Other Current Events

For journaling purposes I wanted to get all this down.... I am a little behind :)

Tylers private guitar lessons


Pinewood Derby

Chadderbox quick visit


Dumb snow storm on April 9th - dropped 8 inches


Maggies bath time


Evans piece of art was 1 of 15 choosen from his school to be displayed in a local art festival.
Skate Park


Sleep over with Blake and Tanner Giles

Family Night Bowling - Sam went nuts for all the balls!

Branding at Deer Hollow

It has been a busy few weeks for us. We (the kids and I, Ben came for a weekend) spent almost 2 weeks at the Ranch in Utah and it was SO fun. We had the annual spring branding of the calves and did a whole smorgasborg of other activities. As I have mentioned before it is a virtual play land there for kids and grownups a like, it is truely the most amazing place and we are so grateful we have it go visit. The kids came in filthy every night which is a clear sign of PURE FUN! My digital camera broke the day before we left so I was limited to the poor quality disposiable ones, so some of the pictures are fuzzy but still captured the moments.


Daidy wanted to do the Zipline over and over again!

4 Wheelers run from sun up to sun down... literally.


Fishing at the the bigger of the 2 fish ponds.



Swimming, the cold never bothers the kids.

My sweet sisters and I spent some quality time together which is always a treat

Paddle Boats

This was the most hilarious thing, Sammy figaured out how to do a "mean face" and let me tell ya... they are the yummiest "mean face kisses" ever! He just thought he was SO funny! and he was :) Oh, thought I'd mention, by the 5 or 6 person that teased us about his mullet I finally broke down and cut his hair, he still looks cute as a button.


Amongst the plethura of animals that are at the ranch my mom has these funny little goats Dixey and Daisy, that follow you everywhere, I think they think they are dogs.

Lipstick Jungle Girl

Daidy has really taken a liking to my lipstick and I just can't bring myself to pry it out of her hand, so instead she looks gorgeous, don't ya think? Today while we were out we were getting some pretty funny looks, I couldn't figure out why people kept giving me odd looks. I wasn't sure if it was the entourage of 5 kids I had shopping with me (always gets a good stare) or just the typical cold irritable Coloradoans THEN it occurred to me Daidy's face looked quite alarming with lipstick from ear to ear. She is my princess, I don't care what anyone has to say, at least she was happy.

Finding Peace, Happiness and Joy

On the tails of my last dismal post I thought sence I am finished reading this awesome book I should take it off my sidebar and post my happy review. This is one of my favorite books. I just finished it and it has truly inspired me. Every now and then I will read a book that acts like a lens to my life and the world around me... this is one of those books! It RE-confirms everything I know to be true and as a result have been edified by the spirit. Elder Scott says over and over again that if a principle doesn't exactly pertain, then we need to share it with someone who it might. There were chapters where I thought... "oh this doesn't TOTALLY apply to me right now" but nonetheless he speaks of nothing but truths and even if in small ways you can apply these principles your life will be brighter and certianly filled iwth more PEACE HAPPINESS AND JOY. Here are a few of the lessons I had learned.
*** Write down personal revelation and inspiration WHEN THEY COME!!!
*** Share with others your testimony.
*** Trials and challenges ARE for your OWN good, they build your character. Start asking WHAT not WHY.
*** Our weaknesses keep us humble, use that for good
*** Heavenly Father answers prayers always and sometimes a little at a time... be patient.
*** There is SO much Peace, Happiness and Joy through strict obedience to Gods will.
I am so grateful I have had the opportunity to read this book and look forward to reading it again. I kow I have recommending this book to MANY people and even bought it for a couple, I'll be anxious to hear your thoughts and feelings also. So I am also on the quest for another great book, I am not big on fiction so if any of you have any ideas let me know.

Somedays....5 feels like 500

Today was one of those days where I think I felt like my brain was on the brink of spontaneous combustion. I am not sure why or how I got off sync, but I certainly was today, 5 kids felt like 500. It has been a very busy day (like most) and an even busier remainder of the week, coupled with the persistent feeling of lack of accomplishment, resulted in a day that welcomed a long awaited Ambien and a soft pillow. Normally, I pride myself in the structure and order we maintain with a big family but not today.... Moms are allowed a bad day here and there right??

From the time the boys barged in the door at 3:30 it was non-stop motion, like a pin ball machine but imagine it with 5 balls inside, all independent of another but all have one goal in mind..... in this case it is me. There is one MOM and 5 of them. The best way I can explain it, is some days I feel ganged up on, not that my kids are disrespectful, they all just need me at all the same time and none of them like to take turns getting my attention so their efforts to "snag me" while in mid sentence with another child, creates a feeling of over stimulation I can hardly bare. I imagine it like a deck of cards, all layering on top of each other... meanwhile I am frantically trying to keep up, not shut down and seem interested. While Kid #3 is on topic #27--- Kid #2, I swear is opening and shutting the fridge door and every cupboard repeatedly and rapidly pacing the house just annoy me all while phoneing every friend he knows inviting them over to play--- Kid #1 is trying to eat everything in sight and interjecting little tidbits of info about a huge school project while passing me very important papers; needless to day I am still whirling aimlessly somewhere between topic #10 or #11 with kid #3 not to mention through all of this I am pouring juice in one hand for #4 while starting Little Bear with the other hand and #5 is poopy and screaming because #2 won't stop kissing him and whining for more strawberries and pretzels that he loves to throw on the ground and smash. Then for some crazy reason I decide to put the babies in the tub (to contain them) while I cut the boys hair, AS I am making bread sticks, 15 minutes before Evans TaeKwonDo and 1 hour before scouts.... WHAT WAS I THINKING?!!! None of this make any sense I know, I barely understand it. How do you balance all their needs, when they all NEED you at the SAME TIME. Thank goodness days this intense are far and few in between. It must be Heavenly Fathers way of showing us our weakness to keep us humble and keep us striving to grow as people. I have come to realize that today, I am quite vulnerable, thank goodness for a new day!