The 4th of July

I'm really excited for tommorow. We're leaving at 6am to get a good spot on "the beach" and get a good parking spot for the car. The Webb Family, the Layton Family, and Ben are going boating! Yea baby! That's one of the fun things we do in our family. We may not go on a fancy vacation every year - but we make lots of happy memories boating!!! After we get too HOT and TIRED we'll come home for dinner and fireworks. It should be great to have a relaxing family day. Maybe Steve & I will get to try out our new skiis (that we bought in April and have already replaced once with the warranty!!!). Maybe Angela and Darrel will use them, too!! :) I should go pack the snack bag and get the life jackets loaded up and hook up the boat....

Well, here are some fun photos from back when my digital camera worked. This was a halloween in Texas. Masks were not allowed at the church party, and what's a spiderman costume without a mask??? Well, I was pretty proud of myself (and of Kenneth for holding still!)...

The last photo is of Daniel and his best friend, Sophie Jones. He's so excited to go see her this weekend!

 

 

 

 

Bugs

Just so you know - it really bugs me that the photo to the right is off center...I don't know how to fix that, but I'll work on it.

Change...again

Well, I got tired of seeing my face everytime I logged in - so now you get to see the entire family! When we get copies of the new photos I'll update it. Hope you like it!

Such a great time!

We just had such a great time in Colorado - I have to share some photos! I'm so glad we went! It was so fun to be with all the "girls" again!

Angela & I on the plane - a "self portrait."

SURPRISE!

I love my nephew!!!

I just couldn't get enough of Jacob - and I'm SOOOOO glad I didn't take Caitlin! She would have been SOOOOOOO jealous!

The "girls" (I obviously didn't get the memo about the white shirt!)

Catch up...

I know I have been seriously delinquent in my blogging - so much has happened since I got back from Denver. I came back sick - so I spent last Monday doing pretty much nothing besides laying around feeling crappy. Tuesday I woke up feeling all better so I cleaned and did laundry. On Tuesday afternoon, Steve's sister, Sami, came with her 5 children (7 and under) to visit. Our house was a little crazy, but the cousins got along really well and it was a pleasure to have them here. Sami made homemade pot stickers (yummy!) and they spent a day on the boat with Steve. Friday Angela, Danny, Sami & I put on a wedding luncheon for one of Danny's good friends, Tom. It turned out lovely (thank heavens!), and I was so glad for the extra help. Friday afternoon we packed up and headed to Utah. We got there about 2am on Saturday morning and at 9am we were all dressed to match and smiling for the camera...you guessed it...family pictures. There were 27 people to coordinate...here's hoping we got at least one photo worth blowing up. You can check Angela's blog for a preliminary showing...

Angela's blog

I just checked and the real ones are posted...check it out...

Our pictures

We arrived back in Las Vegas about 8:30pm on Sunday night and I immediately got back into my calling. I got back to my house about 9:45pm thoroughly exhausted. That was a taxing weekend, but well worth it. As an added bonus, Angela and I stole Ben (our youngest brother) for 2 weeks! We're excited to spend some quality time with him...and of course our kids adore him. Today we're going bowling.

I'm back

I made it home safely from Denver. We had a WONDERFUL time and Elise was totally surprised. It was so great to hang with all my sisters and my mom. Mom treated us to pedicures and nails and we watched 2 chic flicks and went to dinner together. It was great to see Missy's kids and of course Emily and Jacob. Jacob is so darling and so sweet! I just couldn't get enough of him!

I came home to a brand new kitchen sink and faucet and 2 trimmed palm trees (there's a story here - I'll have to elaborate later). It is so nice!!! A big thanks to Steve for surprising me....and on Father's Day, too. The house looks beautiful, and I hear Kenneth was a big helper there - so he'll get lots of great hugs tomorrow. I'm not feeling 100% so I'd better hit the hey.

SOOO FUN!!!

Yesterday morning, Angela and I got on a plane and flew to Denver. We surprised Elise at lunch time by arriving on her door step unannounced. Mom & Missy are here, too, and we're having a wonderful time! A BIG thanks to Darrel and Steve for letting us come and keeping the kids for the weekend!!! We're making great memories, and we'll come home with lots of darling photos of Jacob.

Isn't my baby beautiful?

This morning we had play group from 10am - 12pm. It was super fun - until my cell phone fell into the pool. That was a little bummer. The bigger bummer is that my cell phone was in my pocket when it fell into the pool. You can ask Angela, but she says it was pretty funny. At least none of my friends have to worry about me being too prim or propper, eh? :) I think I'll wear a swim suit next week.

This picture at the bottom is my Grandma Noble. She is an amazing woman. We've had such fun visiting her at my Uncle's house this week. She has a laugh that's contageous and is full of the wisdom of the ages. I love to be with her. I hope someday I can be more like her.

Fun Weekend!

Well, in lieu of boating this last Saturday, we went and spent the afternoon/evening at my Uncle's house across town. My Grandma Noble was there (My Uncle and Aunt whose house it is actually weren't there), My Aunt Carol was there and my cousin Natalie. We had so much fun! Hope you enjoyed the photos! (Of course, as always, thanks to Angela for bringing her camera!)

Caitlin got some sun screen in her eyes and rubbed a little too much...here's her pitiful self after her run-in with sun screen.

Thanks to Angela

Well, thanks to Angela, I obviously got a picture to post. So - I hope you like the new "look".

Well, I am aparently retarded. I cannot get my picture to post with my profile. So - here it is. There was only one photo of me on my computer with only me - and that was in a swim suit on the boat - so that's going no where near cyberspace. So - here's one from the day after Cailtin was born in August of 2005.

Life keeps going...

Well, under threat of bodily injury, I post again. Last week was filled with Relief Society visits, girl's night out, and book club. Each of which was immensely enjoyable. This week has held Caitlin teething mollers (ouch!), me missing a meeting (woops!), going to dinner with some family from Sacramento, and the first Enrichment activity since the changing of the guard. The Enrichment was last night and I think it was a success. Lots of women worked very hard and it came off without any major hitches. The dinner was wonderful, the dancing was embarassing, and the father's day leis (sp?) are finished!

We are starting to count down to Kenneth's baptism - he is very excited, as are we all. We are also looking forward to a trip to Utah for family pictures. I purchased each of the children a new shirt this evening for just that occasion (sp?). I'm working hard on catching up with work this week and I've gotten a lot accomplished, but remain overwhelmed at what is left to do.

The kids are all in the bath (Kenneth in one and Caitlin & Daniel in the other). That will hopefully leave me with some time to review tax returns (I know you're all jealous!). My Grandma Noble is house-sitting my Uncle's house on the other side of town next week and he generously invited us to come use his pool - so we're eagerly looking forward to some good visiting time with Grandma combined with swimming time for the kids.

Caitlin just pooped in the bathtub (ah, the joys of motherhood) - so I gotta go.

Fun in the sun!

At the cactus garden behind the chocolate factory - Kenneth captured the rabbit.
Kenneth

Joy & Debbie - friends forever

Caitlin, Debbie, Zach, Kenneth & Daniel at the WORLD'S LARGEST GIFT SHOP

We have had a wonderful time with Debbie this weekend! We went out on the town on Saturday night. We went to church on Sunday, then to the mountain to do some hiking (and I'm feeling it!) It was COOL and HIGH up there. (8000 feet)

Yesterday we went out on the lake - but it was WINDY! So we packed it in a little early.

Today we've gone to the WORLD'S LARGEST GIFT SHOP, the Chocolate Factory, and the Bass Pro Shop. We're just settling in to make a yummy dinner of Hamburger Gravy (my request!).

2 hours and counting...

Kenneth keeps wishing we had a time machine so we can see Debbie SOONER! We can't wait! Our good friend, Debbie, from Texas, is coming to visit this weekend....we are all extatic. Nancy was going to come as well, but she ran into some unavoidable issues at work...Nancy, we'll miss you! We love you!

Debbie should be here in just about 2 hours. The bread is rising and we're cleaning. We're looking forward to a wonderful memorial day weekend!!!

Park/Pool photos

More photos...

Overdue

I know this is way overdue, but I finally got the pictures from our vacation on my computer. Enjoy!

Kenneth, Caitlin & Daniel on the anchor outside the Maritime Museum in Santa Barbara.

Daniel & Kenneth & Caitlin at the table at the house where we stayed.

Both days we were on the pier we bought the kids ice cream....the 2nd day we got it in bowls... :)

Caitlin, Daniel & Kenneth on the curb on the pier.

The pool heater wasn't working so the water was quite chilly. This is Kenneth warming up next to the pool.

Daniel & Kenneth in the pool at the house where we stayed.

Steve took this photo while we were on the pirate cruise. We saw several Great Blue Herons while we were there.

Joy & the kids on the pier.

The "touchy feely" part of the Sea Creatures exhibit...even Caitlin got into it!

Kenneth "Steering" the pirate cruise.

Daniel "steering" the pirate cruise we took.

This is Daniel & Kenneth in front of the Santa Barbara Harbor.

Daniel & Caitlin sitting in Grandma Ackerman's scooter.
Caitlin - modeling for daddy...her consignment store dress w/ matching bow & socks... :)
Caitlin on Easter - isn't she cute?

Official

I am officially the Relief Society President of the Stonegate Ward. I am extremely humbled and overwhelmed. This is a huge job to take on (just when I thought my life was busy enough!). I pray the Lord will give me strength to serve my family, my clients, and the sisters of our ward as He would have me do.

I have LOTS of photos to share - I'll try to get to that in the next day or 2. I got the film developed from our vacation in Santa Barbara! :)

Another great weekend!

Well, we have arrived safely home after a wonderfully eventful weekend. First of all, my little sister, Elise, and her husband, Les, are parents for the second time after the birth of Jacob Darrell on Saturday morning at 6am. Congratulations you two!!! A big "I'm proud of you" goes out to Elise because giving birth is never easy and she did an amazing job...no drugs...you go girl!

We arrived Friday in Utah and spent Friday night with the Jones Family. Shauna and I put beads onto socks for Annie and Sophie and we enjoyed yummy food and great company. Steve joined us at about 3am Saturday morning. Saturday morning the kids played some more and we left around 11am. Thanks to the Joneses for always being willing to let us come! Also - thanks to Mike for being willing to forego a football game so Spencie could play with my kids....they had a great time, thanks!

We visited another of my friends, Shari, and her daughter, Sydney. Sydney and Caitlin are 3 days apart and Shari's dog, Mya, enjoyed playing with the kids, too.

I got to go shopping with my sister, Angela and my sister-in-law, Amanda. We shopped for Danny's birthday gift and Mom's Mother's Day gift. That was fun! Then I got to hold baby Jaxon (David & Jackie's little boy) for a long time in the afternoon/evening. He is a darling baby! Grandma Noble and Heidi were there, too, so that was really fun! We celebrated Danny's birthday with a big fractured taco dinner - YEA! Reed, Karen, and Reedie came over later in the evening to say "hi". I think that's the first time in about 9 1/2 years that I've seen Reedie. He is very grown up and very handsome. It was good to chat and get to know him a little better. And, of course, Uncle Reed made me laugh so hard I cried...he has that talent.

Sunday we helped my mom clean her basement and then we went to the baby blessing for baby Jaxon. Jackie's family dwarfs ours, so there are a lot of people when we get together. It was a lot of fun and after the blessing they had LOTS of YUMMY food to share!

We drove home (to Las Vegas - still wierd to think of that as "home") directly after that and arrived sometime between 8-9pm I think. The kids slept in this morning - I woke them all up at 8:15am. Kenneth had an appointment with an oral surgen at 9am and Daniel had speech at 9am. Since Steve had an unexpected call at work at 9am I was double-booked. Thanks to Angela for helping me out on that one! Kenneth will have to have a funky-named procedure done at some point to cut the skin between his upper lip and his upper gums....but it won't happen until after his other teeth come in and he's had some orthadontial work done (probably 6-9 months).

I think that's just about it....Caitlin is battling a cold (a nasty side-effect of the COLD UTAH WEATHER!). The rest of us are OK.

Kenneth's baseball team plays Johnathan's baseball team in 45 minutes, so I guess I'd better get the troops moving.

Sometimes reality stinks...

Well, we're home. Bummer.

We had a wonderful weekend enjoying NO stresses of daily life. We didn't get cell service at the house where we stayed, so we had uninterrupted bliss. Steve did do some studying each day (good for him!), but I had a work-free weekend. The boys swam (Kenneth got his first sun burn), and we relaxed. Daniel got a little more of the ocean than he bargained for when a wave came particularly high... :) We all had a great time and we hope to go back again someday. We loved the area and the beach. We discovered how important vacations are...well, I did, anyway. We hope to be taking more of those in the future.

Heaven....we're in Heaven

We made it to Montecito safely last night. The drive wasn't too awfully bad....until it was time for the baby to go to sleep....she insisted I hold her hand. My arm went to sleep several times over. Both boys went to sleep without fighting in the slightest....they were so tired. Daniel had a hard time going back to sleep once we got here, so he ended up sleeping with us. Steve & I each enjoyed a bath last night. This area is so lovely! The weather is sunny, but just about 65 - 70 or so. It's so nice! We went to Santa Barbara this morning (10am) and went to the Maritime Museum there. It was a very nice museum - not too large, but very well put together. The baby got tired, so we went to lunch then came back to the house for a nap. The boys have swum through the baby's nap. I slept outside and Steve has been studying. We're about to wake up the baby (it's been 3 hours) and figure out dinner. Thanks for checking on us!

Happy Anniversary to us!

Well, 10 years ago today, Steve & I were married. We're feeling old. We're very happy. It's been a great 10 years. Both of us have received our college degrees, we've had 3 beautiful children, we've made happy memories in Texas, and now we're making happy memories in Las Vegas. I gave Steve a new wedding ring (his original was stolen 2 years ago when our car was broken in to). We're looking forward to a wonderful weekend as a family in Santa Barbara, CA, and many more decades together.

Update

Well, we've avoided being separated this week. Steve has successfully resolved the problems at work without going to New York (Yea!). The Webb children have been a welcome addition around here. Angela's having a great time (as far as I know) in Idaho.

Yesterday we had a tragedy in the family. Steve's sister's husband works for Google. Yesterday he was walking from one building to another and as he was crossing the crosswalk, he was hit by a car going between 35-40 miles/hour. He broke a bone in his back, 3 ribs, his sternum, 2 bones in his right arm (in 3 places), punctured a lung, got some hum-dinger road rash and his head required stitches. He had a 5 hour surgery on his arm today and is on a lot of pain killer. Our prayers and thoughts have been with him and his family all day today. I'm hoping Sami will let me help out in some way with her kids...but we'll be deciding all that when she gets a couple more days into this whole thing.

The doctors are saying he'll make a full recovery but it will be at least 8 weeks. His name is Scott - please keep him in your prayers.

Well, I'm off...

A Stay

Well, it appears for the moment, Steve won't be traveling to New York. They've been hit by their worst storms since 1992 this weekend, and it doesn't look like it's going to stop anytime soon. He's at work now trying to solve the ongoing problems, and he probably will still go to New York (that's according to me; not him), but it won't be tomorrow. We have a fun family weekend planned not next weekend but the following weekend (that's also our 10 year wedding anniversary), so I'm hoping his trip doesn't intrude on that trip (I'm really looking forward to that trip!). I'll let you know as I learn more.

I forgot to mention in my LONG post yesterday that we're reaping the rewards of gardening. We have eaten (well, I haven't, but the kids have) a few strawberries, and we've got broccoli on each of our 6 broccoli plants, and one tomato on our tomato plant. :) Such are the joys of living in a warm winter area. My bushes that a mom of one of Angela's preschoolers recommended we plant are flowering as well; so our back yard is quite enjoyable these days. Oh - and my rosemary bushes are starting to be fragrant, too!

Rocks, battery acid, and baseball

Well, first off - I shouldn't wait so long in between posts....there's so much to say. I'll start with Monday. Kenneth had his first baseball game (see photos). He did great - although he's not on a great team...what else is new? He doesn't know the difference and he loves the game so much he doesn't really even notice anyone around him I don't think. So - we had a good week - I worked as much as I could. I got my hair cut again (shorter - more layers). Thursday we had a low-key day and I wanted to get out and Steve worked late; so I called Sears. See- I guess I'd better back up a bit. Kenneth has been going through shoes like there's no tomorrow, so my sister told me about the policy Sears has that if your kid wears out the shoe before they grow out of it -they'll replace the shoe for free. So - the last pair of shoes I bought Kenneth I bought at Sears for specifically that reason. I kept the box & receipt - fully anticipating needing them. His shoes were shot. I went to retrieve the box and receipt and couldn't find them....darn the luck. So - I called Sears to see if they'd honor it without the receipt. They said it depended on the shoe. I described the shoe to them and they said bring it in....well, Adam said bring it in. I - knowing full well how this works if you get another person - went RIGHT in. After I loaded the kids in the car the car barely started...and I noticed the clock in my car said 12:03 as I was driving away (it was really like 6:30pm). Well - I'm not stupid. I figured my battery was going out. So - not willing to pass up a chance at free shoes - I called Steve and warned him that we might get stranded at Sears. We got to Sears OK and got new shoes for Kenneth and got out of Sears OK and went straight to Checker. Sure enough, our battery was going out (we knew for sure after they tested it). I purchased a new battery, but getting the old one out was going to be a process; so I took it home hoping Steve would save me the trouble. The next morning Steve so kindly replaced my battery before going to work. He left the old battery in the car for me to return and get my $8 back. I forgot about it and ran several other errands. About 45 minutes before baseball I sent Kenneth out to the car to check on his baseball bag and make sure he had everything he needed. He came back in the house screaming like a wild banchee and grabbing his leg and hand. I handed him a wet rag and ran out to the car to see what the "big black thing leaking oil" was that hurt him. The battery had no doubt shifted as I drove and fell out of the car when he opened the door. He aparently attempted to move it and it leaked battery acid on him. I ran back in; stripped Kenneth; and put him in the bath with the plug open so it would drain in & out. I called poison control (after I called Steve) and moved Kenneth to the shower. After flushing it for 20 minutes and using a mild baby soap, he said only his leg hurt a little. I put silvadine cream on it and wrapped it and we went to baseball. After baseball practice, Daniel decided to bring home a rock (see photo). Once in the car, Caitlin decided SHE wanted the rock. Daniel, in an attempt to prevent his sister from getting his rock, put the rock in his nose....yes, you read right...in his nose. He started screaming like a banchee (I wonder where he'd heard that before?) and I pulled off the road into a parking lot. I got something skinny and tried to wedge it out but I could see pretty quickly this was not something I could do - he was fighting and screaming too much. I called Steve and told him to hurry up and come back to me - then I called Angela (she was closer) and told her where to pull off the road to help me. I gave Angela my skinny object and held Daniel down while she futzed with the rock in his nose. Finally, I suggested we let gravity be our friend, so we sat him up. Angela got the idea to have him blow his nose...so he blew...and blew....and eventually the rock came out - just before Steve got there. Angela didn't see the rock ahead of time, so she was very surprised to see the size of the rock (again - reference the photo). Another crisis past...few! Kenneth had his first piano lesson this afternoon (well, at noon). He did great. I had purchased the incorrect books, so during his lesson we ran to a music store and purchased the correct books. I made him a bag that says "Kenneth's music bag" and we put in a pencil, notebook, and his music books. He came right home from his lesson to practice. I think he's going to enjoy this. It's good. I really like his teacher. She's been teaching for 20 years and she says she's only had one personality conflict. She's a dear woman.....she must be very patient. So - last of all - tonight Steve took me to see REBA!....live, in concert. She was in Primm (27 miles from here). We had a great time - she puts on a wonderful show. Now - it's after midnight and church is at 9 - so I must go...but we've had an eventful week. I guess I should mention that Steve will be going to New York next week (likely Monday) - and Angela is going to Idaho on Tuesday...so I'll be a lonely woman next week....with a lot of kids! :)




This is Steve's wedding ring on the left - and the rock Daniel wedged up his nose on the right.