What's Lurking Outside Your Door?

Saturday morning I opened the door and saw this guy hanging out. The funny thing was Chuck and the kids had all gone out several minutes before I did and none of them saw it sitting there - How do you miss a SCORPION! Luckily it was dead and outside the house this time.

This is the 5th scorpion we've found at our house - 3 inside and 2 outside. Several weeks ago I was in bed reading and saw something scurry across the bedroom floor and take cover under our bed. I hollered at Chuck that he needed to find whatever it was that had ran across the floor. He casually looked under the bed with a flashlight and said he couldn't see anything. He thought it was probably just a cockroach. I knew it was NOT a cockroach and insisted he find whatever it was. Why - because I get up several times a night in the dark to feed a baby and I don't like the thought of who knows what kind of bug lurking in the dark. So reluctantly he kept looking and pulling out various things under the bed all the time he was sure I was just over reacting. Then he spotted it - a baby SCORPION! I was relieved but couldn't help but think are there other babies lurking in the shadows, where is the mom to this creature? Needless to say a scorpion is not a good thing to find just before you drift off for the night. I had all sorts of crazy dreams about bugs all night long.

Quick & Easy Room Redo

My sister told me about these cute stickers at Target and when I saw them I decided I needed to redecorate the big wall in Bella's room. Luckily we only needed to do a little cover up on the paint. We don't particularly like painting around here. I was also able to keep the stickers I already had on the wall. I think it turned out super cute!

Chuck and I put up the stickers late one night so I was excited to show Bella her new wall when she got up in the morning (despite the fact that she has an amazing dollhouse bed she still prefers to sleep in Samuel's room). The first thing she said when she walked in was, "Where's the pink?" Bella LOVES pink, but I don't like pink and that's why the walls are yellow and green. I showed her one of the owls was pink and there are a few pink flowers. She was quickly satisfied and then proclaimed, "Thanks mom, I love it!".

Isaac was in the room and was also very excited about the "rat" in the tree. The two of them ended up in an argument about who's room it was. Isaac was sure it was his new room, but Bella was quick to set him straight resulting in a lot of tears on his part. But not to worry the boys room is next on the list - not that Isaac actually sleeps in the boys room, but he will one of these days.

The big blank spot above the kitchen is where I'll hang the girls pictures once I actually get a few of them together.

Sisterly Love...or something like that

This picture just cracks me up!

I'm redecorating the girls room (will post some pictures later) and wanted to take pictures of the two of them together to go on the wall. I found the outfits, tracked down the bows, had the vision in my mind, but this is what I got - not quite the vision I was going for!

I thought I had taken a ton of pictures, but most of them looked this way or worse. Chuck's gotten a little tired of going with me on my picture escapades so I've gone by myself the past few times. But I sure needed someone to help get the babies attention. Poor Jenna had just had it with Bella bugging her. We'll just have to try again another day because I sure can't hang this on the wall!

And It's Gone

I finally decided it was past time to give Jenna her first hair cut. Just saying that makes me laugh since she really only had one little patch of hair. But that little patch sure was long. So now we have the Before and After shots.
It does look better with those unruly wisps gone! I figure it will probably take about 2 more years before she will need another trim!

One of THOSE Days!

Do you ever have one of those days where you're just sure poking an eye out would be less painful than dealing with the crisis at hand? To be honest, the whole day wasn't like that. In fact we had some really good things happen today.

Let me just preface this story by saying that I started out the morning taking Jenna to her 6 month well child check and she had to get shots. Never a pleasant thing for a mom to have to do! Consequently she was not feeling all that well throughout the rest of the day.

We've had to make a few adjustments in our seating arrangement in the Pilot. Isaac is now in the very back where he can no longer spit, hit or scratch people. Sounds like a wonderful plan until you take into consideration that I have to climb in the very back every time we go somewhere so I can strap him in the carseat. And he doesn't go in easily!

Today I'm loading up all the kids to take Samuel to Karate and I decided that I would let Bella sit in the back because I didn't really feel like wrestling with Isaac. Poor Jenna was so tired and not feeling well - now thinking about it I just shouldn't have tried to take Samuel to Karate today! Jenna would have fallen asleep on the drive, but Isaac was sitting next to her and despite all my threats kept touching and bugging her. For some reason, I then thought it was a good idea to tell Samuel who was sitting right next to Isaac that if he touched the baby again to grab his arm. So I ended up with both Jenna and Isaac screaming most of the ride to Karate.

So I Get to Karate - most days it's not to bad to entertain the 3 other kids while Samuel's taking his lesson, but today was not going my way. Jenna screamed if I wasn't walking around holding her. Bella was taking paper away from Isaac and making him scream. You get the picture. We had a lot of screaming taking place. I felt like I was getting to the end of my usually long rope!

Then Karate's over - I decide Isaac now needs to sit in the back. I crawl in the back to try and get him in his seat and today was blazing hot. He's trying to get away from me, he's arching, he's screaming, he's twisting and I'm in the parking lot trying not to look like the crazy mom in the back of her car wrestling a 2 year old! And did I mention it's Blazing Hot!! Somehow I FINALLY manage to get him strapped in and we're off. I really needed to make a stop at the grocery store, but there's NO WAY I'm unloading everyone again.

Now Bella's bugging poor Jenna who again is trying to sleep - more crying from the baby. Isaac's still fuming mad in the back and letting his voice be heard. It's at this point I call Chuck and tell him we're getting another vehicle, I can't take this madness any more! Then Samuel starts hollering that Bella's bleeding. Sure enough I look back and she has a bloody nose and blood is running everywhere. I hand her the only thing within my reach - a diaper and tell her to cover her nose with that.

Things are under control again, but Chuck's not going to be home for dinner. I had to feed the baby and when I was done I come out to see that Isaac's been throwing his food at Samuel and there's rice everywhere. But one small miracle - I see Chuck pulling in the driveway - much earlier than expected - Hallelujah!!!

Chuck and I both have meetings at the church at 7:00. I'm done with my meeting and Chuck comes out to help me load the kids. Of course Isaac doesn't want to get in his seat so now Chuck is in his shirt and tie wrestling Isaac in the back of the Pilot and it's still Blazing Hot. And for some reason I feel very satisfied watching him have to deal with this problem! Then I get the kids home and Isaac won't get out of his carseat. I can't leave him in the car because it's Blazing Hot so I end up having to wrestle the kid to get him out of the car!

I've NEVER thought I could drive a mini-van. I know they're convenient, I know it would make my life easier, I know lots of moms love them, but it's just NOT me. I LOVE driving my little red jeep with the top off! When you become a mom you surrender so many things and I feel like this is the one thing I just can't do, but I have to admit it's sure looking good these days!

Fun At Grandma & Grandpa's

I'm finally getting around to posting pictures from our trip to my parents home. We had a little family reunion this summer because my brother and his family flew out to spend the month. It had been a long time since I had taken the kids to my parents home. As we were getting close I had to warn the kids of all the hazards at Grandma and Grandpa's - the busy highway, the river and guns. The river is literally just feet off from my parent's back porch. Somehow we all survived growing up and most days during the summers would tube down the river, fish or just play in the water. But it does make me nervous with all the little kids running everywhere especially since one of my children has absolutely no fear of anything!


My mom worked really hard getting ready for all of us to come. She got my dad a swing set for his birthday - great gift for the grandkids, new dress up clothes for the girls, and all sorts of fun water toys.



We spent a lot of time outside riding the 4-wheelers, blowing bubbles, having water fights, catching bugs and throwing rocks in the river.



We actually all went out to eat at a restaurant - no small task with 10 grandkids 6 of which are 2 and under.

We also took the kids to the swimming pool and the park. I can't believe how fun they've made the little Helper pool. The kids had a great time and of course they always love going to the dino park.

We did lots of fishing.


Samuel was so excited that Grandpa bought him a bb gun to shoot. One morning, Samuel and my dad sat out on the lawn by the river with Grandpa cocking the gun for Samuel to shoot over and over again. The two of them were at it for a least an hour. When I went out to check on them, Samuel told me some pretty wild stories. Grandpa had shot the gun at one of the steel posts in the lawn and it bounced back and hit Samuel in the forehead. Then Grandpa shot the water bottle and the bb bounced back and hit Samuel in the knee. Then Samuel shot the water bottle and it bounced and hit Grandpa in the leg. So much for me warning Samuel to be careful with the guns!

Things That Make You Go Hmmm

Today I took Samuel for his Kindergarten assessment. (I'm SO glad he doesn't start school for another several weeks. I'm really having a hard time with this! You would think with 4 kids at home all day I would be relieved to have at least 1 gone for a few hours a day, but I about can't stand the thought!)

As were holding hands walking up the sidewalk to the school he looked at me and said, "Mom don't you think it's weird that the word little is big and word big is little."

Come to think of it that is kind of weird! Guess I shouldn't have worried about how he would do on his assessment.

Quick Trip

We made a very quick trip to Bountiful last weekend to see Chuck's brother and his family who were in town.


On Saturday we spent the morning at a little manmade lake in Herriman. It was overcast so it felt really quite pleasant which I was grateful for because I didn't pack my swimsuit. The kids had fun playing in the water and building a great water structure with the dads. Chuck was even able to convince Isaac to sit in a little boat and be pulled around the water - amazing since Isaac hates the water. Samuel sat in this little boat when we first arrived and was quickly swept by the wind out to the middle of the lake. Chuck had to swim out and rescue him. Samuel thought the whole episode was fun and wished he could have floated to the other side of the lake by himself. (If you look closely at the top left picture you can see how far Samuel got before Chuck was able to reach him) It was fun to sit and talk while the kids played.

I had to get a picture of all the brothers with their Pilots - how funny that they would all end up driving the same vehicle. I've always loved the Pilot, but I was extremely close to wanting to get rid of it after this ride home - maybe trade it in for a 15 passenger van then the kids couldn't touch each other! Let's just say the ride home was not pleasant. Every one was bugging someone and there was a lot of whining, crying and threats going on. But the best part was when Chuck was threatening Isaac that he was going to pull the car over. Samuel made us laugh when he said, "And then what? What are you going to do next dad?". Good question!


Since we were close to the Copper Mine we decided to take a tour. I've been there before, but you forget how HUGE everything is. I loved watching the movie on how they extract the copper. For a few seconds it made me miss my working engineering days.



Later that evening Chuck's mom had planned a dutch over dinner for all of us up the canyon. The canyon was very beautiful and the kids enjoyed playing in the stream and with their cousins. The only problem was the weather and the food were not cooperating. The chicken was frozen and not cooking fast enough as it began to rain. The guys built a big fire around the dutch oven to try and speed the cooking. In the mean time we were all pretty hungry and were just glad at least the chocolate cake was done. We were all huddeled under umbreallas as it sprinkled on and off. Isaac was so funny because he didn't want to get wet. Chuck had him sit in the stroller and put a big piece of plastic over him. The guys finally decided it was probably done and we dished up the meal as it kept raining on us. Then Chuck got a raw piece of chicken, the rice was crunchy and the carrots were hard. We were all pretty wet at that point and decided to call it good and head for the car. Instead we ordered pizza for the kids and yummy Mandarin Chinese food for the rest of us. It was quite an adventure.

Sunday on our drive home we stopped to visit my best friend from the time I was little all through high school. We were able to visit with her and some of her kids for a couple of hours. We both have our little Isaac’s that are only a month apart. She is a wonderful mother and we had a great talk about a topic that has been weighing on my mind a lot lately - helping your kids find and develop their talents.

Even though the trip was quick we packed a lot of fun in!

Escape Artist

Much to my dismay Isaac climbed out of his crib today.

I was getting the kids ready for Church and I had to send Isaac to Time Out in his crib for something - I don't even remember what now, but I'm sure it was probably because he hit or spit on someone. I was upstairs getting the girls dresses and looked down to see Isaac coming out of his room with a big smile on his face as he proudly declared, "I climb out!"

Do you ever have those times where you think - Oh Great, Now What Am I Going To Do!!! As I looked at his little smiling face I just kept thinking how bad this was for me - no more secure time out spot, he's great about nap and bedtime, but now that he can climb out of the crib that could easily change.

What was really sad is that he asked me several times during the day if he could go to Time Out just so he could triumphantly climb out.

At least it took him this long to figure it out. I think I have Samuel to thank for that one. I overheard him trying to tell Isaac how to climb out of the crib a few days ago. But it's better than Bella who was climbing in and out of the crib LONG before she turned 2.

Butterfly Kisses

Our sweet little Jenna just turned 6 months! We all LOVE this baby so much!

I decided since she was almost 6 months I should probably get started on other baby foods. I sure wasn't looking forward to this time since it's so much easier and quicker to just nurse. Let's just say that Jenna is NOT loving baby food. She's been eating rice cereal for a few weeks so she briefly tolerates that, but doesn't seem to care for anything else. In fact she's become quite a little spitter. She's been perfecting the art of sending baby food flying with almost every bite. She also loves to knock the spoon away or grab it with her little hands and won't let go. It's quite the time consuming process to try and get a few bites in. Isaac didn't really like baby food either so I went to mashed up table food pretty quickly and he is BY FAR my best eater. So maybe that's the direction Jenna is heading.

On a side note - I snapped this picture this morning and I'm so excited to take more 6 month pictures. It's one of my favorite ages to take pictures - they can sit up, but can't run away! When we were at Chuck's parents home last weekend Chuck's mom let me take several of the kids great-great-grandma's old vintage hats. I'm so excited to get some shots of both of the girls in them.

The Mad Scientist

Samuel has always loved learning and asks questions about anything and everything non-stop. A few weeks ago we were having a discussion about the various properties of water - liquid, steam, ice and he became fascinated with freezing water to make ice. I thought this would be a passing phase, but the kid has turned into a mad scientist! Everyday he is freezing cups and cups and cups of water. Each time he adds something new to the cups to freeze. Once the water is completely frozen he runs the cups under hot water to loosen his creations.

Here are a few he created a couple of days ago. Notice Bella's Snow White frozen in the ice. The other creation has a couple of army guys and a few Star Wars toys. He has now decided that Chuck and I need to get in on the freezing action and each night wants us to freeze something so he can discover the contents in the morning.

Here he is running one of the frozen blocks under warm water to release the toys. I love that he enjoys learning so much and I'm just glad we have an extra freezer since he's taking up a lot of room with all his creations!

The kids also love doing experiments. Every few days Samuel's asking me to show him some different experiment. Last week he was fascinated with learning about how various color combinations create other colors. He was thrilled to discover that bleach will remove the color from the water. What fun it is to watch these little minds get such great joy out of discovering new things!