Simmons Party of 7

Look What I'm Going to Try!!!

2011-12-28T13:20:00.000-05:00

I've crossed to the dark side of making my own crap...LOL Actually, I've always liked making my own crap but this time I"m trying something new. I've decided to try making my own fabric softener. It's very snowy outside today and I am out of fabric softener but have already deemed today a laundry day. Necessity causes innovation...right? Well, fortunately for me i don't have to invent anything, someone else did it for me. After extensive research (about 10 minutes) I've decided on a recipe and I just heard my washer finish so here I go! I'll let you know how it goes!!!!!

I Love My Boys

2011-12-23T09:50:00.000-05:00

This morning Tyler wanted to write a letter so I gave him some paper and he found his crayons and went to work. The letter is a big secret though. He won't tell me who it is for. He did, however, give me some clues.
1. She lives in this house.
2. He asked me how to spell Crystal.
3. he asked me how to spell Simmons.
4. He then asked me how to spell Mom.
5. She is a mom in this house.

I can't wait to find out who the letter is for! ;)

Gavin just came into the kitchen with his diaper off, holding up his shirt and said "pee mom." I just looked at him for a second before I realized what was going on and then I asked him "where is your diaper?" His reply? "I uhknow." LOL He's so funny. I asked him if he wanted to go on the potty, so we put him up there and he peed!!!!! YAY! I'm so proud of him. I think he'll be potty trained in no time.

P.S. I found the missing diaper, it had mysteriously planted itself on the floor next to the spot where Gavin was sitting before the diaper heist of 2011.

WOW!!!

2011-12-22T11:10:00.000-05:00

So Santa strikes again! I just happened to grab Tyler's bookbag out of the van when I got home from the store a little bit ago. Normally his backpack gets cleaned out before the next day of school because I look at what's inside when I pick him up. Monday I didn't look in his bag. I had put his papers in when I arrived at school to drop him off. I noticed as I was grabbing his bag a red envelope sticking out. I figured it was a card from one of his friends in class. I was wrong. As I closed up the van and walked toward the house I grabbed it out so I could give it to Tyler, but the front said Simmons Family. I opened the envelope and was completely surprised. The card is a picture of Snoopy giving a huge hug.

First of all, I LOVE Snoopy, and he was giving a huge hug on the card, which I really needed today. It was signed from Santa with a note that read this:

"Dear Simmons Family,
You are so loved and we wanted you to know how much. Here is a little something for mom and dad to 'take some time.' Tyler's tuition has also been paid through the end of January 2012.
All my love,
Santa"

Enclosed were some gift cards to Applebee's for Mike and I to go out to dinner on a date. I am not really sure why Santa thinks that we deserve to be blessed in such a huge way this year, but I am so grateful. Normally for Christmas I focus on the kids and Mike. I don't really care if I get a present or not, as long as the kids are happy and have the best Christmas memories ever. I am usually blessed by my family and I do receive gifts from my siblings, mom and in-laws, but I don't worry about Mike getting anything for me. This year, the blessings we have received are the best gifts I could ever had. Thank you so much. You'll never really know how much all of this means to me and my family.

PS I called Mike at work to tell him and he said "you have to stop calling me at work and making me cry" I think that's a thank you from him too!

I Still Believe in Santa

2011-12-19T20:54:00.001-05:00

Today was an incredibly joyous day. It started off this morning at Walmart when I was purchasing some socks for the kids for Christmas gifts. I realize that this is not the most exciting gift for kids, but this is a slim year with Mike out of work and the kids really need some socks. I was putting them up on the belt and one of Santa's elves grabbed them from me and paid for them. When I said "are you sure?" The elf said yes and Merry Christmas. I started to cry right there in the store. It seems like such a small thing, but when you are struggling and have 5 kids to buy socks for, it really adds up. What a huge blessing. That made my day. BUT it only got better from there.

When I arrived at preschool to pick up Tyler at 11:30 I noticed a woman standing at the end of the walk that led to the entryway. She was standing next to a large wrapped gift and I thought "that's such pretty wrapping paper" and kept walking in assuming the gift was for the teachers as it was the last day before Christmas vacation. When I got inside my friend Rachel said "someone is looking for you." She was looking right at me but I had no reason to think anyone would be looking for me. My sister was sitting in the van with Gavin, but I had spent all morning with her already, so I didn't think she needed me. There was no one else I could think of. I said "me?" Rachel responded with "yes, she is looking for Crystal." I asked who and Rachel said "that festive looking lady outside." As I turned around I could see the huge smile on the woman's face who I had just passed. She had on a Santa hat, was dressed in a festive shirt, and had on a red jacket. I walked back outside before picking up Tyler just in case she needed my help with something and as I got closer to her she said "Crystal?" I said yes I'm Crystal. She proceeded to say "This is for you from Santa, Merry Christmas." I just looked at her with shock on my face. I didn't really say too much. She handed me the huge present with the sparkly wrapping paper that I had noticed was pretty minutes earlier. I could only say "thank you" and take it from her. I said Merry Christmas as she showed me the card was signed by Santa. I put the gift in my van and started to cry, again, as I explained to my sister what had just happened. I turned around to go back into the school to get Tyler and as I did she was just leaving. She was driving the cutest little red car, it was obviously an elf car. She was the best elf I had ever seen.

I went inside to pick up Tyler, completely in shock about what had just happened and I could barely tell my friends. I felt such love in that moment, you would not believe. Santa really does exist! He has elves that come to us when we need them the most. I was in aw. I ended up crying the whole way home, happy tears. Tyler asked me why I was crying and i told him I was crying because I was happy. It was so fun telling Tyler that one of Santa's elves came to visit ME. He thought about it for a second and said "did you tell her I said hi?" LOL It was so cute.

Later in the afternoon I received a text from Mike telling me that our furnace application had been approved and we would be getting a new furnace installed, for free. So tomorrow night we will have a new high efficiency furnace and will have heat in our home once again.

As I was typing this I actually had to pause so I could go to the front door as we had carolers that were singing to us and brought us some treats. I have been very blessed today by other's kindness and love to me and my family. Thank you!

PS. I waited to open the gift until tonight since Santa made a special effort to get it to me before Christmas I figured I should open it sooner than later. I also wanted to share this wonderful story with the kids. It is a 3 crock slow cooker. This crock pot is something that I have really wanted, especially with Christmas coming. I love having the people I love over to the house and feeding them and I thought this would be great for that! Santa was listening and brought me a gift, I still can't believe it!!!!

Advent Day 4 and 5

2011-12-06T15:43:00.001-05:00

This is the most I've blogged on here in a while, so I'm forgiving myself for not getting to it every day! LOL (it works in my head as an excuse)

December 4-Luke 2:7 Why did Mary lay baby Jesus in a manger?
We had a major meltdown about who was going to be the one to read the star. It ended up being Tyler even though I told Brooke she could. I don't know for sure what happened there, but it all worked out. We had a great discussion about how Jesus came to earth and was humble. It was good for the kids to hear that he wasn't rich, and he didn't have tons of stuff. As a new baby he was laid on pokie hay and in a place where the animals lived. As a mother I can't imagine having a new born baby in those circumstances.

December 5-Luke 2:8-11 To whom did the angel announce the Savior's birth?
Tyler read the sat and the scripture to us. Mike was reading it and Tyler was repeating what he said. Mike and I were cracking up. Tyler would lean in to Mike to hear what he had to say and then bounce straight up to announce it to the family. It was so cute. It was actually kind of perfect for the scriptures we were reading. We talked about how strange it must have been for people who had no warning or idea of what an angel might be. The kids thought they would be scared like the shepherds were, but then they would be happy when they heard the good news.

The female angel on the left side with the dark hair is Kelly Roper...one of the sister missionaries who taught me the gospel!

Advent-Days 1-3 (Cause I forgot to post about it sooner)

2011-12-03T23:30:00.000-05:00

A couple years ago in the 2003 Friend magazine from Church there was a super cute advent calendar that walks through the life of Jesus Christ and helps us to understand "What is Christmas?". If you click on the link there is a printable version of the calendar and the story/directions. Here are the stars.

For a couple years I had been planning to laminate it and cut out the stars and have it nice and pretty before we used it...Notice how I said "a couple years ago?" :) I always mean well, and then before you know it, it's years later. This year I made it a priority and I actually got it done and we have been doing it as a family for the last 3 days. WAIT, the last 2 days, we forgot on December 1st so we had to do 2 days the first night, but we remembered tonight! Like I said, I always mean well. My hope with doing this with the kids is that it will kick Mike and I in the butt and get us back on track with our personal scripture reading and the study of the Savior, and that the kids will be able to grow up really appreciating the whole purpose of Christmas and devote not only December 25th to thinking about it (after the gifts are opened) but at least the whole month. We shall see how it goes. Tyler helped me find the "perfect spot" on the wall to mount the calendar and I have the baggie of stars all cut out and laminated and just waiting to be read and enjoyed!!!!

December 2nd-Luke 1:26-33 Who told Mary that she would have a baby? The kids all knew that it was the Angel Gabriel! I was very impressed. I don't know if I remembered off the top of my head. Mike read the scripture to us and Tyler was the first one to pull the star and read the question out loud. We actually played 1-2-3 Reverent and when I get to the word reverent the kid who is the most reverent gets to go first.

December 2nd-(I know this date is listed twice, but remember, I forgot to do it the first day!) Matthew 1:18-21 Why did Mary and Joseph name the baby Jesus? It was funny because I asked Brooke this question after Seth was done reading the scripture and she was so busy being mad that she didn't get to pull the star that she didn't know the answer. Crazy girl. Seth gently reminded her and then she remembered. I had to promise her that if she was reverent she would get to go the next night.

December 3rd-Luke 2:3-4 Why did Mary and Joseph go to Bethlehem before Jesus was born? Brooke was reverent like I told her last night so she got to pick the star and announce the scripture. Mike read the scripture out loud and then the kids did a pretty good job answering. The cool part about tonight is that McKee had a bunch of friends over today and 2 of them were still here when we did this, so they got to be part of it and also part of our family prayers. I can only hope that they felt the Spirit as much as I did as we were talking about the First Christmas. I'm really looking forward to keeping up with this all month and seeing all of our progress.

Gavin's Debut on the Blog

2011-06-12T15:53:00.001-04:00

Gavin and I are hanging out while Mike and the other kids are playing with our neighbors. Since I didn't have to work afterall today I stuck around at home while G took a nap so I could get a little quilting done.

Love To Read

2011-06-10T08:11:00.001-04:00

Brooke is doing her reading homework this morning because we were running around so much last night. Her teacher Mrs. Maier has a huge library of books and everyday the kids pick a couple to read at home. Brooke has really loved reading such a fun variety of these books.

Today she is reading a book called growing radishes and carrots. Of course Tyler is close by if someone is reading outloud. Brooke got to a part where there is a pullout that shows the radishes growing and she said "who made this book? They are so creative." LOL she flipped right to the cover to check.

I love that the kids love reading.

Something fun for Summer

2010-05-12T15:05:00.003-04:00

It's Spring!

2010-04-06T07:30:00.004-04:00

Tyler and I went out yesterday in the beautiful weather and enjoyed some Mommy/Son time! He loves to be helpful and has been so excited to help me plant some Gladiolus bulbs I bought over the weekend.

All of the flowers that are already out front are really growing well and the warm weekend we had really opened them up nicely! Today we're getting some rain and the buds are opening on my apple trees and the maple tree in the front yard!

It's Truly a Miracle

2010-02-14T12:56:00.003-05:00

Here is a video posted on the Staker Family Blog about Bronson's journey. Please enjoy the special spirit that comes with such an emotional story of survival and faith.

Prayers are Needed

2010-02-06T08:56:00.002-05:00

I'm not exactly sure how I found this blog but I clicked on it and read the heart wrenching story. A mother who is heart broken and dealing with one of the hardest things you possibly could as a mother...the possibility of losing a child. This has definately tugged at my heart and I want to share. If you get a chance, grab some tissues, get ready for your faith to be strengthened and read their story. Please if you get a chance pray for them.

Love Thy Family

2010-02-01T21:46:00.006-05:00

I've been really touched lately by the Spirit with the thought that I need to do more memorable and loving activities with my children. It's not that I've been beating them or anything, it might be more along the lines of wanting to...but that's another story! I love my kids. They are smart and funny and caring and deserve to have fun traditions and happy childhood memories. When it comes to Valentine's Day I've always thought that everyone deserves to feel loved. I never want my kids to feel left out on V-Day because they don't have a "valentine" and I decided a long time ago that I would make the day special for them so they would feel loved. Everyone deserves that and I'm hoping to instill in them that they are always loved, by their parents and by a Heavenly Father and a savior Jesus Christ who would give so much for them. So after snooping on some other awesome blogs and reading some fun ideas and putting this together with my desire for tradition, this is what I came up with! I decided that we are going to do something centered around love each day in February leading up to Valentine's day! I decided to do a countdown with a little "kiss" for them each day to remind them of Mommy kissing them and telling them that she loves them. Seth lovingly names our project "heartvent calendars!" Here we are making them and enjoying them!

Of course Mike is not left out of this love fest! LOL I love him more than anything and I am so grateful to him for so many things. I decided I needed to let him know this so I made him a card and gave him a chocolate kiss too! I filled the card with the first reason why I love him!

And there's always one in the bunch that is unhappy! It's hard to explain to a 3-year-old that we are eating 1 chocolate a day until V-day. He was geared up to eat the lovely pile of chocolate that was in front of him! He may have had an issue or 2 with having to wait! But boy is he cute even when he's mad!

Somtimes It's the Simple Things

2010-01-19T09:02:00.001-05:00

Like sweeping up the cereal that has been crunched up on the floor under your chair in the dining room before it gets stuck to your feet. It's a good feeling to get up and not have anything poking into your tired, swollen, sockless feet! :)

2009 Recap (set to a tune)

2009-12-31T10:25:00.003-05:00

Over the 12 months of last year that '09 gave to me...
12 months of Mike working

11 rows of tomato plants

10 trips to public market

9 pages scrap booked (I'm way behind and I'm hoping I actually did more lol)

8 years of marriage

7 tests over 95%

6 viewings of Twilight (at least)

5 awesome concerts

In April I turned 30!!!! (4th month)

$3 in savings

2 days away with Rachel! New Kids on the Block Baby!!!!!!

1 new baby boy on the way

Overall we had a great year in the Simmons home. I hope you all had a great year too! Here's to starting a new year with new goals and higher aspirations for our lives!

10-a-Day GIVEAWAY – The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook

2009-12-22T06:11:00.000-05:00

10-a-Day GIVEAWAY – The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook

Christmas Card

2009-12-20T13:41:00.004-05:00

If you didn't get one in the mail already, I'm sorry. I probably lost your address. I tried to recover the ones I could. Leave a message or send me an email with your address so I can add you to my list for next year! I would love to send you one!

Merry Christmas.

SANTA CLAUSE IS COMING TO TOWN

2009-12-10T10:26:00.004-05:00

We ventured out last night in the weird sleety weather to visit Jolly St. Nick. The kids were so excited, including Tyler. We went at the perfect time 5pm and there were about 3 families in line ahead of us. The kids were able to talk to Santa each by themselves and then we took a group shot! Santa was great with the kids. He even told Seth and McKee (who asked for pricey gifts) that alot of children were asking for that this year so he couldn't make them any promises. That got my thumbs up!
The kids were anxiously waiting in line and spotted him through all of the pretty decorations.

We followed that fun event with going to Bama and Bampa Simmons' house to get some fun Christmas photos. It was the least painful experience we've had yet with pictures with the kids! I'm not going to post those yet though because one of those is going on our Christmas card. Enjoy the cuteness that is my children!

I have been totally lazy and I'm ok with that!

2009-12-01T08:34:00.002-05:00

Well, I just finally emptied my camera of hundreds of pictures dating back to October and I'm sure before that. That's the problem with having a camera card that holds so many photos. I will be sorting them and posting a little bit later. I have such cute kids and am so grateful for them and my husband and want to share and document some great moments we've had lately!

Big Boy Bed

2009-10-21T09:13:00.003-04:00

Tyler spent the night last night...well...let's let him tell you.

He called it his bunk bed. But it was his crib mattress on the floor next to Brooke's bed. (We have to paint Seth's room before we move him into there into the real big boy bed.)

Tyler has been climbing out of his crib. I realize he's really too big to be in a crib anyway, and all of the other kids were out by now. BUT it has been nice to not have to fight with him during nap times and bed time! Here are some pics of him. This is how I found him this morning!

I got him to climb back in bed and pretend he was sleeping! He's a good sport to humor me!

And here he is so excited about his "bunk" bed.

W7QPF

2009-10-16T11:14:00.001-04:00

Lillian Margaret Christensen

Lillian Margaret Christensen Hatch

1920 ~ 2009

Our beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother passed away peacefully due to causes incident to age on October 14, 2009. She was preceded in death by her husband Noal, who passed away in June, 2005.

Lillian was born December 11, 1920, to Danish immigrants Marinus (Max) and Anna M. Christensen in Mt. Pleasant, Utah. She was raised in a home learning both English and Danish fluently, and always loved speaking Danish to those who could understand. She married Noal King Hatch on November 5, 1943, in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. At the time of their marriage she was taking pilot lessons and had soloed with the intent to help in the Women's Air Corp during World War II, but Noal's work in the war effort took them to San Francisco before she could receive her license.

She was the first woman in Utah Valley to receive her amateur radio license, call sign W7QPF.

Because of her outgoing cheerful personality, she was able to make friends wherever she was. Her Danish hospitality was always apparent, and in any visit with her and Noal she offered treats or gifts.

She was always active in the LDS church and served in many callings, but her favorite was always in music. She led the Provo 3rd Ward choir for over twenty years during which time they recorded a choral album. She sang soprano in "The Accents" quartet, and performed in the Madsen Memorial Choir. She had hundreds of songs memorized, and if any topic were named, she could immediately sing a song about it.

From the 1960s to the '80s she helped Noal in his work as a television news correspondent for Channel 4 news, including filming and writing many news stories. She was active in the Women's Council of Provo in which she also served as president.

In retirement, she and Noal served as Temple Workers in the Provo Temple. She was steady and sure in her love of God and testimony of the Gospel. She was a great example of charitable service and love to all. She cherished friendships with many people, and her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren loved her and enjoyed visiting with her.

She is survived by five children, Ron (Genie) of Orem; Roger (Sylvia) of Lehi; Rebecca Simmons (Rulon) of Rochester, New York; Robert (Janeal) of Sandy; and Rosemary Millet (DeLayne) of Goodyear, Arizona; 25 grandchildren and 41 great-grandchildren.

The family expresses appreciation to the many healthcare workers who have assisted in her care.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m., on Saturday, October 17, 2009 at the Berg Drawing Room Chapel of Provo, 185 East Center Street, Provo. Friends may call at the Berg Mortuary of Provo on Friday evening from 6-8pm or on Saturday one hour prior to services. Interment Provo City Cemetery. Condolences may be sent to info@bergmortuary.com.

Happy Anniversary

2009-09-29T07:26:00.002-04:00

8 wonderful years!

Laziness...

2009-07-17T14:48:00.000-04:00

I'll admit it, I've been too lazy to post anything. We've been busy enjoying our summer and I've taken lots of pictures of the kids at the playground, the spray-park and soccer games. I've just been too lazy to post them here. We are going to our family reunion picnic this weekend and I'll be taking pictures there too. My plan is to post some of those when I get back. We'll see I guess! :)

What They Found

2009-06-18T14:29:00.002-04:00

The old adage "when it rains it pours" can be so true at some point in everyone's lives. Apparently it's my turn! I went to the dermatologist on June 3rd for a biopsy of a suspicious looking mole on my back. He removed it and I've been anxiously waiting for the results, trying to not to get freaked out...(I may have a tendency to assume I have cancer most of the time, no matter what the test is I'm going for.) Well, I got the letter in the mail I've been waiting for and the mole was a dysplastic nevi. What does that mean? It's benign but may become cancerous, so I have to go in for a check up in 4-6 months. Here is my "new" lifestyle awareness plan as found on the Skin Cancer Foundation website.

Dysplastic Nevi Prevention Guidelines
Anyone who has an increased risk of developing melanoma must be particularly vigilant. Do any of these risk factors apply to you: light eyes, hair, and/or skin; freckles; many moles; personal or family history of melanoma or nonmelanoma skin cancer; sun sensitivity; inability to tan; repeated and intermittent sunburns; a very large mole present at birth, or dysplastic nevi?

The best advice is “Know your skin.” Each family member should become aware of all moles on his/her total skin surface to minimize the risk of melanoma progressing to life-threatening stages.

Anyone, especially someone with an increased risk of developing melanoma, should:

* Examine the skin completely each month, using a good light source (to illuminate the areas being examined), a full-length mirror and a hand-held mirror. Ask a family member or friend to help in examining hard-to-see parts of the body. A hair dryer is useful when checking the scalp. Also, examine the bottom of the feet and between the toes.
* Seek prompt medical attention if any of the warning signs of melanoma described earlier are found.
* Have a head-to-toe skin examination by a physician annually or more often. If moles are changing, as they may during adolescence, they should be checked at more frequent intervals. Inform your doctor about any moles that have suspicious signs, symptoms, or changes.

SUGGESTIONS FOR PEOPLE WITH DYSPLASTIC NEVI

If your doctor suspects dysplastic nevi, one or more moles may be biopsied — removed in a minor surgical procedure for microscopic examination. It is not necessary to remove all dysplastic nevi. However, if moles show significant change or signs of melanoma, or if new moles appear after age 40, they may be considered for removal by your physician.

When the diagnosis of dysplastic nevus is confirmed microscopically, it is advisable to:

* write down a complete family history of unusual moles, melanomas or other cancers. Discuss it with your doctor.
* have regular complete skin examinations at intervals suggested by your doctor, and advise family members to do the same.
* supplement regular medical checkups with monthly selfexamination of the skin.
* reduce sun exposure. Excessive exposure may stimulate formation of new moles or even cause melanomas.
* check with your doctor about having a set of full-body photographs taken, especially if family members have dysplastic nevi or melanoma and/or you have many moles. Changes can be more easily spotted in this way.
* have any unusual or changing skin growth examined promptly by your doctor.
* check with your physician to see if an eye examination is recommended, since moles and melanomas may also arise in the eyes.
* be concerned, but don’t worry excessively.

With regular self-examination, professional examination, and common sense, you greatly reduce your chances that a melanoma will grow to a threatening size before it can be detected and removed.
PREVENTING SKIN CANCER

While skin cancers are almost always curable when detected and treated early, the surest line of defense is to prevent them in the first place. Here are some sun safety habits that should be part of everyone’s daily health care:

* Seek the shade, especially between 10 A.M. and 4 P.M.
* Do not burn.
* Cover up with clothing, including a broad-brimmed hat and UV-blocking sunglasses.
* Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher every day.
* Apply 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) of sunscreen to your entire body 30 minutes before going outside. Reapply every two hours.
* Keep newborns out of the sun. Sunscreens should be used on babies over the age of six months.
* Avoid tanning parlors and tanning devices.
* Examine your skin head-to-toe every month.
* See your doctor every year for a professional skin exam.

One of the Sister Missionaries That Taught Me

2009-05-28T13:00:00.002-04:00

Plays a mean violin! I was blessed to have her perform at my baptism. Here is a video of her jammin to Metallica!

She has a youtube channel too. Go check her out!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SETH!

2009-05-25T07:41:00.007-04:00

It seems like it was just yesterday that Seth was born. I was actually talking about our adventures in the hospital on Saturday and I mentioned that it seems like it just happened. Seth was so tiny when he was born, he was a month early, but he was so cute. I held him for only a few seconds after he was born and then I finally got to really hold him 4 days later. Mike and I are so grateful that he is healthy.
Seth on his first birthday! I was finding cake stuck to the walls behind him for months after his birthday! He was such a bald, little mess!
I'm 2! Seth LOVES the slides at the playground! He finally had some hair too! He's such a little peanut, but you wouldn't know it from the way he acts!
Seth has always had a love of animals. He has a short temper, but is sweet and kind to animals. When he turned 3 we had a zoo party for Seth! I painted animal faced on the kids and they ran around like animals, it came easy to them!
BATMAN! Seth became obsessed with Batman at a very young age! By the time he was 4 years old, it was all he wanted to do and talk about. This is a birthday card that Grandpa Don had commissioned for Seth, it's awesome!

Seth's obsession with Batman turned into an obsession with bats! This is his bat cake. I think it's his favorite one yet. 5 years old and heading off to kindergarten in the fall. How did 5 years go by so fast? Seth is so smart, he's already well on his way to reading and loves to learn. Seth Simmons...what are you going to get for your 6th birthday? A NEW CAR! Well, you're kind of short to reach the pedals...how about a new bike! Seth's really grown alot in the last year and is too tall for his old little bike, so we bought him a new one! Grandma and Grandpa bought Seth a new helmet with Spiderman on it! He loves it! He's so cute!
Seth is 7 years old! I can hardly believe that 7 years have passed from that first day I laid eyes on him. It has been a roller coaster ride with this crazy boy. He can be so sweet and then like a switch he's the naughtiest kid...but we love him anyway. Seth will be very successful when he grows up, it's something I've felt from the time he was born. At only 9 months old when we were in the hospital getting his blood drawn the tech came into the room and stopped when she looked at him. She said "that boy is going to bring the word of God to the people some day." I was amazed at her statement, but whole heartedly believe it. Seth has a way with words, he's so funny sometimes making words rhyme and making up new words. This talent with words is not limited to fun, he's so good at remembering scriptures that have touched him and his little world. Seth dreams of being a veterinarian some day, he loves
animals and begs for a pet almost daily!
A few stats:
favorite color, red.
favorite food, pop-tarts.
favorite animal, penguin.
best friend, Karlee.
favorite toy, light saber.
favorite place to be, zoo.

Seth, I love you. I am so grateful that you are part of our family! You are a special boy.
Happy Birthday!

Time Out for Women

2009-05-22T12:40:00.001-04:00

These are the awesome presenters from the conference I attended last weekend. I highly recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity to go. Call me, and if I can, I'll go with you! :)

http://deseretbook.com/time-out

New Moon Countdown Official Poster

2009-05-19T12:43:00.002-04:00

Here is the poster! I'm so excited for New Moon! I'm going to the premier at midnight again and I can't wait!

Like Daughter, Like Mother

2009-05-12T09:37:00.002-04:00

Thank you Crystal (for having the nose of a dog!)

Just like when Brooke saved the house from fire almost 1 year ago to the day, on May 15th 2008, Crystal saves the house last night (May 11th 2009) from what could have been an even worse fire.

See, last year Brooke finally got the attention of her dad who was ignoring her cries of "DADDY! DADDY!" and brought it to my attention that she found the grill had spit fire from it's rusting base and had caught the dry leaves below it on fire. Sure, it was stupid to burn right there, but the point is my beautiful daughter stayed safe, yelled for help, and saved the house from possibly going up in flames.

That was at dinner time, with all 6 of us up and awake and ready to run if needed.

Now, almost 365 Gregorian days later (I'm leaving the word Gregorian there because Fire Fox didn't spell check underline it, and it might make me sound smart to someone...whether I am or not) Crystal busts out some pregnancy nose techniques and smells plastic burning while in the upstairs bathroom. When she comes back downstairs and tells me, she says it's coming from the dishwasher. We put this brand new dishwasher in a few months ago, and it's worked pretty good. Well, I open it up, find nothing wrong, and run the cycle till it's done.

Yesterday, Crystal runs the dishwasher again while I'm gone at work, and stops it mid way through because of the smell of burning plastic again.....go go gadget dog sniffer (of course, that's not meant to be mean, but go ahead and think I'm a jerk if you must...most people do based on my writings.)

I get home from work and she tells me it's from underneath the dishwasher. So, reluctantly (because I'm lazy and not a dishwasher repairman.....but I do show a good crack when I need to) I open up the bottom access panel and call for my flashlight. The flashlight didn't come on it's own, and didn't even think to bring me my slippers, so Crystal got it for me.

I laid there on the floor for a few minutes looking mostly at the left side of the parts. Then, I looked to the right and found a melted plastic wire nut.

It was melted in half. It was melted to the wooden floor. It was a fire hazard laying in wait.

Crystal possibly saved us from a fire that could have happened at anytime (think, running the dishwasher as you go up to bed, delayed start to finish before you wake up....)

We'll never know if anything tragic really would have happened from it or not, but either way, I'm very grateful for a wife who has the nose of a hound dog (and a face of an angel), and who listened to the little voice in her head that said the dishwasher was evil!

PS - I'm taking applications for an electrician and a dish washer. Payment for services in rice and beans only.

PPS - I'm sure Crystal will take offense to your request that she sniffs out drugs in your children's bedrooms, but, of course, if you make that request with a few thousand dollars, she may just do it!

PPPS - My wife can catch bigger fish than your wife. Na Na Na

Crystal Wins

2009-05-05T09:11:00.003-04:00

The other day Crystal and I went fishing. She caught the first, the biggest, and the most. She wins!

Give a woman a fish....and she'll eat for a day.
Teach a woman to fish....and she'll out fish you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE!

2009-04-30T10:34:00.001-04:00

35 YEARS OF FUN!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROOKE!

2009-04-23T08:31:00.004-04:00

Today Brooke is 5 years old! I can't believe it. I've been super emotional all week and couldn't figure out why, but I think there's just something that tugs at your heart strings when your only baby girl is growing up. Here are some pictures from her last 5 birthdays.

Brooke's final moments in utero! This was just minutes before they came in and broke my water!It's my birthday! Mommy, Daddy and Brooke just hours old.
I'm ONE!
2 Years old!
I'm "free" (3)!
4 years old!
I'm 5 and I'm the birthday princess!

Brooke's favorite colors are pink and purple. Her favorite animal is the elephant. She loves to dance and play with balloons. Brooke is the sweetest big sister, most of the time. She likes to help Tyler use the potty and change diapers. Brooke is so gentle with babies and loves to see pregnant women. Her face lights up every time she thinks someone has a baby in her belly. Brooke's dreams are to grow up and be a missionary and get married in the Temple and be a kid dentist! She has started to read and does a great job with writing and math. She loves to learn. I'm so proud of my baby girl. I love you Brooke.

Mike's List

2009-04-14T10:09:00.002-04:00

Well, I thought I'd make a list today:

Mike's List
The Great Wall of China
Mick Jagger
Rectal thermometers
Lego's
Hide and go seek
The Great Salt Lake
Disposable diapers
Toe nail fungus
Cashews
The (fish-less) desert
Mandarin oranges
Clothing
Non primary color names
Taxes
Cockroaches
Snow
Enemas

Oh, I guess I could have named my list "Things that are older than Crystal, and less enjoyable to hang around with than her."

Happy 30th Crystal!!! I LOVE YOU!!!

(You don't look a day over 29.....but, maybe a 1/2 day over 29) :-)

10 to 4 (and 1/2 if you ask Mike)

2009-04-07T07:55:00.001-04:00

So, in need of some rest and relaxation, i took my wife fishing (for the 1 hour left we had with grandma watching the kids). We ended up at my favorite local puddle and shared the only 20 feet of shoreline this place has to offer.

I was fishing a damsel fly nymph under an indicator and quickly connected with a fish!

I then caught another one, and was leading the competition with 2 fish to Mrs. Oatka's zero.

Well, sure enough, she wanted to switch rods so i gave her mine and I took her rod that had her favorite fly, a red tailed sperm. A classic fly we've fished successfully for years to get bluegills on the surface.

Unfortunately it's a bit early for this fly so i had no success with it either. Mrs. Oatka on the other hand had my damsel fly and was starting to catch up.

I decided to switch to a Czech nymph and started casting.

Well, things started to deteriorate even more, and my lead was wiped out, and she had caught up, 4 to 4. Well, at one point I cast my line out and she catches another fish, but couldn't get the hook out. So, with my line still in the water, I hand her my rod and she hands me her fish. As I'm releasing her fish, she catches a fish ON MY ROD!!! (i had a picture of her with 2 rods in hand, fighting the fish, but until LG makes a phone with features I think it should have, then the pictures will consistently be lost due to closing the phone before it's completely saved.....dang you LG!)

Well, at this point, she must have started to feel a little sorry for me, and for catching more fish, because she handed back my rod with the damsel fly. Well, it might have started off as a kind gesture, but apparently the fish had started to catch on, and knew not to eat that anymore. So, Mrs. Oatka, now armed with a new to the fish Czech nymph, starts pulling them in with that fly.....and I sit there practicing my cast.

"Get a shot of the fight! This one is big!"

Now, we've gone from a nice hour out fishing together, to full on smack talk. She's dishing out the smack like she's Dig'em Frog!!!

Well, I let her continue (since of course, this was an RR trip for her)

Here's one of my favorite shots!!!

By the time it was all said and done, I caught 4 (4.5 if you count the fish she caught on my cast), and she caught 10.....and she wouldn't let me forget it. She even TOLD THE KIDS!!! How can I live that down now?

So, after a little lunch and putting my youngest down for a nap, I did what any self respecting fly fisherman (who just got spanked on the water) would do......I took my 4.95 year old daughter out fishing.....to prove that I could out fish a girl!!! well, we got there and it had started raining, and got worse, so I didn't pull out my fly rod. She had on a Czech nymph and had 1 fish on, but lost it after a few seconds!

(although I was out fished, by 2 girls) it was a great day!!!

--------------------

Coming Soon...

2009-03-29T19:47:00.002-04:00

As soon as I sort through my over 500 pictures from the concert this weekend, I'll tell you all about it! It was the best weekend ever!

With Easter Right Around the Corner

2009-03-25T13:09:00.002-04:00

I think it's really important to remember this...

see more pwn and owned pictures

A Sweet Conversation with Brooke

2009-03-13T12:06:00.002-04:00

Brooke: " I really love the pictures of you marrying Daddy."

Crystal: "thanks, i do too."

Brooke: "I don't remember that long time ago."

Crystal: "You weren't born yet, you were with Heavenly Father waiting for mommy and daddy to get married so you could come here."

Brooke: "yeah, I was a baby in heaven. I was thinking about mommy and wanting a baba because I was thirsty there."

Who doesn't LOVE the George?

2009-02-25T09:27:00.007-05:00

For Christmas 2002 my sis-in-law Lynette got us our first George Foreman grill. You never forget your first...tearing up...fling fling... At the time, our family consisted of the 4 of us...Mike, Crystal, McKee and Seth. It was perfect and we have loved you long time...oops, wrong post...eh hem. Back to the grill. We loved the ease and clean up of the grill and the fat dripping off the food. As you can see from the double chin, we needed the fat dripping off feature!

But look how tiny Seth was, it was his first Christmas!

So...over the years our family has grown.
We are now in need of a bigger grill. My Mom a couple years ago bought us a Hamilton Beach counter top grill which we've enjoyed, but it's not the same as our George Foreman grill. The bonus of the new grill was that the plates come out and can go in the dishwasher.
HUGE BONUS! But, it's still not quite big enough.
The only problem was...it's not the George we had come to love and depend on. Hey, how could you not rely on a product named after a man and his 80 sons? So for the last couple years I've been in search of the right counter top grill. George now has many different models, and the one I finally fell in love with is this one...

I found this one on sale on-line for $79.97. After putting in coupon code bb I received $10.00 off and after tax and shipping my total was $88.06. Cha Ching! I'm so excited because this grill in Target was $119.00 before tax, so I got a great deal! If you want one, I would recommend going to this site, I just ordered it this morning and it's already been shipped (I received the email.) The other awesome deal with buying it here was that it came with bonus plates. So not just the waffle plate, grill plates, griddle, and baking plate... it came with OMELET PLATES!
I'm thrilled because one of the main reason I wanted this was because of the waffle plates. We have a waffle iron that only makes 2 small waffles at once, this one is much bigger and used in conjunction will make waffle time much faster. I would have loved the red one, but the only one it showed on the website was silver, and that's not too bad I guess. I can't justify $40 for a color.

That concludes this infomercial...but wait there's more...for only 25 easy monthly payments of not $79, not $59, not even $39...we will also throw in the added bonus...(I love infomercials)

Bob That Head

2009-02-17T21:08:00.002-05:00

Our good friend John was so generous and treated Mike and I to the Rascal Flatts concert on Valentine's Day! We had such a great time. I haven't been to a concert since I was about 11 or so, and it was Paul Simon with my mom. That was a great concert too, and we had a great time. But, to be able to go and see a band that I love with my husband, not too much can beat that. John brought his friend Sarah and she was so much fun. She and I laughed most of the night. We went out to Friendly's for dinner and then made our way downtown to the Blue Cross Arena. We parked a couple blocks away and walked in the freezing cold, lined up and showed the guy our tickets. We found our seats and anxiously waited for the show to start. We were really impressed that Jessica Simpson, who opened for Rascal Flatts, started right on time 7:30 on the dot the music started. To answer everyone's question JESSICA WAS NOT FAT...actually, I would love to have a body like that. She has a good voice, but I'm still not sure if I'm impressed with her as a country singer. We spent a lot of the 40 minutes that she performed laughing for 2 reasons. 1. She makes the funniest faces when she sings. It was hilarious and very distracting. 2. They had the back 1/2 of the stage that spread along most of the floor of the arena blocked off so she couldn't go there. I'm surprised they couldn't just tell her not to use that part of the stage because it was for Rascal Flatts. But if nothing else, we were entertained by her.

I will definitely go and see Rascal Flatts again in concert. It was an awesome show!

One thing I've learned over the 7 1/2 years of being married...

2009-02-07T09:22:00.003-05:00

The more children we have, the harder it is to get a good family photo! My parents never took us to get one when we were growing up, there were 6 of us, and now I understand why! But, we are fortunate enough that Grandpa Simmons, my father-in-law, is a photographer and is willing to put up with us once a year to get a family photo. It really means alot to me to have these pictures. So, here is what we came up with this year. Nothing fancy, but at least we got everyone in it, no one's crying and there was minimal yelling through gritted teeth! :) Do you like the color better or the sepia tone to print for the wall?

As these were uploading I was looking through the "rejects" and I might even like another pose a little better. Decisions, Decisions. But overall, I have to say I have a pretty cute family.

SWM Ventriloquist Seeking SWF Ventriloquist For Friendship and Possibly More

2009-02-05T10:34:00.002-05:00

(Get ready....another post from MIKE....you've been warned)

For those so far removed from "single" (like myself), here's a brief review of the acronyms.

SWM = Single White Male
SWF = Single White Female

So, do you ever feel like a ventriloquist? Come on, think back as far as you can and see if you can relate.....to my night last night.

Never in a thousand years (or 34.8 years) did I ever think that my days as a youth longing to be a ventriloquist would ever come true. Well, they came true....and the little lifeless doll ran around and bit my dreams in the hootie! (yes, hootie, as in Hootie and the Blowfish, but then used in the mid to late 1990's as a slang word for the buttocks)

Darius says: "HEY - Nice hootie!"

Where was I? Oh, yes, ventriloquism and last night.

So, who would have thought that I'd actually get a chance to use the ventriloquism I once practiced as a young boy growing up in "da hood" of Greece (one of the safest places in the country, so they say) NY? Well, last night it happened.

What was so special about last night? Well, last night was the night we went to my parents house for the annual family photo. "Ah Yes" some of you minions might be saying now, because you know what's coming. But, for those who don't know, or don't have children over the age of 4 months, let me explain. I have 4 wonderful (at times) children (at times.) So, this means that Grandpa places us all in our respective spots and we try to sit up straight and smile at the camera. We had simple, predetermined, pre-announced, pre-threatened plans to make sure this doesn't take 48 hours to accomplish.

So, there we are, sitting in our spots. Mom and I put on our best smiles and the kids start looking in EVERY direction, and doing EVERYTHING that we didn't need for the photo.....and then comes the ventriloquism that I once thought was so cool. I'm sitting there, eyes focused on the camera in my own tunnel vision world, with the best smile I could give, while trying to bark out commands. "Seth, hands down." "Brooke, smile like a princess." "Tyler, look at Grandpa." McKee was doing well just sitting there and doing what Grandpa asked. "Tyler, tell Grandpa 'choo choo train'." "SETH, LOOK AT THE CAMERA." "I was going to give you guys a cookie, but I'm not sure now." "Look at the camera everybody." All the while I'm grinning and trying to keep focus......Hootie and his blowfish would be proud!

Rumor has it that after about 45 minutes of this act, we got a good photo where everyone was looking at the camera, and a few people smiled.....even this guy --->

Crystal might post the picture later if you all behave!

Fortunately I've already found my SWFV (that's you Crystal, in case you are wondering) and I don't miss the days of sitting next to girls saying "you're hot, wanna make out" without moving my mouth, so if they said "NO WAY YOU FREAKING SCUM BAG!" I could then just blame it on the doll!!!

Breakfast Conversation

2009-02-02T07:13:00.003-05:00

Brooke "Mom, one of my butt cheeks is itchy."

Mom "Did you scratch it?"

Brooke "yeah"

Mom "good, is it still itchy?"

Brooke "No, I just scratched it for a really long time."

Seth "Did you scratch it all night?"

Brooke "No, just in the morning."

I love kids. They are hilarious. You can't find this kind of great conversation in a fancy restaurant! These 2 are really close in age, only 23 months apart, and they fight the most of all the kids, but also are very sweet together most of the time. When they are getting along they are usually getting into trouble. Here they are sitting on the kitchen counter. Crazy kids.

Please Pray for My Niece Claire

2009-01-30T21:24:00.003-05:00

On the left is my beautiful niece Claire, on the right is Gwen her older sister.

Here is an email I just received from my sister-in-law Katherine.

Hi All,

If you're wondering what to fast for this sunday, feel free to fast for Claire. She hasn't been sick all winter, but now has pneumonia. She has had a fever on and off all week, and this morning was breathing shallow and her hands and mouth were grey. this afternoon she started rapid breathing. she's been sleeping all day today and not crying (which is not the claire-bear we all know and love!).

we've started her on antibiotics and hope it helps. because of her mito disease and pain issues all her life, there are only certain measures we're willing to take to prolong her life. currently we don't think it's necessary to take her to the hospital since she's not dehydrated and keeping her meds down.

anyway, any prayers and fasting on her behalf are greatly appreciated. times like these always remind me that as long as my beautiful baby will be with us, it probably won't be as long as we want.

thanks,

Katherine

Win a way cute polka dot bag!!!

2009-01-30T19:34:00.002-05:00

I just entered a contest to win a cute brown and pink bag from Simply Chic Baby Boutique. Click here to check it out. Or you can click on the button on the side. You only have until Valentine's Day when she does the drawing. Enjoy!

I'm A Big Boy

2009-01-30T11:41:00.003-05:00

I was going potty when I had a visitor, which is not unusual, but I was surprised when it was a request for toilet time. Tyler stood there asking me if he could use the potty and trying to tug off his diaper. So of course I encouraged him. He is so proud of himself!
He really didn't want to get off the toilet so I went to the kitchen to wait and asked Brooke to tell me when he was ready to get off. I hadn't heard anything at all so I decided to go and check and I found Brooke helping him wash his hands.After chasing him around the kitchen and front room with the idea of getting dressed, I decided to let him run commando for a little while. Again, after they disappeared quietly into the kitchen I went to check on them. This is what I found. Brooke did an awesome job putting his diaper on and she said "I'm good at being a mom like putting babies' diapers on." It was very sweet.

Bi-Polar? or Normal Mother?

2009-01-26T06:28:00.002-05:00

(this post may explain any insane things anyone might or might not have seen posted on here last week)

I had the craziest week last week, some of it was so amazing, and other parts were out of control, and parts were very depressing and seemed to bring the rest of the week down. So before I can post about the awesome parts, I need to show the mental chart of my week.

Sunday...middle ground-ish, I enjoy hearing the teachings of the Gospel, but for a while have had this nasty stomach churning going on as soon as Saturday afternoon comes around. It has a lot to do with trying to keep children reverent and facing people that I don't really want to be around, for a variety of reasons.

Monday...does anyone really like Mondays? It was a holiday and the kids were looking forward to the day off, and I was looking forward to taking them to do something...it didn't happen due to a little too much disobedience.

Tuesday...ugh...crash and burn (due to McKee) then I had a great time with the smaller kids once the older 2 were in school.

Wednesday...SUPER UP! this was my day off! more to come on that!

Thursday...I thought Tuesday was crash and burn...I pretty much gave up on life Thursday. When one thing is so bad, it makes the rest of the little things seem hopeless and "what's the point?"

Friday...rough morning, as usual...but the rest of the day was INCREDIBLE! more to come on that one.

Saturday...rough morning again...I'm noticing a pattern here...but when Mike got home from work, things were better and then pretty good.

So, my question is...does anyone else have weeks like this? How do you deal with this yo-yo stuff? I would be happy just keeping things at a consistent level.

uppercase living

2009-01-20T07:08:00.003-05:00

An invitation to the readers of my blog. Whenever I have a home party I know I always forget to invite people. Not because I mean to leave people out, but because I genuinely forget things. So...if you are reading this I would love for you to come to my home show. If you are too far to come, feel free to check out the website and email me if you fall in love with anything you see. I'd be happy to make sure it gets ordered with the rest of the orders from my show. Here are the details:

The Art of Self Expression

Make your space a reflection of the unique individual you are. Whether you identify with a deeply motivational thought, a beautiful embellishment, a bold image, or a combination of these, Uppercase Living® expressions let you be who you are and let you express that uniqueness in your surroundings. We call this the art of self expression.

Tuesday, January 27th, 2009

7pm

Crystal's home

http://www.uppercaseliving.com/

Valentine's Day

2009-01-19T09:26:00.004-05:00

I love Valentine's Day. I look forward to it every year. I realize some people think it's a made up holiday to make people money, I may not disagree with that totally, but none the less, I love it anyway. Mike and I have a tradition of each of us planning a special Valentine's Day for each other every other year. That way we know we have something to do and can spend some time together. We have a $50.00 budget, that includes food, gifts, surprises whatever we come up with. This year we have a great friend who jumped in and bought us tickets to a special event to take place on Valentine's Day! We're going to the Rascall Flatts concert on February 14, 2009. I'm so excited! I haven't been to a concert in years, and I love Rascall Flatts. We're going to have a great time! I'm so grateful that he thought of us and is so willing to give us such an awesome gift! Thanks!

Share your Dreams

2009-01-15T12:19:00.003-05:00

I was wondering what people dreamed about when they were kids. I was also wondering if you reached those goals or if they have changed over time. When I was a little girl I always wanted to be the first woman president of the United States. I am still not old enough to do that, but my life has not taken a political path, so we'll see on that one. I have others too, but I want to know if anyone else has any they want to share. (Maybe I don't want to be the only person that didn't achieve her dreams, but I also want to applaud those who have.)

McKee's Chorus Concert

2009-01-15T06:26:00.002-05:00

Last night McKee performed in 3 different choirs...a boys middle school choir, a mixed middle school choir, and then they combined with the high school mixed choir for a finale song. I'm proud of him, he did a great job. My in-laws attended and must have snuck in the back because I didn't see them. I actually didn't know they were there until late last night when I got a couple emails from Rulon with some pictures he took. Enjoy the photos.

Anyone Else Ready for Spring?

2009-01-13T06:56:00.001-05:00

We have subzero temperatures on the way here! Get out the warm clothes and hot chocolate and get some scrapbooking done. What? you ask about cleaning the house or doing something productive? Why would I do that?

My Theme Song

2009-01-09T18:44:00.001-05:00

I'm going to play this everyday to save me the trouble.

That's It

2009-01-09T07:30:00.001-05:00

I quit...everything. I think I'm just going to go back to sleep and pretend nothing ever happened. Oh come on, like you've never felt that way?

Blog Giveaway

2009-01-01T20:06:00.002-05:00

One of the blogs I stalk April Showers is having a giveaway. Here's your big chance to pretend you're going to win something, but the truth is I'm going to win! Good Luck!

Here are the prizes and rules to enter:
1. To ENTER the contest you need to make a post on your own personal blog telling all your friends about this giveaway.

2. You also need to comment on this post and tell me: a) Your birthday and b) Three New Year's resolutions.

Prizes: One winner will be chosen, and will receive...

1. A $25 gift certificate to Bath and Body Works!

2. For EVERY comment made on this post, I will add $1 to a mark. gift certificate. So if there are 10 comments, the gift certificate will be for $10. If there are 30 comments, the gift certificate will be for $30! And yes...even if there are 100 comments...Holy crap!!! Cool huh? But you can only comment once :D

Today...

2008-12-26T21:01:00.002-05:00

I almost lost my Mom. I love her, but she drives me crazy most of the time. You don't realize how much someone really means to you until you almost lose them. You also don't really understand how it feels until it almost happens to you. She had a heart attack this morning, actually, it started a couple days ago, but she didn't tell anyone. Finally today the pain was unbearable and she went to the Emergency Room. Before an hour was over, she had a stint put in place and was admitted upstairs. She will stay at Rochester General until Monday so they can watch her closely. When we left her tonight she was tired, but looked good. She has many lifestyle changes to make, but maybe this is the wakeup call she needed. It's scary, heart problems run in our family. I've had 3 uncles with triple bypass, and my Aunt just had this same angioplasty performed in September. The hard part is that my Mom is only 50 and seems so young to have this problem. I am grateful she's doing better, but I'm still worried about her. She has a great husband now to take care of her, so hopefully I'll be able to sleep tonight knowing she's taken care of. Makes you think...on the way home Mike and I stopped quickly to pick up some healthy snacks and have a renewed motivation to get healthier. It was nice to see all of my siblings rally around Mom today. I hope she feels loved, because she is.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T12:42:00.003-05:00

We took the kids to see Santa on Monday evening. They were so excited. I used my awesome software to make this little card. We wish you and all of your family a very Merry Christmas.

The First Christmas

2008-12-18T08:46:00.005-05:00

Brooke's preschool class had a play yesterday of the First Christmas. Brooke followed in Seth's footsteps as the Innkeeper. Here are a couple pictures.

Brooke in her costume

Twinkle, Twinkle God's Bright Star

Brooke's speaking part "There's no room in here, go live in the stable."

Brooke had some special spectators Nana and Fuzzy G and Bama Simmons

We didn't get a picture but Mommy, Daddy, and Tyler were there too. We took this picture when we got home by the Christmas Tree.

I have a video of the performance, but I think it might be too long to put on here, and I have to pull it off the video camera. We'll see how that goes, I make no promises.

Did I ever tell you?

2008-12-17T18:19:00.003-05:00

That I LOVE stand up comedians? This video came to me in an email. I think it's hilarious! enjoy!

2008-12-16T12:21:00.000-05:00

Have you ever?...

2008-12-16T09:11:00.001-05:00

heard something about yourself so many times that you start to believe it? Or decide to start living up to everyone's expectations? It's an interesting place to be.

Any Sound

2008-12-13T23:22:00.002-05:00

This is one of my favorite bands. They are local, from Rochester and AWESOME! I'm really looking forward to going out and seeing them live again. It's been a while. Enjoy.

Seriously, So Blessed Giveaway!

2008-12-12T11:10:00.002-05:00

Check this out and you could totally win some way cool stuff to make you toe-tallie righteous and HOT!

Decorating for Christmas...Take 1, Take 2, and Take 3

2008-12-12T07:05:00.004-05:00

Every year I intend to decorate the day after Thanksgiving, it doesn't happen. One of these years it will, I hope. So we've been trying to get the decorations up as early as possible so we can take them down right after Christmas because Tyler's b-day is so close and I want his b-day to be separate from Christmas so he doesn't feel jipped.
Take 1
So Monday, Dec 8th we decided to start decorating. The problem was the kids were really not behaving too well, so we stopped. We got the tree up and the stockings. If you look closely at the picture you can see 3 stockings for mom and 3 stockings for dad. Mike put them all up and said that the kids could earn their way up to the stockings wall. I think it's hilarious...hey if you can't torture your kids once in a while, then what's the point?

Tyler was LOVING the tree! He thought it was great! He was standing there watching the star blink, and he kept looking at the lights. He's so cute.

Take 2
All week I was telling the kids, get your stuff done and we can decorate. They really don't like to listen to me, even when it will result in something fun. So in my desire to get things decorated, I just went ahead and let us do it last night. The kids loved it! These are the cutest Santas I've ever seen. (Our Santa hats seem to be too big, or too small. I feel like Goldi-elf and 4 Santas.)

Since the tree was already up, we just had to put the ornaments on. It's a tradition of mine to get the kids an ornament. I try to get one that corresponds with what they are up to that year. We also have the ornaments the kids make at school and a couple I've had since I was a little girl. The one with my name on it is from my head start program (like preschool) and the dog ornament is from Paula in 4th grade. Her mom made them for everyone in our class. (Why do I remember these things?)

A couple years ago the Antczaks came over for Christmas Eve and brought some treats and a little gift for me. Brooke thought it was an ornament...it ended up on the tree. (See the reindeer pot holder?)

Lynette and Dan sent us a package for Christmas and it came yesterday. They told us to open it early since it might not survive under the tree until Christmas morning. Here are the goodies we found inside...

Take 3
So as you can see in some of the pictures, Tyler REALLY loves to touch the tree. Before we even made it to bed last night this is what happened...

Yes, that's a santa hat, a tree skirt and just about every ornament at short man level. He had them in the basket you see there and was carrying them around the house. So take 3 was this morning when Mike put the tree on an end table and McKee helped me redecorate the tree with all of the ornaments from the floor.

Tyler isn't up yet, so we'll see how it goes when the tree is up high. I'm just hoping that he doesn't pull the tree on top of himself. Wish us luck!

Yesterday was a GREAT Day!

2008-12-06T12:13:00.005-05:00

We really had a great time yesterday, December 5th. The kids had off from school for parent/teacher conferences so it was nice and relaxed. We started our day with really fun movie "Enchanted." We watched it last year at the Theater on the Ridge Kodak movie theater as part of a special showing for employees only and Mike was able to score us tickets. It was so much fun and the kids loved it. I got it out from the library to enjoy again. They loved it again. (I love it too! The songs are really catchy!) After the movie the kids and I did our chores and cleaned up the front room and organized so we can set up our Christmas tree and decorate for the season. They are all so excited to get that going. I always intend to have it done the day after Thanksgiving, but I never do it. One of these years...anyway...I managed to get our star on the front window made out of a strand of white lights. The rest will hopefully be done today when McKee gets home from Damon's.

Another fun part of yesterday was Tyler's 23 month birthday! We sang a song to him at the breakfast table and he was grinning from ear to ear! When we tell Tyler to smile this is what he does...(that boy cracks me up.)

"Happy 23 month Birthday to you,
Happy 23 month Birthday to you,
Happy 23 month Birthday dear Tyler,
Happy 23 month Birthday to you."

At 23 months Tyler is 27 lbs, 33 1/2 inches tall, and the cutest little boy ever (I know I say that about all my kids, but I really mean it for each of them.) Tyler has a sense of humor that makes me laugh, and is all boy. He thinks it's hilarious of someone toots, and if he's talking and a burp comes out, that's one of the funniest things that could ever happen. He Loves McKee and Seth and copies just about everything they do, especially at the dinner table. He has discovered shooting and the sounds that go along with it. He was playing with a little squirt gun and "shooting" squirrels out the front window a couple days ago. He loves to fold his arms reverently and say prayers with us as a family. He loves to sing songs, his favorites are Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Once there was a Snowman, and anything crazy that I might make up at the moment (I'll refer you back up to my Happy Birthday song). His vocal words are Mom, Mama, Dad, Dada, light, book, more, baba, no, mine, baby, bean, bell, ding, bike, hop, ball, me (there might be more, but I can't remember at the moment. He signs more, milk, please, and fish. Animal sounds, moo, baa, neigh, doodoo doo (cockadoodle doo), hop hop, (ribbit) ibit, oink, and will repeat just about any other sound I ask him to. He will also race the other kids to do something I might have asked them to do, for example, "Seth will you turn off the radio." Tyler "me, me" and he'll run and do it. Speaking of running, if you need to put his coat or shoes on or change his diaper, he runs the other way. One of the more annoying parts of the toddler stage, the big chase.

The other fun thing about yesterday was going to the Theater on the Ridge again (see above about last year) and watching the movie Bolt with the kids.

It was a really cute movie, the opening scene was a little scary, but once we were into it, it made sense. We had a blast. We sat on the 3rd floor up in the Balcony.
Brooke and McKee were a little funny about sitting up there, but once we were in the seats they didn't seem to mind so much. Tyler did pretty well sitting in the seat for about the first hour and then he got antsy, but everyone else sat fairly well. A couple fun facts...the gentlemen in front of us at the movie was a little germ-a-phobic. Tyler has a little cough, and TWICE last night he coughed and the guy in front of us pulled his shirt up over his nose and mouth and left it there for at least 2 minutes. The other crazy people were the couple who sat right in front of us with their teen aged kids, they saw that we had 4 children lined up along the row, and then decided to give us dirty looks when Tyler accidentally pulled her hair, and the funniest was seeing them plug their noses because Tyler decided to poop part way into the beginning of the movie, and oh boy did it smell bad. I think after some musical chairs Brooke ended up behind the woman and she may have kicked the back of her chair too. Hey, if you come to a children's movie, you have to expect that there are children there and then be patient with the ones that you sit in front of. That's my rant for the day. (Mike took Tyler out and changed him by the way, so we weren't sitting there with his stench.)

One more AWESOME part of yesterday. Gas fell below $2.00/gallon at the station near our house! $1.97!!!!!!!We stopped to fill up last night and it cost us $30.66. I didn't think I would see the day that we were below $2.00 again!

Look at the time this was posted!

2008-12-05T04:20:00.002-05:00

So, last night ended a few minutes after 10pm, with Crystal and I once again trying to explain to McKee why he is punished for his choices, and how it is his choices that make him punished. Sure, he's smart enough to realize that at some point Crystal and I made the choice to punish him, but we explained how that will not change, so now only his behavior can change to keep him from punishments.

Then, we left him at 10-O-something-pm with directions to clean his room and a "have a good night, I'll see you at 4am" from me. See, I've been getting up early to go to work and thought that since today is another one of the Greece Central School Districts made up free days off for kids, that it would be ok to get him up at 4am and start him on his chores....did I say chores? Make that chore. Yes, singular (like me, throughout most of my high school and college years) chore. See, if he actually did the dishes, I'd probably give him a stay of execution (someone look that up and see if i'm using it correctly) and not have him worry about the other (yes, singular again) chore....well, maybe 2 other chores since the kids have 2 per day, but dishes are on McKee's "do 'em till you learn 'em" list.

....back to the story. So, at 4am, my trusty (not rusty) LG (Life's Good) cell phone starts up singing Morrissey (even if he's gay and celibate, the man can write and sing.....so shut up you anti-Morrissites......I bet you even hate the dentists....) and I hit snooze....twice. Sure, sure, sure, I'm so anti snooze that I'm one step from hitting the Washington DC scene to lobby against the snooze buttons existence, but, lately, I've been enjoying it as a guilty pleasure (if only I remembered that for yesterday's quiz.) Well, after I hit snooze the second time (man, I need professional help), I hear a noise.....an 11 year old boy walking into my room type noise. It's McKee......awake, on his 2 feet, and walking. He was complaining of a bad dream (how do we replicate that every school morning at 6am to get him up this easy for his mom) but he was up. So, I got dressed and down stairs we went.

He didn't (and hasn't yet) whined a single bit (Sorry Crystal). Then, he proceeds to pull 2 bowls (I just wrote "bowels" but realized that was wrong) from the dishwasher and sat down wanting breakfast. Hey, that's freaking progress. So, Peaches & Cream oatmeal it was. He's sitting there, eating it....and now I have a few minutes before I have to fire up Old Betsy and drive to work. He'll be left here, at 4:41 1/2am with instructions to get the dishes done. Wish him luck!

Last night he took close to 3 hours to start (yeah, not finish, just start) the dishes. Here's hoping 4:30am is an easier time to get them done.

I'm off to work.....when you slackers wake up in a few hours I expect some comments!!!

I wasn't tagged: by MIKE

2008-12-04T10:47:00.003-05:00

I don't like these things, but thought I'd give one a try (I'm stuck on the first question and can't answer it)

Favorite Person (outside of family)? : Mr. Steelhead

Favorite Food? Cheeseburgers!

Quirks about you? Sometimes I do a full body twitch without control, does that count?

Any regrets in life? Not saving every penny I ever made (except for those pennies spent on fishing and family)

My favorite Charity/Cause? Like Crystal, I really only donate to my church, but soon hope to be a more active supporter by volunteering for Project Healing Waters (you know you want to click it)

Favorite Blog recently? Moldy Chum (yo momma says "don't click it!")

Something you can't get enough of? Didn't I already answer "cheeseburgers?" this test is redunditative!

Worst job you've ever had? Well, besides sewing Kathy Lee Gifford brand underwear in a tiny, 100 degree room, with 100 of my closest friends, I'd have to say selling coupon books door to door.

What job would you pay not to have? Crystal's answer was "house cleaner", mine is....midwife to a moose.

Guilty Pleasure? cold, cold (did I mention "cold") drinks.

Got any confessions? I confess that Crystal's confession is SO true! Besides that, I want to........

If you had $1000 dollars to spend on yourself how would you spend it? I'd buy myself all the stuff I already have, but haven't paid VISA back for!

Favorite thing about your house? I like it

Least favorite thing about your house? It's never big enough, or the right color (from what I hear) :-)

One thing you are bad at? Not being perfect and (can i have 2?) picking one thing I am bad at.

One thing you are good at? Picking my nose without getting caught. Think about it, you've never seen it happen, have you? (if by chance you have, please don't use the public comment section, but privately contact me about your experience and we'll see if we can't get it published in the National Geographic....or Reader's Digest "Life in America" or something like that)

If you could change one thing about your circumstances, what would it be? I'd have actual savings in my savings account, and a job that doesn't give me the opportunity every month to wonder if I'm going to be employed when the month ends.

Who would you like to meet someday? My father in law, President Bush (current one) (sure, say what you want about him, but when I see him, he seems sincere and like he's really an honest and decent person.)

What makes you feel sexy? Sex... flat out, bang it out SEX!

Who is your real life hero? You

What is the hardest part of your job? Trying to not get caught typing ridiculous things on my wife's blog.

When are you most relaxed? when I'm knee deep in the creek.

What can you not live without? food, water, shelter, and clothing, but there's plenty of other things that make those more enjoyable.

Do you agree or disagree with the recent article that reported that blogs are authored by narcissists? I've always held true to my belief that anyone who takes narcissists or any other type of drugs are people who need professional help, and therefore, since I don't take drugs or narcissists, no, i don't think blogs are authored only by them.

Why do you blog? because Crystal hasn't blocked me yet.

I was tagged...

2008-12-04T07:42:00.002-05:00

Favorite Person (outside of family)? : Rachel

Favorite Food? Tomatoes

Quirks about you? The list of my anti-quirks would be shorter

Any regrets in life? Not going with my mom when I was 6yrs old. as soon as she left, I felt so sad for making her sad.

My favorite Charity/Cause? I donate through my church, but anything that helps children is big.

Favorite Blog recently? Summertime designs (free digital scrapbooking kits, and heartwarming stories)

Something you can't get enough of? time alone with Mike

Worst job you've ever had? I've enjoyed my jobs, I've learned something at each one...worst people at a job?...that's another story

What job would you pay not to have? house cleaner

Guilty Pleasure? chocolate, hoarding scrapbook paper, digital or actual.

Got any confessions? I don't think all babies are cute. I still love them all, but some are funny looking. (sorry)

If you had $1000 dollars to spend on yourself how would you spend it? I would fly to Colorado to visit my dad.

Favorite thing about your house? my family lives here with me.

Least favorite thing about your house? my family lives here with me.

One thing you are bad at? telling people no.

One thing you are good at? crafts

If you could change one thing about your circumstances, what would it be? we would have enough money that Mike wouldn't have to work so hard and stress about it.

Who would you like to meet someday? My Dad, Grandma, Aunt/Cousins, Mary Kay Ash, Mike's Grandpa

What makes you feel sexy? I'm always sexy...(ok, ok...stop laughing...when Mike comes up behind me and hugs me from behind)

Who is your real life hero? I don't have a hero...wait..maybe Katherine. She deals with so much with Claire, and does it with class and love...she's awesome.

What is the hardest part of your job? dealing with whining, The realization that all parents are just faking it, and we don't really know what we're doing. But making it look good, that's the real challenge.

When are you most relaxed? fishing a popper on a quiet pond next to Mike.

What can you not live without? Mike and the kids.

Do you agree or disagree with the recent article that reported that blogs are authored by narcissists? what?

Why do you blog? share pictures with far away family and friends. and as an outlet.

Who do you tag? Janet, MaryAnn

Tuesdays with Morey...

2008-12-04T06:40:00.004-05:00

Wait, I've never read that book. This post is Mornings with McKee. We really enjoy ourselves at 6am in my house. Here's a little bit of the action.

After I walked away from the table McKee decided to play with a marble that he found this morning and make it into a rocket ship. So it's blasting around the table as his cheerios get soggy and then eventually thrown away in the sink. I lead a glamorous life! All I can do is wish a kid just like him on him. But that wouldn't be fair to his wife, since she's the one who has to deal with the kids more...I'll have to plot my revenge in a different way...(Wait, was that out loud?)

Blessings in the middle of a crazy day.

2008-12-03T10:16:00.003-05:00

Today has been crazy, annoying, busy, and tiresome...and it's only 10:17am. But I am not here to complain. In the middle of the craziness my mind bounced back to last night and it brought a smile to my face. Tyler was put to bed at 7:30 with the rest of the kids like always. I went in to check on him and cover him up, like I always do, at about 9:15 or so and I woke him up. He was happy to see me and to see Mike out in the hallway. It was very sweet, he was all smiles and cuddled up with his blankie. After I said my last little "I love you" I walked out and mostly closed the door and I heard some beautiful singing. He must have been singing for about 8 or 10 minutes. It was so cute. I ran downstairs and grabbed the camera. It was dark, so the video isn't much of anythingto watch, but you can hear him. Enjoy! (It's kind of long with some quiet in between, but it's so cute.)

A Thanksgiving Prayer

2008-11-27T07:32:00.002-05:00

Brooke Simmons 4 1/2 years old...

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for this day. Please bless everyone to have a good Thanksgiving, and all of the kids so they can be fun and playing. Please bless thE food. And Please bless Daddy and McKee that they can get home safely. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE, FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS. BE SAFE AND ENJOY YOUR FAMILIES.

Shhh...Twiglight SPOILER!!!

2008-11-20T18:19:00.002-05:00

OK, Crystal's off for the night and in a few hours will be propping up her eyelids with toothpicks so she can try to stay awake and watch Twiglight. Well, what some of you might not know is that I'm in the movie biz. Now, hear me out before you laugh to hard. It's true, I'm in "the biz." I might not always say things that are the truth, but that statement is 100% dyed in the wool (what the freak does that really mean) TRUE!!! I'm in "the biz." Has it sunk in yet? Need another minute or two? Ok, you got 2 minutes while I get Tyler out of his high chair and get him some milk.

....Ok, that was only a minute, but you all are mature enough to get over it in a minute or less.

....so, let's continue.

Crystal is gone, yadda yadda yadda ("I mentioned the bisque!"), and I'm in the movie biz. See, I support the Kodak Digital Cinema equipment which means I know a bit about movies and stuff....and I even get a bit of insider info.....like.....(shhh....) a pre-release copy of Twiglight. See, if our equipment fails to show, and we don't know until the theater is packed with thousands of....vampires....then we don't look good. So, they often send us out movies to test so we don't look like idiots come 12:01am on any given day.

So, now that she's gone I can FINALLY tell my faithful readers about the show.

It's good.....as far as teenage vampires go. Edward goes about doing his vampire duties and falls in love with Ariel. They go off to college where he majors in......what else but.....phlebotomy. She stays home and has 2.5 vampmaids (did you get that? a combination of vampire and mermaid....see, Ariel is a mermaid....WHY do I have to explain these things to you people?)....or is it merpires.

The plot thickens as Edward gets prostate cancer. Early diagnosis shows that there is hope, but one day while out vamping around town, sucks on a pig that was fed corn that was fertilized by a mad cow, and before Edward can go see the doc, he turns into......a flying pig.

When Edward returns home, he tries to explain to Ariel what happened, but all he can get out is "oink oink, i vant to suck your blooood." Well, Ariel not knowing what to do, and being rightfully scared, swims back to Atlantis and get's George Clooney (stupid Hollywood throwing in famous people just to up their sales) who comes out of the water (yes, the Cloonmeister is a malemaid....a dudemaid.....and manmaid......I don't remember). Well, the Clooninator swims up to the land and upon seeing Ed-pig-O he realizes he is hungry and missed breakfast. (go ahead, gasp a big one, because you know what's coming.....) So, the Cloontastic Cloonster busts out a wooden knife (see, vampires need to be stabbed with a wooden stake (hmmm...steak sounds good right now)) and does a number on old Pigward, and next thing you know.......mmmmm.....bacon!!!!

Needless to say, I REALLY hope their will be a international sequel, because I've really got a hankering (there's another strange word) for some Canadian Bacon!!!

(for all of you real Twiglight fans out there, I warned you that this was a SPOILER....you knew better than to read on.....you got what you deserved.... a wasted 3 minutes of your life!!!)

.....I mentioned the bisque!

I have to interrupt this Fantasy Land to Brag a Little

2008-11-20T16:10:00.002-05:00

McKee brought home his report card yesterday. I am so proud! He did an awesome job! His GPA is 3.765 that's high honor roll! He has done such a great job. He's finally adjusting to the huge change on middle school, and even though we fight with him to help him concentrate and remember to bring home his stuff, he's learning and is doing awesome! Great Job McKee, I'm so proud of you!

Twilight

2008-11-20T07:00:00.003-05:00

So tonights the big night! My best friend Rachel's birthday was in October and as a gift to her I promised to take her to see Twilight as soon as it came out. So we discussed what time would be best and we decided tonight. We are actually having a nice girls night out, which I never really do, so I'm really looking forward to it! We'll start off the evening with some Close to My Heart stamping fun from 6-8pm (we are in a group that meets once a month for 6 months and gets to make some really cool stuff.) Then we will head out for something yummy to eat, I'm not sure where yet. Finally, we will end up at Greece Regal Cinema at the mall for the 12:01am showing of Twilight. I purchased the tickets on line so we're all set and ready to go! I will post more tomorrow with pictures, of course I'm bringing my camera! I may not really be awake tomorrow, but it's worth it. The book is set at a high school age, and we're acting like high school girls...how fun!

Sick Sense of Humor

2008-11-19T16:07:00.001-05:00

But not inappropriate. I follow this blog that I think is hilarious, and has yummy recipes. I was just reading a post about her adventures with her daughter. Totally worth the 5 minutes you'll spend reading it! enjoy!

First "Real" Snowfall of the Year

2008-11-18T06:30:00.003-05:00

Our Beautiful Maple Tree in the front yard.

This rose bush amazes me because it seems to bloom forever.

When I got home from Brooke's dance lesson last night the ground was covered in a light dusting of snow. It was beautiful. I LOVE the change of seasons and winter is no exception. My motto is if the leaves are off the trees, then it's time for some snow. The kids have also been dying to go outside and play in the snow. I'm looking forward to taking these guys sledding. Tyler is so cute, he was watching out the window saying "sow" and sometimes "snuh" (we're working on learning words)

My pretty purple mums.

"I don't want the funny nose"

2008-11-13T08:31:00.003-05:00

Brooke had a dentist appointment yesterday to fill a tiny hole they found in one of her baby teeth back in September. I already had to reschedule her appointment once because it fell on the same day as her field trip for preschool, so the date was re-set, November 12th at 11:45am. So Yesterday morning I explained to her about how I was going to pick her up from school early and then we would drop off Hailey (I drive a little girl to preschool on Monday and Wednesday) and then we would go to see Dr. Dan and he was going to fix her tooth. I also explained that she couldn't have a snack at school because they were going to put a funny nose on her to help her be brave and the air might make her tummy sick. She seemed ok with it, and I told her teachers no snack for her, so they made her the special helper so she would be distracted. Brooke was fine, didn't flinch at all at school about the snack. Well, we get into the van and are on the way to drop off Hailey and I hear Brooke starting to cry in the back of the van. When I asked her what was wrong she said "I don't want the funny nose" She cried until we dropped off Hailey, and then I gave her a hug and started driving again. She cried the whole way to the dentist, which is about a 20 minute ride. I managed to get it out of her that she wasn't scared of the dentist, (she never has been before) but she was sad that she had to wear the funny nose because it meant that she couldn't have a snack and it was goldfish. I was trying not to laugh because even though she was crying, she was being so cute about it. So I promised her I would stop at Super Wal-Mart on the way home and get some goldfish crackers. (We go right past it on the way to and from the dentist.) I also told her that I would take a picture of her on my phone with the funny nose so she could see what she looked like. I forgot to bring my camera, I hate when I do that.

She did a great job. She got to sit in the chair and watch a Care Bears movie and they are so good with the kids here. They explain what each tool is and let her touch them and feel them so it's not scary. At one point Dr. Dan said "I see your big brown eyes peaking at me from under there" and Brooke thought that was so funny. After they finished drilling and filling, oh yeah, they didn't use any novacaine because it was a shallow cavity and with the gas, she didn't really need it, they turned on pure oxygen through the nose to restore her normal levels. She was able to pick a prize from the "special" prizes, and then we were done! She did a great job. The prize she picked was a princess duck to use in the bathtub. She's so cute and so girly.

Please help me...

2008-11-12T06:12:00.002-05:00

I posted the following on a forum I belong to, and I thought maybe I would post it here also.

I am struggling with how to deal with my 11-year-old son. He's whiny and disrespectful and lazy. I need to take care of this now before he really hits the teen years. I have never let him get away with behavior like this, so I'm not sure what makes him think he can get away with it now. He's my oldest, I have 4 kids, the others are 6, 4, and 22 months. My kids have a chore chart and they have just 2 things to do each day, simple things like pick up the toys, pick up the books, clear/set the table, load the dishwasher, nothing too crazy, and totally appropriate for them to learn some responsibility. I am the oldest of 6 kids and had to do way more work than that when I was younger, the difference is I did it without complaining. McKee, my oldest, thinks he should whine and complain and argue with me every step of the way. He has ADD and has been on meds for a couple years now, but the behaviors I'm seeing are not related to the symptoms he was having that finally helped me decide to medicate him. I've decided that maybe tough love is the way to go so he can appreciate his 2 little daily chores. He has been complaining about loading the dishwasher. He's being ridiculous, (here's the part where I act like an old lady and walked to school uphill both ways wearing a skirt...) when I was a kid, there were 8 of us and we didn't have a dishwasher. I had to hand wash each dish and dry them and put them away, on top of everything else I had to do. So McKee in throwing his fit 2 weeks ago slammed one of my juice pitchers repeatedly into the dishwasher because it wouldn't fit and snapped the pitcher. His punishment? This is where I get really mean, but hey, I'm desperate here...14 days of hand washing the dishes EVERY DAY. He need to learn how to do the dishes anyway, but if he can't appreciate how easy it is to just load the dishwasher and turn it on, then he can see how it is to really have to wash them. So it's been 2 weeks, and last night was the first night that he's completed the dishes. THE FIRST NIGHT. The other nights after about 9:30pm, which is way past his bedtime, we've sent him upstairs with the understanding that he does not get credit for that day because it's not complete.

The other issue we've had is him fighting with the littler kids. That drives me nuts too, because some reason he thinks that they are out to get him. So when I caught him just over a week ago swinging at his 6 year old brother because he touched his bear, I just about lost it. So in order to learn to love his brothers and sister he is serving them. So for 14 days he has to do their chores also. Again, I know I sound really mean, but I feel like I've tried everything with him and I don't know what to do to break this lazy habit. The whining has to stop, I have little patience for that from an 11-year-old boy.

We've also started waking him up at 5:30 am instead of 6 so he can take a shower. He was showering previously in the evenings every other day, or every couple days. He's not really sweating yet, so it's not a huge deal. BUT, when he went over a week with no shower and then whined and complained about it when he had to take one, it was on. I told him from now on (probably for a week at least) I will be waking him up at 5:30 am so he can have enough time to shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, and then make it to the bus stop without running and almost missing the bus.

His new trick is to complain and complain until we finally tell him to cut it out, and then he'll say "if this is torture for you then why don't you just unground me?" He's pretty smart to try to torture us into giving up, I have to give him credit for that, but I'm not going to break. He has to learn how to behave, and he has to learn how to do these chores properly and not waste his whole day doing it. He's really torturing himself. With a full sink of dishes and the other 8 daily chores, he should take about an hour tops.

Can you tell I'm getting desperate? I'm fragile right now so please be kind to me! I just need to know if anyone has anything that has worked for them. Have you had any of these problems before?

Tyler the Great!

2008-11-11T08:57:00.006-05:00

Tyler has had a food allergy (actually 3 food allergies, milk, eggs, and soy) since he was a new little baby. We found out about his allergy when he was just 10 months old...October 9, 2007. I went off to a Mary Kay meeting, and up until this day had nursed Tyler with no problems, but since I was gone I left some formula for Mike to give to Tyler. I got a phone call from Mike saying that Tyler was throwing up and had red hives all over his face. This is the picture I saw when I got home.

So the next day we called the pediatrician and they wanted us to bring Tyler in to the office. They looked him over and then sent us for a blood test to check him for allergies. The blood test came back negative for milk and soy, and positive for eggs. I thought that was really wierd because the formula had no eggs in it, but it did have milk and soy. So they sent us to Dr. Valet, a pediatric allergist to figure things out. I think we were able to get in there within just a couple weeks of calling. We hiked out to Brockport (he has a closer office, but they had the first opening) and he looked over poor Tyler. They decided to do a skin test. The results of the first blood test were tainted because it was done too soon after a reaction and the results were false. So we scheduled the skin test in his Greece office and waited for the day to find out what the deal was. I thought I took a picture of the skin test, but I can't find it anywhere. His reaction was pretty bad. So Tyler has been off the milk, eggs, and soy and anything containing any of those for a year now. I took him in again this last Monday, NOV 3rd, to be retested, since it has been a year. Here is a photo of his back...after 20 minutes...

#1 was his skin to compare
#2 a histamine (to see a normal reaction)
#3 milk
#4 eggs
#5 soy

So you can see that there was NO reaction to the milk and soy. YEAH! So I had to take Tyler in for a blood test to confirm the results of the skin test. I put off the test for a week, partly because it was a crazy week, and partly because I feel so bad having them poke him. So yesterday morning after I dropped Brooke off at school I finally got up the courage to take him to the blood lab. He sat on my lap and watched the nurse put the needle in his arm, looked at her, looked at his arm and just watched. He didn't flinch, cry, make a peep, nothing. He did AWESOME! I'm so proud of him! I gave him a lollipop when he was done and got a sticker and walked out of there like the biggest boy ever. Here he is showing me his bandage on his arm.

He was telling Brooke "arm" and "poke" showing her the bandage. It was really cute. So now, we just wait. It should be about a week before we hear back from the Dr. with the results. The next step will be a challenge in the office. They will give him some milk and we have to sit and wait to see if there is a reaction. If there isn't, then he's free and clear!

Some random thoughts on the election...

2008-11-07T06:32:00.003-05:00

I am posting this here mainly for me, so the next time an election comes around I can remember my thoughts and feelings about what just went down.

1. no matter who the candidate is, they cannot live up to their promises. no one really knows what the president is facing every day, and I'm sure that he makes decisions we don't like because of the information that he has that we don't. i don't want to know those details either. I'm sure it's a matter of security. i wish that just once a real person would come out and make this seemingly obvious statement to America so they can realize not to count 100% of what these guys tell us.

2. No matter who wins/won we are still all Americans. that said, even if we don't like who won, we who participated in the vote can be proud that we did, and then be grown up enough to try to support our country. how bad does it look to the rest of the world when we are supposed to be a "world superpower" and we spend most of our time and effort and money on fighting the person we just picked to be in charge? way to go unity and strength in numbers. if we are to be a successful nation we need to try to support our president as much as we can, and then go through the proper channels to override his choices when they are really out of control. that's one of the blessings of the democratic system in which we live.

3. i am sick of the stupid campaign ads. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way. sticks and stones...

4. i reserve the right to add to this list my other thoughts that i should have written down days ago and can't remember at the moment! :) (it's not even 7am yet, and I've been up since 5:30, my brain is not quite the superpower i would hope for)

There is a fine line...

2008-11-06T08:45:00.003-05:00

Please forgive me a rant for a couple of minutes. I have 2 issues right at this moment that are bugging me.

1. I love blogging. I think it's great, it gives me an outlet and a way to journal the goings-on of my family in a quick and easy way. It also allows me to connect with out of town family, or distant relatives that I may not have known otherwise. So what is the issue? I feel like I am losing the closeness of friends. I'm finding that I am not really having any of those good old fashioned long phone convos about nothing and everything. It's easier to take a quick minute and check some one's blog or myspace page and see what they're up to, and then you feel like you've touched base with them. I think people are becoming afraid of talking on the phone. Are we worried that maybe someone will find out from the tone of our voice or the words we say, that are not as easily edited, that something is wrong, or all is not right in paradise?

2. ADHD and behavioral issues. What do you do with an 11-year-old boy who you are ready to strangle? It took me years to decided for sure that he had ADD and was in need of medication. He is on the meds now, and has been for a while, and they work wonders for him. His 5 week progress report was mostly A's and a few B+'s. He did awesome. So my problem with him is that he is so smart and can act so stupid. I AM NOT CALLING HIM STUPID, PLEASE DON'T THINK THAT, BECAUSE I DON'T. I'm just saying that his behavior is out of control sometimes. Especially in the morning. This morning was an hour long battle that ended with me so upset I was ready to move to Alaska (maybe Sarah Palin will take me shopping and her husband can take me fly-fishing) and Mike coming home from work to deal with McKee. He is 11. He is old enough to know that whining and yelling at his mother is unacceptable behavior. He is old enough to know that we take showers to get clean, and the only way to get the soap off is to rinse it under the water. I mean really, come on. I'm so fed up. And then the worst part is I try to tell Damon, (his dad) and he is so oblivious and thinks I'm overreacting because he doesn't see the same behaviors I do. Well, it might be because he only sees him on the weekend and one weeknight, and it's during his less structured time. And, who really whines at their friends? Damon treats him like a friend. So anyway, what do you do with a child to reinforce appropriate behavior and make him realize that I don't want to be up waking up a whiny, lazy (his new favorite phrase is "I don't want to have to do anything") when he knows better.

Thanks for any advice. I may not take it, but please feel free to help me. I am also taking donations for a vacation.

So...

2008-11-05T07:46:00.001-05:00

I think we could all use a laugh today after the crazy 2 years we've spent hoping for the best and listening to candidates and trying to make a difference. So...please enjoy this little blast from the past. I'm sure you've seen it before, but I love it. God Bless America...please.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2008-10-31T08:40:00.003-04:00

From all of our ghosts and ghouls to yours...

we wish you a safe, fun, and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I CAN'T WAIT

2008-10-27T12:37:00.004-04:00

Last night Mike and I were watching tv and there was a commercial on for the TWILIGHT movie! I'm so excited! I can't wait for it to be released. I've seen the trailers on the internet, but this was the first on tv. Woo Hoo! I can't wait!

I love funny signs...

2008-10-24T16:01:00.005-04:00

I took McKee to the urologist today to check out his "man problems" as Mike puts it. While McKee and I were waiting for the elevator we looked down the hall and spotted this sign.I It would be hard for you to convince me that it was a coincidence!
Update:
On a more serious note...McKee has vericocele. Here is the simpleist explanation that I found. "Variceles do not generally clot and even if they do it's nothing dangerous. They also do not affect testosterone levels. But they may affect fertility. The exact reason isn't certain since usually it's only the left testicle that is affected. Varicoceles are caused by a failure of a small valve where the vein from the testicle (very low pressure) joins the left renal vein (moderate pressure). Without a valve there, some of the blood flow from the renal vein would tend to go into the testicle instead of where it's supposed to. This is what happens when the valve fails and that causes a backup and dilation of the veins in the testicle that we call a varicocele.

If there is no history of infertility and if the varicocele is not bothersome or actively enlarging, we don't usually treat it. Treatment is surgery. You may talk to your urologist about having a semen analysis to see if it's abnormal if that will affect your decision."

So being the concerned, paranoid mother that I am, I am convinced that McKee will not be able to have children and will have a hard time finding a wife that will want to marry him if he can't. Mike thinks I'm crazy, and I might agree a little bit...don't tell him that...and we shouldn't worry about it until he's an adult and we'll see what happens. I don't know that I will post any updates on the situation due to the nature of it, but I know that most who read this blog love McKee and maybe would pray for him.

My Big Boy?

2008-10-23T10:02:00.003-04:00

Tyler found the little pacifier that he had when he was a baby. It's been a very long time since he used it, I think he was only months old...maybe 4 mos...the last time he had it in his mouth. Well he saw it on the desk, pointed to his mouth, said baby and picked it up, walked away and when he came back this is what I saw...
(notice Brooke's sparkley headband that has become his new necklace?)
A little bit later he came back into the kitchen and this is how he looked. So cute with the sunglasses and so much like a baby still. I cut his hair this morning and he was looking so old, so maybe he's showing me he's still my baby with the pacifier!
He's still walking around the house with it in his mouth, Brooke is playing with him calling him baby and when I tried to pull it out of his mouth, he had his teeth clenched around it. He's not giving it up! I'm sure it makes me an awful mother to not force it away from him, but I think it's kind of cute, and of course the novelty will wear off soon and it will disappear, never to be sucked again!

UPDATE: Just minutes after I finished my post here Tyler tried to tell me something and had to pull the pacifier out of his mouth to talk. Looked at it funny, put it back in his mouth, and then let me take it from him with no problem. I think he realized it's weird and didn't like not being able to talk to me. It was very funny to watch the realization come across him.

Mike has a new interest...

2008-10-20T06:33:00.003-04:00

Guns. With the upcoming election Mike has decided to be one of the statistics of guns purchased in an election year. We are honestly nervous about what is going to happen this presidential election and have started beefing up our preparedness, just in case. So Mike is convinced that he will need a gun to defend us (or our food storage) and has decided to try some out. A friend of ours is a member of a gun club and took Mike shooting on Saturday night. He really enjoyed himself and looked good doing it! We'll see how things play out with this whole thing. Here is a picture of Mike to enjoy (but not too much ladies, I saw him first.)

Garage Sale 10/10 & 10/11

2008-10-10T07:50:00.002-04:00

That's right, it's time to be enlightened by the digital words of MIKE. I apologize to all my followers who have been patiently waiting for another blog-o-doctrine on how to live a Mike-like life. Soon, I will give in and give you want you all want (need). Until then, let this post hold you over and slow down the salivating for more of my words.

Crystal is having a garage sale! Today from 10am until 6pm and tomorrow from 10am-5pm she will display proudly on our driveway (all the stuff we don't want anymore) stuff we've accumulated over the years. So, technically it's a driveway sale. See, even in a garage sale you can't technically buy the garage (although, if anyone wants to "buy" us repairs on our garage, we'll gladly let you so we can then finally open the door(s) and have a more traditional garage sale).

So, for all of you that have always dreamed of having a peak into the life of MIKE, this is your chance. You'll be able to come to my house, while I'm at work, and see all those things that Crystal will try to sneak out of the house and sell. Just let me make this one warning......if any of you see my parachute pants and zipper coat for sale, trust me, this was not authorized, and the purchaser will be in as much trouble as Crystal........."'Cause this is THRILLER.......THRILLER NIGHT!"

Go, shop, browse, buy, experience the love, the joy, the happiness (but stay away from my coat and pants!) And by all means, bring Crystal a donut or two (chocolate with white cream, not that pudding cream stuff)!!!

Just a Thursday Morning

2008-10-09T08:54:00.002-04:00

I'm feeling particularly sentimental this morning. (It may be PMS, but don't tell anyone.) I've always loved this song. It was on a credit card commercial the first time I heard it and I would get teary every time. (To my credit, I was pregnant at the time too. But who am I kidding? I still cry at certain commercials) Anyways...I hope you enjoy it too.

(it won't let me post the whole video, but click on the link to hear it.)

Five for Fighting-100 years

I'm 15 for a moment
Caught in between 10 and 20
And I'm just dreaming
Counting the ways to where you are
I'm 22 for a moment
She feels better than ever
And we're on fire
Making our way back from Mars
15 there's still time for you
Time to buy and time to lose
15, there's never a wish better than this
When you only got 100 years to live
I'm 33 for a moment
Still the man, but you see I'm a they
A kid on the way
A family on my mind
I'm 45 for a moment
The sea is high
And I'm heading into a crisis
Chasing the years of my life
15 there's still time for you
Time to buy, Time to lose yourself
Within a morning star
15 I'm all right with you
15, there's never a wish better than this
When you only got 100 years to live
Half time goes by
Suddenly you’re wise
Another blink of an eye
67 is gone
The sun is getting high
We're moving on...
I'm 99 for a moment
Dying for just another moment
And I'm just dreaming
Counting the ways to where you are
15 there's still time for you
22 I feel her too
33 you’re on your way
Every day's a new day...
15 there's still time for you
Time to buy and time to choose
Hey 15, there's never a wish better than this
When you only got 100 years to live

Innocence

2008-10-03T13:05:00.002-04:00

Brooke's friend from down the street is over today and the girls just sat down to have some lunch. Brooke stopped Johanna from eating because we have to say a prayer first. Brooke said Johanna do you want to say the prayer? Johanna said I don't know what to say. Brooke's response was "I'll whisper in your ear the words to say and you can say it." After Brooke started saying the prayer to Johanna, she replied "but your daddy is at work today."

They are so cute. What a great missionary Brooke is already sharing a simple truth like prayer with her little friend.

The Perfect Day

2008-09-21T18:52:00.004-04:00

Today was a perfectly lovely day. We started off the morning with going to church, which normally just drives us crazy because we have children who get bored during sacrament meeting, and aren't afraid to say "it's boring" or "I'm bored" outloud, usually when it's quiet! Anyways...all 4 of them were very well behaved today, we didn't have to take a single child out into the hallway! All of the kids have been really well behaved today, this is the first time we've had a day like this in a long time! It's so nice. It's a great reminder of why we have families, and the joy that a big family can bring! We watched the Bills WIN today, woo hoo, what a game (It's a tradition on my side of the family to watch the Bills play, I can remember being bored as a kid while my parents watched the game. It always seemed like it took forever.) We had a lovely dinner and all of the kids ate with minimal complaining (that almost never happens). So after dinner Mike and I decided to go on a walk around the block with the kids. As we stepped outside all bundled up because of the slight chill in the air I looked at them and thought "this is perfect." The weather is only 57 degrees, but it's my favorite time of year. The air smells wonderful, the leaves are starting to change, and there was my happy family enjoying each other's company and looking so cute. I had to take a picture. I don't think any of them realized I even snapped the shot, which makes it more special for me. I love it. I love my family, my wonderful husband and kids. I am so grateful for them. I'm grateful for the Sabbath day that helps me to reflect on the gifts that Heavenly Father has given to me, and the sweet Spirit that confirms that all of the struggles that I go through with the kids are worth it. We are an eternal family, and this is what I hope the eternities are like.

Target Deals

2008-09-17T12:17:00.002-04:00

I spotted this on my friends blog and thought I would pass it along! Happy Shopping.

If you're still looking for various school supplies, or want to stock up, check out your local Target stores. All remaining school supplies are currently 30% off, and will probably be 50-75% off within the next week!

Goodbye to Good Friends

2008-09-08T11:58:00.004-04:00

Our good friends the Burnett family are moving tomorrow. I'm so sad that they are going. They moved her so Matt could go to medical school 5 or 6 years ago. We have had some fun times with them. One of my favorite memories is their New Year's Eve party when we played MadGab. Matt is the MadGab king. If you've never played that game, you should. Anyway. Matt has been sick for some time now with cancer, and gone through a liver transplant. They really have struggled, I don't know how Christine does it, she's been so amazing. All of their families live on the other side of the country and that has to be hard. They have decided that it's time for them to move home. I knew they would move someday when Matt was done with school, but there was the chance that he would do his residency here, so I've been hopeful. They really do need to be by their families now. It's been so hard for everyone here who loves them to see Matt get sicker, we really feel for them. I know I've cried many times for them, and I hope that each time I do, maybe a little bit of the hurt will be taken away from Christine, Matt and the kids. Benjamin, Joshua, Anna, and Maria are precious kids. We've always enjoyed having them over to play with my kids. I am amazed how much food her kids eat! They out eat my children hands down! Anna and Brooke are so cute together, most of the time! They argue and fight just like they were sisters, but I know they enjoy playing. I have some really cute pictures of them together over the years. They are only months apart. I remember driving home with Christine from a Relief Society activity and telling each other we were pregnant. The girls are now 4 yrs old. That was a long time ago.

Here is a photo of the girls in all of their girly glory.
Brooke has matured a lot with her emotions. Yesterday in Fast and Testimony meeting Brooke heard Matt and Christine bear their testimonies and heard that they were moving. She looked at me with panic on her face and asked if Anna was going too. I said yes, she can't stay here without her family because she'll be sad. Brooke started to cry and then asked me if she will still come to church when she moves far away. When I told her no because it's too far away she looked at me and said "but Anna is my best friend." She was so heartbroken I couldn't help but start crying. I've only seen her cry like this once before when there was a stray cat hanging around and the animal control came and got it. She truly was hurting. She asked me why she was moving and I explained that Anna's daddy is sick. (Our kids have known that he's sick because we've prayed for them as a family.) I told her that Anna's daddy wants to be by his family because it might help him feel a little better. What really broke my heart was when she asked me "Can Anna move back here when her daddy feels better?" I couldn't talk, the tears were just streaming and I was hurting inside for her and for myself and for Christine and her family. I couldn't explain to her that Anna's daddy isn't going to get better. She's just too little for that. She cried for the rest of the Sacrament meeting and into Primary a little bit. She didn't want me to leave her side. I'm so sad for her. It's hard to lose a friend. I can only hope that someday when they are grown they will meet at college or some activity and remember, probably with some help from Christine and I, that they were such good friends. They are moving TOMORROW, so I decided to have the girls get together and play for one last time. We really will miss this family, and I hope to be able to visit them sometime in the future.

I'm a Big Boy!

2008-09-01T08:59:00.004-04:00

Tyler wants so badly to be able to do the things that the other kids do. I caught him helping himself to some lunch recently. The older kids love to eat warm tortillas with butter melted on them. I used to eat them when I was a kid after my mom made homemade tortillas. They are delicious. Well, with Tyler's allergies, we don't use real butter much, we use the Wegmans tub'o'love spread. Tyler wanted butter on his tortilla, he didn't care that it had chicken on the inside already! That little boy is very coordinated for his young age to be able to work a butter knife like that!

Ok, you pulled another story out of me...About 3 weeks ago we were at my friend Rebecca's house for a picnic after she had her baby christened, and Tyler grabbed a plastic fork and was handed a mini-straw, one of those coffee stir sticks. He was able to put the straw on one of the pokey things on the fork. I thought that was pretty impressive for an 18 month old to have that eye hand coordination and the fine motor skills to go along with it!

End of the Olympics

2008-08-25T07:12:00.002-04:00

Olympic Medal winners at NBC Olympics.com!

I am so proud to be an American. I have loved watching every minute of these Olympics. China did a fantastic job hosting, and the closing ceremony last night was beautiful. Sadly, I had to work on opening night, so I missed that performance. So many world records were broken and broken again by these amazing athletes. America finished in the lead with the most medals won, while China had the most gold. What an awesome way to show the world coming together in friendly competition. In our Sunday School class that Mike and I teach, the 12-13 yr olds, we were talking yesterday about anger and controlling our anger. Mike brought up a good thought, what if leaders of countries challenged each other to a game of chess instead of war when there are problems! It made me think of the Olympics and how all of that can be set aside and people so different from each other in culture can stay in the same housing and spend over 2 weeks together with no problems so they can have some friendly competition. Makes you think.

Baskets and Crayons, What more could you want?

2008-08-22T07:19:00.013-04:00

Tyler is so funny now, he does things so we'll laugh. It's amazing to me how early kids develop a sense of humor. Tyler loves to be inside of buckets or baskets or under blankets. He's learned how to say "boo" and jump out at us. It's very cute! I am proud to say that my 19 months of pulling shirts over his head and saying boo every time his little head popped out has finally paid off! So anyway, I bought some plastic bins to store some of my things in because of a mold/flooding problem in the basement (I won't get into it right now, but soon) and they were in the front room just waiting for a tiny person to climb in! So here is Tyler in all of glory with his bagel, keepin' it real (that one's for you Mike!) in the plastic tub. When he does something cute and he knows it's cute, he does his "cheese" face at me to ask me to take a picture! He also tipped the tub over and though that was hilarious!

So of course, Brooke has to get in on the action because she saw how much fun Tyler was having, and had to get in on the photo op too! She's just a little bigger though, and barely fit. I just had to laugh. Since Brooke stole the plastic tub, Tyler had to move on to bigger and better things, like...the laundry basket! He's so crazy!

Tyler is so busy now, it drives me crazy. I don't know about everyone else, but I forget for the most part, from kid to kid what they are doing at what age, so it's almost a surprise to me when they do new things. I got used to telling the older kids, we color at the table on paper and they just do it. It's been a long time since something was colored on around here. Until yesterday. Tyler went a little crazy with a black crayon he pulled out of our junk drawer and then kept pulling out of the garbage can because I kept throwing it away. HOW does one little boy and one black crayon travel so far so quickly? The fridge, a dining room chair, the silverware drawer...

the dining room table(these are just remnants because McKee cleaned it up), and the garbage can.

So, being the mean mommy that I am, I made him clean it up. He has to learn some time right?

Family Picnic 2008

2008-08-20T08:15:00.004-04:00

Once a year my mom's side of the family gets together for a reunion/picnic/camping at my Uncle Denton's house in Nunda, NY. We usually have a great time and most of the family comes. My mom is #9 of 13 kids, 12 are still alive, and there are 51 cousins. We have so much fun. My uncles all play together in a band, so there's music, and food and Uncle Denton has a pond near the camp site. My kids love going because they can run around and do almost whatever they want with my cousins who are their ages, and my cousins' children. We roasted marshmallows, fished, danced, and talked. Only 4 of the 6 of us were able to make it this year, me, Dave, Michael, and Matt. McKee was in Myrtle Beach with Damon, so he wasn't there either. Here are a few pics.

Grandma

2008-08-18T15:55:00.004-04:00

So the services this weekend went pretty well. An interesting fact is that Grandma was laid to rest in a mausoleum at Riverside Cemetery on Lake Ave in Rochester, NY. When we were there Friday morning for the service Mike spotted Johannes Van Den Berghe just a couple spots diagonal from Grandma's. John Van Den Berghe was our Stake Patriarch, and sealed Mike and I and Seth and Brooke in the temple. It was a little bit of a comfort knowing they are close by. I know it seems silly, especially since we know it's just an empty body, but it made me feel better. I found some pictures of Grandma the way I remember her better from when we were little kids. I thought it would be fun for you to see her they way I will always remember her, and not so sick as the last couple pictures.

Here's Grandma and Grandpa dancing.

This is Christmas of 1987 in their front sitting room.

I found the other pictures of Grandma

2008-08-13T22:44:00.003-04:00

We went to visit Grandma in May just after she came home from the hospital with her cancer diagnosis. She loves babies, always has, and absolutely loved seeing Brooke and Tyler. She had alzheimers/dimencia for the last couple years at least, so she didn't remember who I was, or the kids, but it didn't matter. I'm so grateful for the chance I had to take these shots of the kids with her. I wish the boys had been there too, but they were at school. You can see the smile on her face.

Lee Caternolo

2008-08-13T14:13:00.003-04:00

My grandmother passed away at about 12:45am this morning, August 13, 2008. She has been suffering from pancreatic cancer for many months now. It is a relief to know that she's no longer in pain, but sad to see her go. My heart breaks for my step-dad who is an only child and has now lost his mother, and for my grandpa, I can't even imagine losing the person you have loved for your whole life. I am grateful for the knowledge I have of the gospel to help me know and understand what has happened to her and where she is now. I can only hope that I will be able to share that with my family in some small way to help comfort them.

Here is a picture of me with Grandma and Grandpa on Sunday, August 3rd, 2008 when we were able to visit with her at home. She was a beautiful and caring person. She always kept herself busy with taking care of everyone around her. The sunset that night was beautiful. I love her and she will be missed.

I'm amazed

2008-08-12T08:50:00.002-04:00

at the strength that these athletes are showing in these Olympics. Records are being broken left and right. And Olympic dreams are being born. Seth has decided that he wants to be an Olympic gymnast. I think that's pretty cool.