Thanksgiving in Reno

This year we spent Thanksgiving with family in Reno. We got to do some fun things and spend time with people we don't get to see often enough. Above is Frank's cousin, Lily. She is a bit younger than Sydney and they have a ton of fun together.

One of the chief reasons we made the trip was to visit Frank's dad, Frank, and his wife Ruthie. She had been in the hospital but was at home by the time we made the trip. They have a one bedroom apartment or we would have stayed with them. Instead, we made them breakfast on Thanksgiving morning and tried not to wear poor Ruthie out. We hope she will continue to improve in her health.

We got to camp out 6 nights at Frank's Uncle Harry's house. That is him playing the guitar for my boys, some song about breakfast! He let us stay as long as we wanted and kept us fairly entertained, too. We swam in his pool several times, played billiards, ping-pong and watched UP on a huge home theater screen. It was better than Best Western!

One of my favorite parts of the trip was spending time at Frank's aunt Marilyn's house. That's me between aunt Rhianna and aunt Marilyn. Marilyn had the whole group over for some delicious barbeque and some good laughs. Rhianna also had us over and both women made us feel very loved!

Frank reading books to Axle and Johnny(Rhianna and Jim's boy) in their matching flannel pants.

We thought we should spend time on an educational fieldtrip, so we went to the Harrah's automobile museum! Pretty fun, especially the car we got to touch.

Uncle Jim's old fire truck was better than any museum, though. He gave us a ride around the neighborhood, and invited us to ride in it for the Reno Thanksgiving parade (we passed on that due to the blizzard).

Sick and Tired of Being Sick

Sydney is on her fifth day of being very sick. Today she was shivering uncontrollably for 10 minutes or more and then broke out sweating from the fever. She has been fighting fever off and on, and now Axle and Atticus have the bug, too. Axle has a croupy cough and Atticus complains that his forehead hurts. My poor kids. We're hoping Colin will resist it since he had the flu a few months ago. I have been lucky to stay healthy most every time my family gets sick. Maybe the Lord realizes that I have to take care of everyone else! Looks like everyone gets out of fasting and going to church tomorrow. I doubt I'll hear any complaints about that, though! Except from Atticus, who loves his class and his teacher. Axle likes to "play toys" too.

Afternoon Splash

There is a drain on our street that doesn't exactly drain. After a big rain storm we get a big flood! This day, the sun came out before the water went anywhere and everyone came out to play. Parents would do numerous drive-by sprayings and the kids all screamed with delight. That is Atticus riding his bike through the deepest part. Needless to say, he and Axle went straight to the bathtub after the fun!

Summer is Over

What a beautiful Fall-ish day! I love the lowered temperatures and the chilly nights. I am excited to use my new quilt on my bed. Time to start thinking about Halloween costumes! I think I will have Axle be Max from Where the Wild Things Are. I'll let him carry around a plastic fork for making "mischief of one kind and another".

My garden has been a success and I am still harvesting tomatoes and green beans, plus a few cucumbers. I have done a lot of canning in the last week, including some peaches.

Sydney and Colin are riding their bikes to school every day. I am loving that! My days have been low maintenance without any carpooling to worry about. Starting tomorrow Atticus will be getting some one-on-one at the literacy center. They have volunteers work with the preschoolers on their letters and sounds. He is so excited to go to his own class. He was also invited to be part of a playgroup once a week, so he will not be at all bored this school year.

Sydney is enjoying Junior High. She is learning to play the flute and taking piano lessons at the same time. She thinks the after school dances are pretty cool, too. I must say she spends a lot more time in front of the mirror than she used to!

Colin almost got on to the Student Council but will definitely try again next year. I am so happy he wants to get involved! He is doing well in his BMX competitions. He just moved up to the intermediate class so will have to claw or pedal his way up to the top again!

Lava (too hot) Hot Springs

We drove to Lava Hot Springs for Independence Day. Its about a three hour drive and everyone got to sleep most of the way(except for me, of course). When Axle was awake he exclaimed "horsey!" at least two hundred times as we passed by field after field of horses and cows. Who needs a dvd player?

The town was crammed with campers and tents, but we were lucky to get a spot after a cancellation. (They must have heard about the coming rainstorm). We got our brand-spankin-never-been-opened tent set up before the wind started bringing the dark clouds in. I should have got a picture of the tent completely flattened from the wind! Luckily, it wasn't time for bed yet so we just hung out in the van while it blew and down-poured. When Frank couldn't take all the togetherness anymore he tried to save the fire. The rain did let up enough for us to roast marshmallows. When we went to bed we found our bedding to be wet from our new apparently- not-so-rain-proof tent! I swore I would not do this a second night. (I also swore this tent was going back to Walmart.)

The next day was much brighter and we all got sunburned at the pools. We stopped at the actual hot pools first and couln't stand the 112 degree water, go figure! The olympic sized pools with slides and diving boards were much more our style. Colin and Frank braved all three of the diving platforms (18', 25', and a scary 33'). Again, no picture to prove it, but you can see how high they are in the photo of Sydney below. I did the 25' and was satisfied enough to call it good. Now I won't feel like I have to jump off any cliffs at Lake Powell this year.

By the afternoon, the clouds were rolling back in. I suggested we go back and take down the tent before the rain hit again. We were back on the road by 4:00. Talk about a short vacation. But, you know, it was what we needed and the kids are still talking about the fun they had! I was even happier when my husband agreed to eat at the Olive Garden on the way home. Yum!

Since we missed the firework show in Lava, I took the kids to Thanksgiving Point for their big show. Axle stayed home with Dad since he found the fireworks a little too loud.

13th Anniversary- Not such an unlucky number!

We got to go to Park City for a weekend in May. It was such a fun two days for the two of us. We stayed at the Marriott, soaked in the hot tub and even got breakfast in bed! We rented these cool mountain bikes and took the chair lift up the mountain and rode down.(Up didn't sound like much fun for two old folks to try!) We went down three times, through mud and rain and shine. Frank told me I needed to absorb the bumps through the shocks and my legs, but I am going to bring my own big padded seat next time! We came away with only a few scrapes and bruises and lots of smiles. We also brought home fancy carmeled apples for the kids.

Sydney was left in charge at home, with a little help from Aunt Lindsey and Grandma. Sydney is a great mother when I'm gone. She adores Axle and he loves her almost as much as he loves me. (Sydney argues that point) Axle's favorite word is "Sydney". He can and does say almost everything he hears. "Marshmallow" is the cutest so far.

Family photos

So its been 4 years since our last real family photo shoot. We went this weekend since Frank's mom was visiting. It actually went really well considering we were there for two hours. The photographer was great and got Axle to sit and smile time after time. She took 120 shots! So the hard part was whiddling it down to a package we could afford(she started out at $1000!) We spent more than we were planning but love every picture we got.

Axle is so much fun as he spouts new words every day. He now says thankyou, cheetoh, stinky, juice, bye-bye, blankie, milk. His very favorite word is uh-oh. We put away the highchair cause he wants to be a big boy and sit with the family at the table.

Today is Mother's Day. Atticus is at church cause he loves his class, while the rest of us are at home trying to get over Sunday grumpiness. I decided to keep everyone home till we could be nice and have a little peace before we go into the church. We're still here!

I hope to see my mom and grandma today to give them a hug. They are both great examples to me and I am so glad to have them in my life. Grandma lives only a mile away now. I try to go visit her and Grandpa more now but it is hard cause her house is not at all baby/child friendly. We will be going over once a week for Sydney to mow their lawn. She went for the first mow last week and insisted I come with her. When I asked why I had to be there she said,"Cause Grandpa scares me!" I laughed and said I understood!

New Hair-do

Sydney let me cut her hair today! I wanted to donate 10 inches to Locks of Love but she wanted it to her shoulders or a little longer. She cried and complained that it was too short all the way until I styled it. At that point she finally admitted it looked okay and said Thanks, Mom.
Isn't she a doll? I also cut all the boys' hair this week. Its fun and saves me money.






We had a great Sabbath today(not always the case). Everyone went to church willingly and then Colin surprised my by bearing his testimony while I was in the foyer with Axle. Sydney took the sibling challenge and also bore her testimony. Frank taught Elder's Quorum and Axle stayed in nursery the whole time. Who could ask for a better Sunday? I love my family!






Frank built some great shelves in our garage this week! It looks better in there already. We may eventually get a car inside!

Atticus turned 4 this week. He had 6 cute friends over for a little party. They broke a pinata that Sydney andI made. It took them each about 4 hits before it broke! Sydney also had a birthday but has yet to have her party. She did get a male gerbil that she hopes will end up in many tiny gerbils running about!

All about Sydney (by Sydney)

hi, my name is Sydney. I am currently 11 years old.

I will be 12 on April 18. I am sooo excited! I have three little brothers, Colin, Atticus, and AXLE!

Axle is currently my favorite brother. he doesn't take my stuff away, call me names like, a nimrod and such. He is just plain, and about the most perfect little angel there is!! I am almost in young womens. I get to go to young womens cap this year! I like to kinda plan ahead sometimes,

so I already have my b-day party planned! It is gonna be alot of fun! Me and my family moved not to long ago, and I really like my new house and neiborhood. I miss my old friends alot though. Which is why I am having my b-day party at my old school with all my old/and new friends. It has been sooo nice lately, and I am soo thankful that the snow is almost completly gone.

cute boys

Single Mom for a Week

Frank took off for a work trip to Maryland this week. If he was having any fun whatsoever I might be jealous, but he's not. I am realizing just how much I like having him around. Its a tough job doing the parenting all alone, and I'm grateful this is temporary. We have survived the scout blue and gold banquet, two sleepovers and two BMX races so far. I made it through Sacrament Meeting but not Sunday School today. Tomorrow we go for FHE at Grandma's and then Frank comes home on Tuesday. Hooray!

The BMX race on Friday was actually quite exciting. Colin and I went while Sydney babysat Atticus and Axle. Colin took first place in the qualifier and then another awesome first place in the main event race! I was so thrilled I couldn't hold the camera still! Colin was on cloud nine. They say winning isn't everything but it sure does things for the self-esteem. The Saturday race got him a second place but the trophy was so huge he wasn't at all disappointed.

Sydney and Colin paid a visit to their old school on Friday. They were welcomed with cheers and hugs from everyone. I hope they eventually feel that loved at the new school. While waiting for them I drove around the old neighborhood. No sad feelings for me as I passed our small little house! I miss the friends but am so in love with my new house now.

Sunday

A little more than two months till Axle gets to go into nursery! He's past the sit-on-your-lap-quietly stage and just wants to run. Not to mention that church starts when his nap usually starts. So Frank sacrificed (ha ha) and took the bubba home after Sacrament mtg for a nap. Axle also went down for a nap. Colin, being the good child that he is, also volunteered to go home and "help Dad".
Atticus is officially a Sunbeam! He loves class but doesn't yet love sharing time. But he stayed the whole time today. Hooray! He is also starting to draw the cute people pictures with the circle for a head and the arms and legs coming off the circle. Its so fun to see him learning new stuff. I don't see how people purposely stop after only one child. As soon as I get a toddler I start to miss having a baby around!
I haven't spent as much time sewing as I had planned. Instead I have been reading 4 different books at once. I wish I could say one of them was the scriptures, but I'll do better this week. I just finished the 3rd book of Leven Thumps, am starting the 3rd Eragon book and am trying to read a book about Marjorie Hinckley for a book club. I also started Inkdeath but put it aside since I own it and there is no due date on it. Colin is getting close to finishing Eragon. I will be very proud of him for reading such a big and pretty challenging book!

Time for another pet already?

So we have tried guinea pigs, fish, parakeets and dogs. Now the must-have is a hamster. Its too small to cause allergic reactions, fairly quiet and easy to care for. So why am I not excited?

Sydney thinks life will end soon if she doesn't get another pet! She's willing to pay for it with her own money and swears she will take care of it. Guess we'll give it another try. I think I may talk her into a gerbil, though. They don't stay awake all night like hamsters and I think they bite less.

Axle, our current "pet", is getting too big too fast! He is exiting his babyhood and we are all sad about it. He can say "down, hot, hat," and "ahhhhh" at a high pitch which means I want that! He still steals toothbrushes and drags them around the house. So far none have made it into the toilet, only the garbage can (shhh don't tell Sydney).

I am currently starting on a new quilt for my bed. I finally bought the fabric and hope to begin cutting pieces tomorrow with the help of my sweet sister Lindsey. My hubby is out of town so I am getting lots of projects out of the way! One thing I am excited about is this shelf for displaying smaller quilts. I finally hung it in the kitchen. A little personal girl time is always fun but the bed is awfully big and cold with only one person in it.

We took a drive up AF canyon to Tibblefork Reservoir just before Thanksgiving. It was freezing! The water was iced over but you could still see through it. We let the kids venture out carefully! Atticus was in his usual attire: shorts and his beloved cowboy boots. Maybe he was supposed to have been born in California?