Messes and Dresses

Lol...

2012-02-14T07:11:00.001-08:00

Another mom at church on Sunday came up to me and told me the funniest thing that had me randomly laughing throughout the day, so I thought I should document it.

In primary another child trying to get Neil's attention accidentally called him Gordon.

Neil defiantly said, "My name is not Gordon! It's Jamin! ...I mean Neil."

Branch Sleigh Ride

2012-02-01T22:04:00.000-08:00

We go on a sleigh ride every year. This year was pretty fun. Jamin brought a friend. Gordon wasn't feeling great, so he laid on Grandma's lap most of the time. Neil was a crazy man and Tegan giggled a lot. Afterwards we met back at the chapel and ate some yummy chilly and hot chocolate. Good times.

January Dresses

2012-02-01T21:39:00.000-08:00

'Mom, I'm on the phone!'

I had another outfit picked out for Tegan this day, but she wanted to wear this.

I loooove pigtails on my Tegan. And she loves her 'sparkle' shoes.

Happy to report Tegan is officially a 'big girl' that goes to the bathroom on the potty. No more diapers! Hurray! Well, till April, when baby brother is born.

Dresses

2012-01-16T11:04:00.000-08:00

Week before Christmas dress.

My cute kids Christmas morning.

New Years dress from Grandma and Grandpa.

Branch Christmas Party, Dress of the Week and a Slightly Crazy Weekend

2011-12-13T08:08:00.000-08:00

The kids in our branch at church doing a nativity enactment. So cute. =)

Tegan smiled at Santa, but this is as close as she was willing to get. At least there was no screaming this year. =)

She liked the goody bag.

Dress of the Week

This weekend felt pretty crazy, not that most weekends are uneventful. Friday evening started it all. Jamin had tennis, but I couldn't find his tennis shoes. So while Matthew and Gord went to help set up for the Christmas party, I took the other kids to get Jamin some new shoes. Then we had a sitter come and I finally got to see Breaking Dawn. Matthew about passed out. He doesn't do well with blood and stuff. I think it is pretty hilarious. He actually did pass out while he was reading the same part in the book. We were on an airplane at the time, so that probably didn't help. Then we went out to eat. When we got home, I realized I left my purse at the restaurant. I called them and said I would pick it up the next day.

Early Saturday morning we got out the door to start our activities. First Neil, Gordon, and Jamin had swimming. Then I skated with Neil at his lesson. Then Gordon and Jamin had tennis. While they were playing, I went with Neil and Tegan to go pick up my purse. Then we grabbed some lunch, ate in the car, and then I dropped off Jamin with a friend so he could make it to cubs in time. The babysitter got to our house just before I did so that I could take Neil to his music class. When I got home from that I had a little time before I needed to pick up Jamin, so I worked with Gordon on the piano. When I looked at the time, I had two minutes to get in the car to get Jamin on time. Unfortunately, it took me 12. So I called up his friend and asked if they could bring Jamin to their house and I would pick him up from there(They live about 10 minutes closer than I do). So I got to there house and waited and waited. The other mom's cell was dead. So I waited about 40 minutes(I guess they just finished later than they thought at cubs and she couldn't contact me because my number was in her phone which was dead). I called her husband's cell. He said they would just bring Jamin to the Christmas party. So I drove back home. Matthew pulled in at the same time. I spent about 5 minutes pulling myself together. Then we drove to pick up the buns for the Christmas party and went to the party. We were a few minutes late, but that is to be expected at church functions. We had a good time and got home around 8:30. We hurried and got the kids to bed and I cleaned up a little. I was completely exhausted, but Matthew encouraged me to finish a movie we had rented a couple nights before and I had fallen asleep during. So I did. Then at about 10 I could keep my eyes open no longer, so I got ready for bed and went to sleep.

Next day. Matthew has early morning meetings every Sunday, so I am on my own getting the kids ready. Sunday clothes are a little more tricky than any other day, so I need to help all of them except for Jamin. So I get them breakfast, shower while they are eating, get ready, then catch the kids one by one to help them get ready. I was only a few minutes late to church that starts at 10. I have been trying really hard to be on time, but am not always successful. So I made it through another sacrament meeting which is always an experience with four active children. I am nursery leader at the moment, so I got to go play with my four little girls for a couple hours. Matthew interviews people after church. It is tithing settlement season, so it takes a little longer than normal, I think. So I cleaned up the nursery and gathered my kids to go. It always takes me a really long time. Anyway, when I got home, thankfully it was not my Sunday to make the family dinner, so I practiced my flute part a little for Prelude to Christmas, got the kids a small snack, turned on Veggietales, and laid down on the couch for a little bit. Tegan and Neil came and snuggled with me. When Matthew got home, it was time to go again. We went over to my in-laws for an early dinner and then to the Stake centre for Prelude practice. Matthew came later with the kids. Tegan cried every time I got up, but the other kids enjoyed it and were very good. Matthew was stressed to have to take care of Tegan when I got up to perform with the choir. But I enjoyed singing and playing my flute in my few moments of freedom. We got home pretty late for the kids and they all quickly went to bed. We had a strange message on our answering machine when we got home. In the busyness I never looked in my purse after I picked it up and apparently some guy has my wallet. He came to our house to drop it off, but we weren't home. He went to our neighbour and left a wrong number with him. So I spent a big chunk of yesterday cancelling all of my credit cards. Hopefully this guy will find a way to contact me again. Oh and Gordon was sent home from school yesterday because he wasn't feeling well. He has bronchitis and we started him on antibiotics. He doesn't act sick, but he is coughing a lot so he gets to hang out at home for a couple days with us.

Christmas Concert and Dress of the Week

2011-12-05T12:18:00.000-08:00

Gordon's and Neil's MYC Christmas concert...

Neil had a difficult time holding still during his performance (as expected by a four year old boy), no tragedies that I saw like knocking people over and stuff. Gordon did great while he was performing. I was so proud of him when he played his piano piece. I could tell he was trying so hard to do a good job.

Dress of the Week

National Child Day, Work Party, and Lots of SNOW!!!

2011-11-28T21:24:00.000-08:00

This week was National Child Day. Every year our area has a free thing that is fun for the younger kids to go to. They do crafts and stuff. I like quality activities that are free. =)

This gym kids stuff is pretty cool.

Neil learning about how to be safe around electricity.

Tegan loves to color.

Matthew's work party was also this week. We always go to Celebrations Dinner Theatre. It was a good time as usual. This year the theme was Glee. Matthew's parents have an anniversary always close to the time we go, so they are always asked to come up on stage. We make sure to make it known that it is their anniversary. Good times. Uncle Devin got up on stage a couple of times. First to dance with the scary gym lady and then to do the macarena. =) It was pretty hilarious.

It snowed a bunch this week. Freshly fallen snow is so pretty. =)

Dress of the Week

Aww... Tegan taking care of her baby.

We also had parent-teacher conferences this week. They have improved so much this year. Jamin is growing up and is a star student in his class. It is so happy to see. Gordon does a good job on his work. Sometimes he can be a real handful, but he has a great teacher.

Gordon's 6th Birthday!

2011-11-20T21:32:00.000-08:00

The morning of Gordon's actual birthday. He got to open a present. He was so happy.

A couple days later we had a small party for him at a movie theatre. So of course I had to make a popcorn bucket cake. I was so proud of myself until Matthew told me he thought it was like a guy or something and the popcorn was hair. lol. Oh well. The red stripes were made with fruit roll-ups and I made homemade caramel popcorn and glued it on with a little buttercream frosting.

Gordon and some of his buddies and new toys.

... and the celebration continues. We hadn't had a chance to sing happy birthday to Matthew's Dad yet because we were both gone over that time. So we did that and he blew out the candles with some help from Gordon.

Then Gordon got to open his last present. It was a good one. =0)

Catching up - some Dresses of the Week

2011-11-20T21:13:00.000-08:00

I love this skirt. It is a Children's Place one that I found at a consignment shop for like 3 dollars. Hurray for deals!

We drove down to the states and flew out of North Dakota to save some cash, so while I was down there Matthew let me run into Target for a "little" Christmas shopping (everything costs more up here). I picked this outfit up while I was at it. It is amazing how you take things for granted when you are not around it. I never went to Target when I lived in the states, but that place is awesome.

I found this dress at Winners. They have name brand stuff that costs less, you just have to keep your eyes open to find the super cute stuff. There is a lot to look through.

It is difficult to get her to pose for a picture lately, but she did pretty good with this one.

Vegas Scrapbooked

2011-11-20T20:14:00.000-08:00

Notes by Jamin/ put together by Mommy

So I really wasn't looking forward to our Vegas trip. Vegas is not my favourite place. We were only going there because Matthew had a convention that he needed to go to there. But you know, we had fun. We made it fun. There is not a ton of kids stuff in Vegas that you probably couldn't do anywhere else, but we found all that we could and stayed busy. My favourite parts were the Hoover Dam and the Springs Reserve. The kids favourite places were the Adventuredome, Blue Man Group, and the Hoover Dam. The only thing I definitely would not have done if I were to go back was go to the giant screen on the ceiling at downtown Vegas. It was a very unpleasant environment. We did not stay there long. But overall, there were good memories made there, it was nice to spend quality time with the kids and it was an educational experience for them.

Corn Maze, Dance, Garden Goods, and Dress of the Week

2011-10-18T08:33:00.000-07:00

Our branch had an awesome activity at a corn maze that is close by. We had a hot dog roast and got to do all the activities there. People could dress up if they wanted. Gordon and Neil wore their dinosaur costumes. Actually, they might be dragon costumes, not really sure, but the boys call themselves dinosaurs. I brought Tegan's cinderella costume, but she refused to wear it. Crazy, I know.

I was there. =)

We took a ride on this train thing to a visit some deer and turkeys.

Jamin and his "cookie buddies." That's what they told me to write.

Jamin posing with his shocked/surprised look.

We were able to pet the animals. The turkey was very soft. The kids loved it. We had to pay a little extra for to go on the train, but it was worth it.

King Dino Gordon on top of the Hay Bails.

In the wood maze. A little easier for the kids than the corn maze.

Jamin learning some hip-hop at a stake church activity. It was suppose to be 14 and up, but Jamin has tennis Friday nights, so he had to come with us. He loved it.

Collecting some of the last of the garden goods. It is getting cold, so everything is dying. The winds are changing.

I'll do better next year with the weeds. I got off to a bad start with a broken foot and then I was gone for half the summer. Most of our onions got choked by the weeds. ... but Neil is cute. =)

The goods

Mmmm... broccoli!

Dress of the Week

I didn't get a good picture of her outfit this week. It is so hard to get her to hold still for pictures lately. She was wearing a cute strawberry skirt with cute red shoes.

Dress of the Week, Thanksgiving, and Goodbye Miki

2011-10-10T19:00:00.000-07:00

Dress of the Week

Tegan and "Fluffy" her unicorn from Grandma and Granpa Anderson.

Tegan loves playing with her tea party set. Gordon was playing with her and got her to actually smile while I was taking her picture.

Mmmm... Thanksgiving. I was dreaming about this meal for days and it totally exceeded expectations. I don't normally dream about food, maybe it is because I am pregnant. Hmmm... Anyway, it was delicious. Sorry everyone that wasn't there.

On our way inside to Miki's Farewell. Tegan sees the dog. She loves animals and got very excited.

Miki from church is going away on a two year mission. His farewell was tonight. Such a good kid. He babysat for us on several occasions and is pretty much like family.

Unfortunately for Miki, he was sleepy and fell asleep at his own farewell. So this happened to him. Lol.

A cute picture of Gordon with the dragon. A moment when Tegan allowed him to play with it. She loves puppets and anything she loves, she becomes slightly possessive.

Crazy Nice Weather, X-Country Run, and General Conference

2011-10-06T13:23:00.000-07:00

So the weather lately has been super crazy nice out. The leaves are falling, it is October and we haven't had to wear jackets lately! Yes, it is awesome. So we have been able to spend time in the evenings bike riding

and playing at the park

and Gordon finally learned to ride his new bike with NO TRAINING WHEELS!!! Hurray for Gordon!

Jamin had his big x-country race this week. He did awesome. He ran the whole way. In case you can't tell, he is the crazy one wearing pants. I brought him shorts, but he said he was comfy the way he was.

Neil watching the race. =) All the leaves are changing.

This is Jamin coming up to the finish line. You actually can't really see him. The kid that you see stopped to walk up this hill and was looking around. Jamin was running past him. =)

Here is back at the starting line. All the fourth grade boys.

Dress of the Week

A pretty flower in the not so pretty garden. Everything needs to be pulled out and the ground tilled, but it has been so nice out that the tomatoes are finally turning red and new sprouts of broccoli are coming out. So I am leaving it for now.

This weekend was General Conference. I love conference. It is so happy. 8 hours of talks from the Prophet, Apostles, and General Authorities. All inspiring and uplifting. We stayed home and watched them all from our computer. I got to keep my hubby at home the whole time. =) We had crepes for breakfast on Sunday and had the family over in the evening. I made these mini cheesecakes for dessert(thanks Kristina). Jamin was very excited.

Highlights of conference:

I always enjoy Elder Dieter Uchdorf's talks. He makes you feel how important you are and he has an awesome accent. =) He said, "God knows that some of the greatest souls who have ever lived are those who will never appear in the chronicles of history. They are the blessed, humble souls who emulate the Savior’s example and spend the days of their lives doing good."

I also enjoyed Elder Neil Andersen's talk. The kids get really excited when he talks since he has the same name as our little Neil. But his talk made me feel really happy inside about our choice to expand our family and the joys and blessings of being a mother. I appreciated his sensitivity to those who are not able to or have difficuty having children. He said, "I testify of the great blessing of children and of the happiness they will bring us in this life and in the eternities."

I love loved the Children's choir. It was so sweet to watch. They did such a great job. My kids totally wanted to be there.

There seemed to be lots of talks on reading and studying the scriptures. So that's something perhaps I need to work more on.

Overall, great conference. Made me feel happy and energized to try and be a better person.

After dinner, we read scriptures and Breanne was letting Tegan push her face which made Tegan laugh hysterically. It was a little disruptive, but it was so cute I had to take a picture.

Aren't those super cute pajamas? Thank you cousin Elisabeth. =)

Good night hugs. Time to get ready for bed, so the adults can play some Settlers of Catan.

Tegan's turn.

Hair cut, Terry Fox Run, Mess and a Dress

2011-09-27T13:11:00.000-07:00

About to give Neebs a haircut. Saves a ton of time, money and suffering doing it myself. Thank you to my awesome SIL, Kristina, who showed me how a couple years ago.

It was a nice day outside and I love walking by the river, so I decided to join Jamin and Gordon for their Terry Fox Run from school after Neil's haircut. Jamin was excited to see us, but he was racing so he sped past us, but he could take it easy and walk with us on the way back.

Such a good big brother. He introduced everyone to his little brother.

Neil wanted to race still.

I didn't walk with Gordon, but I did catch up with him for a minute at his resting/drink station.

Mess of the Week

The gate slows her down, but doesn't stop her. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the little culprit. I took her straight to the bathtub.

Having some lunch after the bath. Tegan does this a lot lately. I think it is hilarious. She always needs help getting out of this position. Silly girl.

Dress of the Week

Going into church...

Uh oh, they escaped to the garden. Neil likes to find snacks in there.

It looked like Tegan was helping herself to some tomatoes and dirt.

Time for a bath!

Life and a Dress of the Week

2011-09-21T21:03:00.000-07:00

Now that the hospital visits are over and school is in full swing, things have gone back to routine. Not too much out of the ordinary exciting stuff at our house. When the kids are home, everyone is busy getting homework, home reading, and practicing music done. It is a crazy swirl getting them out the door for school. Getting the kids a good breakfast, making the lunches, making sure they are dressed appropriately for the weather and making sure they are ready for that spelling test. Then again when they come home from school. Finishing up dinner while helping them with the things they need.

I have a new system for rewarding them for getting their stuff done. They can earn minutes to play approved games on the computer or ipad. First all homework must be done and a certain amount of piano practice. Then for every minute they play the piano they earn a minute on the computer and if they do extra work or anything else I think they need to do or work on(homework doesn't count for time, it just needs to be done), they can earn more time. Gordon has a math book that he likes to work on to earn extra time. And time does not normally transfer days. Jamin has the most stuff to do. He has way more homework and needs to practice piano at least 30 minutes a day. So he doesn't always finish all his stuff in time to play on the computer and sometimes he gives up his time to play with a friend or something outside, but overall it seems to really be helping to encourage them to do their work efficiently. I check all their work to make sure they have done a good job before giving them the ok to make sure they don't just rush through without doing a good job. It is especially helpful for Neil. He just started MYC(Music for Young Children) and sometimes it can be a little bit of a challenge to get him to practice, but it is nice to have an incentive for him. He loves playing his little learning games on the computer.

When the kids are at school, our home is fairly quiet and calm. Every once in a while someone needs help and drops off a kid or two which I love. Gives the little ones a friend to play with and makes things more interesting. Shopping is easier. I swung by the store on the way to pick up Neil from Preschool this morning and got all my shopping done in about 20 minutes. It was fantastic. Tegan was helping me put my stuff up by the cash register. It was so cute. I'm trying to run almost every day. My body is happier when I do. In case anyone doesn't know, I'm expecting baby number five! I'm due April 20th, so I am about 10 weeks. I feel pretty good. I can't complain too much. I won't have an ultrasound till about 20 weeks, but hopefully I can find out what I am having then.

We are outgrowing our home, so we are full swing working on designs for a new one. We have our land and building will start early next year. As soon as it is warm enough to pour concrete, but before the thaw and road restrictions are put in place. It is pretty exciting working out drawings and deciding with our builder exactly what we want and need in a home.

The kids start tennis, swimming, and skating this weekend. Jamin and Gordon will be taking tennis lessons. It will be Jamin's third year and Gordon's first. Neil will be taking a learn to skate class. I think everyone who lives here should know how to skate. At least so we can skate on the river as a family once a year. =) Then the three of them will be doing swimming lessons. And they can do it all at one place! So it won't completely consume our lives.

Anyway, life is happy. I love my little family, and I am excited for our new addition.

Dress of the Week

Luckily the resolution on the ipad pictures aren't great, so you can't see how crazy messy Tegan's clothes were after potluck at church.

Hello Tegan's curls. Her hair keeps getting longer and is still super curly. I love it. =)

Tegan's Birthday and Some Other Stuff

2011-09-14T07:23:00.000-07:00

Hanging out at the Children's hospital...

These pictures are a little old. We spent a whole lot of time at the hospital the last few weeks getting Tegan's bandages changed, but Monday was our last appointment. Hurray!! All of her bandages are off now and everything is healing well. She might have one little scar on her leg, but other than that she should be fine. I just need to be sure to use lots of sunscreen on her for a while.

Dress of the Week

Miss Tegan escaped to the garden. She needed a bath after this which was her first time since her accident. It was quite the process, but she thoroughly enjoyed it.

Tinkertown for Tegan's birthday!!

Can you tell all of my meticulous planning that went into this cake? I know, it is lame.

On the train!

Neil loved driving the red car.

On the roller coaster.

The big slide. Tegan went down with me and giggled going down. =)

Opening presents

Tegan loves her Grandma. She will often go to her over me. I think it is cute.

Random... Neil loves banana peppers.

How did he get that on? heehehe

First Day of School!!! I love these guys. They have really been enjoying school, and I have had only good reports so far. Keeping my fingers crossed for a good year. They all have great teachers.

Dresses, Garden, Birthdays and More Emergency Room Visits

2011-08-29T08:09:00.000-07:00

Dress of Last Week =)

Our garden went kind of crazy while I was gone in Missouri. This is Neil's happy place. Pigging out on broccoli flowers.

He also likes the banana peppers, but he doesn't like my grape tomatoes as much as he liked Grandma Richardson's romas.

Tegan and her buddies at a pool party.

Unfortunately, Tegan tripped at the pool party and fell into the bonfire. =( You wouldn't have known she was hurt with how she was acting, though. She was totally happy, dancing around, and held out her hands so the nurses could clean them and put bandages on. Just ask my good friend Kerry that came with me to the hospital. Thank you thank you, btw. Every time I go in to have her bandages changed, they can't believe how helpful and relaxed she is.

Happy Birthday, Uncle Devin!

All those candles produced a ton of smoke. =) Mmm... that was a tasty cake.

Gordon wanted a picture with Grandpa.

Neil opening his birthday present from Grandma and Grandpa Anderson. We were gone over his birthday and were finally able to get everyone together to open it.

Dress of the Week

Neil's 4th Birthday

2011-08-22T20:30:00.001-07:00

I put my other Missouri pictures on Facebook, but I thought I would make a special post for Neil's big 4th birthday. It was a fun day. We went to the park, to Incredible Pizza(where Neil said he wanted to go for his birthday), and later opened presents back at Grandma's house. Neil was one happy boy. =)

Neil's present from Ciara and Laira.

Neil played with this for hours on our way home. =)

Cheese!

Tegan getting ready for the 4D roller coaster.

Neil getting ready to race.

Neil on the train!

Since Neil was the birthday boy, he got to spin the Wheel of fun and win a prize!

Opening presents

Of course, my Mom, being my Mom couldn't possibly just buy gifts for Neil. She had to get something for all the kids. Well, they were all super happy. Even Jamin was excited when he got a movie that he thought Neil would love. Then he realized what was meant for him was in a different bag.

Swimming, Kite flying attempt, Food Bank service project, new phone and Dress of the Week =)

2011-07-25T07:04:00.000-07:00

Swimming

Neil is such a little fish.

head dipping

Jamin jumping

Gord jumping

more swimming

I thought this was so cute. The two of them sitting on the side of the pool.

We attempted some kite flying this week. It was a really windy day.

Our friend that came with us got hers up.

We were a little less successful. It got stuck in a tree. We'll try again this week. Perhaps on a little less windy day.

Our church did a huge service project this week. We put door hangers out throughout the week. Then on Saturday, we picked up the food. Our little branch collected about 1600 pounds of food for the local food banks. Everything helps this time of year.

Dress of the Week

Me taking a picture with my new iPhone. Hubby had a big optometry conference this weekend. We had a babysitter for about 20 hours this week for all the stuff that I went to as well. Thursday morning we went to a memory seminar. It was fascinating and quite entertaining. He taught us a way of remembering names and how to remember lists of things by associating them with a predetermined set of objects. We bought his set of 16 cds that are suppose to help us learn to be smarter. I have yet to look at them, but I will... eventually.

Anyway, on Friday we had a couple hours between the trade show and his class reunion dinner so Matthew asked if I wanted to go get an iPhone. He got one last month. It took a few seconds of arm twisting, but I agreed. =) It's an awesome phone. He got me the two year warranty since I tend to be hard on my phones and the most protective case they had. Actually the two previous pictures are with my phone too. The camera on the front doesn't take as high quality pictures as the camera on the back of the phone.

What is Missing at the Park? and Dress of the Week

2011-07-24T08:41:00.000-07:00

Playing at the playground

What is missing in these pictures?

It's in the background in this picture. The giant wooden play structure! It is gone. I knew it was coming but it was a bit of a shock. They are going to replace it with a new place structure. It will be interesting to see what it will be.

Some swinging

Playing hide-and-seek in "the bushes" at the park

Dress of the Week

We also went to the zoo this week, but I couldn't find my camera at the moment. There is a ton of construction going on there. It looks like it will be awesome next year. There was a new butterfly exhibit that was interesting. There were beautiful flowers everywhere. There were mostly monarch butterflies and tons of caterpillars. There was a butterfly that flew down onto the path and before I could stop her, Tegan walked straight to it and stepped on it. We were all standing over it looking to see the damage and a lady that worked there came up and said, "Don't worry it is just sleeping. They take some time to wake up and start moving." She picked it up and set it off the path. That did appear to be true in some cases, but I don't think so in this one. =S

A Real Mess... Devastation Clean Up in Minot

2011-07-18T08:35:00.000-07:00

Matthew along with about 100 other members of our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, travelled to Minot, North Dakota, this weekend from surrounding areas to assist with clean-up. 4000 homes were flooded.

You can see the water being pumped out of basements everywhere. And the inside of homes lining the streets.

If you click on this picture to enlarge it, you can see the where the waterline was on this house. About a third up the window. Everything up to this level had to be gutted inside the house. All the drywall, furniture, appliances,... everything was destroyed.

Everything is coated in mud, rotting, and disintegrating. These guys ripped out drywall, pulled out furniture, pretty much cleaned out everything so the frame of the house can dry out and then be rebuilt. The whole weekend Matthew worked on one house. 9 people worked there one day and 14 the next. So obviously with 4000 houses flooded, there is a lot of work to still be done.

I'm proud of these guys for the hard work they did this weekend taking the time out of from their lives to go help out a city in crisis. They were all sore, swollen, and very thankful after a long weekend of service. Our prayers are with the people of Minot. May their hearts be lifted and hope brought back into their lives.

Swimming, Boating and Another Dress of the Week

2011-07-10T21:57:00.000-07:00

We went swimming a bunch this week, but I took some pictures here. This is kind of a cool pool. It is huge and it is kind of like a beach. There is a ring of sand around the whole pool, then a concrete walkway, and then the water very gradually gets deeper. It is perfect for little kids.

All my kids love the water.

So, we bought a boat and tried it out for the first time this week. We had a picnic out on the lake and did some fun water activities.

Gordon and Daddy on the disk.

Daddy and Neil

Jamin was riding with Daddy, but Matthew let go and Jamin started riding by himself. He was so proud of himself. He tried waterskiing too, but didn't quite make it up this time.

Matthew waterskiing

Grandma and Grandpa came with us.

Happy kids

A cute moment. =)

Dress of the Week

Canada Day Celebrations

2011-07-04T10:59:00.000-07:00

Lower Fort Garry

making crafts

aww... hugs

planting some flags

Cat and Mouse

They were suppose to stand on a log and the first one to fall off lost.

They had a hard time following the rules. They kept playing tug of war instead.

I didn't bring my camera in, but we went swimming at the Selkirk Park pool.

The day continued... we had a potluck with some friends. They have this super cute kiddy pool.

The kids were worn out after a whole day of activities, so we decided to do fireworks the next day. It was the right choice. The kids were way happier. We roasted some marshmallows and hot dogs and had a good time.

Before the fireworks

Neil testing out his goggles.

Setting up

Started with some sparkers

Gordon already for the fireworks. He is afraid of loud sounds. A friend suggested using these and they made all the difference.

There they are!

Neil was a little scared

Tegan was not

Neil warmed up to it a little later

Dress of the Week

A sleepy princess...

Soccer wind-up, Oak Hammock, Swimming and Playing

2011-07-03T15:22:00.000-07:00

Soccer Wind-up

Soccer is over now, so they had a huge party with a bunch of big inflatables and a petting zoo.

And he's off...

Weeee...

Tegan really wanted to go on all the inflatables too, but I had to be a mean mommy and keep her safe.

We spent a day at Oak Hammock Marsh. I love that place.

Gone fishin'

One of Tegan's favorite things... watching the fish.

Examining of the hat.

Hello

smooch

That boy can be so cute sometimes. I just wanna squeeze him.

We went on a guided hike around the marsh. If you look really close there is a little guy popping his head out from the ground in the middle of the picture.

Examining nature

A little critter dipping

Back inside, Jamin didn't want to have anything to do with that snake. He was willing to take a picture with it from a distance, though. =)

Gordon didn't want to touch the animals at first, but he did after the lady pulled them out.

We signed up for the summer reading program and a class at the library and they were so good that I took them to DQ for lunch and to use their free ice cream coupons from the library.

Playing

Stuck in the sand

swinging on the tire swing

My first time swimming alone along with the kids since I broke my foot. It feels mostly better now. There are still a few things that I did before that I am not comfortable doing yet.

Water Guns and Bike Rides

2011-06-27T13:18:00.000-07:00

We went on a little bike ride.

I think it is time to get Gordon a little bigger bike. He was having a hard time keeping up.

Then we played at the park.

Testing out the water guns... on the house.

It was Jamin's last week of soccer. He had a soccer tournament this week, so he had 5 games. After a home game, they had a huge water fight. Hubby and Gordon got in on the action too.

Gordon got really super crazy wet.

There's Jamin. =)

Neil making faces at "Maurice" the stone guy thing. lol

More water fightage. We had a couple hours between soccer games on Saturday, so I let the boys swim for a short time since it was pretty warm.

Look, there's me! And cute boy Neil.

Dress of the Week

175% cuter when her buddy wears the same outfit. =)

Daddy, Ants!!!, Cleaning, Park, and Another Dress of the Week =)

2011-06-19T22:32:00.000-07:00

What a good Daddy! Giving the kiddos a ride in the Jeep. Happy Father's Day!

Ants!!! We started getting some ants in our mud/ exercise room. I put out a couple of ant hotels, and it just wasn't cutting it. This week, I discovered the source....

A huge anthill behind our house. So I went to the hardware store and bought three different kinds of ant hotels and some spray. I can't seem to get rid of the buggers. They are horrible. If anyone has any special secret to getting rid of ants, I would like to know it.

I went on a bit of a cleaning spree this week. I think the ant issue brought it on. I cleaned and organized the house. Then I moved to the garage and swept and reorganized some things. Then I cleaned out and vacuumed the van. Neil and Tegan were my assistants. They played, I cleaned. =)

Aren't they cute? Neil's favorite thing recently is Mickey Mouse(note the shirt). He is missing Disney World and totally wants to go visit a certain Aunt and Uncle who live by Disneyland. Hopefully not in the too far distant future.

We've have had a few nice days this week. We were able to play at some parks quite a bit this week.

Weeeee...

Monkeys!! They make me nervous. At least in the winter time when they climb this tree, there is snow to cushion the fall and they are wearing more clothing.

Dress of the Week

Dresses, friends, weather, and happiness

2011-06-13T14:17:00.000-07:00

Dress of the Week

friends

We went to the Kids Festival at the Forks with some friends. Jamin had school, so he missed out. Poor guy. But summer is coming soon, so he can come on adventures with us then. That's where we got the matching dresses.

I just thought this was funny. Neil was getting ready to go outside. I think Neil is confused about the season. Hey, I'm confused too.

Update on my broken foot - This week I got a removable cast. Hurray!! Now I can shower without bagging my foot and even sleep without the crazy thing on. Makes life sooo much happier. =)

I went to a women's conference at church this weekend. One of the workshops was about happiness. How we choose to be happy and what really makes us happy. On the way there I was talking to my mother-in-law about gas prices about how they skyrocket and then come down a little bit. We start to feel better about filling up with gas when they come down a little bit even though it is still way higher than a year ago. It's kind of like that with my foot. It was a huge change at first and slowly as I heal, I went from not being able to put any weight on it to having one crutch and a walking cast to being able to not use crutches at all. Now I have a removable boot. Each step makes life easier for me and makes me appreciate things all the more. So I think we need challenges in our life to be happy. Without them, it is difficult to recognize all the blessings that we have.

A Beautiful Day. =)

2011-06-06T19:24:00.000-07:00

Dress of the Week

Not so happy before Big Brother came to save the day.

Today was a beautiful day, so we did not waste it. Since lunch we were out most of the day.

This is how Princess T goes down the slide. She will go down any slide but always on her tummy.

Neebs went swimming. Well, he mainly just sat on the stairs and blew bubbles in the water, but close enough.

Princess T scares me to death on the trampoline, but she LOVES it.

We got our garden planted over the weekend. We have lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, banana peppers, broccoli, yellow and red onions, celery and zucchini.

Gordon is a tree climber.

Sooo cute. =)

Even cuter.

Soccer is a huge part of our lives right now. Soccer season doesn't last very long here, but with three kids in soccer this year, it's pretty intense.

Challenges and Fun times - Another Week

2011-05-30T20:13:00.000-07:00

Occasionally we go out to eat with the kids to remind ourselves why it's not a great idea. So this is a pretty fun place really close to us. There is an arcade and like a 50s hockey theme. It actually wasn't too bad until we decided to have ice cream. I don't know if you can see the big tear on Tegan's face, but she had a bit of a meltdown over the ice cream. I got her vanilla in a cup. She didn't want it and was reaching for my pistachio ice cream cone. So I thought she wanted a cone, so I got her one and put some of her ice cream in it. Still mad. Then Gordon decided he didn't like his bubble gum flavor (not a big deal to him, he just went and played in the arcade room). So I gave Gordon's to Neil who liked the bubble gum flavor and then I gave Neil's strawberry to Tegan. Then everything was happy and Gordon even finished Tegan's vanilla. Leaving the place was another story.

The boys and Tegan playing during Neil's lesson and before their swimming lessons.

They are totally posing in this picture, trying to make it look like they are being crazy. In reality they were really good this week at swimming lessons and listened. =)

Mess of the Week

Someone thought it would be a great idea to shove a whole role of toilet paper down the sink while Mommy was switching the laundry. =P

Dress of the Week

This dress looked so cute on our little princess on Sunday. It is one from her cousin Elisabeth. Tegan says thank you to her fashionable cousin. Oh, and I found these cute little necklaces at Children's Place. She loves to wear necklaces, but always breaks the ones with beads so this was a great find.

Apples! We go through a ton of apples. Mainly because of Neil. He calls himself Appleman. He is like a walking garbage disposal. He loves all fruits and vegetables and eats them all. I had to quit doing a compost because... ok maybe I won't get into that but it was gross. Anyway that apple a day keeps the doctor away... Neil's got that covered.

So my broken foot has been getting better. The only time it really bugs me is at the end of the day when I think about it. Now I can walk on it without crutches which makes life MUCH easier. Hurray for getting better and being able to carry Tegan when I need to! I have another doctor appointment next week, so I'll be able to have my cast off for a few minutes anyway and see how things are going.

Happy Victoria Day!!

2011-05-23T09:52:00.000-07:00

Hurray for the long weekend! Hubby had Friday through Monday off. I love holidays. I don't feel a real connection to this holiday since I did not grow up in Canada, but since my kids and Hubby are all Canadian, I like to find out what the holiday is all about.

Here is a link about Victoria Day if you are interested.

Made it through another week! This week I went back to the doctor and got a walking cast. HURRAY! At first it was VERY awkward, but I am starting to get used to it and things are getting easier. It is amazing how much a little broken bone can change your life.

I took a picture in between casts. You can really tell the difference with my feet next to each other. It sure feels weird to have the cast off. Especially when my cast is off, it is difficult to imagine how the body is able to heal itself. I think it will be quite miraculous when I am able to walk normally without a cast again.

Friday we went swimming, well the rest of my fam did. There's me, in the purple cast. =) Tegan didn't want to swim either, maybe because I wasn't in the water. But everyone else had a blast. The boys were practicing their moves they have been learning at swimming lessons.

Gordon going down the slide.

Brothers in the hot tub. =)

Dress of the Week

They had a Victoria Day weekend sale at Children's Place this weekend, so I stocked up on summertime essentials from there. 40% off everything. I love Children's Place. I am always amazed at how inexpensive their stuff is and it's super cute. Anyway, this outfit is from there.

I love her curls. =)

Mess and Dress of the Week and an MYC Recital

2011-05-17T23:05:00.000-07:00

A picture of Neil just cause he would have been the only one not in this post and I LOVE his smile. That boy is the sweetest snuggle pie on the planet!

Dress of the Week

I was working on getting the kids in the car and Princess T discovered some sand. Hubby Wubby was tied up with other stuff. Luckily an awesome person came along and helped me get her into the van and I caught a cute picture.

... I didn't do it.

So I made it through another week. Another week of hoppin'. I am thoroughly annoyed with my foot, but I'm trying to stay positive and not let it dampen my spirits. Actually, today was a really awesome day. A super awesome friend dropped by and helped me put up some curtains and swept my floor and took out the garbage for me. Another super awesome person unexpectedly dropped off some tasty food for us. Hmmm... maybe I should break my foot more often. Totally not serious, but today was happy.

Saturday Gordon had a recital. The end to his music year. So he is done until fall. This year the MYC teacher decided to have two recitals because she was having trouble getting a day when all of her students could attend. It ended up that there not very many children that went on the same day that I chose, so the teacher invited Jamin to play a couple pieces at the recital as well even though he is now in private lessons with a different teacher.

Here it is. Enjoy.

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-17T22:45:00.000-07:00

I know Mother's Day is long past, but I never posted about it.

Here are my awesome Mother's Day gifts

from Jamin

from Gordon

I love the shoe. I thought it was so funny that he would make me this especially with my left foot broken.

Matthew asked the boys what they liked about Mommy and wrote it down.

Neil said - "I like Mommy"

"Mommy gets dressed"

"Mommy draws a paper for me"

Gordon said - "She helps me do music"

"She cooks me breakfast"

"I love Mommy because she gives me food"

Jamin said - "I love Mommy because she's nice!"

"She helps me with the things I need help with"

I thought it was super cute! I tell my husband not to buy me anything for Mother's Day because I like the homemade heartfelt stuff from the kids the best. =) He can buy me stuff on the other holidays.

Then my Father in-law and Hubby Wubby made an awesome dinner and I even got a couple pretty flowers from church. Overall, it was a great Mother's Day. It is always nice to feel appreciated.

Life as a One-footed Momma and Dress of the Week =)

2011-05-10T17:08:00.000-07:00

Life is definitely interesting since getting back from Hawaii. Everything is a little more difficult. Since breaking my foot, I am not able to put any weight on that foot and have to hop, crawl or use my crutches to do everything.

Some of the hardest things are...

being patient and waiting for my hubby to bring the laundry up or down the stairs for me.

when children fall asleep driving home. What do ya do?

not being able to go outside because I can't get the kids back inside on my own.

the doctors voice in my head telling me I need to keep my foot up. Ok, fine I put it up.

getting the kids to bed when my hubby isn't home.

the blister forming on my good foot from hopping so much. =P

being so slow.

stairs. Stairs and I are not getting along at the moment, but I'm getting a little better.

getting out of the bathtub and not being able to shower.

having to ask for help sometimes.

not being able to run a marathon like I had planned.

Wah wah poor me.

Ok, now that I got that out...

Good things are...

a new perspective on life. Some moms live with disabilities all the time. I feel very compassionate towards them lately. Not that I didn't before, but I feel like I have a small glimpse.

my kids have been very helpful getting things for me and my hubby has been helping with stuff that is very difficult for me when he is home. I usually have a list of things I need him to do at the end of every day and he does the grocery shopping.

my kids are learning to be a little more patient.

I can still do most things, just in a different way than before.

I like cloudy rainy gloomy days because I don't feel bad about not taking the kids outside.

The doctor had a more optimistic idea of how quickly I will heal on Saturday. I might be able to have a walking cast next week! Sounds better than the 2 to 3 months the doctor in Hawaii told me to expect. So keeping my fingers crossed.

I don't feel bad now when I sit down and put my foot up because I know that is what I should be doing.

Funny Moments

On Saturday, the doctor asked me if I needed a note or something for work. I laughed and said something like Mom's don't get time off. He asked me what I did then. I said I had chairs strategically placed around the house to rest my knee on and I hopped around on one foot and crawled up and down the stairs.

Monday I was trying to show Gordon how to skip. lol It was entertaining.

Chasing Tegan on crutches at Gordon's and Neil's soccer practice and hearing her giggle because she was just as fast.

Gordon telling me right before bed that he broke his foot and needs a cast like mine, and then walking casually over to his bed to say prayers.

Dress of the Week

Matthew isn't much of a clothes shopper, so Little Princess probably won't have a new dress for a little while. She has plenty, though, so probably a good thing. =0)

Hawaii!!! Ten year anniversary trip. It was an adventure.

2011-05-02T08:40:00.001-07:00

On our way to Hawaii, at 3:55 am. I slept 45 min. max.

We had a long layover in Vancouver, so we left the airport, and caught a train downtown.

We saw this tall tower that looked like the revolving restaurant in Winnipeg, so we decided to check it out and ended up having a nice lunch there. It was pretty awesome. I had never been to British Columbia before, so it was cool to be able to see so much in such a short time.

Landing in Kauai, Hawaii. I was pretty tired at this point, so I am not sure I fully appreciated the view at the time. Looking at the pictures, though, it was pretty.

Sunday morning on Easter we went to church. I love going to church at the different places that we travel to. It is a really good way to meet local people. Sunday afternoon we walked around some pretty gardens and a little along the coast. Rested after our long travels the day before.

At our resort.

I thought this was pretty cool. Every time a wave came in, water shot up into the air.

Chickens everywhere.

Monday we went on a Catamaran over to see the Napali coast and go snorkeling. It was beautiful. We had breakfast and lunch on the boat.

The Napali Coast

Sea turtles... kinda hard to see, but there were tons of them. We got to snorkeling them. They would come up to us within just a few feet and look at us. It was pretty cool.

We saw tons of spinner dolphins. They were everywhere. They kept jumping out of the water. We also saw two humpback whales. The guide said it is a little late in the season to see whales, so it was kinda cool, but alas no pics of the whales.

They pulled the boat up right next to this waterfall, so that those that wanted to could cool off.

Right before we went snorkeling with the sea turtles.

Hula pie at Keoki's.

Playing tennis. We managed to get all of the balls out of the court. Yep, we rock.

Tuesday, we went zip lining. This was my favorite part of the trip. It was awesome.

Gettin ready to go.

Hubby Wubby loves these bouncy bridges. He's totally like a little kid. He bounces like a crazy man and especially enjoyed waiting for others to come on the bridge. Unfortunately for him, I warned them all before we got to the bridge. lol

Monkey man

You think Hubby Wubby was impressive. Try taking pictures upside down a few thousand feet from the ground. Yep, awesome.

Hubby Wubby being a monkey again on the zip line.

Heading to the van to go to the waterhole.

Swimming in the waterhole.

There was a little zip line into it.

Tuesday evening we went to a Luau. It was interesting. Lots of Hawaiian dancing and some cool fire dancing.

Swimming in the ocean.

Relaxing by the pool.

We went tubing down a huge irrigation ditch. There were long tunnels that we went through. We had helmets with lights on them so we could see while going through. It was pretty interesting. They used to use the ditches to water the sugar cane fields, now they just use them for tours. So you can tell who took most of the pictures. =)

I don't know what's up with that picture in the background, but we didn't take the camera with us tubing because we didn't want to get it wet so we took these back at the tubing place. It is a good thing too that we didn't bring our camera because Hubby and I had quite the water fight. =) Good fun.

There's me!

This was not in my vision of island at all. I kind of pictured it as a remote place with little stores. It was pretty small and not that many people live there, but there was a Walmart, Costco, McDonalds, KFC, and other stuff you see everywhere.

On the the way to the Secret Falls, although they didn't seem so secret to me. We had to cross the river here. There's Hubby Wubby in the red shorts.

Here is the trail we were walking on. There were lots and lots of roots.

Here I am at the waterfall. It was pretty and very refreshing aka cold.

Hubby Wubby at the waterfall.

I have never ever seen so many chickens just wherever in my whole life. There were chickens everywhere on the island. And those roosters were cockadoodledoing all the time.

So on the way back to the kayaks, I broke my foot. I hopped over one of those crazy roots on the trail and somehow caught the top of my foot and I went down. Here is Matthew going to get our kayak and bring it to me, since I couldn't walk across the river or at all.

kayaking

There is my broken foot. Only the broken part was swollen at this point.

Hubby Wubby kayaking

At the hospital. Now most of my foot is swollen. It was a nice hospital. They got us in really fast and were super friendly. We just missed our massages that we had scheduled for the afternoon, but we were able to reschedule for the next day.

Hubby Wubby waiting at the hospital.

We were going to go hiking on Saturday to see some of the amazing canyons in Kawai, but since I was crippled we decided to take a helicopter ride instead.

Hubby Wubby

Here is the volcano. Half of the crater has been eroded away over the years. It rains all the time here.

This was kind of scary. We were up above the mountains here and the helicopter guy took us straight down into this canyon. It was kind of crazy.

The Napali Coast

A waterfall

There were waterfalls all over the place.

Hubby Wubby and I in the helicopter.

Here is what we came home to... yep, I just about cried. In reference to an earlier post, I didn't mean it. I didn't miss the snow. I would be perfectly happy if the snow would be gone... atleast for a while. Please. It is slippery and I'm on crutches... Thanks.

Workshop, Angel Ball, Dress of the Week, and Jamin ready for cubs

2011-04-17T20:23:00.000-07:00

Friday a super awesome friend watched my kids for me so I could go to a workshop presented by Dr. Ross Greene, PhD who is the Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. I recently read one of his books, The Explosive Child and found it quite intriguing. The book and the workshop really opened my mind to different strategies of disciplining and teaching children. He talks about a collaborative problem solving approach to help kids deal with social, emotional and behavioral challenges. If you are interested he has a website here at www.livesinthebalance.org.

Saturday night Matthew went to a fancy fundraiser for a local hospital. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but we had a really fun time. They had a silent auction and a fancy meal and an awesome band. Everyone was dancing. It was a good time.

Dress of the Week

I probably shouldn't let her play in the curtains, but...

She is just so cute when she does.

Saying "peek-a-boo"

Our princess having a bottle. She was having a moment.

Jamin ready for Cubs Wednesday evening.

The Snow is Melting and Dress of the Week

2011-04-10T20:02:00.000-07:00

Dress of the Week

I got Tegan's hair in pigtails this week! It was so exciting! I love my little girl. =) ... and my other kids too. =)

Jamin and the cat doing some reading. =)

So lately I have been trying to get the boys to help out a bit more around the house. With four things seem to get out of hand pretty fast. So I have been encouraging them to help even if it is easier to do it myself. I figure in the long run we'll all be better off if they learn to enjoy some cooking and cleaning. They don't mind helping me in the kitchen, sweeping, wiping and setting tables, mixing stuff, helping me get ingredients. The hardest thing for me is to get them to pick up their toys. It's all a learning process I guess.

One of my best investments. The kids love our moon bouncer.

Ok, so I am kinda weird. I have been trying to tell myself all winter how much I love the snow and we have really been enjoying playing in it and stuff. I am probably the only one, but I am actually kind of sad the snow is leaving. More than leaving, suddenly in a weeks time, most of it is gone! I do not miss the insane cold, though. Well, out with the old and in with the new. Sledding and snow forts are now history(till fall). This week the kids have been splashing in puddles and getting really dirty. Neil is the only one completely in denial. He still won't give up his winter jacket for a spring one. However, he REALLY loves running through puddles and throwing rocks into them. It has proven to create much more laundry this week.

An election is coming up in Canada. Matthew is totally obsessed with all the latest political stuff lately. Everything is so different here than in the states. Here, if a majority does not agree on a budget, then there is an election. Normally elections end up being every 4 years, but lately they have been every 2. The leader of the party with the most local officials elected becomes the Prime Minister. I think it is way more complicated than that, but that's a general low down.

The river is mesmerizing right now. It is moving really fast and there are lots of logs and big chunks of ice that float by. We took a walk/bike ride yesterday to the river to get a closer look.

Jamin's completely outgrew his last bike and it faced some tragedy, so it was time for a new bike. Now that the snow and ice are off the roads, he can ride it. =)

Last year this section of road flooded, so they prepared for it this year, although it has not proven to be necessary.

You can tell the water is high when it is the same height on both sides of the lock.

Spring Break 2011- Will Be One That We Remember

2011-04-04T11:37:00.001-07:00

Playing at our school park. Good times =)

Tegan getting ready to go down the slide.

There she goes!

Gordon going down.

Jamin playing on the snow plow mountain.

Tegan climbing up to the slide. She LOVES slides. She just keeps down over and over again.

We were playing hide-and-go-seek. Gordon was it. This is me hiding. Gordon found me pretty fast, Neil and Tegan gave me away. At least that is my excuse, and I am sticking to it. Jamin was the best at it. I couldn't find him and had to call for him to come out.

Gordon trying to ride his bike through the snow and ice. It is easier on the pavement, Gordon. =)

Jamin taking his scooter for a drive.

Another day playing in our backyard

Gordon had a birthday party at Oak Hammock Marsh, so I decided to spend time with the other kids there while Gordon was at the party. I asked Grandma Anderson if she would like to come along and she did which was awesome, and I think the kids all had a good time. One of Jamin's classmates were there with a younger sibling at the same party as Gordon, so Jamin had lots of fun playing with his friend.

Jamin coloring

Tegan playing Wildlife Plinko.

Jamin the bumble bee

Tegan's favorite thing was watching the fish.

Neil's favorite was fishing for plastic fish.

An outside view of the marsh. There was a chilly wind, so we didn't stay out too long, and there wasn't really any wildlife to see yet.

Neil sorting the blocks.

Jamin was given a project for school to choose a famous manmade structure, build a replica and write about it. Jamin chose the Golden Gate Bridge. He said he chose it because his Grandma and Grandpa Richardson have a big picture of it in their living room. It is not finished yet, but he made lots over progress over Spring Break. I'll show another picture when he is finished.

The boys being silly with oranges. =)

The boys were good about practicing the piano and...

helping out over Spring Break. Here is Gordon whipping some egg whites for waffles one morning. Jamin even washed some dishes. I should have taken a picture of that! =) Next time.

My poor little princess stood up on a chair and it fell over. She got a big gash on her chin. =( I took a picture of the gash, but I am not posting on here. It will make everyone cry. This is a picture of Tegan taking a nap at the Emergency Room. We were there for 7 1/2 hours! It was insane crazy. I don't recall ever having to wait that long before. Tegan was fairly good most of the time considering she had a gash in her chin. She is such a sweetie pie. I stayed in the room while they stitched her up and almost passed out just before they put the first needle through. I guess I suddenly turned sheet white and they made me sit down immediately, threw some oxygen on me, and told me to put my head between my legs.

Here are her stitches. She gets them out on Wednesday.

Tegan's angry face? I just thought it was cute.

Sweet Tegan

Watching General Conference. It was so exciting this year. The first session they announced that there will be a temple built here! I know it will likely take some time, but we are all totally and completely thrilled about that news. The temple we go to now is about a 6 1/2 hour drive, so it will be quite a change. Jamin was actually sad at first. He said he won't be able to visit his friend Liam and go on long drives and stay at hotels anymore. I told him it would likely be a couple years and we still would likely be able to do all those things occasionally anyway. Then he was happy too and even built a model out of cardboard of what he thought it should look like. =)

Dress of the Week and Trip to Regina

2011-03-27T20:29:00.001-07:00

This picture pretty much sums up T today. She was CRANKY.

The awesome scenery on the way home from Regina. Flat, snow, and every once in a while even a silo. =) Ok, there is one large dip in the road on the 6 1/2 hour journey so not totally flat the whole way.

We had a great trip. Matthew's parents were very kind and watched our kids for us while we went. We enjoyed seeing the Temple there and visiting with friends that we have not seen for quite a while.

The only mishap was on the way back. We were close to home. We don't really have freeways were we live, just highways. So every time there is a stoplight, the speed limit goes down. Matthew was driving and slowed down to the appropriate speed, then he sped up again to the normal highway limit after the light... but a few feet before the sign. So he got a ticket. We were trying to be really careful and go close to the speed limit too the whole trip. Anyway, just a warning to everyone. Don't start speeding up till after you pass the speed limit sign. Apparently officers are extremely anal.

Dress of the Week

2011-03-21T11:01:00.001-07:00

One of my lovely boys got the yogurt out and left it out, so T helped herself. Notice the large blob of yogurt on her sweater. =P

It was all good. I had a backup. =)

Got Snow?

2011-03-18T13:33:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T07:55:00.000-07:00

They loved their green eggs and biscuits. =)

Mmm...

Gordon didn't want to mess up the coloring on his with cheese. =)

Gordon's Recital, Dress of the Week, and a Cute Moment

2011-03-15T12:11:00.000-07:00

Dress of the Week

T has become completely obsessed with drinking fountains lately. I prefer the ones that she is not able to turn on like this one. However, then a sweet kid usually comes up and "helps" her out. She ends up with drenched clothes. She doesn't want to actually drink the water, she just wants to play with it. =)

For family night last Monday we talked about making good choices and we made CTR shields and had some brownies and ice cream. Mmmm... Brownies. I love these guys.

A cute moment - Daddy reading to the boys.

Gordon had a little recital this weekend. The main part of the recital was listening to all the kid's compositions that they wrote. It starts out with the MYC song, then Gordon's composition, and then a little rhythm ensemble. If you saw his last recital, you'll notice a huge difference. There was no collapsing at the end. lol

Dress of the Week

2011-03-06T19:25:00.000-08:00

Visit to Kid City

2011-03-06T16:52:00.000-08:00

Friday there was no school. Jamin was invited to a birthday party at Kid City, so we all decided to go. Well, the kids and I. Here are some pictures...

Neil was soooo cute. He kept posing for pictures. I took a bunch of him and pretended to take more. The battery in the camera died eventually. He loved the place and was happy the whole time.

Tegan was happy a lot of the time, but got sleepy for part of it. We went in the afternoon, so it was over nap time. She started out in the toddler area, but got bored of it after a little while.

Tegan wanted to be with her big brothers and go on the big slides. So Jamin kindly helped her climb up and went down a big slide with her. He's such a good big brother.

Then Tegan found a new friend. This girl is in Gordon's gymnastics class and loved following Tegan around for a while.

Then Tegan became confident to climb up and go down on her own. So she did over and over and over again. But she stuck to this one slide most the time.

She did take a little break to enjoy some food.

Jamin walking with Gordon. Jamin made sure Gordon had fun and introduced him to all his friends.

Overall, it was a good time. Only a few speed bumps. On the way there, Gordon had to go potty REALLY bad, so I was trying to get to a gas station unfortunately a little too quickly. I got pulled over for the very first time in Canada and got a huge stinkin ticket. (I am never speeding again, btw) Holy moly, tickets are expensive here. Anyway, I got out of the car while the officers were writing the ticket and let Gordon pee on the side of the road so he didn't wet his pants.

Then leaving Kid City was a little tricky, but we got there. We just left Jamin's red sweater in the process. So it was a kind of pricy excursion, but it was good memories and something to look back on and laugh. =)

Glow in the Dark Shape Turtle

2011-03-06T16:25:00.000-08:00

This week we made some glow in the dark shape turtles. This was shape week for Neil at school, so we had a little fun.

What you need:

mini paper plates

paint - green or yellow and blue - make it more fun and use some glow in the dark paint

brushes

I printed off the shapes for the back, legs, tail, and head from here.

scissors

glue

What's cool about these turtles? Well, we used some glow in the dark paint! Cause that makes anything cool, right?

More Gordonness

2011-03-06T14:39:00.000-08:00

Laundry Cart Rides and Breanne's B-day Party

2011-02-27T22:59:00.000-08:00

Gordon taking Neil and Tegan for a ride in the laundry basket. There is something about boxes and baskets that kids love. Forget about toys, just pull out a laundry basket.

A month late, but Breanne had a birthday party Friday night. Good times. =)

Breanne loves Twilight, in case you couldn't tell.

Tegan loved that cake!

Tegan all cleaned up. =)

I had a great dress for Tegan today, but alas I had a sick Gordon. I woke up at 3 this morning to the sound of a puking child. Thankfully he didn't get very much on the carpet just all over the kitchen and on his blankets and sheets. Thank goodness for washing machines. Tegan helped me take care of Gordon while Jamin and Neil went to church with Grandma and Auntie Breanne. We'll just have to wait till next week to see the dress on Tegan. Gordon hasn't thrown up since he woke up in the morning and was able to keep down some food. So it appears to be a quick sickness. Yesterday was Jamin's cub car rally. Jamin loved it. He made a very whimsical car. It was a pencil with a happy face on the front. All the kids were cheering on his car because it was cute. He didn't win, but he had a great attitude. He came in 2nd for design and 8th for speed. I'll post pictures as soon as I can figure out how to transfer pictures from my phone to the computer. I forgot my camera.

Letter Book

2011-02-27T19:33:00.001-08:00

I found a way cool website this week. I added the button to the side of my blog 1plus1plus1equals1.com. They have all kinds of cool learning stuff there. I am really excited to try some of the lapbooks and preschool packs. There are cool themes like Cars and space and all kinds of stuff. I'll post some of the stuff we do as we work through it.

This week I made a colors book for the kids. Gordon and Neil played with it together. Neil sorted the colors and Gordon sorted the words. I got the idea from here. I put little pieces of velcro on so the pieces would stay on. =)

Jamin is doing his music homework thinking that what Gordon and Neil are doing looks way more fun.

We Love to go to the Dentist!

2011-02-27T10:07:00.000-08:00

This week the kiddos took a trip to the dentist. Jamin and Gordon who have been before were super excited to go, but Neil was a little nervous. When we got there, Tegan really wanted a turn too, so when the boys were done, she got a turn to sit in the chair.

Jamin didn't make it in a picture, but he took a picture of his toy Wall-E.

Gordon wanted to wear his Iron Man costume for the day, so he wore it to the dentist.

Neil turned out to be a pretty good sport at his first dentist appointment.

Tegan was the most excited to sit in the chair.

They had this super cute bench there. Perfect size for a little girl.

Oh, and no cavities!!! Hurray!

Jamin's Birthday and Dress of the Week

2011-02-20T21:34:00.000-08:00

Dress of the Week

Berrylicious cupcakes with buttercream frosting. Mmmm... We had these when some family came over, I thought we should put candles on them so we could sing to Jamin together. I am now the Mom of a nine year old!! Where has the time gone? Jamin... entertainer, creative, loves reading, playing tennis, singing, playing the piano and yummy food. He is my helper. Love you, Jamin.

On Jamin's birthday... So, this is the first year we didn't have a bunch of friends and a big party for Jamin's birthday. Do I feel sad? Maybe a little, but not really. He has had a party every year. He is spoiled. We have too many kids now I think to be having big parties for all of them every year. So does it deprive a child to have several siblings? No way. Every day is like a party. They always have each other to play with and they will always have each other to talk to. Matthew and I both come from large families and I LOVE it. Sometimes things have been hard. There is always a little drama here and there, but really we are all rooting for each other. BTW... how cute is Tegan's smile. =) This is her saying CHEESE.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T07:48:00.000-08:00

Dress of the Week - our little valentine.

My valentine from my valentine, my hubby wubby. =)

Gordon's valentines for school. I think it is hilarious how Gordon can't possibly just write people's names. He has to embellish every letter.

Jamin's valentines for school

I wanted to send something special since Jamin's birthday is the next day, so we made yummy sugar cookies for everyone in the class and put some candy hearts in too.

Happy Birthday Mom/Grandma Anderson!

2011-02-12T18:25:00.000-08:00

Hope you had a great day!

Love,

Matthew, Lisa, Jamin, Gordon, Neil, and Tegan.

Very Berry Sheet Cake

2011-02-11T12:36:00.000-08:00

This recipe is inspired by the famous Hogenson Family Sheet Cake. Now if you want that recipe, maybe you can figure it out or e-mail me privately. Or speak to the famous chef who happens to be my MIL and who makes the best food on the planet, right next to my Mom. ;)

I have had many requests for this cake, so here you go.

Cake

2 cups white sugar

2 cups flour

1 cup butter

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp

cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

~ 2 cups frozen or fresh berries

Mix well and pour into 9 by 13 inch pan.

Bake 30 -35 minutes at 400F

Icing:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

one pound icing sugar or until desired consistency

optional a little lemon zest w/ squeeze of lemon

Mix together and spread on cooled cake.

Mmm... Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-02-11T12:23:00.000-08:00

2 heaping cups flour

1 egg

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup butter - and I melt it cause I don't have the patience for that cutting in thing

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp vanilla

100 grams chocolate chips

100 grams Chipits Skor Toffee Bits - that's the secret ingredient, so shhhh... don't tell anyone.

I know I've been living in Canada too long, it's just the package says 200 grams and I use half a package. Probably 8 ounces is the same, I think.

Mix together and I use a teaspoon to make all the cookies the same size. Bake at 375F for 8 to 10 minutes.

I love cookies! Feel free to make some and drop them off so I can test to see if you made them right. Heeehee.

Lisa's Brownies

2011-02-11T12:12:00.000-08:00

Batter:

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1/2 cup cocoa

1 tsp salt

1 cup melted butter

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup flour

Center:

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup mini marshmallows

1/4 cup coconut

Frosting:

3 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup cocoa

1/2 cup butter

1 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

add milk to desired consistency

Mix all batter ingredients together and put half batter in greased 9 by 13 inch pan. Sprinkle center ingredients over batter. Then spread the rest of the batter on top.

Cook at 350F for 35 minutes. Let cool and spread on frosting.

These are VERY rich and tasty if I do say so myself. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Dyed my hair, Breanne wanted to see pics, so here you go Breanne.

2011-02-11T12:10:00.000-08:00

I love Photo Booth. I'm not sure how great the color shows up here, but it is like a purpley red with blonde highlights. I did it myself. While styling it, I noticed I missed a big chunk underneath. Lol. Oh well. I'll have to fix it sometime... maybe.

French Toast

2011-02-11T11:52:00.000-08:00

6 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

2 TBSP sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

pinch of cinnamon

bread

Beat everything together. Except the bread!

Heat pan over medium heat. Butter the pan, cause that will make it tasty... and not stick to the pan. Dip bread in batter and cook on the pan ~4 minutes per side. This is Gordon's favorite.

If you eat too much, just run a couple extra miles to burn the calories. It's all good. =)

Lisa's Oatmeal That Kids Will Actually Eat

2011-02-11T11:43:00.000-08:00

5 cups water

2 1/2 - 3 cups oatmeal

2 TBSP whole wheat flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

sprinkle cinnamon

1/2 cup unpacked brown sugar

Bring to boil, simmer ~5 minutes, and serve with milk and toast.

Yummy Fluffy Waffles

2011-02-11T11:39:00.000-08:00

1/2 cup butter melted

6 eggs separated

4 cups flour

1t salt

1 t baking soda

4 cups milk

1 T sugar

Place egg whites in medium glass or stainless steel bowl and whip stiff peaks. Mix egg yolks, flour, milk, salt, baking soda and sugar. Fold in egg whites and butter. Cook in waffle iron until done. Makes great pancakes also.

I usually multiply the recipe times 1.5 and then I have enough for another day. I freeze the extra waffles and it makes for a quick easy breakfast when I am in a hurry.

Crepes/ German Pancakes

2011-02-11T11:28:00.000-08:00

A family recipe... We make these on special occasions or lazy not much to do days.

8 eggs

4 cups milk

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

~1/2 cup melted butter

If you mix all the ingredients except for the butter and then mix in the butter last, it will keep it from becoming lumpy.

These are very thin and cook quickly on high heat. Best if use an iron pan.

Roll up with fruit, yogurt or anything else you like in the middle. Top with syrup. Mmmm...

Warning! Not good if you are trying to diet.

Silly Houses and Super Ships

2011-02-09T11:17:00.000-08:00

Playing in the Snow - Built an Alien Snowman - Hockey Tournament - Dress of the Week

2011-02-06T22:12:00.000-08:00

We finally built a snowman! I know, it is really scary looking. I still couldn't roll the snow into balls. The bottom of the snowman wasn't too bad. I was able to just build up the snow. Then I was able to take chunks of snow to build the head. It just turned out looking kind of scary. Neil liked it better before I put the head on. =) You'll have to watch the video.

Matthew was in a hockey tournament this week at the Winter Club. There were four teams, and Matthew's won the tournament. They were undefeated. He was pretty happy about it. He was the only one that did not drink out of the trophy cup. =P

DRESS OF THE WEEK

Here are some pics and a little video of us playing in the snow from the last couple weeks. I hope you enjoy. We had lots of fun. =)