The Boys Day Out!

Ed took the boys dirt biking to Heise a couple of weeks ago. They had so much fun! Ed said that they are getting to be really good riders. Tegen rides a Honda CRF70 and Tray rides a CRF50 {if you aren't dirt biking people then this would mean nothing to you :)} Anyway- they both ride their own and Talen rides on the front of Ed's. Our older two boys have always loved dirt biking and would ride with Ed for hours. Talen- not so much! He will cry and tell Ed to slow down but he is getting more used to it and starting to really enjoy it.

All my boys!

Tray
Talen
Tegen- ready to ride!
What cuties! I know they don't realize how lucky they are right now to have a dad who wants to spend so much time with them, but one day when they are older they will realize how lucky they are. I love that they have something that they all enjoy doing so that they can spend some time doing some "male bonding"- ha ha! Guess where I am when this is going on? Yep... either at home reading a book or shopping. Either way- I'm somewhere nice and warm and non-dangerous!

Tag

I don't know if anyone gets sick of reading these tags or not. Sorry if you do! This one may be a bit embarrassing... well here goes....

6 Unspectacular Quirks About Me....

1. I am obsessed with chap stick. I cannot go anywhere without it. I love the green mint kind by Chapstick. If I don't have chapstick I seriously feel like I am going to freak out. I love the green mint kind, but I have been trying to be adventurous lately and I've bought some other brands of chapstick's and lip glosses. What a dare devil I am... ha ha!

2. I am a very anal/ OCD person. I like everything to be exactly right. When I fold towels they have to be folded perfectly and the corners all have to be lined up. I have to place them in the cupboard so that they are perfectly lined up against the edge.

3. It's not only towels.... I do this to underwear too. Strange- I know! I have to fold Ed's t-shirts so that they are a certain way and the bottoms have to be a certain way and they have to be put in the drawer a certain way. I do it with mine too. Ed used to mess up his drawer all the time so I once stuck my hand in the drawer and swirled everything around just to see what he would do. The next time I put something in that drawer it was all fixed back perfectly and has looked great ever since!

4. I hate to go in public if my kids aren't dressed nicely. I have had some people tell me that I care too much what other people think about me, but that's not it at all. It's more that I just can NOT stand for my kids to look dirty and mismatched. I know... you're probably thinking that my kids aren't always dressed that cute, but hey I try! And for some reason I really hate character clothing. I won't usually let my kids wear Spiderman, Spongebob, etc. I am a mean mom!

5. I love, love, love vacuum marks. After I have vacuumed I won't let my kids walk across the floor. I tell them they can't go in the sitting room. It's kind of mean, but I only do it for the one room, the rest I let them walk on. Okay... are you thinking that I'm totally strange yet?

6. As much as I love to have everything in order I must confess that all of my closets are not perfect. Oh I try so hard, but someone is usually walking behind me and messing them up. I feel like I have to give up control somewhere so I let it be the closets. If any of you are Friends fans out there then you will understand when I say that I have a Monica closet. It's not really that bad, but I have a hard time with them for some reason!

Okay- now you all know my strange quirks. I'm sure that the list could go on and on, but I will spare you the scary details. My close friends and my family all know how completely strange I am, but maybe for the rest of you I can put up a good front of pretending to be normal and not so OCD- ha ha!

I tag Tannis, Christine and April... have fun!

Our Trip to Lagoon!

We took our boys to the Lagoon Amusement Park. It was the annual A-Core company party. I knew that our boys would love Lagoon! Tegen and Tray had so much fun riding all the rides. Tegen was finally tall enough this year to ride everything and Tray was able to ride everything except the really big roller coasters. I can't wait until they are all big enough to ride everything with me because Ed is a big wimp and gets sick on EVERYTHING! even the Ferris wheel.

You can't tell very well, but in the picture above Talen is freaked out! He was terrified of every ride. If the ride spun he was petrified of it. The only thing he liked was the little tiny tugboats that go in a circle...very slowly...

This was Ed's one and only ride for the day. The ride that is like the chair lift. Whoa... What a dare devil!

Ed tried to do this game where you have to climb up a rope ladder and ring a bell without letting the ladder turn over. Unfortunately this game proved to be impossible for Ed. He tried really hard and gave it his best effort but he couldn't do it- oh well! What would we have done with a huge, giant stuffed animal anyway?

The weather was just about perfect- not too hot, not too cold. I loved spending every minute with my family. With the craziness of everyday life it gets to be a challenge to find time to spend together so this was a perfect opportunity. We all had so much fun and we loved being together.

This is all of my boys- aren't they the cutest? This was a huge rock that spun around in water so of course they all just HAD to touch it- then they got in trouble by a park attendant... oops! I do love them though. I feel so lucky to be blessed with such an awesome family!

Answered Prayers

My brother, Kris, is in the army. He is stationed near Seattle, Washington and has a wife and two little boys. He just returned from Iraq a couple of days ago. I admire both him and his wife. They both have been through a tough year. She stayed in Washington (while he was serving in Iraq) all by herself with their boys. It must have been so challenging to not have any family or really close friends to rely on. I know that they will be re-stationed in Kansas later this summer so it will be another few years before we get any quality time with them. I just have to say that I am so grateful for answered prayers! We prayed every day for "Uncle Kris in Iraq". The boys would not ever let us forget... and if someone did forget to mention him in their prayers then we had to start the prayer over just so we could pray for him. I know that not every family is as fortunate as us to have their soldier return home, but I am so thankful to Heavenly Father for watching over my brother and his family while he was busy serving our country. I am also thankful to all service men and women for putting their lives on the line and serving us and our country! I am thankful to Heavenly Father for listening to our prayers and answering them!

My brother is the soldier on the right in the sunglasses. Their families were not allowed to meet them when they came off the plane so they had to go into an auditorium where there was a t.v. so my my sister-in-law, Christy, took this picture of the t.v. as they came off the plane. He looks great! I can't wait to see him!

The Girl in a Whirl

I may be the only mother who feels like this, but I have a feeling that I'm not! I sometimes feel as though I am required to do so many things, be in so many places and generally just be perfect. Unfortunately, I'm not! My sister-in-law Meisha sent me this poem and I feel like it explains exactly what we go through every day...

The Girl in a Whirl by 'Dr. Sue' (a.k.a. Vickie Gunther)
Look at me, look at me, look at me now!
You could do what I do if you only knew how.
I study the scriptures one hour each day;
I bake, I upholster, I scrub, and I pray.
I always keep all the commandments completely;
I speak to my little ones gently and sweetly.
I help in their classrooms! I sew all they wear!
I drive them to practice! I cut all their hair!
I memorize names of the General Authorities;
I focus on things to be done by priorities.
I play the piano! I bless with my talents!
My toilets all sparkle! My checkbooks all balance!
Each week every child gets a one-on-one date;
I attend all my meetings (on time! never late!)
I'm taking a class on the teachings of Paul,
But that is not all! Oh, no. That is not all,
I track my bad habits 'til each is abolished;
Our t-shirts are ironed! My toenails are polished!
Our family home evenings are always delightful;
The lessons I give are both fun and insightful.
I do genealogy faithfully, too.It's easy to do all the things that I do!
I rise each day early, refreshed and awake;
I know all the names of each youth in my stake!
I read to my children! I help all my neighbors!
I bless the community, too, with my labors.
I exercise and I cook menus gourmet;
My visiting teaching is done the first day!(I also go do it for someone who missed hers.
It's the least I can do for my cherished ward sisters.)
I chart resolutions and check off each goal;
I seek each 'lost lamb' on my Primary roll.
I can home-grow produce each summer and fall.
But that is not all! Oh, no. That is not all,
I write in my journal! I sing in the choir!
Each day, I write 'thank you's' to those I admire.
My sons were all Eagles when they were fourteen!
My kids get straight A's! And their bedrooms are clean!
I have a home business to help make some money;
I always look beautifully groomed for my honey.
I go to the temple at least once a week;
I change the car's tires! I fix the sink's leak!
I grind my own wheat and I bake all our bread;
I have all our meals planned out six months ahead.
I make sure I rotate our two-years' supply;
My shopping for Christmas is done by July!
These things are not hard; 'tis good if you do them;
You can if you try! Just set goals and pursue them!
It's easy to do all the things that I do!
If you plan and work smart, you can do them all, too!

It's easy!' she said and then she dropped dead.

I thought that I would share this cute poem. Sometimes life can feel overwhelming when I think about all the things that need to be done each day. I am certainly not perfect, but thankfully we were never asked to be perfect... just to try our hardest. I know that many of you are so special and sometimes we just need to remember that we are special! We don't need to do EVERYTHING!!! Yea right... try telling that to someone who is OCD. I think that I need to remember to put limits on myself. My house can't always be perfect, my kids will fight sometimes, I may have to miss some time volunteering in the classroom, it's okay to eat pizza for dinner once in while, it's okay to relax and enjoy some time for me! To those of you who do accomplish all of this... lucky you! For the rest of... Keep Trying!!!

One Word Tag...

I was tagged by SueAnn. This ought to be interesting trying to come up with one word answers - here goes....

1. Where is your cell phone?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Purse
2. Your significant other? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Genuine
3. Your hair? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Black
4. Your mother? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Giving
5. Your father? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Loving
6. Your favorite thing? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Playing
7. Your dream last night? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bizarre!
8. Your favorite drink? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Water
9. Your dream/goal? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Heaven
10. The room you're in? . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .Office
11. Your hobby? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reading
12. Your fear? . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Loneliness
13. Where do you want to be in six years? . . . . . . Home
14. Where were you last night? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Home
15. What you're not? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Crafty
16. Muffins? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . Yummy
17. One of your wish list items? . . . . . . . . . . Money (vain- I know!)
18. Where you grew up? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ucon
19. The last thing you did? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Worked
20. What are you wearing? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jeans
21. Your t.v.? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . On
22. Your pets? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . None
23. Your computer? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Helpful!
24. Your life? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Perfect
25. Your mood? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..Tired
26. Missing someone? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brother (in Iraq)
27. Your car? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tahoe
28. Something your not wearing? . . . . . . . . . . . Ring
29. Favorite store? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Target
30. Your summer? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Waiting!!!!
31. Like someone? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ed
32. Your favorite color? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brown
33. When was the last time you laughed?. . . . . . . . . . . . . Today
34. Last time you cried? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Today (reading a book)
35. Who will do this? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anyone?

I tag... anyone who feels up for a challenge. This was fun and different. I love to do these tags sometimes. Sometimes I feel like there isn't anything very interesting to blog about, but a tag always saves me. Go ahead and try it!

Bloglines...

I have been talking to people lately and realized that not everybody knows about bloglines.com. It makes blogging SO much easier! You subscribe to your favorite blogs and they will notify you when anyone has updated their blog. It brings up their new post and you can click on it and it will take you straight to their blog so you can leave a comment. I must say bloglines has made blogging a piece of cake- no more checking every one's blogs every day!