weekend

 Cory programming the robot

 Aiden and his alligator robot

 posing

 Avery took this funny head floating pic

 and this one

 Cory and Ben tired after tennis, Cory says his sides are sore now

Cory got to play tennis with Ben Saturday morning. It was very fun for him even if he is out of practice from only playing with his kids. Hopefully they are learning and will really be able to play with him sometime. We went to lunch after at one of my newly favorite places, Jason's Deli. I like that they promise no HFCS, no artificial colors or flavors, no MSG, etc and have good vegetarian options. They also have free ice cream cones and you make it yourself which the kids like. Then we came home and hung out and Brooke came over too. The boys built the lego alligator robot. Us girls went to Brooke's baby shower that afternoon and had fun. I forgot to take any pictures of Brooke, shame on me. We also got to see Janell there. The kids were excited when they woke up and I told them B&B were coming. Tristan threw his toy Luigi up in a tree at the park and it got stuck but we couldn't see where. We tried to find it but no luck. I told him maybe the next storm would blow it down and it stormed that night so I took him by after church but still no luck. He was sad and cried about it at first but I think he'll get over it.
Friday Cory came home from work early because he was feeling dizzy when he stood up. He says he feels better now. He must have had fluid on his ears. He's getting his thyroid levels checked this week to see if that could be the cause of his random heart flutters. I also have to go in so they will renew my prescription beta blocker for another year. We are just getting old and falling apart I guess. lol

Aiden pulled his tooth Friday, first time on his own. I usually end up pulling teeth around here or they just fall out. Lidia pulled her tooth yesterday. It was a baby molar and really was just a cap of the top left. She came to me yesterday afternoon saying her tooth hurt and it was bleeding. I looked in her mouth and saw what I thought was the roof of her mouth gaping open hanging down. I about freaked out and told Cory to look in her mouth. It turned out that she had a caramel in her mouth and that's what I saw. The tooth was on the bottom anyway. It was just a few seconds of confusion but it scared me and now Lidia will likely think it's funny forever. The tooth was probably bleeding because the caramel pulled on it. She spit out the caramel and later pulled the tooth out. Note to kids- swallow or spit out all food before opening wide to show your mom your mouth.

Cory got called to be the ward website administrator. He volunteered for the job. However, there is also a ward facebook page so I wonder which gets looked at more since you have to sign in to look at the church site and to me it's a pain. They also released all of the YW leaders and called new ones which I'm sure will be great too. Lidia was excited that her friend's mom that lives across the street is now her beehive advisor.

The dogs are still doing good. They were chewing on a dead mouse this morning. I took it from them. The gross image is stuck in my mind. It must have drowned in the rain or something. We are going to have to put some poison down the hole under the patio to get rid of them.

I sub for the first time on Friday, should be fun.

We decided last week to change our weekday schedule. We are now getting up at 6 or 6:30 instead of 7ish and Cory is here with us and we have scripture and prayer right after we get up and get dressed then we all get ready for the day and Cory gets off to work a little before we leave for school and the kids have about 15 min or so to watch cartoons before school. They say they like it better and I certainly do because I start my day off much less stressed and grumpy with more time and more help. Cory doesn't get home until the more normal time of 5 or so but that's ok because I pick up the kids and they get to play for an hour after school so he's home in time for dinner, homework, bedtime. Next year he'll be dropping Lidia off at seminary on his way to work and I'll have to pick her up on the way to school. Crazy.

Wienermobile

It is the 75th anniversary of the wienermobile and the six Oscar Mayer vehicles are visiting towns all over the country. Today we went and saw it at a local WalMart and the kids got stickers, weenie whistles, hot dogs, soda pop, and cookies. They had fun and thought it was pretty neat looking. They were keeping it locked shut but you could see in the windows but Tristan and Aiden got a good look inside when the girl had to go inside for something. I am not a big Oscar Mayer fan but it was something out of the ordinary to do and the hot dog is an American icon right and even though they are not healthy at all I must admit I just have to have one once in a while.

On a different note, Lidia's end of level scores were a lot higher last spring than the year before. I just saw the results today. Guess there's some proof that those english and math lab classes she takes are helping and definitely needed. So glad after years of struggling to help her something is finally working out. I don't have the boys results yet. They have done fine on them in the past but I'm still nervous to see how they did since their grades were not so hot last year. Avery is still adjusting to a new school year. He is currently upset when anyone touches him and that his teacher took his pencil box. I have asked Lidia and Aiden not to baby him anymore. He acts like a spoiled brat sometimes and I am not completely innocent but Lidia really coddles him and Aiden said he has to protect him from Tristan because he is fragile. I assured them he is out of the fragile stage. Aiden and Tristan seem to like school so far. Lidia always likes school. I just have to help make sure they are staying on top of things.

I will be your father figure...

Duke and Millie are getting along great. He is very nice to her and she follows his lead. When I was outside with them I walked over to the raspberry bushes and they followed me well when I came out she couldn't quite figure out how to get out and when she whimpered Duke went over and got her and showed her the way out. When I was calling them to come in he came but she didn't so I told Duke to go get Millie and he did. She has been whining when I put her in her crate so this afternoon I tried putting her in with Duke and they both went right to sleep. Not one peep out of her, a miracle! They were outside together while I was in the shower and they were hanging out in the doghouse together. He seems to like her. I hope he doesn't get annoyed that she's in his space. Surely he's just as glad as I am not to hear her yelping. Oh and last night it was hilarious when Duke went in her tiny crate. He was curious and went right in but didn't back out. He struggled to turn around and somehow did it. Wish I had it on video, it was so funny. He hasn't tried to go in there again.

Oh trampoline...

What a good toy the trampoline has been to my kids. They love to play on it even if not jumping and doing tricks. Avery just bounces and skips around on it playing with his stick. My kids are not daredevils at all but they enjoy making up tricks and doing flips. Aiden and Avery probably love it the most or at least spend more time on it. I didn't have one growing up but my neighbor had one for a couple of years and we all loved it. We have had one for the past seven years or so. It's a very good investment if you compare the price to the hours of use over it's lifetime. We used to have the enclosure around it but a few things bugged me about it. The kids would run around outside of the net and fall between the springs and bump into the poles. Sometimes when jumping inside they would still bump into the poles. The foam that you can put around the poles eventually comes off and makes a mess as does the pad you can put over the springs. The nets wear out and break quickly. I was always trying to repair it. So we decided to just take the enclosure off and let natural consequences keep them from falling off and so far it's good and no injuries and the kids like it better open instead of feeling like they are in a cage. If they start playing rough on it we might have to reconsider the enclosure, we will see. I just love things that make them want to go outside and play like a kid should. I hate when they want to play video games all the time. They are like crack to my boys, especially Tristan and aiden. They think about it way too much. I told them I don't like them acting this way and that I am not giving my boys things that they are addicted to. If they have a good week they may play on Friday but that's it. If they keep acting obsessed we are getting rid of it and we will watch things like Brady Bunch and Leave it to Beaver in our down time.

Meet Millie

I have been thinking about getting a second dog for over a year but thought it would be best to wait until the kids were all in school. I like great danes but don't really want something that big right now. We have loved our dachshunds so I decided to get another but a mini this time. My story is that it's so small you won't be able to tell the difference between one or two. Cory is never thrilled with our desire to have pets but he tolerates us very nicely. Thank you dear. I bought the dog through a classified ad so yes I paid for her but not as much as the great dane I was looking at and a crate and food for her will be so much less. We named her Millie. She is cute and sweet and fun. She has cried a little today but no too much. Duke is very excited but he makes her nervous right now. I have their crates next to eachother and hope she warms up to him soon. He looks like a giant next to her. She is 9 weeks old so still small and he is overweight, time for a diet for Duke. The kids are way excited. She is very loved already.

Cory helped put new shingles on a house of an elderly church member today for about 5 hours. It was kind of hot up there and he was pooped after. He called and asked me to bring his earplugs so me and the kids walked there and then walked to the 7 11 and got slurpees and then walked back to see Cory again. This time Tristan and Avery got up on the roof and helped a little too. Mostly they thought it was awesome to be up there. Then Cory said he was done so we all walked home. It was good for me and the kids to get out and walk a few miles. Duke came too, he even had a little bit of slurpee. Tristan whined and said he couldn't make it any further on the way back but suddenly had energy once he went up on the roof. Avery was a trooper and enjoyed walking Duke part of the way.

Back to School

The kids started school Wednesday. They all had a good day and like their teachers. I hope the good attitude stays when they start having homework. All day school is an adjustment for Avery. His teacher is very nice and patient with him though. I hope he makes it out to carpool and stays put until I get there today. Yesterday when I drove up he was playing in the field behind the playground by himself. I went over what to do several times and he says he knows what to do, we'll see. Tristan lied and told me he had to stay in for recess just to see what I'd do, little stinker. He got to help serve lunch yesterday. He thought that was awesome. He likes to feel important, they all do.

I have lots to do to keep me busy but it's still a very strange feeling to not have any kids home with me the entire school day. It's a mental adjustment that will take some time to get used to. It's very quiet around the house except for the bird and dog and when I play music. I guess Duke will get more attention from me now. I took him for a walk yesterday. He needs exercise. He's gotten kind of chubby. I think he's eating little mice.

Paracord Bracelets

Well Cory calls them wristbands. He has been making them lately. I guess it's just the scout in him tying knots. The kids seem to like them. I suppose belts are next and more colors.

Aiden passed the sacrament for the first time yesterday! He did a good job and is very proud.

School starts Wednesday. I hope we can start waking up early again. It will be a little nice not to wake up to a house full of neighborhood kids. I think other parents make them play outside and I need to implement that rule too. They are nice kids and I'm glad they come play but when there are ten of them getting into various things and going in and out constantly it bugs me.

A night in Logan

We spent the night at the Holiday Inn suites in North Logan last night. We took the family to see the Martin Harris pageant and then Lidia and Aiden met up with the youth to do baptisms, have lunch, and do service while Cory and I and the younger two did some shopping. We were waiting for Lidia and Aiden to be done but they ended up riding home with the youth anyway. We had fun and bought some local honey and some school shoes for the kids. The pageant was kind of dull compared to other church productions we have seen but we made it through anyway and it was a nice cool evening. The kids had fun in the pool and hot tub yesterday and we thought we would take the younger ones back before we checked out but we were tired and just rested in the room till noon. It was a late night last night. I had an interesting conversation with Tristan during the pageant. I can't remember what brought it up but Tristan mentioned that he doesn't think he can go to heaven. He has said this before. I guess he feels like he's too naughty. I told him that he will go to heaven if he tries his best and believes in Christ and the gospel and to remember that no one on earth is perfect. Then I thought I better say more than that so I told him that since Cory and I were married in the temple we were promised that all our children would be righteous and go to heaven. I think that really helped his confidence. I think it was good for him to see that even someone like Martin Harris made mistakes but can repent and still be with God.
Oh and we got ice cream at the Aggie creamery but I think BYU's is better and Farrs for that matter. Of course I am only judging sherbet because that's the only kind I like.

Ouch 2

I felt so sad for my little Tristan today. We have been forgetting about scouts all summer. Today he remembered and got all dressed in his uniform on his own and got his book, put on his bike helmet and rode to the church. There were no cars there so he rode home and whe he rode pass the empty lot across the street he hit a patch of loose dirt and gravel and crashed. He walked home and knocked on the door and when I opened it I saw a sweet boy covered in dirt and scratches and on the verge of tears. Lidia went to get his bike while I cleaned him up and he told me what happened and cried. I nearly cried too. I took him and drove to the church and there was one car there but the door was locked and no one came to the door. I went home and called his leaders house and his wife said he was there so we went back a third time and he was leaving because no one showed up and he didn't see us. Oh well, next time. Poor Tristan was looking forward to it. School starts next week so we should all better remember scouts. Now Tristan has scratches and bandaids on his knee, elbow, and hand. He and Cory can both work on healing this weekend.

WOW diet

I have not read any wow diet books or anything but that is more like my idea of proper eating. The word of wisdom really is my motivation to try and eat healthier. Vegan and vegetarianism have their points but when it becomes sometimes difficult to come up with a meal or you end up buying processed fake meat, that is a downer. Recently Cory has been having heart flutters and that has never happened before. The only difference I can think of is his change in diet and after some reading I discovered that a B12 deficiency can cause that. We eat meat on Mondays and yesterday it was red meat and then he also had two bowls of cereal with soy milk and soy milk has B12 and guess what, he didn't have heart flutters today. So we are going to try and watch that and see if him eating foods rich in B12 make a difference. I am not a fan of vitamins. I would rather eat the whole food that provides those nutrients so maybe we need to eat meat more than once a week and maybe even allow a little healthy dairy back into our diets. I think that the key is to eat whole nutrient rich foods and not empty calories and processed foods and if you do occasionally eat animal making sure it's a healthy choice like salmon instead of hamburger. By the way hamburgers make me wanna barf now. I still have it in my head that I like them but if we eat them we all feel yuck afterwards and wish we hadn't. I wish I felt that way about horrible horrible hot dogs. Cory and I both still love the idea of a good chili dog. There are a lot of good meals that do not need meat and we do that but the ones with a long list of strange ingredients that I have to go to the health foods store to find are not our cup of tea. It shouldn't be that complicated to eat. If it were the old days I would have to live off what is available to grow or kill in my area and that would be fine along with exercise I think. I don't think I need food from far away lands to be healthy.

The Help

I went to see the movie The Help today. I liked it a lot, lots of laughs and tears. I have not read the book. Maybe I will. I find that movies can't compare to the detail of books so I prefer to see the movie first and if I enjoy it read the book and enjoy it more. I wonder if black people like movies like this or if it stirs up old resentful feelings between blacks and whites like some slavery films do. Even though people of our generation never experienced the racism from before the civil rights movement there are still bad feelings about it. Unfortunately movies focus on the bad that happened and not the fact that that was in the minority. Most slave owners treated them well and most whites who hired blacks treated them as well as if they hired a white maid. But that wouldn't be as interesting I guess. Half of the population in the south is African American. It would be war down there if they really hated each other. I don't think that anyone says I hate you because your skin is dark anymore. I don't know anyone that ignorant. But if someone looks like a thug or criminal or drug user we do judge them and are afraid of them. This is natural though. We are just trying to protect ourselves. Anyway back to the movie, I thought it represented everyone's point of view pretty well and I am glad I never knew any people as mean as the ones in this story and I think there were very few of them even back in the sixties but I do know black and white women who worked hard their whole lives for their families and put up with a bunch of crap and didn't let it get them down like the women in this story. They didn't resort to violence and anarchy. The have love and faith and courage to do what is right and used their intelligence to win.

Ouch

They say that once you get bike shoes and the pedals that you will fall once or twice until you remember to clip out when braking. Well Cory fell yesterday and now he is scratched up and sore. Makes me nervous to  ride with mine. I am determined not to fall, but I don't ride as much as Cory. He's riding to work and back twice a week. It's 31 miles roundtrip. Cory was leaving work and fell as he was leaving the lot. When he braked he took one foot off but leaned the other way and by the time he got the other foot off it was too late. He rode all the way home and says he felt fine until he came in and sat down, then the soreness set in.

Mark Twain

I read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn over the last few weeks. I like Mark Twain's humor. Both books were a fun read, especially being the mom of three boys. I actually enjoyed Tom Sawyer a bit more but maybe it was because I knew the Huck Finn story. I was going to read them to the kids but decided I would read them myself first. Now I think I will let them listen to the audiobooks and then we will discuss it. Part of me is afraid they will get too many mischievous ideas from it and I may not find it as funny if it's real. ;)

Aiden has the priesthood!

Aiden was given the priesthood by Cory today in deacons quorum. He was ready after we had a family home evening lesson and read scriptures and he read a few friend articles about the priesthood and he read the book Honoring the Priesthood by John Bytheway. Cory reviewed with him again before his interview. Today after church he went straight to work collecting fast offerings. Me and the other kids and Micah and Lisa were there for his ordination. Avery ran up and said he was next as soon as Cory was done with Aiden. We told him not until he is 12 and he didn't like hearing that. He is still asking me every day how much longer till he turns 7. I told him about 90 days and that just seems a lifetime away to him. He usually doesn't listen in primary. It's kind of boring to Avery I guess but his interest was peaked when the bishop came in and spoke about the temple. We were just at the temple Friday. When the bishop asked what temples were like, Avery shouted out that they are handsome. Very true. Aiden likes being in YM. It will be very good for him. Lidia just showed me the pictures she took at camp. There were none of people just a few of wildflowers, moose tracks, deer, frogs, birds, mountains etc. I am raising a naturalist. She is going to love Alaska. So am I. We are so proud of Aiden today!

The Fort

The fort is mostly done now. We made the sandbox this week. We rented the Home Depot truck and went and got sand. It was pretty quick and easy. The kids love it! Avery loves to play outside, especially on the trampoline and in the sandbox. I love his happy imagination. The other kids like to play in the back yard too but sometimes I have to force them out there. Lidia is home from girls camp and had a great time. It was strange to not even be able to talk to her for five days. I'll have to get her to post about it.

Cory is 37!

Happy Birthday Cory! We love you so much, you are the best man we know! Today is Cory's birthday and to celebrate we slept in and gave him his present, some cycling clothes, when he got up and we made him pumpkin spice cake. He made himself oven puff pancakes and this afternoon he and I went to lunch and to run some errands. Tonight we are going to see our town production of The Music Man. I am also excited because we booked an Alaskan cruise for next year, May 26-June 2. I'm so excited. It will be our first cruise and I hear it's beautiful up there. It will be chilly but that's OK. We will also go see Ben and Brooke and new baby when we are in Seattle for a few days after the cruise. Good thing I'm gonna be working some this year to help cover these travel expenses. I guess I won't spend it all on shoes. hee hee.

Yesterday we went down to the Timpanoogas temple and went to the sealing of Maya to Caitlin and Ryan. It was very sweet and she was so cute staring with her big brown eyes at the chandelier and mirrors and everyone. After that we went to their house for her blessing and visited with everyone. It was a nice day and we are very happy for them. I should have taken my camera...