Stressed?

I found this picture on the web months ago and felt like sharing it today.  :)  My sister has a magnet similar to this with the "perfect" retro homemaker and says "Medicated and Motivated".  It always makes me laugh.

Future Missionary

Jacob wanted to cook dinner tonight.  He was looking through the recipes trying to decide what to make.  I need to go grocery shopping. We didn't have the ingredients for most things.  He was "starving" and decided to just put in a pizza.  Then he turned to me and said, "Mom, you need to teach me to cook more things so I'll know how to cook when I'm a missionary!"  Then pretending to be talking to his companion, he switched to his missionary voice, "Hey do you know how to cook?"  "No"  "Crap, I guess we'll have to have pizza again"  "Do you have any money?"  "No, do you?"  Just thought I would share his funny dialog.  I'm glad he is always thinking ahead to his mission and preparing now!

Taking Time...

It was about 3:00 and I could tell Romney was getting tired.  I contemplated just putting a movie on for him and letting him fall asleep in front of the TV.  After all I was busy and had so much to do.  I am so glad I decided to sit down for a moment instead.  He came and snuggled up to me.  His eyes were very droopy.  I began to lightly rub his back and caress his sweet little head and he quickly fell asleep.  I just sat there holding him and enjoying every minute of it.  It isn't often that I can get my three year old to hold still long enough to just enjoy holding him.  It was like having a newborn again.  I didn't want to put him down.  I examined his little hands and fingers (not so clean like a newborn's).  I caressed his sweet little nose and ears and those soft little cheeks.  I don't know how long I sat there but it was quite awhile before the cleaning and such began to nag at me.  At last I laid him on the couch, so glad I took the time to enjoy my toddler.

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday to me.  Oh, and Romney, too.  My little buddy is 3 years old now.  I can't believe it has gone by so quickly.  (Time to start potty training.) 

Saturday night Joe took me out to dinner at the yummiest place ever.  Famous Daves.  The food there is so good that everytime you take a bite you involuntarily say, mmm!  We shared a combo with a half rack of baby back ribs and beef brisket.  It came with a corn muffin, corn on the cob, baked beans, and homestyle french fries.  Delicious.  Funny story about it though.  We were seated and soon a waitress came out and asked if we wanted something to drink.  So, she came back with our drinks and left.  She came back a little later and asked if we wanted any appetizers.  No and then she left.  We wondered if she thought she already took our order.  We were getting very hungry and noticed another waitress talking to someone around the corner.  We assumed it was our waitress.  So, finally I got up and told her we were ready to order.  She thought we were waiting for someone else because there were three menus and three sets of silverware on our table.  She was very apolegetic.  It was fine.   I just wonder how long she would have waited before asking if we wanted to go ahead and order.  She made up for it though.  Our food was ready amazingly fast!  I think she told the people cooking to do ours first.    After dinner we went shopping for a pairs of jeans for me.  Lots of fun!

Joe and the kids surprised Romney and I with breakfast in bed.  Romney wasn't sure what was going on.  It was so yummy with all my favorites.  French toast, bacon, hash browns, orange-pineapple-strawberry juice and peppermint hot chocolate.

We had some of my family over for lunch after our special conference with Elder Holland.  The conference was very good.  I was actually able to listen to most of it.  My kids played quietly.  We had a delicious lunch of ham, yummy potatoes and a delicious salad full of yummy things.  We ate at my other birthday present.  My new dining room table.  I can't believe we didn't get a picture of it with a huge red bow on it.  It's lovely.  I said that I wanted that to be my present because we were already getting it and I was trying to get Joe to not spend more money. 

Here are the Elmo cupcakes I made for Romney.  They turned out great.  Romney really likes Elmo and Nemo.  I'm not sure which one he likes more because they sound the same when he says them.

Here's the yummy ice-cream cake Joseph got for me.  It had a chocolate ice cream layer, then a caramel fudge layer, a cookie crumb layer and then vanilla ice cream layer.  So good!

Joe and the kids put up all these fun decorations.

Karyn and Jason McGary. 

My papa.

Opening presents.  Romney was so excited about everything!

Cute new shirts from my parents.

Romney loves these bead these things everywhere we go so Joe got a little one for him.  It is perfect for car rides.

My new jeans and Romney tearing off paper.

What did Grandma and Grandpa Hull give you?

Elefun!

We got batteries today and the kids started playing it.  The elephant has this long trunk that these little butterflies come blowing up out of.  Then you catch them with your little butterfly net.  Rebekah was just laughing her head off at the kids trying to catch them.  It was so cute.

Veteran's Day

Paige and the rest of the 3rd grade did a Veteran's day concert.  It was a really neat presentation.  I was impressed.  I was also impressed by the many veterans in the audience that stood while the music for their division of the military played.  I am so grateful for those that serve our country. 

Sorry for the fuzzy pictures.  The camera was having trouble focusing because of the dim lights.

More Cake

We had a Super Saturday class about how to decorate a cake with fondant.  Ta da!  Here's my first attempt.  It was so much easier than I thought it would be.  And it was so much fun!

Trick or Treat!

I am finally posting stuff from all our fun Halloween activities.  We went out to my sister's (Karyn and Jason) for a FHE night and carving pumpkins.  We got together with Jason's parent's, and sister, and Jilayne and Garret Jenks and their cute girls.  Romney and Rebekah just wandered around the shop while the rest of us carved the pumpkins.  We also had delicious snacks.

You can't see it very well but Paige's pumkin had lots of fun shapes for eyes and such.  Romney's was a scared ghost.  Mine said BOO.  Jacob's pumpkin was a chicken.

We went to a fun trunk or treat ward party.  There was a chili and cornbread cook off.  Then the kids got to play a ton of carnival type games like a cupcake walk, balloon race,  face painting, ring toss, etc.  The big hit of the night was the haunted house.  After all that we went outside for the trunk or treat; or is it trick or trunk?  I wish I would have taken a picture of our trunk.  The spider webs were awesome.  Anyhow the kids were loaded with candy after quickly stopping by all the cars.  A few days later they would have even more!

My mom offered to watch the kids the Friday night before Halloween if we wanted to do anything.  It worked out great because we could actually go to the Ransom's super fun Halloween party.  Joe doesn't really like dressing up so in a few hours notice I had to come up with a costume that wouldn't embarass Joe.  So, here's what I came up with.  We went as a pair of old blue jeans.  We had nametags  with Jean & Gene and dress all in blue.  And I guess you could add that we are old.  And if we are your favorite people we could be a "favorite pair of old blue jeans".   : )  Strangely enough we won the costume contest.  Maybe it was for the lamest costume.  We had fun playing games, munching, and visiting our old Richland friends.

Rebekah was not a very happy witch.

Here's Jacob as a bum begging for candy.

This is the first year Paige has agreed to be a witch.  She likes to be beautiful things instead.  Since Rebekah was going to be a with it was okay.

 Paige didn't want to clean with us.  So, we told her no Halloween.  Finally right before we left she cleaned really fast.  We told her she still couldn't go.  She acted like she didn't care until she was sitting in the car crying while everyone else went up to the doors.  We didn't tell her it would only be the first 10 or so house we weren't going to let her go to.

Out trick or treating.  Look at the creepy window decor in that house.  Rebekah is actually wearing her hat in this one.  Romney my little pirate.  We put patches on Jacob's knees, elbow and bum. Then we cut open the toe of his old boots and he cut holes in his socks and had his toes hanging out.

Here's the Halloween wreath I made for our door.  I loved it!

Rebekah checking out some candy.  I just love her chubby cheeks.

It was a fun holiday.

Rub-a-dub-dub

Two kids in the tub.

And aren't they just cute as can be!

My kids love bathtime!  They think it is just the greatest.  I kept finding Romney and Rebekah sitting in my tub.  So, I thought I would actually put some water in it for them and let them play.  They had a ball splashing and playing.  They didn't seem to like the jets being turned on though.  Romney had to keep getting out and running naked to the play room to get more cars to put in the tub.  Silly kiddos.

At last!

So, Joe finally got a calling in church. I am on my second one in this ward. So, I was pretty glad when the Elder's Quorum Presidency showed up on our doorstep this last week. They asked him to be the E.Q. secretary. Joe says he apparently didn't get it right the last time. I think he was so great at it that the Lord knew he would be a great person for that calling in this ward. But we did chuckle when they said they would like him to be the secretary. It's funny how you get those repeat callings sometimes. I sometimes think we move too soon so we have to finish up our time in that same calling in a different ward.

I was called to be a Primary teacher a few months ago. I taught the CTR5 class. They are very active. There was just one boy and 7 girls. I was a team teacher. Apparently the class needed two teachers to keep it under control. One crazy Sunday our busy boy managed to injure three of the girls. The first time we were coloring. He started coloring on the wall so I had him sit down. He couldn't sit still and somehow his chair fell over on one girl's head. These are those heavy, folding, metal chairs. Ouch! She was crying and sitting on my lap while I was trying to teach. The other teacher took her while I continued the lesson. We sat on the ground in a circle for a little story. Busy boy decided he liked rolling onto his back instead of sitting and he managed to kick a girl in the head. She wasn't hurt too bad just kind of mad at him. Next we were passing a bean bag around as we shared ways we could show our love for Jesus. Well, instead of passing the bean bag, Busy Boy, decided to throw it as hard as he could. It hit another girl in the eye. The other teacher now had two crying girls on her lap. No one wanted to sit by the boy. They kept saying he was naughty and they didn't like him. I just kept telling them (and myself) he is just a busy boy and he has a hard time sitting still but, they could be good examples for him by being really reverent. :) Most of them have started kindergarten now and I think the routine of it and learning to sit and listen is having an effect on them in Primary too. The last two weeks I was their teacher the were wonderful. It was great to end that calling on a good note.

So, for the last two Sundays I have gotten to sit in front of the Primary as the 2nd counselor. I actually enjoy it. Time goes by so fast! We're always running around finding subs, getting supplies for teachers (sometimes the library isn't open), or helping in some other way. I oversee Cub Scouts, Nursery (we have 3), and the four annual primary activities. The Presidency is great to work with and I look forward to getting to know them better.

New Update

I made a post about Rebekah's birthday on the 15th. I noticed no one had left any comments. Ya, I'm needy. I like comments. Anyhow, I also noticed on other people's blogs that on our link it didn't show the Rebekah is One post. I don't know why? So I am writing this to see if this shows up on your link. So let me know if you see this and if the birthday post shows up too. THANKS!

Rebekah is ONE!

I'm a little behind but Rebekah had her first birthday on September 15th. I did a ladybug theme. I put up red crepe paper and white balloons with little lady bug stickers on them.

As you can see from the pictures I made a lady bug cake as well. I think it turned out pretty adorable. (Okay so maybe I am a little too proud of my handy work posting a video and two pictures of it. Sorry.) It took almost half a bottle of the red paste food coloring to get it as red as I wanted. I made sure I got the unflavored kind so it didn't have that nasty bitter flavor.

Rebekah didn't fully get the unwrapping presents but had some help. She did however like the tissue paper and ribbon. After that was thrown away she liked the presents, too.

Rebekah is so sweet. She started walking really good just before her birthday. Now she nearly runs. She is such a doll with her blonde curly hair. She is getting more interactive and likes to play with and chase Romney. We love our little Rebekah!

Summer is Over

Summer is over for us. I survived! I survived kids whining that they were bored or hot. I survived the fighting that comes with boredom and being hot. Now the kids are back in school. Yay for me! Actually the kids were pretty excited too. They were also nervous since they are going to a new school. Hopefully they'll come home and say how great it was and that they already have a new friend in their class. I can be positive and hopeful some of the time!

Here they are in front of the school mascot. Paige did not want her picture taken! She was feeling apprehensive.

We stopped to play at a park after dropping the kids off at school. Romney just can't pass by a park with out playing.

Now for a little back tracking...

For the 4th of July we attended the parade in Basin City again. Small town parades are the best. They still throw candy which the kids love! We also got ice cream bars from the Dairy. It was a hot day and it felt very refreshing to have to the fire department go by spraying water. Paige loved the horses!

My sister, Nancy, and her family joined us and we met up with my other sister, Karyn and her husband, Jason. After the parade we headed to Moses Lake for good food and lots of fun.

In July, Joe and I were in charge planning the family reunion for Joe's parents and siblings. We were really excited about it and had fun planning out activities to keep the easily bored children busy. I was so busy setting stuff up and getting ready for the next activity that I kept forgetting to get out my camera. Then when I finally did I discovered after taking just two pictures that both of my batteries were dead. But, my wonderful sister-in-law, Heather, sent me a bunch of great pictures that she took. Thank you!! We played some kid-friendly baseball. Even I took a whack at it once. Actually I did hit it (I wanted to use the T-ball but they wouldn't let me). The little kids were so cute playing.

Jacob up to bat.

We went on a nature hike to hunt for things we could make into intruments.

Here's Joe helping to create something.

Here they are with their intruments going on a little parade.

Joe arranged to have Smokey the Bear come visit. They kids thought it was great!

Some of the grandkids waiting to go on a hike.

A little fishing pond. This picture must have been from the beginning because it didn't take long for the water to be quite muddy. Some of the kids didn't want to stop.

Everyone loved adorable baby Clara

After camping in the mountains for four nights we headed back to Oakley. There were a couple extended family reunions with a bunch of people I didn't really know. I also discovered that Joe is pretty much related to nearly everyone in Oakley. :) We watched the 24th of July parade and then a fireworks show that night. It was very fun and the kids had a blast.

Sometime (I lost track of time this summer) after returning from Idaho we headed over the Vancouver, Washington to spend a day at the beach. It started out a little overcast but turned out to be beautiful and sunny. It was really the perfect temperature. The kids just ran and played all day long. That evening we built a fire on the beach and roasted hot dogs and made smores. We pulled some big driftwood around an area that looked like an old fire pit so we would have something to sit on. One of the logs was charred in places so the girls put their towels over it and sat down. Suddenly my sister, Nancy, noticed smoke coming up behind her daughter. She went over to take a look. Her daughter stood up and they picked up her towel. There were pretty decent sized holes burned right through it!

Rebekah loved the ocean. She would walk right into the waves.

Nancy, looking so chic in her hat, and Tommy.

Romney just squealed with delight at all the waves.

Time to dry off and warm up a little.

I think they were trying to build sand castles and be mermaids.

I thought this looked liked Jacob dragging a pet around. It certainly kept him occupied for awhile. Such interesting things in the ocean. Oh yeah, another thing which we didn't catch on film was a big fish that just jumped out of a wave and onto shore next to Jacob, Joe and Adam. I don't know...it could just be a fish tale.