THE JORDANS

The Blaming Horse Rider

2009-11-11T10:49:00.000-08:00

I think blaming things on other people to spare getting into trouble runs in the family. When I was a little girl my mom spent a lot of time making a pecan pie. The next morning when we woke up, amazingly enough all the pecans were gone off the pie! How could that happen? Well, my sister told me the cat ate them. It sounded logical to me. My sister told me that we didn't want the cat to get into trouble, did we? So tell mom that I ate them. I was about 4 or 5 and believed her, so that's what I told my mom when she came in furious wanting to know what happened to the pecans! My sister got off the hook for eating them and I got into trouble for supposedly eating them! Dirty trick! My mom later found out and took care of my sister! Fast forward 30 years to our house. Whenever I say something like, "Who left this out?" or whatever the case may be, inevitably, Averie is right there to say as she crinkles her nose, "I think Sydney did it."

So, yesterday I finally swept and mopped all the floor downstairs. Averie wanted to help mop, so I let her. She mopped all around and when she was done I said:
"Averie! Great job! When you grow up you're going to be a good mopper!"
She said, "No, mom. When I grow up I am going to be a horse rider."
"Oh, well then at least you'll know how to mop the floors in your house when you grow up."

Nothing much!

2009-09-08T17:25:00.000-07:00

I don't have much to say. We just added our 3 favorite songs these days to this blog. Whenever we hear these songs, it brings a smile to everyones face and one or more of us starts dancing and singing! That's all for today!

JoBros!!!!

2009-08-12T11:01:00.000-07:00

You know how much fun it is to have a teenager and an almost teenager in the house? Ok, it's not ALWAYS fun. Let's be honest! But one of the things that is so fun is going to concerts with them. So far we have been to Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus, Clique Girls & Cheetah Girls, Demi Lovato & David Archuleta, and by far, the best so far, is Jordin Sparks & The Jonas Brothers that we saw last night for Sydney's birthday!!! They put on a great show!!! I look back at alllllllll the concerts I went to as a teenager and I have to say nowadays they are so much more entertaining (well let me back up a minute and say the Red Hot Chili Peppers were pretty entertaining!) Last night at Jobing.com Arena, the whole arena was opened up and it was sold out. The stage was HUGE. They had all kinds of lasers, lights and video and toward the end Joe and Kevin got up on this "lifter" that took them out over the top of the audience and they squirt everyone within reach with foam! Of course the crowd went absolutely WILD when Nick was lifted up on to the stage with a white baby grand piano and played for everyone. I think he is definitely everyone's favorite.

Way tooo much...

2009-07-25T13:44:00.000-07:00

I have been such a slacker this summer. I need to catch-up before the next school year begins. You ready? It'll probably be all backwards...but here we go...

Lego Master in the House!

2009-07-25T13:37:00.000-07:00

Josh is soooo into Legos. Lego Pirates, Lego Indiana Jones, Lego Star Wars and definitely Bionicles. I think he is so diligent in doing his chores this summer because he knows he gets paid at the end of the month and that means he has enough for a new Bionicle. Yesterday, he was on the Lego website and found that he can create something Lego or Bionicle that is original and post it and then other kids can vote on it and you can see if yours wins. So here is his creation of a few Bionicles combined together that I'll be posting when I am done here. It's all he thinks about these days!

2009-07-25T13:35:00.000-07:00

Kallie and Jason went to a fun Daddy Daughter Dance for Activity Days. Jason bought this shirt a few years ago and people make fun of him in it. So he brought it out for the dance!

2009-07-25T13:27:00.000-07:00

Our next to last fun summer event was going to the Demi Lovato and David Archuletta concert. I thought Sydney was going to have a heart attack!!! She was DYING! She is sooooo convinced he looked right at her and waved! It really did look like it though! So, whether it happened or not, we are saying it happened! So, Sydney just walked in and read this post and said, "Mom! What do you mean 'convinced'???? He did! He really did! Erase that!" Oops! Here's the new favorite shirt of the summer she saved her money to buy, that was actually $15 more than she had that I had to kick in. When did concert shirts get so expensive? Remember the good 'ol days when they were only $20??Help me out people!

2009-07-25T13:25:00.000-07:00

We went to the Science Center to the Lego exhibit. I need Sydney to show me how to send the pics from my phone to the computer and then I'll post some. We had fun that day!

2009-07-25T13:23:00.001-07:00

I am posting all this backwards...sorry! Here are our other two favorite games of the summer.

2009-07-25T13:13:00.000-07:00

I already posted about Sydney going on the Trek. She'll post about her Girl's Camp adventures on her blog. We had a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Jordan which is always an adventure. When we are not talking politics or health, we are playing Josh's favorite game called Who Said. It's just like Charades, just LDS style!

2009-07-25T13:07:00.000-07:00

June 28th was Jessie's birthday. We have had the dog for 9 years and have never celebrated his birthday. How shameful. You all celebrate your animals birthdays, don't you?! The kids weren't going to let us get away with it this year, after all he is 63! So I did a search for a doggie treat that is both good for human and dog consumption. The treats were actually pretty good! I may make them again! It had honey, oatmeal, wheat germ, and egg...I can't remember what else. So here are a few pictures of the festivities!

2009-07-25T13:01:00.000-07:00

2009-07-25T12:48:00.000-07:00

We went to Slide Rock the Saturday the kids got out of school. It's always fun. Sydney brought her friend Erica and they people watched all day, laughing at all the people falling. Josh had other plans. He had to complete "missions" and by the end of they day, he dragged Kallie into it. Only Jason and Kallie were the brave ones to actually go down the slide. The water was FREEZING!

2009-07-25T12:40:00.000-07:00

Next, I think was our wonderful chore chart creation! Each kid gets a chart each week plus their "Daily" stuff. They have their assigned chores for the week so there is no confusion (at least I can only hope they won't fight about it) At the end of the week, we rotate the charts and they have a new chart for the week. This way if one person doesn't do a great job, hopefully it'll get done better the next week, if I haven't done it already! So far, so good. Hopefully it'll continue it once school starts with minimal murmurings from the kids! Everyone has their own system, this works for us.

Way tooo much...

2009-07-25T12:28:00.001-07:00

Kallie and one of her best friend's Samantha went to Ridemakerz at Westgate for her 11th birthday. It was sooo fun! Have you ever gone? You need to! It's just like Build-A-Bear but for cars. It can come complete with remote control, lights, and sound. Design it anyway you like.

Kallie ended the year with being nominated "Student of the Year" for 5th grade! She was unanimously voted once they narrowed the voting down. She was SOOO excited. This girl is a HARD worker- tears night after night and all- and we were soo proud of her!

The Pioneer Update...

2009-06-27T16:55:00.000-07:00

You saw the before picture of Sydney getting ready to go. Here is the 'during' and 'after' picture!She had the absolute BEST time! She was put with a great "family" and they laughed and worked hard! They walked 16 1/2 miles the first day and just got 2 biscuits and a tin cup full of broth! Each family killed 2 chickens for dinner, had a run-in the some Indians, the Mormon Batallion was formed, and when the men were gone, the girls had to push the handcart uphill. They decided to sleep under the stars every night, but on the last night, it rained so much and they got soaked! They all got up and sat around the campfire the rest of the night. They had a hodown (how do you spell that?) and played pioneer games. The rest of the time they hiked only about 5 miles the rest of the day. The Pony Express even came and delivered mail to them. She smelled like a big campfire and was pretty sunburned when she got home. She was sooooooo dirty!She didn't even wear the bonnet I made for her because she was afraid to get it dirty!!She was right! Thanks Syd, but that is what it was for!!! Kallie is so excited to go in 4 years. Sydney wants to do it again too. There were 14 families with about 13 people in each. She made some good friends and she'll always remember this experience!

The Pioneer

2009-06-18T11:17:00.000-07:00

So, this is Sydney at 4:15 Wednesday morning getting dressed to leave for the Trek. She wasn't too thrilled I took her picture. When we got to the stake center all the kids were in their pioneer clothes and looked great. As we are walking up to the group she says, "I am not a big fan of this bonnet or this dress. I don't think I want to go anymore." Well, she instantly met up with a girl she knew from camp and she was a little apprehensive too. This girl thought her dress was too big. It was fine. Sydney and this girl get along really well and have fun together so I am glad they were together when they left. Anyway, all day yesterday I was thinking about Sydney and what a great experience this is for her to go. Ok, I worried a little about her too! Today and tomorrow I hear they are camping and doing alot of fun stuff. I'll let you know how it all turns out when she gets home on Saturday!

Brace yourself...

2009-06-18T11:13:00.000-07:00

Have you ever before in your life seen a 4 year old and a 7 year old lift a table and chair over their head unassisted????? It is so effortless for them- they are smiling! This is how we spent our morning- practicing lifting things. I told Josh he's probably so strong because he ate 3 waffles with peanut butter on it this morning and drank all of his milk. Amazing.

Planets...

2009-06-18T11:03:00.000-07:00

Josh loves learning about the planets. I even taught him the names of the planets to the tune of the primary song that teaches you the names of the books in the New Testament. My mom also made a solar system out of paper lanterns of different sizes all painted and labeled and they hang in the playroom. He has this huge book my Papa got at Costco about planets and he's always checking out books at the library on planets. So, this morning he says, 'you know... Pluto shares the orbit with Neptune'. So matter of factly. Ok, I really don't know much about the planets. He's a genius.

Lookie...Lookie!

2009-06-01T16:22:00.000-07:00

Look what I found!!!How many of you are jealous?haha it's ok, raise your hand, if you want!! I am just kidding! I can't wait to see what New Moon is going to be like! I was excited to find this and add it to my blog!!!We are officially counting down!!!Can't wait!

Momedy...

2009-04-29T11:36:00.000-07:00

So, I talked to my friend Candace today and she told me about her friend's amazing blog that she has. I love a good blog, so I checked it out. It is so amazing that people are now paying HER to advertise on her blog. Check it out- the link is on the left! It has so much on it and links to some really great things! How does she do it? She's a busy mom of 4 and has a million things to do just like the rest of us! That's it. I am dropping a few things today so I can read her blog.

By the way, she named it "Momedy" because she says being a mom is like being in a comedy because so many funny things go on. Hence, "Momedy".

The One Shoed Boy...

2009-04-26T18:11:00.000-07:00

So, like every other Sunday Jason and I tell the kids to get ready and make sure they have everything they need. We tell Josh and Averie several times to get their shoes. VERY often Josh either cannot find his church sandals or doesn't say he can't find them until we are actually in the car. Up until this point we have allowed him to run back in and find them. This time he located one under one of the seats in the van, but couldn't find the other one. Of course we were all in the car ready to back out. So I made an executive decision and told him, "you are going with one shoe or no shoes". Off to church we go and he is searching high and low for the other sandal that I KNOW is in the van somewhere. We get out of the car and we go in and he goes in with only one shoe! He felt lucky that his pants were long so he could hide his other shoeless foot. I should have had him wear his other pants that weren't so long! On my quest to teach him a lesson in being more prepared, he says after church, "I wasn't embarrassed at all! Noone asked me about my other shoe, except Nathan Wilson that said, 'eeewww! Stinky!'"

There is a nursery tale that we used to sing all the time when Sydney and Kallie were young that reminded me of Josh. Can you guess what it is? It goes like this:

Deedle, deedle dumpling, my son John

Went to school with his stockings on

One shoe off and one shoe on

Deedle, deedle dumpling, my son John!

The Humorous One...

2009-04-26T12:21:00.000-07:00

If you know Sydney, you know she is always smiling or laughing about something. She wants to be an actress, so I pretend she is practicing her facial expressions. When she is mad I say to her," I am glad you are practicing being mad. Good job on the serious, grumpy face. Keep practicing, you look really mad!" So, she can't take it and just starts laughing.

So, here is a riddle Sydney just asked:

A cowboy rides into town on Friday. Then rides home three days later on Friday. How does he do it?

For the answer go to Sydney's blog on the side bar to get the answer! It's pretty good!

The Lazy One

2009-04-26T12:12:00.000-07:00

Let's just be honest people.

So, this is a follow-up to Averie's excuse of being too busy to put the silverware away because she was eating popcorn. This morning I said, "So, who will volunteer to empty the dishwasher?" Like someone will voluntarily volunteer for a chore. So, Kallie says so matter of factly, "Well, I am not going to do it. I am just lazy." So, she is my best cleaner, she does stuff WITHOUT even asking. If she knows I am stressed out, she'll just start cleaning because she knows that will make me feel better. So now that she declared, "I am just lazy." is that the end to my helpful child? I should have known this was coming. The other day she told me that she didn't like to clean so much anymore.

This month's round-up...

2009-04-14T13:53:00.000-07:00

We have had a lot of things go on this month. The most recent was the sad event of my Papa passing away. I can't say to much right now- the emotions are still riding high- but to say the very least, he'll be greatly missed and we had so many great times together. I'll never forget him.

About a week ago a song kept running through my mind that we sing in Primary:
I lived in heaven along time ago, it is true
Lived there and loved there with people I know, so did you
Then Heavenly Father presented a beautiful plan
All about Earth and eternal salvation for man.

I know I'll see him again some day.

How lucky we were to get a family picture the week before with all of us.

I came home to the kids playing with this gooshy toy. They took out the blinking eye inside it and decided it could be put to better use! Kallie is having a tug-o-war.

Sydney sporting a new look. Kinda cute?

I spilled some pancake powder one day and took a little too long to clean it up. No worries though! Averie made good use of it. I came into the kitchen and she got out all the kitchen tools she needed!

Josh and his friend Matthew make these books. He really gets into it. So far he has a Pirates of the Carribean book and an Astronaut book he has finished! I type out what he tells me and he adds the pictures.

One night we took my sister, Mark and Summer over to Westgate to walk around. Josh wanted to run in the splash pad. As soon as the water stopped, all the kids would try to make it to the other side before the water started again. This is what we left with! He collided with another boy. Poor kid! After a day or so, he became proud of it and liked it when people would ask him about it.

My sister, her boyfriend, Mark and our niece, Summer came for a little visit a few weeks ago. Here is Sydney and Summer. They are only 3 weeks apart.

My sister and Josh doing a little jogging on Wii Fit!

My sister, Tiffani and Mark.It was so great to have them come for a visit. Hopefully, we'll see them again this summer!

We have been finishing up some much needed painting and a little decorating. (Ignore the Mountain Dew on the desk- you aren't supposed to see that!) You can usually find Jason at his desk doing paperwork and he just can't contain himself sometimes and busts out and starts singing like he is on stage with millions of adoring fans. Anyway, I posted this to show what color we painted the den!

We went with a lighter neutral color in the entry and both halls upstairs and downstairs.

This is Kallie's room. She really wanted a conversation table and some comfortable chairs.

She wanted lots of dots!

Little Averie's room. Just need some cute curtains, a picture and a rug!

Sydney's room is a work in progress! She has been decorating her walls for the past 2 + years. There is another wall you can't see with pictures. I told her we'll paint when she's ready! We finally got her a comforter set, real window blinds (goodbye paper shades) and curtains.

Josh had his 7th birthday party on March 21. It was a Bionicle party with some slippin' and slidin'.

Wildlife World Zoo

It all began with a fun trip to the Wildlife Zoo! We have been a few times before, but we did a few new things this time. We got to feed the Lory Parrots twice and went on the brand new log ride! Averie definitely didn't know what she was getting herself into when we got on the boat! Needless to say, she won't be going on that again! Feeding the parrots was soo fun. The kids loved it. When you walk in you get a piece of an apple to hold out and if your lucky the bird will land right on your hand and eat the apple! They only let you stay in there for about 20 minutes due to the bird's fast metabolism. It could get a little messy in there, so they herd everyone out at a certain time! We loved it!

So what is next? A few more birthdays, a play, a concert, swim lessons, diving lessons, summer movie days, acting camp, and visits from friends and family!

Ain't Life Grand...

2009-03-11T19:50:00.000-07:00

So, what's the harm in asking a child who is doing nothing to do a little chore like putting the silverware away? Evidently, I misunderstood Averie a little- I thought she was "available". So, this is how it went:
Me: Averie, I need you to come and do the silverware.
A: No, I can't... I'm busy.
Me: What are you doing?
A: I am eating popcorn.

Maybe, I can use that excuse sometime, the next time someone asks me to do something? Will it work?

Be part of the Guiness Book Of World Records!

2009-02-13T17:13:00.000-08:00

You might have heard that everyone is invited to take part in the Guiness Book of World Records in Tempe. What do you have to do, you may ask? Grab your partner and go down to Tempe Marketplace tomorrow at 2pm and give him or her a smooch! They want to set a record for the most people kissing in a designated area!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Did you know?

2009-02-09T08:11:00.000-08:00

So what do you think about this?

If the government passes the trillion dollar stimulus package they are proposing...

If you stacked $1000 dollar bills on top of each other, it would go 70 miles up into the air?

If you spent 1 million dollars a day from the time of Christopher Columbus until now...you still wouldn't have spent all the money?

Also, the money that they have already spent since October in bailouts could pay for 90% of all the mortgages in the United States?

Are they all crazy?

What do you think?

Cute Things Said

2009-02-04T11:30:00.000-08:00

So, today I went to workout and Averie saw her friend, El there. Averie said "Hi" to her but I guess she wouldn't say "Hi" back. So she goes up to her mom and says real serious, "El won't say 'Hi' to me. It isn't even a bad word"

Then the other day we were getting into the car and "crazy lady" Torrie is buckling El into her seat and she sees my keys on the floor of the car. She says to Averie, "Doesn't your mom need those keys to drive the car?" Averie looks at her and says, "No, she needs the steering wheel"

Here We Go...

2009-02-01T19:52:00.000-08:00

Ok, this is all of the festivities that have taken place since Thanksgiving at our house! I am all caught up...back on track...good to go!Whew! I know it's a lot of pictures...but as the old saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words!"

My Papa slyly wanted to be in this picture. He nonchalantly walked behind this guy and picked up a block of cheese while I was quizzing this guy on how long this took him. He said 4 hours for the Super Bowl one and the other one he is working on is the Cardinal logo. Can you guess where we are? At the grand opening of Sam's Club of course! Have you been yet?

BTW, I guess congratulations are in order for the Steelers.

2009-02-01T19:43:00.000-08:00

Let's not forget catching up with old friends...

Averie having an afternoon snack of pretzels and learning how to navigate Playhouse Disney, Nick Jr. and Starfall all by herself!!

Cheetah-licious concert with the Clique Girls...

A great dinner at Olive Garden...

One of my personal favorites of the year...the old "dishsoap in the dishwasher mistake"! Sydney!!!!! "But it said 'dishwashing liquid'! "she says. "Yeah, but not 'dishwasher detergent'" I said. I can understand an honest mistake... but this happened twice. Kallie did it before she did a week earlier! Josh was really stressed out about it. He kept checking on it as the suds spread across the floor and kept asking, "What are we going to do about this?"

2009-02-01T19:35:00.000-08:00

Children's museum

Josh's basketball games...

Making pizza at the Children's Museum...

Testing out the instruments...

Weighing beans with Megan Wright...

2009-02-01T19:26:00.000-08:00

My beautiful freezer my mom and Papa gave us at Christmas to stock up on great deals...

Josh and Averie's gingerbread houses...

Our new favorite game to play...

2009-02-01T18:47:00.000-08:00

Fuzzy slippers...

My mom saw on Funniest Home Videos how this little boy got a roll of toilet paper as one of his presents and he got so mad he threw it across the room! So my funny mom wanted to see how Josh would react! Luckily, he smiled and said, "thanks" but was saying in his head, what the...?It was pretty funny!

2009-02-01T18:38:00.000-08:00

A new Polly ...

The anticipation...

Santa's helper passing out gifts...

Kallie and Averie playing with Camryn...

Sydney and Conner have known each other since they were 3 years old. Now they are both 13 and Sydney is almost finally not the tallest! It was fun to catch up laughing and hanging out!

Here We Go...

2009-02-01T17:54:00.001-08:00

We loved having some of our favorite friends visit!

Two birthday cakes! My mom made this delicious one.....and Josh's dinosaur couldn't stay away!

Another cake Jason made and the kids decorated!

Josh's Christmas concert!

Kallie's Christmas concert!

I should be "pinged"...

2009-01-23T13:33:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I have disappeared for almost 2 months off of my blog! I should be "pinged". As you probably have been, I have been crazy busy! Now I have so much to blog, I don't know where to start. I just wanted to let all my faithful readers (haha, do I have a following?:)) I will be back soon!! Maybe even tomorrow when I have some time! Ok, you may also be saying, "If this was important to you, you'd make the time" yeah, yeah...blah...blah!! I am making time tomorrow!!!Until then.....!

My Main Focus!!!!

2008-12-01T09:59:00.000-08:00

So, I was a little skeptical when Jason's parents said they wanted to bring a turkey from a neighbor who was raising them in Utah. I had never had a turkey that fresh. I had visions of holding the turkey upside down and plucking feathers off it and all that! I was so happy when they brought it in the house and it was clean and ready to go! Did I mention it weighed 33 pounds? And they also brought 40 pounds of potatoes from the same guy they bought the turkey from? This thing weighed more than our dog, Jessie. We were afraid he may get a little nervous! Anyway, it cooked all night in the Anway's great pit and when we opened it, it had burst open. I guess it had enough. We gave Jason and his dad the job of carving it and they couldn't help sneaking pieces off it the whole time! I can say it was the best turkey we have ever had. All the food was great! The company was too!

Who can deny the delectible bowl of homemade mashed potatoes my mom makes every year. As always, every year I am afraid we didn't make enough......

2008-12-01T09:54:00.000-08:00

We got this cute book at the Book Fair. Averie loves it. My mom has read it to her a few times and Averie was so excited when my mom brought over "Pinkalicious Cupcakes" for her to enjoy!

It ain't over, 'til it's over!

2008-11-18T10:56:00.000-08:00

Averie is gardening comfortably!

Jessie, the lizzard chasing,licking dog, resting in the shade. I took 2 pictures of him and his tongue was sticking out both times!What are the odds??

2008-11-18T10:48:00.000-08:00

Averie and I were planting in the backyard and needed a little extra dirt from our garden that I haven't watered in months. Much to my surprise, look what I found!

Josh Plays T-Ball

2008-11-16T17:33:00.000-08:00

Josh just started T-Ball and he absolutely loves it!! Here are a few highlights!

Miss Manners

2008-11-16T17:21:00.000-08:00

We had an etiquette night for the deacons last Wednesday. It was definitely an adventure. Some of the things I taught them was how to use proper manners in a formal setting, learning how to set the table and knowing what all the utensils and plates are for, how to greet someone formally and informally and how to introduce someone at a formal event. Of course, Jason was there to do everything he wasn't supposed to do and to give us a good laugh. Sure some of the rolls fell on the ground, Jason had his Big Gulp on the table, and a few things were said that were not considered "appropriate table talk"! But, all in all, we had good food (I thought!) and good entertainment!! Thanks to living with Miss Manners all my life, I was prepared!!

NASCAR!

2008-11-16T17:11:00.000-08:00

I have grown up going to the races! Every weekend we'd go see the sprint cars, midgets, stock cars, drag racers, and even traveled to Arizona one year to NASCAR. So my mom had some tickets she couldn't use this past weekend and we were more than willing to take them off her hands! We watched the truck series and I tell you Kyle Busch is awesome. He is also one of Josh's favorites. He is usually drives the M&M car, but on Friday he was driving a truck. He was in 2nd place and wanted to change his tires because there was only 20 more laps and wanted to keep strong. Well, he didn't make it in time and had to move all the way back to 16th place. In about 10 laps he make it all the way back up to 2nd! It is always so fun to go! All you need is a good pair of earplugs and you are set! It is great the track is so close by!!

Fun Time!

2008-11-09T14:50:00.000-08:00

The beautiful sandtrap I wouldn't let the kids get in.

Here are the kids lounging in the sandtrap after it was destroyed!

On Saturday, we went out to the Hot Air Balloon Festival at my mom and papa's community in DelWebb. The balloons were so pretty! I think we counted 14 balloons and there were so many people there. The kids had a great time. It all took place on the beautiful golf course. While we were waiting, of course the kids meandered over to the huge sandtrap. My kids were the first one's there. I told them not to get in it because it looked so nice and I thought they'd get into trouble. So they ran around it, poked in it, and got absolutely as close as they could to getting in it. Well, then here comes this other little girl who begins to prance around in it. That was it! From then on there was about 30 kids playing in it. I think they thought they were at the beach!

Halloween Fun!

2008-11-01T13:00:00.000-07:00

Ready for a night of Trick-or-Treating!Do you think they knew the same neighbor would be out with his chainsaw chasing kids down the street or that my mother would be calling for Carlisle all night???!!!

Don't forget your bag!

Playing with Papa while waiting for the Trick-or-Treaters!

Cold and tired after a long hard night of trudging down the streets of our neighborhood!

Still Rockin'...

2008-10-28T22:55:00.000-07:00

Wow, my mom, grandfather and I went to see Tina Turner last Friday at the Jobing.com Arena! She was SOOOOO AWESOME! Did you know she is 68????? !!!!!Tina was dancing in her high heels, wore some smokin' outfits, and her legs!!!! They look great! My mom has decided, after seeing Tina, that she is going to start wearing high heels on the treadmill to get "Tina Legs"! And as for me, I am getting my haircut like her! We were way up high in the arena, so we took turns with the binoculars! She played all her great songs and her band and dancers were very good! Thanks mom for inviting me!!!

Pumpkin Patch!!

2008-10-28T22:48:00.001-07:00

All were very happy to

pick out a pumpkin. I told Sydney we were going to the Fear Farm next door and the little ones were going to the pumpkin patch. She got serious pretty darn fast and said, "I'm not going" She hid her fear pretty well, I must say. She did keep looking over at the Fear Farm frequently during our visit at the pumpkin patch. She is a real chicken at heart!! Josh was pretty brave though, being he had to use the bathroom 2 times over there!I guess he had no choice!

2008-10-28T22:45:00.000-07:00

Here is Averie enjoying catching a powdered doughnut at the party! Thanks Jessica for the picture!

2008-10-28T22:29:00.000-07:00

Sydney and her friend ready for the ward party. Watch out Cyndi Lauper!

Another Week Has Passed!

2008-10-28T22:18:00.001-07:00

The holidays are around the corner. I can just feel the busy coming on!!!I need to post some pictures before another week goes by!

Kallie as Shawn Johnson the Olympian.

Then we have Kallie and her very best friend Dariann. She lives two doors down and are inseparable! According to Kallie, the only difference between them is that Kallie doesn't wear deodorant! Well, we just made it official: Kallie finally needs deodorant and has started using it. She was SOO happy!

Look who is in Surprise!

2008-10-13T13:24:00.000-07:00

If you haven't seen it yet, PeiWei is here on Bell Rd. between Litchfield and Bullard. We went Saturday night and all the tables were filled. The lady who took our order said last weekend, the line was out the door and there was a 2-hour wait! The lettuce wraps are my favorite. Jason always tries something different everytime and got the Thai Dynamite. He liked it too. You gotta go!!!

Weekly Round-up!

2008-10-11T09:46:00.000-07:00

Josh is the first one to have his costume ready this year, only because he keeps bugging me about when he is going to get it! Sydney is 1/2 way done with hers, I am making Averie's mermaid fin today, and we need to work on Kallie's next week. Not to mention Jason and I have to come up with something "simply smashing" for a party next Friday. I don't have enough time! But, who does?

Joshua jumped into the car so excited and said,"I won Math Around The World"! In his math class they played this game where one kid stands by another kid and the teacher will give a math fact. The first kid who answers correctly wins and moves to the next kid, etc. Josh made his way around the whole room and won! I am especially proud because I stink at math. I think we may have broken the cycle of math retardation!

This was another busy week. Kallie went to JA Biztown in Tempe for a fieldtrip. They had 19 lessons to prepare them to go. They learned all about how money "travels" through the economy, including paying taxes. The "town" was set up with a bank, insuance agency, cafe, grocery store, news & T.V. studio, radio, delivery center, construction office, surf shop alot of other stores and you can't forget City Hall! Kallie was in the travel agency. They got a "paycheck" after working hard in their jobs and got to go to the bank and deposit their check, set up a savings account, and spend money in the town. It was such a great experience. There were even CEO's for each company and the CFO's kept track of all the accounting stuff for their business on an easy computer program. The kids loved it! I had a great time too. I was helping out in the Allstate Insurance.

My Husband...

2008-10-09T15:03:00.000-07:00

If you know Jason, this picture may not suprise you. The house is definitely more lively when he gets home. The kids all come to greet him at the door and without fail Josh gives him a "Karate Chop" to the legs pretty much when he gets in the door. He makes life fun, we love him and are glad he's the dad of the house.

Our exercise machine...

2008-10-09T14:52:00.000-07:00

Josh is turning into an exercising machine. Lately he is very concerned about his muscles and exercising. He tells us he has been running around at recess, does push-ups, jumping jacks and wants us to feel his biceps all the time. It cracks us up!

A Funny Thing...

2008-10-09T14:45:00.000-07:00

Averie is a nut. She makes me laugh. The other day she was in her bed all ready for her nap. I said, "I love you!" and she said it back and I hugged her. I said it again and hugged her and she said "I love you" back. I was playing around and hugged her a third time and said, "I love you" and she said, "Get away!" How soon things change!

Our Pasttimes...

2008-09-28T19:48:00.000-07:00

I hadn't taken any pictures in awhile, and thought I'd take some of us doing some of our favorite things! Sad thing is I took one of Jason and deleted it on accident. So, I'll just tell what he does! When he isn't working, he loves to get on Glenn Beck's website and read all the current issues. Jason can get pretty riled up sometimes! Or get on iTunes and down load some good songs!I always seem to be in the kitchen either cooking a meal or cleaning up after one. When all I really only want to do is read these vampire books I am hooked on!

Well, we all know what a 13-year-old's favorite thing to do is. Too bad she only gets 30 minutes a day! What a mean mom I am. When that timer goes off, it's the next kid's turn.

Kallie and Joshua love the Wii. Well, Joshua really loves it the most, but Kallie is a close second. They are playing Mario Kart, Kallie's favorite. Kallie has also been playing the piano lately.

Averie has a new found love for drawing people,coloring anything, and I guess letters! I didn't realize she can make an "H", "I", "F", and "C"! Any chance she gets, she is on the floor scribbling out something or coloring it! It's so fun to see her learn new things!

Sydney's First Day At Imagine Prep!

2008-09-02T18:04:00.000-07:00

Last night Sydney was filled with so much nervousness! She didn't fall asleep until almost midnight. As soon as the alarm went off, she got up so fast, got ready and was hurrying everyone out the door. She had a great day! The school looks great and of course, she said most of her teachers were boring and she only got lost twice. She sat with her friends at lunch, had a great time and before she new it, the day was over! She's ready for another day tomorrow!

One Of Arizona's Best Kept Secrets

2008-09-02T17:47:00.000-07:00

We had a great time yesterday with our family and our friends, the Woodens. (Their names are Jason and Melissa, too!) They are great friends! Anyway, we spent the day picknicking and playing in the splash pad out by my Mom's house. It was so fun! The splash pad is covered and when the kids need a change in scenery, there is even a 3-story playground that is also covered, a basketball court, soccer field, and baseball diamond. We were a little worried there would be alot of people there, but there wasn't. We almost had it to ourselves. What a relaxing day!

Now you see them...Now you don't!

2008-08-27T15:31:00.000-07:00

The kids think the mound of laundry is an open invitation for fun. They think it is pretty amazing that 3 kids can hide in this much clothes. I don't look at it as amazing because I have to fold it.

The Next Olympian

2008-08-18T09:10:00.000-07:00

We are so addicted to watching the Olympics. We don't have cable, so with the awesome "information highway" we watch the Olympics every night! We pull our chairs around the computer and enjoy! We watched Michael Phelps winby a hundredth of a second, then put on Track and Field and saw the 10M dash. Josh put on his Olympic beanie (a few hours before this beanie was a bandit beanie) my mom got for him when she was in China and decides he's going to do the hurdles and get ready for the next Olympics! So for the rest of the time we were watching the races, he was in serious training running back and forth, jumping, falling and running into chairs along the way! He was nice and sweaty!We'll watch for him at the 2012 Olympics in England!

Sydney is 13

2008-08-14T22:02:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a fast 13 years. Of course, we had to reminisce about the day Sydney was born! Jason doesn't think he was eating a chocolate ice cream while I was in total labor. I will have to find the picture to prove it! After 3 long hours of pushing, my doctor opted for a c-section. So, while I was being operated on, Jason was totally engrossed with all the cutting and stuff to get Sydney out. He was supposed to be feeding me ice chips...I remember being SO thirsty!The first thing the doctor said when she was born was, "My what long eyelashes she has!" We loved her from that moment. She has been a great joy in our lives! Challenging at times and at others she really tries to do what is right! In this picture she got what she wanted most for her birthday from Nana and Papa...a cell phone! The rest of the night on her birthday she kept putting it to her cheek and smiling and saying, "I can't believe I got it!"Happy Birthday, Sydney!

How do I move my pictures around so I don't have so much dead space??

2008-08-05T11:34:00.000-07:00

School Days, School Days...

2008-08-05T11:24:00.000-07:00

School is back in....Whew!! Well, almost! Kallie and Josh started today and Sydney starts on September 2.! It's been a fun summer, but now time to get back to business! I think I get as excited as they do! Check out all the school supplies that all parents were asked to get! This is just Joshua's stuff! Not to mention shoes, uniforms.....etc!Sydney is excited about the progress of her new school. The Great Reveal (open house) for her new school is in a few weeks. I can't believe how fast they are moving!

Slide Rock

2008-08-03T21:10:00.000-07:00

Ok, so blogging is fun! I thought I'd put in another picture of one of our summer trips to Slide Rock with us and my mom and Heidi. The water was, oh so cold, but fun to watch the kids and Jason go down and to see a bunch of people slip and fall because the rocks are so slippery!

Our Favorite Creation...

2008-08-03T20:41:00.000-07:00

This is one of our favorite things to drink on a blistering hot day in the "Valley of the Sun". Everyone loves it! Strawberries, orange juice concentrate, apple juice,pineapple and crushed ice. We have this really loud smoothie maker so we have to warn Josh and Averie before we turn it on. Faithfully, they either run in the other room or plug their ears!

2008-08-02T18:16:00.001-07:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

2008-08-02T18:01:00.001-07:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Is it really easy???

2008-08-02T15:18:00.000-07:00

I am not really the type to be a "blogger", but due to the fact that I have a hard time writing in my journal and am by this computer all day, I think I will become one. What better way to keep track of what the family is doing and to record great or not so great memories?