We just had Parent/Teacher conferences for all of the kids last week and I just wanted to say how proud of all our kids I am. Kaitlin and Daron are at a new school with a new curriculum and doing so awesome and Miss Madison is reading at a fourth grade level according to testing! They are all such smart kids and teaching me ALL the time! Good job kids... I love you guys! Keep up the good work!

Grandma Pearls' Birthday...

Happy #82 to Grandma Pearl!! This lady has more energy than me and keeps going and going and going! Anyway, she was here from California for her birthday weekend and always wants a pic with ALL of her great grands, so here it is. We sure love Grandma and are so happy for each of her visits and hope she will come to AZ permanently sometime soon (hint hint)!! Thanks to Oma who planned such a fun family party for her and it was great to see everyone.

You are My Squishy...

All of our kids have nicknames... Kaitlin is "sweetness", Daron is "buster brown", Maddie is "poop-a-loop", Lauren is "bug-a-boo" and we have now dubbed Emmy as "squishy"!

She is super squishy and we love her cheeks and chins!!! She will be 6 weeks old on Tuesday and I can't believe it. I have been training her (ha ha) to sleep through the night the same way that I did Maddie and Lauren. They were both sleeping through the night by 6 weeks and she is almost there so we'll see.

A Night Out Bowling...

Well I got a coupon from a group called Queen Creek Friends that I belong to for FREE, yes I said, FREE bowling for 2 hours and up to 6 people, including shoes and soda! So, Kevin had an appointment cancel at the last minute Wednesday and we took our 3 oldest kids and headed to the bowling alley. It was a ton of fun and they are all quite the bowlers. The bowling alley we went to has a whole side of lanes with comfy looking couches to sit on instead of those chairs. Maybe next time we can get one of those lanes! As we were leaving Kevin said, "we are all winners because we got to spend time together as a family." I chimed in, "but REALLY I AM THE WINNER because I won!" The kids all laughed because we each repeated ourselves a couple of times and they thought we were funny. I agree though, and love spending time with all of them so much!

Rough & Tough Lauren...

I really do get Lauren all dolled up most days with a ribbon in her hair and cute outfits and such, just like I did Maddie when she was that age. But, I get her ready in the morning and by nap time right after lunch she is a mess! I don't know what exactly she does, she just plays hard and ends up looking like an orphan by that time every day! I love her sooooo much and I just don't want her to think someday when she sees all her pics that I didn't try!!!! She looks cute no matter what, even if she has crazy hair and wants to spend the day in her jammies...

Yummmmmm...

Thanks for the yummy recipe Ali and I am sure my kids thank you too!

These are 3 GOOD LOOKIN' kids...

Picture Day at school today and I threatened all of them to stay clean and pretty and handsome and non-sweaty, etc. until after their pictures were taken!!!! We'll see, but when they left for carpool they sure were beautiful!!!!

Literally, The FRUITS of our Labors...

My first time canning...

I have 48 jars of beautiful peaches sitting on pantry shelf due to our efforts yesterday! Thanks to Tawna and Sherry for coming over to help so much. We will be getting together next week at our house again (it is soooooo nice to have a "Ginormous" kitchen) to do Tawna's peaches, then again the next week to do some for Jade I think. I am thinking about also doing apples, tomatoes, beef, chicken and maybe pickles! Kaitlin really wants pickles! Anyway, it was fun, and next month we start homemade bread one day a week with Rachel and Granny????? We'll see!

Routine / Chore Charts

I've had a lot of you ask about the chore charts our kids are using and we just updated them and hung up the new versions. The kids are responsible to follow these charts throughout the day and check off the items they have done. It works out great in the morning, for instance, because our whole house wakes up at 6:30 am, I get the time I need to deal with Lauren and Emmy and the kids get themselves ready and their rooms clean, etc. The girls sometimes need help with their hair and if they come and ask me I will do it. Then everyone is to the table by 7:30am for family breakfast, where we have our daily scriptures and prayers. Kevin and the kids leave the house around 10 minutes to 8am. It works out pretty good actually. We hit a few bumps at the beginning of the school year and then we cracked down!!! We had a family meeting and told the kids that it was their responsibility to get these charts followed and done every day. They are earning a trip to Disneyland by completing their tasks daily and getting an initial in each box. They have to have a certain number of boxes initialed in order to earn the trip. And, of course they earn privaleges each day after their tasks are completed. If their things are not done, they keep working on them before anything else gets to happen that day in the way of playing, games, computer time, friends, etc.! Thanks to Granny for making our charts and keeping them updated for us, thanks to the kids for trying so hard to do a good job of following them and being great kids and thanks to my husband who is with me 100% on this!!!

This works really good for us but I did just hear of a system that my cousin Ali uses with her family that seems to be a great program as well. It's a book called "Accountable Kids", and I believe she bought it at the LDS bookstore. If anyone is wanting information on that please visit her blog by clicking on it over on my sidebar under family and friends!!!

Good luck to all of the Moms with whatever system they use! We all need something, right???

Oh Stormy Night...

We had a huge storm the other night and all of the power went out again! This has happened about 3 times over the past 2 weeks or so. So, we had just finished eating dinner and decided to make the best of it. I got out the brownies, milk, and the UNO cards and we all sat around on the family room area rug and played a game together. We had 2 lanterns that are battery powered and that was our light. Lauren kept taking one of them and walking all over the house with it. She apparently loved the lanterns. She kept seeing her shadow on the wall and it was funny to watch her jump up and down and run side to side in order to watch her shadow follow her! Anyway, it was a good time and Madison was so cute when she said, "this is the best night ever"! Kids really do like the simple things I guess sometimes!

Heidi's Wedding...

I didn't get to attend and have been asking for pics forever...and finally I have a few of the kids. Kaitlin was in charge of holding the wedding dress train for going down the aisle, Daron was a ring boy for the ring ceremony before the reception, and Maddie was a flower girl. Lauren just ran around and danced like a pro according to all I have talked to! She loves to dance, as do all of our kids!!! They all looked so cute, beautiful, gorgeous (as usual) that I needed to post! Congrats to Heidi and Bryce who are an old married couple of a month now!

Couldn't Resist...

Kaitlin and Emmy hanging out for a little power nap together!

Thanks for the Fun...

Granny and Grumpy came Monday night to do Daron's birthday dinner and he chose stacked enchiladas. We all love them!!! I love it when someone has a birthday so we get a yummy dinner! And, the brownie bites and a huge hit with our troop! Daron asks for them every chance he gets! Thanks to Granny & Grumpy for all of the nice things they do for us!

Telephone Diva...

Lauren LOVES the phone! She brings it to me throughout the day and begs me to call Daddy, Oma, Granny, etc. And, when I won't dial anyone for her she gets a little irate! The other day she called Oma when Oma was in Utah visiting the David Goodwin family for about a week Oma was taking care of all of their boys because David had a back surgery and is out of commission. So, it must have been story time because Oma included Lauren in a fun read!!! Lauren sat in the chair and listened and talked during the book and had a great phone call. Thanks to everyone who is nice enough to indulge Lauren and her calls...especially Oma, who I promise gets called the most!!!

Sunday Night Entertainment...

I guess while uncle Bob was here for the blessing breakfast Sunday morning he showed the kids how to "Break Dance" a bit. It all spurred from a total tantrum that Lauren, "aka: Princess Pei Pei", was throwing in full force on the tile floor, I think!!! Anyway, later that night Oma and I got to enjoy the nights entertainment of a break dancing show that Daron, Maddie and Lauren did for us for about an hour. Thanks kids...you guys are awesome dancers!!!

Me & My Baby, (probably the last?????) ...

This being our "LAST" baby is still under debate, but I sure love our little Emmy and am so glad that we have been BLESSED to have her come into our family!!!

Blessing Baby Emmy...

Blessing day will be a wonderful memory. I am thankful for a husband who holds the priesthood and has the ability to perform these ordinances for our kids and me. His blessing was so sweet and pointed and full of important things for Emersyn...Thank you Kevin. I am also thankful for Great Grandfathers, Grandfathers, Fathers, Brothers, Friends and the Bishop for being a part of the circle during her blessing. Thank you to Oma who made her beautiful dress and Terri for making a pretty princess bow to match! Thank you to everyone who came and helped us celebrate and make this day so special!

Parents, some Grandparents and some Great Grandparents

Eating and Stuff

All Tuckered Out at the End of a Long Day