The Boonies

Road Trip

2011-06-13T16:06:00.001-07:00

We're currently on our way to Utah. We will have driven 32 hours by our arrival and we're almost there--thank goodness!! Just two hours more to go. We've had a great drive really all things considered. Tyler has been sick for part of the trip and the kids have been superb. I personally can't wait to eat real food.

We're a tad bit sad to leave our little farm. We have new pets-- a pup named Cinnamon Snowball Boone, two little lambs, and a duck named Howard. There are fun stories associated with all so maybe I'll share later. Also our cow, Dolly, should calf while we're gone.

We're so excited to spend a month in Utah with family and fun!! Cousins and siblings, here we come!!! Can't wait!!

May Day, May Day

2011-05-01T21:28:00.000-07:00

Happy May Day. I'm alive. I'm sure it doesn't seem like it, but I do still exist. Hope you all have had a joyous first day of May. We enjoyed a lovely little Sunday with naps, Magic cookies, and warm weather.

Maybe I'll try to resurrect my blog...

I'll try...

But, I'm not going to make false promises.

Something has happened to me...

2010-05-18T19:42:00.000-07:00

Tonight I realized as I was out in a social setting that I don't know how to be social any more. I somehow either become too quiet or I can't stop talking. I found myself extremely annoying and in my head I'd say to myself, "That's enough!" But then, I couldn't stop talking. UGH! And, I don't need those comments from siblings who say "You've always been annoying."
I have a complex now. Maybe it's time to just be a hermit.

Happy Mother's Day!!

2010-05-09T19:43:00.000-07:00

(I know they look a little shaggy. They now all have haircuts, but I still love this picture and had to post it. Also we haven't refinished our steps. This is on the house list of to-do's. Now I'm done with apologies and on to a post).

Today I feel special. It's been a wonderful day and I'm so thankful to my hubby and little ones for making it such. I love my sweet little ones. I'm so grateful for my mother. We've had a fun weekend and a great Mother's Day.

In the LDS church, the membership mostly gives talks based on topics given to us by our leaders. We do not have a preacher who preaches to us every Sunday. The members share messages and they usually help strengthen the individual speaking.

Today hubby had to give a talk. It was one of the most tender talks he's given. It was very sweet. He was given a talk that President Thomas S. Monson (the prophet of our church) gave "Behold Thy Mother." Go read it if you can (Thomas S. Monson, “‘Behold Thy Mother’,” Ensign, Apr 1998, 2). It's one of those timeless talks. We work with the youth and one of their mom's turned around and said to me, "What's he trying to do make everyone cry?" Anyway, it was very endearing and I'm grateful he's my hubby. He also paid tribute to his mother and spoke about her integrity. I'm so grateful for her as well. She's a rock and when she says she'll do something she'll do it. She's a woman of service and she's one of a kind.

I'm grateful for the mother's I've had in my life. My mother. My Granny. My Grandma. My Mother-in-Law. My sisters and sisters-in-law. I have such good examples of what a mother should be. I feel so blessed and hope that I can be what I ought.

This is how President Monson closed his talk, "One cannot forget mother and remember God.

One cannot remember mother and forget God. Why? Because these two sacred persons, God and mother, partners in creation, in love, in sacrifice, in service, are as one. " I like that. I want to be a partner in crime. I guess I should say partner in goodness. Yeah. That definitely sounds better!! Happy Mother's Day everyone!

A Weekend of Food

2010-05-09T19:42:00.000-07:00

My sis Jen came home on Friday and we took our cute little mom out to dinner. We went to a Japanese steakhouse and ate way too much. It was such fun, and we talked and laughed until they practically kicked us out of the restaurant. I don't think we've had a girls night for ages and it really perked up the spirits. I'm so thankful for my mom. She's such a great lady. She is a listener and she somehow always knows when to say just what I need and even when not to say anything at all. She's a wise one. I feel blessed to have her as my mother.

Yesterday, we had a very interesting dinner. My mom fried locust blooms and poke stalks. We then ate the leaves from the poke plant (very much like a spinach). Poke is a poisonous plant, but if it is washed at least twice and then boiled it is edible, and I must say quite delicious. The leaves were delicious with balsamic vinegar, and we breaded and fried the stalks which tasted much like okra. Locust blooms are just what the name says--the bloom from the locust tree. It is only available for about two weeks out of the year and it is also yummy. If you don't believe you can fry anything come to my house. I promise it will taste good. ;) We also had fresh steaks that were hickory smoked over hickory wood. I think it was hands down one of the best steaks I've eaten. And we had fresh trout that was also hickory smoked. The boys went fishing in the pond earlier yesterday, and David #3 caught the biggest fish. He caught a bigger fish than everyone so that equated to extra excitement.

Today was a great Mother's Day. I got some fun little treats from everyone--yummy chocolates, some new perfume from hubby that I love, the movie Leap Year from Jen, and my sister-in-law made me a gorgeous picture collage in all black-and-white of the kids. It was a lovely day. But, the best part is that David, J, and L pampered me and mom by fixing a delicious dinner. We had baked chickens, wild rice, baked asparagus, spinach and blueberry Frye salad, and some homemade biscuits. David made the biscuits and I was impressed. We finished with homemade cake with strawberry cream cheese frosting and then some delicious home-made yogurt with fresh mangoes, blackberries, and strawberries. The yogurt was my favorite part. I guess my weekend has revolved around a lot of food. Sorry for the long post, but it was a delicious weekend!!

Thursday

2010-05-09T19:23:00.000-07:00

On Thursday after work, we all gathered together and went to our neighbor's house to help shell some corn to plant our lower field with. We then came to our house to do the planting (the picture up above is one of our lower fields). We ended up receiving two bags of popcorn after the night--one bag of strawberry and another bag of yellow. The kids really had a fun night.

We planted--

*Sugar cane--We hand planted this in 12 long rows. Our neighbor dug the rows with his tractor. We make molasses every year in our neighborhood (if you can call it a neighborhood). Everyone gathers together and we do the molasses in a big pot. It consists of a long night boiling the juice from the sugar cane and lots of "tasting" to make sure it's just right. Anyway, we helped plant the cane. I've never helped plant it before. I learned that you need about 3-4 seeds and you plant them about 1 ft apart. We shall see how they grow.

*Popcorn--We planted two rows of strawberry popcorn. We actually popped some for dinner on Thursday night and it was quite good. There's something exciting about the fact that this was home-grown from last year.

*Brooms?--Not sure what exactly this was, but the neighbor called it "brooms". I'm thinking broom sage, but my dad says that's not right either. Anyway, our neighbor planted two rows of brooms so that "the kids can make homemade brooms." I'm interested to see how this turns out.

*Sweet corn--All tractor planted and I LOVE FRESH SWEET CORN. I can't even wait.

*White corn--We use this to make corn meal with. And it was all planted with the tractor.

Anyway, such a fun night for the kids. We all helped with our two neighbors that we love and had a nice evening together.

Spiders

2010-05-04T20:54:00.000-07:00

This morning Tyler said to me, "Mom!! If you put a spider in your eye it will bite your eye out and then you won't see." And I replied, "Really? Let's not put spider's in our eyes."

Now I must ask, "Why would anyone ever think of putting a spider in their eye?" I just can't help but laugh.

Next time you see a spider, please refrain from picking it up and popping it in your eye. I know if will be difficult, but it's definitely not worth losing an eye over.

Highlights

2010-05-04T20:12:00.000-07:00

We've had some really good weekends the past several weeks.

Highlights:

--The second weekend of April our stake had a very large temple day. It was centered around the Primary and we had over 200 children at the temple day activity (most traveled 4-5 hours to get there). Several very sweet couples in our stake were group leaders and took the kids to different stations around the temple while parents and youth participated in temple work. It was a wonderful day and the boys loved the opportunity to be at the temple. I think it is an experience they will not forget, nor will I. President Thomas S. Monson has said, "as we touch the temple, the temple will touch us (“A Shining Beacon on a Hill: Jordan River Temple Is Dedicated,” Ensign, Jan. 1982, 77)." It took a little bit for Tyler to warm up to his group leaders, but he finally did (with a little bribery from mom). And, I think both Tyler and David will always remember going to the temple, singing songs, and having the opportunity to "touch the temple." We also had fun seeing Jen and meeting her neighbor with the talking parrot "Coco."

--The weekend of the 17th I took the boys and Madilyn to the park and we went for a hike on one of the local trails. The trail was extremely steep. With packing Madilyn and a botched up knee, it was a bit rough for me on the way down. Plus, there was a really creepy guy in a truck who would not go away. Everything turned out okay, but I called my mom on the way down from the hike and she almost called the police.

--The weekend of the 21st LeAnn came down and we went to Pipestem Park. It's a fun mountain state park in West Virginia that has a lot of activities and trails. The kids enjoyed playing and a hike to a lookout tower on the top of the mountain. We also had a picnic. David #3 has been wanting to go on a picnic for several months and we FINALLY made it happen.

(The kids built this fun little lean-too tee-pee thing by the

picnic shelter around a tree. They kept calling it their house.)

(David and Ella at the top of the lookout tower. They refused to look at me)

--And last but not least, last weekend, we went camping on our farm. Now that was quite the experience. We wanted to do a "trial run" before Memorial Day weekend, and I'm not sure we're ready for a full fledged outing until Miss Madilyn is a little older. We had a really good time--definitely a great memory for the boys. We set up the tent, built a campfire, roasted hot dogs, and toasted marshmallows. We then sang some silly songs and played Frisbee with David's new glow in the dark Frisbee. Afterwards, we packed in the tent. We started out taking up the whole tent, but by the time the night was out, we were all smashed together in about 1/4 of the tent. Needless to say, little bodies got cold and they snuggled up to big bodies. We ended up getting up around 7am and heading back to the house. It was lovely to be so close to home. :)

(David #3 is not a deer. He's a moose.)

The kids helping dad build the fire at the pit

And those are some of the main highlights. I love weekends. If you talk to me during the week, I'm usually a bit frazzled, but the weekends are spectacular. I covet them. And, they are always just a little too short.

Bologna

2010-04-20T14:04:00.000-07:00

Is it a sin to feed my children bologna? I hate the stuff. Just the thought of it makes me crinkle up my nose. But, my children LOVE it. That's their favorite lunch. And the label on the above picture -- "gourmet bologna." Can bologna really be gormet? Is it even considered a meat? I don't think so.
I can't stand it, but I buy it by the mass packages for my children.

I'm a bologna hypocrite.

Scratches

2010-04-08T12:19:00.000-07:00

It looks like we put Tyler in a cage with a very ferocious cat. In all reality, he tumbled right into a rose bush while we were cleaning off a corner of the farm a few evenings ago. His poor little face and legs are all scratched up. We're taking a family excursion this weekend up to DC. Perfect timing for the evil stares (from people who think I abuse my children.)

I can't wait for a family outing. I love them and we are visiting one of the best places on earth!!

Easter Fun!

2010-04-08T11:42:00.000-07:00

We had a very nice Easter. My brother, his wife, and their two cute kids came in very unexpectedly from Texas. We had a nice weekend. Highlights:

**General Conference--What a wonderful time to have General Conference and celebrate the life of the Savior! I love when General Conference falls on Easter weekend. I love the opportunity to hear from our church leaders. I really enjoyed the specific talks on families and the importance placed on building stronger families.

**Easter egg coloring and hunting--We've always hunted Easter eggs. Even in high school, we colored eggs and mom and dad would hide them. It's one of those fun traditions that we can't stop.

(My niece Ella could not keep her hands out of the dye)

**Easter brunch--We usually have a big Easter dinner, but this year we did a big breakfast right before the first session of General conference on Sunday morning. It was delicious--and fun to have friends and family gathered together.

**Sunshine--Oh how the sun did shine!! I loved it! We spent many hours out and about. We went on walks, played with the new baby calves, and enjoyed warm weather!

The kids with Uncle Jake (Please note that the kids

did not actually take a ride all together. This was just for a picture.)

**Egg-golfing--This is officially a new sport started by my brother Jared. Everyone needs to try it sometime. :)

Wicked Wicked Wife

2010-04-01T15:07:00.000-07:00

Hubby David is the worst prankster ever. He always seems to win at everything, BUT this morning I actually got him good. And, I'm competetive. Frankly, I like to win too!! He fell for my April Fool's Day trickery. He actually took the bait and ran with it. I won. I actually won! It was a true miracle. :)

And, if you haven't had a chance, you need to go check out Google's main search page: www.google.com. It's cute. Make sure you read the link that says "Not In Kansas: learn about our new name."

Happy April Fool's Day!

Tyler the Builder

2010-03-26T10:49:00.000-07:00

Tyler is our little guy with a real silly bone. He's always making jokes and trying to make everyone laugh. And, I just like this picture of him. He loves to put on this ensemble and say, "MOM, I'm Bob the Builder."

There you go, Bob. Thanks for brainwashing my children.

Why sisters shouldn't help with letters to Santa . . .

2010-03-26T10:39:00.000-07:00

Read the note at the top. Do you notice the error? Bad, bad error. I hope Satan didn't come to our house for Christmas.

Santa didn't even notice it until Christmas morning. My sister can no longer help make the Christmas Eve snacks for Santa. Although, I must say that I'm grateful for her help. Santa drank all of his chocolate milk and ate both of his cookies. The reindeer devoured their carrot.

Anyway, very late post, but I saw this on my camera and thought it might bring a few laughs.

Stewing and Happiness

2010-03-23T08:54:00.000-07:00

I've been stewing for the last couple of days since I found out the Health Care bill passed. When 70% of the American people say they don't want something, shouldn't that matter? What happened to democracy? What happened to the voice of the people? I have not talked to a single person who agrees with this nationalized health plan. Not one. I must say to Congress, "What happened to making the right decision because it was right, not because you negotiated something with another state?" I'll leave it alone at that. Obviously the letters and phone calls I've sent to Congressmen and Senators don't seem to matter. Now, I'm done.

And on another note, while stewing, I found this fabulous little blog. I like it. Someone sent it to me and I felt a bit of joy reading. If you should read it, start at the beginning of the posts.

http://www.thehapacusproject.com/

Who knew that there were people out there who studied happiness? I'd like a career change.

Poor Pitiful Blog

2010-03-21T17:48:00.000-07:00

It's been a while. My blog is feeling lonely. My blog is saying something my kids have said before, "Mommy, that's not bery (very) nice." I can't seem to get my act together lately. Life is good, but busy as can be. And we all say that we're busy, so it's my lame excuse. But there you go.
Life has been busy and I haven't made time for you, blog. I'm sorry.
The end.

And on another note we were all sitting around the other night and I said "I've got the giggles."
To which David said, "Mom, what does giggles mean?"
Tyler gladly answered, "Giggles means you hide from the bad elephants. Elephants is bad."

I tried to correct Tyler's grammar but it didn't seem to help. And then I had the giggles again.

Happy Sunday everyone!

Get Involved

2009-11-20T09:36:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but I'm really thankful for the country that we live in. I feel so blessed. But, there are definitely things going on with our government that I really disagree with. I'm always wondering, "What can I do?" I try to write letters to my Congressman, but I never feel like I make much of a difference. I found this web-site today and I feel like there are some great ideas of ways to get involved. I like the "White House Wednesday" with legitimate issues and people to contact. This is a "mom" type blog, but I feel like this could be useful to anyone!

http://asamom.ning.com/

Halloween Carnival & Grandma's

2009-11-19T18:13:00.000-08:00

Madilyn made a really cute pumpkin. All of my children have a slight addiction to candy. I blame it on my parents. Before we lived with them, I never bought candy. And then, my dad would come home every night with a treat for everyone. Bad, bad dad.

It's really hard to decide what David is. He says he's Batman? I'm just not seeing Batman. Maybe he's a new member of Kiss? He's always had a love for mullets. Maybe he's just a creepy mullet man? Or perhaps he's just from West Virginia?

I love this chicken costume. Too bad that little miss Madilyn hated it.

Here's the whole family. Hubby David will hate me for posting this picture. But, he'll forgive me because I love him so much.

The Pumpkin Patch

2009-11-17T13:43:00.001-08:00

We had such a fun Halloween full of weeks of festivities. We went to the pumpkin patch, had a Halloween carnival, did a party at Grandma's, went on a late night Halloween cruise down the Provo river, carved pumpkins, and went trick-or-treating on Halloween night. Here are lots of pictures from all of the fun:

The two pregnant family members

All of the family at the Pumpkin Patch

Tyler picks his pumpkin

Once There was a Snowman. . .

2009-11-13T13:38:00.001-08:00

We woke up this morning to a little snow in Utah. The boys were extremely excited and so they spent hours outside attempting to build a snowman. Here's what they came up with. Dad helped a little bit.
I think they managed to use every last morsel of snow on the ground to create this snowman. And then there was Mr. Calvin who stood staring out the window the whole time pointing and laughing at the "noman." I guess there are some good things about really cold weather.

Class Reunion

2009-11-13T13:30:00.000-08:00

After Jake and Lindsay's wedding, I had my 10 year class reunion. David came along and he was a good sport. It was a lot of fun to see some of my friends from high school. The very best part was the reunion of the "FAB 5". These were the gals who I spent most of my high school days playing sports with--basketball, softball, volleyball, and track. We were pretty much together from our Freshman year all the way through our Senior year. Looking back, I sure did love high school. Although, I'm glad to be where I'm at, I've had a lot of fun along the way.

Jake's Wedding

2009-11-05T14:51:00.000-08:00

This is a long overdue post. My brother Jake got married on September 12th on the family farm. All of my siblings and I were in the wedding and we had a lot of fun. Everything turned out beautiful. I also got to complete a goal I've always wanted to accomplish--make a wedding cake. I know that seems a little silly. It equated to an extremely crazy day before the wedding. There are things that I would change, but the cake tasted yummy. The whole entire wedding cake got eaten, so I guess that's what mattered most. We did two layers 0f pumpkin cake for the bottom, two layers of fresh apple for the middle, and a chocolate brownie cake for the top. It was all smothered with cream cheese frosting. I stacked the cake on an old antique oak window and then put red apples underneath. I stole the concept from a cousin who used green apples under her cake. I'm an idea thief.

It was a really fun day for everyone. We just enjoyed talking and we were quite a silly wedding party. Here are some more pictures if you're interested (first gallery at the top):

http://www.fhgphotography.com/miller/index.html

Lindsey is the perfect fit for Jake and they seem so happy together. I can't believe that we're all becoming big people with real responsibilities. Weclome to the family, Lindsey. We sure do love you!!

Grateful

2009-11-03T14:52:00.000-08:00

I'm not a good blogger, but my life has been crazy with so many things. I've always loved writing in a journal and have done so on and off since I was 8 years old. Blogging is something that adds to my journaling, but I've never felt like sharing really personal things, so I write those in my journal and I'll occasionally post a blog.

I guess today I'm feeling like sharing some of me. I hope it won't be too much for you.....

Today, I've felt a little lugubrious (this is our latest Reader's Digest word--go look it up :) ). I'm kind of on bed rest for the next 6 weeks due to a basketball injury that was followed by surgery and it's made me a bit down-hearted. However, today, as I was bemoaning myself--the fact that I'm lying in bed, working my job, and I can hear my little children downstairs with their Grandma and I can't help--I realized how good my life is. It's really good. Great even. I have so many things to be grateful for. I can't even count them all. But mostly....

I have the best family in the whole wide world. I've got a husband who's a lot of fun and so helpful with everything. He has so many amazing talents. He single-handedly (well pretty much on his own) fixed our little farmhouse with his two big manly hands. I love his hands. And, I love his heart. We were really made for each other. We have three beautiful children with unique personalities. We have great parents who have helped us beyond words. We have fun siblings who we love to be around.

Gratitude = Family = Love

Truly what life is about. And I wrote this little poem that kind of sums up my feelings....

sunshine and rain,
trees and flowers,
summer and spring,
kids and popsicles.
or better yet,
my kids and ice cream,
my husband and sons,
sons and a daughter,
parents and grandparents,
laughter and dinner.
all mixed together
in a little place
with a big heart
and rolling hills,
with lots of green trees,
and friends who say what they mean,
and help each other.
perhaps a small paradise,
or really just a simple place,
bursting at the seams
with love--
a simple place called home.

And a side note, I'm sure grateful for fall. How I love the crisp air and the crunchy leaves!!

Why you should never ever go into a store bathroom with three kids by yourself...

2009-08-30T16:33:00.000-07:00

I know it's a long title and yes this is going to be another long post. Just remember that I warned you.

Several weeks ago, I had to stop at the good ole "Wal-marts" as everyone calls it here. We needed some diapers, and needless to say Madilyn smelled yucky and both of the boys needed to go to the bathroom. I had just walked in, grabbed an empty cart, drove up to the bathroom, parked the cart in front, and hauled all three kids into the bathroom. I pulled down the diaper changing table and then proceeded to get the boys in the stall so that they could go potty. I noticed there was someone in the handicap stall, so I stood outside our stall door so both boys could stand in the stall. There was no way all 4 of us could fit.
So, I'm talking to them for a few seconds..."Tyler you're such a big boy to go in the potty" and on and on. (Tyler was getting potty trained). As I'm standing there, this 6ft 4 bearded man walks in and stops, looks at me, and walks out. I started laughing and I was thinking what an idiot. David walks out of the stall and asks me what I'm laughing at.
Then, he says, "Mom, I don't want to go in here, I want to go over there."
I said, "You have to go in the toilet."
He's like, "No Mom, over there."
Then, I looked over, and I see them in their blazing white glory. There were two urinals on the other wall!! I grabbed David and ran outside really fast to look at the sign on the door. And yes, it was the men's bathroom. No big deal. I started laughing at myself, and Tyler comes running out. And this is where things get interesting. I look down and he has NO PANTS on.
I said, "Tyler, where are your pants?"
"In there." (pointing into the men's bathroom)
Then, I look down, and he has NO UNDERWEAR on either!!
"WHERE ARE YOUR UNDERWEAR?!?!?!"
We're standing right in the middle of the whole store, and one of my kids is completely indecent!! I was a bit embarrassed by this time. I pick him up, run back into the men's bathroom, grab the undies and pants, push up the changing table, grab the diaper bag, and run into the women's. The whole time, Tyler is pretty much bare bottomed. I guess we could have gotten in trouble for indecent exposure. And, the poor guy in the other stall was probably frightened to death and wouldn't come out!!

My poor children--their mother is losing her mind!! The things they go through. I'm just grateful that they're a still a little young.

Happy Sunday, everyone!!

Happy Independence Day!!

2009-07-04T21:01:00.000-07:00

We've sure had a fun day today. We got up and hiked up to the top of the hill where daddy David was raking the hay with the tractor. We played in the dirt and watched David on the tractor. The boys were so funny. We then walked home via the creek. We went up and down though the massive drain-pipe several times. (I know it doesn't sound safe, but it's only a couple of inches deep.) I even let Madilyn stand in the water. She had the uncontrollable giggles--so funny. I love little baby giggles. Here are a couple of pictures of the kids after the hike.

I love these hats!! We made them at a fun library day last summer. I think the boys look so cute in them!

Here's a cute picture of Madilyn (at least I thought it was cute.) This was after the hike as well. She's standing on the other side of a very dirty glass door!!

Tonight, we went to a really fun community 4th of July celebration. They had two of those super big bouncy inflatables. One was a jumping inflatable and the other was this huge obstacle course. The boys loved it!! Tyler was so silly. He can scream louder than any girl. It's not just a scream--it's a shrill.

Afterwards, we went over to the town lawn where they had a band singing the best of Motown. The singers were actually quite good and we had fun dancing and just acting crazy. The favorite thing of the night though, was this guy who had all sorts of tricks--unicycling, juggling, fire eating, baton twirling, etc. I thought this part of the night was going to be lame, but the boys loved this guy. He was probably about 5 feet tall and he was quite the trickster. My kids wanted to follow him around all night.

And then, to top the night off, we watched fireworks. The radio announcers all week were saying this was, "One of the best fireworks displays on the East coast." I couldn't help but chuckle. When they said one of the best, I was thinking best in what? Best in 1,000, best in a 100,000?? Come on? This is Tazewell, VA. I guess we can all be one of the best at just about anything. :) Overall, the show was really good, though.

We had a great day and a great night. I'm thankful to live in this country. There are many things going on right now that I really dislike. But, I still think that this is one of the best places on earth to live.

Happy Independence Day!!! Let Freedom Ring! :) (I've had that song in my head all day...by Martina McBride. I even sang a phenomenal rendition to Jen on the phone tonight. You should all be jealous you missed that. COUGH!)

Sunny

2009-04-25T08:02:00.000-07:00

This morning David #3 woke up and said, "Mom, today we're going to be happy because it's sunny outside." Made me laugh. Made my day!!!

Calf vs. Baby

2009-04-24T20:14:00.001-07:00

One would think that apples to apples, it would take the same time for a calf to drink a bottle as a baby...

Tonight, David called from a Scouting campout to ask me to feed our calf, Dolly. My dad gave us this little calf after she lost her mother. They had to do an emergency c-section on the cow and they were able to save little Dolly.

When David called, it was already 9:00pm---DARK!!! I don't do so well by myself in the dark. I always manage to conjure up the worst possible scenario in my mind of how I'll meet my doomsday death in the dark. And tonight was not any different (we've also had a bear lurking around the house, so that doesn't help).

I mixed up Dolly's bottle and put a head-lamp on my head, and walked up to the barn. I kept turning my head 180 degrees every 30 seconds to see if I could see little beady eyes. Or even big bear egg eyes. Thankfully, I didn't see anything on the way up.

I got up to the barn, went down the middle aisle, and looked in the first stall. (David told me the calf was in the first stall.) I looked down and there were pigs. So I walked to the back stall, and something reached down and grabbed my head. I started freaking out. I was screaming like crazy. The dogs started barking and the pigs started making noises. I kept trying to turn the head lamp to see what was going on. My head kept getting smacked. FINALLY, I looked up and there were two birds FLOGGING me!!! It wasn't just a simple flog--I was getting double-teamed. I ran out of the middle of the barn screaming with my hands above my head. I kept thinking they were going to scratch my face with their feet, poo on my head, or I was going to get some sort of strange bird lice. Luckily, no damage done.

I went around to the side of the barn and found Dolly. I gave her the bottle and within about 50 seconds I could hear her gulping air. Amazing. I grabbed the bottle, closed the stall door, and walked as quickly as possible back to the house. (I walked for fear that if something was behind me and I ran, surely it would chase me). I know. I'm secretly a wimp.

And now, I must say...Thankfully, when it comes to calf verses baby, CALF IS THE WINNER. I don't think I could have handled more than 50 seconds.

Our little Over-Achiever

2009-04-21T08:49:00.000-07:00

With baby #1, I read all of the week by week pregnancy and baby developmental guidelines on-line. I read tons of books on pregnancy and new baby. With baby #2, I looked at the books/Internet a couple of times--mostly when I was feeling extremely sick or baby was feeling sick. On Sunday, I opened my very first baby book for baby #3. I hope that baby #2 and #3 don't feel neglected. I'm definitely not a pro at mothering, but I guess with each baby I've become a bit more easy-going. It really has more to do with me than the kids. I'm not so up-tight and stressed because I feel a lot more comfortable with myself as a mom.

The reason I opened up the baby book for #3----We've decided that Madilyn is already an over-achiever. She's developing so fast. And, while I'm very excited for her accomplishments, I find myself sad that she's not the teeny tiny baby that she once was. Granted, she's still a baby; but, she's getting so mobile and she's developing her own little personality. I'm missing the "baby slug" stage, but I am enjoying the present moments that pass all too quickly.

Madilyn has been crawling for over 2 weeks now. On Saturday, while I was home with the kids cleaning up, Madilyn sat up all by herself on the rug. And then, on Sunday, I was sitting at the table talking with my mom. Madilyn squirmed over to the bottom of my chair, and WA-LA. She grabbed the chair slats at the bottom of the chair and pulled herself up into a standing position. STANDING? She just barely started crawling and she just sat the day before?? I have a feeling that next week she's going to be doing the triple jump or running sprints. ;)

I don't know if I'm ready yet for the fascination of toilet paper and toilets which has plagued all of my children. I don't know if I'm ready for the excitement of electrical outlets and pouring/dumping anything out of a container. However, I do know that I sure like this wee one! She's a keeper!

Cheese

2009-04-15T18:25:00.000-07:00

Secret confession. I love cheese. It's a great weakness of mine. I found cheese in college. BYU gave me my husband, my education, and a love for cheese. Okay. Not really BYU. I guess my love for cheese came from my cute mother-in-law who piles two cups of cheese on a tortilla and microwaves it for a "cheese crisp." Delightful!!
My latest obsession is feta. I can eat it on anything and since it's a strong cheese I can eat just a little bit and feel healthy! HA! Anyway, I had no idea that there was such an assortment of cheese growing up. My mom only bought the Kraft American slices.
Here's the point. The only cheese I've had that I don't like is GOAT cheese. I can't stand it!! I've tried it in various settings and I find it absolutely disgusting. I always try it again thinking that it will taste like feta and I'll like it, but alas I never like goat cheese.

There are a couple of things I can't stand about goat cheese:
1. The taste/smell of goat cheese reminds me of a wet goat.
2. Goats are cute, but they really stink when wet.
3. My dad had goats when we were kids who were frightening. There was one little black billy goat who was seriously the devil. We'd run across the farm yard to get up in the barn loft to our clubhouse and the black billy goat would chase us head on. He had some little spiky horns, some wicked eyes, and needless to say I got rammed in the back side several times. All of us were afraid of him.
4. One time in high school, when I was feeding some animals on the farm, I heard my neighbor's goat bawling. The sound scared me, but I walked down to the fence to see what was going on and saw a little goat with his head stuck on the far fence. I hiked over the dividing fence and valiantly went over to save the bawling goat. (I think it was a trick.) I reached down and grabbed the goats head, twisted his horns, and set him free. Oh, did I mention that the fence was an electric fence? Just as I twisted his horns, I somehow got my head on the electric fence, and ZAP!!! I got completely electrocuted in my attempts to save the goat!! Also I do believe it was raining.
5. I've eaten goat. I know I shouldn't admit that, but it was quite traumatizing to me as a child.
6. I've had goat's milk. Let's just say this was a dare. It was raining outside. My softball team dared me to run over to the field and "milk" a goat. I did. It was disgusting. I haven't had goat's milk since.
Perhaps my issues with goat cheese, don't just stem from taste. Perhaps I've been deeply traumatized by goats throughout my life. Perhaps I shouldn't admit to so much all at once. Alas, I love cheese, but I abhor goat cheese. Sorry, Mr. Goat!

Happy Easter!!!

2009-04-12T20:25:00.000-07:00

We've had an absolutely fantastic Easter weekend!! So much family fun time!! Highlights from this week and weekend:

David #3 praying every time he says the prayer for the last two weeks for: 1. "Please bless Ella and Brycy and LeAnn and Jared to come visit" (he's been counting down every day for 2 weeks. He got up every morning and yelled, "Mom it's 3 days!!", etc until they came) 2. "Please bless we'll go to the swimming pool for being a big listener" 3. "Please bless that we'll do Easter on the ground" 4. "Please bless Jesus that he died for us." (I love his prayers. They're so sincere and cute and everything starts with "please bless".)
Jen coming home on Friday evening.
Going to the Easter egg hunt at Church with all of the little kids and getting to see 4 new baptisms that same day. What a great time to be baptized!! Quite tender!
Taking the boys and Madilyn to the swimming pool. There's a new community center here and they have a really nice swimming pool with a kiddy section/beach. The kiddy section has a really large 2 foot pool with all sorts of fun kiddy water things in it--wave pool, sprayers, etc. and a water slide. Jen came along and the boys were just SO HAPPY!! They love going swimming and we always manage to go when Jen's around and she's such a good sport.
Jared, LeAnn, Ella and Bryce coming in. Spending time chatting, playing, building puzzles, eating absurd amounts of food, coloring Easter eggs, kidtastrophes, yummy Easter dinner together with everyone, lots of Easter egg hunts with the kids (Grandpa hiding the eggs and all the kids looking for them), going to church together, enjoying the Easter sunshine, snuggling with Bryce, and Easter baskets for everyone. A funny moment: Mom set the mashed potatoes on the table today and Ella picked up the massive potato spoon and shoved the whole thing in her mouth and then put the spoon back in the bowl. Now if I did that, not cute. But Ella--cute.
And the real highlight of Easter had to be tonight. We did an Easter activity with eggs and pictures all about the Savior. The boys really had a good time and I think David got several of the concepts. It was a nice way to finish up a fantastic weekend. Thanks, Valeri, for the ideas on the eggs. We'll use this for many years to come and it can be tweaked for all ages. :) http://valeriandersen.blogspot.com/2009/04/easter-story-egg-hunt.html

Hope you all had a great Easter!!

100 Books

2009-04-06T10:31:00.000-07:00

I love to read. I especially enjoy reading classic books. I'm posting this for future reference as I'd actually like to try to read all of these some day!! Thought some of you out there might enjoy as well.

Here's how it works:
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline (or mark in a different color) the books you LOVE

The premise of this exercise is that the National Endowment for the Arts apparently believes that the average American has only read 6 books from the list below.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (I have to admit that I have not finished this one)
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (I've read book 1&2)
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible (I feel like it's mandatory to underline this one)
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (I haven't read the COMPLETE works, but I've read a lot of Shakespeare)
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot 21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll (I read a junior version of this when I was in middle school, so I'm not sure it counts)
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery (I love these movies. I definitely need to read the books)
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold (I'm actually currently reading this one)
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville (Also read this as a junior classic. Need to read the full version)
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens (Also read this as a junior classic. Need to read the full version)
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Also a junior classic)
90 The Faraway Tree Collection
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad (I actually really liked this book and probably shouldn't admit it because it was darkness)
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery (one of the best quote books ever)
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo (I read this on the buses of El Salvador the complete unabridged collection. Pure perfection. I love this book and I even enjoyed all of the history)

The good news is that at least I've read more than 6 of these books. The bad news is that I haven't even read half of them. Maybe that's a new goal for the year.....We'll see. :)

Valentine's Day!!

2009-03-18T15:58:00.000-07:00

I finally found my camera cord and so here's the post I've had saved for months.

We had a super Valentine's Day. I know I'm a little bit late, but we had such fun. We made Valentine's for everyone with sweet treats. We also decorated sugar cookies together as a family. This year the cookies look the very worst ever. But, we made whipped cream cheese frosting and it was divine. Completely fattening with heavy whipping cream and cream cheese, but absolutely delightful (see recipe below). Anyway, the cookie decorating wasn't very great as my icing pens somehow got dried up. So, none of the frosting would come out of the pens. But, we had quite the fun together!!

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1 ½ cups powdered sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream

In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. Set aside. In another medium bowl, beat whipped cream until stiff peaks form (it helps to use a chilled bowl and chilled beaters - and make sure the peaks are stiff not soft). Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture and mix carefully (so as not to deflate cream) but well.

(Be careful if adding coloring - the liquid food coloring found in the baking aisle can quickly thin your icing so you may need to add a bit more powdered sugar to compensate. I prefer to use Wilton's gel coloring but either will work.)

Please note that I hate this picture. I don't like pictures of myself. The boys gave me a heart sticker which they insisted I put on my face. And something looks funny with my tooth. Just ignore my face. I'm only posting this to show a person out there who shall not be named my short hair cut. I donated all my hair to locks of love several months ago. AND then, I got real highlights (which I've never done).

Mice

2009-02-10T20:13:00.000-08:00

I'm sure that there are people out there who read my blog who love mice. I can't stand them. I find them disgusting. I hate that they like to invade houses. I hate that they leave their little poo tracks everywhere. I hate that they poke their little noses into any possible food that they can. I think mice and snakes are equal in my things that I hate most scale. Well, except rats. Rats top both. But, in my mind, mice and rats are basically the same thing. I'm sure that PETA would be apalled by my disgust.
So, several weeks ago pre-Christmas I had quite the mouse experience. I'll have creepy mouse dreams for the rest of my life. I was sitting at my parent's computer early in the morning working. My parent's live in a very old farmhouse that they've fixed up. I'm sitting in the chair, typing an email to a co-worker and all of a sudden I feel something down in my pants. I feel around and there's nothing there. So, I completely think I've imagined that there's something in my pants. And then, I feel something moving up behind my leg. I feel around again and there's something with a little body up my pants leg. I jump up screaming. Screaming is an understatement. I kick my legs all over the place and out flips a mouse. Not just a cute little mouse, but a big fat one. The understated screaming becomes much worse.
My brother jumps up out of bed and comes running in to see what's going on. I can't even talk. My voice is completely hoarse. I take off running downstairs kicking my legs. David comes running to me to see what's wrong.
I scream, "David, a mouse just ran up my pants!!"
He responds, "What?"
"DAVID A MOUSE CLIMBED UP MY PANTS!!!!"
He doesn't really believe me. So, he runs up the stairs. And sure enough, the mouse is scurrying through the house. I see it and I start freaking out yet again. David pulls out a shoe and saves my life.
Yes, I realize that I shouldn't be afraid of mice. I grew up on a farm for goodness sakes!! I've been bitten by mice in feed bins. But, I just can't handle them. And big fat mice just make it even worse. I will no longer wear baggy pajamas while sitting at the computer.
I'm planning to write a new book in the series.... and the first line will be "If you give a mouse a pants leg, he'll take a whole leg."

Wise words to the weary: Be very careful where you sit.

One of my Favorite Things

2008-12-07T12:42:00.000-08:00

Can I just say that one of my favorite things in the world is a piping hot bubble bath filled all the way to the top on a cold day?? Stress relief and total relaxation!!!

A Leggo Masterpiece

2008-12-04T20:41:00.000-08:00

So tonight, my David made a silly face and presented me with a Leggo Masterpiece. Yes, the face is really silly. :)

The breakdown of the masterpiece as explained by David:

The black trellis - stairs
The little yellow circles - these are all Leggo heads that David detached from the Leggo bodies (it kind of reminds me of the days when my brother Jakob would pull our Barbie heads off) . Anyway, you can't really see the faces on the Leggo heads. One is a bearded man - AKA "the bad guy" . The other Leggo heads are the "good guys"
The yellow circle - "a circle thing"
The grey arched Leggo - You can't see the arch, but David called it "the Old McDonald's piece" - He calls McDonald's "Old McDonald's" and I guess the arch was the connection

And there you have it--a fabulous Leggo masterpiece just for mom. He was so sad when we put it up in the box because he thought I needed to keep it out.

****UPDATE: I just realized that David is wearing his spider Halloween shirt. Please note that my children have other clothes. David just loves this shirt and when he dresses himself, if this shirt is clean, this is always the shirt he wants to wear!!

Baby Dress

2008-12-02T19:25:00.000-08:00

So, I've been talking to some of my family about this fabulous little baby dress that we blessed little Madilyn in and I thought I'd post a picture of it on here. I'm sure the men aren't interested (my brother is probably the only poor boy who may possibly read this).

Anyway, we had a new lady move into our ward boundaries at church. She came up to me two Sunday's ago and asked me if I had a blessing dress for baby yet. I told her that I had not. She then said that she made blessing dresses for people and had one on hand that she had not sold yet. She said that if I was interested she would sell it to me at cost--which was $30. Being the cheap girl that I am, I was a bit shocked. I was thinking, "I can buy myself a dress for less than $30. Why would I spend $30 for a baby dress?"

I was grateful that she approached me and didn't want to say no after I'd already went through a whole conversation about how we hadn't bought one and needed one and on and on and on. She then explained that she crocheted them. I'm always impressed by this talent in others, but again I was a bit appalled. I didn't want to dress my little one in something that looked like a knitted hat or a pair of socks. I just couldn't picture a crocheted baby dress being cute. But, I'm kind of non-confrontational and didn't want to hurt feelings and say I wasn't interested after I told her I was.

Anyway, I went on Monday to buy the dress worried about what I was buying. AND, it was the most beautiful blessing dress I've ever seen. I was extremely impressed. I mean...she hand-croceheted this. It had beautiful imbellishments along with cloth covered buttons. I'm not sure if you can see all the details, but wow!!! I ended up giving her a little more and feeling guilty at my ugly thoughts. :)

Baby Blessing

2008-12-01T19:50:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was such a wonderful day. We had baby Madilyn's blessing. It was such a tender day with so many people we love. My whole family was here except my brother Ryan. We also missed David's family!! It was really neat to have 4 generations of family assist with the blessing as my Grandpa, my dad, my hubby, and my brother participated. What a special day!! Here are some "glamour" shots of baby that my sister-in-law LeAnn took after the blessing. She did a really nice job. And, I want to post all of them because I think Madilyn looks so cute in all of them! But, alas, I'm sure you don't want to see all thirty!

We are so grateful for such good family members and friends--those who were able to come and those who couldn't come. We love you lots!!

$1.88

2008-11-19T16:30:00.000-08:00

Can I just say HOORAY?!?!?!?!? Gas is $1.88 here and at a nearby town it is $1.66. I think that is pure excitement. Gas hasn't been that cheap since David and I were first married. Those were the days when we could fill up the Honda for around $20.
Welcome back $1.88. I hope we have many more blissful years together. I have a feeling though that this is only going to be a 2 or 3 month relationship. I hate $3.14.

Baby in a Bonnet

2008-11-16T17:19:00.000-08:00

Today we took some cute pictures of baby Madilyn in her pink dress with a matching hat. She also has her baby panty-hose on. I think baby panty-hose are very funny. They don't even come close to fitting. They're so saggy and all over the place. Anyway, I loved this picture of our new baby. She's such a sweet baby and we love her!!

Things that make me smile

2008-11-12T17:15:00.000-08:00

1. Yesterday we had doctor appointments. David #3 had to have his eyes checked as part of the routine visit. The nurse asked him to read the letters on the chart and he did it!!! I thought he would get some of the letters mixed up (just because he wouldn't know them), but he read them!! Made me happy!!

2. Tyler is so giggly and funny lately. He went through a little temper tantrum phase and I wasn't sure I was going to make it through. Since my maternity leave and return, he's just been such a giggly fun little guy. He loves to play games, and he's talking so much better. I love happy little guys!!

3. David #3 is officially a professional at writing his name. He started writing it right before he turned 4 and now he writes it on everything he can. I'm proud of this little accomplishment of his (even if I did bribe him with a trip to Chuck-E-Cheese). Here's a little sample:

4. Birthdays--We've had several birthdays lately. Tyler turned 2 on Monday and hubby David hit the big 3-0 yesterday!!!! We really had some fun parties. Tyler was SO excited. He got his very own presents and I've never seen such joy. Almost all of the toys that he plays with are David's, and he was excited to get his own tractors and trucks!!! He loved his big stack of presents.

Happy Halloween!!

2008-11-01T06:47:00.000-07:00

We had a great Halloween. The kids wore their Halloween spider shirts all day and we enjoyed some fun activities together. We made cookies and played outside.

We then took the boys out trick-or-treating. I was planning to make Tyler a ghost, but he kept pulling the outfit off. So, he was a cowboy. He really wanted to be the dragon, but gave in when we showed him the cool hat he got to wear. These picutes aren't the best because it was so sunny outside before we left.

The best part of the night was the fact that Tyler ate his entire bag of candy. David only ate a couple of pieces. I guess we should have restricted Tyler's candy eating, because he didn't want to go to sleep last night. Lesson learned!!

Pumpkin Carving

2008-10-30T19:16:00.000-07:00

Today was such a fun day with the boys. It's been REALLY cold here this week, so we've missed going on outside walks. I haven't wanted to take baby Madilyn out in the cold. However, today it was right at 70 degrees, so we bundled Madilyn up (the wind was still really cold) and we went out for a walk. The boys love pushing their trucks around outside and riding their cars. After we were done playing, we carved up the pumpkin. David was very excited. He and Tyler were my big helpers. Here are some pictures from the fun:
David and Tyler cleaning out pumpkin slime

David, Tyler, & Madilyn (This pumpkin is supposed to be "Jet Ray". Most of you out there have probably never heard of Jet Ray. It's an alien from a cartoon that David likes. It's the only show he likes besides Scooby Doo).

Madilyn Ann Boone

2008-10-29T16:26:00.001-07:00

Yes. I know I'm late. Here are some pictures and details of our little one. She's a very sweet little girl!! It's a bit odd having a girl, but the boys LOVE her. They are such the little helpers and it's cute to watch them help out. I can ask them to do something and if it's for baby Madilyn they are the biggest helpers in the world. If it's not for baby Madilyn, I have to ask them over and over again. We're grateful to be blessed with another baby. Here's her details:

Madilyn Ann Boone

Born October 2nd, 2008

21 inches

8 pounds

9:47 am

She has lots and lots of dark brown hair. So much for a 12 pound red-headed girl. (I had a nightmare that I had a 12 pounder).

Three Wishes

2008-09-04T19:09:00.000-07:00

So I'm sitting here and I have three wishes at the moment. These aren't too major.

1. I wish that my abs were as tight after I had the baby as my stomach currently is tight. I don't know if that makes any sense. My stomach is SOOO tight. I really think I could pop this time. Keep me away from sharp objects.

2. I wish that I had eight arms. I know I put this in the family newsletter last time, but seriously it would be soooo nice!!! Plus, my husband has always had a slight obsession with spiders.

3.. I wish that our house would magically be finished. I guess this is a major wish. Save the best for last right??

I know that's kind of random, but I'm sitting here watching the Republican National Convention and needed a distraction.

Four Months

2008-08-19T16:06:00.000-07:00

So, I thought it had only been a couple of months since I actually posted. But, I just realized it's been four months!! Sick and wrong! David was talking to one of his old mission companions and he asked for our blog. I was a bit embarrassed because I knew it had been a while. So, I got on today to see how long it had been....and alas, four months. I don't think I was meant to be a blogger. I'm terrible at keeping in touch with people who I adore. So, why did I think I would be able to do a blog??

We've had an amazing summer. Lots and lots of fun and excitement. I've taken lots of pictures. I'll attempt to post some pictures in the next few days. So, a breakdown of fun over the last four months:

1. We're expecting another little one at the beginning of October!! HOORAY!! I look like a small housing unit, but we're excited to welcome a little girl into our home!

2. We're working solely on our house. That is David's official job at the moment. Yesterday, we pulled the other half of the roof off. I was up helping David. I know that's completely against the rules of pregnancy and Mama Boone would kill me if she were to find out, but he needed help!!!!

3. We spent a wonderful week at the beach with all the family. We were at Outer Banks in North Carolina. They have some of the very best beaches ever (in my opinion). Nice, clean, quiet, and a lot of fun for family.

4. We just got back from a 3 week long trip to Utah. I have to say it was fabulous. I would never recommend driving for 34 hours when you're almost 8 months pregnant, but it was well worth the trip. We spent some time in Beaver at David's family farm and we also finally celebrated our 6 year anniversary while David's family watched the boys (THANK YOU!!!)

Those are just a few of the highlights. I'll attempt to post some pictures in the next few days. Really, pictures make blogs exciting. I'll try to spice things up a bit!!!

Easter Weekend

2008-04-17T18:04:00.000-07:00

So these are almost a month late, but I love some of these pictures. We had a wonderful Easter weekend. My brother, Jared, and his family came down. It was a bit chilly outside, but that didn't deter us from outside fun!!

David stuck in the mud

He really was stuck. I tried to pull him out and we couldn't get the boots out. My dad actually had to come get his boots out of the mud.

Egg Coloring

The three little Easter Egg Hunters

Anyway, lots more pictures, but this is probably my longest post ever. We had lots of fun together!!

HOORAY FOR SPRING!!!

2008-04-10T19:27:00.000-07:00

I wish that I could explain my excitment about Spring. I absolutely LOVE it!!! Here are a few of my favorite Spring things:

FLOWERS!! Yesterday, I was sitting at the computer working and my sweet little David came in with a big bouquet of purple and yellow flowers. They smelled so good!!!
GARDENS!! Today we walked up to the garden. We have onions growing. The spinach and lettuce are also out. We are waiting for the peas and potatoes to make their debut. I love the garden and all the delicious things it brings.
SUNSHINE!! I love warm weather. I love long bright days. Maybe I belong in someplace tropical.
GREEN!!! The grass is so green I could turn into a cow. Perhaps the fact that I'm pregnant, automatically turns me into a cow. I have more than 7 stomachs when I'm pregnant. I can out eat any man. It's quite disgusting!!
BABY ANIMALS!! All of our cows are having baby calves. I love how cute and soft they are! It's fun to watch them run and swish their tales. They just look like they are haviing such fun.
WALKS!! Spring also brings back our daily walks. The boys absolutely love being outside. If I didn't have to work, I think we'd be outside all of the time.
WARM RAIN!! Maybe I'm a little crazy, but I love the rain. I love to sit on the porch and listen to the rain. I also love the way everything smells after it rains. Fresh and clean. And, more green comes out. Just can't beat it!
BULLFROGS!! So maybe another little crazy confession, but we all love to sit on the porch and listen to the frogs "chirp." It's like one of those weird family traditions. Maybe I should sing a country song about it. My dad is so obsessed with his frogs. He has a million of them in our pond. If anyone attempts to mess with his frogs, they are in major trouble.

I know there are lots more spring things that I love, but there's my top 8. :) HAPPY SPRING!!!

M'mmm Good

2008-03-25T18:07:00.000-07:00

So, the other night while we were putting dinner together, I walked into the dining room and saw Tyler going after the Easter basket chicken with a fork. He got this little chicken several days ago at a fun Easter egg hunt. It was so funny to watch him go after this poor pitiful chick!!

The In-Laws

2008-03-07T11:00:00.000-08:00

So I was watching something on television the other evening about divorce. I think in-laws are like #5 on the list of reasons why people get divorced. I think that's just absolutely crazy. I just love my in-laws. Sure, there are things that we don't always agree on, but that's what keeps our family exciting. It wouldn't be as much fun if we all always agreed on everything.

I just wanted to post this fun picture that we had taken over the summer. (I know some of you hate this one, but this was my favorite.) I love my in-laws. I feel like they are truly my family. And, honestly, they are part of the reason I fell in love with my sweet husband. There's just such goodness in the Boone family. Not to mention that the Boone family could easily populate the entire US. I think David has something like 200 first cousins. I didn't think that was possible, but it's truth.

Anyway... to all you in-laws out there... I just love you!!!

Too Cute

2008-02-27T17:51:00.001-08:00

There have been several just too cute things that have happened today and yesterday. Here are a couple. I wish that I had taken pictures, but alas I failed.

Too Cute #1:
So, yesterday David #3 was talking to my sister Jen on the phone. She is getting ready to fly out to Utah. She asked him if he wanted her to bring him something back. He immediately responded, "I want waffles." He's been on a waffle kick lately. So, she said she'd try to bring him back some. Then, he asked her if she wanted one. She said, "Yes. Save me one and I'll eat it when I get back." So, a couple of hours later, we're all downstairs in the kitchen. I look by the toaster and lo and behold, there sits a lone waffle. I picked it up and David starts yelling, "Mom, that's Jenny's. She's going to eat it when she comes home." Since she's not going to be home for two weeks, I handed the toasted waffle to Tyler who quickly ate it up.

Too Cute #2:
My mom has this great indoor grill/stove. We cooked some hot dogs on it yesterday. David #3 was helping on a chair. He would turn the hot dogs over whenever we told him they were ready to turn. He got really excited when they were almost done. The hot dogs were lined up like this:
Just imagine the "l"s as hot dogs. He looked at them and said, "Mommy they look like a house." I was trying to figure out what he was talking about and then he said, "Mommy it's the temple." Just too funny if you picture the Provo Utah Temple.

Too Cute #3:
Tonight David has been sitting in a chair waiting for daddy to come home. I love how I can ask him what he's doing and he says, "I'm waiting for MY Daddy." It think it's so funny how daddy isn't just daddy. Sometimes he walks around the house and says, "Where's my daddy?" Anyway, I love it!!

Mailbox Walks

2008-02-22T19:17:00.001-08:00

So, today I was thinking about fun times with my two little red heads. Since it's been so cold and wet lately, we've missed our daily mailbox walks. They love to take walks and be outside. They especially love to walk down to the mailbox and get the mail. David has to stop every day at the bridge and throw rocks in the water. We also have leaf races and stick races under the bridge (reminescent of "Pooh Sticks"). Tyler loves to pick these fun grasses (see the picture). He likes to pick them and shake them around. He loves when I tickle his face with the end of the grass. It's so funny to watch him laugh. It's completely contagious.

Anyway, I just love my cute little boys. AND, I can't wait for spring and summer. I love warm weather. I love green trees and green grass. And, I love flowers and gardens. I'm so excited for Spring!!!

Crossing Over

2008-02-20T16:47:00.000-08:00

Although I'm in denial, I have issues with blogstalking other people. Since I stalk so many random people, some who don't even know me, I decided that it was finally time for us to make the cross over. I don't really know what I could say that would be entertaining to someone else, but here I am putting us out there for the rest of this strange world to see. So to all of you other blog stalkers out there, I hope you may be able to find something slightly worth reading!!!!