Not dead yet

Maybe some of you have wondered if (or hoped) I'd died. No such luck. I know my blogging has been MIA. As it turns out, it's kind of busy when you have 6 kids and demanding church callings! But we are still kickin'. (And some of us get in trouble for that...usually right after the bus drops kids off at home.)

We survived Halloween 3 times. There was the school parade, then the school carnival, then the trunk-or-treat. I have been extremely good and didn't eat ANY candy. But I would be a huge fake if I said it wasn't hard. It was REALLY hard last night! Anyway, the costumes all got a good workout. I'll post some pictures later.

It's been a nice, germ-filled week. Sarah started two Sundays ago and is still running her nose and coughing. Joseph joined her shortly after. By now, I'm sipping at the cough medicine. The rest of the kids have some version of the germ. Chad had better watch out; he can't escape this one!

Earlier in the week, I was certain that something was really wrong with Joseph's ears. He was obviously having a hard time hearing me. And by now, you'd think I was used to that happening, but this time was different and I was getting concerned. I called the doctor's office and they said they didn't do hearing tests, but referred me to a hearing center. I made an appointment with them, but later that day I decided to take Joseph in to have them take a look in his ears. As it turned out, he had a nasty double ear infection. Both ears were bright red. NO WONDER! I knew I wasn't imagining a problem. He's been on antibiotics since Wednesday. Now he's back to the regular hearing problems all my kids seem to have.

We gave away our older chickens earlier this week. We collected several of their eggs back in September and got 7 surviving chicks (2 died and 4 didn't hatch). There are some young hens out there now that should start laying in the next few weeks (the chicks we hatched in June).

We lost one of our dogs two weeks ago. I really mean 'lost.' The two of them kept getting out and we couldn't find the spot (of several possibilities) that they were using. During a two-hour span, while I was getting new collars to tie them up until we could plug more holes, they got out again. One reappeared in the pasture...the other never did. So Chocolate may be adopting a new family, or he may be dead...or who knows. We'd had him since before Leah was born. He was finally a good, mellow dog. Now we're stuck with the hyper one that STILL gets out! Where have all her manners gone?

We've been trying to find a new home for our horse. She is too much horse for us. It is unbelievable how many people call and say they want to come see her and then never show or call. It must be around 80%. Some of them want her for cheaper and won't come look unless I agree to drop the price. We're only asking $300 as it is. It's not as if she's 19 years old and only good as a brood mare! Too many people these days have forgotten how to extend some courtesy and want things free or cheaper.

I recently went to the kids' parent/teacher conferences. They are all doing so well. The only thing Rebekah hasn't mastered is cutting on the lines. Leah's percentages were 98, 99 and 100. Nathan was very similar. Daniel's grades got trickier this year, but he's doing well. Mostly A's, a couple of B's and a B- (those science questions in his homework are harder work than he's used to). Everyone is well-behaved and pleasant in class. Now why won't they send those kids home at the end of the day?

We haven't had any more snow than a bit of flurries one night last week. Now that we've had Halloween, tilled the garden and blown out the sprinklers, let it snow! But don't play games with us. I hate the stuff that snows and melts repeatedly until the new year. I don't like mud.

I'll have to get some pictures posted of this and that sometime soon. But I think I'll try for an early bedtime tonight!

Murder on my mind

Isn't Halloween the perfect time of year to host a murder mystery? Does the victim have to be fictional? Can I murder Daniel?

I repeatedly told that kid to hurry up and get ready for school so we could work on his Halloween costume.

He said he wanted to be a detective. So we're going this route.

How many of you have patterns for this type of thing? Me neither. I have to start from scratch and needed Daniel to stand still for about 5 minutes so I could fit some fabric around his shoulders. That boy took 20 minutes to do 5 minutes worth of tasks. You think I am exaggerating? I assure you, I am not.

While I stood watching for Daniel and watching for the bus to come, the minutes slipped by. I realized I wasn't going to be fitting Daniel for anything costume related. Prison chains, maybe, but not a detective's cloak for sure.

Then I looked at the rest of the kids outside waiting for the bus. It's 29 degrees out there this morning and they were in jackets. All except for Daniel who had slunk out another door and was standing there in only a long-sleeved t-shirt. Argh!!!

I yelled at him (yes, yelled, and I'm not sorry) to get back in the house and put a jacket on. He came in and just leaned against the couch. By now, my fingers are starting to twitch and my eyes are focusing on his neck. I barked again and he moved to the closet to fish around for a minute. That's when I realized he was just acting a part. An irritated question discovered that both of his jackets are in his school locker!

deep breath This kid does not get it. He has a very expensive TMJ problem that gets worse when his jaw joints get too cold. So not only is he not wearing a hat I stayed up past midnight making one night (though I don't really blame him since it looks a little feminine), he is also not wearing a jacket and it's 29 degrees outside - I may have mentioned that.

You know, I have too many things to worry about that are more important than Halloween costumes. If Daniel isn't going to care about it, why should I? He can go as The Emperor. I'll just explain what "new clothes" are. Maybe he won't get too cold.

Lagoon 2010

While we were in the area, and because we didn't make it to Disneyland like I'd hoped we would this year (thanks to kids and their unexpected costs), we made a trip to Lagoon. The last time we were here was when Rebekah looked a lot like Sarah...four years ago. That was in our favor, because it was a new experience for practically everyone. And I'm surprised at how much the place change in four years. (I worked at Lagoon the summer I was 16...it has really changed a lot since then...two decades!)

We decided to arrive in the late afternoon and skip the heat of the day. You can see on the kids' faces, they were full of energy and ready to have fun.

I took a picture at the entrance hoping to get a before and after shot. It almost happened.

When we got there around 4 PM or so, we went straight to Pioneer Village and got in line for the log flume. We thought it best to get wet right off and have time to dry again. It was a humid day and the clouds were looking ominous. While waiting in line, the ride broke down (figures, right?). Several people decided they couldn't wait and left the line. This was fortunate for us, because before they could even get all the way through the maze of waiting people, the ride started up again and we saved quite a bit of time in line.

Leah wasn't sure she was up for the adventure of the log flume. Luckily, we know a little bit about her and made her follow through. She doesn't look too sure here. And she was muttering concerns all the way up. After the splash-down, she was converted and wanted to get back in line.


Here are the boys in the gondola ahead of us. I think they were feeling pretty 'big' in a seat of their own!

By the time we got off, it was raining. The line for the log flume was almost down to nothing, so it would have been easy to go again, but we had limited time and a lot to do. And the best thing to do when you're wet is get wet a little more.

The line for Rattlesnake Rapids was the shortest I've ever seen it. I went with the four oldest kids. Chad caught us going under the waterfall. Did I say a little more wet? I'm not sure any part of me was dry. Maybe my ear canals. I love that Nathan appears to be trying to avoid the water.

We got off and convinced Chad to go. By now, there was no line. They were sending empty gondolas through. I stayed with Joseph and at one point, we had to take shelter from the rain. (I was wet, but there was no need for him to have a rain-soaked diaper.)

Once again, there was no avoiding the flood.

From there, we split up. Chad went to the car for our picnic dinner and we hit some rides. The girls look half-drowned!
After dinner, we started a valiant effort to get to as many rides as possible. I was worried that Daniel would be frustrated that he couldn't ride some of the "cool" rides, because of height requirements. He pleasantly surprised me by saying he was glad he was short because he wouldn't be able to ride the rides we were riding!

Here we are on a kiddie ride similar to the Tidal Wave. It didn't go as high. Even Joseph got to ride it.

Chad and Nathan

Rebekah and Daniel -way in the back.
The kids rode some dizzying swings. (Rebekah is that blue shirt behind Daniel.)

This OdySea ride was a fun surprise. I'd never seen it before and was NOT prepared for more water. We were just getting dry! But it was a lot of fun and I was impressed by the catchy song/chant that went along with it. The kids really liked this one.

Thanks to the weather, the huge Ferris wheel was easy to get on (normally the lines are really long). Leah and Joseph were really impressed with the height we rose to.

It was nice to enjoy something slow for a bit.


And the opposite of slow is bumper cars! Rebekah is NOT ready for a driver's license.

This time, Joseph got to 'drive.'

Eventually, it got late enough that the park was closing and we had to pick one last thing to do. Chad took the 4 oldest back to OdySea and Joseph and I found something just for him (I didn't want to get wet anymore). We had to wait for the Carousel ride for a long time because someone before had apparently enjoyed the spinning car a little too much and the employees were in the middle of a clean up and detox of the area. They were very thorough, I must say!

Joseph chose his animal and we enjoyed our last ride at Lagoon.
Our plan was to meet up at the water fountain at the entrance to the park. I thought we'd probably be last because of the time we'd spent waiting for our ride. I saw Chad among the few folks standing around the fountain. There were a couple of boys in there smack dab in the middle of the water, getting pounded in the face with shooting water. I imagined someone was going to have pretty soggy kids on the way home!

When I got closer, I saw that it was Daniel and Nathan. Of course. Why wouldn't it be?

They were really enjoying themselves and other people were really enjoying watching them.

Leah and Rebekah were also there...just not in the center.

It was the last water display of the night and the kid there (you know...the one who stands by and tells you not to run?) offered to turn the water on around us so we could get a picture. I had to delete a couple of pictures to make room for one more. It's a great picture, too bad he wasn't a little better at taking pictures.

And so that had to be our "after" picture. And all the efforts to leave the park dry were undone. The kids rode home in soggy underwear and blankets.

As we got in the van, Daniel said, "When we come back, I'll be 14!" Yes, Daniel, you will. Keep thinking that and all will be well.

Mt. Timp Temple

On our way back to the SL valley after the reunion, we stopped by the Mt. Timpanogos Temple to let the kids see where we'd gotten married. It was closed because of the Pioneer Day holiday. That was good, so I didn't have to worry about interrupting any one's spiritual ponderings. But it was bad because someone was doing some work out there and we had to try to take pictures that didn't include him!

This crooked picture (thank goodness for crop tools) was taken just outside the gates. You can barely see the gray cart the worker had with him (right edge of the photo).



And this one was under a little tree just a few steps away. In a different shot in this spot, we have 5 orange cones in the picture. With this angle, we only got 2.


Then we went for a longer walk to get a shot by the temple sign. Joseph wanted to make a funny face and Sarah wanted to touch him. These are untouched, Photoshop-free pictures, folks!


Some how, Chad got an idea to get our picture taken together (eleven years, six kids and 30 pounds after the original one). I was forced from my usual spot behind the camera to right in front of it! Burn the image into your memory...this doesn't happen very often.


We worked in a visit to my dad while we were in the area. The kids think the best thing about going to Grandpa's is the treat he usually gives them. Too bad Grandpa is so far away.

HOPE!

Leah saw that I was struggling to fold laundry one-handed, due to the fact that I was holding Sarah. She showed great problem solving skills for her tender age of 6 and asked, "If I take Sarah downstairs with me, can I watch some TV?"

GASP

I would normally lean towards a "no" answer in this situation, but it was a deal that I could not pass up.

Is this what the future holds for me? Will my children actually offer to help me out? Ooh...I just don't know if I dare to get my hopes up!

Family Reunion

Summer came and so did a family reunion. We haven't been to too many family reunions because I've either been pregnant and not feeling like traveling, or had a little baby and the same feeling.

This year, we were out of excuses (though the feeling was still there). Chad's family had a big reunion and off we went.

Our first stop was for Chad's own family's reunion. That is probably too generous of a title. It was a photo shoot. But don't be misled...we aren't talking Glamour Shots. We're talking 90 degrees in a park with 26 kids (mostly wearing dark-colored shirts).

There was a lot of this...


and this... (This is my brood in case you don't see us enough to recognize them.)


and this...

and this.

It was all in an effort to get some of these.

Joseph's cheeks tell the whole tale. He's regulated for cooler Idaho temps!


From there, some of the families headed up the Provo Canyon to the BYU owned Timp Lodge for a few days of activities.

And while there were several things I could have taken pictures of, I didn't. Fast forward to the end when my camera suddenly got busy (for some unexplained reason). There was a flag ceremony and program at the flag pole. This was the 24th of July, a Utah holiday, and so several thoughts focused on history and pioneers.

All the Eagle Scouts in attendance raised the flag. I only really knew Chad and his brothers here, but thought Chad might like a picture.


Then they started having everyone come up who was involved in scouting.


And so not to leave anyone out, it eventually included all scouts, past and present as well as any who had served or were serving in the military. I think it was only some women (and some uncomfortable men) left to take the pictures and honor the heroes.

From there, it was a hurried effort to get everything packed up and folks on the road in order to meet the check-out requirement. We got 7 sack lunches and drove out of the canyon while the kids negotiated for certain items in each other's lunch sacks. The cookies were the most sought after while the oranges and carrots largely remained unclaimed.

Drive-In Movie

I'm trying to multi-task today and I'm working on folding laundry while I wait for pictures to upload. Sarah doesn't want me to fold laundry and she insists on helping me type. So I don't feel like I'm accomplishing much in either area. Additionally, Rebekah keeps following me around asking..."backwards, what does T-A-C spell?" or "frontwards, what does W-O-H spell?" I had to look at what she was reading and saw that the paper was upside-down. How do I tell her that my brain does not want to play that game?

Anyway, I finally uploaded the pictures of our drive-in movie. The last one we went to was "Cars." Yes, it's been a while. And now I can't even remember what movie we went to see this time!! This is going to be a great memory for us, years from now since it's hardly a memory now.

What the heck...we don't go to drive-in movies to see movies, do we? Not this family. We go for the experience. That includes...

...$5 nachos. Eat slowly and SHARE please! And try not to look so surprised that I'm taking your picture. You should expect it by now.


...putting down the back seats of the van. Leah's already established her area and is not about to get out of it. You'll have to come to her if you want some of those nachos.


...crawling all over Daddy. He definitely doesn't come for the movie...he hardly gets to watch any of it!

And that was the last picture I took with the camera before I smashed it while trying to put the seats back up for the ride home.

As you can see, it still took pictures, but the viewing screen was shattered and useless. Whoever imagined a camera would still NEED a viewfinder!

These last two pictures were literally point and shoot because I had no idea what kind of shot I was getting. It showcases what happens when we stay up WAY past bedtime. They were very difficult to get out of the van. This was one of those nights when we skipped scripture reading and family prayer. Maybe we should have gone ahead with it...they would have been very quiet!



Unrelated:

Sarah never cared much for her walker. Fortunately, she learned to walk without it. But it was nice to have her somewhat contained while I worked in the kitchen. I had to make sure she didn't back over my toes as she struggled to free herself from the thing.

This day she got very close to getting out...she ended up in a worse situation than she started. And I made sure I got a few pictures before I helped her out of it.

Too Big

Joseph is going to be an elephant for Halloween...

...next year.

The elephant swallowed him whole this year! :)

Pinata Summer

We made pinatas this summer. It started with a really messy afternoon of paper mache goo and paper strips. The kids cut most of the strips themselves. They also made most of the mess themselves.

It was taking them a really long time to cover their balloons, so I had to step in and show them how to slap that soggy paper on!

I think Nathan was our best junior paper mache artist!


Eventually, we got all 5 balloons covered and hung them out to dry. I wondered if anyone caught a glimpse of our alien pods hanging in the backyard. Those are going to be some monster bugs when they hatch!



Several days later, we took the pinatas back outside to paint. It was another messy job and Joseph was a little cranky. He kicked more than one pinata while we working. It was a trick to avoid the wet paint he was sending through our circle!


We had poster paints, dot paints and glitter to use. We had to accept the newpaper print as part of the decoration because it wasn't going to be possible to completely cover it.



Yes, potty training means we'll have our hands in our underwear. Ah, memories!



And were weren't the only ones painting! Look at the pretty colors painted in the sky above us that day.


Over the course of several weeks, we filled and busted open our pinatas. We made a trip to the dollar store where the kids each picked out toys/candy for their own pinatas. Each one was filled by it's owner a few minutes before we headed out to the front yard to smash it to pieces.


Chad was the official pinata manager. We used a bunch of salvaged baling string...tied together to get enough length. It was all fun and games until the pinatas came crashing down from the string before they were open. The first one was actually hanging from the string. The rest were mostly harnessed into the string. We got pretty creative with supporting balloon-shaped pinatas in cradles of string!



Of course, the best part was the actual swinging/hitting/breaking that goes along with pinatas. Joseph usually got the first swings and it went to the next older person from there. We tried to let the person that owned the pinata be the one that actually destroyed it.



Daniel is making as if Leah's swing is going to be "the one."


For the most part, the kids shared the spoils pretty fairly. Some of the candy was better than others. And that goes for the toys, too. I have thrown a lot of them away by now.


But it was a great way to spend the summer. We'll have to do it again...in a couple of years or so.


This shot of Joseph on our last night of pinatas shows the fun the kids all had!