Make a Smilebox scrapbook Ammon had his 7th birthday! He was 10.6 lbs when he was born, a real surprise! Some things I love about Ammon are..... 1. He is so easy going, just tends to go with the flow 2. He shares whatever he has 3. He plays with others very good. 4. He thinks about what he's saying when he prays and never says the same thing over and over. 5. He is very cautious, so I don't have to worry so much! I love that! 6. He is so smart and gets his homework done without prodding. 7. He is very responsible, If I say come home at a certain time he is there. 8. He still likes me to hold him. 9. He'll eat anything except tacos and picked hotdogs for his birthday dinner, easy, YEAH! 10. His angelic eyes and sweet face. Happy Birthday! We love you, Ammon!!

Happy Birthday Grace!!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Grace turned 5 years old on Monday Dec. 1st. I can't believe it's been five years. Some of the things I love about Grace are....
1. she is so sweet and thoughtful
2. she is girly, loves pink and sparkles
3. she notices when I cut my hair or change something.
4. she is kind to her brothers and sister
5. she is a good sleeper
6. she's funny without trying to be (just don't tell her she's funny, she doesn't like that)
7. she is obedient
8. she loves hugs and kisses
9. she likes me to sing to her
10. everything about the way she looks especially her curly blond hair, it's to die for!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRACE, WE LOVE YOU!!!

Stuffed and Thankful

I really liked all the pictures of people stuffing their faces.

I'm still stuffed too, we ate two turkey dinners today and I didn't have to cook either one. That is one of the perks of living so close to family. We were able to go to Ian's family at 2:00 then to my family at 5:00. Both places were alot of fun, alot of food and alot of pie. My favorite was the apple since that's what I had at both places, there were plenty of other choices, but well, I guess I'm traditional and I just don't tend to like change. So, enough about the food I wanted to list a few things that I'm thankful for.

1. My church and the peace it brings to me on a daily basis when I struggle with the chaos of having 5 little kids.

2. Five little kids that are teaching me things I couldn't learn any other way but by force, and the amazing individuals they are and the sweet joy and laughter they bring into my life and of course all the hugs I get from them, etc., etc....

3. My amazing husband and his ability to put up with my tantrums and how he just loves me even when I go crazy. Also what a romantic guy he is, he's so much better than me in that department.

4. Health, we are all healthy except for a raging sore throat i have right now but serious health issues aren't a problem right now.

5. Too many other people and stuff to name or this post will be way too long.......

Preschool at the Fire Station

Bradford was dressed for the occasion.

We had a tour of Fire Station 1, here in Yuba City. The kids had a lot of fun and Fireman Jans was so great lifting all 10 kids into the fire engine. Some things I learned about fire safety that I didn't know were, 1. the best thing to do if you have a grease fire is just cover it with a lid if possible, baking soda works but sometimes can be combustible, same with flour. 2. you need to replace your fire extinguisher every couple of years, it's content settle over time and won't work when you need it if it has sat around too long. 3. You should have a family practice once a year and be sure to have a meeting place so you will be able to know who has made it out of your home safe in case of a fire.

Sleep..... I need sleep....

You know those scenes where a guy is crawling through the desert and utters, "water." I'm feeling that way about sleep lately. Abigail is just not sleeping and I know I have created a monster by letting her fall asleep while eating but the cycle is so dog-gone hard to break. Plus how can you get mad or let a baby that's so cute cry when you know there is something you can do about it. But really I'm getting to the point where enough is enough, I NEED SLEEP!!!"

Baseball and Basketball

Ivan just ended his season of winter baseball. He had fun and it was good for him to get used to the kid pitch ball. He has always played with coach pitch and there is a big difference. He had alot of fun and now that the nights are getting cold I'm glad it's over.
Ammon has started basketball and just seems to be a natural, he made 5 baskets last game and seems to understand the flow of the game really well. He is having lots of fun too!
I need to remember to bring my camera with me more often. As you can see we haven't taken any pictures of Ivan or Ammon in their sports this fall. Oh well life goes on.

Halloween

Grace actually looks more like she could be my child in this picture!!
We have a Power Ranger, Ninja, Executioner, Pocahontas, Daddy and Pumpkin. How random is that.

"Oh Bradford"

I've heard that I will really miss this kind of thing someday so I thought I'd better make a record of it. Notice that's a Sharpie permanent marker, good thing we have extra paint. Life with five kids can get kinda chaotic but I really wouldn't have it any other way!!

First Tooth

For the past month I've been telling people that Abigail is almost 5 months then I discovered that she was actually almost 4 months. So for the record she is now four months old. Time really has been flying but not as fast as I originally thought. But I'm posting today because this morning I discovered Abigail has her 1st tooth, a momentous occasion. I love Abby so much and am enjoying her immensely. She has such a good temperament and puts up with so much, with all the touching and tugging and slobbery kisses she gets from her siblings. Not to mention the constant getting woken up from naps. My sweet little angel!!

Rain, Rain

Well the song rain, rain go away comes to mind but when it rained last friday the kids were so excited and wanted to go out and play and of course we did. I love the smell of rain and am so excited that the weather is getting cooler. Here is a picture of Grace in her rain gear that she got from her Aunt Erin, fun stuff!!

Sundays

Here is a good idea I got off someones blog, (wish I could take credit) I thought it was a great idea. In no way do I think I will be perfect at it, but it's always fun to try new things and if it helps me feel like I'm a good mom well, I'll give it a shot.
The idea is to have theme Sundays. For instance..

1st Sunday of the month- Fast and testimony
This Sunday of course you fast but you have your own little testimony meeting at home. We often don't get the chance to tell our family how we feel about the Savior and His gospel but we should and this is a sure way to be able to do this. Also a testimony is gained in the bearing of it so it's a good time for the kids to do it too without the pressure of a huge audience. You could also talk about what a testimony is and what is appropriate to say, etc. Plus talk about fasting.

2nd Sunday of the month- Service
This is a good time for Dad to make home teaching appointments and Mom visit teaching. Not only do you get it done early in the month but you can talk about service and even make cookies with the kids to take around or whatever to serve others Action speaks louder than words in most cases.

3rd Sunday of the month - Family History
This is a good time to tell stories about relatives or "when I was a kid". It is also a great time for journal writing and scrap booking if you do that. What a great week to invite family over too. You could also get on the Internet and do some actual genealogy.

4th Sunday of the month- Missionary
Invite someone to church. Have the missionaries for dinner, write letters to missionaries. Tell mission stories from your mission and get out pictures, eat food from where you served. Pray about who your family could invite to hear the discussions.

5th Sunday (if there is one)- P.P.I.- Personal parent interview
This is the time dad or mom or both can give interviews to their kids. A time they can vent, work out problems or just talk. I like the idea of dad doing it because my dad did it when I was little and well, there is just something nice about getting to sit down and talk with dad instead of mom, maybe because moms are usually around more.

I thought this idea of theme Sundays was great! I'm going to try it and I'm sure there will be those Sundays when it just doesn't happen. I love how it covers the 3 fold mission of the church to proclaim the gospel, redeem the dead and perfect the saints. It is definitely better than coming home and watching football the whole sabbath and maybe if we can do some family stuff I won't feel so frustrated when the TV gets clicked on!!

We love Aunt Barbara

This is Aunt Barbara. She is the kids Grandpa's sister. She lives a mile or so away from us and has been a heaven send for me. She picks the boys up from school everyday so I don't have to interrupt naps or load up the kids in the middle of the day. She is always willing to babysit even at the last minute and when I was feeling sick a week ago she brought over dinner and helped me a ton. I can't even begin to express how grateful I am for her. The best thing is I can tell she really loves us and that makes it wonderful to have her around, who doesn't like to feel loved, right! I know Aunt Barbara will be reading this, so thank you and we love you!!

Quirks

My sister tagged me for telling my quirks, believe me I'm digging hard because I'm very normal.
1. I hate shopping for clothes. (I know, most women love it but I can never make up my mind so it becomes a huge chore to shop. Hence, I have limited clothing in comparison with most women.)
2.I often say my vowels in the mirror very dramaticly to try and strengthen my face muscles.
3. I always wake at 5:30am almost to the minute but don't get out of bed for at least an hour.
4. I have dreams about kids drowning at least once a week. (That one is a little disturbing I know.)
5. Sometimes if I'm really tired my eyes shake and I have to tilt my head up or down to refocus, (so if you see me walking around with my head tilted you know I had a baby up in the night which seems to be everyday lately.)
6. I have been to Costa Vida probably 100 times but I've only tried four things on the menu. and two of those were bites of Ian's food.

So now I guess it's your turn, is that how this thing works. Whatever!

Hide and Seek...

This is Ian and I am filling in for Kathryn tonight.

One thing I have asked Kat to publish is a little incident that happened a few weeks ago and one that I managed to get some good video footage of. (Good in content, not necessarily in resolution quality.)

Kat's parents recently bought a new home. We went over when they moved in to help out where we could. As we tried to put a few things together and move some of the heavy stuff, Grandma Lola decided to play hide and seek with the kids. She was having so much fun that she couldn't stop playing. Watch the video and see for yourself...

She was hiding in this storage bin in the bathtub with the lid in front of her. The kids must have gone in and out of the bathroom 5 times before they found her. Grace and Bradford were so adorable trying to help Grandma get out, but to no avail. Let's hope that this doesn't happen when no other "grown ups" are around to help.

Story Time.......

By the time bedtime comes at our house I am often past my point of sanity. I've never been great at getting the kids to bed but our routine is generally this..... we get pajamas on, read from the Book of Mormon, say family prayer then brush teeth and to bed it is. Well there are always those last minute pleas of drinks, songs and stories. Tonight was no different as I listened to Ian walk Grace down the hall, she asked for a story, he replied," you ever heard the one about Fat and Skinny?" It dawned on me that I have been telling my children that story that was told to me soooooo many times as a child. I remember hearing it nearly every night, which probably means I would ask for stories too. Perhaps someday my children will tell the story of Fat and Skinny to their kids. I'm also wondering if any of my siblings have carried on the tradition of Fat and Skinny? The story goes like this, "Fat and Skinny went to bed, Fat rolled over and Skinny was dead." And that's it!

Girl Stuff.......

Grace loves her little sister. She often cries if Abigail cries at her and gets so excited when she makes her laugh. The other day I was in the kitchen preparing dinner and I often put Abigail in her car seat on the ground with me in the kitchen, mostly to protect her from Bradford who just is all boy and well..... let's just say not so gentle. Well, anyway, I hear Grace talking to Abigail and I didn't hear the whole conversation but the part I did hear was too cute not record. She said, "When you put lipgloss on you should always do this," and she smacked her lips together, then she went on to tell her about all the dress up cloths she would share and all the different toys in her room. For a girl who has been surrounded with boys for so long she sure is girly. I always thought I would have Tom Boys for girls because I was always into sports. I'm thankful for Grace and her girliness it makes life so fun, besides how else would I know the proper way to apply lipgloss.

"Do I have school today?"

Grace is finally in preschool. She has been waiting soooo long. If any of you know Grace she is so social. When I went to pick her up and take her home she DID NOT WANT TO GO.
I'm glad she can handle being away from me but sometimes it's a little depressing when I have to take her away from somewhere kicking and screaming. She can be a little fireball at times but really, really sweet most of the time, either way I love her to pieces.

Happy Birthday Ivan

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

How the tme has flown.
Things I love about Ivan
He's smart, sometimes too smart and it gets him into trouble.
Loves little kids and is so kind to them.
Loves to try new things and has no fear.
Makes friends so easy.
Loves to talk to adults.
Sticks up for what is right even if it leads to a fight.
Gives the best hugs.
Wants to be good.
Tells me I'm a good cook.
Is an early riser
The natural highlights in his hair.
And of course his dashing smile.

Hands

Hands are pretty amazing, they can be used for good or bad. You can tell a lot about someone by looking at their hands, and I'm not talking about fortune telling. I mean if the person works with their hands they may be callused or dirty. We should want "clean hands and a pure heart," but I don't think that was literal. My hands never have long or manicured nails, with five kids it just isn't a priority. I think hands symbolize more than we realize, anyway, I just wanted to remember the way these little hands looked so I took a picture. It's Grace, Abby and me, all the girls.

This is Ammon's hand. He taught me some new terminology yesterday, "I got a monkey-bar sore," he said. I always just thought they were called blisters.

FIRSTS.......

It was the first day of school for the boys. The morning went pretty smooth except Ivan didn't want to wear his new shoes because they were too stiff and as he said, "I won't be able to run fast." I told him fine then I would take them back to the store and so he decided being fast wasn't so important and wore the shoes. Ammon had no complaints but we couldn't talk him into untucking his shirt. Whatever, right?
We also had a back to school party at the Aquatic Park here and well, Bradford fell and hit his head on the slide and got his first stiches. I put first because with him I'm sure it won't be the last. He was amazing when it happened he didn't even cry and when he got the stiches he was so good and just kept saying ouch over and over but didn't scream or anything. Such a good kid!!

Droopy Dog on the Trampoline

These are some pictures we took of Bradford on the trampoline. Check out his cheeks!

Yellowstone

We spent a whole lot of time in the car this vacation, Thank goodness for DVD players that attach to headrests.
Yes Abby does smile and is doing that fun baby talk, I love it!!!!!!

We saw lots of bison and elk in Yellowstone It truly is an amazing place, so beautiful.

Here we are at Old Faithful, This is the only family photo we got at Yellowstone so I thought it was publish worthy.

Sleep Issues

So there are always sleep issues when a new baby comes, but this one has been going on since before the new baby came. Bradford is almost impossible to get to sleep and ends up coming into our room and sleeping on the floor by our bed. He always goes to Ian's side and most nights we don't even know he's come in. Ian just has to be careful when he gets out of bed. It's just one of those things that has become such a part of our lives that I wanted to document it!! We love you Bradford.

A Garden?

okay so maybe not a garden but I planted a few tomato plants that have grown tomatoes but when in the world will they turn red so we can eat them? I don't know what kind this is, but they look like upside down balloons. Ivan is the waterer and is doing a good job. He enjoyed it at first but since not much has been changing on them latlely, it's not so fun.

Baseball, Baseball,Baseball.......

This is a constant at our house lately. Bradford loves baseball and wants to hit the ball all the time. At least he always chases the ball and brings it back to be thrown again. Notice his face, it is very serious business.

Proud to be an American

What a great 4th of July we had. We started the morning with our family tradition of the kids parade down town where the kids ride their bikes, scooters or wagons for a block then get hot dogs and cake at the end. The city puts this on each year and since Ian works for the city, well you get the idea, it really is alot of fun and the kids enjoy it. Then a bunch of our extended family came over to swim, bar-b-que and watch fire works. We only had legal fireworks but I think some became illegal as the kids (really dads) threw them up in the air. Nobody got hurt so it was alot of fun. We are so blessed to be Americans and to be able to have all the freedoms we do and the things we enjoy.

just cute kids

Sisters. Grace is sooooo happy!
Stick 'em up!
so handsome

Wonderful Dad

This wonderful man is a father of five kids. He is amazing and just a great guy. While I was in the hospital he did the most amazing, romantic thing a man could do, he had new carpet installed, something I've been wanting for a long time. I love this man!

And Then There Were Five!!!!!

We welcomed Abigail Kathryn into our family June 4th. She weighed 9lbs. 4oz. Her brothers and sister love her. Grace is excited to have a sister but can't wait for her to get bigger. Bradford can be heard yelling "Hold Her!!" several times a day and wants to hold Abigail all the time. Ian went back to work today after being off for 2 weeks so well see how we cope with five kids. I'm sure I will have to remember the phrase, "Love at Home" more than ever.

Graduation

Ammon at his kindergarten graduation. We have a little graduation at home every year and this year were so lucky to have grandma and grandpa Warren join us. We all received diplomas with our years achievements written on them.
This picture was just too cute not to share. Grandpa was the master of ceremonies and Bradford very solemnly receives his diploma.

Field Trip to the Zoo

Why is my kid the only one who isn't standing? Ammon took a trip to the zoo with his kindergarten class this week. His dad was able to go as a chaperone which both of them loved. This is the whole class including his awesome teacher Mrs. Harvey.

Ivan's Piano Recital

Ivan did a great job at his piano recital yesterday. He had a game right after hence the baseball uniform. He played "Popeye The Sailor Man." He has been taking piano lessons from Sister Winmill for two and a half years, but now she is moving. We are sad and looking for a new teacher. Great job Ivan!

Mr. Independant

This is something that seems to be happening quite often, whenever it gets a little too quiet. I guess it's good he does things for himself since we will have a new baby here in a few weeks. Good until I find a gallon of milk dumped out on the floor.