A Call for Help

I am a dismal failure in the kitchen. I am not creative at all!! I make up for this in others areas of my life however now that my hubby is working a second job he is not home in the evenings to create his tasty meals. My kids cannot exist on Ramen and Mac & Cheese. So, I am asking my dear friends to post their favorite recipes, more than one if you have them! This would help me out so much! I will be eternally grateful. I'll take you all out to lunch or come clean your houses or whatever if you could give me some ideas for good, simple, healthy meals.

Thanks!!

Last Day of Freedom & First Day of School

On Saturday we surprised the kids by taking them to Trafalga Square in Orem. We tortured them all morning by taking them to get hair cuts, then out to AF to buy a vacuum at Best Buy, then went to get gas, etc. Then we made them close their eyes when we got close and wouldn't let them open them till we parked at Trafalga. They were so cute when they realized where we were. They LOVE mini-golf. So of course, we went mini golfing, go-carting and played games in the arcade. We had a blast! We also bought Wii Bowling and played that the rest of the day. I used to be totally anti-video games but I LOVE the Wii. Anyway, the kids all agreed that it was the best last day of freedom they ever had. I have to admit, it was pretty cool!

Today the kids started school. Well, everyone did except for Carter. For some reason that makes no sense to many intelligent beings, Kindergarten starts a week after all the other kids start school. We prepared Carter by explaining everything to him but he was still pretty sad today when everyone got to go to school and he didn't. Instead he had to come to work with Mommy and that sucked. (Our babysitting fell thru this week.) Hopefully tomorrow will be better because he'll only have to come with me for a couple hours and I printed off craft projects to keep him busy. Then his dad will pick him up and spend the rest of the day with him. I don't know what to do for the rest of the week but we'll figure it out.

My kids looked soooooooo cute in their new school clothes this morning. I did get pictures of them but I had to take them with my phone. (We broke our real camera when we were mini golfing) I can't figure out how to get the pics off my phone! I'll have to get my hubby to help me.

100 Things About Me

I got this from my friend, Brittney's blog. I didn't think I could come up with 100 things about me but I did! You should try it!!

1. I was born in Jackson Hole, WY where I lived till I was 16.

2. When I was born I had black hair which never fell out, it just grew out blond with black tips.

3. I grew up on a small ranch in Jackson where my grandpa ran a chuckwagon dinner.

4. I have broken both my ankles and dislocated my knee, TWICE!

5. I love to ride horses.

6. My grandpa also ran pack trips and a 4 day wagon train which taught me to love the outdoors.

7. I loved my grandpa so much. He died when I was 16 and I miss him every day.

8. My cousins and my brother were my best friends when I was growing up. (Josh is 1 year old than me, Scott is 1 year younger than me, and James is 2 years younger than me.)

9. Because of my grandpa’s chuck wagon dinner show, I’ve met (and dated) people from all over the world!

10. I love to be a girly girl but I am such a tom boy too. It caused a lot of confusion for me later on. (Do I kiss the guy or arm wrestle him? Or both?)

11. I had two dogs that I loved so much, Cub and Fancy. Cub was trampled in a cattle drive, Fancy died years later because she ate a plastic bag.

12. I found the bodies of both dead dogs by myself. Sad.

13. I was a mess in high school.

14. I tried to run away, once when I was 10 and the second time when I was 13, that one was more real.

15. I planned to run away with my boy friend, Jerry when I was 16. Good thing I didn’t!

16. When I was 19 I dated a guy who was 30! What were we thinking?!? He was actually a really nice guy but he wanted things to move a lot faster than I was ready for.

17. I hated my parents when I was younger. I think they didn’t like me very much either.

18. Now my mother is my best friend and I’m getting there with my dad.

19. I loved school up until I got into Junior High and after we moved to Idaho, I loved it again.

20. I almost got a perfect score in English on my ACTs. I was 3 points shy.

21. I was in choir since the 5^th grade, I was in show choir in high school and I could have probably done a lot with performing but the stage fright was too much for me.

22. I once dated a guy in a rock band, he was the straightest guy I ever met. Never did anything wrong. But he was very nice and introduced me to Smashing Pumpkins and Green Day, my two favorite bands.

23. I dated two sets of brothers…. Not at the same time.

24. My first kiss was Jesse Johnson. His sister married my cousin.

25. I love sea food! Lobster, crab, shrimp, scallops, and FISH.

26. I never want to exercise, but once I get started I LOVE it!

27. I was not a very nice person for a long time. I still struggle with being too critical.

28. I struggle with believing that I’m a good person. How many times can someone be forgiven?

29. I have clinical depression. It’s my biggest obstacle.

30. I sing in the car.

31. My daughter hates that I sing in the car.

32. I wish I had known about clinical depression when I was in high school. Perhaps things could have been different for me.

33. I was teased by boys in my ward. Going to Sunday School was a nightmare so I stopped going all together.

34. Again, when I moved to Idaho, things were better. All the boys in my ward were my friends.

35. I had the worst bishop in Jackson. I almost let something he said destroy my life.

36. I had the best bishop in Idaho. He helped me save my own life.

37. My dad happened to be a counselor to both those bishops.

38. My best friend when I was growing up was Amber Thompson.

39. My best friend in Idaho was Raquel Orduno.

40. My best friend now is my husband.

41. I always dreamed of getting married.

42. I never dreamed of having kids.

43. I had all five of my kids before I was 25.

44. I met my husband just before I turned 20. He didn’t want any kids.

45. We knew each other for 2 months before we got engaged.

46. We got married 3 months after we got engaged.

47. The best bishop (John Pehrson) from Idaho officiated at our wedding.

48. We were sealed in the Logan Temple 5 months after Ethan was born. (A year after we were married)

49. Being sealed to my little family was one of the best days of my life.

50. My first car was a Toyota Tercel. I loved it.

51. I always dreamed of living in a small cottage in a forest or something. I never dream of living in a big house.

52. I can honestly say I never had a party in my parent’s house without their knowledge but my brother and sister did!

53. I have learned the most amazing lessons from scripture study.

54. I have many heroes, one of which is my grandmother. She survived the deaths of her husband, one of her sons and then breast cancer, all within a 5 year period.

55. One of the best things in the world is being high up in the mountains on a horse. I still have dreams of being on my horse, Babe, and I wake up missing that life so much.

56. One of the most traumatic experiences of my life was being sent to the barn on my grandpa’s property and seeing two dead deer hanging from the ceiling. I think my uncle sent me there. I hated him.

57. I love to read. I’ll read anything.

58. Another great love of my life is driving a team of Belgian draft horses. There’s nothing like being able to direct the power of two magnificent horses with your bare hands.

59. My favorite job was driving sleighs on the National Elk Refuge in Jackson. My dad had that contract for several years and I worked there for two winters. It was breathtaking!

60. One of the hardest things I’ve ever done was helping my dad and a vet deliver a dead colt. I’d never heard a horse scream before that and I never want to hear it again.

61. I love the feel of a horse’s nose. It’s the softest part of their body.

62. I taught Doug how to drive a team. Maybe that’s why he fell in love with me?

63. I was not excited when I found out I was pregnant with Ethan, but he was the world’s most perfect baby.

64. After Ethan was born I was told that getting pregnant would be difficult. It broke my heart.

65. My triplets were born 2 years after I was told I would most likely not get pregnant. Carter was born 4 years after that.

66. Doug says he fell in love with me when my dad asked him to change two flat tires on my car. I must have been especially radiant that day. I fell in love with him one night when he walked up to me in the chuck wagon dinner camp (where I was the head cook, making dutch oven chicken and beef.) He was wearing a cow boy hat and looked up at me with his enormous blue eyes and I was hooked!

67. I love being a mother. My children are the best part of Doug and I.

68. I love being the mother of boys! They are incredible.

69. I love being the mother of a princess. She is amazing.

70. I love to clean. I don’t know why but I do.

71. I hate to do laundry. I don’t know why. You would think that since I love to clean that I would like to do laundry.

72. I love all kinds of music. Rock, alternative, country, classical, some rap, opera, etc. I feel like everyone’s life has a sound track.

73. I’m a Gemini. It explains my personality.

74. I think I’m a little too blunt sometimes. I don’t have the filter that most people have so you never know what I’m gonna say. Hopefully I’m in a good mood when you talk to me.

75. My husband is a stabilizing influence in my life. He is mellow and kind and patient. I’m none of those things.

76. I don’t really like to be touched. I’m not big on big long hugs unless they’re from my husband or my kids.

77. I love to be alone. It doesn’t bother me at all.

78. I was extremely shy when I was a kid. Sometimes I’m still very shy.

79. My new love is the desert. My goal in life is to move down to southern Utah or Nevada or Arizona. The desert is incredible.

80. I’m afraid to be alone in a swimming pool. It’s the Jaws thing. I can’t help it.

81. I’m still afraid of the dark.

82. I don’t have many close friends anymore. I tend to spend all my emotional energy on my family.

83. I’ve never understood what the big deal is with gay people. They’re still people, right? What difference does it make who they fall in love with? It’s not really attacking MY family, is it?

84. I’m very disappointed in both presidential candidates.

85. Every time I put gas in my car, I get so mad that I’ve kicked the pump a couple times. The gas prices are insane.

86. I am NOT a fence sitter. You will never have to guess what I’m thinking. You may not like me, that’s ok. But you’ll always know where I stand.

87. I love being an aunt. My nieces and my nephews are an absolute joy in my life.

88. I’ve never wanted to be someone other than myself, but I do admire a lot of people and try to implement their best character traits into my life.

89. I wish I had been a better example to my brother and my sister. Hopefully I’m being a good one now.

90. I’ve learned to always treat all children with kindness, even the difficult ones. Careless adults did more damage in my life than anyone else. I believe we should be good examples to all kids. You never know who you help and who you’ve damaged.

91. I talk too much and I think too much. That usually means I don’t sleep very well.

92. I wish I could have more babies.

93. My favorite time of day is when the kids go to bed and I can spend time alone with my husband.

94. I love being in the temple. It’s like going home to someone who loves you.

95. I never feel more relieved than when I pull into my parent’s driveway. Not just because of the long trip, not just because I may have to go to the bathroom, but because I know for however long I’m there, I get to be someone’s kid.

96. My favorite memory of my dad will always be that on my 30^th birthday I was at my parent’s house, he had gone to work that morning but had come back to wish me happy birthday and to say good bye because we left that day. It made up for all the times I’d wished he’d done that when I was younger.

97. I love that my husband can get so mad at me, but it never lasts. I know how to push ALL his buttons.

98. I never used to cry until I had children and now I cry all the time over everything.

99. I love to write. I’ve written lots of stories. Someday I may have the guts to publish them.

100. It’s taken 30 years but I think I’ve finally learned to like who I am.

School Starts Soon!!

My kids are back to school on Monday the 18th! Whoo hoo! I think they're more excited about it than I am! We're almost done school shopping which means we're almost totally out of money. Hee hee. I always think we're so busy during the school year, which we are, but this summer has been completely nuts! I like things to be scheduled and orderly so I think that's why I love the school year. Plus, I can't wait for fall. I love that time of year.

So, here's three cheers for school!!! Hip hip hooray!

Being a Mom

I've had a really rough week. Most of the time, I consider myself a pretty secure person. I know I'm not perfect, but I know that I'm a good mom and I have a good marriage. I'm extremely blessed but sometimes, when I least expect it, something in me breaks and I kinda fall apart. I was standing in my neighbor's living room today, I went over there to borrow a vacuum because mine broke (and I'm OCD about CLEAN) and I told her that my week was not so good and I almost burst into tears. This is not normal for me. I'm not really a crier, I'm a butt kicker. But if you had met me this week, you woulda thought I was a basket case.

As most of you know, I have to work. I don't mind working, I have a great, low stress job with extremely flexible hours, but it's always hard in the summer when the kids are out of school and someone else is watching them. Luckily my wonderful, nearly perfect sister-in-law has been watching my kids this summer but sometimes I get to feeling like I'm not doing enough or worse, I'm simply not enough for my kids. My sister-in-law jokes that when I'm home I never sit down, I'm always doing something, which is not always true, but I feel like if I sit down then I'm less of a mother. I should be making dinner, doing laundry, making beds, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, whatever. But then I remember the time when all five of my precious kids were sitting in a circle under the tree in our backyard, eating popsicles and talking and laughing with each other. I watched them through the window as I cleaned my kitchen floor. Was I a good mother then? Why didn't I go out and join them?

Now they're getting to the age where they don't need me as much and I feel like I wasted time. There's a song in the movie Mama Mia where Meryl Streep sings about time slipping thru her fingers and she says something like "We made so many plans, some things we did but some things we didn't and I don't remember why." Those things I didn't do with my kids, was it because I was doing something I thought was so important?

Tomorrow's another day where I can make it right. Right?

Mckenzie and Mommy's Princess Weekend

Well.... Mckenzie and I had the BEST WEEKEND EVER!!! We got to go to St. George/Nanna's house for a Mommy and Mckenzie weekend. It was so nice to get away and just be with my precious little princess and it was nice for her to be without her four brothers.


The whole purpose of the weekend was to go to High School Musical at the Tuacahn in St. George. It was an adorable play put on by the Tuacahn High School. The actors were all high school age kids and they did a fabulous job. We went with my fabulous friend Kim, her daughter Jasmine (who Mckenzie says is her VERY best friend in the whole wide world). Kim's friend Becca came as well with her daughter Natalie. And Kim's sister Kristen came with her friend Kaitlyn. My mom also joined us as well.

Here's Mckenzie getting ready for bed in her new HS Musical PJ's that Nanna bought her!

Mckenzie with the actors that played Gabriella and Troy. They were so cute!!

Me, my mom and Mckenzie under the Wildcats banner! GO WILDCATS!!

After we went to the play, we all stayed at a hotel in St. George. We were all so hot and tired that we thought swimming was definitely a worthwhile activity! Here is Mckenzie and her best friend in the whole wide world, Jasmine who has the most gorgeous brown eyes I've ever seen!

Of course, no slumber party is complete without an ice cream sundae party! Here's Kenzie, Jasmine and Natalie in the background, enjoying their yummy ice cream.

Becca realized that our little girls were like miniature Charlie's Angels because we had a red head, blond and brunette! Here they are posing as the Angels at the outlet mall in St. George as we prepared to go school shopping.

Kaitlyn, Kristen, Me, Natalie, Jasmine and Mckenzie
We were supposed to be school shopping..... Don't worry, I didn't buy the hat.

Taking a break at McD's. Our Angles could only take so much shopping!

We had so much fun! Mckenzie and I stayed in Mesquite with my parents Saturday night which was so fun! My dad took us all to see Mama Mia, which is my new favorite movie! We laughed and cried and SANG OUT LOUD!! ABBA rocks. We got home this evening, where my dedicated hubby had dinner waiting for us. I feel very spoiled and pampered and so does Mckenzie. She got tons of new clothes from Mommy and Nanna, a portable DVD player from Papa and she got to see an awesome play and lots of funny movies. This will be one my sweetest memories. Every once in a while I look at her and I'm shocked at how tall she is, how smart she is, and how grown up she seems. It makes my heart ache for my baby girl and I wonder where all the time went, I worry if I do enough for her.... but then we have time together like this and I feel on top of the world. I can't explain how wonderful this weekend was!