The Horton Family

Spring Break In Arizona!

2011-04-08T11:47:00.000-07:00

This year we were very excited to have the opportunity to spend our spring break in Mesa, Arizona. Some of Chis' extended family lives down there. It was a LONG drive, but the kids did well. We had such a wonderful time while we were down there. I didn't take many pictures. I am pretty awful about remembering to get the camera out. After spending a beautiful week in 70 degree sunshine, coming back to snow and wind in Idaho was pretty depressing! But we were happy for the much needed family vacation!Getting out of the car for a couple minutes.Stopping at the Glenn Canyon Museum in Page, Arizona. A trip to Arizona just isn't complete without this stop.At the Phoenix Zoo. Addison and Ethan decided to take over and map out our tour through the zoo. Playing at a splash park at the zoo. It was perfect relief from the heat of the day.

The whole trip was fabulous, and we had such a great time catching up with family members we don't get to see very often. Chris' grandparents were such a delight to stay with. The kids are anxiously awaiting our next trip back to Arizona!

First Day of School!!

2010-09-11T16:05:00.000-07:00

Ryan and Jonathan started the 2nd grade this year! They, of course, have been SO excited all summer long for school to get back in. Ryan and Jonathan are excellent students. They LOVE to learn. The questions they ask and the concepts they comprehend generally blow me away! I love their curious minds.

The whole family had to help come see Ryan and Jonathan off. All the children were excited for Ryan and Jonathan's big day. Especially Sarah, who had to wait another week to officially start Kindergarten.

Sarah's BIG FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN!!!! Sarah has basically been waiting for this day since the first day she saw Ryan and Jonathan walk through those same doors at the end of the kindergarten hall! Sarah had no problem going into her classroom. She quickly led the way right to her classroom, walked right in, and didn't hesitate to start unloading her school supplies from her book bag. She never even looked back. I was so happy that she finally got to have her dream of being in school finally come true! I will admit that I had a couple tears in my eyes, but they were just from seeing the pure joy and fulfillment she was exuding that morning. Sarah was a walking ball of confident sunshine all day! Sarah is very sharp. I know she will do very well in school.

Back In The ER With Ethan

2010-06-20T21:08:00.000-07:00

Ethan has proven to be our most accident prone and daring child. Two characteristics that do not go very well together. Ethan generally has a bruise of some kind, a black eye, or a small wound on his head due to his clumsy and fun-loving adventurous personality. A lot of times, there are multiple bruises all in different stages of the healing process. Well, today was another shining day for Ethan! While trying to climb the stair rail outside our front porch, Ethan lost his grip and fell, landing on our front step. There was a pretty deep laceration right above his eyebrow.

Ethan is waiting patiently for the topical anesthesia to set in.

Five stitches later, and Ethan was ready to get right back to playing again! He really did a fantastic job through his treatment. The doctor opted to just use local and topical anesthetic. Ethan sat quietly the whole time and didn't move an inch. The nurse and the doctor were amazed that he was so cooperative -- Chris and I were pretty impressed too!

We love our little Ethan. He certainly keeps us on our toes! In just two and a half short years, we have already had quite an adventure with Ethan, and we are sure there will be many more!

Sawtooth Relay

2010-06-18T20:58:00.000-07:00

Back in January, my sister Debbi asked if I would be on a relay team with her in June. The relay was a 60 mile relay with 6 runners each running about 10 miles each. I excitedly said yes.... and then about wet my pants when I realized what I was going to have to start training for! BUT BOY, AM I GLAD DEBBI ASKED!!!!!We ran the Sawtooth Relay, which took up and then back down the mountain pass that runs from Stanly to Ketchum (the Sun Valley area). It was a BEAUTIFUL run! We each would be running 2 legs for a total of 12 legs. Each runner would run one leg heading up the pass, and then another leg heading down the other side of the pass. Each runner would end up running about 10 miles. Here we all are at the starting line the night before the race.Our start time was at 4:30 in the morning. We had to check in at 3:45 in the morning. So, after a fun night at the hotel with about 2 hours of sleep the night before, we were ready to send our first runner, Jill, out at 4:30 in the morning. We were running on the road with traffic, so head lamps and reflective vests were required until the sun came up. Our team name was "6 Sweaty Chicks" (thanks to Debbi and her fun creativity), so Deb and I made some t-shirts for our team. We had a whole outfit goin on, which looked awesome! We had so much fun and looked GOOD!!Modeling the whole outfit.I was the third runner out. Here I am waiting for Debbi to come into the exchange site at about 6:30 in the morning.Making our exchange. Here we are about to the top of the summit almost 30 miles into the relay. We were all acting like we were totally awesome up here at the top, but really the person who was doing the bulk of the work and carrying our team's booty up the steepest 5.8 miles of the pass was Linda -- who was still making her way up to where we were. Linda did an amazing job, and I am completely inspired by her amazing climb up that pass!

Here we are getting ready to send Debbi out on her second time out. We had such a good time!

Debbi coming in from her second run and making the exchange for me to head back out again for my second time out.
Just finishing with my second run.

At the finish line with the whole team. I have never run a relay before, but after running this one, I would run any relay anyone asked me to run. There was such a fun environment that is different from just running a quick individual race. It was SO much fun, and we had such a fun group of women who all did an AWESOME job. We finished much earlier than we all expected, and laughed all along the way. This relay was definately worth the training, and now I plan on keeping up on all the training time I put in and keep on having more racing fun!

GNO While The Boys Are MIA!

2010-05-17T08:23:00.001-07:00

This last weekend, all the boys were out camping in the Horton and Dance families, so Miriam and I took complete advantage of the GIRL opportunity! We got the girls dressed up to the hilt (you can't really see it because of the glasses, but the girls even had make-up on). It was a dream come true for all of them. They were all anxiously awaiting the time the boys would all be heading out so they could "Diva It Up"!Since the boys were all going to be out doing total "Boy Stuff", Miriam and I wanted to give the girls a complete "Girls Night" filled with stuff they don't really ever get to do otherwise. My sisters and I always love getting together at Red Lobster for appetizers where we talk and laugh to our hearts content. Miriam and I thought we would get the tradition started early with our girls. We all met at Red Lobster for some drinks and appetizers. The girls were the center of attention everywhere we went. They were playing the part PERFECTLY! They had such a great time!The girls even got a couple of whistles as we were walking into Red Lobster. It was cute to see their embarrassed reaction. Waiting for our table....

After some smoothies, appetizers, and some delicious chocolate cake, the girls had been partied out! I thoroughly LOVE my girls. So much fun! We all had so much fun, we are already making plans for the next time around!

Sarah's Birthday!!! #5!

2010-05-17T08:11:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Sarah!!!
May 6 was Sarah's 5th birthday. She has been counting down the days until this birthday for about the last.... year! ;)
Sarah is THRILLED to be able to join the boys at school this fall! She asks everyday when she will finally be going to school. (Something tells me this is going to be a LONG summer...)

Sarah chose to head to Craigo's for our family dinner. (A great pizza buffet. She chose this same place last year too.) The kids LOVE Craigo's.Sarah is always so full of joy. She amazes us every day with her bight mind and her helpful attitude. We ABSOLUTELY love having her in our family!

Anything pink and princess is the center of Sarah's adoration. And she has wanted a scooter for months so she can keep up with the boys. A pink scooter with princesses all over it? Sarah was pleased as punch!

We love you Sarah!!!

Kids Will Be Kids...

2010-03-29T10:39:00.000-07:00

Our children always seem to play pretty well with each other. They always keep us laughing. Here the kids were playing dress up with some Halloween costumes Santa happened to get on sale at 90% off at K-Mart after Halloween last year..... ;) Ryan and Sarah decided they would be a three-headed monster with this dragon costume.

They had a great time, and we all had a great laugh.

This happened one night while my brother Stephen and his wife Sarah were watching the kids for us. I came home to find them all playing hide-and-seek. This was Ethan's hiding place (in the girls' dresser / amour. It was pretty funny. We opened the door, and there was an excited Ethan waiting for us!
We had another fun picture of Sarah hiding on the other side, but that picture isn't uploading for some reason...

New Blog, More Fun!

2010-01-25T13:56:00.000-08:00

So, it is true, I have seriously been neglecting this blog lately. Admittedly, I have been pretty busy. A new semester just got going again, and the load of classes I have this semester is not letting me forget that. ;)

On the side of more fun things that have been keeping my busy-- A new blog!

Ok, so I was already keeping a blog for my Yoga group. Though I had a lot of fun keeping that blog going, I knew it could be so much better!

I have been having even more fun getting the new blog up and running. This new blog is meant to be more of a resource for bringing the simplicity and organization that Yoga emphasizes into all the aspects of our lives. There will be lots of DIY projects (as that is one of my favorite hobbies), recipes, health and fitness tips, money saving tips, yoga resources, the works. Check it out, and hopefully you'll find something useful there! I am open to all ideas and feedback, so let me know what you think. See you there!

The button in my side bar will take you right to it.

Happy Birtday To Chris!!

2009-12-30T08:00:00.001-08:00

Christmas day in our home is always a very special day because it is Chris' birthday too! Chris is always so gracious to make the day more about Christmas for the children than about his birthday. I try very hard to make it a special day all around, but I know that I seem to fall short on the birthday celebration part. Sorry sweet heart!

This year, the kids all helped decorate the house in a Spider Man party. Rather than the traditional birthday cake, Chris prefers a nice pecan pie. I have to say, I like his taste!

This is always such a fun way to end Christmas day. We love Chris and appreciate the hard work and attention he gives our family. This year was extra special and we defiantly appreciated the opportunity to be together as a family. We all love and adore Chris. At this time of hardship and turmoil for so many, we are grateful every day for the Lord's hand in our lives and the rich blessings he sends our way.
Love you Chris! Happy Birthday!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-30T07:32:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed a very nice Christmas at home, just the family. We like to stay home and keep Christmas simple. We enjoy just going at our own pace and spending time together with the children.
This year, to get Christmas eve started, the children got a surprise visit from Santa! The look of surprise on their faces when they opened the door to the big red guy standing outside was priceless! Santa delivered their Christmas pajamas and a very sweet book about the nativity to remind the children of the true meaning of Christmas. We read the book for family home evening that night.

We always act out the nativity with the children. And because we have so many children, we almost have all the parts covered! ;)

The boys, of course, are the wise men bearing gifts. They also subed in for the shepards.

Ethan was our naked Shepard dressed in pink. :) Both of the girls insisted on being Mary. I know that at some point Sarah will have to relinquish the role of the beautiful and kind Mary every once in a while to dear Addie Grace, but for now, peace was better kept just letting Sarah and Addison share the role. (But both of them were absolutely positive that there was only one Mary, we had to get kind of creative to pull that off...)

OUR CHRISTMAS DAY SCHEDULE:

Christmas Eve:

Midnight: Mom and Dad still feverishly putting the last stitches into the final home made gifts for the girls while the children slept with visions of sugar plums.

Christmas Day:

4:30 am: Mom and Dad are awakened to the excited giggles and eager voices of small children. (Our children are notoriously early risers, and this was no exception. How can we send them back to bed when they are so excited?)

6:00 am: Presents have all been opened.

6:30 am: The family sits down for breakfast.

7:00 am: Exhausted, mom and dad head back to bed while the children watch a movie.

9:00 am: The day is much better now that sane amounts of sleep have now been obtained. Ahhh, much better.

We were so tired on Christmas morning, this is the only picture that got taken. (I know, we are horrible) Ethan was so excited to see his gift from Santa, and I was SOOOO excited to see his reaction when he saw it, I knew it was going to be a good one!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

Happy Birthday Ethan!!!

2009-12-14T09:13:00.001-08:00

Our little Ethan is getting bigger! He turned 2 years old on Dec. 10. He is such a fun boy, he keeps us laughing all the time. We are so happy to have him with us. Our family would certainly be missing out without our Effers! Ethan is continually reminding us that making the decision to have a big family was absolutly one of the best decisions we have ever made. Thanks for being with us sweet boy!!! We love you!

It's Been A While...

2009-12-13T13:20:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since we have posted, so just a quick catch up. We have been busy getting through school and getting ready for the holidays. Thanksgiving was wonderful. We spent the day with the Horton family in Idaho Falls, and had a great weekend to follow filled with more family parties and great times.
Recently, the kids were all invited to a Birthday party at a great tumbling gym here in Pocatello. They all had a great time and it was fun to watch all of them play.
Ryan pretty much spent the whole time up on this ledge that dropped off into a sponge pit. It was a pretty big jump, and Ryan could never quite get up the guts to take the leap. He was pretty sad when it was time to go and he realized he had wasted all of his play time. Poor guy. :) In Ryan's defense, Chirs got up there to help talk Ryan into jumping, and even Chris admitted that it was actually scarier to jump off that ledge than it looked.

All the kids had a great time. However, because Ethan had the cast on his arm removed only a week before the party, I was super watchful of Ethan and his still fragile forearm. The boy rarely shows any fear, and in a room full of trampolines, jumping toys, and a plethera of other rumble and tumble toys - this day was certainly no exception. I think he was a little irritated by me by the time the party was over. ;)

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-02T06:45:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween Everybody!! Hope you all had a great time! We did! Every year the kids get to pick out their own fabric for a pillow case to use for trick or treating. It had become a fun family tradition, and the kids love it! It is always fun to see what they pick.

Ethan is a bat - it is kind of hard to tell. And Jonathan was the Grim Reaper taking Ryan away. Sarah was Tinker Bell and Addison was Snow White.

We were so busy this year that we didn't even buy pumpkins to carve. Luckily, Ryan got this tiny pumpkin from school, so we had a great time carving that one.

Calling All Toddlers!!

2009-09-21T09:13:00.000-07:00

So, what is a sure-fire way to escape the imprisonment of your crib and have it turned into a toddler bed?

ETHAN HAS AN ANSWER!

Breaking both of the bones in your forearm while attempting to "Gently Fall" from the railing while trying to teach yourself how to get out of the crib and a trip to the ER will yeild optimal results.

ANY TAKERS?

She Did It!!!

2009-09-09T08:38:00.000-07:00

Addie Grace is potty trained!!!!!

She doesn't even wear diapers through the night!

Good Job Addie!!!

This is the first time we have ever had just one child in diapers. It's simply amazing!

Ladies Night Yoga!

2009-09-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

I have FINALLY finished my yoga instructor certification! It took a lot longer than I had anticipated, but it was so worth it. I feel like I learned far more than I would have if I had been rushed through it, and now I have a much deeper appreciation and acceptance for yoga as a life style choice, rather than just merely a work out. My instructor was amazing. I really learned a ton from her.
So now the moment of truth has come - I actually have my own class to teach! My certification instructor is letting me use her yoga studio once a week for my own class. I feel so lucky to be able to do this!
The class I have come up with is "Ladies Night Yoga"! I will be teaching here in Old Town Pocatello on Wednesday nights from 8:15 pm - 9:15 pm. This is a class completely catering to busy women who just need a break to get an awesome work out while hanging out with some other great women.
More information can be found here http://www.ladiesnightyoga.blogspot.com/ Anyone interested is absolutely welcome to come, I would love to see you there!

First Grade!

2009-08-24T08:31:00.000-07:00

Hurray! The boys are mighty first graders today!! Now they are the cool kids who get to eat lunch at school! Man, they are moving up in the world these days. :)

TIMBER!!

2009-08-15T07:42:00.000-07:00

So, there are two trees in our back yard that tragically taken over by some vine that seems to just SUCK THE LIFE out of anything it can get it's grubby little vines on.

These two crabapple trees were absolutly bone dry, so they had to just come down. There was no hope of reviving them.

This week my dad and Debbi's husband Justin and their children Trever, Danny, and Preston, along with Joanna's husband Deryk came to the rescue.

They guys all headed into the back yard and pulled out their toys (chainsaws) and got down to business. :)

They all made quick work of the two trees. And it was great for my mom and dad who now have some of their winter fire wood to take back to their home. I am glad they could use it. Actually watching them all back there reminded us all so much of when we were all younger and had to go out to the mountains with our dad to cut fire wood for the winter. A joyouse occasion we all looked forward to every year. (but not really) :)

All the kids got in on the action. It was fun to watch all of them.

Our boys are getting so big!

This was darling to see all the samll boys pulling their weight out there.

And while all the other boys were outside doing "Manly Work", look who was hangin' out inside the house cooking and cleaning with all the ladies!

Ethan has been really big into wearing the girl's stuff lately. I think it a novelty for him, but it is funny. :)

And heaven forbid Sarah should try to get her dress-up outfit back. :)

Ryan and Jonathan Are 6!!

2009-08-09T21:45:00.001-07:00

Happy birthday Ryan and Jonathan!

Today they turned 6! WOW! They are getting so old. They are absolutely excited to start first grade. They are especially looking forward to having to eat lunch at school and not coming home until it is almost dinner time. They think they are so big now.

I am excited for them to move into this new part of their life as well. Kindergarten brought so much change and maturity for them, I am eager to see how much they love first grade and all the new things they will learn.

We are so grateful to have them with us. They are the best big brothers Sarah, Addison, and Ethan could ever ask for, and they certainly help me out tremendously! I know all parents must say this about their children, but Ryan and Jonathan are such very good kids (for the most part, as long as they are not too excited and feeding off of one another). :) They are such a blessing! I appreciate the example they set for the other children, and I know they will continue to be two fine examples.

Love you boys! Happy birthday! Thanks for all you do!

Caught Red-Handed

2009-07-15T09:08:00.000-07:00

Look what I found when I walked in to the kitchen this morning...

Ethan had pushed a chair up to the counter, climbed up on the counter, and was then able to reach the treats that had been up on the fridge.

He was pretty proud of himself.

Elvis Lives!!!

2009-07-04T06:18:00.000-07:00

To get the Fourth of July kicked off right, we enjoyed the day with the Simper family, and what better way to do it, right?

First we enjoyed a great day over at Jensen's Grove. The weather was amazing. The kids all had a great time hangin' out in the water and eating. I have never been there before and have now decided that it is a GREAT place to take the kids on a warm day. We are certainly going to have to visit more often.

Next it was off to the Fort Hall Reservation for an AWESOME Elvis impersonation concert. It was a great show! This was the kid's first concert, and what a blast! The reservation put the show on all for free along with free hot dogs and soda for dinner and followed up by a fantastic firework show. I have never been a die-hard Elvis fan, but I was suprised by how many Elvis songs I really did know. We had a great time, and ALL FREE - who can beat that? Waiting for the show to start. Totally diggin' the trailer in the background - AKA Elvis' back stage / dressing room.

And while we were waiting for the late "King of Rock And Roll", we had a blast jammin' out to the late "King of Pop"! Seriously, who can resist gettin' down when they hear a Micheal Jackson song!?!

The first half of the show featured young pre-war Elvis. Not too shabby, eh?

Second half of the show brought the young war-time Elvis out. Still lookin' good. ;)

Sarah getting into it with the crowd as she waved her glowing fan durring "Love Me Tender" How funny!

Ok, and this totally rocked! We had such a great time during the show that we jumped at the chance to get a picture with the guy - who wouldn't want a picture with Elvis, right? So as soon as we saw Elvis come out of his "dressing room", we chased him down. Debbi did an awesome job of getting us in to be one of the first ones in line for a picture. (You totally ROCK Debbi!!)

What a fun day! We missed those that couldn't be there, it would have been even more fun with you all there! Thanks for the great last minute ideas Debbi and Miriam, we couldn't have planned it any better!

Batter Up!!

2009-07-02T06:53:00.001-07:00

Ryan and Jonathan are playing tee ball this summer. They have loved it! Ryan keeps telling me that it is his favorite sport. They play very well. It is very fun to watch them. Yesterday the boys had a game. Ryan and Jonathan were playing tee ball's version of a short-stop (several children standing in front of the pitcher's mound to catch the balls that come to them). Ryan stopped a grounder that came to him and then threw the ball to third base which got someone from the other team out. My favorite part of the whole game was watching Jonathan excitedly run over to Ryan, slap him a high-five tell him good job, and then run back over to his position. Just a sweet "Mommy Moment". I wish I had gotten that on camera... :) Taking a break in the dug out.

Ryan filling the position of Pitcher. (But they don't really need a pitcher :) )

Ryan and Jonathan chasing down a grounder.

Jonathan getting a runner out on first base. Good Job Jonathan!

Jonathan running into home base.

Ryan ready to run from second to third base.

Jonathan running to third.

Ryan up to bat. (This was a strike, but the next swing was a really great hit!)

Jonathan up to bat and Ryan on deck.

The fans.

Family Reunion

2009-07-02T06:35:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I took the kids up to Green Canyon for our Powell reunion (my mom's side of the family). We had a great time! The weather was perfect, the food was excellent, and the pools were fantastic.

We had such a great time with all the family. Can't wait for next year!! Ethan getting ready to hit the open road with my Uncle Jack. We can all dream right Ethan?

The kids all playing games outside.

My Uncle Mike always comes up with the best games. This one happened to be Mouse Trap Jenga. A seriously sedistic but awesome game.... Hope your fingers are not the ones that make them all go off! ;) The kids all loved to watch this one.

Sleeping with all the cousins at Grandma and Grandpa Simper's.

Happy Birthday Addie Grace!!

2009-06-26T08:15:00.000-07:00

Once again, this is really late. Our camera was lost for a while, so I couldn't get the pictures off the camera till now.
Just wishing our sweet Addie Grace a happy birthday! She turned 3 this month. Addie is such a sweet girl. She is always happy to play with her brothers and sister. We have a lot of fun with her in our family. She is always so prim and proper. We always try to get the other kids to mirror her amazing table manners. I have never know a two (Now three) year old who eats as clean and uses her manners as well as Addison. When all the other children leave the table with a trail of disaster behind them, sweet Addison will still be valiantly poking each pea one-by-one with her fork and wiping her mouth after each bite.
Love you Addie! So happy you are with us!

Rainy Days

2009-06-14T19:58:00.000-07:00

Rain for the last 2 or 3 weeks +
Another week of rain in the forecast =

Some very bored, yet strangly creative children with a seriouse case of cabin fever!

The kids got into markers one day. This is Ryan's awesome artwork proudly displayed on Jonathan. Ryan had the goal of turning Jonathan into a tiger. If you look close, there are tiger stripes on just about every inch of Jonathan's body. It was pretty funny when they showed us.
And then below, Sarah felt is was absolutely necessary to try her hand at permanent make-up and Addison willingly became her first victim...

Funny Kids!

Happy Birthday Sarah!!

2009-06-01T12:15:00.001-07:00

I have been horrible about blogging lately. Though I am three weeks late - I still wanted to say Happy Birthday to our beatutiful Sarah! Sarah turned 4 in May, and an amazing 4-year-old she is!

Sarah is the best Mother's Day gift I have ever recieved or will ever receive. She was born the Friday before Mother's Day 4 years ago and has kept us smiling us ever since.

Sarah is always a fun little sister with the boys and a sweet and helpful older sister to Addie Grace and Ethan.

I am still working on her birthday movie, so until then - Happy Birthday Sweetie! We Love You!

First Day On The Job!

2009-06-01T11:43:00.000-07:00

As I have blogged before - Ryan and Jonathan are seriously early risers. We usually do not need an alarm clock because the boys always wake us up at some point during the wee hours of the morning.

So I figured why not put their early morning energy to goood use?

Ryan and Jonathan now have an early morning paper route for the Idaho State Journal!

They are very excited about it. I help them of course. They have a route of 30 papers for the upper part of our neigborhood. This morning was their first day, and I have to say I was quite impressed with them! They went a lot faster than I had expected them to, running most of the way (they really have A LOT of energy in the morning).

When they get their first pay check we are going to open savings acounts for both of them and get them started on the road to saving for their missions and college (seriously - when they go there will be two of them, so I am totally willing to wake up early with them if it helps us out in the long run....)

I am looking forward to the extra time to spend with the boys in the mornings. They are fun to talk to and I am always amazed by the concepts they grasp and the questions in their minds. I really enjoy having them around.

Here's to some fun (and early) mornings boys!

Sarah's Dance Recital

2009-05-18T22:33:00.000-07:00

I know - Sarah's dance recital actually happened back in January. I feel so bad. I have been so busy that I just didn't have the time to get her movie done. I was getting things ready for her birthday movie (wich was 2 weeks ago - I am behind on that one too) when Sarah asked if she could watch her dance movie. I had to regretfully admit that it was not done yet. So with new motivation, I was finally able to get it done so she can now enjoy it all she wants.

Getting video of Sarah's actual recital got a little tricky. As her teacher, I had to be up on stage with the girls showing them what to do, so I was not able to record the dances myself, Chris was busy that night attending his classes that couldn't be missed, and so I quickly handed the camera to the mother of another girl in Sarah's class and asked her to film what she could - knowing that she was trying to film her own daughter as well. Sarah did two dances. The video of her tumbling routine went pretty well, I was able to get a couple of good clips of Sarah. The ballet routine didn't turn out too well in terms of the video, but we got a couple of good still pictures.

Sarah did a great job, better than I expected, because the rehearsal did not go so well when Sarah suddenly developed a bout of stage fright. It was a lot of fun to be there with her. Sarah didn't have dance classes this spring because we were all too busy, and now she is EAGERLY awaiting when her dance classes will resume this fall.

So here we go, a little refresher from a couple of months ago. Our sweet little dancer.

Students Of The Week

2009-04-29T20:17:00.001-07:00

Ryan and Jonathan were the students of the week this week in their kindergarten class. They have been excited all week for this day. Today was the day they were supposed to bring pictures of themselves to share with the class, as well as their favorite toy for show-and-tell.

Watching them pick the perfect toy was adorable. They emptied their toy box looking for the perfect toy to show the class. Jonathan ended up picking a silly action figure toy from that movie "Flushed" because he thought all the kids would think it was funny and laugh. That was pretty funny for Jonathan to use humor as a qualifier for the "Perfect" toy to show. Ryan finally settled on a nerf gun he got for Christmas. Ryan thought that if he shot a couple nerf arrows the kids would all think his toy was pretty cool. Again, a qualifier that certainly shows Ryan's personality.

Such fun kids! They are both such GOOD kids! I am perfectly content with who and what they are - I could not be more pleased and proud. Thanks boys for being so great, I love you both!

Earth Day

2009-04-22T12:08:00.000-07:00

Ryan and Jonathan are always getting after Chris and I for not recycling more. We do pretty good. We always take our newspapers to the recycling bins, along with the dozens of cardboard boxes that run through this house after groceries have been used up (cereal, freezer foods, diapers, wipes, etc.). Ryan and Jonathan learned about the triangle picture on the bottom of items that can be recycled. They check many items to see if we should be recycling rather than throwing that item away. They get pretty vocal when they see that we are throwing that kind of stuff away. Actually - good for them. They are smart kids. They are always reminding me that I need to keep america clean (something they read on the side of some boxes and plastic bags).

The boys came home from school today talking about the cool things they did to celebrate Earth Day today. It was fun to hear them talk about everything they did, and how well they understood the concepts.

Ryan looked at me and said "Mom, what are we going to do for Earth Day at home?" Well, considering their desires to "Keep America Clean", and the recycling program the city of Pocatello just started, we called up the city and signed up for the recycling program. The city brought a new garbage can devoted only to recycling with a list of all the materials they can accept. The kids are absolutely thrilled, and this is definately something our family can do a much better job of. The city will come and pick up our recyclable trash everyother week, so now we don't even have to worry about driving it all down to the bins ourselves anymore, and this will certainly help alleviate the usually overflowing normal trash that threatens to spill all over the street by the time garbage day finally rolls around. Totally a win-win.

Good call boys!

2009-04-14T20:11:00.000-07:00

Our children (well, I guess mostly Ryan and Jonathan) have always been early risers. We feel lucky when the kids sleep in until 7:30 am. Generally a bright and early 5:30-6:00 am is the norm. Even earlier when it is summer - the boys are sure they are supposed to be awake when the sun wakes up.
This morning, we got a fantastic wake up call at about 3:00 am. DELIGHTFUL! The best part, is that the children did not actually go back to bed. They spent the morning watching movies and playing.
By 8:30 this morning - the early morning had caught up to Sarah. The boys made it all the way through school, and then Jonathan fell asleep in the middle of eating his lunch.

I Think We Just Found Sarah's Birthday Present.

2009-04-06T14:50:00.000-07:00

Today Evalyn, Miriam's little girl, brought over her "Bella Dancerella" toy to play with. It is basically a little ballet bar with a floor pad that shows where your feet should go to do the five ballet positions. There is a DVD that comes with it that teaches the positions as well, and then puts together a couple little dances to follow along with.

We had to begin playing with it as soon as lunch was over - the excitement was way too much for the little girls to handle. Before we could turn it on, Sarah and Addison ran to put on some cute little dance outfits that are in their dress up stuff.

The girls all absolutly LOVED it! It was darling to watch them. I was just beginning to wonder what to get Sarah for her birthday that is coming up in May. I think this may be the perfect answer. Sarah and Addie will be in heaven and have a chance to take over the T.V. and interupt the boys and their nintendo games every once in a while.

I love having girls! :) (Sorry Deb...)

Spring Break In Arizona

2009-03-25T19:37:00.001-07:00

Chris and the older three children all went to Mesa, Arizona for spring break to see some of the Horton relatives. Chris has been sending me pictures each day to show me what the children are all doing. They are having a great time in the warm sunshine. Me, Addie, and Ethan miss them all, and absolutly CANNOT wait for them to get home on Saturday! We love you all and we will see you in a few more days guys! We are so excited to have you home again! (Addison really can't wait to have her buddies home again!) Sight-seeing on the way down to Arizona. Waiting in the store while everyone else is shopping. Hangin' out at a Diamondback's baseball game. Playing at a park with Dad.

Trying To Help With The Laundry...

2009-03-22T19:19:00.000-07:00

Girl Scout Heaven!

2009-03-13T08:24:00.000-07:00

Have yourself a little taste of heaven - You will find the recipe here.

http://bakingbites.com/2008/01/homemade-girl-scout-cookies-samoas/

ENJOY!!

Where Are You Spring!?!

2009-03-08T20:22:00.000-07:00

The View out our front window on this beautiful March afternoon...

I miss the sun. Can't wait for it's return!

GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS...

2009-03-05T07:11:00.000-08:00

During the week, my sister Miriam's children come over to our house while Miriam is at work. The children all thoroughly enjoy playing together every day. (It totally reminds me of always wanting to run straight over to the Powell's, our cousins that lived across the street from us, as soon as we got home from school every day.)

The dress-up stuff is always a huge hit with all the girls. Not a day goes by that the girl's toy box is not completly emptied in search of the right dress-up costumes.

And turning on the music for dancing in their costume is a must! :)

And what are the boys doing while the girls are in dress-up heaven? That's right, hangin' out downstairs with the nintendo.

Certainly the difference between boys and girls. :)

NEW SHOES!!

2009-03-03T20:55:00.000-08:00

Today we got a call from Ryan and Jonathan's school teacher. Turns out Jonathan was out playing at recess when he stepped in a rather large mud puddle. The puddle valiantly tried to become the new owner of the Jonathan's shoes - but thanks to the Janitor, Jonathan got a very mud-filled shoe back.
Because the shoes were far too muddy for Jonathan to be wearing around school, I got the call to come assist in the situation.

Jonathan was pretty cute standing there in bare feet. Heaven forbid he should leave his work undone. I waited for him to finish his assigment, then we packed up and headed out.

And off to Payless Shoes we went. It actually worked out pretty well. We were planning on getting the boys new shoes soon anyway, and they had been asking for new shoes for a while (Sarah got new shoes a couple weeks ago, and you know the chain of events that can set in motion...)

So all-in-all, a funny day with a happy ending. The kids certainly keep us laughing and remind us to enjoy the simple things.

Thanks Horton Family!!

2009-03-01T22:18:00.001-08:00

This weekend Chris and I enjoyed a night out to go see Brian Regan - all courtesy of the Horton Family!
As a birthday gift for Chris and a Christmas present for me, the Horton family chipped in and got tickets for us to go see Brian Regan when he came to Logan, Ut. this weekend.

Chris's parents were kind/brave enough to watch all our children and Chris's sister Jen's children. We drove down to Logan with Jen and Jesse where met up with Erin and Matt for dinner. Then we were off to see Brian Regan. The guy who opened for him did a great job, and kept the humor nice and clean. And of course Brian Regan was great!

It was a fun evening. We completely enjoyed it all! Thanks again to all the Hortons that made such a fun night possible!

Should I Do It?

2009-02-25T21:43:00.000-08:00

This semester I have been taking a Pilates class and...

I LOVE IT!

Now my instructor is offering to help me certify to be a Yoga Instructor and I am totally tempted!

I never would have thought I would ever be a yoga instructor - but then I had never really tried yoga before.... I was hooked from the first day!

I loved teaching dance, and I miss it. This wouldn't be dance - but it would sure be a nice workout - not to mention I would be working with adults rather than a room full of excited 3-5 year old little girls and ...

wow... enough said about that. :)

Certainly a nice way to get paid while I have fun working out and take a

break from the stress of school a couple times

a week.

Hmmm. :)

A Love-Hate Relationship...

2009-02-20T11:57:00.001-08:00

Love these wipes for small children using the potty - regular TP just can't quite cut it.

But are they as flushable as they seem?

Well, after a flooded bathroom, backed up bathtub, and a visit from the Roto Rooter - it seems that maybe these things are not as great as they seem. (These were basically all the Roto Rooter guy pulled out of our main line, and he said that he spends a lot of time cleaning these out of people's lines)

Now, after a newly cleaned main line, a bathroom that had to be sanitized like a ten-man crew from Ace went through it (little shout out to you mom!), and $137.00 later - I guess it is back to good ole' toilet paper...

Happy wiping kids! :)

Out With The Old, In With The New...

2009-02-20T10:07:00.000-08:00

This is the couch that Chris's parents bought for us at a garage sale right before we got married. It has been a great couch - very comfortable and incredibly durable through the many moves we have put it through, as well as forgiving of the spills and tough play the children have put it through. The last time the children got sick there were some incidents that happened on this couch (involving both ends of the digestive system), and even with our Bissel carpet cleaner - there was no hope of reclaiming this couch. Our basement was beginning to take on the smell of a stinky diaper that had been thrown up on. NOT GOOD. We decided it had certainly served it's time.
So it was out with the old, in with the new! This puppy finally arrived this week - and we are LOVING IT!! The ends both recline - it is heaven! We were looking for a leather couch so that if the children happened to have anymore "Uh-Oh's" on the couch, all we would need is a wet rag and a couple of minutes to clean it all up (we have totally loved that about our upstairs furniture). We couldn't find any leather couches we were happy with, so we settled with this microfiber-ish couch and totally felt it was worth the extra $50.00 for the Scott's protective spray finish to help protect the couch better.

This is the leather rocking chair that Chris got me for Mother's Day right before the twins were born - which has now become the new "Sick Spot" for the children when they are not feelin' so hot. And yes, Jonathan made good use of it today after he had to be picked up early from school because of an upset tummy. Yep, all we need is a wet rag and a quick run through the washing machine to clean up any messes that may occur on this chair. Beautiful!

Little Buddies

2009-02-19T04:53:00.000-08:00

Why play with the toys that actually belong in the container when the container is so much more fun?

Valentine Blues

2009-02-16T21:40:00.000-08:00

This year, Valentine's Day was spent taking care of our sick children. Poor little Ethan and Jonathan were both sick over the weekend - Once again. So they spent the day in their PJ's and Jonathan totally LOVED the excuse to get to play the nintendo.

With the children being sick, Chris and I ordered Chile's to go, and had a nice dinner at home.

The Boy's Valentine Party

2009-02-12T09:25:00.001-08:00

The boys had their Valentine party at school today since school is out tomorrow for a teacher training day. The boys have been very excited since they had to miss their last party. The boys each have a special little chica at school that they have crushes on - ask them who they like from school and why, their answers are pretty cute.

Last night was fun helping the boys get their Valentine cards ready to pass out today. You know, the whole decide which card is just right for each person in the class - heaven forbid they should convey the wrong message to the wrong person! :) (Brings back memories - Right?)

Of course, especially for our sugar-addicted Sarah, the highlight of the day was checking out the loot the boys brought home from school. It was fun listening to the boys read all of their cards and figure out who gave them what.

"100" Celebration!

2009-02-06T14:19:00.000-08:00

Every day when the boys go to school, there is a running count of how many days they have been in kindergarten. The class adds a new number each day. This week the boys have been super excited because today (Friday) was going to be the 100th day they have been in kindergarten, so they were going to have a celebration of the number 100. The class was going to have a party. The boys were each supposed to take 100 peices of a treat to share with the class. (They were each prepared with a little luch sack of 100 tootsie rolls.)
Well, last night both of the boys got sick with a little stomach bug. (My DEEPEST appolgies to Joanna who had to clean up a massive vomit mess while she was watching them yesterday)

The boys were doing better this morning, but not completely over it. The news that they had to stay home from school was quite devestating for them. They were both crying about the party they were going to miss.
By about lunch time the boys had perked up a bit, so we deided to have a "100 Celebration" of
our own. It was fun, and the boys had a good time. They kept reminding me how much fun they would have had with all their school friends, but they were still glad we did it. We played games and had snacks and did activities all centered around the number 100. It was fun and I am glad the boys are feeling better!

In the pictures, the kids were eating snacks and counting their tootsie rolls. They also did 100 excercises (10 push ups, 10 sit ups, 10 jumping jacks, etc.) They were practicing counting in 10's. It was pretty funny to watch. :)

Then Jonathan asked if he could take a picture, so I let him try it out. He was very excited as I showed him how the camera works and he was super proud of himself. He did a very good job for his first try! :) (Hence the picture of me and the girls)

Archuleta Groupies!!

2009-01-31T15:12:00.000-08:00

Woo-Hoo!!

David Archuleta is coming to Idaho Falls on March 20, and guess who all got tickets for the show!

That is right! The Simper girls are gonna be Archuleta groupies for the night! It was a close one. The tickets sold out in minutes on line, and we weren't able to get them, so Awesome Joanna stood in line at a local record store in order to get them. THANKS JO!!

What an AWESOME way to begin spring break! (which begins that day)

Sarah's Dance Recital!

2009-01-26T20:25:00.000-08:00

Thursday, Jan. 22 was the night of Sarah's dance recital!

Although I loved being her dance teacher, Sarah seemed to take advantage of the "I don't have to do it because my mom is the teacher" clause - but all-in-all, she did well and picked things up quickly. And though things were looking shaky the night of the rehearsal (stage fright began to kick in), with the loving incentive of lunch at McDonalds if she did her dances for the recital, she performed perfectly! :)

This was also my last term of teaching dance. I have loved teaching, especially the fun of watching the girls all perform when each recital rolls around. With school, family, and everything else that we have going on, I have to make sure that I am spending my time where it is most needed. I will definately miss it. The rec. center has been such a great place to work, and the people there are great! (I owe their daycare SO BIG for watching my children at no charge while I was teaching)

***There will be a movie to come. I just have to find the time to get it all together! :)

Are You A Gamer?

2009-01-20T10:23:00.000-08:00

Looking to get great deals on food, and save a TON of money on your grocery bills? If you havn't yet, definately check this website out! http://www.thegrocerygame.com/ I LOVE it!

I have been using this system of grocery shopping for about the last month - and I will always use it! It is basically shopping with coupons on steroids. :)

With this system, I spend at least half if not less than we did before, and my shelves/food storage is fuller than it has ever been! So with half the money, I am able to buy a TON more!

There is a bit of a learning curve - but don't give up! I was a bit discouraged after my first week because I did not save as much as I was expecting. Now that I am getting the hang of it, the total taken off my receipt in savings each week keeps getting higher and higher!

My sister Miriam and I have been trying it out together, and each time we go grocery shopping we will call eachother joyously proclaiming the amount we saved vs. the smaller amount we actually paid. That is correct, we are beginning to SAVE MORE than we actually pay! It has become a game that we are both determined to win. :) Just to prove the point - This week Albertsons took $119.34 off my bill, so that in the end I only paid $105.22! (and with 5 children, we were getting close to about $200.00 or more a week for groceries). As a side note, I used to NEVER shop at Albertons because their prices are so high, but with this system, Albertsons has become the cheapest place for me to shop. I even continue to check prices at Wal-Mart to be sure I am getting a good deal, and I come in even under Wal-Mart prices!

Miriam and I are beginning to feel so guilty about the fun we are having that others may not know about, and we feel like we need to tell everyone we know about it! Sort of "Share The Wealth" I guess. :)
For a better explaination, check out the website as well as these videos below. It takes a little bit of organization and preparation, but it is completely worth it! :) Have Fun! You will laugh with joy everytime you leave the store - I do! :)

To view the first video, just visit this MSNBC site. (It was a story on the Today Show)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/8970937#8970937

And this is a great "How To" video from the girl who came up with the website.

Real Men Change Diapers!!

2009-01-20T10:18:00.001-08:00

This weekend Jonathan kindly let me know that Ethan's diaper needed to be changed (The fact that his diaper was hanging down to his knees might have been the tip off). I teasingly told him to go grab a diaper and the wipes and to go ahead and change it.

Much to my suprise, Jonathan began to laugh and asked in an excited tone if I was seriouse. (Jonathan has always been very kind to help out with the kids, and seems to feel a great sense of accomplishment when he is able to do "Grown Up" things around the house.)

So the lessons began... I held Ethan still and kept his body in position while Jonathan did the wiping and put the clean diaper on. He did great, and we all thought it was pretty funny. As long as the diaper is not "Stinky", I told him he is welcome to help me out.

Bath Time Baby

2009-01-16T19:54:00.001-08:00

Oh, what a funny girl! Totally love Addison!

A Weekend Get-Away!!

2009-01-11T19:28:00.001-08:00

This weekend was a nice treat for Chris and I. We spent the weekend in Salt Lake while the children were with Chris's parents in Idaho Falls! It was our Christmas gift to eachother. We definately needed some time to get away from things for a while. We haven't left all of our children with a babysitter for an over night trip since the boys were born 5 1/2 years ago (so pretty much never)! We were thrilled to be able to go on a vacation without having to pack along a package of diapers or wipes - IT WAS GREAT! :)
So, Chris was in charge of all the plans - and boy did he get a great trip put together! All of this was Chris's idea - I did not suggest any of this - Chris is just such a GREAT guy!

First we had dinner reservations at a very nice and quiet local restaurant that served European food (Chris likes that kind of food a lot - I think he picked it up while he was on his mission in Spain.)

Then Chris reserved tickets for the Utah Symphony. It was beautiful (hence the music playing right now.) The symphony was amazing, and they had a guest concert pianist from Norway that was absolutley amazing as well. The whole concert was beautiful.

Next, we stayed at the same hotel where we stayed for part of our honeymoon.

The next morning, the plan was to go to a museum exhibit in Salt Lake called "The Leonardo" that was all about the human body from more of a medical point of view. It was supposed to be FANTASTIC - but we had no idea the museum would be sold out with a HUGE line waiting to get in. The next open time for tickets was too late for us - we had to get back to Idaho to pick up our sweet children - so instead we ate lunch and got back on the road again.

I really am SO LUCKY to be married to such a good guy!

We had such a nice time. Chris did a wonderful job of putting it all together. It was definately a nice break - and now we are ready to get back to reality and for the new semester to start.

THANK YOU so much to Chris's parents for watching the children. They all had a wonderful time, and keep telling us that we need to go on another trip so they can stay the night in Idaho Falls without mom and dad again. :)

Bed Time Blues...

2009-01-01T20:10:00.000-08:00

This is what Chris and I found Sunday night as we had sent all the kids to bed. The other children were asleep, but little Ethan had high hopes that he could charm his way back out of bed - it didn't work. :)

All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth!

2008-12-28T19:26:00.000-08:00

After going toothless for the entire first year - Little Ethan finally has some teeth!!
Not only did he get his two front teeth for Christmas - Santa really delivered, and sent 6 front teeth!! He has two on the bottom (which you can barely see in the picture), and then four on top.

I call him our little vampire baby because his front teeth on the sides (the fang ones) started growing in first, so he looked like a vampire. At first I was a little nervous those were his front teeth, and I was beginning to think he was going to have some seriouse orthodontic issues - but Jen (who is a dental hygenist) let me know that the side teeth can grow in first sometimes, and that helped me feel a better. :) The top front teeth are slowly beginning to make an appearance now.

The boy is SO darn cute!!

Happy Birthday To My Hubby!!

2008-12-28T19:13:00.000-08:00

Chris is now 30!!! The big 3-o! And he is as handsome as ever!
Because his birthday is on Christmas day, we had a suprise party for him on Dec. 19 so his family could be there. I wanted to have a special day that was all about Chris without any "Christmas Stuff" mixed in.
We did a pretty good job of pulling off the secret, until I had to let the kids in on the secret the day before because they were helping me run errands for the party. It was just a little too much excitement for the kids to hold in, and though they did a great job on keeping the BIG secret, they did end up divulging a few minor details to Chris - but not too bad.

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETIE!! Thanks for all you do both in the home as well as at work and in school for me and the children. Thanks for keeping us laughing through it all. What a wonderful husband and father! You know the kids and I all adore you - and is it WELL deserved! Love you! And by the way - 30 never looked so good!

And another "Thank You" to Jen for letting us use her house, for all those who helped in any way, and everyone in the wonderful Horton family who was able to be there - we missed those that couldn't be there. It was a lot of fun!

Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-26T10:43:00.000-08:00

Christmas this year was wonderful! We had a great time together on Christmas Eve. The kids all drew names, and then we split up and the kids went shopping for eachother. They had a lot of fun choosing gifts for eachother and then coming home and wrapping the gifts while keeping the secret of what was inside. Chris and I had a great time watching them!
For dinner on Christmas Eve, Chris made a FABULOUSE dinner with salmon, roasted potatoes, and roasted asparagus. It was DELICIOUSE!! Next it was on to all the family night kind of stuff for Christmas Eve.
The kids all had a wonderful time! It was fun to see them all get so excited about Santa, and of course Christmas morning was a blast!
We put together a little video about our Christmas. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Little Ethan!!

2008-12-21T21:56:00.000-08:00

Ok, so this post is SOOO late - but better late than never, right? :)
Little Ethan had his first birthday! It was on Dec. 10. We had a lot of fun! Little Eaf is such a fun boy, we are so happy to have him in our family. His happy-go-lucky personality definately makes anyone smile! We Love You Eafies!

AND... Here is the birthday movie! This is why the post was so late - I was too busy getting ready for finals - but that is all over now, so I finally was able to get the movie done!

Dear Santa...

2008-12-12T23:24:00.000-08:00

This is pretty good!

Christmas Tag!

2008-12-12T09:22:00.000-08:00

Jen (Chris's sister) sent this our way, and I thought it was fun - so here goes.
1. Wrapping paper or gift bag? Wrapping Paper

2. Real tree or artificial? Really, Really, Really want an artificial - But also really like the smell and atmosphere of having a real one. Can't wait until the kids are big enough to go cut our own tree down.

3. When do you put up the tree? Because it is always a real tree, we have to go with the first couple weeks of Deccember and hope that the tree lasts till Christmas - it rarely does.

4. When do you take the tree down? Sometime between the day after Christmas and New Years Day - whenever I can get to it.
5. Do you like eggnog? LOVE IT! A total weakness of mine - even worse, I like it straight up man! I love the thick texture to it. Last year when I was out of commision from having a c-section with Ethan, my mom stayed with us and would make the BEST eggnog shakes! Totally not a good way to get started on losing the baby weight... :)

6. Your favorite Christmas gift as a child? The Popple I still have and my children now play with. THANKS SANTA!

7. Hardest person to buy for? I have a hard time buying gifts for most anyone. Shopping for gifts is not really my forte. :)

8. Easiest person to buy for? Any of the kids. I get have ideas for their gifts and am generally done shopping for them way ahead of time because they are so fun to shop for.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes. A small one Debbi gave us. I would love a bigger one, but I am having a hard time finding one that is not hoky and that is still relatively kid friendly.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I don't have one, but one year for Chris's office Christmas party Chris gave a ratty, old, used toothbrush away - seriously disgusting, but it turned out to be pretty funny. :)

12. Favorite Christmas movie? The Christmas Story - love it!

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually around September-ish. This year I actually had the big gifts for all the kids from Chris and I done in July. NOt too shabby!

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Not that I can think of. Wedding presents on the other hand...

15. Favorite thing to drink at Christmas? EGGNOG - I am a glutton for punishment. :)

6. Lights on the tree? Yes, white

17. Favorite Christmas song? I like all Christmas music, but I love the softer, more spiritual ones like "Oh, Holy Night", "Silent Night", ect.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home. I love just being with the kids and Chris all day, just a relaxing nice and cozy day at home.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? No, but I heard a funny joke about them from my dear friend Lesley who just moved to Arizona. Here it is...

According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, while both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year, male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, usually late November to mid-December. Female reindeer retain their antlers till after they give birth in the spring. Therefore, according to EVERY historical rendition depicting Santa's reindeer, EVERY single one of them, from Rudolph to Blitzen, had to be a girl. We should've known... ONLY women would be able to - drag a man - in a red velvet suit - all around the world in one night ....and not get lost!

That is pretty good! :)

20. Angel on the tree or star? I would like an angel, but I have had a hard time finding one that is not hoky-looking.

21. Open the presents Christmas eve or Christmas morning? Pajamas Christmas eve and rest on Christmas morning

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Tacky Christmas music.

23. What do you want for Christmas this year? Oh, I havn't even thought of that - as long as I get A's in my classes I am good to go!

Ok. Now I tag all the lovely ladies who are reading this - Deb, Jo, Sarah x 3 (Sarah is a popular name), Rachel (and Rachel is just a darn good name) , Meagan, Becca, and mom - and anyone else who reads this!

Finally - A Christmas Tree!

2008-12-08T12:03:00.000-08:00

Hurray! We finally got our Christmas tree up! Though I would love a fake tree, Chris loves real trees, and since Christmas day is his birthday - I lovingly oblige. The trees are always BEAUTIFUL for the first week or so, but then it all starts to go south, and by Christmas day, it is clearly evident that the tree has gone the rounds with 5 curiouse and excited children.

A New Room, And Old Toys.

2008-12-08T11:39:00.001-08:00

Along with all of the other fun stuff we did over Thanksgiving weekend - somehow we were also able to repaint the boy's room! The goal was to get it done over Thanksgiving break before we got back into school, and we did it!

I have been wanting to paint it for them for a long time, and the boys have been eager for it to be done as well.

There was a big rush to get it done before Christmas because the boys bedroom plays a key part in one of the most AWESOME Christmas presents we got for the boys! The boys are totally into anything about outerspace, the stars, and the planets these days. So, right now we are in the middle of painting the boy's ceiling the same navy blue as the bottom of their walls, and I bought them an inflatable solar system to hang from their ceiling, and we are going to put glow in the dark stars all over their ceiling as well. I am SO excited! I know they are going to absolutely think it ROCKS!

So on Christmas Eve we always have a family slumber party downstairs (so Chris and I can go upstairs and be Santa's helpers after the kids all finally fall asleep). So this year we are going to put the solar system up and wrap their bedroom door on Christmas Eve so they will have to "unwrap" their bedroom! AWESOME!

And while we were repainting the boy's bedroom, the kids had the job of going through their toys and deciding which ones to give away. The kids had a hard time at first, but with a little coaxing (sinced I happen to be in cahoots with a little guy named Santa, and I know they are going to be replenishing their toy supply come Christmas day) they finally were able to clean out their toy boxes and part with a lot of the toys they no longer play with anymore. Then it was a trip to the DI. In the picture the kids are working going through the girl's toy box. They had a fun time doing it.

Ahhh - That Was GOOD!!

2008-11-30T14:54:00.000-08:00

Oh, Ya! That is definately the sign that dinner was good - and Thanksgiving certainly was not a disappointment!

We had a great time up in Newdale with the Simper family. Dinner was fabulouse! The desserts were amazing! After we had eaten more than our fill, we all headed out to play night games with all of the Simper family. That was a blast, and even faced with the threat of frostbite on their sweet little toes and noses, the children were disappointed to have to go back inside!

On Friday morning, I was up and at 'em with all my sisters by 4:oo am, ready for the doors to open at JC Penny! We had a GREAT time - mostly just casual shopping and enjoying that we were all out enjoying a day of shopping together without any children - and no reason to fell guilty about it because all the children were at home asleep with the hubbies! By 8:00 a.m. I was able to have completed the remaining Christmas shopping I had left, and the kids were just barely waking up - GLORIOUSE!

Friday night, Chris and I totally wimped out, and rather than brave the weather with the kids for the light parade, we stayed home and played games with the kids and had chips and dip. The kids loved it, and we all had a great time.

Next, it was off to Debbi's house on Saturday night for more games and left over desserts from Thanksgiving. The kids all played with all their cousins, and the adults played some fun games. Chris had a research paper due for one of his classes on Monday, so I went with the kids, and Chris stayed home for some much needed quiet study time.

A fun weekend for all of us. I REALLY am not looking forward to the real world beginning again tomarrow morning! Oh well, a couple more weeks of school, and then a nice break for Christmas, Woo-Hoo!

Just Another Day At Work... a pretty grusome picture to follow - I won't feel bad if you skip this post :)

2008-11-25T22:00:00.000-08:00

That is right - look a little closer, I really am holding an amputated FOOT!!
Ahhh, the joys of working in the grossing lab in the pathology department. This happened to be a particularly cool day! I was not kidding when I said that we take ANY tissue specimens removed from a patient. Amid all the gallbladders, placentas, and biopsies, this foot was on the line up for grossing as well.

The foot was almost a week old though, so it did have a certian unpleasant smell about it, but I still thought is was pretty awesome!

I TOTALLY love my job!! It is always a different day with new suprises waiting when I get to work. It's great!

"Mom, What is a Master?"

2008-11-25T21:30:00.000-08:00

As with any mother of small children - I am constantly being asked question after question about the wonders of this life by my curiouse children. Though I am happy for their curiousity and their desire to learn - sometimes my least favorite word is "Why". Anyone who may not agree - just wait until you have 4 little ones, soon to be 5, asking an endless stream of questions. A lot of times, the questions come so fast and from so many different mouths, it is quite hard to keep up and remember which question I am answering - WHEW!
I do, however, like to answer their questions as fully and honestly as I can. I try to communicate the answers on their levcl without depriving them of the information and explaination they are seeking. So, the other day the kids were watching a show where one of the characters called another character "Master". As soon as I heard the word, I knew there would be a question to follow. Of course, the boys asked "Mom, what's a master?" So I tried to explain how a master is someone who is incharge of another person, place, or thing - the first object lesson that came to mind was the dog. I said "You know, like daddy is the master of Shilo (the dog), he tells her what to do, and she obeys." The kids thought that was pretty funny.
But Chris does a really good job with the dogs we have owned. He always takes the time to feed and walk them. He is a great dog trainer - the dogs we have had have always been very attentive and obedient to Chris, and Shilo is by far the best one yet. Dogs have become a sort of hobby for Chris. I am always impressed with the work he puts into them, and the respect and affection he receives in return. Anyone interested in a good breed of dogs - I would definately recommend a German Shepherd. We have never experienced a dog more willing to obey commands and quietly be a part of the family - Good Call Chris!

Night Out With The Girls!

2008-11-23T20:13:00.000-08:00

Saturday night was an awesome night out with the girls! It was a night with the Simper sisters filled with laughter, food, and "Twilight"! We pre-ordered tickets for the Twilight movie for the late hours of the night (after the kids were in bed, so we wouldn't have to feel so bad about going). To get things started, we grabbed a quick bite to eat before the movie. Then, it was off to stand in line for an hour so we could get good seats - and it's a good thing we did, cause it would have been miserable to be the ones standing in the cold outside!

The movie was fun. There were a few hoky (?sp?) parts, but they did a pretty good job. Hopefully they learn from the mistakes made in this movie, and the next one comes out a little better... :)

Still - a ton of fun with the sisters, and a much needed night out!

My Current Obsession...

2008-11-21T07:57:00.000-08:00

Between school, the kids, work, and other activities that might come up - night time around here gets pretty hectic, so we usually don't have time to watch some of our favorite shows. Wait - we are actually pretty good at making sure we get "The Office" worked into our schedule. That is a show that we will allow the kids to stay up a little later for, so we don't get stuck reading bed time stories while "The Office" comes on - totally worth it, and the kids don't complain either. :)

So I was catching up on a little bit of past "So You Think You Can Dance"on you tube, and I have become a little obsessed! I was usually at work through the summer when this would come on - so forgive me for being a little out of the loop. :) I made Chris sit with me a couple nights ago to watch some of the dances - and he was sweet to hang with me while I drooled over the amazing talent.
So here is one of my favorites. The dance is not super technical - but the dancers still totally rock it out! The kids think it is me dancing - and OH, HOW I WISH!! It is just the hair that throws them off - I am just lucky I can still teach pre-schoolers how to stand in first position! :)

So enjoy - it pretty much rocks! (I probably said that like 20 times through this post...)

Hurray For Ethan!!

2008-11-17T10:55:00.000-08:00

Let's hear it for Ethan! He is now our sweet little sippy cup totin', whole milk drinkin', no more crawlin' WALKER!!! Ethan has pretty much sworn off crawling and has become a full fledged toddler! He is absolutely thrilled with himself - and we are as well! He has been walking since about Halloween - and now he is gettting quite good. He has gotten past the point of total clumsiness, and now can stop, turn around, and crouch to pick things up then stand back up again. Muy impressivo! He will be turning 1 in a littel under a month now (Dec. 10), so we are working on weaning him over to whole milk, and so far so good.

Oh, and the bottle thing - that was SOOO yesterday! Only sippy cups for him now. :)

The little dude is growing up! And the kids are all excited to include him even more in their play - which delights Ethan beyond comprehension! He had dreamed of this day pretty much since he figured out how fun they really are and how much of a barrier his imobility was causing. :)

Good Job Little Bud! Can't wait to see what else you begin to do!

COUNT DOWN!!!

2008-11-17T10:11:00.000-08:00

The tickets have been pre-ordered! The date and time have been set! The Simper sisters are taking the night off and heading to the movies!!

See you on Saturday girls! I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!

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One Of My Favorite Moments Of Each Day...

2008-11-06T21:29:00.001-08:00

This is one of my favorite moments each day. When we get the boys to school each morning and they are heading over to the playground to play until the bell rings. I can't take my eyes off of them until they have mixed in with all the other children to the point that I can no longer see them anymore and the mothers in the line behind me are about to see how easy it would actually be to push a mini-van out of the way with thier own vehicles...
I love to watch the boys walk away together, always looking to their side to be sure their brother is doing okay. I especially love it when other little boys come running up to them and engage in the "Cool Happenings Of Yesterday" stories. How nice that they get to experience this new phase of their lives with eachother. I know I always loved having Joanna just in the grade above me, and Stephen just two grades behind me.
Watching the boys in the mornings always reminds me of growing up with brothers and sisters always around the corner ready to play or help. For some reason, I always think of seeing Debbi standing in the 4th grade library line when I was in kindergarten, and thinking she was pretty cool. The fun memories of grade school through high school with Jo and Stevo (The Beef-Yo) and all the fun we had. "Hangin' with the friends" in high school naturally meant that those two were going to be the first ones invited! And Josh was always ready and willing to offer creative ideas on how to have fun in small-town Newdale. What fun we all had together!

Moments like this leave me feeling content that all our children were born so close to one another. It certainly gets crazy and tough at times - but I know they will enjoy the love and friendship I knew then with my own siblings and still enjoy now.

By the way chicas - Up for a "Craft Day" - I think we are far overdue!

Out With Halloween -- In With The Christmas Music Baby!

2008-11-03T21:38:00.000-08:00

Ahhhhh, doesn't that sound absolutely wonderful! Absolutely GLORIOUSE!! I have been chomping at the bit waiting for the time to play Chirstmas music - I absolutely love it! I actually cheated a couple time, and I listened to Josh Groban's Christmas music after it snowed back at the beginning of the October. Now it is officially leagal - Christmas music is now allowed!

Mix a little Josh, Celine, Martina, and throw in a bit of Charlie Brown - it's like the voices of angels. And for any of you searching for the ultimate listening experience - Josh Groban and the Mo Tab singing "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" - that is basically like getting front row seats to the dress rehearsal for the cherubic chior haralding in the second comining! AMAZING! Now if only we could work in some of Handel's "Messiah" in there - that would blow anybody away!

Well, I am ready for the wonderful holiday season to get started. I have been asking the kids what they want for Christmas since the beginning of October - secretly getting them as worked up and excited about Christmas as possible! Christmas is like 10,000 times better when you have kids, and each year it gets better as their understanding and excitment grows - LOVE IT! Nothing can top bed time on Christmas Eve, and then Christmas morning when you have kids. To be honest - I have to admit I have to wipe some tears away every year when the kids let their innocence and excitment show. It is certainly a gift to be the parents of such sweet children!

Happy Holidays Everyone! We hope everything goes well this season for every body!

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-03T20:39:00.000-08:00

The kids have been planning this Halloween for about the last month and a half. The boys have known what they wanted to be for a long time, and before they lost all faith in me - We finally got around to picking out some fabric to make the costumes. The kids all picked out their own fabrics (with some help from me...)

Ryan wanted to be a storm tooper from Star Wars, Jonathan wanted to be an indian, and the girls wanted to be ballarinas.

The boys wore their costumes to school and had a fun Halloween party at school. The girls, Ethan, and I all went to their school to watch the boys in their costume parade. Then they were off to trick-or-treating with Joanna at her ward trunck-or-treating where they had a great time. Next it was off to trunck-or-treating with our own ward and the other 2 wards that share our building. And then we were off to hang with the Horton fam at Jen and Jesse's house. Grandma and Grandpa Horton were there, and the kids all played and enjoyed the evening with their cousins. When the children had finally reached the point of exhaustion and were all Halloweened-out, we finally headed back home for a great night's sleep.
Ahhh, a big day, but lot's of fun. The kids loved every minute of it!

The Big Readers!

2008-11-02T15:46:00.000-08:00

Hurray for Ryan and Jonathan! They both earned personal pizzas from Pizza Hut for reading 1 book a day all through the month! (How long has that program been running?... ) So we all headed out as a family to reep the rewards of their labors.
The boys were pretty funny. They wanted to talk to the waitress themselves and order what they wanted. They kept reminding us while we were waiting for her to come that they were going to do the ordering. When their big moment finally came, they both got very shy, and with a little bit of coaxing, they each ordered their own pizza and handed the waitress their free pizza ticket. They were both very proud of themselves.
Dinner was great, and we had the boys to thank!

Nice And Cozy!

2008-10-30T10:05:00.000-07:00

Chris and the kids have all been sick this past week with the flu. Not so fun for them, but I think we may finally be getting to the tail end of this deal (once one get's it, they all get it).

With all of the time spent cuddling poor sick children and cleaning up/preventing throw-up messes, the washing machine has been working over time and to no avail. By Thursday morning, there were no clothes left for little Ethan, so I put one of the Ryan and Jonathan's sweatshirts on him. He was funny. He would sit on the floor and pull his legs in under the shirt so his legs were nice and warm. I thought is was pretty clever for a 10 month old to figure out, and of course I thought it was super cute and funny... :)

What a funny boy!

The Bane Of My Existence!!!

2008-10-27T20:36:00.000-07:00

The absolute bane of my existence -- LAUNDRY! Blah, blah, blah,... blah, blah, blah, blah! It is not so much that I mind washing the laundry. That is toally fine. We all need the clean clothes, and I really tend to apprecieate the way a house smells when there is fresh laundry in the air.

But getting around to folding it - that is a totally different situation! Try as I might to keep on top of it, I always end up with lots of clean laundry, and no time to fold it. It is the never ending cycle that gets me every time. Between one small toddler who can't keep an outfit clean for 3 minutes, 2 little girls who think they have to change their outfits every 10 minutes (forget the toy box full of dress-up clothes, the clothes in their dresser are much more appealing,) 2 kindergarteners who feel there is a strict distiction between play clothes and school clothes, and you must wear the appropriate clothing for each situation, and two adults who's clothing gets accesorized by sticky hands, diaper mishaps, burp-up splendor, runny nose comforting, and playing meal time referee - The hampers get quite full at an alarming rate around this house! Oye Vey! I have to do at least a load every day with big laundry days on both Wednesdays and Saturdays just to keep up!
Of all this - My largest pet peeve is when the children decide to look for a certain outfit that may not have been folded yet - and this is what we end up with... Oh well, what can you do, right? At least they do a pretty good job of cleaning that mess up when we ask them to. I guess it is a good thing they are so cute and funny - it's not a bad balance - most of the time. :) Well, I am off to finish my homework - and fold some laundry... :)

So Grown Up!

2008-10-27T20:26:00.000-07:00

That is right! Mr. Ethan has decided that walking is the hip thing to do these

days! He is quite proud of his unassissted steps, as are we!
For the past couple of weeks, he has been steadily gaining confidence and balance. He has been crossing greater distances - never fearing the inevitable face plant that follows his great attempts.
He is still on shaky ground, but he's getting there! He is ever so excited to finally be able to race around the house with all the other children, and he is well on his way.... Now, let's just see if he can get a tooth to come through - the boy is still sporting a toothless grin - but that's ok, because it looks SO cute on him!

The Dentist!

2008-10-24T08:40:00.001-07:00

It was time for all of the kids to have their six month check-ups with the dentist. They all did really well. They all got their teeth cleaned without a single problem, even Addison! It was really cute, and the kids had a fun time. We have a great pediatric dentist. Everything in the office is all about children - which the kids love! They totally look forward to each appointment they have there. In the pictures, the kids are all wearing silly glasses while they watched "The Incedibles" on the screen up on the ceiling. Addison and Sarah took turns sitting in the big hygenist chair and watching each other get their teeth cleaned. Both Sarah and Addison are completly cavity-free. The boys on the other hand.... Ryan had just a few small cavities that will be filled and easily taken care of. Jonathan was not so lucky. He has a tooth that will need to be pulled due to decay and infection - poor boy! I guess Jonathan had this cavity at the last 6 month appointment in April, but we (for some reason) were not scheduled for another appointment to take care of it then, I was under the impression that we had taken care of everything that needed to be done at that time - now the tooth is beyond repair. I feel bad. Jonathan is even the best at brushing his teeth. He is always so careful and takes his time, and he is always the one to remind everyone before they leave for school and before they go to bed that they need to brush and use their mouth wash. --- Sorry My Sweet Boy!

Tag Again! This Time For Ryan!

2008-10-19T10:37:00.000-07:00

And now, for an answer to Aunt Sarah's tag on Ryan - Here we go with his answers!

1. I wish I could be in the news so it could always be snowy in Pocatello. (Ryan want's to be the weather man so he can always announce that it is going to snow -

he is pretty sure the weather guy gets to make that decision)

2. I like to have clean hands. (Ryan is very good about washing his hands - perhaps more so than most adults... )

3. I cry when I have shots.

4. I would like to ride on a horse.

5. I am really good at surfing. (Except, he has never tried it before, so I am not sure where that came from... )

6. I like counting. (Ryan has a current obsession with counting everything in the house. A good skill to practice... at least that is what we tell ourselves when we hear him get stuck between 12 and 13 for the 16th time of the day... )

Awesome! Thanks Aunt Sarah for tagging Ryan! This has become a fun game!

Ryan and Jonathan now give a joint tag to Kaden and Ben. (I think all the other cousins have been tagged...) We'll hear from you soon!

Tag! Jonathan Is It!!

2008-10-19T10:21:00.000-07:00

Ok. Now Jonathan has been tagged by his Aunt Sarah. This will be fun, because Jonathan is a funny kid. Here are his answers!

1. I tell funny jokes. Here is one of them.... Once there was a cow that got ate by a dragon. Ha Ha Ha, what a riot! Bringin' down the house with that one!

2. I like to play with Ad. (Jonathan is a very good big brother. He is very good about playing with all the siblings, but he does keep an extra eye out for Ethan and Addison)

3. I like it when it is Easter. Finding eggs is FUN!

4. I wish I could live with the birds. Maybe Dinos would be fun too.

5. I am really good at singing the ABC's. (He is actually VERY good at that. He is already reading books for the homework his teacher sends home. Really reading - I just sit beside him to help him sound out the hard words. Not too shabby... )

6. I am good at spelling. I like to spell "Moon" and "Fox"

Thanks Jonathan, that was fun! And thanks Sarah for tagging him!

A Favorite Clip Of The Kid's

2008-10-17T07:59:00.000-07:00

The kids totally loved to watch Dexter's Laboratory before bedtime when we had Directv (That was when we got it for free, we are too cheap to actually pay for it... ) So, we found this the other day, and the kids all die with laughter everytime they see this, they think it is just about the funniest thing ever - totally on a wierd kid humor(little boy especially). It is pretty funny.

Sarah Got Tagged!!

2008-10-14T10:30:00.000-07:00

Sarah's cousin Trevor tagged Sarah (not sure if he meant our Sarah or Aunt Sarah, but I am making Sarah answer anyways because - How Fun!)

I just sat with Sarah to ask what some funny things about her are, and here are her anwers. I mostly wrote her own words verbatum. These are her answers.

1. I love to play games! My favorite game is "Simon Says" and I like "Duck, Duck, Goose". I like to be the one to say what Simon says. (Anyone who knows Sarah knows that she pretty much knows how to play the role of the oldest sister - she usually takes over and gets things to go her way, whether the other siblings realize it or not. A lot of times, activities end with Ryan and Jonathan yelling at Sarah that she is not in charge - Sarah is usually pretty sure she is in charge.)

2. Being naughty is not funny.

3. I love to watch "Litttle Einsteins".

4. I like to play with my brothers. I like to play Ninjas with my brothers, but Ethan can't play cause he is too little. (Sarah is generally up for any challenge the boys might put before her, and she always pulls through with flying colors!)

5. I love to eat broccoli, carrots, and I loooovvveee treats. (This comment shocked me as well - except the treat part)

6. I like to go to dancing class with my dancing friends (the other girls in the class).

Sarah now tags her cousins Danny, Eva (Miriam, you have to get your blog working to let her answer!), and Elli (cause you chicas need to stick together!). Good Luck - and we look forward to hearing from the cousins!

What A Day!

2008-10-12T07:39:00.000-07:00

Saturday was such a super productive day for us. Usually, Chris and I tend to get a little frustrated that we are not able to accomplish everything we had planned to get done on a Saturday (who ever really does?).

But check out what we got done today!!

The first thing the kids saw when they woke up this morning -- SNOW! So we couldn't let that go to waste!

Then it was in for some sweet bread and hot cocoa.

Then, with all this snow - I went right into "Winter Nesting Mode". On top of the normal Saturday cleaning, I got all of the laundry washed - And folded (quite a job)! I even washed all the bedding on all the kid's beds and put extra winter blankets on their beds. Chris did some shopping. We reorganized some cupboards in our basement to make more room for our food storage.

Chris learned how to make this FANTASTIC lentil soup while he was on his mission in Spain, which he made today. The house smelled wonderful all day! Esta Muy Bueno!

Chris is in the elder's quorum presidency, and this afternoon he got a call from the bishop letting him know that the elder's quorum was assigned to clean the church this week. Unable to find any other men in the ward who could help on such short notice - we packed up the family and the kids helped us clean the church. It was fun, and a good project for the kids to be involved in. I told Chris we should do this more often.

Finally, after we had enjoyed a deliciouse dinner prepared by Chris, it was time to watch one of the movies the kids had rented for the weekend, and then it was time for some exhausted children to go to bed.

What a good day!

Turning Mom's Lemons Into Delightful ... Cherry Ice Cream!

2008-10-10T20:09:00.000-07:00

This morning, I had the absolutely amazing experience of getting all four of my wisdom teeth taken out!

Actually, it wasn't very bad. Although, the oral surgan used IV sedation, so one moment I was in the dental chair answering questions -- the next thing I knew I was in a totally different room (recovery), in a whole new chair, Chris beside me, and somehow the sweater the nurse had seemingly just asked me to take off so she could get an IV line started was oddly back on me once again. I have no recollection of how I got to the recovery room with my sweater back on - but I know I must have walked, there were no wheels on that chair, and I am pretty sure the women in that office could not have carried me there, I was larger in size just in height alone. I was super disoriented - a very weird feeling that I was not such a fan of. I kept trying to ask Chris questions about how I got where I was and what time it was, but my mouth was so packed with gauze I couldn't get any discerible words out. He finally laughed and told me to stop worring about it while we waited for the sedation to wear off a little.

The Chris and the kids have been wonderful all day, letting me sleep all day. Chris has been Mr. Mom and the resident soft food chef. The kids have totally been diggin' the idea that there is an abundant amount of yogurt and ice cream in the house, and tonight Chris took them to Great American Video (where kid movies are free rentals) and they all got to pick their own movie for the weekend. Maybe mom getting her wisdom teeth taken out was not such a bad thing after all... :)

He Thinks He Is SOO Funny!

2008-10-07T03:54:00.000-07:00

Chris and I have a lot of fun in our marriage. We like to tease and play with each other. With all that life has bestowed apon us, we have learned to laugh about pretty much anything that happens - certainly makes life a lot more fun that way, and keeps us eager to see what else might be aroung the corner.

So it is actually quite normal for Chris to pull pranks on me - and he has come up with some pretty good ones in the past. One very recent prank now has me on the watch list of both Wal Mart and Home Depot (I have to admit, it was a pretty good one, that worked out even better than he anticipated).

The latest prank.... Let's just say, the stars were aligned for Chris on this one. It has by far taken the cake, and Chris had no idea how great of an opportunity he had before him until it all took place.

Okay, let me set the stage for you.

So for those who may not know, in the afternoons I work in the Pathology Lab in the hospital here in Pocatello. Joanna is generous enough to watch the children for a couple of hours, and then Chris has them for a couple hours in the evening while I finish up work and go to my classes. I generally get home in time to help get all the children to bed, and read a couple of bed time stories before they are off to bed. It keeps us pretty busy, but Chris and I have learned how to work very well as a team so we are both able to get everything we need to do done.

I love my job! I work in the grossing lab - which is where we take the tissue specimens that have been removed from patients, and then we dissect them down to much smaller portions to be put on slides for the pathologist to look at to make a diagnosis. (gallbladder, appendix, biopsies of all sorts, colons, bones... we even get amputation specimens. You name it, I have seen it.). This job is a great work experience builder, and great for school and my major as well.

One part of the pathology job not many consider, is that the pathologist is also responsible for doing autopsies. Now, it may be a little weird, and perhaps a bit morbid, but I have been interested in watching an autopsy since I have worked here - SPECIFICALLY FROM THE ANATOMY PERSPECTIVE. Definately a great way to learn - hence cadavers in most biology labs.
So yesterday, I was able to sit in on two oautopsies. All-in-all, it was quite interesting. I learned a lot. During the autopsies, I was totally fine - it was a little weird at first - but once I got over the weirdness, it wasn't too bad.

Once the autopsies were done, I went back up to get my work done. It wasn't until I finally sat down and had the opportunity to reflect on what I had just seen that the real weirdness started to set in. All through my work and during my class that night, all I could think of were the autopsies. This definately caused me to seriously ponder the fragility of life, and that what we may think are small and insignificant decisions that we have made many times before, can sometimes turn out to be a really big deal, and yes, even life altering. I left my class with a huge desire to just go home and hug my little ones, and sit next to my dear husband and just take in the wonderful blessing to have them all around me.

After the kids were in bed, Chris stepped out to go do the grocery shopping that seriously needed to be done. While Chris was gone, the autopsies were still on my mind. I had told Chris that I had watched them, but I hadn't told him how much they had affected me. Then, about an hour and a half later, as I was finishing up in the bathroom - washing up and all - suddenly the door flew open and this is what I saw!!!

(Except, imagine this on a grown man, yelling in a low pitched sort of growl, looking like he is about to lunge at you. Oh ya, and my husband was not supposed to be home. I was supposed to be the only one there to protect myself and my children - not so harmless anymore!)

All I could do was stand there and scream. A part of me knew it was just Chris, and I should probably start laughing at any moment - but there was an even bigger part of me that saw the mask, and could only think of the autopsies and scream longer and louder as the seconds went by.... I was a total wimp about it. Finally Chris started laughing so hard he was crying - not only wiping tears, but practically bawling with laughter. I finally got a hold of myself and started laughing so hard I was crying - but I think my tears were not so much funny tears, which made Chris laugh even harder.

Yes, Chris certainly stepped in on a perfectly primed victim on this one. I was ripe for the picking, and he got me good!
The boy is in for it, I have to come up with a good one for this one. I have an idea, but I can't let anything slip. I will let you all know how it goes. He doesn't think I am capable of coming up with something very mean, but after this - I would say he has it comin', and I am pretty motivated.... ;)

Visiting Daddy At Work!

2008-10-06T11:06:00.000-07:00

Sarah, Addison, and Ethan were the winners of the coveted prize in the Horton household! Yep, they got to go see Daddy at work! All the children love to go see Chris at his office, and he loves to have them all come. Chris keeps a little fish in a bowl at his office, and all the kids like to take a turn feeding the fish while they are there.

Chris is such a good dad. He is so sweet with the kids. He is such a good guy for Heavenly Father to have sent 5 young children in such rapid succession to. Chris handles it very well, and the children all adore him. Heavenly Father certainly knew what he was doing on that one - but then He always does, I don't know why

we are always so suprised when we finally figure things out. :)

And the highlight to the visit with Dad at his office - the candy dish in the reception area. Of course! Definately the way to a child's heart!

Cold On The Outside, Warm On The Inside...

2008-10-05T17:16:00.000-07:00

Conference weekend was cold and rainy here. Which was fine with us. I love it when the weather begins to turn cold. I love the warm cozy feeling of the home. On Saturday morning I even broke out the hot cocoa for breakfast. I get excited for the change of seasons. I really like living in an area where the weather changes with the seasons. The change to cold weather right now is certainly welcome, but I know that when the cold drearyness of winter is getting old and I am ready for the fresh spring sunshine, along comes spring! It's wonderful!

The kids had a great time playing quietly inside the house. It was fun to watch them play with eachother. They are beginning to do more of the universal grown-up / brother-sister things that bring back a lot of memories from when Chris and I were growing up. It is fun to watch.

Playing "Go Fish" on the top bunk in the girl's room.

Making a fort in the living room.

Reading books to eachother.

Tagged By My Own Sista!

2008-10-01T22:31:00.000-07:00

That is right, Joanna got me! That is okay, because this one is a pretty fun one, and I can support my sister when she calls on me!
I am supposed to let you all know about 6 quirks of mine, and then tag 3 others to do the same. Or as I like to call this - The Stocker Portion of The Blog World. My chosen victims have been listed below.

1. Well this may not be so much of a quirk, but it is something that I don't exactly broadcast - at least not until now. Here it is - My feet are a wopping size 11!! I know, you may now pick your chin up off the table. That is right. Proudly adding their names to the ever-increasing list of body parts that increased in size during pregnancy and have remained in that large state yet perhaps lacking the same "Vim and Vigor" they used to know, (ya'll feel me girls?) My feet have become quite a sight. Not like they were porcelain doll feet to begin with. I am a pretty tall girl, and I like to call myself a stong girl with a healthy build - that's all. But up next to Chris' feet, they don't look so bad. :)

2. I love, love, love nice fresh made beds with tight sheets and lots of warm cozy blankets. I love to feel the warm weight on me - ahhhh. Whenever I change the sheets on our bed, I totally look forward to when I can go to bed that night. Poor Chris is not such a fan. He would rather sleep with only a set of sheets, and loose-fit ones as that. Usually, Chris will fold his side of all the blankets onto my side so he is only under a sheet, and I am completely in heaven! Too bad that soon after I begin to enjoy the cozy bedding, there is usually a small child, or two, or three, or four, sometimes five, who is asking if they can share the warm bedding as well..... :)

3. I have a HARD time saying "No" to anybody, including myself. Ask Chris - it totally drives him nuts (but it also tends to work in his favor -- how else do you think we always seem to end up with another dog) :) This is also a sad contribution to the busy mess I tend to get myself worked into. But no worries - "To Do" lists and I are close friends.

4. I am a complete sugar addict. Love it! (really, who doesn't?)

5. When I think of an embarrassing moment I have had, which are many ( I am a classic "Foot in The Mouther"), I will suddenly begin to sing to myself. Totally weird I know. I think it is like a nervouse twitch kind of thing. I suppose I may be subconciously trying to distract my brain from the memory or something...

6. I love the smell of clean laundry. I almost do our laundry obsessivly(not that it always gets folded right away). I just love the way fresh laundry hanging to dry or fresh out of the dryer can make the home smell fresh and clean as well. I also love to hold my children close and smell their clean fresh clothes. In return, I am also a bit picky about the detergent and fabric softeners we use so I can acheive the above goal. I either send a very specific laundry list for Chris when he does the shopping, or I just make sure I am the one that picks up the laundry goods.

There you go. And now to pass on the gift from Jo, I tag Debbi because you an excuse to sit down and get your blog back up and running again chica! :) Meagan McBride, because you are pretty funny - I am interested to see what you will have to say, and finally Jen Wakely, because I am sure between you and your husband, you have some pretty funny things to say as well.
Good luck, and have fun you three!

A Conference Weekend Activity For The Family

2008-10-01T20:30:00.000-07:00

I am excited for General Conference this weekend. It always makes a nice weekend at home, enjoying eachother on Sunday morning rather than the usual chaos of trying to get everybody dressed and off to church and the different meetings Chris and I have to attend, and all the other "Sunday Stuff" and such.
This general conference weekend we are going to be doing something new, and I thought it was such a great idea that I just have to share it with everyone.
My visiting teaching partner related this idea while we were out teaching a couple months ago, and I made a mental note right then that I was going to do this.
Anyhow, my VT partner served her mission in Florida, where they are right in the middle of all the action when it comes to hurricane season. So obviously, 72 hour kits are a pretty important deal down there. Well this family she knew would use every general conference weekend as a time to check all their 72 hour gear to make sure they were good to go when they needed them. They would make it really fun. Each member of the family was incharge of their own kit. They would make sure the clothing all fit and was appropriate for the coming season. They would make sure all the batteries in the flashlights were all good, and other necessary gear was working (pocket knives, lanterns, blankets, etc.) They would do by making games out of it, i.e. playing dress up in the old clothes, build tents out of the blankets and play with the flashlights... you get the idea.
While conference was on, they would sit and eat the old food and repack the kits with new goods, that way the food was always fresh and they knew the kids would actually like the food in the kits. And since we are supposed to update and check out 72 hour kits every 6 months - each general conference weekend is an automatic and perfect reminder to take the time to get that done. BRILLIANT - I KNOW!!
So we are starting that as a tradition in our family, and I thought many of you might like the idea as well. I know that we don't actually live in a hurricane zone, and there is not such a high likely hood that we will have to grab our kits and make due at least once a year - but preparation is always better.
I have included some links for anybody interested in a refresher of what to include in a 72 hour kit.

The link to go to if you are going total, all-out, gung-hoe, we can camp out till the world collapses around us.

http://www.avertdisasters.org/html/72_hour2.html

But if you are just getting started and a little on the more practical, just give me the basics, make sure we get through the 72 hours, I don't want to go broke making sure my family can get through 72 measly hours -- which is the side I tend to gravitate toward -- then here is your link. The list can look a little overwhemlming, but as long as we all get the essentials, the rest can be added in along the way. No biggie, right?

http://lds.about.com/od/preparednessfoodstorage/a/72hour_kit.htm

Good Luck! This will be a fun activity!

A Day With The Cousins!

2008-09-29T22:15:00.000-07:00

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.

Info On The Last Post...

2008-09-29T09:57:00.000-07:00

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.

Obama Speech

2008-09-27T19:48:00.000-07:00

Speech on Patriotism by Barack Obama

We Can ALL Relate!

2008-09-26T09:46:00.000-07:00

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...?

..or have children?

Some Tunes For The Kids

2008-09-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

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. :)

Our Dancer

2008-09-23T06:37:00.000-07:00

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.

Grandma Lets Us Crack The Eggs...

2008-09-16T21:51:00.000-07:00

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... :)

Mmmmm, mouth watering goodness!

2008-09-12T11:35:00.001-07:00

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!

Standing On His Own!!

2008-09-12T11:26:00.000-07:00

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!

Riding The Bus!

2008-09-10T12:16:00.000-07:00

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. :)

The Girls Went To School Today Too!

2008-09-10T09:39:00.000-07:00

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. :)

She Is So Funny...

2008-09-02T21:49:00.000-07:00

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. :)

The Big Race!!

2008-09-01T22:30:00.000-07:00

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.