Driving while looking backwards

American River and the Urgent Care!

2012-02-05T17:45:00.000-08:00

The pictures are in order of the last event and then proceed to the beginning of the day.

When you have a day that begins with water and sun you have to wonder what will be next.

Playing in the river in February is such a rare occurrence, we had to take advantage. We played and ran around on the sand bars that are usually under water this time of year. Nicole took a plunge in the river, Aaron sailed his lego boat and guy, and Isaac fished with sticks and string. Oakely remembered she is a water dog. She swam with the currant to bring back the stick. We finished up when the sun started to go down with the warmth of the day. Everyone was having fun running back to the truck with the sticks they found. We loaded up the dog and the boys were not quite at the truck. Nicole got in and we turned just in time to see Aaron land face down on the ground. Christian raced over to help Aaron up and I saw that he needed the towel I was holding. He had wrapped his hands around the stick he was carrying and tripped on the cable that separates the parking lot from the park. Aaron's head hit the cement parking stop and he has a 2 cm gash that needed stitches. I dropped Christian and Aaron off at the ER. I drop the other 2 off at a friends house and proceeded back the to ER with all the needed documentation, Burger King, and a change of clothing for Aaron. He was still in his wet clothing. As I drove into the ER parking garage, I realized that this was not the place that we should be. I found an Urgent Care and they do stitches. We left after spending 2 1/2 hours there and headed to the Urgent Care. We waited for 2 minutes and were in the Trauma room, the doctor ordered numbing gel for Aaron and then she stitched him up (he ended up with 2 internal stitches and 6 external, it is 2 cm long). We were there a total of 50 minutes. We learned a valuable lesson. The Urgent Care is an ER just on a smaller scale. This will be where we go from now on when the doctors office is closed.

The day was very memorable and we will have fond memories forever. Aaron is also so excited that he and his dad are the only ones who have had stitches on their heads. He loves that he is getting all the attention right now.

Aaron all stitched up!
15 minutes later he was all numb

such a trooper, waiting in Trauma

the gash

the stick that will be know as the "stick of death"

running from one large rock mass to another

Aaron's lego guy and boat

Isaac finding a spot to fish

Oakley having a great time in the water

Aaron and Nicole trying to find a way to float things

Closing out 2011!

2012-01-05T18:46:00.001-08:00

Money, Money, money - Aaron passed off all of his Mulplication facts
Pizza weekend with cousins

Having fun with Zach

BB the bunny came to visit for the week

Christian and I went on a great date to the Noodle house

The kids at scandia

Afun family trip to Lake Powell

Aaron truned 9 and had fun with his new remote control car

Halloween!

2011-12-10T20:51:00.001-08:00

They are funny clowns-they raided my make-up

The Grimm Reaper-Aaron

The Grimm Reaper -Isaac

Masqurade Ball princess

Aaron is a Wolf- On to Bears

Amature Pictures of the Sacramento Temple

2011-12-10T20:44:00.000-08:00

fun times with family!

2011-12-10T20:25:00.001-08:00

Aaron getting ready for the Fund Run

All dressed up for Church
Trying to see who could throw the Acorns the farthest

Playing astronaut at the Childrens science Museum

getting suited up

fun with freinds!

2011-12-10T20:14:00.001-08:00

What has been missed!

2011-12-10T20:01:00.001-08:00

Enjoying 49 days! The kids even panned for gold.

Playing at the lake with friends

Coast Guard had an open house

Christian and Nicole enjoying some bonding time at Scandia

Scandia

Thunder Mountain Trail.

2011-08-01T12:46:00.000-07:00

We have decided that we are not going to miss out on the beautiful mountians that Northern California has to offer. So we went on an adventure on Aug 23rd. We love the Eldorado National Forrest. It is where Kirkwood Ski Resort is located.
We camped a few years back at Kirkwood Lake and have been in awe of the beauty of the area ever since. I know my kids are mine because they love to hike and be out doors. Something both Christian and I love to do.

Random Fun!

2011-08-01T12:41:00.000-07:00

Lake Powell!

2011-08-01T12:32:00.001-07:00

Wow, What We Did!

2011-08-01T12:15:00.000-07:00

From the beginning of summer to the countdown to school. We have had a lot of fun.

Isaac had a birthday that we celebrated at Black Bear Diner.

In a nut shell

2011-05-29T14:38:00.000-07:00

The boys having a great time climbing the trees at Wheeler Farm!

Happy Easter with the Fry Cousins

I was suprised with a visit from my friends and these super yummy treats.

American Girl Los Angeles

2011-02-14T14:26:00.001-08:00

After arriving in LA the girls are so excited to stay in a hotel.

In front of the fountain at "the Grove".

Nicole and Julie

shopping while we wait for our dinner reservation

they had cute chairs for the dolls to sit in

the cutest plates and cups, just the right size for a doll

After dessert

The hotel had an elevator that entertained the kids for hours.

All the cute kids and their dolls. Such a fun group.

We went to Crumbs, before we left LA for such fabulous cup cakes.

Nicole enjoying her cupcake.

Skiing!

2011-02-14T13:46:00.000-08:00

Aaron skiing

Isaac skiing

On the ski lift

1 hour of lessons

Such happy boys. End of a great day of skiing

What great weekend they had.

Pictures from 2007 and 2011

2011-02-14T13:01:00.000-08:00

free museum day.

2011

2007

2011

2007

Pictures say a 1,000 words!

2011-02-14T12:55:00.000-08:00

2011!

2011-01-04T19:19:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess we should wrap up 2010. We had such a full 2 months. Lots of things to keep us busy. Halloween, 2 Birthdays, 1 Baptism, 2 holidays, and lots of memories to last a life time.

Nicole and her friend marching and singing at the top of their lungs "Follow the Leader"

(to the tune of Follow the prophet)

Can you guess what she really wanted for Christmas?

The boys loved their new cars. Lots of outdoor fun.

We had such a fun time having a tea party birthday

Disneyland here we come...

2010-11-02T20:11:00.001-07:00

The Happiest Place on Earth?

What a bunch of crazy kids. They had so much fun waiting for World of Color to start.

We had a really good time in Tommorrowland. They had a program that would age you 50 years. We added all the fun stuff to the picture to make it funny. We added smoking, sun damage, and being over weight.

And Aaron "Jabba the Hut" Brown...

The whole top floor was video games. We spent 2 hours playing and running around. So much fun.

We had to go to Pirate Island. My kids love to play pirates, they all bought a sword and had fun with all the loot.

Learning how to swing a lasso.

Isaac rode this 4 times. He loved it. Look at my boys in that car ready to blast off.

Isaac wanted to ride the screamer, not have his picture taken.

While Christian and Isaac rode the screamer Aaron and Nicole posed for a box picture.

We loved this ride. It was to bad the line was so long. We were able to get one ride in.

Nicole loves her Minnie Mouse

We would like to thank Chubby's All American Diner for staying open so we could have something good to eat. Super yummy food. It was 3 blocks from our hotel so we only ate there once.

This was a funny moment at dinner. Aaron was so tired that he fell asleep on the table, fry in hand. The moment I took the picture he stirred enough to dip the fry in ketchup and then he tried to find his mouth (think it took him 3 tries before he found his mouth). We were laughing so hard.

I was a tad cold, so I ordered hot cocoa. Well, Nicole wanted something across the table and spilled my full mug in my lap. It was a good thing I had 5 layers on or I may have gotten burned. It was just the end to a long day of spills. That morning we were having orange juice for breakfast and I shook up the bottle (the lid had come loose when the plastic ring was taken off the top, before you open the bottle.), it went flying all over Isaac and my self.

We promised the boys they could buy a lego set to bring home. Now what family goes all the way to disneyland and comes home with Legos. Not disney legos.....starwars legos.

Are these not the cutest ears ever. She was so happy to pick the hat and ears. Of course it would not be a great day if it wasn't for pink.

All rested and ready to start our fun vacation at Disneyland.

Disneyland here we come. We are waiting at the parking lot for our shuttle to take us to the airport.

Aaron and Isaac loved flying. They wanted to know when the maid was going to come by to give them more snacks and their drinks.

Nicole was so happy to finally be in the air.

We stayed at a great place. It was the Portifino Hotel and Suites. The kids had their own room with a bunk bed. Isaac and Aaron traded nights on the pull out couch.

Tri-for-Fun

2010-08-07T14:44:00.000-07:00

The last 2 months I did a DU for fun and this month Christian did the Tri-for-Fun with me.

I did 3 mile run, 16 mile bike, and a 3 mile run.

Christian did the 1/2 mile swim, 16 mile bike, and a 3 mile run.

This is one of the hardest things I have ever done. I loved it though.

Des and Me at the July DU.

Before the event. Christian and I trying to stay warm. It was the best temperature.

Me crossing the finish line

What a great feeling.

We did it. What a great way to start a Saturday. I loved having Christian there with me. We both beat our times.

July and The Begining of August

2010-08-07T14:05:00.000-07:00

I love the summer and this one was so great. I think the part that makes this summer so great, was that my kids are at the ages that I can take them on vacation and not worry about the little things.

We spent a week in Utah with family.

We went to the kid wonderland at my grandma's house in Washington.

Fun with fish

2010-06-30T21:45:00.001-07:00

We spent a Saturday a few weeks ago at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery. The kids were able to feed the rainbow trout. They had trout that were 4 months old up to 18 months. It was a blast.

Long awaited pictures

2010-06-30T21:32:00.001-07:00

Drum roll please. I know you all have been waiting for me to post my new counters. Well the wait is over. I love them and it was such a great buy for my house. I love that the counter is now all one height. Look no more grout.

I went out of town this last week and when I came home I had this waiting for me. They are so beautiful. I am so happy to have no more carpet in the living room. The floor should be just a tad bit cleaner than the carpet.

New Title for our blog

2010-06-30T21:30:00.000-07:00

I have decided that my blog needed a new name and I love the one I have chosen. I love the meaning behind that word. If you don't know what the word means I suggest you look it up. You may want it for your family too.

Memorial Day!

2010-05-31T22:04:00.001-07:00

On sunday we went to a work BBQ.

Our host owns a motorcycle and the boys were in heaven. They loved it.

Isaac was showing off is juggling skills.

Christian was wowing the crowd with juggling skills.

On Monday we had a BBQ with some friends. After dinner we went to the park and played Baci Ball and Volleyball.
It was so cool, Isaac is serving the ball.

Isaac is a Wolf!

2010-05-31T22:00:00.000-07:00

We are two steps into the cub scout program. Isaac is a wolf. He did such a good job working hard to get his wolf.

Isaac turns 9!

2010-05-31T21:54:00.001-07:00

I am so excited that I have been a mom of 9 years. Isaac is such a fun boy to be around. He is full of energy and loves to learn new things. I am so glad that he is 9. We look forward to the years to come. Happy birthday Isaac.

The Father and sons

2010-05-31T21:35:00.000-07:00

Isaac and Aaron got a ride in canoe around the lake.

Every year Christian takes the boys on the father and sons camp out. And every year he doesn't get any sleep. This year our neighbor lent Christian a cot to sleep on. Christian was hooked. I don't think that he will be sleeping on the ground ever again.

The boys had so much fun. They played in the fire. They roasted pine cones and burned lots of things. They had a blast.

The best part about the YMCA!

2010-05-31T21:26:00.000-07:00

Nicole's Class Isaac and Aaron's Class

Nicole's Class

Nicole's Class

Isaac and Aaron's Class

I have been looking for a sport that my kids love.

I think that I have found it.

My kids love to swim. Isaac is getting really good. Aaron is not a strong as Isaac but he is getting there. Nicole is a little fish now. She asks me everyday if it is swim lessons. She can't wait to get in the water and swim.

A little catching up!

2010-05-31T21:02:00.001-07:00

This is the hotel that we stayed at.

The Hotel Del CoronadoThe View from the beach.

Our room

The view of Down town San Diego.

I know that this is a little late getting out.

Christian and I were able to go on a trip to Coronado Island for a few days in April. Christian spent a lot of time in meetings and I saw a few things in San Diego. I went to the Zoo and Old Town San Diego. I was amazed at how well the public transportation worked. I would catch the ferry in the morning and walk up a few blocks and either catch a bus or ride the train. Both were a lot of fun. When I was done sight seeings I would come back to the ferry platform and take the ferry back to the island. I don't think I have walk so much in along time. It was about 1 1/2 miles to the ferry platform ( I did this twice a day for 3 days).

I think the one thing I miss the most is the run I did on the beach in the morning.

CATS!

2010-04-23T22:07:00.000-07:00

Look at how happy those cute kids are.

Christian came home for lunch today and asked if I wanted to go see Cats the musical. I was excited because it is one that left the theater before I got a chance to see it. Well, Christian found out that a group of 10-18 year olds were putting it on in Folsom and Sunday was the last day. Well I told him that I would get a sitter and we could go. He surprised me and said he wanted to take the kids. So tonight we got ready and headed out. We arrived at the theater, bought our tickets, and found our seats. We told the kids that they could not get up from their seats until intermission. As soon as the lights went down and the singing started they couldn't take their eyes off the actors. It was amazing. The kids talked about their favorites all the way home. I am so glad that they loved it.

Our St.George Trip!

2010-04-06T13:39:00.000-07:00

We love St. George, Ut. There is so much to do if you love the out doors.

I got to show off how I could still fit in the slot for the St. George Narrows

Christian and the kids about to climb through the St. George Narrows. Christian almost didn't make it, there were a few tight spots. 11 years ago he could do it without any trouble.

Christian loves to climb. That is one thing we miss living in California. But all of the kids climbed this. I think that they have caught the climbing bug just like their dad.

Nicole with Christian close behind.

Aaron without any trouble.

Isaac without any trouble.

We went to the Johnson's Farm Dinosaur museum.

Snow Canyon

If you look close you can see the climbers on the rock. Christian was so sad that he didn't have his gear.

One of the underground caves. Notice the spots in the picture. That is the dust from the floor of the cave.

This picture was taken in complete darkness

The opening to one of the caves

Aaron waiting up the tree for the locksmith to let us in the condo.

When you think of a family vacation what comes to mind. For me it is getting in the car driving up to 12 or more hours, getting to our destination, and then relaxing with my husband and kids.
Well this time we had a few detours, we did drive the 12 hours to the condo we stay at in St. George. Then as we are all ready to get out of the car the key that we had didn't work. We had to make a choice either stay in St.George at a hotel and make the drive to Salt Lake the next morning to get a new key or keep driving and come back the next day. We decided to keep driving. We were so happy my sister was able to have us stay at her house. We got to her house about 3 am. We slept a few hours and then got up the next morning to homemade waffles and juice. Later in the afternoon we drove to Christians parents house and got a new key. We had fun visiting with family and then set off for St. George around 7:30pm . We got to St.George around Midnight. We were so excited to finally get into the condo. Christian put the key in the lock and it would not turn. We thought maybe the lock was stuck a little so we turned the key with a little bit of force and broke the key off in the lock. Well, we were so tired and decided there was nothing more we could do so we drove up the hill to the Laquinta Inn and spent the night. The next morning we call a lock smith who let us into the condo.
We had so much fun on our vacation. We got to see our family in Salt Lake and we saw some of my family in St. George. We played in the sand dunes in Snow Canyon. It also has some underground caves that we explored for a while.

We loved our vacation.

New Book!

2010-03-31T16:01:00.001-07:00

For anyone who loves the Twilight books there is a new book. It will be released on June 5th at noon.
www.stepheniemeyer.com

It is called "The short second life of Bree Tanner"

Wow what a few months.

2010-03-30T13:10:00.001-07:00

This was Nicole the morning after I got home from my trip to my grandfathers funeral. She didn't know you are not suppose to use your finger to get the candy out of pouch. Christian showed her how to use the little candy stick.

Christian and I have been married 11 years. We celebrated by going out to BBQ with our friends the Dyers. It was such a fun night.

For Pre-School Nicole had a valentines party. The girls were being so funny that day. Maybe it was all the sugar they ate.

What a girl wants, What a girl needs........

2010-02-07T17:59:00.000-08:00

I love this shirt. My friend found this cute shirt at my favorite store. I just had to get it for my cute little girl. But this little girl hates to wear a shirt under it. I have told her that I will just get rid of the shirt. Which puts her in tears every time. It is the winter, but going sleeveless and freezing is such a sacrifice you must make when you are 4. She will wear it with a sweater on top and tell me that she will not take off the sweater, but sure enough off comes the sweater and my little angle is looking at her arms and admiring herself. I don't know what I am going to do with her.

I made her sad because I told her that she needed to smile in the pictures and to put her arms down. You know I am so mean.

It all started like any other Sunday morning. She dressed herself and comb her own hair

(it is a great job for someone who is 4).

and then the little girl was in tears because I will not let her leave the house with out her hair done. She only wants one pony, never more, but would be happy with none. So today I told her that I would do one braid in her hair.

She will tilt her head to what ever side I am doing that morning and this results in me asking several times for her to move her head to the middle. Sure enough 2 seconds later it is tilted to the side. I move her head back with a great response of tears (this goes on for several minutes). Until finally after several tries I get the finished product. She looks so cute with her hair done. I know that it is a losing battle because Sunday is really the only day that I get to do her hair anymore. I am hoping when she goes to school in near future that I will be able to do her hair every morning, but we will have to see.

My house is a very, very, very fine house......

2010-01-23T19:06:00.001-08:00

What do you ask your husband to do when he has a week off of work. Well at our house I ask for a home project that doesn't take to long. This was my request. I have wanted him to take down this wall for about 6 years and now it is done and I love it. We are going to add a few things below the mirror, but are not sure what yet. I have a mantel that opens the space up just enough.

Finished Project
This is our old table (for sale)

This is our new table. I love that the dog is not tall enough to jump up and eat the kids food anymore. I also like that we have lots of space to do kid projects on the table.

A big Secret!

2010-01-17T17:25:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I have been keeping a big secret. I have not kept for very long I just found out last week. It is so cool I look at it every day and love what it shows me.

Here you go:
I have a new shoe discount store online and if you have already shopped here then you know the love that it provides.

www.6pm.com

I am going to share the love with all of you.

When are you getting a real job?

2010-01-15T15:56:00.001-08:00

The last week Christian was out of town and Aaron asked him when he was going to get a real job. Christian had to ask him what a real job was. Well, Aaron told him that people that help others, Police Men, Fire Men, Astronauts, and FBI are real jobs. So for all those out there that do not fall in these areas then you don't have a real job. Christian just laughed and now that it our family joke.

I needed to save this info!

2010-01-11T13:27:00.000-08:00

http://www.dana-made-it.com/2008/07/tutorial-recycled-grocery-totes.html

I love what this woman did with Target bags. I am going to try and do it with mine. I will let you know how it goes.

http://etsylabs.blogspot.com/2007/05/long-overdue-fusing-plastic-bag.html
Here is a second tutorial on how to make these bags.

Pumpkin Coffee Cake!

2009-12-13T19:06:00.000-08:00

I love this recipe that I copied from Lauren Dyer.

Ingredients2 1/2 c cake flour + 2 T
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1 t ground ginger
1 t nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
1 1/2 c sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter
1 1/2 c pumpkin puree
3 extra large eggs
1 1/2 t vanilla
For the crumble:
3 T butter
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t salt
Method Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixer using the paddle attachment. Then add the eggs one by one, then the vanilla, then the pumpkin. Sift together the flour baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Set the mixer to low, and add in the dry ingredients until just combined. Turn the mixer off and finish folding the batter together with a spatula. Pour the batter into a greased 8 inch spring form pan. (You can also use a tube pan, or a square baking dish. Smooth out the batter and top with the crumble. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.
*If you do use a tube pan, invert the pan to turn out the cake, and serve crumble size up.
For the crumble:Place all the ingredients in a bowl, and pinch together with your fingers until you have small pea sized pieces

Crayon Rolls!

2009-12-03T16:33:00.001-08:00

I was excited to find this really cool stocking stuffer. It is the Crayon Rolls. The cute rolls to carry the crayons in.

http://www.skiptomylou.org/2007/04/25/on-a-roll/
Here is the web site that will show you how to make them.

There lived a princess....

2009-11-09T21:23:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time in a far away land, there lived a princess. Not just any princess, but a beautiful princess...well what is a story without a beautiful princess, ugly princess would not work, so back the story. This princess didn't know how to climb out of bed, so she slipped and fell and hit her beautiful face on her bed rail and had to get a stitch to close up the hole that her beautiful teeth made in her beautiful lip. Now our princess has a big fat purple lip with a black stitch that is holding it shut. She is such a brave princess because she only cried when they gave her the shot to numb her lip, and then she shut her eyes so tight she didn't have to watch the Dr stitch up her beautiful lip. Now that she is sleeping soundly with the help from prince Motrin. Lets hope that she will not have any peas that will keep her up all night. The very tired Queen will be so happy to start a new day tomorrow. Everything can get to normal. Lets hope.....

Trick-or-Treating

2009-11-01T15:18:00.001-08:00

Tricks or Treats

Isaac is a vampire who killed Christian Brown the missionary and stole his name tag, Aaron was Frankenstein, and Nicole was a Princess.
The kids are so excited for the trunk-n-treat.

The boys really loved there candy, they counted every piece and Aaron put them in piles.

Nicole decided that Oakley needed to be part of the fun.

Something really great came out of this Halloween. Isaac and Aaron got suits that they promises me they would wear to church. Today was the first day and they did great.We went to a friends house for a party. The kids had so much fun. Nicole and her friend Noelle (who was a Turkey Princess, (Turkish princess) did a swap of candy. Well Noelle did the swap and Nicole profited from it.

All the kids went T-o-T and when we were done the hostest had all the kids go through there candy and pick out any thing they didn't like. Then the unwanted candy was put in the middle of the circle and all the kids picked out 2 candies at a time until all the unwanted candy was gone.

Yeah it is November!

2009-11-01T14:32:00.000-08:00

That is what we heard on our way to church this morning. Aaron was in the back seat so excited. He is counting down the days until he is 7. Nicole will also be turning 4 this month. She is so excited. We have had a full month and are so excited for the next month to come. I know I said that I would up date you on my food storage rack, I will as soon as Christian is done with base boards. That project has taken over the garage, but it will look so nice when they are done.

Isaac is so excited to be in cub scouts. He loves to wear his uniform, unlike his dad who wanted to run away from home when he was a cub scout.

These are my friends that do a fun trip to San Francisco each year. We decided that it was time to go so we went shopping, got pedicures, and then went out to dinner. It was so much fun.

Nicole is so cute. I took her to Disney on Ice. She loved all the princesses and could not stop watching. It was fun to see the show with her friends.

Nicole's Pre-School class went to the pumpkin patch. This pumpkin patch is great, it has a lot for the kids to do and the best part is that it is free during the week. The boys got to come because they are off track.

Gluten Free!

2009-10-26T11:33:00.000-07:00

Anyone who is looking to go gluten free or is already gluten free, here is a blog that I stumbled upon. http://glutenfreemommy.com/

I hope this helps.

New Storage!

2009-10-26T07:43:00.000-07:00

I am so excited that I am getting New Food Storage shelving. I was at the "Time Out for Women" and they had an incredible deal on the Shelf Reliance shelves. If you bought 2 you got an incredible deal and it was with free shipping. They also threw in the 4 side shelves and the top rack for free. I will post pics as I get done putting it together. Did I say I was so excited.

What is your house made of?

2009-10-11T21:49:00.001-07:00

We have an on going project that will be done in the next month. Christian is working on replacing all the base boards in our house. I am so excited. This past week he did the living room base boards.

Well, while I was vacuuming out the space where the new base boards were going to go, I found something interesting in our wall. It was a soda can, the person who built our home left in the wall. I thought it was interesting, and wondered what other things they left us. But at least 10 years later the can is empty of all liquid that could have been in it. Nicole thinks it is funny that her house is made of soda cans.

What is it about eating dinner!

2009-10-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

Tonight I made a easy dinner. It is Sunday and unless we have company for dinner I just don't feel like going all out for a dinner. I do that most of the week. We had bake potato's and toppings for dinner. Everyone thought it was great. I loved that all I had to do was get the toppings ready while the potato's cooked.

Nicole is really funny about eating dinner. She will look at her plate and tell us that she can't eat part of her dinner because it is yucky. Tonight she did it and she had 3 piles of potato. 2 of the piles she was able to eat, while the 3rd and smallest pile was the yucky pile. I just had to take a picture of it because I know when she gets older she will not believe us when we tell her. We took a picture of her with her plate and she ate the 2 larger piles but the yucky pile just could not be eaten. You can all understand right. Who wants to eat yucky food.

Where do you live?

2009-10-10T16:13:00.000-07:00

I have been teaching Nicole where she lives. She is getting pretty good at knowing that we live in Sacramento California. The other day I was talking to her little pre-school friends that I had in the car for carpool. Nicole say to me"I live in California." Me being so excited that she remembers. I ask her what city she lives in"I live in Sacramento" Yeah. Well, it started a big conversation with her 2 friends:
Nicole"Where do you live Hailee?"
Hailee" I don't know"
Nicole: "You live in Sacramento"
Hailee:"Oh, Sacramento"
Nicole"Abby, where do you live?"
Abby: "I don't live in Sacramento, I live in a house."
Nicole: "Well I live a house too."
Hailee: "Me too."
I was laughing so hard as they were all were changing, because we do all live in a house.

Free Bike...Yes that is right a free bike

2009-08-26T16:31:00.000-07:00

This company is giving a free bike every Wednesday. If you would like to see how to win this bike, click on the picture and see the rules.

Daddy I want to do this....

2009-08-23T20:31:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday when we were all feeling well, I suggested that we find a lake to go play in for the afternoon. Everyone liked the idea and we made dinner and snacks and packed up the car with all the essentials for a lake visit. We had never been there and didn't know what to expect, but we were determined to have a good time even if the lake was a flop. We decided on Bullards Bar Reservoir. It is just past Camp Bountiful in the Tahoe National Forest. The trees were so beautiful and we got the see the smoke from the forest that was on fire just a couple ridge tops over.

We got to the lake and found that you don't have to pay to use the lake. But you have to hike down, down, down to the lake. The shore was carved in large steps to get down to the water. And if you decide to go, bring a beach umbrella to sit under, there are no trees by the water. The dog and the kids had so much fun. It was fun to watch Oakley realize she is a dog that should be able to swim in a lake. This is the first time we have ever taken her out to a water source that she could not touch the bottom. At first she did the panic swim, but a few tries and she got out and would swim all over. The kids had a blast and they loved the water. Christian loved the water as much as the kids did.

Thank You for the Great Idea!

2009-08-10T20:29:00.000-07:00

I would like to thank Carrie for the great idea about Dessert Waffles. I have been thinking about them ever since she talked about them. We had Dessert waffles for dinner tonight and it was a big hit. I should have taken pictures but I didn't.
Here is how you make the yummy waffles. (If you didn't guess I really like waffles and I am always looking for new ways to make and eat them)

You make your waffles, you top your waffles with Ice cream, syrup(any kind), fruit, whip cream, or any other way you top your dessert. We had waffles with fresh raspberries, homemade blackberry sauce, whip cream, caramel sauce, maple syrup, vanilla ice cream. Everyone made a different kind of waffle. I loved that I got all the great fresh flavors with the sweet ice cream.
So here is to the great ideas of others that we all love to share.

I guess it is time to update!

2009-08-09T15:43:00.001-07:00

We have had so much fun the last few months.

The kids watched a movie outside in the backyard.
Isaac is loving Oakley. They are both getting so big.

We spent a day at six Flags. Nicole and Aaron played in the ground fountains. We didn't bring dry shoes and they ended up with prune feet. Their feet hurt so bad they couldn't walk out of the park.

Here are the long awaited Baptismal photos of Isaac. It was a great day.

I took the kids to a spray park. They had so much fun.

We went to the Columbia River Maritime Museum. The kids loved all the cool ships and equipment.

Before we went to the CRMM, we spent time hiking and enjoying the great weather in the south western part of Washington (it was a family reunion). I got to see most of my family. I think that only 2 of my cousins didn't come.

and yes the dog came with us. She almost was better than the kids.

I thought it was so funny that all the pet areas were the worst place in the rest stop to let your dog out. They usually had sticker weeds that were awful for man or dog to have to walk on. But the view from this rest area was so beautiful.

Aaron has a great Idea!

2009-07-19T21:42:00.000-07:00

The other day I was talking to Aaron about something I wanted. I am not sure now what it was I wanted but at the time seemed important. He looked at me and told me to write a letter to Santa. I thought for a moment and asked why he thought I needed to write a letter to Santa. His response is just what a 6 year old would say. "Mom, if you write Santa a letter he can bring it for you." Me thinking like a mom and grown-up. "Where is the money going to come from to pay for it?" "Santa doesn't need money he just gives it to you if you ask. (Aaron)" Now if that is not thinking I don't know what is. I loved that he has such a great belief that Santa can give you anything if you just ask.

Isaac Birthday Party and Baptism

2009-06-21T18:48:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was a great day for Issac. He had his birthday party (I know it was a few weeks after his birthday) and he had his baptism. I am so proud of him.
He is a new kid. He got up this morning, got dressed for church put on a white button up shirt with a tie, and a belt. We have been trying for the past year and a 1/2 to get him to wear that combo to church. SO I am so excited. He looks so sharp. He loves to carry his scriptures with him. He loves that they are green his favorite color.
His baptism was great. Christian gave the talk on the Holy Ghost and Isaac followed him up on the stand. Isaac could not decide which seat was perfect for him so he tried out every row until he was at the very top next to the wall. I was amazed at all the people who were in the chapel. The entire chapel was full and they had about 6 rows of chairs in multi purpose room. There were 5 kids and 1 convert baptism that was taking place. The majority of the people were for the Tongan children and convert. It was a great sight to see. The spirit was really strong. Isaac only had to be dunked once. While we waited for the conformation we sang primary songs. And then he received the holy ghost. He was glowing with excitement and happiness. I am hoping he will remember this for a long time.
As soon as I down load the pictures I will post them.

New Adventure of a naughty puppy!

2009-06-10T08:21:00.000-07:00

Oakley loves to be outside as long as you are out there with her. Well one mid morning I had a great thought : I will put you in the back yard and you can hang out in the warm sun. Well, she moaned by the sliding glass door for about 10 minutes and then gave up and laid down on the patio next to the door. I was thinking "this is great we have made real progress" I was so excited that she would just lay by the door and enjoy the day by her self. Well, I went to see how she was doing about 20 minutes later and she was gone. Not just laying in the yard under a tree and I couldn't see her, but really gone. I started to panic, I was running all over the yard (OK it is more like walking fast, my yard is only 55 feet wide) and yelling for Oakley. I could not find her anywhere. I went back in the house thinking that she had gone in while I was not looking, but no luck. I went out the front door and continued to call for. All of a sudden I could hear her in my neighbors side yard. I ran into the house and into the backyard. She had her head sticking through the hole in the fence. I called and called for her to come. But she just looked at me and then looked back at where she was. I thought "what does she think she is doing?" Well I finally got her back in my yard and in the house. A little more calm. Well I went out to see how she got into my neighbors yard and I was amazed, but should not have been .
We have a wood fence that is about 10 years old. When a wooden fence is about 10 years old it starts fall apart. Well there were to 2 slats that had fallen down and we hadn't fixed them yet. Instead (here is the brilliant part) we put our wheel barrow, in front of the hole. I thought it was a great idea until we could get the fence fixed. Well, Oakley pushed over the wheel barrow and climb into my neighbors yard. Now when Christian came home from work he had a hole to fix. Lets just say that she has not climbed into my neighbors yard since.

Here are a few of the things that she has consumed in the last month or so. I still wonder how she is still walking around. 2 electric tooth brushes and one battery, the Halti harness that we take her on walks with (she ate every thing but the buckles). She ate Aurora (OK she became a quadruple amputee), she ate few books, toilet paper, paper towels, 1/2 a loaf of bread, a water bottle full of water. Now if this was your dog wouldn't you learn that she needs to be watch constantly. I think she has gotten better since she gets to sleep in the house instead of in her kennel in the garage.

Isaac turned 8!

2009-05-26T16:03:00.000-07:00

I love that we have had Isaac for 8 years. I kept telling him that he was not really 8 until 11:30 pm on the 25th, because that is when he was born. He told us that he was going to stay up and wait for his birthday to arrive. I just laughed and told him he really was 8 in the morning. Because he was not staying up until 11:30pm on Monday.

We let him open his gifts on Saturday instead of Monday, because he got his own set of scriptures with a nice case to carry them in. He also got a few other things to play with. He also got a bike at the beginning of the month. He out grew his.

I don't know if it was that he is now 8 and realizes that it is a big deal or if he is just growing up, but on Sunday he got up and was the first one ready to go to church.

Are they done yet!

2009-05-26T15:56:00.000-07:00

Today I finally broke down and made lemalade (lemonade) Popsicles. My kids love them. So, I have them in the freezer and all I have heard for the past 3 hours(that is how long they have been in the freezer) is are they done yet. My response to the kids is after dinner. I didn't think that I was unclear on the time but for some reason they don't seem to remember that it is only 4 and dinner is usually after 5:30. I don't know if I will last the next 1 1/2 hours. We will have to see.

We did have a great day with homework Isaac did all the pages he needed to do today in about
1 1/2 hour. I am so proud of him.

I did a Metric Centry Ride. Well almost!

2009-05-17T14:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was so much fun. Me, Gretchen Stone, and Erica Young decied that we were going to do a centry ride like our husbands. We thought we can do it, it won't be that difficult. Well, I never rode my bike up any hills (over passes, but they are not monster hills). We started out and my bike seat was to low and to far forward. This great guy who was riding with us adjusted it for me. We found out later that the 3 men that kept us company and going, were part of the ride company. They were there to make sure we made it back in one piece. I am so greatful for them. They help in so many ways.
Well we got about 32 miles into the ride and we came to a hill that was a 30 to 40 minute climb, for me that meant it would take me about double that time. As I started up the hill I made it about 10 minutes of riding and my legs started to cramp. I got off my bike thinking that it would be better to walk the rest of the way, as soon as I took my first step my legs cramped up so bad I was in a squat and trying not to cry. My friend Erica was with me and called for Christian to come back and get me. Christian and Rob Stone loaded me in the Tahoe and Christian rode my bike the rest of the way up the hill and into the lunch station. SO my husband was able to participate. He told me after, that I had it in one of the harder gears and that is probably why I was using so much energy to go up the hills.
I am so glad that our husbands drove after us, I was in serious pain. We got back to the lunch station and I thought, oh I can make it the rest of the way. I sat down for about 20 minutes and tried to stand and my legs cramped up again. Well that was the end of my ride for the day. I made it 32 miles.
Here is a link to the pictures and route that we did. http://www.robstone.org/kaiya_public_html/part82/

This is our friends website. The pictures of all of us are there.

Why do dogs, do what they do!

2009-05-13T13:15:00.000-07:00

I would love to say that my dog is the best dog ever. But over the last two day she dug up my tomato plants and shreded a roll of toilet paper under the middle of my bed. I was ready to send her to the dog farm yesterday for the tomatos. But we love her none the less.

The best at home vacation ever!

2009-05-11T19:54:00.000-07:00

This was a great weekend. Not only was it mothers day but we got some great company to go with it. My in-laws came to visit. We had the really good food and enjoyed the weekend with great conversation. We made a trip up to the temple, for Pat and John to see how beautiful the Sacramento Temple is. I love our temple. I do have a great love for the Bountiful Temple (that is where Christian and I were married) but I love that we have a temple close by.

Isaac didn't want to be in the picture so I took one with him on the edge so everyone would know he was at the temple with us.

Latest and Greatest

2009-05-11T13:30:00.001-07:00

We have had a lot that happened the last month. We had the cousins spend the weekend, we had a family movie night, the kids ran through the sprinklers.
So much fun.

Aaron!

2009-04-24T13:07:00.000-07:00

My man Aaron is such a funny guy. He is always full of questions and loves to have anyone and everyone play with him. Today was an extra challenging day for me with him. He got out of bed 15 minutes late for school, he got dress 20 minutes after he got up. OK I know school starts really early (7:45 AM) but this was a really bad morning. The worst part is that the carpool came to get both boys and Aaron was in the middle of brushing his teeth. I had to send Isaac out and off to school without Aaron. He came out of the bathroom and asked where his breakfast was. I not so quietly looked at him and said "you will have to eat a pb&j on the way to school". "Get your shoes on." He just looked at me and asked where his shoes were. Yeah his shoes were not on his feet either. While I was gathering up his shoes and socks from his room I hear screaming and crying coming from the living room. I walk out to find the Aaron in tears and the dog eating his sandwich. I rush to make another sandwich. This time I put it high enough the dog can't reach it. He gets his shoes on and we rush out to the car. The time is 7:50am, yes we are officially late. It is a good thing the school is only 2 blocks from the house. We walk into his class to see that his wonderful teacher is still visiting with parents. So I am officially bribing my children to do what I want. Today I bought the boys matching sheet sets. They are the "Clone Wars". Aaron will get to sleep in his new sheets if he can get out of bed every morning when the alarm goes off. No more dragging him out of bed. If he can not get out of bed, he will lose his bedding for a few days until he can get out of bed a few days in a row. I really hope this works. I know that he can get up and ready. While my mom was here he got up everyday and got ready with out her having to get after him. I will keep you posted on how he is doing.

If you want to be happy......

2009-04-24T12:44:00.000-07:00

If you want to be happy all the time, stay in your pajamas and watch cartoons all day. Rachel McCullough age 9

Washington DC

2009-04-20T21:33:00.000-07:00

We had such a great time on our vacation in Washington DC. We spent 5 Days running around. I think the Museum of American History made the biggest impression on us. We were able to experience a small amount what the 4 black young men went through when they would not be served at the Woolworth's (they had the original soda counter from the store). An actor portraying a friend of the 4 individuals, he was telling about what it felt like and how it had to change, but not to do it violently. They had 4 individuals from the audience sit on four stools while the rest of us came as close as you can get with out touching the 4. You could feel the tension in the air as we stood starring at these people. The instructions for the audience were to not touch but stand as close as possible. He taught us a song, that the individuals that were arrested would sing in jail. It would keep up the spirits of those in jail.
We also got to see the Star Spangled Banner Flag. That was amazing. I could not believe that it was so large. No wonder Francis Scott Key could see it. There was a wing about the wars from the beginning of the United States. From the French and Indian War until the present. We got a kick out of the posters that they had for individuals to support WWII.
There is so much to see we could have spent 2 more weeks.
We spent a day in Fredricksburg. It has a sunken road that was the bloodiest day for the Union army. We found out that there are still trenches that the Southern army dug. Fox holes, we could not believe that they have survived all this time.
We spent one day in Williamsburg. It was so fun to see things that I had been reading about in "Founding Mothers". The end our visit in Williamsburg the British did invade and we watched them march down main street. Williamsburg was full of period actors. I loved all the time I got spend with Christian.
We had the best hosts. They had a beautiful home and it was great to stay with such a great couple.

So funny!

2009-04-14T13:12:00.000-07:00

I recieved this e-mail from a friend and I thought I would share it with everyone.

BANNED FROM WAL-MART

This is why women should not take men shopping against their will.

After I retired, my wife insisted that I accompany her on her trips to
Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, like most men, I found shopping boring and
preferred to get in and get out.

Equally unfortunately, my wife is like most women - she loved to browse.
Yesterday my dear wife received the following letter from the local
Wal-Mart:

Dear Mrs. Samsel,

Over the past six months, your husband has been causing quite a
commotion
in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and have been forced to
ban
both of you from the store. Our complaints against Mr. Samsel are listed
below and are documented by our video surveillance cameras.

1.20June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in people's
carts when they weren't looking.

2 . July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at 5-minute
intervals.

3. July 7: Made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the
women's restroom.

4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official voice,
'Code 3 in Housewares. Get on it right away. '

5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag of M &M's
on
layaway.

6. August 14: Moved a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.

7. August 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told other
shoppers he'd invite them in if they would bring pillows and blankets
from
the bedding department.

8. August 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him, he began crying
and screamed, 'Why can't you people just leave me alone?'

9. September 4: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a
mirror while he picked his nose.

10. September 10: While handling guns in the hunting department, he
asked
the clerk where the antidepressants were.

11. October 3: Darted around the store suspiciously while loudly humming
the 'Mission Impossible' theme.

12. Octob er 6: In the auto department, he practiced his 'Madonna look'
by
using different sizes of fu nnels.

13.. October 18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed through,
yelled 'PICK ME! PICK ME!'

14. October 21: When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he
assumed a fetal position and screamed 'OH NO! IT'S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!'

And last, but not least ..

15. October 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile,
then yelled very loudly, 'Hey! There's no toilet paper in here!'

Sorry about the size

2009-04-03T14:50:00.000-07:00

I thought "Oh look how cute a side show of all the pictures I want to post" did not realize that it would be so large that part of it would be missing from the page. I am a beginner when it comes to posting and I have stayed away from unknown things. Well look what happens when I cross that line into the unknown. I get the exlarge (but I must say that it didn't cost me an extra $.35), when really I just wanted the medium or even a small would have been nice. To all those that come to look at the pictures and read the comments, I am truly sorry for the extra large slide show. Before I post another slide show, I will see what I can do to fix my error.

Fun Things

2009-04-03T14:10:00.001-07:00

This past month we did some fun things.
Here are a few of the things that we did.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Life seen through our eyes
My kids are learning the finer points of how to drink rootbeer
Nicole loves the thought of being a mom so she has a favorite pose(being pregnant)
We had a new built-in-cabinet made for the hole under the TV (I love that I have some thing nice to look at)
Nicole and her cute friends Kiaya and Abby came over and We had a beauty salon. I loved it
We got a new garage door
Nicole and Aaron love digging and getting all messy.
Oakley loves to chew on everything
We had fun at the exploritorium
We saw an episode of Ask this old house(just for kids) They made Water Rockets. Christian and Isaac had so much fun making the rocket launcher and then launching the rocket. It was only about 55 degrees when they did this, it got pretty cold after a few launches. (you use water to propel the rocket)

10 Years Yesterday!

2009-03-13T15:26:00.001-07:00

10 Years. I am so happy that it seems like yesterday that we got married. We got to have a great celebration. We just did it last weekend. My brother and Sister-in-law took our kids for the weekend.(we have a swap set up so we both get to have time just as a couple, every one should do this). Well back to my fun weekend. We started on Friday with dinner at Cafe Bernardo, such a great place to eat and realx (super yummy food) and then rented a movie. On Saturday morning we went on 14 mile bike ride, in the afternoon we went bowling for the Big Brothers, Big sisters organization. In the evening Christian suprised me and took me to a Play "Little Women" the musical. It was really good. After the play we went to "The Tower Cafe". I don't know if it was because it was 11:30 at night or that we were so hungry, but I can't remember eating food that tasted so good. It is food from Mexico/south america, everyone should try it.
We did have a great day yesterday. Christian came back from his trip and we took the kids to our favorite Chineese Resturant, in Natomas. The kids loved it. We told them we had been married 10 years. They were not sure what to think. Aaron just asked if he was at our wedding. We both just laughed and said "nope none of you were at our wedding".
Just think 50 years doesn't seem that far away.
We are also going away because 10 years is a time to celebrate.......We are taking a trip to Washington DC in April. I am so excited I have always wanted to go the the Smithsonian.
I hope you all have as much fun on your anniversary as I had on mine.

The 6th of the 6th

2009-03-01T15:14:00.000-08:00

I was tagged on Jamie Petersen's blog , so here it goes.

The rules:

1.Go to your document/pictures file on your computer

2.Go to the 6th file

3.Go to the 6th picture

4. Blog about that picture

5. Tag 6 other people

Here's my picture:

This was taken the day before Christian went back to work. For the past 5 years Christian has had Dec 25th until the First Monday in January off. It has been such a great thing for us. This year we went to the Exploritorium and played on the beach with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. I really like him with a beard, but he really doesn't like it all that much because he is going grey. So for the week he was off, he grew it out just for me. Such a sweet husband.

The six that I tag are: Christine Fisher, Marci Hansen, Emily Moss, Garrett Brown, Stephanie Fry, Kristina Cox

I am excited to see what you post.

The Wicked Witch of the House

2009-03-01T15:02:00.000-08:00

Today Nicole and Christian were playing. She got mad at him and called him the wicked witch of the house. She is so funny. She has started using words I didn't know she knew the correct way to use it. Frustrated is the new term she uses. She was at the park with her friends on friday and got separated from them. When we were eating dinner that night she was telling Christian all about her day and playing with Kiaya and Abby . She got this look on her face and thru her hands out to her side and said "I got, well, frustrated when I could not find my friends." We just looked at her in amazement and said "you got frustrated?" "Yeah that is what I did got, Frustrated." Now that is her favorite word. She is getting frustrated at every thing now.
We love that she is getting big. I hope she continues to use big words for a 3 year old.

If some one cut off my nose!

2009-01-28T20:14:00.001-08:00

Today Nicole was pushing the dog. She was taking her wagon and pushing it into the dog. I told her she had to stop touching the dog:
Nicole: I am not touching Oakley.
Mom: Stop pushing your wagon into the dog or you will go to your room.
Nicole: All of me
Mom: Yes all of you needs to leave the dog alone
Nicole: All of me in my room
Me: Yes all of you will be put in your room
Nicole: What about my nose?
Me: Yes your nose will be in your room with you.
Nicole: What if some one breaks in and cuts off my nose?
Mom: Nobody is going to cut off your nose.
Nicole: what if my nose gets cut off and is touching Oakley.
Mom: Now that is just silly. Why would your nose be missing and touching the Oakley?
Nicole: So that it would have to go to time out.
Now if that is not thinking I don't know what is.

My kids and our dog

2009-01-26T21:06:00.000-08:00

The Golden Gate Bridge in the back ground. New Years weekend 2009.

We had such a great day at the Exploratorium in San Francisco.

For Christmas we got a Magic Bullet. We have made smoothies in them almost every night. The kids love it because they get to choose which frozen fruit they have in their cup.

They had to show off their mustaches.

Nicole loves make-up. So I decided one night that we could do some mommy/daughter bonding this is the end results. Nicole loved her beads and earrings. We went to the DI and bought all the clip on earrings and all the bead necklaces that they had. Nicole has been in heaven ever since.

I think that I could be a model! If only Nicole would go pro as a make-up artist.

Nicole is definitely the queen of her own style.

Over the last month Nicole has been walking around the house singing "Hello, Hello." This is now her favorite primary song. She has been telling us all about John the Basket and how he was Jesus' friend. She is such a funny little girl.

This weekend was the annual Monster Truck show at the Arco Arena. So Christian and the boys went with a group of friends (because it is boys weekend only). The boys loved the the cars that transformed into robots. It was a great night for all.

Nicole and I stayed home. We painted each others Nails. My toes ended up with paint up to the knuckles, it was still very fun to spend just mom and daughter time together. Nicole had a blast being big enough to use the finger nail polish. She read to me out of the scriptures and told me lots about the pictures in the Book of Mormon. We ended the evening with watching the beginning of "Mama Mia". Now before anyone gasps that I showed it to a 3 year old, she only made it through about 5 minutes of the movie and was a sleep. Her new favorite song is "Mama Mia" She tries to sing it. But after she was a sleep I got to watch it in full and loved it. I guess all that ABBA music growing up just grew on me.

I get a kick out of watching the kids love our dog. She is so good with them and she still treats them like puppies on a few occasions. You would think that Nicole and the dog are like magnets. Nicole can not leave Oakley alone for more than 30 seconds with out climbing on top of her, or rolling over her, whispering in her ear (she really hasn't mastered the whisper part, but it is still cute), and when Oakley has had enough she will growl and then snip a little. Which is when Nicole comes in crying and I give her a big hug and a big reminder that Oakley needs some space. Then she leaves and goes right back to being with the dog. Aaron is so funny, he will walk in the house see Oakley and say "I knew you missed me the most." I love to hear him say that to her. But he will get her so wound up that I have to step up and keep that dog from plowing him over. Isaac loves to help walk her, she is so strong that it is more of her walking them. She is getting so much better since we got the Halti, it has made all the difference with her. He loves to brush her and feed her. I love that he is starting to get responsible.

This year is coming to an end!

2008-12-29T21:29:00.000-08:00

We have had a great last 2 months. Aaron turned 6, Nicole turned 3, Thanksgiving (a 24 hour drive to Salt Lake and back), Oakley came to live with us, Boys went back to school, 3 weeks in school then off for christmas, Christmas, and then here we are today.

Lone Peak (We miss our mountains)

We had such a great Thanksgiving. It was so much fun to see family and all the cousins that live in Utah. The kids got to play in snow and asked "how do you make a snowball?" Christian was able to get a few new t-shirts from Alta Ski Resort (his favorite place to ski). We also got a new puppy (well she is not so little, but not full grown). Her name is Oakley and we love her. We had to hide all things that are made of paper and all the shoes in the house (she just can't seem to consume enough of these two items). She is now finally puppy potty trained. No more accidents (keep your fingers crossed).

Now you know we are not use to snow. Nicole is in a dress. We celebrated Cade's birthday. I think this is a great way to eat a cake, just dive right in.

The kids had a blast trying to break the Unicorn Pinata
We are teaching our kids young how to play the slots (fun times at Christian's Aunt and Uncles home)

Hogal Zoo wasn't to cold on Thanksgiving Morning. The one thing Nicole asked for when we went to see her grandma's and papa's was to have my parents take her to the Zoo. So on Thanksgiving Morning we walked around the Hogle Zoo.

Here she is our beautiful black lab.

We had a great Christmas. We went to my brothers house in Tracy on Christmas Eve and had a great time. There were lots of people to hang out with. The kids decorated Gingerbread cookies after dinner and they sure looked tasty with all the toppings.
Nicole, Madelyn, Jillian had so much fun playing togetherAaron is the Christmas "Ferre" .The making of the cookies.

Aaron could not wait to go home and play with his new "star wars oven"

Got to love the boots.

My brother Bryan what a goof.

Fun weekend with the cousins!

2008-11-18T13:33:00.001-08:00

We had so much fun this weekend. Here are a few of the pics to share with everyone.

Random things that have happened in the last month!

2008-11-18T13:06:00.001-08:00

The kids carved there own pumpkins for Halloween. Aarons pumpkin was so hungry that it ate its own eye.
Isaacs pumpkin has a scary mouth.

Daddy help Nicole carve her happy pumpkin.

Isaac went on a walking field trip to the pumpkin patch.

We had a fun time for Halloween. Isaac was Luke Skywalker, Aaron was Indian Jones, Nicole was a Lion (she says she was a tirger)

Christian is the "saftey guy"

Nicole and some of her little friends at the pumpkin patch. They had wagons for us to use to collect the pumpkins we wanted to buy, but Nicole thought it was great just to give the pumpkins a ride around the patch.
One of the first rainy days of winter. My kids and some of their friends were playing with pillow cases and pretending they were rocks.

Aaron is 6!

2008-11-18T12:40:00.000-08:00

Aaron is now 6!

Aaron is so big now that he is 6. He had such a fun birthday and loved all the gifts that he got. The one thing he asked me for this year was a rectangle chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.

We had the california cousins stay the weekend and on Saturday he had his best friend Emily come over for icecream.

Oatmeal-Honey Waffles

2008-11-10T08:52:00.000-08:00

For breakfast yesterday I made the best waffles ever. My kids love breakfast food and I was excited to find a new flare to something so good.
you can see a picture of the waffles at http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1851557

Oatmeal-Honey Waffles
Prep: 20 min., Bake: 10 min., Cool: 10 min., Cook: 15 min.
Yield
Makes 8 waffles (serving size: 1 waffle)
Ingredients
1 cup uncooked regular oats
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, separated
1 1/2 cups 1% low-fat milk
4 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons honey
Toppings: butter, maple syrup

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake oats in a single layer in a shallow pan 10 minutes or until lightly toasted, stirring after 5 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack 10 minutes. Process oats in a blender or food processor 30 seconds or until finely ground.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; stir in ground oats.
3. Beat egg whites at high speed with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.
4. Whisk together egg yolks, milk, butter, and honey in a medium bowl; gently stir into oat mixture. Gently fold in egg whites just until blended.
5. Cook batter in a preheated, oiled waffle iron until golden. Serve each waffle with 1 tsp. butter and 1 Tbsp. maple syrup, if desired.
Note: Nutritional analysis totals include 1 tsp. butter and 1 Tbsp. maple syrup.
Nutritional Information
Calories:
312 (0.0% from fat)
Fat:
12g (sat 6.8g,mono 3.3g,poly 0.9g)
Protein:
7.1g
Carbohydrate:
45g
Fiber:
1.6g
Cholesterol:
72mg
Iron:
2.1mg
Sodium:
253mg
Calcium:
122mg
Southern Living, NOVEMBER 2008

Understanding how a baby eats.

2008-11-07T21:53:00.001-08:00

I have a funny story to share with everyone about Nicole. She is almost 3 and loves to ask lots of questions. Yesterday, a friend was over for a great afternoon of just hanging out. She has 3 kids, and her youngest is 6 weeks old. Nicole sat on the couch and was asking her about feeding the baby. Nicole asked about feeding the baby from her tummy, She told Nicole that she feeds him milk from her tummy. Nicole thought that was so interesting, she wanted to know why she was feeding the baby milk, I told her that, that is what new babies eat because they have no teeth. My friend finished and put her nursing pad back in place. Nicole wanted to know what she was doing "I am putting the nursing pad so that I don't get milk on my shirt."

Nicole came up to me a little while later and had a bulge in her shirt. I ask what she was doing with her shirt. She pulled out the pad to her doll high chair and said "I need to put my knee pad in so that my milk doesn't get on my shirt." I don't think I have laughed so hard as I did at that moment. I was crying.

We went to "Boat"

2008-11-04T20:48:00.001-08:00

Today with the election, Christian came home for an early lunch so that we could go vote. The kids did great and we were able to vote with out any distractions from our kids. As we were driving home from the polling place Nicole wanted to know when we were going to go "Boat". At first we said we just voted and she said that we did not go on a boat. We had to chuckle at what she heard us say as to what we really said. So we asked her if she wanted to go on Papa John's boat. She told us that would be fun.
I just have to laugh because I am sure that there are more "Boats" that Nicole hears than just this one.

School is out!

2008-10-25T08:51:00.000-07:00

We a have just completed our first trimester of the school year. And my kids are so excited, they will be off track for 5 weeks. I have been asked if I like year round school compared to traditional, well I thought about it and I really have nothing to compare it to. I think you make work what ever you have. I was torn before my kids started school, because the only thing that I had any memory of was traditional, but now that my kids are in school and have great teachers I don't mind year round, you just have to be creative in finding things to do for your kids, but I think you have to do the same thing during the summer if they are off for 3 months. I love that I have 4 options to choose from. I did have Isaac on a different track when he was in kindergarten and didn't really like the track, but the one we are on now really fits our family. I think that the best perk to year round is that we have opportunities to travel a couple times out the year, not just during the summer or over Christmas. So for all those that have wondered about traditional vs year round, I think you have to do what is available and what you feel fits your family the best.

:) Happy days are here again!

2008-10-19T16:03:00.001-07:00

I am elated today and I hope the joy continues for the next couple of years. MY husband joined our family to get to church. Yes that is right I am no longer the widow on sunday morning drives to church. Christian is no longer in meetings on sunday mornings. This has been a 3 year adventure. The kids all were so amazed that he was with us, they were even more amazed that he gets to ride in the same car as us to go home. I loved that I had an extra voice this morning to get everyone dress and out the door with out pulling my hair out. I am very greatful he had the calling he did and now it is time for new things. I am sure that it will be a new adventure in his new calling. Everyone brace your selves Christian was just called as the Weblos Leader. OK, now that you all know that he was called to do this, I have to explain a short story about him. The only time he ever threated to run a way from home when he was little was when he had to go to cub scouts.
I am waiting to see what new things he will inspire the 10 years with. I know that there are scouters out there and if you have any words of wisdom for Christian please pass them along, I am sure he would love to hear from you.

A pet that came to visit

2008-10-18T10:43:00.000-07:00

We had a special guest in our back yard this summer. He was a Horned Tomato Worm. Nicole loved to see him and loved to poke at it. I was going to kill the thing but had a change of heart when Nicole loved him so much. All it did was eat. I have had bugs in my yard but nothing that ate and ate and ate. I really did not care if it lived, because I was done with the tomato's for the year. I went out last week and found that it was no longer on the tomato plants. I hope that he is either turing into a moth or was a tasty treat for the many types for birds around.

New things

2008-10-18T10:20:00.001-07:00

Christian did all the work on my new closet. He is removing the old shelf and rail.
I love to watch him work. Thanks John for your example to Christian.
My usable space tripled . My favorite part is the hamper (not shown).

We bought an early christmas present for ourselves. I am loving my new closet. I had an idea that we could get more use out of the closet space we had in our master bedroom. I had no idea how much usable space that was in my closet. I love what I found. I used http://www.easycloset.com/ to construct the beautiful closet we have now.

Aaron has come up with a great solution!

2008-10-07T08:47:00.000-07:00

Aaron came home from school and told me he wanted to be a Kindergarten teacher when he grows up. I thought that was great. He proceeded to tell me about the great things you do in Kindergarten. He said his teacher is the best and he wants to be just like her. Then he told me he was going to be "the Cops" like his uncle Garrett (he also wants to be a police officer). I asked him how he was going to do both of them. I get this response "Well mom see, I am going to teach little kids how to be cops so that when they grow up they will love kindergarten and cops." I am trying not to keep a straight face, and keep him talking."You know mom you have to teach us little to know that you want to be that."
I just love that he has solved the problem of all those that didn't know you can just teach it to them in kindergarten and they will grow and do that.

To Shop!

2008-09-25T20:06:00.000-07:00

I this last weekend I went shopping with some friends at a great store in San Francisco. We started our adventure with finding our parking garage, which was in between the pedicures at Silk and the H&M store. We had a fantabulous pedicure, leg massage, and sitting massage. We ventured on to the streets of San Francsico and walked for a while to get the clothing extrazaganza of all stores. The prices were great and the enviroment was electric. When I walked in and didn't know quit where to start. So using my deductive reasoning I just moved from one section to the next, just fill up my arms, tried on the clothes, walk out with 2 or 3 things that fit great. I think I was in the dressing room 7 or 8 times before I made my final choices(I tried on 11 to 15 things each time). Time seemed to just stand still, well we know that it really can't do that, but it was the best 3 to 4 hours of shopping I have ever done. Probably because I was with out any children. Yeah, I got a free afternoon/evening with great company, and a store that you could just get lost in. I know that I will have to do a by-yearly trip. We ended our evening with a great dinner at Santorini(I think that is how it is spelled) a Mediterranean Resturant. I am so greatful for the best husband in the whole world that came home from work, so that I could get out and play with some friends.

Olden Times!

2008-09-25T19:54:00.000-07:00

Isaac is so funny. He keeps asking me questions that start with "Mom in the olden times did they have this...." Today the question was "Mom in olden times did they have Star Wars?" I told him that Star Wars came out in the olden times first and now kids his age are getting to enjoy the things that the people like Christian and myself got to enjoy.
He asked us if they had cars in the olden times--you know when We were little. I think it is funny to think of me growing up in the olden times. I guess to a 6 year old, 30 something belongs in the olden times. I wonder how Nicole will look at us when she turns 6 or even 12. Will we be in the super olden times.

Isaac waiting for the tooth fairy!

2008-09-07T20:05:00.000-07:00

Isaac lost his first top tooth yesterday. We had so much fun with friends that he forgot to put his tooth under his pillow. So tonight he remembered that he needed the tooth fairy to come for his tooth. He put his tooth under his pillow and layed down. I was walking down the hall and noticed that he was a sleep, or so I thought. He opened his eyes, sat up, lifted his pillow. To his suprise his tooth was still under his pillow (he had only been in bed about 10 minutes). He looked at the baggie his tooth is in and said " I know I was a sleep for at least 1/2 hour, why would the tooth fairy not take my tooth." I just love that he thought she would come , even if he was not a sleep.

A boat with no oars is....well, indicative of a very tough childhood

2008-09-05T17:06:00.000-07:00

After watching the presidential conventions over the last two weeks and listening to the obligatory hard-luck story associated with each of the candidates... you know, the daddy-didn't-love-me-and-I-ate-dirt-while-living-in-a-humble-shack-but-mama-picked-me-up-by-the-bootstraps-and-sent-me-to-a-prestigous-law school story, or the can't-comb-my-own-hair-because-my-arms-don't-work-on-account-of-being-tortured-for-five-years story I wondered what kind of hard luck story our children would tell if they were trying to paint a picture of their own humble beginnnings.

Well, I had a glimpse of what might be said during that convention speech and it goes something like this: Isaac grew up in a small home on the North side of Sacramento, sharing a bunkbed with his brother. His room was barely big enough to hold the bunkbed they shared, let alone the small hand-me-down computer, running an outdated version of Windows 95, and an amazingly small 512mb of RAM. His toys, equally modest, consisted of a hodge-podge assortment of Legos, Matchbox cars, and a cache of plastic weaponry that would barely outfit a small town militia. His father, a humble yet handsome lunch-pail miner eeked out a meager living by working for "the man" and dreaming of the day when circumstance would lead to a better tomorrow. His mother, a saint of a woman, labored tirelessly caring for the three children to whom she would devote the best years of her life. She, sacrificing a shot at a big-city job with a big-city paycheck to care for her family, knew that education and opportunity for her children could, in a real sense, change the world. Change, yes....that is what America is all about. To rise above the mediocrity and same-ness of middle-class suburbian life, to stand-up against those who would hold you down.

Isaac and Aaron recall with a smile the time their parents scrapped together a few dollars before a holiday weekend to purchase a small 2-man inflatable boat...no, hardly a boat it was more like a dingy...no, a raft would characterize it best. Small guage plastic, very thin when compared to the other kids rafts, but non-the-less it was a bright spot in an otherwise bleak existence. Isaac remembers well spending hours with his brother Aaron and some close family friends playing pirates, and Jaws, and throw-your-brother-overboard type games on that raft. However, Isaac's boat was different from the other kids. Not only was the plastic thin and the graphics poor, his boat had no oars. Yes, you heard that right, no oars! Isaac and Aaron yearned for the day that they too could paddle their humble dingy around the lake just like the other "privileged" kids. But, alas, it was not to be. One day however, they promised themselves, they would be back.....with oars!

It is with great honor, that tonight we nominate for President of the United States, Isaac Brown and his VP Aaron Brown. And it is tonight that we say to America to rise up! Put on your life jackets! Rise up, inflate your dingys', or your rafts, or your arm floaties! Today, America can say with vim and vigor that this country is no longer like that raft of old floating aimlessly in Lake Natoma, anchored only by an insignificant rock tied to a rope using a very bad knot as security! No, America now has two brothers who know the meaning of struggle! Who know the meaning of starting small! Who know that someday, yes someday, no......they know that TODAY Americans everywhere can begin to move forward with OARS! Yes, they will not be denied the oars that their parents could not provide any longer! This country will no longer be rudder-less... err... oar-less! They will be like pit-bulls, without lipstick of course, paddling furiously towards freedom and prosperity for all!

Now that, my friends, is CHANGE you can believe in!!!!

Aaron and his missing tooth!

2008-09-05T16:51:00.000-07:00

I taught Aaron's CTR 6 primary class on sunday. One of his little friends had lost her tooth in the past week or so. He was so excited for her and the buzz in the class surrounded all the others that had lost their teeth. SO to make a long story short. We had been home from church about 2 hours, when Aaron came out of his room and informed me that his right front bottom tooth was ready to be pulled out. I was a little unsure of what he was talking about. I looked in his mouth and sure enough he has wiggled his tooth so much (with such determination) that it had to be pulled out. He acted like it was Christmas. He got up in the middle of the night because he could not find his tooth. Christian found the money that the Tooth Fairy left for him. Well, you know how little kids are with the things they recieve , He had to sleep with it until the sun came up at 5:30am-He then came and woke Christian up and asked if it was time to get up. I have a small idea of how Christmas will go at our home this year.

So today Isaac (who has 3 loose teeth) has decided that he needs to get them out of his mouth and has been working on them since this morning. We have one that is close but being stubborn.

The month of July and Aug.

2008-09-02T08:05:00.000-07:00

We spent the second weekend in Aug. with our friends the Bybee's at Lake Kirkwood for 3 days and 2 nights of camping. This was the best place we have ever camped. It is so beautiful and there are granite boulders that protrude from the ground everywhere. The kids chased Chipmunks, climbed and slid down the boulders. They were so dirty that I didn't think they would ever come clean. We will be camping here again in the future. When Nicole starts to sleep through the night, we can camp for a long period of time. Until then 1 night will do.

Isaac, Aaron, and Nicole on the last day before we went home. (The pants Aaron is wearing didn't make it home. He slid down the boulders so many times he wore 2 big holes in the bum)

We had so much fun camping with our friends the Bybee's. They have 3 kids and everyone played so well together.

Hank and Nicole found several bottles of water and made mud. When we found them they told us they were dirty little chipmunks.

On Aug 4th 2008 Isaac and Aaron started a new year of school. They were so excited the first day and the fun lasted for about 2 weeks, now they have deciced that they need to be off track and not getting up @ 6:50 AM every morning. The best part is they will go off track in November so I am sure they will be happy to get up at 6:50 and play.

Christian and some of the guys in our stake went to Tahoe and did the Fume Trail. It is an old flume that was used to carry water. This is an annual event for them and as Christian puts it "this is our book club for the year."

Isaac and Aaron took swim lessons for 2 weeks in July. They loved them and Nicole had a crush on teacher Chris.

Dinner Time Conversation!

2008-08-13T18:55:00.000-07:00

Tonight at dinner Nicole informed us that she has a baby in her tummy like our friend Christi, the baby is drinking juice in her tummy and she is sitting on a couch. She is also watching a movie. I told her that if this was what a baby had before it was born it may never come out of that mommies tummy.
She has such an active imagination she just cracks me up. She loves to talk, you have to look at her or she will grab your face and makes you look at her. She says "I talk you mom." It is such a great thing to have very verbal daughter.

Issac would like to tell you all about: aaron is funne. Isaac wrote this all by himself.
Nicole would like to tell you a joke:Why Aaron is a funny girl, because he is a boy not a girl.

Isaac's joke: Why did the chicken cross the road, to get to the other side:]

My kids love to tell jokes and they have passed them on to all of you.

Fun things we have done.

2008-08-06T12:56:00.000-07:00

We spent last Tuesday at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.

THe kids had so much fun. Nicole will sit and yell out "Yeah Shuka" in the middle of the livingroom she loved to see the Orka Whale and her sidekick Merlin the dolphin. The boys loved the Tony Hawk Rollercoaster and Nicole's favorite was the bouncing frog ride in the kid zone.

the last month of life for the Brown's

2008-06-20T16:31:00.000-07:00

Nicole wanted to be just like her brothers with there swords and sheilds.

It was really nice to see the Ocean again. We loved seeing the waves crash on the beach. We thought we were so prepared to be there. Everyone has a jacket except Nicole. We both thought the other had grabbed one for her but we were wrong so she wore my long sleeve shirt the whole time. I think she looks so cute.

We have had some great trips and enjoyed Isaac turning 7. We are also enjoying the last day of school for 6 weeks and then Aaron will be in Kindergarten and Isaac will be in 1st grade again(long story, if you want to know you can give me a call and I will update anyone on our choice.)

I am also gald that this week is almost done. I am off to girls camp for 5 days on Tuesday. I am so excited. Gamma Pat is comming to stay for the week. Everyone including those who are 7 and under can't wait for her to get here. Nicole informed us on Sunday that she was staying home from church to wait for her Gamma Pat. We told her that she was about a week off and she would be coming on Tuesday the next week. When you are 2 you can't keep track of all those days, so she has asked everyday if she was coming and if I was leaving.

The pictures are of us at the Scotish Festival, Bodega Bay (we were glad we went before price went above $4 a gallon), and Aaron at Friday sing.

Aaron is the child in the bright yellow shirt in the very front row of the group of kids.I just about fell off my chair when I saw the whole school do this. It is great.We had so much fun at the scotish festival . The boys loved being presented to the Queen of Scotland.They are showing off there skills to be knights if it is ever used again. We will all be safe with these two to protect us. :]

Book to Read!

2008-05-30T15:41:00.000-07:00

For the book club that I attend, we are reading the best book. Every woman should read this book. "Gift from the Sea" By Anne Lindbergh
Hope you all enjoy it as much as I have.

Childrens funnies!

2008-04-14T10:14:00.000-07:00

My children are the funniest little people that I know. They have invited and uninvited each other their birthday parties daily. They get mad and you are uninvited, which proceeds the crying and the you can't come to my party then. I didn't realize the if you were mad at someone you can just cut them out of your plans just like that. But when you are 2 and 5 you can do just about any thing you want. I think that the best is when Nicole tells us you are not my fend(friend) or you can be my fend. The funny children that are in our home just make me crazy some days, but I know that I am lucky to have them.
My boys learned how to play dodge ball this last week. Christian asked them if they would like to play this game. We have a large basket of tennis balls that sit on our patio. They were so excited to play and then the mayhem began and there was laughing and screaming with joy for about an hour, and then we had a casualty Isaac got one right on his head, and he just could not help but cry. I comforted him and after about 1 minute he was back at the game, but gave everyone a warning that they could not throw the balls at his head. I just laughed and thought they were crazy. We have had several games this last week.

Are you the only one with your name?

2008-02-15T09:52:00.000-08:00

I was reading my sister-in-laws blog and found a cool link that she has posted. It tells how many people in the US have your name. Here are the results for me.

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 160people with my namein the U.S.A.
How many have your name?

Thoughts that come out of kids mouths!

2008-01-30T09:33:00.000-08:00

Last night as I am putting my boys to bed & Isaac tells me that "daddy's mommy had him and I had Isaac and grandma had his mommy and his grandmas mommy had her , and when he gets big and gets married his wife will have his kids". I said that was right and he continued to ask if he has kids will I live far away like his grandma's? My kids think that the only time you see grandma is on vacation.
Nicole told me last night while I was trying to get her to say her personal prays, that not fold my arms, no say anyfing. She was protesting going to bed. I guess she didn't realize that you still go to bed even if you protest say your prayers.

Our Family!

2008-01-25T13:06:00.000-08:00

Nicole loves to sing We are the Champions.

My Unhappy 2 year old!

2008-01-25T12:44:00.000-08:00

I don't know how many of you have a 2 year old or had one at one time. But I have decided that she must go(ok her attitude) Nicole needed new shoes, so being the great mom I am, I took her to the shoe store. It was just her and I (Aaron and Isaac were at school) So she starts picking out the shoes that she wants and then the monster came out with it. I not want these ones mom, those ones, not those ones mom, Thoses ones (we were trying shoes on for about 1/2 hour) we had tried on all the shoes here size and she said to me no no no no no no no, I not do these shoes. She started to cry and she cried and cried and cried ( after she started to cry I just picked for her). We got out to the car and she continued to cry. I am not sure why she was so sad but I think she cried for about an hour and I finally put her to bed. I didn't know that girls cried for no logical reason.

Aaron Going to Kindergarten!

2008-01-17T21:58:00.001-08:00

On Tuesday January 22 Aaron will attend his first day of Midyear kindergarten. He will be in school Monday thru Friday, and will be done with school in June. HE will be attending regular Kindergarten this fall (so don't worry he is not only going to kindergarten for 6 months and then to 1st grade) This is a great opportunity for children who turn 5 and were not ready to go to school when the year started. For any of you who don't know, California has a later dead line date for enrollment to kindergarten ( I think it is the end of Nov. or early Dec. your child has to 5 on or before) So to make a long story short Aaron is able to participate in this great program. I wish all school districts (ok mine, but they don't) had this opption.