The ropes

Ropes course at Snowbird: $36/person
Cost of gas to drive to Snowbird: $3.50/gallon
Food at Snowbird: $10/hamburger x 5 people
Cost of food after Snowbird because you are determined to stay there all day getting your monies worth: $40
Look on your child's face after the ropes course: Priceless
(at least that's what I keep telling myself.)

Did you just......

....say that to me???

Me: (in a not so nice voice) Mr T, don't do that again. I am losing patience with you!!!

Mr T: (in a snide voice) Then why don't you pray!!!

Moral of the story: Don't say phrases to your children that you are not prepared to hear back.

Really???

Is that really a dead, flat as a pancake hornytoad hanging out of your mouth??
Yeah, pretty much.
The best part, the white shirt and tie.

emotions

It's amazing what a good camera can capture.
Too bad I don't have one.
Thank goodness my sister-in-law does!

Loved or hated??

Should I be concerned??
We looked out the window Friday night to find this .
We are either well loved or fiercely hated!!!

The Joy of summer

Does life get any better than this?

How do you eat???

Mr T had a loose tooth, can you tell??
I'm not sure how he ate with his tooth all sorts of crooked but he did.
It's amazing what we can do when we want to.

Family Traditions

The newest family quote, "Oh, this is a new family tradition". How can a good parent deny the opportunity to create a new family tradition, right??? I guess I can't, so here we are shoving our faces with the biggest blob of sugar you have ever seen.
Oh how I love new family traditions!!!

Geee

We hiked it, you should try it!

Have you ever???

Have you ever had a piece of paper you really wanted to keep?

Have you ever put that piece of paper in a special place so no one would disturb it?

Have you ever come into your room and found your special piece of paper in a pile like this???

I have!!!

Mr C mentioned this "cool tool" that opens your envelopes. My mistake, I didn't bother to mention to him NOT to cut everything he managed to put his hands on. I guess he will have the opportunity to use this "cool tool" that tapes it all back together again!!

Goblin Valley

We headed to Goblin Valley for the long weekend.
I consider the weekend a success if when you make it back,
you have half a sand pit in your bathtub.
I could not believe the boulders coming out of Mr T's hair.

Here is our fancy sleeping arrangements.
I love not worrying about dirty, dusty children coming inside.

Here is the other half of the sand pit.
If Mr T wasn't on a 4 wheeler, he was laying somewhere in the dirt!!

We managed a 65 mile ATV ride. I had never done such a long ride before.
Mr C rode his 80 motorcycle the entire way.
I thought I was going to die a couple of times but I'm still here!!

We did a nine mile hike through Wild Horse Slot Canyon.
It's a little like "the Narrows" in Zion's Canyon minus the water.
The kids loved jumping from rock to rock.
Of course, we hiked through the Goblins and
jumped a lot more rocks!!

It was a great weekend.
It started out very windy and dusty but it only improved.
The only thing that could make Goblin Valley better is a lake nearby!!

Soccer

This year we spent a lot of time on the soccer fields between playing and refereeing games. This last Saturday was our last day for the season and it was nice!! I had to laugh when my parents came to visit us at the end of one of the soccer games. Mr. C was kicking the ball around and they couldn't help but join in. It was pretty great considering I don't think I had ever seen either one of them kick a soccer ball in my LIFE!!!

Mr C was a good fan but I think he was glad it was the end of the season!!

I will say, today he cashed in all of his referee time cards and I don't think he was one bit sad that he had dedicated so much time on the field. I kept thinking I should pick up some games for the extra cash!! I never would have imagined making that much money at his age. I could start telling you about how when I was a kid I made $5 for 2 1/2 hours of babysitting but I won't bore you with my childhood stories!!

Crafty

I made this little black flower hair clip. It turned out so cute!! The picture doesn't give it justice.

What would you do???

Back when I was younger, my brothers and I loved reading comic books. It was literally about the only thing I "liked" reading. My parents have a stash of over a hundred Jughead/Archie and Richie Rich comic books. Somehow we ended up with one, this comic book has been read so many times I have lost count. All I know is I put it away like every other day. You would think after so many readings they would have it memorized and
see no need to read it.

My problem, my Mom told the kids to be really careful with it. Well, the first twenty readings, we were really careful. As you can see from the picture, it is beyond repair. I have to admit there is a nice aspect to the comic book being in several pieces. The other day one child was reading one piece and the other child was in a completely different room reading the other piece, no more fighting over the comic book!!

My dilemma, should I toss the comic book while everyone is away at school
or give it back to my parents????

Tasty

Have I ever mentioned one of my favorite snacks???

It is so simple and tasty.
Ingredients:
1-Crackers
2-Grapes
3-Laughing cow "light" Swiss cheese

Layer last two ingredients on cracker and there you have it.
You can't go wrong!!!
Go ahead, try it, you'll like it!!
On a side note, I went to the funeral of one of our Home Teachers today. I have to confess, as hard as funerals are, I sure do love how I'm always inspired in the end.
Isn't it amazing all the things people accomplish in their lives?? I find myself re-evaluating who I am and who my children think I am.
I sure hope the two of us are on the same page!!
Do my children know what is most important to me?
What will my children say I accomplished in my short life?
I sure hope it's not how clean I kept my house, but rather,
how much I loved being with my family and helping others.
It was a good reminder to stop worrying about the unimportant stuff
and do something good!
Thanks Brother Brown for one more lesson learned.

Mothers Day

Another year, another Mothers Day and I have to say, I sure enjoyed it. It finally came to me that Mothers Day wasn't all about "ME". Every other year I have been so centered on what everyone was doing for me, that I forgot the real meaning of Mothers Day. If it wasn't for my three wonderful children then I would not be celebrating this glorious day.

There was breakfast in bed but it was all of us enjoying it together!!!
I have to say it was a lot more fun to have someone joining me.
This year, I had a breakfast made straight from the heart.
Waffles covered in chocolate truffles and whipping cream,
chocolate milk made out of powdered milk
(I didn't make it to the grocery store the night before)
and blueberries with whipping cream.It was quite the breakfast!
That evening I had my mom, grandma, brother, sister-in-law and nieces and nephews over for a great dinner. It could not have been a better ending, except to have my dad and other brother's family as part of the mix!!
I have to add here that I love and adore my amazing Mother!!
I could not ask for a better example of "mother" in my life.
The other day I was complaining about something unimportant, she gave me the best advice.
It truly sums up who she is.
"Heidi, I make a choice to look for the good and let the rest go."
WOW!! I think I'm done complaining.
I hope you enjoyed your families and had the best day ever!

Fun Run

Saturday, we did a mile fun run. I didn't realize what a great experience it would be to have the kids train for something and then go out and accomplish it. From start to finish, I loved the experience, even when I heard complaints.

I look back at my own childhood, my parents would make us go running and hiking. One summer my mom even bought a book with "military workouts" in it. We would wake up bright and early and do all sorts of crazy exercises. At the time, I thought it was ridiculous, annoying, useless. I'm sure I voiced my pre-teen opinion on the matter, more than once. Nonetheless, my parents instilled in us the love of being active. Now, I love being outdoors and running is a major stress reliever for me.

I think the best part was to see the kids' sense of accomplishment after every run. Without fail, one of the nameless children would be disgruntled e.v.e.r.y single run. By the time we finished, it didn't matter anymore because the runner's high had taken over!! There are a lot of people who don't "love" to run but I don't care who you are, you "love" the runner's high after you're done!!

The last week of "training" Mr C was focused on his pace and winning his age category!! It was great. The only downer, the race sponsors didn't have winners for the fun run, disappointing.
There is nothing better for your self-esteem than to work hard for something and then accomplish it. I think all three children are ready for the next race!!

Mr T was the only one I caught crossing the finish line. The other two sprinted off
and left me in the dust!!!

I finally caught up to the sprinters.

Here we are, sweat and all!!

El Cinco de Mayo

Today was a a wonderful day. I wandered around the house speaking my terrible, broken-up spanish. The best part about my spanish is no one else understands so they think I'm so amazing!! We ate tostadas for dinner, stuffed a pinata, jumped on the tramp with it and drank licuados. What more could you ask for???
I hope your day was just as wonderful.

Grandma

I take great delight in laughing at my Grandma anytime she says or does something absolutely goofy, which is more often than not. Some days I even think to myself, "I will never do that". But when it all comes down to it, I don't think I will have much control over that thing called Old Age.
My only hope is that my children will see how much we go visit Grandma and they will do the same for me.

Today, we rode our bikes for a quick visit. I tell you, there is nothing more wonderful than to hear a 93 year old woman giggling like a 5 year old just out of sheer delight in seeing her great grandchildren.

I laugh every time because she has the exact same conversation, every s.i.n.g.l.e time. It goes something like this,

Grandma: Now, who are you? What's your name?

Child: states name, age.

Grandma:(laughing) You are taller than me, I will have to put a brick on your head to keep you from growing. (moves on to next child, repeat conversation )

I'm sure my children think she doesn't care because she literally can't remember their name from the beginning of our visit to the end. But every time I hear that giggle, I know the trek to Grandma's house was all worth it.

I'm happy, my mustache said so

Who couldn't be happy with a mustache like that?? Mr T came home from school with a black marker and a little tiny mustache. I didn't say too much figuring he had lost focus for just a few moments in class and painted on a mustache. As a side note, it probably didn't help that his older brother had done the exact same thing the previous day. I can be certain if the older brother does it, the younger one is going to follow very soon after.

Anyway, back to the story. I should have gotten a clue when I noticed the black marker came home with him. Soon after his arrival home, he headed to the bathroom for a few minutes to come out with his "happy" mustache, as he called it.

The picture doesn't give his artwork justice. Unfortunately, I didn't take the picture until after he had been outside sweating and the marker was smeared all over his upper lip. It really was a happy mustache. Every time I would look at him he was "happy", it really was quite pleasant!!!

I've decided from now on, anytime I'm in a bad mood I'll paint one of those on and all my troubles will have no choice but to leave. At least that's what Mr T said.

How do you know......

when you are officially old????!!!!

It's not when you turn 36, nope.
It's not when you no longer have a desire to take your clothes off, nope.
It's not when you no longer want to run around in your underpants, nope.
It's not when you no longer have a desire to jump into an outdoor spring, nope.
It's when you do all of the above and the outside temperature is
55 DEGREES!!!

Yeah, I'm old!!!
BUT, my children are NOT!!

For spring break, we went to Nevada. We decided to go catch polywogs and minnows. We started out with our feet in, 5 mins. later our pants were off, 5 mins. later we were in our underpants, completely submerged, swimming around. Forget that we didn't bring a towel to wrap up in afterwards. All that mattered was we had a good time for 2 hours. The entire time I sat there wondering how on earth they could stand it. Oh well, one of these days I might have to jump in myself just to prove I'm not as old as you think!
Don't worry, I will warn you if I'm only in my underpants.

Meatloaf cupcakes

My amazing neighbor made an April Fools Day meal for our family. She had meatloaf/potato cupcakes, rice krispie "meatloaf" and vanilla ice cream w/caramel"mashed potatoes". The kids really thought the cupcakes were going to be sweet and the "meatloaf" meaty!!

I'm grateful for good neighbors who help me not look so lame! One of these years I might get my act together and actually do something fun like that, but I'm not holding my breath.

Not so skinny

I bought some skinny jeans yesterday. I never thought I would buy the tapered leg, it was so old school. I found some for $15. How can I pass up a deal like that, right??? After trying them on, I actually liked them, until tonight after my uplifting, "skinny" conversation w/my 11 y.o.

Mr C: You know your pants, they look like high waters.

Me: I know, that's the way it's supposed to look.

Mr C: Maybe you should wear some socks or something.

Me: I would look like a dork. (smiling)

Mr C: I hate to tell you this........don't take it like an insult...those pants make your bum look really big.

Me: (silence)

Note to self: the "skinny" part is just a marketing tool!!

I found out later that Mr C happened to mention to his Dad, earlier today, that I didn't look so "skinny" in my new skinny jeans. I guess, in Mr C and Miss P's words, Dad didn't think that was funny.All picture taking credit goes to Mr C!!

Note: He did not take any of the back end, he's protecting the family name.

I forgot,

Happy Easter!!It's always a push to find the last egg.
Trust me, it's right under your noses(or above it).

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

Birthday time, again!

We pretty much ate cake and ice cream the whole month of March.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good piece of cake.

Ted turned 38!! The worst part about that, I'm right behind him!!

Mr C is officially too old to be my son.
I can't possibly have an 11 y.o., I'm too young!

Mr T is still the baby, no matter how old he gets!

Just a little happy

Mr C earned his Arrow of Light and we are just a little happy about that!!
You would never guess by my BIG toothy smile. :)
He has worked hard over the last year and deserves every inch of it.
Good Job Mr C!

Where does the time go...

Life hasn't been any busier than usual but it seems to be going faster and faster the older I get. Why is that??? Now that I want to stay younger, my life is racing past me. When I was younger I couldn't wait to be old but time moved slower than honey in January. I guess we are never happy with what we have when we have it.

We have enjoyed the last few weeks of winter with ski lessons for all three little people. If you haven't heard of the StartNow Program with Park City Ski Resort then I recommend you take a look and be prepared for next year. You can't beat the price of $25 for lesson, rental and a lift ticket for the day, up to 5 times. Trust me, I looked!! I think next year I will sign up for ski lessons myself. I currently snowboard but would love to try the skiing thing. So if any of you are interested in joining me next year, let me know and we can party on the slopes.

Don't ask

Conversation in the car:

Mr. T: YUM!!!

(pause) Ted: What's yum Mr. T?

Mr. T: Well, I just burped and it tasted like the sausage burrito I had for breakfast.

Everyone in the car: Eeeeeewwwwww!!! SICK!!!!

Mr. T: Hey, Dad asked me so I told him.

Moral of the story- Just don't ask!!!!

A little whoopin'

Today Miss P made a picture dinner menu. I was worried about the "desert" special until I realized it wasn't your regular old whipping cream loaded with calories.
No, maybe this whooping cream was the low-fat, kick-me-in-the-bootie version.
A little whoopin' after dinner never hurt anyone!!

How do you know??

Well, let me tell you how you know it's Valentines day right around the corner.

The table is full of cards and candy.
The floor is littered with empty candy wrappers.
Your children are no longer interested in eating lunch.
Your child smiles at you and his/her tongue is blue.
Last of all,
There are random rows of suckers and pixy sticks everywhere you turn.

Yes, that is how you know!!
Happy Valentines Day!!