Zak and the Baby

Zak had a fun time today helping with baby Hazel. My neighbor needed an emergency babysitter and so we had her for the day. She slept for 5 hours, and was happy when she wasn't asleep. If this is what daycare was really like, I'd do it. She was so easy. I think that Zak liked being the "big brother" for a while. This is kind of a goofy picture, but he was so excited to feed her when she woke up. He was very gentle too, and he was quiet...the best part (lately he only has one volume, and it is really loud). Thanks for letting us watch her B&K. (No...I'm not baby hungry, I got to send her home at the end of the day!)

Discovery Gateway fieldtrip

On Thursday we went with Zak's preschool to the Discovery Gateway. He had so much fun. One of his favorite activities was the KSL 5 news studio green screen. He loved standing in front of it, as well as setting the picture up for someone else. but I think that his favorite activity was the crane. He and Sam took turns lifting the blocks in the crane and building the buildings to match the ones on the wall. Thanks Teacher Julie & Teacher Liz!

America

Wow, I don't know if any of you saw Oprah yesterday. There was an amazing song, America, that Bono, Faith Hill, Seal, MaryJ Blige, and some others sang that was AMAZING. You can download the mp3 until this afternoon for free.....I would put it in my blog, but I don't know how...I am so challenged!

No time to blog

I am such a dork. I have spent the long weekend completely gutting, deep cleaning, and putting my kids bedrooms back together, and I didn't take any before or after pictures. I can't believe how much junk we have. After cleaning the boys room, I sent 4 garbage bags of stuff to D.I., 2 bags of trash, and I also have one bag of stuff to send to Marsha for her boys (not too much, she is sick of our junk too). By the time that I got the boys room put back together, I still had my living room full of stuff, and a big pile in my bedroom. It is no wonder they couldn't keep their room clean. Since then, I have actually given them permission to "make a big mess" with their blocks, because it would be easy to clean up. I also got out the Lite-Brite and let Les take it in his room. Something I would have never done before - in fact, they haven't been allowed to play with it for the last year, because there was no where clean enough to get out all of those little pegs. An now for my favorite part.....They cleaned it all up when they were done! I didn't even have to ask or remind them to!!! We'll have to get out the trains next!

Yesterday, we did the same thing to Amber's room. We got 2 D.I. bags, 3 trash bags, and 1 bag of clothes to pass down to Heather. What a relief it is to have a little corner of my life back in order. We are getting a new mattress today, and so I plan to do the same to my bedroom. If all goes as planned, I can get all of my spring cleaning done before spring comes, and then I can be outside in the sunshine once it is warm enough!

Now for the next item of business....I have got to convince my kids that it is OK to make their beds...it bugs me so bad that their rooms don't look clean, because their beds are a heaping mess. Oh well, I guess baby steps to achieve greatness!

Brian's Birthday

I just wanted to wish Brian a happy 35th birthday.

I Love You!

New Year's Eve

This year for New Year's Eve, I though we would have a nice quiet ball drop when our friends Bill & Lisi invited us to their new home. Boy was I wrong 6 of the 7 kids stayed up until midnight with us. The girls spent an hour singing High School Musical karaoke, and they all played video games for hours. We really had a lot of fun...right up until about 12:10.
Zak had just finished his sparkling cider, and his carrot, and cookie, and cracker, and... (you can imagine). He and Sam got jumping around and wrestling. Apparently a little tummy can't handle that much food, and carbonation along with jumping. You guessed it,... up it ALL came.

There is nothing quite like your kid throwing up all over someone else's house (okay, Heidi, maybe Ry did better). I felt terrible. I hope they'll invite us back. I guess that is why 4 year old don't get to stay up till midnight.

Christmas with the cousins

Saturday, after the sleepover at Grandpa & Grandma's house all of the cousins came for my family's traditional Christmas breakfast...Homemade waffles with blueberry (or maple) syrup all topped off with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream melting on top (this is my favorite breakfast in the whole world. I make waffles so often, that Amber gets sick of them). It never even crossed my mind to take a picture of them, I was too busy eating. Yummy!

It is pretty chaotic in my parent's house when everyone is there, so I only had my camera out for a few minutes, but here is a few good pics.

This is Greg's oldest son Mark. He didn't want me to take a picture, but I caught one anyway.

Zak & Seth (Scott's 5th child)

This is just a picture of the little boys and grandpa being silly.

Marsha & Ty (Greg's wife and son)

Once again we were spoiled at Grandpa and Grandma's house. Thank you.

Aunt Lisa had our family this year, the kids all love the Webkinz and the travel games that she got for them. On Sunday, we put together the K'nex rollercoaster and ferris wheel that she gave them. They took about 4 hours to build, but they were worth it.

Thanks for everything Aunt Lisa, we loved it!

Christmas

Now that my poor computer has made it through the virus, I decided that I should blog Christmas for Grammy and Gramps. We know that it was hard for them to be away from the grand kids at Christmas.

Christmas Eve tradition at our house always includes pajamas. This year I couldn't find enough time to make all of the kids pajamas, but I did get Amber's made. I love the way hers turned out. It is a very different pattern than I have used before. She is learning how to sew, so I got enough fabric that she can make some capris for summer time to match. My kids needed pajamas so bad, that Amber actually also got 2 sets of Hannah Montana pajamas, Les got Transformers and (hmm.. the other character slips my mind), and Zak got 2 sets of Dinosaur PJ's. I still owe the boys some that I make.

My mom also made them each a set of Pajamas that match all of the cousins. Amber and her cousin Heather are the only girls on my side of the family, so she made theirs matching, as well as matching ones for their American Girl dolls.

One of the first things that Zak had to check, was that Santa got his snacks. This year the kids decided that Santa and the reindeer needed something healthy along with their treats. So Santa got an orange and a cookie with his milk, and the reindeer each got a baby carrot. But we found those half chewed on the snow on the front lawn.

this is the Christmas morning mess at our house. We were truly spoiled. I thought that I kept it small and simple this year, but it always amazes me how much it turns out to be.
One of our favorite gifts this year was from Grammy and Gramps (who are currently serving a mission in Florida). They sent us a puzzle with a picture of a cruise ship, and told us that when they finish their mission, they would like us all to come to Florida and join them on a cruise. We are so excited. We can't wait. (With the weather right now, I would be happy to leave today!)

Another favorite was a fort set. Zak already had one, and loves it. This one is much larger than his last one, and has pieces that turn it into several carnival games as well as the fort. The best part is that both sets will work together to make an awesome fort.

Apparently after our 10 day camping trip last summer, Santa decided that we needed warmer sleeping bags than the little sleepover bags that the kids had. Brian already has a nice one, so me and the kids got these, and Brian got a fleece liner for his to make it even warmer. The kids all tried theirs out on Grandpa & Grandma's floor on Friday night.

I forgot to get pictures of each of the kids with their new stash of things, but here is a brief list of the favorites. Amber: Sewing machine & Heeleys Les: Skateboard & Heeleys Zak: Fort & pots and pans (he loves to cook).

My computer is back

Well, my computer is alive again, that was a pretty brutal virus. Our awesome neighbor spent a ton of time just trying to recover my pictures from the hard drive before he nuked it. Last time we talked to him, he said there was one more thing he could try, but he didn't expect much because nothing else that they usually use worked. I was devastated as you can imagine. I am so lazy, all of my pictures since 2005 were on my hard drive, and I haven't backed them up anywhere else. The last thing he tried worked, and he saved everything. Now my computer is back up and running, but it doesn't have any of my programs on it so it is totally useless. (this is not the fault of my awesome neighbor who saved everything for me.) Even the programs that run all of my files he saved are not on, so I can't use what I have. UUGGHHHHH.

Just a warning, watch out for a window that continuously pops up that looks like the Windows security warning window. It is a virus and is BAD news. It looks really good, but it is the first sign that you have the virus.

Frustrated

I am so frustrated. My computer has a terrible virus, and I can't do anything on it. We are working on cleaning it up, but it won't let us go to any websites that have anti-virus software or open anything on the CD drive that has antivirus software. Not even in safe mode. So we are going to have to reformat our hard drive, and start over. So there will be no fun pictures of Christmas, or New Years. I think I would rather have the virus than my computer.....goodbye until it's fixed...

Utah State Flag

Apparently back in October, when Amber's 4th grade class was studying government, Amber asked why the school only has a US flag, and not a Utah one also. She asked if she could write a letter to Roy's representative to see if he could get them one. Well, she proceeded to write the following letter to him...

Dear Rep. Greenwood,

Mrs. Becraft's fourth grade class, and especially me would like to get our school a state flag and I was wondering if you could get us one. We would appreciate it.

Sincerely,

Amber Simmons

When I read the letter, I thought that was all there was to it. I thought that Mrs. Becraft asked all of the kids to write a letter. I was wrong. Today, Representative Greenwood came to the school to present a flag to Amber to give to the school.

He talked to them about what the different things on the state flag represent.

With the flag, she got a certificate of authenticity, that included the flag's serial number. It also stated that the flag was flown over the State Capitol Building on Dec 5th, 2008, and it was signed by Gov. Huntsman, and Lieutenant Gov., Gary Herbert. (Hmm, can't get that one the right way, and I don't have time to fight with it) She gets to keep the certificate.
And then he gave Amber the flag. They had planned to go put it out on the flagpole to fly it today, but they weren't able to get the clips to do that yet.

This is Amber with her Teacher, Mrs. Becraft, and Representative Greenwood.

Pretty cool Amber, what a good idea to ask our local representative for a flag!

Solo

I completely forgot about blogging about Amber's solo in church on Sunday. I guess that is because there are no pictures, video, recordings etc., of it;. Our ward primary does a Sacrament meeting program at Christmas every year, and Amber was asked to do a solo singing "Who Is the Child." She did an amazing job, I wish I had a recording of it. I was so proud of her!

Christmas Tag

I've been tagged by Heidi...

Christmas Tag!

Wrapping paper or gift bags? Some of both, it is too easy to peak in gift bags.
Real tree or artificial? Artificial.
When do you put up your tree? The 1st weekend in December, if the kids rooms are clean (am I mean?)
When do you take your tree down? At least by New Years Eve, my house is too small to have extra clutter after the gifts are opened.
Do you like eggnog? Yes, but only the Cream O Weber one that is red with a cow dressed like Santa on it!
Favorite gift as a child? ??
Do you have a nativity scene? Yup, 4 of them.
Hardest person to buy for? My Dad.
Easiest person to buy for? Zak
Mail or e-mail Christmas cards? I never do Christmas cards, but I have them already to mail out this year!
Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Luggage my senior year of High school...I wanted a nice stereo, but my little sister got that, I had to stick with the clock radio (love the parents when they are getting you ready to move on!)
Favorite Christmas movie? Polar Express
Have you ever recycled a gift? Yes, but not a Christmas gift, ...I don't think.
Favorite thing to eat at Christmas time? Orange flavored fondant dipped in chocolate.
Clear or colored lights on the tree? I wrap the center with colored lights, and do the branches with white.
Clear or colored lights on the house? I only got my husband to put up lights once, but they were definitely white.
Favorite Christmas song? It Could Happen Again - Collin Raye
Travel @ Christmas time or stay home? Stay Home
Can you name all Santa's reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph- I'm such a nerd.
Open presents on Christmas eve or Christmas day? Christmas day.
Most annoying thing about this time of year? Wound up kids.
Favorite ornament theme or color? You should see my tree, a little of EVERYTHING.
What do you want for Christmas this year? A remote for my camera, and kids that are nice to each other, not fighting.
What is your favorite Christmas memory? ???

I tag...hmmm, so few people read my blog that have blogs of their own.....Deena, & Amy J!

Merry Christmas!

Get Gephardt

I think I would rather not see myself on TV again, but for all of your viewing pleasure, here it is.

Our trip to Temple Square

Well tonight we decided to make our annual pilgrimage to Temple Square to see the Christmas lights. We didn't even make it to the Antelope Drive exit in Layton before the fun began. We were driving down the second lane of traffic (right at 5:00 rush hour) minding our own business, when the guy next to us decided to change lanes at 70 miles an hour. He hit us right on my door, and then immediately, he moved back over into the lane he had come from, and hit the car that he was trying to pass the same way. He was really driving very wrecklessly if you ask me, he was already on the side of the other car before he even got all the way into our lane.


The accident dented and scratched both doors on the passenger side of Brian's CRV, as well as the rear panel.

It smashed the door handle right into the door. Funny thing is, it didn't tear it off. It is still there, just inoperable now.
And this is the car of the other innocent driver. She just had a baby 5 days ago, so fortunately, the baby wasn't with her.
This is the car that hit us. Both of his side mirrors were torn off and scratches and dents all the way down both sides of his car.
The other side of his car.

Fortunately, no one was hurt. After a few minutes, I started realizing that I must have hit my elbow pretty hard, and bumped my head on the window, but nothing that was serious. Amber was pretty shaken up, and really worried about everyone, but after about 20 minutes, she settled down and realized everything and everyone was going to be OK.

Eventually, we did make it to Temple Square 1 1/2 hours after we had planned, but all in one piece.

I love the luminaries, they are so pretty, and I love that they depict Christmas as it is observed all over the world.

Zak said that this was the Hershey's Kiss nativity, I loved it.

This is just the bubbly fountain with the lights in the background. Different.

And this is from the top of the Joseph Smith Building, there is some reflection from the window, but I kind of like the way that it looks.

We had a great time, and were very blessed to have made it to Salt Lake and back safely.

Dirty Dishes

OK, so I am the only parent on the face of the earth that makes their 9-year old help with dishes, I understand that, but I only do it because it is so entertaining. As I type this, Amber is in the kitchen whining, and slamming things around as much as she can get away with without me totally losing it. She asked the other day why she has to do the dishes when they are gross, and why I don't do them (now it was only breakfast and lunch dishes in the sink, and at our house that is never very much). So I questioned why I should have to do them when they are gross. Her response was hilarious...."because you're used to it"!!! I have been trying without success to get my kids to rinse off their dishes as they take them to the sink, and have had no success. I figure if she thinks it is so gross, eventually she will start doing it and encourage Les to do it too.

Please let me know that none of you encourage your kids to help around the house so that I can assure Amber that she is the only one who has to help out, and that I am the meanest mom alive. Thanks!

Bowling

Thursday, I went bowling with the 4th graders. It was lots of fun for some, and not so fun for others. This is Amber.
Many of the kids were frustrated with ball after ball of gutter balls. some improved and some didn't. Others were being coached and didn't appreciate it at all. Amber's teacher was kind enough to let me and Zak bowl, but she found a place to get in and take a few turns. Thanks.

This is a few of Amber's classmates. I think they had a great time!

Get Gephardt

Well today, the crew from channel 2 News Get Gephardt segment stopped by our house to do an interview. I have been getting some phone calls that are rather obnoxious that I e-mailed them about, and it turns out it is a scam to steal identities. Apparently, several people have contacted Bill Gephardt about this, and they are doing a story about it. Les was really hopefull that Mary Nickel would stop by, but I assured him that she wouldn't be here, and I didn't think that Gephardt would be either. I was right. It was just the camera girl, Shirsty, and the interviewer, Matt (I think).
They took a picture of us being 2 News reporters....I look awful, that is why I like to be behind the camera... I almost went to get Les from school to meet them, he loves the 2 News morning crew, but I decided not to. I'm glad I didn't. They were very nice people, but not the ones that Les knows from watching the news.

Stone Soup

Yesterday was soup day at Zak's preschool. Each child invited one adult to come with them. The whole day was based around the story of Stone Soup, and Thanksgiving.

They started out singing their welcome song, and then sang a Thanksgiving song:

Oh, I'm glad I'm not a turkey, a turkey, a turkey,

Oh, I'm glad I'm not a turkey on Thanksgiving Day.

They'll bake you and baste you, and then they will taste you,

Oh, I'm glad I'm not a turkey on Thanksgiving Day.

(Okay, why does this program double space sometimes, and you can't change it to single space?)

Then they did the Pledge of Allegiance.

And counted the days of the month to 24.

Thier Thanksgiving poem said:
A turkey is a funny bird
It's head goes wobble, wobble.
He only knows one single word
Gobble, Gobble, Gobble!

Then they acted out the story of Stone Soup. It was so cute, and they did such a good job.

Then they made turkeys, and the feathers said the things that they were thankful for. And then we had soup to eat and healthy snacks that the kids all brought to share. It was fun to see a little bit of the things that they do in pre-school.

Thanks for inviting me Zak.

Fondant Part 2

Well, Brian just finished turning the fondant, and we split it to make cherry chocolates, and oranges.

We roll the fondant into balls to prepare it for dipping

In a few days, we will dip them. The oranges are my favorite, but there is nothing like oranges dipped in milk chocolate. It is one of my favorite things about Christmas. I can't wait