Keeping Up With The Jones'

Throw Pillow

2012-02-06T21:27:00.001-07:00

My niece Terina's birthday is coming up and they are re-doing her room in an owl theme using the bright colors. Dawn pinned a few different things they would like to do/use for decorations and after looking at those ideas I used one of the patterns and made her this throw pillow.
I haven't done applique in a long time so it was fun to make. I am happy with how cute it turned out.

World's worst blogger...

2012-02-04T08:20:00.001-07:00

...is what I feel like I've become. That being said I am uncertain as to whether or not today's attempt to get back know track is actually going to change anything. It is worth a shot though so here we go. One of my big goals for 2012 is to get and feel more organized. I recently attended a craft night put on by a friend which has helped me immensely to get going in the right direction. We put together a family organization binder, which honestly includes pretty much everything you can think of to organize every aspect of my life. I have added and discarded a few different sheets to make it work for our family better and am now completely addicted to it. I get so much more accomplished everyday and feel way less overwhelmed and stressed out by the chaos in my life. So thank-you Kd for helping my get a great start to taking control of the chaos!

Lincoln's Baptism

2011-11-12T16:53:00.001-07:00

It is great to be 8! Lincoln was baptized on November 29, 2011. We were blessed to have so many family members and friends be able to attend. Lincoln chose to have both myself and Hanna give talks at this special occasion. Lincoln is such a special spirit and I am eternally grateful to be his mother. I am proud of him for making the decision to be baptized and I know that he was prepared to make these covenants. Lincoln is a great example of someone who is Christlike and trys each day to choose the right. It was a beautiful day.

After the baptism we headed over to our house for dinner and the most awesome birthday cake ever. Although I say that every time. Thanks Dawn!

Lincoln's Birthday Party

2011-10-14T22:12:00.001-06:00

This year Hanna volunteered to plan and do Lincoln's birthday party. Which is probably a good thing, otherwise he might not have gotten one. He invited 11 other boys bringing the party to a total of 12 boys between the ages of 7&9. Being a family of mostly girls, I found myself completely unprepared for the energy level of this many boys. He went with a Star Wars theme, so Hanna planned a few different games using their lightsabers (foam swords) Thankfully the weather was nice and a lot of the activities could take place outside. Hanna had a couple of her friends come and help her out and they did a great job. Lincoln had a great time and hopefully his friends did too.

Temple Trip

2011-10-12T09:57:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was our wards first youth temple trip since Hanna turned 12. She was very excited to be able to attend the temple and participate in those sacred ordinances.
Michael was here for the weekend so he volunteered to be a driver and was hoping to be able to participate as well. He got his wish and was able to be the one who baptized Hanna, as well as some of the other girls. I'm glad they were able to be together for this "first" of Hanna's. It was a great experience for both of them.

My Goals

2011-10-06T22:01:00.001-06:00

Tonight at our Weekly Relief Society meeting we had three mini classes. Meal Planning, Couponing, & Budgeting. I am not good at any of these, but I want to be! I just don't know where to start and feel a little overwhelmed at the daunting task before me. So I am going to set small goals that will help me get started in each area, and then add to them as I complete each goal.

My Goals

Menu Planning:
Create list of meal ideas.

Couponing:
Sign up for online coupons & look through fliers.

Budgeting:
Make a list of all our expenses & our income.

Clogging

2011-10-05T10:13:00.000-06:00

To start off this year of clogging we are learning this dance.

Let me start off by reminding you this is only my second year of clogging so OH MY HECK. But I am determined to master this. Therefore I am glad first of all that this dance is online and that he has broken it down so I can practice and practice and practice it over and over again at home. So far I can get the first part when it is in teach mode but not at full speed. So wish me luck, because I am going to need it.

New Phone

2011-10-05T09:04:00.001-06:00

Just over a year ago we got Palm Pre phones. Unfortunately they aren't always the most reliable. Michael had a lot of problems with his not working right from the start, but I didn't have any problems with mine until a few days ago which happened to be 2 days after the warranty ran out. Of course. Since paying to get it fixed would only temporarily solve the problem we decided to just get me a new phone. I originally wanted the iphone4 but through talking to people who know more about phones than I do we decided to go with the Samsung Galaxy 3II instead.

I love this phone! In fact I am probably spending way too much time playing with it. Maybe the novelty will wear off soon and I will get back to unpacking.

Picking Pumpkins

2011-10-04T07:27:00.000-06:00

Yesterday for FHE we went out to a local pumpkin patch to pick pumpkins. The kids loved checking out all the different sizes and shapes and colors. They liked being able to "pick" their favorites.

Quick Update

2011-10-03T21:54:00.002-06:00

It has been so long since I've posted and tons has happened but for now I'm not going to try to catch up I'm just going to start from here. We recently (this past week) moved into a new (to us) substantially larger house. It has 6 bedrooms ( giving the older kids their own rooms for the first time in their lives), 4 bathrooms (which will come in handy with all these girls) and everything we could possibly need or want. Since we still have not sold our house in Whitecourt we are doing a rent-to-own for this house. I'm just excited to have something that is ours again.
The kids are all back in school and happy to be back.
Hanna started Junior High and is absolutely loving Grade 7. She is taking band and has decided to play the clarinet. I've been impressed with how quickly she has been able to actually play music with it. She also turned 12 this summer and therefore is in Young Women's. With her birthday at the beginning of July she was able to attend camp this summer and had a fantastic time. She is participating in Clogging again this year and enjoys the challenge that a new year brings.
Olivia is in Grade 6 and happy to be at the top of the food chain in the Elementary school. She still lives for Ballet, and in fact had the opportunity to participate in a local competition this summer. Olivia and her good friend performed a ballet duet at "Raymond's Got Talent" She is back in classes now and has added a Lyrical class as well.
Emma is in Grade 4 and has a super fun teacher who has an elaborate game which his class plays all year and also does a lot of his teaching through music. Emma is still taking Jazz and has also decided to try Ballet this year. She also is thrilled with the fact that our new house has a second kitchen (without the appliances) where I have given her free reign to use her Easy-Bake Oven and other assorted baking toys. Her plan (right now) is to become a chef so she is happy to finally have somewhere to use her things.
Lincoln is in Grade 2. The Martial Arts program which he has participated in the last couple of years is no longer being offered here in town so he is now taking Judo instead. He is really enjoying it so far and is looking forward to learning and growing in this field. Lincoln turns 8 in a couple of weeks so we are preparing for his baptism later this month.
Lily is in Kindergarten!!!!!! Can you tell I'm happy about this. She is in school every afternoon and so far loves going to school, seeing her friends, and learning new things. She is taking Ballet again this year and looks very forward to her class each week.
Amelia & I attend a parent preschool class on afternoon a week and the rest of the time she is my shadow. She loves playing with her brother and sisters, and being outside. She likes to "help" with my chores and stays pretty close to me throughout the day. We are hoping to get her going to sleep in her own bed and potty trained in the next couple months. Eventually I need to break her thumb sucking habit as well, but that can wait.
Michael is still commuting back and forth between here and Whtiecourt. His job is going well and we have settled into a good routine. He serves in the Sunday School Presidency.
I am keeping busy with life. I am still trying to spend as much time as possible sewing (which hasn't been nearly enough lately) I am taking a clogging class I really enjoy both the exercise and the challenge. I serve in the Primary as a teacher to the 10/11 year olds. My class keeps me on my toes but I have really come to love being their teacher.
Life is Good.

Successful Sale

2011-06-16T22:25:00.000-06:00

Last night and tonight was the early registration for the dance studio. I set up a display selling my reversible dance bags and was very pleased by the result. I sold 9 and had a few people who hoped I would be back with them in September. I have really enjoyed making the bags and knowing that people like them and are willing to buy them makes it that much better. I am excited to continue to make these and other projects in preparation for the fall. My girls and I are going to be participating in a sale in September so I need to get working!

Some of the ones that sold:

Scripture Totes

2011-06-02T14:56:00.000-06:00

On Monday a friend asked if I would be interested in making a scripture tote for her daughter who's baptism is coming up. I was very excited to take on a new project and see what I could put together. So Tuesday I put together a bag to see if this was what she had in mind. Here is that bag:

I showed it to her yesterday and she was thrilled. So after discovering what fabric her daughter liked I put together her bag today.

They are the perfect sized to hold your scriptures. They also have external pockets on both sides. I will be making more to sell. Although if someone wants a specific color, I will definitely make them to order.

New Business

2011-05-24T08:53:00.000-06:00

I have been making bags quite a bit this last year. Mostly for my kids to give as birthday presents, but recently was approached to make some to sell at our dance studio. So I have been working on sewing bags in preparation for the sale in June. Lately my girls have expressed a lot of interest in making things to sell as well. So I decided rather than have 2 separate businesses we would just combine everything under one business name. The name we came up with is "Embellish You." We spent quite a bit of time working on a variety of items this past weekend and will continue to do more, coming up with new ideas every time. I started another blog to showcase what we have available check it out embellishyou.blogspot.com . I'm enjoying both the fun of creating as well as the time doing this with my daughters.

Fancy Flip Flops

2011-05-21T20:06:00.000-06:00

Hanna decided that her flip flops needed a face lift so she used ribbon, flowers & jewels to give them a fun updated new look. Not long after she had begun this project I came home with new flip flops ($1 at Old Navy) for all the girls, so they got started decorating those ones as well. Here are some of the finished products.

Olivia's

Emma's

Hanna's

She did some for Lily as well but we can't figure out where Lily put them.

Zumba

2011-05-20T09:06:00.000-06:00

They have started a Zumba fitness class here in town every Tuesday and Thursday evening. I went originally just to get out of the house...but right away I became hooked. It is just such a fun way to get some great exercise. I am sweaty and tired by the end of the hour....and can't wait to come back the next time.

Lincoln's New Bike

2011-05-19T10:55:00.000-06:00

Now that it has gotten nice I have started having the kids ride their bikes to school. Well the first day I went to the school to get Lily and Lincoln was waiting for a ride home. It turned out his bike was way too small and it took him forever....plus sore legs...riding to the school that morning. So that evening he and I headed in to Lethbridge to find him a new bike. I wanted something without gears so that it was simpler to take care of, and he wanted something with pedal brakes. I was surprised when we found something that fit both our wants and my budget. He is loving his new bike and is having a much easier and faster ride to and from school each day.

Now I just need to teach Lily to ride a bike so that next year she can ride with the kids.

Preschool Circus Day

2011-05-19T10:46:00.000-06:00

Lily had a circus day at preschool a few weeks ago. It started off with a magic show (they had a magician come down from Calgary...he was excellent!) Then they split the kids into groups and we rotated around different centers which included face paint, an obstacle course, a bouncy house, balloon animals, a mini circus ring, and snack. She had a great time and I enjoyed seeing her interact with her teachers and friends.

Saturday Fun

2011-05-19T10:11:00.000-06:00

This past weekend my parents were down, so we took the opportunity to get together and have our first wiener roast this year. Jason's family joined us as well and we headed to Indian Battle Park for the afternoon. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Enjoyed good food and fun. We had brought gloves, bats and balls and got our version of a game of softball going. The kids played at the park, and hiked up to the gazebo. All in all a great day. I LOVE SPRING!

Dance Recital

2011-05-13T14:59:00.001-06:00

Every year when Dance Recital time arrives my life becomes even more chaotic and I wonder what I was thinking with all these girls and all these dance classes.This year was no exception. Including the dress rehearsal we had 4 straight days of recitals, Monday through Thursday. I actually didn't even have the opportunity to watch the recital this year because I too was dancing and while I was off stage I was helping with many costume and hair changes for the dancers who participated in more than one dance. It was fun and exhausting.

Olivia's Ballet Solo

Lily's Clogging

Emma's Jazz

Olivia's Ballet

My Clogging

Hanna & Olivia`s Clogging

Hanna`s Jazz

It was fantastic, fun, and exhausting. I`m looking forward to next year!

My Birthday Present

2011-05-10T21:22:00.000-06:00

I have some other posts still to catch up on but I had to share the video that my kids (mostly Hanna) with help from my Mom put together for my birthday. It was hard for them to wait until my birthday to give it to me, but they managed. I'm glad they did because it was a great way to start my birthday. It brought tears to my eyes as I watched it...that's the sign of a good present...right?

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-05-09T20:00:00.000-06:00

We had an easter egg hunt over at Jason & Renee's on the Saturday before Easter. It was a beautiful day so everyone was able to enjoy hunting for eggs, flying kites, and just plain being outside. In fact a few of my kids walked away from the day with sunburned faces. Oops.

Amelia's favorite part was finding out that the eggs held candy. She is a candy kid. If there is candy anywhere around her she will find it and devour it before anyone can even try to take it away. Fortunately eating a lot of sugar doesn't seem to affect her at all.

Martial Arts Celebration

2011-05-05T09:08:00.000-06:00

We have reached the end of another year of Martial Arts. Lincoln was moved up to Blue Belt Level part way through the year and recently received his Red Belt Level at his year end celebration.

After the belt presentations they do a variety of demonstrations. This is by far my favorite part. I enjoy watching the new things that they have learned how to do and seeing the skills that they have been taught.

Football Camp

2011-05-04T15:15:00.000-06:00

Where we live the kids can start playing football in Grade 4, but starting in Grade 1 they can participate in a football skills camp. Which runs for 5 Saturdays from 9-11am. Lincoln was so excited to be able to participate this year. He has so far had 3 of the days with 2 left to go.

He can hardly wait to be able to play for the Comets.

Wackadoo Zoo

2011-04-13T21:05:00.000-06:00

The Grades 1-3 recently put on a production entitled "Wackadoo Zoo". It was a story about a zoo where the animals all made the wrong sounds. A group of professors came to try to cure the animals, but were unsuccessful. In the end the animals didn't want to be cured and were happy to be different. It was a musical and was enjoyable to watch. The kids all did a great job, thanks to a fantastic music teacher who obviously worked very hard teaching and preparing the kids.

Emma was a cow that said "Meow"

Lincoln was a goat that said "Ruff"

Injuries

2011-04-07T17:20:00.001-06:00

This month we have had a couple injuries. First Amelia (of course) tripped and hit her head against the wall which gave her quite the black eye.

These pictures were taken right after on my cell so they aren't the best and it looked a lot worse after a few days, and lasted for a good 2 weeks.

Then on Sunday March 27th the kids were making themselves some lunch when all of a sudden Emma started to scream. They had put both a container of Ichiban noodles and a plate with a hot dog on it in the microwave a the same time. Unfortunately when they opened the door the boiling container of noodles and water fell out and landed on Emma's thigh. She was smart and yanked her pants off immediately and we put cold water on it right away and then took her to the ER. She had 2nd degree burns covering her entire thigh. They gave us an antibiotic cream and wrapped it up which helped to stop the pain substantially. We were given instruction to change the bandages every day and then see her doctor in a few days. I kept her home from school so that we could decrease the risk of infection and give her the chance to rest and heal. We saw her Dr on the Thursday and he said that it was healing nicely and that within a few more days she should be okay to go without the bandages. Unfortunately it started to hurt a lot last Sunday night so back to the Dr. we went on the Monday, sure enough it was infected. He put her on an oral antibiotic and told us to keep an eye on it. So I continued to keep her home from school and finally today it isn't hurting her anymore. Although it is still not looking all that great. I guess we will see what this weekend brings.

Both of these pictures are from Monday (Day 2)

This was Tuesday (Day 3)

Wednesday (Day 4)

This picture shows the start of the infection on the Monday (Day 9)

Today (Day 12)

The areas that are bright red have been bleeding and oozing.

I'm hoping things look a little better when I check it tomorrow or we might be headed back to the Dr. again. It has been a rough couple of weeks for poor Emma, I'm really hoping she'll be able to get back to school and her other activities soon!

Activity Day Fashion Show

2011-04-05T22:55:00.000-06:00

About 3? weeks ago our ward's activity day girls held a "Modest is Hottest" fashion show with the mom's as the audience. The girls each modeled a modest church outfit as well as either a school or summer outfit. Along with this modeling some of them also participated in little skits that were basically spoofs about immodest clothing. Hanna and her friend Claire modeled for the spoof on tight clothing by coming down the runway dressed like this while their leader read this poem:

Then, there's clothes so tight and revealing,
Just to breathe, she is numb, no feeling.
Is it really worth the pain and duress.
To feel like a mummy with full figure distress?

If up the staircase you venture to tread,
Please, puleeze, take the elevator instead!

Olivia participated in a spoof on spaghetti straps by wearing spaghetti on her shoulders walking down the runway to this poem:

The worldly look would have you think
Spaghetti isn't something good to eat.
Instead...straps so small it's hard to see
If they're part of the dress or part of "thee"

That hungry date might take a bite
And you'd be topless for the night.

They had a great time modelling. I think it was a great way to teach and show the value of dressing modestly while having fun doing it!

Catch Up

2011-03-28T19:04:00.000-06:00

Now that I have my computer back, I can spend some time catching up on my blog. Starting with birthday celebrations. Emma turned 9 on February 28th and Amelia turned 2 on March 19th. Emma wanted cupcakes for her birthday cake and my very talented Sister-In-Law Dawn provided amazing cupcakes for her family party.

For Emma's friend party I took her and 5 of her friends to see "Tangled" at the theatre, after which we stopped at Dairy Queen for dessert and present opening.

Amelia's birthday fell on the weekend when Michael wasn't home so we waited to have her family party and just had a little celebration at home on her actual birthday. Hanna made her a cake and then she got her present from Mom and Dad. Which was a bike, she quite enjoys it although she just scoots it around with her feet since she can't reach the pedals.

Yesterday we had her family party for which Dawn made her a Blue's Clues Cake.

Happy Birthday girls!

Wacky Hair / Pajama Day

2011-01-23T19:16:00.000-07:00

This last Thursday was wacky hair and pajama day at school. My kids love wacky hair day and continually try to come up with something wacky that I'm willing to do to there hair. This year we used a lot of colored hairspray and back combing to create some wacky hair. The pictures aren't great because they were taken on my phone, but they are better than nothing.

Emma

Hanna

Olivia

Amelia needed to be like everyone else.

It's A Wacky Crew!

Hair bling

2011-01-12T19:25:00.000-07:00

Hanna got a new haircut today. She is loving her new look and was excited to get a few strands of hair bling put in as well. She chose red, which I have to say looks really good with her hair color.

I think I am going to see about figuring out how to do the hair bling myself, it looks cute on her and of course her sisters want some too.

Dentists

2011-01-12T19:17:00.000-07:00

Lately I feel like I have been living at dental offices. We recently got health coverage back after having been without for over a year, so it was time to get everyone back into the dentist. The last time we saw the dentist was before Amelia was born so it had almost been 2 years. Unfortunately this meant work needing to be done. Emma though was by far the most needful. Not because of cavities but because of the way her teeth are growing in. Her top teeth were siting behind her bottom teeth which was putting a lot of pressure on her bottom teeth causing them to move forward. The end result is BRACES! She had them put on yesterday morning, and today is pretty sore. They said she would probably sore for about 4 days, poor girl. They put braces on her top teeth to help pull her top 2 forward, she will have these on for the next 8-10 months after which she will most likely wear a retainer until her permanent teeth are all in after which she will probably need another round of braces to straighten everything out. Let the fun begin!

So far its looking like a lot of braces are in our future since all my kids have fairly small mouths. Thank goodness I like the Orthodontist!

Never too young.

2011-01-12T18:53:00.000-07:00

You are never too young to start a good skin care routine. Just ask Amelia. She is a fairly quiet little girl so with her quiet doesn't mean trouble, until lately. Lately if she isn't where I can see her at all times she is getting into something. So far my refining mask cream has been her biggest mess to date. It was all over her, and all over my bathroom. Lots of fun to wash off!

CUTE TROUBLE!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

2011-01-03T15:07:00.000-07:00

This Christmas Season was filled with Family, Friends, Food, Fun, and Love. We had a busy couple of weeks and enjoyed the time we had to celebrate with those around us.

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year!

Grade 6 Play

2011-01-03T15:01:00.000-07:00

Each year one of the Grades from 4-6 put on a performance. This year it was the Grade 6's turn. They had the fortune of having a couple student teachers one a drama major and the other a music major, helping them out. They performed a musical called "Pirates a Musical: King of the High C's" Hanna played the role of "Purple Beard" They spent a ton of time learning the lines and the songs, but it was worth the effort when they performed. It was so fun to watch, everyone knew what they were supposed to be doing and did it well.

Belt Advancement

2010-12-21T10:48:00.000-07:00

Last week Lincoln advanced from a green belt to a blue belt in his Martial Arts program.

Which meant he had the highest belt level in his class that day ( he thought that was really cool ). I stayed to watch his class and was quite impressed with how hard they work! For the first 30 minutes they do a series of warm-up exercises. I use the term warm-up very loosely because the intensity of these exercises would have me curled up on the floor gasping for air.

After their warm up they spend the remaining time in class learning new techniques, sparring, etc... While I was watching they worked on rolls. I have to say I was pretty impressed that Lincoln could run towards his instructor as his instructor ran towards him, and then when his instructor threw the stick out in front of Lincoln he just jumped and rolled over top.

I'm really glad our community offers so many options for my kids to develop new skills and talents.

Dance

2010-12-13T20:45:00.000-07:00

This year instead of a Christmas recital our dance studio decided to just have a parent viewing day. I was able to watch Lily, Hanna, and Olivia do clogging. I was also able to see Olivia's ballet class. Unfortunately I was out of town for Hanna and Emma's jazz classes. I am grateful we live in a community filled with talented individuals willing to share their abilities and teach my children. With so many options offered at our dance studio the girls have been given the opportunity to learn whatever style they find interesting.

Cute Gift Idea

2010-12-10T14:28:00.000-07:00

My visiting teaching companion brought me the cutest gift the other day. I started looking closer at it and realized that it would make a great, fun, cute, easy and most of all inexpensive gift for my kids to give to their teachers. Everything for them came from the dollar store and they took no time at all to put together.

Stuck

2010-12-10T10:15:00.000-07:00

The kids came screeching into my bedroom the other day that Amelia was stuck. I couldn't hear her screaming so I didn't think it could be too bad. I followed the kids into the living room and found her sitting in the dolls high chair. Sure enough she was STUCK! I tried lifting her out, lifting and bending her legs, nothing. So I got Jason to come and give me a hand. He had to unscrew the top from the base and then we were able to finally free her.

I'm not sure whether she got in by herself or if one of the kids put her in, but hopefully she'll stay out of it.

Just Dance

2010-12-10T10:08:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for a great game with which to have fun and get the bonus of good exercise. Then you should try "Just Dance", "Just Dance 2", or "Just Dance Kids" They are so fun!

I use these games for a fantastic cardio workout. I would highly recommend them.

I am loving...

2010-12-08T21:25:00.000-07:00

...our new Family Home Evening assignment wipe off board. I was up in Whitecourt for my mom's Super Saturday and they were using picture frames to make wipe off memo/menu boards. I didn't really want a memo/menu board, so instead I made mine into a FHE assignment board. I am loving it!

Best of all was how super easy it was to make!

Olivia's 10th

2010-12-08T21:05:00.000-07:00

Olivia turned 10 on November 21. We celebrated her birthday with 3 different parties. The first was just a quick Happy Birthday on her actual birthday with those who live with her. I made her a rice krispie cake...that's as good as it gets from me.

Then the next weekend Michael was home so I took Olivia and her friends bowling.

We kept it very uncompetitive and everyone seemed to have a great time. That evening we celebrated with our extended families. Thank-you Dawn for providing cupcakes for the bowlers as well as creating a beautiful cake for her family party.

I can't believe I already have two kids at double digit ages. Wow time goes fast. Happy 10th Birthday Olivia!

Kids Wish Lists

2010-11-24T10:25:00.001-07:00

For FHE this week we made our wish lists for Christmas. They started out fairly simple and realistic, but as the kids got into it they began adding a lot more to their lists.

Hanna's Wish List (she has * by her most desired items)

Park Place Mall Gift Certificate*
Disney All Star Party Wii Game*
39 Clues Book Series*
Camera*
Ugg Boots*
Webkinz Triple Set (costco)*
Clothes
Zhu Zhu Pets & Accessories
Art Set
Dairy Queen Blizzard Maker
Sorry Spin
Webkinz Zumbuddy
Framed Picture of her kissing a Dolphin
Lulu Lemon Stuff

Olivia's Wish List ( she pretty much adds everything she sees on commercials )

Sorry Spin
Webkinz Zumbuddy
A Liv Doll
Zhu Zhu Pets & Accessories
Zhu Zhu DS game or Wii game
Art Set
A Stereo
China Doll
New Ballet Leotard (black)
Clothes
Sketch Pad
LPS Pet
Nerf Gun
Twister Hoopla
Rubix Twist
Tangled DVD
Ugg Boots
DQ Blizzard Maker
Books
Cooking Stuff
Twister Hopscotch
Aqua Sand
Park Place Mall Gift Certificate

Emma's Wish List

Nail Art Set
Painting Set
Zhu Zhu Pets & Accessories
DQ Blizzard Maker
Milk Shake Maker
Crazy Cooking Stuff
Aqua Sand
Pixels
Park Place Mall Gift Certificate
Jewelry
Clothes
A Picture of her, Rhiannon & N'leah together

Lincoln's Wish List

Star Wars Lego
Monsters VS Aliens DVD
Disney All Star Party Wii Game
UFC Action Figures & Octagon
Kung Zhu Hamster & Dojo
Lego Atlantis Sets
The Force is Unleashed Wii Game
Indiana Jones Lego
Electric Guitar
Kung Zhu Hamster Wii Game
Ipod Nano
Hawk Eye Camera Copter
Nerf Gun
UFC Hat

Lily's Wish List

Zhu Zhu Pet
Doll
Dressups (princess)
Sandbox
Polly Pockets (princess)
Webkinz Junior

Annual Flu Shots

2010-11-24T09:32:00.000-07:00

What a far better experience we had with flu shots this year. Olivia had to get a couple other immunizations yesterday morning and I saw the flyer telling about the flu clinic in the afternoon. Since Olivia and I received ours in the morning I took Lily and Lincoln over right when it opened at 1:00. We were the first people there so they did both kids right away. Then after Amelia woke from her nap I took her over for hers, there was only one person in line in front of us, so hers took no time either. Then after school Hanna and I went right over and again only 1 person was in line. Emma was sick so I will have to get hers later but wow what a great experience. Another bonus was that this shot really didn't hurt. Amelia didn't flinch or make a sound.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T19:15:00.000-06:00

Happy Halloween! Halloween isn't exactly my favorite holiday, and being sick this year didn't help get me in the Halloween mood, but the kids seemed to enjoy themselves and that's what matters. Lily had her pre-school party on Wednesday and went as a "Fairy Princess"

The other kids had their school parties on Friday. Emma chose to be a witch, Olivia was a magician/wizard, Lincoln was a UFC fighter and Hanna went as an M&M (along with her 2 best friends)

Our town had Trick or Treating on Saturday instead of Sunday. Lily wore a warmer Unicorn costume, and Amelia went as an Kangaroo. I didn't get a picture of her, although maybe I'll try and get one later. Happy Halloween!

Lincoln's Birthday

2010-10-31T18:47:00.000-06:00

Lincoln turned 7 on October 16th. We waited until the next weekend to celebrate his birthday so that Michael could be here. Dawn made him an awesome cake (Thanks again Dawn)

Happy Birthday Lincoln!

Cross Country Run

2010-10-31T18:39:00.000-06:00

I haven't been keeping up on my blog lately so here we go. On October 8 the kids participated in the annual Cross Country Run for their school. This was the first year that I have been able to go watch them and I was quite impressed with the organization of this event. We had decided to walk which isn't something I will do again since it was quite windy and cold and we were there from 9:15 until noon.

Anyways they start by busing all the Grade 6's to the motor cross track which is where the run takes place. Then the girls run first, followed by the boys. Then the Grade 5's arrive, and the Grade 6's head back to the school. This same pattern continues until finally the Grade 1's take their turn. Having a child in Grade 6, Grade 5, Grade 3 and Grade 1 meant an entire morning at the track for us.

Emma

Lincoln

Olivia Willow

Hanna

A Legacy of Love

2010-10-12T21:14:00.000-06:00

Thursday afternoon my Grandma Gean passed away at the age of 91. I received a phone call from Jessica letting me know that grandma had another stroke and that she was being taken to the Raymond hospital by ambulance. She also mentioned that grandma was unresponsive and things weren't looking good. My Aunt Susan, Uncle Alan, Jessica and myself were blessed to live close enough to Grandma that we were all able to be at the hospital those last few moments of her life. It was an incredibly emotional, yet spiritual experience for me as I stood in that room as my Grandmother left this life. I know that she was greeted by family waiting for her to be reunited with them again, and while she will be missed by those of us who remain on earth I know that she is happy.
This weekend has been emotional, filled with highs and lows as we gathered to remember one of the greatest women I have ever known. I am so grateful that I lived near her, that she was a part of both mine and my children's lives. As we laid her body to rest today I realized that she would have loved the fact that all of her children and grandchildren who were able to gather were together today. We laughed and shared memories and reflected on her influence in each of our lives. She loved her family and this is the legacy that she leaves with us.
I love you Grandma! I will miss you.

New Phones

2010-10-02T16:38:00.000-06:00

Michael's cell phone was through his old job, so we needed to get him a new phone before he started working back up north. Wanting to get onto a shared plan we quickly realized that it was cheaper to get both of us new phones through a promotion they were offering. I am very excited about this. The phones we got are Palm Pre's

I am still figuring out how everything works. But having a lot of fun doing it.

Changes

2010-10-02T15:03:00.000-06:00

This last year we have come to love living in Raymond. It is a great town for our family, unfortunately it hasn't been as great professionally/financially, so we needed to make some changes. Michael will be working back up north and we will continue to live here. He will be gone for about 10 days then home for 4. It is definitely going to be an adjustment for our family, but I think it will work out well. I am glad that with Michael away so much I live close to most of our family, the support will help make things easier for me.

Quading

2010-09-19T19:54:00.000-06:00

Char & Max were heading up into the mountains this weekend looking for firewood, and decided it would be fun to take a couple of the kids along. Michael decided to send Hanna & Emma. They have the hardest time of all my kids, when it comes to getting along with one another. So I was hoping that spending this time doing something fun together would help out their relationship. Even if it makes no difference to any other day at least for Saturday they got along. They had a great time riding and yes even driving the quads. In fact Hanna decided to save up for a quad (until she realized the cost) They loved it that much.

Having had a lot of fun myself going quading as a teenager. I'm glad they were able to get out and have fun.

After School Snacks

2010-09-02T11:36:00.000-06:00

Its that time of year again. The time of year when every day around 3:30 my house is invaded by hungry children (not just my own but a number of friends as well) This year I am determined to be prepared with inexpensive, kid approved, snacks. If anyone has any ideas they would like to share I would love to have help! Yesterday I searched online and came across 2 super simple yet great snacks. Here they are:

Oh-So-Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

1 Cup Peanut Butter
1 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
Chocolate Chips (optional)

Mix ingredients in big bowl. Scoop into small balls and arrange on an ungreased baking sheet. Fork down, (add a chocolate chip.) Bake for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees F. Let cool on rack.

Homemade Potato Chips

Potatoes (sliced paper thin)

Parchment Paper

Salt (optional)

Cut a sheet of parchment paper to fit a plate. Lay discs of potato on top in a flat layer, none touching. Sprinkle layer with salt, if desired. Cover with another sheet of parchment paper. Microwave for 5-6 minutes. Discs will have become lightly browned potato chips.

*I'm going to try popcorn seasoning to add different flavors*

School Bags

2010-08-30T14:42:00.000-06:00

My girls decided that they didn't want to use backpacks for school this year instead they wanted bags. So while we were in Texas they each picked out the fabric for their school bag. Originally we were going to use a different pattern, but when I went to start sewing, the pattern had been removed from the internet. So my girls picked a different design. Which actually turned out very well because it was incredibly simple to make. Plus this pattern made reversible bags, which is fun as well. I used this online tutorial http://lulalouise.blogspot.com/2008/01/reversible-shoulder-bag-tutorial.html
I love online tutorials! They turned out great! They are the perfect size for carrying the kids school stuff.
Here are the girls school bags.

Emma's

Olivia's

Hanna's

Lily`s 4

2010-08-29T21:36:00.000-06:00

Among the craziness of this last week we celebrated Lily`s 4th birthday. Her birthday was on Wednesday August 25th but we celebrated it on Monday instead.

Lily is a great little girl who loves life. She is very outgoing and makes friends everywhere we go. She has an abundance of personality. Lily loves her siblings, although she isn`t so sure she likes the attention that Amelia gets sometimes. She enjoys dressing up, playing pretend, being outside, dance, and cuddling. She is excited to be starting preschool this year. Happy birthday Lily. We Love You!

Crazy couple weeks

2010-08-29T21:22:00.000-06:00

After getting home from Texas we headed up to Whitecourt the next weekend to show our support for my dad as he was put in as Branch President. Once we got home again I spent the next week rearranging our house, making room for Jason & Renee and family to move in with us. They arrived with the first load on August 21. We got these things moved in and spent a few days unpacking and showing them around town. Jesse (Renee`s brother) had come with them and liked the town so much that he too has decided to move down. They all headed back up to Whitecourt on Wed. Aug. 25, to pack up everything that was left, and get their house ready to be sold or rented out. They will be back next weekend and I am very excited to have them living down here. (For some reason I did not get a picture of Willow at all this summer)

Our remaining time in Texas...

2010-08-15T21:37:00.001-06:00

...started out with a 5 hour drive from San Antonio to Krista's house. Stopping at a playground (which was too hot to play on) for lunch.

Michael took the surprisingly great picture of Hanna which since she was still in her pajamas and most likely didn't even brush her hair is nothing short of a miracle.

Krista's kids were both not feeling well by the time we arrived so we spent the next day just hanging out around the house, playing games, and just enjoying being together.

Saturday was Rhiannon's baptism. I am so grateful that we were able to be there to show our love and support as we witnessed this special moment in Rhiannon's life.

After lunch we took advantage of Kim and Sandy's hotel pool. Giving the kids a chance to swim and play while we played games.

The next day was time to head home. We left Krista's at noon and arrived home 28 hours later at 3pm Monday afternoon. We were exhausted but the trip was worth it!

San Antonio Day 3

2010-08-06T08:51:00.000-06:00

Our last day in San Antonio we decided to tour the Alamo. The grounds were a lot larger than I thought they would be and beautifully made up and maintained. Michael says he would rather they had left the grounds more original instead of so beautified.

After we had seen everything at the Alamo we walked a few blocks to the Children's Museum. I love Children's Museums, what a great place for kids to learn and play. They could have spent days playing there, the adults on the other hand were tired by supper time.

As we walked back to where we had parked I found it interesting that San Antonio at least in this downtown area was just thrown together with no rhyme or reason. After living in a town established on a grid seeing buildings jut out everywhere, with roads just put wherever there was room was a little strange.

San Antonio Day 2

2010-08-05T17:52:00.000-06:00

Our second day in San Antonio was also spent at Sea World. We arrived at the park right as it opened in the hopes of beating some of the long lines for the rides. Unfortunately the rides open an hour later so we didn't exactly beat the crowds. Still Krista, Brogan, Rhiannon, Hanna, Olivia, Emma, and I decided to wait in line to ride a roller coaster called "The Steel Eel" While we waited for an hour to ride Michael and Lincoln watched the alligators, played on the playground, and waited for us. Char had Lily and Amelia over at the water-park so they could play while we rode the various rides.

I am not a huge fan roller coasters but I thought this one wouldn't be too bad. Wow was I ever wrong! It started with a long climb straight up followed by a 6 story vertical drop after which I was done and ready to get off but the ride had just begun, it continued with more ups and down which had my stomach heaving and me holding my breath and then quickly trying to catch it again. Not to mention the fact that you are only strapped in with a seat belt across your lap and a lap bar. I truly felt like I was going to fall out. I was in a car with all the girls, Emma sitting next to me screaming in terror, Hanna behind me saying repeatedly that she couldn't breathe and she was going to fall out and die. NOT FUN! Needless to say we all got off relieved to be alive, a little weak and shaky, happy to never do that again.

After this terror trip we headed over to ride a river, water ride called "The Rio Loco". That one was a blast and I would happily have done it over and over again, except it was time to find some lunch.

After lunch we went to watch the killer whale show "Shamu" Wow Amazing! This was probably my favorite part of Sea World they are just so powerful and neat to watch. We sat in the splash zone fully prepared to get wet although when the water hit us the force of it surprised me.

Mia was fascinated watching them, until we got wet, then she wasn't so sure.

After this show we went to watch "Cool Vibrations" a water skiing show. They were really talented and did some neat tricks. I love water skiing, boating, jet skiing., etc...and watching them made me want nothing more than to be out on the water myself. One year I hope we will be in a position to get a boat!

Then we found seats to watch "Azul" a show with dolphins, high divers, acrobatics, birds and beluga whales. Unfortunately there was lighting in the area and they had to cancel the show. It was disappointing but at least while we were waiting Hanna had the opportunity to talk with one of the dolphin trainers and get a better idea of what she needs to do to become one. I am thrilled that she got this opportunity because it has given her a goal to focus on that I hope will help her through her teenage years (which will be here way too soon) She has looked into the requirements for University and now knows that she needs to work hard and keep her grades high because it is a competitive program, she also needs to continue increasing her swimming skills, and get certified in scuba diving. She has started saving her money for scuba diving lessons, and continuously talks about her desire to achieve this goal.

The kids then scoured the gift shops to find the perfect souvenir. I love that they each had there own money, I felt no need to stop them from buying things that I wouldn't choose and they were able to get whatever they wanted that they could afford.

Thus ended our time at Sea World. I could have easily spent more days exploring, watching and playing at Sea World, but we ran out of time.

San Antonio

2010-08-03T20:07:00.000-06:00

Our first day in San Antonio was spent at Sea World. The first thing we did there was give Hanna the chance to fulfill a life long dream of seeing, touching and feeding a dolphin.

She had wanted to participate in a Dolphin encounter but unfortunately we didn't know that they needed to be booked at least 1 month in advance.

We enjoyed wandering around looking at a variety of sea creatures, the sea lions were especially neat to watch.

We rode a couple of very small rides, and then enjoyed watching the sea lion show.

After the show we stopped by the water-park for a bit to cool down and then continued our way through the park, seeing the animals and watching Hanna, Krista, and Michael ride the biggest roller coaster. ``The Great White``

We then waited in line for over an hour for the log ride, it was hot, and everyone was a little worn out.

Worn out from the heat and all the fun we then headed back to our hotel for supper and relaxing at the pool.

It was a fantastic 1st day in San Antonio!

Getting to Texas

2010-08-03T18:58:00.000-06:00

We left for Texas on July 23rd around noon, and arrived in Amarillo at 11:00 am (Texas time - 10am our time) the next day. This was our first experience at driving straight through the night and it went far better than I expected. Once in Amarillo we took the kids to the Amarillo zoo.

The zoo wasn't very big but it had some neat animals and it was nice to walk around after being in the car for so long. Then we tried to find a spray park to let the kids run around for a bit and enjoy the heat. But by the time we found one in a less scary than the rest neighborhood, a storm was blowing in. So we had our picnic supper, played on the playground for a bit, and then headed to our hotel. Thankfully our hotel had an indoor pool, where we could play during the storm. The next morning we headed to San Antonio to meet up with Char (Michael's Mom) and Krista (Michael's sister & her two children) Rhiannon & Brogan. We were glad to arrive and excited to be spending the next week in their company.

Galt Gardens

2010-07-20T10:47:00.000-06:00

With the nice weather a couple weeks ago we tried to get out and enjoy as much of it as we could. One of the days we took the kids to the fountains at Galt Gardens. It was the perfect day to relax, cool down in the water, and enjoy spending time outside.

A Children's Concert...

2010-07-19T10:13:00.000-06:00

...took place in my backyard this summer. Hanna and her 2 best friends asked before school was out if they could use our back porch as a stage for the concert they were going to have this summer. Thinking at the time that it would never actually take place I said sure. I will never underestimate them again! They had made up about a dozen fun songs for children, spent time creating actions, gathered props and costumes, put up signs around town advertising their performance. When the day came they didn't have much of an audience but still put on a great show and seemed to have a lot of fun.

The Announcers- Jillian & Hanna

Hanna & her Best Friends-Emma & Zoe

Lily and Lizzie

The entire cast!

(Olivia J.,Olivia A., Zoe, Emma R., Lizzie, Lincoln, Lily, Emma J., Hanna)

Bonfire

2010-07-14T13:45:00.000-06:00

We had our first bonfire of the season a couple weeks ago. I love cooking over the fire, having smores, and most of all visiting with friends and family.

This is one of my favorite reasons for living close to family.

Canada Day

2010-07-14T13:32:00.000-06:00

I know this happened before my last post but since I forgot to take my camera wasn't going to post about Canada Day. But thanks to Rae having gotten a few pictures of my kids I thought I would post about our day. We started out as every Canada Day celebration should start with a parade. Olivia decided to be in the parade this year as part of the "Dance On Broadway" (our local dance studio) float.

After the parade we headed out to the Keeler farm for a fantastic afternoon filled with good food, tons a family, and the chance to meet and see cousins and relatives that I haven't seen since I was a child.

Then our evening was spent with Michael's family having a BBQ. It was a great Canada Day!

No More Training Wheels...

2010-07-04T21:53:00.000-06:00

...at least for Lincoln. We can't even get Lily to pedal a bike let alone one without training wheels. She would much rather sit on it and have someone push her, or ride in Olivia's basket (yes they do that regularly) than actually have to put forth any effort of her own. Anyways not the point of this post. Lincoln in his typical cautious nature has been worried about learning to ride without training wheels. Up until recently his fear outweighed his desire. However as soon as he learned that his cousin Alaina (who is 1 year younger than him) was riding without training wheels he decided it was time to learn. I worked with him a couple of times running up and down the block, but at the end he still wasn't able to ride on his own and I was exhausted. Thankfully Hanna took over after that. I'm not sure what she does or how she does it but within an hour she had taught him to ride by himself all over the place.

After having such excellent luck with Lincoln, I suggested to Hanna that she teach Jackson when he came over the next day. Sure enough by that afternoon Jackson too was riding without training wheels. Thanks Hanna!

New Bikes

2010-06-27T17:56:00.000-06:00

After last year when Emma got her new bike http://thejuniorjones.blogspot.com/2009_09_01_archive.html#2933465400870452909 I fell in love with the simplicity in the design of the "Beach Cruiser" bicycle. Also I think they are adorable! So of course this year when both Hanna and Olivia were in need of new bikes, we headed to a local store which carries this style of bicycle. The girls both picked out the one they wanted and away we went.
First though the girls worked out a deal with us to earn their bikes. Hanna is going to be babysitting, for free, anytime I need or want her to all summer (I definitely got the better end of this deal) Olivia has arranged to do a job everyday, at $5 a job until her bike is paid off (so far she has gathered all the garbage in the house and taken it to the curb, she also cleaned the inside of the fridge) I love that my kids are old enough to both help me out around the house, and learn how to work for things that they want.

Here are the bikes they chose.

He Passed!

2010-06-27T16:51:00.000-06:00

Lincoln is my cautious child. He takes his time warming up to new things, doesn't love big changes, needs to be encouraged and supported when starting something new.
Anyways he has always been terrified of swimming. He is happy to play in the water as long as he can touch, and doesn't have to put his head under. He did not trust a life jacket to keep him safe, he still had to be able to touch bottom. So swimming lessons have been a bit of a challenge up until now at least. He just finished his first attempt at Swim Kids 1, and passed with flying colors! In fact part of the comments his teacher made were "you were fearless & were so good at everything" huh...my child fearless...really? I'm not sure what happened but somehow we have crossed a huge hurdle in Lincoln's life. Was it the talks on courage? Teaching that if you are courageous you try your hardest when you are afraid, that fear should not be allowed to rule your life. Or was it his understanding that his teacher was a lifeguard as well? I'm not sure I'll ever know why...but I do know that he did it!

Way to go Lincoln I am very proud of how hard you worked!

RES Carnival

2010-06-25T21:32:00.002-06:00

At the end of every school year our elementary school celebrates the last day with a carnival. Of course the kids think this is fantastic. Thanks Dawn for going and taking pictures. It sure looks like fun!

Hanna's Birthday Party

2010-06-25T21:09:00.000-06:00

As mentioned earlier we had planned to have Hanna's birthday party at a pool I had rented. Unfortunately about 3 hours before the party was to start I got a phone call saying that the people who used the pool the night before had stuffed toilet paper in the jets, and wrecked the pool. They had been trying to get it fixed in time for us, but were not successful. Therefore we needed to change the venue. Do you know how hard it is to change a party venue last minute? Not fun! Thankfully Hanna decide it would be okay to have the food/cake/present portion at a park and then go to public swimming at a pool in Lethbridge. It worked out well in the end, everyone seemed to have a good time.

Thank-you Dawn for making her cake!

Rain, rain, go away....

2010-06-18T10:37:00.002-06:00

...come again another day. Hopefully not anytime soon though. We have had rain non-stop since Tuesday evening. People all over are flooding, intersections are covered in water, my backyard has turned into a swimming pool (water slide and all)

Last night around 7pm

This morning around 7am

It seems to have stopped for now, hopefully it doesn't start up again.

Sports Day

2010-06-18T10:20:00.000-06:00

After cancelling the Grades 1-3 sports day twice because of bad weather. Emma came home for lunch on Tuesday saying they started having sports day after 1st recess, and would finish up their activities in the afternoon. So the youngest 3 and I headed over to the school to watch Emma participate in her various events. It is definitely a non-competitive atmosphere, where the kids just have a chance to have fun. Emma had a great time and I am just glad they were finally able to have it.

Party Invitations

2010-06-15T11:41:00.000-06:00

Hanna's birthday is coming up at the beginning of July. Since school is out at that time, we are having her birthday party this coming Saturday so her friends will still be around. She has chosen a Hawaiian theme, so we started searching for cute invitation ideas. Here is what we came up with in the end.

They were fun to make and most of all Hanna loves them. Now I just have to get the rest of the party organized!

Dance Recital

2010-06-13T21:06:00.000-06:00

This past weekend was the girls dance recital. It started off with a dress rehearsal on Thursday evening, which was a little chaotic. Friday night was the 1st performance which we had the opportunity to watch. I absolutely love watching my girls dance. They all did very well and had a lot of fun doing it. They had 2 more shows on Saturday which I helped out with. After which we were all exhausted.

I didn't get any pictures of them actually dancing (but I did order the DVD) Olivia also had 2 other costumes which I didn't get pictures of her in. Oh Well!

They are all excited to register for next year and eager to get started up again. I am looking forward to a couple months off first.

New Adventure

2010-06-11T14:56:00.001-06:00

I am embarking on a new adventure. I have signed up to be a consultant for Scentsy. I absolutely love Scentsy products. I love having my home/car smelling great all the time without the worry of flames with small children. I love being able to try new scents, and choose new favorites. I got my starter kit today!

I am hosting a launch party on Thursday June 17 at my house to hopefully get my business off to a great start!

Soccer's Over

2010-06-11T14:45:00.001-06:00

Can you hear my shout of joy and relief! I think I got myself in over my head a little this year with coaching Emma's team every Monday and Wednesday. It probably wouldn't have been so bad except Lincoln was playing on a different field at the same time, Michael was still at work, Hanna was at piano on the Monday games, leaving only Olivia to try and entertain/take care of Lily and Amelia at the soccer fields in fairly lousy weather most of the time. Not to mention the fact that none of the members of my team were very athletic, so they spent the games asking when half time would start, and when the game would be over. Plus we lost every game we played which wasn't very fun for these kids, but really what can they expect if they aren't willing to run? Lets just say I won't be coaching soccer anytime soon.
Michael on the other hand has loved coaching Hanna's team on Tuesday and Thursday's. They apparently have a very good team that works well together. The proof of that statement being that they have only lost 1 game all season (the 1st game they played) Hanna has improved greatly over the season and has become much less of a girly girl. She even got hit in the face one game and got a minor black eye.

Michael's team actually still has a couple more days as they are in playoffs for their league which starts on Monday. I'm looking forward to the chance to watch some of their games.

$$$$$ Saver

2010-06-01T16:23:00.000-06:00

I am a little obsessive when it comes to laundry. Now thanks to my SIL Dawn for sharing this recipe she learned from a friend, not only can I have nice clean laundry but I can save money by making Homemade Laundry Soap. It works great, and only costs about $30-$40 a YEAR!

Laundry Soap

1 Bar of Sunlight Laundry Soap

1 Cup of Washing Soda

1/2 Cup Borax

1/4 Cup Oxyclean (optional)

Using a food processor or very fine grater, grate the bar soap as fine as possible. Add the other ingredients and mix well (using food processor or a blender) Store in airtight container. For small-medium loads use 1 Tbsp, for large loads use 2 Tbsp. Thats it!

It can be used in both HE and regular washers. It is great for people with sensitive skin or eczema.

THANKS DAWN!

So Grateful

2010-06-01T12:33:00.000-06:00

Michael's sister Dawn and her husband Gary were in a car accident on Saturday evening. Miraculously they are both going to be fine. They are bruised and sore, Gary suffered a fairly severe concussion and is still working on regaining his memories from the past few months.

I am so grateful that they both are okay. This accident put a lot of things into perspective for me. Life is so fragile. There is nothing more important than the relationships that we have with those around us. Especially within our own families. Each day is a gift, and I hope that I will be able to show those whom I love how important they are to me.

I love you Dawn & Gary. Thank-you for your friendship. Thank-you for your support. Thank-you for being a part of my life.

Piano Recital

2010-05-30T14:29:00.000-06:00

Hanna had her piano recital last night. She has worked very hard in piano this year and continues to get better and better. Her teacher gives out what she calls a Musicianship Award to all of her students who choose to take on the extra work to earn it. Earning this award meant learning about composers, writing a report, doing a theory work book, a certain amount of practice hours, and a few other things that I can't recall right now. Anyways Hanna chose to do this and was able to accomplish this. I am very proud of her hard work and dedication. She struggled with some of the pieces she was trying to learn, but kept at them. I really hope she continues with her piano in the future.

Two Hands

2010-05-30T14:11:00.001-06:00

Amelia once again has the use of both her hands. Which she is very happy about. She actually did very well these past 3 weeks at adjusting to only being able to use one hand. The biggest problem she faced were the continuous scrapes to her nose. She is normally clumsy and this was intensified with her balance being a little off. Unfortunately her nose took the brunt of this. Having her arm wrapped up didn't slow her down at all, she still managed to get into everything faster than I could keep up to. She is full of life and attitude!

Holiday Monday

2010-05-30T13:48:00.000-06:00

We had a great holiday Monday this past week. The weather was mild with no wind so we headed out to enjoy the day playing at the park. We first went to a fairly new playground by a Lake, where we met up with Kris and Tandy & family. After a little while this playground became very crowded so we headed over to a smaller playground which had also been recently re-done. This was a great choice, we pretty much had the park to ourselves. Charlotte joined us with Dawn's girls and everyone had a great day.

Track & Field Day

2010-05-20T21:47:00.000-06:00

We have had the most beautiful weather this past week. Until today, of course because today was track & field for grades 4-6. I had the youngest three all ready and at the school by 8:45 this morning so we could cheer on Hanna and Olivia. Well the wind was blowing like crazy and it was only about 10 degrees, so needless to say the kids were freezing. We managed to watch Hanna participate in the Grade 5 Girls Relay

After which I packed up the little kids and headed back to the house to get pants for Hanna & Olivia, and blankets for the youngest 3. We got back to the school in time to see Olivia participate in the 100m dash.

Then we quickly went over to watch Hanna do the Long Jump.

After this Mia was done with being outside in the cold wind, so that was all that we were able to watch. Luckily they postponed the afternoon portion of the track & field day to another date. Hopefully that day will be warm! Even though it was cold the girls had a fun morning and Olivia came home with a couple of ribbons.

First Broken Bone

2010-05-09T11:51:00.000-06:00

Last night Amelia fell down the stairs. We do have baby gates for the top and the bottom to prevent this. But with the kids and their friends coming up and down they don't always remember to close the top gate. So anyways she seemed fine last night and slept through the night. But when she woke up this morning she had a big bruise on her right collar and wouldn't use her right arm.

So I took her into emergency where they did an x-ray, and sure enough she broke her collarbone. I saw the x-ray picture and her collar bone on the right side is snapped in half. So we have to keep her arm immobile by wrapping it to her body with a tensor bandage for the next 3 weeks. After which she will have a bump for probably a year, but it will flatten out again. We can manage the pain using Tylenol and Advil, other than that we just have to comfort her as best we can.

My poor baby! She is still in good spirits, although she doesn't like having her arm immobilized. She also just wants me to hold her so we will see how this goes, could be a long 3 weeks.

Games

2010-05-07T22:22:00.000-06:00

I love to play games, card games, board games, you name it I like it. Which is why we are very lucky to live near Kris (Michael's cousin) and his wife Tandy. Not only are they good friends of ours but they love games, and have a lot of fun, new games. Mostly strategy games (which I'm not good at) but find a lot of fun to play. Well tonight they came over and we played one of our favorites called "Acquire" and for the first time (I'm pretty sure in our entire time playing games together) I actually won. Don't ask me how I did it because I really don't know, but it was tons of fun! Thanks Kris and Tandy!

Amelia's Immunizations

2010-05-06T09:43:00.000-06:00

Amelia had her 12 month (a little late-I know) immunizations on Tuesday. My SIL Dawn watched Lily and Lincoln for me so I could just focus on Amelia. Which was so much nicer than trying to watch them all and comfort Mia. She weighs 23lbs 12oz (around the 80th percentile) and is 30 3/4 inches tall (around the 90th percentile). So she is very healthy and growing well. Apparently they have removed from the immunizations everything which is not absolutely necessary, which is good in that there is less chance of reactions, bad in that some of them sting a lot more as they go in. Needless to say by the end of her 3rd shot (1 in each arm, and 1 in her leg) she was screaming and crying.

Although once she got her thumb to her mouth and cuddled up to me she settled down really quickly. She has been fine since, the only effect I have really noticed is that she seems to sleep a lot more often during the day. Which is not a bad thing. I'm glad those are over for another 6 months. Immunizations are definitely not my favorite thing.

Family Home Evening

2010-05-04T08:27:00.001-06:00

Last night we did FHE at the Diamond Willow Terrace in Magrath ( Seniors housing, where my Grandma Gean lives ) The kids had worked hard preparing talks to give and we had been practicing a few songs as a family. We decided to focus on Jesus Christ and the things that we can do to follow His example. Everyone spoke loud and did well. Then we shared a treat with the people living there and visited for a while. The kids were excited to share our FHE, and everyone who watched was very happy that we had come. It was a neat opportunity that I think we will definitely do again. Mia of course did her part by wandering around looking cute. Lily sang with us and said the closing prayer, Lincoln bore his testimony as well as singing and saying the opening prayer, Emma read a story about Choosing the Right and sang, Olivia read a scripture about following Christ and sang, Hanna read a story about how we can be missionaries right now and sang. It was a lot of fun.

Lincoln's Martial Arts

2010-04-30T11:01:00.000-06:00

Last night was the final night for Lincoln's Martial Arts. They were awarded the new belts for the levels that they had passed and given their marks for their belt tests which he had last week. Lincoln got 98% on his belt tests and moved up 2 levels. Which earned him a green belt. He started at white and skipped orange going straight to green. Then they did some different demonstrations, I really enjoyed watching the skill of some of the older levels. It was a nice night and I'm glad we had the opportunity to celebrate Lincoln's hard work.

Lincoln really enjoyed taking Martial Arts this year and he plans on taking it again in the fall. A few of my girls also expressed interest, so we will see if they actually want to take it or if the just found it fun to watch. The instructor also offers a women's self defense course, which I think I will take in the fall.

Another Snow Day

2010-04-29T16:38:00.000-06:00

That's right school was cancelled again today due to a spring storm. We haven't had nearly the snow that we had last time. However the wind is insane, and combines with the rain/snow to create treacherous conditions. Hence another snow day. We were only without power through the night this time it went out around 9 pm and came back on this morning around 8 am. Today the kids have been playing well together, and loving having the day off. Here is how they spent their snow day.

How do you spend snow days?

Bleeders

2010-04-27T10:06:00.001-06:00

Mouth wounds are bleeders. A couple of weeks ago Mia bit her tongue really bad, it kept bleeding and bleeding. Well this morning we had a repeat only this time it was Lincoln. He thought jumping down the stairs would be a good idea but when he landed with his chin hitting his knee, somehow it was no longer such a good idea. Blood started pouring out his mouth, when we finally got the bleeding to stop I saw that sure enough he had bit his tongue. Hopefully he won't try that again.

Do they stitch tongues?

Temple Trips

2010-04-25T21:25:00.000-06:00

Michael & I have made a goal to attend the temple every other week. We went for the first time this Friday, we had Hanna and her friend babysitting (for the first time, when I am not in town) they did fantastic! We left at 5, so they fed everyone supper, and we got back about 9:30, Mia was in bed asleep, everyone else was watching a movie. I was very impressed and overjoyed. Having a babysitter built in is very handy.

Anyways I loved being able to attend the temple. The peace and love that I feel in the temple gives me more strength and helps to create within myself a better person, a better mom, a better wife. I am glad we have made this goal. We also took the opportunity to drive to the temple after church today to take the children to walk around the grounds. It was a little chilly but it was a nice way to start off what turned into a great Sunday afternoon.

As we drove home I felt it would be nice to stop and see my Grandma Gean. I am very glad we did this, we had a nice visit and I need to take this opportunity more often. After leaving there we decided to stop in and see Kim and Sandy. The kids hadn't seen them since they got home from Arizona so they were especially happy to go visit. All in all it was a great Sunday!

Fun Pictures

2010-04-25T21:03:00.001-06:00

I haven't been blogging as well as I should lately, probably because life has gotten even more busy, more on that in a bit. For now I thought I would share some of the random pictures from the last couple of weeks.

We have been trying to get outside as much as possible and enjoy the nice weather. (Sometimes its nice-sometimes not so nice)

Ou fun with eating (before and after)

The kids had fun building a fort out of umbrellas and blankets, believe it or not all 6 of them fit inside.

Back to the busyness, soccer has started and this year Emma and Lincoln both play Monday and Wednesday (Plus I am coaching Emma's team) and Hanna plays Tuesday and Thursday (Michael is coaching her team) so add this to Hanna's piano on Monday, Olivia's ballet on Tuesday, Lily's ballet & parent preschool, Emma's tap and Lincoln's Martial Arts on Thursday (although Lincoln's is done next week) Olivia & Hanna's jazz on Friday, and you have the chaos that makes up my days. Oh well it keeps us all out of trouble.

Snow Storm

2010-04-16T14:40:00.000-06:00

Tuesday evening most of Southern Alberta was hit with a major snowstorm, knocking out many power lines. Our power went out Tuesday evening around 10:30, Michael was still awake but I woke up to Lincoln climbing in to bed with us now that he had no night light. We woke up again a couple hours later to Emma & Lily (their night light has a built in LED flashlight that charges while plugged in...so that it stays on when the power goes out, but because they had the flashlight part turned on as well as the night light part there wasn't enough energy stored) in our room afraid of the dark. So Michael got them settled in downstairs with Hanna & Olivia ( who still had light ) Wow, anyways we woke up in the morning with the snow still falling and still no power. So we settled in for a snow day, until Dawn phoned asking Michael to go to Lethbridge with the Suburban to pick up a friend who was stranded (his car couldn't handle the roads) Not a problem Michael headed in to Lethbridge and picked him up, but on his way home, he had to drive through a fairly deep pile of snow and water and almost immediately afterwards the engine died. We got Roadside Assitance to send a tow truck and tow him over to the car dealership (which was closed due to the power being out) and then another friend came and picked them both up, bringing Michael home.

Yesterday Michael took the keys to the dealership and asked them to take a look at the car. They called me yesterday around noon asking if they could take a few parts out of the engine in order to check if it was vaporlocked (which is apparently a good thing) They needed my permission since this situation is not covered by warranty. He called back a couple hours later to let me know that it was not vapro locked which means we need a whole new engine so it was time to call our insurance company. I got ahold of our insurance agent yesterday around 4 and he said that the same thing happened to another client of his last year and so he already knew that it would be fully covered. YEA!!!!! The insurance angency phoned us today to get all the details and stated that they would send an adjuster on Monday to the dealership to confirm that this problem is caused by water damage and then we will go from there. Meanwhile thankfully Michael is working in town today and Monday so that he can walk to work, and I can have his car. I do not like being vehicleless.

Now back to the power outage, our power came on around 8:30 Wednesday morning for about 30 minutes and then was back out until around 2 pm. After which we thankfully had it back for good. I have to say other than the situation with our car it was kind of nice to have a day off...I mostly spent the day reading while the kids played.

Hanna Update

2010-04-13T12:48:00.000-06:00

A couple weeks ago Hanna and I headed back up to the Children's Hospital for a couple of tests. The first test she was haing done was an ultrasound. She is quite used to these so was very good at just patiently laying there waiting for them to finish. The second test she had to have done was a VCUG, this one was not as easy as the ultrasound. Basically they insert a cathater, completely empty her bladder, fill it with a special fluid while she lays under a special x-ray machine, then when she has to pee they take pictures of both kidneys, she pees into a container on the table, test over. She was very nervous, and a little scared. But she did great! Not the funnest test for anyone. After these tests we headed up to see her doctor in urology to get the results. The tests showed that she is completely physically fine, she does not have any abnormal physical causes for the infections. Therefore she has to increase her fluid levels beyond what a normal person would drink everyday, pee every 2 hours, and see how it goes. I will keep track of any infections she has after doing these things for when we see him again in 6 months.

So we have gotten cases of flavored water which she takes to school in the morning and again after lunch. Thanks Dawn for making her a water bottle carrier...it really helps her remember to drink! So far so good.

Easter

2010-04-07T19:25:00.000-06:00

This year we had the opportunity to spend Easter up in Whitecourt. We had a great day first with the kids finding their Easter buckets, then with an Easter egg hunt, then our BBQ for Easter dinner, topped off with decorating eggs. The weather was beautiful so we did most of this outside.

I forgot to bring my camera up with us, but thankfully my Mom was taking pictures. Happy Easter everyone!

Baking Bread

2010-03-29T13:49:00.000-06:00

I love homemade bread and with the cost of bread I find it much cheaper to make my own. However I did not enjoy how timeconsuming it can be. Well thanks to a woman at parent preschool for sharing a super easy, quick, bread recipe. I am back to making all our bread. This truly is the best recipe I have worked with. Best part is my kids love it.

If you want the recipe let me know and I'll e-mail it to you.

Tired

2010-03-28T17:30:00.000-06:00

I love it when kids get tired enough to sleep anywhere. The other night both Michael and I were reading while Amelia wandered around the living room playing with her toys and climbing in and out of her chair. The next thing we know she is fast asleep...I love it when that happens.

We picked up Mia to transfer her to her bed and found Lily asleep on the floor just around the corner. After taking her back to bed already a few times apparently she decided not to let us know she was out of bed, instead just went to sleep closer to where we were.

New Do`s

2010-03-20T20:36:00.000-06:00

Hanna and I have new hair do`s. Hanna wanted a new cut similar to her cousin`s.

So I took her to get hers done Friday afternoon. I think she looks very cute. Better still she loves it.

Since they had openings for Saturday I decided to take advantage of Michael being home and get myself a new look as well. I decided to go dark with a red tint. I LOVE the way this turned out. I also had it trimed into an updated style.

I think I will stay dark for a while!

Playin'

2010-03-20T20:12:00.000-06:00

Today we decided to head into town and take the kids to a park for a picnic. It wasn't the warmest day, so our lunch was quickly eaten and then off to play we went. It is a fairly new playground and therefore was very busy, but the kids had a great time trying out the fun new things.

We will definitely play here again...when its warmer!

Happy Birthday Mia!

2010-03-19T18:22:00.000-06:00

I can not believe my baby is 1! It has been a crazy year, we have been so blessed to have this little girl in our family. Happy Birthday Amelia.

She is a busy little girl that loves to find mischief whenever possible. Now that she is walking she seems to get into more stuff than before.

She loves her siblings and wants to do whatever they are doing.

She is a usually happy little girl, but has a pretty quick temper when she doesn't get her way.

I look forward to the adventures we will continue to have.

Emma's Baptism

2010-03-16T21:28:00.000-06:00

We had the opportunity this Saturday to have Emma baptized. We are so proud of her for making this decision and choosing to be baptized.

With all of my children I have them choose the songs, speakers, prayers for their baptism program. It was a beautiful program and I am grateful to all those who participated. I am most grateful though that all of our immediate family was able to be there with us.

Ears Pierced

2010-03-11T16:23:00.000-07:00

In our family turning 8 also means you can get your ears pierced, so yesterday we (all 6 kids and myself) headed off to the mall to get Emma's ears pierced. She was excited, nervous, and scared all at once. Yet Hanna was the one who was carrying on and saying "I can't watch...is it over yet...is she done...etc..." Emma did great she didn't move, didn't make a sound, didn't even get tears in her eyes. She chose her birthstone as her earings and is thrilled to have her ears pierced!

Flower Explosion

2010-03-10T21:40:00.000-07:00

My girls asked my Mom to make them flowers for their hair. She brought them each a few at Emma's birthday and they have been asking for more since. So yesterday I headed out to my sisters to make some with my mom. I had so much fun making them that I plan on doing a lot more. I have to confess that I have taken to wearing them with my ponytails as well. I think it makes it look like I actually did my hair instead of being too lazy to do it, so I throw it into a ponytail.

It's Great to be 8!

2010-03-10T21:23:00.001-07:00

Emma turned 8 on February 28. It wasn't the best day to celebrate with Michael gone to Whitecourt, 9:00 am church and Jessica blessing Aniston that afternoon. But we did get to celebrate later. First we had a family birthday party on Wednesday evening and then she had her friend party on Saturday afternoon.

She had a great birthday but the best is still to come with her Baptism coming up on Saturday!

Happy Birthday Emma! We love you!