Murray Family

Ward Christmas Party

2011-12-16T23:01:00.005-07:00

This was our first Ward Christmas Party as a new ward (our ward was split over the summer), so no one quite knew what to expect. The only building available that we thought would be large enough was the university stake center. Come to find out, the gym was not a full size gym, not even close to full size and they only had round tables. It was a bit tight. Actually, it was a lot tight. So tight, in fact, that I didn't even attempt to wade my way through the sea of people to get to the dessert table. I never miss dessert. It was that bad. Although the elderly lady sitting next to me, who brought her own meal, offered me her jell-o for dessert. I politely declined. But I digress. My job at this party was the decorations. Now, I'm no decorator. I'm not even crafty, really. So how do you decorate 30 (round) tables for under $50? Lots of cheap wrapping paper and friends who are smarter than I am.

I thought they turned out really nice. It even looks like there might be enough space to move about, but trust me, after packing 250 people in there, there was no going anywhere.

So the decorating, which took all afternoon, was only the beginning of the fun. I realized about 15 minutes before the party started that no one really knew what was going on and everyone assumed that I was in charge. Does the Relief Society President always have to be in charge? Apparently. I had no idea what to do, I had already done my job. I finally gave up and just started telling people what to do. I really wanted to just sit down with my kids. Jason had to work, so I was trying to keep my kids in control as well as answering everyone's questions. Crazy. Finally, it came together and the food was served.
Shortly after dinner, when the primary was supposed to be getting ready for the program they had prepared, we found out that Santa was on a tight schedule and needed to get started now. It was then that it was realized that the bags of Santa treats for the kids had been left at our church in the clerk's office. The Bishop made a mad dash to retrieve the goodies while the kids lined up to see Santa. Because there was no stage nor extra room of any sort in the gym, Santa sat in the foyer, which caused all the older people to assume that the party was over.

Santa wasn't the friendliest, nor the most realistic Santa I've ever met. And if you can tell from the look of skepticism on Ben's face, the children were not entirely convinced. Ben later asked whether he was the "real" Santa because he wasn't wearing glasses and he didn't have a Santa bag. He also went outside to check the roof for his sleigh and reindeer. And when he saw him leave in a car (gasp), that sealed the deal. He was not the "real" Santa.

Weston, however, was oblivious. He may of thought the whole thing a little weird, but as long as he comes away with some candy (which didn't arrive until well after sitting on Santa's lap, so he probably didn't even know the two were connected), he's happy.

After Santa left and the kids were running crazy around the building, the poor Primary President tried gathering them all together for their performance. The song leader had to leave earlier, so the Primary President had to lead the music as well. Again, because there was no stage, we opened the curtains into the chapel so the kids would have somewhere to stand. Most of the ward had already left by now, and they had started to put away tables and chairs, but everyone stopped for a few minutes to watch the program. I think they did a good job, given all that had gone on.
It was a crazy night, but we're taking good notes for next year. The food was good and the kids always have a good time, no matter what. The older people? I'm not so sure, but at least everyone got a free meal.

Climb On

2011-12-13T22:45:00.005-07:00

Every so often, the kids get to miss a day of school for some one on one time with their dad. First he took Regan to climb Leopard Skin in Snow Canyon. I'm not sure about the details, but I believe it's a 4 pitch route with a combination of sport and trad climbing.

Here's Regan after the climb, showing from a distance where they climbed.

Jason took Spencer to a place near Cedar called The Cone. He was a little jipped in the picture department. This was the only picture that they got. They took mostly video, but I've been having trouble getting my videos to upload.

They both love their outings with their dad, and they're both pretty sure they have the coolest dad in town. I'm pretty sure they're right.

Halloween!

2011-12-13T21:18:00.009-07:00

This year I decided to throw a Halloween party and let the kids invite a friend. They stayed at their friends' house until everything was ready. When they got home, we had the lights off, candles lit and the fog machine going. For dinner we served Jack O Lantern grilled cheese, Halloween pasta salad, worms, goblin mouths, and of course dead hands floating in the beverage.
After dinner, a showing of the old Legend of Sleepy Hollow cartoon, followed by Halloween bingo and a million light sticks flying around, pretty much pure chaos. It was fun.

Jason and I even dressed up. Me, a witch, which my kids quickly informed me that a witch is the chosen costume for every mother. I guess it just comes natural to most of us. Jason...I'm not really sure there's a name for his costume, but it's what you dress up as when you decide 5 minutes before the party that you want to wear a costume. Crazed, bug-eyed, bloody cowboy guy? Maybe?

Dessert- Oreo bats, Oreo pumpkins, Nutter Butter ghosts and zombie marshmallows.

We always have fun decorating for Halloween, but we especially went all out this year. I didn't take pictures of all the decor, but the kids had the most fun making all these potion bottles. Luckily, several months earlier, Jason had brought home all these cool liquor and wine bottles from the recycling plant just knowing we would someday need them. And to think I ever doubted.

Here's a shot of all the grand kids at my mom's for her annual Halloween party. Yes, the unique...duct tape guy, is Regan. He came up with that one all on his own, all the way down to the duct tape shoes.

This was Halloween evening, on the way to the largest trunk-or-treat we have ever been to. A whole stake center parking lot filled with cars. The kids seriously scored. Which means I seriously scored because the little kids never seem to miss their chocolate.

Still Pretending

2011-12-13T19:00:00.000-07:00

It's been a long while since I've posted anything about Spencer's uhh... creative side. You may have been wondering weather he's still in the business. Rest assured, it is still an almost daily occurrence. Often, he still dresses up as something or someone, but this recent creative moment didn't require costume.

I came downstairs to find that Weston's bedroom had been turned into an office. A principal's office. I quickly learned that it's not okay to just walk right in to the principal's office, unannounced. I had to call the phone number on the door for an appointment. The secretary must have stepped out of her office.

That boy looks like trouble to me. I can only imagine. No wonder he spent the entire afternoon in the principal's office.

Hard at work. A principal's job is never done. Keep at it, Mr. Murray, someday it might just pay off.

Wood Fired Oven

2011-12-13T16:30:00.007-07:00

Over a year ago, the director of The Homestead Museum (or whatever it's called now) approached Jason about building them a wood fired oven similar to his pizza oven. Jason gave him a bid, but they didn't have the funding to do it. Last spring they finally got the money, so Jason got started on the oven.

This picture below is right after he got it put into place. The oven was poured at home in our garage in sections and moved over the the museum to be finished.

After many, many hours and more time and money than we thought it was going take....

the finished product! I think it turned out awesome. It's WAY bigger than our oven. I could lay inside of this one. The roof was the project of an Eagle scout.
Even though it turned out to be more of a donation than a money maker, he learned a lot by doing it and the community can enjoy it for years to come, probably mostly for baking breads. And it's pretty cool to have a piece of Jason's work in a museum!

Birthdays

2011-12-13T12:04:00.004-07:00

Oh, where to start when you haven't blogged in 5 months. I guess birthdays should be at the top of the list. I've missed two birthdays and I'm a little too lazy to put them in separate posts, so poor Ben and Regan will have to share their day in the spotlight.
Ben turned 5 back in September and although his birthday falls well before Halloween, all the stores are preparing for it seemingly months ahead, so it was only natural for him to want a Halloween birthday. I also might have made a few suggestions to him, because this Jack O Lantern cake was probably one of the easiest decorated cakes I've ever made, and "easy" is a qualification for pretty much everything on my to do list these days.

Of course, the party was easy too. Our friends, the Dotson's came over. We hung a pinata from the tree, which Regan decapitated with one swing, but not before all the younger kids took their best shot. Then, on to opening presents and eating cake, which pretty well covers it.

Ben is a lot of fun. He's at the age where he wants to know everything, asks a ton of question, loves to cuddle, wants to do everything his older brothers do, loves to wrestle and most of all loves to eat! We love you Ben!

Regan turned 12 in November. He'd been looking forward to this birthday for a long time. We didn't do anything to celebrate on his actual birthday, but we celebrated in parts. At the last minute we decided to celebrate the day before his birthday because we had to work on his birthday. He invited a few friends, I made his favorite cake- fruit cocktail cake, and they watched a movie.
On Sunday, he was ordained a Deacon, which was very exciting for him. He's been loving every minute of passing the sacrament, attending mutual and going on scout camp-outs.
The week after his birthday, we took him out to eat and to the temple to do baptisms for the dead, which is what he really wanted to do more than anything, but of course it had to wait until after his ordination. We were able to round up a few family names to use and Jason baptized him. It was a great experience.

Star Wars Legos from grandma, which have provided hours of entertainment.
And a longboard, which has also provided hours of entertainment, but is much harder on the pants and knees.

It's been fun to watch Regan mature into a young man. He enjoys everything he's involved in- with the exception of house work, he's reliable and responsible, he does well in school, and is a good example and big brother to his brothers. We love you Regan!

The Cake Nightmare (and Weston's birthday)

2011-06-27T21:10:00.008-06:00

Weston had his 3rd birthday on May 9th. How did it get to be the end of July already? I can't believe how bad at keeping up I am. Better late than never.
Weston had been telling me he wanted a dinosaur cake for his birthday, but I succeeded in talking him into a snake cake instead. Way ~~easier~~ cooler, I told him.
He didn't like it. But not because it wasn't cool. Because he was scared of it, or of any other cake for that matter.

A few weeks before his birthday, one night, several hours after Weston had gone to bed, he came running up the stairs screaming, "The cake is coming, the cake is coming!". He was shaking and crying and obviously very terrified of the cake that, in his mind, was in hot pursuit.
Now, I don't know, my nightmares have never included food. If I were to have a nightmare about a cake, it would most likely be me chasing the cake and not being able to catch and eat it. Now that would be a reason to cry. At any rate, he was scared and would not believe me when I told him that cake is our friend. Our very good friend. Hours later, when he had calmed down enough to return to bed, all he could say was "Don't get frosting on your face mommy". Hmm...I really wish I could have seen that dream.
Over the next few weeks, he kept talking about "the cake", but didn't seem to be as frightened. In fact, he told us that he was no longer scared because whenever the cake came for a late night visit he would just eat it. Smart boy. Problem solved, I guess.
Fast forward to his birthday. He was taking a nap when I decorated the cake, so when I excitedly presented it to him later, he stood very quietly looking at it and left the room without a word. He kept his distance all night and wouldn't even touch the piece of cake we put in front of him. Oh well, more for me.
Otherwise, he seemed to have an enjoyable birthday. I think it's now well behind him because he's back to eating cake. Now if I could just get him to have a nightmare about candy and marshmallows, life would be much easier.

Mom

2011-05-08T16:22:00.011-06:00

Mom, you did it all! You successfully raised 5 children ( 4 unruly boys and 1 sweet, thoughtful daughter).

You made 3 meals a day. Real meals too. The only time we had cereal was on Saturday morning. How did you do it? My kids have cereal at least half the week for breakfast and maybe a time or two for dinner too, depending on how crazy my day is.

We were well dressed. I mean really, how many moms have a sense of style like that? Those pants were awesome!

You always kept the house clean and neat. Although green shag probably helps keep certain things hidden.

You always made our birthdays special with your specialty cakes and parties. That's something I've tried to do for my own children.

You made all our Halloween costumes. I don't care what all the boys say about it, those costumes were cute!

You taught me to sew. Or at least you tried. And some of it I still know how to do.

You planned and budgeted every year for a family vacation. That was in the days before the internet and you actually wrote the Chamber of Commerce in the areas we visited before hand and had everything planned and organized long before we all piled into the station wagon for our vacation.

You bar-hopped.
Oh wait, that was just a photo shoot on your annual vacation with your sisters. I'm glad you got some well deserved vacation time away from all of us once in a while.

You ~~wrote~~ helped us write our many reports and school projects.

You went to and supported us through many many music recitals, dance recitals, games, etc etc....

You faithfully planned FHE lessons every week. The ones we spent at the State prison were especially memorable.

You spent hours and hours and hours sewing me this dress for the Jr. High dance. Even though I clearly didn't know how to do my hair at that age. Or maybe that was just the style? That's what I tell myself anyway.

With 4 sons, you spent hours and hours at scouting events learning the "round of applause" and "watermelon cheer" among many other cheers and applauses that have no doubt been useful in your day to day life.

You still took us on family vacations and other outings even when we (by "we" I mean my brothers) were obnoxious know-it-all teenagers.

You kept a journal for each one of us. On a TYPEWRITER!
You always held a calling in the church in which you've always done an excellent job.
You took time to play with us.
I could go on and on.

Mom, you really did do it all. And I don't know how. I don't do half as well or half as much as you did. Somehow, you made it look a lot easier than it is, because now I know-IT'S NOT EASY!

I appreciate you. I love you. I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day.

The New Babysitter

2011-04-24T22:56:00.014-06:00

That is, the trampoline, not Spencer.
It's been about 6 months since I've last blogged and now I'm writing about a trampoline? Well, if anyone out there is actually still checking my blog, it's too overwhelming to think about catching up on the last 6 months and I seriously doubt that anyone wants to read SIX MONTHS of catch-up, so I'm starting with the latest and easiest. If I get real motivated maybe I'll go back and catch up bit by bit.

It's been a great babysitter so far. Day and night. It takes up the whole back lawn, but who really needs a lawn anyway?

Ben has some stylin moves. Especially when Kacy is taking pictures.

Jason and Joe practicing back flips. It even entertains the adults.
Is there a picture of me doing a back flip? No. Why? Because there's a warning on the trampoline that serious injury or death can occur by attempting such stunts . It's because of people like me that said warnings must be posted in the first place. I would most likely paralyze myself long before I would come close to landing a back flip. Jumping up and down is exciting enough for me, thank you.

It's supposedly the safest trampoline on the market. I guess time will tell. The only thing broken so far?

Jason's glasses.

Harvest Time

2010-10-31T00:16:00.006-06:00

This summer went so fast, I feel like I had no time to really enjoy the garden. It came and went before I even knew it. Last week, or maybe a couple of weeks ago (see, I really have no concept of time anymore), we went out to harvest the remains of our garden before a freeze. Here are a few choice photos-

No shortage of tomatoes here. Too bad I didn't have more time to bottle everything.
Anyone know a good recipe for green tomatoes?

A honeydew melon. It didn't taste so good.

An orange fleshed watermelon. It actually wasn't too bad. The kids devoured it in no time.

A giant bell pepper. Too bad it wasn't around at the same time as our county fair. I'm sure we would have taken home a prize for that.

Ben still loves eating tomatoes. Below, are a some pictures from the last few years. We have to get at least one picture a year of him stuffing his face full of tomato. Weston would rather eat dirt than a tomato, which it appears, is exactly what he was doing.

Alien Sighting

2010-09-29T20:53:00.000-06:00

We caught an alien on tape. Strangely enough, it looked very similar to Spencer in his underwear, wearing the alien mask Ben got for his birthday.

Ben's 4th Birthday

2010-09-16T15:03:00.005-06:00

Ben turned 4 last Sunday. He wanted a Black Spiderman cake, or rather, I talked him into a Black Spiderman cake. His first choice would have been a Green Goblin cake, but I thought the Black Spiderman would be easier to make. I made it after he was in bed on Saturday night, so it would be ready for him on Sunday. He was so excited Sunday morning, he spent most of the morning sitting on the counter just looking at the cake. Every once in a while he'd sigh and say "I love you, mommy".

We just had a small party after church with our family, plus Joe and Kacy. The Spiderman Pinata was first. After demolishing that, it was time for cake. Everyone's shirts had to come off, except for adults, of course. Black frosting is the one drawback of the Black Spiderman cake.

All Ben wanted for a present was a "scary" costume. Again, his preference would have been the Green Goblin, but as they don't carry those at Wal-mart, this was the next best thing. He seemed to be pleased with it anyway.

I say this every year at every birthday, I just can't believe another year has passed. Seriously, these kids are growing up so fast. It's kind of sad.
Ben's such a little mama's boy. He wants to be at my side or cuddling with me all day long. It's probably a good thing that I'm his main lady right now because he's very much a lady's man. He loves to raise and lower his eyebrows and wink at girls. He also has some mean dance moves, so ladies, WATCH OUT! He'll be grown before we know it.

Summer

2010-09-12T22:52:00.007-06:00

I really cannot believe summer is over. And I can't believe that I didn't blog all summer long. So, if you haven't given up on my blog by now, here's a quick rundown of the last few months.

The first thing that kept me so busy? Our garden. Below is a picture of about half of it at the first of the summer.

We had an infestation of earwigs in the garden this year, due to the chicken coop, I think, and they were eating everything. I didn't want to put down any dangerous chemicals to kill them because my ~~slaves~~ kids spend a lot of time in the garden, weeding. So, I would go out every night around 11 or 12 (they only come out at night), and spray them with soapy water. It takes about 10 seconds for them to die, and I must say, I found much pleasure in watching them die. I really, really hate earwigs.
In the end, it paid off. Our tomato plants are all taller than me and packed with tomatoes. We had one plant that was at least 10 feet tall. Look at this monster roma. All of our romas are about this size.

The next thing keeping me busy was The Pizza Cart. We opened a wood fired pizza business this summer, and it was SO much more work than I anticipated. Last summer I posted about Jason selling pizza at the fair. This year we decided to try and make everything legal so that we could sell on the street. After all the licenses, bonds, inspections, and a million other details, we were finally legal to sell. In the beginning, we figured Jason would just run it himself, but after our first day in business, it was obvious that it was a 2 person job. We sold out in 4 hours, about 50 pizzas! It has continued to grow and become more successful, so far, then we ever dreamed. We sell on Monday, Friday, and Saturday, and Jason is going to school on Tuesday-Thursday.

That pretty much sums up my summer. We did do one camping trip to Manti to watch the pageant. It was the first time camping as a whole family since Ben was a baby, and it was a success.
We also spent almost 2 weeks up at my mom's. I think it was the highlight of the summer for the boys. My mom took us to Lagoon, Thanksgiving Point, movies, The Lion King at Capitol Theater, swimming, and many other fun thing. They were also able to spend plenty of time with their cousins and see some old friends. I told my mom we wouldn't visit for another year so that she could recover from the financial loss of having us visit. Thanks, mom, it was a great time. She took lots of pictures, but I haven't go them from her yet.
Here's a few other random pictures -

There's nothing like playing naked in the gutter during a rain storm.

When Uncle Chris comes to visit, he always buys the kids some Henry Weinhard's root beer and cream soda, and boy, do they live it up!

Here's 3 out of the 4. Aren't they a good looking bunch?

And Spencer. He's still a new person every day. Here's one of his latest- Mission Impossible.

Yosemite

2010-06-03T08:38:00.009-06:00

We had the opportunity to go to Yosemite with our friends, Joe and Kacy, a few weeks ago. My wonderful mom came and stayed with the kids, so it was just the 4 of us for 5 days. A ten hour car trip seems like nothing without kids.
We stayed in a motel the first night about an hour out of the park so that we could get to our camping spot bright and early the next morning. There are no reservations at Camp 4, so you have to arrive early to get in line and hope for a spot. The guys really wanted to camp at Camp 4 because of the climbing history. Many famous climbers pretty much lived there back in the day.
Anyway, we did get a spot, luckily. Because if we'd of had to drive in and out of that park every day, I may have gone home. It's a beautiful drive, but it's about an hour of tight winding roads. I was SO sick on the way in and the way home.

We were all blown away by the beauty of Yosemite. Huge granite walls, huge waterfalls from the spring runoff. It really is so amazing.
We spent most of the time hiking or climbing. Too bad I wasn't in better shape. I could have got a lot more hikes in. The hike up to Upper Yosemite Falls about killed me.

Here I am hiking up one of the five million (give or take) switchbacks. It was like climbing a granite staircase for 3 hours straight.

Here's the view of Yosemite valley from the top of the falls.

Here's a view of the upper falls from halfway up the hike. Two and a half million switchbacks down, two and a half million to go.
The falls sounded like a jet plane from here. It was amazing.

Finally at the top. Such an amazing hike, but I was pretty much ready to collapse.

Jason and Joe after one of the climbs. They did most of the climbing, but even I did a few.

Here's a bear we spotted. She had 2 cubs with her. We had to get out of the car and get a picture. Apparently there are a lot of bears and they're not too shy. In our camp we had bear lockers to keep all of our food in. The rule is-if your food is out, it must be within arms reach of you at all times. The bears aren't interested in us, just our food. Jason chased one out of the camp parking lot early one morning. Another morning we could hear one sniffing around right outside our tent and our car had paw and lick marks all over the windows. I guess we should have taken them seriously when they told us not to leave food in the car, not even grocery bags or wrappers.

Here's some safer wildlife. I found him on the rock that the guys were climbing up. He didn't even try to run from me. Cute little guy, I probably would've taken him home if I thought we could keep him alive.

Well, it was an amazing trip. Well worth it. We'd like to come back with the kids someday.
I even missed the kids, though they didn't miss me too much. Grandma is much funner than I am. Thanks mom, for coming to stay with the kids. I think I'll plan a trip for next month if you're up for it.

Weston 's Birthday

2010-05-10T11:38:00.006-06:00

We celebrated Weston's Birthday on Friday. It turned out to be a beautiful day, which has been rare this season, so we celebrated at the park. Good weather, good food, and good friends. It was a great time.

Below is a clip of Weston blowing out a candle for about the twentieth time.

Here in this video, below, was the best present of all. Spencer turned an old rag into a spectacular gift with just a needle and thread. It was all his own idea, and he was quite proud of his creation. I don't think Weston shared his excitement.

Here's the Birthday cupcakes. The kids thought they were awesome. You can find the recipe HERE on my recipe blog.

Okay...FINE.

2010-05-06T14:32:00.004-06:00

Everyone wanted to see a picture of "the haircut", so here it is. Sorry for the blur, I'm not very good at taking pictures of myself. Keep in mind, my hair is not done, because...well, you know, it never is. Especially not now, because there's nothing to do.
Don't be fooled by the smile on my face. I'm still not happy about it. But enough of my complaining...

Locks of Love?

2010-04-26T14:27:00.006-06:00

I was in need of a haircut, which I almost never get because I'm lazy. Lazy about hair. I hate doing my hair. Hate it. But I don't hate it when it is done, which is almost never. I wear it back all week, and I fix it for church on Sunday. Because I'm so lazy about it , it had grown as long as it's ever been, almost to my waist, which is way too long. Time for a cut. But I'm not only lazy about my hair, I'm cheap. So I had to wait for $3 Thursday at the beauty school, which is where I always get my hair trimmed. Now, you may be getting the idea that I don't care much about my hair, which is true. Or at least I thought it was true.
I had decided on 3 or 4 inches. Nothing dramatic, nothing different. Then, while combing through my hair, the stylist commented on how, if I cut a little more, I could donate it to Locks of Love. I asked her to show me how short it would be, and she pointed to a spot about half way down my back. She kept telling me that my hair would still be plenty long, nothing to worry about.
So now I'm kind of in a hard place. Inside I was screaming, No don't do it! Don't trust her!, but I didn't want to look like a jerk who doesn't care about kids with cancer who can't afford wigs. I tried to act casual as I said "Yeah sure, I can do that. No big deal". In reality, I wanted to get up and run away from her and her scissor happy hands as fast as I could.
Now that it's all said and done, was it a big deal? Yeah, it was. By the time she finished chopping, my hair was to my shoulders. Was I happy about it? Not at all. Did I say anything to her? No, because again, I didn't want to look like an unfeeling jerk. I'm still furious every time I do my hair, even if it is only once a week. And, I guess I am a jerk after all, because charity or not, I still regret it. Oh well, nothing I can do about it now. I suppose I'll get over it- THREE YEARS from now- when it grows back out.
Moral of the story? I think Jason summed it up pretty well when he shrugged and said, "That's what you get when pay $3 for a haircut".

Thank You

2010-04-19T09:05:00.002-06:00

Yesterday in church I asked Spencer to write a thank you note to the person that gave a talk on the Holy Ghost at his baptism. It was so good I had to share it-

Eight is Great

2010-04-16T09:00:00.005-06:00

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Spencer turned eight last month and was baptized this last Saturday. Like most kids, he was super excited about his eighth birthday and all that comes with it. He was easy on me this year and decided not to have a friend party. Instead, he wanted to go to a movie with me and Jason. He chose the new Alice in Wonderland in 3D. Much better than putting on a party. He didn't even want a decorated cake. He wanted a fruit cocktail cake, which is the easiest cake ever.

We had lots of family down for the baptism. Jason's parents decided last minute to drive down from Washington and surprise Jason (thankfully I knew about it ahead of time). They brought with them Jason's sister and her two daughters. Jason's other brother and his family came from Springville, and my parents came as well. The kids just LOVED having all that family around. It was a busy but fun weekend.

We're so grateful to have Spencer in our family. He's so full of drama (quite literally), and is always keeping us either entertained or exercising our patience . He's always got a new book he's written or a "play" or a song and dance to share with us. And he's always dressing up as something. It doesn't matter it we don't have a costume for it, he'll make his own for every occasion. Yesterday at dinnertime, he was all decked out in army gear and insisted on putting his dinner in Ziploc bags so that he could take it out to the park and "survive". He's got more imagination than I've ever seen, and we love having him around.
Happy Birthday Spence! We love you!

RIP Snape

2010-03-30T11:37:00.003-06:00

Sadly, Snape died while we were out of town a week ago. Even sadder, I think we killed him. I checked his water before we left and thought he had enough to get him by until we got back, but apparently not. My kids were crushed, and I felt horrible. Really horrible. I don't know if I was just having an emotional day, or if I was more attached to the little guy than I thought, but I cried. A lot. I had to leave my kids so they wouldn't see me. It's pitiful, really, but I couldn't help it.
Spencer made the headstone, and they buried him out front. Poor Snape. Maybe down the road, after we've forgiven ourselves, we'll get a new snake. Until then, you can all feel safer about coming to visit again.

Computer Problems

2010-03-19T09:38:00.003-06:00

No, I haven't been neglecting my blog. My computer has been down, for over 2 weeks. Some kind of spyware or something. Who knows? Stupid computer. I will hopefully have it back and working next week. So until then, here's some random pictures from my mom's computer of the kids at the Children's Museum.

That Bugs

2010-03-02T21:02:00.004-07:00

Jason made some new friends while climbing in Zion a few days ago.

Tons of Boxelder bugs, if you can't tell.

Angel's Landing

2010-02-18T08:46:00.004-07:00

On President's Day we took advantage of the beautiful weather and went south to Zion to hike Angel's landing.

Our friends Joe and Kacy came with us. Thankfully, Joe volunteered (or maybe I volunteered him) to carry Weston on his back. I'm not so sure I'd of made it if I'd of been packing him. Sad, what a winter of inactivity can do. I'm so glad it's almost over.

After all of my lecturing, Spencer was certain he would fall to his death if he so much as put a toe out of line (notice the look on his face, above). Oh well, better to be cautious, I always say.

Regan, enjoying the view.

Joe and Weston.

You can see the last climb was still covered in snow. We didn't dare attempt it with the kids.

Cooling off on the way back down.

The Good News and the Bad News

2010-02-11T10:23:00.006-07:00

Regan won 3rd place overall in the Pinewood Derby this year, which is good news, I suppose, but the really good news is that the derby lasted only 1 hour this year. The last 2 years? Three hours! I mean really, does everyone need to race everyone at every lane on the track? I think not. This year, they hired someone new to run the track. It was all electronic, which made for a smooth race. It was all over in an hour, I couldn't believe it! Let's hope they keep with this new system, because I've got 9 more derby's to go before all the boys are out of cub scouts.

The car. This is the first time we've ever had a car that didn't come in close to last place.

Now for the bad news-Regan broke the base of his thumb yesterday while playing kick ball at school. He got knocked off his feet by the ball, and landed on his hand. We took him to the instacare where he got a temporary cast, and tomorrow he'll get a permanent one from the Orthopedic Surgeon. Good thing he's a tough kid. No tears, no whining, he took it like a man. Honestly, I think he thinks that it's cool. He can now brag of having had 3 broken bones.

Fortune Cookies

2010-02-02T10:19:00.011-07:00

Spencer made these little paper fortune cookies at school. They were very...entertaining.

Jason's fortune-

My fortune-

Our futures aren't looking too bright. Who knows what kind of danger Ben is putting me in, and Jason has no future.

Another of mine-

At least we'll be a forever family. Does it count if one of my kids tries to put me in "grate danger"?

Regan's fortune-(you have the only great experiments at home)

The boys' "experiments" always scare me.

Another one for Jason- (you have a earth quake coming your way. Then another one.)

If these had been written before the 2 earthquakes we had, we could start charging good money for his fortune cookies. But as it is, I'm glad to know that's not the case, otherwise I'd have to start worrying about my safety and Jason's future and what Regan is doing in his spare time.

Winter Outings

2010-01-14T12:48:00.007-07:00

Unfortunately we are still months away from spring, but fortunately we don't have to drive far to have spring-like weather. Just 45 minutes south, and the weather is beautiful. I wish we could get away every weekend.

Here I am, soaking up the sun while reading. Ahh, it just doesn't get any better than this.

Meanwhile, the kids could play for hours in the sand.

So many cool placed to explore. I love it, Snow Canyon is the place to be in the winter.

On a colder note, Jason took Regan and Spencer on a cross country ski overnighter last weekend. They didn't hit the trail until pretty late, so they skied in a little ways and then built their quinzee-aka snow cave- at about 10:00 that night. The boys slept well and stayed warm, but unfortunately for Jason there wasn't quite enough room for his back end, which was hanging over the entrance all night and being hit with a constant flow of cold air.

Brrr, looks cold. I was at home with a nice fire in the fireplace, eating popcorn, and having a movie night.

Overall, they had an enjoyable time...I think. Spencer only had two meltdowns. His feet got cold so he was pretty sure he was going to die. But I must say, all three of them are quite the troopers. Tougher than I am, I'm sure. I'd prefer to sit on the couch and stuff my face if it's going to be cold outside. But, who knows, maybe someday when I no longer have the excuse of having babies, I'll be adventurous in the winter again. Then again, I think I'll stick with Snow Canyon. That's my kind of winter.

Snape

2010-01-10T18:43:00.004-07:00

Introducing our newest pet, Snape the snake. We still have our 4 chickens and our dog, but they're outside animals, and I thought the kids would have fun with a snake. Yes, it was my idea. I bought it for Christmas. I've always liked snakes, and they actually make good pets...as long as you get a nice one. Ours is a corn snake. You only feed it once a week, frozen mice from the pet store. Snape is still a baby, and if he (or she? how do you tell?) lives to adulthood, he can get up to 5 feet in length. That may seem really big, but they don't get very big around, so he probably wouldn't ever be able to eat us.
Now, I know you're all probably dying to come and visit Snape, but we wouldn't want to get him over stimulated, so if you could keep the visits to a minimum, it would be appreciated.

The Rest of the Twelve Days of Christmas

2009-12-27T12:47:00.005-07:00

On the ninth day...
My mom spent 6 months learning all these hymns on the piano and 3 days recording them for us. I know it wasn't easy for her, but I'm so glad she took the time to do it.

On the tenth day...

On the eleventh day...

And on the twelfth day of Christmas....

This gift wasn't originally part of the gifts, but my parents went to Israel a few weeks before Christmas and sent this nativity back. This picture doesn't show the beauty of it very well, but it really is very beautiful. They were all carved from olive wood.

Thanks mom, for this, and for all the gifts. I appreciate all the hard work you put into doing this. It was nice to have a reminder every day leading up to Christmas of the true meaning of the day.

On the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Day of Christmas...

2009-12-21T16:37:00.005-07:00

On the Fourth and Fifth Day of Christmas

2009-12-18T10:08:00.003-07:00

On the Second and Third Day of Christmas

2009-12-16T22:23:00.002-07:00

On the First Day of Christams

2009-12-16T08:26:00.003-07:00

My mom did the 12 days of Christmas for us again this year. Thanks mom! I know this was a ton of work. I don't know how you came up with all these little poems.
The kids are so excited about opening something every day.
Here's the theme for this year:

Present #1 :

Winter

2009-12-14T11:46:00.009-07:00

I hate it. I say it every day. Probably every hour. I hate winter. And I could create a very long list of the reasons why. However, I'm determined to look on the bright side...well, at least until after Christmas. Because winter is useless after Christmas and I'm not making any promises that I'm going to try and enjoy it after Christmas is over. But I was able to come up with a few (because there really aren't more than a few) positive things. Here goes-
Snow. There are plenty of negative things I could say about snow, but because I'm looking at the bright side, I'll just say-it looks really pretty when it snows.

Fire. If it has to be cold and snowy, then there's nothing better than a fire in the fireplace to cuddle up next to. But it takes wood to make fires. Lots of it. And when one guy cuts down, loads, and unloads a huge trailer of wood all by himself, that can lead to back injuries. But that's another story.

Sweaters. Again, if it has to be cold, then sweaters are the best thing to wear. Here is another one of the many cute sweaters my mom has knitted for us.

Sugar. There's never a shortage of sugar around the holidays. Cookies, pies, fudge, candy. There's always enough to keep even me satisfied.

Weston enjoyed the Christmas cookies almost as much as I did.

Winter sports. I do, on occasion, enjoy getting out and going cross country skiing or sledding. Only, these things are a little more difficult to do when I've got babies, and I've had babies for a while now. So, I'm looking forward to getting out again now that Weston in approaching his second birthday.

Christmas Music. And the spirit that comes with it. As soon as the weather turns cold, I turn on the Messiah, my favorite Christmas music. It helps me focus on the true spirit of Christmas, which is the most important thing of all. It is the one thing about winter that I'd like to keep with me all year long.

Regan's 10th Birthday

2009-11-20T21:12:00.008-07:00

Regan's Birthday was yesterday. Once again he chose to have a mom and dad party instead of a friend party. I made him the dinner of his choice, steak and Potato Boats. And the cake of his choice, Molten Chocolate Cake (excellent choice, plus it was way easier than decorating a cake).

Not sure what the pose in the top picture is all about. I think he was trying to look as if he were blowing out the candles.

Next he opened presents. He got an Erector set from my parents and a lava lamp from us. He told me a few weeks ago that those were the two things he wanted. Luckily, my mom had already gotten him the Erector set so I only had to get the lava lamp, which was cheap. Nice. And he's still got something coming from Jason's parents.

Then, it was off to the movies. Kacy came over to watch the other boys, so it was just the 3 of us. We went to see the new Christmas Carol. We wanted to see the 3D version, but apparently the 3D projector was not working and they didn't have time to fix it (probably because of all those crazy Twilight fans lined up outside), so we saw the regular version. We had a good time anyway... well, except for the part that Regan got a bloody nose, gagged on the blood, and then threw up a puddle of blood on the floor. I know. Disgusting. Luckily there were only 2 other people in the theater.

It's hard to believe he's been with us for ten years. He's been such a blessing in our lives and we're very grateful to have him in our home. Happy Birthday Regan, we love you!

Halloween 09

2009-11-01T22:15:00.002-07:00

Weston was NOT a happy frog!

Decorating Halloween cookies.

Family Pictures 2009

2009-11-01T21:47:00.006-07:00

We get together every year with our friends, the Jorgensons, and take each other's family pictures. Luckily, the weather was beautiful and we were able to do outdoor shots this time. And luckily, this time, no one had pink eye and no one was screaming. All in all, not too bad.

Halloween Cuisine

2009-10-28T21:11:00.003-06:00

I've been noticing a lot of cute Halloween recipes online that I wanted to try, so I decided to make a dinner of it.

Here's our mummy dogs. I used the refrigerated bread sticks, each one cut into thirds lengthwise, and wrapped them around cheddar wurst (much better than a plain hot dog). After they were cooked I dabbed on the mustard eyes.

These are just carrots with sliced almond fingernails standing up in veggie dip.

I cored and quartered the apples, cut out a wedge and used slivered almonds for teeth.

Peas with red pepper tongues and slivered almond teeth.

This was the favorite. I froze apple cider in latex gloves (food safe) then removed the gloves and put the frozen hands in white grape juice.

It took me more time than I was planning on-like it always does-and I didn't get time to make one of the 500 spooky desserts I've looked at this week. So when Regan asked why there was no dessert...well, let's just say he was lucky he was sitting where I couldn't reach him.

Cook of the Week

2009-10-26T23:20:00.003-06:00

http://cmrecipebox.blogspot.com/2009/10/cook-of-week.html

Chickens!

2009-10-06T14:19:00.009-06:00

Ben couldn't be more excited, but I think the chickens are having second thoughts. They relocated to our house last week when their owners decided they had too many chickens. Three hens. They came with the coop and everything, we just couldn't refuse. I think Spencer has had second thoughts as well. It's caused him much anxiety to run after Ben and the chickens and scream about how Ben is killing or crippling them. Poor Spence. I wonder if it will cause him the same amount of anxiety to eat the chickens as it does for him to watch Ben abuse them.
We're not planning on eating them...yet. So far they've laid 2 eggs. I know, not much, but there was much excitement when they came.

I found Ben sitting in front of the chicken coop today. When I asked him what he was doing, he told me, "I'm singing we will we will rock you to the chickens".
I don't know, but it would be my guess that if the chickens had their choice, they would choose the Queen serenade over being squeezed half to death. Maybe they can learn to be friends after all.

The hen in these pictures is the most patient one. The only one that allows Ben, or anyone else, near her.

Fishing

2009-10-01T11:24:00.009-06:00

Several years ago Jason and I found a little known reservoir up the canyon. Last Saturday we decided to take the boys there fishing. The weather was so beautiful and so was the scenery.

As you can see, Ben was most excited to get his hands on the worms we brought for bait. He thought of them more as pets than bait.

Spencer and Ben were quite the little fishermen...or at least they would have been, had they caught any fish.

Regan had stripped down to his underwear and left all his clothes back at the van. He told us he was going to go "skinny diving". That may have been a good plan until a few other people showed up to fish. He spent the rest of the time trying to stay hidden behind me. Lesson learned: if you're going to go "skinny diving", don't leave your clothes in the vehicle on the other side of the lake.

Here's a little video of Jason teaching the kids to catch fish by hand in the creek. The kids could have done this all day long. Who'd of thought you could catch a fish easier by hand than on a pole?

Ben's Third " Happy Dirtbay"

2009-09-30T09:02:00.005-06:00

As far as Ben's concerned it's been his "happy dirtbay" every day starting 2 months ago, and is still his "happy dirtbay" every day since the actual day, almost 3 weeks ago.

We had a simple party. My parents came down, which was more exciting to him than anything else we could have done.

He loved his train cake, and couldn't help himself from sampling off it all day long. Luckily I had plenty of replacement wheels, rocks, and logs.

The gift from my parents, a Sesame Street Restaurant, was a huge hit. With all the kids. I think Spencer has spent more time playing with it than Ben has. I guess he hasn't outgrown his Ratatouille phase yet.

While Weston really loved the restaurant, I think his favorite part of the party was eating the real food.

I honestly can't believe it's already been 3 years since Ben joined our family. He's a joy to have around (96% of the time), and usually keeps us laughing (or screaming, 4% of the time). Happy Birthday Buddy, we love you!

Ohio

2009-09-18T10:25:00.016-06:00

Four days with no kids!!! It was great!

Jason's brother, Chris, got married in Ohio a few weekends ago, and thanks to my parents' frequent flyer miles and our friends, Joe and Kacy, we were able to go-BY OURSELVES!

The flight out was not so fun. We flew out of Vegas at 10pm. There was quite a bit of turbulence on the way out and I was seriously considering turning on my phone and calling home to say my last goodbyes to the kids. I hate flying. With each and every little bump, I imagine myself falling from the sky and dying a painful and terrible death. Needless to say, I didn't die. Maybe because I prayed for almost 4 hours straight for my life to be spared, or maybe because the chances of me dying on a commercial airliner are like one in 13 million. Either way, I was spared from what was, in my own mind anyway, most certain death.

We flew into Atlanta at 5am (3am our time) for a 3 hour layover. The airport was FREEZING cold, so although we tried to lay down and get some sleep, it didn't happen. After another hour of flying, we made it to Akron Ohio at 9am. Chris picked us up from the airport and took us to the home of some friends of Kim's (the bride) family. We went straight to our room and slept until 4pm.

We had the wedding rehearsal dinner that night. Jason was a groomsman, but I wasn't in the wedding party. I didn't mind just hanging out. A good dinner- that I didn't have to cook- with NO KIDS was well worth it.

The next morning, all the girls headed over to Kim's house. There was a girl there to do hair. Again, I wasn't part of the wedding party, but Jason's mom offered to pay to have mine done, so I took her up on it. It was fun to be a little pampered.

A little relaxing that afternoon, then off to the wedding. It was at the golf club. It was all decorated in "green". They even gave out baby trees for the guests to take home and plant.

The wedding itself was outside. It was a beautiful day, perfect weather.

The dinner was held inside after the wedding. Jason and I weren't seated together since he was a groomsman, but I was seated next to his parents, so that was nice. Another good dinner- that I didn't have to cook-with NO KIDS.

Then for the dancing. Here's Jason (below) getting down!

Just joking. I don't know who that is, but it's definitely not Jason.

This picture (below) better describes his enthusiasm for dancing.

In case you're wondering why he's dancing with another woman, all the groomsmen danced with all the bridesmaids.

It was a nice night. Linda (Jason's mom) and I especially had fun visiting with some drunk guy, probably about my age, who was wondering if Linda lived in Alaska during the Gold Rush.

We had to fly out the next morning. It was a short trip, but nice to get away for a few days-with NO KIDS!

Certainly, I wouldn't want to give anyone the impression that I don't enjoy my kids; I would just prefer to leave them with our friends every other weekend. Or maybe every weekend.

But I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual. They didn't seem to miss us at all. They had a great time with Joe and Kacy.

Joe and Kacy, I think, have decided to wait another ten years before having kids. I'm sure that has nothing to do with our little weekend away...

Blog List

2009-09-09T09:31:00.003-06:00

After seeing the cool new background on my friend Kristin's blog, I decided to experiment with my own. I followed the link on her blog and tried out some new backgrounds. In the end, I ended up using my same old background-with a change in color- because the layout works better for me. But, in the process, I lost my whole blog list. So, if you know that your blog was in my blog list, please leave a comment so that I can get your blog address again. There's a few that I remember, so check my blog list first to see if you're there.

Back to School Night[mare]

2009-08-20T21:27:00.009-06:00

Tuesday I took the kids to back to school night, ALL the kids. Jason was working and I didn't think it would be that big of a deal. I was, of course, wrong.
First we had to meet in Regan's classroom with all the other kids and their parents. I don't think I heard a word of what the teacher had to say; I was chasing Weston the whole time. He probably wasn't as big of a distraction to everyone else as I thought he was. Or at least not until he found the teachers cow bell and started ringing it. He probably just wanted to send her the hint-we're done. She was almost finished anyway, and I had to agree, we were so done.
I took them to the playground to wait for Spencer's class time. There was a PTA meeting in the gym for all the parents during this time, but of course I'd have to be INSANE to attempt that. Not that I would have wanted to go to it under any other circumstances anyway.
While we were at the playground, I realized that Weston had a stinky diaper. Very stinky. I sent Spencer to get the diaper bag from the van, only to find out I hadn't packed any wipes. This is the point at which, if I were smart, I should have called it a night, gone home. But I'm sure Spencer wouldn't have been too keen on that idea, so we stayed. I told Regan to stay on the playground, which is literally right outside the classroom, and play with Ben.
I had no better luck in this classroom. Weston was all over the place. Only it was worse, he left a trail of smell wherever he wandered. I was getting plenty of looks from others. Especially the dads. He was constantly trying to pull things off the walls and shelves, and he'd scream every time I tried to stop him. I started to sweat. I felt like we were the center of attention, instead of the teacher. I had pretty much decided to take him back outside when an announcement came over the PA. "Sorry to interrupt, but there's a two year old boy in a red shirt looking for his mommy".
I knew it was Ben. But do I get up and walk out right now, when it will be obvious that I can't control any of my children? Or do I wait a few minutes and casually leave the room with Weston, pretending I'm going to change his diaper (everyone already knows he needs it)?
As I'm debating this, Spencer turns to me "Mom, it's Ben! You HAVE to go get him!". I guess that settles that. I get up and walk out of the classroom. I have to walk through 4 more classrooms on the way out, so now there's no question, everyone knows who it is that can't keep track of their children.
Ben was patiently waiting with a group of women. He didn't seem to be scared. I didn't ask any questions, I just thanked them and turned to leave fast, before anyone recognized me. They weren't going to let me off that easy, "He looks so familiar", one of the ladies called out, "who are his siblings that go here". Darn. They're probably fishing for information so they can turn me in to DCFS. I told them their names.

"Ohhh...the Murrays...", they said knowingly. Whatever that means.
I won't go into all the grisly details of what happened to Regan when I found him (I wouldn't DCFS to have anything else to use against me), but not to worry, he is still living.

Pizza Oven

2009-08-18T09:03:00.005-06:00

Early this year, Jason decided he really wanted a pizza oven. After a not so successful attempt at building one inside our living room fireplace, he decided to make an earthen oven in the back yard. He dug down really far in the garden to get the clay, and made this little oven (below). This one was only a practice one, so that he could build a much larger one in a permanent place.
Jason had talked to his brother, Freddy, about his ideas of building pizza ovens. Freddy liked the idea and ran with it. He built a pizza oven on a trailer that could be taken to events. His first event was very successful. Jason decided to make one on a trailer as well, and sell pizzas with Freddy at the Renaissance fair here in Cedar.

Below are pictures of Jason and his friend, Joe, Building the oven. They built this one out of refractory cement so that it would be stronger than the earthen oven.

The pizza oven works great. They heat it up with a wood fire, and keep it at about 900 degrees. The pizzas cook in 30-60 seconds. The pizza's they sold were Neapolitan style, very thin crust with minimum toppings.

Here's Freddy, Jason, and Joe at the fair (below). Yes, Jason and Joe are in women's blouses. It was a requirement of the Renaissance fair (not wearing women's blouses, but to dress renaissance), and this was the closest we could come. They looked more like cross dressers than renaissance men, but I guess it worked; they didn't shut us down.

The fair lasted 4 days. It was a lot of work, but it went really well. Their booth was one of, if not the most popular booth out of the food vendors. We turned out a decent profit too, when all was said and done.

Jason's now looking into possibilities of catering or just vending from a certain spot in town. The regulations and licences are absurd; no wonder everyone doesn't own their own business. So, if we can jump through all their hoops and make our little pizza cart legal, you may be able to find him selling pizzas somewhere here in town.

Zion

2009-08-07T09:49:00.003-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, we spent the day in Zion with some friends. We hiked up the narrows a little ways and let the kids play. This is really the only hike we do at Zion in the heat of the summer. It's a great way to cool down and the kids love it. Most of the crowds stay down towards the bottom of the narrows, so if you hike far enough up, you can escape the crowds.

We hiked up the river to this little swimming hole.

Ben really wanted to swim like the rest of the kids, but didn't dare to venture in very far, so this was what he resorted to.

Weston was so excited to get in he could hardly wait. We stripped him naked and let him go for it.

He loved every minute of it, even though he was freezing and his teeth were chattering. He was so upset when it was time to get dressed and go.

The Subway

2009-08-04T21:14:00.004-06:00

A few weeks ago, Regan and Jason had the opportunity to hike the Subway in Zion. It's one of the most popular hikes in Zion and you have to have a permit to hike it. Some friends of ours had some extra spots in their group so they invited Jason and Regan. I've never hiked it, but I'm told that it's AWESOME, and I hope to hike it someday soon.

Backpacking in Ashdown

2009-08-04T20:36:00.004-06:00

Last Friday Jason took Regan and Spencer on a backpacking trip up Ashdown. Ashdown is one of our favorite places to hike. It has areas a lot like Zion, but it's less crowded.
The boys were great little hikers and had a wonderful time.
Here are some of my favorite pics:

Boston

2009-07-27T12:54:00.020-06:00

A few months ago some friends of ours, Matt and Trisha Jorgenson, invited us to go to Boston with them. I've always wanted to visit that part of the country, but didn't really think it was a possibility because of the cost. But they have a relative that lives in Boston who also has a vacation home in Western MA. Plus they had a buy one get one free plane ticket voucher. Knowing that we'd only have to pay for one plane ticket, plus split the price of a rental car, we decided to go. My mom agreed to watch the 3 older boys and we decided to take Weston, since he flies free.
At the airport just after we were called to board the plane, I got a phone call from my mom. Ben was having seizures and the paramedics were there. We had about 5 minutes to decide what to do. Not a good way to start a trip. My mom urged us to go ahead with the trip. Finally, we decided to get on the plane. We'd call during the layover and if he were any worse, we'd get on a plane and return home. Certainly, we never would have gone if we hadn't been through the whole seizure thing before. We knew the worst was most likely over and it would now be a matter of keeping his fever under control. Still, we were sick with worry the whole flight. When we arrived in Ohio for our layover, my mom said he was doing well. They had taken him to the hospital and checked him out. The fever must have been viral, because they couldn't find anything wrong. My parents were awesome, for the next 3 days they kept his fever down by giving him medication every 3 hours, even through the night.
Weston was a bit hard to handle on the flight, but not too terrible. We flew into NY at about 10pm, then headed to the vacation home in Richmond MA.

The picture above shows the vacation home from the back. Looking up from the tennis courts, there's a swimming pool and then the house in the distance. It's beautiful country, a lot of green rolling hills.

We there for the next 3 days. While there, we visited the shaker village that was just a few miles away. This may have been Jason's favorite part of the trip. He loved seeing how they did all the woodworking, as well as the style of the things they made.

Shakers don't live here anymore. They left in 1959. There is only one shaker community still in existence. Not surprising, considering they're celibate.

In the right hand corner of the picture above, those are adult cradles (click on the picture for a larger view). They would rock their sick and elderly in them.
We left for Boston on Tuesday. On the way, we visited the Plymouth Plantation and Plymouth

Rock.

The two pictures above are at Plymouth Plantation. It was a neat place. All of the people that work there are role players. They each represent a certain person who actually lived during that time. They have studied up on their lives and would talk to you as if they were actually that person.
Unfortunately, we happened to come on a day when there tons of school children on field trips. I was a bit annoyed, actually. After paying $26 a piece to get in, we could hardly hear or see a thing because of all the kids everywhere. Looking back I wish I would have asked for a refund. There ought to be some kind of warning when that many kids are swarming the place.

Here's the Mayflower, which was thankfully less crowded than the plantation. Below are some pictures from inside the boat. There were role players here as well. There's also a picture of Plymouth rock, which evidently, there's no evidence that it was really the disembarking spot of the Mayflower, but still, we can pretend.

Next we headed for Boston. We stayed at Matt's aunts house there (pictured below). Most the homes in the area are over 100 years old. Of course they've been beautifully updated. Jason thought her house was probably the coolest house he'd ever been in. We loved it.
We stayed on the top floor in what probably used to be an attic, but was fixed up really nice. I wish I'd have gotten pictures of the inside of the house.

Matt's aunt, Margaret, was great. She made dinner for us twice while we were there, and took us out to eat at an Indian Restaurant on another night. She also babysat the kids while we went out on the town. The first night we went to the Boston Pops Orchestra. John Williams (famous for the music in Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Superman, ET, Harry Potter...just to name a few) was making a guest appearance for the week and conducting while the orchestra played his most popular numbers. It was awesome!

This was the only picture we took that night, even though you can't really tell where we are.
After the performance, we came outside and noticed what we figured must be John Williams' car. There were body guards standing around, as well as a small group of people. I decided to take the opportunity to get it on video. After waiting around a good 20 or 30 minutes, he came out. I was standing right on the other side of the car getting some awesome shots of him. He waved right at the camera as he was getting in his car. As he drove away, I checked my recording only to realize I had never pushed record! My only shot at recording someone famous and I blew it. Not that he's someone I would have ever recognized on the street, but still...

The next day Margaret watched the kids again while we did the Freedom Trail. The Freedom Trail is actually a paved red brick trail that goes through the city of Boston, stopping at different historical sites. We were so glad not to have the kids with us, as the whole trail took about 8 hours to complete. I didn't get a lot of pictures because Jason took mostly video, and I won't give too much details because there's just too much.

Paul Revere's house and grave below. We also sat in his pew at the church. Back then they either purchased or rented their own pews and that were totally closed in. Personally, I think it's a great idea. I'd love to be able to close my kids in a pew in church.

I really enjoyed the whole day. It was so neat to see where so many great and important things happened in the fight for our country's independence. It inspired me to want to learn more about our country's history.

The next day we headed back to the vacation home for a few days before coming home. It was a great trip. I don't think the boys even missed us. In fact they were probably sad to see us. My mom and dad kept them busy all week going to the zoo, Lagoon, the movies, and the dinosaur museum, among other fun things.

So thanks to Mom and Dad, Matt and Trisha, and Margaret and her family for making this trip great!

Coming Soon...

2009-07-10T09:43:00.002-06:00

I know, I know, you're all getting tired of looking at the sleep post. So am I. It's been a crazy busy summer and I honestly have not had time to spend on the computer. But, I promise to give some updates, SOON! Within the next week...maybe.

Here are some highlights to look forward to:

We've been in Boston MA, Washington State (where Spence caught a shark), Ben's been in the ER twice, and Jason made a pizza oven and is selling pizza in women's clothes (I know, but it's not as twisted as is sounds).

Until then...here's a random picture of Weston, proof that I don't have much time on my hands these days.

To Sleep or Not to Sleep

2009-05-14T18:46:00.009-06:00

That's not MY question, but it seems to be Ben's. Ever since learning that he could get out of his crib, open his door, and come upstairs any time he wanted, our nights...and days, haven't been the same. About the same time he discovered that he was no longer confined to his bed, he also became acutely aware of the monsters and dinosaurs lurking in his closet. AND he decided he doesn't need to nap anymore. Because I cherish my alone time, I've always been strict about bed times and I never allow kids to sleep in our bed. However, when Ben started joining us at around 3am every morning I was too tired to fight it. I must be getting old.
We decided to get him a cool new bed, in hopes that he would be excited to move out of the crib. He was pretty excited...until he found out he had to sleep in it. A new bed doesn't get rid of monsters and dinosaurs. Next, we moved him upstairs across the hall from us. That hasn't exactly worked out either. I'm not sure what else to do short of locking him in his room and making him stay there. But knowing that he truly is scared, would make me feel bad. He really is certain that he's going to be eaten by a dinosaur. In fact, if he notices someone with a scratch or scrape, he'll ask if a dinosaur ate them. Or even with his own wounds, he tells everyone that a dinosaur ate him. I'd say he's borderline obsessed.

Ben in his new bed, before he found out he's actually supposed to sleep in it.

There's no official nap time anymore. He usually just passes out somewhere at some point during the day. On the couch, the wood floor, outside in the sandbox, in the car, he's not too picky as long as he's not told he has to sleep.

He feels much safer sleeping in camouflage. The monsters and dinosaurs are much less likely to eat him if they can't see him.

Then there's the idea of sleeping with your comfort food. By the way, Ben doesn't care to eat his marshmallows. He only likes to either burn them up on a stick over the fire, or sleep with them. On this particular night, I heard him come out of his room, go into the kitchen, and get a handful of marshmallows before joining us in bed.

Recently, all the boys (except Weston) have started sleeping in the same room together. Spencer on the cool new toddler bed, and the other two on the floor. This method of sleeping will occasionally keep him from visiting us at 3am, but not always.

We're leaving him with my mom this week while we go to Boston. But don't worry Mom, I'm sure he'll do fine. Just keep taking your sleeping pill, and you'll never even notice when he climbs into bed with you.

He's Walking!

2009-05-12T17:32:00.005-06:00

And it's about time! I'm tired of the scraped up knees and feet and dirty legs, especially because we're spending a lot more time outside now that we've got nice weather. He's not, however, very stable on his feet yet, so goodbye to scraped up knees, and hello to head injuries.

This was taken 2 days after his birthday.

My Almost Free $500 Visa

2009-05-12T15:27:00.009-06:00

You've all seen them while browsing online, little advertisements that say things like, "Free $500 visa" or "Free Wii" or "$500 in free gas". If your like me you think, Yeah right. What kind of idiot would fall for that? That is, until I came across someone who actually did one and it worked. So, I decided to try it, and today, the FedEx man delivered a $500 visa to my door. And I'm expecting my $500 target gift card any day now.
As stated in the small print of the ad "participation is required". You'll need to invest a small amount of money to try different trial offers, and of course it takes some time and organizational skills.
A brief look at what I put into it:
About $60
About 5 or 6 hours of time (after doing one, and being familiar with how it works, it should take less time here on out).
I started the whole process on March 25th and received my payoff today, May 12th. Just under 2 months.
If you're interested, you have to check out this blog: http://moneysavingmethodsonlineoffers.blogspot.com/
Unfortunately, I didn't find it until after I had already done my offers. Make sure to carefully read all of her instructions. She walks you through the whole process step by step.
There are a lot of other money saving and making tips on her blog so check it out if you like that kind of thing.
As for me, I'm going to be looking into doing some different ones. Almost free gas is sounding pretty good about now.
I'll be taking my almost free visa with me on my trip to Boston in a couple of weeks. Hooray for almost free money!!! And best of luck if you decide to go forward with one.

Happy Birthday Weston!

2009-05-09T22:40:00.005-06:00

Weston turned one today. It was a fun day. Especially for Ben, who thought it was his birthday. We pretty much went along with that since Weston's too young to care and Ben's too young to understand that everything's not all about him.

I let him eat all the cake he wanted and he loved every minute of it.

I didn't buy a present for Weston. Both sets of grandparents sent gifts so I figured I'd save my money. It's not as if he'll know the difference (until, of course, he's old enough to read this post and then he'll know I was too cheap to buy him anything, but hey, the hours I slaved away over the cookie monster cake ought to count for something).

Because Ben thought it was his birthday, he had to open the gifts. Weston didn't mind, and they both had a great time playing with them. Thanks for the toys, grandparents!

Wicked Fun

2009-04-30T14:34:00.004-06:00

Another profitable trip up North. My Mom took me to see Wicked. It was awesome! I'm so glad I was able to go. I've heard that the tickets were hard to come by, so we were lucky to have tickets and good seats. She has a neighbor with season tickets, which means they have first pick on tickets. So, she spent $12,000 on tickets! I guess they're under some kind of contract not to sell them for profit, so she just sells them to friends. Until I did the math, I just figured she had a ton of friends (which she probably does anyway), but $12,000 would only buy about 80 tickets, which I'm sure wouldn't be too hard to get rid of. Anyway, it was great acting, great costumes, great singing and I loved it. Thanks Mom, it was totally wicked!

Hooked

2009-04-21T22:39:00.005-06:00

Every trip to the ER deserves a post. Friday, I was getting laundry out of the dryer when I heard Weston screaming. I ran upstairs and found him sitting in the hall. I couldn't immediately see anything wrong, but as I got closer I could see him trying to pull something away from his ear. I finally saw the problem. He had a fish hook stuck in the back of his ear! I guess he had gotten a hold of Jason's fishing pole on the side of our dresser, and had somehow hooked himself. He had managed to break the line, but there was about 6 inches of line still on the hook, which he was yanking on with all his might. I grabbed him and held down his arm while trying to decide what to do next. He of course is still screaming. I started pacing the floor. Okay, stay calm. Think. What should I do? It was so far in there I could tell I couldn't get it out without taking a chunk of ear with it. I cut off the extra line and then had an idea. I had some numbing liquid for canker sores, I figured that it should help the pain. A few minutes after pouring it on his ear, he was doing much better. After taking a closer look, I knew there was no way I was going to try and cut it out by myself. I decided to take him to the ER. After calling around a bit, I found a friend who could come get us. I held his arm down all the way there to keep him from pulling at it anymore. She dropped us off and took Ben back to her house.

For an ER trip, I'd have to say this was a pretty good one. We were in and out of there in about 30 minutes. I couldn't believe how happy he was, just grinning at everyone. Different staff kept coming in our room to see him because the nurse was telling everyone how cute he was.

He cried for just a moment when we had to hold him down. The Doctor cut it out in just a few minutes, and he was happy again. Much better than trying to do it myself. He had a purple and swollen ear for the rest of the day, but it didn't seem to bother him.

So, now you know. It's really not a good idea to leave fishing poles with hooks on them anywhere in the reach of a child.

He Likes to Move It

2009-04-21T10:03:00.003-06:00

Easter Eggs

2009-04-17T10:28:00.002-06:00

I had a very hard time deciding whether or not to let Ben join us while coloring eggs this Easter. I had almost decided to do it after he was in bed. He never would have known. But, I gave in, knowing how much fun he would have. I think it was the best day of his life. He got to play with eggs and food coloring all he wanted and no one tried to stop him. Granted, all his eggs were broken by the time he finished, but that worked out well, he had something to snack on while coloring. I'm glad I let him participate. Seeing how much he enjoyed himself was well worth the mess.

April Fools

2009-04-03T14:22:00.004-06:00

On April Fools day I made meatloaf cake with mashed potato frosting, colored with brown food coloring. I think the kids really were fooled this time, or at least until they took their first bite. It's kind of weird eating brown mashed potatoes, but the kids thought it was fun.

Ben was a little confused after the first bite, but quickly got over it and devoured it all anyway.

Weston thoroughly enjoyed his "cake".

The Champion 4 Is Still the Champion

2009-03-24T12:04:00.010-06:00

I knew the day would come when our toilet's greatness would be put to the test (check out THIS post if you don't know what I'm talking about). This week Ben has learned to flush. He's known for some time now how to hide things in the toilet, but flushing adds a whole new dimension to the problem. We've lost a variety of things down the toilet this week...the most expensive, my cell phone... the largest, a ball. Our toilet has swallowed them all without so much as a hiccup. Lesser toilets would given out long ago. Of course, once it leaves the toilet, I suppose it could back up somewhere else along the way. I'm still hoping, or praying mightily, really, for that not to happen. Several of our neighbors have recently had to spend thousands repairing their plumbing.

I blame my brother Tom for Ben's toilet fascination. His son, Ty, taught Ben all about stuffing things into the toilet while we were at my Mom's over Thanksgiving (pictured below). Luckily they were caught before Ty could teach Ben about the flushing part.

So, if you're in the market, I still stand by the Champion 4. It's by far the best toilet I've ever known. And I'm desperately hoping to give it a good rest in the near future.

Spencer's 7th Birthday

2009-03-24T10:44:00.008-06:00

This year Spencer decided on an Indian birthday party. That was a little trickier than a pirate party. Indian party supplies are a lot harder to find. Jason decided to make bows for the kids and let them shoot at animal targets. We got Spencer a real bow for his birthday present. Jason made the others out of PVC then we purchased separate arrows for them at the store.

It was a HUGE hit. They shot their bows and arrows for hours! We had to drag them away to eat the cake and ice cream.

Then there was the cake. What kind of cake do you make for an Indian birthday? My mom gave me the idea of a teepee. I had an awesome picture of a teepee cake in my head, but as usual, the picture in my head and the real thing didn't look anything alike. Oh well, Spencer liked it.

A small fight broke out between Ben and Spencer over the blowing out of the candles, but after Ben was able to blow out a second round, it was all good.

The kids returned to shooting until it was dark outside, then Spencer's friends took their new bow and arrows home with them. I think it turned out great. Happy Birthday Spence!

AGAIN!!!!

2009-03-17T11:52:00.008-06:00

I brought the green food coloring out of hiding this morning to make the kids green pancakes. Instead of returning it to hiding, I mistakenly put it back in the usual spot. Every day I become more and more convinced that Ben intently watches my every move, waiting for the opportune moment to wreak havoc on my day. Today, he succeeded once again.

I guess I can't blame him for taking matters into his own hands. I had yet to dress him in green and there's no telling how badly he could have been pinched had he not painted himself green at that very moment.

Oh well, Happy St. Patrick's Day!

A New Musical

2009-03-14T16:13:00.020-06:00

Spencer's always writing and preforming plays for us, with hopes that one day he'll appear on the big screen. He came up with this little ditty while digging in the garden this morning.
I'm not sure where he gets his talent (must be the Murray side), but I think you'll agree, he's well on his way to becoming ~~infamous~~ famous.
(The video seems to have technical difficulties at certain times of the day. Check back later if it's
not working.)

By the way, if you're having a hard time understanding what he's singing, I think it's "I am the worker."

I Really Do Watch My Children....Sometimes

2009-03-10T21:06:00.007-06:00

I've said it before-a quiet child always means trouble. Here's another example:

No, he's not wearing black leather gloves. That's what you get when you mix together red, yellow, blue, and green food coloring.

Weston Update

2009-03-03T10:03:00.004-07:00

Yesterday I took Weston in to meet with the neurosurgeon. I had already accepted and was dealing with the fact that Weston was going to need surgery, so I was quite surprised when the Doctor told me he didn't think it was necessary. He showed me the CT scans and explained how he came to the conclusion that Weston's brain was not in danger of any damage. He told me the surgery could still be done to remove the ridge on his forehead. I was afraid of this, I didn't want it to be a cosmetic decision, but at the same time I felt relieved that it wasn't a necessity.

The night before visiting with the neurosurgeon, I had been referred to a blog (thanks Ginger) about a little girl who is Weston's age and had just been through the same surgery. There were pictures and a detailed day by day record of the surgery and recovery. It made me sick every time I thought about Weston having to go through the same thing. Jason and I talked about it and decided there was no way we could put him through it unless it was a necessity.

I am so relieved that he won't have to go through all that. He may curse us someday, if he hates the shape of his head, but hopefully it will never be an issue. I think he's perfect and handsome just the way he is.

Weston

2009-02-26T16:34:00.003-07:00

We've been up at Primary Children's Hospital this week seeing some specialists about Weston's head. He's had a ridge down his forehead and no soft spot for several months now. His pediatrician wanted him to be seen by a specialist, so here we are. Turns out he has metopic synostosis, meaning the suture down his forehead, along with his soft spot, has prematurely closed. This wasn't a huge surprise to us, we've suspected it for a while now, and have done plenty of research on the subject.

The picture above is him getting a CT scan. I was trying to keep him happy and still long enough for them to get a good picture. Luckily it was successful. Otherwise, he would have had to be sedated.

We still are waiting to see the neurosurgeon on Monday, but from what we've been told so far, it looks like he'll need surgery. It's quite an extensive surgery, taking 4-5 hours. They cut from one ear to the other to expose the skull. Then they'll cut what needs to be open and reconstruct the skull. Sounds horrible to me, but apparently it's a fairly routine surgery. This condition is present in about one in every one thousand babies.

While it's certainly not going to be fun, there could be worse things. I'm grateful that we caught it early enough and that it can be corrected. If left untreated, brain damage or developmental problems could occur, as well as the head deformity.

I'll post any updates as they occur. Please keep him in your prayers.

Sweaters

2009-02-22T16:17:00.002-07:00

My mom knitted these sweaters for the boys. Regan and Spencer got theirs for Christmas, but she just finished the others. I know this was no easy feat. Thanks Mom, they look great!

Minivan #3

2009-02-12T20:05:00.010-07:00

It's always profitable for us when we visit with my parents. Living 4 hours apart, we can usually only get together every few months or so. But when we do, we always end up a little better off. Gas money, smoke alarms, oil change....it's always something. My parents get teased by my brothers that I'm the favorite child, which is most likely true, but it also helps to be the poorest (we're not the ones playing in Hawaii).

So this week they came for a visit, and they did not disappoint. When I saw them pull up in separate vehicles, I knew we'd scored big time. A new minivan! Every time my parents get a new van, we inherit the old one. And they don't let it get very old before giving it to us. They say they want to make sure we have something safe and reliable to drive so they don't have to worry about us on the 4 hour drive to their house. Well okay, but THREE minivans?! Yes, that's what we have parked in our driveway right now. None of which we have paid for. Should I be embarrassed? Probably so, but most of all I'm grateful that we don't have to have a car payment while trying to get through school. We'll probably sell the oldest one, which will most likely end up paying a mortgage payment or two. Thanks Mom and Dad.

The week before my parents came I was cleaning out our van, and I'll just say, I'm tempted to not let the kids anywhere near the new van. I'll use it only for special occasions and times that I may need to impress someone with my clean minivan. If we were to go somewhere nice, I wouldn't have to worry about what might fall out of the back door when it slides open, or that someone might catch a glimpse inside of our van. Or, if I should need to give someone a ride, I wouldn't have to worry about being embarrassed that they might find something unrecognizable growing in the back seat.

About a year ago, a friend sent me an e-mail with this video, below. I think about it every time I clean the van. Unfortunately, it hits too close to home, but it makes me laugh. It's actually a Zima advertisement (no, I don't drink, nor endorse Zima), and I think it's meant to make fun of us minivan moms, but I think it's hilarious.

Mom and Dad are probably having some second thoughts right about now, but don't worry, I'm sure this time will be different.

Officer Murray

2009-01-28T11:10:00.005-07:00

Yesterday, Jason got a ride home from a police officer in one of his classes. When they got home, Jason asked if it would be okay for Spencer to check out his cop car. The officer showed Spencer everything, even letting him turn on the lights. He also locked Spencer in the back, as if he were the "bad guy". Before leaving, the office gave him some police stickers. Spencer thought it was awesome. When he came back in the house he immediately set to work creating a police man costume. After he was all dressed, he asked me to take his picture. After reviewing the picture he said, "Wow! I look just like a real police man."

He made an office in his bedroom and sat at his desk, giving orders. He also kept a close eye on Ben so that he could "arrest him and throw him in jail" at the slightest infraction of the law (or at least his own interpretation of the law). However, he didn't like it when he found out police men still have to follow some rules, like cleaning their rooms. He had to call my dad and ask if police men really have to clean things. He was clearly disappointed when the answer was yes.

He decided that because he looked so cool, he needed to wear his costume to Regan's pinewood derby that night. I told him I thought that was great idea. Pinewood derbys tend to quickly get out of hand. It would probably be wise to have a police officer there to help keep the peace.

He thought that was a great idea too, until we got there. The scouts started asking him if he was getting ready for Halloween. He was suddenly embarrassed and tried hiding under Ben's coat for the remainder of the night. Poor Spence, if only it were possible for him to live in his own little made up world, he'd be content. Unfortunately for him, he must live in reality, which includes scouts who aren't afraid of his authority, and a mom who makes him clean his room.

My First Journal

2009-01-21T13:07:00.009-07:00

I was reading through an old journal today and couldn't keep from laughing at my writings, so I thought I'd share. These are excerpts from the journal that I kept at age 8 (click on the pictures if you're having a hard time seeing them). I think you'll agree, my writing talents began at an early age:

I remember the kitten incident. The potato chips? No idea. Maybe we fed them to the dizzy kittens, or maybe we stole them from someones pantry.

Dang it! Here again, I leave vital information out of my description. I guess I wanted to make sure it wouldn't be used against me down the road.

Maybe this was the day that Elise and her sister locked me in her house because I wouldn't eat sweet pickles (true story).

Deep thoughts of an 8 year old.

My first case of theft. I remember it well.

Apparently, I was having a hard time getting over it. At least there's proof I had a conscience, even if I liked swinging kittens in pillowcases.

There she goes again. First stealing, then mud fights. Jaycie was always getting my in trouble.

As you can see, I've always been a talented writer. A loyal friend too. Actually, I'd like to think that I've improved some in both areas over the years.

My Recipe Blog

2009-01-09T23:43:00.003-07:00

So I've been relentlessly hounded about the big release of my recipe blog. My cooking has become so famous that people are practically breaking down my door to get to my recipes.
Or maybe not. But I wanted this to seem like an important moment. Sooo.....(drum roll please)

cmrecipebox.blogspot.com

There it is. Actually I've had 2 or 3 people ask about recipes, so I thought it would be fun to create a recipe blog. I think it's more for me than anyone else, but take a look if you'd like. There's not that many recipes yet, but I'll be adding to it often, or at least that's the plan.

The Reality of Santa

2008-12-29T10:11:00.003-07:00

Ever since Christmas Spencer has been giving the reality of Santa a lot of thought. I could tell it was on his mind by the comments he was making and the questions he was asking. Then, the other day, he asked that dreaded question, "Mom, was it really you that put all the things in my stocking? Please tell me the truth. PLEASE!"
How can I lie after that? I couldn't. "Yes, it was me."
Now, you have to know that I've come to expect the unexpected from Spencer. His mind works in curious ways. I'm often surprised and/or amused by the things that come out of his mouth. However, I was not expecting to hear what came out of his mouth next. In fact, it came as such a surprise that my only response was to burst out laughing.
After learning that I was responsible for stuffing the stockings, his eyes grew real wide, and he leaned his head in close to mine, then in all sincerity he whispered, " So, you're Mrs. Claus?"

Gingerbread House Success (for the most part)

2008-12-27T22:41:00.008-07:00

After last year's gingerbread nightmare, I decided to try and make my own this year. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I made 4 batches of gingerbread dough the night before Christmas eve. Christmas eve morning I cut out the houses and baked them. No problems so far. Putting them up is where it gets tricky. We had a few cracks and breaks, but nothing a little hot glue wouldn't fix. That's one lesson I learned this year. Hot glue is a must in constructing gingerbread houses. Nobody actually eats the gingerbread anyway, so why not glue it.

I had enough dough for an extra house, so I joined the kids in decorating. It was fun. Ben was so excited that he was allowed to make a huge mess and eat a huge amount of candy and no was trying to stop him. He kept putting things up on his house and then eating it a minute later. He really had fun. This is what it looked like when he was finished:

Spencer later took over Ben's and finished it.

And, the finished products....

Family Pictures

2008-12-27T21:24:00.007-07:00

We finally had our family pictures done today. Some friends of ours have all the equipment and were nice enough to take the pictures for us (thanks Matt and Trisha). We usually like to do outdoor photos, but it wasn't really an option with the weather.

Ben had woken up this morning with red, crusty, swollen eyes, so we weren't sure if we wanted to get the pictures done. Our friends don't live in town, so we decided we'd better go through with it, it's been two years since our last pictures. His eyes were still red by the time we got there, but not as bad as they had been.

As you can see from my blog header, it didn't take long for Ben to grow tired of picture taking. We did get a few cute shots, however. Here are a few of my favorites. I played with the coloring a bit on some of them.

Weston:

Ben:

Spencer:

Regan:

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas...

2008-12-24T23:38:00.005-07:00

Thanks Mom, for all the thought and effort you put into these gifts, and the reminders of what's most important. I wish you could be here with us. Love ya.
Also, Merry Christmas to all our friends and family. I didn't bother getting cards out this year, but we love you all and hope you have a wonderful Christmas.

Sorry for the blur.

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas...

2008-12-24T23:30:00.004-07:00

This is another favorite. I'm so glad my Mom took the time to do this.

A Visit From Santa

2008-12-22T22:48:00.010-07:00

Or, our Bishop, acting as Santa. He came to the door last night with two huge presents in his arms. His daughter was right behind him with a big bag of groceries. The kids instantly perked up when they saw the two presents, but there was more to come. A lot more. He returned to the car, again and again, bringing back loads of presents. I couldn't believe it. Apparently someone thought we might need a little help this year. I'm not sure why anyone would think that. Just because we have four kids, a mortgage, and no employment...well okay, but we really are doing fine. This isn't the first kind act this month, either. Twice we've received anonymous Christmas cards with a $100 bill inside. The people of our ward definitely look out for us. Although we suspect that there are probably people that could use it more than us, we're extremely grateful for the generosity of those around us. It's a good thing for the kids to witness and a good opportunity for us to teach them about giving, even though we're on the receiving end.

We did have to wait a few minutes for the teaching part, however, the boys immediately had to sort, count, examine, and shake all the gifts. They were understandably very excited.

Along with the thirty-plus gifts and groceries, there was also a card containing $50.

The responsible party was very careful not to leave any clues. There was no handwriting anywhere, everything was typed. We've thought of all the possibilities, but we really don't know. ~~I guess we're just going to have to be nice to everyone~~ It could be anybody. So, if anyone reading this knows the responsible party, please pass on our thanks. We really are so blessed, and it's touching to see how kind people can be.

Oh, and in case you were unaware of Jason's unemployment, and are now worried for us, we're fine. While in school, he's doing side jobs whenever they come along. He's very handy and can do most anything. We're making it...so far. If we start taking up donations next year, I will let you all know.

My Mantle!

2008-12-22T22:17:00.005-07:00

This is my Christmas present from Jason. I had my doubts that it would be done in time for Christmas, but here it is, three days early, and I love it. He used the wood from our friends' tree that he cut down earlier this year. The wood is beautiful. The design was a little tricky because we have vents around the fireplace. The bottom ones draw in the cold air and the top ones blow out the hot air. He couldn't cover them, so he built around them. Anyway, I think it's great.
The first picture below is the before shot.

On the Tenth Day of Christmas...

2008-12-22T22:05:00.002-07:00

On the Ninth Day of Christmas...

2008-12-22T22:03:00.002-07:00

On the Eighth Day of Christmas...

2008-12-20T21:44:00.004-07:00

This is one of my favorites so far. It's a little book that has questions about your life, one for each day of the year. My Mom had the huge task of filling it out, x 5. I'm so glad she did. I love it. Thanks Mom.

On the Seventh Day of Christmas....

2008-12-19T22:54:00.004-07:00

On the Sixth Day of Christmas...

2008-12-18T18:06:00.003-07:00

On the Fifth Day of Christmas...

2008-12-17T22:26:00.003-07:00

Handel's Messiah

2008-12-16T22:34:00.007-07:00

Last night I took Regan and Spencer to The Messiah preformed by the Orchestra of Southern Utah and choir. It was excellent. I've gone to the performance every year since I've lived here, so ten years. I think this was probably the best yet. I look forward to it every year. It's just not Christmas until I've been to The Messiah. Every year I can hardly keep myself from jumping from my chair and bursting into song. That would not be a good thing. If I could sing, even slightly, I would have joined the choir ten years ago. So instead, I sit in the audience, confined to my seat, all the while envying those on stage who have been blessed with beautiful singing voices.

This year two of my friends were in the choir, Kristin and Chelsea (yes, Chelsea has forgiven me, or at least she says so, but I have yet to receive any treats). Also, Chelsea's husband, Glen, was in the orchestra playing the harpsichord. So I just had to say to all three of you, you did an outstanding job. I can't wait for next year!

Not a good picture, but I wasn't very close to the stage, and I was using a camera I'm not familiar with. Sorry Kristin, I couldn't get you without the microphone in front of your head.

On the Fourth Day of Christmas...

2008-12-16T22:31:00.004-07:00

On the Third Day of Christmas...

2008-12-15T16:00:00.003-07:00

How Embarrassing!

2008-12-14T20:05:00.007-07:00

First, a little background before getting to the embarrassing part; my neighbor/VT partner/friend (Chelsea) who lives across the street, often brings a plate of goodies over to us. We keep her plate until we make some sort of treat, and then we send it back. We've got our own little treat exchange thing going on.
So today after church, Chelsea and I are talking when Regan walks up, and out of the blue says, "My Mom says the only reason you bring us treats on a glass plate is so that we'll have to bring a treat back to you".
"WHAT?!! I did NOT say that!"
"Yes you did."
"No I didn't".
"Yes you did."
Okay... here comes the awkward silence. What can I say? I'm sorry that my son would come up with such an absurd lie out of nowhere?
"Um...well, whatever I said, I didn't mean it like that."
Of course Chelsea just laughed it off, but I can only imagine what she was thinking.
Later, Jason told me, "I think you really did say that, but just as a joke."
"See?" Regan piped up.
Hmm....I don't remember that, but two against one, I guess I need to start remembering what I joke about. Either way, Regan got a good chewing out for that one.
So, I know you'll be reading this, Chelsea, and not that I think you would have taken offense, but please don't go out and buy paper plates to send our treats on. Or more importantly, please don't stop sending treats.

On the second day of Christmas...

2008-12-14T19:51:00.004-07:00

Twelve Days of Christmas

2008-12-13T22:42:00.006-07:00

This year for Christmas, my Mom did things a little different. For me and my brothers, and our spouses, she put together presents for the 12 days of Christmas. We were told the theme is "family".

On the first day of Christmas (today).....

This is a really nice book. There are excerpts taken from many of the classics, short enough to read one or two right before bedtime, and the pictures are awesome.

Thanks Mom, for all your hard work. This is going to be fun!

Christmas Tree Hunt

2008-12-13T20:57:00.012-07:00

We finally got around to getting our tree yesterday. Because it's so much work to do the whole Christmas decorating thing, I've
been procrastinating. But, realizing that we had less than 2 weeks before Christmas, I decided we'd better get with it. Sometimes I think it would be a lot easier to just go and buy an already cut down tree from the store. In fact, we did do that one year, and the tree was dry and dead by the time Christmas rolled around. So, we prefer to get our permit from the BLM and head up the canyon to pick out a tree.

This year, the boys hiked about 1 1/2 miles before finding the perfect tree.

Back at home, we spent the evening pulling all the decorations out of the shed and ~~making a mess~~ decorating. Then, this morning I did a little re-decorating while the boys were away.

It was a lot of work, but I'm glad we did it. The boys enjoy it so much, and it really gets us in the Christmas spirit. Jason even put the lights up on the house. Just in time too, the snow is starting to fly. It's finally starting to feel like Christmas.

Abo

2008-12-08T22:25:00.021-07:00

That's what we called our "survival" trips when we worked at Anasazi. I guess it's short for "aborigine". In order to experience an Abo, you must survive off the land for at least one night, preferably longer if you really want the full experience. You're allowed to bring water and clothing (only what you're already wearing), but that's it.
So last week, Regan decided he was ready to experience his first Abo. He and Jason decided to go Friday after school. Preparation was a breeze, since there was nothing to pack. They hopped in the car and headed off to Three Peaks, about twenty minutes west of here.

I was honestly surprised when they didn't return home until after 9:00 the next morning; I was expecting them home long before the sun came up, given that the temperature got down

to 18 degrees during the night. They looked pretty dirty and tired, but were excited to tell me all about it.

After arriving at Three Peaks, they set out on foot. Right away Jason found a sharp rock shard (pictured at left) that would come in useful later. They walked a half mile or so before finding a cave that they decided would make a good camping spot. It was a small cave, one that would barely fit the two of them, laying down. They used leaves and shredded bark for bedding. By the time they had gathered some fire material and settled in, it was dark. So Jason went to work. Using his rock shard and the fire material he had gathered, he made a hand drill and tried getting a coal. It was pretty tricky working in the dark. I think they were starting to feel a little anxious, so Regan decided to say a prayer. About ten minutes later they finally saw a coal, which Jason quickly turned into a roaring fire. They sat around the fire telling stories; Regan loves to hear stories about Jason when he was a kid. Eventually they settled into the cave for sleep. Jason woke sometime in the middle of the night, freezing cold. The fire had gone out a while before. He shoved some shredded bark into his shoes for insulation, then decided to see if he could get the fire going again. Luckily, he was able to find a coal, so he didn't have to start from the beginning. As he got the fire going again, the smoke quickly started to fill their little cave. He grabbed a fast asleep Regan by the ankles and yanked him out of the cave, which left Regan trying to figure out where the heck he was and what had just happened to him. Needless to say, they didn't get much sleep. I suppose that's to be expected on these types of trips.

When morning finally came, they hiked around for a little while before heading home.

When I asked Jason if they had fun, he replied, "Well....no, I don't think either one of us really enjoyed ourselves."

"Oh. So what's the point?"

He told me they actually had fun in the beginning and fun at the end, but trying to make it through the night was NOT fun. I agree. I've spent a few too many nights awake, freezing, and praying for the sun to rise, while working at Anasazi. No. Thank. You. I think my Abo days are over, at least in the winter time. I guess it's just another one of those things, you do it, not to have fun, but to know that you can do it. A sense of accomplishment, I suppose. That, or insanity.

Colorful Dreams

2008-12-04T11:06:00.005-07:00

In case you've ever wondered what would happen if you put a Crayola marker in your pajamas before going to bed....

Santa

2008-12-02T21:32:00.008-07:00

Tonight was our ward Christmas party. Jason had to work, so I wasn't sure it would be worth trying to take the kids by myself. I decided to go, mostly because I didn't want to cook dinner. As we were walking through the door of the church the kids let me know they were supposed to be dressed up for the nativity. Oops. Weston missed his evening nap and was beyond tired. He cried for at least 45 minutes before he finally fell asleep. I found out Ben really likes ham. He must of eaten 5 slices before I finally convinced him to stop. I felt bad for letting him eat so much after hearing that they ran out of food.

The real fun started when Santa came. Ben was standing in the aisle when Santa headed his way. He literally dove into the nearest chair and started crying. One of our friends picked him up and held him at the back of the room. He was terrified, to the point of shaking. We tried telling him that Santa was nice and gives out candy, but he wanted nothing to do him. He didn't take his eyes off him the whole time he was there and refused to be put down until Santa had clearly left the building.

When we got home, Spencer decided to show Ben what a nice guy Santa is. He got all dressed up and brought his bag of toys. Ben looked a little startled at first, but quickly recovered and climbed on "Santa's" lap. I think he suspected that it was Spencer. I'm not sure what gave it away. Maybe he recognized his size 2T pants that Santa didn't quite fit into.

I think this was helpful for him. Seeing the thing you fear the most dressed in pants five sizes too small has to help you overcome that fear.

(Whoops! Santa shouldn't bend over while wearing size 2T pants.)

Regan's 9th Birthday

2008-11-21T13:20:00.004-07:00

Regan is my easy child. I'm not picking favorites, he's just lower maintenance than some of my other children. He's a good student, he does what is asked of him without making a big deal about it, he's a good friend, and he still likes to hang out with us. I gave him the choice again this year between having a party with his friends or doing something with me and Jason. He chose to do something with us. He wanted eat dinner at Rusty's, a nice restaurant up the canyon that Jason and I go to every year on our anniversary. I'm sure we would have spent less money by throwing a party, but it sure was easier, by far. We left all the other kids with a friend so it would be just the three of us. He thought it was really cool. So did Jason. We almost never go out to eat, so I think Jason was just about as excited as Regan. He's already been suggesting to Regan what restaurant to choose next year.
It was a nice evening, and the food was really good. We only ordered an appetizer, an extra salad, and one entree for all of us, and we still had leftovers. We were all stuffed, which is impressive, considering how much Jason and Regan can eat. Then they brought out some delicious chocolate truffle pie with a candle in it, and had the whole restaurant sing to him.
After dinner, we picked up the kids and went home for presents and cake, but we decided we were still too full to eat any cake, so we saved it for the next day.

I've decided I really like these types of birthdays. I suggested to Spencer that he do the same for his birthday. He was clearly appalled by my suggestion. I guess two easy kids in one family is too much to ask.

Bread and Butter...

2008-11-17T14:09:00.009-07:00

or butter and bread. After getting Ben out of the bath yesterday, I ran downstairs to grab his clothes. Back upstairs, I found him making a little treat. Comfort food , I guess. Who wouldn't want to eat a pound of butter on a slice of bread...in the buff? Still, as much as I like to watch him enjoy his food, I couldn't let him eat his "heart attack on bread" treat. That did not go over well. But neither does anything else with him, so, oh well.

Six Months!

2008-11-17T10:43:00.008-07:00

Weston just turned 6 months. Here are the results:

16 lbs 6 oz 25%

28 inches 91%

Head 17.25 48%

He's started this new 'sticking his tongue out' thing. It's hard to get a picture of him without it hanging out.

He's a good baby. He loves to grin at people. He loves to be in the backpack, which is where he spends probably 80% of his wake time. I don't know how I'd survive without it, it's the only way I can get anything done.

With him being my last (99.9% sure), I'm really enjoying him just being a baby.

The Boys' Hangout

2008-11-11T12:09:00.017-07:00

Now that it's getting too cold to play outside in the evenings, the boys have found a new hangout-Jason's shop. They can make fires, hang out with their dog, make messes, fight with each other....or whatever, because it's not my concern what they do when they're in Jason's shop (Jason's with them of course). And, they're not just hanging out. They're being productive. Or at least some of them are being productive.

Jason is working on my Christmas present, a mantle for the fireplace.
Regan likes to help out and learn how to use all the tools.

Spencer does his own thing, as usual. He keeps busy making and flying his spaceships.

Ben likes to run around, usually in just a diaper, yelling at everyone else, especially Spencer and the dog. But whatever, because like I said before, what they choose to do while in Jason's shop is no concern of mine.

Freaky Halloween

2008-11-04T13:37:00.008-07:00

I'm finally getting around to writing about Halloween. This year Regan and Spencer insisted on being something "freaky". It doesn't matter that we already have a million costumes; Indiana Jones, or any other super hero, is just not acceptable for a Halloween costume. So, while at my Mom's, she took them shopping for something freaky.

Spencer picked out a skeleton. I'll have to admit, this skeleton was freakier than the skeleton with a smiley face that he wore a few years ago. Regan had wanted to be the Grim Reaper, but when he couldn't find a costume for it, he decided to be that awful Scream character that comes with blood you can pump through the mask.
Ben wasn't as excited about getting dressed up. Maybe because mice aren't freaky. My brothers swear that they're still traumatized by the fact that they were dressed in homemade squirrel and bunny costumes when they were little (don't listen to them Mom, I'm still impressed that you made our costumes).

Whatever the reason, he was okay once he realized he could get a bag of candy by dressing up.

We spent most the evening at our ward trunk-or-treat/party, which means NO MASKS. So instead, the boys painted their faces.

Hopefully they're still into "freaky" next year. Their costumes are big enough that I'll probably make them wear them again.