She Passed!!

Britni passed her drive test on Thursday with a 92 percent. I am excited yet a little sad. My baby girl turns 16 on Wednesday. She can start dating, driving and working which is exciting yet a little sad. I am sad about the fact that I wish I would have done more to enjoy having a baby girl. I wish I would have put her in gymnastics, and learned how to fix her hair super cute and have her take dance lessons and play games with her more. As my Mom always says "If Wishes were Fishes we would all have a Fry" I never understood that saying until I grew up and realized how many wishes I have.

Yet I am excited because, we won't have to drive her to practice. She can drive her brothers to activities. She is going to hopefully get a job and earn some money so we won't have to dole out so much. ;)

Britni is a great daughter. I couldn't have asked for a better daughter/friend. Hopefully she will forgive me someday for writing about her on my blog too. :)

P.S. Her Basketball team won both games they played this week. Yup they still have practice and games during Christmas break. No rest for the weary!!

Christmas Ever After

We had a great Christmas. I think we prolonged the present opening as long as we could!! We are so mean to our children. We let them open their stockings in the morning and then we got ready for church and went to Sacrament Meeting. Then we came home and ate lunch. Then we could no long contain them and we opened our gifts. It was fun. I think everyone was a little surprised by what they got. Britni was pleasantly surprised by a Special Gift from her Aunt Megan!! A pair of Toms shoes. However, they ended up being too small and will have to be exchanged but she is still super excited!! Daniel received much needed clothes as he keeps growing and won't stop!! How dare he!! :) hehe!!! :) Jacob received a surprise of an Remote Control Car. We had a no electronic Christmas policy this year. To me Remote Control is not electronic. But everyone has a different take on that theory. Lynn especially. :) Benjamin got a fish Aquarium!! We have it set up and will go get our fish tomorrow. He's pretty excited. His brother got his a PaperJamz guitar which the family is having fun playing with too. Samuel got Bey Blade toys. That is what he asked for. His brother got him slippers which he asked for also. :) So he was happy. Lot's of board games and BYU Shirts for Everyone made our Christmas.

The funnest of all was SHOCKING my husband. Yep, that's right. He always knows what I get him. But this time he didn't. He couldn't even guess. I got him (drum roll please), another pair of camo BDU's. He always tell me how comfortable they are and his other ones were worn out. They are a tad big on him though. I hope they shrink as I can't send them back due to my early shopping habits.

My Present was the best. My new tile in my bathroom. It looks amazing!! I love it!!If you can't tell.

Now the ever after of it all. Yesterday, Lynn and the kids got together with some friends and played Basketball. Then we relaxed the rest of the day and the kids played with their toys and games all day.

Now today Lynn's back at work, Britni had Basketball practice and the boys played with their toys and games.

Hope everyone had as blessed Christmas as we did. Love to you all.

Christmas Letter 2011

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DIY looks easier on T.V.

Yep that's right. We are in our first Home Improvement project. Since our house was built 11 years ago, it is time to update. Just wish we had the budget to do all that we want to do.

All I want for Christmas is Tile. Tile for my bathroom. It is the smallest room in the house, so I thought that would be a great place to start. Lynn would ask me, what do you want for Christmas? I would say Tile. :) Well, he surprised me the other night and told me to go pick out tile while he got some stuff for work at Home Depot. How fun is that?

My sweet husband even started on the project last night while I was in The Dalles with Benjamin at his orthodonist appointment. He was hoping to get more done before I got home but soon realized that it is a bigger job than he thought. He took out the toilet and the vanity. Now he is working on the bottom board that was under the vinyl.

I am afraid that this experience will ruin any chance of me ever getting the other bathroom and entry ways tiled!! I hope not. Maybe it will be like having children where you forget after a time the pain of the process!!! hehe!! We can always hope!! :)

Have a super day!!

School Program Volunteer??

I had a great start to my week when I went to a "Lunch Bunch" luncheon and my good friend Teri appeared. I had heard that she might be there but it was so good to see her and chat with her. I have missed her so. I always seem to lose touch with my friends when they move. It's a sad thing. I need to do better. I know.

Yesterday, I spent the whole day at Centerville School. I was asked to help make snowflake costumes for the little kids (Samuel and Benjamin's) Christmas program. I'm thinking, oh this will only take a few hours. Ha!! Joke on me. They had an elaborate design that they wanted. I will post a picture later. Lots of cutting, folding, taping and stapling. All day. Me and Jennifer made 50 snowflakes. Yes, it took all day. I even ate lunch at school. On the way home I told the boys, I now know why they are starving when they get home from school. I was dying!! I suppose that is the portion amount I should eat everyday then maybe I would lose some weight!! :)

Anyway, they asked if I could come in today also to help paint the scenery and do other stuff. Another day at the school. Lunch is Chicken Soft Tacos. The boys say they are good. We will see!! :)

My to do list for the week has been postponed a few days because of all the volunteering. I don't mind though. I enjoy working with the other women at the school. And Volunteering feels good. It helps me remember the True Meaning of Christmas is helping others with love. :)

Have a super day!! :) P.S. Today is my Dad's Birthday to all the relatives out there!! :) Happy Birthday Dad!!! Love you!!!

Goal Review

I haven't done a goal review in a while. Mainly because there is nothing really to review.

1. Lose weight. Well, I have gone up and down and up again. The Roller Coaster continues. However, I have added a tracker on my blog from MyFitnessPal.com. It's a free site a lot like Weight Watcher e-tools. You can track your food and your exercise and set goals and join groups. I thought maybe if I added this to my blog that it will help motivate me more. The winter and exercise is not going well. We have freezing temps right now. I know no excuse. At least it's not snow just thick frost.

2. Read Ensign and Sunday School lesson. I have done this pretty well. I may have missed one or two Sunday School but that is still pretty good for me.

3. Scrapbook Lynn's mission. I haven't worked on this lately but I finally bought an album to put the pages I have done already in.

4. Kids Scrapbooks. I have been doing digitally. I really like using Smilebox. You can get them printed but with how many children I have. I can't afford it. So I will need to put them on disks and add to their books.

5. Write Blog. I haven't done very well the past couple months but I will try to do better.

Now that Nativity is over and Stake Conference. I may be able to breathe again. Or Not!

We had Elder Brinkerhoff from the Seventy at our Stake Conference. He is really nice and a great speaker. He teaches and entertains and spiritual. We also had Elder and Sister Greer, the Mission President and his wife. Really nice people. They say they have 200 more children that they care for in the mission field. With Lynn's calling we get to eat dinner in between the priesthood and adult session last night. It's great to hear their stories and get to know them better.

Time to move forward and start thinking of goals for 2012. I hope to do better. Maybe I'll actually lose the weight this year. I always have good intentions. Enjoy your Sundays!! Love to you all!! :)

Back to the Real World

Monday started off by taking down the Nativity and checking out Nativities. I actually finished all of it by Tuesday night. Thanks for friends and family. My husband must had missed me because he came up to the church Monday after work with the kids and helped get a lot of it torn down and put away. :) I have such a great guy for a husband!! :) I have been trying to recover the rest of the week. Wednesday and Thursday was clean the house days because it hadn't been clean for 2 weeks. Now today I will be doing the never ending laundry and getting together V.T. handouts with my partner.

There have been lots of Basketball games. My boys have won 1 game and lost 2 games so far for the season. Daniel said that his coach told him he played his best game yet last night. So he is pretty happy. He almost didn't get to play last night though because he had a C in one of his subjects. He had to get that up to a B before he could get on the bus. I got a cute e-mail from Daniel yesterday telling me that he has a 82% in that subject now. I hope he can keep that up instead of always struggling to get it back up to a B. Jacob's grades are great but he hasn't been playing well this week. Probably lack of sleep. They have been playing away games this week and getting back late at night. That wears on the kids pretty hard. Even Britni has a hard time with that one. She didn't get home from her last away game until 12:30 a.m. We can't wait until she gets her license so we don't have to go pick her up at that hour. Less than a month now. She's counting!! :)

I'm not sure on Britni's stats. But she is playing well and improving all the time. She is keeping her grades up too. Her first home game is tonight.

Oh for Visiting Teaching hand out this month I found this cute one. You get a whisk and fill it with Hershey Kisses and wrap it in cellophane and put a tag on it that says "We "Whisk" you a Merry Christmas!" I found a great site that has all sorts of them to choose from too. There was one that was candles "May your Christmas be Merry and Bright". and etc.

Well, I best be going to now. Everyone is doing well and enjoying the Christmas season. Love to you all!! :)

Goldendale Ward Nativity Exhibit 2011

Yes, this is what I have been doing for the past week. O.k. I actually started working on it a month ago but this week was the stressful week of putting it all together. I am so grateful for my team that I was inspired to have. Carollynn did a great job with the decorating, Diana was great at getting all the nativities placed,
Carmine went over the top with the lighting, Suzie and Diana B. were great with the foyer and chapel, Pauline did great with the food and of course, Mom, for ironing all of the tablecloths and skirting for the tables,I could go on and on.

The event began tonight with music from people in the community and also people in the ward. I am amazed at all the talent in our area. We invited the High School Choir and band to play. I think that is the most non-LDS people we have ever had in our building!!

I will post pictures but it just doesn't do justice to the experience of being there. I have realized though that if this is what a job is like maybe I don't want one yet. I really did not like being away from home so much. I knew nothing of what my kids were doing in school or with Basketball either.


In other news, Britni passed her written driving test yesterday!! She is almost a full fledged driver. YEA!! I was wishing last night that she was already driving so I wouldn't of had to take Benjamin to Scouts!! :) Our Driver's License place is only open 1 day a week and for limited hours right now. So it is very hard to get any Drivers License stuff done. We will be setting up her appointment for the drive test next week because they can only schedule 2 weeks ahead of schedule. She still doesn't get her license until she turns 16 though. She just gets to take her tests early which is really nice of them.

I best be going. Samuel is about done doing dishes and I need to go load for him. I send my love to all of my family and friends this time of year. I miss you and think of you often. Happy Holidays!!

Happy Thanksgiving

I never thought it would get here not that I have been excited about Thanksgiving. Just the opposite really. Only because next week will be The Nativity Exhibit Week of setting up decorating and checking in Nativities. I know it will beautiful and hopeful peaceful experience for all who can attend. But for me, it's been a little nerve racking. I'm really glad that I have lived her for so many years that the whole ward has truly become my family. Not to mention my real family who is helping lots and lots too. Mom and Dad have done a lot by ironing table cloths and staining shelves for the exhibits. Thanks Mom and Dad for always having my back!!

Now on to Thanksgiving. I love Turkey, Football, Parades and just being with friends and family. I wish I could spend it will all my crazy brothers and their families but just know that I am thinking of you on Thanksgiving and Thanking you for being my wild and crazy brothers who married incredible women who are my awesome sisters!! :)

I could start a list but never truly be ever finish it because I have so much to be thankful for. Great family, wonderful husband, and of course the most important the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life.

Gotta love Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends and family. We love you!!!

P.S. Britni is on the JV Basketball team with her 8th grade teacher as her coach. The boys also have the same coach. Should be a great season. Basketball anyone??

Thanks to the Veterans!

It's Veterans Day! The day that we should thank our Mom and Dad for serving their county and all of our other family and friends that are serving our country. I was going to send a care package to a friend of ours who is in Iraq but found out that his mail and internet has been closed off for a while. I hope that Jason is safe.

It is a beautiful day to rake leaves. So I think that is what I am going to do with my kids today. There are so many leave around town. We have friends that always save their leaves for us. It is definitely time.

We had a R.S. Meeting yesterday. I still call it homemaking. I will always call it homemaking because that is what it is to me. It was on Dehydrating food. It was really interesting. Did you know that you can make your own instant rice but cooking regular rice and then dehydrating it? I didn't. You could also dehydrate any leftovers you have and use them as emergency food. Like MRE's. Pretty interesting stuff.

All of us are pretty healthy and happy. Have a super Veterans Day and remember to Thank our Veterans!! :)

Parent Teacher Conference

It's the boys turn now for Parent Teacher Conference. It began with Jacob who is a good student and his teacher really likes him. She always wants her students to be at the conference so they are more accountable for their grades. She says that Jacob is a quiet leader which is good. He is well liked and she can't wait to watch him play Basketball.

Daniel's teacher was running behind schedule so we had to come back to him. However, Daniel stayed to negotiate a grade with him in Science. :) I'll tell about that later.

Benjamin is doing well in school. When he finishes his assignments, he reads is AR book which the teacher likes. She says he is sloppy in his writing though. That was actually a general consensus among all the teachers for all the boys. So Lynn has suggested Handwriting Homework after school every day. We will see how that goes.

Samuel is doing well. He teacher just thinks he is so cute!! He has her fooled!! :) He has only missed 1 spelling word all year long so far. He even remembers what word it is and how he had spelled it wrong. He spelled Brown "Bown" He forgot the R. It was traumatizing because he didn't get a piece of candy for getting all his words right that day. Poor kid!!

Now to Daniel. I really like Daniel's teacher. He is good with the kids. I think he realized that by mentioning Britni a lot last year was detrimental to Daniel. So this year he has only mentioned her twice so far. Daniel has the potential to get way better grades than he has. If he really tried, he could have straight A's. He has all 3 A's and 5 B's. Some of those B's are on the low end!! He had to negotiate a C+ so he could play Basketball. That is our family rule. No sports if you have a C. He was able to negotiate it by doing some extra work for Mr. Fields. But Daniel was given quite a talking to about how when things get hard, he quits. Which I have known all his life. I'm not sure how to help him with that problem either.

Well, that was the conferences in a nutshell. Best be going. Have a great day!! :)

LIfe gets so busy

I will give a recap of last week. Mondays I go to Centerville School and help Samuel's teacher out for about an hour. I usually make copies and correct papers. Last week I corrected a test that they took in English. I can tell you that Samuel will not be an English major. He may be a Math major though. He is really good at Math!!

Tuesday I had the chance to go on Daniel and Jacob's field trip to the Little White Salmon Fish Hatchery and to the Discovery Museum in Stevenson. The Fish Hatchery was kind of interesting but kind of gross too. They were working with the Coho Salmon that actually make it to the fish hatchery. They were taking the eggs out of the girl fish and then squeezing the guy fish to fertilize the eggs then the eggs go into a special tray to incubate. Jacob's class will actually get the eggs at the beginning of January and finish hatching them. We always did baby chicks when I was in school. I think this is the first year that they are trying the fish.

The Museum was kind of fun. I love Museums!! This one had a real steam engine that was used with logging back in the day. They started it up for us. They also had a fish catcher type thing that they used in the rivers before the dams were built. A family actually lived in the little hut by the fish catcher. The cabin was probably as big as my living room. Not very big. They had a lot of old pictures of families and they had a section with Japanese stuff and a section of Catholic medals and jewelry. They some really cool old cars and trains too. Then an Indian woman told us some stories about the Columbia Gorge. Pretty interesting.

The rest of the week I was busy but don't remember much. Lynn, Dad, Mom and I went to the Portland Temple on Saturday. Mom usually does initatories. She was met by Aunt Joyce after she was done and they had a nice chat. Cousin Deborah took Aunt Joyce to Hawaii. I would love to go to Hawaii. One of these years maybe.

I taught Relief Society on Sunday. I haven't taught R.S. in about 10 years. But I wasn't really nervous because all the sisters have been my friends for years. It was kind of fun. Mom actually said that I did a good job. Yea!!

I better get going. I will try to update more. Life just gets in they way sometimes. Have a great week. :)

November is here!!

I am told that Christmas is like 7 weeks away or something like that. I don't want to think about it. O.k. I do want to think about what I am getting everyone for Christmas.

This week has been crazy!! The kids are getting sick now that Soccer is over with!! Isn't that how it is? Halloween was good. The boys went to their school Halloween Bash!! Almost all the boys won a cake at the cake walk. Poor Benjamin never seems to win. He tries so hard!! :( Between cake and candy my diet has been non existent!!

I will have to write more later. I have so much to catch up on. I was gone all day yesterday with Daniel and Jacob on their field trip. Laundry and cleaning is behind schedule!! Have a super day.

It's My Birthday!!

Today I am another year older and hopefully wiser!! Yesterday my girlfriends took me out to lunch in The Dalles at a new Thai restaurant. I have only had Thai food once and that was when I was working in Renton and my boss took all the secretaries there for Secretaries Day. I didn't remember how good the food was. This place was amazing. They don't make the food real spicy unless you ask for it which I am so glad since I don't like super spicy food. They had the most amazing homemade ice cream too. It was a fun day. The weather is cold but beautiful.

Britni had her last Soccer game last night against Ki-Be. She came home late and then told us she didn't even play. A girl who has been out with injuries for a month got to not only play but start the game. That bummed Britni out a little but she did Varsity letter so she is happyish.

I hope everyone has a Super Happy Day!! I know I will. Lynn has already made me a chocolate cream pie for my Birthday treat!! :) I love that man!! :)

Wow What a week!

I have been so busy this week then to top it off I got sick. Not just a cold sick but Sick Sick!! I was suppose to speak in Sacrament today and do a ton other things at church today. I thought it was the opposing forces not wanting my to speak but as of this morning I realize I think the Lord just wants me to slow down a little. Which is really very kind of him. But does he have to do it this way? Well, it could be worse. I always say that because it really could be worse. I won't go into all the gory details. Let's just say that I am actually glad that my Mommy lives close by and can take care of me when I have no clue what to do and either does my husband!! :)

Some friends of mine gave us some grapes. So I have been making grape jelly and a little bit of grape juice all week. I volunteered in Sam's class last week. That was really fun. I stayed and ate lunch with him. It was pizza!! One of my favorite school foods. :) I will hopefully be helping this week too as long as I get better quickly!! UGH!!

Jacob is a VIP!!! Last week Jacob was VIP in his class. His teacher does this to help each other get to know one another better and it gives kids a chance who are shy to bolster their self confidence. So it was a busy week of finding scrapbook pictures, Going and talking to his class as his Mom, making cinnamon rolls for his class and taking his dog to school to show the class. It was a fun week for him.

Britni is in the process of doing a big project for a teacher at school who is paying her to make a slideshow of videos for the Football players this year. Britni is pretty excited but she only knows how to do it on Apple computers from school and so she has to borrow friends computers in order to work on the project. I think she needs to broaden her horizons and learn how to make movies using other programs on our computer. Maybe some day. Britni is so excited to have Varsity Lettered in Soccer as a Sophomore. I'm happy for her. She has worked really hard for this.

Lynn and Ben's soccer season is done. They won their last game yesterday. Benjamin has one of the biggest kicks on his team. He makes a great defender!! Britni's last game is Tuesday in Ki-Be and Jacob's is Saturday. At least it is here in town this time. It is almost sad to be at the end of the season. I really enjoy watching my kids play and love to cheer them on. Even when I am sick, like yesterday at Jacob's game in Carson. It was no fun being sick but I sat on the opposing teams side and yelled my hardest for our team!! :) They tied the game 6-6.

That is about it for our little family this week. Enjoy your week and STAY HEALTHY!!

New stuff that's old is so cool!! :)

I picked up some new/old fun wall hangings at a thrift store last week. Actually it was 2 thrift stores. One store had half of them and then the other one had the other half. I love those old time adds for food. I've collected some tins already for Grape Nuts and Hershey chocolate. Now I have an advertisement for baking powder and flour. Along with some fun signs!! What do you think?


Now for the fun day I had going on a field trip with Benjamin's class to the Maryhill Museum. The last time I went on this field trip was with Britni. I'm so glad I was able to go. I really enjoy museums. I love art museums and history about people even more. It has it all. It was a lot of fun. I even made a fun self portrait of myself. But I think Benjamin's is even better!! He is so creative. :)

Scouting activities not so tough after all

Yup, that's right. Daniel gets back from his Order of the Arrow Ordeal. He passed and is now a member. Daniel being Daniel actually did everything he was suppose to. However, the bread and water meal. Not!! He got to have Rolls with Ham, Fruit, Hot Cocoa or Fruit Punch (that was breakfast) Lunch was the same sort of meal. Dinner was a big type of "feast" but Daniel doesn't like Sausage and Sauerkraut so he had macaroni and cheese. Really???

The 3 things that they had to do actually goes along with the gospel really well.

1. Eat scant meals (Fasting)
2. Perform cheerful service (Priesthood/R.S. and just everyone in general in the church)
3. Don't speak but ponder on nature (pondering on the scriptures as you study them)

Lynn and I decided that it goes hand in hand with the gospel. That must be why the church supports Boy Scouts so much.

Oh, and the sleeping under the stars. NOT!! They had a lean to type of thing for cover. He roughed it more on the Pioneer Trek than he did at this event.

However, Daniel did get a really cool Order of the Arrow sash and booklet and etc. Do you know how he got elected? We have been wondering on this and some the information Daniel brought home explained. Daniel's troop thinks that he gives cheerful service and is well liked. The cheerful service?? I wonder on that one. He's usually the one complaining the loudest. Especially if it involves physical labor. :) I do know that he is well liked by just about everyone though.

Daniel did have a good time and he is happy with the work that they did. They cleaned up trails and blackberry bushes off of trails. So it was a good service project. He now has all his service for Star Scout. He's almost all done with it. Yea!! He might make Eagle yet!! :)

Jacob is out of the dog house now with his reading. He finished Harry Potter #4 on Saturday. His reading grade was really low so this should bring it up to an A.

It's raining today. I have mixed feelings over rainy days. We really need the rain so I am happy and I love the smell of the rain on grass. :) I just don't like getting wet when exercising. So exercise is inside today.

Not much else going on. Have a super day. :)

Saturday is a Special Day

Yesterday afternoon Daniel left for his Order of the Arrow Ordeal. He was a little nervous. From what he's been told, he eats bread and water for meals and do lots of service projects, sleep under the stars (no tents) and then at the end they will have a banquet in honor of the candidates. :) He won't get home until about midnight tonight. He's going to be one tired boy. I think it's going to be a great experience for him. Oh Also they can't talk the whole day!!! That would be very hard for Britni :) But Daniel should be fine.

Today Ben's soccer team had a double header and they won their first game and lost the second game. I missed the games because Jacob had a game in Hood River. This is the first game that Ben's team has won. I'm glad that they finally did. It gives them confidence. :)

Jacob's team not only won their game against Horizan Christian in Hood River but he scored the only goal. :) He was pretty excited. :)

Then Britni, Jacob, Sam and I went shopping in Hood River and The Dalles on the way home. Pretty fun day. :)

Now to prepare for Sunday. :) Have a super weekend. :)

October

It's October. It is starting to feel like Fall around here. My Ash tree has turned red. So it is now official!! :) We have had Soccer games and just all around busy. Conference was wonderful though. I really need to listen to a couple of talks again to remind me of what I need to be doing with my life. To make better use of my time is one of them.

Mid terms came home for the boys. Jacob is now reading every chance he has with no Soccer this week as a consequence of his not so good grade in Reading.

I haven't reported on goals for a while so I will do that now.

1. Lose weight. I have since gained but have now lost. I am now tracking food and also eating less carbs which is working. I have lost 7 pounds so far in the past 2 weeks.

2. Read Sunday School lesson and Ensigns. I have been o.k on this one. I may have missed one or two lessons but I try to catch up. Better late than never. I'm keeping up on the Ensigns. I'm enjoying the changes that they have made

3. Kids Scrapbooks. I have been doing digitally. I need to make time and have the money for the ink to print them out.

4. Lynn's mission scrapbook. I have worked on it but not recently. It's on my to do list all the time.

5. Blog more. I am doing pretty well with this one. Except for this week.

Have a great day. Britni has a game tonight. I hope it doesn't rain. :)

Wednesday

Well, Britni had a soccer game last night in Highland. She was pretty bummed because she didn't play at all. Hopefully on Saturday she will be able to play. However, all the girls who had bad grades last year are eligible now to play so we will see. Their game on Saturday is in Royal.

Daniel is ASB Vice President. He is actually pretty excited about it. He gets to count candy and make the popcorn for the games at the school. :) No wonder he's so excited!! :)

All the other kids are plugging along with school and soccer and piano. I actually have a week with not much on it. But I am still busy around the house. So much to do, so little time.

Lynn hurt his back playing soccer with his team. He went to Chiropractor yesterday but that didn't help. He will probably have to go back again to get it fixed again.

Not much else as far as news. Have a super day and Don't forget Mom's/Grandma's Birthday on Friday!! :)

What a weekend!!

Saturday is the big day for Soccer around here. Jacob has a game at 8:30 a.m., Benjamin at 10:00 and Britni at 11:00. Luckily the fields are all connected together so I just had to walk a lot to get to them all. Jacob's team won their game. Jacob even scored one goal. Benjamin's team lost however, they actually scored 2 goals so that was exciting since they had yet to score in a game. :) Britni's game was the most exciting.

Britni got to start this game again. She was so excited. The coach told her he really wanted her to score. So she was really trying and almost made it twice before she got hit pretty hard and landed on her back/head. To me it looked like she was clothes lined but she said she wasn't. She laid there for a bit because she had the wind knocked out of her. When she stood up she said 2 little words you never want to say. "I'm a little dizzy." It only last a couple seconds and her head hurt but that was all. Well, the assistant coach told her that she couldn't play the rest of the game. And she had to get cleared by a Dr. before she could even play in practice. She was really mad. Not only that the game went into double overtime and sudden death and she couldn't play in it!!! Her team ended up losing by 1 point. One girl from our team landed on her neck and had to be taken away by ambulance. She had hyper extended her neck. The funny thing is that this team really wasn't that rough of a team compared to the last team.

I really enjoyed going to the R.S. Broadcast on Saturday night. Our R.S. did a dinner and then we watched the broadcast and had dessert afterwards. At first I didn't think that I would get anything out of the talks but President Utchdorf's talk was perfect. It was exactly what I needed to hear. I am trying to find out what I'm suppose to be doing with my life right now. He made some excellent points with his forget me knots. I wouldn't be surprised if another book comes a long from him. :)

Sunday was Fast Sunday and it was a good meeting. This morning I picked up Britni from Seminary to get her to the Family Practice Clinic for their Open Access. So she could cleared for Soccer. We were the first ones there and the first ones out. When we went in the place was empty but when we left it was crowded. She even made it to school on time. :)

I best get to cleaning my house now. That and laundry and dishes never end in motherhood!! :) Have a great day. :)

Temple

Today Lynn took the day off and we took Mom and Dad to the temple. Mom did initatories while the rest of us did endowments. It was a beautiful day. The temple was great. We even did an amazingly quick shopping trip to Winco. That doesn't happen very often. :)

I am on my 3rd and last day of the no carb detoxing. I'm glad it is almost over. However, I am very afraid of eating any carbs now!! I am going to try to just eat healthy and see how it goes. It was very hard to do but I am so glad that I did. I woke up this morning not bloated. I have fought a slight headache all day but as long as I eat some protein when I feel it coming helps a lot. I am feeling much better on the inside and that is what counts.

Today's thought: Going to the temple makes you happy!! - Me!! :)

Today's thought

I have been on the no/low carb diet for 1 whole day now. I feel pretty good just tired and a little weak. I wasn't sure last night if I was going to make it to today because I got a migraine last night. The headache came on pretty quick and just as quick turned into a migraine. Hence, I went to bed early. I will go walking with my friends this morning but that is all for exercise. I have to clean my house though because my V.T. are coming this afternoon. Britni has another game. She is afraid she won't be playing in this one though because this team is suppose to be better than the one we played on Tuesday. I hope she get some time. She only needs 9 more games in order to letter for Soccer.

Thought for the day is a scripture "Be patient in afflictions, for thou shalt have many; but endure them, for, lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days." D&C 24:8.

It's nice to know that the Lord is with us no matter what we are going through. Even if it is carb deprivation!!! :) Love to you all!!

Thought of the day and more!

Britni's team lost their soccer game last night. She was in a bad mood. I like all my family to be happy but that was not the case last night!! We have more peaches from our tree. They are starting to fall off so we picked them all last night. We dried some more. We will probably just dry the rest of them. The kids and my hubby love dried peaches.

I am doing a 3 day no carb detox. I hope I can make it. I'm doing it with my friends. I figure with friends doing it with me, I may actually stick to it. I can eat all the meat, cheese, veggies and eggs I want. Yea. Cheese!! :)

Thought of the day "BE THE CHANGE!!"

Have a great day!!

Thought of the Day

"Part of making that choice, of deciding to change, is learning how to surrender. I don't mean surrender as in giving up. I mean surrendering the negative emotions that hold so many of us back." - Bill Phillips "Body for Life"

I'm not doing all the body building stuff that he does but he makes some good points in his book.

Have a great day!!!

BE THE CHANGE!!

A Little Something

Just a quick rundown. I need to go walking with my friend Diana here soon. This Saturday my Dad, Britni and I make a quick trip to Spokane for Brakston and Whitneys open house. We were able to see family that we hadn't seen in a long time. It was great to be with them even if it was for only a few hours. then Sunday we came back home. Like I said quick trip.

As far as Soccer game results from Saturday. Ben's team lost both matches but that's o.k. they were missing some key players so next week will be better. Jacob's team lost but that wasn't a surprise. We really had wanted him on the other team in the first place because the coach is a better coach. He had fun though. Britni was the winner though. They won their game 4-1 and Britni even started on Varsity. Yea!! Now if we can just get her pulled quad taken care of!! Daniel Refereed 2 games on Saturday. He really enjoyed it.

Thought of the day. I think I might start doing thoughts of the day. That may be all I post but it's still a post.

"If you stop setting goals for your future, if you start living in the moment again, That's when those bad habits will push their way back into your life!!" By the maker of Body for Life.

A friend of mine let me borrow Body for Life book. It's pretty good so far. Lots of good points. Have a super day.

The Eye Doctor

Well, actually he's an optometrist but you get the point. Last night Daniel, Jacob and Benjamin had an eye Dr. appointment. We have been told in the past that Daniel and Jacob really need checked. Especially when they did the eye test on their physicals in June. Lynn just wanted Benjamin to get checked since he doesn't read very good by skipping words and reading the wrong words at times. The results are in Daniel does have a slight problem but not big enough to have full time glasses. However, the Dr. noticed when he reads that he squints a lot. So we are going to do loaner reading glasses for a week and see. They will be really ugly so Daniel doesn't want them. I told him he can just use them at home and we will see if it helps his reading. Jacob has a less slight problem but not enough for glasses but does need to be checked again next year. Benjamin has perfect vision. I told Lynn that Benjamin is just in his own world and isn't paying attention to what he is reading but Lynn doesn't believe me. He thinks that Benjamin just doesn't read very well. Little does he know that I relate better with Benjamin as I used to do the same thing. :)

What I thought was interesting yet gross at the same time is that now they can take pictures of your eyeball from the inside out. So all the boys come out of the room with these gross pictures of their eyeballs. But they were kind of cool too.

The Dr. gave our boys a great compliment though. He said that I have really good boys who will be leaders someday. Isn't that great.

One of peach trees has lost a limb. This is our first year to really get peaches from our 2 peach trees. I went outside yesterday and noticed that one of the branches had broken off because of all the weight of the peaches. What is scary is that we thinned out the peaches this summer so their would not be as many on branches. So we started pulling the peaches off of the branches yesterday. Not only for the branches sake but also because the wasps were eating anything that was even remotely ripe. I now have a lot more peaches. I ate one of the ripe ones yesterday though and realized that I'm going to have to be careful because of worms. Yuck!! I cut off the worms and ate it anyway. I have come a long way from the city girl who couldn't handle bugs and bees to the country girl who just cuts off the bugs and ignores the bees. I think I'm growing up finally at 38 (almost) years old. :) Have a super day. :)

I Know I know!!! It's been too long.

Well, I could say that I have been so totally busy that I haven't had time to post. But in fact, I just don't know what to post about. Last week a forest fire started about 7 miles outside of town. It took lots of homes and many people were evacuated. Some of our own members. The community really stepped up and have supported really well. However, it made the air quality really bad for a few days. I couldn't exercise outside for a couple of days. There was ash in the air and smoke. It smelled like a campfire outside so we had to keep out windows closed all the time. The fires is over 50% contained now. Yea!! And we can open our windows again. The smoke is not as bad anymore. It was a pretty scary time for our community. It was also a wake up call for us, I think. When we live in a small little town in the northwest the most you think could happen is maybe an earthquake? or a volcano blowing? We rarely think of forest fires. We even had the Governor of Washington come and talk to the victims in the early stages of the fire. So that is the big news I guess. They cancelled all Soccer games and practices and told everyone to stay indoors. So Britni's first game is today in Hood River. She is hoping to play some. It's our Varsity against their JV. Doesn't sound very fair but it's not a league match just an extra one that the athletic director came up with.

Not much else going on. Grandma and Grandpa love their 50th Wedding present with is the glider. Lynn and Grandpa put it together on Saturday. They look very cute in it. I hope everyone has a super day.

It's a dreary day in the valley of Whooville!

I woke up to very dreary very smokey outside. We have a wildfire out of control just outside of town on Satus Pass. Many friends have been evacuated from their homes. I feel for all these people. It is a scary time. I'm definitely praying for them and for the fire fighters so they can get it out soon. Over 100 homes have been evacuated and over 2,000 acres burned so far. What a year for fires. We had one a few weeks ago on our side of town and watching the flames come down the hill is a little scary. I'm glad they got that one out quickly. There is actually ash in the air today. While my friends and I were walking we had little white things coming down here and there. They are advising if you have respitory conditions to stay inside.

Britni's first Soccer game is today. She is bummed because she is not starting or on Varsity. She may still get to play as a sub. I think what bums her out the most is the fact she has worked so hard these passed few weeks. She comes home every night with some muscle pulled or aches and pains from her working so hard. I hope she keeps trying. She still enjoys playing which is good.

I best get to work. My family thinks that now that everyone is at school that I just sit around and take naps and eat Bon Bons. Little do they know. Have a super day.

School and Soccer

So we have survived 3 days and school and a long weekend. I'm actually glad for the 3 day weekend. The kids were just so exhausted from adjusting to the new school year. So the long weekend was much appreciated. The kids for the most part have enjoyed the first few days. Samuel is having the hardest time. The first day of school went like this. "How was school Sam?" "I hate it." "Why do you hate school?" "Because I am so hungry all day long!!" (He took a lunch the next day and that worked great.) Then the next day "I don't like school!" "Why don't you like school?" "I'm sick of Conner." "What's wrong with Conner." "I just don't like him." (What can you do about that?) The saga continues... This Morning "I don't want to go to school." "Why?" "It's just too long!!" "Don't you remember how bored you were last year when you got home before the other boys?" "No!" "Well, you were always asking when are the boys coming home?" And I would answer "In 2 hours...etc." I hope he adjusts soon. I don't know how much more I can take of this "I HATEitis!"

Britni started early morning Seminary this morning. It is earlier this year because the Primary School has changed their hours and the Seminary teacher is a substitute at the Primary School. So Seminary starts at 6:30 a.m. Britni gets up at 5 a.m. and practices piano and gets a shower and eats breakfast then goes to Seminary. After that, her cousin, Devin takes her to Uncle David's work to hang out for an hour until school starts. Don't know what will happen when she starts driving in January.
She is doing well with Soccer. She is really trying to get on Varsity. Her first game is on Thursday so we should know by then.

Daniel brought home a huge school project already. Doing a big map of the State of Washington using cardboard for the base and then clay stuff for the mountains. They will paint it on Thursday. Daniel is actually working on getting projects done a little early. He is trying for Straight A's this year. I know he can do it. So does his teacher.

The weekend was pretty quiet. Except for the BYU Football and Women's Soccer games!! Go BYU!! Have a great week.

First Day of School

Today is the first day of school. Britni is a Sophomore, Daniel is 8th Grade, Jacob is 6th Grade, Benjamin is 3rd Grade and Samuel is 1st Grade. So far they have all come home happy. The older boys with homework. Daniel and Jacob decided to catch colds before school started. How lucky for them.

So what did I do all day? Yep, that's right. I cleaned and rearranged furniture in my house. Mainly cleaning though. That literally took the whole entire time they were gone today. I hope tomorrow to enjoy a little bit of the solitude though. I will probably be freezing corn tomorrow afternoon.

Here are their pics from this morning.

The rest of the Fair Results and Recipes

Jacob did very well at the Dog Show on Saturday. However, it was so hot that the dogs just didn't want to cooperate by the afternoon. He got Grand Champion and 1st place ribbon for Showmanship in his division. Then he got white (3rd) for obedience and white (3rd) for judging (this is where the kids judge the leaders doing obedience with dogs). He also got Blue Ribbon (1st) for his educational poster (which I did mostly) and a blue ribbon (1st) for his presentation of the poster (he did on his own). His poster was selected to go to the state fair, however, someone splashed water on it while it was hanging up at the Dog Show. So that is a bummer but those things happen. He also got a Red ribbon (2nd) on his 4-H Record Book. Which is funny considering his writing isn't the greatest. I am happy that Jacob did so well. He plans on doing it again this next year. He was only in the dog classes for 4 months before this Dog Show. He should do much better next year. As long as he trains his dog for 10 minutes a day.

Now for a couple of the cookie recipes that I entered. I have been asked by one of my AWESOME Sister-in-laws to post the recipes.

Crunchy Peanut Butter Cereal Drops

1 cup Light Karo Syrup
1 cup White Sugar
2 cups peanut butter (If I use Crunchy P.B. I will add a little extra)
4 cups Cheerios, cornflakes, or any non sugar cereal

In a large saucepan over medium heat cook syrup and sugar for 7-8 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add peanut butter; stir until dissolved then fold in the cereal and mix until well coated. Drop by spoonfuls on wax paper. Cool for 1-2 hours and store in an airtight container.


Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Craisin Cookies

Preheat oven to 350.

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
2 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. Vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup craisins

Cream together butter, shortening, sugars together. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix the flour, baking powder, soda, salt together and add to creamed mixture. Stir in oatmeal and chocolate chips and craisins. Mix well. Drop by spoonfuls on greased cookie sheets (I don't think I greased mine and they were still o.k.)

Bake 10-12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

I altered this recipe and I hope I remembered everything that I altered. The recipe actually calls for 1 cup brown sugar but I usually use more brown sugar than white sugar because I like that flavor better for cookies. That's just me though. ;) Play with it and let me know what you think.

Personally I couldn't believe some of the judges comments. I'm really glad that I entered just for fun and that I know I'm an awesome cook anyway!! :) Have a great Monday!!!

Klickitat County Fair Results for us! :)

Well, Britni entered about 12 pictures into the fair under the youth open category. Daniel entered his favorite sugar cookies with icing in the youth open baking category. I entered my favorite chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal chocolate chip craisin cookie, peanut butter cereal cookie and chocolate zucchini bread in the adult open category and Jacob yesterday had a prequalifier for 4-H dog show.

The results are in from yesterday!! Britni: 7 Blue Ribbon (1st), 4 Red Ribbon (2nd) and 1 White Ribbon (3rd)

Daniel: 1 Blue Ribbon (1st)

Mom: 1 Blue Ribbon (1st), 2 Red Ribbon (2nd) and 1 White Ribbon (3rd)

Jacob: 1 White Ribbon (3rd) He was 2 points away from a Red Ribbon!! Considering he has only been in the dog 4-H for 4 months and never trains his dog, that is pretty good.

This is just a prequalifier for Jacob. The real obedience, showmanship and judging show will be on Saturday. I told him if he wants to do better he should train her today. So far no training has been done. He's kind of a procrastinator.

I am very happy with all the results and so are the kids!! It was so much fun just to enter. I don't really care about the ribbons because I know my food is "Good Mood Food" :) That is all that matters!! :)

It has been quite a busy week. I can't wait until Fair is over with!! But then school starts next week. :) Yea!! Have a great weekend. I'll keep you posted on Jacob's progress on Saturday! :)

Recouped and Ready to go!!

O.K. so I think I am recouped from Girls Camp. This week Jacob had some 4-H stuff due for the Fair. He did a poster about K-9 Dogs. I did the poster while he did his record book. He also did a presentation and got a Blue Ribbon for it!! Yea Jacob! He will be in the Dog Show at the Fair this weekend. I am thinking of entering some baked goods. Britni is entering some pictures that she has taken. It should be a fun weekend.

Britni starts soccer practice tomorrow! She had a parent meeting last week and got registered!! She's excited.

We went school supply shopping and the boys packed up their backpacks the same night!! They are a little excited to start school but won't until August 31st.

Not much else going on. Really grateful for all that I have!! I am truly blessed!!

P.S. Lynn outdid himself yesterday with the house chores. Between painting the pump house and the trim around the house. Then he defrosted both freezers and planted strawberries. Busy guy!! :)

Back from Girls Camp Tired and Sore but Happy!!

Girls Camp was really nice this year. It was relaxing, spiritual and fun. We packed up Monday morning and headed to Camp Zarahemla which is by Clear Lake up past Yakima. It took us about 2 hours to get there. We unloaded the girls and got registered and then had our flag ceremony and then camp time to decorate the camp and get settled before all the activities. We were the Pirates seeking treasure. So I had some pirate decoration that we put up. Being the 4th year girls leader is great. They already know the basics and they are a great help with decorating or anything else I need. That night we had Singing Trees as our special spiritual experience. This is where each ward practices a song and then they go out into the woods in a circle and shine our light and sing our song then turn out our light and the next ward sings their song. It was a little crazy when the girls couldn't remember where they were going but then they found the path and led the way. :) It was nice. Then the 4th years did their star gazing certification. I had a great certification leader Aimee McCall who was on the ball. All the girls got certified this year. Yea!!

Then Tuesday night we had classes during the day that the YCL's either taught or had someone else teach. The classes were on Journals, being One in a Million, Individual Worth and etc. they were spiritual and great. We had 4 non members at camp and it was great to see them feel the spirit and ask questions. That night we had a special fireside with one of the leaders. It was on Seeking good things.

Wednesday we had more classes during the day. On the Atonement, fun modest dressing, enduring challenges, and eternal perspective. The afternoons usually had Kapers (chores around camp) and then Unit time and then certification time and then 3-4 hours of Free Time. There was canoeing and lots of fun crafts everyday. I made some really cute clipboards, journals, bookmarks, and magnets. :) That night was our Skit night. We decided to do our skit based on the book Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies!! We were seeking Knowledge. It was great. The girls did a great job!!

Thursday was the day the 1st and 2nd years went on a 5 mile hike. The 3rd years did their orienteering and the 4th years did their High Adventure!! We went horseback riding. I have been on a horse before but never riding trails in the woods. It was quite the experience for me. I figure I was the entertainment that's for sure. I was on a pretty painted horse named Romeo. I can tell you he's no Romeo. He had a mind of his own. I am not aggressive enough to really control him but I survived. You see he liked to scratch his belly on little trees. Then he liked to go really slow down the embankments then liked to gallop up the embankments. He didn't like to be too far behind the other horses and trotted to catch up. (Can you say sore bottom?) :) Then he decided to go off the trail and in the process of trying to get him back on the trail, he hit a tree. But it didn't hurt him. I got him backed up. I think Grandmother Rayborn was helping. She always loved painted horses so I know she had to be there helping inept me out. :) After 2 hours of riding, I was pretty stiff and sore. I'm such a weenie!! :) But it was fun and beautiful scenery!!

Thursday night was also the night hike and testimony meeting along with a special talk by a member of the Stake Presidency. IT was a very long night. The night hike was really interesting. The YCL's act as women in history who overcame tragedy and challenges and seek for a better life. Doris Day, Mother Teresa, Marie Curry, and others. It was very interesting and spiritual. We also had a YCL explain what testimonies are and how we should bear them. So when testimony meeting came along there was actually not very many who actually bore them. I'm not sure if everyone was just so tired from the hikes and all the activities or if they just didn't feel the spirit by then. It was midnight by the time they had testimony meeting. Way too much to do in one day.

They also had activities like the Amazing Race, Canoe Races and other fun games to do during free time.

Friday we cleaned up camp and came home. We were home by 1:30 in the afternoon. It was fun but I am still tired. I'm sure it will take me a few days before I am back to my usual self again. I am still a little sore from the horse back riding too. :)

As soon as I got home it was busy busy to get Daniel and Jacob and Lynn ready for their Boy Scout over nighter. So I saw Lynn 2 hours then he was gone. But I am so happy that they got home around 2:30 this afternoon. It's so nice to have everyone home and to be home!!

I am starting to get really sleepy. I better get going. Have a great Sunday!! Love you all!!

Ready for Girls Camp? I think!

Well, I have been packing all day and trying to get everything ready. I am just sending Benjamin out to the play house to find our pirate costume. So the girls will be able to have one costume for their skit. We are Pirates Seeking Treasure. It is going to be really fun. I am finally getting excited. I have 6 girls in my group. Just the right size. However, our High Adventure is horseback riding and they only have 6 horses available so they are splitting us up and doing one group in the morning and one in the afternoon. I wish they would just have the girls go without the adults, personally but I guess church policy is against that.

The men will be on their own. I haven't even prepared any meals or anything for them. They are truly on their own. I am hoping for some appreciation when I get back. However, I know better. Lynn actually taught me to cook so they won't starve to death.

When we were gone to Idaho, Mom and Dad (who have very green thumbs)did very well with our garden. In fact, my Zucchini plant is huge!!!! I just pulled 4 more this evening. Our corn and beans are growing well a long with our carrots (that the kids didn't pull while weeding) and our tomatoes and potatoes are doing well also. We even have a few raspberries this year. Not as many bees eating them this year. However, we have found our dogs are eating our produce!!!! They have never eaten them before. But they do now. Who Knew??

Well, I better get going. More to get ready. You won't hear from me for a week as I will be at Girls Camp. Have a great week. I will update next weekend. :) Love ya all!! :)

Home At Last!!

I love coming home after a vacation because the house is clean for a moment until everything is unloaded!! And it is just good to come home to your own bed, your own kitchen, your own water that tastes good!!!

We had a great vacation visiting Lynn's family for the past 10 days. We got to meet some family that we had never met and play games and have the famous Bischoff BBQ. Why it's famous? I don't know?? That all happened the first weekend we were there. Then Britni went to EFY and we hung out on the farm. The kids had a great time playing with cousins and helping with the farm chores. Lynn and the boys helped Caleb with his Eagle Project. Which was good for them to do. We went to a couple of movies and I got to hang out for a few hours with my college roommate, Karen.

We saw Thor at the cheap Paramount theater. It was pretty good. It was clean which was nice in a movie these days. Then we of course had to go see Harry Potter 7.2!! That was pretty good also.

Now time to get ready to go to Girls Camp. The more I have talked to people the more excited I am becoming!! I better get on with the laundry!! Love to you all!!

Monday

The next few days will be preparing our house for us to leave on our yearly family vacation to the Dairy Farm. The kids are very excited. We will be seeing lots of cousins and family and friends. Britni will be going to EFY all next week at BYU-I. She is very excited. She'll be staying on campus all week. While I get to go shopping with my niece Kimberlie!! :) And I get to see college roommates too. Yea!

Daniel and Britni survived the trek with no blisters or injuries!! Yea!! I am so happy for that. They said it was really hard but they enjoyed it. They met new people. Daniel had a cute girl in his "family" which always helps. Britni had a good time as well. She always finds the cute boys. ;) They had spiritual moments at the end. Daniel said our parent letters "almost" made him cry. While Britni said that they made her bawl. :) They are so tired right now. In fact they are still sleeping. I need to get them up so everyone will do their chores!!

Now time to make some phone calls and turn in my job applications this morning. Plus clean up the house. Have a great Monday!! Love ya all!!

Decisions, Decisions, and More

Well, we are going through a decision process. Well, Lynn says it's my decision process. You see there are 2 jobs as Legal Administrative Assistants that I really want to apply for. However, they are full time positions. We could use the extra money but to me working is more than money. It's a feeling of accomplishment that you feel knowing that you are helping the family. It's truly enjoyable for me to type and do secretary stuff. I always have loved my secretary jobs. It's meeting people and helping people. It's learning new skills. However, I'm also a little scared. It has been 15 years since I have worked. I have decided that applying doesn't meant that I will get either job. You see I know of someone else who is applying for one of the jobs and she is better qualified than me in that she has been in the work force recently. All the other jobs that I have applied for I haven't even gotten an interview. Who says I'll get one now?

I keep saying that if the Lord wants me to work, then an opportunity will come along and I will work. But I have to do my part in order to have those opportunities to come along. Well, that is my decision process. I have prayed about it and have not necessarily gotten a no but I haven't gotten a resounding yes either. I wonder if my fears or hopes are getting in the way. Sometimes they do.

Britni and Daniel are on the Trek. I'm sure they are having a fun time. I'll find out tomorrow night.

The little boys are getting chores done and playing with friends. I asked them if they want to do anything special but they don't. I would think with older brother and sister gone they would want to do something fun but it doesn't seem to be.

Time to get to chores and job applications, I guess. Have a super day. :)

Wednesday

The weather has definitely cooled down. Brr!! At least it's sunny. I love Sunny!! Let's see Britni is done with Summer Basketball. She's happy. I think she was getting a little burned out with sports. She still has soccer practice whenever she is available but it is only 2 days a week. She is very excited for Trek. Which is tomorrow.

The boys are just being boys. Daniel will also be going on the Trek. I don't think that he is quite as excited as Britni. :) But he is learning that he can do Hard Things with the Lords help!! :)

Jacob has been subbing for Brian Golding's paper route. Today is the last day, Yea!! The first week was absolutely horrible. He had gone with Brian once so he could show him the ropes but Jacob doesn't always pay attention to everything. So there were comments like "I think we gave a paper to the house with the "W" on the garage?" or "Brian just gave her a paper but she wasn't on the list." That sort of thing.

Last week was much better. It went way smoother. We didn't miss anyone. Daniel helped out which helped a lot!! So this week should be a piece of cake right? We'll see. I am glad to know that after this experience my boys don't want to have a paper route. If we lived in town, then maybe. But since we live 3 miles out of town, we have to drive the paper route.

Not much else going on. Just another busy day. We will be enjoying the women's Soccer game this morning though. As long as the kids get their chores done. :) Have a super day. :)

Monday

This week is our Pioneer Trek. The kids leave on Thursday morning and will be back on Saturday sometime. The communication has not been very good.

The weekend was great. The boys did o.k. selling water. The location wasn't the best but they got a lot of donations for their D.C. trip. The Young Women's yard sale went very well. They earned over $500. Britni's basketball tournament was pretty good. It gave her some good experience. They lost on Saturday, their first game so she got to come home in time to help at the end of the Yard Sale.

I got a little sun. My upper arms are pretty red but they don't hurt which is good. Luckily my foundation had sunscreen in it so my face is fine. :)

We feed the missionaries tonight. I feel so bad for them the missionary calendar goes through the R.S. room and no one signs up. We signed up for today but I can't feed them all the time and next week we go on our Big vacation for the Summer. I wish more people would feed them. This set of missionaries look like they are 15 years old. Maybe it's just because I am getting older that they are looking younger. I hope when my boys go on their missions that people will feed them!!

Not much else going on. Have a super Monday!!!

Community Days

This weekend is Goldendale's Community Days. There is a parade with lots of fire trucks and tractors and horses!! There are activities on the court house lawn. Lots of Yard Sales around town. And the famous Library Book sale which I love to go to on Saturday afternoon where a bag of books is $1.00. :) It is a fun time. It's not suppose to be so busy though. The Young Women are having a Yard Sale to help with those girls who don't have the money for Girls Camp. Since my Sis in law is the Camp Director and I am going to Camp as a Unit Mom then I need to help with that. Britni should be helping too however, she is involved in a Basketball Tournament in Mabton this weekend. They won their game yesterday!!

Jacob and Benjamin actually have been invited to participate on 2 floats!! One is for Cub Scouts that the other troop in town in doing and the other one is a soccer float and there is also going to be the 4-H Dogs will be walking in the Parade. Benjamin can pick his float and go but Jacob and Daniel have already committed themselves to sell water at the Presby Mansion Museum during the Parade for their Washington D.C. Trip. I cannot wait until fund raisers are done. UGH!!

Best get busy doing what we do!! Have a great day. :)

My Work Here is never done!!

SO we had a very nice 4th of July. There was a flag raising and breakfast at the church which was nice. The Bishopric did a great job making andgetting the food out fast. They fed a lot of people. Then we came home and did house and yard work. Lynn rearranged the garage. It needed cleaning anyway but I wasn't getting to it very fast. It looks great now. Then we had a BBQ. Grandpa came over. Grandma wasn't feeling well. Then just before we do fireworks we always bring our dogs in the house because they scare easily. We go out to get them and they are no where to be seen. Some neighbors down the road started lighting them early!! The dogs took off somewhere. WE searched but to no avail. So we lighted our fireworks and prayed really really hard that the dogs would come back. I now wonder if that was such a good idea. They showed up at 3 a.m. full of ticks. So yesterday, Britni and I, pulled ticks out of each dog. Mandy our bigger white dog had over 100 and Misty the little black one probably had over 30. We are still finding ticks on them even after bathing them and using Fronline Plus on them and even feeding them lots of garlic. I heard that is suppose to help with ticks. Still this morning I was pulling more off of them. I don't know if it will ever end. I do know that I never want to see another tick again!! UGH!!

Britni has a Basketball Tournament in Mabton this weekend. Then she is done with Basketball for the Summer, I think. She will still have soccer practice though.

The Pioneer Trek is next Weekend. The kids are excited. I got Britni's skirt fixed and ready. It's not the best sewing job. I used to sew better but I don't do it often enough anymore to be any good at it. Good thing they only need to wear it for 3 days.

Daniel loved Boy Scout Camp. Even though it rained on him for 3 of the days. It was on the coast so he got to go to the beach. He got the Canoeing, Oceanography and Archery Merit Badges. He will have the First Aid one soon. All he had to do was #1 but he kept forgetting to do it at camp. So now he has to finish it off here. However, He also got his First Class!!! He is now a Star!! Yea!! He now sees a silver lining. He is actually picking out merit badges that he will do and everything. I am so happy!!! :) YEA Daniel!!! :)

Well, I better get going. I need to crack the whip and get the kids to do their chores. Have a great day. :)

Friday

I miss Daniel. My other kids miss Daniel. Boy Scout camp is so long!! I know it's only 1 more day than Girls Camp. But I still miss my Daniel!! I really don't know how I will make it when the kids start leaving home. I like my family to be all together. Then I am happy when I know they are safe and sound.

We only have a week an a half until Trek. I need to fix Britni's pioneer skirt. It's one that I had made for me years ago so I just need to adjust the waist and shorten it.

It's finally a beautiful day. No wind today yet. yea.

The other boys are excited to go fishing with Grandpa today. They are busily finishing up their chores so they can go.

I hope everyone has a great 4th of July. No plans here. Just hanging out at home. :)

June 29, 2011

Well, it has been a busy few days. I heard Monday night that Daniel got to Boy Scout camp safely. I learned that from my friend Diana whose husband is the Boy Scout Master and called her to let her know. They were having fun.

Monday night Britni had a Basketball game for summer basketball. She played o.k. I guess Basketball camp can't really make her be more aggressive. It is just not in her nature. But she did make a few good plays even though she didn't make any points.

Jacob and Daniel have a chance to go to Washington D.C. with their school. They have been fund raising for a year now. They will actually go to Washington D.C. next June. So they have a year to go to get the money. We found out how much it was going to be for a 8 day trip. It's not a pretty site. The boys only have a 1/4 of what they need to make for this trip. This is such a once in a life time opportunity. They will be going to Washington D.C. and New York City and Boston. We will keep plugging along and hope for the best.

Yesterday, between visiting teaching and dog class and Britni's soccer practice. It was busy. My dog Mandy actually did well with all her obedience but I am never worried about her. Jacob said his dog Misty did better than she usually does. At least she didn't whine for me as much. That's an improvement. She usually whines through the whole class wanting me. We will be showing our Dogs at the County Fair this year. I'm not real thrilled with doing it but it helps Jacob to have me there.

Not much else. I hope everyone has a super day. :)

Shame on Me Again!!

Only one blog last week. Oops!! Britni loved Basketball Camp. Even when she got pushed into the bleachers and hurt her tailbone and even when she got elbowed in the nose. She still had a blast. I guess she does really like basketball after all!! :)

Benjamin loved Day/night camp. He is so social. He loved even singing the Star Spangled Banner for their skit.

Daniel left at 3 a.m. this morning for Boy Scout Camp at Camp Merriwether on the coast. He will have a blast. He was pretty nervous and we as his parents were pretty nervous for him but he will do fine. He is learning that He Can Do Hard Things with the Lords help!! :)

Lynn about killed himself on Saturday as he did a lot of yard work and trimmed our trees. Climbing ladders and cutting big branches were a little scary but other than that the yard looks great!! Jacob helped Dad the most with the yard work as usual. :) Our little worker!!

Samuel is as happy go lucky as ever for the most part. He is trying to throw tantrums to get attention but it's not working.

I think that covers just about everyone. Oh I guess I should say I have a new calling. I am the Relief Society Secretary. I wasn't expecting that one. So it was quite a shock. But it should be fun. I was the Relief Society Secretary when we first moved to Goldendale 14 years ago. So it's not that new to me however, I really don't remember that far back.

Have a great week. I will write again on Wednesday. Maybe if I actually say I will then I will do it. :) Love ya all!! :)

Britni and Benjamin

Benjamin has Twilight Cub Scout Camp this week. Yesterday was his first day. He had a great time. I think. He shot his first BB gun. And had fun playing games and making things. He didn't get home until 10:20 or so at night. So he slept in a bit this morning. But he is so excited to go again today.

Britni has an Amazing opportunity this week. This week is the Gonzaga Basketball camp. We can't afford to pay for camps so she wasn't planning on going. However, yesterday afternoon we got a phone call from the Varsity coach saying that a couple of girls had to cancel at the last minute and wanted someone else to take their place. Their money was non refundable so he offered the spot to Britni. So she left this morning for the Gonzaga Basketball camp. She was pretty nervous but I think excited at the same time. She will have a great time and learn so much. She will definitely find out if she loves Basketball as much as she thinks she does. :) Of course, she will also have to be strong and courageous to choose the right and stand up for what she believes in since she is the only member of the church going. I still can't believe that she was able to go for free!! What a blessing. At least I hope it's a blessing. I know a lot of stuff can go on at these camps.

We just Gotta Have Faith !!! Just like the song says!! Was that George Michael who sang that? Have a super day. :)

Busy Busy Week

Last week was pretty busy because the boys were out of school and I still had to take Britni to school for 4 days last week. She is now done and happy. The kids are outside weeding the garden right now. I love Summer chores!! They are AWESOME!! :) We have had my in-laws in town and also David and Carmine's Daughters with their families. We had our family pictures taken by Valerie! She does an AWESOME job! I can't wait to see them. And her husband David is a Chiropractor and he helped us all so now we are feeling pretty good. :) We owe them big time.

Nathan Bischoff was ordained an Elder yesterday. It was a great experience. I should have grabbed my boys and pulled them in but it was hard enough to get me in there. You see I have no calling now at church so the Nursery sucked me in because their leader was ill. So I got to play with little kids and eat snacks. :) It would have been more fun if I had plans for the kids to do things. The way the Bishop was asking me if I liked it, I'm pretty sure that I'll end up in Nursery. Which is fine. I do like little kids.

My kids are growing up so fast that I now enjoy the little ones. :)

Well, I better get going. Our phone service is not working. Our whole neighborhood is having problems. Have a super Monday. :)

Released and nothing to do

Well, yesterday I was released from Young Women's. And they did not give me another calling. It is kind of depressing to know that no one wants you in their organization. I am sure that something will come up. I figure it will be cub scouts and I won't be getting that calling until September probably. I should enjoy the break from callings. But I'm not so sure.

Today is the first day of Summer for the boys. They are out weeding the garden right now which is one of their chores. We had a family council last night to get the chores and the consequences set up. Daniel and Jacob were so enthusiastic that they got up at 6 a.m. this morning and went jogging with me and Britni. I am still the slowest out of all of them. But I am older and have more weight on my body than they do. That my excuse and I'm sticking to it!! :)

The kids are going to help me with my diet/exercise this summer. I hope they don't kill me in the process. :) Maybe I'll lose a little bit of weight. That would be nice. We are suppose to have Valerie take our family photos tonight. It's a pretty windy day today and it's partly cloudy. Hopefully by tonight it will change for the better as in no wind!! I know living in the Gorge that is wishful thinking.

I better get going for the day. If you want to listen to Britni's piano piece go to my facebook or Lynn's facebook. We posted a video of it on Saturday.

Love you all and have a happy day!! :)

Britni playing the piano on Sunday and Schools out for the boys

I was going to add a video of Britni playing the Jon Schmitt song that she is playing tomorrow in Sacrament but it has been 4 hours and it is still not uploaded yet. Therefore, you will just have to be there. :)

Yesterday was the boys last day of school. They came home at Noon with their year books covered in signatures. Not really a surprise is the fact that Daniel had the most Accelerated Reader points in the whole school. He beat out ReAnna whose in Jacob's grade by .4 points. His name will go in the library at the school on a plaque. He also was awarded the best sportsmanship award. He also had the Hustle award in Basketball.

Jacob came home with the Friendliest Award. He is so sweet and fun that I can understand why he got that award. :)

The First and Second teacher at Centerville has retired after 32 years of teaching. She almost taught all my kids. She just barely misses teaching Samuel. The new teacher is actually going to be the Kindergarten teacher that he had last year. So he will end up with the same teacher for 3 years. Luckily Samuel likes her. :)

Samuel is not feeling good today. Lynn, Britni and Daniel are at the Temple today. Have a Super Saturday!! :)

Funny Things

Daniel has been studying World War II and Hitler's Master Race (the Ayrian Germans). He's been talking a lot about this at home. Benjamin the fun kid that he is drew the perfect German for us since our name (Bischoff) is German. I think it looks a lot like Daniel with a mustache!!

Then Britni had a girl at school tell her that she knows why Mormons have so many kids. She said that everybody hates Mormons so in order for Mormons to have friends, they need to have lots of children so someone will like them. Britni said I have friends. They countered with yea with the 87 people in your family. Britni laughed and said that she only has 7 in her family!! Ha! :) It is funny to hear what people will believe.

Have a great day!!

Great weekend and last week of school for boys!

We had a great Stake Conference Weekend. The messages were inspiring as always. This is the boys last week of school. They are very excited. I am even excited this year. This is the first year that I am excited to be done with school and to just have my kiddos at home. But then again having 2 babysitters around helps. :) I need to get the chore list made up today so I am ready. :)

Last night was Seminary graduation. Nathan, my nephew graduated and spoke. He did a great job on his talk. I was remembering when I first met him as a boy. He has sure grown into an Amazing Young Man!! Britni got her little trophy for her Superior Scriptorian plus a pin for being Master Scriptorian. She also had 95% or better attendance and punctuality. It helps that her Dad has to be to work early. :)

She has 2 more weeks of school left. She is done June 16th. She plays in church this Sunday. I am going to record it at home and post it so everyone can hear how Amazing she is!! :)

Have a super Monday!! Off to laundry and house work!! :)

Stake Conference Weekend

This weekend is Stake Conference. With Lynn being the Stake Executive Secretary I get to participate in the special meal in between sessions this afternoon. I am to take fruit. So I will pick up a watermelon and cantalope and etc. this morning. After the Dog Walk that Jacob and I have to go to.

Lynn is at a AYSO Soccer meeting this morning. He should be home soon. Then at 10:00 Jacob and I are participating in a 4-H Dog Walk. All proceeds goes to the American Red Cross and the Tornado victims. Then at 2 p.m. I have a Bridal Shower to go to for my Visiting Teaching partner! Then I will be going to carpool down to The Dalles for Stake Conference Adult Session and dinner. :)

Have a super Saturday!! :)

I remember now!!

I am feeling so much better now. I have a slight headache this morning. I'm not sure if it's from the dialating of my eyes yesterday at the eye dr. or if it's allergies. I'm thinking allergies/summer cold coming on. Bummer!!

Anyway, I can think and I have some energy. Yea!! I am happy!!

I remember what I was going to write yesterday. I was going to do a check list of my goals for the year.

#1 Lose Weight. I am going to reword this one because I am reading a book right now that is telling me why I am not losing weight with my thyroid meds and etc. So How about Eat Healthy and Exercise. ----Doing fairly well. I am eating at least one fruit or veggie with each meal a day. That is my real goal right now. Doing really well with the exercise. I need to step up my game with resistance bands here pretty soon. My shoulder is healing nicely from my injury a few months ago.

#2 Scrapbooks are all caught up. I just need to be able to afford to print off the kids digital pages as I get them done.

#3 Lynn's Mission Scrapbook. I have begun!!! I have the pictures out and I am working on pages. I have about 75 of the 200 pictures done. That's just what I have printed. I still need to get the rest printed from slides!! Why were slides so popular back in the day for Missions???

#4 Read Sunday School lesson and Ensign to the fullest. I am good on this one. I think I might have missed one Sunday School lesson but that's still pretty good.

#5 Write on my blog more. Well, I have chastised myself a lot on this one already. I am really trying though.

Yucky windy day today. But I'm still going walking with my girlfriends!! The more exercise the better. :) Have a great day!! :)

Wednesday

I know that I was going to blog about something but I can't remember what. I just hate it when that happens. I tried to go off my thyroid medicine for a few days and realized by day 3 that I really needed to get back on it. Between the exhaustion and the fuzzy brain right now, I don't know how I made it without it. I do feel better this morning but still tired and fuzzy.

Jacob had a great birthday. He played Soccer, ate BBQed Steak, opened presents and ate cake! Life was good!! He even finished his book and took the AR test yesterday and got 100% on it. Yea!! He's only 2 points away from his goal for this quarter. He also finally found his shoe. He lost one of his shoes at school. Then kept forgetting to look for it in the lost and found until yesterday!! :)

Centerville School is taking the kids to the swimming pool for "swim lessons". I'm not sure how much lesson they really get out of it. But the boys are having fun this week.

Britni got a surprise babysitting job yesterday after school. I found out about a friend needing a sitter right after school. So I took a note with a candy bar for incentive to the school. Britni is not only out of debt with her parents but has over $65 to her name. Now she is making a list of everything she will need for school next year and trying to figure out how she will be about pay for it all. :) Babysitting is great!!

Not much else to tell. The rest of the kids are doing well. Lynn has realized that he is not as young as he used to be. He's pretty sore after the soccer games on Monday plus planting garden and weed eating the lawn and etc. that he did that day!! :) Have a great Windsday as Winnie the Pooh would say!! :)

Jacob's 11th Birthday

Today my Jacob turns 11 years old. One more year and he gets the Priesthood. They grow up so fast. He is excited to be in 11 year old scouts and play Soccer. With today being Memorial Day he picked out a Rocket cake with red, white and blue M&M's on it.

Jacob has always been my boy who loves the outdoors. He loves to mow the lawn and help his Dad in the garden. He loves animals. We have always called him our Farmer Boy. However, he also loves sports. He played Basketball for the first time this year and loved it like his Dad. He is excited to be playing Soccer in the Fall. He always has a smile for you. Everybody loves Jacob!! He is shy and quite most of the time yet can be very loud and fun with his brothers.

We all love our Jacob. Have a Super Happy Birthday. We'll be playing family Soccer game this morning and then a BBQ and cake tonight!! Happy Memorial Day to all our Veterans!! :)

Another give away by

There is another give away by http://oldfarmhousegathering.blogspot.com/2011/05/last-chance.html.


Another contest is on Old Farmhouse Gathering with Artfire. A FARMHOUSE GATHERING ON ARTFIRE Barb from Barb's Heartstrokes has a very cute item up for grabs.

Old Farmhouse Gathering has some very cute things. It's fun to enter contests I have found. I am finding lots of great things.

Have a great weekend. :)

FRIDAY!!

Yea, it is Friday!! Last night was Jacob's last cub scout pack meeting. He is now a Boy Scout. :) He's very excited to be moving on. Benjamin also received his Wolf badge last night. They are all growing up so fast.

I really wish the weather would stay nice. I'm starting to get a cold thanks to the changing weather. I get a sunburn on Wednesday and then rained on Thursday and Friday. UGH! The kids are catching the colds too. No fun.

Britni gets a 4 day weekend but the boys have to go to school today. She will be working this morning to earn some moolah!!

I have been going to visit Grandma on Wednesdays while Grandpa is working delivering newspapers. We chat and then go to lunch. Very fun. I have a friend who lost her Mother a year ago and reminds me all the time to enjoy this time with Mom since she won't be here forever. Time is precious.

Grandpa and Grandma are going to the temple with us tomorrow. I always enjoy going to the temple and feeling the spirit there. It really rejuvenates me.

I have completed my resume and have even given one out. It's a start. Grandpa heard of an opening for part time secretary at the newspaper office. So I took in my resume. However, it's really who you know around here if you want to get a job. If the Lord really wants me to work then he will provide the way. I will just keep trying.

I hope everyone has a super Memorial Day Weekend. :)

Quick Note!!

Britni is our first Superior Master Scriptorian. She quoted all 25 Scripture Mastery scriptures in order!! We are all pretty excited for her.

Samuel, Benjamin and Jacob were in Spring Musicals at school. Samuel and Benjamin performed in "ARF" a musical about a dog show. Benjamin was a bulldog and Samuel was a Kinder Pup!! Very cute and fun.

Jacob performed as a pirate as Blackbeard. Very fun play. He did a great job as a pirate. It also gave me some ideas for Girls Camp since my group are Pirates who seek great treasure. :)

I better get dinner going. Have a great day and stay dry!! :) Yesterday I got a sunburn today I got pelted with rain. :)

Duly Chastised Myself

I made a goal to write at least twice to 3 times a week. Last week, I failed. It's not like I'm super busy like my Sis Marvelle. It's just that I was watching my Grand Nephew on Thursday and Friday and Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I was preparing for the Combined Activity with the Young Men.

Cupcake Wars was a success I think. There is always room for improvement. I am just glad that I don't have to do it again for 6 months. :)

I've been watching Evan, my Grand Nephew? I think that is what he is. Anyway, he is super cute but very busy boy. I only have him for 3 1/2 hours and I am wore out afterwards. What is funny, is our super hyper dog, Misty, has finally met her match with him!! However, I did see him hugging her and feeding her fish crackers today so they must have come to an understanding!! LOL!!

Daniel survived the Boy Scout Camporee this weekend. The poor boy was so tired on Sunday. In fact all the deacons were!! That is primarily who does the Boy Scout thing in our Ward. We do have one boy, The Stake Presidents son who is working on getting his Eagle. Daniel will get his First Class soon. He just has to have a Scoutmaster review and then he's done. Yea!! He also finished off 2 more merit badges last week. Yea!!!

Britni went to the Temple on Saturday. It was a small group because of the Camporee but she had a good time and did a family name for Grandma Morgan.

Time to change over the never ending laundry!! Have a Happy Monday and I promise to repent and write more this week!! :)

Britni brought home the Gold while the boys brought home the Blues!!

On Saturday the kids had their Piano Recital (Festival) in The Dalles. It's where the kids play 2 songs that they have learned and then get judged on them by a judge who also will teach them a few things after the group is done playing.

Benjamin ended up being in a level higher than he should of been but that did not deter him!! He did a great job for his first one and he even said it was kind of fun. We had a really nice judge this year. We have had him before and the kids all like him. He finished with a Blue Excellent Ribbon!! Great job Ben!

Next Jacob. He brought home a gold last year but this year even though he had all the note right it just wasn't very exciting for the judge. So he got a Blue Excellent Ribbon also.

Then Daniel. Daniel has been fighting Piano for awhile now. He is 13 so I expect some resistance the thing is that he is really good. He was playing in Priesthood all the time and he actually enjoys that. Daniel could have tried harder I think. He didn't give it his all in my opinion. The judge didn't either. He brought home a Blue Excellent Ribbon also!!

Now Britni. She has really improved this year. I think the syllabus that she did earlier this year and then playing at church has helped her relax a little bit. She was still pretty nervous. But she performed her pieces to perfection. The judge thought so too. (It doesn't hurt that she is so cute either!!) :) She brought home the Gold Superior Ribbon this year. This is her first one out of all the years that she has done this festival.

That was our excitement for the weekend. Well, we did BBQ in a Thunder storm on Saturday too. We had the missionaries over for dinner and the menu was BBQ Hamburgers and Hot Dogs. That was pretty exciting too!! :) Have a great Monday!