Keepin' Busy

Its Fast Sunday and church doesn't start until 2:30 in the afternoon. Is that torture or what? I figure I am breaking my fast with the sacrament, so I can eat snacks during church. Meanwhile, I am trying to keep busy here at home so I will stop thinking about what I can snack on! Unfortunately, we have many snackable and yummy items throughout the house that are calling to me. Remind me to not buy that type of stuff until the Monday after Fast Sunday.

The yard sale was fabulous. We had a constant stream of people from 6:45 am until almost 2 pm. I enjoyed working out there during the day and I am sporting a nice bit of color from the sun on my face. But I am glad it is over. It was a lot of work, but we got rid of quite a bit of stuff and made some people very happy with the deals they got!

Now that the sale is over, I've been keeping busy with the kids. Between running them to and from school, I've also been helping out in their schools. Its so fun to see what kinds of things they do in class. I've also been volunteering in the library at Jason Lee School. I became good friends with the librarian while we worked together at Camp Wooten and said she would love to have some help. Now I go into the library once or twice a week to help them shelve, mend, clean, check in and check out books. Its so fun to see all the different books. I want to read them all! I checked out a few for myself to read and a few to read to the kids. The kids are fun to see too. Some kids remember me from camp and ask where my happy shorts are. (Becky and I were forced to wear yellow smiley face boxers one day). Other kids know me from various other places and they thinks its cool to say hi. One little boy in Kyah's class is extremely touchy feely and when he talks to me to ask for help, he is constantly petting my arms and shoulders. The kids' personalities are all so different.

The people here in Washington are so different than in Utah. The kids all look like normal kids as opposed to hopeful "Little Miss Utah" candidates. Many of the boys are still in their shaggy hair stage, but many also have buzzed heads with mohawks. Proof again that every style from the past comes around again! I've already seen multiple indications that the mullet is making a comeback. Be afraid!

Zane is sporting a new injury on his face. He cried about it until I said "You are going to have a big scar!" Then he immediately stopped crying and ran to the bathrom mirror to check it out. He thought it was pretty cool. All I have to say about how he got it is that Doug has really thick and strong toe nails!

Becky has recruited me to playing softball in a women's christian church league. We play on the Richland LDS team, and play other churches from around the Tri-Cities. We played a jamboree last week and because I am the new kid on the team, I get to play where ever they put me. I ended up as catcher the entire 3 games. So, although my talents are being underutilized behind the plate, it is nice to not have to run after fly balls. However; my thighs are getting a workout from squatting so much and I get lots of playing time, so I guess I can't complain!

It was a good news weekend! Bryan and Laurel had a healthy baby girl this week. We have yet to hear what they named her. We are so excited for them to have a little girl and I am excited for Laurel to not be pregnant anymore! With her "legally a midget" short body, she is all pregnant belly! We've tried to call them a few times, but have only been able to get a few text messages back from Bryan. As the week slows down for them I'm sure we'll get a chance to talk with them more.

Conrad and Terra also moved into their new home this week. We helped them paint two of the bedrooms on Friday, then moved them in on Saturday. Sadie's new room is sickly bubble-gum pink. But it was very cute and made me wish for a room that we could paint pink for Kyah. She would love that. Their new home is out in Canyon Terrace near Badger Mountain Elementary. Kyah and Sadie have a great time playing together and Konner is so great with Zane. They have about the same ability level on the trampoline, so its fun to watch them jump together. Zane is fearless on that thing. Everybody gets a kick out of watching him jump.

Deadly Toddler Clothing

My mom, my sisters and I decided that we wanted to have a yard sale. Before we moved up to Washington we donated three van-loads of stuff to DI and carried out around 2 van loads of garbage to unspecified dumpsters. (Thanks to our local businesses in Spanish Fork!) But there were some boxes in storage I hadn't been through, so I figured I could find something to sell.

Well, after two weeks of scouring the storage shed and cleaning out the Weikum's garage, I now have a permanent sinus clog and a giant pile of stuff to sell. It was fun to go through all the stuff. So many memories! More than a few times Doug and I said "Wow, I forgot about this!" or sadly "Hmmm.... do you remember where we boxed this?"

One afternoon in the storage shed, we were just about finished and Doug left me alone while he took the restless kids back to the house. We had already streamlined and re stacked the millions of bins of clothing from the kids. They were against the back wall in two large columns. (about 10 feet high). They were stacked neatly until I started clearing out the boxes that were keeping them standing up straight. Little did I know that their foundation was not level! I was holding one particularly heavy box full of old college textbooks and I looked up and all I could see were two giant towers of tupperware, leaning at an angle, sliding towards me. They were falling towards me of course, but it was so smooth, it looked like they were slowly stalking me. They were alive and coming after me! Of course my imagination was running wild. I pictured myself trapped in the back of the storage shed, buried by plastic bins spilling out toddler clothes. Surely my body wouldn't be found for hours!

Before that could happen, I jumped up and with more than a little force, pushed them back into place. The problem was that I was alone and I couldn't let go of them without them falling back down again. I imagined myself waiting there, holding the bins up with my super strength until Doug came back an hour later. Nahhh. That wasn't an option I wanted to try. What would happen if I just let them fall and I jumped out of the way? Well, some of the plastic bins are a little old and brittle and I expect they wouldn't bounce when they hit the concrete floor. Plus I imagine it would cause a chain reaction and take down a number of items in the shed that I can't really afford to replace right now. And if I didn't get out of the way in time, I could be crushed by the boxes. There was always a chance the lady in the office might see the video surveillance of me being attacked by toddler clothes. Hmmm.. on second thought I've seen her "working" when no one is in the office with her. She goes out to her car to read a book. So there's a big chance she wouldn't see the commotion either. I guess I was on my own!

Somehow I shifted the bins so they were a little more stable, then with one hand holding up the twin towers of Pisa, started pulling over boxes from the side to use as a brace. I'm not in shape, but thank goodness I'm not a weak and frail woman! (Must have been the adrenaline). I was able to pull a few very heavy boxes (baseball cards, books and glassware) with one hand into place so I wouldn't be squished by the toddler clothes. I finished digging through the remaining boxes, repacked the shed and waited in peace and safety until Doug came to pick me up. Whew! Crisis solved! Imminent death avoided!

Thank goodness for the training in multi-tasking with skill! You know... holding a crying child on one hip, one bigger child pulling on your leg, and another child hanging off your arm you are using to hold the milk while filling a bottle for the crying baby! When you can do that without spilling, then you know you are ready to take on the world! So the moral of the story is, when you are filling a bottle with milk, just focus on how this is preparing you for a life and death situation later!

Trampolines and Burnt Marshmallows

The kids have been able to get Grandma and Grandpa on the trampoline a few times. They think it is the funnest thing, and from the look on Grandma's face, she likes it too! We have yet to get pictures of Grandpa jumping, but he has been known to get up there!








Friday night and Saturday night we had a marshmallow roast. We had a few really high flames coming up off our fire, but the neighbors never called the cops on us! Grandpa's outdoor fireplace works really great and we had a good time. Zane could never perfect the golden brown marshmallow. His always caught on fire a little too quickly. Doug ended up roasting them and passing them on to the kids. What a great daddy!

Doug is a great dad... but he does have some issues with dressing the kids.

Way to go Dad! This is what Cannon thinks of the mermaid pants. #1!

Here are the kids riding the mechanical horse at the mall. The ride wasn't as fun as they expected. Thats what you get for 50 cents!

Some cute pics

Forgot to share this cute picture. This is Kyah & Zane on Easter. Most of the eggs had been gathered, but Zane is dying to get on to something else besides standing still for a picture.

The kids were so surprised when Amanda came to visit! They were excited to see her at Becky's house for Mason and Spencer's birthday party.

One of Kyah's favorite things is to play on the computer. Her new love is the barbie website. Its fun for her, but Zane gets mad because he wants her to go out and jump with him on the trampoline or play swordfight.

Little Piggies

The kids had a fun time with the scanner this morning.

Can you say "planet of the apes?"

Zane was smart enough to keep his eyes closed...

My Sisters!

Check out these lovely ladies! I found this treasure of a memory in our storage unit while getting ready for our big yard sale. They are on their way back DOWN from blocking the ball. I don't think I can even jump high enough to get over the net anymore.

:)

I have one major comment about this picture! These two girls are NOT the same height. Allie (#4) is 5'11'' and Deanna (#12) is only 5'3''. With that 7 " of difference, Allie should be much higher than Deanna. I am impressed with Deanna's vertical! Talk about major hops!

Doug and I walked around the baseball field at RHS this afternoon. Its a little different than when we were there 10 years ago. New fence around the outfield, new scoreboard... but the same green grass and beat up batting cages! That really brought back memories. Kyah asked why there were so many sunflower seeds everywhere. She was very curious as to why baseball players like to eat seeds and spit the shells all over the ground in the dugout. How do you explain that? It just goes hand in hand I guess. I don't remember how many bags of seeds I had spilled in my bat bag while playing softball.

Swimming in Bubble Solution

Sunday mornings are long and slow. We don't have church until 2:30 in the afternoon, which means we have plenty of time to lay around all morning, eat lunch, take naps, change kids' clothes at least 4 times, take multiple baths after getting dirty and having potty accidents and eat lots of snacks. Of course, by the time we have done all of that, we never get ready for church on time! Maybe next week!

Grandma and Grandpa graciously watched the kids last night while Doug and I went out to dinner, then went to a movie at the spur of the moment. Kyah and Zane convinced both Grandma and Grandpa Weikum to jump on the trampoline with them. They also blew bubbles and had a great time. Thank goodness for good weather and exuberant grandparents!

This morning was a beautiful 75 degrees. Zane found the bottle of bubbles from the night before and started playing with them. Before long, I found him in the backyard with the entire bottle of bubble solution dumped out inside the tiny turtle sandbox/pool. Zane was sitting in the middle of it covered in soapy water. He came in to wash off, then Cannon found his way into the turtle as well. I ran for the camera and he climbed out. He walked in the house whining because he was all wet. His pants and feet were so slippery he could barely walk across the floor. Needless to say, Cannon and Zane received their second bath of the day after that. We'll be keeping the bubbles out of reach from now on!

Take a look at these cute boys! They sure have a good time playing together. Cannon is starting to really show his personality... he is extremely happy or extremely mad! He has some amazing lungs and doesn't hesitate to use them when he is angry! But on the other hand, he is so easy to make laugh. He is starting to copy our words and sounds. Its so fun to hear him say "Hi!" or "Papa!" Why is it so fun to watch each kid start to talk?

Zane's hair is getting a little long for the feau-hawk look... its turning into a real mohawk. He is also starting to grow a rat-tail in the back, so I guess it is time to cut his hair!

We had a great game night last night, but it was so late we ended up staying over at my parents house all night. Kyah was excited to wake up this morning and realize that she had a sleepover at Grandma's without even asking! The grandkids were sprawled out in the living room. They woke up bright and early at 6 am! I wasn't ready to wake up.

We left around 10 am, and Zane had already zonked out in the car within 5 minutes. The poor kid is exhausted! I am too.

Here is a great photo of all the kids on Easter. This is just before the big hunt in the backyard. Once they were let loose on that it was impossible to get them altogether for a picture again! They are a good lookin' bunch of kids!

45 Wonderful Years!

My parents are celebrating their 45th Wedding anniversary this weekend. 45 years of living and loving happily. I am proud and excited for them. 5 more years to 50! We decided last minute to take them out to dinner for their celebration. Because of the short notice, not all of my siblings can attend, but we are looking forward to a fun night without grandkids. Thanks to my other parents for watching our kids while we go out top celebrate.

Becky, Allie and I decided we would like to have a fun game night at Mom & Dads. We all met together here to play games and it turned into quite the affair! Bless my mother, she was ready with a full hot dog bbq in the backyard. The kids had a great time playing then settled down late to watch a movie while a few of us adults played board games in the dining room.

Doug took the kids out on Great Grandma's 4-Wheeler this afternoon. Harley took a turn by herself and did a great job driving it. They all came back smelling like gasoline fumes. We will probably go out tomorrow again. We have to make sure it runs well before we take it back to Grandma's!

Its nearing the end of the spring break week and I am having a great time, but will be happy to get the kids back in school next week. Let the homework fighting begin!

New Season. . . New Blog!

Ahhh Springtime! The kids are enjoying full sized backyards and fun with their cousins. We've had our share of scrapes, bruises and split lips from playing outside in the last couple weeks. Its a sure sign that spring is here and the kids are playing happily in the yard!

Becky... apparently you didn't like the "Sconedogs." That just goes to show how long its been since you have been on my blog site! Well... I haven't updated it for months, so I guess I don't blame you.

Today I begin on my journey to creating a cuter blog page... thanks for the challenge Allie!