Our family was able to spend 3 days at Disneyland/California Adventure at the beginning of December. It was our first time going as a family, so it was especially exciting. Knowing that this is not something we will do very often, we wanted to make the very most of it, so we did some research and chose a time that is typically less busy. It meant taking the kids out of school for a few days, but I think it was well worth it. Even when we got the "your child is ___ absences away from being a truant" letter from the school. :/

There are so many stories I could tell…Rilla’s reaction to the characters, Hite and Elly’s Jedi Training, Wren stealing the hearts of Tinkerbell and Mary Poppins…. Trying to tell about the whole trip in words would be nearly impossible, not to mention unbearably long, so I suppose pictures will have to do. I've also asked everyone to say what their favorite or most memorable part was. Suffice it to say, Disneyland really was everything we hoped it would be. We can’t wait to go again!

Elly: I liked all the big huge roller coasters.

Hite: I liked when I went on Tower of Terror. It was my favorite ride.

Rilla: Going on Mickey’s Fun Wheel. (aka Mickey’s Wheel of Death, the ride everyone else was terrified on!)

Wren: I loved it when Mary Poppins stopped to talk to me!

Melody: I loved the Christmas version of “It’s a Small World” and the World of Color show at California Adventure.

Matt: I liked listening to Hite and Elly scream like little girls on Thunder Mountain. I also liked watching Rilla wave to the princesses during the Princess Ball.

PR Youth Sports

2010-11-18T21:24:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned earlier, Matt started up a free youth sports program for kids in our area, and it has been awesome! He started out with baseball for grades K-3 in the spring, then did Volleyball for grades 3 and up in the fall. Right now we’re in the middle of Cross Country. The response has been so positive, and everyone in the area loves it. It has been such a fun way for our kids to have the opportunity to participate in sports without having to pay an arm and a leg. It’s also been a great way to bring our community together and get to know each other better. Matt is a terrific coach—so positive and fun, but also knowledgeable. Elly and Hite came a long ways in baseball season, and even though it was sometimes hard to catch those grounders or get a good hit, they had a lot of fun. Hite wasn’t quite old enough to do volleyball, but Elly shined as a player on the “Purple Thunder” team. I honestly could not believe how well those kids were able to play volleyball by the end of the season. When it ended all the kids were so disappointed, and I know it’s because they really felt a sense of accomplishment and enjoyed putting their new skills into practice. Now many of them are talking about getting on clubs or school teams. To end the season, many of the families attended the ASU volleyball game together, which was a blast. Rilla especially loved seeing Sparky there ;) One of the best parts about the whole experience has been seeing several of the cousins participate together.

4 Years Old

2010-10-06T06:49:00.000-07:00

Rilla was so excited for her birthday this year. Every time we saw anything pink at the store she would ask, "can I have that for my birthday?" She even wanted a golf club holder that was pink. :) She is at that fun princess stage where she loves all things princess, pink, or pretty (and preferably all 3!) She cracks us up with the things she says sometimes. Recently I asked her to put some toys away that she had played with and she responded (with her mouth wide open in a teenagerish gasp), "Ah! There's yike, a thousand of them!" She LOOOVES Wren so much, and always does the Wrenny-Girl cheer that she made up: "Wrenny-Girl, Wrenny-Girl, Wrenny Gir-irl!" She is still our little scaredy cat, and while a little frustrating at times, we can't help but roll our eyes and laugh when she is terrified of things like wind, kittens, getting "bathtized*," and the game Don't Eat Pete (the yelling, you know). Rilla Roo, you make our lives so happy and fun. We love you the MOST!

*She really is so afraid of getting baptized, and brings it up often. I have reassured her many times that she does not have to get baptized until she is ready, but it still worries her. One day she said to me out of the blue, "Mommy, I don't want to get bathtized, but I do want to follow Jesus." The look on her face was so serious and concerned, it just made me cry! I told her how Heavenly Father was so proud of her for following Jesus already, and not to worry about getting baptized right now. Sweet little thing!

Oh,Yes He Did

2010-09-25T14:32:00.001-07:00

He cut himself shaving! I tell you what, this little boy of mine sure gives me a run for my money at times! He asked if he could shower in my bathroom, and when he came out holding a tissue to 3 distinct little bloody lines on his chin I knew immediately what he had done. This is a horrible picture, but you get the gist. I love the Kool-aid mustache to go along with the self-inflicted goatee.

Solid Foods for Wren

2010-09-25T13:54:00.000-07:00

I wanted to wait until after our vacations to start her on solid foods because it’s such a hassle when you’re on the go. She was about 5 1/2 mos. old (9/13). As you can see, she had a range of emotions during this landmark event in her life. She’s still not too thrilled about the rice cereal, but seems to like squash a little better. I’m sure she’ll be like my other kids and love the sweet stuff (fruits), but I always start ‘em on the veggies to try to establish good eating habits and all of that nonsense. :)

Fall is Here!

2010-09-23T14:29:00.000-07:00

Today is officially the first day of fall (psst! Fall! That’s your cue! Your cooler temperatures can arrive anytime now. Anytime, Fall.). Well anyways, so I think it’s about time for a Summer of 2010 Recap.

2010 was the summer of…

Fun Fridays

Every time the kids did a chore, they got a bead. They could also lose beads for whining, complaining, fighting, etc, and gain beads for helping, being extra kind, etc. If they had enough beads by Friday (I think it was 108), we got to do something fun together. Fun Fridays SAVED me this summer, simply put. I don’t think I would’ve survived without the leverage. The things we did were simple and inexpensive, but the kids loved them. We went to some movies (thanks to friends and family who gave us their summer movie tickets when they couldn’t use them), had a sleepover, went out for ice cream, went to the mall, invited friends over for crafts, went swimming…stuff like that. Like I said: Simple. The one exception was our Super Mega Fun Friday when we picked up Matt from work on a Friday afternoon and headed up to Scottsdale for a stay at the Hyatt Regency at Gainey Ranch. What a blast!

No T.V.

Yep, that’s right. An entire summer without any T.V. Back in April we decided to cancel our DirectTV, and I guess we’ve just procrastinated spending the money to get an antenna that’ll get us all the regular channels. But before you feel too sorry for us, I should tell you that this was also the summer that we got Netflix, and boy, did we get our money’s worth with the “Watch Instantly” feature. Love it!

Car Troubles

Grrrr.

I’ll just leave it at that.

S.T.O.M.P.

That’s Students Taking On Moroni’s Promise. In the last chapter of the Book of Mormon, the Prophet Moroni states, “And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.”

The youth in our ward took on this challenge by reading the entire Book of Mormon starting with the first day of summer vacation and ending on the last day. As a Young Women leader, I took on the challenge as well, and it was awesome to read it again in such a short period of time. This time through, I learned SO MUCH about faith. Faith is so simple, yet so complex at the same time. But over and over again I read about people who simply had faith and were able to witness miracles because of it. That book is true. I’ve read it, I’ve asked, and I’ve received a witness that it’s true.

Swimming (of course!)

There’s no other way to survive an Arizona summer, is there? Lucky for us, Jared and Tara moved into a house with a pool really close to us last year, and they extended an open invitation to come swimming whenever we want. They are SO nice! Every Friday was open swim day for all the cousins, so the kids really looked forward to that. Some of these were taken at Jared and Tara’s, some at the hotel:

Alpine Trips With Cousins

Again, no summer is complete without them…

Sure was great to have Mom and Dad up there for the 4th.

Love those Skyline Stake Scout Camp shirts!

Yeah, it’s a picture of me eating two s’mores. And my eyes are closed. You’re welcome.

Inconceivable!

2010-09-17T17:01:00.000-07:00

If you were a teenager in the late 80's/early 90's, chances are you've seen The Princess Bride so many times you can quote it. I remember a day in high school when my friends and I decided to see how many quotes from PB we could throw into everyday conversation. I don't know how well they actually fit into our conversations, but it was fun and got us through the doldrums of Junior Year.

If you LOVE the movie, you should really try the book:

Surprised to find out that there is a book? I know... me too. And I was a little leery going into it; I didn't want to read something that the movie was loosely based on and then come away disappointed in either the book or the movie. Or both. But happily, I only came away with fond memories of my favorite parts of the movie, plus interesting backstory on some of the characters and hilarious commentary by the author.

So get it. Read it. I mean it.... Anybody want a peanut?

Meet Wren

2010-07-19T17:13:00.000-07:00

Wren is 3 months old today! [That is, she was when I wrote this-- on July 2nd] I know it's cliché, but seriously-- where did the time go? Has one quarter of the year really gone by since we welcomed her into our lives? It's so hard to imagine what life was like without her.

Wren is such a sweet, good-natured baby. She is usually perfectly content to just lay on the floor and watch everything that goes on around her. But actually, now that the kids are out of school her floor time is pretty limited since someone always wants to hold her. The other three love her so much, and it's been fun to see how they each interact with her.

Elly has definitely taken on the Responsible Big Sister/2nd Mother role. She is always eager to rescue Wren from crying, even for a minute or two, while I'm busy. One evening, maybe a couple of weeks after Wren was born, I was cooking dinner and Matt was working in the yard. Wren was a little fussy and I had to just let her cry. Elly came inside on an errand for Matt, heard Wren crying, and said (in an exasperated, harried-mother tone), "Just a minute, Wren, I'll be right there!" I definitely got the impression that she disapproved of my negligence in putting dinner preparations ahead of Wren's happiness. :) She'll be such a great mother someday.

Hite has embraced this 3rd sister like the others and takes pride in making her smile. He loves to try out new silly faces and dance moves that will produce bigger and bigger smiles. His Kindergarten teacher told me that she overheard Hite and his cousin Caden (who also has a baby sister) arguing over whose sister is the best. :) I love this picture of Hite trying to soothe Wren with his whistling (he is an awesome whistler):

And how has Rilla adjusted to losing her "baby of the family" status after 3 1/2 years? Pretty well, actually. I mean, I did notice a little more whining and tantrums at first, but I know it's not because she consciously resented Wren or anything like that. I love hearing her talk and sing to Wren in her little high-pitched voice. She always calls her "Wrenny-Girl," but it sounds more like "Whenny Gowa." I love it.

Wren happens to be very advanced in the happiness department. In fact, her Aunt Tara calls her a "Smiling prodigy." :) She smiled her first smile at only 10 days old! I know what you're thinking: "yeah, right. It was gas." But I swear, I was talking and smiling at her while I held her, and she totally looked right into my eyes, spit out her binky, and smiled at me. She even smiled later that day for Grandma Peterson to prove I wasn't making it up, and has been smiling ever since. She also laughed at only 2 1/2 months, and I think my others were closer to 3 1/2 or 4 months old. It was too cute-- I was buttoning her jammies up under her chin and it must have tickled her. She is in heaven when she's naked or getting her diaper changed. That's when we get the best grins and giggles. :)

It’s fun to have a baby with some hair that’s visible for a change! She’s no Whatcott baby or anything (my sister Cindy’s girls are practically born with thick, dark pigtails and bangs), but her hair is definitely brown and almost an inch long in some places! So compared to what we’re used to, Wren’s hair is really something! :)

One of Wren’s most unique characteristics is the Port-Wine Stain on her right leg. It’s kind of hard to see in certain lights, but you can clearly see it in this picture. Her doctor told us about lazer treatments that can all but remove them these days, and maybe someday she’ll want to go that route, but I actually love it and hope she never does! To me it’s a reminder of how Wren is our little miracle baby. She almost didn’t make it past the first trimester of pregnancy, but if you want to hear that story, you'll have to ask me about it in person someday....

In case you can’t tell, I sure do love this baby girl of mine. She brightens my days and brings our family together in a way that only a baby can because we all adore her.

Frustration

2010-07-12T22:21:00.000-07:00

So here's the deal: I did spend the afternoon writing a post (all about Wren), and nearly published it. But Blogger was NOT cooperating with me once I added the pictures, so that's why there's no new post. I have such a hard time getting the pictures in the right place. Why can't you just click where you want it, insert the picture, and it's there?? I'm so irritated about it, I just can't bring myself to try again. I might just have to start from scratch, and that just makes me wince. I don't just whip out a blog post in a couple of minutes, folks. More like a couple of hours, if I'm lucky. All that editing and rewording and rearranging...like anyone cares!

Long story short about the car: the repair was going to have to wait a few days till the part came in, so we decided to bite the bullet and just go on the trip without a/c. We left at around 8pm to avoid the sunlight, and it really wasn't so bad once we got out of the city.

Have you seen this video? Throughout this ordeal, we had to keep reminding ourselves that there really are good things to come if you don't give up.

And sure enough, we did have "good things to come" -- a wonderful trip with many of our loved ones in a beautiful place that has come to mean so much to me these past 30+ years.

A Change in Plans

2010-07-02T12:58:00.001-07:00

Right now I was supposed to be here:

Alpine, AZ, the most beautiful place in the world.

Unfortunately, our car had other plans; namely, going into the repair shop to get the a/c fixed. Luckily we were only 5 minutes into our journey last night when the a/c quit and we decided it would be a miserable trip without it so we turned around and went home.

So we're crossing our fingers that the mechanics will be able to fix it today and we can be on our way again tonight. But in the meantime, I'm seeing some advantages to this. I spent this whole week running around like mad trying to get everything ready for the trip. Now here I am at home with the shopping done, house cleaned, bags packed, bills paid, hampers empty, baby napping (or did I just hear a cry...), and kids happily watching a movie. Maybe if I'm lucky, I can catch up on some blogging!

A First

2010-06-01T01:20:00.000-07:00

I don’t know how long my kids had been begging to do a lemonade stand, but let’s just say it had been long enough that I simply could not put them off any longer. We decided to hold it on Memorial Day, and it was quite a success, I’d say. The kids did all of the work squeezing lemons, making posters, and serving customers, and we just helped as needed. I think they made around $24.00. Not bad! That included a few dollars of generous tips from grandparents and kind neighbors, though. :) Grammy and Papa were sweet enough to drive all the way over for a taste of “Papa’s Lemonade.” They really shouldn’t have to pay to drink lemonade made with their own lemons!

End of Year Honor

2010-05-26T00:59:00.000-07:00

Elly made us proud at the end of her second grade year by earning the Scholastic Achievement Award for her class. Only two students out of each class are selected to receive it, and guess who the other student was? It was a bit of a relief when Merilana and I found out that both Tristan and Elly would be getting it so that nobody’s feelings would be hurt. Most teachers choose one boy and one girl to keep things fair, but we think Mrs. Whiffen was looking out for our girls. :) Way to go, girls!

Gila Valley Temple Open House

2010-05-24T16:45:00.000-07:00

When we heard about the Gila Valley Temple Open House, we didn’t really even consider going because Wren was only a few weeks old. But then one day we were like, “why not?” All the reasons I had for not going just didn’t seem very important when compared with all the benefits of going. So one day after school and work, we loaded up all the kids, picked up Sonic to eat on the road, and headed for Safford…Thatcher…Pima…Central…whatever.

Rilla LOVED the Angel Moroni, HATED the disposable booties we had to put on before entering the temple. She actually threw a tantrum inside the temple. Nice. The guides were very kind about it and said she could just walk around in her tights instead. Elly’s favorite part was the GORGEOUS chandelier in the celestial room. Hite’s favorite part was the cool baptismal font with all the oxen underneath. Matt and I loved being in that beautiful place with our 4 sweet kids, knowing that they are ours forever.

Hite’s Surprise Party

2010-04-13T00:43:00.000-07:00

With Wren’s due date (April 5) so close to Hite’s birthday (April 13), I knew there was no way we could have a party for him very close to his birthday. So I decided to have his party a few weeks before his birthday. I figured he’d never suspect it so far in advance, and I was right! He was totally surprised, and I think he really liked it. I wish I could’ve gotten a picture of his face when he came out, but something was going on with the camera, so I missed it, darn it! Anyways, he was really cute about the whole thing and especially loved the piñata—that’s all he’s ever wanted at a birthday party, and I finally decided to splurge and get him one. For his official birthday we had a small family party where he got his long-awaited skateboard and had strawberry cake. Having cake with pink frosting didn’t deter him one bit! :) We love you, sweet Hite Boy, and are so happy that you came to our family 6 years ago today. You bring so much love and laughter wherever you go. We love the way you snap, whistle, and dance all the time—it’s so… YOU! Happy Birthday, Buddy!

Good Friday!

2010-04-02T21:40:00.000-07:00

Today was a wonderful day - Good Friday, indeed. We welcomed the newest member of our family into the world today - Wren Peterson. She is an amazing, sweet little girl who has already captured the hearts of those who have met her.

She came at 3:42 AM after a pretty quick delivery. She weighed 7 lbs 3 oz. and has a little bit of dark hair - which is way more and way darker than any of the other three. She has a sweet disposition and is just as happy as can be - that is until I jinxed it by writing that last sentence. Melody and Wren are both doing great.

I will post more details later, but wanted to get a few pictures out there for you to see.

Melody and Wren

sleepy little girl...

the kids looking at their tiny little sister

before her first bath, but still as content as can be

Spring Break

2010-03-29T00:14:00.000-07:00

We had a very eventful spring break and took full advantage of Matt being self-employed so we could all do fun things together. We went on a picnic to Freestone Park and practiced hitting at the batting cages there. The kids are really improving! Then Matt took the kids on a backpacking trip to Four Peaks. It was freezing cold, but they loved every minute of it. Rilla was very disappointed that she didn’t get to go, but she and I made the most of it by going out for dinner and watching movies. At the end of the week we went to Skateland, which was fun until a girl crashed into Matt, causing him to come down hard on his side right on her roller skate. She skated away seemingly unharmed, but we think he broke a rib or two—OUCH! He was in pain for a good few weeks or more after that. Nonetheless, it was great to be able to relax and spend time together.

Just an Update

2010-03-17T22:53:00.000-07:00

Note: Today is actually March 31st. You'll notice I wrote this post 2 weeks ago. I was waiting until we got the pictures uploaded and, as always, that didn't happen right away like I thought it would. So I guess I should call it an "outdate" or maybe a "downdate." ha ha

Here is a little update on each member of our family:

Me

I think this picture was taken sometime in January or February. I'm much bigger now!

I'm 37 1/2 weeks pregnant. Need I say more? Probably not, but I will anyways.

I'm huge, uncomfortable, extremely tired, cranky at times, a little swollen in the face and feet, more anxious than excited at this point, and hoping I hit the "nesting" phase soon, because right now I have no desire to clean anything! If the dishes are done and the hampers aren't overflowing, I count my day a success. I'm sick of this baby's feet incessantly pushing against my ribs (oh, to have a long torso!). I have heartburn. I snore. I eat 4-5 cups of Sonic ice every day (yes, I am anemic), which means I am in the bathroom at least 10 times a day. And no, we still haven't settled on a name.

But you know what? It's all good. I forget sometimes how many women out there would give almost anything to be pregnant right now. And then when I remember, I am humbled and grateful that I get to participate in this miracle called life that I try to just keep my whining mouth shut.

Matt

Finally got to go skiing in January with bro.-in-law Corey. 1st time since before we were married!

Married to a whining, grumpy woman who snores, won't clean, barely cooks anymore, and chews ice all day.

But NEVER complains. Tells me how cute I look (while I roll my eyes). Encourages me to rest while he takes over my responsibilities.

Quite a bit has been going on with Matt in the last couple of months, actually. In January he decided to move out of his home office (a.k.a. our bedroom) and rent some office space in Gilbert. It's funny, because whenever people would ask how I liked him working from home, I usually said (and truly felt), that it was just fine and that we were doing it pretty successfully. But now that he's back to going to work every day, I can't believe how much I love it! It's hard to explain, but I guess I just love the normalcy of it all. He would never say this, but I have a feeling he loves being out from under my watchful eye, too.

Matt also got a sweet new set of wheels:

He tries to ignore it when people say it's "cute." It may be cute, but it's saving us a lot of money, alright?! The plan is to sell his truck so that we can be free from car payments. Insurance and gas for this thing are around $25/month combined, so it'll be worth it once the plan actually goes into effect....

Remember back in December when Matt got ordained as a high priest, but wasn't getting a new calling? Well, it appears that that wasn't the case after all. He got released as the Stake YM president (I think it's been 4 years, plus an additional 2 or so in the presidency before that) and called to be on the High Council in February. The funny thing is, he's over the Young Men, so he's still going to be very involved in a lot of the same things, with a few additional high council responsibilities, so it's all good. Change is always exciting, and so far he's really enjoyed serving in this capacity.

As if all of this wasn't enough, Matt recently decided to start up a youth sports league for our neighborhood! We were so irritated about paying $80 to participate in a sport and what do you get out of it? A shirt, a hat, and a team (with parent volunteers as coaches). Somehow, Matt is providing the same things for only $6.50. The response has been huge, with the only complaint being that so many older kids also want to do it! For now it's only for K-3rd grades. He's starting with baseball, then going to do some other sports throughout the year.

In his spare time, Matt still finds time to do fun stuff with us like take us to the park for a picnic (last Saturday), and take the kids on a backpacking trip (last night). He's amazing, that's for sure.

Elly

Still loves to read and write. Is LOVING going to Activity Days now that she's 8. My awesome helper at home. She rarely complains about doing stuff for me that I'm too lazy to get up and do, like help Rilla wipe her bum. Loves to take a gazillion pictures with her camera that she got for Christmas. Most recently has become obsessed with creating games. She has a really cool "Piano Player" game that she made up, as well as her own versions of Old Maid, Go Fish, Memory, and Blues Clues.

Hite

Our resident funny man, he always says or does some random thing to make us laugh. Turning 6 next month! Recently lost his first tooth (at school), but he didn't even know it was gone until it was already somewhere on the playground. He wrote the Tooth Fairy a nice note explaining what happened, and she kindly left him a dollar even though there was no tooth. Can't WAIT for this baby to come so that he and Dad can go on their promised camping trip. We have a feeling that he thinks it will happen the day the baby comes, though, which could make for a pretty sticky situation....

Rilla

They'll kill me some day for putting this in here!

Recently mastered potty training!! As my latest ever to learn, I was starting to worry that I would still have 2 in diapers, even though they'll be 3 1/2 years apart. But thankfully, she gave me 6 blessed weeks of diaper-free bliss. Hearing her shout from the bathroom, "I goed poop!" is music to my ears. She loves going to primary, and really knows the words to all the songs. She sang "I Know That My Savior Loves Me" in the car one day, and it was positively the most adorable thing I've ever heard ("I-I-I know he wiii-ves! I wiw fah-whoa faithful-he!").

Fun at Home

2010-02-25T14:47:00.000-08:00

I’m sure that the rest of you won’t be able to relate to this, but sometimes our kids have a hard time getting along. I swear my kids have a daily scheduled rotation for who’s going to be the one to make everyone else’s life miserable. At least they are considerate enough to take turns, I suppose! But every once in a blue moon, my kids actually have fun together and treat each other like friends. And that, my friends, is pure heaven! When it does happen, I try to stay as inconspicuous as I can, tiptoeing around the house, ignoring their messy rooms, and waiting to call them in for dinner till the last possible minute.

On one such evening, Elly and Hite started wrestling, then noticed that they were both wearing yellow shirts and blue pants for pajamas. Then they decided that it would be cool if everyone wore matching outfits and wrestled. They convinced Matt and Rilla, but in my delicate condition I got excused (phew!). With the Olympics happening this winter, the kids loved to pretend that they were figure skaters and snowboarders. Lots of times they’ll perform plays and shows, and Matt and I love to watch the performances!

Check it Out

2010-02-15T10:31:00.000-08:00

Have you ever checked out Matt's blog? He doesn't get a chance to update it very often, but he's a terrific writer, and he just posted a great recap of the Olympics Opening Ceremonies. My favorite was his totally accurate description of KD Lang's performance. Check it out!

http://whatiwriteforfun.blogspot.com/

Got an extra 10 seconds?

2010-02-08T08:10:00.000-08:00

My friend Holly is an amazing photographer, and she is holding a contest for a free newborn photo session and 5 free digital files. You had to be having a baby sometime between Feb. 1st and May 31st, so I figured I might as well go for it. It's super easy to vote-- just click here, click the bubble next to my name, click vote, then you're done! You could even win a $100 gift certificate towards a newborn photo session if you want to take the extra time to leave a comment.

Thanks in advance!

The Bachelor

2010-01-26T13:06:00.000-08:00

... of Liberal Studies, that is. And just so you know, that doesn't mean he likes to study Liberals. :)

On December 19th, Matt graduated from ASU. Happy Day!! It would have been so much easier for him to just give up and nevermind a degree. After all, with a wife and 3 1/2 kids to support, it wasn't exactly a "convenient" time to go back to school. But he did it, and I am SO proud of him.

The kids were so excited to go to the ceremony and cheer him on. One big advantage to him finishing school a little later is that they will hopefully remember it and it will make an impression on them.

Our supportive parents were also there, which meant a lot to us.

Did I Forget to Mention...?

2010-01-25T13:59:00.000-08:00

We're having another girl! When we told the kids, Hite cried and cried. He actually told us before we went to the ultrasound: "If it's a girl, just don't tell me." He got over it pretty quickly, though, and is just as excited as the rest of us to have another baby to cuddle and care for.

Definitely a girl:

No doubt here she's smoothing away all of the long, flowing hair characteristic of all our babies ;)

We're down to less than 10 weeks to go, and we still haven't decided on a name yet. We really need to get crackin'!

Best Christmas Present Ever

2010-01-04T21:32:00.000-08:00

I love my kids. They are, like Mary Poppins, “practically perfect in every way.” EXCEPT when it comes to receiving gifts. They just never give me the response that I’m looking for, you know? When Hite got a bike for his birthday, he smiled…I think. Elly usually gives a bashful “thank you,” and that’s about as good as it gets. I can think of only one instance for each of my kids when they had an awesome reaction to a gift. For Hite, it was getting his silver and black football for Christmas a couple of years ago. You’d have thought it was a new car the way he jumped up and down and hugged it. For Rilla it was the bike that she got for Christmas last year. She did laps around our tiny little hallway over and over, not stopping to open any other presents. At one point she exclaimed, “I WUV Santa Claus now!” (Prior to this, she was not too keen on the idea of him coming into our house while we were all asleep. Rilla afraid of Santa Claus? I know. Shocker.) For Elly, it was her camera. She got it for Christmas 2009, and she literally jumped up and down with excitement. She could NOT believe that Santa would bring her something so awesome. She even said at one point, “I REALLY wanted a camera, but I didn’t think I had been good enough.”

On Christmas day, Dad got out the camera that he got for Christmas (or was it his birthday?) when he was 8 years old, and Elly loved seeing that. It was so cool that he’s kept it in such good condition all these years. How well I remember getting my little disc camera for Christmas (I was maybe around 10?) and the silly pictures that I took with it. Kids these days don’t know how good they have it with digital cameras! I think she took close to a million pictures on Christmas day last year, but these are some of my favorites. THANK YOU, SANTA! ;)

Elly's Baptism

2009-12-16T15:38:00.000-08:00

On December 12, Elly was baptized! It was such a wonderful day with many, many family members and friends taking time out of their busy schedules to come show their love and support. I felt so overwhelmed seeing all the people there who have had such a positive influence in Elly's life. She was baptized and confirmed by Matt, who performed his last ordinance as an Elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood. He got ordained to be a High Priest on Sunday. No calling change, just something our stake president felt was right. It was an exciting weekend for our family!

Elly with her 3 closest cousins, Raelyn, Tristan, and Dennalei

Here's Elly in the gorgeous dress that my mom made. I was very particular about what I wanted her dress to look like; it had to be something relatively simple, not too fancy, and something that she could wear more than once with a different colored ribbon around the waist. My mom knew just what to do and I couldn't have asked for a more perfect dress. More importantly, Elly even liked it, and she is hard to please when it comes to dresses!

Elly was so excited to be baptized. She has a strong testimony of the gospel, and is such a terrific example to all of us at home. She loves to read her scriptures and prepares amazing Family Home Evening Lessons. We feel so very blessed to have her!

P.S. Thanks to my sister Cindy for these beautiful pictures!

My Thanksgiving (By Elly)

2009-11-29T13:49:00.000-08:00

On Thanksgiving in the morning I had cinnamon rolls and there was a race so we went there. I ran with tristan and another freind named Anna. At the end of the race there was a kids award I got one. Then they announced the winners. We cleaned up and went home. When we got Home we watched the thanksgiving Parade. After we saw Santa, we went to my grandmas house for lunch. We played awhile and everybody went home One of my cosins [Parker] stayed and we did to. Me and him cleaned up the yard for my grandma. We always clean up for her somewhere. We said by and went to our other grandmas house for dinner. After we ate, me and my cousin nikki got a wish bone but she won. The kids played awhile. then my grandma broght out something. It was an advent calender, and a box of raisins, and Webkins cloths. Webkinz are stuffed animals that can go online. I made a chocolot mint pie oreos for crust insid was chocolot mint pudding. On top was whipped cream and chocolut mint chips. We ate that and played a little bit more than we had to go on our way home, we went to the other Grandmas house because some cosins didn't come so we saw them there and played with them and then we wend home and went to bed the next day was my moms birthday I will never forge[t] this thanksgiving again.

the end

Hite Gets Glasses

2009-11-28T13:46:00.000-08:00

We found out from a vision screening at school that Hite has very poor vision in his left eye. In fact, he basically only uses his right eye to see. That works fine, but he got glasses in order to strengthen his weak eye and prevent a lazy eye. He was really excited to get glasses, and hasn't minded them at all. We think he looks so handsome, but much too old!

The doctor suggested that he practice using only his weak eye to try to strengthen it, so we are supposed to put a patch over his good eye and get him to color or draw without relying on it.

Happy Birthday Melody!

2009-11-27T06:12:00.000-08:00

It’s Melody’s birthday, and instead of making a big breakfast I’m typing this blog entry (I copped out with an Entenmann’s cheese Danish that requires no preparation time). This year’s entry is going to focus on some things about Melody that you probably didn’t know. It’s too easy to talk about all of her many virtues…plus you already know all about those. You’ve seen her amazing-ness just like I have, but here is a list of fun things about Melody that you don’t regularly see:

1. She has very cold feet. Literally, not figuratively. She needs slippers more than she needs a sweatshirt in most cases. When we are camping or at our cabin, she usually uses my sleeping bag because it is warmer. Often times I have found a slipper or sock in the bottom of my sleeping bag while on a Scout trip -- it’s always nice to have a little reminder of Melody while I’m freezing on a mountain top somewhere.

2. She actually likes to watch Suns games. She doesn’t get as riled up as me (with the remote control throwing and pseudo-swear words), but she will vocally disapprove of a Bruce Bowen cheap-shot, a David Stern ruling, or the Lakers in general. She tolerates ASU sports and D-Backs, but she actually likes the Suns. Go figure.

3. She HATES to be tickled. I know, none of us likes to be tickled, but just don’t go there with Melody. The sweet, loving, easy-going girl you all know instantly turns into a stern, serious, and threatening person that isn’t messing around. I’ve never pushed the limits…I don’t think she’d ever forgive me.

4. She can wiggle her ears. Just a fun little tidbit – no real significance. But it does amaze our kids (and me) at the occasional family home evening talent show.

5. She could have been a badminton star. At the end of ninth grade, Melody’s PE teacher tried to recruit her to play badminton on the high school team. And it wasn’t some form letter that went to everyone…this was a personal invitation. She saw something in Melody’s abilities…something that I’m convinced would have led her to a state championship had she accepted the offer. I guess we’ll never know.

6. She doesn’t like pie. She’ll eat a slice of pie on Thanksgiving, but she is definitely not a “pie person.” Having a birthday on or near Thanksgiving means lots of pies as birthday cake substitutions, but you’d never know that Melody was the slightest bit disappointed. That’s just how she rolls.

7. She doesn’t like celery. Put a little peanut butter on a raw slab of celery and you might get her to eat a piece. Celery in soups, stuffing, chicken salad – completely inappropriate. I have to agree with her on that one. It’s just a crunchy filler that brings nothing of value to the table.

8. She has an amazing memory. She can remember what we did for lunch the day before Elly’s 3rd birthday… She remembers who gave us our spatula for a wedding gift…She remembers when it’s time to put the black garbage out. Simply amazing.

9. She never remembers to charge her phone. This may be the only discernable chink in Melody's armor. I have woken up countless times to the mysterious beeping in Melody’s purse. But “Low Battery” messages at 3 AM are a small price to pay for the blessing of being married to my favorite person in the world.

10. Melody is a full year older than I am. Yes, today Melody is 33. I am 32. If my math is correct, she is 1 year older than me. Luckily, she still looks young, beautiful, and vibrant. Otherwise, people might accuse her of “robbing the cradle.”

Melody's edit: I am two months older than Matt!! He'll catch up to me in January. Nice try, Honey. :D

There are lots of things you discover about Melody as you get to know her. I am blessed to be by her side every day. It’s not so much the things I learn about Melody that I love so much; it’s the things I learn from her. She makes me a better person and the world a better place. I love you sweetheart, for everything that you are. Happy Birthday!

You're Invited...

2009-11-24T13:26:00.001-08:00

What: 3rd Annual Cheshire Chase
5k or 1-mile fun run/walk
When: Thanksgiving Morning
Check-in begins at 7:00 a.m., race begins at 7:45.
Who: Anyone and Everyone
Where: Skyline Park (right off of Crismon Road, between Southern and Broadway).
Cost: FREE! And there's even water, Gatorade, and fruit provided. :)

Awards are given for top finishers in each age group (kids are welcome to race too)

Come! It's a great way to start off your Thanksgiving!

"in desert, on mountain, on land, or on sea..."

2009-11-16T13:52:00.000-08:00

Over the years we have been ambitious enough as a group of brothers-in-law to take our kids on adventurous outings into the desert or mountains. But none, perhaps, was more ambitious than our trip to Canyon Lake in November.

We arrived when it was already dark, so the anxiety set in quickly. With 17 kids and a lake full of cold water, we were obviously a little unsure of how things would go. Waiting on the shore was the hardest part, but soon enough we were on the water.

The Kennedys ready to launch

The Petersons are all set!

Haley is ready for the “fair maiden” voyage

Aye, Aye, Captain Grant

James and Ashton ready to “cruise”

Ashton an hour later when we reached shore…

Final preparations

Elly and Hite ready for this adventure

Hite paddles into the great dark unknown…

We paddled about a mile and a half across Canyon Lake to our campsite. The paddling went much smoother than any of us had expected. We set up camp, made dinner, and enjoyed some time together.

Cassie and Amber getting ready for bed

“Brigham the Friendly Caterpillar”

I told you this would be published, Haley. Enjoy!

In the middle of the night we had a few visitors. Some raccoons entered our campsite and enjoyed cleaning out the remnants of my dinner trash. Jared was brave enough to get out and see what the noises were….Kent slept about 10 feet from the crime scene but offered no help in his comatose state.

Our campsite. Landon is standing close to where the raccoons had a late-night snack.

After breakfast, we paddled back across the lake and headed for home. This was definitely an amazing adventure that we will all remember for many years to come.

The older cousins were such a great example to the younger kids. What a fun group!

Elly and Tristan practicing

Hite was always ready to go

Hite and Brigham were actually pretty good paddlers together

Landon was a great sport despite leaving his sleeping bag in the truck

The Roberts and their captain, Dallin

The Kennedys with a strong finish

The Canyon Lake Mariners – seaworthy and strong

Giving Thanks: Good Health

2009-11-05T18:53:00.000-08:00

I was just reading my friend Monya's blog, and realized (again) that I take way too much for granted. Monya is an amazing woman who has a lot going on in her life right now, to put it extremely mildly. She recently sent her only son off on a mission, is planning a daughter's wedding, and is expecting her first grandchild. In the midst of all these good things, though, she recently found out that she has breast cancer. She blogs about her experiences and feelings often, and I am always SO amazed by her strength, courage, faith, sense of humor, and candidness when she writes. Some of her latest posts include getting her hair done for the last time before undergoing chemotherapy treatments and adding bling to the ugly $200 bra that the hospital gave her after her (I think double) mastectomy. You should check it out!

I am so tremendously grateful for the blessing of good health. I know that it may even be a temporary blessing in my life, but I need to recognize it more, take advantage of it while I have it, and maintain a healthy lifestyle so that if something unexpected such as cancer ever invades my body, I will be better able to conquer it. Monya, I don't know if you'll ever read this, but just know that you are an inspiration to me and many others, and that you have a big support group to cheer you on.

F-A-R-T spells...

2009-10-26T20:29:00.000-07:00

... just about everything, according to Rilla. She has gotten really good lately at recognizing all of the letters, and likes to point them out when she sees them (especially R's). With Hite learning how to spell a lot of new things, he's always saying, "Mom, I know how to spell ______." Then he spells it for me. Now Rilla does the same thing, except she spells everything F-A-R-T. For example, tonight she said, "Mommy I know how to spell pig: F-A-R-T." Then a few minutes later Hite said, "Rilla, do you know how to spell Hite? " "F-A-R-T" was her response. She'll say the same thing for dog, cat, you name it. Those four letters just seem to roll off her tongue in that particular order. They do have a certain ring....

Incidentally (or is it coincidentally?), I just realized that this is my 3rd post having to do with spelling, and my 2nd in a row. Does that say something about me? Like that I am a really big nerd??

Kids sure are fun to have around for laughs, aren't they? I guess that's why I'm pretty excited to have another one next spring. Yes, that's right, I am pregnant! I didn't really sit down to write this with the intention to announce it, but I guess now's as good a time as any. The only reason I haven't yet is because I keep thinking there's got to be some cute and clever way to do it, but nothing's coming to me.

So let's see... I'll try to think of all the typical questions one would ask and answer them all right here:

I am 17 weeks along, which makes my due date April 5th (the day after Easter)

Yes, I am going to find out the gender. My next ultrasound is November 9th.

While we would never be disappointed to have another girl, another boy would be kinda nice to balance things out a bit.

We've tossed around a few ideas for names, but I'm not doing any serious thinking until I know if it's a girl or a boy.

I'm feeling great now; I had the typical morning sickness (all-day sickness) during my first trimester.

It will be almost exactly a 3 1/2 year gap between this one and Rilla. I am so excited to hold a newborn again!

Desert/Dessert

2009-10-12T21:23:00.000-07:00

This is one of those things that happened a while ago but I keep forgetting to write about it. I can't let this become one of those long-lost memories-- it's too cute!

In our ward's primary, they gave each of the kids a sheet to fill out at the beginning of the year telling a little about themselves so that they can read it aloud on their birthday. They ask questions like what is your favorite food, what do you want to be when you grow up, etc. Soon after that happened in primary, we were in the car and Elly suddenly says something like this:

"Mom, I just realized that I made a mistake on the primary thing they gave us to fill out."

"Really? What was your mistake?"

"I thought it said, 'What is your favorite desert,' but now I think it probably said 'what is your favorite dessert.'

"(stifling a laugh) Oh. Well, that's okay. I'm sure we can tell them what you really meant. By the way, what did you write for your answer?"

"I don't remember. Probably Sonoran."

I still think back to this occasionally and bust up laughing. First of all, if someone asked me what my favorite desert was, I would be hard pressed to even remember the name of any deserts at all. Secondly, I love to think of what was going through her mind at the time. Did she think it was a strange question, or was she like, favorite desert? Easy. Sonoran rocks! And finally, I would love to personally see this questionnaire to see if they even spelled dessert right. Don't get me wrong; our primary presidency are all friends of mine who are intelligent and detail-oriented (I think you have to be in that calling) but that is such a common mistake, and one that wouldn't be detected with spell check. Besides, I'd put my super speller against most adults any day. :)

Note to self: I still need to call someone and get that fixed before her birthday in December.

Elly devouring one of her favorite desserts

A little Mormon Humor

2009-10-02T08:49:00.000-07:00

I got this hilarious forward from (guess who) Jared a few years ago and have saved it all this time because I loved it so much. In honor of General Conference Weekend (9 am and 1 pm on the WB or BYU channel both Saturday and Sunday), I thought it would be fun to post it.

I want to make it clear that this is in no way meant to mock these amazing leaders for whom I have immense love and respect. I truly believe that if they were to read this (if they haven't already!) they would get a good chuckle. They all have such great senses of humor. You can tell it's a few years old as some of these great men have passed away, but their legacy still lives on.... Happy Conference Weekend!

Ways General Authorities Eat Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

David B. Haight: "Imagine 70 years ago on a rough road between Idaho and Logan. There were no Circle K's, no 7-11's. You had to bring your Peanut Butter Cups with you. Ruby and I split one for the first time in 1937."

Dallin H. Oaks: "The Reese's Peanut Butter Cup challenges us to consume. From the beginning there have been three steps in eating a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. First, remove the wrapper. This is best done quickly, by turning the cup over, grasping the outer fold, and pulling away from the bottom. Second..."

Joseph B. Wirthlin: "When I was young I would sprint to the corner store, buy a Reese's and run my hand through my hair before taking it down in one bite. These days I don't sprint, and I have no hair, but the Peanut Butter Cup remains."

Richard G. Scott: "If you have not eaten a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, I plead with you. Eat one now. Enjoy the chocolate, the peanut butter. Do not delay. If you have thought, "That's not for me", I plead with you to reconsider. Of all foods I treasure, this one was the first."

M. Russell Ballard: "The time has come when members of the church need to reach out to our friends and share a cup, a Peanut Butter Cup. It is not enough to raise a chocolate bar, it must now have peanut butter."

Thomas S. Monson: "I remember I ate my first Reese's Peanut Butter Cup when I was a tender lad of eight. My mother came up to me, and with a loving twinkle in her eye, asked, 'Tommy, are you eating a Reese's?'And I would invariably smile up to her, 'Yes, Yes, I am.' 'But Tommy, did you know that Sister Jensen next door hasn't eaten a Reese's Cup in years?' My young mind thought upon the plight of my neighbor. Tears were shed. Hearts were gladdened. A cup was shared."

Boyd K. Packer: "In all my years, I have always eaten my Reese's Peanut Butter Cups the same way - the established way we have been instructed to eat them. There is a far greater evil in this world -those who believe they can eat their cups in a way unconventional to the time-honored manner. We must be true and faithful and eat our Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in the customary and recognized approach as it has been established."

Neal A. Maxwell: "I intentionally initiate the delicious design of deglutition of the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup by nibbling a negligible nit of the culinary creamy cavalcade. It is exclusively through small entities that the great things are fabricated."

Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-29T20:50:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful vacation at the cabin with the Kennedys for Labor Day this year. Labor Day is my favorite time of year to go because it's always SO beautiful and green there. We can always count on rain and usually lots of mosquitoes to go with it, but this year we got lucky and had the rain without the mosquitoes! It was perfect.

Corey had some connections and we were able to go to Sprucedale Guest Ranch for horseback riding and a little taste of life on the ranch. It was so amazing there! We took tons and TONS of pictures and it was hard to choose only a few, so be prepared for a lot of scrolling down:

My 3 Cuties

Sprucedale had a little playground with a swingset and old tractors and stuff to play on. The kids probably would have been content if we'd have just done that all day!

Hite and his Kennedy counterpart, Caden.

Check out the beautiful trees and sky! (And Rilla!)

Fun on the tire swing

Merilana and Mara. Mara was so good during the whole trip in spite of the irregular schedule that always accompanies vacations.

Driving the tractor

Rilla was not too sure about all the animals everywhere and stayed pretty close to me the entire time.

Matt trying his hand at milking. He was pretty good for a city boy!

Even Elly had some luck.

Ellis, the owner, showing the little girls (these are our friends the Joneses who were camping nearby) the "star" on the tip of the udder

Oops! No star, just wanted them closer so he could squirt them with milk! :)

Only the kids 6 and up got to ride the horses, so the younger ones got to ride this adorable pony, Tinker. We were so proud of Rilla for not being too scared to ride him!

The older kids and one parent (Matt, in our case) got to go on a horseback ride through the beautiful Alpine wilderness.

Elly totally loved her horse, Jake.

The 4 jockeys (cowkids?) Amberly, Tristan, Grant, and Elly

Corey's horse kept going off the trail and up the mountain. You gotta know Corey, I guess, but this picture just makes me laugh. Especially since he is wearing my Dad's flannel coat which will get him busted when Dad sees this. j/k :) Again: check out the beauty!

Tristan has always been such a horse lover...

Everyone had a wonderful time on the ride, and we were so excited for them to come back so we could hear all about it. As they were riding back to the ranch and almost to where we were standing and waving hello, suddenly the horses got spooked. We still don't know what it could have been, but 7 of the 8 horses just took off at full speed right in front of our eyes. I can't even explain how terrifying it was to watch-- my little girl on a runaway horse! Thank goodness it happened at the end of the ride and they went to the corral where they stopped, instead of just running off into the wilderness somewhere. Unfortunately, Tristan fell off immediately:

Matt was so focused on making sure Elly was okay that he fell off when his horse got into the corral and turned. He got some bruises and scrapes, but was otherwise okay. Everyone else somehow managed to hold on, and for that we were very grateful.

Tristan ended up with 3 breaks in her left arm, plus lots of scrapes on her back and face. Poor girl! They took her to the hospital in Show Low where they treated it temporarily. Luckily they were able to stay for the remainder of the weekend and get the cast after we got home. The saddest part is that Tristan was supposed to get baptized on her birthday that next Saturday, but now it's postponed until after the cast comes off.

Even though our adventure ended with a bang, we have great memories of it and hope to go back to Sprucedale again. The owners were baffled about the whole experience; they do this for a living and it's not something they're used to. They were so sweet and felt horrible for what happened, even though it was nothing they could have controlled.

Back at the cabin we had a nice, relaxing weekend:

Rilla called this an "Elephant Trailer" Do you see the elephant?

The boys played baseball. Hite always sticks out his tongue when he throws or hits. :p

We had S'mores. mmmm

And we had lots of fun with our cousins!

A Craft for the Non-Crafty

2009-09-28T14:19:00.000-07:00

To my crafty friends, I'm going to politely ask you to please go back to your own blogs where you came from. Go on now; click that "back" arrow. No offense, it's just that I can't stand the thought of you looking at this and snickering at me, then leaving some patronizing comment like, "good job, Melody! I think I made that same thing when I was 4 years old and it didn't look nearly as nice as yours!"

You are welcome to come back another day when I'm telling about all of my talents, like... um... uh... well, someday I'm going to find something I'm really good at and blog about it!

For those of us who do not have the crafty gene but would love to be able to make cute homemade decorations and gifts, I found the perfect project for us! It was in Family Fun magazine (yes, that means it's kind of for kids) a few years ago, and you can find the link here if you want to see the original directions and a few other examples of finished products. I thought I would still post my own instructions because I've learned some helpful tips after making a few.

First, start with a basic, plain white hanger like this:

Not like this:
Or like this:

Do you see how they have extra stuff along the frame? That won't work for this project, so try to find a hanger without all that stuff. I'm actually having a hard time finding these plain ones, so if you see any, let me know!

Then you need a bunch of these:

Old grocery bags! What a way to reuse and recycle, huh? I think I used 10 for this one.

Next you'll need some cute 1 1/2 inch wide ribbon that is 4 1/2 yards long. It really does need to be that long; 4 yards won't cut it. This is not the cutest ribbon I could find at Hobby Lobby, but it was one of the few that came in a spool that was 5 yds. long. It was on sale for $2. I also checked Ribbons and Lace, but their cute ribbon was around $2/yard, so that just wouldn't do. I haven't checked Michael's yet, though. Also, the ribbed kind works best. If you use a satin-y ribbon it works, but it slips easier and I found I needed more than 4 1/2 yds.

You also need some scotch tape. That's it! You don't even need scissors for this craft!

Start at the top of the hanger and tape a bag to the plastic, then wind it around until you get the desired padding that you want. Keep taping and winding until it looks even and feels nice and firm.

It will look like this when you're done:

Next, take your ribbon and start winding it around the hanger, leaving about 12 inches at the top for a bow.

Keep winding securely, but not too tight.

When you get to the top, take the two ends and tie a bow. This is the one part where that craft gene would come in mighty handy. This is the hardest part of the whole thing for me. I must also confess that I used scissors to cut off the few inches of excess ribbon. :)

Pretty cute, huh? I was pleased with the way they turned out. I made two of these with similar ribbon colors to give to Elly's teacher last year for Teacher Appreciation Week. I attached a note that said something like, "Hang in there; summer is almost here." Full disclosure: I got the "hang in there" idea from Laura Tate, one of my craftiest of all crafty friends who taught a Simple Gift Ideas class at Enrichment a few years ago. Not that it matters if I give her the credit, since she should not be reading this right now....

I've also made it using strips of fabric (got that idea off of the comments from the Family Fun website). It turned out pretty cute too, but it was hard to hide the tape since you don't have a continuous 4 1/2 yard length of fabric.

I Can't Wait!

2009-09-27T23:11:00.000-07:00

Universal Reveals Details of New Harry Potter Park

Wizard fans young and old will be able to ride through rooms at Hogwarts, sip Butterbeers and buy magic wands at the new park.

http://guides.travel.msn.com/Guides/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1090328&icid=msn1090328&gt1=41009

Love Notes

2009-09-26T21:59:00.000-07:00

Getting love notes from my kids has got to be one of my favorite parts about being a mother. Lately Rilla has discovered the fun of leaving love notes for me on my pillow, and it just melts me every time. This picture was from a few weeks ago, but even tonight when I got home there was another one. They always make me smile because of her trademark folding job--folded numerous times horizontally, then taped shut. It's not like she can write anything, but I always know that those sweet scribbles are just her way of reminding me that she loves me. I love you too, Rilla Roo!

A Handy Solution

2009-09-25T22:33:00.000-07:00

Weeknights tend to be a little busy around here. What? For you too? And I thought I was the only one.... Tuesday nights are particularly busy, since I have mutual and the usual piano lessons. Last Tuesday it started to all cave in when I realized that I had not left enough time to teach piano, make dinner, eat with my family, stop by the craft store, and still get to mutual on time. As I recall, the time I would normally have spent getting dinner assembled was instead spent on getting a blog entry assembled.

So anyways, the pressure was building and I didn't know what to do, when Elly walked in the kitchen and said, "can I help you make dinner?" I started to blurt out my usual response: "not this time, honey. I'm really in a hurry and just have to do it by myself." But then I stopped and realized that this little girl is perfectly capable of making a chicken enchilada casserole by herself! Why don't I use her willingness and eagerness to my advantage while I can? So I changed my response to, "Yes. You know what? You can do all of this, right?" She was so excited, and worked so hard to get it all done by herself. It was awesome! I don't know why I haven't used her before, but you better believe I'll be using her again.

She kept rubbing it in to Hite that she's allowed to use knives now. :)

The best part was when we were eating it and she says, "not to brag, but this is really good." lol It was really good!

My Favorite Things

2009-09-24T20:40:00.000-07:00

My dad likes his bananas very soft. Gross, right? I don't know how anyone could eat a ripe banana like that. He also likes bread in milk (torn up and eaten like cereal) and green onions dipped in salt, but I should save that tangent for another post.

At my house there's only one thing to do with a banana that's gone soft-- make Double Chocolate Banana Muffins. Banana bread's okay and all, but before I found this recipe, I would usually just toss my brown bananas because it wasn't worth the effort just for banana bread. Now I find myself buying a few more bananas than I think we'll actually eat in hopes that I'll be forced to make these. There's something about the texture of these muffins that just make them especially delicious. The outside has a nice bite to it, and the inside is thick and chewy with those chocolate chips that melt in your mouth (when warm), or add a little crunch when room temp. or cold. I love them in all of the above forms. The best part about these muffins? Since they're called muffins, it's completely justifiable to eat them for breakfast. Yesss!

Ironically, this recipe was submitted by my mom in our Phelps Family Cookbook. With Dad around, it's amazing she ever has enough ripe bananas to make these!

This cookbook gets used a lot, you can tell by all the stains :)

Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

In a large bowl, combine the following:
1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder

In a small bowl, combine the following:
1 1/3 c. mashed ripe bananas
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1 egg

Stir banana mixture into dry ingredients just until moistened (do this by hand). Fold in 1 c. chocolate chips (I love to use mini chips). Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake @ 350 for 20-25 minutes. Makes about 1 dozen, which won't be enough, so you'll always want to double if you have enough bananas. :)

Wish I had a picture; I guess they never last long enough to get one!

Summer Recap

2009-09-23T20:56:00.000-07:00

Now that fall is officially here (and it actually feels that way in the mornings and evenings--yea!), I thought I'd better make sure our summer is well-documented:

My sister, Tara, came for a visit from Ohio and stayed for a few weeks. Here's our last girls outing before she had to leave: lunch at Joe's Farm Grill. Tara is holding Merilana's baby, Mara.

Matt made this puppet show a few years ago, and the kids love to get it out and put on shows for us. They performed "Sleeping Beauty" for us one night. It was great!

"Sleeping Beuty Staring Elly and Hite" :)

The trunk of our huge tree snapped during a monsoon storm. We kept saying how it was so sad, and now Rilla always says, "Mommy, our tree will get happy again."

Matt's mom took the kids to Peter "Pyder" (as Rilla says) Pizza and they talked of nothing else for days before and after! Grandma is terrific-- she always takes time to do fun stuff like that.
Matt and Hite went to a DBacks game with our friends Kenny and Ethan Mayer. The Mayers moved away this summer, and Hite and Ethan have been good buddies since they were babies, so they were excited to see each other again!

The Annual Phelps Family Back to School Party was a blast, as usual. My parents rented this big waterslide

My favorite part of the party: Snow Cones!
Years ago we started the silly tradition of having the guys act like mean lunch ladies and serve the pizza to the kids. They really take their roles seriously, and we've had a few kids close to tears at times because they didn't understand that they were just kidding around!

Then we had our own Back to School Party for just our family

Elly started 2nd Grade this year!

And Hite started KINDERGARTEN! It was a big day (hence the big smile).

Hite thinks it's pretty awesome having his cousin Caden in the same class

No qualms about leaving Mom and Dad on the first day-- he went straight to the playground. This kid LOVES the monkey bars.

One last smile before he goes into his class

Our ward had a talent show in August, and they asked Matt to be the MC. They got more than they bargained for, I think! He did an amazing job, and even wrote little songs to poke fun of each of the different auxiliaries (e.g., "In the lesson, the Sunday lesson, the High Priests sleep tonight..."). Everyone loved it!

And Rilla got into markers one day. lol

It was a fantastic summer, but it wouldn't be entirely honest for me to say I'm going to miss it. I am SO ready for fall to come!!

Get That Corn Outta My Face!

2009-09-22T16:02:00.000-07:00

If you are confused after only reading the title of this post, then you may want to just stop right here, because you might think that this is really, really weird. If you know exactly which movie that line comes from and you love it, then this is for you.

A little over a year ago, we were out on a date with some friends from our ward, and the movie Nacho Libre came up. It turns out we were all big fans, and something was said about having a Nacho party, which I thought was just talk. Well, soon after that night, I found out that my friends Shelly and Kristy were seriously planning a Nacho Libre-themed party! Everyone (except me) came dressed as a character from the movie, which made it especially fun. I'm such a party pooper when it comes to dressing up. Some people love it, but I've just never been into it. Besides, there are very few women in that movie, and I couldn't find a nun costume!

We had such a fun time. First we ate a delicious dinner of "salad or something", toast, "cheeps," and beans. I'm so mad that I didn't get pictures of the food!

Then we played a trivia game which was a lot of fun because it mostly involved quoting lines from the movie. Matt and I rocked this portion, by the way. :)

I'll let the pictures tell about the rest of the evening:

Matt as Nacho wearing his "recreational clothes." They may look expensive, "but beneath the clothes we find the man, and beneath the man we find his... nucleus."

Jason, our distinguished host, as Senor Ramon

"Guedo, look alive!"

Luchador Mike Lorsch

All of the Sisters Encarnacion (Shelly, April, Kristy, Amy). Their favorite color is light tan...

Luchadores Derek and Shawnah

Tyler and Matt showing us their muscles

"When the fantasy has ended, and all the children are gone..."

Poor quality, but I had to include the cantaloupe throwing. It's not as easily broken as it looks in the movie!

Then came the wrestling. "A nice piledrive to the face..."

Isn't it in the Bible not to wrestle your neighbor?

Matt and Jason summoning their Eagle Powers

It was a night to remember, that's for sure. We had so much fun just acting stupid (or rather, watching the guys act stupid) and laughing a lot. It felt a lot like high school again, actually! Who says kids have all the fun? We love the friends that we've made in our 8 1/2 years here. Where else would we have found people crazy enough to do something like this?

2009-09-21T22:09:00.000-07:00

Oh boy. This blog-a-day thing is getting harder and harder every day. I don't know how some people do it. How 'bout a book review?

I recently finished this book, recommended by Jared and Matt:

Peter and the Starcatchers by Ridley Pearson and Dave Barry. Don't ask me how two people manage to "co-author" a book, but these two are very good at it. Maybe Ridley Pearson does the writing and Dave Barry inserts the jokes?

At any rate, I loved this book! It is definitely written for a younger crowd, but I still thought it was very enjoyable for adults too. Like the Harry Potter books.

This is the first in a series that is a precursor to Peter Pan. There's so many things we don't know about Peter Pan: How did he become Peter Pan, and why doesn't he ever grow up? What's the story behind the rivalry between Hook and Peter? Who are the Lost Boys? How did all of them get to Neverland in the first place?

Ridley and Barry have a fun take on all of those questions and make everything come together in a very clever and entertaining way. I'm excited to read the next three: Peter and the Shadow Thieves, Peter and the Secret of Rundoon, and Peter and the Sword of Mercy (out Oct. 13-- I just found out as I was writing this. I thought it was only a trilogy). It looks like there may be a movie in the works, too, which would be really cool.

So if you're looking for something fun and easy that will help you escape from the daily grind, you should give this one a try.

I Love These Guys

2009-09-20T22:12:00.000-07:00

Elly came to me today and grumpily said, "All I do around here is work." Pretty funny coming from a 7 year old, especially considering not 5 minutes before that she was watching a movie and the "work" that I told her to do was get ready for church. All I could do was laugh, but she didn't really appreciate that too much. It sounds like I may need to teach her what "work" really is.... Also, last night when she got into the bathtub she goes, "ahhh, it feels so good to relax after a long day." And this was a Saturday! I think the most strenuous thing she did that day was play outside with her friends! lol

Pardon the repetition if you saw this on my Facebook update, but I want it recorded here:
A few weeks ago I was dropping Hite off at school and noticed that he had spots all over his shirt from lunch. It was Yellow Day, so the spots were especially noticeable on his bright yellow shirt, and I, of course, grumbled and lectured him about how he needs to be more careful. After giving him a quick hug and kiss goodbye, he walked a few steps, then stopped and turned around. He grinned, shrugged his shoulders, and said, "Oh well, I guess it's Polka-Dot Day!" I just hope he keeps that wonderful go-with-the-flow attitude; I wish I had it!

Rilla has started to be quite the little mommy. One time the other two were running around chasing each other, having fun, and Rilla goes into their room and says, "No laughing, guys; no laughing." Only she says laughing like "yaughing." It cracked me up! Another time I was in the kitchen doing whatever and there was a package of Goldfish on the counter. She walked in and nonchalantly said, "Mommy, would you put those fishies away?" Yesterday Matt was working on something outside and left the front door open. Rilla shouted to him, "Daddy, you forgot to shut the door so the bugs don't come in!" I just think it's funny that she sounds exactly like me when I say these types of things. Except for the "no laughing" one. I don't recall ever saying that to my kids. :)

Random Thoughts

2009-09-19T21:38:00.000-07:00

Just a little sampling of what's been on my mind today...

I went with my ward's youth on a hike at Usery Pass early this morning. I am So. Out. Of. Shape. I was huffing and puffing the entire way up, quads and calves burning, heart pounding. And it was not even a mile long! Despicable. Some of those kids ran up and down that hill 2 or 3 times while we were there! The highlight of the outing was the lemon-blueberry struesel muffin from Costco afterwards. What? I don't understand why you're smirking.

Completely hypothetically speaking: If we wanted to right now, we could sell our house for around $20K more than we owe, buy a house 2 1/2 times the size of ours in Queen Creek, and have a mortgage balance of around $60,000. Matt works from home. Would somebody please remind me why that option shouldn't appeal to me? Besides the fact that Jared and Tara just bought a house near us to get OUT of Queen Creek, of course. :)

What is that nasty black stuff that comes out of my kids' rubber bath toys when I squeeze the water out? GROSS.

A good quote from the lesson I'm teaching tomorrow:

“Too frequently we come to worship and to leave our offerings without attempting to prepare our inner selves to the same degree of perfection that we achieve in our outward dress and grooming” (Robert L. Simpson, in Conference Report, Oct. 1966, p. 129).

I had to read it a few times before it sunk in, but now I love it. How much time do I spend getting myself (and my kids) outwardly ready for church? I go all out-- hair, makeup, dress, jewelry, nail polish, lotion or perfume, etc. How much time do I spend getting myself (and my kids) inwardly ready for church? [awkward silence] I will try to do a lot better on that one.

I'm totally going to start making my own laundry detergent, but I'm having a hard time deciding between liquid and powder. I just kind of like the idea of liquid better and it is a little cheaper (2 cents per load instead of 4 cents-- both are SO cheap!), but you also have to cook it and restir it occasionally when it settles. Maybe I'll just go with the powder. But then again, that liquid sure sounds nice.... (sigh) A weighty decision, I tell you!

My Favorite Things

2009-09-18T16:00:00.000-07:00

Does your ward/congregation do Friendship Dinners? Let me explain if you're not familiar with the format:

We have an Activities Director who decides on a date (a Friday or Saturday evening), and then sends around a sign-up sheet. You sign up if you want to come, then also indicate if you'd like to host. The organizer then takes all the people who signed up and puts them in groups. The hosts are in charge of deciding on the menu (and usually the main course), then assigns the others in the group a side dish, dessert, etc. It's usually just for adults, so it makes for a fun date night. We go to these whenever we can because we always have so much fun. The last time we hosted, we had two other couples who we thought we knew, but ended up learning so much about them that we didn't before. Sometimes we just sit and talk, sometimes we play games, but it always ends up being a lot of fun.

I do love Friendship Dinners, but to say that it's one of my "Favorite Things" might be going a bit overboard. What I'm getting at in the title of this post is that we're going to one tonight, and I'm bringing dessert. Matt is doing this Wellness Challenge, and he's not supposed to have sweets, but he is allowed one "free day" a week where he gets to splurge. One must be very selective about that free day and make sure that the sweets are pretty darn good. So when I told him I was bringing dessert and asked him if he had any requests, this is what he wanted:

Turtle Cheesecake

Looks tasty, huh? It IS! I found the recipe on recipezaar.com earlier this year, and have only made it once, but I've been craving it since early March. I won't sit here and try to describe why it's so delicious. My writing isn't good enough for that. You'll just have to try it for yourself. And about 13 other people; it makes a lot and is so rich that you only need a little piece. Here's the recipe:

http://www.recipezaar.com/Turtle-Cheesecake-48312

Turtle Cheesecake

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs (regular graham crackers work just fine if you can't find chocolate)
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups Nestle Toll House semi-sweet chocolate morsels
2 tablespoons chocolate syrup
2 tablespoons caramel sundae syrup or ice cream topping
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans (I omit)
1/4 cup nestle toll house miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1.PREHEAT oven to 300 degrees F.
2. Grease 9-inch springform pan.
3. COMBINE crumbs and butter in medium bowl.
4. Press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of prepared pan.
5. BEAT cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk in large mixer bowl until smooth.
6. Add sugar, eggs, lime juice and vanilla extract; beat until combined.
7. Microwave morsels in medium, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100%) power for 1 minute; stir.
8. Morsels may retain some of their shape.
9. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until morsels are melted.
10. Stir 2 cups of cheesecake batter into melted morsels; mix well.
11. Alternately spoon batters into crust, beginning and ending with yellow batter.
12. BAKE for 1 hour 10 to 15 minutes or until edge is set and center moves slightly.
13. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes; run knife around edge of cheesecake.
14. Cool completely.
15. Drizzle Nesquik™ and caramel syrup over cheesecake.
16. Sprinkle with pecans and mini morsels.
17. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
18. Remove side of pan.

Funny Stuff

2009-09-17T13:51:00.001-07:00

My brother Jared has a knack for finding funny stuff on the Internet. I have no idea how he "stumbles on" certain websites or blogs; maybe he has to sift through a lot of lame websites to get to the good ones. But thankfully I just get to sit back, relax, and enjoy the links that he sends. Before I go too far, I should make it clear that he doesn't send me stuff every day or anything. It's like maybe a couple of times a month. :)

The other day he sent us a link to this website called AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com. It has a lot of silly pictures on it and some are pretty funny, but what I really loved was this Thanksgiving Letter from some well-meaning but extraordinarily bossy hostess trying to organize her family's Thanksgiving Dinner:

Another one that was referenced on that website is this passive-aggressivenotes.com. If you're a fan of The Office, don't you think they need to take this character Sandra and run with it?

To give credit where it's due, I should tell you that Jared's wife, Tara, sent the passive-aggressive one. They're both pretty good funnystuff-finders. :)

Homemaker's Peace of Mind

2009-09-16T20:29:00.000-07:00

First, some background on the term "homemaker." Some might think that sounds awfully June Cleaverish, but I like it. When I was in the 5th Grade, my teacher had everyone say what their mom did for a living (maybe it was both parents, but I only remember moms). Kinda weird, huh? Anyways, I said my mom is a "housewife." A housewife! I mean, is there any more detestable term in the English language than housewife?! I just didn't know better, but still. . .

Housewife

So I went home and told my mom what I said, and she responded in that sweet way that only my mother can, "next time just say 'homemaker.'" So that got me thinking about it for the first time: What's the difference between a housewife and a homemaker?

I love that my mom didn't give me a feminist lecture about housewife vs. homemaker (which is a funny thought; she's about as much of a feminist as I am ;)). She just left it at that and then allowed me to think about the difference on my own. I'm not saying that I spent the greater part of my childhood pondering on the minute details of housewife vs. homemaker, but you know-- it's just something I think about from time to time.

So now that I am a bona fide homemaker, the popular term seems to be "Stay at Home Mom." Infinitely better than housewife, yes, but still not as desirable as homemaker for a title, don't you think? A homemaker is someone who makes a home. A home is where a family lives, and a homemaker is the one that makes it possible for that family to physically and spiritually thrive, grow, and learn. I think it's pretty cool to be a homemaker. Besides, how many stay at home moms do you know who actually stay at home all day?

Well, now that I'm off my little homemaker rant, I was really getting to this: As a homemaker, there are certain strange things that just give me peace of mind. And I'm not talking about real peace of mind (i.e., eternal peace of mind). I know that having the gospel and knowing about our Savior and the Plan of Happiness is what gives true peace of mind. I really do. And when big trials come, that is what I hold on to. But sometimes it's the little stuff that makes my day go better. And I'm talking about really little stuff. Stuff like. . .

...knowing what's for dinner

...empty laundry baskets

...weed-free rocks

...a new air filter in the AC vent (thanks for that today, honey!)

... kids taking naps. When they're supposed to.

...milk in the fridge

...automatic withdrawal is coming up, and the money is there!

...clean counter tops (thanks again, honey!)

...blog is updated ;)

"Happy Birthday, Dear Blo-og..."

2009-09-15T16:57:00.000-07:00

... Happy Birthday to you!

Yes, that's right, dear Blog. You are one year old this month! Hasn't the time flown by? Back in September 2008, our relationship was young, new, and exciting. I was eager to find moments to share with you, even writing down adorable things my kids said or did that I needed to remember to publish.

But then the holidays came, and we drifted apart. Did you know that I never even told you about our Christmas last year? Of course you do. All the other blogs I visited (using you for your handy "Friends and Family" list, I should add) had stories galore of their families' tales of Christmas excitement. But not you, poor blog. Christmas, New Year's, birthdays, vacations.... They all came and went, undocumented by me.

But enough of the pity party. This is your birthday party! I bet I know what you're wishing for: a little more attention, perhaps? An owner who doesn't neglect you for weeks, even months at a time? Well, don't get too excited, but I think your wish is about to come true! In honor of your birthday, I am going to commit myself to one post every day for the next two weeks. Yep, you read me right: TWO WEEKS of daily posts. I know it's tempting to scoff, given that it has taken me about seven months to write my last 14 posts, but I'm serious about this. It might be something as boring as "Terrific day today. I swept AND mopped the kitchen floor." But barring some unforeseen catastrophe, I will be here with you every day.

I'm hoping that this will rekindle the flame that we once had.

Let's hope that the next two weeks will remind me how much fun this is supposed to be. Then maybe when the busy holiday season hits again, I'll be ready to give you the attention you deserve!

Yours Fondly,

Melody

Alpine, Part II

2009-07-22T19:37:00.000-07:00

4th of July (Alpine Style)

The 4th of July Parade in Alpine was a pretty big deal this year. At least, that's what the lady at the little store in town told Kent. So we went prepared for a spectacle of wonders, and I don't think any of us were disappointed. I mean, who could be disappointed when Smoky Bear and the famous Mountain Mamas Kazoo Band were featured? Certainly not us!

Jake, Hite, and Ben eagerly anticipating the grand event.

Matt and Rilla showing their patriotism. Rilla was only a little bit scared of the horses and Smokey since they were all a safe distance away from her.

These two adorable clowns came along and we just had to take a picture!

Ha ha, it's actually just Amber and Cassie, my cute nieces. They were such good sports on our trip and didn't mind tending babies or letting smaller kids tag along with them.

Doesn't Camille look like a movie star in these sunglasses?

She's such a cute, funny girl. A few years ago when we went to San Diego with her family, Hite couldn't say her name just right and called her "Mille." Well, that nickname sort of stuck, and now we laugh because it's so fitting for her! She's a gal who really appreciates a hearty 'mille' (or snack, or treat, or anything edible). On Cindy's blog recently she told the funny story of Camille saying out of the blue one day, "Mommy, lunch is my favorite day of the week!" Too cute!

Speaking of treats, no trip to the cabin is complete without this one-- Mom's homemade ice cream! The 8 qt. freezer we have is a handcrank machine, so it's perfect for Alpine when nobody has anything else urgent on their agendas.

Hite loved having a go at it as well.

The start of a new tradition: Dad bought this cool movie projector so we can watch movies on the big screen. The weather was nice enough that Matt rigged up this system so we could watch it outside with stadium-style seating on the hill. This was a big hit for parents and kids alike!

And no 4th of July is complete without the fireworks...

Notice who's being a scaredy-cat and staying in the car? That girl is seriously afraid of EVERYTHING!!

Alpine, Part I

2009-07-20T21:42:00.000-07:00

Luna Lake (taken by Matt)

All of my sisters were (as usual) so much more on top of things than I am and blogged about our 4th of July vacation at the cabin long ago, so I'm tempted to simply put their links here and call it good. But I guess that might be considered a cop out. Besides, then it wouldn't be in my blog book if I ever get around to getting one of those printed, so here goes my version....

We had such a fantastic time this year. Not everyone in my family came, but 6 of us 10 kids were there, so it was a good showing. One of the highlights of the trip was fishing at Luna Lake. After all these many years (31, to be precise) of going up there and having part of Luna Lake right on our property, I have never been fishing there! Actually, I've never even been fishing anywhere. I blame my dad. He's just not an outdoorsman. He's a piano man, a lawyer man, a learned man, and just an all-around amazing man, but not an outdoorsman. So I guess some might say I was deprived in that way. But anyways, I guess Matt and some of the other guys have decided to try to get us Phelpses to rethink the way we spend our vacation time up there and actually do something (although some might argue that fishing hardly qualifies as "doing" something).

So we loaded up a bunch of kids, fishing poles, jackets, tackle boxes, chairs, cameras, and oh yeah--worms and headed over to the lake. We ended up with a lot more kids than adults, so I don't think the other, more serious, fishermen appreciated our presence very much. But once the kids got settled in, they were really quite good, I thought. This is about half of our group:

Rilla was all excited about going fishing. That is, she was until we got there. Then (and this is so very typical of her), she wanted absolutely nothing to do with any of it and cried unless I was holding her in my lap. Turns out she was scared of the fish. And that was before she even saw any fish! I guess she doesn't understand the whole "fish need water to survive" thing, so I can't blame her too much. Maybe to her it's a little like Inferi (Harry Potter, Book 6-- the movie is excellent, btw), so if that's the case then I can definitely see why she would be terrified!

This look on her face says it all, doesn't it?

I held onto the pole while Matt took a picture. Does that count as fishing? 'Cuz if so, then I can finally say I've been fishing.

Elly caught the first fish of the afternoon (after not catching anything during the early morning outing), so she was thrilled and I was relieved. Now I had to worry about Hite being jealous of not catching anything and the tantrum that might follow. But wonder of wonders, he seemed genuinely excited for her and didn't even hint at being jealous. And then, miracle of miracles, he also caught one! Phew!

Elly trying to catch a few winks after waking up at 5 am to go fishing

A nice father-son moment (above, not below :D)

Stan and Matt made sure that the fish didn't go to waste and fried them up so they were actually quite tasty!

I like this picture because it captures the essence of our experience and the people there: Gene's cute little smirk, Mom keeping busy picking up old fishing line (so it won't strangle any birds), lots of kids in the background, and "real" fishermen trying to maintain their distance.

Budding Photographer

2009-06-06T10:50:00.000-07:00

Hite recently asked if he could take some pictures. I guess he caught me when I was in the middle of something and just wanted him to be busy, because I actually said yes. Here's what ended up on our camera:

A piece of gum on the plastic cover of the bike trailer. What, you couldn't tell?

Figuring out how this thing works...
( I love the freckles on his nose and cheeks!)

I actually thought this one was pretty cool and artistic-looking. Maybe he has a future in this!

The most breathtaking of all: Our blue water drums, shed, grill, and weeds. A thing of beauty, to be sure.

Braggy Post Alert

2009-06-03T15:38:00.000-07:00

Hite wasn't the only Peterson kid to succeed in May; Elly finished First Grade with honors too!

First she received her Top Dog award, which is a math award. I think they have 3 minutes to get 100% on 25 subtraction and 25 addition problems or something like that. All I know is that she had been so close to getting it since around January, and this was her last chance to get it, so she was very happy!

Then we found out that she was the 2nd place finisher in her class spelling bee, earning her a spot in the prestigious First Grade Spelling Bee. She is a super speller and only missed one or two spelling words all year long, so we knew she'd do well. But we also knew she was facing some pretty fierce competition, not the least of which was her cousin, Tristan, and good friend, Annie. She studied hard all weekend, and then the big day arrived...

Not a bit nervous! (yeah, right! )

Hite came ready to cheer on Big Sis {I love the little heart nose on the smiley face (: }

The arena:

Some kids are sitting on the sidewalk because their teachers forgot their chairs, but they brought them out later on. :)

The basketball court was not the most conducive setting for a spelling bee. It was really hard to hear the kids or even the words sometimes. I guess that kind of gives you an idea of how "prestigious" this really was (ha ha).

They started off with easy ones like "mad," "hat," and "apple." But pretty soon Elly was spelling words like "against" and "friend" without batting an eye. One by one the playing field started to shrink, with kids falling under the pressure of challenging words like "special." Soon there were only three left: Elly, Annie, and Luke. These whiz kids just couldn't be beat by the normal words that they were given to study, so the teachers whipped out the Dictionary and chose random words that the students hadn't studied. Elly was at the beginning of the round, so she got the first hard word: birthday. Piece of cake! (no pun intended) She's written "Happy Birthday" dozens of times for birthday cards, so she knew it in a flash. Then came the next one: enough. Oooh. I knew that one would be tough. She spelled it e-n-o-g-h. Soooo close! I was pretty impressed that she knew to spell it with a gh at the end! Annie spelled it right, so Elly was out. Then Luke missed his next word and Annie spelled it right, so she was the champ! Well, Elly reacted just about like all the others did when they got out-- she cried. :) I love this picture:

3 good buddies Tristan, Elly, and Champ Annie

Those teachers and kids had just about had it by the time it was over and just wanted to get back to their air-conditioned classrooms, so we had to hurry and take pictures before they all went inside. Elly didn't really have a chance to come to grips with her defeat like everyone else did, so unfortunately she looks like a really poor loser! She said she stopped crying once she got back to class, so that's good. :) When all was said and done, it was a great experience for her. Technically she tied for 2nd place since the other boy got out in the same round that she did. Anyone who knows Matt and his somewhat (ahem) competitive nature will not be surprised to know that he's the one who pointed that out :). 2nd, 3rd, or last, we were extremely proud parents that day!

The biggest honor came with the phone call from Elly's teacher saying that she selected Elly to receive the scholastic achievement award in her class. Only one boy and one girl from each class get it, so it was a pretty big deal! This is at the special assembly where she got the award:

Yea, Elly! We're so proud of you, sweetheart!

Graduation

2009-06-01T21:30:00.000-07:00

Hite reached a rather significant milestone in May, something that every toddler only dreams about. The day when they can finally take a deep breath and put all of their worries behind them: Preschool Graduation.

Hite is trying so hard not to show how excited he is about this.

Still suppressing a grin... gotta maintain a cool, nonchalant attitude, you know. Save the real celebrating for Kindergarten graduation.

Aw, what the heck... I am so awesome!

Woo Hoo!

One would think, in this digital age, that one or two photographers would suffice, but noooo, not in my family. I don't trust a single one of them to give my son the glory he deserves for this amazing accomplishment!

Hite with his favorite teacher

The grads and moms. Merilana was only a few days home from the hospital with her new little one, Mara! (below)

Elly thinks it's so fun to have another baby girl cousin to hold!

It sure was a fun year of joyschool with these sweet boys. They learned a lot and had a lot of fun in the process. So did I!

Didn't May Just Start??

2009-06-01T20:55:00.000-07:00

I swear that May just barely started, but somehow when I looked at the calendar today it said JUNE! I hate that time just goes faster and faster the older I get, and I wonder why that is. The old adage, "Time flies when you're having fun," just doesn't seem to fit here, because as much as I love this stage of my life, I wouldn't necessarily label it as "fun" all the time. Maybe "Time flies when you're doing the same old thing day in and day out," would be more appropriate. Each day just sort of blends into all the other days, until you basically have two days a week: Weekday and Weekenday. So that pretty much means that you get 8-9 days per month! It's just a theory, but I think that's why time goes by so fast. :)

Well, whatever the reason, May came and went without a single blog post, but I'm determined to make up for it by doing a lot of catching up in the next few days. Or maybe, if I get on a roll, in the next few hours....

One exciting thing that we got to do in May was go see a show at the semi-new Tempe Center for the Arts. It is a beautiful theater! We loved the nice wood paneling throughout the building and the awesome fountain that leads to Tempe Town Lake in the back. My sweet friend from church, Glendene, works there and offered us tickets to go see Childsplay's stage adaptation of "Neverending Story" (remember that one from the 80's with Bastien and Atreyu and The Nothing?). Having seen the movie I was a little leery that they'd be able to pull off a stage version, but it was actually excellent. We'd love to go there again and see what else Childsplay can do. Hint, hint, Glendene. J/K; she doesn't even know my blog exists. :D

Here's us with Glendene. We brought our cousins Aiden and Nicole too.

I thought these circles on the wall were so neat. If I was a photographer, I thought, I would get a really cool picture out of this. But I'm not. Obviously. It needed to be closer, I know. We were in a hurry by now because it was dinner time. :)

You gotta love the arm-stretching self portrait pose. Matt's gotten quite good at it through the years...

Remembering Spring

2009-04-21T16:14:00.000-07:00

We sure don't get much of a spring in this wonderful state of ours, but while it lasts, it is exquisite. Last week we were in heaven with temperatures in the 60's and 70's all week! It really spoiled us and made it hard to jump into the upper 90's and (whince) 100's yesterday and today. Farewell, Spring. We miss you already! I look forward to the week and a half or so that the roses in my backyard get to bloom without getting scorched and shriveling up.

Having fresh flowers around made me want to jazz up everything else, so one Sunday Elly and I broke out Grandma Ferrin's tablecloth, real glassware, and breakable plates for dinner. Somehow it made all of us a little more cheerful. By small and simple things....

My Sweet Boys...

One day while I was out and about, Hite went in and combed his hair*, went on a bike ride with Matt, and...

...gathered these sweet little flower weeds for me and Elly! There are very few joys of motherhood that compare to hand-picked flowers in a cup. Especially when delivered by a handsome little boy or sweet little girl; wouldn't you agree?

*Matt tells me that actually, he combed his hair after he got back from the bike ride saying, "I like to go on a bike ride when it's hot, because now I can comb my hair easier because it's sweaty." This only makes it slightly less charming. He still combed his hair before he gave me the flowers. :)

These cheery daffodils that I got at Trader Joe's for only $1.29 just made me so happy every time I saw them! But the best thing ever was when I came home from a meeting and Matt had added a special touch by re-writing Wordsworth's daffodil poem "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" with his own footnotes. It's hard to explain, but it was really, really sweet!

Letter from Teacher

2009-04-21T09:02:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I got the letter every parent dreads: The Teacher Letter. Elly brought home this letter from Mrs. Bleeker:

Mr. and Mrs. Peterson,

I have been meaning to call you about an incident that happened at school on Monday, but haven't had the chance. As you know, Elly pulled her first card yesterday. What surprised me the most, however, was how she reacted. She threw her books on the floor, kicked another student, and screamed at the top of her lungs.

I know that Elly is typically a good student, but this is a disturbing incident. Could you both come in to see me tomorrow morning? I would appreciate any help or insight you could give me.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Bleeker

My jaw just dropped open in shock and I got a sick feeling in my stomach. Elly really is a good little girl, but especially in public because she's a very self-conscious rule-follower like me. It wasn't until I finished the letter and looked over at Elly giggling with her hand over her mouth that I realized what day it was... April 1st.

She and Matt got me!

I can't believe I fell for it, especially since all day long the kids had been trying to trick me. It's not like it came out of nowhere! But whew, what a relief! Elly actually didn't get a card pulled or anything (pulling a card is the equivalent of getting your name on the board). Not that it would've been a big deal to me if she had, but she has gone the whole year without it and I know she really wants to keep it that way. That's partly why I believed it at first.

Elly took the letter to school the next day to show Mrs. Bleeker, and she loved it. She even read it to the whole class and told me that she'd been telling all the other teachers about it.

My Toothless Trickster

Camping Trip

2009-04-02T22:48:00.001-07:00

Since I mentioned camping in the last post, I thought I should really post some more pictures. We went up to Payson for a few days during spring break with our dear friends the Turners. Shelly was such a good sport when she found out that Jason would have to work and wouldn't be able to come. I wouldn't have even considered going without Matt's help, but Shelly wasn't fazed and just came anyways. She is amazing, truly! We actually camped, with no toilets, showers, or heat, but had a lot of fun. One night Matt woke up to, um, take care of business and looked up to see two huge bull elk staring right at him from about 20 yards away. [And they were grunting], Matt wants me to add. He was too scared to get the camera out and take a picture, but we'll just have to take his word for it, I guess.

Taking "Mine" to a Whole New Level

2009-04-02T21:35:00.000-07:00

These toddler rules of possession have been around forever, but they are SO TRUE, as anyone who has a toddler or has been around one can attest:

1. If I like it, it's mine.

2. If it's in my hand, it's mine.

3. If I can take it from you, it's mine.

4. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.

5. If it's mine, it must NEVER appear to be yours in anyway.
6. If I'm doing or building something, all the pieces are mine.
7. If it looks just like mine, it is mine.

8. If I saw it first, it's mine.

9. If you are playing with something and you put it down, it automatically becomes mine.

10. If it's broken, it's yours.

Rilla has been in this "mine" stage for quite some time (advanced child that she is), and I think she's decided that it's time to think outside the box when it comes to possession. I first noticed it a couple of months ago when one of the other kids said something like, "I have 2 of these __________." Rilla shouted, "Mine 2!" and glared at the one who said it. It took me a minute, but I suddenly realized that she was basically saying, "I am 2, and therefore that number belongs to me." Nobody else can have 2 or be 2 or even say 2 without getting an earful from Rilla. The other day she was playing at my sister Merilana's house, and her little 2 year old, Riley, said he was 2. Rilla shouted, "no, I 2!" Then Riley shouted back, "I 2!" and so on, until they were both crying and feeling horribly victimized. I mean, how dare Riley say he's 2 when he knows perfectly well that Rilla was 2 a good 6 weeks before him?! Well, consider yourselves forewarned: If you happen to be around Rilla anytime soon, don't you dare mention the number two within earshot. And warn your two year olds too. TWO BELONGS TO RILLA.

Another example: When it comes to saying family prayers, it's always Rilla's turn. But here's the catch: she doesn't want to actually say the prayer, she just wants it to be her turn. So our nightly prayer ritual might sound something like this:

Matt: Let's see, whose turn is it for prayers?

Rilla: Mine turn.

Matt: Rilla's turn? Okay, go ahead, Rilla.

Rilla: No, Elly/Hite/Mommy say it.

Matt: But you said it was your turn...

Rilla: Mine turn.

Matt: But you want ____ to say it?

Rilla: Yeah.

So basically, if there's anything to be had, it is Rilla's. Meanwhile,we're trying to do something about our darling little heathen who doesn't like to pray... any suggestions?

We went camping with some friends during spring break, and they also have a two year old (Nakoria). Those two really went at it with these blasted camping chairs that we brought! It was ridiculous. At one point we had to just hide the Dora chair so that the rest of us could have some peace and quiet. Well, a day or two after we came home, Rilla woke up crying in the morning and saying, "Nakoria take my spot!" Apparently it was so traumatic for her that she was even having nightmares about it. I had to laugh, but honestly!

Rilla and Nakoria when they weren't fighting

I had to include this picture with Rilla's black eye from a few weeks ago. She fell off her booster seat in the kitchen (I promise!). Matt liked to say, "you should have seen the other kid!" Maybe he had the gall to say he was 2 years old or something. ha ha

New Quick and Easy Canning Method!

2009-03-23T14:42:00.001-07:00

I did some canning the other day, and boy, was it easy! I ended up with all sorts of varieties, from kidney beans and green beans to corn and stewed tomatoes, and in only a fraction of the time it takes using the traditional method! I highly recommend this new method to anyone who has spent hours upon hours in the kitchen cleaning and prepping jars, peeling and chopping fruits and veggies, standing over a hot stove, and cleaning the huge mess afterwards.

Aren't they beautiful?

A Fun Tag

2009-02-26T18:42:00.000-08:00

What is something your mom always says to you?
Elly:"Practice the piano"
Hite: "I love you"

What makes your mom happy?
Hite: [me]Saying I love you
Elly: When I listen to you

What makes your mom sad?
Elly:When I don't choose the right
Hite: Hitting her

How does your mom make you laugh?
Elly: You say funny things
Hite: tickling me and doing funny things with your hair

What was your mom like when she was a little kid?
Elly: you had blonde hair, curly hair, kind of. Like wavy.
Hite: You always liked your mom and your dad

How old is your mom?
Elly: 32
Hite: 22
Rilla: 2

How tall is your mom?
Elly: 5 feet (first she said 7, then she cheated a little and asked me to show her how much is one foot. A pretty good guess, since I'm 5'2"!)
Hite: 6 feet tall

What is mom's favorite thing to do?
Elly: Read books
Hite: She loves to lay down with her kids

What does your mom do when you're not around?
Elly: Read books
Hite: Go to the store

If your mom became famous, what would it be for?
Elly: Being an author
Hite: Running super fast

What is your mom really good at?
Hite: She's really good at driving and doing her hair
Elly: She's really good at being a mom

What is your mom NOT good at?
Elly: Nothing (yep, pretty much! :))
Hite: Fixing things, like houses

What does your mom do for her job?
Elly: She works at home
Hite: She does her chores

What is your mom's favorite food?
Elly: chicken wings
Hite: everything

What makes you proud of your mom?
Elly: Remember when you made bread? (um, no, but if she does, then hey, who am I to debate her memory?)
Hite: Running a thousand mile race (don't remember that one either, but again, I won't burst his bubble)

If your mom was a cartoon character, who would she be?
Elly: Mother Bear on Little Bear
Hite: Nemo

What do you and your mom do together?
Elly:We go to the store.
Hite: We go to church

How are you and your mom the same?
Elly: I have blond hair like you
Hite: We both go to joy school together, we both like to give each other hugs

How are you and your mom different?
Elly: You are 32 and I'm si-- no, seven!
Hite:You have long hair and I have short hair

How do you know your mom loves you?
Elly: You give me hugs and kisses
Hite: You give me breakfast

How much does your mom love you?
Elly: The highest number there is
Hite: One hundred and thousand, a million and one

I tag Tara P., Tara H, and Wendy. And anyone else who wants to do it-- it's fun!

Catch-up #2

2009-02-21T21:13:00.000-08:00

Oh yeah, and we also had Thanksgiving. We do celebrate that holiday, you know. Even when it does fall on my birthday. We started the day by attending the 2nd Annual "Cheshire Chase." Ever heard of it? Probably not, but someday you will! It all started in 2007 when the City of Mesa was facing budget cuts and rumors were flying around about cancelling the Turkey Trot. Matt and his running buddies were all upset because they had been planning on doing it together. But when life hands you lemons.... They decided that they would organize their own Thanksgiving Day 5K, and the Cheshire Chase was born. Cheshire is the name of the main street that goes through our neighborhood, in case you were wondering. A couple of the guys in Matt's running group are Bishops and pretty fast runners, so they added a feature called "Beat the Bishop" and anyone who beat the Bishops got a special award. Bishops MacKinlay and Williams even donned white shirts and ties for the event; what good sports! This year we had a very rainy Thanksgiving morning, but it didn't stop these guys from hosting another successful race. We had lots of people show up from our neighborhood and other neighborhoods close by, and a great time was had by all. The Turkey Trot ended up being sponsored by a business and not getting canceled after all, but we say, "Turkey Trot, eat your heart out!" Or whatever.

Elly sprinting to the finish in the 1-mile Fun Run

Hite and Elly post-race

Matt, Travis, and Randall gathering data to give out awards.

After the race we came home for a little while to get ready for the big feasts. Yes, that really is a plural "feasts." First we had lunch at my parents' house with some of the Ferrin cousins (no pictures!), and then dinner at Matt's Mom's house with the Kellys. We were just a little full at the end of that day.

Matt's mom is a fantastic cook!

Dave got the honor/chore of carving the turkey. You did great, Dave! :)

Mom Peterson was sweet enough not to do the cop-out pumpkin pie for my birthday cake. She got me a carrot cake (yum!)

A Must Read

2009-02-21T15:50:00.000-08:00

I have always loved to read, but would definitely label myself as a fiction lover. As much as I would like to say that I just love reading about "real" people, places, and events, most nonfiction books just don't capture my attention like I wish they would. The book that I read for book club this month was an unequivocal exception to that rule, however. It's Amazing Grace by Eric Metaxas.
Many of you have probably seen the movie, and it is also excellent. I watched the movie myself about a year ago and loved it, but as is always the case, the book is so, so much better. In case you haven't watched the movie or read the book and don't know anything about William Wilberforce (like me before this), he is the man who labored almost his entire life to abolish slavery in England. That led to most of the rest of the world following suit. At least, that is what he's most famous for, but he actually even did more than that, which makes the book so terrific. You learn a lot more about how he got where he was and what he went through to literally change the world for the better.

How is it that a guy like William Wilberforce lived in this world and I had never even heard of him until now? That was actually discussed last night at book club, and some people thought that it's because he was so motivated by religion and religion is such a taboo topic in schools these days. That could be, but I still think that you could learn about this heroic man and all of his truly amazing accomplishments without learning about his religious beliefs. Actually, Metaxas explains why our world (or at least, our side of the world) has kind of forgotten about him:

"What happened is suprisingly simple: William Wilberforce was the happy victim of his own success. He was like someone who against all odds finds the cure for a horrible disease that's ravaging the world, and the cure is so overwhelmingly successful that it vanquishes the disease completely. No one suffers from it again-- and within a generation or two no one remembers it ever existed."

Pretty amazing, huh? Please read this book. It will probably change your life, or at least change the way you look at life. Fiction lover that I am, I always need a captivating character or storyline to stay interested in a book, and this didn't disappoint. Metaxas' writing is perfect-- intellectual, but not abstract and boring, and even genuinely funny at times. My copy is smattered with smiley faces in the margins (my version of laughing out loud, which I don't really do when reading). I think one of the reasons that I loved it is because it was such a reminder to me that no matter how evil and dismal our world gets, there is always hope for a better one. God is always mindful of us and our struggles, and is preparing good and righteous men and women who will lead us to a better way. Another reason this book touched me is that I learned so much from Wilberforce's example. I'm pretty sure that I won't be Senate Majority Leader in my lifetime (although, you never know! (:), but I can bounce back from defeat and disappointment the way he did, and I can live up to my faith in Christ the way he did.
Seriously-- read this book! Now! OR ELSE!
Okay, sorry. Maybe that's overdoing it. But I promise you'll love it. :)

Catch-up

2009-02-10T14:54:00.000-08:00

Okay, I'm not going to stress about this or anything, but I've decided that when I can, I should try to record the events of the last few months because we really had a lot going on, and I don't want to rely on my brain for the memories. It all started back in November...

Elly and I had a fun time on our mommy/daughter date when we went with my mom and some of my sisters to see Cinderella at the Hale Center Theater. I love that little theater in downtown Gilbert-- so quaint yet elegant, and they seem to do a really good job with all of their productions (I've only seen 2, but have heard good things about others). Anyways, we all had so much fun. The play wasn't just your average Disney Cinderella version, but had lots of modern twists and silly humor that really catered to the younger crowd. It was really cute! Elly is happy just about anytime cousins are involved, so throw in a princess play and going out for lunch afterwards, and it was heaven for her.

Dennalei, Raelyn, Cassie, Rinsley, Tristan, Elly, Camille

The next big event in November was Elly's birthday party at Skateland. Now normally, I am not one to throw such an extravagant birthday party. In fact, my kids only get big "friend" parties every other year starting when they're 4, and they are always at home. Since Elly was turning 7, this was an off year for her, but then we won this Skateland birthday party at our last Fit City event (I'll have to explain what that is in a later post). It expired in Oct. 2009, too early for her next birthday, so Elly lucked out and got to have an extra party. It was kind of thrown together at the last minute, so she mainly invited cousins, but they had a blast! I've gotta say, that place looks (and smells) exactly the same as it did back in '86! It was a pretty quiet morning there (Saturday after Thanksgiving) with only a few other kids and a hard core skater/dancer grandma (so awesome), so our little group got lots of much-needed assistance. Only a few of them could skate on their own, so the people there were really nice about teaching the little kids how and helping us teach them too. We have tons of free passes to Skateland now, so we should do a big group date there. Anyone in?

We took about a million pictures, so here's a few of them:

Back row: Tristan, Annie R., Elly, Raelyn, Cassie, Parker (our 2 big helpers!)

Front row: Grant, Dennalei, Hite, Caden, Brigham

This is a pretty good representation of how Hite and Caden looked the entire time: on the floor, grinning from ear to ear. They loved trying and were such good sports, even though they were rarely on their feet. :)

One of the many Skateland workers helping our group have a fun time.

Elly loved this part. She got to go in this booth and catch as many of the tickets as she could while they flew all around her. She won a few prizes.

Matt and Hite

The DJ had all the kids come back and scream "Happy Birthday, Elly!!!" into the microphone. She thought that was pretty awesome!

You know those stupid machines where you move the claw and try to get a stuffed animal, but nobody ever wins? Well, Cassie turns out to be an expert at those things! She played three times and won three times! When little Raelyn said she wanted to get the pink puppy or pony or whatever it was, I just sort of laughed, but then Cassie got it for her like it was nothin'! She should really think about doing it as a side business. Hang out at Skateland and grocery stores, tell kids you'll charge them a dollar for a guaranteed toy... she could make it big.

Me and my sweet 7 year old!

Happy Birthday, Matt!

2009-01-30T05:59:00.000-08:00

Matt and Hite San Diego June 2007

Anyone who saw Matt's blog entry for me on my birthday knows that he set the bar pretty high. It was filled with exaggerations, half-truths and even all-out lies that made me out to be waaay better than I really am, but it was also extremely heartfelt and sweet. That just goes to show you the kind of guy he is. Matt has always given me more credit than I deserve, more forgiveness and understanding than I deserve, and definitely more unconditional love than I deserve. And people other than me even notice it. I remember when our relationship was still young and I was talking to some friends about it. You know, the typical, "I know I like him, and I think he likes me, but..." sort of conversation. I still remember one of them saying something like, "whoever Matt does fall in love with, he will be extremely devoted to. That's just how he is." And she was right. He has never waivered once in his devotion to me, and even when we have moments where we're not exactly, um, on the same page, he is almost always the first to swallow his pride, apologize, and take the blame.

Just for a minute, I have to contradict one of the lies that Matt related in his post for me on my birthday. He said something like, "I've never been very good at giving gifts..." HA! While I think that is probably true for 98% of husbands, this is NOT the case for Matt. He is so good at giving gifts that I've come to almost dread Christmas morning when I have sensibly picked out a few practical things that I think he needs (socks, shirts, razors, etc.), and he, well, to say he spoils me would be a huge understatement. But not only are his gifts always great, they are always extremely thoughtful. My favorite of all time, I think, is the time that I woke up Christmas morning to find a brand new flag and rifle (the kind I used to spin in high school marching band)! I found out that he had actually ordered a pole online and then sewed a flag for me. Then he got out my old rifle from the garage and refurbished it so that it looked brand new. I was (and always will be) a big band nerd, and had missed not having a flag of my own to spin every once in a while. I know that it probably sounds extremely dorky that I loved that so much, but seriously-- how many other husbands would go to the fabric store, pick out some shiny red lame' and sew a flag for their wife?? That's just one small example of how sweet and thoughtful Matt always is to me. I know this is sounding braggy, and I usually detest bragginess in blogs, but Matt really deserves this. I don't tell or show him how much I love him as often as I should, so I figured the rest of you can roll your eyes and cringe as much as you want! I am so very, very lucky to have him. Happy Birthday, Sweetheart. I love you with all my heart!

Matt and me at Skateland (weird, long story) Nov. 2008

Matt and Rilla, Alpine July 2008

Matt lookin' fine at a Nacho Libre party last year

Matt with Rilla, Oct. 2006

Matt with kids at Hohokam Stadium, April 2008

Matt and Rilla singing together, Jan. 2009

Where do I go from here?

2009-01-21T21:10:00.000-08:00

... This isn't where I intended to be.... (Any Evita fans out there??) So, seriously--I am officially at a loss as to what I should do about blogging. I haven't posted anything since early December even though (and probably because) it was one of our most eventful months ever. It seems that everyone else managed to find the time to do it during the busy season, so why couldn't I??

Do I try to start where I left off, only to get frustrated and fall behind again? Do I just move forward from the present and pretend December and most of January never happened? I don't actually expect anyone to tell me what to do. I'm mostly just letting you know that yes, we are still alive, and no, we haven't given up on blogging, and yes, I do feel extremely guilty. This is one of the main reasons I resisted blogging so forcefully in the beginning: one more thing to bring guilt into my life. (sigh)

"'Tis a puzzlement... "

I guess I have musicals on my mind tonight. weird.

Alpine Snow Trip

2009-01-07T09:31:00.000-08:00

A couple of days after Christmas we decided to take the kids up to Alpine for a snow trip. It was Hite and Rilla's first time ever in the snow, and Elly's first time since she was about 1 1/2, so they were VERY excited. After rounding up as many boots, snowsuits, and jackets as we could find, we headed off.

We got there pretty late at night, and the snow was pretty deep up by the cottage. We didn't want to drive through it and risk getting stuck, so we parked at the end of the driveway and had to walk all the way to the cottage! It brought back memories of walking to the cabin (barefoot in the snow, uphill both ways, etc.) when our Suburban got stuck in the snow years ago. I told my kids this was nothing compared to that long trek, but they all cried anyways. :)

After calming everyone down and getting the space heaters going, we all snuggled up in the big king-size bed:

The next day we awoke to discover that the pipes were frozen and we had no running water. This meant melting snow: And some of us couldn't resist the urge to eat a cupful every now and then too...

The lack of indoor plumbing didn't phase the kids. They LOVED sledding on Grandma's Mountain and making snow angels and a snowman.

I should say the older two were in heaven. True to her character, Rilla was not sure about all this cold white stuff and preferred peeking out the door once in a while.

...Or better yet, cuddling with Daddy inside:

Matt couldn't miss out on all the fun, of course:

We also went to Toboggan Hill where Hite had an amazing crash that we wished we could have captured on camera. He probably had about 3 feet of air! He was quite shaken up, but now thinks it's pretty cool.

"The most important part of Christmas (not the funnest)"

2008-12-07T21:26:00.000-08:00

My kids really love this Little People manger scene that my parents gave us a couple of years ago, and so do I! Rilla and Hite love to rearrange all of the pieces in different ways, like this time when Rilla had all of the figures (including baby Jesus himself) paying homage to the basket of fruits and vegetables. Sacrilegious? Maybe. But adorable nonetheless.

This one's a little better. At least Baby Jesus is on top of the fruit basket this time.
When we first got it out and were setting it up, Hite looked at me very seriously and said, "Mommy, the most important part of Christmas is that Jesus was born. It's not the funnest part, but it is the most important." He said it with his eyes wide and his head nodding up and down like I was the one who needed the lecture. Well, maybe I do!

We have a few kid-friendly manger scenes, and with this one, Hite decided it would be nice to get the holy family back to Nazareth in style...

Happy Birthday Melody!

2008-11-27T00:27:00.000-08:00

I have long been inept at giving amazing birthday presents. In that spirit, I sit here at 1:30 am typing my birthday present to Melody. Rather than smothering her with diamonds, gold, furs, gas cards, or anything else of high value, I am writing a blog entry. It may not be forever like a diamond, but it will last as long as the good ole' Blogspot server keeps ticking.

Melody is 32 today, and I think it very appropriate that her birthday falls on Thanksgiving every now and again. My gratitude for Melody grows with each day that she chooses to stick with me. I wanted to take a brief moment to share the top 10 things she does on a daily basis to bless lives everywhere.

10. She is a laundry specialist. This is truly a testament to her selflessness, because I know she hates to do it. She sees to it that all of our stinky clothes magically transform into fresh smelling folded packages in the dresser. I had to wash my clothes by hand on my mission, but I can honestly say that I would rather do that once a week than try and manage the literal loads of 3 small children and a sweaty adult male. Thanks for making sure I never leave the house sans clothing.

9. Melody is a coupon/ sales/ price match prodigy. She can enter Walgreens and within 10 minutes return with a cart full of free items. Legally. It's pretty amazing how organized and disciplined she is with shopping. I think she needs to run for President and implement her savings system into the federal budget.

8. She reads everyone's blogs. Without spending hours on the computer, Melody still finds time to stay up to date with friends and family. This is a symptom of her love for those around her...and those far away in Utah, Thatcher, Ohio, etc.

7. She is a great cook. She won't admit it, but her broccoli - cauliflower salad could win the "Next Food Network Star" all by itself. Add that to her everyday favorites like soft tacos, potato soup, and chimichangas and you have yourself one overweight husband.

6. She is a fun person to watch TV with. She laughs at all the same jokes and scoffs at all the same ridiculous commercials that I do. I can easily tell she's asleep if I laugh and don't hear anything from her.

5. She is patient. Forgotten dishes, overflowing garbage cans (because someone forgot to take it out to the street), and unmowed lawns rarely phase her. When I say "rarely phase her" what I mean to say is that those events "rarely cause her to throw things at me." For that I am grateful.

4. She loves kids. All kids, not just ours. She is always willing to watch nieces, nephews, friends, and neighbors without complaint. She treats each child with the kind of love and caring we want our kids to receive. Rarely does she ever lock kids out of the house or call them names.

3. She is a great spousal motivator. She is my biggest fan, although she still doesn't have any "Matt" sweatshirts or foam fingers. When times seem bleak and overwhelming, she is there to spur me along with her love. She'll never know how much that helps.

2. Melody loves to learn. She reads everything from Harry Potter to John Adams with a sprinkling of vampire books in between. She loves to learn about all types of events, people, and places. While firmly planted in her beliefs, she is accepting of everyone and never judges anyone.

1. Melody is a true follower of Jesus Christ. She gives everything she has into serving others and seeking to understand the will of Heavenly Father. She spends countless hours serving the women of our ward. She teaches our children what it means to love the Savior and choose the right. She is my hero, and I hope to eventually learn to exhibit a mere fraction of the Christlike behavior that she does.

So, when people ask Melody what she got for her birthday this year, she can say "about 2 pages of HTML." Pretty dang exciting. Remember number 5 (patience)? That's what makes this whole idea plausible. That said, I'm going to hide any potential projectiles right now...just in case 32 year olds are suddenly grumpier.

Here's a 5 minute slideshow/movie we made for Melody:

Giving Thanks: Beautiful Rainy Days

2008-11-26T11:01:00.000-08:00

It's the day before Thanksgiving and this is what I see out my front door:

Okay, so it's hard to tell. It's raining! We had pumpkin bread (thank you visiting teachers!) and hot chocolate for breakfast. I read Thanksgiving storybooks with my kids. I'm listening to Josh Groban's Christmas CD and have a fragrant "cinnamon clove buds" candle burning. I don't have to go to the store today!! Can it get any better than this? I don't even mind the fact that Rilla's a big grump or that I've got tons of housework to do (mainly laundry, of course) before tomorrow. Rainy days override all negatives in life. It's a beautiful day. Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

Adventures in Babysitting

2008-11-25T20:39:00.000-08:00

Today it was my turn to teach joyschool/babysit, and it ended up being a pretty interesting day, as it always is with 6 preschoolers! I lucked out and got to teach the Thanksgiving lesson, so we made turkeys out of paper plates, learned about pilgrims, made cornbread for a snack, etc. Fun times, right? Well, it was, until around lunchtime when I realized that Rilla wasn't feeling very well, so I went to put her down for a nap. Her little cousin Riley (also 2) came in for a minute, then on his way out he closed the door. I didn't think anything of it until I heard him wiggling the lock which is on the OUTSIDE of the doorknob (a relic from Hite's first days in the toddler bed). My heart stopped and I shouted, "Riley, don't lock--" too late. It was locked. So there I was, locked in a room with my 2 year old. All the other older boys were playing happily outside, so they couldn't hear my banging and yelling. I tried to tell Riley to unlock the door, but he couldn't and started to cry a little bit, so I told him to go and get Hite. Bad idea. I'm pretty sure that as soon as he got outside the door, he found something to keep him occupied and completely forgot about me. I really wasn't all that worried, but it did occur to me that if anybody got hurt or something it would be bad. Thank goodness I was only in there a few minutes before my sister Crissie came to pick up Dallin a little earlier than she needed to and she was able to let me out. Thanks for the rescue, Crissie!

Riley: A troublemaker if I've ever seen one

A little while later I stepped outside for a second and something I heard caught my "ear" because it sounded like a prayer. I laid low and paused to listen. It was Hite. He was sitting down with his cousin Stephen and this is what I heard: "Heavenly Father, thank thee for this day, and please help us to have a fun time together, and please help me to be faster than Stephen. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." Then they both looked at each other and giggled a little, stood up, and said "on your mark, get set, go!" They raced to the end of the yard and Hite won. Their testimonies stronger, they went back and this time Stephen said the prayer, but of course entreating the Lord's help in making him faster than Hite. They raced again; Hite was faster (he's almost a full year older than Stephen and at least a head taller), but Hite slowed down right at the end to let Stephen touch the wall first. His prayer was answered. :)

How funny is that?! And how lucky am I that I was in the right place at the right time and witnessed the whole thing? It makes me wonder how much I must miss when I'm not right there listening! Seriously: these are good times. I will really miss them someday and I'm going to try to remember that more often.

Giving Thanks: My Guy

2008-11-20T13:03:00.000-08:00

I got tagged by my cousin Shari, so I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone. :)

Tagged about... Matt

How long did you date before you were married? All together, about a year, I guess. We dated 9 months before his mission, got engaged about 6 weeks after he got back, then were married 4 months after that.

How long have you been married? It was 10 years last July.
What does he do that surprises you? Fixes or creates things that I thought he knew nothing about. It's amazing! He'll have something wrong with his truck and be like, "I'll just try to fix it myself" and then he does.

What is your favorite feature of his? His thick, dark "Superman hair" or his big, broad shoulders that make me feel safe and warm when he hugs me.

What is your favorite quality of his? His generous, caring nature and his sense of humor that still makes me laugh.

Does he have a nickname for you? Nope. He's not really much of a nickname guy.

What is his favorite color? He doesn't have one.
What is his favorite food? He likes lots of things in different food genres. He hates, despises, detests, is repulsed by, refuses to eat... ONIONS!!

What is his favorite sport? Baseball, although he loves to play and watch most any sport.
When and where was your first kiss? After a YSA activity outside of the church on Guadalupe and Val Vista. We were just lingering afterwards talking when he made the move. That was about a month before he left on his mission.

Favorite thing to do as a couple? We just like to be together and have fun, whether it's watching T.V., playing games, or just shopping at Wal-Mart, we look forward to those times.
Does he have a hidden talent? Hidden to me? I don't think so, but some people might be surprised to know that he sews better than I do and is good at decorating. And guess what else? He's secure enough in his manhood to not mind that I'm telling this to everyone we know. I love it! :)
How old is he? 31.83. The .83 is important because he likes to rub in the fact that I'm older than him, but it's only by 2 months!!

Who said I love you first? I think he did, although I'm not exactly sure. He's always been good about telling me.

What is his favorite type of music? That's one thing I love about him-- he's very well rounded and likes things in just about every genre except maybe rap/hip hop. That's the only thing we argue about since I love the hip hop stations. ;)

What do you admire most about him? His faith.

Do you think he will read this? Of course! In fact, he's dying to right now. :)

Matt at the top of Humphrey's Peak, (the highest point in AZ!) June 2008

I'm taking the easy way out this time... I tag anyone who wants to do this!

Giving Thanks-- Old Friends

2008-11-11T11:00:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I got to see some old (and very dear) friends. One occasion was planned, the other was not. Elly and I went to go see Cinderella with my sisters and their little girls (more on that later), and I got to see Andrea (Cardon) with her husband and little girl. Andrea and I go way back-- my earliest memory of her is sitting next to each other in Kindergarten music class (anyone remember Mrs. Young?) and getting into trouble for talking. I think it stands out in my mind because I was such a rule-follower that it was very rare for me to ever be reprimanded. Andrea always was a bad influence on me. :) Here's one of Andrea, Nate, and Leah:

Then I also saw Janelle (Thornock) at Cinderella with her sisters and their little girls (Janelle's little Jackson wasn't there, but she came because she's still a little girl at heart, I think (; ) Janelle and I went to elementary school together, and I still remember that in 5th grade there was a boy who called us the Smurfs because we were both so short! :) I'm bummed that I didn't get a picture of Janelle, but luckily she has a blog so you can go to hers if you're interested!

Then later that night I got together with Karen, Jessi, and Lynnette, my 3 good friends from high school (and before). We haven't all been together since we graduated, so this was something I really looked forward to! You wouldn't believe how hard it was for us to find a Saturday night when we were all available either-- with 13 kids amongst the four of us, we're not as footloose and fancy-free (how's that for an old-timer's saying?) as we once were! For journaling purposes, here's my first memories of each of them:

Lynnette was the one I met the earliest, and I think it was 3rd grade (or was it 4th?) that she moved to Gilbert. We've stayed close friends ever since! I met Karen for the first time during the summer before 6th grade, I believe. She went to a different school, but we were in the same summer school Toastmasters class for kids. I didn't get to know her very well, but was mesmerized by her amazing storytelling. Anyone who knows Karen knows what I mean. I LOVE hearing her hilarious stories! Our paths didn't cross again until we were freshmen in high school and were both in colorguard and had a few other classes together, but I recognized her instantly and we hit it off. I met Jessi at the end of 6th grade at the district band performance. We were both flutists who also played the piano, so we got to go into the percussion section and play the xylophone/bells on one of the songs. We didn't even talk that much, but I guess that small interaction planted the seed for the next year in junior high when we would meet again and become fast friends.

Then the four of us were all in colorguard through the rest of high school and became especially close during our senior year. As an interesting side note, I always attribute Matt and me getting together to his earlier interest in Lynnette. He hung out with us to be around her during our senior year of high school. Then when she went off to BYU, I made my move! :) As another interesting side note, when Lynnette left and Matt started hanging out with us, he was sometimes the only guy in the group and we would call him "Lymatt" because he just sort of took her place. :D

Karen, Lynnette, Jessi, and Me on Graduation Night

Lynnette is in Anthem and Karen is in Queen Creek, so we met half way (sort of) at Tempe Marketplace for dinner and just talking and laughing like old times. It was such a blast! We seemed to pick up right where we left off, talking about kids, husbands, and politics instead of teachers, boys, and band. But of course, we had good laughs about some of those older topics as well. :) We reminisced about staying up till 2 or 3 in the morning (post high school, of course) just "hanging out," in contrast to our 2008 droopy eyes and yawns when it started to near 9:00. Man, we're totally OLD now!!

Lynnette, Jessi, Me, and Karen in 2008. Haven't changed a bit, have we? :)

So I guess seeing all these "old" friends in one day made me remember how lucky I was to have grown up in such a great town like Gilbert. Even though Mesa has been my home for the past 7+ years and probably will be for a long time, Gilbert will always be home. We had a great group of kids to hang out with, and many of us stayed together from preschool all the way through high school and beyond. I couldn't have asked for a better group of friends, and I hope and pray that my own kids will have that same blessing. There are so many other old friends that I don't have the time to mention, but I hope you all know how each one of you has played a role in making my life happy. Ultimately, that is why I decided to take up blogging-- to connect with so many old friends who I thought I might not even see again. There's another blessing I'm thankful for-- technology that makes it so easy for us to stay connected! Love you guys!!

Afterword:

I almost resisted, but couldn't quite-- I took this picture of Jessi, Jared, and their darling twins (Charlotte (l) and Katie (r)) in spite of their protests because I told them that since they didn't have a blog, I would have to post it on mine. After hanging out with the three of us die hard (ha ha) bloggers that night, though, Jessi decided to start a blog after all (yea!) Part of me wonders if she did it just to keep me from posting this picture, but oh well.... You'll forgive me, won't you, Jess?

Giving Thanks-- Freedom and Democracy

2008-11-09T09:38:00.000-08:00

I'm going to try, throughout the next couple of weeks, to count my blessings and list some of the many things for which I am extremely grateful. These will be in no particular order, probably just whatever's on my mind at the time, but hopefully will bring a little more meaning to my favorite holiday. I wish I could say that this was my brilliant idea, but I got the idea from Annie (Packard) L.'s blog. Thanks and sorry, Annie-- hope you don't mind! :)

This is a letter Matt wrote to Jeff Flake, our Congressman. It sums up how blessed I feel to live in this great country, and since he can tell it better than I can, I thought I'd post it:

Dear Representative Flake:

I am taking this opportunity to relate an experience I recently had with my 6 year old daughter, Elly. I feel the story represents all that is good in America.

Elly’s 1st grade teacher encouraged the children to ask their parents about the presidential candidates so that they could make an informed decision on voting day. Around the dinner table one evening, my wife and I tried to objectively differentiate the two candidates. After careful consideration of the issues and platforms, Elly decided that she would vote for John McCain. She took the opportunity to vote in the “Kids Voting” program and even received a sticker “just like mom and dad.”

On election night, while watching the returns as a family, it became apparent that Barack Obama would become our next president. Elly was visibly and vocally disappointed by this result. The presidential results (along with the fact that a boy yelled at her at recess) made this the “worst day ever.” We explained to her that it is not the worst day ever and that we should support our new president.

Elly voiced concern that President-elect Obama would “tell us what to do.” My wife assured her that we are blessed to live in a democracy that doesn’t have a king to dictate our actions. She explained that we have the chance to tell the president how we think things should be.

After more quiet contemplation, Elly replied that “we don’t have his phone number and Washington is too far away to visit.” Point taken. I went on to explain the good news of the evening: that Jeff Flake, our good congressman, was re-elected. Representative Flake, I explained, is the one who is in charge of telling the president what the people in our area want. Elly was encouraged by this news and asked if she could write a letter sometime.

That evening, in her bedtime prayers, Elly asked her Father in Heaven to “bless President Obama to be a good president.” She also said she was “grateful that Jeff Flake won the election.” Without provocation or prodding, this little girl exemplified the attitude needed to bring our country together. She is counting on a Higher Power to inspire our leaders, and she is counting on her local congressman to make sure her voice is heard.

Our family is grateful for your inspired leadership and for your representation of us in Washington. We have all confidence that you will defend our values and stand for our ideas of good government. You have a little girl in Mesa who is now your biggest fan…expect to receive a letter from time to time. If my six years of experience with Elly is any indication, she will definitely have an opinion to share.

Thank you again for your service to our country and to our community.

Our 1st Grade Political Pundit...With the Right Attitude

Tag!

2008-11-02T00:18:00.000-07:00

I'm "It," thanks to my sister Cindy. This was actually a little harder than I thought, so it took me a while to get this done, but here it is...

8 Favorite TV shows
1. The Office-- love, love, LOVE this show. Is anyone else worried about Jim and Pam??
2. 24 (can't wait to see Jack again!)
3. Charlie and Lola-- as far as kids shows go, this one rocks!!
4. Deal or No Deal (hate the scantily clad models, though)
5. Ace of Cakes
6. Dirty Jobs (when I can stand it!)
7. John and Kate plus 8
8. Little People, Big World

8 Things I did yesterday (fyi, I started this about a week ago, so this is old)
1. Helped out in Elly's class
2. Caught up on some laundry
3. Got behind again with laundry ( I HATE laundry)
4. Took a nap! :)
5. Helped take care of a rowdy sunbeam class for primary program rehearsal
6. Went to Tball practice
7. Watched a Halloween movie with my kids (Haunted Mansion, a cinematic masterpiece)
8. Found a love note under my pillow (Matt was out of town for the night at a scout thing)

8 Things I look forward to
1. Basketball season (Go Suns!)
2. Getting together with my 3 pals from high school (if we can EVER get our schedules to coincide, that is!!)
3. Thanksgiving (my favorite)
4. Christmas (my other favorite)
5. Harry Potter 6 movie
6. Kids' bed time (my favorite part of every day)
7. Next date night (whenever that is)
8. Next book club

8 Favorite Restaurants (I could probably copy and paste Cindy's list here, but I'll try to be a little different)
1.Cafe Rio/Costa Vida (my stomach is rumbling just thinking about that sweet pork salad!)
2. Joe's BBQ
3. Mi Amigos
4. Carraba's
5. Schlotzsky's
6. Taco Bell (I can't believe that I just put Taco Bell on my list of favorite restaurants. Does it even qualify as a restaurant?? But those nacho cheese chalupas just hit the spot some days.)
7. Crackers & Co.
8. Sweet Tomatoes

8 Things on my Wish List
1. A housekeeper
2. A beautiful new kitchen table-- one of those square ones that can fit like 10-12 people
3. A space in my kitchen big enough to fit said table
4. A pedicure
5. A flat stomach
6. More time
7. More patience
8. More creativity!

8 People I tag
1. Karen
2. Lynnette
3. Stacy H.
4. April
5. Suzanna
6. Stacy R.
7. Amber
8. Kelli

Matt and Mel in Mesa

Happy Birthday, Wrenny-Girl!

Sleeping Beauty

February to Remember

Disneyland (short version)

PR Youth Sports

4 Years Old

Oh,Yes He Did

Solid Foods for Wren

Fall is Here!

Inconceivable!

Meet Wren

Frustration

A Change in Plans

A First

End of Year Honor

Gila Valley Temple Open House

Hite’s Surprise Party

Good Friday!

Spring Break

Just an Update

Fun at Home

Check it Out

Got an extra 10 seconds?

The Bachelor

Did I Forget to Mention...?

Best Christmas Present Ever

Elly's Baptism

My Thanksgiving (By Elly)

Hite Gets Glasses

Happy Birthday Melody!

You're Invited...

"in desert, on mountain, on land, or on sea..."

Giving Thanks: Good Health

F-A-R-T spells...

Desert/Dessert

A little Mormon Humor

Labor Day Weekend

A Craft for the Non-Crafty

I Can't Wait!

Love Notes

A Handy Solution

My Favorite Things

Summer Recap

Get That Corn Outta My Face!

I Love These Guys

Random Thoughts

My Favorite Things

Funny Stuff

Homemaker's Peace of Mind

"Happy Birthday, Dear Blo-og..."

Alpine, Part II

Alpine, Part I

Budding Photographer

**Braggy Post Alert**

Graduation

Didn't May Just Start??

Remembering Spring

Letter from Teacher

Camping Trip

Taking "Mine" to a Whole New Level

New Quick and Easy Canning Method!

A Fun Tag

Catch-up #2

A Must Read

Catch-up

Happy Birthday, Matt!

Where do I go from here?

Alpine Snow Trip

"The most important part of Christmas (not the funnest)"

Happy Birthday Melody!

Giving Thanks: Beautiful Rainy Days

Adventures in Babysitting

Giving Thanks: My Guy

Giving Thanks-- Old Friends

Giving Thanks-- Freedom and Democracy

Tag!

Braggy Post Alert