This week in pictures

I guess it's time to post a new blog post, so here is this week in some pictures.

When I was growing up, my mom used to can peaches and pears. She would go to the picking farm and come home with boxes of the fruit, and would then spend a couple days canning all of them. They were delicious and a usual dessert around our home was her canned fruit and cookies. So in the spirit of my mother, I decided to try my hand at canning. I've always been a little nervous about the time and precision canning takes, but when a box of peaches was available through Bountiful Baskets, I thought, "Why not?" I got all my supplies - the water bath canner, the various canning tools, and a box of jars and was ready to go. And it was quite easy! After an afternoon of peeling, slicing, boiling, and cooling, I had a dozen quarts of peaches done and ready for my shelves. I think I've been bitten by the canning bug because this weekend I got a box of apples and strawberries to make applesauce and strawberry jam this week. Wish me luck!

 This little boy is obsessed with baseball. The minute we get home from taking the boys to school he asks, "Play Baseball?" "Mom, you pitch me?" And if you make any promises to him about when he can play, he will hold you to them. He is quite impressive to watch and he hits most everything we pitch to him. This particular day I had some paints out and when he came and sat on my lap, I painted the San Francisco Giants logo on his hand. Well, then he had to have the Dodgers logo on his other hand, and then the Pirates, then the A's and it went on and on. He was quite proud of his "tattoos." He associates colors with baseball teams, so orange is Orange Giants, blue is Blue Dodgers (which has changed to Blue Aggies), green is Green A's - it's quite funny to listen to.

 I don't have much to say about these except aren't they stinking cute? I'm trying really hard to not decorate for Halloween yet, but these are way too funny and I know exactly where they are going to go on my mantle.

This is from last weekend, but I wanted to add it anyways. We went fishing last weekend at a popular fishing hole and we had lots of luck. We came home with 10 fish, one of them this little thing Rhett caught (his only catch of the day!). I laugh every time I see this picture - the rest of our fish were good size; our smallest was 14 inches and the largest was 17 inches. Porter and I called this little guy "the fish stick" fish. HA!

Wow - it's been a while

I was just reading through some old blog entries and realized how much I miss blogging - mainly because I was writing about all the day to day things that were happening and it brought back some great memories. I think maybe it's time to be consistent again, even if it is only because I want a record of things. Here's the latest:

 

Porter is in the fourth grade and is sailing through school. He bragged to me the other day that he has never had to study for a test or anything because he is so smart - that's humility, right? While I was happy and proud of him, the only thing I could think of was how much he's going to have a hard time when he actually has to study for something! But that's another issue... He always has an interesting fact about some random something  and would rather prefer his nose in a book than doing anything else (except play video games). He's in the Webelos scout den and is one activity badge away from getting his Webelos award. He has a goal to get all 20 activity badges by the time he's 11 - which is a goal for the both of us. We just signed him up for Spring Baseball and he has been put on the Phillies. He's into practices already and is so excited to start playing again. So is his dad.

 Zach is my constant. Either constantly sweet, or constantly bugging. But whatever it is, you know he's there. He's in the second grade and is sailing through as well. His favorite thing to do right now is write stories and draw pictures. He comes home from school with papers and papers filled with stories he's written, comics he's made up or pictures he's drawn. It's a riot to see what's inside of that brain of his. He's working on his Wolf badge right now in Cub Scouts and I have the pleasure of being his den leader (he's one of nine, soon to be eleven, boys in my den). He's going to play Spring Baseball as well and is on the Rockies. He continues to love Legos and Bionicles and is always coming up with some new creation.

 

Andrew is in Kindergarten and is growing up way to fast. He loves school and his reading ability has just taken off - I have been amazed at how well he reads now. His best friend is our little neighbor girl, Sally, and they are constantly together. I love it when we go out to catch his bus because he hollers at her the minute he sees her when we walk out the door and they run to each other like they haven't seen each other in years. He has really grown up in the past year (much to my dismay). We just signed him up for spring Coach-Pitch baseball and he can't wait to play. 

 If I could have one wish, it would be to keep little Oliver just the way he is right now. Except for the "no" I hear every time I ask him to do something. He is a very independent little person and insists on doing every thing on his own. If we try to help at all, or does not get his way, he crosses his arms and puts on his pouty face and will stay like that for quite some time. His newest achievement is being able to get a drink of water by himself from the fridge. Whenever he does get his way or something goes the way he wants he says, "Yes!" and when it doesn't, he says, "Oh, come on!" If he really likes something it's "awesome" or "cool". He is as much into baseball as his brothers and is quite the slugger. In fact, I was pitching to him the other day and he fired one back straight into my face! We have a large net and a tee and he spends hours hitting his baseballs off of the tee into the net. He loves the nursery and every week we hear how he "play friends; play snacks; play songs; and play ball." He's my little pal for the three hours I have just him home while the others are in school and we have some fun times at the dinosaur museum, reading books, and going shopping.

As far as the rest of us, meaning Rhett and I, I'm just trying to keep things steady here at home while Rhett works his tail off during tax season AND teaches two accounting courses at the USU extension here. He has also been Elder's Quorum President, but (thankfully) was released this past week. Needless to say, I don't ever see the man. I've been training for my third Salt Lake Half marathon, my sixth half marathon total. We are still here in Vernal and are loving the warm, spring weather and are looking forward to our first summer here with grass. We spend most of our free time outside playing baseball. It's a good life!

Milestones

This month marks the second anniversary of when I started running. I've always tried to exercise, but this is the longest I've ever stayed with a program. Running has taken me places and allowed me to see and do things I never thought possible. It has given me so much confidence for it has shown me I can do things that I never thought I was capable of. I love that there is always something to be working for - running faster, running farther - and has shown me my true colors on how hard I am willing to work for what I want.

I wish I had a log of all the miles I have run and the countless times I have dragged my behind out of bed before sunrise to make it to the gym. I totally understand the meaning of "the wall" and know how far it is to any point in Vernal. I have run in temperatures as cold as 17 degrees and as warm as 90. I know all about gels, Gu's, powerbars, energy blocks, and sports drinks. I have enough running clothes for them to have their own load of laundry and am on my fourth pair of shoes. I have my own water bottles and know that it's almost impossible to drink out of a cup while running without getting soaking wet. I have been so sore I had to go down the stairs on my behind and so exhausted I couldn't move another muscle.

In the two years, I have run five half marathons and as of this past weekend, run three 200-ish mile relays.

And I can't wait to do more.

Time to Party!

School started today!

The boys were excited to go back

and see their friends and meet their teachers.

Porter is started fourth grade

and Zach is starting second.

Andrew's kindergarten will start next week.
I love school!

Special Project Complete!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who donated things for my project for Primary Children's Medical Center! I was blown away and humbled at the amount of things that you took the time and resources to complete. Here are the totals:

69 Medical Dolls

18 additional Medical Doll Gowns
41 pairs of pajama pants
32 baby blankets
39 Eye Pillows
10 packages of underwear

I delivered the items to the hospital on my way home from California and it took my boys and I several trips from the car to get it all inside! Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your help in making this project a success!

The Big 5

Andrew turned five today.

We spent the day playing baseball and playing legos.

He ordered pizza for dinner and a baseball cake.

He woke up everyone this morning at 6:30

with an announcement to wake up - it was his birthday!

He loves to play baseball

and build spaceships with the legos.

He's ready and so excited for kindergarten.

We love this boy!

Zach's Words of Wisdom

"If we didn't have any food, then we could go into the forest and shoot a deer. That would be plenty of food for our family because it would feed five elephants if they ate meat."

Zach: Mom, why do people lift things?
Me: So they can get strong.
Zach: And so they don't get fat?
Me: Yep.
Zach: Mom, you're not fat.
Me: No - that's because I exercise.
Zach: You were only fat when you had a boy or girl in your belly. Your belly was this big. (puts arms out showing a big round belly.)   Did you even fit in the shower??

Hello Spring

It's so good to see you.

 

Wouldn't you just love a kiss from this face??

What's a boy without a dirt mountian to climb on...

Oliver wanted a try, too - until he got to the top.

What happens when...

you try to take a picture of your four boys on Valentine's day holding the four letters that make up "LOVE"??

Well, you get some of this...

and a lot of this... 

 Oops...

Just about there...

Good enough.

 It's a good thing these boys are cute!

Project Update

Many, many thanks to those who have agreed to help me with my project for Primary Children's Hospital! The sewing has begun here and I know many of you have started as well.

I have a couple of other requests from the contact person at Primary Children's. Some of then include:

- receiving blankets sized 36"x36" or 44"x44" with a girl print on one side and a boy print on the other
- plain pillowcases for the patients to paint on
- stretchy headbands for the babies in the NICU, sizes 12" to 16", made from any stretchy material (i.e. lace, stockings, elastic) with a flower or something to dress it up, if desired
- eye pillows - a 7 1/2"x4" 'beanbag' made from a soft material like silk, filled with about 5 oz. of rice

If any of these are easier, feel free to make them - anything extra is just icing on the cake! This would be a great project for YW or a easy sewing project to teach to young girls. Let me know if you have any questions!

Now I gotta go sew my dolls...

My Special Project

A year ago today, Andrew had surgery. It wasn't for anything major - just a corrective procedure he needed done. We saw Dr. Wallis at Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake weeks previous and he was fabulous. He was going to do a routine procedure, yet I fretted and worried - like all mothers. I mostly worried about Andrew - How to you explain surgery to a three year old? How would he react when he had to leave me and go with the doctors? He was still having a hard time going to nursery on his own!! How would he do in surgery? How would his recovery be? I talked with him a lot about what was going to happen, but I stressed and worried and prayed - mainly that this would be a good experience for Andrew and that he would have some sort of understanding of what was going on and that he would have the Holy Ghost with him to help him feel safe and comforted.

The day came and Andrew and I headed to the Primary Children's Hospital in Riverton. And my prayers were answered that day through the wonderful doctors and nurses there. They were amazing. Their first priority was my child - they knew just what to do to be Andrew's best friend; and therefore my best friend. We saw many people that day and as they approached us, they would talk to Andrew first - then me. We felt so comfortable and when the time came for Andrew to go into the operating room with the doctors, he hopped in their wagon and waved goodbye with a "See ya, mom!"

One of my favorite things was a little Medical Doll they gave Andrew. It was a flesh colored doll with no face, dressed in a hospital gown (like what Andrew was wearing). The nurses used the doll and their box of surgery tools to show Andrew what they were going to do to him when he went into surgery and get him familiar with the instruments he would see in the operating room. Andrew could then take his doll and draw a face and hair and color it however he wanted. He named it Andrew and was attached to it so quickly - he even took the doll into surgery with him.

When we left the hospital that day, I left with such a testimony that the Lord does hear and answer our prayers and for a deep gratitude for the wonderful people at Primary Children's who made this experience something I will never forget. And since then, I have wanted to give something back.

So I'm starting medical doll drive. And after talking with the donation contact person, she said the things they need most are pajamas pants and underwear in sizes 2 to young adult, so I'm adding them to the drive, too. I am going to be in Salt Lake on June 17th, so the drive will last for the next five months. The patterns for the surgery doll and its gown are here and here and here and here. The instructions for the doll are on the top pattern page. You will need to cut and tape the two medical doll patterns together. To ensure patterns print at the correct size, please set your printer settings to "None" under "Page Scaling." The gown can be made of cotton. I don't have a pajama pants pattern yet, but here is a pajama pants tutorial using a child's pants as a pattern. Then it can be enlarged or shrunk to fit various sizes. The pants can be made from fleece, flannel or cotton with a elastic or drawstring waist. And a package of underwear bought at every or every other visit from Walmart will pile up fast (I don't know about you, but I'm there more than enough).

Don't have the time or know-how to sew? Provide the materials and I will happily do the work. As you finish your dolls and/or pajama pants and collect underwear, please send them to me by June 15th so I can make one huge donation to Primary Children's.

I've had this project on my brain for a very long time and I'm so excited to finally put it into action! And I would appreciate any help in passing the word along. My goal is to make 25 medical dolls, 10 pair of pajamas and collect one package of underwear for every size. I hope I can count on your help as well!  Please contact me if you have any questions or comments!

White Christmas (well, almost)

Porter and Rhett have been praying

for snow so they could go sledding and snowball fighting;

and the weather has finally delivered.

The clouds dropped about 4 inches yesterday

and after snowing all night

we woke up to 8 inches on the ground this morning.

The boys were so anxious to be out in it -

we just put our snow gear on over our pajamas

and headed out!

Rhett and the boys have all sorts of activities planned

for the next few days from sledding to forts to snowman building.

It's going to be great!

Merry Christmas!

One Year Older

Today Porter turned nine years old.
This past year has flown by -
it seems like just yesterday he was turning eight
and being baptized.
And not too long ago he was that tiny baby
we were bringing home from the hospital.

He is such a great boy
and I feel privledged everyday
to be his mom.

Happy Birthday, Porter!

P.S. Blogger is being stupid right now
and not letting me upload pictures
or any formatting...
I'll try again later -

Pinewood Derby

Porter raced in his first Pinewood Derby.

He built an awesome car

and it was FAST.

He placed a close second at our Scout Derby,

then a close second at the Ward Derby last night.

But the thing he's most proud of?

He beat both of his parents...

Snow Canyon Half Marathon

Time: 2:12:22

(almost 8 minutes off my previous time!)

Halloween

Our Halloween was very fun this year.

The boys were able to dress up in their costumes

on multiple occasions - making all the work

very worth it.

Here's our Puppy:

 our Scarecrow:

 Tim Lincecum (a pitcher for the San Francisco Giants)

 and our fierce Tiger (see those teeth??)

A lot of the fun we have on Halloween

is making all the yummy Halloween food.

Here's our Jack-o-lantern and Bat Pizza:

 the delicious Twinkie Mummies:

 Mummy dogs

 Eyeball Meatballs, Goblin fingers, green worms, and bones

 

Dirt pie, complete with bugs and worms for dessert

 And last, but not least, the pumpkins

Hope you had a fun Halloween -

We sure did!

P.S. Go Giants!