When there is perfect weather oustide on a Saturday afternoon, what child can resist? After the children had spent most of the day inside while Chris and I got things done around the house, I took the children over to Miriam's house for a day with the cousins (my sister and her children).
The kids had a great time riding bikes together, and Chris was able to get in some much needed study time. Our neighborhood is not so great for riding bikes, there really are not very many flat stretches of road, its all hills. So these flat roads were a nice change for all of the kids. I liked the change as well since I didn't have to be watching their every move to ensure they didn't begin to head down hill and reach unwarranted speeds while laying down a path of destruction in their wake. :) Of course, Addie found the cute little pink bike and claimed it for the day.
Hey ya'll! That last post was brough to you straight from the man himself - Chris! Hey, Chris has finally made an appearance on the blog! As you can see, Chis is not a man of many words - he says what needs to be said. So I will fill in the blanks for him. The last post is not necessarily saying that Chris has decided to support Obama, neither of us have fully decided. Chris does spend a lot of time studing the political/government system in his classes, as he is about to have a master's in public administration, and he has worked for the state for the last 5 years, so naturally, we are always interested in how his job will be affected by what the government does. Chris just thought this was a good speech to remind us all about what patriotism is, and who we all are as Americans. It is a long one (about 30 min), but it does make some very good points about patriotism.
This comes from a great email we received from our wonderful Aunt Niki. I got a pretty good kick out of this - I know pretty much anyone with kids/dogs or even both can all relate to this one! Thanks Aunt Niki!
Life really boils down to 2 choices: Should I get a dog...?
So the other night, the kids were looking at the blog, and they were having fun dancing to some of the music that is on here. Then the kids wanted to put some of "Their" music on here - so we went on a search for some of their favorites. Hence, the latest additions to our music list, and perhaps the silly music you may be hearing right now. They are funny kids. :)
Pretty much since we knew we were going to be having a little girl (Sarah) -- ok, maybe since we knew we were going to have children and there was a possibility of little girls -- alright, perhaps when we got married and there was the prospect of having children that could turn out to be girls -- well, either way, I knew I was going to put those girls in dance classes. :) I loved dancing and I have always wanted my girls to know that same joy of dancing. You can imagine my delight when we came to discover that Sarah has an incredible command and control over her body. The girl was sitting up when she was 5 months old, crawling by 6 months, and walking soon after that. She has a serious determination to keep up with her older brothers. For a 3-year-old, Sarah is extremely coordinated - so I know dancing has the possibility of coming easily to her.
One of the best parts -- I actually stopped teaching dance at the Rec Center here in Pocatello after Ethan was born - Things were getting a bit busy at that time. (I taught right through my pregnancies with Addison and Ethan, to whom "summersaults in the womb" took on a whole new meaning. :) ) Now things have sort of slowed down again and I have recovered from my c-section with Ethan, so I am teaching again, and I get to be Sarah's teacher! I love it!
I have a video I am getting ready for Sarah's first days of dance, but it is still in the works - I just couldn't resist the super cute photos of Sarah - so here they are. The video will come later.
A couple of weeks ago, Chris and I loaded up all of the kids and headed back up to good ole' Newdale for a quick visit. And being that my mother is one of the best cooks/bakers in all of South East Idaho, of course the kids wanted to eat her food. And what is better than warm bread right our of the oven? Of course Grandma had to oblige. So the kids helped her bake fresh bread - Certainly one of my favorites as well.
I will never even come close in comparison - so the kids totally dig the whole culinary experience when Grandma Simper is in the area.
Since then, whenever I try to cook anything, all I hear about is how "Grandma lets us crack the eggs..." (Something I have not quite allowed myself to let the kids help with thus far.)
So, the other day I was giving Ethan a bath after lunch time while the kids were supposed to be doing "Quiet Time". I came out to find the kids excitedly mixing a large bowl of instant pudding in the kitchen instead. I was quite impressed. They had made the pudding themselves, and it actually looked pretty good, so I was going to let them sit at the table to eat it. Just as I was was about to serve the first bowl, I hear Jonathan pipe in with "And we didn't even make a mess with the eggs!" (Sound of a scratching record running through my head as the sentence registers in my mind) Turns out, the kids thought that eggs were a necessary ingredient to instant pudding. The dismay on their sweet faces as I told them that the pudding was not good to eat anymore was too much to bear. We compromised, and I quickly put the pudding on the stove to heat it up real quick and cook the eggs. And the pudding was actually pretty good.
Thanks Grandma for giving them the confidence to attempt the eggs on their own - I think... :)
One of my (many) guilty pleasures is this absolutely deliciouse snack!
I think I may have learned this from Debbi when we were growing up - not sure if you still eat this Deb, but you should! When ever I make tuna fish sandwiches for the kids - I let the kids eat the sandwiches with chips on the side - I perfer to get down and dirty, and just pass on the bread and simply scoop the tuna up with the chips and devour!
Let me warn you - A complete mouth cleaning after eating this is advised. Complete with brushing, flossing, and even rinsing 3 or 4 times with Cool MintLysterine -- and maybe you should even swallow just a little bit to wash down the gastric storage tank in order to help abate any over zealouse mouthfuls that may want to make an enchore performance hours after the meal has been eaten. (Believe me, your sweetie will appreciate that little extra step.)
But Ooooh, it is so worth it! Muy Bien!! Come on, you know that, secretly, there is a little part of you that is slightly intrigued. You know you want to try it. You will be pleasantly suprised!
Our baby is almost 1 year old, and -- SHOCKINGLY -- I am neither nursing the current child, nor expecting the next one to come! My body has been quite confused these past couple of months. My body has become so used to either being pregnant or nursing - pregnancy / nursing was actually becoming my body's homeostatic state. At this point, my body is not quite sure what to do with itself! And this change is quite alright with me!
Now Mr. Ethan is thinking he is ready to join the ranks, right along with his big brothers and sisters, and walk - free as a bird! And all I have to say is -- That's right little dude! I will not hold you back! If he is ready to begin using his own feet instead of mine, More power to the Eafmister!!!
It is a little sad to see our sweet boy losing his "Babiness", but it is also a little bit of a releif to see the kids growing up an getting a little more independant. If Ethan can walk, perhaps his brothers and sisters won't think it is their sworn duty to carry the poor boy all over the house, causing Ethan to aquire some pretty good bumps and briuses - or at least he can try to get away from them faster if he can walk / run for his life, rather than just crawl as fast as his stumpy little arms and legs can carry him... Ethan, I am rooting for you bud!
Alright. So, we live on the top of a hill here in Pocatello. It is just our little neighborhood up here. Our ward encompasses the whole hill. The school that the boys attend is on the hill adjacent to ours, so it is either ride the bus or drive to school. The bus stop for our side of the neighborhood is far enough away and down one part of the hill and back another, the kids would not be able to walk to the bus stop alone, especially when winter comes. I just figured I would drive the kids to school since I would have to drive them to the bus stop anyway. We (My brothers and sisters and I) had ridden the bus every year growing up, and we actually became quite enviouse of those children who could either walk, or whose parents came to pick them up. I thought the boys would like riding with me to school. BOY WAS I WRONG! In fact, in Ryan and Jonathan's mind, that was a form of punishment that ranked right up there with the death penalty and cruel and unusual punishment! For a short time, I was forced to walk in the shadows of the label, given to me by Ryan and Jonathan, of an "Unfit Mother" for not signing the permission slip that allowed Ryan and Jonathan to board the bus each day. A mistake I quickly corrected! I guess the bus holds more mystical powers than I ever knew as a child.
I still drive the boys to school in the morning (we usually can not make it out the door in time for the bus which comes half an hour before the boys have to be at school), but you can be certain that they are now proud members of the "Bus Riders" line when they line up at the doors to go home every afternoon. And yes, I have redeemed myself and have regained my status as a mother sufficient for their needs. And I guess that will do for now. :)
So I am still plugging away at school. I know, I ask myself the same question like 50 times a day - When am I finally going tobe done!?! And, for the time being, the answer to that question is something I am a little bit in denial about, and I just try to think that it will all be over soon. Chris is about done with his master's degree - the light at the end of the tunnel is getting ever brighter for him. And to our credit -- 5 kids in less than 5 years is no small feat, it is not like we have been sitting around twiddling our thumbs. :) I guess between both of us going to school part-time, caring for 5 children, the children's activities, keeping the house in some kind of order, church callings, and our jobs - whew... I am okay going at the pace I am - there is not much more Chris and I could squeeze into the wee little 24 hours each day holds. :) Thank Heavens for all the wonderful family memebers and friends that help us get through each day! You are all simply AMAZING!! Thank you!
Today I had to go up to campus to get some final fees paid - HOPEFULLY ISU is done asking us for money for the rest of the semester - we'll see.
Sarah and Addie came with me and had a fun time. They felt pretty big walking around at "Mom and Dad's school". I told them to keep a careful eye out for any of their many aunts and uncles and other family memeber that might have been in class / working at that time as well, so they eagerly checked out every face they saw on campus - but no such luck today. Maybe another time. :)
Addison and Sarah were upstairs playing while I was switching the laundry. Addison came down to say "Hello" to me looking like this. Yep, Addison dressed herself. Oh man, she is so funny. So many of the pictures we have of Addison are of her being silly. She can be such a clown. She is always one of the first to laugh, and one of the first to make Chris and I laugh as well. And when she laughs, it is a deep, throaty, raspy laugh that is so genuine it becomes rather infectiouse. What a fun personality to add to our family. Definatly happy she is here. :)
Finally - the day of the big race has come! The boys have been preparing for this for quite some time, and were very excited to get this show on the road! Very last minute, I decided to go with my sister to get her endowments out that morning, so I was unable to be there. The decision was a tough one -- Temple... Boy's Race... Temple... Boy's Race..., but I decided I would be able to watch the boys run again, but my sister and her endowments were a one-time deal. So, Chris, being the wonderful husband and father that he is, gave up his opportunity to run his race and joined Sarah, Addison and Ethan as the cheerleaders, and volunteered to adhere to very strict camera man obligations so I would be able to have the best of both worlds, and he did a great job! Doesn't he rock!?! Yep, I love that guy...
Ryan and Jonathan did awesome, and had a lot of fun. All the kids who ran got a gold medal, which Ryan and Jonathan are very proud of. (Way to go race planning commity for thinking of all the kids!)
Chris and all of the Horton family had perfect seats just before the finish line, so when Jonathan got to that point of the race, he stopped dead in his tracks - Pass up Grandma and Grandpa, What? It was really cute and pretty funny. The whole family pointed him back in the right direction so he could actually finish the race. When I got home and watched the clips, I replayed that one about 20 times. Oh man, the kids makes my heart smile.
And, without further adieu (SP?), here is the footage that was promised. I had a good time putting this one together, although I couldn't get the music to cut the way I wanted it to - you'll see, oh well. It's definatly fun to watch the children get older and begin to do new things.
Our neighborhood is not so great for riding bikes, there really are not very many flat stretches of road, its all hills. So these flat roads were a nice change for all of the kids. I liked the change as well since I didn't have to be watching their every move to ensure they didn't begin to head down hill and reach unwarranted speeds while laying down a path of destruction in their wake. :)
Of course, Addie found the cute little pink bike and claimed it for the day.
