The Lewis Family

Kindergarten Advancement

2010-05-27T12:03:00.000-07:00

This morning was O-Dog's Kindergarten Advancement Celebration. That's fancy talk for graduation. Whatever. It was cute.

They sang a few songs and got a certificate.

This group has been together for the past 3 years (JOY School and Kindergarten).

First grade: here comes trouble!

Passing Notes

2010-04-29T09:36:00.000-07:00

Owen recieved the following note at school:

"Happ BFF Day Owen you are My Only BFF"

To which he responded:

"Hi Miguel, you are my only BFF. by Owen to Miguel."

Cute, huh?

Trying new things

2010-04-20T17:20:00.000-07:00

When I wouldn't paint her toenails for her on Sunday, she tried to do it herself. She actually did a pretty good job, considering she only got a small smudge on the carpet.

Now look at those beauties.

Anyone need a pedicure? I have a 3 year old for hire.

Lately...

2010-04-20T17:05:00.000-07:00

Little Man has become a huge Mama's boy.

Due in part to his front teeth coming in. Right at the time when I'm trying to start to wean him and all he wants is some mama snuggles and milkies. Every time I walk through the room and he sees me, he cries. Every time someone else is holding him and he hears my voice, he starts wiggling and leaning for me. He is my mama's boy and even though I get a little annoyed that I can't get anything done around the house and sometimes I really need some space,

deep down...it makes my heart melt.

Lewis Crew Does Disneyland

2010-03-24T12:14:00.000-07:00

No need to catch up, there is way too much.

So we'll start fresh.

Here's our top 10 from our most recent D-land trip:

10. Arriving at our hotel around 11:00 p.m. and sleeping so soundly that we never felt the 4.4 earthquake at 4:21 in the morning. Although I think the baby did as this was the time he woke up to eat.

9. Walking up to the park, on my birthday, getting ready to take the obligatory picture in front of the gate and realizing you forgot the SD card for the camera and don't have a spare. For Reals.

8. Going into the Photo Store on Main Street and seeing that they sell SD cards! Whew!

7. Ryan and I realizing that even though the character meet and greet photos are fun and adorable and all that is magical, we're glad our kids could care less about them. Less time standing in long lines, Yah! (Although I did snap pics of few as they walked by me, I was sitting in a corner feeding Baby Buster and waiting for The Crew to get off a ride)

6. Big D and I getting stuck on the California Screaming roller coaster for 15 minutes right behind the MaliBoomer, and having to walk down the 3 flights of stairs to the bottom and getting 4 "fast passes" for any ride in either park, just for getting stuck on the roller coaster. Then having a sweet family give us some of theirs. We didn't have to wait in the regular lines for any more rides! Sweeeeet!

5. Enduring record temeratures since 1959. 87 degrees. Thank goodness for overpriced frozen treats!

4. Cleaning up a baby diaper explosion of the nastiest level. When I took it off the woman behind me waiting to change her baby yelled "oh, $*@#. That's right lady and BTW, we're gonna be a while... (he spent the rest of the evening in a revealing onesie)

3. Watching O-Dog bustin a move with reckless abandon at the Street Parade Celebration. This kid has moves you've never seen and he doesn't care who knows it. Wishin I had some video to prove it.

2. The car ride home with Car-sick kid, I-don't-wanna-be-strapped-in-any-more-seats kid, and I-just-realized-I-forgot-some-things-in-the-hotel-room Mom.

1. Seeing that we can do Disneyland on our own. 2 Adults and 4 kids. But do we want to next time??? Who knows.

Here are a few more highlights and pictures:

Pin Trading!

Miss P getting off Star Tours and exclaiming, "THAT WAS SO AWESOME!"

Stroller Passes are the way to go!

Love the new Small World. I was a little worried, but it was adorable and the little ones loved it!

Water Rides are great when it's hot out, even though they mess up your hair and make you looked like a water-logged mama.

My smaller kids never tire of riding the Carousel or Tea Cups.

While the Wife's away the Husband will...

2009-10-15T09:17:00.001-07:00

.... Work! Last week I was in Chicago visiting my sister and her family for 6 days (more on that later). When I got home, I was surprised to find a newly painted bedroom and bathroom in the "master suite" (if you can call it that, if you've seen my house you know what I mean!) I am only posting a picture of the bathroom right now because still need to finish decorating the bedroom. The bathroom used to be a bright-ish blue. I liked the color okay, it was getting a little old, but the biggest problem was the terrible paint job. I can't even explain how bad it was. It was like that 4 1/2 years ago when we moved in, and we just hadn't gotten around to fixing it. We had started talking about paint colors before I left but I didn't know he was planning to do it himself.

He painted the yucky wood cabinet black, and the walls are a creamy-greyish-taupe, although they just look cream here, they do have color. I love the simplicity of it! If you know me very well you know my motto is "simple, yet elegant", and this fits the bill. Thanks honey, you done good!

The flowers are from my rose bushes in the backyard. Aren't they gorgeous? I put them in the bathroom because I already had a huge boquet of roses from Ryan in the other room. Isn't he just the best?!!!!

I just picked out this shower curtain last night from Garnet Hill. I like the bright colors, and I was getting tired of the stripes on my last one. I've had the last for like 8 years, it was time for a new one!

Haiuku?

2009-09-28T21:20:00.000-07:00

We've been working on Big D's Faith in God Award for Family Night lately. Tonight we wrote haiku's about God's creations or a gospel principal. Here are a few:

At eight years of age
Baptisms are done on days
Cleansed by sacred prayer

-----

Waves softly roll in
My feet are buried in the sand
Dozing off to sleep

---------

Without works it dies
As small as a mustard seed
It can move mountains

------

A great ball of clay
Circling among the stars
A witness of God

-----

Regret fills my heart
I promise never again
I know he forgives

-----

Vast open canyon
His creation is awesome
I know he loves us

Let the countdown begin!

2009-09-27T12:52:00.000-07:00

Aunt Carrie, Ryan's sister made us an awesome chain-link countdown calendar for our upcoming trip to Disneyland. We started it yesterday!

What a good boy, am I!

2009-09-24T12:35:00.000-07:00

BubbaGoo has turned out to be an awesome sleeper! I moved him out of our room and into the crib 3 days ago and he is doing great. He sleeps 7 hour stretches, on average! I took this picture this morning at 8 o'clock. He was still sleeping even with all the kids running around making noise and the dog barking!

The next picture was a week or so ago, he was napping on my bed and i went in to check on him, beacuse he had been asleep for a while. He found his thumb! So far he is not a pacifier baby and to be honest I rarely ever need him to be. He is so good. But I really don't want him to be a thumb sucker! You can't take a kids thumb away, when they're 5 and still sucking it! Thankfully he has not found his thumb since that day.

We are still playing with nicknames: Mister Maser, Buster, Bubbers, BubbaGoo...Chubby. (Any suggestions?) At 2 months old he is bigger than some 3-6 month olds I've seen lately. Maybe that's why he sleep so well. O-Dog was a skinny little thing and the worst sleeper ever!

Soccer

2009-09-24T12:04:00.000-07:00

O-dog is playing soccer for the first time this year and it's so fun and funny to watch him and all his buddies. Most of the kids are from our ward, our old joy school group and in the same kindergarten class, so they know each other well! It's nice to go as a family and support him. At least their games are pretty quick - not like baseball season!

End of Summer

2009-09-11T08:51:00.000-07:00

The weekend before school started we took the kids to Dillon Beach.

One last hurrah.

We were joined by Grandma and Grandpa Lewis and Aunt Carrie.

There's always a little mystery as to what kind of weather you'll get on the coast in Northern California, but we lucked out that weekend and it was gorgeous. A tiny bit windy, but it gave us a chance to fly our kite, and it died down after a while. By the time the fog started to roll in, we were done and ready to go home.

We even managed to take Cooper on his first family outing. (if you didn't know, Cooper is the dog, not the new baby.)

The Baby did awesome, by the way!

Goodbye summer, next year we will be able to enjoy you more! We already have lots and lots of plans for you!

School's in session

2009-09-11T08:05:00.000-07:00

The boys started school over a month ago. Crazy how time flies! Miss P was a little sad about her brothers leaving so she had to get her picture taken too.

Thanks Grandma Lewis for the Back-to-School shopping spree!

O-Dog was so excited that he sat right down by his friend and forgot to put his backpack in his cubby. He is doing great and loves going to school.

Big D is an old pro by now. Most of his best friends are in his class so he was happy about that.

Miss P recently started pre-school (with some of the other families from church that live in our neighborhood - and Michelle!) she loves going and I am enjoying the quiet time while she's there.

Maybe I should be a little sad about my kids being gone, but I am enjoying some peace and quiet and so proud that they are learning and becoming more independent - not that they ever had a problem with that!

If you haven't heard yet...

2009-08-03T10:54:00.000-07:00

he's finally here!

Mason Fisher Lewis

was born on Wednesday

July 29th, 2009

at 2:35 p.m.

he was 8 pound 8 ounces

and 21 inches long

we are so happy!

and tired.

The Boys go Backpacking

2009-07-27T15:50:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Ryan took the boys on a backpacking trip with several families in our ward. The hike was about 2 miles in to the lake/campsite.

I stayed home with Miss P due to my enlarged belly. I wish I could have gone!!!

Ryan has been collecting stuff for backpacking for a while now. What he didn't have, he was able to borrow. The boys even carried their own packs, although O-Dog's was small with just his clothes. I am so proud of the boys and wish I could have been there to experience it with them.

Before the hike:

On the hike:

More 4th of July

2009-07-19T17:11:00.001-07:00

Here are a few more shots from our fun 4th of July party at Ryan's parents and later at McBean Park.

(Is anyone else having a hard time with blogger lately? It's been giving me a hard time when I go to upload pics and that's why it's taken me so long to finish my 4th of July stuff)

Pancake Breakfast

2009-07-14T14:11:00.000-07:00

Our 4th of July started with our Stake's Annual Pancake Breakfast. It's fun to come and see everyone dressed up in their Red, White and Blue. They always have fun activities for the kids like bubbles, cotton candy, and face painting. The breakfast was yummy too! Ryan helped with the cooking and clean-up, maybe one of these days we will be able to enjoy it together.

We decided to take Cooper since he was going to be home alone for the rest of the day. On the way home Big D said he thought Cooper just had his best day ever because everyone kept stopping him and saying what a cute dog he was!

Lake Clementine 2009

2009-07-11T19:13:00.001-07:00

Our yearly Clementine trip was a blast. It was on Saturday the 27th, our anniversary. We were joined by our friends, the Judds. I couldn't imagine not going this year even if I am 8 months pregnant. We were running out of weekends and this was the only time we could do it so we went for it. It was over 100 degrees that day, and the water was refreshing and clear. The kids had a great time swimming and playing in the sand. We had the perfect little swimming spot with a beach entry and a rope swing across the water from us. We had the best time!

Just look at that gorgeous water!

We ended the day with our tradition of Foster's Freeze shakes. Love them!

11 years together

2009-07-09T21:07:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I celebrated our 11year anniversary on Saturday, June 27th! We're both a little older & chubbier, but even more in love than we were back then. I guess love is blind!

I Love You, Ry!

Keeping Cool

2009-06-26T09:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we headed over to Folsom for some much needed cooling down. We met some friends at Livermore Park, which has a water feature to play in: a waterfall type thing that flows into a little stream where kids play and float plastic boats down the river. From the time we got there Miss P and O-Dog were MIA, stopping briefly to wolf down their sandwiches. Big D announced he was bored after 5 minutes, but then found it wasn't so boring after all. We will definitely be going back.

Ward campout

2009-06-26T08:49:00.000-07:00

We had a fun time at our ward campout a few weeks ago and even managed to snag one of the coveted "cabins". It was a little musty, but I didn't mind since it reminded me of our old army tent that I grew up camping in. We took the Aerobed and pumped it up with the converter hooked into our car and an extension cord. The kids slept on the floor. Hog dogs for dinner, easy-peasy! Breakfast the next morning was provided by the Bishopric: pancakes, sausage and cinnamon rolls. The kids had a great time playing with friends, floating on the Tom Sawyer rafts, running in the field and Big D had fun playing volleyball with the adults.

Miss P with her "best girls" after devouring yummy s'mores.

O-Dog in front of the cabin.

Big D with his friend navigating the "river" on the raft.

Clean-up was a breeze and we were home in an hour! This was our first ward campout and I can't wait to go next year!

Male Bonding

2009-06-23T14:55:00.000-07:00

Last week Ryan took the day off for some father + son bonding. He and Big D drove down to six flags and had a fun day together bonding over some serious roller coasters. This was a big deal for Big D since the last coaster he went on was space mountain at Disneyland and it scared him pretty good. I was so happy to hear that he went on all the "big ones" and loved them. I wish I could have experienced them with him too. The good news is that I will be able to ride some with him when we go to Disneyland in October.

Today

2009-06-08T13:43:00.000-07:00

Today my kids were driving me crazy.

I sent them outside to play.

An hour later I took out the teepee that I made for them for Christmas.

Another hour later I made them lunch

I took it out to them for a picnic

They called me cool and said it rocked!

That was today.

They have been out there for 4 hours so far and no fighting! And yes, don't judge: the boys are still in their jammies. It's summer!

My Top Reader

2009-06-08T12:06:00.000-07:00

Big D earned the Top Reader Award at the last awards assembly for the year. We are so proud of him. Along with the award he got a $10 gift card to Borders. I took this picture while we were on our Memorial day campout, just proof that he loves to read! What a smart cookie!

Memorial Day

2009-06-08T11:59:00.000-07:00

For Memorial Day we went camping in Calaveras Big Trees.

We left Friday morning after Big D's awards assembly and headed to Moaning Caverns. O-dog was a little freaked out when the tour guide mentioned that a ginormous pile of human bones had been found at the bottom of the cave when they first discoved it. From then on he was very nervous about the whole thing. Miss P did great and hiked the stairs up and down nearly the whole way. Big D did great, but did admit he was trembling at the 1/2 way stop, when he looked over the edge. Our biggest regret was that we didn't take the camera in!

After the tour we headed to our campground and picked out the perfect campsite. We set up camp and it was nice to have Big D be able to help Ryan set up the tent for once. We then drove around looking for a good spot for the boys to go fishing. We eventually found a great little spot next to the creek. They were unsuccessful at the fishing part, but we had a relaxing time there. The water was so nice, I wished I had a good book and my lawn chair to sit down in the middle of the creek and soothe my tired prego feet.

Good times were had for the rest of the weekend:

We went on a hike of the big trees in the main campground

We saw the dance floor tree

We ate yummy food

We attended the Junior Ranger program

The kids explored our campsite and chased squirrels.

We chilled around the campfire

If camping weren't so hard when your 7 months pregnant, we would be camping a lot more this summer. This weekend is the ward campout and then I'm done. Until next year..., unless Arnold closes all the State Parks. Boo!

Life Lesson

2009-05-19T11:59:00.001-07:00

What would you do with a "yellow ball"?

She stuck it up her nose.

And then she cried.

And then mommy finally got it out.

Mommy: Miss P, do we put things up our nose?

Miss P: No, dat not good.

My Little Nerd

2009-05-19T11:46:00.000-07:00

Last week Big D participated in a mental math bowl with several schools from the area. He didn't win, but did walk away with some amazing parting gifts: a participant ribbon, 2 pencils and a chip clip/magnet (both labeled Chapman University, the sponsor) Whoot Whoot!

He's already got his eye on next years "Gold" Medal.

Amatuer Photo Shoot

2009-05-18T13:11:00.000-07:00

Oops! We totally forgot to get our mom's anything for Mother's Day, so the next day we took the kids out to the fields around our house and snapped a few dozen pictures. We were literally out there 5 minutes. Our next stop was Costco. Crossed our fingers we actually got something we could use. (If not, then we would have made a stop at the mall -bleck!) Luckily we got a few that were usable. We blew up a few of the shots to 8X10's and ran over to Aaron Brother's for a frame. An hour later we were at Ryan's mom's doorstep with a fabulous Mother's Day gift.

Mom, if you're reading this, I'll send you a picture of the whole family. I know that's what you really want!

Here are a few of my favorites:

Mother's Day

2009-05-11T12:04:00.000-07:00

I had the BEST Mother's day. See for yourself:

Breakfast in bed: check (This isn't really my breakfast... I ate it too fast to take a picture!)

Cute homemade cards from loving children: check

Handmade gift from school-age child: check

A long-stemmed rose from church: check

An afternoon catnap: check (no picture necessary)

I get to go pick out a new purse, guilt free! (thanks, Ry!)

And I get to pick something out from here. (thanks, Cathy and Paul!)

Graduation

2009-05-11T11:37:00.000-07:00

O-Dog graduated from his Joy School group last week. The boys were all so adorable in their cap and gown.

He's come a long way! When we started he was not quite 3, still not potty trained and the youngest of the group. Thanks to all our Joy School Mama's for your patience! I can't believe he's starting Kindergarten in the fall!

Miss P can't wait to go to Joy School too!

Easter

2009-05-11T10:38:00.000-07:00

I know it's late, as usual, but I wanted to post some pics from Easter.

The baskets: we usually try to keep it religious, this year I had a hard time finding things for the younger ones, so I rationalized it by saying it was for the church bag. Except for the Leapster game, I just gave in on that one.

Big D: Notice the nice new CTR ring: it lasted 2 days. We have yet to find it.

O-Dog: Could that smile be any faker????

Miss P: "Like this, Dad?"

After church we enjoyed an Easter Egg Hunt in the tall grass, ate too much candy and visited with family.

Family pictures and a Wedding

2009-05-11T10:04:00.000-07:00

Family pictures are hard for our family, as I'm sure they are for lots of families, so I have to take advantage of a good situation when it comes along.

Ryan's cousin getting married (in March)

beautiful temple grounds

new easter clothes

lots of helpful hands

=
some pretty decent family pictures

The bride and groom weren't too shabby either.

How does your Garden Grow?

2009-03-31T18:43:00.000-07:00

We finally got our garden planted last week. We planted tomatoes and bell pepper plants. We used seeds for the beans, carrots, green onions, cilantro, and lettuce. I can't wait to be able to use what we grow, especially the tomatoes. The kids check the garden everyday and see if the little plants are growing. So far the only thing we have seen (from the seeds we planted) is lettuce.

Night Terrors

2009-03-26T12:38:00.001-07:00

The past several nights O-Dog has been suffering from night terrors. I remember Big D having them around this same age so I knew what it was, but it doesn't make it any easier.

He wakes up crying and he is usually standing next to his bed or sitting up. When I approach him he tries to get away from me and looks at me like I have bugs crawling on my face or like he is looking right through me. I can feel his little heart beating out of his chest. The whole time he is crying, it is not like a little owiee cry, it is a terrified cry. It takes him a while to calm down and by then it has woken up Big D too. Last night when it happened Ryan wasn't home and he had the worst one so far. Big D was really worried about him and was nearly in tears about it all. If you know Big D at all, you know that he is very sensitive to others feelings.(at times)

Last night it was a total of 3 times. Between his night terrors and Miss P's nightly cry when she has to go potty, I am drained. I need a nap.

I don't know how many more nights of this I can handle.

Of course he remembers nothing of it all, so the next morning when I ask him why he was crying he says, "I wasn't crying."

I am tempted to video him, just so I have the proof.

Game Face

2009-03-23T13:49:00.000-07:00

Big D's first game of the season was Saturday and it was a chilly one. We froze our buns off!
He did such a great job!

hey, brother!

2009-03-09T15:53:00.001-07:00

I had my ultrasound today, and found out that we will be adding a baby brother to the Lewis crew.
As most people know I was hoping for a girl, a sister for Miss P. I am now wrapping my mind around the idea of another boy. Ryan is thrilled with the thought of his own four-some for golf.
I am getting used to it. It gets easier when I look at his sweet little profile and imagine holding him in my arms.
Now comes the difficult task of choosing a name!

I wanna win this! (for Miss P, of course)

2009-03-05T09:34:00.000-08:00

Blushing Buttercream Pettiskirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

Have you all seen these adorable things???? Even though Miss P got a tutu for Christmas and refuses to put it on, I want her to have one of these. So adorable!
And if the next one is a girl maybe she will appreciate it!

Yes.

2009-02-27T09:21:00.000-08:00

I am alive!

Sorry for the extended blog break. Believe me the guilt has been killing me, but I am starting fresh and looking forward.

Our family has awesome news, if you haven't heard or surmised by now, we are adding another member to our family in July! I am about 18 weeks pregnant! The first 13 weeks were a little rough, but I am feeling much better now. We will have an ultrasound in March and hopefully find out the sex.

Life has been busy for the Lewis crew. Here's what we've been up to:

Big D has started baseball and Ryan is the assistant coach for the team. That means practice Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. When games start they'll be 2 times a week.
Big D had scouts Wednesday nights and Ryan plays softball on Wednesdays too. Our weeks are busy.
Miss P has begun potty training and it is going exceptionally well! She wears panties all day except nap and night time. Yesterday, she finished a poop in the toilet. Compared to the boys, she is a potty training prodigy.
I sold 12 dozen chocolate covered strawberries to Ryan's co-workers. I made some extra moolah and paid for our Valentine's dinner at Taste of Brazil.
We ripped out the shelves in our linen closet so I have been painting like mad. Hopefully we can make our little home more efficient for us, since there is no hope of us moving in oh, say, the next 20 years.
O-Dog has been entertaining Cooper. He adores Coop and sometimes loves him just a little too much. I constantly have to tell him to leave the dog alone. In January I registered him for Kindergarten! He will start just weeks after the baby comes.
Ryan transfered back to the Folsom facility in January. The Clinical Pharmacist there quit and so he applied and got it. It's fun for the kids to go to an appointment and then visit Dad in his office.

Okay, that's the update. I will do better in the future!

Bishop's Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-24T09:31:00.001-07:00

Last Friday we headed on over to the best pumpkin patch around and got our pumpkin picking groove on. I don't think we've ever spent so much time there, and we didn't even do it all. It was quite a warm day and by the end we were all a little dirty, tired, and grumpy.

Time is flying by!

2008-10-16T18:43:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's almost November! That's just crazy to me, where has all the time gone?

I've been very busy...

I have been sewing. lots. I've been working on the kids costumes. Happy to announce: They're Done!!!!! You'll have to check them out here.

A few Fridays ago (I've lost track!) I got together with one of my best girl friends from high school, Shannon. We had fun talking about old times, updates on our families, we talked and laughed just like we used to. It's always nice to be able to reconnect with old friend that knew you when... We had another best girlfriend, Danielle and I ran into her mom the next week at a candle party. We had a fun little group of friends, but after graduation, went our own ways. It has been great to reconnect with them through our blogs and in person.

Last Tuesday I had to speak at Enrichment night on Preparing for the Holidays - Thanksgiving. It pushed me to finish my Advent calendar I started a long time ago. I will post a picture on my other blog soon. I was so nervous. Dry mouth, tongue tied, fast talking, the works.

Friday we went to the ever famous Bishop's Pumpkin Patch. I will save that for it's own post.

Notes to Myself

2008-10-02T15:59:00.000-07:00

Last week as I was preparing my last minute stuff for our Joy school group I grabbed my lesson plan that I had jotted down a few notes on the night before. As I was going down the list of stuff to do I noticed something new, and chuckled

Apparently I need to give someone his snickers bar.

Meet Cooper!

2008-09-29T12:01:00.000-07:00

Last night we brought home our new puppy Cooper. He is so cute and the kids love him. We are slowly adjusting to the new addition. We had a rough night last night, at 4 a.m. he was wide awake and wanted to play. Miss P has decided she has to carry him everywhere and I have to remind her often that he can walk on his own. So far we have had no accidents in the house! I attribute this to Tina, our breeder and friend. She has done a great job training him and teaching me what to do. I am such a newbie at this whole pet thing. I really want my kids to have a good "pet experience".

I did not grown up with pets in our home. Oh, we had a dog or two, but they were outside dogs and were dirty and stinky. They were usually my brothers. They weren't trained or up to date on their shots. I wouldn't really call them pets. Perhaps, backyard houseguests, is more acurate.

Hopefully Cooper will be clean, trained, healthy and, not stinky. Hopefully.

Politics....my dirty little secret

2008-09-29T11:04:00.001-07:00

Today Now!: How To Pretend You Care About The Election

I love this!

Okay, now before you go freaking out, I do care about the election and I am going to vote. But I am embarrassed to admit I really dislike talking about politics. I don't mind other people imposing their wisdom on me though. Case in point, Ryan's cousin is very interested in politics and she wrote up a great post about the economy and what not. She shares some excellent info so I am linking to it here.

Somewhat related, a while back I saw a great video called "The History of Stuff" It really got me thinking about my spending habits. Now I need to find a way to translate that to my actual spending. Anyway it is interesting and if you want to you can find it here.

Donner State Park

2008-09-25T13:25:00.000-07:00

(Oh boy, am I behind here! This trip was in the begining of August right before school started.)

Four days after getting home from Van Damme, the kids and I packed our bags and car again and headed up I-80 to Donner Lake with some friends from our ward. It was a little warmer than I like, but we did have the lake to cool us down. It was a huge campground and the kids had lots of fun climbing on the big rock, riding their bikes, fishing, and swimming.

Miss P had a touch of the flu, but not too badly that we couldn't still enjoy ourselves. If it had been really bad I would have packed up and gone home.

Everyone was assigned a meal so we only had to cook once, which is the best way to camp with a group! I made pulled pork sandwiches, corn on the cob and dutch oven potatoes. I though it turned out good except that I started making it a little later than I wanted so we ended up eating later than expected. Sorry to those starving little children!

Here are some pictures from the trip:

If you look closely you can see O-Dog in the middle of the boat and Big D's face on the left side of the picture.

Miss P loves playing in the dirt.

The day after we got home O-Dog got the flu and it hit him hard! He threw up nearly all day and his already little body was skin and bones. I felt so bad for him!

The next Monday Big D started the 3rd grade. Thanks to Grandma Lewis he was able to do it in style. She and Aunt Carrie took him shopping for special Back to School clothes. Thanks guys!

Van Damme State Park

2008-09-12T11:30:00.000-07:00

I finally finished my latest sewing project so I feel compelled to update the blog. Since I haven't posted anything from our last 3 camping trips, I thought I would start there.

Van Damme State Park

The Biennial Moses Family Camping Trip (aka BMFCT, try saying that five times) this time around was held at Van Damme State Park, the last week in July. Originally we were supposed to go to Big Sur, but since it was on fire at that time, we changed it to Van Damme. Unfortunately, not everyone could make it. (We missed you Allen, Dad, Matthew, and Silverstein family.) But were happy to have Heather all the way from Chicago, and Mom, Stuart and Kaytlyn from Utah.

We stayed up in the meadow loop, for those that have been there before. The older kids just had a ball with their bikes and scooters and climbing the tree in the meadow. The younger ones had lots of room in the meadow to wander and the flattened grass kept them relatively clean. (Notice the bandage on O-Dog's nose: The night before we left, he jumped off the bunk bed ladder and his face met the edge of the toy box. Ouch!)

We spent time doing some geocaching, thanks to Garrett. The great thing about geocaching is that it took us some places we would probably not have known about and we were able to go on some mini hikes for the kids. It really was a lot of fun finding the containers and seeing what "treasures" other people had left. I highly recommend this for a fun activity when you go camping. Then Paul took all the kids on a real buried treasure epedition. They were all in awe of the bounty they found buried in the beach across from the park entrance.

We had some excitement on night in our campsite. I had put Miss P and O-Dog to bed and was leaving the tent when I heard a crunching noise coming from near the car. The kids lantern I was carrying was useless, because when I held it up to see what was making the noise all I could see was fur. I went running the opposite way throught the trees and over to our main campsite where everyoneone else was sitting around the campfire. (I know, nice mom huh! Runs the opposite way from her children when a potentially vicious critter may rip through the tent and drag her babies off into the woods to live as feral children... what is wrong with me????) Anyhoo, my heart was beating so fast and I couldn't catch my breath, but I managed to blurt out that there was a critter in our campsite. Well Ryan and Garrett grabbed their flashlights and ran over ther in the dark with all the kids at their heels. The next thing I heard was "SKUUUUNK!" and people running and screaming. Still sitting safely by the fire, I hoped he didn't spray. Thankfully the skunk just threw up his tail and ran away. Can you imagine if he had sprayed our tent????? Apparently skunks like Fritos, who knew????? We had a good laugh about the whole thing!

Other highlights from the trip included:

*The Girls trip to Mendocino for ice cream and a little shopping.

*Heather finding an alligator lizard under a log.

*Burying all the kids in the sand, one at a time.

*Hanging out at the beach under the bridge.

*Finding and purchasing our new favorite game, in the game store in Mendocino: Ticket to Ride (thanks Matt and Em! We are playing it lots!)

*Seeing the Devil's Punchbowl and hiking through lots of poison oak before realizing what it was and only one person getting it.

*All the yummy food that everone made! (Dutch oven potatoes, cowboy breakfast, spaghetti, thumb pies, goat turds, s'mores and more)

Good Morning!

2008-09-12T11:15:00.000-07:00

It's not every morning we look out and see a turkey hanging out on our porch, so I had to take a picture. After snapping a few, O-Dog and Miss P chased him away. Only then did I notice he left a little gift to remember him by.... if you know what I mean.

Thanks, Jerk.

Garden Party Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

2008-08-22T08:48:00.000-07:00

On my to do list:

1. Win this adorable dress, as seen in all it's glory, here.

That's it. That's all I have to do this week. Let's see if I can get it done.

Not really. See what I'm currently working on, here.

Family Night at the State Fair

2008-08-20T11:54:00.000-07:00

On Monday night for FHE, we surprised the kids at went to the State Fair. The kids had a ball: riding the carnival rides, looking at the animals, eating treats, watching the chinese acrobats perform, taking in all the sights and using all their senses!

Ryan found a promotional thing on their website where you can get 3 free ride vouchers if your child reads (or draws a picture of) 3 books. You can find it here. You can't use it on the "big" rides though.

This was the first year Big D has gone on the "big" rides. I thought for sure he was going to toss his cookies, but he was okay. He was so proud of himself. He even went on the big roller coaster.

Miss P was unsure about it all in the beginning, but squealed with delight when she saw these Care Bears!

O-dog is in the forced smile phase. But still cute! He couldn't get enough of the roller coasters and was so mad he was too little to go on the big one with Ryan and Big D.

I wish I had more pictures, but I forgot to charge the battery so the camera died halfway through the evening. On our way out we each got to pick a treat. The kids got ice cream. Old traditions die hard and I had to have a warm funnel cake with strawberries on top! Then I made Ryan buy me some cotton candy.

The end.

Google Tagged

2008-08-13T20:48:00.000-07:00

Lisa tagged me a while back and I am finally getting to it. I will be updating our blog with our summer happenings, sometime soon. With 2 camping trips back to back, sick children, school starting and then Joy school starting: with me teaching this week, I have been pretty busy!

So here it is. I guess I was supposed to find pictures for all my answers from the first page of Google images, but I cheated a bit and typed in my keywords several times until I found something on the first page that I could use.

Name?

Favorite Food?

I love Mexican food. I could eat it everyday!

First Job?

I considered photoshopping my face onto hers, but would that be breaking the rules? Yes, I was once a carnie. I was 14 and worked at the State Fair. Our trailer looked very much like this one. I met some really "interesting" people those 2 summers. It was so fun! I used to make cotton candy, snow cones, popcorn, etc. We used to make caramel popcorn with the leftover caramel from the caramel apples, I love Fair Food!

Nickname?

Betcha never would have guessed that one!

Where were you born?

This is beautiful Penticton , British Columbia. I can hear you now....She's a Canadian, EH?!!! Yes, that's right folks, I am a Cannuck. We moved to "The States" when I was 2.

Bad Habit?

The real reason I haven't been blogging............

College degree?

Wow. See that?

Bad Habit: Procrastination.
College degree: ... Someday.
I have no words.

Where I want to go?

The fabric store. Without my children. I could spend hours and hours there, matching up fabrics and planning new projects. Sadly, this almost never happens.

Favorite Place?

This is McWay falls in Big Sur. The beautiful beach is off limits to people. Isn't it dreamy? We were supposed to go camping there 2 weeks ago, but with the fires in Big Sur we had to change plans. I love, love, love Big Sur!

Favorite color?

I love almost all shades of blue/green. And who doesn't love polka dots??????

Favorite Animal?

In 8 weeks we hope to have a new daschund puppy!

Past Love?

I feel like I am copying you Lisa, but I'm really not. I had a major crush on "Bailey"for like 3 years. Oh, that smile and those eyes! Anyone want to have a White Squall viewing party? I own it ....on tape.

What I'm doing now?

Like I don't have enough to do already!

Where I live?

In a little house. But if the economy doesn't change soon, it'll be ... in a van down by the river

Favorite Object?

Mine looks "slightly" different though.

Grandmother's name?

How could I choose only one? When I typed in "Ruth and Mary" these lovely ladies popped up. Both my grandma's have passed on to the next life...

Do you think the one on the right looks like Katie Holmes? I do.

Age?

...and loving it!

Dang this took a long time! I tag Shannon, Heidi and Chelsea. I would totally understand if you didn't do it though.

A family affair

2008-07-27T14:15:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning we got up early and donned our new race day shirts for the 1st Annual Alzheimer's Aid Society Memorial Run. This event was a family affair since Uncle Alan worked so hard to bring this even to fruition. They told him he would be lucky to have 500 people to sign up the first year, but they had over 1,200! It was definitely a success!

The children had their own race according to age and recieved a medal afterwards. O-Dog and Big D participated in their events. I was sure O-Dog wouldn't run in his when 10 minutes before it started his attitude took a nose dive, but he did it! He was so proud of his "golden medal".

Filling in the gap - part 2

2008-07-27T13:43:00.000-07:00

Cousins swap

I had this idea a while ago to have a "cousins swap" with my sister Elizabeth. We have boys about the same ages, so I thought it would be fun to trade kids for a few days. We met in Colfax and I took her 3 1/2 yr old and she took big D. Since the smoke was so bad we mostly stayed indoors, but on friday I decided we needed to finally do something fun. We met our friends at the "train" (lightrail) and rode up to Folsom to the outlets. After doing a little shopping for the moms we had lunch at McDonalds and played ay the playplace. The kids had a great time, and it was just what we needed to cure our summertime boredom.

The cousins, still in their jammies...

Riding the "train", hence the blurriness...

The boys were fascinated by the random fish they found in the middle of the outlet mall. How it got there will remain a mystery to us... but don't the boys look so cute all huddled around it?

Filling in the gap

2008-07-20T16:48:00.000-07:00

I am suffering from terrible guilt for not posting in the past 3 weeks, and when I think of all the things I could and need to post about I get overwhelmed and don't want to blog. It's a vicious cycle! But, since this is basically our family journal, I feel the need to put it all here and have a record of what we've been doing lately. It will take me a few posts but I'll get this gap filled sooner or later.

Our Anniversary:

We had such a great time in Lake Tahoe! My Brother-in-law's mom works for Marriott Hotels and got us a great deal here. Ryan's family watched the kids for the weekend. We saw a movie (Get Smart), rented bikes and went on a 15 mile bike ride, I got a fab massage, rode the Heavenly gondola up the mountain and rode the Heavenly Flyer (It was awesome, my only complaint was that it was too short!) We ate at a buffet (never again!- we say this every time, but I am documenting it here to remind us.) I also got a huge surprise as soon as we got there when Ryan pulled out a gift in a little square box, I got a beautiful new ring!

my hot hubby...

me (hot and sweaty)...

The view from the gondola deck at the top... you can see the layer of smoke from all the fires going on in the mountains. It actually wasn't too bad while we were there.

waiting to ride the flyer...

It was a fantastic weekend even with all the smoke in the air.

4th of July:

We started out the day at the Stake Pancake Breakfast, it's always so fun to see everyone and their kids in their most patriotic looking outfits.

Then on to the annual Lewis Family 4th BBQ! As always, the food was delish and did not disappoint. I made this cake, frog eye salad, and potato salad. The cake was so good. If you've never had this cake, you're missing out. Just a warning, ... it's chock full of butter! It was great to see lots of family. One of the funniest family movies was made at this event. Check it out here. And don't be hatin' ...that's all I'm saying!

Later that evening we set off for Lincoln for their fireworks show. As always it was great, although I did miss having music playing during the show. I really feel like it adds a lot to the whole experience.

Lake Clementine

The next day we went up to one of our favorite summertime destinations, Lake Clementine. It was just our little family so we didn't hike back too far and found a great spot with a decent swimming hole and a nice big shallow area for the little ones. The water was perfect: clear and refreshing. We took a picnic lunch and an umbrella and relaxed on our own little private beach. Big D and I climbed a rocky (and steep) hillside to pick a few wild blackberries, they were so yummy! I wish we could have picked more to take home and make our favorite cobbler.

Miss P with handfuls of rocks to throw in the water.

O-Dog with a big one to throw in the water and make a big splash! This was his favorite activity there.

Big D is my fearless little fish. He loves to jump off the rocks with Ryan.

Just hangin out in the tube.

I know my sister Heather will appreciate this next one. And, the answer is no, I'm not, if you're thinking to yourself right now that I look preggers! Don't worry though, I think I look pregnant too.

On the way home we stopped at Foster's and got shakes - it's just one of those things that we always do on the way home from Clementine.

More fun coming soon!

Anniversary

2008-06-27T14:55:00.001-07:00

No it's not my blogiversary yet, but it is our Tenth Wedding Anniversary!

We look so young!

I woke this morning to Ryan's goodbye kiss as he was going out the door to work and found a card to me on his pillow. He has always been able to pen such sweet notes to me, even when we were dating. I, on the other hand, am terrible at it.

Then I recieved these by delivery:

I love him!

Since I don't have time today, on Monday I will answer Lisa's tag, but instead of anwering about me I will give 7 random facts on my man.

Workin' 9-5, what a way to make a livin'!

2008-06-25T20:12:00.000-07:00

Last week I worked at my old job for a few days while they were all away at meetings. Every now and then they call me and ask if I want to work, it's pretty easy work and sometimes I just need something different to do. So I worked Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Thursday and Friday I took the kids in with me and set them up in the conference room with the portable dvd player, Big D's DS and cable t.v. They like to go in, but after the first day, the novelty of it wore off and they were bored. So Friday I decided to take a walk over to the State Capital and show the kids around, plus Big D could count it as a requirement for Cub Scouts! Here are a few photos of the field trip:

I thought this was funny. Here is what most of the past governors paintings look like:

Dignified, right? Well, this one caught my eye and made me giggle:

I don't know why, but anyone else find this one funny?

It was a quick field trip due to the fact that I cannot control my kids in these types of settings, made even more difficult by the fact that I forgot to bring the stroller.

It really is a neat place to go with the kids, I suggest going on a cooler day than we did and walk around the grounds more. It is very pretty and has lots of great places to take pictures. I realized how much I have missed being able to go downtown and take in the hustle and bussle of it all.

I did have a few interesting things happen while I was there.

On Wednesday I went to the Farmer's market and observed a man stealing pistachios by the handfuls when he thought no one was looking. Then I watched him walk away and pull a dollar out of his wallet to pay for a drink. Unbelievable! And yes, for anyone wondering, I let the worker at the stand know! Although, I wish I had had the guts to say, "Sir, did you just steal two big handfuls of nuts?" But I didn't.

On Thursday I was sitting at my desk and heard a girl crying/screaming "Oh my Gosh! No! No!" Of course I am "curious" (ie. nosy) so I investigate. I looked out to see a young African American girl who has just just exited the Planned Parenthood next door. I quickly offered her some tissues and a shoulder to cry on. She had just gotten a positive test and was frieking out. Her friends just stood and watched her with their eyes popping out of their heads. Hopefully they learn from her mistake. So sad. I wanted to say, "If you would consider adoption I have some awesome friends........" But I didn't.

All in all it was a fun time, which will be even more fun once I get that paycheck in the mail!

Fun Times

2008-06-14T10:42:00.000-07:00

I added a new blog patrol tracker on my blog a few days ago and really like it, much better than the Maploco I had. What I like about it is that it shows me the ip addresses for who is looking at my blog, top referrers for my blog, and "key word" search results that send people to my blog. So I was looking at it this morning and found that someone searching for "barfed in class" was able to find this post. Really? Barf? Hmmmm. I hope they enjoyed it.

In other news, last night we finally had the Angel's baseball party. Big D got his trophy and a baseball signed by the coaches. We had a BBQ at the park, all the food was really good. I took my Mother in Law's potato salad and these. Can you say YUMMY? I am drooling thinking about it all.

The park we went to has a great water feature for the kids to play in. O-dog steared clear of the water, he has never been a fan of the water features, and Miss P tested it out and opted to play on the jungle gym and swings, but Big D has always been my water bug so he had a great time playing in the water with his friends.

Camping Rundown

2008-06-06T19:19:00.001-07:00

Well, we are back and we had a great time. It was really fun and, surprise.........relaxing! Basically the kids just played with each other the whole time, rode their bikes, played tag, put on a talent show, climbed trees, kid stuff! Everyone just helped out with each others kids when the mommy in need was unable to. It was great! We tried to go to the beach twice, but it was just so darn windy! We tried to build a shelter for the kids to be able to play in the sand, but it was just too much and after about 20 minutes we were ready to go!

We did get quite a bit of wildlife in the camp. The night before we got there they had a fox in camp. Then Tuesday there was a skunk in someones tent, thank goodness it didn't spray, eventually it just went away. Tuesday night I woke up to Jill screaming and what sounded like an animal ripping to shreds it's prey. It turned out to be two raccoons fighting in the trees over her tent. Wednesday we had a deer sighting while the kids did their talent show at the amphitheater.

We were supposed to stay 2 nights, but Big D came to me on Wednesday and said he threw up in the bathroom so I had him lay down and he just kept coughing, no more throw up though.... I didn't want to risk having to get up in the middle of the night and deal with that, and the cough was pretty persistent so I packed up pretty quick and we headed home.

Too bad because things were going so great! Here are some pictures of the trip

Time flies, when your having fun....

2008-06-02T11:11:00.000-07:00

Let's see what has happened since the last post....

* Met my Sister-in-Law's new beau. He is really nice and the kids love him. Here's a plug for LDS dating sites!

* Went to a surprise 30th Birthday party. Having too much fun to bust out the camera!

* Hosted a bbq at our house for the family and said Beau. Burgers, chicken, potato salad, frog eye salad, raspberry cheesecake brownies, cookies....... too much good food! Too busy to take pics!

* Ryan started his new job, still at Kaiser. New schedule too! He gets home everyday now at 4:30!

* Big D had his last day of school. They rented some blow-up water slides and had carnival games and a bbq at the park next to the school. The kids had a blast. Forgot the camera!

* Had the pinewood derby, Big D had the winning car! Went out for yummy shakes to celebrate.

* Went to our last baseball game of the season!

* Cleaned out the garage! .....but still more work to do.

* Went and saw "Horton Hears a Who" at the cheap movies. The kids were good and the movie was cute.

Now I need to go pack for an impromptu camping trip to Bodega Bay with friends - sans hubby. Am I crazy? Check back Friday and see!

Father & Sons campout

2008-05-25T22:00:00.000-07:00

The weather forecast was not good, but they decided to stick to the plans and go anyway. Things were packed and a few things forgotten....... like air mattresses, a tarp and extra blankets, but they made it work and had a good time. The next morning they woke up to this:

Things were quickly "packed" (thrown into the back of the Tahoe) And breakfast, which was cooked by the bishopric, was enjoyed.

Then they hit the road, which by then looked like this:

They really had a good time even in the cold!

My Support Team

2008-05-12T21:47:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share this picture from (before) my run on Saturday. Ryan packed up the kids at 6:30 a.m. and drive me over to my run, waited with the kids and they all cheered for me as I ran across the finish line! It was fun to have my little support team there rooting for me!

My Mother's Day

2008-05-12T21:01:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning I was treated to a yummy breakfast in bed! Raspberry pancakes with whipped cream, fruit salad, sausages and eggs, and orange juice. On the side of the tray were the cards Big D and O-dog made at school. Too sweet! Dillon's card included the following:

If you give a mom a muffin.

If you give a mom a muffin, she'll want a cup of milk to go with it. She'll pour herself some. Her three-year-old will spill the milk. She'll wipe it up. Wiping the floor, she will find dirty socks. She'll remember she has to do laundry. When she puts the laundry in the washer, she'll trip over boots and bump into the freezer. Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan supper. She will get out a pound of hamburger. She'll look for her cookbook. (101 Things To Make With A Pound Of Hamburger.) The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail. She will see the phone bill, which is due tomorrow. She will look for her checkbook. The checkbook is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two-year-old. She'll smell something funny. She'll change the two-year-old. While she is changing the two-year-old the phone will ring. Her five-year-old will answer and hang up. She'll remember that she wants to phone a friend to come for milk. Thinking of milk will remind her that she was going to have a cup. She will pour herself some. And chances are, if she has a cup of milk, her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

by Kathy Fictorie
based on "If you Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff

Funny, and SO true!

Drawing/Giveaway

2008-05-05T13:20:00.000-07:00

I am having a Drawing/Giveaway on my other blog. Check it out!

A "Gross" Moment with O-Dog

2008-05-01T15:24:00.000-07:00

This morning I was in my bathroom O-Dog came in and stood up on the toilet. I was busy doing Miss P's hair. I heard O-Dog say, "I'm brushing my teeth!". I knew he didn't have a toothbrush in there so I looked at him to see what he was doing......yup, brushing his teeth with the fingernail brush!

Yum!

Road Trip Rundown

2008-04-22T16:45:00.000-07:00

I tried to do this earlier, but the pics were too big, so I have to do it one at a time. A little more time consuming.

We had a great trip out to Utah over Conference Weekend, for those that don't know, the first weekend in April is designated by our Church to hold our World-Wide General Conference. This was Big D's first opportunity to be able to attend, since he turned 8 in December. Unfortunately we couldn't take our camera in the conference center and we didn't want to go back to the car so we didn't get any photos of that. But here are a few from temple square and the Historical museum.

We stayed 2 nights with our dear friends, Matt and Emilie and their hilarious son Caleb. We played games, ate at our favorite restaraunt in Salt Lake , and my new (2nd) favorite restaraunt in Salt Lake: Cafe Rio, went sightseeing, and just hung out! They are so much fun. Love you guys!

Then we stayed with Holly (my sister) and Jimmy and their 5 kids! What a bunch! I loved watching the kids bond. We always have a good time with them.

Back to Conference:

We attended the Saturday afternoon session with Big D. We were in a hurry to get in our seats so we didn't get to walk around the conference center, we will have to do that another time. Once we were sitting and comfy I looked over at Big D and he had big tears running down his cheeks. He has always been very sensitive to the spirit and I know he was really feeling it! It was a great experience for him. Of course he did get a little tired of sitting there and asked a few times when we were going to leave. Yup, he's definately 8.

Sunday morning my parents and my brother, Matthew came up from Manti to watch Conference and have lunch together. It was a nice surprise, since I didn't think we would see them this trip.

My favorite talk from Conference was a wonderful message to mothers. I loved it and need to read it everyday. It can be found here: http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-851-37,00.html.

Another talk I thought was great for anyone dealing with any abuse issues was this one: http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-851-15,00.html

We had a fun trip and it took me a week to get back in the groove of things. Hopefully it won't be so long until the next post!

Go Angels!

2008-04-01T17:16:00.000-07:00

Last night was Big D's first game of the season. They lost, but they sure have gotten better since last year. Big D and his best friend S. made a really great play and got the other kid out. It was awesome! He also had some great hits and got on base, but never got home. He got to play catcher, pitcher, first base and center field. We have had the same coach, Coach Jeff, for 3 years now. He is such a great coach, the kids just love him. Ryan is Assistant Coach for the 2nd year in a row, which leaves me to tend to the kiddos and try to watch the game! Thank goodness Grandma and Grandpa Lewis came to help with the kids, errr......I mean...... watch the game. Whatever the reason, I'm so glad they were there. Thanks for being so supportive of Big D's sports.

Here are a few pics of Big D in action:

Of course you can't go to a baseball game with out getting nachos and popcorn!

Grandpa Lewis showing off his Angel's Pride!

Our Easter Celebration

2008-03-30T22:43:00.001-07:00

I am a little late in posting, but we did have a nice Easter. I loved seeing all the posts about your Easter weekend. Especially the kiddos all dressed up in their Easter best. So cute! We never did get around to dying eggs......I didn't really want to start at 8:30 Saturday night. So we skipped it and just had plastic eggs. At church the primary children got up and did a musical number. O-dog even went up, (stood still) and sang! We had our Easter Egg hunt after church and took a few photos, none of which turned out that great. Oh well!

Many family members gathered at Great Grandma and Grandpa's for more Easter fun and food.

My very favorite part of the Easter Celebration was our impromtu trip up to the Sacramento Temple grounds. It was so peaceful and beautiful. It was a great opportunity to talk about the Savior with the kids and feel the spirit there.

I love how Big D looks like he's explaining something really important to his little bro-dog. I was so impressed with him, as we walked the temple grounds he was reverent and respectful of everything. He has always been very sensitive and I know he could feel the spirit there. When we got home he wrote all about it in his journal.

Little moments like these help me know we're doing something right! Can you tell I am beaming?

Spring Break

2008-03-19T15:11:00.000-07:00

Spring Break is here and I thought I would share what we've been doing. Monday morning I decided I couldn't wait any longer to give the boys haircuts. O-Dog always cries, he hates it! When I was trimming around his ears he turned his head a bit and I shaved a little too much. Oops! Hopefully is grows out a little before I get their pictures taken this week.

After haircuts we made a picnic and set up the teepee I made them for Christmas. Since we have zero shade in the backyard it's nice to have a little place to hide away. Miss P was napping, so no pics of her.

Big D is such a great big brother.......most of the time. They were so fun to watch eating their lunch and having fun together. As soon as I walked away though, all heck broke loose. They spilled a drink, and started fighting. Typical.

Then today we drove to Folsom and took a walk from Sutter Street in Old Folsom down the bike path and over to the Trussle Bridge. The kids liked walking across the bridge. O-Dog was a little hesitant, he kept saying he was going to fall in and die. We saw a kayak coming up the river and they thought that was neat. It was such a nice day for a walk. Beautiful weather and the kids were getting along so that means....... peace. When there is peace mom is happy.

This is Big D explaining the "rules" of the bike path to O-Dog.

The Trussle Bridge is behind them.

On the way back Big D saw this cool rock wall and decided it was a good spot for a brotherly photo op.

After our walk we drove over to the park by the Folsom Zoo and met our friends for a picnic lunch. We played at the park, rode the train and went to explore the new Folsom Library. Wow, it was soooo nice. They even had a fireplace in the reading room!

Here are some pics from the park and train:

The big boys are too cool to sit with their moms!

Our friends! Thanks for meeting us, we had fun!

Becoming an Artiste

2008-03-12T12:40:00.000-07:00

When one decides to become an artiste, he needs to decide what medium he would like to create with. It may be charcoal, paint, fabric, pencil, crayons... etc. Our Artiste has decided upon red paint.

Next one must choose the tools to use. There are many tools available for painting, such as sponges, rollers, brushes, scrapers, and various other items. Our artiste has chosen a somewhat unconventional tool, but hey it works!

Possibly the most important thing for an artiste is choosing the canvas on which to create. Our Artiste first tried wood, but decided it was too small.

He then moved on to concrete, but after extensive research decided it was too rough.

The door seemed like the best choice. It was perfectly smooth and just the right size.

In conclusion, an artiste needs to choose his medium, choose his tool, and finally choose his canvas.

Oh yeah, and don't leave an open can of paint out where a little artiste might find it!

My Britney Spears Moment

2008-03-04T21:12:00.001-08:00

Remember that time when Britney was carrying her son and tripped and almost dropped her son? (This was before her kids were taken from her and the nightly news followed all her mama drama.) I would just like to say that I defended what happened. If a camera crew followed me around 24-7 waiting for me to do something stupid or make a mistake then, of course they would "catch me". So with that said, I will tell you what happened Friday afternoon.

We had just gotten home from picking up Big D from school and I thought I would let Miss P and O-Dog play in the backyard for a while before their nap. After a minute, the doorbell rang, Big D answered the door and it was O-dog. He said Miss P was running away. I looked in the direction he was pointing and she was 2 houses down the sidewalk! I ran after her, all the while she's squealing with delight and running away. I gathered her up and took them inside. Apparently, O-dog had gotten a chair and stood up on it next to the gate and opened it up. I told him not to do that, it's dangerous, blah...blah...blah...and let them go back to playing in the backyard. I sat down to look at Big D's report card. Not 2 minutes later the doorbell rang again. I realized what was happening and ran to the door. It's O-dog. My eyes scanned the sidewalk both ways....no Miss P.....scanned to the right again.....about 10 houses down I caught a flash of pink scurrying down the sidewalk. I actually thought to myself, "wow, at least she stayed on the sidewalk"! If you know anything about my kids, you would know that they are fast runners! We ran down and got her, but in the meantime some of the neighbors had seen the situation unfolding and began to gather. A lady in a car pulled up to Big-D, who got to Miss P first and said that she almost got hit by a car! Another lady pushing a stroller with 3 kids told me the same thing. I think I mumbled something about her little brother and the gate and thanks for your concern and booked it back home! I promptly went into the house and put them down for their naps.

Funny thing is, I wasn't all that embarrassed. Yes, of course I was a little, but I was more grateful she was okay. Even as I write this, I have so many feelings and thoughts running through my mind. As crazy as it seems, I even have to laugh a little at the thought of Miss P squealing with delight as we ran to catch her.

So say what you will about me. I know I am not perfect. Just wait until the day when you get "caught" in your Britney Spears moment.

Life goes on

2008-03-03T10:16:00.000-08:00

It has been over 2 weeks now since my last post here. Unfortunately, we all eventually came down with the flu. This one is a killer, and it's making the rounds. Nearly everyone I know has had it in their family. So not fun.

On a different note, I began a new post last Friday, but haven't decided whether or not to publish it. It's not pretty, but it's real. Maybe I will have a final draft today. Part of our lesson in R.S. on Sunday was about how we look at other people and think that their life is perfect and that they have no problems. How sometimes we put on a facade that we are perfect, we have it all together. I don't feel like I sugar-coat my life. I feel like sometimes I am so open about the "realness" in life that it may come across that I am a "Debbie Downer". I guess it's all about finding a happy medium and for me focusing on the positive. I feel like I'm rambling now, but it was a great reminder for me about how a lot of my "issues" are holding me back.

Anyway, look for that new post soon.

Before I leave I'll share a picture, just because!

Valentine's Day Fallout

2008-02-15T12:28:00.000-08:00

We woke up bright and early this morning to the smell of puke eminating from Miss P and O-Dog's room. Miss P is still fast asleep but as I creep closer, I notice IT. Poor littly chicky. Got her all cleaned up and she's acting fine now. Hopefully it was a onetime thing, but to be sure I guess we will be hanging out at home today. Bummer!

We did have a nice Valentine's day though. Ryan got me 2 dozen roses on Wednesday, I love having fresh flowers in the house! I invited Janay and Amee over to make chocolate covered strawberries during the day. It was nice to sit and get to know each other better and the berries turned out beautifully. We had a house full of kiddos and they were on a bit of a sugar-high from the parties at school. For dinner I made teriyaki chicken, fresh green beans, and for dessert - the berries.

I still have to get Ryan's gift, a new pillow. He really needs one (Especially since I threw Miss P's away this morning and gave her his.) There's just no way to fully clean a barfy pillow. Hopefully we'll be going to Costco tonight where he can pick one out. I need laundry soap too, since I used the very last of it to wash Miss P's sheets and I still have a pile of laundry to do.

I just had to share this photo of O-Dog wearing this hat he made at joy school. He wore it practically all day. I just love the "antlers". He looks like a little love bug!

Okay, so that's my post for the day! Kind of a boring one, sorry!

Mmmm Mmmmm Good!

2008-02-13T15:09:00.000-08:00

I have really been on a kick lately to try new recipes and I found this blog called Picky Palate via Kristen's blog. Speaking of Kristen, if you have a strong stomach check out her nursing school experiences at her other blog, Kristen's Daily Dose. She is a strong person, that's all I'll say about it here. Okay, so I was first "introduced" to Jenny Flake on a Food Network Challenge in the fall and then Kristen had her blog listed, lo and behold it was the lady with the "uncooked chicken". (Man, I felt so bad for her!) Since then, I have made several of her recipes. She and I seem to have very similar tastes in food. Pretty much 99% of the stuff she blogs about I want to make. So, 2 nights ago for dinner I made the "Crispy Southwest Chicken Wontons". Typical me, I cannot make a recipe without changing something. I added a can of drained black beans, 1 cup of corn, substituted my own cooked/chopped chicken for the canned and omitted the ranch dressing . It turned out so yummy! Similiar to Claim Jumpers Southwest Eggroll Appetizer. Now if I could get the recipe to their dipping sauce ........ Here's the picture from her blog:

A few of Jenny's other recipes that I have tried are:

Chicken Peanut Thai Noodles

Cheesy Stufffed Baked Ziti

Creamy Chicken Italiano

There are so many more I want to try! She also has great pictures of every recipe and for me this is a must since I like to know what it's going to look like at the end. So go to her blog. Pick a recipe. Make it. Eat it up. Go back and tell her how great it is.

Word.

*All the photos used for this post are from Jenny's blog. What a talented lady!

Homemade Valentines

2008-02-06T15:58:00.000-08:00

This year I wanted to do something different for Valentine's Day, I didn't want to buy those cheezy, yet popular, premade cards. So I found this idea for paper fortune cookies and adapted it to make your own Valentine. They are so cute, they look like fortune cookies and the "fortune" is a slip of paper with a Valentine message. I thought it was fitting since Chinese New Year is upon us.

Here's my prototype (geeze I sound like a geek!):

They're a little bigger than I wanted so the final product will be smaller. Friday we're going to a playdate/Valentine exchange and Big D will need some to exchange at school, so I'll be making a lot, but they're super easy! There's even enough room to fit a little treat inside!

If you want to make your own, the directions can be found here:

http://www.scrapfriends.us/articles/origami_cookie.html

Thanks for the Sunshine!

2008-02-06T15:42:00.000-08:00

Today after school, we met my friend Amy at the park and let the kids play, while we had some much needed adult conversation. It was so nice to be able to be outside for a prolonged period of time without freezing our tooshies off. The kids had a fun time hanging out at the park! I even remembered to take the camera!

Here's O-Dog with his friend PG:

Here's Miss P going down the slide:

Here she is again, trying to climb up the slide:

Here's Big D squinting from the sun. Those are his friends behind him:

Gotta take advantage of the nice weather while we can!

Gordon B Hinckley: Man & Prophet

2008-01-31T11:24:00.000-08:00

I know, I failed to address the passing of Gordon B. Hinckley, our beloved prophet. I feel guilty about it, too. I have never been an eloquent writer/speaker and all the posts I have read have said it so beautifully already. I didn't know what to say that would do justice to the amazing life and accomplishments this man has had. In not doing so, I now feel like I am dishonoring him.

So, today I honor this sweet man and Prophet of God,

in my own way.

Thank you for bringing so many temples to the world,

especially Sacramento:

Thank you for showing the world who we are:

Thank you for sharing your talents:

My Redeemer Lives

Hymn # 135

I know that my Redeemer lives,

Triumphant Savior, Son of God

Victorious over Pain and death,

My King,my Leader, and my Lord

He lives, my one sure rock of Faith,

The one bright hope of men on earth,

The beacon to a better way,

The light beyond the veil of death.

Oh, give me thy sweet spirit still,

The peace that comes alone from thee,

The faith to walk the lonely road

That leads to thine eternity.

Thank you for your example of True Love.
I know you are with your dear companion, Marjorie, now:

Thank you for not acting your age, and making me smile on so many occasions:

Thank you for your sense of humor and reminding me to laugh once in a while:

Thank you for the new podium at the conference center.

I will think of you each conference time and I will read it's story to my children.

Thank you for the six B's. I stitched them and hung on it on my sons wall.

They are simple and to the point.

Thank you for your inspirational words and spiritual uplifting over the last 13 years.

You will be dearly missed. I honor you.

Oops!

2008-01-30T11:53:00.000-08:00

So much for the downhill.

Big-D's school just called. He threw up. On the playground. Ewwwww! At least it wasn't in the classroom. Nothin' more embarassing than being remembered as the kid who barfed in class.

Okay, so he complained this morning that his stomach hurt. I assumed he didn't want to go to school since he has been at home for the past 4 days watching tv, playing the Wii, on the computer, and playing his DS. What 8 year old kid would leave that to go to school? I made him breakfast and sent him off to school.

My mistake. But in all fairness, might I remind you that I have spent the last 4 days nursing sick people back to health. Wack-o, I tell you! I am going Wack-o!

The Suds

2008-01-30T10:13:00.000-08:00

Anyone seen that Spongebob episode where he gets "the suds" after leaving the refrigerator door open all night? It's pretty funny.

Actually having "the suds" is definitely not funny. Having a houseful of people that have "the suds" is most definitely the unfunniest thing EVER! Trust me I would know. Because we have not left the house for 4 days. 4 days nursing sick people back to health with no break can drive a person Wack-o! Again, I would know.

It seems though that we are on the downhill now. Yesterday, Ryan went back to work. Today, Big-D was back to school. Things are looking up!

Frustrated.

2008-01-22T12:25:00.000-08:00

I finally figured out how to customize my wallpaper on here, but I lost all my links! Ahhhhhh! I am so frustrated. I am not really great at computers, so it will probably take me forever to get them back on! Will I ever get better at this? Feel free to comment if you know how to not let that happen again!

Our Family Blog

2008-01-19T10:27:00.000-08:00

I am Stephanie, Mom to "Big D" who is 8, "O-dog" who is 3, and "Miss P" who is 1. I am married to Ryan, my best-est friend. In addition to not posting regularly on my other blog, I will now promise to not post regularly on this one. Actually, I am hoping to make this my family blog and yepadoodle will become by blossoming business blog. So once I figure out how to do this, I will post an obnoxious number of pics of my kids and show you what we've been doing lately.