Inside our Box

What the?

2012-01-18T10:42:00.000-08:00

Yeah! I can post again! For a long time, I would write something and then go to publish the post and it just... wouldn't. I don't know why, but now it will let me so here we are! That's why the previous two posts seem so random... they were written months ago! So here are a few things to catch up on. My Dad broke his femur a couple of days before christmas and was in the hospital so we couldn't go to my parents house to celebrate christmas like we had planned. It was really disapointing but we had a good christmas here. Unfortunately, my Dad's christmas could have been better.

Fallon loved drawing on Clare's art easel that she got from santa

Clare had tons of fun playing the guitar from Santa.

Hyrum loved riding the electric Hummer that Santa found on Craigslist for super cheap. Esther enjoyed stuffing her face full of delicious goodies. And David had fun playing with all of the kids' fun toys.

Now we are just waiting out the winter so that David can start work again and I can start working in the yard. It is snowing for the first time this winter. Yaaaaah! Hopefully we will be able to go sledding before it is all rained away tomorrow.

Random

2011-10-19T10:43:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few of the things we've been up to: Loving on our baby. Making and decorating for fall. This is a GREAT time to decorate and craft! I love fall and christmas decorating!

I made this hurricane candle holder from a bunch of stuff that I had on hand and bought from a dollar store. It costed a total of about 4.00. It would have been cheaper but I got the base from walmart rather than a thrift or dollar store. I'm loving the possibilites.

The banner I made with burlap because when I saw Denise's things she had crafted with burlap, I just had to try it. Love it.

Fallon's new thing is finding any open drawer ANYWHERE and completely emptying it. This morning I left my pj drawer open and came back to find this. She was even wearing my bra! Sigh....they want to grow up so fast.

A Perfect Union

2011-10-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

My youngest brother Michael got married to his Sweetheart; September in the Twin Falls, Idaho temple last month. September is an amazing girl and we are so excited to have her in the family. I didn't get any pictures of them (Denise did an awesome job at that) but I did get some of the nieces and nephews. They (nieces and nephews) are all so adorable and it was such a beautiful day.

The Fountain outside of the temple was a big hit

Hyrum and Vince a great buds......but don't get too close man.

The terrific trio of girls plus a couple of boys.

More Prayers Needed

2011-09-21T09:27:00.001-07:00

David's sister Becky developed leukemia last year while we were still living in Utah. She went through several rounds of chemo, hoping it would eliminate the disease. After finishing her 5th round in October she was declared cancer free. However, they found out in August that it has returned and she will need a bone marrow transplant after which she has a 50% chance of survival.
I ache for Becky, her incredibly faithful husband Garon, and their 3 wonderful kids. I know that most of you don't know her, but I am asking for your prayers anyway. I don't know if quantity of prayers sways Heavenly Father's decisions, I wish I knew how it worked, I just know that praying is the only thing that any of US can do. Thanks

More Projects- DONE!

2011-09-21T09:09:00.001-07:00

We have been in need of a new dining room table for a very long time. Finally my Mom found one for free that a friend was giving away. It was a good, sturdy table I just wasn't a big fan of the color. It was that out of date golden oak color with a wood looking laminate top so, we decided to paint it. It should be easy right? This thing was a pain in the butt! I decided to use spray pain because the legs were turned and it would be easier to get good coverage without any drips. They did great, but the table top was a pain. Bad coverage, the spray clear coat sealer went on blotchy and was rough and would scrape right off so we had to sand it down again and use a brush on polyurethane sealer. It worked better though it left brush marks and small bubbles. If I had to do it again I would add floetrol. It's supposed to minimize brush strokes and bubbles. Anyway, I liked how it turned out and it is Much bigger than our old one. Love it.

This was the waterfall dresser that Carla gave me that I decided to re-do. BEFORE Here is the After-I think I really like it. I got the hardware at a garage sale for super cheap but I didn't get enough to have them all be the same. I think I like it kind of mixed up like that though. Anyway. I've learned a lot about painting from these two projects and would do some things differently like: I'd use an oil based paint on this dresser instead of a latex water based. The latex stays rubbery and a little bit sticky but oil based doesn't and is easier to scuff. Also, using a paint condition helps minimize brush strokes and covers evenly. Penetrol added to oil based paint helps eliminate brush strokes as well.

Ma Baybee is All Growed Up

2011-08-30T15:01:00.001-07:00

Much to my chagrin....cClare started school last week. How did she get to big? I had a hard time keeping myself together till I got outside of the school then out came the tears. Hyrum was perplexed and kept asking me why I was so sad. I got over it though and was fine the second time I dropped her off for school on Wednesday. Hyrum misses her so much when she's not here and gets really bored, Poor kid. I try to do puzzles with him and push him on the swing and play lincoln logs but it's just not the same. We miss Clare. Clare was so excited about starting school on Monday that she stayed up half of the night on Sunday working her front tooth loose and finally pulled it out at about 1:00am. She looks pretty cute without it. Good thing, cause I think it's going to take a while to grow in.

Clare on her first day of school with her LPS backpack and no front tooth and excited as can be. After numerous pictures she finally stopped me.. "Come ON mom!" Oh boy, I'm going to cry again......

Fashion Statements and Such

2011-08-09T11:16:00.000-07:00

So apparently Clare has been paying more attention to the J.C. Penny ads in the Sunday paper or something because her sense of fashion (and poses) has blossomed......for better or for worse. Last week she came to me and said: "Mom, I want to wear this today." and when I turned around, I saw what "this" was. Long sleeved floral shirt, plaid shorts, argyle tights and pink cowboy boots. Sweet. I said "Yes, you can wear that if I can take a picture of you first." So Clare whipped out these supermodel poses (don't know where they came from.) to display her super sweet outfit. Love It.

She is growing up so fast and is so much fun to have around. Yesterday after some whining and crying she came to me and said through tears: "Mommy, Hyrum just pushed me right here!" pointing to her heart "right on the Holy Ghost!"

What a cutie.

Palmer Cousin Fun

2011-08-09T10:34:00.001-07:00

We had a really fun weekend last weekend when we went to Utah to play with our Palmer family for a few days. We went camping Thursday and Friday then on Saturday we went to David's nephew Brad's baptism in Clinton and hung out there and at Becky's house on Saturday. Sunday we got ready slowly and came home. It was a very fun if exhausting weekend. Thursday night when we were up camping there was a really bad, long thunderstorm with rain and lightning, the works so nobody slept very well. Fallon was also teething and running a fever of 102 so she had a rough time for a couple of days. Here is Becky doing what she does best: Making delicious food. She made a really amazing strawberry cobbler off the top of her head up there. She had fresh strawberries, strawberry jam, a yellow cake mix, a cube of butter and some red berry flavored mt dew. It turned out sooooo good. I am going to have to try and make it some time.

Natalie and Clare. Clare had a ball with her cousin. She has missed her SO MUCH!Ty, and Natalie with my kids. Aren't they adorable? They played so good together and Tyler has go go be the best 9 year old there is. Love that kid.

Fallon was getting to know her cousins too. Here she is with Chase. Uncle Shane is the best snuggler of babies. He can get them to calm down/smile/sleep when no one else can. The Boyz. We had an AWESOME time. I have missed being able to spend time with our Palmer family. I am very blessed to have married into such a great family.

Potppouri

2011-07-21T10:54:00.000-07:00

We've finally arrived at summer. Here's a few things we've been doing. Learning to sit up.(Fallon) and learning to be soft with the baby.... (Hyrum)

Camping at Grimmes Creak with friends.

Finding enormous frogs while camping.

Playing with friends from across the street......again and again and again. Actually, they never leave.

Home Body

2011-06-15T14:00:00.000-07:00

Ever since I had my third adorable baby, I've become a big homebody. It is a feet worthy of only an Ironman champion to go shopping and do errands with three kids. In fact, I'm going to come up with an "IronMOM triathalon." The events will go like this: Start out at the front entrance of a Walmart super store with a three year old in your arms and pushing a cart. You will have a Pre-pared list of things that you will have to pick up through out the store. If you put down the three-year old, you are disqualified. the second event will be going to the city Library where your task will be to drag three children ages 5 and under around while being absolutely quiet. Sound easy? Hah! that's how much you know. Lastly, taking the afore mentioned three children, the contestants will enter a card store and you will have to pick out 3 perfect cards for three different occasions while keeping said children from destroying anything while holding one of said children in a car-seat. I challenge any triathalete to withstand these circumstances with any remaining stamina or energy. Okay, so anyway, that being said.......We did venture out last Satufday to try out David's new canoe on Lake Lowell. The kids had a blast, though David didn't catch many fish. I stayed on shore with the baby and read Glen Beck's book "The 7 wonders that will change your life."

We have also gone to the park a couple of times on the rare nice days we have had this spring. Can we say CABIN FEVER?

I just loved this picture because Hyrum was taking a nap, heard David come home and came into the kitchen to see him. Apparently he wasn't ready to wake up yet because we found him like this a few minutes later. He stayed like that for another half hour.
P.S. I have the Ironman Triathalon on my mind because there was just an Ironman Triathalon in Boise last week. I admire those athletes immensly. The amount of dedication and self mastery it takes to do something like that is incredible

Time flies by

2011-05-24T14:00:00.000-07:00

We have been busy around here doing so many different things. The weather is FINALLY starting to get nice...sometimes. We've been working in the yard a lot and got a vegetable garden in. We'll see if it survives the little tornado who is my son. We redid the beds up front (pictured) and we also maintain the extensive yard of a previous landlord of ours. Between that, our kids, preschool, church callings, etc, we seem to maintain a steady level of activity. It's marvelous. Here are a few pics of stuff. My baby girl will be six months old this month. Sigh...I have felt so blessed to have such a sweet spirit in our home. She blesses all of our lives with her contagious smile and sweet attitude. There isn't one person in our home who doesn't ADORE her.

We ripped out the boxwoods that used to be in front of the house and extended and reshaped the beds then planted perennials in there. I am so excited for the plants to fill in the spaces. It didn't cost hardly anything either. 90% of the plants are starts from various places that I got for free! Thanks Carla, for your awesome contacts and getting us so many great plants. Another of my projects is to paint the trim on the house white.

Clare is a wonderful artist and could do this all day. Shelby gave me the marvelous idea of letting the kids paint on carboard boxes that we just folded out. I just let them use one of my foam brushes that you can get anywhere (keep an eye out for Michael's 20 for a $1 sale) for cheap and some craft paint. She has a BALL!

Another one of Fallon just because she-is-so-friggin-cute!

Projects Galore

2011-04-18T10:36:00.001-07:00

These are a few of the projects that I have on my list of things to do. I have high hopes for all of them but we'll see...it may take me a couple of years to get them done especially since they all need to be sanded and I hate sanding in the garage cause then EVERYTHING gets dusty. But...the weather has not cooperated lately to let me do much outside. This little hutch will be painted and go above the toilet in my blue bathroom

Carla gave me this great vintage dresser and matching bedside table that I'm going to try and do something like this with.

This is my Grandmother Crook's table that she bought in the 1920's. We've used it as our dining room table since we got married but it's time to refinish it... Big project.

Paint this cedar chest that is currently in our bedroom and add a glaze to highlight the edges and it should be super cute.

I found this little jewel of an old window in our neighbors pile of things for the garbage man to pick up. Being the trained scavanger that I am, I snagged it with visions of shabby chic dancing through my head. David too one look and was about to throw it away (HORROR!) He just needs to catch the vision.

I also want to build a headboard for our bed like this farmhouse headboard. Excited about that, but I will probably need David's help.

Happy, Happy Birthday

2011-04-18T10:10:00.001-07:00

My firstborn turned 5 on April 6. It's sinking in how fast my kids are growning up. Clare will be too big to sit on my lap soon! I don't want them to get big so fast, I want to be able to snuggle and love and kiss them for as long as possible....Anyway, I'm getting sentimental but here is the real reason for the post: Clare had her first real birthday party with friends over and everything. She had a princess party with a princess castle pinata and pink and purple everything! The girls decorated their own tiaras with sparkly stickers and had fun playing the whole time. Later Clare celebrated again with just us so that David could be in on the celebration too. Oh, my sweet little girl, I can't imagine my life without her.

This is not the original pinata. The first (homemade) one was sitting in the garbage can in a crumbled, melty mess. What went wrong?!!!!

All of Clare's birthday friends in their Princess crowns. You probably can't see how they decorated them but they all looked fantastic! They did a wonderful job!

The Big Tooth Castle in the Sky

2011-04-18T10:01:00.000-07:00

Clare just lost her first tooth a week before her 5th birthday! She did have a little help from Daddy but there was no fussing or crying just a small yelp and then "Wow!" Of course, the tooth fairy came and left her a large gift. He's a lot more generous than I would be. I am not excited about the tooth-losing years to come. I HATED loosing teeth as a kid. I can still remember the popping sound of the tissue as it came loose and the taste of blood in my mouth. eeeeeewwww. Good thing David has a stronger stomach.

Extreme Bathroom Makeover-kindof

2011-03-30T18:55:00.000-07:00

When we moved into our house Every square inch of floor space was covered in carpet with the exception of one out of the two bathrooms (yes, our kitchen has carpet too. YUCK!) The carpet in the other bathroom was a lovely dark orange. Dark cabinets with jack and jill sinks, and dingy off-white paint complemented the flooring and it was all topped off by a hideous brass dropped light fixture. David and I figured we could update and improve it pretty inexpensively so ........----new tile floors, tiled backsplash and tiled bathtub surround from leftover tile....new light fixture, and paint. TA-DAH! Before. ( sorry, my computer is acting up and I couldn't rotate it.)

After!David did an amazing job with the tiled backsplash! Love it!

I still need to put up the curtains and I'd like to replace that repulsive hand towel hanger and the sink faucets but all in all, I love it! It's so much brighter and more modern.

Updates

2011-03-11T14:33:00.000-08:00

We have the internet again and I'm so glad to be back blogging. I will try to make this update short. We lived with David's Parents in Brigham City, UT till September of last year when we moved to stay with my parents in Oregon. My parents were helping us start the process of buying a house in Nampa. David got a job in Boise in October and we moved to a tiny apartment in Nampa as we waited for our house to process. It was a HUD house so it took a LONG time. We finally closed on our house on December 23rd and began painting and doing other updates and were able to move in in January. We LOVE our house. It is smaller than our previous home in tremonton. It is not new, and it's not fancy, be we love it because it's ours and its cozy. AND...we got a GREAT deal on it. I am so thankful for my Mom and Dad for making it possible. Our ward is amazing and I feel that we are going to be able to serve well here.

Fallon Elizabeth Palmer

2011-03-11T14:12:00.000-08:00

Baby Fallon arrived November 27th 2010 after 3 hours of labor. She was my biggest baby by far at 7 lbs 15 oz. She has been perfectly sweet and beautiful from the beginning and our family has been so happy with her in our home. We named her Fallon after Fallon, Nevada - the town that my mother grew up in. She has been so much fun. She smiles all of the time, has slept GREAT since day 1, and has completely stolen all of our hearts. Clare takes such great care of her. Hyrum shares EVERYTHING with her...... David and I feel so blessed that our Father in Heaven has sent us such a beautiful, sweet, golden little spirit to teach us to love, share, and always trust in Him. Clare and Hyrum meeting baby Fallon for the first time in the Hospital. My sister Carla was an angel and took the kids while I was in the hospital. My parents then took them for a week during my recoup. My family rocks.

Fallon a couple of minutes after birth. She didn't even squak at all.

Beautiful baby girl.

And Its........

2010-07-22T09:59:00.000-07:00

IT'S A GIRL!
We had our ultrasound this morning and everything looks perfect on our little princess. She is a busy little thing already. She is always moving around in there. We are so excited to add her to the family and Mommy is excited to start making cute little things for her to wear. I am still suffering from a severe PUPPP rash. I have never been more miserable in my life. I have these itchy hive/blisters ALL OVER my body. Nothing has been spared. I even have them in my belly button and ears. I haven't slept in weeks, I mean really slept. At night I just kind of doze inbetween scratching episodes. I can feel people looking at me when I go out. I know they think I have something horribly contagious with all of these welts and scabs covering my arms and legs. At a primary activity a couple of days ago, a mother asked me with a horrified look on her face: "Do you have chicken pox?"
I am going to start telling people "No, but I do have the black plague. Don't worry, it's only contagious if you get withing 20 feet."
Sorry to whine so much. I really am excited for my little girl to get here. REALLY excited.....seeing as the only cure for this condition is to have the baby. Four more months.

Solutions anyone?

2010-07-12T09:50:00.000-07:00

So I'm pretty sure that I have PUPPPS disease. Every square inch of my body is covered in an EXTREMELY itchy red rash. The only parts that have been spared are my face and the bottoms of my feet. I need any input available from anyone on how to relieve the itching! I am desperate and think I may go out of my mind before too long. Help PLEASE! So far anything that the doctors have prescribed has been a joke. After almost four weeks of this I am ready to try anything.
And by the way.....I think that this disease was created by Al Quiada to drive the infidel white pregnant women mad. It's a brilliant strategy....with a bunch of insane, itchy women out there, the nation will fall under the control of militant islam much sooner, especially if they have the cure for this disease. The Infidel women would most likely sell their souls for relief.
You see, I'm rambling. Do you need any more proof people?

Prayers Needed

2010-06-22T09:57:00.000-07:00

The past week has been a little bit helter skelter. We found out last Sunday that David's sister, Becky, has an aggressive form of leukemia. She had been feeling sick for only a couple of weeks and been to the doctor a couple of times. Finally, on Sunday, her awesome husband Garon took her to the emergency room and within hours had a diagnosis. She has been in the ICU at Uof U and is now stable and undergoing Chemotherapy at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. She is a tough cookie and a wonderful person but she needs our prayers. The family and I would love it if you would keep her in your thoughts and prayers. Chase. Becky and Garon's youngest at 4 months old. He is sooooooo adorable.

Tyler (7) and Natalie (4), Her two other children. Love these kids. Tyler is a little giant, I love and respect that little guy so much. He has more faith than all of us put together.

Becky and her awesome husband Garon. They are a strong couple and will get through this. We love them and keep praying for them.

December 4, A Big Day

2010-06-12T09:16:00.000-07:00

I couldn't find a good clipart picture of a fetus in the womb and I'm not going to post a picture of my expanding self right now so I'll just say it. Baby #3 is coming on or around (preferrably before) December 4 2010. I am currently at week 15 in my pregnancy and feeling so much better. I am lucky to not puke when I'm pregnant but I still felt exhausted and sick for three months. I've gotten bigger faster with this baby than my other two, I feel enormous, and Clare has confirmed that little fact. The other day she said to me: "Mommy has a big belly, the baby is in there........"
"Yep," I answered "the baby is growing big"
"Your bum is big too Mommy." She replied.

I laughed. She's right. In fact, that's the only place I get stretch marks. Anyhoo....we find out the gender of the little peanut in about a month. I'm guessing it's a boy. Let me know what you think.

Ropes and Rails and Rattlesnake Tails

2010-06-08T13:40:00.000-07:00

May. Time for the annual Adams Ranch Branding. We made our pilgrimage during Memorial Day weekend. We arrived on Thursday and on Friday my Mom had all of the men ensnared in her plan to fence off the yard. After years of brown spots on her grass (from cows dropping their little treasures on the lawn) and uprooted plants in her garden, she has had enough. The guys made quick work of it and had most of the posts set in cement by the end of the day. Wahoo!
Saturday was the big day. Dad had rounded up enough help to have a roping team and a good ground team. The ladies mostly worked inside fixing a delicious meal fit for Thanksgiving dinner. One thing you learn on a farm is that even though you've spent the majority of your life doing "guy's work" once you get married and live on a paved street, you no longer qualify for "guy's work" and are replaced in your duties by your city slicker husband because they are obviously better qualified on account of their elevated levels of testosterone. I'm not bitter, just amused. This year I was grateful for a break from my "duties" at the branding. In the recent past I had been the designated castrator of male calves. Not fun.
The guys performed their duties with finesse though and the calves were branded, ear-marked, and castrated (when applicable) within hours. Good job!
Sunday was a beautiful day that turned out to be very relaxing and restful, something we all needed. After church, wonderful sunday dinner, and a good nap, we went outside and played a few games on the lawn. My sisters and sister in law are very musically talented so whenever we get together, it's always fun to gather around the piano while Carla or my Mom plays and sing hymns and oldies with everyone singing a different part. Some of our favorites are "Dream" "Abide With Me, Tis Eventide" and "If You Could Hye to Kolob" among many.
Monday was rainy and the day to pack up and go but David couldn't leave without getting a fishing trip in so early that morning he and my two brothers and nephew went fishing at the "White Bridge". They had a blast catching all kinds of big trout followed by a pit stop (snake pit that is) to kill some rattlesnakes. A friend of ours recently discovered a rattlesnake pit on his property and has invited anyone willing to come hunt them. They are everywhere. Glen recently killed about 25 there in one day. Another friend killed over thirty on another day. On Monday they killed five. David came back white faced, but with a prize of two rattles taken from the serpent's tails. Yuck! So, that was our exciting weekend, If anyone wants to join us on our next Adams branding adventure feel free to ask. You can expect a grand old time filled with hard work, blood, dust, cow poo, and deadly reptiles with a few tamer past-times intermingled.
Sawyer proudly showing off the day's catch. His brother Cody caught the biggest one at 19 inches. They went all the way down to the smallest at 13 inches. Way to go boys!

The ground crew. Hyrum threw the calves down while Sawyer branded and castrated. David was a little inexperienced so he just gave shots. What a rough and tumble group.

This is a calf fry, rocky mountain oyster, little sausage.........calf testicle roasting on a piece of corrigated tin. The dog ate this one but the humans saved their share too. Michael cooked some up inside and ate them with the girl he brought home to see the family. He knows how to show a girl a good time. He could have lit some candles and served them on fine china if he really wanted to impress her, but no. Testicles on paper plates is all she got. He also took her rattlesnake hunting. What a Romeo.

The roping team, well some of it. From left to right: Matthew, an italian cowboy from back east that I can't remember a name for, and Nate Allington. Great crew and good cowboys.

Clare and Hyrum loved riding on the horses. This one's name is Jake.

Moving

2010-06-08T13:34:00.000-07:00

Sorry, no pictures. Just a quick update. We closed on our house May 14th, about two weeks early, everything went astoundingly smooth...no hitches whatsoever. We moved that weekend, thanks to the help of my phenomenal Sister in law Carla, and her totally awesome family. We owe them big! We were all exausted at the end of the weekend. We moved into David's parents basement. They have been very accomodating and have kept us well fed in the few weeks that we've been here. The kids had a hard time getting adjusted to sleeping in a room together and in grandma's house, but they are doing great now. We are grateful to have a place to live and in-laws willing to put up with us all.

Recent Events

2010-04-27T16:05:00.001-07:00

The picture says it all. We've had our house up for sale for a year and finally got a really good, solid offer on it. It's been a long road. All I have to say is that the Lord does things in his own time and blesses those who (finally) listen to his council. We are really excited to enter the next faze of our lives, though we know that it's going to be tough. We will have to live with David's parents for a while......swallowing a gigantic dose of pride. And then hopefully we will be able to make our way to Idaho so that David can start his own business. We are livin the Dream baby! Our closing date is May 27th and we are crossing our fingers that everything goes as planned so that we can go to the Adams ranch branding that weekend

David and I, (before we got the offer on our house) put in this square foot garden. It's actually deeper than it looks, we dug down below the rocks and then filled it with a compost mixture. We planted green leaf lettuce, spinich, and buttercrunch lettuce in a couple of the squares. We also planted radishes and carrots. (I love me a good salad.) In the smaller planter we planted peas and the last one we gave to the kids to plant whatever they wanted. It is chuck full of stuff....that the new owners will have to guess what it is! I'm sorry that we wont be able to be here to reap what we have sown, but maybe the new owners will enjoy it.

April 6th

2010-04-27T15:34:00.000-07:00

Four years ago on April 6th David and I welcomed our sweet little Clare into the world. She was so tiny and soft. I remember panicking while I was in labor because I was so afraid that I would be a terrible mother and not love the little one inside of me enough because in that moment ........I wasn't feeling much for the baby that was causing me so much discomfort and pain. Of course, all I had to do was see her chubby, soft, little cheeks and hold her in my arms to have all of that anxiety washed away. Clare has brought us so much joy and laughter in our home. We love her so much and are so glad that Heavenly Father sent her to our family. This is my failed attempt at making a princess castle cake. This is the part that I salvaged....the rest ended up in a big broken pile in a bowl. Interestingly enough, people ate more out of the bowl than the actual cake.

Clare had Grandma and Grandpa Palmer over for her birthday party, along with Natalie, Ty, Becky, Garon, baby chase, and our neighbor girls, Josie and Bailey. So much Princess fun!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2010-04-05T10:55:00.001-07:00

Easter! My most favorite holiday of the year. I love the easter colors, coloring easter egss, easter baskets, easter decorations, and celebrating the resurrection of the Savior! The most wonderful gift that our Father in Heaven could bestow. This year we got a bonus blessing too! We were able to listen to prophets and apostles speak to us in general conference. AAahhhh. I am looking forward to listening to them again and again via the internet. BTW Did anyone else hear the 20-dollar-bill analogie and LOVE it? I thought that was a great way to illustrate the worth of a soul even though we have sinned. Please share your favorite part of Conference!

Yesterday David's parents had their traditional Easter get together. We ate great food (the Palmers love food) visited with all of David's siblings (everyone made it this year!) and had easter egg hunts. Hyrum caught on pretty fast!

The big kids are always so great to help the little kids.

Diving for treats in Sawdust. The kids have a Blast (refer to the post below for more Sawdust fun) and come out really dirty.

Clare was pretty proud of herself and all of the candy she collected........If you look in her basket it's mostly filled with sawdust but Hey! she had fun doing it.

Diving for Quarters

2010-04-05T10:48:00.001-07:00

One Palmer family tradition that I really like (there are a lot of ones that I like, but this is one of my favorites) is "diving for quarters" that they do at easter time. Because the bigger grandkids are too big for easter egg hunts, grandpa put a bunch of sawdust in a big pile and then dumps a bunch of quarters in it and lets the kids dig through and find what they can. It's so much fun to watch. This year he put $35 worth of quarters in it. woo hoo!

Catch Up

2010-04-05T10:29:00.000-07:00

Because I'm a lazy cuss, I have not made any posts lately so I'm doing a little catch-up today. Two weekends ago the Fam and I headed up to Rexburg, ID to meet up with my Mom and Dad to watch Michael's basketball game. He was playing in the championship Intermural game. Mike played a great game but unfortunately his team lost by a measly 6 points. It was way fun to see him play though! After Mike's game we all went to Bajio Mexican Grill (for our first time ever) for dinner. WOW! I am impressed and I now have a favorite new place to eat. Thank goodness we have one 1/2 hour away in Logan. It's a must try!
I haven't been to Rexburg in years and it was really fun to see how it's changed and how it's very much the same. I was especially excited to see the temple! It was so beautifull! Being there in Rexburg brought back a lot of good memories. It's where David and I went on our first date, where Joyce and I roomed together for a year and had a lot of good times. I loved my time at BYU-I but I was so glad that I am at the point I am in my life now. I have two beautiful children and a great husband. In the last 7 years, I've learned so much about myself and about life and I look forward to many great memories to be made with my kids, my husband, and my friends. Hyrum, of course, had to get into some of the ball action after the game.

Clare thinks that Uncle Michael is super cool (isn't he sooooooo cute with her?) In fact, every time she hears the song "Soul Sister" by Train she perks up and says "This is Uncle Michael's favorite song!" I'm so glad that my kids have such fun and great examples to look up to.

Mom and Dad while we are waiting for Mike's game to start. If Dad looks grumpy, it's because Mom forgot her purse at Carla's house.........5 hours away. It would make me grumpy too. It's always an adventure with my parents.

Developing Talents (emphasis on DEVELOPING)

2010-03-19T09:39:00.000-07:00

Don't look too closely at the stitching or you may see that it's not completely even.

I've got some cute kids right?

First of all, I'd like to ask all of you who are accomplished sewers to please disregard my obvious novicity (is that a word?) at sewing. I just completed my first piece of clothing and I am brimming with excitement and itching to do it again. I made a skirt for Clare and then appliqued a shirt that I got for just a few bucks on sale to match it. I stayed very basic and I think it turned out really cute. I just have to say that my inspiration came mostly from my cousin Jessica who has a super cute blog and an adorable etsy shop. You should totally check it out.

Family Pix

2010-03-13T10:27:00.001-08:00

We just went and got family pictures for the first time a couple of weeks ago. We went to the Target Portrait studio which I probably wouldn't do again for a variety of reasons. The pictures turned out pretty well, here are a few of them.

March

2010-03-13T10:16:00.000-08:00

We haven't been up to much lately.....We hang out in our house when it's cold, and when the sun is out, we go outside. I'm getting so excited to get working in my yard but it still too early yet. (As witnessed by the snowflakes floating down outside my window as I write.) So here are few random pictures of the kids. Hyrum is in the loving shoes stage. He likes to walk around in my Fat Babies. (why not? I LOVE them too.)

Clare and her very best friend and cousin, Natalie. They are so cute together don't you think? They even have matching jammies. It wasn't planned, I promise.

The Funny Farm

2010-03-03T14:46:00.001-08:00

On our way home from Crane, we stopped at my sister Carla's house. We had a lot of fun eating WONDERFUL food, watching Martin's band concert (IT WAS AWESOME!) and playing outside. The kids enjoyed doing some of Lemur's "work". (See Carla's Blog about Montessori work for toddlers) Hyrum spent a long time on the magnetix and seemed to get the whole concept really well.

Lemur in his working garb. He is so funny. He tells the most animated stories even though you can't understand a word he's saying. I wish I would have gotten a picture of Yak. Also adorable, I just want to eat his chubby cheeks.

Clare loved the swing.

David pruned some of their fruit trees. He did a great job and stuck out the cold wind. Way to go, Idaho!

Thanks Carla for a great time.

P.S. Clare has been saying some pretty funny things lately. The other day as I stepped into the car with her she piped "You a hottie!" Hyrum, being a typical little brother began following suit, yelling "hottie, hottie!" I think they may have had some coaching from their father. :)

There's No Place Like Home

2010-03-03T14:31:00.000-08:00

We got to go to Crane for a few days last week. It was a lot of relaxing fun. Unfortunately, I am horrible at taking pictures so I didn't get a lot of people that I wanted to like, Joyce, Mom, Baby McKee, Vince, and pictures of the process that Glen was going through to load up tons (literally) of steel onto a trailer to scrap it. These are things that have been sitting on the farm for decades and Glen finally talked Dad into getting rid of. The kids had fun helping a being outside! Clare LOVED Aunt Joyce and Grandma and Grandpa. In fact, about five minutes after being home (after a 9 hour drive) Clare was on the verge of tears saying "I need my Joyce, I need my Gwamma" Clare made sure that Grandpa was warm enough when He took his naps.

Clare, Cassie, and Hyrum. Cassie is Nate and Lisa Harrington's little girl and the most adorable little girl. She came to visit with her Dad who was buying my Dad's bayler.

Hyrum and Clare got lots of rides on the four wheeler and trailer. They Loved being outside without snow! We still had 18 inches in Tremonton when we left.

A Budding Artist

2010-03-03T14:26:00.000-08:00

Clare LOVES to draw. She will sit and draw for long periods of time and she's getting very good at it. I just wanted to show all of you her dog that she just drew. Look Mom! A dog!

I thought this was pretty darn good for a three-year-old!

I heart Spray Paint

2010-03-03T14:10:00.000-08:00

I have been doing a lot of spray painting lately. I've become a little obsessive. The D.I. is my new favorite haunt. I search for old, unique things to spray paint and have found a few cute things. The candlestick holder in this photo use to be a bronze color. The flower was black as you can see below. I love spraypaint. A bright, springy flower.

The Dark, funerally flower.

Another Talented Family Member

2010-02-03T15:46:00.000-08:00

So I just wanted to brag on another talented family member. My sister Joyce has always been a great artist. When she was five she was drawing way better pictures than I was. Now she has her own website and draws portraits on commission. Head on over there to check out her work.
http://www.jacustomportraits.intuitwebsites.com

This is a Long one...Sorry

2010-02-02T11:48:00.000-08:00

We haven't been up to much lately, mostly hiding from the snow that is piling up 2 feet deep outside...but we have done a few projects around the house: We painted the bathroom this funky color of green which we are still in debate about. We had to paint to cover up the bright red fingernail polish that Clare had painted on the walls. I think we are going to have to paint the cabinets white to make the green look okay.

I made these curtains for Clare's room. I LOVE the fabric. Now I just need to hang them up.

David and I made this coat hanger/message board to hang by our back door. Now are banister will be free of coats! I perhaps I won't forget half of the things I'm supposed to be doing like...Taking dinner to Amber tomorrow.

David periodically has back pain. It is usually set off by some incident where it gets tweeked. Well, he tweeked it last week playing elders quorum basketball. Heat packs help to relax him and relieve the pain somewhat so I made him a rice pack. (He complained for a very long time about how "cutsey" it was..but that was the only kind-of-manly fabric I had that was big enough.) Clare loved it so much that David didn't get to use it much so I made her and Hyrum one too.

Clare and Hyrum have just been hanging out, reading books, sliding down the makeshift table slide, playing "bedtime" (they get all of the blankets out with their pillows and spend about an hour on the floor snuggled up in their blankets saying "goodnight mommy!" Super cute.

Clare loves to hear stories. She usually asks me to tell her stories when we are driving and when it's nap and bedtime. She asks for a plethora of different stories including "three bears story"

the "three kitties story" "three doggies story" "the banana story" . Most of these I don't know so I've had to make them up as I go along. Lately her favorite is the "shoes story". This one I had to make up and it goes something like this:

Once upon a time there was a princess that loved to dance. Her name was Princess Clare. One day the princess went to put on her dancing shoes so that she could dance and found that there were holes in them. She needed to have dancing shoes so that she could dance and twirl and spin beautifully so she went out in search of some new dancing shoes....... We then go through bunch of different things to make dancing shoes out of. We've made dancing shoes out of paper, wood, mashed potatoes, cold cereal, water, bread, snow...and all kinds of different things. Of course none of them work. The paper shoes are to crinkly and get holes too fast, the wood shoes are too heavy and make clunky noises when she danced, the mashed potato shoes are too squishy. The cold cereal shoes got mushy too fast. ....and so on.....Finally Princess Clare goes to the shoe maker who makes her some shoes out of leather. Clare picks the color and then declares that the shoes should be sparkly. Princess Clare takes her shoes home and wants to dance and twirl and spin but first she needs sparkles on them to make them the most beautiful dancing shoes of them all. She looks up into the night sky and sees the stars twinkling and decides to put stars on her shoes to make them sparkle. So she reaches up and takes some stars from the sky and places them on her shoes. Then she danced and twirled and spun in the most beautiful dancing shoes ever. The End.

Lately I've been hearing Clare telling the story to Hyrum during their "bedtimes" and I get a kick out of the creative twists that she comes up with. For instance, yesterday she included in the story shoes made of Playdough. but they were too heavy and Princess Clare fell down and got an owy on her bum which started to bleed and Princess Clare was so sad until her Mommy put a Dora bandaid on it. Then she was all better and got some blue dancing shoes and put twinkly stars on them so that they'd be sparkly then she danced and danced in her beautiful shoes. The End

Terrific Twos

2010-01-27T09:20:00.000-08:00

Hyrum turned 2 on Monday. Aaah....it seems like only yesterday that I was screaming my head off as I squeazed his little melon out. He has been such a joy ever since. Hyrum is always smiling. He has always been such a happy little boy and a joy to have in our home. He is definitely a Daddy's boy. He LOVES to have Daddy home and follow him around, copying everything he does. He loves hats, trucks, and especially BALLS. Any kind of ball is his favorite but her recently discovered Basketball when we went and watched David play Elder's quorum ball. Hyrum was in bliss and had his eyes glued on the court the whole time. Now he gets super excited when we drive past the church and screams "BaBall!" I love my little man so much. I can't imagine life without him. Hyrum opening his birthday present.

Scary Hitler Grandma. They came all the way from Brigham city at 8:00 at night to celebrate Hyrum's birthday with him. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

They brought balloons! What a treat!

Hyrum's Baseball cake. I wanted to make a soccer ball cake but do you have ANY idea how hard it is to get all of those geometric shapes in there? There are Hectagons and sexagons (six sided things? I think that's what they're called) and the Sexagons surround the hectagons and they all have to be geometrically accurate to fit appropriately into they're designated spot. It's exhausting just to think about! Anyway....Hyrum didn't care. He loved the baseball cake.

Hyrum enjoying his birthday present from Grandma and Grandpa.

Great toy

2010-01-21T10:25:00.000-08:00

We have discovered one of the great toys ever. I got our little folding table out and leaned it up on the love seat and let the kids use it as a slide. They've been playing NICELY on it for an hour! They are having so much fun and being so nice to each other. I've been able to blog while they are awake! I wish I knew how to spell Halleluja...because that's what I've been sing over and over in my mind!

Snow Daze

2010-01-21T10:07:00.000-08:00

Having a lazy, snowy day today and thought that I should FINALLY update my blog. We haven't been up to much but we finally made it sledding. We went to "JackRabbit Hill". It's a hill in the middle of nowhere that is privately owned but the guy opens it up in the winter for people to sled down. It's perfect because it's not super steep but it's long. The kids loved it!

Hyrum giggled all the way down the hill. He thought it was the greatest! I'm worried. That kid already feels the need for speed.

Clare, as always, was fearless and kept saying, "Again! Again!" David and I had to convince her to wait a few minutes after each turn because hauling the kids back up the hill wore our poor, flabby, winterized bodies out. I think the my body goes into hybernation in the winter even though my brain doesn't. It would rather stay in bed and in the nice warm house and eat oreos.

Just had to include this adorable photo of my cutie pants kids. Aren't they munchable?

A Visit from Santa

2009-12-26T07:52:00.001-08:00

Believe it or not, Santa did come to the Palmer's house! Big time! The kids brought in the mother load! We are so grateful for those who helped the kids have such a plentiful Christmas. They were in HEAVEN! We had so much fun!. Clare woke up at 7:30 in the morning and had a little trouble getting in the Christmas spirit. But don't worry. It only took a couple of presents to warm her up and then she was rarin' to go! Hyrum was mostly interested in eating the candy from his stocking but after that was all gone (I know, I'm a bad parent for letting him eat candy before breakfast...and I usually don't, but it was Christmas!) He found that toys were almost as interesting as sweets. Clare found some monkey slippers in her stocking.

Clare wearing her "beautiful". That's what she calls the beautiful skirts that her Aunt Shelly made for her. She may never wear pants again. She just switches from one "beautiful" to the next ALL DAY LONG.

Santa was VERY generous and brought the kids a little play kitchen which Hyrum (interestingly) hasn't stopped playing with. The pot makes a bubbling sound when you put it on the burner and the frying pan sizzles. It's so cute!

Another "beautiful"

Hyrum "The Man" Taking after his daddy and loving power tool. He has hammered and sawed and drilled non-stop....(well, actually, that's what he does when he's taking a break from laboring in the little kitchen, slaving over a bubbling pot of.......air.)

So in a nutshell, we had a wonderful christmas, and not just because of the fabulous gifts. It has been, as always, a blessing to remember one of the most important and holy events in the history of the world. I especially enjoyed reading Luke 1 this year. I pondered a lot over the story of Mary's conception, the words of the angel Gabriel, and Mary and Joseph's path to becoming the earthly parents of the Savior of the world. I am so grateful for the humble people that brought forth the child of God and endured so much hardship so that the Christ-child could save us all. I am so grateful to a kind and merciful God for sending his most precious Son, knowing the anguish of body and soul that he was sending him to. And I am thankful for a Savior who inexplicably believed that we were important enough that He would 1. Live a perfect life worthy of making a perfect sacrifice. 2. Make the final and ultimate sacrifice. 3. Send His restored gospel to the earth in our day, so that we can have a shot at returning to live with Him and his Father again. Joy To The World! And may all of your holidays be joyful ones.

David's Creativity

2009-12-21T11:12:00.001-08:00

David is so unbelievable. He can figure just about anything out. He is so patient too. If one thing doesn't work, he tries something else until he finds something that does work. He wanted to build a little kid's table for christmas this year. Our kitchen has a bar, but not room enough for a kitchen table. We can only fit three at the bar and since we have four in the family, it was getting pretty crowded. He had some oak cabinet doors that the cabinet shop that he used to work at was throwing away and decided to make the table out of that. He found a picture of a table on the internet and then just spent a Saturday out in the garage working on it till he got it all figured out. The only money he spent on it was for the bolts. Yeah! Good job David!

The kids LOVE eating at their "tiny table". Clare and Hyrum are having a princess tea party with the new princess tea set that Grandma and Grandpa Palmer gave Clare for Christmas.

I love Christmas....right?

2009-12-02T09:18:00.000-08:00

I love putting up Christmas decorations. I love Christmas time and Christmas music. I LOVE wrapping Christmas gifts and going Christmas shopping. I love the smell of cinnamon and fresh Christmas trees. I think that's why I get so frustrated with my kids when they undo all of my carefully arranged decorations on the tree and any other reachable spot. David and I put the tree up and decorated it last night after the kids went to sleep. This morning they waited about 5 minutes before undecorating it. I've been snarling at them all morning but I just gave up. It's not worth being grumpy and mean till christmas. Dave-o putting on the lights. Thanks babe!

This sweet little bird's nest was in the tree when they cut it down and I had to keep it and leave it in the tree! It's just so precious.

Turkey with Mashed Potatoes and Trees

2009-12-02T09:00:00.000-08:00

We spent our Thanksgiving holiday at my parents house in Crane, OR. My brother Matthew and his family were also there so there were GIRL cousins to play with! We had so much fun eating, playing games, and working! It snowed the day after Thanksgiving when we usually go up to the mountains to cut down a christmas tree so the kids and moms stayed home while the guys went up and got a beautiful tree for David and I. On Saturday it was beautiful and sunny so we got our warm clothes and headed up to cut down a couple of dead trees for my mom and dad to use for firewood. (Their only source of heat is a wood stove.) Crazy girls.

Erica and Clare having a snowball fight. Actually it was a snowball attack since most of the throwing of snow was done by Erica. Clare took it like a champ. She spent most of the time in the warm truck though.

Adorable Sofie.....good tree, good tree. There, there...soon we will have you cut and stacked in the warm shed.

The Saw man. My brother Matthew and the tree he just cut down.

Here is a little video of Matthew cutting down the first tree. It is actually really cool to see and here a tree this big coming down. The cracks and booms are tremendous and the ground shakes when it falls. I laugh when I here my little bro Mike yell "TIMBER!"

What's New

2009-11-18T17:01:00.001-08:00

First of all, we are going Green and recycling everything that we can think of. For Instance: this old waste-basket is now a functional, attractive piece of clothing for the children. It wasn't working for Hyrum. (All of the other little kids in nursery were making fun of him for wearing a "skirt") Clare however, took to this little gem. Not only do we do something that's good for the environment, we are also saving money! Genius! I saw a count-down-to-Christmas calendar like this one in a craft shop down the stree and decided to make one myself. I think it turned out pretty cute. It's also really cheap. I think I spent a total of $2 on it.
Besides that, we haven't been up to much. I'll break it down like this.
Health: Good and improving. We are all pretty much over our colds.
Kids: Fun, Challenging, Adorable. Clare is learning alphabet letters which she calls "LP's". She can now count fairly accurately to 3. Clare has stopped taking naps during the day. Groan. Hyrum has been waking up a lot at night and screaming. My attempt last night to let him cry it out ended when his screaming was briefly interrupted with a loud THUMP!. He had figured out how to climb out of his pack and play onto his head. I'm hoping for better sleep tonight. Hyrum is very mischievious. Any opportunity to tease or exaspirate his big sister is snatched at and employed with relish. When he isn't tormenting Clare, he is clawing at me and crying. This happens especially if I sit down. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO MY SWEET, CUDDLY LITTLE BOY?
Worries: Clare is not putting her words together very well and still pretty hard to understand. Money (aren't we all) David and Esther are worried about the direction that our government is headed. We pray that good sense and honesty will prevail among our country's politicians.
Joys: So many. Our kids always remind us that there is joy to be had in every little thing. The sunny days that still persistently show their faces a couple of days a week. Creating fun, cute things when I can find the time (and inspiration)

Some Cool Websites to Check Out

2009-11-13T08:02:00.001-08:00

My brother Glen does some beautiful leatherwork. He makes mostly chaps and chinks but has also made purses and holsters. He makes the most adorable little chaps for children and even toddlers too. He can do pretty much anything with leather. He just got a website up and running to showcase some of his work and hopefully sell some custom leatherwork. Check it out at http://www.glenadamsleather.com/
My SIL and her family also just got a really cool website going called http://www.dailyvibez.com/ I LOVE the service they provide. If you sign up at their website for about $5 a month they will send daily texts to the person of your choice in the form of uplifting and inspirational quotes. It makes a great gift and in a world filled with so much negativity, its nice to have something consistently uplifting in your life.
Thanks for reading!

The Adventure Continues

2009-11-11T09:14:00.000-08:00

Colds are running rampant through our house of late. We left the house today for the first time since last Friday. I got sick first, then Clare got a little sniffly nose for a day or two (That girl has the immune system of a horse......although I'm not exactly sure what that means.) Now I'm getting better and Hyrum and David are sick. Poor guys. In short, I have been laying around a lot, the kids have been getting into trouble.... I found Clare in the bathroom yesterday with two bottles of fingernail polish open and dark red polish ALL over the counter-top and sink. I'm sorry to say that she got a big spanking. I spent the next hour dousing a rag with fingernail polish remover and scrubbing the counter-top, sink, walls and floor. BTW, did you know that prolonged contact with fingernail polish remover will, indeed, kill the top layer of skin? Really. It does. Any-hoo..... hopefully we will be feeling better soon.
P.S. I don't know who that little girl is in the picture, but she is super cute right? I will add a disclaimer here that I do not look that cute when I am sick, which is why I didn't put a picture of myself up there.

Failure to Launch

2009-11-07T09:40:00.000-08:00

The Sale of our house fell through yesterday. The buyer's work cut back on his hours so his loan wouldn't go through. No words can say how bummed we are. It was having the end in sight, only to have it snatched away...Now we're stuck in Tremonton for the winter most likely. Groan!

Spooky

2009-11-07T09:31:00.001-08:00

What could be better than staying up late so that you can wander around the neighborhood asking people for candy while dressed like a car,horse, elephant or Chinese princess? We went to a halloween party on Friday night at our friends' house and had so much fun goofing off. They had a mummy pinata, spooky Halloween treats, the most delicious pumkin chip dip! and lots of fun and games. Megan made this Lightening McQueen car out of cardboard and spray paint! Way talented.

Clare as a Chinese Princess. On actuall Halloween night she was an elephant but being the true space cadet that I am... I didn't get a picture of it.

Hyrum was trully adorable as a horse. He's a little girl crazy too. He love to give little girls hugs.

Surfs up! OOOh la la! That's my hunk a burnin love!

The Haircut

2009-10-26T09:44:00.000-07:00

I have been feeling the need for a change as often happens when the season changes so i got on www.marykay.com and went to their virtual makeover site to try out a few different hair styles. It is so much fun to try out the different make-up colors and hairstyles/colors. You should totally try it out. I settled on the hairstyle below and took the picture to the hairstylist so that she could see what I wanted.

ummmm. This is the haircut that I got. Yeah, looks nothing like what I ordered but hey! It's just hair and I don't mind the cut. It's all right. Please tell me it doesn't look hideous!

Sisters, Sisters. Never were there such devoted sisters.

2009-10-21T08:53:00.000-07:00

My two sisters came to visit for a couple of days last weekend. It was so much fun to have them here. We don't get to get together, just the girls very often....like, once every couple of years. We had great girl time and enjoyed ourselves immensly. Carla brought her two littlest boys. Carson and Sawyer. The are the cutest, little munchkins. I just want to squish them and munch on their chubby, squishy little cheeks. They are adorable. Joyce brought her seemingly endless energy and her capacity to make the simplest activities seem like the greatest thing since zippers. Joyce and I lived together when we were both at BYU-Idaho. We had so much fun together. I miss having her so close, she always makes me laugh. Carla and Carson.

Look at those cheeks! Couldn't you just kiss them silly?

Joyce and the kids playing in the leaves. Not just playing in the leaves, when Joyce is around it's like an autumn celebration party.

My beautiful sisters. The night before they left Joyce and I ran to "Kent's" and got a bottle of Natural Instincts "Warm Chestnut" hair dye. I helped her apply it and it turned out so great! I love it! She looks HOT! Thanks girls for coming, I hope we can do it again soon.

Another Little Visitor

2009-10-21T08:46:00.000-07:00

My next door neighbor came over the other day looking like death warmed over. She had been puking all day and asked me if I would take her baby for the night so that she wouldn't have to get up and feed her, and risk getting the baby sick too. I said "You bet!" Maddox Grace is a sweet, angelic little two month old little bundle of joy. We were so blessed to be able to have her for a few hours and she slept so well! The kids oohed and aahed and kissed and loved her so much. We might have to provide them with a little brother or sister here pretty soon.

It's Finished....Almost

2009-10-14T08:59:00.001-07:00

We finally finished Clare's dollhouse! At least it's mostly finished. I still have to put the trim around the windows inside and do some touch-up paint but it's pretty much done. Now we just need some furniture. Does anyone have any old Barbie furniture that their daughter has grown out of and aren't using anymore? If so, leave a comment and let me know. I would really appreciate it. Now it's time to work on Christmas presents. By the way...I still miss you summer!

Mourning the Change of Season

2009-10-07T14:56:00.001-07:00

I woke up a couple of days ago and realized that the season had changed and it was fall! No more 80 degree days, no more spur of the moment weekend fishing trips or picnics. I HATE saying goodbye to summer. I would enjoy fall so much more if winter didn't come imediately after it. Autumn really is a wonderful time of year it's just that you always have that little shred of dread for the long, dark, cold months ahead. So, on that downer note.....Sorry about that. I obviously have strong feelings about the seasons.. Our next door neighbors invited the kids over to their garden patch to pick out a pumpkin. Clare had a blast while Hyrum was more interested in the bikes. Bailey, our little helper/sometimes babysitter. Cutey patutey

She really was pretty psyched about the pumpkin, even if you can't tell by her face.

I love the color of pumpkins! Not that I'd want to decorate my house with it but it is a wonderful, rich color.

The Palmer Farm

2009-10-01T10:55:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we visited David's brother and his family in Idaho. They have a house on ten acres of land just outside of Blackfoot. We love going to visit them. They are so much fun! You probably can't see the similarity between David and Steve from this blurry picture but they look a lot alike. They're grove of russian olive trees where they have also planted an orchard of apple and pear trees. It's so pretty! It looks like Steve is picking his nose, and he might be..but we'll give him the benefit of the doubt. :)

Jessica and Clare. Jessie helped Clare so much and shared her toys so well!

Hyrum spotted the goats as soon as we drove up and mimicked goat sounds the whole time.

These goats are "Nubians" They are super cute! I may have to get one. The kids also enjoyed Steve and Emily's chickens, guinea foul, and baby kittens. We look forward to any new animal additions they may get in the future and will have to make sure we get up there more often.

The Dollhouse

2009-09-15T09:22:00.000-07:00

I have been so bad about blogging lately. We have been pretty busy with different things...This Dollhouse being one of them. It is a work in progress and David and I are having so much fun with it. It's almost become an obsession. Everywhere I go I'm looking for things that will work as furniture/curtains/rugs/flooring etc... here are some examples. A couch made from a little wooden shelf and a chair found at the D.I. I still need to sew cushions for both.

The bed and little bedspread I made for Clare

The bed and bedspread I made for my adorable little niece, Natalie

The Dollhouse. I'm so glad I have such a handy husband who can build stuff like this. He even made the attic into storage space with a little hatch at the top to stick stuff in. I can't wait to get it painted and the flooring down. I'm still looking for windows on line but they are pretty expensive, as is Furniture that is Barbie Doll size.

My own little Dolls. I like to hug them and squish them and give them kisses. They are the loves of my life. I am so grateful to have such beautiful children and such a great Husband. They are my everything.

Ah...To Be 28 Again

2009-09-15T08:57:00.001-07:00

There is nothing that can make you feel older than turning 30 before your husband turns 28. David's 28th birthday was September 6th. What a spring chicken! Anyway...For his birthday he got himself a new fishing pole and we celebrated by going to Mantua reservoir on our friend's canoe and fishing. David's mom watched the kids for us (thanks Mom!) so that we didn't have to worry about capsizing (not that it helped. David insisted on fishing while standing up....have you ever tried that in a canoe?) It was lots of fun though and we caught a lot of fish and enjoyed being outside together.

P.S. On a side-note...Our Anniversary was on Aug 30. We've been married for 6 years now which doesn't sound like a lot, but yet feels like a long time because of the massive changes that we've had in our lives in those six years. The big change was, of course, the arrival of our children. We have been so blessed to have two beautiful, fun, healthy children. We've definitely
had our difficult times but have found the strength to work through them and build a strong foundation for our future trials. Here are six things I love about David. One for every year we've been married:

1: He still laughs at my jokes However lame they may be.

2: He reminds me to read my scriptures almost every night.

3: He is so adorable when he plays with the kids. They adore him.

4: Everyday when he comes home from work he is so excited to see me and the kids. But I always get the first hug and kiss.

5: He is so good at saying "thankyou" and "I'm sorry". :)

6: He's a good lookin', smoking hot, babelicious hunk of burnin' love. I'm so glad he's mine forever.

A frivolous buy

2009-08-24T09:44:00.000-07:00

My Sister in law, Becky and I were at the D.I. in Brigham City a couple of weeks ago when I spotted this little wrought iron out-door table. These chairs were close to it and had a similar design so I picked them up, having visions dancing in my head of the endless possibilities offered by revamping them all. Before.

The finished product. Cost (this is my favorite part.) Table: $8 Chairs: $2 each. Fabric: $4. Paint: $3. Now I don't have anywhere to put it but it was sure fun to do and it only took a couple of hours. My next project is making a doll house for Clare. David is going to help me of course. He is the saw man. I'm too chicken to use the table saw and he has the practical knowledge about how to put it all together. I'm so excited!

The Big One That Almost Got Away

2009-08-18T11:56:00.000-07:00

Before we left Mantua we had to go to the reservoir and fish. I took the kids to play in the water. Clare is my little mermaid and Hyrum is my Sand kid.

Nothing like having cool buns while eating a delicious snack.

David would never forgive me if I didn't post a picture of the big large-mouth bass he caught on Monday before we came home from camping. He caught this big guy off the shore and then the fish swam right into a thick fog of moss. David had to wade into the lake up to his waist to get the fish because his line was about to break and he WASN'T going to let this one get away. Yay Dave!

Of Bugs and Slugs and Slimy Things

2009-08-18T11:32:00.001-07:00

We had planned to go camping at a campground near Bear Lake this weekend but it got cancelled at the last minute because the weather turned bad. It got down into the 30's up in the mountains and even snowed one day. We were so bummed. Well, we decided Sunday afternoon to go camping in Mantua with David's sister Becky and her family. We packed up our stuffed and headed up. We had a lot of fun in the mountains eating, playing in the creek, and talking around the camp fire. It was a little more difficult at bed-time. Hyrum WOULD NOT sleep in the tent. So at 11:00pm we finally packed up his crib and he and I headed down the canyon to sleep in the comfort of Becky's house. aaahhh. We probably won't do another over-night camping trip for a while. David tossing Hyrum up in the air. I'm biting my fingernails and trying not to look. Hyrum is having the time of his life. Hmmmm he's scared stiff of a carousel ride but loves being tossed 20 feet into the air. I don't understand.

David did a great job scraping up enough firewood for us to keep snuggly warm the whole time. This was really impressive because there isn't a whole lot out there and we weren't going to buy any from the camp host. (The charge $6 a bundle for firewood!)

Tyler, Natalie, and Clare found a slug down by the creek and it became their little slimy pet. They passed it around and if it moved......Hot diggity! That's when the fun really began. They also had a pretty good bug collection going.

This is where you would find Hyrum 80% of the time. He LOVES Becky's dog "Sadie". He hugged and tackled and snuggled and pulled and poked her the whole time and Sadie took it like a champ. Bless her little doggie heart.

Phants

2009-08-18T11:16:00.001-07:00

We went to Hogle Zoo on Saturday. We've been wanting to go all summer but were waiting for a good time and weather that wasn't blazing hot. We got our wish. Since we couldn't go camping up at Bear Lake (it was snowing) like we had originally planned, we decided to take advantage of the free saturday and go. We had a lot of fun looking at the animals, eating cotton candy, and watching the really cool bird show. The really cute baby giraffe. He looked so small when we were further away and his mom was right by him. When we got closer however, we saw that he was actually about as tall as David is. Wow! Glad I don't have to give birth to that!

Both my handsome guys. What a lucky gal I am.

It may look like Hyrum is having fun here. He's not. Both kids were terrified of the carousel. Clare wouldn't ride on any of the animals period. The only reason Hyrum is on one is because he was too scared to put up a fight. :)

One of Clare's favorite animals was the elephant or "phants" as she called him. There was also a brand new baby elephant but they don't let him out for public view yet.

Clare and David looking at the Elephants.

Coming and Going, but Mostly Staying Put

2009-08-09T14:17:00.000-07:00

We have had lot going on and like a moron I didn't take pictures. Here it is in a nut shell. My Mom and Dad came up last weekend to visit. We had a wonderful time garage-sale-ing, picking apricots, going to the Preston-night rodeo. Mom watched the kids for us so David, Dad, and I could go. Bless her heart! Thanks Mom. We were also able to see my Brother's family for a few hours on their way back to Oregon. Good times. David found a swing at one of the Garage sales that we went to and he and my Dad rigged it up to swing on one of the pine trees in the back yard. The kids have LOVED IT! Besides that it's been Doctor's appointments, birthday parties, meeting with realtors and other fun stuff. I don't even know if you can see anything in the picture. But if you could, you would see a huge grin on Clare's face and if you could hear a picture, She would be giggling her adorable little giggle.

Hyrum in the New Swing

Water, Water, Everywhere

2009-07-27T13:57:00.000-07:00

We woke up Saturday morning to a flooded basement. The sprinkler was left on by the side of our house and the new carpet and pad that we put in there in April was SOAKED. So were any cardboard boxes that were sitting on the floor in the storage room that held clothes that the kids have grown out of. We spend the morning soaking up water with every available towel in the house, then drying them and soaking them again. I'm still soaking up water today. Sigh...Oh well.
Saturday afternoon we went to Willard Bay with two of David's sister's and their families. It has been fun living closer to David's family and being able to hang out. They are so much fun! And our kids love being together. Everyone had a blast playing in the water and sand and eating treats. We ended up the day by fishing off of the jette and watching an absolutely stunning sunset. What a great day! Hyum and Skylar kickin back after playing in the water.

Hyrum mostly just loved to throw rocks

Hyrum and Tyler, his surregate big brother. Ty does such a great job at keeping an eye on him.

Clare, Kyle, and Ty playing in the sand.

More Willard bay pix

2009-07-27T13:49:00.001-07:00

David's sister Becky and my sweet little niece Natalie, who also happens to be Clare's BFF

Another adorable nephew, (Sharon's oldest) Jordan, looking for treasures in the sand.

My adorable nephew (Sharon's baby) Skylar. Look at those baby blues!

Whoa ladies! That good looker is TAKEN!

Clare is a water addict and could literally spend aaaalllll day in it. She also adores the horsey floaty. Yeeeeee, haaw.

The Cuteness

2009-07-13T09:12:00.001-07:00

Is this not the cutest thing you've ever seen? Clare loves having her fingernails/toenails painted and begged her Daddy to "painting please?" David did such a good job and was sooooo cute doing it; even as he was saying "Esther, do NOT get the camera and take a picture of this." just as I was running to get my camera to capture this tender moment between my baby girl and her Daddy. He knows me so well. What a great catch I got!

We have been taking daily bike-rides as a family. Of course we had to stop at the store and get some ice-cream to eat when we got home. We are Messsssssssy.

Eat Cake!

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

So a couple of days ago my Sister in law had a birthday and her husband called to invite us to an impromtu birthday barbeque. I didn't have a whole lot of time to whip something up and not a whole lot of stuff around the house. I did have this white cake mix which I don't typically care for but decided to give it a whirl. I hate store-bought frosting and I didn't know what would go with a white cake anyway so I just whipped up this last minute frosting that turned out really good. I just mixed one half package softened cream cheese, one small tub of cool whip, and two cups of raspberry yogurt. I added a touch of red food coloring for a pretty color and topped it with fresh raspberries. It was so yummy! Anyway, I just wanted to share it with you in case you ever need a fast and easy summer dessert that tastes delish.

Summertime Fun

2009-07-06T08:23:00.001-07:00

Here are a few of the happenings around here of late. Clare is as cute as ever and Potty training! She is doing great and has had very few accidents. I caught her trying on my sunglasses the other day in just her underwear. I was shocked at first because I have a picture of myself wearing my mom's sunglasses when I was about the same age and she looks just like me!

We went to my sil's house last week and hung out with her and her two cutie pie kids-Natalie and Tyler. Clare and Natalie are best buds and they all played in their little pool and had a great time.

Natalie manned the hose while Ty slid down the slide and Clare tested the water temperature.

Cute Natalie

Ty is Hyrum's self appointed surrigate big brother, he is SO cute with him. He just follows him everywhere and takes such good care of him. Hyrum loves Ty to death too and gets so excited whenever we pull up to Aunt Becky's house.

Here fishy, fishy

2009-06-29T08:03:00.001-07:00

Saturday we had a family night at Mantua Reservoir. David wanted to go fishing so we packed up the kids, got KFC chicken and headed up. Of course David can't fish where everyone else does so we had to go around on a dirt road to the other side of the reservoir and then hike about a mile around to get to the perfect spot. I don't mind, it was so beautiful! I love Mantua and the weather was gorgeous. There was lush green glass and wild flowers and the beautiful mountains al around us. Big snakes, big fish, and big mosquitoes. Saw them all. Here are some pictures. Clare and Hyrum mostly liked playing with the worms the best. They really liked the big mealy worms.....shiver. I HATE mealy worms.

David found the jackpot at this little spot. He caught four bass, this was a little one. My batteries died right after this so I didn't get the little one that Clare reeled in or the big bass that David caught on his last cast. GRrRRRr. He also caught countless little bluegill, not worth a pic.

Daddy and Hyrum

These wild daisies grew all over the hillside.

Clare and Daddy. I love this picture.

Father's Day 2009

2009-06-22T08:52:00.000-07:00

My husband is an amazing Daddy. When we were dating I loved to watch him play with his little nieces and nephews and new that he would be a great Dad. I was right. Now I love to watch him play with our little ones. He is the light of my Children's lives. When he comes home from work the kids light up like light bulbs and cling to him. My little Hyrum worships the ground he walks on and Clare's day is not complete unless Daddy has given her a big kiss goodnight. I am so glad that I have a wonderful husband that sets such a good example of kindness, respect for others, sacrifice, love, hard work, love of nature and family, and honesty. He loves the gospel and the Lord and never misses a chance to tell the kids how much he loves them and how wonderful they are. I love my husband so much and am so glad he mine!

Long Time

2009-06-22T08:43:00.000-07:00

It has been SO LONG since I posted last. A lot has happened. First, I want to give a shout out to Erin Miller for being so awesome and doing the new design on my blog. She was a companion of mine on my mission and someone I have a lot of respect for. Her button "Designer Blogs" appears at the bottom of the side bar and she does awesome work for a great deal. Check it out.
We have been busy at our house. Since it is up for sale we are working hard at getting all of the little projects finished and keeping it clean so that we can show it.
Last week the kids and I went to my sister's house and hung out for a couple of days with her and her family. She has an adorable new baby that is just a beautiful new doll and a blessing to be around. Carla is an amazing person and an incredible Mom. She gets so much done and still keeps her house clean and her kids happy. I enjoyed being around all (eight) of her great kids.
David's parents got home from their mission the week before last. We are so glad to have them back! Their homecoming was yesterday and their talks were GREAT. It's really cool to see the spirit of missionary work lingering in their countenances and their love of the Navajo people that they served.

Pooping on Toilets and Other Accomplishments

2009-06-08T07:54:00.000-07:00

I never thought I'd be so excited over poop. But anyone who knows my Clare Bear is probably familiar with the difficulty with which she has BM's. It's hours (if not Days) of stiff legged yelling, pushing, screaming, exhausting misery. Poor baby. This was the case on Saturday, it had been two days of misery when my sister-in-law Cathy suggested that I sit her on the toilet and hold her down so that gravity could work it's magic. (Novel Idea!) We tried it and with in 6-7 minutes we had poop in the toilet! Celebration! Now I know how to help my poor little girl when she is in so much misery AND help her get potty trained. Yeeeehhhhhh!

I also experienced my second earthquake. It was supercool. Thank goodness it wasn't very big but the earth rumbled, my couch was bouncing around and the house was rattling. It was awesome!

We helped clean up my In-law's yard. They are getting home from their mission in Arizona on Thursday. Hip, hip, hooray! We have missed them and will be glad to have them back! It looks so much better thanks to Becky, Sharon, Cathy and Curt + family, Shelly and David. They did awesome!

Bad news on poop. No, not Clare. My dog! Thought he was potty trained......he has decided to prove us wrong and I'm about to KILL him! He is spending the day outside today to avoid a potential doggy homocide which is what would happen if he poops on my carpet one more time!

More branding pix

2009-05-26T09:16:00.001-07:00

Dad on "Johnny" Glen's ranch horse.

My little farm boy.

Adams Ranch Branding

2009-05-26T08:59:00.001-07:00

We got back on Sunday from visiting my family in Crane, OR. We usually go to my parents branding this time of year and this year was no exception. Everyone had a lot of fun. My brother, Shane and his family were able to join us for the first time. I think his girls have decided that we are barbarians for torturing those poor wittle baby calves. It was so fun to see them and have them there. The weather was beautiful in Crane and the kids speant most of their time outside. Clare had a blast playing with Matthews little girls, Madeline and Sophie. and Hyrum had a great time just following everyone else around. We did miss Carla and Scott and Sawyer but are so glad that baby Carson is finally here. Hyrum just enjoyed the sun and dirt.

Clare and Erica on the back of Glen's flatbed truck

David enjoyed giving the calves vaccinations. ( "now look cow, we can to this the hard way, or we can do this the easy way.....DON'T MOVE A MUSCLE!" )

Shane did the branding while Glen supervised and Luke ear marked.

We Painted, They PAINTED!

2009-05-26T08:52:00.001-07:00

We painted our house last week and it turned out really nice. It's still not a cute house, but at least it doesn't look like a square tube of Crest toothpaste. I like the window box though. Our neighbors directly across from us also painted their house. It's a glow in the dark house, and a glow in the daylight house. It just glows! I am shocked that it's even legal to sell that color of paint. It's an abomination!

We painted our house beige with black and white accents....Like I said, not beautiful, but better. We also put it up for sale so that we can move back to Cache Valley. If you know anyone who wants to live in Tremonton, spread the word.

I'm an Aunt again!

2009-05-19T11:39:00.000-07:00

I am so excited that my sister had her baby! They had been told that it was a girl and they just knew in their hearts that it was a girl. Then this morning when she had her c-section she turned out to be a he and now they are trying to find a name for their baby boy. If any of you have suggestions, please comment because they are open for pointers. I feel bad that my sister had to have a c-section because it takes sooo long to recover from and she'll be feeling cruddy for a little while AND she'll miss the family branding at the "Adams Ranch." We will miss her but hope to stop by this weekend on our way back and say hi and meet baby Astle. We love him a ton already.

Unfortunate Event

2009-05-19T11:35:00.000-07:00

Our poor puppy Mack was hit by a car last Tuesday evening. Luckily he ended up with no broken bones or internal injuries but he did have to get some stitches in his back legs. He is absolutely miserable. I will not add insult to injury by posting a picture of our unfortunate pooch with his shaved back end and a cone on his head. Hopefully he will get feeling better soon.

Wordful Wednesday

2009-05-13T08:45:00.000-07:00

I missed posting on the last wordful wednesday. The theme was poems and we were supposed to write a poem. I started, got writer's block, and quit. I am NOT a poet. This WW theme is "Mothers".

Of course my own mother is the biggest influence on my life and probably always will be. As I am raising my two children I often think two, three, even 12 times a day: "How did my Mom do it with SEVEN?"
It takes a special person to be able to raise so many children and not completely loose their mind. My Mom really is a special person. Here are some things I learned from my Mom:
1. If you are going to do something, do it well.
2. I am the only person holding me back from doing great things.
3. Be completely honest in everything you do.
4 Hard work is fulfilling.
5. Never stop learning.
6. Good Music is healing for the soul, and joy in your heart.
7. "Be of Good Cheer"
8. A really good, hard laugh is necessary from time to time.
9. The world around us is a beautiful place.
10. Pray always.

My list could go on and on but I'll spare you all a few hours by just listing ten. My mom is an amazing woman with countless talents and abilities. She is truly a sacred vessel and shall be called blessed by future generations. Love you Mom.

Warm Fuzzies

2009-05-08T09:17:00.000-07:00

A boy in our ward did a kid's petting zoo for his eagle project. We had to bring a donation of some food for the food bank to get in and it was so worth it and more! They had so many different farm animals. There were baby pigs, goats, sheep, chickens, ducks, turkeys, puppies, a kitty, a calf, and a miniature horse. Clare was in HEAVEN! She squealed and shrieked happily the whole time as she ran from one shell shocked animal to the other. She cried and cried when we had to leave but had a WONDERFUL time. Every animal was squeezed and loved and cuddled and kissed enough by our sweet little girl to last a lifetime. Hyrum wasn't too sure about the baby goats. They liked to chew on his pants and had absolutely no sense of personal space. :)

Baby goats are adorable, big goats are hideous. Clare likes baby goats.

Hyrum did really good at being soft (with Daddy's help)

Clare's favorites were probably the baby chicks. They got inumerable kisses and cuddles and probably went to bed exhausted and having nightmares of giant lips comming toward them.

Clare and the miniature stallion at the baby animal event. He wasn't a baby, but he was small and so gentle and cute.

The Happiest Weed

2009-05-08T09:11:00.000-07:00

I love flowers. I love flowers that smell and flowers that don't smell. I love them pink and white and purple and red and orange, I love them any color. I love yellow! I know that dandelions are weeds, but they must be the happiest weed because they have the prettiest yellow flower. Clare and I picked a lovely bouquet of dandelions and grape hyacinths (they also grow like weeds in the alley behind our house) It was so pretty!

Friendly Mischief

2009-05-06T09:55:00.000-07:00

We had some friends come and stay with us for a couple of days last week. Jared and Tosha lived in Cornish and sold their house and have a lay-over between having to be out of their home and being able to move into their new home. They have three adorable children: Aamon (4 yrs), Aaron(2 yrs), and Milly (3 months). Aaron and Clare had so much fun together. I got to babysit the boys one day while mom and dad were working on house stuff so to keep the younger ones busy I set up a big piece of cardboard on the table and gave them some markers to color on it. They did really good not getting any marker on the table, however, they did have some problems keeping it off their bodies! Their hands, arms, and faces were covered in bright, vibrant colors. They were so funny and proud of themselves. Clare and Aaron proudly displaying their masterpieces.

Clare imitating the Joker off of the last "Batman" movie.

We had lots of fun with our friends and hope that they can move into their big cozy home soon.

Happenings

2009-04-28T20:12:00.000-07:00

Here are some things that happened Last week in brief. Maybe I'll get to post more on "Wordful Wednesday". I caught the one tender moment my children had with each other on camera! How cute are they? They are such darling kids and I love them so much. I could just squish them silly!

I made strawberry jam. Five batches which translates to 81/2 gallons of jam. When you think about it that way, that ends up being a lot of jam. I also figured out that we used about 25 cups of sugar, wow! I haven't figured out how much that is in pounds but I don't think I want to know.

Mack got a hair cut! At first I hated it but now I'm used to it and he looks better, just skinnier without all of that fluff. And yes, we ended up naming him "Mack" It started as Benny, then went to Sylvester (Sly for short) then Rascal, then Maverick which got shortened to "Mack" because that was what Clare called him and Mack it has stayed.....at least for the last two months.

Clare's Room

2009-04-18T07:48:00.001-07:00

We finally got Clare's room done. We pulled out the carpet, refinished the original oak floor, filled numerous holes, painted a wheat yellow with white trim. Clare also graduated to a big girl twin size bed with a Dora the Explorer comforter. It was supposed to be a birthday present but I didn't get it done on time. The cute bed frame I got from David's Sister, Carla. We painted it a milky white and then scuffed and distressed it. Turned out way cute. Before the Big renovation. Green walls, green carpet. Not bad, just outdated.

Clare loves her new bed. She also thinks that when you smile you have to have your eyes closed.

The finished product. Finally.

Happy Esther -oops, I mean, Easter

2009-04-18T07:37:00.000-07:00

We had a very good Easter. We spent the day house hunting and easter egg hunting at Becky's house. Becky is always a terrific hostess and we had tons of fun. The kids loved playing with cousins, coloring eggs, and hunting them down. Sunday we just hung out, went on a walk with the kids, and then for dinner we had a little fire in our fire pit in the back yard and had hot dogs and dutch oven potatoes. Yum! I found some! I found some!

Hyrum had a blast..As always. He thoroughly enjoys everything he does. He is a fun little boy.

Yeah for Clare!

Clare and Natalie are very best friends and did their Easter Egg hunt together.

Wordful Wednesday

2009-04-15T20:15:00.000-07:00

This was a hard one. I had a hard time narrowing it down, especially since it had to be a person without obvious religious affilliations. I kind of cheated a little when I chose C.S. LEWIS. His Chronicles of Narnia books are my most favorites reads in the world. He simplified the plan of salvation (even though he didn't know that was what it was) into stories that weremagical for children, yet had depth enough for an adult to read over and over again and still find significance. His life was an amazing yet lowly journey. He was a professor at Cambridge University in Great Britain and lived as a bachelor with his brother until he was quite advanced in age. He married an American woman with a young son after she requested it of him, she needed to remain in Britain and her union with Lewis would provide her with British citizenship. They fell deeply in love and were happy for a short time until she developed cancer and died a short time later. Lewis was paralyzed with grief yet was finally able to overcome it as he realized that his wife's young son needed him to overcome the loss of his dear mother. The movies "Shadowlands" is a wonderful depiction of Lewis' story. I definitely recommend it.

I can't go though without mentioning the other inspirational people that surround me. Luckily, there are many that I can mention. I am blessed to have so many wonderful examples. Okay, where do I start???....
Mom: She lived for years on NOTHING, yet none of us kids would ever tell you that we were poor growing up. She helped us feel there was always enough, and there was.
Carla: She has four kids, three stepkids, one on the way, a close to full time job, and she is still cheerful and happy and finds time to clean her house, make dinner, and do fun activities with her family. Amazing.
Denise: She does it all, great cook, super creative, super organized, tough cookie and can look great doing it. And she has a totally adorable youngster.
Erin Miller: One of my missionary companions. The most spiritual and faithful person I know. She is a true spiritual giant and can see the good in every situation.
Montse Wadsworth: How do you do it? Anyone who does wordful wednesday will know what I'm talking about.
Marci Case: Right now she is living in a two bedroom house that is being remodled with three kids and a niece that is staying with her. Marci, your a real trooper. I'd be in the nuthouse.....like 6 months ago.
.......I could go on and on. Pretty much everyone I know is amazing. I am really lucky to have such wonderful people around me. Hopefully I will someday live up to their incredible examples.

The Terrible Twos are Over....Right?

2009-04-08T10:43:00.000-07:00

Clare had a birthday on Monday. She is now three years old and officially over the terrible twos....right? Sigh.... More later on her adventures into the realm of true creative naughtiness. Clare had a good birthday complete with muffins for breakfast which she helped make.. and sample. We played at McDonalds and had icecream. She is a beautiful little girl and a lot of fun...Very busy fun. Clare sampling the corn muffins

Clare enjoying her cupcake with chocolate frosting.

When I was on the phone with my sister this morning I got neglectful in my motherly duties and was not paying attention to what my darling pair of kidos were doing. Clare had found my Jergens "Intensive Rescue" lotion and a paint brush. Interesting combination. Hyrum ended up getting a complete paint job in hypoallergenic and unfragranced lotion. Our bedroom wall was also treated to some extra moisturizing lotion. After a short bath Hyrum is lotion free...(although his skin and hair [as well as the wall] do have a soft and healthy glow)

Clare colored in her new princess book...and on the countertop...this was before the lotion incident. Ooops! gotta go, Hyrum just broke a glass and cut his hand a little. I wonder how he got that glass.......CLARE!!!!!!!!!!

Wordful Wednesday

2009-04-01T14:43:00.000-07:00

Since I don't know how to do this I'm just kind of wingin' it. One of my favorite comedians is Jack Handey. He has gotten more raunchy through his more recent stuff but I love his bazaar sense of humor. Here are a couple of he "Deep Thoughts"
"When I think back on all the arguments Martha and I have had, I realize how silly most of them were. And it makes me wonder why she wanted to argue over such stupid things...I think I'll go ask her."

"Whenever I see an old lady slip and fall on a wet sidewalk, my first instinct is to laugh. But then I think, what if I was an ant and she fell on me. Then it wouldn't seem quite so funny."

I think that I like that one so much becuase whenever I see someone fall (or get hurt in any manner) my first instinct is to laugh. It happens when I hurt myself too..it's usually just a hysterical reaction to a bad situation in every case. sigh.....

Spring????

2009-04-01T08:05:00.000-07:00

It has been forever since I made a post. We have been so busy that it just hasn't happened. First my Mom came down to visit us for a couple of days and we had lots of fun with her. It was super fun to have her here. We shopped and cooked and watched "Reba" and hung out and talked. Thanks Mom for coming to see us. While Mom was here we invited my Aunt and Uncle a some of their married children that live around here to come and have lunch with us and chat. It was so fun to have them here. I have not had the opportunity to get to know any of my cousins very much because we lived so far away from them as I was growing up. It was good to have them here and hang out for a while. We managed to maim only one of them too. Poor little Janie got a good wack on the head after she fell back in the bar stool she was sitting in. I felt so terrible. Hopefully there were no residual effects.
After Mom left we got busy working on the basement painting, ripping up carpet, pad and old tack strip and installing all of the new pad and tack strip. We had a friend who does carpet professionally come and install the carpet for us. It looks so great. I have also been working on refinishing a twin bed for Clare. I will include pix of that when I get done.

More improvements

2009-04-01T07:56:00.000-07:00

We just replaced the carpet in our basement. I hated spending time down there before. Look at how dark and depressing it was. If you can't see the colors of this flooring gem, they are red, orange, black, and olive green. Whoever invented it should be inducting into the ugly carpet hall of fame and then banned from ever inventing ANYTHING again because man......they have bad ideas.

Before: When we took the carpet to the dump the people next to us were nudging each other and pointing. Finally they called over to us: "Wow! That is some ugly carpet!" Yep, I think we won the ugly carpet contest. The finished product. Except without any furniture or decorations. I still don't know what I'm going to do with that. I have lots of stuff to put on the walls, I just am not sure where or what to use.

Tsegi, and other treasures

2009-03-17T12:56:00.000-07:00

We are back from the land of red rock and the Navajo. It was one of the coolest experiences ever! Neither David and I had ever been to Arizona before and since his parents are serving in Kayenta we decided it would be a great opportunity for us. It was like being in another country. The Navajo people have an entirely different culture and language. The landscape is like something out of a Star Trek show (except way cooler. Sorry Star Trek fans.) The things we saw were absolutely stunning and magnificent. They rival the cathedrals and castles that I was able to see in Wales and England. God truly loves us. In that desolate, barren land, he provided vistas of incredible beauty. He truly is a master architect. Clare and I in Antelope canyon.

Antelope Canyon, This is the path we had to walk through, only room for one person. We had to walk through single file most of the way.

The Anasazi cliff dwellings at Tegi Canyon.

This is Tegi Canyon and the Anasazi ruins in that hollow point of the hill, Absolutely incredible.

Yaht e' eh

2009-03-17T12:41:00.000-07:00

Grandma, Grandpa, and our family in Antelope canyon. This was one of the few places wide enough for all of us to stand together.

Wow! This is Antelope Slot Canyon. The colors were exactly like this. It took your breath away.

All of us at Coal Mine Canyon. You would never know it's there. there is nothing but flat stark, barren land all around it then it opens up into this magnificent canyon with incredible colors. The canyon isn't even marked on the road, you have to know it's there or you'll miss it.

David and I by the "Big Chair" in Monument Valley.

Clare and Hyrum loved the red sand that was everywhere in Monument Valley and elswhere.

hmmm

2009-03-10T04:27:00.001-07:00

I just got a new photo edition program and I've been playing with it. It's been so much fun. The picture of Hyrum I loved but the camera strap got in the way and was draped clear across his forhead. I was able to edit it out with the program. I think it turned out really well. I also though this one of Clare was super cute. Originally this was taken in our living room with all of our mess around. It looks much better now.

A New Family Member

2009-03-10T04:08:00.000-07:00

We just increased our family number by one! Our new addition has blonde curly hair and blue eyes. He loves to be snuggled and cuddled and is very close to potty trained at 8 1/2 weeks! We call him Benny and are already in love with him. Our new addition is a puppy! We have been looking at cockapoo puppies for many months but they run fairly expensive (usually in the area of $500+) so we haven't done anything about it. Yesterday I was on ksl and decided to look and see what they had. We found this 8 1/2 week old cockapoo puppy whose owners couldn't keep him anymore because they are going into the air force. We already love him and I've turned into one of those crazy people that talk about their pets as if they are their kids. Mom, you are a Grandma again! Joking. Wish us luck on our new venture as pet owners.

My Man is the Best!

2009-03-04T06:12:00.000-08:00

My wonderful Hubby came home the day before yesterday with a beautiful bouquet of flowers for me. AAAAAhhh. I have the best Husband ever! He picked out all of the flowers himself knowing that I love Gerber Daisies and lillies.

Apron Strings

2009-03-02T15:30:00.000-08:00

My sister in law, Emily Palmer, makes the cutest aprons. It's one of her many mad skills- she also makes an amazing marshmallow fondant that she decorated her daughter's birthday cake with. It was so cute. Anyway, so I was looking at an apron that she made when we were there last weekend and decided that I wanted to try my hand at it. I went to Hobby Lobby and got some cute fabric and then went to the internet and found a basic butchers apron pattern. Here is how it turned out. It's actually a little bit cuter in person but it turned out all right. It was way fun though and only took a couple of hours.

Blackfoot and Walking

2009-02-24T16:10:00.000-08:00

I'm such a dork that I didn't take any pictures of our weekend in Blackfoot. On Saturday we hitched a ride with David's sister Carla and her husband and daughter and went to visit David's only brother in Blackfoot. It was Dave's nieces birthday and we hadn't been down there in a while. We had such a good time. We played games and the kids played with Jessica. Clare was in absolute Heaven. There were princess dolls and a doll house and a little play kitchen and best of all... there was Jesse. Her very own cousin friend. Jesse was so good to play with her even though she is a big girl now (six) and Clare is so small.
We had a blast and as always, Steve and Emily were fabulous hosts. Always good food, good company, good entertainment.
We went to churh with them on Sunday and Kaity took Clare and Hyrum in the Nursery with her so David and I got to listen to the entire block of meetings without interuption. It was so nice! That hasn't happened in nearly three years. Thankyou Kaity and thankyou Shane and Carla for lending her to us and for being such a wonderful Uncle and Aunt to our kids. They absolutely love you.
Today was a gorgeous warm day. David and I took the kids outside and ended up going for a walk around the block. It was so good to get outside and feel the sunshine. The kids were eating it up too. We ended up at the IFA that is not to far from our house. They were having an amazing sale on all of their toys. they were all at least 75% off if not more. There was tons of John Deere stuff for super cheap and Breyer horse play sets. We had so much fun shopping for the kiddos. I told David that we should probably keep some of it hidden for birthdays and next Christmas but he can never wait. I have to hide Clare Christmas presents from him or he'll give them to her early. He loves his kids, and loves to spoil them. Anyway. We had just as much fun as the kids did playing with them. Have a good week!

Mmmm Cheesecake

2009-02-18T09:13:00.000-08:00

I have been craving cheesecake lately and I'm going to make some this morning. I have never made it before but I'm using a recipe I found on the internet. I never knew how many variations of cheesecake there are. Apparently there is Philidelphia cheesecake, Italian cheesecake, New York cheesecake (which is what I'm making) and then all of the fruit/chocolate/pumkin/coffee/peanut butter versions of each. Wow! It makes my mouth water. Wish me luck.

All is calm, All us white

2009-02-18T09:02:00.000-08:00

We were pounded yesterday by a huge snow storm that dropped about ten inches of snow on us. I'm thinking about hunting down a certain ground hog and pinning his hide up on our woodshed. (six weeks till spring! Baaah!) Anyway, it made everything look so pretty and I had to take some pix. I love it when the snow sticks to the branches on the trees so that it turns all white. Beautiful.

Our back yard looked pretty too

It makes everything so pretty. Even our street, which is a big deal, since we live in ghettoville.

How do I love thee

2009-02-15T16:36:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a great Valentines that was spent cherishing the ones you love. We spent ours cherishing our loved ones as well as David's sister's loved ones. We decided to swap babysitting so that we could both do something for Valentines day. Friday night David and I went out while Becky and Garon watched our kids and Saturday we watched their kiddos while they went out. Unfortunately Becky had experienced a bad fall on the ice that really messed up her back and she had to come back early so they only got to have about an hour and a half together before coming back. I felt so bad for her. She was in a lot of pain and could hardly move.
David and I got to go to dinner at the Coppermill Resteraunt in Logan and then we just walked around Al's Sporting goods looking at all of the terribly price inflated items that we would love to have. We made a wish list. It's something like this:
Canoe
Basketball
Backpack (for both of us)
shotgun
fly rod
fishing pole for Esther (David lost mine last year...not that I ever actually fished with it anyway.)
Treadmill for Esther (Still trying to lose that extra 20 lbs from the last baby.)
bike trailer for the kids
New bike for David
Kid backpack so that we can take walks/hikes with the kids on our backs

So anyway. If anyone was looking to spend a couple grand on us. Now you have an idea what to get. :) Just joking!
We had a great time thought just walking around and dreaming about all of the fun things we're going to do some day. Thankyou so much Becky for watching the kids so that David and I could spend some quality time. David found a great segment of a talk from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland on lds.org that I loved. here is the link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM3mlgLAIMs

Today's Triumph

2009-02-12T18:45:00.000-08:00

I have had my eye on this quilt for a long time but could never justify spending that much on it until today! I saw an add that advertised it at 40% off so I ran and snatched it up. I love it! the color's are so rich and varied. I still need a bed skirt but I may have to wait for that. Thanks for looking.

Random thoughts

2009-02-09T09:03:00.001-08:00

Since I don't have anything really interesting to report I decided to include a few random pictures and thoughts. Sorry that I have so many of my kids but they are the main people that I spend my time with soooo there it is. We are grateful this week that David will have some work to do. It snowed last night so he will be busy today and it's supposed to snow more tomorrow. Thank goodness! 20 hours a week wasn't really cutting it. We are looking forward to spring so that he can start mowing and doing sprinkler repair again. Summers are always better for Landscapers. Go figure.