April 28--Clean Carpet & A Memory

Today we had our carpet cleaned! When we looked at our house one of the things we loved about it was the cream colored wool carpet. It cleans up well and is impressive in its ability to stay clean when you consider the color.

After the Chem Dry guys left I wanted a photo to show off the carpet and I've been wanting to take a picture of the above items for awhile. Here is their explanation--My Grandma and Grandpa Lee both passed away within the last couple of years. They were both so influential in my life and I think about and miss them almost every day. There are so many reminders of them throughout my house, but I think this is my favorite. When we went down to help my dad clean out their house last year I wanted to find something that would remind me of the memory I had of each of them. I picked out this bowl that my Grandpa made. He was an amazing carpenter and also made a few shelves, a dresser, and a grandmother clock that are in my house--but this bowl and the beauty in the wood show off the talent he had for turning wood. The necklace is one that my Grandma wore all of the time. I'm not exactly sure why, but it brings up memories of the way she dressed, how she did her hair, and the energy she always had. These items sit on my dresser and remind me of how lucky I was to have had them in my life.

Checkers Anyone? for April 27

Forgot to get out the camera today so here is a old post from a rainy day in February.

Ian has been on a game playing spree lately. His favorites are Chess, Stratego, and Checkers. Yes he is following in his daddy's footsteps when it comes to games. Scrabble and Boggle are next I'm sure.

While Ian and Daddy are playing their games Miles and I opt for Hungry Hippos. We are both very good. Miles is good at eating the most and I'm the best at eating fast. We can each run two hippos at once and since the orange one is the fastest we rotate the hippos on each turn. Maybe we could enter a mother/son contest sometime. Go Miles! And go Hippos!

April 26--Panic Button

April 25--Summer Temps & Toe Freedom

Time for those summer shoes and toes that can breathe some fresh air. Here are Miles' favorites for now. So cute!!

Ian goes for the hand me down flip flops from his cousin Max who is 4--can you see his toes hanging way over the edge. We will be shoe shopping for him soon. I do think his toes are happy to be free though.

Here is Wes trying to wiggle his toes free. Do baby socks ever stay on? At least he won't need socks soon and I can oohhh and aww over his cute toes all the time.

I'd post my toes, but they are in desperate need of a make over from winter--and they are so long they look like cheetos!

April 24--Tall, Skinny, & Big Eyed

Took Wesley in for his 6 month appointment--yes he is almost 7 1/2 months, but mommy has been tired of going to the doctor--once a week is plenty. Anyway the little bugger has lost weight!! Here I am going around bragging about how big he is and he weighs in at a whopping 13.5 pounds! He actually lost weight! He's about where Miles was at his age, but my goodness he is going to be in the baby car seat until he is two! We-the Dr. & I-discussed how he won't eat baby food and he told me to keep trying. Actually he said to set the timer and make sure I try to shove something in his mouth every three hours. Here he is trying some carrots. His face is not messy because he ate a lot of yummy carrots, but because the two spoonfuls I gave him he spit out and rubbed all over his face! If anyone wants to come try to get this kid to swallow something give me a call.

Oh--he is 85% for height, and 120% for eye size!

April 23--We Love Noodles & Garlic & Lemon

Made Pasta with Lemon Zest & Garlic for dinner tonight. This has become one of my favorite meals and the boys love it to--well actually the boys pretty much love anything made with noodles.

Quick instructions--

Cook any kind of pasta according to directions.

Melt a good amount of butter--1/4-1/2 cup in a sauce pan.

Stir in minced garlic 2-3 cloves, juice from half a lemon, and lemon zest from one lemon (I hate zesting a lemon to I usually only get a little bit, but it looks prettier with more zest)

Drain noodles, add butter mixture, 2-3 chopped green onions, and about 1-1/2 cups parmesan cheese (don't use the powdered stuff). Toss to coat pasta and serve.

April 22--Teaching Piano & Cute Smiles

On Thursday afternoons I teach a few piano lessons. It is the best job around! The kids I teach are great, I get to teach something I love, and my kids get to go play with their friends for awhile--so they get a break and so do I. My last student on Thursday is Alicyn. She is my sister-in-laws niece so we are kind of like family. Her dad was running a little bit late this Thursday so she babysat Wes while I ran to pick up Ian & Miles after her lesson. The boys were so excited to see her and as you can see Wes had a great time. Oh, and Ali will be playing "Canon in D" and "The Prayer" at our upcoming recital. She is so quick at picking up a song when we find something pretty for her to play and she is going to sound amazing at the recital!

April 21--Cook for a Day, Eat for a Month!

I'm in a cooking group and our food trade is this Friday so---today we spent some time with 10 roasting chickens. Here's how the group works--everyone cooks or preps 10 meals that can be stored in the freezer. On Friday we get together and trade meals. It's almost better than Christmas. I come home with 10 meals for a family of 6. We only have a family of 5-2 of which eat very little and one who eats no solid food yet. These meals will usually last me close to a month! It is a great way to introduce my kids to some different kinds of food and what mom doesn't love it when someone else does most of the work. On Friday I'll post the yummy stuff we come home with.

April 20--The Promise of Peaches

When we moved into our house there were 9 fruit trees. Seven of them where planted under a big willow tree and with all the shade from the tree they couldn't grow. One was dying, one was in the only spot we could put the swing set, and the last one was a peach tree. I love peaches--we got rid of the cherry, pear, apple, two plum, apricot,apple and Asian pear, but I could not cut down a peach tree even if it was a better place for the swing set. Every year this tree produces bushels of peaches. Two years ago we canned 60 quarts of peaches, made about 20 pints of freezer jam, froze 6 bags of sliced peaches and still ate so many we were sick. So, when these beautiful blossoms opened yesterday my mouth started to water thinking about what they would bring come September.

April 19--Broken Sprinklers & Volcanoes

At the end of last summer we realized our sprinkler pipe was broken. Now not in a convenient place where Dave could fix it, but under our driveway! So today the sprinkler man came to fix it. He showed up at 9:00 AM and it is now 5:05 PM and they are still working!! I won't tell you how much it is going to cost. I told Dave we should just pour concrete over that section of grass and buy a boat to keep there--it would cost less. Anyway, most of my day has been spent trying to keep the boys away from the mess. One of our diversions was a volcano in the sandbox. A little baking soda and vinegar and the boys were entertained for about 5 minutes. Hope they finish up tonight, I'm running out of ideas and with the warm weather I want the kids to play outside.

April 18--Biter Biscuits=Big Mess & Happy Baby

So, Wes is the pickiest baby I have had. Ian & Miles both loved any and all baby food. They had their moments, but generally they would eat just about anything. Wes likes formula and baby oatmeal. That's it! No baby food, it makes him puke. I've tried every flavor and all elicit his gag reflex. He doesn't like yogurt, applesauce or anything else that I know he won't choke on. He does like to chew on apple slices and baby carrots, but this makes his mother a little nervous. So, we decided to buy some biscuits because they are safer to bite on. So today after dinner I gave him a biscuit to chomp on. He loved it--me not so much. They are so messy, and I don't think much got in his mouth. I guess the happy baby is worth the mess though.

Miles wants to say "Hi"

Forgot to take a picture today-April 17. So here is an older post I've been saving.

Hi! I want to show you some of my favorite things. (Don't you think I'm cute?)

Here is my sandwich and my sippy. I love sandwiches, but don't eat the crust it's gucky. Sippys are the best. I always keep at least 3 half full in the fridge.


This sandwich is soo...good. Don't let mommy see your food when you chew it makes her mad.

Try some.

Oh, I potty trained last week and got this blue mater when I pooped in the potty. My mom has this little blue bird in the kitchen window, I love to carry it around. It is glass so be careful. It is from the Grandma in the picture downstairs. And you see my Georgie and my blue sippy. I like milk and juice the best.

April 16--Temple Square

After a few days of vacation from our vacation we decided to head down to Temple Square today. Ian and Miles had fun just running around and looking at everything.

April 15--Kool Aid & Meditation

Today Ian and Miles' friends Isaac and London came over to play. The weather was so nice they rode bikes, played on the swing set, dug in the sandbox, and just ran around. I took them out some snacks to eat and I don't know what was in that Kool-aid, but it sure brought out the sillies in all of them. Miles struck the above pose and said "I meditating." I don't know where he learned this but it was hilarious!

April 14--Sunny Day & Yard Work

Only Dave & I would consider a day of yard work a vacation, but we both love to be outside working with the kids running around--so vacation day number three was just that. Dave mowed and trimmed, put new sand in the sandbox, and pulled weeds. I painted the wood around the flower beds and garden, swept out the garage, painted a bench for our entryway, and pushed the kids in the swings. Wes decided to join us outside and seemed to love the fresh air. He, like most babies, was fascinated with the grass. He kept feeling it and pulling on it. In this photo he is hanging out under the peach tree. Hope there is more sunshine coming our way.

April 13--Kiddy Playland & The Final Frontier

Vacation Day 2 consisted of lunch at Carl's Junior (Ian's favorite) and the Planetarium. Going out to eat alone would have made the kids feel like they were on vacation. They love restaurant playlands. They ran and played and climbed and ate and played and climbed and ate some more. Yes I will try not to think about how unsanitary it was--we were building up their immune systems right?

After lunch we headed downtown to the Planetarium. As we walked in Miles exclaimed, "Wow! SPACE!" I love the Planetarium because the kids love it and I think it is so interesting. We found out what we would weigh on Saturn, took a walk on the moon, played with the biggest marble tower I have ever seen, watched a solar eclipse, and touched a moon rock. Museums are not conducive to good photography though-they are always so dark. But I did think the above photo made it look like I had actually journeyed out into space to get a close up of Jupiter. So to all you space junkies out there "Live long and prosper."

April 12--Museum & Chinese Food

Dave is officially on vacation. We had planned to go camping in Snow Canyon, but with potty training & diaper blowouts we thought it might be best to enjoy some indoor plumbing for awhile. So, instead of camping we planned a stay at home vacation. Day 1 consisted of the Treehouse Museum and Chinese Food.

The museum was so fun. The kids were firemen, then train engineers, cowboys, and doctors. We made dinosaur rubbings, looked at x-rays, looked through a microscope, played with Legos, played a game of life size chess, milked a cow, made a paper tissue flower, did many puzzles, climbed a tree, and traveled to India, Germany, Mexico, England, China, and the Oval Office. In between all of this we ran to the bathroom multiple times with Miles.

After the museum we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Noel's for some free babysitting. Dave and I left the kids to eat pizza and play pool while we went out to eat. We went to Dave's favorite Chinese place and out for Nelson Frozen Custard after. So yummy and peaceful.

April 11--Tinkers & Golf

After a hard days work at church and a yummy sandwich I settled down for a nap. The boys all went downstairs to watch The Masters and play Tinkertoys. Ian really got into it and was hoping Ian Poulter would win because of course all Ian's are cool. Miles has some built in love for golf and was happy to watch. Dave was rooting for his all time favorite Phil Mickelson and boy was he excited about the outcome. I guess with a house full of boys I can just turn on Sunday sports when ever I need a Sunday nap. So, to Tiger, Phil, & Ian thanks for the peace and quiet.

April 10--Girl Talk, Baby Eyes, & No Training Wheels

Some days just deserve more than one photo and today was one of those days.

Nora dropped off the kids today for a bit and I talked Paige into helping me make a cake. Now my boys like to help me bake, but it is all about the dumping in the ingredients and licking out the bowl. Paige sat down and we discussed all sorts of things--the weather, the speeds on the kitchen aid, baby Wesley, the purse she just made, how old you have to be to go to a play and then she asked "Where do babies come from." Don't worry Nora I told her they came from heaven and she was happy with that answer. She then polished of the cake beater and helped me change the baby. Girls are different than boys--no small talk with my guys. Thanks for the fun afternoon Paige. Next time we can discuss politics.

Wesley spent a lot of time in the baby carrier today due to all the side effects from that one little tooth he is growing. Here he is peaking out from under his blanket.

And here is the big event for the day--NO TRAINING WHEELS!! Dave took them off and took Ian around to the circle behind our house to learn how to ride a "two wheeler." Dave had planned on taking all day to teach him, but it took all of 2 seconds and he had it down! He spent the rest of the day on his bike learning how to start, stop, and turn. After dinner Dave took him for a ride around the block. He was having so much fun he cried dirt when he came inside.

April 9 -- Ex Libris Mindy & Some Good Reads

Okay--I forgot to get the camera out earlier on in the day and just as the sun was going down I remembered I needed to take a picture. With little natural light I had to get creative and here it is...what is sitting on my nightstand. I went to my sister's house last weekend and borrowed a bunch of books from the Mindy Library. She loves to read and because the library system by her house is practically non-existent she is getting quite the collection of books. The Jane Austen book is mine and I finished "Pride & Prejudice" for the 1st time a few months ago--it was excellent. I just finished "Speak" a few days ago a somewhat dark, yet funny look at life during high school. Now I'm starting "These Is My Words." I do love to read. It is a great escape and nothing is better than a book that draws you in so much the laundry doesn't get done, dinner is pizza or cereal, and you try to prop it open while blow drying your hair. What are you reading? What are your favorite books?

April 8th-Birth Order & Laundry Duty

Here he is the one child that does not wear diapers or miss the toilet. In these days of potty training and diaper blow outs he is my sanity. Being the oldest is not always easy--today he had to listen to me rant as I scrubbed grossness out of my cream colored carpet. Then as I scrubbed it off the bathroom floor for the first and the second time. Then as I scrubbed it off the changing table. He dutifully helped me haul all the laundry and soiled undies down to the laundry room. Yes, being the oldest is not always fun. Thanks for the help buddy.

(and as this picture shows he spent much of his day entertaining the babe too.)

April 7th--Just One of Those Days

Wes just hasn't been his normal happy self lately, and it was during this crying episode that I spotted two little white teeth peaking through his bottom gums! I promptly loaded him up with Tylenol feed him a bottle and put him back to bed. He might not be too happy about the teeth, but Ian said, "I'm so proud of Wes for growing in his teeth!"

April 6th-The Vampire Doctor

Yes, that is my arm--it's not easy to take a picture of your own arm. Off to get more blood drawn today. 12 viles. This should be the last time for awhile. Hopefully, these tests will tell us everything I will ever need to know about my blood. My kids are going to miss playing with that funny tape (purple in this picture).

April 5th- Just Miles, Me & the "pot pot"

Yes that is Miles undies. Don't worry I won't show this to his girlfriend when he is a teenager. We are in the process of potty training and I am spending most of my time in the bathroom or doing laundry. Miles is doing great, but there was one day were we went through the whole stack of underwear. This does wonders for my infinite patience--all I can say is I am grateful for very absorbant sweat pants and those big, brown eyes Miles has to remind me he is my favorite middle child.

April 4th--Rolls & Honeybees

Dinner in Amalga at Mom & Dad's. Every General Conference Sunday my Dad will bake. Usually cinnamon rolls, honey twist, bread, or rolls. This time he made rolls. We feed the kids first and don't let them know the rolls are still baking--we eat them as dessert. The adults sit down to eat, the kids finish and are of to play then when the rolls come out of the oven we have them all to ourselves. Okay, not really, but we have learned that if you offer kids hot rolls they don't want to eat their ham or potatoes and especially not their green beans. The kids ate so much food today they didn't even want the rolls! More for the big kids. We slather them with butter my mom's homemade raspberry jam and honey from my dad's bees.

Just a side note--the kids got to watch my dad put in his new beehives. He had two, but they both appeared to have CCD (Colony Collapse Disorder). This is something that effects many beehives and is kind of scary because bees pollinate so many of our crops. The worker bees abruptly disappear and then the rest of the hive dies out. Anyway my ordered two hives which he drove to Salt Lake to pick up. There are about 65,000 bees in these sealed up boxes that he just throws in his trunk and then drove back home! He said some made it into the car with him, but not too many. I think he should take his truck next time. He got both boxed into their new hives today and only got stung a few times. He actually didn't wear gloves he likes them to sting his hands because it helps with his arthritis. Hope the CCD stays away and we can get lots of honey this year.

April 3-Easter Eggs & Cowboy Hats

Here is my nephew Max at the annual Noel Easter Egg Hunt. The kids were so cute running around the backyard looking for everything. Ian & Max decided to where cowboy hats since they were on a "hunt." Grandma Mary hides little boxes of cereal, fruit snacks, peanuts, goldfish crackers, plastic and real eggs. The eggs were a favorite, in fact Miles didn't really want to put anything else in his basket. He also announced to us all, "A bunny been here!"

A Photo a Day in April

I can't figure blogger out today so scroll down to read what was suppose to be written here. Anyone out there using WordPress? Do you like it? What other blogging programs are there?

April 2nd -- Ian chowing down on some snow.

Wessy and his monkey.

Wes watching the snow fall.

I started the year trying to do project 365--you take a photo every day of the year. Well, I found myself trying to make up days I had missed, finding random stuff to take photo's of, and just not being able to stay on top of it. So, now it is April and over at DSM some of the gals are going to try to do 30 days of photos for April. I think this might be do-able for me, and after attending Joy-ography I'm a lot happier with my photos and am feeling a bit more creative as to what to photograph. I was going to try to be creative/insightful/out of the box and leave the kids out of the 30 days, but that only lasted about 2 seconds and then I saw Wes playing with his little monkey. Anyway--here is April 1st, April 2nd, and oh yes March 31st just because I snagged a cute pic of Wes in his high chair.