AZ SMITHS

Happy Easter!

2012-05-06T12:54:00.000-07:00

After telling people I would blog about Easter for several weeks now, I'm finally sitting down at my computer.

I have to say that Easter is not one of my favorite holidays. I don't know why...I'm just not really into the whole Easter Bunny, baskets and stuff. So I usually focus more on the spiritual reasons for celebrating Easter. We have an annual tradition of seeing the Easter Pageant at the Mesa LDS Temple. We make it a family affair--we arrive early, eat dinner (like pizza or something), play games and then enjoy the pageant. It helps to bring the Spirit into the Easter season.

This year we tried something new. During the week before Easter, we opened an Easter egg each day. In the egg was a scripture about the Easter story and a token or symbol like a nail or a piece of bread (for the sacrament). Then the last egg is opened on Easter and it is empty to represent the Resurrected Savior. The kids enjoyed it and reminded me to open the egg.

Here are the Easter Baskets. This year Hanna and Alyssa found out (or realized) who the Easter Bunny truly is. They handled it pretty well. I think they've known for some time. My kids really are growing up.

Each Easter I try to make new dresses for church. Here are my kids sporting their new Easter outfits for the year.

This year I even made myself a skirt.

After church, Jason's sister and her family joined us for an egg hunt and dinner.

We had the teenagers hide the eggs for the littlies.

Hunting for eggs in our "desert" backyard. Pathetic grass, I know.

Kohler with his stash.

Going through the loot after the hunt.

Hanna enjoyed spending time with Aunt Char making jewelry.

For Easter we painted our kitchen yellow (not really for Easter but we like to say that).

Brynlie really enjoyed her chocolate.

Uncle Von with Minnie. I love this picture.

Then we hid eggs for the older kids and they had their hunt.

Kamary found an "extra special" egg.

Sweet Alyssa

I think Brynlie went both rounds and loaded up.

Hanna with her basket.

Kamary and her "special egg". Poor pooch. Sometimes it's hard being so small and so cute.

Jason hid eggs for Sam and Wesley. He made it really hard for them. He even buried some.

Poor Brynlie was playing and smacked her lip on the entertainment center. She had quite a fat lip!

For dinner we had ham, funeral potatoes, asparagus and yummy pies. It was a great dinner and fun to spend it with family.

Of course Easter would not be the same without coloring hard boiled eggs. This time we did 3 dozen. I'm sure my kids still felt this wasn't enough. I think they could color eggs all day!

Brynlie and her egg. I think all of her eggs were orange. Her lip looks a lot better here. The swelling went down a lot faster than I thought it would.

Here are some more pics of coloring eggs.

We had a nice Easter and what made it the best was the time we spent with our family and reflecting on the sacrifice and atonement of our Savior. It truly is the reason that we can enjoy our life and family, knowing that we can be together for eternity.

Spring Break!

2012-04-16T10:33:00.000-07:00

This is about a month overdue...but here goes.

For Spring Break this year we wanted to have a little get away so Jason took a couple days off and we headed down to Bisbee Arizona. It's a historical mining town but it also has family ties. Jason's Grandpa Buford worked in the Queen Copper Mine in Bisbee and lived in the Copper Queen Hotel.

We first stopped in Tombstone, Arizona to have lunch and walk around.

Getting our picnic lunch ready, just outside the OK Corral.

Hanna was having some seizures and didn't feel very well. She was a trooper though, in spite of it all.

During lunch the kids got to swing.

Lauren learned how to pump. Yea--no more pushing (one of my least favorite motherly duties)!

Hanging out in the Gazebo.

Tombstone is an old west town full of cowboys, lawmen, fun shops and of course...stagecoaches.

Here is a western One Man Band. He's actually playing animal bones as percussion instruments. Maybe my father should add animal bones to his musical instrument collection! ;)

In one of the shops, Jason found the perfect item!! A whole rack of fanny packs!!

Resting outside of one of the shops. As we went through the shops, I drilled into the kids "Only Look, Don't Touch". I watched them like a hawk so that they wouldn't break anything. While we were in one of the stores, I heard shattered glass. I was relieved too see that it had been a different family that had broken the item and not one of my kids. Well, not 10 minutes later, I hear a familiar scream...Hanna was having a seizure and was standing right next to several shelves of glass mugs. When Hanna has a seizure she grabs things, falls over, knocks things over, etc. I ran over to her. Jason yelled "Get her hands!" The store owner was also an EMT so he ran over and took the mugs away from her as I grabbed her around the waist, pulling her back so she would be far away from all the glass. In the end only one mug got broken. Not too bad considering. The store was nice and didn't make us pay for it. I'm sure that is an experience that the tourists in the shop will never forget. "Remember when we were in Tombstone and that girl had a seizure?" Ah well, such is life.

Arizona has been dry! Static Electricity has been driving everyone crazy but I think Alyssa gets the brunt of it.

After Tombstone we headed down to Bisbee. We spent the evening chilling in our hotel (the same one we stayed at while visiting Bisbee with Grandma and Grandpa Wheeler).

The next day we toured Historic Bisbee. There's actually a lot to do.

We started at the Historic Bisbee Mining Museum which is in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institute. It told the history of mining in Bisbee and had a lot of interesting and kid-friendly exhibits. Did you know that there is copper in chocolate? I didn't.

Now this is how I like my kids. ;)

Even better!

Hanna resting on a bench. She still didn't feel very well. Jason gave her a blessing and after that she did a lot better and was able to enjoy the rest of the day.

In front of the museum there is an old mining train that the kids can climb on.

Close up.

Kamary and Brynlie.

Alyssa

Kohler

Strike a pose! Lauren and Kohler

After the museum we had a break and ate some snacks.

Sweet sisters, Brynlie and Kamary are best friends!

After our break, we went inside the Copper Queen Hotel. Supposedly it's haunted which made the kids a little nervous. Grandpa and Grandma Buford used to live in the hotel. It was still furnished to look like the early 1900s.

After walking around a bit, we headed over to the Queen Mine to have a tour. Highly Recommended! They dress you up in mining gear and you get to ride a train into the mine.

Here we are, all dressed up and ready to go.

Walking inside of the mine. Our tour guide was a retired miner so he had great stories to tell and knew all about the mine. It was really interesting.

Four little miners

I have to say that Kamary was soooo afraid to go in the mine. She was sure that it would cave in on us and we'd be stuck in there forever. She prayed and sang primary songs the entire tour. Here she is putting on a brave face. She really had practice in facing her fears.

Riding on the train in the mine.

In some parts it got dark and we had little hand lights to light the way. You could still see copper and other minerals in the rock that had not been mined.

Here we are at the opening of the Queen Mine (much to Kamary's relief, we made it out alive).

Now isn't this the cutest little miner that you ever did see?

They had a fun gift shop and sand box at the entrance of the mine.

After the mine we headed about 20 miles west to Coronado Cave which is a National Monument. There's a short hike up to the cave and it's self guided. We thought we'd try it.

Starting up the trail. Hiking in Arizona is a different kind of experience.

Kamary found some interesting rocks (full of iron and copper).

Climbing steps up to the cave.

At the entrance of the "Scary Daddy Dragon's Cave". Yes, Brynlie named it.

Inside the cave it was pitch black. The only light we had was our flashlights. All the debris is dust and dirt in the air. It was pretty fun to explore the cave. It wasn't big, but it had a lot of fun places to go. Kamary was very scared. At first she refused to go in...but then the prospect of sitting alone by herself at the mouth of the cave wasn't too great. She decided to go with us. Again she spent the time praying and counting down the minutes until we got out.

A much relieved Kamary conquered the cave and her fears! She had a great sense of satisfaction at the end of the day. She did a great job!!

Looking into the cave from the mouth.

After the cave we headed toward home. Since Kamary was so brave, we let her decide where we had dinner. She chose Jack in the Box. We had a great couple of days. Not a long trip, but enough to get away from the every day grind and enjoy being together as a family.

Spring Randomness

2012-03-25T15:38:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd post a bunch of random things that we've been doing lately.

About a month ago, we got a case of head lice. With 5 girls I've kind of become the head lice expert (much to my dismay). This time around, Lauren and Kohler had it. With Lauren we had to go through her hair day after day like normal...but with Kohler, we just buzzed him. How easy is that? So much better.

Buzzing the hair.

Silly Boy

He may look like a prison convict, but at least he's lice free (and still handsome of course)

***

After 4 years of living in our house, we FINALLY decided to paint! Painting has always been a little intimidating to me, but I buckled down and got some paint.

Everyone helped out. Of course it's fun to deface the wall--that's why we had to paint it in the first place. :)

Hanna enjoyed painting as well.

We decided to do our nooks in contrasting colors. Jason helped a lot!

Putting on the finishing touches

The next three pictures are the end product with pictures and decorations back on the wall. I think it turned out really nice.

The best part of it is that it's washable. Already Brynlie has been able to wash off pencil and marker. :) Goodbye hand prints and drawings!

***

Alyssa and Kamary went to a Daddy Daughter Dance for our church. They were able to get all dressed up. Here is a picture of Alyssa (Kamary didn't want a picture taken). The amazing thing to me was how long it took for the two of them to decide what to wear. Seriously! The scary part...it's only beginning.

Pretty Alyssa all dressed up.

***

Alyssa and Kohler have been working very hard in school this past week so I took them to the school carnival. I figured it would be a great reward for working hard and it would also give them (the middle two) some extra attention. Sometimes it's easy to overlook them because they are so easy going and don't DEMAND my attention like other siblings do. I really try to make an effort to give them love and affection. Spending a little time with just the two of them was a great way to do just that.

There was a reptile show and Kohler got to pet an alligator.

Here he is petting another kind of reptile (I'm not sure what it's called).

After a little peer pressure, Alyssa decided to go ahead and pet the alligator.

Alyssa rode the mechanical bull. She lasted about 2 seconds.

Kohler's favorite part was playing Laser Tag.

Alyssa got to spend time with her friend Ashlyn. They are cute together because they look like they could be sisters. They both are about the same size, have blond hair, big blue eyes and freckles. Cute.

Alyssa also spent some time with her other friend Scotland. Scotland and Ashlyn fight over Alyssa at times, which can be hard, but one of Alyssa's gifts is being a good friend.

Kohler and Alyssa also got 2 snow cones and had a lot of fun bouncing in the bouncy houses. Someone was selling marshmallow guns made out of PVC pipe. We decided that it would be a fun project for Kohler.

***

Our HOA put in a Frisbee golf course. I guess it's the hottest new sport or something like that. Anyway, we decided to pile everyone in the car and try it out for ourselves.

The car gets pretty crowded with 6 kids and two dogs (especially if one is an English Mastiff). Luckily we were only driving a couple of blocks away.

Another car shot.

Alyssa and Smokie are resting in the grass. Yes, we can have green grass in Arizona. It just takes A LOT of work!

We spotted a little owl while we were there.

Minnie and Smokie waiting for everyone to go. Maybe we should change the words of the song from "On top of Old Smokie" to "On top of sweet Minnie" or "Old Smokie on top of Minnie" or...I think I'll leave the puns to my dad. :P It is a lot of fun having both a huge and a tiny dog.

Alyssa got her Frisbee in the goal. Now she's just waiting for everyone else.

***

My sister-in-law is a stylist. I wanted to be a little crazy and decided to go RED.

My hair matches the walls!

Here is one away from the red walls. :) I really like it. It's a fun change.

Here are some more random pics:

I love this picture. Kohler's watching a movie.

The dogs playing. Minnie is really gentle and sweet with Smokie. Smokie is all bark. She sounds ferocious, but in the end is just a scaredy ~~cat~~ puppy.

Here is Brynlie and her cousin Kendra taking a bath. They LOVE baths!

Some of Hanna's latest artwork:

Night Fairy

Hanna paints posters and then hangs them on her wall.

Well, that's about all of my rambling about randomness.

Happy Birthday Hanna!

2012-02-19T12:29:00.000-08:00

Last week we celebrated Hanna's 14th birthday. Her birthday is special to me because it's the day I became a mother. When I first had Hanna, I had never really taken care of a baby before-- I definitely had no clue what I was doing. I hate looking at those home videos of her as a baby. One of them is when she was crying and I keep thinking, "Just get her a bottle. Why didn't I get her a bottle?" Although I still don't know everything about being a mother and half the time I don't know what I'm doing, I sure have learned a lot and have gained a lot of experience. It's been quite a crazy ride we've taken the past 14 years.

Our church has a program for girls ages 12-17 called Young Women. There are three groups: Beehives (ages 12 & 13), Mia Maids (ages 14 & 15) and Laurels (ages 16 & 17). Now that Hanna is 14 she's entering Mia Maids. Her new advisor came over while she was in school and heart-attacked her door. She also gave her a "first dance kit". It had a list of things to do before going to a dance (i.e. brush your teeth, take a shower) and then it had some gum and mouthwash and other stuff in there. I thought it was so cute and Hanna loved the surprise of having her door decorated.

Hanna's Door

The Birthday Girl

This is her absolute favorite gift...a chocolate rose (costing a whole dollar!).

Lately Hanna has been pretty sick with either seizures themselves or some pretty harsh side-effects of her anti-seizure medicine. She was really worried about being sick on her birthday. As a birthday present, she had a tender mercy of the Lord and was able to enjoy her birthday. She felt well enough to go to school and had a great time there. Then she enjoyed her evening having KFC for dinner and watching the movie Soul Surfer.

We made chocolate dipped strawberries for dessert. They were the first of the season and a little sour, but with the chocolate...a perfect treat.

Hanna wanted a Candyland cake for her birthday. The kids had a great time decorating it.

Alyssa and Kohler are watching over the cake.

Opening presents. For her birthday Hanna got some art supplies, puzzles, money, dresses and some books. She loved them all.

Here are the puzzles she got from Grandma and Grandpa Wheeler. She opened the card that Grandma and Grandpa Smith sent and was surprised to find money! She's not sure what to spend it on yet...she wants it to be something special.

Blowing out the candles.

We told Hanna that she had to be 14 years old before she could attend dances. She was so excited that only a week after her 14th birthday her school was having a Valentines Day dance.

Here's Hanna all dressed up and ready to go to her first dance.

A close up shot. She's even wearing lip gloss. She's looking so grown up!

It was a surreal moment for me. Hanna has been out with friends before during the day, or at church functions and we've gone out a lot as a family but this is the first time Hanna has gone out on a Friday Night by herself (of course there were chaperones at the dance...but still). It was the first time that I had to stay up and wait for my daughter to come home so I could ask her how her night was...very strange. She had a great time though. She danced with a couple of boys and followed all of our rules. My baby is truly growing up, sniff, sniff.

Here are some fun facts about Hanna...

Favorite Color:

Red

Favorite Food:

Seafood

Favorite Movie:

The Hulk (but she can't WAIT until The Avengers comes out in May)

Favorite Book:

Harry Potter

Favorite Song:

Soundtrack to the Secret Garden (she loves movie soundtracks)

Favorite Scripture Story:

David and Goliath

Favorite thing about being a teenager:

Getting attention from boys (I think we're in trouble)

What she wants to be when she grows up:

Traveler/Explorer

Favorite Activity:

Drawing

Favorite thing about school:

Art

Favorite Sport:

Soccer

Something Special About Hanna:

Hanna is a special girl and those who really get to know her, truly love her. She is very kind and wants to help people. She uses her art to bless the lives of others. Our Bishop's wife has been very sick and so Hanna painted her a picture as a get well present. She's very thoughtful of others and sometimes feels bad that she doesn't fit in or that she's different but we keep reminding her that different does not mean less. She has a great spiritual nature and practices her faith everyday. She works hard on her Personal Progress (a program in Young Women) and she's read the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price all the way through by herself. She's now reading the Old Testament and is in the book of Ruth. She's a great example for us and we love her!!

Happy Birthday Alyssa!

2012-01-22T12:35:00.000-08:00

This past week we celebrated Alyssa's birthday...If it seems like I've posted a lot about birthdays lately it's because I HAVE! Fall and Winter are the seasons of our family birthday craze!

This year Alyssa's birthday fell on Martin Luther King Day and so the kids had the day off of school. For an activity, Alyssa decided she wanted to have a picnic at the park and have a play date with her friend Ashlyn.

Here she is opening her present from Ashlyn. They both love anything Monster High.

She got a Monster High pet, and a Monster High bag that Ashlyn sewed for her.

Alyssa and Ashlyn are cute friends. They love to be together and they look so much alike.

In the evening Charlene and her family came over to celebrate. Alyssa decided that she wanted Chinese Food for her birthday dinner.

Jason showing off his dinner.

Here's the Birthday Girl with her new boots. She has been asking for months for boots. I guess they're the rage now. She loves them and wears them everywhere she goes.

Here's another shot of Alyssa's dinner. We tried a recipe for Panda Express Orange Chicken in the crock pot that I found on Pintrest. Eh--it was okay--not quite the same as going to Panda. Aunt Char made the ham fried rice and egg rolls. Those were a hit!

Alyssa wanted a chocolate ipod cake with purple frosting (all of her favorite things). :)

Here's Alyssa with her finished product.

Everyone is ready for cake and ice cream.

Lighting the candles.

Blowing out the candles.

Alyssa with her stash of presents.

Opening presents.

Seriously, why this is sideways I have NO idea!! Anyway, she got a Batman and Catwoman Lego set from Grandma and Grandpa Smith. She loved putting the Lego set together and loves the little Lego Batman and Catwoman.

I think the little ones are even more excited than Alyssa.

From Grandma and Grandpa Wheeler, Alyssa got a Littlest Pet Shop set with 10 Little pets. Her favorite is the dog with the purple sparkly ears. Luckily Alyssa is great at sharing because her siblings were dying to get a hold of these.

One cool story about her birthday (and this shows a little about Alyssa's personality) is that she really wanted a Monster High Clawdeen Wolf doll for her birthday. But all the stores were sold out (I mean every store in the Metro-Phoenix area). We tried online and they were going for $50-60. There was no way we could get one for her. Even though that was on the top of her list, Alyssa decided to be grateful and enjoy the presents that she did get. She was patient, did not throw a fit and was grateful for what she had. We really feel privileged to have her as a daughter.

Anyway, Jason stopped by Walmart to get a few things (the one right by our house) and decided to check the toy section. They had 2 Clawdeen Wolf dolls (they were all out just a couple days prior) so Jason was able to surprise Alyssa with a Clawdeen Wolf (about a week after her birthday). She was

so excited!!

Alyssa really had a great birthday full of friends and family. We really hope that Alyssa could feel special and know that she is loved.

Here are some fun facts about Alyssa

Favorite Food

Pizza

Favorite Color

Red

Favorite Movie

Megamind

Favorite TV Show

Teen Titans

Favorite Book

Mermaid Sister

Favorite Scripture Story

Nephi and the Brass Plates

Favorite Song

Primary: Pioneer Children

Other: Love Story -Taylor Swift and Love Song- Selena Gomez

Favorite Thing about School

Recess and Math

Favorite Activities

Make Cookies, Play with Barbies and Monster High dolls, Draw, Watch TV, Play Wii, Play with Friends

Special Things About Alyssa

*Alyssa is a night owl. She loves to go to bed late and likes to read in bed.

*Alyssa is probably the easiest one to get along with in the family.

*Alyssa is very content and grateful for what she has.

*Alyssa is constantly getting dirty- whether it's a milk mustache or dirty fingers--she must have a lot of fun.

*Alyssa has a very sweet spirit. There is just something endearing about her--I can't quite put my finger on it, but if Alyssa is sad it breaks our hearts.

*Alyssa is pretty quiet but you get her alone and she'll talk your ear off.

*Alyssa is playful and loves to tease.

We love Alyssa and are so happy to have her in our family. Truly without her, it wouldn't be the same.

Family Visits

2012-01-22T11:20:00.000-08:00

Jason's cousin Lana and Kurt White came into town to attend a wedding. We were able to meet them at the Mesa LDS Temple and catch up a little.

Alyssa is our tree climber. If there is a tree to climb, she'll be in it.

Lauren and Brynlie are trying to climb trees too.

I love this shot of Alyssa.

After visiting at the temple, we went out for lunch. It was so much fun to catch up and visit together.

After visiting with Lana and Kurt, we headed over to the park to enjoy the beautiful afternoon weather.

Kamary, Alyssa and Lauren love playing in the sand. Hanna and Kohler played baseball and threw around Kohler's football.

Brynlie conquered the slide--it truly is a feat!

Kamary buried waist deep in sand.

It really was a great winter day in Arizona. Time together as family with plenty of sunshine and places to roam and explore.

Random Pics for the New Year!

2012-01-15T10:48:00.000-08:00

Here are some random pics and things that we've been up to.

First the dogs. We have a huge English Mastiff named Minnie and a Chihuahua/Maltese mix named Little Smokie. We love having opposite dogs. The little one is feisty, the big one is a gentle giant and they are best friends. They love to cuddle. Every time we try to take pictures they move. So here's our attempt at capturing our sweet puppies.

Smokie loves to lay on top of Minnie. This is a common sight. (Yes, I know my floor needs to be vacuumed).

Here they are on the couch.

Sweet Minnie. She really is such a sweetheart. I don't remember when it became okay to lay on our couch, but somewhere along the line we gave in.

Minnie often sleeps with her tongue sticking out-- silly dog.

Another shot of Smokie and Minnie. It's really funny because Smokie freezes in the Winter so we have to keep her warm and Minnie gets too hot in the Summer so we have to keep her cool. I guess it goes with the polar opposites of size.

Charlene came over for the New Year and gave us all new looks-- Yay for Char. She is a total sweetheart!

Brynlie got her first hair cut ever.

She looks so cute! More like a little girl instead of a toddler- sniff, sniff.

Another shot of Brynlie.

I decided to put some strawberry highlights in my hair. We knew that my hair pulled red, so we chose a really light color that hardly had any red in it. Here's the result. I really like it though. It's fun and has personality.

Another shot.

Here's the back.

Lauren got a trim.

Alyssa got bangs again.

Here are Lauren and Alyssa together. Kohler also got a hair cut and looks like a handsome little boy (instead of a scraggly one)-- I didn't get a picture though.

Here's another random picture...

Who needs a swimming pool? My kids love to take baths everyday. Instead of struggling to get them in the bath, I struggle to get them out!

Brynlie loves the movie Tangled and loves to pretend that she's Rapunzel. She uses a hooded towel for her long hair. If we brush her towel (or even her real hair) she'll sing Rapunzel's special song. Too bad it doesn't really make me younger (or at least give me more energy).

Here's her "hair" from the back. Kamary actually made Rapunzel hair for Brynlie out of yarn. I'm going to have to snag a picture of it and post later on.

Even though life is crazy and often chaotic, I love my kids. They bring so much personality, fun and entertainment into our home. They all have great spirits and really try their best to do what they know is right. I am blessed to be their mother.

Christmas 2011

2012-01-15T10:11:00.000-08:00

For Christmas this year we had the pleasure of spending several days with Jason's parents and his sister Charlene and her family. It was a fun-filled 4 days and although we were all exhausted afterward, we sure did enjoy being with family.

We left our camera over at a friend's house and so we didn't get that many pictures. We took some with Hanna's old camera, but a lot of them are blurry.

The first day we spent making gingerbread houses. I made real gingerbread for the adults and my house smelled fabulous!

Putting together our houses with all the fixings. The adults got real gingerbread and the kids got graham crackers.

Char decorating her house. She put cereal on the roof. It looked like a country cottage--so cute.

Kamary and Alyssa

Jason, Brianna and Sam

Kohler and Alyssa

The kids loved being creative and decorating their houses.

The house was full of activity, which made things really fun.

Brynlie preferred just eating the candy.

Alyssa's finished product.

Sam went all out.

Now there's one decked out gingerbread house!

Kohler's didn't last very long.

Wesley and his finished house.

On Christmas Eve we headed over to Charlene's house and had a grand buffet. Jason made Buffalo Chicken dip-- a new favorite. We had Ham, Potatoes, Buffalo Dip, Crab Rangoon Dip, Slushy Punch, Deviled Eggs, Avocado Bean Dip, Piggies in a Blanket, Sugar Cookies, Fudge, Pretzel Turtles and of course to be healthy--a Green Salad.

It was a great feast and just fun to be together. Grandpa read the Christmas Story out of Luke Chapter 2. We didn't get home until midnight. It's a good thing the kids were crashed so we could just put them to bed before Santa got there.

It was funny, on Christmas morning, my kids slept in. We didn't even get up until 8:00 am. We even had to wake some of the kids up. Hanna and Alyssa had woken up earlier and were watching a show while waiting for us to wake up--seriously? Funny kids.

After opening presents we got ready for church. I feel bad that I didn't get any pictures of their new Church clothes or Christmas PJs.

Grandma and Grandpa had taken some of the kids to church before us. As soon as we walked into church, we found out that Hanna had thrown up all over the chapel (luckily it was on the gym floor instead of the carpet). I took her home and she slept for a couple of hours. After that she was fine and had a great rest of the day. She was so embarrassed--I'm sure this Christmas will burn in her memory.

After church we all got together and had a Mexican Fiesta! We had a Nacho Bar with chicken, beef and all the fixings. We also had Chili Rellenos, Enchiladas, Spanish Rice and Apricot Empanadas for dessert. It was quite the feast. After dinner we opened the presents from Grandma and Grandpa and each other.

It truly was a weekend full of celebration and we were sad to see it end (even though we were all so tired).

Here are some other pictures we took of our Christmas Season celebrations.

We went to see the Mesa Temple Christmas Lights with Charlene and her family. Here is Brianna, Kamary and Alyssa.

Kohler, Brynlie, Alyssa and Lauren. It was really nice to be there at the temple. Earlier that day, I had been a little of a Scrooge and in a grumpy mood. Going to the temple and seeing the lights really helped bring back the Spirit of Christmas.

Kohler (I tried taking a picture without the flash).

Here's a picture of our Christmas tree. I wanted a red and white tree this year. Most of the ornaments are homemade. Every year we have a mini forest with our three trees. We love it--especially when the trees are lit.

We let the kids decorate our old tree. They actually put it together, put on the lights and decorated it all themselves. Pretty good for a 5, 7 & 8 year old. :)

This Christmas was very nice because even though it was busy (like normal), I didn't feel stressed. I was able to enjoy the season and being with my family. I was filled with peace and really enjoyed making crafts, being with my family and listening to my Christmas music. This year, I was kind of sad to see it go.

Happy Birthday Kohler!

2012-01-11T15:26:00.000-08:00

Kohler celebrated his birthday over a month ago (I've been kind of a slacker in the blog department)! He's now 7 years old! I remember when he was a baby and I couldn't imagine having a little boy running through the house...look at him now!

For his birthday dinner he wanted Taco Bell...I know, Gourmet.

Kohler LOVED the carousel card that Grandma Smith made him.

He got Nerf guns and bullets from Dad and Grandma and Grandpa Smith. Dad has so much fun shopping for Kohler...sometimes too much fun. :)

Kohler also got an electronic lightsaber.

He got a giant search and find book from Grandma and Grandpa Wheeler.

The highlight of his night was the hour long Nerf gun war he had with Dad. They had a blast together.

"You'll shoot your eye out!" It's a good thing Hanna had protection.

Kohler wanted a treasure chest cake. It didn't turn out very well. It pretty much fell apart. Good thing Kohler is so easy going. We decided he'd have an old, weathered, broken up treasure chest...even better, right?

Here's a view from the side.

And another view from the back.

Dad's lighting the candles.

Blowing out the candles.

It was a fun evening and Kohler was so excited to turn 7. It's funny how overnight someone can become so big.

Here's some fun facts about Kohler.

Favorite Food:

If he eats (he's a picky one)...Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

Favorite Movie:

Cars2

Favorite TV Show:

Teen Titans

Favorite Song:

Harry Potter Music

Favorite Book:

Maybe a Bear Ate It

Favorite thing about School:

Receiving "Game Balls" from the teacher (it's all about football in his 1st grade class). He's a very smart boy and a great student.

Favorite Scripture Story:

Shadrack, Meshach and Abendigo (please don't ask me to spell those).

Favorite Things to Do:

Play Wii, Play Outside, Do crafts, Build things, Draw, Destroy things and take them apart, Collect things like rocks and stuff found at the playground (hey, one man's junk is Kohler's treasure).

Something special about Kohler:

He is a human beat boxing machine. He is constantly beat boxing while doing other things. He's also the dancing man and has some serious dance moves (think Michael Jackson). Kohler is super easy going and although he gets grumpy towards his sisters, he lets almost everything else slide right on by.

Kohler might be outnumbered in this family, but we love him and are glad he's in our family!

Happy Thanksgiving/ Happy Birthday Lauren

2011-11-27T14:46:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving was a double hitter. Lauren's birthday fell on the same day. We had a great time celebrating.

During the month of November we created a "Thankful Tree". We'd write what we were thankful for on leaves and by the end of the month, our tree had full foliage.

Our Thankful Tree

In Lauren's preschool they held a "mock" Thanksgiving. Lauren was so excited that she asked for her birthday dinner to be a Thanksgiving dinner! No problem!

For Thanksgiving we were invited to a friend's house. At first, I was hesitant because she asked me to bring dishes I don't normally make on Thanksgiving, but it turned out to be a huge feast and we had a great time!

The Thanksgiving table...not quite finished. We had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, yams, ham, funeral potatoes, macaroni & cheese, deviled eggs, rolls, pickles and olives, green bean casserole, salad and corn.

The Dessert Table! For dessert we had apple pie, pumpkin pie, banana cream pie, peach pie, baklava, some Brazilian dish that I have no clue what it's called, chocolate cream pie, Jello, caramel apple cheesecake, sweet potato pie and a pumpkin roll (thanks to Lauren--at preschool they had a pumpkin roll and Lauren insisted that we have one too).

Brynlie and Kamary hanging out.

Hanna had fun talking to the missionaries-- at an appropriate distance. :) The missionaries ended up having 5 eating appointments that day. I don't know how they survived.

Dishing up.

Everyone eating dinner.

Lauren the Birthday Girl.

Yummy!

Even the cat had a feast! She loved the shrimp.

After dinner some of the kids put on a Thanksgiving play. They wrote it themselves. Kamary was a servant.

Here they are performing a song in the play.

Asking the Native Americans (Kohler) for help.

Kohler played the part of the Native American. I'm not sure what his name was...Myexo. We might just start calling him that from now on.

Here is Kohler and Alyssa playing the game Mousetrap. There were a lot of things to do and the kids had a great time playing while the adults talked.

We ended up getting home at 9:30 at night. Since we didn't have time to throw our regular birthday party for Lauren (although she did open some presents on her birthday), we decided to celebrate the next day as well. Lauren was all for that.

So Friday she opened her presents from her Grandparents.

She was so happy and really content on her birthday. She didn't whine or complain about anything. She really is a sweetie.

From Grandma and Grandpa Wheeler, she got a princess painting set and a giant Tinkerbell coloring book. From Grandma and Grandpa Smith she got a Lalaloopsy bus. She loved her presents.

For her birthday she wanted chocolate cake. That's it--nothing special--just chocolate cake.

Lighting the candles.

Blowing out the candles.

The kids got silly straws to drink from. They liked that. We also had peppermint ice cream (since pink is Lauren's favorite color).

After cake and ice cream, Lauren got right into playing with her toys. Here she is coloring her giant picture. :)

Fun Facts about Lauren

Favorite Food:

Pumpkin Roll & Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Pie

Favorite Color:

Pink

Favorite TV Show:

Go Diego Go

Favorite Movie:

Tangled

Favorite Song:

Year Without Rain-- Selena Gomez

Favorite Scripture Story:

Where Jesus Dies on the Cross

Favorite Church Song:

Heavenly Father Loves Me

(She says that whenever she hears that song she just feels that Heavenly Father really does love her)

Favorite Thing About Preschool:

Having Snack

Favorite Thing to Do:

Dancing, Color, Draw, Sing, Play with her siblings, sing, listen to her MP3 player

Special Things About Lauren:

Lauren is very loving...sometimes smothering, but she just loves and accepts everyone. One time in preschool when one child was picking on another--making her sad, Lauren helped her feel better and was her special friend the entire day. She really cares about others and is compassionate. Often if someone is sad she'll try to help them feel better, even if it means giving up something she likes. She gives the sweetest hugs.

We love Lauren and are so happy that she's part of our family.

Stake Service Day

2011-11-20T08:09:00.000-08:00

In commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the welfare program of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints our Stake held a day of service. We traveled to the little city of Ajo, AZ, less than an hour from the US Border. We spent the day pulling weeds and grooming the grounds of their local cemetery.

Alyssa's plugged in and ready to go.

Poor puppy. She wants to go too.

Sorry about the sideways picture. It's straight on my computer. Anyway, here's Dad and Hanna working.

Kamary and Hanna. The kids were really good. They all had great attitudes and helped out without complaining. I wish we could get them to do that at home with their regular chores. ;)

Dad and Alyssa. You would think that I didn't do anything but take pictures, but that's not true. :)

In the morning, the little kiddos were at the church doing some activities while the 3 older girls helped us in the cemetery.

Here we are at the church having lunch.

Dad helping Kamary over the fence. I think it was the first time our kids have ever jumped a fence-- pathetic.

After lunch the littlies came out and helped us work. Here's Lauren using the hoe.

Kohler tried out the rake.

Even Brynlie wanted to help out.

Pulling weeds out of a grave.

We were satisfied to see that the little bit we did, made a difference.

Brynlie loved all of the colorful rocks.

One of the caretakers (not really a caretaker but she maps out the cemetery and records who is buried there) took the kids around and told them about the people that were buried there. It was a great experience for them and it made it even more personal for us to be helping. There were a lot of babies there. It was sad. She told us that in the 1920s the infant mortality rate was really high. There was no refrigeration and because of the Arizona heat, the food would get spoiled and the babies and children would get sick and die. So sad.

Jason teaching the kids the "proper" way to jump a fence.

On the way home, tired but happy after a day's work! :)

It was a great experience. My kids asked me if we could do that every Saturday! I don't know about that-- but we did enjoy working together as a family.

Happy Birthday Brynlie!

2011-11-13T21:50:00.000-08:00

This past week we celebrated Brynlie's 3rd birthday! I can't believe that my baby is 3 years old! She sure has been changing. She talks all the time and has really gotten into imaginative play. She's now potty trained and wants to do everything herself. She is a joy to have in our home!

Here is a "twirly skirt" I made for her birthday.

Brynlie is obsessed with Scooby Doo and wanted a Scooby Doo cake. Here is my attempt. Luckily she's only 3 and didn't care if the decorating wasn't perfect.

A close up of the cake.

For dinner we had homemade chicken nuggets (Chick-Fil-A style) and french fries.

Lighting the candles.

Blowing out the candles. (Luckily she didn't catch her hair on fire!)

We got some Scooby Doo party blowers. Brynlie liked those more than the cake.

They look like little puppies! :0

Opening presents. Her siblings had a hard time not helping her, but really--she's 3-- she's got the opening presents thing down!

She got Strawberry Shortcake Dolls from Grandma & Grandpa Smith

Here is everyone playing with her toys. It's a good thing Brynlie likes to share.

Kamary and Brynlie are best friends. Here they are playing together.

Brynlie will walk up to you and say "Play with me?" How can anyone resist?

Here is the big teddy bear Brynlie got from Grandma and Grandpa Wheeler. She loves stuffed animals and likes to sleep with it at night.

Fun Facts about Brynlie

Favorite Color:

Pink

Favorite Movie:

Scooby Doo, Diego and Dora (going back and forth from one to the other, several times a day)

Favorite Food:

Chicken Nuggets, Fries and Mac & Cheese

Favorite Song:

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, How Much is that Doggie in the Window

Favorite Story:

Anything Princess

Favorite Activities:

Drawing on herself, Dressing up like a princess, making messes, watching TV, singing songs, playing with toys.

Favorite Friend:

Kendra (her cousin)

Kamary (her sister)

Fun Story:

Brynlie likes to wear a hooded towel and pretend she's rapunzel. She'll sing the song from Tangled while Kamary pretends to comb her "hair". It is so cute!

Other fun facts:

Brynlie always refers to herself in 3rd person. "Brynlie wants a drink."

Brynlie is extremely independant. Most of my kids are, but Brynlie is by far the most. She HAS to do everything herself. From unbuckling in the car, getting dressed, putting on her shoes, turning on the light, lifting up the potty seat, going potty, etc. Sometimes it drives Mom crazy, but she's really getting to be a big girl.

We love Brynlie so much and are so happy she's in our Family!

Happy Halloween!!

2011-11-06T16:12:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Halloween with a BANG this year.

Instead of having birthday parties this year we decided to throw a huge Halloween party for everyone. In case you're wondering-- yes we are crazy.

It was so much fun though!

We had Kohler and Lauren's party together. Here's a picture of the boys.

Here are the girls. I tried everything to get this picture to face the right way-- not happening.

I think we had a total of 24 kids at our house that night.

We split them up into groups and had different stations.

Cookie Decorating.

Pin the nose on the pumpkin.

Freeze Dance

Watching Scooby Doo.

For dinner we had mummy dogs, ranch dip in a pumpkin (pumpkin brains) and goblin fingers and toes (veggies).

To drink we had swamp water, Mary's blood and polyjuice potion.

We handed out ghost pops at the end.

We threw a separate party for the older girls.

Alyssa and some of her friends.

The big girls party. We had around 20 tweeners at our house. It was crazy loud! People said they could hear us all the way down the street. They had a lot of fun though.

Cookie Decorating

For dinner we had bloodied bats, bat droppings (chocolate fondue) and goblin fingers and toes, witches wands, fingernails of a hag and ghost droppings (stuff to dip in the fondue). We also had spider ice cubes where I froze spider rings in the ice.

Kamary and some of her friends

Playing murder in the dark. I loved this as a teenager.

We were going to have a separate movie night for Hanna and her friends, but she ended up getting really sick and we had to cancel it. :( We'll have to reschedule sometime, maybe for Christmas.

Jason was a great husband and help during the parties. I could feel myself getting tense during the big kids party and Jason would be there to help me chill out. Then he would get tense at the little kids party and I would help him chill out. Together we made it possible without going insane.

After that the kids had a Halloween party at school and we had a Halloween party at our church.

This year Alyssa was a Karate Kid. Lauren was Rapunzel from Tangled, but she didn't want the long hair (less work for me) and Kohler was Batman. I really like how Lauren's costume turned out. I did eyelets for the first time. I was pretty nervous but they're easy. I think it added to her costume.

Hanna was Draculaura (from Monster High) and Kamary was a spy. Kamary came up with her own costume and her own props. I had no part in it-- very nice.

Brynlie was our cute little witch and stole the hearts of all who saw her.

This year at our church instead of doing a trunk-or-treat, everyone decorated rooms and the kids went trick-or-treating inside the building. It was a lot of fun.

I went a long time without dressing up, but the past couple of years I've wanted to dress up. This year I was a pirate (in honor of my pirate novel I'm writing).

I'm trying to give an evil eye. It's not working out too well.

On Halloween night we watched a scary movie. I thought everyone looked so cute lined up on the couch.

More movie watching

Usually Kohler and Lauren fight like crazy. I thought this was so cute with them cuddled up to each other. I guess they do love each other--sometimes.

Again with the side pictures-- grr. Here is everyone carving pumpkins. It's kind of nice because my older kids could help the younger ones and it was very low maintainance for me.

more carving

The finished product. Some were pretty massacred.

I love Halloween in Arizona. The weather is always perfect and people really get into it. Houses are decorated and people are out in their driveways with a firepit and their candy. It's a very social thing going trick-or-treating in AZ. This year I took Hanna, Alyssa, Lauren and Brynlie. Kamary was "too big" to go this year and Kohler got in trouble earlier in the day. :( I really don't feel bad for him missing out because he's been to so many parties. It was good though for him and the others to see that I follow through on my threats.

Here was a particularly creepy house and its owner (behind us).

One house built a pirate ship in their driveway-- so fun! They had a cannon that shot out tootsie rolls, sound effects and fireworks. They were all dressed like pirates. I felt like I fit right in! :)

The kids had to "Walk the Plank" to get their candy out of the treasure chest. Hanna was the only one that braved it. The rest of the kids just gathered tootsie rolls after the cannon shot them out.

After trick-or-treating we came home and had our tradition of Soup in a Pumpkin. Yummy.

To top off the night we had carmel apples.

It was a crazy busy month but we had a great time celebrating.

Now to welcome November!!

Girls Day Out and other Randomness

2011-08-21T07:58:00.000-07:00

Right before school started, I took the girls to the Hale Centre Theater's production of Pinocchio. It's become a yearly tradition for us. We left in plenty of time to get there, but we got caught in some traffic due to construction. It seemed like every turn I tried to make, to avoid traffic just ended up taking us further from our destination.

We ended up getting to the theater 20 minutes late. I was so mad! That is a big pet peeve of mine, probably from all my years of performing. It is rude to be late! Anyway, the usher led us to our seats. As we were walking down the hallway, Hanna had a seizure. The usher took the other kids to their seats and Hanna and I stayed in the lobby while she slept. By intermission, she was feeling better and was able to catch the last part of the show.

Although we were disappointed that we missed so much of the play, I feel like it was a blessing that we were late. If we had arrived even one minute before, Hanna would have had a seizure right in the middle of the theater. The theater is in-the-round and very cozy. Her seizure would have made a major interruption.

After the show, we can meet and talk with the cast. Here are some pictures...(Kamary was "too old" to get her picture taken with the cast). :)

After the play, I took the kids out to lunch at Neilson's Frozen Custard. It has a great 50's diner feel and some seriously yummy food, including Fry Sauce!

We also did a little school shopping. Hanna had another seizure in Target, so we ended up going home. Even with her seizure's I think she and the others enjoyed themselves for our last Summer Girls Day Out.

Now to some randomness...

One morning, the girls were playing dress up. I thought they made quite a sight (somehow having underwear on your head gives you extra super powers--in case you didn't know)!

One day I was cooking in the crock pot. I stuck the crock pot on the stove and instead of plugging it in, I accidently turned the stove on (I really don't know what I was thinking). It melted all the plastic off the chord and started a fire. We got the fire out quickly but the house smelled like burned plastic. Yuck! We opened all of the windows to air it out, but the kids walked around like this for a while! Woops.

Double Posts!

2011-08-07T20:22:00.000-07:00

I wrote 2 posts today. One about our trip to California and one about Kamary's birthday. My blog is only showing the CA one (probably because I had so many pictures) so to read about Kamary's birthday go to the blog archive for August. It's called 11 going on 15! Enjoy!

CALIFORNIA, HERE WE COME!

2011-08-07T20:16:00.000-07:00

For our summer vacation, we headed down to San Diego. One of the biggest perks is that it's only 5 hours away! :) This blog is full of pictures (because I like pictures). Some are sideways though and I can't figure out why or how to change it. Sorry. It bugs me when people's pictures are sideways, but....hope you enjoy anyway!

We have a favorite campground in Escondido called Woods Valley Kampground which is 20 miles or so north of San Diego. This campground is in the mountains, but still close to everything. It has a pool, showers, farm, duck pond with fishing, play areas and lots of places to explore. This is the third time we've been there and it lets us enjoy not only camping but San Diego without expensive hotels.

Tree Huggers!

Brynlie just chillin'.

Hanna just chillin'. This is her camping fashion (wearing the hat backwards).

There were lots of climbing trees around.

My little monkey.

Here's our 3 bedroom tent. It had room for all of us plus some! Loved it!

Hanging at the campsite.

This is what we call the "River Bottoms". A nickname Hanna gave it the first time we were here. There's a lot of woods and places to explore. The kids can wander all around without us having to worry about them.

Another monkey!

Getting ready for a swim!

Getting a little crazy with the roasting sticks!

We forgot our camp stove so we ended up cooking over the fire. It actually was a lot of fun!

Kamary is the queen roaster. If there is something to roast over the fire, she'll do it! This is some roasted turkey lunch meat.

We brought our walkie talkies. Lauren and Kohler are trying to figure it out.

Playing in the dirt. A must when you're camping.

He figured it out! 10-4!

We went to the beach while we were there. It was windy and overcast, but the water felt nice and we had a great time.

My kids were not afraid of the water!

Lauren playing in the waves.

Sideways picture- grr. Alyssa boogie boarding!

More boogie boarding!

Brynlie decided to take a nap.

Sweet girl.

It's a little blurry but I love the look on Alyssa's face!

Look what washed into shore.

Playing in the sand.

Counting seashells.

Searching for seashells.

Alyssa took a nap too.

These are sideways, but I love these pictures so I had to include them.

While we were in San Diego we went to the Maritime Museum on Harbour Blvd. The museum is on several historical ships. I love old sail boats so I was just as giddy as the kids.

Another sideways picture, grrr. Here we are on the Star of India. It was built during the civil war and is the oldest ship that still holds a regular sailing schedule. VERY COOL!

Hanna on the Star of India's deck, looking out at the other ships.

Lauren is swabbing the deck.

Brynlie and Alyssa waiting to go to the upper deck.

I love this picture!! Kohler looking at a submarine out the ship's window.

Trying to steer the ship.

This is a different ship. It was used in the movie Master and Commander with Russell Crowe and it was also used in the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie (On Stranger Tides).

This was an old Russian submarine. Both Kamary and I decided we could never live in one of these. Talk about claustrophobia!

Brynlie watching the ships go by.

Looking through the telescope or periscope or whatever they call it. You can see Harbour Blvd.

Here are the kids in front of the Star of India.

Of course after exploring sailing ships, you have to have seafood! Here are the kids waiting for lunch.

After going to the museum we headed over to the new Mormon Battalion Visitor Center.

Where did these crazy kids come from?

They took us on a tour of the Visitor Center. It was so much fun! It was interactive with different scenic rooms-- all geared toward kids.

In this room the kids got to dress up like Battalion members. The kids were entertained the entire time and we learned things about the Mormon Battalion we never knew. It was a great experience.

Panning for gold.

Lauren is doing some laundry. I'm very grateful for my washing machine.

Hanna's building a pyramid with the bricks.

This is one of the sister missionaries that took us through the tour. It turns out her uncle is the Mission President in Toronto Canada where my parents are serving their mission. It really is a small world.

They took our family picture with an "old fashioned" camera. They also had a lot of interactive games and stuff. It was a great visit!!

We had a great vacation and of course the best thing was spending time together. After four fun filled days we headed back to the heat of Arizona and our doggies. We missed our doggies, not so much the heat.

Back to real life.

11 going on 15!

2011-08-07T19:08:00.000-07:00

Kamary celebrated her birthday a few weeks ago. Even though she turned 11, she says that she's mature for her age and feels like she's 15. She's too old for Disney shows, too old for Primary, too cool for anything that might seem cheesy or childish and she is the queen of rolling her eyes. Luckily for me, she still thinks I'm cool (although all I have to do is start to dance and she hides in embarrassment).

Kamary planned her birthday party. She was very particular about everything. This by far was the longest birthday party we've ever had (4 hours) but for Kamary it wasn't long enough. She loves getting together with her friends.

We had pizza for dinner. Little Caesar's is Kamary's favorite.

We painted nails and beaded bookmarks.

Here is Kamary opening presents. She got some good stuff including a fashion sketch book, art supplies, a stuffed animal, fingernail polish, a gift certificate to Claire's and Barbies. Her friends know her well.

Kamary was so excited for her friends to meet Minnie. She had been telling them all about her at school.

For cake, they decorated their own cupcakes with food color pens. I'm not sure it turned out that well, but they look like they're having fun.

Crazy Kids!

Here's the group: Emily, Kylee, Hailey, Sarah, Kamary and Brianna. Of course one of the best activities was just sitting in Kamary's room listening to music. Can you say tween?

For her actual birthday we had cheesecake and Dad's BBQ Chicken. We also played games together. For her birthday she got a gift card to Hobby Lobby, clothes, a CD, and a small video camera.

Blowing out the Candles.

Kamary is extremely unique. There really is no one like her! She thinks outside the box and we are so glad she's in our family.

Fun Facts

Favorite Color: White (because it encompasses all of the colors)

Favorite Food: Dad's Marinated BBQ Chicken

Favorite Singer: Selena Gomez

Favorite Song: Outlaw (by Selena Gomez)

Favorite Movie: Couldn't say

Favorite TV Show: She loves Disney sitcoms like Sonny with a Chance

Favorite School Subject: Art

What she wants to be when she grows up: A Modest Fashion Designer

Talents: Playing with her younger siblings--she is a great babysitter! Kamary can take a person's junk and turn it into a treasure! She's the family police and makes sure that everyone is doing what they should. She's really good at fashion design and is an amazing creative thinker!

Favorite activities: Listening to music, playing with the dogs, designing fashion and make-up/hair for Barbies, Writing Agent Sam stories, Being with friends.

Something Special: Kamary really tries to obey the commandments and do what is right. When she got her Selena Gomez CD, she went through all the lyrics and made sure they were appropriate. There were 3 songs she didn't put on her MP3 player because they used the "d" word. I'm really proud of Kamary for making such good choices on her own.

ANWA Retreat!

2011-07-17T14:23:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, I made a post about my experience at the ANWA writer's retreat this past week. It's on my other blog... http://myliteraryescape.blogspot.com/

Check it out!

Jason rolls down the hill!

2011-07-10T22:20:00.000-07:00

Well, Jason is now over the hill and rolling downward as we celebrated his 41st birthday a few weeks ago.

Here are some fun pics.

Getting ready for the party.

Jason the King!

Lighting the candles.

Even after these years, he still blew them out in one try.

For dinner we had a full blown turkey dinner with all the fixings. Instead of pumpkin pie though, we had cheesecake (a birthday tradition).

For his birthday he got money (with which he bought drum accessories), a book on tape, the game Taboo and a CD (he teased me...saying that I really got the CD for me--which might be true, but in my defense I really did think he'd like it).

I usually spotlight my kids for their birthdays so I'll do the same for Jason

Fun Facts

Favorite Food: Lobster and King Crab

Favorite Color: Green

Favorite Activity: Drumming

Favorite Movie: What About Bob

Favorite TV Show: Whose Line is it Anyway (when it's clean)

Favorite Band: Chick Corea Electric Band

What He Does in His Spare Time: Nap, Watch Movies

When He Grows Up, He Wants To Be: A Studio Drummer

A Special Talent: Working with people, playing complex rhythms with his teeth, and making people laugh

If He Could Live Anywhere: His very own Island

4th of July!

2011-07-10T21:46:00.000-07:00

We love the 4th of July! We celebrated by listening to patriotic music, watching documentaries and movies about America, making sugar cookies, having a BBQ and of course...fireworks! This year was really fun because Kamary learned about the Revolutionary War in school this year so celebrating July 4th took on a whole new meaning for her.

Here are some of our patriotic cookies.

More patriotic cookies.

We started our morning with a pancake breakfast at the church.

They had water games outside to keep nice and cool.

Here are Lauren, Brynlie, Alyssa & Kohler playing outside.

The kids are lining up for the parade. Kamary was a candy thrower.

Lauren carried the flag during the parade.

Even though the water games were for the kids, the "big boys" had the most fun, starting a huge water fight.

Alyssa, my tree climber.

Here is a game we played with the guys on one side...

...and the kids on the other.

The kids had to transfer water from a cup on their head to a water bottle on the adult's head. Most of the water ran down their faces instead of reaching the water bottle.

The end result of the water fight. I even got wet (a little).

These were our 4th of July cupcakes we made.

After the pancake breakfast we went swimming with Jason's sister, Charlene and her family and then had a BBQ. At night we went to the park and watched the fireworks. There were some fireworks that exploded into smiley faces. It was a fun day.

This is a random picture but I thought it worked well here. Over the summer, Kamary wanted to have fun with her hair so we gave her a blue stripe in. It should wash out by the time school starts.

She really likes it. She thinks it makes her look like a rockstar! :)

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T15:30:00.000-07:00

I was blessed to have a wonderful father. So, since it's 2011, I thought I'd share 11 reasons why my dad is great!

1- My dad is a great example of learning. He finds something he's interested in and learns all about it.

2- My dad is a people person. He's not afraid to walk up to a complete stranger and start talking to them.

3- My dad is a righteous man. He is such a great example of one who serves the Lord.

4- My dad is a funny man. He is the world's best punster and although I roll my eyes, it's endearing.

5- My dad loves the outdoors. I love camping and hiking with him.

6- My dad loves children. My kids feel his love for them whenever we're together.

7- My dad is a hard worker. He spends many hours helping my mom around the house.

8- My dad is an explorer. He loves to travel and experience the world around him.

9- My dad is a peacemaker. He tries to keep family relations close.

10- My dad is a worthy priesthood holder. I have benifited from many father's blessings.

11- My dad is insightful. He always seem to know what's best for me.

As you can see, I have the most wonderful father EVER! I love you Dad!!

14 years to forever!

2011-06-12T17:16:00.000-07:00

Today, Jason and I are celebrating our 14 year anniversary.

In some ways I feel like I've been married forever. In other ways the time has completely flown. I look back at our pictures and think, "We were so young...and naive." We really didn't know each other at all! Now here we are 14 years later...with 6 kids, 2 dogs, a lot of bills and even more love. It's been a crazy roller coaster ride with lots of ups and downs. Of course no one wants to focus on the downs, so...I'm going to write a favorite memory from each year that we've been married. Warning: this could get kind of sappy. : )

1- The look! You know...the look that Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy gives to Elizabeth Bennett. The look that makes women swoon...Well, I remember getting ready for the reception on our wedding day by playing the piano and I turned around to see Jason, giving me "the look". That moment is burned into my memory.

2- This was the year that our roles were reversed. Jason played Mr. Mom, while I went to work at my internship all day. I was thankful that he gave up that year of his education so I could finish and graduate. It's one of many times that he has given up his time so that I could pursue my hobbies and ambitions. Not all men would do that!

3-This is when Jason and I started reading the Harry Potter books together. It was a journey that we shared together for many years...all the way until the end of book 7.

4- This year, we would take off for a weekend and go to New York City, or Washington DC. It was a very free and spontaneous time in our lives and we had a lot of adventures. This is when we took our two kids and climbed the spiral staircase of the Statue of Liberty to her crown at the very top. We shed some serious sweat and prayers, hoping we would get back down in one piece (terrifying). Now...it's a great memory.

5-This year we had our own little vacation, just the two of us. We left the kids with Grandma and went to the Nauvoo, Illinois temple dedication. We also wandered around Hannibal, MO (Mark Twain's hometown). It was great to have time with just the two of us.

6-This year, our daughter Alyssa was born. We were both very emotional during this time and whenever the song "Arms Wide Open" from Creed came on, we'd both get teary eyed.

7- This year, we played in a garage band together...well more like a living room band. Jason played drums, I played bass and friends from our ward played guitar and keyboard. It was a fun thing to do together.

8- This was the year that we moved into our very own home (still a rental, but not an apartment). We made so many great friends in this ward and I felt like we grew closer together as a couple.

9- This year, Jason sang to me on Valentine's Day. He sang "Now and Forever" by Richard Marx. That is now our official song and I will never hear that song again without thinking about Jason. His singing makes me melt (especially when he's singing to me).

10-This is the year that we got our first dog. Jason had a friend from work giving away free puppies. We went over there and picked out Rosie. She only stayed with us for a year and a half but even now, Lauren (who was just a baby at the time) talks about Rosie and how much she misses her.

11- This is the year we moved to Maricopa (and we're still here which is amazing). Soon after we moved here, Jason got called to be the Elders Quorum President in our ward. I was so proud of him that his life was worthy to hold the priesthood and serve the Lord in this calling.

12- We bought our very first home! It was an amazing accomplishment, something we had looked forward to for so long. I love when Jason comes home from work and gives me a big hug. It makes all the stress from the day just slip away.

13- One night, after the kids went to bed, we headed outside and looked at the stars. Jason showed me several star constellations and we looked through our telescope. It was one of the best dates ever.

14- We went out on the town one night (it doesn't happen very often) to a Pat Metheny concert. I didn't even know who he was. But being together just the two of us and having Jason hold my hand or rub my back during the concert...I felt like we were falling in love all over again (sappy maybe, but true).

As I look into the future to the next 14 years, I wonder what our life will be like. Hanna will be 27, Kamary 24, Alyssa 22, Kohler 20, Lauren 18 and Brynlie 16. Yikes! I could be a Grandma! If it goes as fast as these past 14 years did...I better brace myself!

Happy Anniversary, Jason! I love you!!

New Addition!

2011-06-05T15:08:00.000-07:00

We have a new addition to our family!

She's a Chiuaua/Maltese mix. Her owners gave her the name of Jessica but we'll probably change it. We just can't agree on the name. So far we have Jesse, Jessita, Daisy, Droplet, Blossom, Little Smokie....

She's pretty feisty and holds her own with Minnie. (Sorry about the blurry picture. It's hard to get 2 dogs to hold still for a picture).

They actually have a lot of fun together and Minnie is very gentle with her.

Just because of her size she gets privledges that poor Minnie doesn't. I mean a 120 lb. dog just can't fit into our bed or laps.

She's full of energy and snuggles. We love to having her in our family!

Kamary's Got Talent!

2011-06-05T10:20:00.000-07:00

This past week Kamary participated in the school talent show. I was very proud of her for facing her fears by trying out and then following through by performing in the talent show, even though she felt a little insecure and nervous about singing in front of people. She did a great job and I think it was a positive experience for her.

There was a technical difficulty and I couldn't upload the video of Kamary singing. I'm going to try again later...so stay tuned.

Elder and Sister Wheeler

2011-05-29T09:52:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I went to Utah to see my parents off on their mission to Toronto Canada, Portuguese Speaking. It was a great and spiritual weekend-- not just because I left my kids home in AZ. ;)

On Saturday we were able to go to the temple together. That was a neat experience to be there with them. Then Saturday evening they took me to the Gaucho Grill-- a Brazilian restaurant. It was a lot of fun to try all the different roasted meats and my dad was able to speak Portuguese with the waitress.

On Sunday my parents spoke in Sacrament Meeting. I surprised them with a special musical number. I arranged a piano solo of 2 of their favorite hymns-- "More Holiness Give Me and How Great Thou Art"-- and "I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go". My mom spoke about how the Lord has guided her life and love of music. I really enjoyed hearing about her life experiences and it made me think about how the Lord has guided me in my life. My dad spoke about what makes my mom the perfect missionary companion. It was a great tribute to her. I've really been blessed with such great parents. They are such wonderful examples of true Latter Day Saints. I hope that I can be like them someday.

Here we are after church. It was very strange to be in my home ward again, but it was fun to see everyone.

A lady in the ward made my parents these beautiful leis.

After church we came home for a luncheon. It was fun to chat with my Aunts and Cousins. The Stake President came over to set them apart as missionaries. We had a great meeting where we sang "Called to Serve" and had a testimony meeting. They were given some amazing blessings as they were set apart as missionaries. The Spirit was so strong and I know that the Lord wants them in Canada right now. A special thanks to Jason for handling the kids for 3 1/2 days so that I could be there with them. I am grateful for the experience and it has strengthened my resolve to grow closer to the Savior.

Here is a picture of my parents in the MTC as official missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I'm so proud of them!