The Clouse Family

New blog....

2011-02-03T11:32:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone,
I will not be updating this blog any more (nor did I ever go private like I had planned).
I have started a new blog, if you are interested in following it go to:
http://3littlemen2011.blogspot.com/

Going Private...

2010-10-26T10:39:00.002-07:00

hey y'all........we are going private. If you wanna stay connected and keep reading my silliness, send me your email address and i will add you to my list. If your not interested, well then its your loss. ;) Thanks!

Who's the idiot?

2010-10-04T19:49:00.001-07:00

That really is the question, isn't it? Who is the idiot around here? You could take a few seconds and rattle off at least 10 that you know of. (Or Maybe you don't know them, but you know their idiot just by the way they were driving in front you the other day). But in reality we are all idiots and we should all take the blame.
Yesterday morning, I awoke to an unhappy 5 year old pouting with his lower lip thrust out as far as it goes and his sad puppy dog eyes misted over with tears. In a very deflated, sad voice he whimpers, "Mom....Ethan called me an idiot." Greg and I try to console him. Reassuring Aidan that he was NO idiot. We both gave him many helpful things to say to his mean older brother. Greg and I both had some pretty good comebacks to our bullying 7 year old. At one point Greg had mentioned to Aidan that he should go to Ethan and point out that he had 2 bikes while Ethan has none...who's the idiot now? (Ethan did at one point have a bike, but got stolen when he didn't put it away when he was told...hence, idiot)
Aidan walked away and Greg and I were laughing at how adorable Aidan was and how Ethan is on his last leg around our house with all his misbehaving. A few moments passed and Aidan returns to our room, still very sad. I ask, "Aidan, what is wrong now?" He replies, "Ethan STILL thinks I'm an idiot." Greg and I roll our eyes, both of us thinking about ways to attack Ethan for all his name calling. I ask Aidan, "why did he call you an idiot this time? What did you say?" Aidan - "I said....who's the idiot with the two bikes!?" Greg and I could not hold back the laughter. I felt bad for the little guy, but Ethan, unfortunately, was somewhat correct. Although, my little cutie may not have gotten the phrasing correct, he tried. He is still not the idiot. I will place that one on us. We (Greg & I) are the idiots. We should have never told Aidan how to get even, or cut-down his attacker. But it makes for a great story!

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Breakfast at Marana

2010-08-14T07:53:00.001-07:00

We have landed at the Marana airport and sitting in the coffee shop near the aircraft transient parking. It was a nice flight and its time to put food in our bellies. Its humourous though.....we fly all this way for a yummy Saturday morning breakfast (that I don't have to cook) and Ethan orders Cocoa Puffs. :/ Silly boy.

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2010-08-14T07:34:00.001-07:00

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Flying "Hi"...

2010-08-14T07:02:00.001-07:00

just an FYI....wanted to say "hello" from up in the air. :o)
So far, so good. (Man! I love my phone!)

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"Let's fly away"......

2010-08-14T06:46:00.001-07:00

sooo....some of you may know that my husband is a pilot. And for those who don't, now you know. He got his liscense about 5 years ago. Today, Greg decided he wanted to go flying and attempt a flight with our boys aboard. We are approaching the runway...let's see how this goes......

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1st day of 2nd grade

2010-08-09T15:43:00.001-07:00

Today was Ethan first day of school. He started the 2nd grade. I can't believe it! Not to mention he is riding the bus for the first time ever! He handled it like a pro. I think I was more scared for him. He was not that excited to get back to school but I think after he settles in and makes new friends, all will be good again. I am hoping for an awesome year and less notes from the teacher. Fingers crossed!

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phones

2010-08-07T11:53:00.003-07:00

Its been a while since my last post. I can't believe that summer has already come and gone. Ethan will be starting 2nd grade on Monday! I will post more on summer activities later.
I just celebrated my 32nd bday last week. For my bday, Greg got me a Droid phone. I'm still figuring things out. There are so many things you can do! So many different apps. This is my latest. Wanna blog from your phone?...ya...there's an App for that. ;)
I can now blog from my phone and I'm doing it! CRAZY! (this does not necessarily mean that I will be any better at blogging regularly. It just means I could if I wanted too.;)
Anyway, I just felt like sharing. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! :o)

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I can cry if I want to....

2010-06-11T14:17:00.005-07:00

I am not sure what I want to say or who exactly I am saying things too. I am just a woman with a keyboard in front of me with the need to type something so I guess I will let my fingers do the talking.
I just finished one of many emotional breakdowns. The kind that brings you to your knees in prayer asking for forgiveness for all your wrong-doings and crying hysterically....y'know the cry I am talking about...the kind that drips snot from the nose that then gets entangled in your hair that is sticking to your face because of the salty tears that are streaming from your eyes that you are constantly wiping away using your fingers that in turn get sticky and gross because its also wiping the oozing aforementioned snot from your nose and you realize that not only do you not have a tissue and you are an emotional mess, but your face is now a mess too, and at this point you don't really care. Then you pull yourself together, use your shirt to soak up some of the mess, walk to the bathroom to fix yourself up and take a look in the mirror and start bawling once again because of the reflection staring back is, a mess that is, YOU. Yes, that is the kind of cry I am talking about. Yes, it is one of those days.
So what triggered this inharmonious uproar of emotion? Let me ask---does a woman really have to have a specific reason? I mean c'mon---we cry at the most ridiculous things! Examples; a t.v commercial of family members reconnecting over a phone network, a hallmark card, or when you tell your children how proud of them you are for getting along so nicely. Really, anything could set us off. However, I guess for me, something specific kind of happened.
Let me first say, this last year has been a very trying time for me. I am sure many of you can relate to struggles and most everyone has seen their fair share of problems, trials, and upsets. (Don't worry if you feel left out because you have yet to be privy to such obstacles--YOU WILL--eventually.) For me, its all still new, still learning how to deal with such obstacles. That being said, on Sunday in Relief Society we were given a lesson on being Christ-like. Christ-like love, behavior, qualities, etc. Many sisters in the ward shared their experiences in how they have shown or had others show Christ-like love to them. There were two stories that really stood out from the rest. The first one was about a woman who works in downtown Phoenix, and she often runs into beggars on the street asking for spare change. One day on her way to work she found parking at a meter on the street. She parked and realized she didn't have any change for the meter. She figured she would run inside real quick and find some, then come back out. A bum had been observing her and called out to her politely, "Hey Miss....y'know you're supposed to put change in that there meter." She replied that she didn't have any change at the moment, and he walked over and put what little change he had in his pocket and put it into her meter. (WOW! and I mean WOW! That story just about brought me to tears)
The second story was about a gal visiting her family in Utah. They were all getting ready to get into the car to head home from dinner (or something). Anyway, a poor man was approaching and asking for change. This gal was rummaging through her purse to find some when her father quickly hurried her and other family members into the car and told her to put her money away. Her father didn't even acknowledge that the poor man was there. Once everyone was in the car the poor man, in a desperate cry, pleaded out, "Please". This gal heard the pain in the poor man's voice and it bothered her deeply. She started to cry as her father drove off. She couldn't keep from crying and begged her father to turn around so she could give the man some money, but the man was no longer there. She says that memory still haunts her. Again, a very touching story.
This lesson got me to thinking if I have been able to show this love to others. It is so often we doubt ourselves and compare ourselves to others in the world. I read other friends blogs and their life is so glorified. They blog about all the good and positive things in their life, it makes you wonder...do they ever have any "bad"? How come their life is so great? (And its super-duper if their life is that grand, more power to them! :o) I guess its all relative, and how you look at things. Okay, I got off on a tangent, it happens. Back to what I was saying before... Do I have this quality? Have I shown this love for others? It made me question myself and who I am. Something very similar to the second story happened to me today. I was unable to provide anything to a begging man and I feel terrible. I felt like I had an opportunity to be Christ-like and I failed, like I just let it pass on by, like so many other opportunities that have come my way. It brought me to tears and brought out a lot of other suppressed emotions, which in turn, brought me to my knees.
I know there are other people out there who have been through the same thing, worse things, heartache, all kinds of problems, yet, I so often feel alone. I know I am not. I know I have family and friends to lean on, but I hate to burden others with my problems. When I do vent, I do feel better, but then it is quickly turned into guilt for unleashing a weight load into their lives. I don't want my problems to become their problems. So to those of you whom I have had the pleasure of conversing with, venting to, rely on to pick me up, who lend a listening ear, I thank you. Thank you for putting up with me. Thank you for your concern, your hugs and your love. Thank you for your non-judgement and you willingness to help. I am proud to say that I have wonderful family and friends (some I didn't realize I even had). I appreciate all your emotional support and all the Christ-like love that you have shown me. Thank you.

Presenting......

2010-06-05T09:46:00.006-07:00

Presenting ...in his theatrical debut....in the ever-lovable, classic musical Annie Jr., we introduce to you......*drumroll*.......Ethan Clouse as The Dog Catcher. *applause*

(cue instrumental music, dim lights, and Action!)

Now if you couldn't catch his lines (as I am sure you couldn't because I was there, and I couldn't really hear him) He said:

"Hey... Have you seen any stray mutts 'round here?"

Annie: "No, sir"

"Good. Then they must all be runnin' 'round on Astor Place."

Those were his 15 seconds of fame! And of course the finale when the whole cast comes out on stage and sings the "Tomorrow" reprise.

It was so much fun to see him in the play. He has worked so hard and could not wait to perform. He told me he thought he was going to be on T.V. again because he saw video cameras set-up to film the production. (The first time was when Fox 10 news came to his school to do the weather and they filmed Ethan holding a sign in the background)

When I told Ethan that Nana, Pop-pop, great-grandma Margie and Christian, Liz and the girls were going to be there too, his eyes lit up. He was gleaming with pride that all his family was going to watch him on stage. Of course, he was not the only one gleaming with pride. I was too. I could not be more proud of my child who wanted to be in this play, who has shown interest in the performing arts since he was a baby and now following through with great success.

I am so proud of you Ethan! You did a GREAT job!

sigh ....Ethan.....

2010-05-23T12:01:00.003-07:00

*SIGH* Ethan, I love you, but YOU are very crafty! (And when I say crafty, I mean devious)

How do I get this boy under control? I have mentioned in older posts that Ethan is a bit of a troublemaker at school. He just cannot sit still. He does not listen well. He likes to do his own thing and NOT pay attention. His teacher has a "star system" and if a child misbehaves he has to move his star down, and each time he moves it down he loses a bit of recess time. If he behaves well, the star remains at the top of the charts. If that happens, they receive a star stamp and if they stay at the top for the entire week, the children get to pick a prize out of the treasure box. I have been working with Ethan the entire school year. Figuring out ways to reward him when he behaves and praise him for all the good works he does and when he misbehaves trying to figure out an appropriate consequence to fit the crime. It does not seem to be helping because this child will do whatever he pleases, whenever he pleases. He does not listen! Now I am not saying he is a bad kid. He is actually a GREAT kid! He is very helpful, loving and kind...when he wants to be. He is incredibly smart. And when he decides to actually pay attention in class he excels! In fact, he is an incredible speller. He always aces the pretest for spelling so he never has to take the actual test and that earns himself extra playtime on Fridays. Just last week he aced the pre-test and got 2 out of the 5 challenge words correct!
(Sidenote: these were the challenge words; natural, pollution, aside, resources, and eggshells. He got aside and eggshells correct. This is how he spelled the other three; nachril, polooshun, recorses....I just thought those mispellings were so cute. He did a great job of sounding them out!)
Okay, back to what I was saying before. He really is a smart kid, but we have our troubles with him and I just do not know what to do. On Friday, I was talking with his teacher about the week. She said he struggled alot in class this week and didn't stay at top. She was sad because the week before he did so GOOD at keeping his star at the top of the charts. I interrupted her saying that he did stay at top on Tuesday. She looked at me and said, no he didn't. I said, Yes, he did. He had a star stamp on his hand. I remember because I let him stay up a little later that night. His teacher hung her head down low and said she was hoping it wasn't true. I asked her to explain. She said that on Tuesday she had to leave early so Ethan's class was walked out to "pick-up" with another teacher. (Ethan has play practice on Tuesday and stays on campus) She said another teacher had seen Ethan go back into the classroom for something and came back out a few minutes later. I was stunned! I didn't know what to say or do. I asked Ethan why he snuck back in to the room to stamp his own hand. (as if i didn't already know) He said he wanted to get a "special".
So now what? Suggesstions? Anyone? This kid is getting sneakier everyday! Help!

Stranger?

2010-05-20T14:14:00.003-07:00

Okay....ONE more post....

This week in Aidan's preschool I have been teaching them about safety and stranger danger. I was very impressed that all the preschool kids already "knew" to dial 9-1-1 in case of an emergency and to run away from strangers. They seemed to be listening and answering all the questions correctly. Tuesday after preschool, Aidan was riding his bike in the front drive. I was unloading groceries from the car. Over at my neighbors house, there was a man there who has been there the last few days to try to clean up the yard for a new couple moving into the house. His truck was in their driveway. After I unloaded all the groceries I called for Aidan to come in. He didn't respond. I walked further out into the yard and called for him again and heard his little voice say from behind the man's truck, "over here mom". I walked around the truck all the while hearing him a big belly laugh. I asked what was going on and the man told me what had happened.....

Aidan: (riding up to the 'stranger') HI! My name is Aidan. I am not supposed to talk to strangers, but you're a nice stranger.
Stranger: Okay, thanks Aidan.
Aidan: Hey!? How'd you know my name?
Stranger: You just told me
Aidan: Oh.
Me: Whats going on Aidan?
Aidan: Hi mom, I know I'm not supposed to talk to strangers, but he is a really nice stranger. He knows my name too.

I started to laugh too. The man was really nice, and he said he has had the same talk with his little kids. I chatted with him a bit and then gathered the kids into the house. I was walking into the house I told Aidan I didn't think he quite understood my lesson today. He said, "I know....I am not supposed to talk to strangers, but mom, he was a Nice stranger." I guess I still need to work with him on that.

I'm an AWESOME mom!

2010-05-20T13:15:00.003-07:00

I'm an AWESOME mom! That is what Aidan told me after I fixed his bike. Normally, I would brush it off like it was no big deal. I mean, really, what is the big deal? Greg showed me once how to change a flat; take the wheel off, take the tire off the wheel, take the tube out of the tire, put a new tube in, put the tire back on the wheel, put the wheel back on the bike. Sounds simple, right? Nothing I couldn't handle, and in 20 minutes his bike was up and rolling again. No big deal. He took his bike for a test-run and it was perfect. He rode up to me with a huge a grin on his face, and said, "You are an AWESOME mom! It totally works!!". And then Ethan nicely commented to me, "good job mom". Then it struck me....it was a big deal. It was a big deal to him that I took the time out of my day to fix something he so desperately wanted fix, so that he could ride bikes with his big brother. It was a big deal....to see him happy and know it was my fixing his bike that did that. It was a big deal....that I learned how to fix a tire so I could be prepared for this very instance. It was a BIG deal.

I've never really paid attention to the small things as being big deals. I never gave myself any credit for the little things I did. I've never thought of myself as an awesome mom. I struggle with motherhood daily. I never think I am doing a good job. I all too often focus on the bad and not on the good. I always feel like other moms are way better than I am. Other moms do way more for their kids than I do. I feel like so many other moms have their life more in order and put together than I ever will. I never think my kids ever appreciate me. So thank you Aidan for thinking I am awesome. Thank you Ethan for telling me I did a good job. I really needed to hear those things.

That day, for the first time in a long time, I really felt like an awesome mom.

I AM AN AWESOME MOM!

Las Vegas

2010-05-20T12:19:00.005-07:00

The first weekend of May, Greg and I decided to take a spur of the moment getaway trip to Las Vegas. My parents said they would watch the kids. So we packed my VW, plugged in the GPS and hit the road. We got on the road a little late Friday so we didn't roll into Vegas until about 11pm, but hey, Vegas never sleeps, so we didn't miss out. Not more than 30 minutes in Vegas, I hit a slot machine (nickels) and one some cash! I cashed-out immediately and bought Greg and I some dinner. :o)

After a good nights rest and sleeping in, we headed out for the day. Saturday was jam packed. We decided to visit Mandalay Bay and see the Shark Reef Aquarium. Very nice. I loved the Octopus! It was so active that day and I snapped a lot of pictures.

One thing that Greg and I like to do is eat. We like finding those "hole in the wall" restaurants that have the best food, usually recommended by someone. One of the shows we like is Guy Fieri's, 'Diners, Drive-ins and Dives'. Before we left we did some research and found 1 restaurant in Vegas (The Four Kegs) that he has been to many times before when he was going to school at UNLV. We watched the video clip of the place and we knew we HAD to try it. While in Vegas, we knew we had to schedule time in our busy day to take a break and get some grub and FOUR KEGS was the place we were going. The lady who served us was just the sweetest gal ever. She let us know what they were famous for and gave us some other recommendations from the menu as well. We ordered their famous Stromboli, and a dozen of their Southern Spicy hot wings and an order of onion rings. All I gotta say is YUMMMMMMM!!!! It was so good. The wings were the best I have ever had. If you are ever in Vegas, I recommend going there! Here is link to video clip from Guy's show featuring Four Kegs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHizzoeEYKY&feature=player_embedded

After a busy day of walking, gambling and eating, we decided to head back to our room to rest up before our nights activities started, but not before we placed a couple bets on the Kentucky Derby. ;o) (That was really fun to watch, too bad our horses didn't win.)

We had bought tickets to go see Cirque du Soleil's "KA" at the MGM Grand. I have never seen a Cirque du Soliel show, so I was really excited to finally get to see one. It was really good, and I am so impressed with their talent. The special effects were awesome too. I really enjoyed myself. I think Greg was pleasantly surprised that he liked it also. (He was a little hesitant at first). The MGM was really crowded. Apparently there was a fight that night too. Greg isn't too big on crowds, so we walked across the catwalk over to New York, New York, where we got to witness a fight of our own. We had stopped to take pictures and down below were a couple of chicks have their own little smackdown. It was quite entertaining. We couldn't really hear what they were fighting about, but one girl got a couple good hits in and knocked the other gal to the ground.

Sunday morning we went to the Stratosphere to watch the people do the SkyJump off the top of the Stratosphere and free-fall over 800 feet. That was pretty cool. Next time I go, I want to do it. Overall, we had a pretty good time. The drive home was long. We got stuck in traffic at the Hoover Dam for about an hour, then a few miles past that there was a fatal accident that delayed us another couple hours. After we got moving again things were fine until we reached the Phoenix city limits and the freeway was down to one lane for another accident. Ugh! By that time all we wanted to do was GET HOME! (but we still had to pick up the kids) Other than that, it was a good getaway.

Tombstone

2010-05-19T19:58:00.005-07:00

Over the weekend, Greg and I were invited to go to Tombstone by my brother Christian and his girlfriend Liz. We gladly accepted as all of our boys are HUGE fans of playing cowboys and getting into gunfights. (Aidan is the most into it...his favorite movies...John Wayne movies. I swear, its all he watches!) All my boys wanted to wear their cowboy outfits, so they strutted the street of Tombstone in their cowboy vests, hats, bandanas, and guns. Aidan was hilarious, he was so concerned about losing his gun that he kept his hand on it the whole time. It looked like he was ready to get into a gunfight himself, ready for a quick-draw. All the "Tombstone cowboys" saw him and did a quick draw to him, and he didn't get what was going on. What do ya expect...he's 4! It was a really nice day, not too hot with a nice breeze which made the day that much better. We had a great time. We saw a rootin'-tootin' cowboy show, and saw the Birdcage theater. We had all the kids (my boys and Liz's girls) take one of those old time photos too. It was soooo Cute!! (I will have to post it later after I get it scanned) I brought my camera and was able to get a couple nice pictures as well. Thanks for the invite Christian and Liz. We had a great time. :)

Aidan unknowingly ready for a quick-draw

The kids with some towns folk

Liz's girls

Marshall Aidan and his prisoner, Evil Ethan

Here are some of my "artsy" photos

Tombstone

And then there were two...

2010-04-13T16:53:00.002-07:00

It is soooo sad. Our ducks are dying! There are only two baby ducklings left. We are not sure what is happening. We have only found two dead bodies and the other ducklings have disappeared. We think its a combination of a cat or larger bird taking them, and poor nutrition. We are trying to feed the ducks, but it could also be the chlorine from the pool. The kids are handling the deaths very well. And Ethan last night during prayer asked, "Heavenly Father please keep the dead ducks safe in heaven.....oh, and keep the live ducks safe and healthy too." It was sooo sweet! So goodbye to Elizabeth, Sport, Seven, Herman, Spots, Stinky, and Ducky. And we hope that with the help of Mama Duck Mary, the two remaining ducklings, Picasso and Scooter will survive. (Yes, the boys and I named the ducks)

On another note: Today when I picked Ethan up from school, he had a star stamp on his hand! This means he a had a great day without getting into trouble. (These days are far and few between) When a day such as this occurs, I always overly praise him and tell him how proud I am of him and how excited I am that he has made good choices for the day and then he usually receives "a special", a treat or prize of some sort. So during my praising, I squeal... "Oh Ethan, i am soooo PROUD of you I just wanna give you tons of hugs and kisses all over and squeeze you with love!" (Okay, a little over the top, but I was so HAPPY) To which Ethan raises his hand to my face with a serious look and says, "that would NOT be a great "special" for me. I don't want your hugs and kisses. How 'bout you just make me a card or picture or something or do a project for me. That would be better. Besides, I don't want you getting too tired from giving me all those hugs and kisses." Isn't he sweet and so thoughtful?!? :o)

Lucky Ducks!

2010-04-09T10:57:00.003-07:00

My parents house is common for visitors to stop in, stay awhile, and then (hopefully) leave. Their house is very large and very accommodating for many. They serve as great hosts to all those who come their way, and do their best to make everyone feel at home and be as comfortable as possible. Everyone is always pleased during their stay and very appreciative of all the efforts they go to, to make their stay as pleasant as possible.

Apparently, some ducks have caught wind of this hospitality and have taken refuge in my parents luxuriously large, eye-catching pool. A mama duck has made a nest in the bushes near the pool, and her eggs have recently hatched. (I am surprised during the Easter egg hunt that no duck eggs were found.) My parents are now accommodating a family of 10. 1 mama, 9 ducklings. Since the ducklings cannot fly, they were unable to get out of the pool when they jumped in to cool off. So, my dad, being the most soft-hearted and creative man ever, built them a couple of ramps for the sweet ducklings to use to get out of the pool. And every morning, he puts a tray of Cheerios out on the deck (and some in the pool) for the ducks to eat. (I am telling you...my parents are VERY accommodating!) My kids have been LOVING this. They love to sit poolside and just watch and observe the ducks and quack at them.

Nana and Pop-pops IS the place to be!

I love you mom and dad (and so do the ducks)! :o)

April 7 - Oliver's 2nd Birthday

2010-04-08T13:09:00.004-07:00

Oliver turned 2 yesterday! He is the sweetest little boy ever. He loves playing with his brothers and trying to do all the activities that they do. Believe me....he can most definitely keep up with them too. Oliver has so many facial expressions and gets excited at just about anything. And he is by far, the most appreciative child I have to receive any kind of gift. If he opened a toy truck present, his eyes would get real wide, his jaw would drop, and with the thrill of seeing the gift he would gasp, followed by him making the sounds of a truck. Then when he would open a gift that was clothes, he would grab it, tilt his head to the side, bring the clothes to his face in a loving manner and say, "aw....cuuute..." It was so sweet. I have some great videos of him opening his gifts and blowing out the candles on his birthday brownies, but for some reason I cannot upload them on to the blog. :( So I will just have to post some pics instead.

Happy Birthday Monkey!

Easter

2010-04-04T13:54:00.004-07:00

A few pictures from our Easter Activities.......

Here are Ashley and Natalie in the Easter dresses my mom and I made for them.

The hunt is on...

Decorating skills....

Notice that most the eggs are blue...thats what you get with a house full of boys.

My new Sunday Best!

2010-03-26T16:51:00.005-07:00

Since my last sewing project, I have decided, maybe i can really try to push myself harder and try to sew something new. I decided another skirt would be fun (I don't want to do something that would only discourage me, lets still keep it simple). I found a pattern that I liked and some material and went to work. The only thing that really frustrated me was putting in the zipper. It was the first time I had ever attempted this, and though it won't be my last, I don't mind waiting awhile before I have to do it again. Anyway, I thought it turned out super cute. Then I needed to complete the belt. Also, fairly easy, but a few hang-ups that made the task take longer than expected. After the skirt and belt were finished, I realized that I did not have a blouse to go with it. I kinda had a picture in my head of what kind of top I wanted, sooooooooo.....I decided to sew that as well. Here is my completed outfit, head to toe, all sewn by me! Yay! :o)

Hey...look at this...one blouse, two GREAT looks! (The blouse is actually fairly long, but I tucked it in to the skirt because it looked better, and then with jeans I am wearing it how it supposed to be worn) :o)

Diorama

2010-02-28T14:35:00.007-07:00

I am a parent and as such, one of my duties is to help/ assist in any school projects that my child might have to create for grading purposes. The point of these kinds of projects are to help the child learn in a fun, hands-on kind of way while enhancing their creative minds.
One of Ethan's latest project was a diorama, based on a book that he read. My reaction to the breaking news of this project.... "Ugh!". However, the excitement in Ethan's face when he told me what he had to do made me realize I should put forth a little more effort and enthusiasm. After all, if I show that I am NOT interested, then he will more than likely copy my attitude on projects to come. Sooooo....after many days of procrastination (on my part, not Ethan...he reminded me everyday. So much for enthusiasm, eh?) I finally took the time to help him with his diorama. Now, I do use that term lightly...When I say "help" it's more like.....'move over kid! Let me show you how it's done. You can watch. I will let you know when its finished.' This is a technique I learned from my dad. He had a hard time letting us kids do our projects too. He was a bit of a perfectionist. Now, I am nowhere near a perfectionist, but I do feel like I can do a slightly better job than that of a 7 yr old. (or at least I'd like to think so.) However, I did allow Ethan an opinion or two about placements and colors. And I let him put the stickers on too. :o) I ended up having quite a bit of fun "helping" Ethan with his diorama. As well as, in a way, fulfilling some sort of childhood dream of actually being able to do a school project without the assistance of my parents. So this is OUR completed diorama! ;o)

I DID THIS!!!!

2010-02-21T16:07:00.005-07:00

Okay, so this might not be a big deal to some of you out there, but to me...this is a HUGE accomplishment! I turned this...................

Into this..............................

Yay me! Now I have a new skirt for spring, for the low price of FREEEEEEE!!! Woot woot!

Kids....

2010-02-21T15:39:00.004-07:00

Aren't kids so darn CUTE?! I especially love it when they are so tired from running around all day that they can fall asleep just about anywhere, or while they were in the middle of doing something. I think a sleeping child is one of my favorite things to see. :o)

And while on the subject of cute kids, my oldest, Ethan, did something the other day that really impressed me. We working on his homework and reviewing the amounts of coins. I asked him to make 100 out of dimes, nickels and quarters and if he got them correct, he could keep the money. He did and he made $3. Then he said, "Oh, mom, can I take one of my dollars to school? There is something I want to buy." I said yes and then asked him what it was that he wanted. He continued to tell me that there was a little girl at school who was VERY sick and they were selling ribbons to make her feel better. I was kind of aware of this situation and was very proud that Ethan wanted to be apart of it. I asked him if he knew this little girl, if she was a friend. He said, "No, I don't know her, but I REALLY want to help make her feel better, could I please get a ribbon and wear it for her?" I absolutely was all for him buying a ribbon and I was very proud that he was willing to help a stranger in need. What a sweet boy I have. He amazes me everyday. :o)

Spring Musical

2010-02-15T16:57:00.004-07:00

A few weeks ago, Ethan came home from school and handed me his folder. Inside the folder was a list of available after school clubs/ programs that a child could sign up for. Ethan was already apart of the running club but I asked him if there was another club he wanted to join. Much to my surprise, he excitedly stated that he wanted to be in the spring musical. My eyes just about popped outta my head! "What?! Really?!!" I exclaimed. I could not believe the words that came out of his mouth or the words that followed, "...it would be awesome, you like talk, and like sing and stuff and like people watch you." I was floored! I know he loves music and singing, but the acting thing is kind of new to me. I LOVE the performing arts so I am thrilled that Ethan seems to have the same kind of interest. I happily agreed and signed him up.

A couple days later, I went to the informational meeting to get the scoop. They are doing a shortened version of "Annie". Hmmm....not too many male roles in that one. They gave us a list of characters and I asked Ethan which one he wanted to audition for. (yes, audition)There was Rooster, or Daddy Warbucks, or....Ethan interrupts me and says, "I wanna be the police officer." He points to the character list of "extras" and there was 'police officer'. Yep.....definitely an 'Ethan' role. So we got a script and the song and went to practicing. (Okay, we really didn't practice. I completely forgot about it and Sunday night rolled around I realized auditions were the next day) I felt horrible. I grabbed Ethan, ran thru the first verse of "A Hard-Knock Life" and highlighted his lines on the script. We ran thru them a couple times and then he asked if we could be done with practicing.

The next day, I drove to his school to run thru his lines with him before he auditioned. It only took a couple run-throughs and he had it down perfect. The auditions were "closed" so parents couldn't see them. It has been a week of suspense for me as I wait to hear if he got the part or A part or not. (Ethan didn't really seem to care one way or another) He must have nailed his audition because HE MADE IT!!!! He got the part of "policeman" and "dog catcher"!!!! I am so EXCITED and so PROUD of my little man! Yay!

Pictures of my Boys

2010-02-13T15:15:00.003-07:00

I decided to spend this lovely saturday taking pictures of my handsome boys. Enjoy!

Aidan Rides his Bike!

2010-02-06T10:15:00.002-07:00

I can't believe it! I really can't. We struggled with Ethan for years to learn how to ride his bike and he constantly refused. (Ethan learned how to ride his last year) Now, Aidan, 4 years old, learned how to ride his bike in FIVE minutes. (Yes. Really. FIVE minutes!) Aidan got his bike for his birthday last September. He rode it (with training wheels) a couple of times but then the tube in the tire got some holes and its been sitting in the garage ever since. Today, Greg decided it was time to fix the bike. Greg had to take the training wheels off to fix the back tire. After that was done, I suggested to Aidan he should try riding his bike without the extra help, but re-assured him that I would be there to catch him if he fell. Aidan was hesitant, but went along with the plan, and then BAM! He was doing it by himself. He is out there having the time of his life riding bikes with his older brother. I AM SO PROUD OF MY LITTLE MAN! So proud, I think I might cry. This is why I LOVE being a mom, for these precious moments that come once in a lifetime. His smile and laughter at what he has accomplished today, brings such joy to my heart. GO AIDAN! :o)

Carseat dancing

2010-02-03T08:01:00.002-07:00

I love that my boys LOVE music. I love that they LOVE to dance. I love watching them too. Olie has the same love of dancing and when he hears music, no matter the place, he will start to groove. He is actually pretty good, and getting better everyday. Unfortunately, he is a little restricted in his carseat. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! :)

(Sorry for the camera shake. We are in Greg's big truck and it gets pretty bumpy)

LoVe aT WeNDy'S?

2010-01-27T18:13:00.003-07:00

Yesterday afternoon, the kids and I were running errands in town and we decided to meet Greg for lunch. We didn't have a lot of time so we ended up just running into Wendy's for a quick bite. We ordered our food and sat down. Greg followed bringing our order to the table when he nudges me to look at the table next to us. Greg whispered to me, "they're on a date." It was an older couple. The guy kind of looked like Kip from 'Napoleon Dynamite'. The woman, to me, looked a little more like Fran from "Mama's Family". They were most definitely on a blind date. Why Wendys was the meeting choice? I will never know. There was a little chatting, but I'd say about 10 minutes into it the woman was out. I couldn't really hear what they were saying but Greg kept his ear open. The woman said, "...well, I have some errands to run, so...". Doh! Poor guy. He was trying so hard to get her to stay, and leaving the door open for a second chance. He said something along the lines of, "....well, will there be another date? .....don't give up yet." But clearly the woman was not interested. She got out of there as quickly as she could. I feel for the guy. I guess love was not found at Wendy's after all.

Locked in the Truck

2010-01-17T13:10:00.004-07:00

Alright....you hear the stories all the time about the woman who locks her keys in the car with her wallet inside, her dog inside, or her baby inside, and you laugh and think that won't ever happen to you or you pray that it never it happens to you...well, I am that woman. It has now officially happened to me. I was spending the afternoon at my parents house while Greg was out of town on a scouting trip. He was to return home in a few hours. I decided it was time to gather the boys and all my things and put them in the car. The older boys were playing so I woke Oliver from his nap and walked out to the car to get him settled first. He would be the easiest to contend with. With child, diaper bag, purse, phone, football and keys in tote, I unlock my truck and set the keys on the door panel. I put my various other items on the floor, and other seats and placed Olie in his carseat and buckled him in. I closed the door and walk around the truck to open the other side to start placing other children in when I hear a honk and a click of the locks. My eyes got wide as I starting rambling, "no, No, NO!!!" I panic and run back to Olie's side of the truck and try the door again (knowing full well it wouldn't open on that side either). I peer in the window and see Oliver with a grin from ear to ear holding the keys and continually pressing the lock button. (Which also makes the truck honk each time it is pressed) My mother then comes walking out with the older boys in a bit more of hurried walk, as she thought I was honking at her to put a move on it just to find out that it was Oliver. He had locked himself in the truck.
She went in to get my dad who was watching the Cardinal football game. (Quite an important game to all us Arizonans) I continued to try to convince Olie to move his thumb from the lock button to the un-lock button. Now I am sure this would have been quite amusing to anyone watching, to see a mother begging her 21 month old to please un-lock the truck and let mommy in. But as I said, the Cardinal game was on, and there would be no one there to witness this. Olie did manage to move his thumb to the un-lock button but refused to push it. (Again, with a Cheshire cat grin from ear to ear) He toyed with me and the keys for a bit and then in my last attempt for him to push the darn button, he looked at me, held the keys up, made an "uh-oh" face and dropped the keys to the floor. My head hung low wondering what to do next, and his chin up high, and yes.....grinning from ear to ear.
My dad came out with a bent hanger and went to work trying to break into the truck. I called my brother-in-law, who was watching the game, to please run to my house and get the spare key and drive it out to my parents house. This would take at least another 50 minutes. My dad continued to work at trying to find some way to get the door open. This continued for over and hour. Olie was really a good kid and enjoyed all the attention he was getting. It wasn't until the last 15-20 minutes of the ordeal when he started to get upset and realized he didn't want to be in the truck anymore. My dad finally went inside and got on the internet to see if he could find any information on breaking into my kind of truck. He did. And 10 minutes later... success. Olie was free, and my sister-in-law just around the corner with the spare keys. (She decided to drive them to me and allow her hubby to stay and watch the game.) I apologized for her having to drive all that way but she was quite understanding and I thanked her profusely. (As did my dad) And of course my dad came to my rescue too, so of course a huge Thank you to him as well. He did a fantastic job. I appreciate all the help.
Moral of the story....when you need to know how to break into a car, the internet is a great resource. Oh......and when you're a mom, things like this will happen often, so laugh about it because there are plenty more ordeals to come and many others who can relate. Don't believe me...go on...just ask your own mom. All I can say.....is at least I didn't leave my child in the carseat on top of the car and...........well.....thats not my story to tell but if you ever get a chance, ask my mom about it. :o)

Attention All Walmart employees......

2009-11-10T19:55:00.003-07:00

......."this is an Adam Alert. There is a missing boy, age 4, in a Diamondbacks uniform. I repeat, this is an Adam Alert. All Walmart employees be on a lookout for a 4 yr old boy, in a Diamondbacks uniform."

If you were shopping in the Maricopa Walmart this afternoon, you might have heard that. And yes...it was my Aidan that was missing. He walked away from the cart as most children do. I figured he was following Ethan around but he never responded to my calls and I could not find him in the aisles we were in. Although at first, I did not think it was a big deal that my child had wandered off, I got a little nervous when 10 minutes had gone by, and I still had not seen him as I was franticlly pacing up and down aisles. And it didn't help when Ethan would nonchalantly state...."he's probably been kidnapped." Finally, I asked a worker if he had seen a little boy and she sent out an Adam alert throughout the Walmart. Some employees blocked the entrances and all other employees stormed through-out the store looking for my son. Another 5 minutes went by (but it felt like 20) and someone finally found him. He was hiding in the clothes section. As the man walked my son to me, I didn't know if I should hug him or beat the living daylight outta him. I decided to embrace him instead. (After all, there would have been too many witnesses to the abuse...didn't feel like having CPS knocking on my door.)
After we got home, I asked him why he left, he just shrugged his shoulders. (What more can you expect from a 4 yr old) He said he didn't hear me calling but he hid because he saw people coming towards him and they were strangers. (I am pretty sure the people he hid from were all the workers trying to find him) Anyway, he is safe. All is well. He never got a beating, but he had a LONG time-out when we got home. As well as a long talk! We'll see if he learned his lesson, but I am guessing he didn't.

Toothless!

2009-11-10T17:32:00.005-07:00

Ethan's front teeth have been wiggly for quite some time now. I have been wanting to pull them out every chance I could but Ethan insisted it was not time yet. About a week ago, Ethan announced to me that it was time for one of his front teeth to come out. And he was going to do it on his own. The video shows it all, except for the actual tooth coming out. (I am no videographer!) Enjoy!

Ethan's other front tooth was bound to come out sooner or later. It was barely hanging in there, but as insisted before....it was not ready, according to Ethan. Last night at dinner the tooth was still in tact, by the time FHE rolled around...it was gone. Ethan didn't even know. Greg actually was the one who noticed. He asked Ethan where his tooth went. Ethan says, "its right...huh? Where did it go?" With a puzzled look on his face, he starts searching the rooms. Sorry kid...you swallowed that one. He didn't even realize he consumed his tooth while eating dinner, nor did any of the rest us. I now have a toothless son!

Planes!

2009-10-08T13:58:00.002-07:00

My dad made my boys the cutest planes for them. Aidan got his a while ago but Ethan just got his for his birthday. My dad is the greatest! Aidan's looks like his dad's plane (or rather the fly club's plane) and of course Ethans had to be bigger and better, and dad did just that! They are both AWESOME! And the kids love 'em! Thanks a bunch Dad!! (oh, and mom, great paint job on Ethan's pilot. The face is adorable. You are also VERY talented! : ) Greg's fly club plane

Aidan's plane

Ethan's Plane

Birthdays!!!

2009-10-08T12:24:00.010-07:00

I finally took some pictures off my camera and ready to blog a little more, and share some stories. First off, back to September (the 18th to be exact) we celebrated Aidan's 4th birthday, as well as, mine and Greg's 10th anniversary. It was a really nice day. We did Aidan's birthday during the day and had a family picnic in the park where he could ride his new bike. Then in the evening, Greg and I went out, and left the kids with the babysitter. We took the motorcycle and headed out. I had no idea where we were going. We pulled up to the Temple and parked. (we got a lot of strange looks from people walking outside, I am sure it is not often they see a couple going to the Temple on a motorcycle)Let me make this clear...we were not in sunday dress. He took me to the visitors center, and reserved a room where we could watch some movies. Afterwards, we planned on going to get some grub. There was a problem though....the motorcyle battery was dying, so we had to jump start the cycle. Picture this....Greg on the motorcycle, me pushing him on it as fast as i can, in the Temple parking lot. Are you laughing yet? I was! It finally started and I hopped on. Greg was going as fast as he could to get to the closest Checkers he knew of. Unfortunately, this Checker happened to be at the top of a hill, and the battery was quickly dying. I am repeating in my mind...."please don't stop on this hill. I don't want to push this thing uphill". He gunned it and the battery died just as we coasted into the Checkers parking lot. Phew! Now what? A new motorcycle battery has to charge first before you can install it. So how does he fix this problem? He quickly calls his friend Clint who also has an R1. Clint came to our rescue and took the battery out of his R1 and installed it in ours. Thank You Clint! (I told you, you'd make the blog!) We grabbed a bite to eat at Matta's and then went for some dessert at Nielsen's Custard. (That is what we did on our first date) Then headed back home. It was a pleasant evening. Happy Birthday Aidan. Happy Anniversary Hubby! : )

Yestersday was Ethan's 7th birthday! Although, I'd say he has had a birthday week. It is his fall break this week and what a week he has had! Monday he spent the day with his grandparents (greg's parents) and then in the evening went over to his Nana and Pop-pop's (my parents) for dinner. My parents decided to give him his birthday present a little early. His face lit up. My dad made him a an airplane (which Ethan was aware of) and it looks great! Ethan hasn't stopped playing with it. Thanks pop-pop!

Then on Tuesday, I took the boys to Chucky E Cheeses and Ethan invited his friend Nicholas to come along. We also invited Aunt Terri, and cousins Thomas and Andrew. Everyone had a playmate. : ) Then on Wednesday (his actual birthday), before Greg and I left for work, we did "under the covers" which is a birthday tradition on Greg's mom side. The birthday boy comes into our bedroom where everyone is in bed waiting for him. We tell him how we forgot to get him presents, and then send him out of the room so we can see if we can find any laying around. Then everyone grabs a random object and puts it 'under the covers'. Ethan was less than enthused and a little confused with the kleenex box, hairbrush and box of diapers. So then we said okay, go back outside and we will look a little harder. So Ethan picks up all of his other presents and walks away. We get the real presents and hide them under the covers. I think it is safe to say that Ethan really enjoyed these gifts much better. The boys spent the day at Nana's house while I had to work. My mom made his day real special by making him pumpkin shaped pancakes for breakfast, then they got to make and decorate Halloween cookies a little later. In the afternoon, she took the boys to a park where there is a train you can ride. Unfortunately, the train wasn't running that day, but they still had tons of fun! Thanks mom for being such a great help! Finally, we made it home for dinner and cake. He definitely had a great, eventful birthday! Happy Birthday Ethan!

Side note: As I was tucking Ethan into bed he whispers to me, "Mom, you better put my diapers on my desk." I giggled and whispered back, "We were just kidding Ethan, those diapers aren't for you. " He looks at me, smiles and says. "Oh! okay!" What a sweetie! I guess he really did like all of his "gifts".

This is a little random, but worth sharing........HOW?

After a few minutes, he finally managed to wiggle free from his shorts. Then he proceeded to figure out how to get his shorts unstuck. : ) It was all very entertaining!

The Taste Test

2009-09-21T18:48:00.005-07:00

Here's the dish....you've all seen the commercial for Carl's Jr. advertising their new Big Carl against the the McDonalds Big Mac. I had mentioned that I thought that the new Big Carl looked mighty tasty! To which Greg replied, there is no way that it beats the Big Mac. Which, in turn, resulted in the ultimate test taste. We bought 1 of each to decide what we thought was actually the best.....Here are the Results:

Greg - 100% for the Big Mac. He loves them! Always has. Always will.

Afton - This was a hard decision for me. They are pretty comparable. The Pros for the Big Mac (in my opinion) were the pickles and the shredded lettuce (I love shredded lettuce & pickles are a must) and it comes in a sturdy cardboard box, so that the bun doesn't get squished. The Big Carl had lettuce but it was not shredded and they didn't have pickles. It had either chopped pickles or relish, it was hard to tell because it was mixed with the special sauce. However, the Big Carl was bigger, had a better tasting hamburger (it had more of the off the grill, charbroiled taste) a tasty special sauce and over all appearance just looked better. It left me satisfied and the price seemed like a good deal to me. I rule in favor of the Big Carl.

Ethan - 100% for the Big Carl. He said he chose the Big Carl because the cheese was better, and the bread was better. He didn't care for the special sauce on either hanburger, but he thought that the Big Mac had too much sauce on it, therefore he rules in favor of the Big Carl.

There you have it. 2:1 - the Big Carl is the winner!

1st Grade

2009-09-19T09:29:00.006-07:00

First day of school.....

Backpack - check

New shoes tied tight - check

Clean, new clothes - check

Healthy Lunch prepared by mom - check!

I really gotta say I am so excited that Ethan is finally going to school for a full day that he has to bring a sack lunch now. And I am so pround of myself for packing a such a great lunch too! Check out...carrot sticks and water. Go Me! (I know it won't last, but at least I did good on the first day)

I can't believe Ethan is in 1st grade! He is getting so big. I honestly can't believe how much he has grown and how smart he is. He is really good in math and a great reader! (Both qualities he gets from his father) He is creative and is a pretty darn good story teller. His teacher noticed these qualities the first day of school. Ethan sits at the far left of the room by the windows, desk facing the board. Apparently, half way through the day and during instructions, Ethan picked up his desk and turned it around so he was facing the door (to the right of the room). The teacher asked him why he did that. He wisely says, "because my neck hurts from turning and looking in the same direction all the time" Mrs. Brothers was quite amused by this and said he was justified in his reasoning. He did not get in trouble for moving his desk, but she did seat him in a new area. I think his teacher is really nice and down to earth. I think she will be real good for Ethan. Ethan is a bit of a wiggleworm. He has a hard time focusing on the task at hand. (Both qualities he gets from me.) So if you have any suggestions on how to deal with this and get him more focused, I am all ears.

Update Pt. 4 - Lake Powell

2009-09-08T16:41:00.010-07:00

So here we are in September, and I am still trying to catch up on summer activities. (It is so easy to get behind!)

In August, Greg and I had planned a fun weekend to Lake Powell with some friends of ours. This would be our last 'Hoorah!' of the summer. I love Lake Powell! I was blessed with wonderful parents who were consistent and persistent on going to Lake Powell every summer, when all of us kids lived at home. It was The summer vacation we all looked forward too. In recent years, its has been increasingly difficult to get all of us kids up there for vacay with all of our "other activities or obligations". I'd say it has been about 4 or 5 years since I have been to Lake Powell. (Oh, it hurts me to admit that. That's so sad!) Anyway...Our kids needed to experience Lake Powell, and Greg and I really needed to getaway, so we packed up the toy hauler, invited some friends, prepped the boat and we were off. Let's just say, in this short 4 day weekend, we have plenty of stories.

We camped on the beach in Lone Rock, which we have never done before. We were not expecting really soft sand. So...we got stuck. But luckily, Greg is no dummy. He aired down the tires and we were off to find a camp spot...and then we get stuck again. Luckily some kind men who were watching us, came over to help dig us out. Yay! We were off...again....finally we made it to the spot of our choice and awaited the arrival of our friends. We made sure to let them know exactly where we were, and that they needed to air down their tires, and too not let off the gas. Just go as fast as you can or you will get stuck! After giving this advice, Geoff and Karen made it just fine, but Clint....not so much. He got stuck. Big Time! And a little to close to another camper. It took us (or the men) a long time to get Clints truck and trailer unstuck and once they were able to move forward, unfortunately, he hit the camper he was next too. But the damage was minimal.

Day 2 came along and we took the boat out a little. It was really windy and the waters were choppy. That kind of weather really tosses a little boat around, but it made for good tubing. Geoff and I were the only ones willing to go for a ride. I don't like to toot my own horn, but I am pretty good when it comes to tubing. Greg was taking me thru some rough waters and I held on for dear life. I used muscles I hadn't used in a long time and I definitely paid the price for it later.

Day 3, we had planned to take a trip up the lake to Rainbow Bridge, a must-see when going to Lake Powell. Geoff and Karen had never been so they joined us as well. Now, Greg and I have never had to navigate our way to Rainbow Bridge before. Dad was always in the drivers seat and we always enjoyed the passing canyons. Greg was smart enough to bring a small map of LP and a GPS, so we wouldn't get lost. It didn't work...we got lost anyway, but I will take the blame. I am a poor navigator. I always have been. We managed to figure out where we had gone wrong and made it to Rainbow Bridge. It was beautiful, as always. Then we had our picnic lunch and drove thru a couple more canyons, just for fun. On the way back to camp, we hit another little snag. Although, Greg and I have been to LP many times before, we are still novices at the whole boating thing. We came to a bottleneck marked with buoys as "flat wake". We know what "no wake" means but had never seen 'flat wake' before. So we had a small wake behind us, and then we had the rangers in front of us. We got pulled over! They explained to us that flat wake and no wake mean the same thing, to which Greg decided to argue with the guy. Nonetheless, they did a boat safety check and let us go. Once back at camp, we grabbed our other friends and headed across the bay to the 'Lone Rock' for some cliff jumping. Good Times!

After we got back to camp the wind had picked up. The men decided to take down our shade. In doing so, Greg managed to run into our anchor and scrape up his leg. (for those of you who do not have a strong stomach, you may want to avert your eyes....the following pictures may not be something you want to see)

This is the anchor that Greg hit his leg on. If you look at the top, left corner you will see a lump of skin

A close-up of the skin and hair that came off his leg.

To follow with disasters....Clint had brought up his son's dirt bike for riding. It had training wheels. This is something Ethan has been begging us for. He wants his own dirt bike to ride. I have resisted his (and Greg's) request to get one. He just seems to little. However, since there was one there he could ride, I thought, okay, he can try it out. Ethan hopped on that thing and hit the throttle almost running Olie over in the process. He let go and Greg exclaimed to watch out and go slow. Unfortunately, this bike had a twist throttle which Ethan is not used to. He hit it again, going too fast, Ethan got scared and tried to jump off, but for some reason did not let go, and just dragged himself behind it for a short way before riding it into the lake, thus drowning the bike. The men raced after him but could not get to the bike before it went under. The waters were shallow and they were able to recover the bike, but I am not sure how well it works now. Ethan was terrified and no longer wants a dirt bike of his own. I agree.

(He makes a much better passenger than driver)

Later that night, after our bellies were full, the sun had gone down, the kids were sleeping,and the full moon had risen, we asked if anyone wanted to go for a night ride around Lone Rock. No one seemed too interested so Greg and I headed out for a romantic night ride under the stars and glowing full moon. (It was beautiful!) Just after leaving the beach (with no wake behind us) I told Greg that something was missing. It just didn't seem like we had enough lights. Greg told me we were fine the red and green lights on the front of the boat were on. He assured me we were good to go. Still, I argued, "are you sure? it just doesn't seem like we have enough lights..." Greg, strongly points out, 'Look upfront Afton, the red and green lights are on'...to which I replied, 'well, now you have red and blue lights behind you!' Yep, we got pulled over...Again! The rangers were friendly and asked us if we had the light for the back of the boat. Greg perks up quickly. (You could almost see that light bulb go on above his head) "Oh yeah! my wife was trying to tell me something was missing." (Ah..ya! Duh! I do have my moments) Once we were 'legal' to ride at night, they let us go. It was quite humiliating and hilarious for us both. Pulled over twice in the same day, on our first trip to Lake Powell with us as the 'experienced' boaters. What will my family say?!

Day 4, it was time to pack up and leave. I woke up that day SORE! My muscles ached so bad from tubing. I couldn't even dress myself. I was so stiff. And riding in my husbands truck over sandy bumps were very painful. At one point, I think I even cried. Once we got home, I soaked in a hot bath for about 20 minutes. It was relaxing but didn't really help. The next day, I was still stiff, but able to move a little better. I was pathetic. But I still rate our Lake Powell getaway as a '10'. It just doesn't get any better than Lake Powell.

Update Pt 3.

2009-08-23T10:29:00.011-07:00

I know, I know....I am very slow on my updates! July was a lot more exciting than June by far. This was the month that we did a little travelling and of course its the month of....MY BIRTHDAY!
July has always been one of my favorite months, and always full of events. This year was no different. As usual, for the 4th of July, we headed up to my parents cabin in Colorado. Greg and I had a wonderful time. The weather...awesome, the scenery....gorgeous, the kids.....entertained, the company....enjoyable, and the entertainment.....ROCKIN'! Greg and I trailered up his motorcycle so we could take a fun ride around the Colorado mountains. It was beautiful. Greg also brought up his bow and did a little target practicing. (He never missed a target! He is GOOD!) The kids were occupied with their very own adventures. They had so much ground to explore. They spent all of their time outside in the fort, on quad rides or hiking the property and looking for wild life. They were in heaven. Greg and I also managed to getaway and play a little golf with my brother Christian. That was a lot of fun. I have never been golfing before, in fact, I would still say I have never been golfing because I didn't actually golf. However, I did get to drive the golf cart around and look for all the missing balls that didn't go where they were supposed to. It was like an Easter egg hunt in July (Greg and Christian are not the best golfers) It was really quite fun. I enjoyed myself. And of course, when Christian and Greg get together....it is always entertainment!

(Not the best picture of Christian, but I like it. )

Later in the month we headed up to Snowflake. Unfortunately, it was for Greg's grandmother's funeral. Although, the reason for visiting was sad, we still had an enjoyable time reuniting with relatives and catching up.

In my free time I did a little sewing. A couple of my closest friends' birthdays were in July. I sewed some aprons for them. They turned out really cute, and I was pleased with the final result. They liked them too!

On Friday the 31st (my birthday and 'golden year'), we loaded the kids in the car and headed to California. Before actually getting on the road, we needed to stop and fuel up. I was messing around with my camera and taking pictures of the kids in the back seat. It just so happened, the way I was sitting in my seat viewing the pictures i had just taken, I was facing my window. The guy fueling his truck up right next to us was chatting on the phone and noticed the camera, to which he stated in a joking manner, "Oh! Thanks for wanting to take my picture. " I laughed and then he told me to have a nice day. To which I replied, "I will! Its my birthday!" I did not expect what happened next. He walked over to our truck, introduced himself, 'Bob', shook my hand, wished me a happy birthday and then asked if anyone in the family had sung me the "Birthday Song". (When in fact....they had not!) I answered "no", and then he proceeded to get after Greg for not doing so. He demanded that Greg and the boys sing me the birthday song. Greg said he would but that was not good enough for Bob. He wanted Greg to do it right then! Greg tried to drive away but Bob put his hand on the truck and continued to slightly jog outside the truck until Greg sang. (Bob was doing this all while still chatting on the phone to his buddy) Finally, Bob decided that he would just sing to me instead, so he (and his friend on the phone) sang me Happy Birthday in the gas station. I think Greg was a bit annoyed by the guy, but for me, it was pure entertainment! I had the hugest smile on my face and was continually laughing at the guy. It was so sweet for a complete stranger to make such a big deal about my birthday. (And yes, I eventually got the birthday song from the family too.)

This is "Bob"

We stayed at the Embassy suites (our favorite place to stay), and went to Knottsberry Farm. Now Greg and I have become quite addicted to the Food Network Channel. When we arrived at the hotel, and put the kids to bed, we turned on the TV to the Food channel. It just so happened to be airing a special on the best places to eat at theme parks, or something like that. Much to our surprise, they mentioned Knottsberry farm. They had recommended that we eat at Mrs. Knotts Restaurant and get the fried chicken. It was the best around. I have to say....I cannot disagree. It was by far, the best fried chicken I have ever tasted. Thank you Food Network Channel. Thank you Mrs. Knotts. Thank you.

Knotts was fun and there was plenty to do, besides eating. We rode quite a few rides, but spent most of the time in the children's side of the park. (Aidan and Ethan both had a great time) After a long day at the park, tons of rides, and fun shows to watch, the kids were exhausted. We headed back to the hotel, but not before grabbing a couple of slices of Boysenberry pie! (Also, Delicious!) I'd say, the weekend/ my birthday was a definite fun success! Thank you, Greg, for making it happen! : )

Ethan was just tall enough to ride almost all the rides!

Poor Aidan was exhausted! He fell asleep during the ice skating show.
But he still was able to meet Snoopy!

Update Pt. 2

2009-08-23T09:32:00.014-07:00

June came and went, nothing to exciting. I wish I could remember funny kid stories, but as I mentioned before because I put off blogging or writing anything down, I have forgotten them. I think I will post a few random pictures......

Bathtime is always a splashing good time!

Alright, there might be a story here....My mother went through her attic awhile back and found all my little girl clothes that she had saved. I took them home and put them in a room. (My chances of ever having a girl is slim to none, but I can't see me getting rid of these awesome dresses that my mother sewed for me either) One day as the boys run rampant thru the house they stumble across these dresses. I am too busy doing something else to realize that house got awfully quiet. When I finally did hear the sweet sound of silence in my house, it registered that the boys were up to no good. I dropped what I was doing to quickly search for whatever disaster I may find. What I found was not a disaster but a disturbing scenario. Ethan and Aidan were playing house. Ethan dressed Aidan in one of my dresses and my old tap shoes, while dressing himself in black. When I confronted Ethan about what was going on, he said that he is in black because he was getting married, and Aidan was going to be his wife. Like I said...DISTURBING!

However, the boys are best friends....

Now lets play a quick game of "Guess Who?"....Can you tell which one is which?

Answers:
1. Olie
2. Aidan
3. Olie
4. Aidan

Its an Update! Pt.1

2009-08-20T08:12:00.008-07:00

Okay....so I have no real excuse as to why it has been so long since my last post. I will just say, it was summer so I took a break. (Not to mention that I just saw Julie & Julia, which really kinda guilted me into getting back into blogging...not that I will ever become famous from my posts, or have millions of fans, but I need to update occassionally so I don't lose the very few who actually do read my blog.)

There have been many things I could blog about but because I put off writing the stories down, I forgot many. (Doh!) I will do my best to recall past events. To start off with, Ethan finished Kindergarten and will be starting 1st grade next week! I can't believe I have a 1st grader! I am really looking forward to the new school year and having Ethan in school for a full day. (Yay!) I think he really enjoyed going to school last year, and making new friends, and I am hoping this year will be the same. The school had a kindergarten graduation. Ethan looked so handsome in his cap and gown. All the kids got to walk across the stage, receive their certificate of completion and announce what they wanted to be when they grow up. Most of the boys said police officer or soldiers, many of the girls chose ballerinas, veterinarians or teachers, one boy stated he wanted to work for Intel (hmmm, interesting), and one little girl mentioned...she just wanted to be a "smart girl", but Ethan.....drum roll please.....he announces that when he grows up he wants to be "Iron Man!" (And an awesome superhero he would be!)

Ethan with his teachers Mrs. Cross (L) and Mrs. Karamesic (R)

Ethan patiently awaiting his turn to walk across the stageWe are so proud of our E-boy!

While on the subject of Ethan; he has learned how to ride his bike! (Lets hear it for the boy! woo-hoo!) This was so exciting to watch. I have spent countless days trying to get him interested in learning to ride. He would not give me one ounce of enthusiasm. Then one day, he was in the front yard, walked to the garage, wheeled his bike out and announced..."I think I want to learn to ride my bike today." REALLY?! With no hesitation, Greg jumped up, grabbed Ethan's bike, held him steady and he was off. No problems. Ethan mastered the art of riding in no time!

Surprise!

2009-05-05T15:07:00.004-07:00

Aidan, my second child....the attention getter...he keeps you laughing. My day is never empty when he is around.

It was almost time to pick Ethan up from school when I urge Aidan to go to the bathroom so we don't have any accidents later. He agreed. I go about my business of getting Oliver ready and in the truck to leave. Aidan comes walking out to the truck grabbing his butt. "Aidan, I told you to use the bathroom," I said. "I did mom! I went pee," he responds as he grabs at his butt again. I ask him if he has to go #2. "NO! I do not!" he says. I walk Aidan to the bathroom and tell him I think he really needs to go #2. He screams at me...."mmooomm! I don't have to go poo-poo! I really don't...there is no poo in my butt!" I pull down his pants and I am stunned....there is a surprise for me in his pants, but he is right...there is no poo. I smile and then I laugh..."Aidan ~ why is there money in your underwear?!" (As there happens to be silver dollar resting in his underpants.) He smiles at me and says, "oh mom! I am just a silly boy...isn't that silly? hehehe. I told ya there was no poo!" Yes. He was right, but it is beyond me why he thought keeping his money in his underwear would be safer place than his pocket or money jar. However, I am thrilled that for once I get paid for the "surprises" that are in his underpants.

Busted!

2009-04-29T21:38:00.010-07:00

What an interesting night I just had. Where do I start? I know!...How about the part where my neighbor called the cops!

After I left work, I picked the kids up from the sitters and then headed home. Ethan and Aidan wanted to ride their bikes outside while I made dinner. That was fine by me...didn't feel like screaming at them for running wild in the house. Ya know...normally that would be fine, but it was a long day at work and I just didn't have the energy. I put Oliver in his high chair and gave him some crumbs to nibble. He, too, was not in the best of moods...running a bit of a fever. Greg had just left to go help on a service project for the Young Men in our ward. I stand in the kitchen alone with a few moments of silence (aside from the music I was listening to) when Ethan comes in to tell me that the neighbor wanted to talk to me. My first thought..."I really hope you didn't poop in their yard." I walk outside to see my neighbor standing in the street, hands on her hips and giving me the stare down with her head half-cocked. (This might be a tad long)

Me: "Hell..." I am quickly interrupted, I could not finish my greeting.

Neighbor: Can you please tell me why your husband pulled my plant out!

Me: Huh? (very confused) Excuse me?

Neighbor: Your son told me that your husband destroyed my plant! And that he did it to be mean! Why would he do that?! I don't come on to your property and do those things!!!

Me: I am sorry. I have no idea what you are talking about. I never saw my husband do anything. Did you?

Neighbor: No, I didn't see him, but your son said it happened...why would he make that up?!

***Let's think about this for a minute....People....do 6 yr olds ever tell the truth when they think they are in trouble? C'mon lady...really?****

Me: Well...he is only 6. He is known to come up with some real whoppers. (a.k.a. lies)

Neighbor: If your husband is a "hater" then he doesn't belong in this neighborhood!! If I had a problem with you guys then I would come to you and settle it like adults. I wouldn't come on your property and destroy it!

Me: You don't even know it was him.

Neighbor: Who else would have done it? Who?! (ah..yeah...like my 33 yr old husband has nothing better to do than pull your weeds?)

Me: I am sorry, but I am not sure what you want me to do?

Neighbor: Oh! I know what I am going to do! I am going to call the cops!

Me: And tell them what!? You didn't see anything! You don't know that my husband pulled your plant! It could have been your own son.

Neighbor: My child was not raised that way! He knows better! Get inside son, you are not allowed to play with those kids anymore! **hand gesture** Stay off my property!!

Me: Ok!

That is pretty much what took place....and a about 30-40 minutes later....knock, knock...the cops show up! Busted!

Cop: Is your husband home?

Me: Nope. He is at the church doing a service project.

Cop: Oh....do you know so and so, he goes to that church?

Me: No, but I know Officer Stant....he is our home teacher. : )

Cop: Oh yeah...I know him. Good guy. Well, basically she is really upset about her plant. (ya think?) Hopefully you guys can resolve this, but I would suggest you stay off her property.

Me: No problem.

Cop: Have a good night.

Now, I am not gonna say my son is innocent. It definitely sounds like something he could have done, but calling the cops....seriously? Some of you might ask, why would Ethan say something like that? Why would he blame his dad? This is how I envisioned the first few minutes of neighbor and Ethan before he came and got me...

Neighbor to Ethan (or Scary Lady with mean look on face to scared 6 yr old): Did you pull out my plant?!

Ethan: (scared look on face, eyes big, shoulders back, chin down) no.

Neighbor: Then who did?!

Ethan: umm....maybe... my dad did?

Neighbor: Get your mommy out here!

It sounds plausible, right? Anyway, she must of really got Ethan scared or nervous when she started mentioning cops because when we got back in the house...Ethan had crapped his pants!

Birthday

2009-04-19T14:15:00.004-07:00

This post is well overdue! Olie turned 1 a couple weeks ago. I didn't have a big party or anything, but I did get him a cake and invited my sister in law and her kids over to join in in the celebration. We ordered pizza, and let the boys play. I put Olie in his high chair and got the cake out to put the candle on it. Then the phone rang...it was my mother in law calling to wish a happy birthday to the little guy. After a quick chat and happy birthday song over the phone, I resume to my previous activity of topping the cake with the candle, when I am stopped in my tracks and start screaming at the top of my lungs..."Aahhhh!! Who did this?!" This is what I found....

That's right! Some little kids already got to the cake! They just couldn't wait 5 minutes. Ethan, Aidan and Thomas all enjoyed a good finger licking of the icing. Oh well. It happens. They're kids, what did I expect. I stuck the candle in the cake and continued on with the celebration. Oliver enjoyed the song as well as the cake! I'd say it was a success.

One year ago today....

2009-04-07T12:12:00.003-07:00

One year ago today, I welcomed my sweet baby boy #3 into the world. Oliver William was born at 1:06am on the morning of April 7th. It was a quick 6 hour labor and delivery. It went very smoothly, and pain free (after I got my drugs). He was beautiful. He had the sweetest little cry, if you can even it call it that. I can not believe a year has already gone by. He is such a great baby. He is always in the best of moods, unless of course he is under the weather or teething. He has an adorable baby face with the best facial expressions ever. His babbles are delightful, his laugh is infectious, his eyes are big with wonder and his ears stick out...and I love him with all my heart.

Happy Birthday My Sweet Oli-Bear!

Boys!

2009-04-02T09:44:00.003-07:00

To those of you who have boys, I am sure you can relate to the story I am about to share with you. Let me preface it by saying to those who do not relate have boys....they love all of their bodily functions and love to try new things and sometimes they just roll with the punches. With that being said...I will now begin the story.

It was a bright and sunny day...perfect weather for playing outside. The kids were loud and crazy and sending them outside would ensure quiet time for mommy and baby inside. So being the awesome, unselfish mom I am, I let them run wild and free in the backyard. (reminding them to watch out for dog poop. We hadn't done the poop scooping for the week yet and there were quite a few land mines scattered about.) A few minutes go by and the boys come running in the house to grab some toys and head back outside. Then in again and out again, etc. This was getting really old and I hated hearing the door constantly being slammed as they exited to the backyard. I finally told them they needed to stay in or stay out. No more toys were allowed outside. They give me their sad faces, then mad faces and replied, "FINE!" As they stomped back outside. All was well. I was getting some chores done and the baby had finally fallen asleep. Then the backdoor opens wide...Aidan comes running in....sees me, stops, stares at me, puts his hands up as if to say....STOP... before you say anything to me, I have an announcement to make! Aidan then indeed makes an announcement, "Mommy - I just coming inside for Ethan....he needs me to get toilet paper for his butt! Okay! not toys, okay...now... I got it, I am going outside now. okay. Bye mommy. As I stand there listening to this and watching my 3 year old run in and out of the house with toilet paper in hand, I realize he said he needed the toilet paper for his butt.....not his nose, his BUTT!? What!?! I run out side and sure enough...there is Ethan, pants around his ankles, squatting in the back yard. "what the heck Ethan....what are you doing?" I ask. His response..."I wanted to teach Aidan how to poop in the woods. Its awesome." As he smiles, laughs, wipes his butt and pulls his pants up. Then he looks at me like...what did I do?
So although he did avoid the dogs' messes he decided to add to the decor of the backyard himself.
He is now on poop scooping duty.

My Sunbeam

2009-03-02T13:01:00.009-07:00

I guess it is about time I start updating my blog. I haven't been doing a very good job. But these days I have been so busy. Now that I am working (only 2 1/2 days a week) I don't have as much free time as I used to. When it is my day off, I am spending time with kids, going playdates, squeezing in a nap or trying to catch up on housework. (It is amazing how quickly the housework piles up!)

Last Sunday, my little sunbeam (Aidan) was asked to give the scripture in primary. He was sooo excited to stand at the podium and use the microphone. When they called him up he had the biggest grin on his face. He hopped up on the step adjusted the mic and happily repeated the following scripture I read to him.

"3rd Nephi, Chapter 18, verse 21: Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed"

But this is what they actually heard...

"Fird de-phi, chatter-a-teen, verse tweny-twon: Play in da ma famies heavny farder, always my name, buy a wife n our childwren day be bresst."

DId you understand that? Neither did anyone else in the room (except for big brother Ethan, who is well-versed in "Aidan talk"). Let's just say Aidan is lacking in the speech department. Nevertheless, I was still proud of my little sunbeam!

Not only does Aidan not speak well, he is a little on the accident-prone side. The other day he decided to stick his finger in a tin can and sliced his finger open. Then the next day he fell down the stairs and the day after that he tripped and fell on the wagon and hurt his eye. Yeah, he's had a rough week, but it doesn't slow him down. He is always ready for his next venture!

And I just felt like posting this picture of Oliver...I thought it was cute and he actually has a big smile on his face! That is mashed potatoes all over his face. He loves potatoes and I can't feed him fast enough, so instead of feeding him I decided to plop the potatoes on his plate and he could feed himself. He was the happiest baby alive. (And I actually got to enjoy my dinner, too.)

Happiness

2009-02-16T15:50:00.014-07:00

Yesterday, I had to speak in church...it was bound to happen eventually. I have done pretty good about laying low, but it finally caught up with me. I gotta say...10 years is GREAT run! Anyway, I was asked to speak on Happiness. I thought I would be more nervous than I actually was, probably 'cause I really prepared myself. I think I did a pretty good job. Besides, I was in a pretty happy mood. The day before was Valentines Day. (Not a holiday my husband and I really celebrate) But he had scheduled us a babysitter and he took me out on a date. (Also something we haven't really done in 10 years...okay not really, but our dates are pretty infrequent) Anyway, we had dinner at the Macaroni Grill, which was nice for me because my husband hates Italian food. Then, he was nice enough to take me to a chick flick. I told him we could see an action flick, but he insisted it was a night for me so "Bride Wars" it was. I was amazed that Greg actually stayed awake for the whole movie. He limited his 'eye rolls' and 'under the breath' comments which made seeing the movie so much more enjoyable. It was a great night and I thank him for making it happen. I enjoyed our night very much and look forward to our next date. As far as my Happiness talk, I am not going to post that, but what I will post is a little recipe I came up with for Happiness....

(My husband thought it was little cheesy...it probably is, but I really like it! )

Recipe for Happiness

First, you start with a heaping scoop of scripture study. Preparedness is the key.

Don’t forget your prayers; you should probably add a dash of that, maybe two or three.

Blend in visits to the Temple, it’s quite a strong seasoning, baptisms for the dead and to be sealed for all eternity, well…the taste is really quite pleasing.
Gently fold in 10 commandments, and don’t forget the Word of Wisdom for goodness sake. But be sure not to stir too hard, we wish for them not to break.
But if they should, don’t fret, it’s a forgiving recipe. You can always substitute Repentance, if you whole heartedly ask forgiveness from Thee.
Add a service for others, then Set it aside and let it rise.
Soon you will see your Happiness has doubled in size.
Place it inside a loving home filled with warmth and cheer.
Serve up and enjoy your happiness with your family year after year.

Cutest face ever!

2009-02-03T17:25:00.003-07:00

Isn't this the cutest face!

This is how we entertain ourselves!

2009-01-24T12:30:00.004-07:00

These are my boys entertaining themselves. I knew there was a reason why Greg has not landscaped our backyard!

(Sorry...the video is really bad. I guess it's time to get a new camcorder)

Colorado

2009-01-15T16:57:00.006-07:00

The day after Christmas, we (Greg, me, the kids, my parents and Grandma), all headed up to Colorado to spend a few days at my parents glorious cabin. We got a late start, and took frequent stops so we didn't actually arrive at the cabin drive until about 10pm. (And when I say drive, I do not mean driveway, I mean a few feet off the highway & several feet from the gate) My parents hadn't been there prior to our vacay, so the 2 1/2 feet of snow had yet to be plowed. My dad gets out of the car with a jacket, hat and shoes that are not made for the "walk" he was about to embark on. He inched his way through the snow with the little light given from his flashlight and our headlights. He reaches the gate, climbs over it, heads down the road, across the bridge and looks at his last obstacle...a LONG trot up a steep hill. (Did I mention he was doing all this in -2 degree weather) Of course, my kids were not sleeping, but thank heavens for portable DVD players, 'cause this was going to take a while.
At last, my dad reaches the cabin, changes out of his wet clothing into warm, dry clothes, snow shoes, gloves and hat and gets the tractor/snow blower running and starts making a path. His plan, make one quick pass, then have Greg's truck pack down the snow further as he drives up the hill to the cabin. Then mom can follow with ease and get my dear, frail Grandma into a warm and cozy bed. Good plan, eh? In thought, yes, however, our tires.... not so great. (Let's just say, Greg's wife...not so smart and that being the reason our tires have poor traction in snow) .

So let me tell you what actually happened. Greg puts the truck in gear and my kids shout for joy. YAY! We are going to be at the cabin soon! We head down the road, across the bridge and mom following close behind. After the bridge, the road curves and it's not quite wide enough for our truck. We try to pack down the snow and inevitably get stuck. (I believe by this time it is about 12am.)Dad brings the tractor around and helps us out of the snow bank. My kids yell, "Pop-pop is a super hero! This is the best day of my life!" Now we try to make it up the steep hill. (This has always been an obstacle during the wintertime. But conditions are even worse at night when it is pitch black outside. It is very easy to run off the road.) To make this long story a little shorter, we got stuck. Dad got us unstuck, etc. And Ethan now states, "This is the worst day of my life." After many failed attempts dad asks us to back out of the way to let my mom pass us. We have got to get my G-ma inside. Okay, here comes my parents, full throttle in their 4-WD porsche. They zoom pass us. It looks like they might make it. And for a brief moment my hubby's ego is wounded. What?! Our truck can't make it, but their fancy, schmancy porsche can! However, the porsche does not make it. They back down and get another run at it. Again, another failed attempt. They back down again and end up in a snow bank to the right side of the road. Greg takes this opportunity to prove to himself that he can make it up this devilish obstacle. Up the hill we go....gonna make it? I don't think so. We end up in a ditch to the left side of the road. We're stuck. Mom is stuck. And dad cannot pull either vehicle out with the tractor. What are we to do? Problem: How are we gonna get grandma inside? There is no way that grandma can walk up the hill. She can barely walk at all! Solution: Greg carries my frail, 88 year old grandma, lifts her into the cab of the tractor and she sits on dads lap and gets a slow and bumpy tractor ride. As for the rest of us, Mom carries a kid, Greg carries a kid, I carry the baby and we all hike up the hill to the cabin. Dad and Greg go back down and load the suitcases onto the tractor to bring them inside. We finally get to bed about 2:30am.

(Here are our vehicles. It is hard to see but my parents car is in the background.)

I did fail to mention one thing. The next day, my dad attempted to pull the cars out again and eventually got the tractor stuck! We had to call the neighbors to help us get everything unstuck. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of that.

The kids were so ready to get out in the snow to play. They had a great time!!

This is a picture of Aidan pretending to be his Nana reading a book. I think he pulls it off quite nicely. Although, its not too often that mom puts her glasses on the wrong way and reads her book upside down. This kid cracks me up!

Aside from the horrible events of actually getting to the cabin, our trip was very fun. The kids had a great time. I got to play lots of games with the family. (I love games!) And Greg got to relax before "busy season" at work.

Thanks!

2009-01-05T17:39:00.006-07:00

I also wanted to thank everyone for all the wonderful Christmas cards and the gifts that were given to us. I wish I was organized enough to have gotten our Christmas cards our, but alas, Christmas has come and gone, and no cards were sent. :(

We had such a wonderful holiday, and are thankful to be able to spend this time with all our family and friends. As far as gifts received, we got some great gifts. (Some of them hand-crafted as well!)

So thank you to....

~Tanisha, who sewed like crazy this year to give everyone she knows totally awesome, totally CUTE aprons.

We LOVE them!!!

~Terri, who on her very first sewing project ever, hand sewed this most adorable "Tooth Bear" for Ethan. (Who is, bytheway, going to lose yet another tooth in a matter of hours!)

~Mom and Dad, who hand-crafted this WAY fun game board for all their kids. I can't wait to teach the game to our friends.

~My In-Laws, who has very thoughtfully given us an upperhand in year supply. My shelves shall never be empty!

Thank you to all!!
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, and a safe & happy New Year!

Hand-crafted

2009-01-05T16:52:00.012-07:00

For Christmas this year, I put my gift from last year (a sewing machine) to good use and hand made all my gifts.

On the Clouse side:

For my mother in law, a Christmas card holder quilt

For a couple of sister in laws, reversible purses

For my nieces, dolls

For my nephews, quiet books (didn't quite get those finished in time, oops!)

On the Gardner side:

I made a video slide show of a couple of our FUN family vacations to Hawaii and the Caribbean. A copy for each family. And for my mom I made purse, but it was also incomplete. It still needs the handles.

Traditions

2009-01-05T16:00:00.008-07:00

Holidays are always busy, fun and full of traditions. Our family tradition is.... every year after we pick out the perfect Christmas tree, we take it home, decorate it (while watching the holiday fave "Christmas Vacation") and enjoy some YUMMY pizza and wings! I look forward to it every year and so do the kids. Normally, Greg just sits on the couch, and watches the movie as I do all the work. (and occasionally tells me where an ornament should be placed) But this year, he helped! :)

One of my mom's traditions is....every year, she does a Christmas cookie night with all her grandkids. They get to make, and decorate Christmas cookies. Sometimes, us adults get to participate. Decorating can get a little competitive but I'd say my brother Christian usually wins for foul creativity! Usually, during or after the decorating, Santa Claus drives through the neighborhood and the kids get their pictures taken with him. Unfortunately, Ethan didn't believe he was the real Santa and refused to sit on his lap for a picture.

One of my Mother in Law's traditions is...every year on Christmas Eve, she makes green chili burros. After dinner, we gather around for the telling of Jesus' birth, as the kids get to act out the Nativity scene. Ethan got to play Joseph this year, Aidan a wiseman, and Oliver...who else, baby Jesus. Afterwards, Santa comes by the house bearing gifts for all the children. Ethan did believe this was the ReAl Santa, and therefore sat on his lap and told him what he wanted for Christmas! However, I did not have my camera. :(

An Update for December

2009-01-05T15:44:00.002-07:00

Hello Everyone! I have gotten way behind on my blogging. Let me see if I can get you up to date. (I will try and keep it short and to the point, or better yet, I'll break it into a few different posts. Either way, I am sure you'll be skipping over a lot.)

The week before Christmas, Ethan was the star student of the week at his school. He was very excited. He got to make a poster that described him. (likes/dislikes, what he wants to be when he grows up, etc) He also got to bring "Legacy the Lion" home with him. Then write in the Legacy journal about their adventures together.

I started a new job in December. I was being trained as an orthodontist assistant. It was exciting to learn something new. I have always worked front office, so to work in the back office was kinda fun. However, it was a full time job, the hours were too long (6:30a-5:30p), the pay too little, too long of a drive and I didn't get to spend much time with the kids and Greg. I was exhausted. Greg was exhausted. The kids were exhausted. It just didn't fit. So unfortunately, we parted ways right before Christmas. (Pathetic, I know. I only worked there a few weeks. But hey, if you know it's not gonna work, why drag it out?) The doctor was very nice, he understood, and said maybe when the kids were older and I was ready, I could come back. As of right now, I am still looking for another job, but it definitely needs to be part-time!

Here is me in my not-so-flattering scrubs.

Ethan Quotes

2008-12-16T14:52:00.002-07:00

I have never been very good at writing down what my kids say. And they say some pretty funny things...all kids do. So here is my attempt to be better.

A few days ago, Ethan lost his 2nd tooth (yay!). The other night, Ethan and I were driving in my mom's car. It's a nice car and has lots of fancy things. One feature is a flip down mirror for the backseat passengers. Ethan kept opening and closing it. This was starting to bug me so I asked him why he was doing it, to which he replies..."I just want to see what I look like in the mirror with my missing tooth...and Wow! I do look GoooooD!

Today, after going to the store, I piled the kids in the car, and told them to buckle up. While I was getting Oliver situated, Aidan starts whining and says he can't buckle. I told him he should ask Ethan to help him. So he does. And Ethan says, "Alright, I'll help you this time, but only because I want Santa to bring me lots of presents."

All About Olie

2008-12-13T12:41:00.005-07:00

I know it has been quite sometime since my last post...I have been busy. (It's no excuse, I know.) Anyway, Oliver has some exciting news...He has finally got his first tooth! Woo-hoo! His brothers started teething around 4 months, so it was odd to have to wait this long. I shouldn't complain, that just means I got to nurse him longer and save $$. (Formula is too expensive!) Of course, he was grumpy and woke up in the middle of the night quite a few times but he is too darn cute to get mad at. Also, he is crawling. That is always a fun stage. The only problem I find with the crawling stage is that you can tell what a horrible housekeeper I am. Olie crawls all over the floor and his clothes are filthy! I guess that means I need to start mopping a little more regularly. :(

This is a video of Olie doing his military crawl. (I took the video a couple of weeks ago...he is actually crawling now.)

I love my husband!

2008-11-29T10:38:00.005-07:00

My husband really cracks me up sometimes. The other day he asked me if I would type something up for him on the computer. I said, "Sure, if you give Oliver a bath and get him dressed." He looks at me a little confused..."Umm, that sounds like a lot of work." (It is not often that ask Greg to help me with the kids, so a lot of the blame should be placed on me) I told him, its not that bad, it's kinda fun because Olie is so darn cute and LOVES bath time. I just simply gave him a few pointers. 1) Squeeze the cold water out of the bath sponge, so he doesn't freeze. 2) Make sure the bath water isn't too hot 3) Get a clean washcloth out of the drawer 4) Make sure the kid doesn't drown. Again, he looks at me a little confused. (Like that was a lot of information to process) So I take pity on the poor man and get everything ready. I even laid out Olie's clothes. About 10 minutes later, I hear Greg coming down the stairs laughing hysterically saying, "I don't think I did this right." And I'm thinking, "What could he be talking about? What could have possibly gone wrong? I basically did everything but get the kid dressed." Greg comes into the computer room and I start laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes. This is what I saw...

I really, really Love my husband!! Thank you for doing what I asked you, to the best of your capabilities. I had real good laugh, and I know it was at your expense, but it made my day!

2008-11-16T19:12:00.002-07:00

We have afternoon church. So to pass the time Greg and I work on projects or chores we have put off. Today, Greg decided to reload in the garage. It was such nice weather, he opened the garage while he worked. The kids, of course, wanted to play outside. We usually don't let them play outside on Sunday, but since Greg was working in the garage, why not? Then a neighbor kid came over and wanted to play. Greg and I really don't care for this kid. He is older and doesn't play nice, and is very annoying. Greg decides the best way to handle this situation is to tell Ethan he needs to come inside, he's not allowed to play on Sunday. To which Ethan replies, "Oh, yeah, dad...you're not supposed to make bullets on Sunday!" - Touche! (When did he get so smart?)

More Halloween pictures

2008-11-04T15:26:00.001-07:00

Of course...right after I finish my post, I check my e-mail and there are the pictures from my mom. So here are the other pictures. Now you can see the boys' vests and chaps better. (which my mom sewed for them)

Here is a picture of Ethan and Aidan with their other cousins. {l-r: Ethan, Erik as Davy Crockett (costume also made by my mother), Ryan as Spiderman, Trevor as Link from the "Zelda" game (hence the pose) and Aidan.}

Halloween 2008

2008-11-04T14:37:00.001-07:00

Halloween has come and gone, and I am just now getting to blogging about it. I was waiting for pictures from my mom (she took a couple good ones of the boys and me) but I don't know when she will get around to sending them. Yes, I did dress up too. We went as a posse. All the boys looked so cute in their cowboy gear. (Thanks mom) We had a great time. Greg went hunting over the weekend, so I decided to head in to town and stay with my parents. But before leaving, we went to my sister in laws house to get a couple pictures of our boys together. (She also went with the cowboy theme.)

I'd say Halloween was a success. The kids got plenty of candy. It should last us a while. Seriously...we just barely finished off last years candy about a month ago.

Note to self: When carving pumpkins, it is best to do 1-2 days before Halloween, or else they end up looking like this...

(It actually was much worse. This picture was taken about a day before Halloween) My kids kept saying/complaining all week, "the sun melted our pumpkin!"

Its your fault, mommy!

2008-10-31T07:54:00.004-07:00

This happened about a week ago. One afternoon, I told Aidan it was time for him to take his nap. (This has always been a struggle, as I am sure many of you can relate.) Of course, he threw a fit and did not want to go to sleep. He came up with every excuse in the book to keep me from leaving the room. "I wanna drink o' water", "read me a story", "I need my truck, it on you bed, can I get it?" Um...NO! Aidan - go to bed! I close the door and head downstairs to help Ethan with his homework. All the while I hear Aidan crying/yelling "I don't wanna sleep, I wanna play!" I continue to ignore this, eventually he will fall asleep. About 15 minutes go by, I hear more screaming. Again, I ignore him. Finally, a loud, high-pitched scream comes from Aidan's room. He's screaming "Mommy, mommy, help me!" It terrified me, did he fall off the top bunk? Is there someone in the room? I have never heard this scream before, something is definitely wrong. I run upstairs as quick as I could to find Aidan curled up in the corner of his bed, tears rolling down his face, the look of fear in his eyes and a pillow hiding his body. What is wrong? He tells me there is a monster in the room. A what? A monster over there. Where? Over there! I walk to the window, where? Aidan hops out of bed (rather calmly) and points to the shadow of the blinds, "right there, mom!! It scary. It gonna eat me!" I tell Aidan its just a shadow, its fine, but I will close the blinds better so you don't see the monster anymore. He then proceeded to tell me, "it's you fault mommy! You make the monster!". Can you say, guilt trip! "I'm sorry Aidan, but the monster is gone now." I give him big hugs and kisses to let him know he is safe. Then I hear this, "My nap over, I go play now."

So he is either taking advantage of his scary encounter, or he devised this scheme and acted it out perfectly, as an excuse to get out of his nap. Um...sorry you were scared Aidan, but you are still taking your nap! (but nice try!)

Pumpkin Carving

2008-10-28T19:24:00.004-07:00

Last night, we decided to finally carve our pumpkin. Ethan was really excited. He's never carved a pumpkin before. (Actually...he still hasn't) He didn't want to do anything except pick the design and draw/trace the picture. He wouldn't even get his hands dirty and help clean out the insides. Aidan didn't want to do it either. (Sometimes they are so wimpy.) I finally made the kids just stick their hands inside. They didn't have to touch anything. So they agreed to that. They put them in then took them out real quick. (like something inside the pumpkin was going to eat their hand) Anyway, I think the pumpkin turned out pretty good. The boys couldn't wait to see it outside in the dark, all lit up.

Also, yesterday was Greg's 33rd birthday. It was pretty uneventful. Truth be told, I pretty much forgot about it until he reminded me late Sunday night before going to bed. I told him he wasn't getting anything. He was fine with that. The kids did make him a card a while back. So at least he got something. I asked him if he wanted me to get him a cake, but he said no. All he wanted was a butterfinger blizzard. DONE! I think he was just happy to get home from work and have the kids totally occupied so that he could relax and watch sports. I'd say he spent his birthday exactly the way he wanted to.

Monkey Boy?

2008-10-26T11:16:00.004-07:00

Our Family is always pointing out how Olie's ears stick out. We all think it is very adorable and very funny. I've always said he looks like a chimp. (that's not a bad thing. I think all monkey are adorable) He is long and skinny, and very energetic. (I believe when he gets a little older and walking/running, he will be very difficult to keep up with.) Anyway, what do you think...he looks a lot like monkey, no?

Fall Festival

2008-10-24T21:07:00.003-07:00

Tonight was the Fall Festival at Ethan's school. There was pumpkin painting, face painting, pony rides, hay rides and a petting zoo. The lines were really long, but the kids didn't seem to mind. They would run around with friends while Olie and I reserved their spot. They both got their faces painted for the first time and were really excited about it. Ethan got a yellow star and a blue star. Aidan got a blue pumpkin and a yellow star. I am glad they had fun. It was a nice family activity for a friday night.

Olie - 6 months

2008-10-24T21:06:00.000-07:00

Oliver is 6 months old. He had his check-up about a week ago. He still remains in the 95% for height, but his weight dropped to below the 25% mark. They want me to feed him more solids. He just isn't taking to it very well. Hopefully, things will get better and he will gain a little more weight. To me, he seems just fine. I like having a light-weight baby to carry around. (My other kids were so hefty)
Also, Oliver is starting to sit up. It is so fun watching him try to balance then fall on his back. Sometimes he laughs, sometimes he cries, but he is always cute!

Costumes

2008-10-15T21:47:00.005-07:00

Halloween is quickly approaching, and I am getting excited. I LOVE an excuse to dress up in costumes. My husband thinks I am nuts and does not participate in this holiday. He is not one to wear a costume. (He's such a dud sometimes) So after I had my first child, I started having themed costumes for Halloween. However, the past couple years I have been lacking in that department. So this year I plan on restarting the themed costumes. Hopefully, Ethan will like my idea, 'cause I already got his costume put together.

This one was one of my favorites...

Happy 6th Birthday Ethan!

2008-10-07T21:36:00.003-07:00

I can't believe that six years ago today, I was bringing this beautiful boy into the world. Time has gone by so fast. I couldn't have asked for a better first child. I had no idea what I was doing when it came to motherhood, but Ethan made everything so easy for me. (It wasn't until baby #2, when I realized motherhood was a tough job.) He was so excited to see the world that he decided to make his entrance a couple weeks early. That way, he was able to go to his own baby shower. (He just loves birthdays and presents.)
(Ethan is on the left, his cousin Erik on the right.

Ethan is about 4 months, Erik - 2 months)

Ethan loves his brothers. (Most of the time). He loves to try to take care of their every need. If they cry, he rushes to them and tries to make them better. If he is unsuccessful, then he calls for me to help. He will stand by my side to see what I do. That way, he is better prepared for the next time. Ethan is best buds with both of his brothers. He and Aidan could play monster trucks all day if I let them. They do have their fights, but within a few minutes the problem is solved and they go back to having fun. It doesn't matter that Olie is only 6 months, Ethan will still play with him. He will lay on the blanket next to him and sing, or show him a picture he drew, or just give him a bunch of infant toys to slobber on.

He is very affectionate and loves to smile. Taking his picture is never a problem. He loves to make funny faces and try to make people laugh. Even when he gets mad, he's funny...even though he's not trying to be. He'll stomp around the room with a really ugly face, then I'll laugh, which then makes him laugh, and then he's not upset anymore. He is such a silly boy!

He loves trying to be just like his daddy, but I think he is more like his mommy. He is a great helper, and when I ask him to do something he will say with a smile, "alright, mommy. I can do that." He is very polite. He always says please, thank you, and your welcome. He gives great hugs and kisses, and he knows it. You can't say goodnight or goodbye without receiving one.

He brings such happiness into our lives. I love him dearly! Happy birthday kiddo!

I pledge allegiance...

2008-09-30T19:20:00.010-07:00

At Ethan's school the students are to memorize a poem or verse periodically and recite it in class. They are graded on their posture, if they need help, speak clearly, yada, yada, yada. The kindergarten classes had to memorize the Pledge of Allegiance for their first recitation. Ethan did his on Monday. He got an almost perfect score (missed it by 1 point). Anyway, today Ethan's class led the school in the pledge, and Ethan was asked to be the person who got to speak into the microphone and tell everyone, "Everybody please place your

right hand over your heart and we will say the Pledge of Allegiance." It was so darn cute. He was so proud to have that responsibility. I got some video (see below) but I wasn't in a very good place so you can't really see Ethan, however you can definitely hear him. Enjoy. :)

~Don't forget to turn off the music so you can hear the video~

Ethan's Sign

2008-09-27T07:41:00.005-07:00

Yesterday, Ethan was playing upstairs and when I went to check on him, I found this sign he had written on his magna-doodle (This is exactly what he wrote):

TODAY is m______.
RYOU AVRRaBUDee is go
/// green.

(///=scribbles, unable to read and the 's' are written backwards)

I asked him what this means. His Translation:

Today is monday. (he didn't know how to spell monday, he just knew it started with 'm')
Are you everybody is going
to be green.

My two cents:
he was writing a morning message to his pretend class (like his teacher does).
The 'are you everybody' part is that he couldn't decide if he was going to ask a question or make a statement. "are you going to be green?" or "Everybody is going to be green."
The scribbles are because he messed up 'to be', he didn't like how he wrote it so he scribbled over it and didn't re-write it. And the 'green' because if you are good in class you get a green card when you're bad you get red.

Lost and Found

2008-09-23T16:38:00.000-07:00

On Monday afternoon Ethan finally lost his first tooth. This was very exciting for both him and me. (He is getting so big!) Anyway, when he told me he pulled it out, I asked where it was. He looked puzzled. "I don't know, I don't remember where I put it" he said. I went upstairs to help him look. He thought for sure it was on my bed, where he was watching t.v. I looked on the bed, under the bed, on the floor, I pulled the sheets off, I couldn't find it. Then I went into my bathroom to find it on the counter next to a bloody tissue. Then Ethan says, "Oh yeah, here it is, I remember now, I put it here." (Thanks little man, you were a big help..NOT) Later at night, before going to bed, he put his tooth in a little tooth bag under his pillow for the Tooth Fairy. In the morning when I got up, I saw his light on. I peeked in the room and saw him doing a little boogie dance. He was so happy to learn that the Tooth Fairy left him a dollar for his tooth.

2008-09-23T16:17:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, Ethan had to give a talk in Primary. When we got to church (late) I realized my camera was still in my diaper bag. I quickly snapped this shot before anyone came into the Primary room. This was his first primary talk, ever. I thought he would be nervous, but he was really excited to use the microphone. He should me how the microphone goes up, goes down, goes to the side and bends. He did a great a job.

2008-09-23T16:06:00.002-07:00

After bowling, we headed to Greg's parents house for football and a barbecue. We sent the kids outside to play in the kiddie pool. Aidan didn't have a swim suit or swim diaper and the other kids didn't want him sitting in the pool naked so he had to wear his regular diaper...y'all know how well those work.

I snapped this shot just before we ate.

2008-09-23T15:59:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, we were invited to a birthday party. We decided to go. It was going to be a fun day of bowling and eating pizza. Who wouldn't want to go? The boys had never been bowling before. They had a lot of fun. Ethan kept saying he was the best because he could always knock a pin down. Ya gotta love those bumpers!
!

2008-09-23T15:31:00.010-07:00

Okay, I have lots of little things to catch up on. Thursday the 18th was Aidan's 3rd birthday. We just had a small family party. Aidan had a great time and loved all his gifts. He was even excited for a shirt. (See video) His party didn't really have a theme, but by the end of opening his gifts it was a little on the cowboy side.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Aidan!

2008-09-18T14:18:00.001-07:00

Not only is today our 9th Anniversary, it is also Aidan's birthday. He is 3 years old, of course if you ask him he will say he's 5. He likes to be the same age as his big brother. Aidan is our crazy, wild child. Our little performer. He likes to have attention and he knows how to get it. He'll do just about anything if you ask him. He is a total boy. He has been into bugs lately. He saw me pick up a dead crickett with a tissue once, and watched me flush it down the toilet. Ever since then he likes to search for dead bugs and do the same thing. The other day there was a live crickett jumping around. Aidan kept getting close, and trying to make it jump. Then he opened his mouth to try to get the crickett to jump in. Ethan brought this to my attention and I quickly shouted to Aidan to please not eat the live crickett. He responded "Oh, fine!" with a big frown on his face, and marched upstairs fists clenched tight. He was clearly upset. I looked over to Greg, who has a huge grin on his face, to which he says, "my son is so AWESOME!"

Aidan is such a fun kid to spend the days with. It is nice that Ethan is in school so I have more one-on-one time with him. I love you, bud!

This is Aidan, shortly after birth. He had lots of dark curly hair

He is over a year in this picture. I don't know if you can see in the reflection, he still had a lot of curly hair in the back.

I love him wearing ties, he so darn cute!

Happy Anniversary!

2008-09-18T09:17:00.005-07:00

I can't believe Greg and I have been married 9 years. It has gone by fast, and yet so slow. They have been 9 wonderful, fun-filled, happy years. Anyway, I saw this on my cousins blog a while back and thought it would be fun.

1.Where did you meet your husband?

I met Greg through the boy I was dating. He told me that his friend Greg had just got off his mission and he really wanted me to meet him.

2. What was the first thing you said to your husband?

I honestly don't remember. Probably something along the lines of, "Brian has told me a lot about you" or "So where did you go on your mission?"

3. Where was your first date?

He picks me up and he was going to take me to Nielsen's for ice cream, and meet up with his friend Clint and his wife. Greg couldn't remember what street it was on so we ended up driving up down a few different streets, all the while he was telling me, "I went to a party once here and crashed my car" and "this is the canal where me and a friend of mine were racing down and the truck flipped into the canal" It was a very interesting conversation to pass the time. We finally found Nielsen's and had a very pleasant time with Greg and his friends.

4. Where was your first kiss?

In his truck, after our first date.

5. Did you have a long or short engagement/courtship?

We had a long courtship and engagement. We dated for almost a year before he proposed, and then had a 9 month engagement.

6. Where did you get engaged?

He sort of re-created our first date. After going with me to do some last minute Christmas shopping, he had the idea of going to Nielsen's for ice cream (we hadn't been back there since our 1st date) Laughing at the fact, we couldn't find the darn place, once again, we drove to a park. He suggested we listen to some music, and put a CD in the player. It was Michael Peterson's "From here to Eternity". For those of you not familiar with the song, it's about a guy proposing to his girlfriend, and just as the line was sung, "please hold out your hand.....I've been dying to ask you one question...will you be mine", he slipped the ring on my finger. I was so excited! I had been waiting for him to propose for a while, so of course I said YES!

7. Where did you get married?

In the Mesa Temple

8. How did the reception go?

I think it went great. We had the reception in my parents backyard. Everyone who helped in getting things all organized and ready to go did an excellent job. Aside from the fact that it was a garden reception and we a short rainfall, I'd say it went pretty smoothly. And because of the rain clouds we got some awesome sunset pictures!

9. How was the honeymoon?

We actually got into our first fight as a married couple on our honeymoon, but quickly made up. We went to Las Vegas and San Francisco. Greg was working for America West at the time so we got to fly free. It was awesome.

Dove Hunting

2008-09-16T16:43:00.004-07:00

Last Saturday, Greg took the boys dove hunting with him. Greg took a video of the boys, but unfortunately I am having a problem uploading it. I think it is too big a file. Anyway, they both had fun but Aidan is more into the hunting thing than Ethan. Ethan likes to watch, and tell everyone where a good spot to hunt would be. Aidan likes to get down and dirty and handle the kill. The video was pretty cute. If any of you have ideas of what I can do about uploading the video, let me know. Thanks.

100%

2008-09-05T14:28:00.002-07:00

When Ethan came home from school today, I asked him if he had any homework. He said "no, it's friday" but I made him check anyways. I was doing other things when he shouts to me in puzzlement, "I got a star stamp." Normally that means he was good in class and they put a stamp on his hand...he should know what a star stamp means. Then he states the stamp is on a piece of paper. I walk over to him and look at the paper. The teacher had given him an oral quiz on his phonics and he got a 100%. I was so excited. This was his first quiz ever, and he got a perfect score. This definitely calls for a trip to Baskin and Robbins!

Potty Training

2008-08-26T09:45:00.001-07:00

I have been trying to potty train Aidan for a while now, and it has not been very easy. On Sunday, Ethan decided he wanted to help, so this is Ethan showing Aidan how to go #2 in the potty. Even though Aidan did not do his "doodie" in this picture, A few hours later he successfully went poo-poo in the toilet. It was very exciting. Everyone, especially Ethan, was very proud of Aidan. We made a big deal about it, in hopes that he will continue to use the toilet instead of his underpants. :)

Kuzcotopia

2008-08-26T09:28:00.001-07:00

It is very rare that Ethan gets creative when building blocks, but the other day I asked him to try building something... he might enjoy it. So here was the result; after watching "The Emperor's New Groove" he built his own "Kuzcotopia Pool". It may not look like much, but I am very proud of him for using his creativity.

1st day of kindergarten

2008-08-25T17:41:00.004-07:00

Ethan started kindergarten today at his new school, Legacy Traditional. It is a charter school here in Maricopa. I've been asking Ethan if he was excited for school to start. His response, "I think...not." However, he was excited to wear his new school clothes and cool new shoes.

Ethan and his teacher Mrs. Karamesic

Aidan saying goodbye to Ethan at school

Aidan playing with Ethan's toys, while Ethan is at school. (Look at that grin)

Summer vacation is officially over

2008-08-25T17:27:00.000-07:00

Well, it's over. It's really, really over. Summer is over and school is here. Should I be happy or sad? Happy that Ethan is back in school-Yes. Happy that I don't have to listen to Ethan and Aidan fighting over toys-Yes! I have enjoyed the summer. We had a lot of fun and we kept ourselves as busy as we could. There was swim lessons, frequent trips to the lake, trips to Colorado, BBQ's, playing with friends and family, and numerous trips to the park and of course my birthday, no wonder I love summers. Now it is time to get back into the swing of things. I'd say overall our summer was super!

Dinosaur Museum

2008-08-25T17:09:00.002-07:00

When summer vacation started, one of our first activities was a trip to the dinosaur museum in Mesa. I never got around to posting about it, so I am doing it now. My parents thought it would be fun to take the boys and a couple of their cousins to the museum, and me and my Grandma Gardner also tagged along. The boys had never been before so they were really excited. There was a lot of things to see, it wasn't all dinosaurs. There was a native american exhibit, you could also pan for gold, but I think their favorite part was the "PSI: Poop Scene Investigation". You could view all different kinds of poop, there were poop games where you figured out what animal it came from, little known poop facts. It was very interesting to say the least. They had a great time, and it was a great way to start off the summer.

(l-r) Aidan, my nephews; Erik & Ryan, Ethan

Ethan and Aidan panning for gold with my parents

My nephew Ryan pretending the dinosaur is biting his hand

Ethan, sick of me taking his picture by all the dinosaurs

Tagged!

2008-08-17T20:13:00.004-07:00

Woo-hoo, I've been tagged again. I don't know why I like it, I just do. (Or Maybe I like having an excuse to talk about myself)

3 Joys...
1. My family
2. My Naps
3. Watching my children actually doing what I ask, the first time I ask, and being very polite about it too. (It doesn't happen too often)

3 Fears...
1. Losing a family member
2. Snorkeling (come on people - it is just not right...you are not supposed to breath through your mouth/tube underwater)
3. Bees. I Hate bees! I even left in the middle of one of my classes because I saw a bee flying around in the room. It got too close to me so I packed up my books and darted out of the class.

3 Obsessions...
1. Sad to say, the television. I can't tell you how many shows I TiVo. I am so excited for the fall season to start."Heroes", "Grey's Anatomy", "one Tree Hill", oh and the new 90210 - I am total DORK, I could keep going, but I'll stop
2. Cracking my knuckles. It is a very bad habit. When I can't crack anymore bones in my body I move on to Ethan and start cracking his toes.
3. Blog hopping. I can spend hours reading everyones blog and hopping to others that I don't even know.

3 Surprising Facts...
1. I am still pretty flexible and can put both of my legs behind my head.
2. I am pretty darn good at belching/ burping. I can make 'em loud and long.
3. One time, driving home from college, I got out of a speeding ticket by pretending I couldn't hear. I kept asking the officer to repeat himself, then told him my ears were plugged. He got so frustrated having to repeat everything 2 or 3 times so he just let me go.

Okay, now I tag Carrie, Emily S., & Brooke :)

In other news...

2008-08-15T11:33:00.004-07:00

Our little town of Maricopa is always growing, and now our enormous 2nd ward, has now been split. Our family is apart of the new 7th ward. We went from real big to real small. Greg and I knew, before long, we would have callings. I am proud to say, that I have been called to serve in the nursery and Greg has been called to serve as the secretary in the Young Men's presidency. We are both excited for our new positions and look forward to getting to know more families in the ward.
Also, on Monday, Greg started his new job at Schmidt Westergard. It is a CPA firm in Mesa. I am so excited for him. I think this will be good change for him. I think the biggest adjustment for him is that he has to dress very professional. We had to buy him a whole new wardrobe. That was fun for me, not so much for him.

4 months

2008-08-15T11:32:00.002-07:00

Oliver is 4 months old. Yesterday he had his 4 month check up and a whole lot of shots. He cried when he got stuck with 4 different needles (duh), but as soon as I picked him up, he was completely calm. It is such a comforting feeling to know your child really loves you, needs you and seeks for your security. He weighs 14 lbs and is 26 1/2 inches long. This puts him about average for weight and way in the 90th percentile for height. (Just like his brothers). Oliver is starting to roll over. In fact, yesterday before we left for the doctor, he rolled over for the first time. It was very exciting...at least it was for me and his brothers.

Oliver showing off his new trick, and a lot of drool.

(Isn't that blanket so cute! My aunt Bonnie made that for Oliver. Thanks Aunt Bonnie, we LOVE it!)

My mistake

2008-08-09T22:48:00.002-07:00

It has come to my attention that I have posted false information. After my husband reviewed my latest post he told me I had made a false statement. Apparently, my brother Aaron did defeat my father in a game of chess. I was not there too witness that game, but if Greg says it is so...I will believe him. My father's winning streak is over. So...props to Aaron. I've got to give him credit where credit is due. Congrats!

Another Colorado Trip

2008-08-07T07:38:00.005-07:00

For my birthday, we went to Colorado and stayed with my parents in their cabin, again. It was lots of fun. (I knew it would be.) My brother Aaron was able to join us this time. It was lots of fun to have him there. (Sort of...he likes to tease me, or take my husbands side of arguments, so that part was a little annoying.) Cole and his family also came up and joined us at the cabin. For the most part Greg and I just lounged around watching movies in the theater room and taking naps, while the kids ran all over the property playing with their toy guns, playing in the fort or riding the quad. My brother Cole brought up his video camera and decided to make a movie with all the kids. (Our parents used to do that at family reunions when all us kids and cousins were younger, they were pretty funny) Of course, my kids didn't seem too into it. They mostly have action shots, not speaking parts. However, when I saw the finished product, I gotta say, their parts suited them perfectly! I think Ethan was the sheriff's deputy/sharp shooter or something. Now, if you know Greg...you know he loves guns and he takes Ethan shooting with him all the time. So when Cole said chase after the bad guys and shoot your guns, Ethan had no problem whatsoever. He knew exactly what to do, cock it, aim it & fire, reload and repeat. It was pretty darn cute. Aidan was also a sheriff's deputy, he didn't do too much. He just sort of copied what the others were doing. But still, pretty darn cute! I hope Cole is able to download the movie onto his family blog. Then those of you who want to see it can. I'll have to let you know.

The kids had a great time, and wore themsevles out! It was hard to try to get Aidan to take a nap because he just did not want to come inside. I kept asking him if he was tired, does he want to take a nap? His answer, " I not tire! I wanna play!" Tell me, does this picture look like a boy who is not tired....

He fell asleep on the kids table while he was trying to color something. Then the cardboard that was blocking the sun from the window, fell down on him, and he still didn't wake up! It was so funny. Needless to say, on this day, he took his nap.

While in Colorado, Greg, Aaron and I all learned how to play chess. I never thought I would be one who liked to play. I thought it was to complicated, but it's actually pretty fun. I am kind of addicted to it. Come to find out, my dad claims to be undeafeted for 40 years. So of course we all rise to the challenge of taking on my father, but unfortunately, none of us were able to beat him. His winning streak continues.

Aaron and dad, playing chess

This is Ethan in the log "Bark"-a-lounger chair dad made for him in the fort.

I'm 30! Woo-Hoo!

2008-07-30T13:09:00.005-07:00

For my birthday, we are going to Colorado to stay at my parent's cabin again, which is why I am posting this a day early.

I don't know how you feel about turning 30, but for me, I am excited! My mom always said her 30's were the best years, and I believe it will be for me, too.
Now don't get me wrong, I suppose a while back there was a time when the thought of turning 30 got me slightly depressed. "Ugh, that's really old." But that has passed. Especially when I think of all that I have experienced over the past 30 years. I feel I have done a lot in my "younger" years (good and bad) and have a lot fun memories, too. Now, I am ready to take on the "older/adult" years of my life and face all my upcoming challenges head-on. It's scary, yet thrilling and exciting at the same time. Of course, I'll still be having lots of fun. I guess I'm looking at it as the "glass is half-full". I'm only 30. There is still a lot of living to be had. To quote one of my favorite movies, "I want to be thirty, flirty and thriving!" (13 going on 30)

Which also makes me think, at least I don't look like I did in Jr. High. Ugh! I'd much rather be 30, than going through that stage of life. So for this I say, celebrate life, celebrate beauty, celebrate 30! Be happy!

I spy...

2008-07-22T15:23:00.000-07:00

Ordinary bush?

I don't think so!

Alright, so this is the scoop. Whenever my husband does the yard work, he usually finds a dog dropping or two in our lawn. This has been happening for quite sometime and it gets him very angry. He thinks he knows who it is, but doesn't want to confront the dog owner until he has accurate evidence that the poop belongs to his dog. A week ago or so, this dog pooped on our driveway, and his owner just kicked it into the gravel, leaving a dump in our rocks and a smear in our drive. And so now, Greg has installed a spy camera to catch them in the act. Now, maybe we are being too hasty. Perhaps that smear mark was the perfect "accent" to our house. How do you think we should handle this messy situation?

Canyon Lake

2008-07-20T15:36:00.001-07:00

Greg has been taking the boys to the lake a lot lately, which has been nice because 1. I get to play with Olie without the boys constantly in his face and 2. It is a lot less noisy and I am able to take awesome naps. When they return home, Ethan would always ask why I didn't come, or will I go with them next time. I finally decided to ask my parents if they would watch Olie so I could join Greg and the older boys at the lake. So yesterday, we drove to Canyon Lake for some family fun. It was overcast all day so it wasn't terribly hot, but neither was the water. When we jumped in it was pretty chilly, but you get used to it after awhile. Ethan was so excited to have me there. He wanted to show me all his "tricks" he could do jumping off the boat. He did canon balls, belly flops, side dives and back dives (which were basically back flops & side flops, but still darn cute ;) Aidan was just excited to jump off the boat and practice his swimming. I attempted the knee-board, and was able to pull myself up for a little bit, but it was a lot harder than I remember. It made me realize just how outta shape I am, and I might need to start thinking about getting myself into a regular exercise routine. For the most part we just drove the boat around, we swam, and we ate. It was great to spend that time with the older boys...I fear they feel a little neglected since most my days are spent with Olie in my arms. I look forward to the next lake trip! (Assuming I have a sitter for Oliver)

What do you remember?

2008-07-19T17:41:00.001-07:00

My cousin had this on her blog, and I thought it was cool. Humor me :)

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. I think it will be fun to hear what people have to say and what they remember. If you leave a memory about me, I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Oliver

2008-07-18T13:49:00.007-07:00

Oliver turned 3 months old a little over a week ago. They always say babies grow so fast, but I always hope mine will stay "little" longer, especially at this age. This is probably my favorite age because; 1. He sleeps through the night, 2. he's still small and cuddly and will still fall asleep in my arms 3. He's not mobile 4. he is old enough to smile, coo & giggle. I love trying to communicate with Olie. He is so much fun and a great baby. I could not ask for a better third child. He is always so happy. Olie smiles all the time and I love the fact that he can recognize me from across the table and give me a big smile as if to say "I know that person!" He loves playing in his bouncer and has really got his rhythm down. It is so entertaining, watching his one foot go up and down as fast as he can to propel the bounce. He's also been doing this cute thing with his hands these days. He'll be laying in his bouncer, bouncing away, until he notices his hand. He'll stop bouncing and just stare at his hand, then close it real tight, like he is squeezing the life out of bug. (And it's always his left hand, maybe he'll be a lefty like me!) He will do that over and over, and then go back to bouncing himself.

Colorado - 4th of July Weekend

2008-07-14T11:00:00.005-07:00

I LOVE the month of July. The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays, we tend to take our vacations in July, and to top it all off, my birthday is in July. (But there will be other posts about that.) Moving on! Our family just spent a wonderful week long vacation in Colorado at my parents newly remodeled cabin, or should I say summer home. WOW! I was not expecting what I saw. They had a great contractor. There is so much more space, enough to accommodate our entire family. Sweet! (I will have to do a separate post on the cabin, and show you before and after pictures, but I just don't have those pictures at this present time.)
Almost everyone was able to come up for the 4th of July. My brother Cole and his family were able to spend a week. Christian and his girlfriend Liz came up for a few days, but unfortunately, my brother Aaron was unable to make the trip. We missed him! :(
The weather was so nice, and we usually got cloud cover and light rain in the afternoons. The boys (and dogs) loved it! There was so much land for them to run around and play on. Of course, they didn't want to do anything unless Nana joined them. Poor mom, those kids just had too much energy for her to keep up with. They hiked up and down the hills, hunted for beaver, played in the fort. And when they needed a rest they would come inside and play video games with their cousins.
Greg enjoyed his time there too. He brought plenty of guns and ammo to shoot. He played some golf with my brothers. He took hikes down to the beaver creek with the kids, he took plenty of naps, and of course his favorite, watching the "Planet Earth" DVD's on the 72" HDTV in the theater room of the cabin, on the lazy boys, enjoying a bowl of trail mix.
After dinner and the sun went down, and the kids were either in bed or watching a movie, the adults would gather around the table for some fun and games. We played our favorite card game, progressive rummy. Followed by a late night movie and some popcorn. (Greg compared it to being on a cruise but without the midnight buffet.)
One day, we rounded up the kids and went to the neighbors house so they could ride a horse and take some various "cowboy" pictures. My mom wanted to get some cute pictures of her grandsons that she could hang them in the boys' room at the cabin. We had a lot of fun doing that. Although Ethan and Aidan were both hesitant at first, we finally got them in the saddle.

In short, we had a blast!
Thanks mom and dad for inviting us to spend the holiday with you in Colorado. See you in a few weeks!
To view more pictures of our trip click on picture below

Colorado - July 4th 2008

I've Been Tagged!

2008-06-23T07:16:00.008-07:00

I've been tagged my friend Carrie, so here I go....

5 things on my to do list:

1. Make a list of meals for the week and go to the grocery store

2. Complete this blog

3. Clean the bathrooms

4. Make curtains for my bathroom window

5. Take a nap

5 jobs I have had:

1. a babysitter (very short-lived, I didn't take to it)

2. a janitorial service woman at age 12 for a prestigious doctor (okay--a cleaning lady at my dad's dental office)

3. A receptionist (also at my dad's office)

4. a Mary Kay consultant

5. and of course a mom, the hardest job of them all! (but also the most rewarding)

5 places I have lived:

1. Tempe, AZ

2. Flagstaff, AZ

3. Mesa, AZ

4. Maricopa, AZ

Sorry, thats all. Pathetic, isn't it?

5 favorite snacks:

1. Yogurt

2. Nuts & Raisins

3. Cheese

4. A glass of cold chocolate milk

5. Chips, crackers, cookies--whatever is in the pantry

5 favorite desserts:

1. Lemon Meringue Pie

2. Chocolate-peanut butter rice krispie treats

3. Breyer's Mint chocolate chip ice cream or Dreyer's Rocky Road

4. Homemade chocolate chip cookies

5. Mama's chocolate malts

5 things you don't know about me: (you may already know some of these)

1. I can stick my fist in my mouth

2. I got my navel pierced in college (I have since taken it out)

3. I chose to have natural child birth with my 2nd child, Aidan

4. I got liposuction at age 15 on my ankle because of a freak water ski accident

5. a year ago, I taught myself to play the banjo (in 3 months) for a family reunion talent show. Apparently, I was the only one who took it seriously because I was the only performer (besides my sister in law, Leslie, who I coerced into doing a duet w/me playing violin)

5 things I would do if I were a billionaire:

1. Take lots of fun family vacations

2. Let my husband buy all the "toys" he wanted - oh wait, already do that! :)

3. Finally, get our HUGE backyard landscaped

4. I suppose I would set some aside for our kids

5. ???

5 things I love:

1. My family

2. My friends

3. Chocolate

4. Photography, but mostly Landscape photography

5. That my mom is still sexy, sassy & looks really good for her age, which means, hopefully, I will look and feel just as young as she does in my years to come.

(Isn't she gorgeous!?)

Yeah--that was fun! I tag Brittany, Terri, Jocelyn, Sarah & Cole. (And anyone else who wants to join in the fun :)

Props to Margo

2008-06-20T12:12:00.002-07:00

I realized after reading the many comments on my quilt (and thank you, they were all very nice) I realized that I didn't give proper credit to my sweet mother-in-law, Margo, for helping with my quilt. If it was not for her, it would not have been completed before Father's Day. She is the one that has the quilter's frame to tie the quilt. (And the one that taught me how to tie a quilt) In all actuality, she tied the majority of the quilt. Ya see, she fit me into her busy schedule to help me. I decided it would be a good idea to spend a Saturday at her house, working on the quilt then have my husband meet me later so we could have a date night, and his sister could babysit the kids. It did not end up that way at all. By the time I got to the house and we got everything set up, it was already time to go see the movie. Margo said it was okay to go, she would continue to work on the quilt. When I got home it was almost done! She is amazing! I stayed until midnight to finish it. (I only had like 5 rows to tie, but I apparently I work very slow) She stayed up and kept me company. So as you can see, I really need to thank her. THANK YOU, MARGO! You are the best. You always try to accommodate everyone & please everyone even if it messes up your plans. You are such a sweetheart and I appreciate all that you do. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-14T21:11:00.007-07:00

Greg and I have been married almost 9 years. And a what a fun, wonderful 9 years they have been. (Of course with a few ups and downs, but what marriage doesn't have that?) I am sad to admit, Greg knows me a lot better than I know him, but I there are a few things I do know about my husband. Greg is thoughtful, loving, and caring. He has a strong thirst for knowledge. He provides for our family and always puts his family first. He loves his family very much. He enjoys spending time with his boys and trying to put a smile on his kids' faces. (and mine, too) He loves teaching the boys the things he loves in hopes that they will love it too. He likes to joke and loves to laugh. (I gotta say...I love his laugh. It's very infectious and gets me laughing too.)

He always shows me that he loves me in his own little ways; like when were driving in the truck and he lets me play my music. (Believe me, we do not have the same taste in music, but he will tolerate mine) He is such a thoughtful person, especially when it comes to gifts. For example...a few years ago, we were talking about childhood toys, what we had, what we wanted and never got, etc. I had mentioned that my cousins had a Snoopy Snow Cone Machine and I was so jealous of them. Well, Christmas that year, guess what was under the Christmas tree...that's right a Snoopy Snow cone machine. It was awesome!

One of things I love most about my husband is although there are so many things we don't have in common, when it comes down to it, he wants to make me happy, even if it means torture for him. (Like dancing or pictures) I enjoy our conversations and am continually getting to know him better each day. I love the fact that I learn something new everyday whether it's about him, or him teaching me. I know there are many times I tease him about what an easy life he has, and that my days are always tougher than his. In reality, he takes care of us. I am so proud to have a husband who is able to provide for his family, so that I am able to stay at home & be with the kids. He means the world to us, and we love him very much

It's Finally Finished!

2008-06-13T21:30:00.000-07:00

For those of you who remember (or even care), for the past few months I have been working on this jean quilt for my hubby. Well, after finding a few spare moments between taking care of the house and having a baby, I finally completed the project. (And just in time for Father's Day) Greg finally has his camping/hunting blanket that he has been asking for. The best part about this quilt is that I got to get rid of all those old jeans he doesn't wear anymore. Yeah! Now, I can actually put all the jeans he does wear in his drawer.
(Not bad for a beginner seamstress/quilter, what do you think?)

In the Garage

2008-06-07T10:00:00.003-07:00

I was outside the other day talking with the neighbors and one of them asked me what my husband's name was. I told him "Greg". He responded, "I haven't really met him, I've just seen him driving his truck." (We have lived here for 3 years) I told him, No, you probably haven't met him. He's not a real social person. (unless you are family or a friend from high school) If he's not at work or on the computer, you will find he has retreated to his "bat cave" or garage. In there, you will find all of his hobbies in one spot. It's his reloading room & his housing for his big boy toys. You'll find power tools, bullets, bikes, lawn care, and the kids. The kids have also taken after daddy. They like to help him in the garage and be his assistants. And when daddy isn't home you can find them in the garage working on their toys. Just the other day I found them in the garage with their toy guns, making adjustments and cleaning them. Then they would set up targets to shoot. It was really cute. Ethan & Aidan would line up empty water bottles. Then Ethan would take his pop-gun (or what he calls his 22-250), rest it on the wagon, aim and say, "BANG". At that point, Aidan would then knock the bottle down and say, "Good job, E.E.!"

Oliver's Baby Blessing

2008-06-01T19:37:00.002-07:00

Oliver was blessed today! Here he is in the same outfit I have had all my boys blessed in. It was such a nice day and I am thankful for all the family that came to enjoy this special day with us. (Especially those that had to travel long distances.) I feel so blessed to have my husband, my children and the church in my life. I don't know where I would be without them. I love you all so much!

The Clouse Family

New blog....

Going Private...

Who's the idiot?

Breakfast at Marana

Flying "Hi"...

"Let's fly away"......

1st day of 2nd grade

phones

I can cry if I want to....

Presenting......

*sigh* ....Ethan.....

Stranger?

I'm an AWESOME mom!

Las Vegas

Tombstone

And then there were two...

Lucky Ducks!

April 7 - Oliver's 2nd Birthday

Easter

My new Sunday Best!

Diorama

I DID THIS!!!!

Kids....

Spring Musical

Pictures of my Boys

Aidan Rides his Bike!

Carseat dancing

LoVe aT WeNDy'S?

Locked in the Truck

Attention All Walmart employees......

Toothless!

Planes!

Birthdays!!!

The Taste Test

1st Grade

Update Pt. 4 - Lake Powell

Update Pt 3.

Update Pt. 2

Its an Update! Pt.1

Surprise!

Busted!

Birthday

One year ago today....

Boys!

My Sunbeam

Happiness

Cutest face ever!

This is how we entertain ourselves!

Colorado

Thanks!

Hand-crafted

Traditions

An Update for December

Ethan Quotes

All About Olie

I love my husband!

More Halloween pictures

Halloween 2008

Its your fault, mommy!

Pumpkin Carving

Monkey Boy?

Fall Festival

Olie - 6 months

Costumes

Happy 6th Birthday Ethan!

I pledge allegiance...

Ethan's Sign

Lost and Found

Happy 3rd Birthday, Aidan!

Happy Anniversary!

Dove Hunting

100%

Potty Training

Kuzcotopia

1st day of kindergarten

Summer vacation is officially over

Dinosaur Museum

Tagged!

In other news...

sigh ....Ethan.....