Happy Valentine's Day!

We have had a great Valentine's Day today! Usually our tradition on Valentine's morning is that we make heart shaped waffles in our special waffle iron, and put strawberries and whipped cream on it. However, this morning was our turn to help clean the church (along with another family in our ward). Our turn comes around about every six months or so, and the tradition we have had with that is that we go get donuts and milk, and take them over to eat at the church before we clean. So we compromised and got Valentine's sprinkled donuts. Kalyssa was not very pleased that we were having to skip the waffles - she's all about the keeping the traditions! We also love to make heart shaped sugar cookies and frost/decorate them. Another thing that we do is that we go get a heart shaped pizza for dinner, and decorate up the table with red, white, and pink. The kids had a little plastic heart full of M&M's at each of their places at the table, and they loved that! Then we went around the table and took turns telling why we loved each person. Some of the responses were pretty cute - "I love him because he pours juice for me so I won't spill", "Because he shares his toys with me", "Because his hair sticks straight up"... ☺

I thought I would take a minute and talk about each of my seven special Valentines. Of course, first and foremost, is my sweetheart and hubby extraordinaire - David. He is such a great guy, and I feel so lucky that he is mine! He is an extremely hard worker, and that has been something that I have always admired about him. He inspires me to always do better, and has always been so encouraging and supportive of me in my goals and the things that I want to do. He can make me laugh so hard sometimes, and we get giggling (sometimes it's hard to stop - I get a little punchy!) ☺ He is my very best friend, but I also still have such a big crush on him, even after almost 15 years of being married! I definitely feel blessed to have found him. Of course, everything doesn't just always come easy all the time... we, like everyone else, put a lot of time and effort into keeping each other as our first priority, making sure we have our date nights every week, etc. But, I'm so glad that he's my Valentine!!!

Kaden is such a great kid - I still can hardly believe I'm old enough to have a teenager! He does such a great job - works hard on his schoolwork, watches the kids for us, enjoys Scouts (he's working on his Eagle), and is such a kindhearted guy! I'm so glad to have him as my son! I love you, Kade!


Kalyssa is my sweet girl, and I love her so much also. She is an awesome sister to her brothers, and does so much for them, especially the little ones. She loves to have "girls' time" with me (no boys allowed!) ☺ She loves to cook, organize, and decorate - a girl after my own heart!




Karson is a sweet, tenderhearted guy that is very smart! He loves Cub Scouts, basketball, video games, Legos, and lots of other stuff! He loves to learn, and is always telling us some obscure facts that he has learned at school, whether its Greek mythology, the different types of clouds in the sky, or even how cavities are formed on teeth! He is very kind to his little brothers, and is pretty patient when they always want to be with him, and get into his stuff. I am so glad that I have him - he's awesome!


Karter is my busy, loving, and smart 5 year old! He never wants to be outdone by the older kids - he thinks he is right up there with them! He loves to color, do his preschool work, play with friends, and be on the computer. He is very friendly, and has no problem talking to anybody - he makes friends wherever we go! He loves anything "cowboy", and talks big about riding horses & cows - that is, until he is right by them, then he hightails it to the car! ☺ I love him so much!

Koleman is such a cutie! He can be a little "high-maintenance", if you know what I mean, but he has a little heart of gold! He idolizes Karter, and follows him around all day, but he also loves all the rest of his siblings fiercely too! He has several little make-believe friends that he talks a lot about, the main one being a guy named "Hot Cocoa". We hear about him so frequently that Daddy now has a make-believe friend of his own that he tells Koley about called "Tweedledinker". ☺ (The kids all think that it's hilarious!) We sure are glad to have Koleman in our family, and love him so much!

Kyler is a little doll, and we all adore him! He is saying lots of things now, and its very cute! He bows his head and folds his arms for the prayers, and then even finishes with an amen! He loves all kinds of animals, and making all of their sounds! He enjoys being read little books, watching cartoon shows about animals, being outside, playing with toys, getting into everyone else's stuff, making messes, and giving big kisses and hugs! He also loves going to the nursery at church (where Daddy is one of his teachers now), and plays with the toys. We love him!

I am so lucky and blessed to have all of my special Valentines - aren't they great?

I'm not above a little bribery sometimes...

Sometimes you just have to change things up a little when it comes to getting some chores done around here, know what I mean? For the most part, my kids are pretty good workers - probably like most kids, they don't absolutely love to do chores, but with a bit of persuasion will get them done. We've tried a few different things over the years, but it seems like the ones that worked the best have been the ones where there has been a little incentive involved. So, we're trying a new program where the kids get to earn enough points from doing their personal jobs to get to spin the wheel (an old Twister game spinner that I have modified), and they will get to earn coupons for special privileges. I found this cool free download for the coupons on the Organize It Mom website - here's the link if you want it too! It was so easy to just cut them out and get them laminated, and I think the kids will really enjoy them a lot. In fact, the lady at the place where I went to laminate them told me I was such a good mom, and wanted to know where I had found them! (Hey, you take the kudos where you can get them, right?) ☺

Today, we actually had pretty good success with everybody pitching in for an overall straighten-up. David manned the vacuum, and I kept the troops busy with their next assignments as they would report back when each thing was finished. Karter especially did great, coming back each time saying, "Now what do you need me to do, Mom?" (I tell ya, that never gets old hearing that - it's parent nirvana!) ☺ Kalyssa is also quite the little self-starter - she loves cleaning out and organizing things - so today I sicked her on the pantry, and she did an awesome job! Now, Koley on the other hand, not so much! He definitely has not quite caught the vision yet. He's more work to keep on task than doing it myself! {SIGH}

Out of the mouths of babes...

The other day, my five-year-old, Karter, was wanting to play the Xbox very badly and was pleading with me to be able to play. However, he had already had plenty of "screen time" that day, and I told him that he should pick something else to do instead. He was obviously very frustrated with me, and so he turned to me and said, "Mom, when I was four, you treated me like a nice little boy. But now you treat me like a BIG...FAT...OGRE!!!

Yikes - what am I supposed to say to something like that? :)

I Love to See the Temple, I'm Going There Someday!

Today, we got the opportunity to go to the Draper temple open house as a family. We got online and signed up for our reservation last month, so we lucked out that everyone was finally feeling better, and able to go. This was the first time of ever going through a temple open house for my kids, so it was such a great opportunity! They were excited about going (minus having to dress in their Church clothes!), and we talked as we were driving there about what to expect. They were surprised that there were cafeterias and laundry rooms in temples, and we explained why those things were needed. It takes me back in time to 1981, when as a ten-year-old, I went with my family to the Jordan River temple open house. I distinctly remember being shocked at seeing a drinking fountain there - it almost seemed sacrilegious to my young mind that there would be anything so mundane as that in a place as special as the temple! :)
When we got to the assigned meetinghouse that we were starting from, they had us go in and watch a short movie about the importance of temples. It was very interesting, and enjoyed by all (except Koleman, who kept asking why we couldn't have popcorn for this movie...). Then they loaded us on a bus, and were driven five minutes up to the temple, where we then went through some canopies to guide you up to the entrance to the temple. They gave us a pamphlet that explained a lot about temples, and asked that we only whisper once we were inside. Surprisingly, the kids did okay with that, although when we saw the baptismal font on the backs of the oxen, Kyler starting mooing loudly and pointing! (He loves cows!) :)
Everything was amazing, and so beautiful - we especially loved the celestial room and sealing rooms! Kalyssa was impressed with the brides' dressing room, and asked me about it later - I agreed that it was very cool, and that I hoped it was still a ways off for her! Trust my little girly girl to notice something like that!
We almost made it through without incident...
However, when they led us into the sealing room and had us sit down for a minute to talk to us, David set Kyler on his lap, and only then noticed that he had a wet diaper that had seeped through onto David's nice slacks! We were trying hard to listen as they talked about the mirrors that you could look into and see eternity, but we were mostly casting furtive, agonizing glances at each other as we tried to keep Kyler standing by us (but not too close to anybody). Aaaaargh!!! It's rather ironic that, here we are coming up on our 15th wedding anniversary in March, and what a contrast the situation in this sealing room, as opposed to the one as we were there to be married. We sure didn't envision this as we knelt across the altar from each other back then, and looked into the mirrors - how could we have known then all the fun we were in for?!! :)
Luckily, we had planned ahead and brought a diaper. And luckily, we were right at the end of the tour, and headed into the meetinghouse right next to the temple where they had a bathroom. Thank goodness for that!
They had set up the cultural hall in the church with rugs, furniture, lamps, etc. and had made it very nice. There were also displays to look at, missionaries greeting people, comment cards you could fill out, and refreshments (what's a Mormon function without those, right?). Then we walked out to get on the buses back to the church where we were parked. Overall, it took us about two hours total, and was an amazing opportunity! I'm pretty excited to also be able to go see the Oquirrh Mountain temple in South Jordan coming up soon - how lucky are we?!!

QUARANTINED!!!

Just a short post this time, as I am playing Florence Nightingale to a bunch of invalids. David has the flu really bad, and my three littlest ones have sinus infections with croupy coughs and fever.



Fun, huh? :)



When we took David in to the doctor, we were told that David was the first official diagnosis of flu this season for their office (what an honor, right?), and that he should just go ahead and plan on being home from work for at least this whole next week. It's too bad that with all that time off, he can't enjoy it a little more - poor guy, he has been in so much pain, and been right down in bed! He's miserable! Luckily, the kids and I got our flu shots a few months ago, so hopefully we won't all have to go through it too.



So anyway, in between dosing medicine, cleaning up all kinds of fluids, and wiping everything down with antibacterial wipes... I'm pretty worn out! It's going to be a long week. {Sigh}



Calgon, take me away!

Get Your hEaD in the Game!

Okay, is it just my kids...



Or do all youngsters have a fixation with putting things on their heads?



The other day, I was going back over our pictures on the computer for the last few years, and scrolling through the overviews, and I started noticing a disturbing trend. Why do I have photo after photo of my kids with strange things that they have put on their noGGiNs?



This is definitely not something that I planned... But when I see a cute candid moment, I pull out the camera! And it just so happens that over and over, that seems to have been these cRanIALLy comedic moments such as these. ENJOY!

Koleman is a tHinKeR - he has come up with a new, unconventional way to wear the hAtbaND!

Karter's got some kind of sKuLL cap going on here...

For Koleman & Kyler, no plate will do for their pATe...

only bowls for their nOOdLes!

hAtS to cover their grAy maTTeR for Kyler & Kaden

Karter's bRaIn cushion

Karter's noGGiN goggles







Daddy's feet + Kyler's hEad = sCaLp sandwich

Kyler's Christmas cRoWn

Koleman's got blankets on the bRaIn

Kalyssa's using a cushion for her cRaNiUM!

Koleman's bowl on the bElfRY

"Not-so-Chrome" DoMes on Karter & Koleman

Nope, not even going there... :)

Koleman's light in the aTtic

Do we notice a theme going on here with the kitchenware?

Our tOP sToRy: Karson's fashion sense

A soda box for Kaden's uPpER sToRy...

And now, Kalyssa tries it on uPsTaiRs!

I know, I know, by now you're thinking we all need our hEaDs examined, don't you? I'm not sure what the big allure is, but this anomale sure seems to be happening a lot around here! I guess we're raising a bunch of tHiNK tAnKs!

The only thing I can't exactly figure out is...

Who could they have inherited this strange quirk from?!

Bingo!!! :)

Carpe Diem!

At the beginning of a new year when we reflect on our lives, and what we want to do better or accomplish, it really makes you take stock of how you spend your time, and what is or is not important.

I saw this list on Michelle's blog, and thought it would be fun to do! You put in BOLD the things that you have done. If you want to play along, copy and paste the list, then you give it a shot.

Some of the things on here are not things I really aspire to do (breaking a bone!?), but it kind of inspires me to write my own life list/bucket list of things that I would want to someday accomplish. Maybe I'll write one up and put it on the sidebar of my blog, and then cross them off as I go along.

1. Started your own blog - yeah, you're here, aren't you? :)
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world - yeah, went on my mission there!
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris - WOW!
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning - rancid coconut cream pie on my mission :P
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables (discovered a new passion for gardening)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France - I was surprised how small it was in person!
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon - does a 5K count? :)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice -AMAZING! Everybody should do this once in their life!
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise - two of them - both to the Caribbean
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors - would love to go visit Bath, England where the Marchants are from originally
35. Seen an Amish community - no, but I would love to! I have a strange fascination with them!
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person - got the photos to prove it!
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David - we were on our way to see it in Italy, and got totally lost! :(
41. Sung karaoke - Girls' Night Out at Tina's house; Trish & me singing "Dancing Queen"!
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant - love to do this!
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance -hope never to (having Kaden go was bad enough!)
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person - David has!
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling - and was 6 months pregnant, thank you very much!
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie - was in a television show (Hotel Balderdash) when in 2nd grade.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business - a few!
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason - what a sweet boyfriend I have, huh? :)
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma - had a frequent donor's card in college!
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp - Dachau in Germany (very sobering reality)
67. Bounced a check - oops! Back in the days before overdraft...
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy - a doll from Grandma Luke that she crocheted clothes for.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades - even saw some alligators up close!!!
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper - Sterling Scholar in high school, and when married
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox - in Kindergarten (still remember the Flintstones sticker book my mom got me to keep me occupied!)
89. Saved some one's life - doesn't every mother have to do it a few times?
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous - knew all the Osmonds in our ward in Branson, Missouri; also not met, but saw up close David Archuleta at Cafe Rio the other day, and once at Disneyland saw Whoopi Goldberg
92. Joined a book club - no, but I really want to one of these days!
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby - how 'bout six?
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone - in fact, finally learned to text a couple of months ago! :)
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day - well, yeah! I take my reading seriously!!! :)

Seize the day! Go out and accomplish!