A Miracle!

So the other day while I was reading a friend's blog, I found a link to a another blog. Not a miracle in itself, but in this other blog, I found THE ANSWER TO ALL MY PROBLEMS AS A MOTHER OF FIVE CHILDREN WHO RANGE FROM 14 TO 3.

We started a new reward system for the kids. I'm just going to include the link, and you can see for youreself how well it will work. ALL my kids, with the exception of Benji who hasn't stood still long enough to understand it, have gotten on board.

Go check it out! Queen of the Clan

The Countdown Begins

Starting yesterday, it will be exactly a month before we will be in Southern California with my extended family. My parents foot the bill (Thanks, Mom and Dad!) for a beach house that can house them, each of their six children and their respective families.
We did this about 5 years ago, when we just had 3 children, and Meri was only a little over 1. Now she's six and she has two younger brothers to add to the mix. I don't know how we're all going to fit, but that's part of the fun.

One week on the beach, a Disney day, and exploring.

Can't wait!

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

Sorry I took so long to share about Sarah's birthday. May is just birthday month around here. I was also wanted to get a picture of her cake up, and hadn't gotten around to it. So here it is...


Our good friend Deanna has, after 15+ years working for a supermarket bakery, gone into business for herself. Three weeks ago. So I asked her to make a cake. Isn't it awesome? Very "Ace of Cakes".

I chose Eclipse for two reasons: 1, it is one of Sarah's favorite book series (behind Harry Potter.) And 2, since Eclipse the movie comes out on the 30th of this month, I thought it would be fun to take her to see the midnight show. When I went to purchase the tickets, however, I discovered that one of our local theaters was doing a triple feature of all the Twilight movies. So of course we're doing them all, ending with the 12:01 showing of Eclipse.

Happy Birthday to my grown up girl!

Road Trip!

Just a little one. We're headed to Oak City (a thriving metropolis outside of Delta of maybe 400 people, with a resident deer herd) for my neice's baptism and a family get together. I'm looking at this 2 1/2 hour drive as a test to see how well my family will do in a month when we head to CA for a week and a half.

I'm also looking forward to the small town feel for a couple of days. I enjoy the convenience of city/suburb living, most days. But I'll always have a soft spot for Kearny, AZ, population about 900. A main street with no light, and if you didn't know to turn off the highway, you'd miss the town completely. We lived there for 3 years after Kendall graduated from the U, while he worked at the Ray mine as a metallurgical engineer. We learned a lot living there, including what it meant to be part of such a small community. To really get to know people, the lengths people go to get the job done. Good times.

Now this is just funny...

Disclaimer: This tickled my funny bone...it has no relevance or relation to my particular reality...

Guest Blogging...Squeee!!!

So about a week ago a blog I follow, Mormon Mommy Writers , sent out a call for a new Monday regular blogger. It's a blog of exactly what it sounds like: a bunch of Mormon mommies who write in their spare (!) time.

I decided to take the plunge and send in a post/audition piece. I won't hear back until around the 1st of June, but tomorrow they're putting up my submission piece as a guest blog post. Please take a look and comment, so my poor lonely writer's heart can know it's being heard.

I hope I get to do it...but many people just like me submitted posts, so we'll just have to wait and see....

Stubborn

Stubborn is good when you're a grown up and it translates to dedication and perserverance.
Stubborn is bad when you're three and you think you are supposed to do whatever you want, including staying up every night until 11 pm.
Yes, it was one of those kinds of days. If it were only the one child.......sigh.

Salt Lake Children's Choir

The Salt Lake Children's Choir has been around for 30 years. Mr. Ralph Woodward had a vision of bringing the gorgeous sound of traditional boy's choirs from Europe and building a similar choir here.

Kendall was in this choir when he and the choir were young, starting in '82. He spent many years there, honing the craft of singing. My sweet mother-in-law saw seven of her ten children participate in the choir over the years.

Now the legacy continues. Sarah has participated for three years, and this is Peter's first. The amazing thing is the stunning vocal quality Mr. Woodward coaxes out of these kids.

Today is their anniversary concert, with an alumni choir that Kendall is participating in. Here is a video from a couple of Christmases ago...Sarah is not in this one, but a few of my nieces were. Enjoy!

Why I'm a Mother

So I can have a four year old child say to me, "Mom, I can't wake up because my head is still asleep." And I still love him, even if we were late for church. Happy Mother's Day to all!

Happy Birthday, Again.

Happy Birthday, Teddy Bear! Thank goodness you were born 37 years ago, or I wouldn't have been able to spend the past 15 years with you. Love you!