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

It's Soccer Season Again...

Maddie had her first soccer game today and It was hot, hot, hot! I forgot my camera in the rush to get out the door, but there is always next time for pics. Anyway, she did a great job as always and is quite the player!!! It's always fun even though we're all melting out there!!!! Her new team is called the Wildcats and their colors are dark green and yellow. She helped to come up with the name and was very proud of that fact. They won the first game (YEE-HAW!) and I think she scored a goal (she says 2???) but I must have missed it when I was gabbing with Erin?? Did you see it Shane or Erin??? I feel bad I missed it if she did, but again, there will be more games to come!!! Okay, she just came in and set me straight... she helped to make the goals by getting the ball to their side of the field and her team was able to score and finally win!!! It's not all about winning but it sure is fun to win sometimes right!!!!!!!!!??!?!?!?!?!?

Nothing Brings a Brother & Sister together Quite like Tons of Toads!!!

Toads, Toads, Everywhere...

Kevin and the kids went out to do Saturday morning yard work @6am today. While working the kids found tiny baby toads that couldn't have been very old. They were about the size of a dime and so cute, that even I thought they were cute! Anyway, they asked Kevin if they could get a big container to catch some in and he obliged. They caught about 20 the first time this morning and then this afternoon that number grew to 80-90 or so! They were in love with these little guys and even named the first 20. Needless to say ALL of the toads have been released back into their natural habitat (aka our little rock pond in the front yard) and will be HUGE, ugly, loud toads and not so cute in a couple of weeks!

Friday Morning, The Drama...

Okay, so everyone was up getting ready for school and Miss Kaitlin has to be prodded out of bed much like every morning. She, the most of all of our kids and truly her Father's daughter, LOVES her sleep and much is required!!! She has to get up and this makes her extra sad this day. She is up now and looking for the jeans she wants to wear and realizes they are in the dirty clothes. This makes her sad. I try to help her pick a different outfit and nothing is as good. This makes her sad. I ask her to do her hair and this makes her sad. Her Dad in his funny way, trying to get her to laugh, helps her do her hair (which was hilarious by the way) and this makes her sad. My point, is that EVERYTHING made her sad that day and this is not true Kaitlin form. She is always so happy and bubbly. She will be 12 in November and we all know what that means!!! She's just getting a little more emotional than usual and growing up.

So anyway, I tell Kevin we need to send her back to bed for a "mental health" day off from school because she was just not herself! It was 7:30am and back to her cozy bed she went. Of, course, there was no fight on her end about getting to dive back in! She must have been tired even though they are in bed by 8:30pm every night, because she slept until 11:30am.

While she was sleeping Lauren kept going into her room and I did not want her to get woken up before she was good and ready as I didn't want a replay of the morning, so I turned the door lock on the inside side of her door to be locked so Lauren couldn't get in. About 12noon I get a phone call from Kaitlins cell phone . I answer and she asks if she can come out of her room. I said of course, and she told me that she was locked in. I laughed hysterically because all she had to do was turn the lock and come out. She thought I had locked her in there because she threw such a fit that whole morning. I asked her have I ever locked you in your room??? NO!!! I got a good laugh out of it and we moved on to lunch.

I made her her favorite lunch which is tuna salad on crackers and some nectarines. It was yummy and fun to have lunch together just me, her and Lauren.

Then, I was walking by my purse and heard my cell phone beeping. I picked it up and had 4 missed text messages. I looked at the messages and they were hilarious. They went something like this...

11:25am I am hungry! Can I come out or is this a punishment where I am not aloud to leave my room because my head hurts! S.O.S.! Starving! Me! Starving!

11:30am Oh great now my stomach hurts!!!!!!

11:34am I am sooooooo sorry for my rude behavior today. I really should be more considerate of others. And, I promise I will be more respectful of others. I feel soooooo bad!

11:38am I have been awake for an hour!

Then, she called my house phone from her cell phone in her bedroom to ask me to "unlock" the door so she could come out!!! HILARIOUS!!! We all Laughed for quite awhile about this at the dinner table that night. Kaitlin included. All she needed was a little more sleep that day and she was good as new. We all have days like that and our kids are no different and I guess we need to remember that as parents!!! We ALL need a day off once in awhile or five minutes to yell and get it out of our system or a day to cry...but as long as you can laugh about it later it's all good!!!!!

Spending Time With Emmy...

They were really cute playing with her that day. ALL of the kids are so great with Emmy and love to hold her and talk to her. She is 3 weeks old here...

She MUST Be Even Sweeter Than We Thought...

Okay, I have been crying for 2 days over this and some of you may find that fact ridiculous and others will know that it is classic Taya!!!! The other night Kevin ran up to the store and Lauren, Emmy and I stayed behind to get ready for bed. I got Lauren ready and put Barbie Swan Lake on for her to watch for a bit and then I went on to Emmy. I got her pj's on and everything and walked by Lauren in the toy room, who was ballerina dancing and singing like the movie, and went into my room to make a bottle and feed Emmy. I sat down in the rocking chair and after a few minutes I had a feeling to call out to Lauren because I wasn't hearing her anymore and usually I would because our house echoes so badly. No answer. I called out one more time to her and still no answer. So, I stand up with Emmy and bottle and go to see what she is up to. She was not in the toy room. I walked through the house and found the back sliding glass door open and Lauren is outside playing with Roxy (our dog). She sees me and beelines for the door because she knows she should not be out there. I made it clear that was a "no-no" and then I put her and Emmy to bed. Well, she came into our room that night at some point and Kevin took her back and tucked her in again. We didn't think anything of it because she has done that a few times since Emmy was born. So, the next morning she comes happily tootiling into our room and hops up on our bed ( a 6am ritual) and THIS IS WHAT WE SAW...








I panicked completely because it is VERY disturbing to see your 2 year old COVERED in mosquito bites!!!!! It is insane to think that any one person could get bit so many times. We are thinking she must have walked or ran through a swarm of them or something out in the back yard. And, as everyone knows especially out here in Queen Creek they are EVERYWHERE since all of these storms have hit!! I really have been crying for 2 days about it and finally got her in to see the doctor today and he says, "she seems absolutely happy and fine so I'll give her something to help heal these up faster and take the swelling down but just keep doing what you are doing and she'll be fine". I told him that yeah she's okay it's me that needs help!!!! Anyway, I feel better since hearing him say she's gonna survive. This to shall pass!!! I do love her and don't like seeing any of my kids in pain or looking like they may be in pain! The moral of the story is thrice: 1) No one at our house is allowed to open/unlock the slider door ever again so she doesn't get out. 2)USE repellent at all times you are outdoors in monsoon season in Queen Creek. And, last but not least 3) I NEVER would have made it as a pioneer mother!!!!!! Final count of bites per leg: 61 on the left and 43 on the right!